2004

The purpose of this chapter is to clarify some of the central thematic elements used in Job 29:1-20's nostalgic reflection on Job's role at the city gate ‘when God was with him’: all stereotypical thematic elements, which are frequently associated with ‘messianic’ figures, supporting the pedagogical function of identity creation, through which the pious are attracted to a figure's imitatio. That the development of such figures is hardly restricted by the presence of an anointed figure or even kingship, is already clear in the Book of Psalms.

On borrowing and dependence: the issue of sources in traditional literature

In a recent study, Antoinette Clarke Wire has attempted to relate the development of heroic stories by examining the oral character of early Jewish narratives and relating the elements so defined within an assumption of oral tradition. Much influenced by the studies of M. Parry and A. Lord's research into Serbo-Croatian oral tradition in relationship to Homer, as well as by some of the early studies of forms by A. Jolles and (more recently) D. E. Bynum, Clarke Wire set herself the task of applying some of the insights won from such research in epic literature to some of the shorter narratives or ‘legends’ of early Jewish tradition: narratives, which she sees as ‘apparently oral stories’ preserved in literary texts. She attempts to overcome the difficulties of identifying ‘storytelling performance’ by adapting methods developed by the folklore scholars, A. Dundes and D. Ben-Amos.