PART II

Are prophecies characterized by the individual features or personalities of specific prophets? For example, how do we explain the images, diction, and strategies used by one prophet being different from those used by another?

先知發(fā)布的預言是否會(huì )因為個(gè)人特點(diǎn)或性格而有所區別？比如說(shuō)我們如何來(lái)解釋一個(gè)先知與另一個(gè)先知使用的意象、措辭和策略有所不同的情況呢？

Yes, of course. Prophets are individuals. Just compare Amos and Hosea. Amos is hard-hitting and very judgmental; there is not a lot of compassion in this prophet, while Hosea gives a very compassionate message. Even his view of God is different from that of Amos. For example, he preaches that God is very reluctant to give up his people; God says: “How can I give you up O Ephraim?” (Hos 11:8). So even the God portrayed by Hosea is different from the God portrayef by Amos. God has many aspects, of course, yet God is portrayed differently by different prophets. Jeremiah shows characteristics of both Amos and Hosea. He is hard-hitting, and yet very compassionate. Look also at Ezekiel, who does such bizarre things to dramatize his prophecies. Some scholars have thought that Ezekiel had mental illness. He lies on his back for 100 days at a time, and does things Jeremiah or other prophets would never think to do, but Ezekiel does them. So yes, prophets are still human and have their own characteristics. And they present a different window into the nature of God. One must recognize that.

是的，當然了。先知都是獨立的個(gè)體。例如阿摩司和何西阿。阿摩司言辭犀利、厲行審判。 在阿摩司身上看不到太多的同情，相較而言何西阿的預言則極富同情。甚至他對上帝的看法都與阿摩司不同。比如，他宣揚上帝不愿放棄自己的子民?！?a href='/yiselie/' target=_blank>以色列啊，我怎能棄絕你？”（何11:8），所以何西阿預言中上帝的形象與阿摩司預言中上帝的形象是不同的。上帝是有多面的，因而，不同先知預言中上帝的形象也是不同的。 耶利米先知身上既有阿摩司的犀利也兼具何西阿的同情。又如以西結，他是個(gè)常結異象的神。有些學(xué)者判斷以西結患有精神疾病。他曾經(jīng)臥床一百天，做了一些耶利米或是其他先知不會(huì )做的事情。 所以肯定的是，先知仍然是人，他們有自己的特點(diǎn)。我們必須認識到的是先知為我們提供了了解上帝本質(zhì)的窗口。

Or we may say that these prophets work as mirrors that reflect the different aspects of God. But if prophets are interpreting the message of God in their individual ways, how can we make sure that the messages they are delivering are authentically the message of God?

或者我可以這樣理解么：不同的先知好似鏡子一樣映射出上帝的不同方面。但是如果先知們是在按照自己的理解來(lái)傳遞信息，我們如何能確認他們傳遞的信息是真實(shí)無(wú)誤的上帝的意旨呢？

You have to take it as it comes. Also, you cannot expect that God’s message is going to be the same from every one speaking for him. It is the same today. If you carefully analyze the preaching of good preachers—forget the bad preachers— you will see that they are different and you have to accept these differences. That is the complexity of revelation. Revelation does not issue in a unified view of God. You just have to just accept that.

先知如何預言我們就要如何接受。而且我們不能期待上帝的意旨從每個(gè)預言人口中傳遞的都如出一轍。即便如今，也依然如此。如果我們仔細分析教牧的傳道內容（忘記那些不好的吧），我們會(huì )發(fā)現一些不同，也必須要接受這些不同。這正是上帝啟示的復雜性，因為它們展現的并非上帝唯一的觀(guān)點(diǎn)。在這種時(shí)候，我們只能接受上帝觀(guān)點(diǎn)的多面性。

A related thing. Prophets are giving prophecy from their more or less personal perspective, but the message is delivered to an audience, often a public audience. Prophecy can address a king or another specific listener, but generally speaking, prophetic messages are public in nature. How can we find a balance between the private and the public?

我接下來(lái)的這個(gè)問(wèn)題也與您上面的回答相關(guān)。這些先知在給出預言的時(shí)候或多或少會(huì )帶有一些私人觀(guān)點(diǎn)，但是信息是要傳遞給某位聽(tīng)眾或者公眾。預言有時(shí)是向過(guò)往或者某個(gè)特殊的聽(tīng)眾發(fā)布的，但總體來(lái)說(shuō)，先知預言本質(zhì)上是面向公眾的。那我們怎么來(lái)尋求面向個(gè)人的與公眾的平衡點(diǎn)？

I don’t know. It is hard. One thing to keep in mind is that times change. So, for example, Isaiah in his time is the great prophet of peace, but Jeremiah, except for a few prophecies about the distant future, doesn't preach peace at all. The reason is that the prophets prophesying peace in his time are false prophets. Times have changed, and God’s message has changed. Here It is not so much that prophets are individuals who bring different messages, although that may have something to do with it. It is because the times have changed. What was true 100 years ago may not be true today, and that is what happened in the time of Jeremiah. The false prophets were preaching the message of Isaiah, but God wasn't giving that message. God had another message, so Jeremiah's preaching became different from the preaching of Isaiah. The genuine prophet responds correctly to the times in which he is living, and has to do it if he is going to get the message right. More than that I cannot say. This is a perceptive question and difficult to give a definitive answer. But when you look at the total picture, you simply have to recognize existing differences, try to understand them, and accept them.

這是個(gè)很難回答的問(wèn)題。另一個(gè)要牢記在心的事實(shí)是時(shí)代在變遷。例如，在那個(gè)時(shí)代，以賽亞是一名宣揚和平的偉大先知，而耶利米除了少數幾次對遙遠的未來(lái)進(jìn)行預言以外，他完全不教化關(guān)于和平的事情。這是因為在耶利米的時(shí)代，發(fā)布關(guān)于和平預言的先知是假先知。時(shí)代改變了，上帝的神諭也改變了。這并不是先知們因為個(gè)人原因而在傳達信息上出現了小小差別，盡管也有些關(guān)系，但最主要的原因是時(shí)代改變了。百年前被看作是真理的話(huà)在今天可能不再是真理，耶利米時(shí)代正是這樣的情況。假先知在發(fā)布以賽亞發(fā)布的預言，但并非上帝的神諭。上帝傳遞給耶利米不同的神諭，因而耶利米發(fā)布的預言與以賽亞不同。真正的先知會(huì )對他所生活的時(shí)代進(jìn)行準確的預言，為了能夠保證預言的準確性他們也必須這樣做。這個(gè)問(wèn)題，我大概說(shuō)這么多。這是個(gè)非常有洞見(jiàn)的問(wèn)題，很難給出一個(gè)確定的答案。我想當我們總攬全局之時(shí)，會(huì )發(fā)現不同并接受它們。

In your book Biblical Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism you are advocating a rhetorical approach to the biblical text. Would you please show us the advantage of this approach and how it will enable people to better understand messages contained in ure?

在您的《圣經(jīng)修辭和修辭學(xué)批評》一書(shū)中，您提倡了一種用修辭學(xué)來(lái)解讀圣經(jīng)文本的方式。您是否可以闡述一下這種方式的優(yōu)勢，以及它如何輔助人們更好的理解圣經(jīng)的信息？

Biblical rhetoric and rhetorical criticism are main interests of mine, and in the book you cited, my Jeremiahcommentary, other writings, and in my teaching at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong, as well as elsewhere, I have emphasized a rhetorical approach to interpreting the biblical text. I can perhaps give you a few examples of how biblical scribes wrote up their accounts and also compiled the compositions we now have in our Bible. Some of their scribal work is similar to what modern writers and editors do today, but some is different.

圣經(jīng)修辭和修辭學(xué)批評是我研究的興趣所在，在你提及的那本書(shū)中、我關(guān)于以賽亞的文章、其他的一些文章、以及我在香港信義宗神學(xué)院的教學(xué)中等等，我都強調過(guò)使用修辭學(xué)的角度來(lái)解讀圣經(jīng)文本。我用幾個(gè)例子你就可以看到圣經(jīng)的謄寫(xiě)者如何行文以及我們現在所讀到的圣經(jīng)是如何成書(shū)的。其中的一部分書(shū)寫(xiě)和我們如今的作家、編輯的工作是類(lèi)似的，但也有一些不同。

First, rhetoric in writing up narrative. You know the great passage in 2 Samuel 7 of the Old Testament, where King David tells the prophet Nathan that he wants to build a house for Yahweh. He has a nice house himself, and the ark of God is just dwelling in a tent. Nathan says, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for Yahweh is with you.” But then, during the night, Nathan gets this message from Yahweh: “Go and tell David: Why should you build me a house? I will instead build you a house.” The scribe here preserves a play on the word “house,” which in Hebrew can mean both a building and a line of descendants. In rhetorical terms this is called “paronomasia.” David had in mind a house of stone and cedar, a temple, but Yahweh has in mind a house of descendants, a line of sons succeeding him. This was God’s eternal covenant to David, to give him an everlasting royal line. So when you read this passage you need to recognize the wordplay to gain an enriched interpretation.

首先，我們來(lái)看一下修辭在敘述中的應用。撒母耳記下第七章中大衛王告知先知拿單他起意為耶和華建立神殿。他自己的宮殿富麗堂皇，然而耶和華的約柜卻放在幔子中。拿單說(shuō)：“你可以按照你的心意而行，因為耶和華與你同在?！碑斠?，耶和華的話(huà)臨到拿單：“你回去告訴我仆人大衛，說(shuō)耶和華如此說(shuō)：‘你豈可建造殿宇給我居住呢？我必將為你建立家室?！苯?jīng)卷的謄寫(xiě)者特意保留了對“房”一詞的雙關(guān)，因為在希伯來(lái)語(yǔ)中這個(gè)詞可以指一棟建筑或者一脈衍生的后代。 大衛王口中的“房”是用石頭和香柏木建造的殿宇；耶和華則允諾大衛一脈保持血脈的不斷繁衍。這是上帝與大衛定立的永恒之約，也就是賜予他永恒不斷的皇室血脈。因此，能夠讀懂這段文字的雙關(guān)含義，便能更好的理解經(jīng)文的內涵。

In the first chapter of Jeremiah, a look at keywords in the commission passage (Jer 1:15-19) indicates that a foe from the north is going to come against the walls of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and destroy them, but Yahweh promises to make Jeremiah a fortified city and bronze walls, which is to say, Yahweh will protect him against all comers. He is going to have a hard time because people will not want to listen to preaching about the nation being brought to ruin. Nevertheless, Yahweh says to Jeremiah: “I am promising you a protection I will not give to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah.” So again, one needs to pay close attention to vocabulary and structure in the text. Here you have repeated keywords, and as often happens in rhetorical discourse, they are inverted when appearing the second time. This may seem like a small thing, but it is Hebrew rhetoric. Hebrew rhetoric is based on repetition, also inversions, and previous scholars reading this passage have commonly missed both.

耶利米書(shū)第一章（耶1:15-19）中授命敘事的部分記錄了一個(gè)北方來(lái)的敵人將要攻擊耶路撒冷周?chē)某菈Σ⒋輾Иq大的各城鎮，但是耶和華許諾說(shuō)會(huì )使耶利米成為堅城、銅墻，也就是說(shuō)耶和華會(huì )保佑他不受到一切來(lái)者的傷害。他將度過(guò)一段艱難的時(shí)光，因為人們不愿聽(tīng)到城將要被摧毀的預言 。然而，耶和華對耶利米說(shuō)：“我許諾你，保佑你，使你不會(huì )遭受同耶路撒冷和猶大城鎮一樣的毀滅?！蓖瑯拥?，文本中的詞匯和結構需要認真研讀。這里，我們看到一些關(guān)鍵詞的重復，就像是在修辭話(huà)語(yǔ)中經(jīng)常出現的那樣，這些詞在出現第二次的時(shí)候被倒置。這看起來(lái)微不足道，但是這確實(shí)是一種修辭。希伯來(lái)的修辭以重復為基礎，倒置也是其中一種，之前不免出現在閱讀到這一部分的時(shí)候忽略了其修辭的學(xué)者。

Rhetorical criticism also helps to delimit literary units, showing where the unit begins and ends. In Jeremiah and in other prophetic books you often need help in delimitation. The Psalms have numbers, so you know where they begin and end. In Genesis you also know where stories begin and end. It’s obvious. But in the prophetic books you often don't know where one unit ends and another begins, especially in the poetry. In Jeremiah one unit goes right into the next. But by using rhetorical criticism it is possible to do a better job of delimiting literary units, which can make a big difference in interpretation. Knowing the end of a unit may also give you some idea of the intended impact of the passage on its audience. Scholars in the past have not paid sufficient attention to the delimitation of units; they just begin and end where they want to, with the result that the passage is not interpreted properly and the impact upon its original audience is not correctly discerned.

修辭學(xué)批評有助于劃分文本單元，可以標記出文本的篇章分割從哪里開(kāi)始、在哪里結束。在耶利米書(shū)以及一些其它的經(jīng)卷中，需要借助（修辭）來(lái)界定每一個(gè)篇章。贊美詩(shī)有編號，容易辨識出它從哪里開(kāi)始、在哪里結束。在讀創(chuàng )世紀的時(shí)候，也很明顯能讀懂故事的始終。但是在先知書(shū)中，尤其涉及詩(shī)歌的部分，篇章通常不易讀出哪里開(kāi)始哪里終結。耶利米書(shū)中，篇章緊緊相連 。然而，如果我們利用修辭學(xué)批評，或許可以更好地劃分每一個(gè)文本單元，而這對解讀文本會(huì )產(chǎn)生很大影響。知曉每個(gè)文本單元的劃分，或許可以幫助預期這段文字想要傳遞給讀者的影響。過(guò)去一些學(xué)者沒(méi)有對此給予足夠的重視，他們只是按照自己的理解來(lái)劃分文本單元，這樣有一些章節就沒(méi)有得到恰當的解讀，而對于最初的讀者的影響也沒(méi)被正確地辨識。

I’ll give you another example in Jeremiah 5:1-9, a passage I cite often in my classes. Here we have a chiastic structure of keywords and speaker, another intentional rhetorical structure. In a chiasmus key words, speakers, and sometimes audiences are arranged in an abba, abcba, or more expanded pattern. The discourse works up to a center point and then repeats in reverse order to the end. Earlier scholars have failed to recognize these patterns, but they are there, and need to be brought to light. Rhetorical criticism can do this, and once again, it will affect interpretation. Rhetorical criticism works particularly well in Jeremiah because Jeremiah is a dramatist who alternates voices in his poems and oracles. Scholars commonly miss this drama, assuming simply that since the prophet is a mouthpiece for God his words are God’s words. Well, that is true enough, but in Jeremiah you have to see how skillful this prophet is in crafting his poems and oracles. Changes in speaker and audience may be intentional.

咱們來(lái)看另一個(gè)例子，即耶利米書(shū)的5:1-9，我經(jīng)常在課上講到這一段。這個(gè)章節中用到了關(guān)鍵詞和講話(huà)者的交錯結構（chiastic structure)，這是另一個(gè)有目的而為之的修辭結構。在一個(gè)交錯結構中，關(guān)鍵詞、講話(huà)者，有時(shí)也包括讀者，會(huì )被以ABBA或者ABCBA的方式或者更長(cháng)的方式進(jìn)行安排。語(yǔ)篇不斷發(fā)展到中間點(diǎn)，并以反向排序重復直到回歸到最初的句子 。之前的學(xué)者沒(méi)能識別出這些規律，但是它們是存在的，也應該被注意到。修辭學(xué)批評可以做到這點(diǎn)，而修辭學(xué)批評的引入也會(huì )影響文本的解讀。修辭學(xué)批評可以很好的應用于耶利米書(shū)的解讀，因為耶利米是一個(gè)充滿(mǎn)戲劇色彩的人，他在詩(shī)歌和神諭中會(huì )變換不同的口吻。 大部分學(xué)者會(huì )忽視這種戲劇感，簡(jiǎn)單地認為先知是上帝的發(fā)言人，發(fā)布的預言就是上帝的神諭。有時(shí)的確如此，但是在耶利米書(shū)中你會(huì )看到這位先知是如何巧妙地創(chuàng )作他的詩(shī)歌和神諭。講話(huà)者和讀者的變化或許都是有意而為之。

In Jer 5:1-9 is a poem of five stanzas in which Yahweh speaks first to a search party, telling them to go in search of a righteous man. If they find one, he will pardon Jerusalem (vv 1-2). Next Jeremiah speaks to Yahweh, telling Yahweh how intractable the people are (v 3). In the middle of the poem Jeremiah is talking to himself, making us privy to what was going on in his mind when he was out walking the city (vv 4-5ab). In the next stanza Jeremiah is speaking again to Yahweh, telling Yahweh that both small and great have broken the covenant yoke, and an enemy is sure to destroy his people (vv 5c-6). Finally, in the last stanza, Yahweh is again the speaker, asking Jerusalem how he can pardon her with such evil abounding? (vv 7-8). The structure is a chiasmus of repeated keywords and alternation of speaker / audience.

耶利米書(shū)5:1-9中有一首包含五個(gè)詩(shī)節的詩(shī)歌。最初，耶和華對一群人說(shuō)，讓他們去尋找公正之人。如果他們能找到，他就會(huì )赦免耶路撒冷（第一、二節）。之后耶利米對耶和華發(fā)言，他說(shuō)到人們悖逆、不肯回頭（第三節）。在中間部分，耶利米自言自語(yǔ)，讓我們知道他在走出城時(shí)的內心所想(第四、五節)。隨后的詩(shī)節中，耶利米再次對耶和華發(fā)炎，告知耶和華不論是貧窮的還是尊大的人都齊心將契約之軛折斷，因此他們必受攻擊（第五、六節）。在最后的詩(shī)節里耶和華再次發(fā)言，質(zhì)問(wèn)耶路撒冷她如此罪孽深重，如何才能赦免她？（第七、八節）。這里便是以重復的關(guān)鍵詞和講話(huà)者或者讀者的變換而構成的交錯結構。

The other important thing coming from a rhetorical analysis of this poem is that you see where it ends, and you find out that the conclusion in vv 7-8 is open-ended. Verse 9 is a later add-on. This is not the sort of preaching you get from Amos, who is more direct. He speaks Yahweh’s judgment, and you have to either take it or leave it. But here Yahweh asks Jerusalem how he can pardon the city when men are committing adultery and patronizing prostitutes. The people of Jerusalem will have to answer this question themselves. The prophet does not answer it for them. The poem is an echo of the story in Genesis 18, where, again, righteous persons could not be found in the wicked city of Sodom.

利用修辭學(xué)批評手段分析此詩(shī)，不難發(fā)現，在詩(shī)歌的收尾部分也即第七、八節保留了開(kāi)放式的結尾。第九節是后來(lái)添加的。這樣的神諭和阿摩斯所傳播的神諭不同，后者更為直接。他發(fā)布耶和華的審判，讀者或者接受或者拒絕。但是這里，耶和華質(zhì)問(wèn)耶路撒冷他怎能赦免這座城，這里的男人行奸淫之事，把娼妓養在家里。耶路撒冷的民眾需要自行回答問(wèn)題，先知沒(méi)有為他們作出回答。這里的詩(shī)歌與創(chuàng )世紀第十八章呼應，也即在罪惡之城所多瑪不會(huì )找到公義之人。

You have another good example of an open-ended message in Jesus’ New Testament parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The fellow squanders his inheritance, but then comes to his senses and returns home, now repentant of his waywardness, and of course the father is glad to see him, running and hugging him and telling his son how much he has missed him. The servants are told to kill the fatted calf so they can have a big feast. Then the older brother comes in from the field, and says, “What’s going on here? I've been serving you here at home and never disobeyed you, and now this fellow who has been wasting all your money comes back, and you welcome him and have a feast for him. You never gave me a feast to celebrate with my friends. I've been your faithful son all these years.” The father tries to reason with him. He says: “You are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” He loves him just as much as the younger one. The older son is then invited to come into the party, but it doesn't sound like he wants to. Does he finally join the merrymakers? We don't know. The parable is left open-ended, and the people listening are left to decide whether he does come in. The Pharisees listening to the parable also have to decide whether they will enter the joyful Kingdom into which repentant sinners are being welcomed. This is powerful rhetoric.

新約中有關(guān)浪子回頭的寓言中是另一個(gè)關(guān)于開(kāi)放信息的很好的例子（路加福音15:11-32）。小兒子揮霍了父親的遺產(chǎn)，回歸理智后返回家庭，為他的任性而后悔， 父親見(jiàn)到小兒子喜出望外，跑過(guò)去抱住他，向兒子訴說(shuō)他的思念。這個(gè)父親告訴仆人去宰一頭肥牛，他們要一起吃一頓盛宴。隨后他的大兒子從田地里回來(lái)，對他父親說(shuō)：“發(fā)生了什么，我服侍您這多年，從來(lái)沒(méi)有違背過(guò)您的命令，但他吞盡您的產(chǎn)業(yè)才返回家中，您歡迎他并為他宰了肥牛犢。您從未賜予我一頓盛宴使得我和朋友同樂(lè )。我才是這些年對您忠心耿耿的兒子?！彼母赣H寬慰他說(shuō)，“你是一直和我在一起的，我的一切都是你的”。父親對大兒子的喜愛(ài)程度和對小兒子的喜愛(ài)程度相同。他邀請大兒子也來(lái)參加宴會(huì )，但是大兒子并不想赴宴 。之后他究竟參加聚會(huì )了嗎？我們不得而知。這是一個(gè)開(kāi)放式的結尾，讀者需要自己通過(guò)解讀判斷大兒子最終是否赴宴。聽(tīng)到這個(gè)寓言的法利賽人要決定自己是否要進(jìn)入這個(gè)歡樂(lè )的王國，這個(gè)王國中悔改的罪人都會(huì )受到歡迎。這里也是一個(gè)非常有效的修辭的使用。

I’ll give you another example where rhetorical criticism aids in the interpretation of Jeremiah 7:1-15. Here older scholars talked about a “temple sermon” in the verses, but it is not a single sermon. The verses are three separate oracles delimited by messenger formulas, section markings (setumah and petucha), and three uses of the inclusio (repeated words at beginning and end). Three different criteria show the verses to contain three separate oracles. Why is this important? One reason, certainly, is that the preaching in the first oracle is conditional. This oracle says that if people amend their ways and do what the covenant requires, then Yahweh will let them remain in the land. The second oracle, however, indicts the people for willful covenant disobedience. They are stealing, murdering, committing adultery, swearing falsely, burning incense to Baal, and chasing after other gods they have not known. The third oracle states that Yahweh is going to destroy the Jerusalem temple just like he destroyed Israel’s first sanctuary at Shiloh, which is judgment pure and simple. Older scholars had a problem explaining how a single sermon could go from conditional preaching to unmitigated judgment, but if you show the verses to contain three separate oracles, each retains its own integrity even if all happened to have been spoken in sequence on a single occasion. Here rhetorical criticism gives integrity to the text and improves the interpretation.

接下來(lái)我們來(lái)看耶利米書(shū)7:1-15。之前的學(xué)者曾經(jīng)就篇章中的“神殿發(fā)布的神諭”進(jìn)行探討，這并不是一次單獨的神諭發(fā)布。篇章中包含三條獨立的神諭，分別用預言結構、段落標記、以及三次首位呼應的方法來(lái)界定神諭的界限。三個(gè)不同的界定標準標志出三個(gè)單獨的神諭。為什么這很重要呢？其一、第一條神諭的發(fā)布是有條件的，神諭中預言如果人們改正行為，按照契約行事，耶和華就會(huì )使他們在這地方繼續居住。第二條神諭指責人們任性的違背契約，偷盜、殺戮、奸淫、做假證、敬拜巴力，追隨其他的崇拜。第三條神諭預言耶和華將毀滅耶路撒冷的神殿，就如同他在示羅曾毀滅以色列的第一個(gè)圣所，這條神諭就是直接而簡(jiǎn)明的審判。過(guò)去的學(xué)者存在的問(wèn)題在于他們難以解釋一條單獨的神諭如何從有條件的預言發(fā)布逐漸演變成為嚴厲的審判。但如果能夠讀出這個(gè)篇章中有三條單獨的神諭，即便是在同一個(gè)場(chǎng)合進(jìn)行發(fā)布，每一條都具備獨立的完整性。這里修辭學(xué)批評賦予了文本一種完整性，并幫助文本進(jìn)行釋讀。

My final example is from the concluding confession in Jer 20:14-18. The confession ends with a question. Life has been extremely difficult for the prophet, and Jeremiah has cursed the day he was born and the man who brought his father the gladsome news. He asks at the very end “Why from the womb came I forth,” but gets no answer. The great German scholar Gerhard von Rad says the God that Jeremiah addresses no longer answers him. Yes, but when the First Edition of the book of Jeremiah was compiled, which in my view consisted of chapters 1-20, an answer did come to the prophet’s wrenching question. At the very beginning of the book Yahweh told Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth the womb I declared you holy; a prophet to the nations I made you” (Jer 1:5). Here then is the answer to Jeremiah’s question. It does not come after the confession, where one would expect it. It comes at the beginning of the book. When the First Edition of the book of Jeremiah was read in its entirety, which is how it would have been read in antiquity, those hearing it would make the connection. At some point someone had to tell Jeremiah: “Look! God spoke to you when you were just a boy and gave you an answer about why you were born. It is as good today as it was then.” This is ancient Hebrew rhetoric, and rhetorical criticism of the biblical text enables one to uncover meaning that was originally intended. Scholars not paying sufficient attention to ancient Hebrew rhetoric will miss the point.

最后一個(gè)例子是耶利米書(shū)20:14-18的懺悔。這段懺悔以問(wèn)題作為結尾。對于先知耶利米來(lái)說(shuō)，生活異?？嚯y，于是耶利米詛咒他出生的日子以及為他父親報喜訊的人。他在最后問(wèn)道：“我為何出胎”，但是沒(méi)有得到答復。著(zhù)名的德國學(xué)者格哈德·馮·拉德說(shuō)這里上帝不再回答耶利米的問(wèn)題了。是的，但是在耶利米書(shū)的第一版編輯完成時(shí)（在我看來(lái)是包括第一至第二十章）其中對于困擾先知耶利米的問(wèn)題提供了答案 。開(kāi)篇，耶和華即告知耶利米：“我未將你造在腹中，我已曉得你；你未出母胎，我已分別你為圣；我已派你作列國的先知”（耶1:5）。這已然是對耶利米的回答。答案不如人們預期一般在懺悔結束后出現，而是在一開(kāi)始便給出了。當人們像古代的人一樣把整個(gè)耶利米書(shū)的第一版讀下來(lái)，就會(huì )產(chǎn)生這樣的聯(lián)想。在某個(gè)時(shí)刻，應該有人告知耶利米：“上帝早就給了你答案，當你還是個(gè)男孩的時(shí)候，上帝已經(jīng)說(shuō)明了你出生的緣故，這個(gè)緣故也從未改變 ?！边@是一個(gè)古老的希伯來(lái)修辭方式，而對圣經(jīng)文本的修辭學(xué)批評可以幫助我們去更靠近文本本身的闡述意圖。而忽視古希伯來(lái)修辭的學(xué)者們在解讀文本時(shí)就可能出現偏差。

Do you support people who are not believers to have a literary interpretation of the prophetic books instead of a theological one? How do we strike a balance between these two approaches?

您是否支持非信徒對先知書(shū)進(jìn)行文學(xué)解讀而非神學(xué)解讀？我們應該如何在兩種解讀方式中尋求到平衡點(diǎn)呢？

Anyone—believer or nonbeliever—can benefit from a literary study of the prophetic books. There is no need to strike any balance. Even though the prophet’s message was delivered to people who came under the covenant God made with Israel, the prophets also addressed people who did not come under this covenant. All the writing prophets, with the single exception of Hosea, gave oracles against foreign nations, which consisted of people who didn't have any covenant with Yahweh. The prophets spoke judgment against them for inhumane behavior, reckless living, pride, and other acts of wickedness. As far as the literary interpretation of the prophetic writings are concerned, I think anybody can benefit from a study of them. The Bible is great literature. It is more than that for the believer, yet it can be of value to anyone. Preaching of the Hebrew prophets can be useful anywhere today in the world, to censure people who act wrongly according to any generally accepted standard of behavior. The God of the Bible does not speak only to religious people. This God speaks to any and every people. Why? Because he is the God of the whole world. That, I think, is the bottom line.

所有人，不論是信徒還是非信徒，都可以從希伯來(lái)先知的文學(xué)研究中受益。所以沒(méi)有必要去尋求平衡點(diǎn)。盡管許多預言是向與上帝立約的以色列子民發(fā)布的，但先知們也會(huì )對其他人發(fā)布預言。所有的寫(xiě)作先知，除何西阿以外，都曾對其他國家發(fā)布神諭，進(jìn)行譴責，這里也包括沒(méi)有和耶和華立約的人們。先知們也會(huì )對殘忍、魯莽、驕傲或者其他惡行進(jìn)行審判。對先知的書(shū)寫(xiě)進(jìn)行文學(xué)解讀，我想所有人都可以從中受益。圣經(jīng)是一部偉大的文學(xué)作品，對信徒來(lái)說(shuō)它當然不僅僅是文學(xué)作品，但它對所有人來(lái)說(shuō)都是有價(jià)值的。希伯來(lái)先知的訓誡在當下都至關(guān)重要，根據普世價(jià)值來(lái)譴責不當的行為。圣經(jīng)不只是給有宗教信仰的人，而是面向所有的人的一部典籍。為什么呢？因為從基督教信仰的角度來(lái)看，他是全世界的上帝，我想這是一條底線(xiàn)。

采訪(fǎng)/ Tony Huang/ Nancy He

校譯/ Nancy He

編輯/ 李庫晴

鳴謝/ 元極教育文化孵化基金 /天津桃李源文化基金會(huì )

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