Methodology, Speech, Society: The Hebrew Bible

Rhetorical criticism has flourished in New Testament studies, with many scholars drawing on either Vernon Robbins’s socio-rhetorical approach or the tools provided by the Graeco-Roman rhetoricians. Much less has been done in the study of the Hebrew Bible, particularly if one excludes those rhetorical studies that follow the lead of James Muilenburg. Yehoshua Gitay has for decades been one of the exceptions. What lends added interest to his work is that he draws strongly on the New Rhetoric of Chaim Perlman (and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca) – something that few other biblical scholars do. As a result, he pays attention in his analyses to arguments (in a broad sense), persuasive potential and societal impact and not only to literary form. This is also evident in the current collections of ten essays, grouped under the headings ‘Methodology’, ‘Speech’ and