'Let me tell you about a vineyard': An ecological reading of Isaiah 5:1--7.

摘要

Isaiah 5: 1-7 is presented as a poem spoken from a woman's perspective in the context of the social upheaval engulfing rural eighth century Judah. In the eighth century the shift from local to monarchical decision-making caused a crisis in communities. Traditional agricultural practices and kinship structures broke down, causing great hardship. Because women in rural communities were responsible for many aspects of life, they were in a unique position to critique events. In Isa 5: 1-7 this woman's perspective dominates the poem. Speaking for God and the naHalâ, she uses powerful rhetoric to address the injustice turning her world upside down. This thesis uses a socio-literary method, which is a synthesis of social-scientific criticism, rhetorical criticism, feminist analysis, and historical-critical methods. The social world of eighth century Judah is explored with attention to traditional agricultural practices and kinship structures, and to the changes that occurred to these with the monarchy. The poem's rhetorical strategy is analyzed in light of this social situation. A commitment to feminist analysis is reflected in the identification of a woman speaker and in sensitivity to the important place of women in ancient Near Eastern society. Historical-critical methods are applied to support the other methods. This thesis is also an ecological reading of Isa 5: 1-7. The Bible has been criticized for providing the ideological foundation of the ecological crisis. Critics point in particular to the dualistic hierarchies that are seemingly inherent to the biblical cosmos. Because it is imperative to address biblical studies to these issues and, whenever possible, to offer alternative, ecological readings, the method created for this thesis allows Isa 5:17 to be linked, using the technique of a distant comparison, to an analogous current social situation and rhetorical strategy: the Green Revolution in India and the rhetorical response of environmentalist Vandana Shiva. Drawing this analogy allows for conclusions relating to the ecological implications of the Isaiah passage.