论文部分内容阅读
圣经叙事和诗歌的一个极其重要的维度,是文本赖以建构之文学惯例和技巧的复杂背景。由于主要为了求得神学真理和道德教训的圣经阅读延续了千百年之久,我们已经失去许多开启这类惯例和技巧的钥匙。对于更充分地阅读圣经文本而言,所需要的是一种文学考古学,类似于对古代以色列物质文化进行确凿发掘的考古学程序。借助于耐心的分析和细致的推理,有可能发现古代叙事和诗歌赖以构造成文学作品的诸多特定方式。继而,这种发现性工作能使我们更清晰地看到圣经文本是如何运作的。它无法提供某种自动组装的诠释,因为诠释总会涉及想象行为,但它却能为诠释提供更可靠的依据,并帮助作为读者的我们体验古代文本的精微奥妙和错综复杂之处。
An extremely important dimension of biblical narratives and poetry is the complex background of literary conventions and techniques upon which texts are constructed. Since Bible reading, primarily for theological and moral reasons, has been going on for thousands of years, we have lost many of the keys to such practices and techniques. What is needed for a fuller reading of the biblical text is a literary archeology, analogous to the archaeological process that unequivocally explored the material and cultural heritage of ancient Israel. With patient analysis and detailed reasoning, it is possible to discover many specific ways in which ancient narratives and poems build upon literary works. In turn, this discoverability allows us to see more clearly how the Bible texts work. It does not provide some sort of automated assembly interpretation, since interpretation always involves imagination, but it provides a more reliable basis for interpretation and helps readers, as we are, to understand the subtle nuances and intricacies of ancient texts.