Papers by Benjamin D Giffone
Inscribe It in a Book: Scribal Practice, Cultural Memory, and the Making of the Hebrew Scriptures, 2022
This essay contributes to the ongoing debates concerning the history of redaction and transmissio... more This essay contributes to the ongoing debates concerning the history of redaction and transmission of Kings/Former Prophets/“Deuteronomistic History”/Enneateuch through an analysis of 1 Kings 18. In the earliest decades of the broad acceptance of Noth’s “Deuteronomistic History” idea, it was more common to consider the Elijah–Elisha prophet cycles as having been incorporated by a Deuteronomistic editor. It has now become more common to designate such stories, including 1 Kings 17–19, as post-Deuteronomistic additions. Yet a relevant question still remains: how did the editors who put the final touches on the book of Kings (whether we call them “Deuteronomists” or not) justify Elijah’s actions in 1 Kings 18, which appear to be at odds with the centralizing tendencies of 1 Kings 12–14 and other Deuteronomistic texts?
In this essay I consider the shortcomings of various traditional (presumed theological coherence) and critical (presumed composite text) explanations for the narrative of Elijah’s sacrifice (1 Kgs 18:20–40), and contends that satisfactory models of scribal transmission must account for 1) constraints of community memory and perceptions of historicity; and 2) intentional balancing of theological “risks and rewards” of including a narrative or its constituent elements. The prospect of incorporating 1 Kings 17–19 into the larger work entailed sufficient theological “rewards” greater than the “risks”—risks which were then creatively mitigated by the editors/redactors of Kings, yet within constraints of community memory.
I conclude by connecting the results to current debates about orality and literacy, “empirical” studies of textual development, and the criterion of “literary unity” in discerning layers of editing.
Journal of Media and Religion, 2022
Rhetorical functions of media are outlined in the Platonic and Biblical traditions and applied to... more Rhetorical functions of media are outlined in the Platonic and Biblical traditions and applied to 2019ʹs "Pachamama" YouTube iconoclepsis ("image-stealing") controversy. Where post-Enlightenment theory brackets or dismisses spiritual communication, pre-modern frames offer clear heuristics and vocabulary for interpreting mediated religious protest. In reaction to a culture of sophistic manipulation, Plato envisioned ideals approached via cooperative dialectic. Psychogogy, leading souls, requires artists and orators adapting true, beautiful, and good ideals for people in their care. Plato uses a pharmacological metaphor to show how art and public discourse can harm and diminish, or heal and restore, spiritual wellbeing, and social eudaimonia. In contrast to Plato, the Biblical tradition cedes invention to God, whose message is shared with passion and urgency to guide people away from evil toward flourishing. The culmination of prophetic communication is the Incarnation: Jesus gives humanity direct contact with divine truth and light, and upon His resurrection the Holy Spirit inspires missionary outreach. Today YouTube activists engage power dynamics within sacred space and imagery to attempt Church reforms.
Biblische Zeitschrift, 2022
It is typically argued that in Ezek 20:5-26 YHWH thrice proposes or purposes to "pour out his wra... more It is typically argued that in Ezek 20:5-26 YHWH thrice proposes or purposes to "pour out his wrath" on Israel, but then instead "acts on account of his name"-relenting from or deferring judgment. This paper argues instead, based on grammatical structure and intertextuality with the Pentateuch, that in at least one of these instances (and possibly two), Ezek 20 describes YHWH actually "pouring out wrath" and "exhausting anger" on some Israelites. This reading offers a new dimension for understanding intergenerational responsibility in Ezekiel.
The purpose of this study is to critique some of the prevalent theories regarding the biblical al... more The purpose of this study is to critique some of the prevalent theories regarding the biblical alphabetic acrostics and to expose a previously unrecognized feature that most of the acrostics share. “Alphabetical thinking” manifests itself differently in each poem; however, one common thread in most of the acrostics is the more prevalent use of the qatal form instead of the yiqtol form as compared to other poetry. This is likely a function of the versatility of the qatal to fit both the acrostic artifice and the acrostic style (aspectual orientation in particular). Two psalms, one acrostic and one non-acrostic, are analyzed and their verb usage compared. Three avenues of further study are proposed.
Introduction Why study Lamentations? That question arises whenev er I have the chance to teach La... more Introduction Why study Lamentations? That question arises whenev er I have the chance to teach Lamentations, whether in a church context or in my academic work. When I tell folks at church that I write on Lamentations, they say, “Oh”—and th en move on to some other topic. They don’t say it, but I know they’re thinking: “Why in the wo rld would you study such a depressing book?” When I discuss Lamentations in academic contexts, I get the sense that many of my colleagues believe that the only reason to write on Lamentatio ns would be to pad your résumé. But for students and scholars who embrace the Bible as the Word of God that has authority in our lives, Lamentations poses several problems. This book is certainly not as wellknown or beloved in the church as are the Psalter, Isaiah, the Gospels, and the Epistles. The most familiar verses of Lamentations are primarily known through the words of the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”—yet this hymn betrays little of t he rest of the book,...
Chronicles and the Priestly Literature of the Hebrew Bible
Certain poetic features of Lamentations contribute to an ongoing preservative/cohesive function i... more Certain poetic features of Lamentations contribute to an ongoing preservative/cohesive function in faith communities. In form and content the reader/audience is confronted with completeness-a nation's complete destruction, the complete range of human emotion-and with incompleteness-a fragmented people, broken institutions, unanswered theological questions. 1
Benjamin is portrayed in Chronicles differently from how he is portrayed in the Deuteronomic Hist... more Benjamin is portrayed in Chronicles differently from how he is portrayed in the Deuteronomic History. In the latter, Benjamin's relation to Judah is shown as varied and complex, incorporating both highs and lows. The Chronicler, by contrast, smooths over these difficulties by emphasizing the historically close relationship between the two tribes. Benjamin D. Giffone sees in this evidence that the Judah-Benjamin relationship reflects the socio-political situation of late Persian Yehud, in which the relatively poor Jerusalem cult struggled to maintain material support from landed nobility in the region. Material evidence shows that the historically Benjaminite regions prospered during the Neo-Babylonian and early Persian periods. The Jerusalem cult competed with cultic locations known for their alliances with either Benjamin or Joseph for the support of wealthier landowners. It is within the context of this struggle for support that the Chronicler rewrote Israel's narrative-partly to garner Benjaminite support. Giffone synthesizes observations that are literary and historical to reveal a literary phenomenon-the differing portraits of Benjamin-and situate this within the historical context of Persian Yehud. In so doing, Giffone offers a new understanding of Yehud during this period, and elaborates an important motif in these two sections of the Hebrew Bible.
By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained there... more By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.
European Journal of Theology, 2020
Discoveries in the last century which contribute to the field of Old Testament textual criticism ... more Discoveries in the last century which contribute to the field of Old Testament textual criticism raise challenges for Protestant use of the Masoretic Text and canon, and for evangelical doctrines of the authority and perspicuity of Scripture. Protestants maintain that the authority of the New Testament is self-attesting, not derived from the Church. Difficulties arise when Protestants apply this understanding to the Old Testament, particularly to the Masoretic Text and canon used to exclude the Apocrypha. Of particular interest is the Masoretic Text of Jeremiah, which is widely acknowledged by textual critics to represent a later version of the book than the LXX text of Jeremiah. Protestant use of the Masoretic canon (and later text of Jeremiah) in light of the early church’s preference for the LXX (text and canon) entails 1) a recognition that community reception plays a significant role in determining the extent of the canon – and that, through Jerome, Rabbinic Judaism’s Bible served to ‘correct’ the Spirit-filled church’s canon; and 2) that catholicity cannot be an adequate basis for recognizing the Old Testament canon, given that the Church has never been unanimous on this point. Through the lens of the self-attesting witness of the New Testament to Christ, ‘theological interpretation’ of the Old Testament may allow evangelicals to maintain a high view of the Old Testament as Scripture while tolerating some uncertainties concerning the precise text and outer canonical bounds of the Old Testament.
Chronicles and the Priestly Literature of the Hebrew Bible, 2021
Scriptura, 2021
Has biblical scholarship become irrelevant to modern secular societies? Are the threats to the vi... more Has biblical scholarship become irrelevant to modern secular societies? Are the threats to the viability of biblical scholarship of the same nature as the threats to other areas of the humanities (history, philosophy, literature), or is there a qualitative difference? What about the role of technology in biblical research and biblical education? What is the future of the institutions of biblical scholarship such as universities, seminaries, journals, and academic presses? What is the role of biblical scholars in secular and post-secular societies, as contrasted with scholars in/from emerging communities? This essay argues that the problem of "validation" lies at the heart of biblical scholarship's irrelevancy within the broader secularity of modern world and that this problem is even more evident in the scholarly discourse coming from regions like Eastern Europe and South Africa. However, the loss of authority of biblical scholarship more generally represents an opportunity for these communities. Rather than becoming enamoured of validation from the North Atlantic world, Bible-reading communities must cultivate their own forms of validation based in their unique histories with the Bible, and the affinities between their own histories/cultures and the cultures that produced the Old and New Testament texts.
Old Testament Essays, 2019
Several studies in recent years have sought to articulate the significance of the tribe of Benjam... more Several studies in recent years have sought to articulate the significance of the tribe of Benjamin for historical and literary studies of the Hebrew Bible. This paper suggests that the received text of Genesis 35–50 both reflects and illumines the complexities of Israelite identity in the preexilic, Babylonian, and Persian periods. The fact that Benjamin is the only son born to “Israel” (other sons are born to “Jacob”) points to Israel’s origins in the land that came to be called “Benjaminite.” Between Josephites to the north and Judahites to the south, Benjaminites preserved a unique identity within the polities of Israel, Judah, Babylonian Yehud, and Persian Yehud. In Genesis 35 and 42–45 in particular, the silent character Benjamin finds himself in the middle of a tug-of-war between his brothers, particularly his full-brother Joseph and his half-brother Judah. The conciliatory message of the narrative of Genesis 35–50 for later communities comes into sharper focus when we see the compromise between tribal identities embedded in the text.
European Journal of Theology, 2019
This paper explores the effects of introducing intermediating
technologies into worship, through ... more This paper explores the effects of introducing intermediating
technologies into worship, through the
lens of media ecology. Just like ‘writing is a technology
that restructures thought’ (Walter Ong), so other
human technologies restructure the meaning of worship.
The codex permitted a defined scriptural canon
to be promulgated and accepted in the early church.
The ancient Israelites were required to offer both
raw materials (live animals) and offerings that were
transformed through human labour and technology
(grain cakes, wine). Deuteronomy 14:24-26 introduces
the intermediating technology of trade into
the sacrificial process. The invention of unfermented
grape juice in the nineteenth century and its use in
the Eucharist necessitated the use of individual cups.
These intermediations transform the worshippers’
understanding of communion with God in both positive
and negative ways. Scripture and church history
offer contemporary churches resources to wrestle
with the transformative effects of electronic technologies
on worship and engagement with Scripture.
Vetus Testamentum, 2017
The Chronicler, as an early interpreter of Samuel and Kings, alerts us to the diverse understandi... more The Chronicler, as an early interpreter of Samuel and Kings, alerts us to the diverse understandings of (or emphases in) cult centralization that are represented in these texts and in the Pentateuch. Recent studies demonstrate the Chronicler's apparent desire to bring his source narratives into compliance with both Deuteronomic and Levitical understandings of Law. In light of this observation, reading backward from the Chronicler's opinion on centralization may help us evaluate the model of centralization represented in the final form of Samuel and Kings. Such a reading will demonstrate that Samuel is in fact a "Deuteronomistic" book, exhibiting the precise view of cult centralization that one would expect from a book that advances the Deuteronomistic narrative in the way that it does-that is, the "discovery" of "the place which YHWH will choose to set his name to dwell there."
This article explores one point of contrast between the characterizations of Benjamin-Judah relat... more This article explores one point of contrast between the characterizations of Benjamin-Judah relations in the DtrH and Chronicles. The argument is that the Deuteronomist offers a stereotype of Benjaminite “special forces,” which the Chronicler then co-opts in service of his own agenda. The remarkable aspect of this cooption is that the Chronicler does not retain or adapt any of the Deuteronomistic material that contributes to this Benjaminite stereotype, only the stereotype itself—i.e., the stereotype only manifests itself in the Sondergut material. The article suggests that the Chronicler repurposes the stereotype in service of a conciliatory agenda: the reincorporation of wealthy Benjaminites into the Jerusalem temple’s sphere of influence. The irony of “Benjaminite” left-handedness is not a new observation; this essay suggests that they should be linked to the motif of “skill with long-distance weapons.” The two motifs are linked in three ways: 1) in practice, they represent a deviation from “regular” hand-to-hand warfare; 2) they overlap within the narratives; and 3) both are specifically linked to Benjaminites—
left-handedness by the irony of the name, and long-distance weaponry by the fact that Benjaminites are characterized uniquely among the tribes by that skill (i.e., whenever Benjaminites are noted in a tribal list as having skill with the sling or bow, they are the only tribe that possesses that skill).
The purpose of this study is to critique some of the prevalent theories regarding the biblical al... more The purpose of this study is to critique some of the prevalent theories regarding the biblical alphabetic acrostics and to expose a previously unrecognized feature that most of the acrostics share. " Alphabetical thinking " manifests itself differently in each poem; however, one common thread in most of the acrostics is the more prevalent use of the qatal form instead of the yiqtol form as compared to other poetry. This is likely a function of the versatility of the qatal to fit both the acrostic artifice and the acrostic style (aspectual orientation in particular). Two psalms, one acrostic and one non-acrostic, are analyzed and their verb usage compared. Three avenues of further study are proposed.
Certain poetic features of Lamentations contribute to an ongoing preservative/cohesive function i... more Certain poetic features of Lamentations contribute to an ongoing preservative/cohesive function in faith communities. In form and content the reader/audience is confronted with completeness—a nation’s complete destruction, the complete range of human emotion—and with incompleteness—a fragmented people, broken institutions, unanswered theological questions.
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Papers by Benjamin D Giffone
In this essay I consider the shortcomings of various traditional (presumed theological coherence) and critical (presumed composite text) explanations for the narrative of Elijah’s sacrifice (1 Kgs 18:20–40), and contends that satisfactory models of scribal transmission must account for 1) constraints of community memory and perceptions of historicity; and 2) intentional balancing of theological “risks and rewards” of including a narrative or its constituent elements. The prospect of incorporating 1 Kings 17–19 into the larger work entailed sufficient theological “rewards” greater than the “risks”—risks which were then creatively mitigated by the editors/redactors of Kings, yet within constraints of community memory.
I conclude by connecting the results to current debates about orality and literacy, “empirical” studies of textual development, and the criterion of “literary unity” in discerning layers of editing.
technologies into worship, through the
lens of media ecology. Just like ‘writing is a technology
that restructures thought’ (Walter Ong), so other
human technologies restructure the meaning of worship.
The codex permitted a defined scriptural canon
to be promulgated and accepted in the early church.
The ancient Israelites were required to offer both
raw materials (live animals) and offerings that were
transformed through human labour and technology
(grain cakes, wine). Deuteronomy 14:24-26 introduces
the intermediating technology of trade into
the sacrificial process. The invention of unfermented
grape juice in the nineteenth century and its use in
the Eucharist necessitated the use of individual cups.
These intermediations transform the worshippers’
understanding of communion with God in both positive
and negative ways. Scripture and church history
offer contemporary churches resources to wrestle
with the transformative effects of electronic technologies
on worship and engagement with Scripture.
left-handedness by the irony of the name, and long-distance weaponry by the fact that Benjaminites are characterized uniquely among the tribes by that skill (i.e., whenever Benjaminites are noted in a tribal list as having skill with the sling or bow, they are the only tribe that possesses that skill).
In this essay I consider the shortcomings of various traditional (presumed theological coherence) and critical (presumed composite text) explanations for the narrative of Elijah’s sacrifice (1 Kgs 18:20–40), and contends that satisfactory models of scribal transmission must account for 1) constraints of community memory and perceptions of historicity; and 2) intentional balancing of theological “risks and rewards” of including a narrative or its constituent elements. The prospect of incorporating 1 Kings 17–19 into the larger work entailed sufficient theological “rewards” greater than the “risks”—risks which were then creatively mitigated by the editors/redactors of Kings, yet within constraints of community memory.
I conclude by connecting the results to current debates about orality and literacy, “empirical” studies of textual development, and the criterion of “literary unity” in discerning layers of editing.
technologies into worship, through the
lens of media ecology. Just like ‘writing is a technology
that restructures thought’ (Walter Ong), so other
human technologies restructure the meaning of worship.
The codex permitted a defined scriptural canon
to be promulgated and accepted in the early church.
The ancient Israelites were required to offer both
raw materials (live animals) and offerings that were
transformed through human labour and technology
(grain cakes, wine). Deuteronomy 14:24-26 introduces
the intermediating technology of trade into
the sacrificial process. The invention of unfermented
grape juice in the nineteenth century and its use in
the Eucharist necessitated the use of individual cups.
These intermediations transform the worshippers’
understanding of communion with God in both positive
and negative ways. Scripture and church history
offer contemporary churches resources to wrestle
with the transformative effects of electronic technologies
on worship and engagement with Scripture.
left-handedness by the irony of the name, and long-distance weaponry by the fact that Benjaminites are characterized uniquely among the tribes by that skill (i.e., whenever Benjaminites are noted in a tribal list as having skill with the sling or bow, they are the only tribe that possesses that skill).