Textlinguistics and Prophecy in the Book of the Twelve -- By: E. Ray Clendenen

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 46:3 (Sep 2003)
Article: Textlinguistics and Prophecy in the Book of the Twelve
Author: E. Ray Clendenen


Textlinguistics and Prophecy in the Book of the Twelve

E. Ray Clendenen

[Ray Clendenen is executive editor, Bible and reference books, Broadman & Holman, 127 Ninth Avenue, North, Nashville, TN 37234.]

I. Introduction

For several years I have been studying the biblical prophets with the aid of a textlinguistic model developed by Robert Longacre. I have argued in several articles for the usefulness of such a model and have suggested ways in which it may be applied.1 Here after a brief summary of that model and how it relates to the prophetic books I will suggest how it might be used to uncover and describe the essential message of all twelve of the so-called Minor Prophets. My concern is not primarily with the the book of the Twelve as a whole but with the individual books and by implication the other books of OT prophecy. The thesis is that by considering the nature of prophecy as essentially defined by 2 Kgs 17:13, the study of the prophetic books should employ a textlinguistic model that identifies the basic prophetic discourse type to be hortatory. I believe this model offers a relatively reliable means to capture the essential message(s) of a prophetic book and the contribution played by the various parts of that book in communicating that message.

II. The Nature of the Prophetic Books

1. The prophetic genre.

a. Importance of genre. Tremper Longman has suggested that “genre may well be the literary concept most important to the interpretive task.”2 Bo-Krister Ljungberg wrote, “Genre is constitutive of meaning: it conditions reader expectations and thus allows for understanding.”3 You cannot

accurately interpret what you cannot identify. Most would agree that prophecy is a distinct literary genre, which provides the literary context within which prophetic texts must be interpreted.4

b. Distinguishing marks of the prophetic genre. There are several marks of the prophetic genre, such as the presentation of the message as received directly from God, an elevated rhetorical style, and an inventory of certain literary forms or sub-genres such as lawsuit and woe. But the most important mark derives from the nature of a prophet of God. Yahweh had declared through Moses in Deut 18:18, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My ...

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