1st Edition

Jonah's World Social Science and the Reading of Prophetic Story

By Lowell K. Handy Copyright 2007
    230 Pages
    by Routledge

    230 Pages
    by Routledge

    The story of Jonah, often read as a simple children's story, is a multifaceted and elaborate narrative with serious intent. Treating the biblical book as a fictitious story based on real locations and recognizable persons, 'Jonah's World' examines the background to the story and draws on social science approaches to describe its imaginative world. The book explores the geography, theology, myth, human characters, natural landscape, and the ideology behind the story to uncover a vision of reality shaped by literary technique. Jonah's World will be invaluable to students and scholars seeking a new approach to the reading of this colourful text.

    Introduction I ntroduction; Chapter 1 A S cribe's -E ye V iew; Chapter 2 A n I maginary R eal W orld; Chapter 3 T he D ivine R ealm; Chapter 4 T he H uman D imension; Chapter 5 A n U nnatural N ature; Chapter 6 A M oral U niverse ?; Chapter 7 R eality as F iction; Chapter 8 T he S tory O nce M ore;

    Biography

    Lowell K. Handy is employed at the American Theological Library Association, Religion Index, Chicago. His doctorate degree is from the Divinity School of University of Chicago.

    'An excellent introduction to Biblical stories. 'Jonah's World' deserves a place of honour on every reading list for courses on the book of Jonah. It poses the right questions and supplies lots of information to guide readers towards the ancient world.' --Journal of Hebrew Scriptures

    'Useful for students and scholars as a unique reading of Jonah and an introductory exemplar of social-science readings of the Hebrew Bible.' --Religious Studies Review

    'Deserves attention for the light it throws on the social world that produced the ever-fascinating story of Jonah.' --Review of Biblical Literature