Poetry and Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text (Hebrew Bible Monographs) - Hardcover

Thomas, Heath A

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 190753475X ISBN 13: 9781907534751

Publisher: Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd, 2013

Synopsis

The book of Lamentations is a challenge to its readers. Its ambiguous theology, strident protestations against its deity, and haunting imagery confound interpreters. This monograph engages the enigma of Lamentations by assessing its theology. It does so, however, neither by tracing a single theological perspective through the book nor by reconstructing the history of the composition of the book. Rather, Heath Thomas assesses the poetry of Lamentations by offering a close analysis of each poem in the book. He reconsiders the acrostic as the foundational structure for the poetry, reads the book as an intentionally composed whole, and assesses the pervasive use of repetition, metaphor, and allusion. For the first time in the field, the analysis here is grounded on the insights of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco. Drawing upon Eco's distinction between 'open' and 'closed' textualities, Thomas argues that Lamentations represents a distinctively 'open' text, one that presents its reader with a myriad of surprising avenues to interpret the poetry. This distinctive approach avoids a polarization in the portrait of God in Lamentations, arguing that its poetry neither justifies God outright nor does it exonerate God's people in the exilic age. Rather, it enables these theological visions to interrelate with each another, inviting the reader to make sense of the interaction. The ambiguous theological vision of Lamentations, then, is not a problem that the reader is intended to overcome but an integral feature in the construction of meaning. This original monograph offers a new perspective on how the poetry informs our appreciation of theological thought in the exilic age.

About this title

About the Author:

Heath Thomas (PhD, University of Gloucestershire) is Dean of the Hobbs College for Theology and Ministry, and Professor of Old Testament at Oklahoma Baptist University. He also serves as fellow in Old Testament Studies at the St. George's Centre for Biblical and Public Theology in Ontario, Canada. He is the author or editor of a number of books: A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation (with Craig G. Bartholomew; Baker Academic), Poetry and Theology in the Book of Lamentations (Sheffield Phoenix), Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem (with Paul Copan and Jeremy Evans; IVP Academic), Great is Thy Faithfulness? Toward Reading Lamentations as Christian Scripture(with Robin Parry; Pickwick Press) 'Until He Looks Down and Sees': The Message and Meaning of the Book of Lamentations (Grove Books). He has forthcoming volumes on Habakkuk (Eerdmans) and the Minor Prophets (with Craig Bartholomew, IVP Academic). 

About this edition

• Publisher: Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 190753475X
• ISBN 13: 9781907534751
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 294