Competing for honor : : a social-scientific reading of Daniel 1-6 / / by Shane Kirkpatrick.

• Superior document: Biblical interpretation series, v. 74
• Author: Kirkpatrick, Shane.
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English; Hebrew
• Series: Biblical interpretation series ; v. 74.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (214 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Using social-scientific criticism, this work presents a reading of Daniel 1-6 as literature of resistance. The characters and episodes of these tales are read against a backdrop of social competition for the cultural value of honor. Each of the tales of Daniel 1-6 is analyzed, revealing a comparison that is sustained throughout the compilation and that pits the Judean tradition in competition with a dominant foreign tradition. The dynamics of comparison and competition are explored in each tale with the help of social-scientific models depicting honor and exploring the related dynamics of purity, patronage, virtue, limited good, and envy. This work is particularly useful for scholars and students interested in social-scientific criticism and the value of that methodology for Hebrew Bible study, as well as for those interested in Daniel, honor and shame, ancient rhetoric, and cultural resistance in the postexilic period.

Table of Contents

PREFACE -- ABBREVIATIONS -- CHAPTER ONE, INTRODUCTION -- 1.0 Introduction -- 2.0 Social-Scientific Criticism -- 2.1 On the map of biblical interpretation -- 2.1.1 Three paradigms of biblical interpretation -- 2.1.2 Divisions within social-scientific criticism -- 2.1.3 Critique from the historical paradigm -- 2.1.4 Critique from the literary paradigm -- 2.1.5 Social-scientific reading -- 2.2 On the map of the social sciences -- 2.2.1 Divisions within the social sciences -- 2.2.2 Paradigms for cultural anthropology -- 2.2.3 The anthropology of honor -- 3.0 A Social-Scientific Reading of Daniel 1-6 -- 3.1 A model of honor -- 3.1.1 Definition of honor -- 3.1.2 Sources of honor -- 3.1.3 Achieving honor -- 3.1.4 Envy -- 3.1.5 Replication of honor -- 3.1.6 Symbols of honor -- 3.1.7 Collective honor -- 3.1.8 Honor-related social institutions -- 3.2 Thesis and prospectus -- CHAPTER TWO, RESISTANCE: DANIEL 1 -- 1.0 The Text -- 1.1 Daniel 1:1-7, 17-21 -- 1.2 Daniel 1:8-16 -- 2.0 The Model -- 2.1 For reading Daniel 1:1-7, 17-21 -- 2.2 For reading Daniel 1:8-16 -- 3.0 The Reading -- 3.1 Daniel 1:1-7 -- 3.2 Daniel 1:8-16 -- 3.2.1 Daniel and the diviners -- 3.2.2 Explicit comparison -- 3.2.3 Comparing more than diets -- 3.3 Daniel 1:17-21 -- 4.0 Summary -- CHAPTER THREE, EXCELLENCE: DANIEL 2 -- 1.0 The Text -- 1.1 Daniel 2:1-30, 46-49 -- 1.2 Daniel 2:31-45 -- 2.0 The Model -- 2.1 Challenge and riposte -- 2.2 The honor of virtuous deeds -- 3.0 The Reading -- 3.1 Daniel 2:1-13 -- 3.2 Daniel 2:14-30 -- 3.2.1 Daniel's temperance -- 3.2.2 Daniel's prudence -- 3.2.3 Daniel's righteousness -- 3.2.4 Honor through comparison -- 3.2.5 Honor through excellence -- 3.3 Daniel 2:31-45 -- 3.4 Daniel 2:46-49 -- 4.0 Summary -- CHAPTER FOUR, ENVY: DANIEL 3 AND 6 -- 1.0 The Text -- 1.1 Daniel 3 -- 1.2 Daniel 6 -- 2.0 The Model -- 2.1 Envy -- 2.2 Labelling and deviance theory -- 3.0 The Reading -- 3.1 Daniel 3 -- 3.2 Daniel 6 -- 3.2.1 Envy and honor -- 3.2.2 Labelling and deviance -- 4.0 Summary -- CHAPTER FIVE, SUCCESS AND FAILURE: DANIEL 4 AND 5 -- 1.0 The Text -- 1.1 Daniel 4 -- 1.2 Daniel 5 -- 2.0 The Model -- 2.1 Review of the dynamics of honor -- 2.2 Three-zone model of human personality -- 3.0 The Reading -- 3.1 Daniel 4 -- 3.2 Daniel 5 -- 4.0 Summary -- CHAPTER SIX, CONCLUSION -- 1.0 Review -- 1.1 The value of a social-scientific reading -- 1.2 Results of this social-scientific reading -- 1.3 Contribution of this social-scientific reading -- 2.0 Historical Transposition -- 3.0 Theological Reflection -- BIBLIOGRAPHY.