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Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 177 Reviews Hamlin considers the encounter at the threshing floor to be an opportunity for further character development of Ruth and Boaz. He mentions the sexual electricity which pervades this part of the story and considers it important in emphasizing the positive qualities Boaz represents. He also calls attention to the way the daring nature of the encounter enhances the movement of the story, keeping the reader uncertain about how particular events will turn out. Ruth's marriage to Boaz provides the climax of the story. Hamlin suggests that the end of the story provides four different views of the marriage . The first is Boaz's view (4:9-10) of the marriage as a future for the family. Second, the people (4:11b-12) view the marriage as a future for the people of God. The third view is that of the women (4:14-17); they view the marriage as a future for Naomi. The fourth and final view is that of the narrator (4:18-22), who views the marriage as a future for society. The latter is accomplished by means of the genealogy with which the book ends, culminating in the mention of David. In a brief epilogue, Hamlin suggests contemporary applications for the story. 'He does this primarily by mentioning key themes from the story. Among them are: hope for the powerless, reflection on the life-threatening reality of being female, and, finally, the way this story provides a correction to the narrow ethnocentrism of Ezra-Nehemiah. The commentary is brief, but treats the issues of the text competently. One of the surprising elements of the commentary is the amount of attention given to important Hebrew terms which appear in the course of the story. These discussions are carefully done, yet communicate clearly even to persons who have no Hebrew background. Gerald L. Keown Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity Boiling Springs, NC 28017 READING ESTHER: A CASE FOR THE LITERARY CARNIV ALESQ UE. By Kenneth Craig. Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation. Pp. 192. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995. Paper. Recent years have seen a spate of books in which exegetes apply to the biblical text some idea or methodology drawn from secular literary criti- Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 178 Reviews cism. The book under consideration here joins that number as its author attempts an analysis of the Hebrew Bible's book of Esther using concepts developed by the late Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin. While this is a worthy effort and Craig is to be congratulated for being the first to make this attempt and for the sensitive reading which has resulted, this book has some weaknesses. Craig divides his work into two sections. In the first two chapters, he summarizes the state of research on Esther, alerts the reader that he will concentrate on the version of Esther which appears in the Masoretic Text, and very briefly sketches the life and work of Mikhail Bakhtin, attempting to place him in the context of Russian literary theory as it was developing earlier in this century. The latter section of the book, entitled "Esther and the Literary Carnivalesque," applies Bakhtin's concepts to Esther in four chapters entitled "Prelude," "Peripety:' "Parody," and "Purim." There is also a bibliography, largely of English language material on Esther, with a few entries on Bakhtin and literary theory. Craig's thesis is that Esther is an early example of what Bakhtin calJed serio-comical writing, more specificaJJy the sort of serio-comical writing called menippean satire. Typical of this genre is caricature, parody, sometimes burlesque, eccentric behavior, inappropriate actions, sharp contrasts such as ups and downs, transitions and shifts, rises and falls, and a final utopian, universalistic attitude toward the world (p. 40). All of these, according to Craig, are to be found in Esther (p. 41) and reflect an attitude called the carnivalesque, about which Bakhtin wrote in Rabelais and his World. Craig finds in Esther the same sort of dissolution of hierarchy, the same inverted logic, and, in general, the same carnivalesque atmosphere "where virtually all the episodes are presented by the author in the popular-festive carnival spirit" (p. 33). That Esther...

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