RBL 07/2007 Meadowcroft, Tim Haggai Readings: A New Biblical Commentary Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2006. Pp. xii + 257. Paper. $25.00. ISBN 1905048602. Henning Graf Reventlow University of the Ruhr Bochum, Germany This commentary on Haggai appeared as one of the first volumes of the new commentary series Readings, published by Sheffield Phoenix Press (in a way a successor to the former Sheffield Academic Press). Technically and according to its whole structure, it is a typical representative of the series following the program indicated in its title. Its intention is to follow the biblical text in a form of reading. In the present volume, the basic assumption of the author, as realized in the commentary itself (88 209), is to read the final text of the book of Haggai as a consecutive narrative, integrating the five prophetic words of Haggai into a single whole. This intention is underlined by the complete lack of foot- or endnotes in the commentary itself. Instead, they occur in a great number in the other parts of the book. Because the author is not satisfied with explaining the biblical text, he frames this central chapter with introducing and concluding chapters. The lengthy Prolegomena (1 40) could be regarded as a document of its own. It is a comprehensive essay on hermeneutics, a special interest of the author and the basis of his following treatment of the biblical book of Haggai. Schleiermacher s hermeneutical circle is the starting point of Meadowcroft s deliberations on reading a text as Haggai, in which basic tensions play a decisive role, as for instance the difference between the intention of the text or its author and the
response that is given to the text, between objective and subjective interpretation (4). Or, starting from the vantage points, the most extreme polarity is between viewing the text from the vantage point of the author or the reader. Both enter into a conversation over the text. The latter can be a critic trying to objectify the text or a reader serviced by the text. An important aspect is also the context. Meadowcroft distinguishes between two contexts: the personal context of the reader and the literary context. As regards the term narrative, Meadowcroft uses it in two senses: as a synonym for story, and to denote in broad terms an approach to the text which seeks to appreciate the aesthetics of a story and the role of imagination in interpretation (8). Compared with a propositional approach, a narrative can tell us as much as a set of propositions. Moreover, other forms in the Bible, such as songs and arguments, are embedded in narratives. At this point in his argument, Meadowcroft decides to read the received form of the biblical text. Obviously, this is a precondition for the method chosen, but labeling of his approach as canonical-critical (11), which soon follows, shows that this choice also has a theological background. Modern in methodology, the author is at the same time conservative in his belief, and we learn at the end of his book that he identifies himself as an ordained member of the Anglican Church in New Zealand and even describes his approach to Haggai as implicitly Christological (221). But we must not anticipate! Adopting R. Alter s concept of composite artistry and setting aside reflections about the (in his opinion) editorial material, Meadowcroft states: Accordingly, my reading of the received form also assumes that the sequence of narrative and oracle represented by MT is authentic. The literary coherence of the material in its received form may provide an argument for a single author of the book, or at least a compiler who shares the provenance and sympathies of Haggai himself (13). As regards the reader-oriented aspect of his commentary, Meadowcroft strictly dismisses the one-sided reader-response theory as argued by S. Fish, stressing that the historical context of Haggai and the circumstances of his message are essentials for a commentary on his book. For including the context and interests of the reader, Meadowcroft regards the speech-act theory as helpful, combined with the linguistic category of locution. It can be supplemented by relevance theory (D. Sperber, D. Wilson) and inference, that is, what a hearer or reader adds from his or her own context to understand an utterance. Applied to biblical interpretation, Meadowcroft ascertains that, besides the cognitive, affective aspects also play a role in understanding a biblical text, especially with metaphorical elements in a narrative context. Further, the commentator must decide whether he or she will acknowledge the position: I am reading Haggai on the premise that it is part of the text of sacred Scripture through which I expect to hear God speak (29).
In the following Meadowcroft debates the question why a text such as Haggai can be relevant for a modern reader in spite of its historical strangeness. One answer is that it mediates an encounter of God with humanity (31; see n. 70). But to this statement must be added that, in the frame of the limits of interpretation posed by biblical texts, the aspect of communication must be supplemented by the belief that divine discourse must be true, which is inescapably a faith commitment (33). For this Meadowcroft uses the newer term implicature (instead of the usual implication ; 32 33). Using a formulation of N. Wolterstorff, Meadowcroft speaks of divine discourse, which means that the biblical authors know these things about God (34). This is close to but also different from the classical verbal inspiration and distinguishes Meadowcroft s opinion from a fundamentalist outlook. On the other side, Haggai s oracles are introduced in the book itself as word-event (1:2, 5, 7; 2:6, 11), indicating that the understanding of the editors was less rational than this definition presumes. Meadowcroft himself at different places stresses the importance of the word of the Lord, especially in connection with the recurring exact dating (93). He also remarks that his position is completely opposite to P. R. Davies s standpoint in his book Whose Bible Is it Anyway (1995). Recourse to W. Vischer also allows including a christological outlook. The second part of the book (41 87) comprises an introduction. It can be divided into two different halves. The first half (41 80) describes the historical background of Haggai s message and his hearers as well as the literary setting of the book. Special stress is laid on the emphasis on the temple and the personalities of Joshua and Zerubbabel in connection with the people whom they lead. Meadowcroft also marks the exact dates of the oracles, all of them in the second regnal year of the Persian king Darius I (between the sixth and ninth months = August December 520 B.C.E.). Meadowcroft tries to understand the special interest in Zerubbabel and the temple on the part of Haggai and his heirs who composed the narrative within a comparatively short temporal distance between the prophet s activity and the final text that later gained a canonical status. Special contexts are Haggai s special interest in the temple and the Davidic tradition, personified in the two names Joshua and Zerubbabel. Meadowcroft takes the trouble to clear the importance of the temple by conferring the Qumran material on the temple and some judgments about it. In Qumran the topic is also connected with hopes for a restitution of kingdom and the Zadokite priesthood, also with the realization of a restored Israel. Meadowcroft places Haggai at a stage before Qumran but with similar tendencies. An unsolved problem remains the final oracle in 2:23, where Zerubbabel is given a special place as servant and (royal) signet ring at YHWH s hand, whereas Joshua is not mentioned. (By the way, Joshua s special role in Zech 3 obviously depends on the fact that this chapter does not belong to the original series of Zechariah s night visions. )
The second half (81 87) deals with the position of Haggai in the Book of the Twelve. Here Meadowcroft arrives at some doubtful conclusions. Comparing the critical position of the earlier prophets against the actual cultic practice of their times with Haggai s advocating the rebuilding of the temple and Malachi s prophecy of the coming messenger of the covenant (Mal 3:1), he sees a development in which the cult praxis in the temple was just a passing phase, to be replaced by a more spiritual relationship between the people and their God. This view seems to contain a touch of the typical Protestant bias against the cult. One should take Haggai s striving for a regenerated temple cult as a theological position in earnest. In the main commentary on the book of Hag (88 209), Meadowcroft interprets the text in a discourse analysis (see appendix A), which connects the six oracles 1:1 2; 1:3 12; 1:13 15a; 1:15b 2:9; 2:10 19; 2:20 23 (Meadowcroft regards 1:1 2 as a separate oracle) with the narrative framing, taking the received text as the textual basis for his exegesis. He adopts the obvious intentions of the editors who framed the oracles by a series of exact dates that marked a progression in the message of the prophet from his first oracle in 1:2 11 (according to Meadowcroft a bit shorter than the second, but it seems doubtful whether 1:1 2 can be a complete oracle; it would be a fragment, just quoting the voice of the people upon which the answer does not follow until 1:4). Meadowcroft s comments are structured in short paragraphs, each with a heading in bold letters in which important aspects are discussed. For instance, one of this paragraphs, Distinctiveness of Dating in Haggai (91 93), contains the important observation that the basic reference for dating events in the Jewish calendar has changed, if compared with the normal scheme in the preexilic period: whereas formerly the years were numbered according to the reigning years of a Judahite (earlier also an Israelite) king, now the foreign emperor s reigning years are the basis for calculating dates. This detail makes it clear that the Jews whether returned exiles or people remained in the country are now subjects of a Gentile empire, living in restricted circumstances for political life. It is not possible to follow the mostly carefully elaborated exegesis in all its details. There are also problematic approaches. One especially striking example (99 100) is an attempt at intertextual analysis: Starting with Haggai s particular designation as the prophet (1:1, 3, 12; 2:1, 10), Meadowcroft sees an intertextual connection to Nathan in 2 Sam 7 and 12, who also is introduced as the prophet, and David, who compared the splendor of his own house with the situation of the tabernacle. An actual connection between both texts would, however, presuppose that the editors of Haggai had the Samuel texts or the Deuteronomistic work as a whole before them when composing the book of Haggai, a far-fetched assumption lacking every proof. In this matter Meadowcroft follows a postmodern hermeneutical fashion that in its extreme use leads to unlikely results. But
these are exemptions in a normally instructive exegesis. Another problem is whether a covenantal interpretation of Haggai s message is fitting perhaps introduced because the cultic claim to rebuild the temple as the most important first step sounds strange in modern Western ears. On the other side, the obvious position of Haggai as an episode in the longer story of the struggle to restore Judah at the end of the sixth century BCE (210) is an important aspect that the author rightly stresses. We enter a completely different territory when reading the concluding reflections (210 42) under the heading The Contemporary Relevance of Haggai. In these pages Meadowcroft starts from the catchword restoration as typical for the Jewish people during the whole period. Special characteristics of the period are the temporal tension between history and eschatology and the spatial tension between life as subjects of a foreign empire and the hope of a coming independence. The admonition to act accordingly, as God s people in building the temple and in daily life, are an important message of the book. Meadowcroft closes with a detailed consideration (221 42) about what in the book could be important for a modern, Western reader. He indicates that his approach is implicitly christological (221, se above). Modern problems such as our ecosystem or the fractured world play a role. Meadowcroft mentions other ideas such as the church nowadays in exile and the wish for restoration and outward mission versus the wish of maintaining the institution. Finally, the mission of restoring the creation is in view. These considerations are normally not expected in a biblical commentary but could be found in a preaching meditation. They look also like the typical themes discussed by Western peoples at the beginning of the third millennium.