‘Speak, Hannah, and Do Not be Silent’: Pseudo-Philo's Deconstruction of Violence in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 50–51

This article argues that the movement from Hannah's silent prayer in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 50.5 (‘Hannah did not want to pray out loud’), to her bold declaration in 51.5 (‘I will speak my words openly’), interrupts a narrative trajectory involving violent zeal in Pseudo-Philo's rew...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lappenga, Benjamin J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2015
In: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2015, Volume: 25, Issue: 2, Pages: 91-110
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Philo, Alexandrinus 25 BC-40 / Hannah Mother of Samuel / Violence / Silence / Zealot
RelBib Classification:BH Judaism
HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Narrative
B Violence
B Hannah
B Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum
B Speech
B Zeal
B Prayer
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:This article argues that the movement from Hannah's silent prayer in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 50.5 (‘Hannah did not want to pray out loud’), to her bold declaration in 51.5 (‘I will speak my words openly’), interrupts a narrative trajectory involving violent zeal in Pseudo-Philo's rewritten biblical narrative. Throughout the narrative, the prayers of key individuals for God's merciful action on behalf of the people are rendered efficacious by acts of zeal (zelus) that are both public and violent (47.1-3). By contrast, Hannah's act of silent prayer (framed as ‘zeal’ in 50.5) is accepted as the accompanying act for the people's prayer (51.2). This vicarious action helps explain Hannah's expanded role as paradigmatic of all Israel in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum and serves to deconstruct the notion that acceptable zeal from Israel's leaders must be manifested with violence.
ISSN:1745-5286
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0951820715621196