An Ecocentric Reading of אמת, חסד, and דעת אלהים in Hosea 4.1-6
Many critics have blamed the current ecological crisis on an interpretation of the biblical text that legitimates human abuse of the earth’s resources, through a misconstruction of the human relationship with the rest of the created order. The Hebrew text of Hosea 4.1-6 documents a tacit knowledge o...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2019
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| In: |
The Bible translator
Year: 2019, Volume: 70, Issue: 3, Pages: 343-360 |
| Further subjects: | B
Hosea 4.1-6
B prṣ B everlasting covenant B Priest B contextual gap B covenant faithfulness B cosmic covenant B Ecology B Earth stewardship B da‘at ’elohim B ḥēsēd B ’emet |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Many critics have blamed the current ecological crisis on an interpretation of the biblical text that legitimates human abuse of the earth’s resources, through a misconstruction of the human relationship with the rest of the created order. The Hebrew text of Hosea 4.1-6 documents a tacit knowledge of the consequence of human action on the ecosystem, evidence that has been eclipsed in various English translations due to the contextual gap between the text and the English recipient. This paper attempts a reconstruction of the Hebrew text, and undertakes a fresh translation that exposes the cosmological underpinnings of the text. The passage is then interpreted from an ecocentric perspective in a synchronic reading with other passages. This reveals an awareness of an intricate relationship among humanity, the earth, and non-human inhabitants of the earth, a relationship that Hosea describes with the terms אמת, חסד, and דעת אלהים. |
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| ISSN: | 2051-6789 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Bible translator
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/2051677019877230 |