'Should we stay or should we go?': A study of narrative space in Jeremiah 37--45.

摘要

The purpose of the dissertation was to analyze the use of narrative space in Jeremiah 37--45. Narrative space was comprised of locations and movement within those locations. The methodology for this study was the "close reading" method of narrative criticism. For the study of location, the text was divided into three sections: events in Jerusalem, events in the land of Judah, and events in Egypt. Within those units, locations were categorized as geopolitical, architectural, and topographical. For the study of movement, verbs indicating movement of characters, or a specific absence of movement, within and between locations were considered. Regarding aspect, verbs were divided into three categories: voluntary active, involuntary active, and passive. Observations were made pertaining to repetition, patterns, recurring motifs, and structural devices.;Following the analysis of locations and movement, the findings were applied to the elements of characterization, plot, and rhetorical structure. In light of the findings on narrative space, Jeremiah was shown to be a passive character who constantly submitted to the authority of Zedekiah and the remnant. Zedekiah was revealed to be a character concerned with his own authority and control. Numerous parallels were revealed between the chapters concerned with Zedekiah and those concerned with the remnant. The dissertation argued that the plot of the narrative is the final disobedience of the remnant in light of the positive and negative examples set by Jeremiah and Zedekiah, respectively. The narrative problem is the decision between staying in the land and submitting to Babylon, or fleeing the land and submitting to Egypt. The climax of the narrative comes following Jeremiah's message that they should stay. Instead, the remnant chose to leave.;The proposed literary structure of the narrative has two parts: chapters 37--39 and chapters 40--45. Both parts have alternating scenes of consultation and capture, and both end with an oracle of salvation. The first unit has three cycles of consultation/capture while the second unit has two cycles. This in-depth study of narrative space in an isolated text hopefully will lead to similar studies of a device that is mentioned often but seldom investigated with a thorough method.