Disputed Temple
Subtitle: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Book of Haggai
Publisher: 1517 Media
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
ISBN-13: 9781506438429
Subjects: Bible, criticism, interpretation, etc., o. t. minor prophets
Description: John Robert Barker uses rhetorical criticism of Haggai to tease out the probable attitudes and anxieties among the Yehudite community that saw rebuilding as both undesirable and unfeasible. While some in the community accepted the prophet's claim that YHWH wanted the temple built, others feared that adverse agricultural and economic conditions, as well as the lack of a royal builder, were clear signs that YHWH did not approve or authorize the effort. Haggai's counterarguments are combined with his vilification of opponents as unclean and non-Israelite.