Prayer in the Hebrew Bible: The Drama of Divine-Human Dialogue (review)

Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 106 Reviews PRAYER IN THE HEBREW BIBLE: THE DRAMA OF DIVINEHUMAN DIALOGUE. By Samuel E. Balentine. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Pp. xvi + 311. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. Paper, $18.00. Balentine begins his study of Hebrew prayer with a superb analysis of the rather sparse previous work on the subject. He attributes this lack to the excess intellectualism of the scholarly community and to a Protestant bias that views written prayers and prayers used in the cult as inferior to personal and spontaneous expressions of the heart. He notes that Mowinckel explained Gunkel's approach to the psalms as the result of a Protestant prejudice against formal expressions of public worship and a misunderstanding of the essence and importance of the cult (p. 11). Balentine's own perspective is more fully presented in chapter 9, in which he also presents a more detailed analysis of prominent Old Testament contributions in this area, including those of Wellhausen, Eichrodt, Hempel, von Rad, Barth, Westermann, and Brueggemann. Readers will need to judge for themselves the degree to which they concur with his theological stance and application. It is, however, refreshing to find within a scholarly work, honesty and sensitivity on the part of the author regarding the community and perspective which shaped his own views. This book is a synthesis of major aspects of the fundamental works of Corvin (evolution of narrative prayers as corollary to shifts from God's immanence to transcendence), Standt (people playa correlative role in shaping God's will through prayer), Greenberg (narrative prayers are used for portraying character), Westermann (bipolar life moving between lament and praise), Crenshaw (theodicy as the central issue of the Bible), and Brueggemann (laments as ministry in embracing pain, etc.). Brueggemann serves as editor of the Overtures series, wrote the preface to this book, and looms large in Balentine's overall approach. Of special interest to teachers of Hebrew literature is Balentine's focus on prayer in narratives as portraitures both of the one praying (for the purpose, for example, of confirming his office), as well as God. Although he does not wish to present a history of prayer, he seems to adopt Westermann's three-fold developmental schema (p. 210). He expressly desires to present a synchronic study, emphasizing the literary and theological functions of a text instead of forms and developments; however, he seems Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 107 Reviews to assume conclusions based on previous diachronic revisions. This is most apparent when he distinguishes between various traditions within a text that reflect contrasting points of view (as for example in his discussion of Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8, pp. 80-88). It is, therefore, questionable to what degree his approach really is synchronic. A notable exception is his excellent discussion of the prayer of Jonah (pp. 71-80), which is often regarded as a secondary and inappropriate addition to the narrative. Balentine views its characterization of Jonah as consistent with that portrayed in chapter 1. The prayer occurs in a position in the narrative between Jonah's responses to the first and the second call of God. One learns what moved him from flight to obedience only from the prayer. On a structural level, the prayer seems unexceptional. moving from expressions of need, to God's deliverance, to thanksgiving. But one finds expressions neither of repentance for fleeing from God nor of acquiescence to fulfill the mission. Rather. Jonah seems intent upon returning to Jerusalem. Balentine, furthermore. notes self-centeredness on Jonah's part, indicated by the frequent use of the emphatic first person pronoun. But then, after his deliverance, Jonah resumes his prayer with a change in the construction of the sentence: the Lord occupies the position of emphasis. Balentine questions the degree to which Jonah was submissive. In an interesting footnote, he presents a quick review of Hebrew words for "expel" and suggests that the word chosen ("vomit") further adds to Jonah's indignity . Balentine cites the use of the first person pronoun nine times in Jonah's second prayer (4:1-4) as further evidence of Jonah's self-centeredness . Jonah's focus is not on the "great evil" of Nineveh but...