Journal article
How Not to Read the Hebrew Bible
The Iowa review, Vol.21(3), pp.48-59
Autumn 1991
DOI: 10.17077/0021-065X.4048
Appears in Diamond Open Access
Abstract
Not the assertion that J was a woman but the manner in which Bloom interprets J's Yahweh is what is truly provocative about The Book ofj. As Bloom sees it, J's Yahweh is: "impish," "outrageous," "irascible," "a lively fellow," "childlike," "a bungler," "overwhelmingly self-contradictory," "a mischief-maker," "an intensely nervous leader," and "outrageously volatile." By the time Bloom sums up his presentation by observing that J's Yahweh encompasses Lear, Hamlet, Prospero, and "even a Falstaff," the reader understands that this is no hyperbole designed to draw our attention to what follows. This is "what follows." Instead of Yahweh, David is J's hero because his life-giving, life-enhancing vitality lifts him above such distinctions as the good and the bad. Bloom is aware, of course, that David the great warrior king is also depicted not only as a freebooter but as a liar, adulterer, and murderer. What Bloom believes J finds so attractive about David is not his moral fiber but his exuberant ...
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- How Not to Read the Hebrew Bible
- Creators
- Jay A Holstein - University of Iowa, Religious Studies
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Iowa review, Vol.21(3), pp.48-59
- DOI
- 10.17077/0021-065X.4048
- ISSN
- 0021-065X
- eISSN
- 2330-0361
- Publisher
- Iowa Review; Iowa City, Iowa, USA
- Copyright
- Copyright © 1991 Jay A. Holstein
- Language
- English
- Date published season
- Autumn 1991
- Date published
- 1991
- Academic Unit
- Religious Studies
- Record Identifier
- 9983913595802771
Metrics
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