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Landscapes of Korean and Korean American Biblical Interpretation LANDSCAPES OF KOREAN AND KOREAN AMERICAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION INTERNATIONAL VOICES IN BIBLICAL STUDIES Jione Havea Jin Young Choi Musa W. Dube David Joy Nasili Vaka’uta Gerald O. West Number 10 LANDSCAPES OF KOREAN AND KOREAN AMERICAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Edited by John Ahn Atlanta Copyright © 2019 by SBL Press All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, SBL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019938032 Printed on acid-free paper. For our parents, grandparents, and mentors Rev. Dr. Joshua Yoo K. Ahn, PhD and Ruth Soon Hee Ahn (John Ahn) Sarah Lee and Memory of Du Soon Lee (Hannah S. An) Chun Hee Cho and Soon Ja Cho (Paul K.-K. Cho) SooHaeing Kim and Memory of DaeJak Ha (SungAe Ha) Rev. Soon-Young Hong and Hae-Sun Park (Koog-Pyoung Hong) Rev. Seok-Gu Kang and Tae-Soon Kim (Sun-Ah Kang) Rev. Dong Bin Kim and Bong Joo Lee (Hyun Chul Paul Kim) Namkyu Kim and Rev. Dr. Gilsoon Park, PhD (Sehee Kim) Rev. Yong Soon Lim and Sang Nan Yoo (Eunyung Lim) Rev. Dr. Chae-Woon Na, PhD, LittD and Young-Soon Choe (Kang-Yup Na) Kyoung Hee Nam and Soon Young Kang (Roger S. Nam) Kyung-Jin Kwon and Kathleen Greider (Hee-Kyu Heidi Park) Ye Hun Park and Young Sook Shin (Kyungmi Park) Ho Neung Shin and Young Bok Lee (SuJung Shin) CONTENTS Preface ....................................................................................................... ix Abbreviations ............................................................................................ xi Introduction: Toward a Methodology for Korean and Korean American Biblical Interpretation .............................................................. 1 John Ahn The Case of Suspected Adultery (Num 5:11–31) in Light of the Hittite Instructions for the Priests and Temple Officials (CTH 264) ..................................................................... 19 Hannah S. An Divine Jealousy, Human Zeal: Self-Psychology and the Kenotic in Numbers 25 ............................................................. 37 קנא Spirituality of Hee-Kyu Heidi Park State, War, and Women ............................................................................ 49 Kyungmi Park A “Dialogic” Hero David from the Perspective of “Internally Persuasive Words” in the Narrative of Samuel ......................................... 59 SuJung Shin Murder, Adultery, and Theft ..................................................................... 73 John Ahn Ethics of Remembering: Scapegoating Manasseh after the Sewol Ferry Tragedy ................................................................................. 99 Koog-Pyoung Hong Half Speak Ashdodite and None Can Speak Judean: Code-Switching in Ezra-Nehemiah as an Identity Marker for Repatriate Judeans and Koreans ............................................................... 119 Roger S. Nam -vii- viii KOREAN AND KOREAN AMERICAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Rereading “a Virtuous Woman (’ēšet hayil)” in Proverbs 31:10–31 ....... 133 Sun-Ah Kang Job the Penitent: Whether and Why Job Repents (Job 42:6) .................... 145 Paul K.-K. Cho An Invitation for Postcolonial Reading of the Prophetic Tradition Claiming Imperial Powers as God’s Agents in the Context of American Colonialism in Korea ............................................. 175 SungAe Ha Perils of Betraying a Deity: Parallels between Ezekiel 16 and The Sumerian Myth “Unfaithfulness” ............................................... 187 Sehee Kim Crossing Boundaries: Daniel’s Three Friends Meet Rev. Ki-chol Chu of Colonized Korea .............................................................. 195 Hyun Chul Paul Kim Of Great Walls, DMZs, and Other Lines in the Sand: Galatians Demythologized and Deconstructed ......................................... 217 Kang-Yup Na Eve and Norea Retold: The Power of Storytelling in Nature of the Rulers .................................................................................. 241 Eunyung Lim Bibliography ............................................................................................. 251 List of Contributors ................................................................................... 277 Index of Primary Sources .......................................................................... 279 Index of Modern Authors .......................................................................... 289 PREFACE The present volume represents the work of Korean and Korean American biblical scholars from South Korea (Republic of Korea) and the United States. First and foremost, the contributors have made the volume possible. Much appreciation goes out to each contributor. Collectively, the volume has given voice and birth to a new consciousness. Culturally speaking, because Koreans and Korean Amer- icans prefer to work and operate independently, this collective effort is a true milestone. As the current president of the Korean Biblical Colloquium (KBC), I express my deepest gratitude to John Kutsko and the Society of Biblical Literature Coun- cil for having envisioned the 2016 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (IMSBL) in Seoul, South Korea with other leaders, including Yun Lak Chung (Anyang University), Koog- Pyoung Hong (Yonsei University), and espe- cially Tai Il Wang (Methodist Theological University). The IMSBL in 2016 was a seminal venue for all Korean, diaspora Korean, and Korean American biblical scholars. I also express my deepest gratitude to Jione Havea, Monica Melanchthon, Bob Buller, and the editorial board of the International Voices in Biblical Studies for accepting this work for publication. Finding the right home for a new volume is no easy task. I want to thank the anonymous peer reviewers who offered helpful insights and input and also for endorsing this volume for publication. Much ap- preciation also goes out to Nicole Tilford. Lastly, but not least, the dedication and exceptional work of three graduate students, Isaiah Ahn, Joe Harris, and Jamila Bess-Johnson have been instrumental in bringing the present volume to completion. John Ahn Washington, DC -ix- ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABD Freedman, D. N., ed. Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. ABG Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte AfOB Archiv für Orientforschung: Beiheft AIL Ancient Israel and Its Literature ANET Pritchard, J. B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ASR American Sociological Review ASV American Standard Version ATAT Arbeiten zu Text und Sprache im Alten Testament BA Biblical Archaeologist BAR Biblical Archeology Review BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BBB Bonner biblische Beiträge BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research BDB Brown F., S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. A Hebrew and Eng- lish Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1907. BE Biblische Enzyklopädie BibInt Biblical Interpretation BibOR Biblica et orientalia BHS Elliger, K., and W. Rudolph, eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarten- sia. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. BJS Brown Judaic Studies BKAT Biblischer Kommentar, Altes Testament BN Bilische Notizen BR Biblical Research BRS Biblical Resource Series BT Bible Translator BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament BZ Biblische Zeitschrift BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft -xi- xii KOREAN AND KOREAN AMERICAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION CAD Gelb, Ignace J., et al. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1956–2010. CANE Sasson, J., ed. Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. 4 vols. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1995. CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CHD Güterbock, Hans G., Harry A. Hoffner Jr., and Theo P. J. van den Hout, eds. The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of Chicago, 1980–. CTH Catalogue des texts hittites; supplements in RHA 30 (1972) 94- 133 and RHA 33 (1975) 68-71 CTJ Calvin Theological Journal DBAT Dielheimer Blätter zum Alten Testament und seiner Rezeption in der Aten Kirche DJD Discoveries in the Judean Desert DMOA Documenta et monumenta Orientis antiqui ESHM European Seminar in Historical Methodology Evth Evangelische Theologie FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament FMR Forced Migration Review FOLT Forms of the Old Testament Literature FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments GBS Guides to Biblical Studies GK (GKC) Kautzsch, E., ed. Gesnius’ Hebrew Grammar. Translated by A. E. Cowley. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910. HALOT Koehler, L., W. Baumgartner, and J. J. Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the supervision of M. E. J. Richardsho. 4 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1994–1999 HAR Hebrew Annual Review HAT Handbuch zum Alten Testament HBM Hebrew Bible Monographs HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology HCOT Historical Commentary on the Old Testament HED Puhvel, Jann. Hittite Etymological Dictionary. Berlin, 1984–. HKAT Handkommentar zum Alten
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