[Rezension von: Kavusa, Kivatsi Jonathan, 1982-, Water and water-related phenomena in the Old Testament wisdom literature : an eco-theological exploration]
This book fills a glaring gap in both Hebrew Bible scholarship and ecological approaches in its emphasis on texts that mention water or water-related themes in the wisdom literature. Kavusa points out that water as an image is two-sided—water sustains life and yet water can also be very destructive....
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| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2021
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 72, Issue: 2, Pages: 906-907 |
| Review of: | Water and water-related phenomena in the Old Testament wisdom literature (London : T&T CLark, 2020) (Dell, Katharine)
Water and water-related phenomena in the Old Testament wisdom literature (London : Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2019) (Dell, Katharine) Water and water-related phenomena in the Old Testament wisdom literature (London : T&T CLark, 2019) (Dell, Katharine) |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This book fills a glaring gap in both Hebrew Bible scholarship and ecological approaches in its emphasis on texts that mention water or water-related themes in the wisdom literature. Kavusa points out that water as an image is two-sided—water sustains life and yet water can also be very destructive. He looks at images of well and springs as places of healing and refreshment, often sacred places where deities reside on the one hand, and then at the destruction wreaked by chaotic seas and river torrents on the other. He counters a romantic view of nature that tends to have dominated what few discussions there have been of this topic within wisdom studies. He also counters interpretations that have seen references to water as largely metaphorical, e.g. Prov. 5:15-20 interpreted as a sexual metaphor without close attention paid to the water imagery and to the water management systems of an ancient culture. He looks at selected texts in Job (perhaps the most fruitful wisdom book for such imagery), Proverbs, and Qoheleth, followed by the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach. He seeks to apply the findings of the Earth Bible Project re: intrinsic worth, interconnected voice and purpose, and suspicion and retrieval. His ecological approach leads him to be suspicious of a highly anthropocentric reading that takes such references either as metaphors for human life or solely in reference to human beings. Two appendices at the back of the book are particularly helpful, the first (A) giving all water references in the wisdom literature and the second (B) outlining the texts discussed in this book, organized under the headings of whether water is life-giving or life-threatening and ending with ideas on water management and responsible use of water that feed into final reflections on modern-day responsible environmental attitudes to the vital resource of water. The African context that is outlined is of interest to readers and is indicated as a possible further study to help raise ecological awareness. This is a straightforward, clearly written, thorough survey (a revised doctoral thesis from the University of South Africa) and finds an immediate place within the canon of studies of the wisdom literature, biblical and apocryphal. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flab084 |