Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines the relationship between divine in/activity and human agency in the five books of the Megilloth—the books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther. As works of literature dating to the early Second Temple period (ca. 6th–3rd centuries BCE), these books and the implicit interpretation of these particular themes reflect the diverse cultural and theological dynamics of the time. Megan Fullerton Strollo contends that the themes themselves as well as the correlation between them should be interpreted as implicit theology insofar as they represent reflective interpretation of earlier theological traditions. With regard to divine in/activity, she argues that the Megilloth presents a certain level of skepticism or critical analysis of the Deity. From doubt to protest, the books of the Megilloth grapple with received traditions of divine providence and present experiences of absence, abandonment, and distance. As a correlative to divine in/activity, human agency is presented as consequential. In addition, the portrayal of human agency serves as a theological response insofar as the books advance the theme through specific references to and reevaluations of earlier theocentric traditions.
Table of ContentsChapter 1: “Such A Time As This” (Esth 4:14): The Megilloth and the Sociocultural Landscape of the Second Temple Period
Chapter 2: A Lover and a Fighter: Interpreting Divine In/Activity in the Megilloth
Chapter 3: Divine Uncertainty: Interpreting Divine In/Activity among the Megilloth
Chapter 4: “So Both of Them Went Along” (Ruth 1:19): Human Agency in the Megilloth
Chapter 5: “We Can Do It!”: Female Agency among the Megilloth
