Cover | 1 |
Title Page | 4 |
Copyright | 5 |
Table of Contents | 6 |
Body | 10 |
List of Abbreviations | 10 |
Primary Literature | 10 |
Secondary Literature | 11 |
Preface | 16 |
Chapter 1 Introduction | 18 |
1.1 Performance Criticism | 20 |
1.1.1 Different Approaches to Performance | 20 |
1.1.2 Towards a Definition of Performance Criticism | 26 |
1.2 Performance and Ethnopoetics | 28 |
1.3 Performance and Folklore | 30 |
1.4 New Directions | 35 |
Chapter 2 Going Behind the Scenes: History of Scholarship | 38 |
2.1 History of Scholarship of Ancient Letters | 39 |
2.1.1 Greek Letters | 39 |
2.1.2 Aramaic Letters | 42 |
2.1.3 Hebrew Letters | 46 |
2.2 What is a Letter? | 50 |
2.3 History of Scholarship of MMT | 54 |
2.4 Observations | 57 |
Chapter 3 Setting the Stage: Methods | 58 |
3.1 Contributions of Historical Critical Methods | 59 |
3.1.1 Form Criticism | 59 |
3.1.2 Redaction Criticism | 61 |
3.2 Contributions of Recent Insights into Texuality | 62 |
3.2.1 Semiotics | 62 |
3.2.2 Oral Processes | 66 |
3.3 Observations | 72 |
Chapter 4 Preparing for the Performances | 74 |
4.1 From Text to Performance | 75 |
4.1.1 How to Read a Letter | 76 |
4.1.2 Letter Carriers and Readers | 82 |
4.2 Performances and Audiences | 84 |
4.2.1 Embodiment of a Text for an Audience | 85 |
4.2.2 Interaction with the Audience | 87 |
4.2.3 Authority of the Performer | 91 |
4.2.4 Performance and Cultural Memory | 94 |
4.3 Performance in Second Temple Judaism | 96 |
4.3.1 Some Scholarly Proposals for Jewish Scribal Traditions | 97 |
4.3.2 Performances of Ancient Jewish Letters | 99 |
4.3.3 Qumran Scribal Tradition | 101 |
4.4 Observations | 103 |
Chapter 5 Performances of two Free Standing Letters from Egypt | 106 |
5.1 Form And Function Of Ancient Letters | 107 |
5.2 Hermopolis Family Letter | 110 |
5.2.1 Text | 111 |
5.2.2 Texture | 114 |
5.2.3 Context | 123 |
5.3 Passover Letter | 127 |
5.3.1 Text | 128 |
5.3.2 Texture | 130 |
5.3.3 Context | 138 |
5.4 Summarizing the Performances | 140 |
Chapter 6 Performances of two Embedded Jewish Letters | 142 |
6.1 Aramaic Letters in Ezra: An Overview | 143 |
6.2 An Embedded Aramaic Letter: Ezra 5 | 146 |
6.2.1 Text | 146 |
6.2.2 Texture | 149 |
6.2.3 Context | 158 |
6.3 An Embedded Hebrew Letter: Jeremiah 29 | 161 |
6.3.1 Text | 162 |
6.3.2 Texture | 166 |
6.3.3 Context | 182 |
6.4 Summarizing the Performances | 186 |
Chapter 7 Performances of two Greek Letters | 188 |
7.1 An Embedded Letter in Greek Esther | 189 |
7.1.1 Text | 190 |
7.1.2 Texture | 193 |
7.1.3 Context | 205 |
7.2 An Introductory Letter to 2 Maccabees | 207 |
7.2.1 Text | 207 |
7.2.2 Texture | 214 |
7.2.3 Context | 219 |
7.3 Summarizing the Performances | 220 |
Chapter 8 A Case Study of the Performances of MMT | 222 |
8.1 Text | 223 |
8.1.1 Scene 1: Calendrical Section | 224 |
8.1.2 Scene 2: Legal Section | 226 |
8.1.3 Scene 3: Exhortation Section | 242 |
8.1.4 Evaluation of the evidence gathered from the text | 247 |
8.2 Texture | 248 |
8.2.1 Oral Register | 248 |
8.2.2 Cultural Traditions | 251 |
8.3 Context | 255 |
8.3.1 Late Second Century BCE Performances | 256 |
8.3.2 Late First Century BCE. Performance | 259 |
8.3.3 A Performance Reflecting on an Earlier Tradition | 261 |
8.4 Bringing the Performances Together | 264 |
Chapter 9 Conclusions | 268 |
Bibliography | 276 |
Ancient Literature | 304 |
Modern Authors | 310 |
Subject | 316 |