Das Buch Nahum: Eine redaktionskritische Untersuchung by Hermann SchulzReview by: James LimburgJournal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 94, No. 3 (Sep., 1975), pp. 450+452Published by: The Society of Biblical LiteratureStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3265168 .

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ity of the human mind that leads to poetry is totally different from the one that leads to prose.

For this reason Weippert's deliberations are not too convincing. This book's insensitivity to the exilic world of thought and Thiel's neglect to ask for the Sitz im Leben of the prose material in Jeremiah seem to call for a broad and thorough investigation of the worship-assemblies in Judah after the destruction of the temple. Maybe L. Finkel- stein with his thesis of the pre-Josianic origin of the synagogue was not so wrong after all (cf. "The Origin of the Synagogue," Pharisaism in the Making: Selected Essays [New York: Ktav, 1972] 1-11).

H. EBERHARD VON WALDOW

PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, PITTSBURGH, PA 15206

Das Buch Nahum: Eine redaktionskritische Untersuchung, by Hermann Schulz. Berlin/ New York: de Gruyter, 1973. Pp. vii+163. DM 58.

According to the author of this Marburg Habilitationsschrift, there are a number of reasons for the fact that the prophetic literature has not yet been investigated by the method of redaction criticism. Research has concentrated on the prophetic books as sources for the life and message of individual prophets and on the tradition-background of the prophetic message. With this approach, the role of the post-exilic community in shaping these books has been neglected. But in reality, "the post-exilic community plays the same role for the prophetic literature as the primitive church does for the writings of the New Testament," and the prophetic books should be understood as representing the preaching of that community (pp. 1-2).

In the main portion of the book, Schulz works through the Nahum materials three times. First, he offers a brief survey of the major critical problems: Why does the book begin with a hymn, and what about the extent and origin of the hymn? Assuming that the book presents the words of a prophet, why is there no word of criticism about Judah? Should Nahum be understood as a Heilsprophet? How is the structure of the book to be analyzed? Is it in part or as a whole a prophetic liturgy? Finally, does the book present what was originally oral preaching? (Section 1).

Sections 2-7 analyze the structure of the Book of Nahum. The opening theophany- hymn consists of 1:2a, 3b-6, with 2b-3a and 7-8 as later additions (Section 2). Vss. 9 and 10 expand the hymn (Section 3). The segment in 1:11-2:2 includes an oracle of salvation addressed to Judah (1:12aab, 13; 2:1) and the beginning of a poem against the city (3:1; 1:11, 14; 2:2) (Section 4). In Section 5, Schulz presents a complex re- construction of the text in the form of a battle song with three stanzas. The first stanza consists of 3:1 and the verses listed above. Stanza two is composed of 2:6aa, 5b, 4, 5a; 3:2, 3, and 3:3ba. The third stanza includes 2:6apba, 9bp, 8aa, 6b,, 4aB, 8aa,ba, 7, 9aba, 10. After this battle song, 2:11 is a redactional connecting piece. Then follows a "ring composition," running from 2:12-3:6. The units 2:12-14 and 3:4-6 are parallel in structure, each with a figure (the lion, the harlot) and a formula introducing an an- nouncement of judgment (2:14; 3:5-6). These are placed like a ring around the woe- saying in 3:1-3, the careful construction giving evidence of an original written form (Section 6). The last major unit is the mocking song (Spottqina) in 3:7-19. This con- sists of an introduction (3:7aj, b), a first stanza (8-10), second stanza (11-13a, 15aa/B, 13b), and a conclusion (18), with 15ay-17 and 19 considered expansions. The

poem is to be dated in the post-exilic period, since the language of vs. 10 appears to

ity of the human mind that leads to poetry is totally different from the one that leads to prose.

For this reason Weippert's deliberations are not too convincing. This book's insensitivity to the exilic world of thought and Thiel's neglect to ask for the Sitz im Leben of the prose material in Jeremiah seem to call for a broad and thorough investigation of the worship-assemblies in Judah after the destruction of the temple. Maybe L. Finkel- stein with his thesis of the pre-Josianic origin of the synagogue was not so wrong after all (cf. "The Origin of the Synagogue," Pharisaism in the Making: Selected Essays [New York: Ktav, 1972] 1-11).

H. EBERHARD VON WALDOW

PITTSBURGH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, PITTSBURGH, PA 15206

Das Buch Nahum: Eine redaktionskritische Untersuchung, by Hermann Schulz. Berlin/ New York: de Gruyter, 1973. Pp. vii+163. DM 58.

According to the author of this Marburg Habilitationsschrift, there are a number of reasons for the fact that the prophetic literature has not yet been investigated by the method of redaction criticism. Research has concentrated on the prophetic books as sources for the life and message of individual prophets and on the tradition-background of the prophetic message. With this approach, the role of the post-exilic community in shaping these books has been neglected. But in reality, "the post-exilic community plays the same role for the prophetic literature as the primitive church does for the writings of the New Testament," and the prophetic books should be understood as representing the preaching of that community (pp. 1-2).

In the main portion of the book, Schulz works through the Nahum materials three times. First, he offers a brief survey of the major critical problems: Why does the book begin with a hymn, and what about the extent and origin of the hymn? Assuming that the book presents the words of a prophet, why is there no word of criticism about Judah? Should Nahum be understood as a Heilsprophet? How is the structure of the book to be analyzed? Is it in part or as a whole a prophetic liturgy? Finally, does the book present what was originally oral preaching? (Section 1).

Sections 2-7 analyze the structure of the Book of Nahum. The opening theophany- hymn consists of 1:2a, 3b-6, with 2b-3a and 7-8 as later additions (Section 2). Vss. 9 and 10 expand the hymn (Section 3). The segment in 1:11-2:2 includes an oracle of salvation addressed to Judah (1:12aab, 13; 2:1) and the beginning of a poem against the city (3:1; 1:11, 14; 2:2) (Section 4). In Section 5, Schulz presents a complex re- construction of the text in the form of a battle song with three stanzas. The first stanza consists of 3:1 and the verses listed above. Stanza two is composed of 2:6aa, 5b, 4, 5a; 3:2, 3, and 3:3ba. The third stanza includes 2:6apba, 9bp, 8aa, 6b,, 4aB, 8aa,ba, 7, 9aba, 10. After this battle song, 2:11 is a redactional connecting piece. Then follows a "ring composition," running from 2:12-3:6. The units 2:12-14 and 3:4-6 are parallel in structure, each with a figure (the lion, the harlot) and a formula introducing an an- nouncement of judgment (2:14; 3:5-6). These are placed like a ring around the woe- saying in 3:1-3, the careful construction giving evidence of an original written form (Section 6). The last major unit is the mocking song (Spottqina) in 3:7-19. This con- sists of an introduction (3:7aj, b), a first stanza (8-10), second stanza (11-13a, 15aa/B, 13b), and a conclusion (18), with 15ay-17 and 19 considered expansions. The

poem is to be dated in the post-exilic period, since the language of vs. 10 appears to

450 450

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JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

assume the exilic experience. Vocabulary and parallel texts, such as portions of Isaiah 14, 15, 23, Jeremiah 48, 49, 50, and Ezekiel 26 and 27, are judged mostly post-exilic and thus in support of this dating (Section 7).

In Sections 8-13, Schulz is concerned with interpretation and with the redaction of the whole books. The symbolic-mythological character of the battle song marks it as

post-exilic and tending toward an apocalyptic eschatology (Section 8). The theophany- hymn describes a universal judgment and is designated an "eschatological prophetic hymn," comparable to the eschatological hymns in Deutero-Isaiah (Section 9). Section 10 treats the structure of the book as a whole. Two "ring compositions," 1:11-2:11 and 2:12-3:6, are placed side by side, and the introductory hymns and the concluding mocking song are laid around them to make a third "ring composition." Seen in the light of the redac- tion of the whole book, 2:12-3:6 refers to an eschatological judgment (Section 11). Sec- tion 12 considers the composition of the book. Short expansions (2:8b, 13; 3:14, 15ay,b, 16-17) use animal imagery typical of eschatological prophecy and thus point again to the

eschatological nature of the book. The author combined existing materials with his own

compositions. Section 13 discusses the "prophetic liturgy" issue at length. While the book cannot be connected with any specific festival, it does have some connection with the cult.

A last section (14) summarizes the results of the investigation. The author was

likely a member of that post-exilic group which preserved the prophetic traditions and utilized them in worship services. He intended Nahum to be used in these services in some way. Finally, Schulz offers an extensive critique of J. Jeremias, Kultprophetie und

Gerichtsverkiindigung in der spiten Konigszeit, and calls for the application of redaction criticism to the prophetic books.

I found this to be an exegetically and methodologically instructive study. The discus- sion of the "ring composition" in Nahum and other parts of the OT was enlightening, as was the demonstration that individual texts from a prophetic book should be interpreted in the light of the redaction of the whole. All students of Nahum will appreciate the

complete bibliography which concludes the volume. But I also had a number of objections. The author's assertion that the prophetic

books should be understood primarily as source material for the post-exilic community is simply not warranted (pp. 1-2). His arguments for a post-exilic dating of the Nahum material are not convincing (pp. 44-50, 72), and his extensive reconstruction of the battle song appears quite arbitrary (section 5).

Schulz is an enthusiastic advocate of redaction criticism, from the first sentence of his book to the last. His study provides a good example of this method, but it also serves to warn against the exclusive use of any one approach to biblical texts. In the case of

Nahum, this redaction-critical study needs to be complemented and corrected by the tradition-critical approach of Jeremias and the comparative-linguistic work of Kevin J. Cathcart, Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic (BibOr 26; Rome: Biblical Institute, 1973).

JAMES LIMBURG

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE, SIOUX FALLS, SD 57102

Weisheits Perikopen bei Ben Sira, by Otto Rickenbacher. Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 1.

Fribourg: Universitatsverlag; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973. Pp. x+229. SwF 35.

This book is an offset publication of Rickenbacher's 1971 dissertation submitted to the

assume the exilic experience. Vocabulary and parallel texts, such as portions of Isaiah 14, 15, 23, Jeremiah 48, 49, 50, and Ezekiel 26 and 27, are judged mostly post-exilic and thus in support of this dating (Section 7).

In Sections 8-13, Schulz is concerned with interpretation and with the redaction of the whole books. The symbolic-mythological character of the battle song marks it as

post-exilic and tending toward an apocalyptic eschatology (Section 8). The theophany- hymn describes a universal judgment and is designated an "eschatological prophetic hymn," comparable to the eschatological hymns in Deutero-Isaiah (Section 9). Section 10 treats the structure of the book as a whole. Two "ring compositions," 1:11-2:11 and 2:12-3:6, are placed side by side, and the introductory hymns and the concluding mocking song are laid around them to make a third "ring composition." Seen in the light of the redac- tion of the whole book, 2:12-3:6 refers to an eschatological judgment (Section 11). Sec- tion 12 considers the composition of the book. Short expansions (2:8b, 13; 3:14, 15ay,b, 16-17) use animal imagery typical of eschatological prophecy and thus point again to the

eschatological nature of the book. The author combined existing materials with his own

compositions. Section 13 discusses the "prophetic liturgy" issue at length. While the book cannot be connected with any specific festival, it does have some connection with the cult.

A last section (14) summarizes the results of the investigation. The author was

likely a member of that post-exilic group which preserved the prophetic traditions and utilized them in worship services. He intended Nahum to be used in these services in some way. Finally, Schulz offers an extensive critique of J. Jeremias, Kultprophetie und

Gerichtsverkiindigung in der spiten Konigszeit, and calls for the application of redaction criticism to the prophetic books.

I found this to be an exegetically and methodologically instructive study. The discus- sion of the "ring composition" in Nahum and other parts of the OT was enlightening, as was the demonstration that individual texts from a prophetic book should be interpreted in the light of the redaction of the whole. All students of Nahum will appreciate the

complete bibliography which concludes the volume. But I also had a number of objections. The author's assertion that the prophetic

books should be understood primarily as source material for the post-exilic community is simply not warranted (pp. 1-2). His arguments for a post-exilic dating of the Nahum material are not convincing (pp. 44-50, 72), and his extensive reconstruction of the battle song appears quite arbitrary (section 5).

Schulz is an enthusiastic advocate of redaction criticism, from the first sentence of his book to the last. His study provides a good example of this method, but it also serves to warn against the exclusive use of any one approach to biblical texts. In the case of

Nahum, this redaction-critical study needs to be complemented and corrected by the tradition-critical approach of Jeremias and the comparative-linguistic work of Kevin J. Cathcart, Nahum in the Light of Northwest Semitic (BibOr 26; Rome: Biblical Institute, 1973).

JAMES LIMBURG

AUGUSTANA COLLEGE, SIOUX FALLS, SD 57102

Weisheits Perikopen bei Ben Sira, by Otto Rickenbacher. Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 1.

Fribourg: Universitatsverlag; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973. Pp. x+229. SwF 35.

This book is an offset publication of Rickenbacher's 1971 dissertation submitted to the

452 452

This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Mon, 8 Dec 2014 07:59:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions