In Ruth, Tod Linafelt offers an interpretation of the book which he calls "unsettling," in that he refuses to settle on a single meaning in a book so fraught with complexity and ambiguity. Ambiguity built into grammar, syntax, and vocabulary carrie over into the larger issues of characterization, theology, and the book's purpose. He also argues that Ruth is intended to read as an interlude between Judges and Samuel. Esther, by Timothy Beal, focuses on a story of anti-Judaism in an ancient world that raises contemporary questions about sexism, ethnocentrism, and natioinal identity. Beal questions the text without assuming that there will be univocal answers, allowing for complexity, perplexity, and the importance of accidents. Beal emphasizes the general and the tenative over the continuous. Using rhetorical criticism as a way into the text, Beal also focuses on its narrative structure.

Enables readers to discover the uncertainties of the texts of Ruth and Esther and shows how these uncertainties are integral to the narrative art of these texts.

http://www.christianbook.com/berit-olam-studies-hebrew-narrative-poetry/9780814650455/pd/650457

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product_review

__USERID__

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/ask_and_answer

Availability: Available to ship on or about 06/21/13. You may order this item now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. If you are charging this purchase to a credit card, you will not be charged for this item and its portion of your shipping charges until it is shipped.

Email me when this product is available.

• Academic >> Commentaries >> Old Testament >> Ruth
• Books >> Commentaries >> Old Testament >> Ruth
• Start A New Christianbook.com Search

I'm the author/artist and I want to review Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry.