Joseph Justiss commented on a previous post in which I discussed Chris Hays’s essay on identifying allusions within the Old Testament and recommended an article by Jeffery Leonard: Identifying Inner-Biblical Allusions: Psalm 78 as a Test Case. It’s quite an interesting and helpful study which he divides into two parts: evaluating evidence for textual links and determining direction of influence. Here are the points that he considers under the two parts.
Evaluating Evidence for Textual Links
- Shared language is the single most importantfactor in establishing a textual connection.
- Shared language is more important than nonshared language.
- Shared language that is rare or distinctive suggests a stronger connection than does language that is widely used.
- Shared phrases suggest a stronger connection than do individual shared terms.
- The accumulation of shared language suggests a stronger connection than does a single shared term or phrase.
- Shared language in similar contexts suggests a stronger connection than does shared language alone.
- Shared language need not be accompanied by shared ideology to establish a connection.
- Shared language need not be accompanied by shared form to establish a connection.
Determining Direction of Influence
- Does one text claim to draw upon another?
- Are there elements in the texts that help to fix their dates?
- Is one text capable of producing the other?
- Does one text assume the other?
- Does one text show a general pattern of dependence on other text?
- Are there rhetorical patterns in the texts that suggest that one text has used the other in an exegetically significant way?
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Charles,
Leonard’s article is helpful for a number of reasons, the least of which not being the fact that he distinguishes the criteria for identifying textual links from determining the direction of influence.
As with all articles, there are strengths and weaknesses. On page 262 when he introduces point 5 on determining the direction of influence, “Does one text show a general pattern of dependence on other text?”, he uses the example of Joel and Jonah’s use of Exod. 34:6-7. He suggests that Jonah’s penchant for satirizing earlier material is evidence that Jonah (as opposed to Joel?) shows a general pattern of dependence on other texts, the other text being Joel (not Exodus, interestingly enough).
I find this problematic. Leonard does not demonstrate 1) that Jonah shows a general pattern of dependence on other texts according to the principles he outlines in the article or 2) that Joel does not likewise show a general pattern of dependence on other texts. I will admit to 1), but 2) is not true and does not support his case. Moreover, in the case of Joel/Jonah, what is important is not which text shows a general dependence on earlier material (because they both do!), but which shows a general dependence on the book of Exodus. Only Jonah unambiguously shows a dependence on the book of Exodus independent of the shared tradition with Joel, and this combined with many other observations I need not spell out here strongly suggest the opposite trajectory to Leonard’s suggestion.
Of course, if JBL accepts my paper on the topic (they said the review process takes 6 mo., and I’m 4 mo. in), we can clear this whole mess up, once and for all. Because, of course, everyone will read my paper and be immediately and forever persuaded! That’s the way this whole process works, right?
I’m looking forward to your paper but did you tell them you aren’t a fundamentalist?
Not include name on paper? Check! Create separate information page? Check! Write abstract? Check! Mention you are not a fundamentalist? Dang it–I knew I forgot to do something!
Apparently it didn’t matter. They accepted the article! Be on the lookout for it now in 1 to 2 years. It will change the face of scholarship, for sure!
Fantastic! Congrats.
For you, Joseph? Yes.
Chris, I’ll go ahead and put you down as blurbing my first book: “Upon reading this, I was immediately and forever persuaded!”
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