Abstract

REDELINGHUYS, C. J. (Neels). Creation utterly consumed? Towards an eco-critical rereading of Zephaniah 1:2-6. Old testam. essays [online]. 2017, vol.30, n.3, pp.805-820. ISSN 2312-3621.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2017/v30n3a15.

Few texts from the Hebrew Prophets present such a disconcerting ecological perspective as Zeph 1:2-6. While the text itself has received only scant attention in resources dealing with ecological interpretations of the Bible, it nevertheless becomes clear that Nature plays a multifaceted role that the interpreter should not overlook. Consequently, this article aims to present an eco-critical rereading of the text based on the ecojustice principles of the Earth Bible, and Norman Habel's tools for analysis - suspicion, identification, and retrieval. Such a rereading further uncovers certain questions, problems, and challenges concerning the kinship between humans and Nature. Because it continuously works to avoid anthro-pocentrism and engages in dialogue with science, the theocentric approach of Gustafson presents itself as a viable way to elucidate this complicated and often misrepresented relationship. Finally, the author suggests, by way of comparison, that such a theocentric reading surpasses the traditional stewardship approach when it comes to an understanding and/or appropriation of the Zeph 1:2-6 in the contemporary context.

Keywords : Zephaniah 1:2-6; The Earth Bible; suspicion; identification; retrieval; stewardship; theocentric approach; Nature and the Hebrew Bible; eco-hermeneutics; ecological criticism.

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