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" Extreme Fate as Convention: Episodic Reprisals Against Divine Messenger Opposition in Scripture "
Fleenor, Robert Paul
Stone, Lawson G.
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Latin Dissertation
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English
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| Record Number
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1051539
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TL50656
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| Main Entry
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Fleenor, Robert Paul
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| Title & Author
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Extreme Fate as Convention: Episodic Reprisals Against Divine Messenger Opposition in Scripture\ Fleenor, Robert PaulStone, Lawson G.
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| College
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Asbury Theological Seminary
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| Date
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2019
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| Degree
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Ph.D.B.S.
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2019
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| Note
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295 p.
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| Abstract
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This dissertation addresses a lacuna in the study of the literary portrayals of divine retribution in the Old Testament. Focusing on narrative texts, this work posits the presence of the divine messenger opposition type-scene, conventional scenes in which an antagonist opposes a divine messenger on whom God inflicts extreme fates that often seem disproportionate to the offense and occur in the absence of any divine proscription. Opposition to the messenger seems to be the offense grave enough to merit the peculiar fates these characters experience. The introduction discusses how the historical analysis of divine retribution has been limited to theological treatments. Recent studies have slightly expanded the analysis to sociological and anthropological approaches, but literary approaches to the topic have been scant. Addressing the intersection of convention and historiography provides a foundation for moving the discussion forward. Employing a literary-critical treatment—supplemented by form-, source-, historical-, and redaction-critical approaches where beneficial—to multiple narrative passages reveals the presence of the proposed type-scene. Chapter 2 explores Moses as the prototypical prophet validated through the bizarre fates experienced by his opponents. Korah’s destruction, Miriam’s leprosy, and the biting serpents all represent divine responses to opposition to Moses. Korah’s rebellion represents a paradigmatic template of the type-scene, one in which God validates Moses. Chapter 3 examines the type-scene in narratives involving the classical prophets. The stories of Jeroboam’s deformity, Ahab’s death, the fiery death of Ahaziah’s military squads, the mauling by bears of Bethel youths, Gehazi’s leprosy, and the trampling of a court official during the siege of Samaria all utilize the type-scene in a manner that validates the legitimacy of a prophet. The persecution narrative in Jeremiah and the harassment of Amos similarly allude to the scene. Chapter 4 argues that the Chronicler utilizes the type-scene as a part of his literary treatment of his retribution theology. While the Historian mentions the extreme fates experienced by kings and prophets, the Chronicler presents those fates as merited retribution imposed on those who oppose a divine messenger. The Chronicler connects Josiah’s death to Ahab’s, links Joash’s assassination to Zechariah’s murder, associates Asa’s diseased feet with his imprisoning Hanani, and roots Uzziah’s leprosy in his opposition to Azariah and the temple priests. Chapter 5 transitions to the New Testament, arguing that the enduring nature of the type-scene results in its appearance beyond the Old Testament. The discussion focuses on the presence of the scene in Luke’s account of Zechariah’s interaction with Gabriel in Luke 2 and in the book of Acts. It is argued that Luke repurposes the type-scene in Acts and merges it with the tyrant-death type-scene in order to portray the impotence of Satan’s kingdom. The number of scenes in which a peculiar fate is linked to the opposition of a divine messenger demonstrates the existence and use of a conventional scene for portraying divine retribution. Ultimately, as a literary component of the Old Testament, the divine messenger opposition type-scene should factor into the discussion of Hebrew historiography.
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| Descriptor
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Biblical studies
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Stone, Lawson G.
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Asbury Theological Seminary
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