Re/Use of Texts

Abstract

Breed structures his five-part article using Ricouer’s model of the three worlds of the text: “the world behind the text;” “the world in the text;” and “the world in front of the text.” In part one, Breed provides an overview of his article and states his purpose: to discuss “recent changes in biblical scholarship.” In part two, Breed describes historical criticism’s preoccupation with “behind the text” issues and the dominant position of historical criticism within biblical studies. He offers feminist criticism and feminist scholarship on the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34) as examples of change within the field. Breed highlights the shift to scholarship relating to the “world in the text” in part three and notes the role of the Dead Sea Scrolls in challenging previously held views regarding the redaction of the Hebrew Bible. Part four addresses the “world in front of the text” and the contributions of reception history within biblical studies. Breed proposes a possible way forward for the future of biblical studies in part five. He rejects Ricouer’s model as a way to organize the development of biblical studies. Rather than attempting to divide critical questions about the biblical text into Ricoeur’s “worlds,” Breed asserts, “It is reception history all the way down” (quoting Lyons). Breed argues that biblical scholars should consider themselves “nomadologists” who investigate the ways in which texts “move through a myriad of contexts.” Nomadologists would ask, “What can these texts do?".