The Elijah Cycle: a Synchronic Approach.

Abstract

Among the many recent literary studies of biblical narratives, few have attempted to deal with larger entities such as narrative cycles. This dissertation examines the narratives of Elijah (1 Kings 17-19; 21; 2 Kings 1; 2:1-15); it uses close reading to discern the surface structures and motif analysis to identify some meanings of the text. The dissertation has two purposes. It applies a clearly defined literary method to an extensive body of narratives; this is intended to further the development of useful and controllable literary methods for biblical exegesis. Further, it compares the results of that literary study with those of other approaches, both historical critical and stylistic, to the same narratives; this is intended as a preliminary contribution to the project of coordinating historical critical and literary methods. The two purposes are addressed in the text of the dissertation and in the notes respectively. The text consists of a stylistic analysis based on the Massoretic Text with no significant emendations. The analysis was done in virtually exclusive dialogue with the narratives themselves and can be read as a self-contained unit with no reference to secondary literature. 1 Kings 17-19 is found to have strong structural unity. It is also marked throughout by allusions to the Mosaic traditions and by a concern to portray the full range of prophetic experience in the person of Elijah. The remaining Elijah narratives are less integrally related to the former or to one another either by structure or by common motifs. The notes contain all references to secondary literature and all discussions of issues raised in that literature. This includes text critical and historical critical questions, as well as comparison of the stylistic analysis presented in the text with differing readings proposed by other commentators. No attempt is made to resolve questions of history or of text-history; on these issues the notes usually give a survey of secondary literature. Stylistic matters elicit more critical discussion; and , where appropriate, in these cases notes offer an evaluation of others' observations and interpretations of stylistic data.