Intertextuality and Biblical Studies: A Review (original) (raw)

Intertextuality and New Testament Studies

Currents in Biblical Research, 2022

Intertextuality is a hermeneutical strand of poststructuralism. In biblical scholarship, since Hays's influential work Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (1989), the term has also been employed to refer to a later text's interpretation of an earlier text. Regrettably, however, for the past three decades, scholars have failed to come to a consensus on how to understand and apply intertextuality in New Testament studies. Though both literary and biblical studies employ the same term intertextuality, their conception and application of intertextuality differs substantially. Accordingly, this essay will sketch how literary and biblical studies have perceived and utilized the concept of intertextuality. Following this, the study will evaluate these approaches. Finally, the present essay will conclude with a proposal for how to relate intertextuality and New Testament studies that is a cogent middle ground between poststructuralism and biblical studies, thereby compensating for both sides' deficiencies.

The Ideological Inception of Intertextuality and its Dissonance in Current Biblical Studies

Much confusion surrounds the term 'intertextuality', especially regarding its usage in biblical studies today. Though the origin of the technical usage of the term is casually noted by many authors, few seem to note its implications. This essay will retrace the postmodern origins of 'intertextuality', namely in Julia Kristeva, and show that its usage in biblical studies today is dissonant to its original intent. In the second part of this essay, I will focus on the work of Richard Hays, who is commonly understood to have first applied the term in biblical studies, in relation to the presence of the Old Testament in the New Testament. After my analysis, I propose an alternative that I consider to be a clearer option, so as not to confuse the current usage of the term with its original intent.

Significant Assumptions: On the Methodology of Intertextuality and Inner-Biblical Exegesis

in The End from the Beginning” Festschrift Honoring Merling Alomía, 2015

In recent years a variety of exegetical methods have appeared, emphasizing many forms of literary analysis for biblical texts. In fact, it is well known that some scholars have a growing interest in an approach to the scriptures through the possible connections of the texts, that is to say, connections between early records and later allusions. From this perspective, two known approaches have emerged; these are intertextuality and inner-biblical exegesis. This paper will attempt to review some methodological assumptions of these two approaches.

"Intertextuality, Inner-Biblical Exegesis, and Inner-Biblical Allusion: The Ethics of a Methodology"

Biblica 95 (2014): 280-91

Intertextuality has been used to label a plethora of investigations into textual relationships. During the past few decades, the debate regarding the definition of intertextuality has largely been resolved, yet scholars continue to misuse the term to refer to diachronic and/or author-centered approaches to determining textual relationships. This article calls for employing methodological vocabulary ethically by outlining the primary differences between - and different uses for - intertextuality, inner-biblical exegesis, and inner-biblical allusion.

The Changing Face of Intertextuality

2020

This draft addresses intertextuality in relation to the term's origin in post-structuralism and adaptation by biblical interpreters who are not poststructuralists. It addresses intertextuality's development inside and outside of biblical studies. This excerpt comes from a longer article entitled, "Ancient Midrash in the Age of Intertextuality,” in New Studies in Textual Interplay, ed. Craig A. Evans, B. J. Oropeza, and Paul T. Sloan; Studiesin Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity 20/Library of New Testament Studies 632 (London: T. & T. Clark,2020), 9-28. ISBN 978-0567-67897-3. The complete essay in this monograph is highly recommended.

Intertextuality: A Recent History of Interpretation

Intertextuality has been influential in the field of literary studies ever since Bulgarian philosopher Julia Kristeva coined the term in the late 1960s. This draft paper surveys major intertextual works, especially those related to New Testament interpretation.