從奧爾特的敘事分析看約書亞記的爭戰敘事

A Study of Joshua's Conquest Narratives from Robert Alter's Narrative Analysis

劉光啟(Kwang-Chi Liu)

《浸神學刊》 2020 (2020/12) Pp. 35-77

摘要

對於許多聖經讀者而言，「約書亞記的主題關乎戰爭」是不證自明的事實。約書亞記不僅記載著名的耶利哥與艾城之役，也藉這些戰勝的報導顯示耶和華如何實現土地的應許。對於古以色列人如何出現迦南地，所謂的「征服模式」（the conquest model）主要也來自約書亞記的爭戰敘事。但「迦南爭戰」是否為約書亞記的最重要主題？本文將先簡介奧爾特（Robert Alter）在《聖經敘述文的藝術》的敘事分析，並藉由其方法解讀約書亞記第六至十二章的爭戰敘事。本文將先梳理約書亞記第六至十二章關於爭戰的內容；然後透過奧爾特所提出的「字詞」、「情節」、「對話」、「描述」等向度，討論這些敘事文本；綜合上述，在結論中提供整段敘事的架構。透過以上討論，本文作者主張爭戰雖是約書亞記眾多主題之一，但爭戰更是這卷書諸多主題陳述的載具，是為呈現其他主題所搭設的場景；換言之，並非約書亞記作者真正強調的信息主軸。

關鍵字

約書亞記 ； 爭戰／戰爭 ； 奧爾特 ； 敘事體

並列摘要

For many readers of the Bible, it seems obvious that ＂Joshua is a book about warfare.＂ The Book of Joshua not only reports the famous battles of Jericho and Ai, it also shows how the Lord fulfilled His promise of the land by means of these battles. Regarding how the ancient Israelites appeared in the land of Canaan, the so-called ＂conquest model＂ largely exists based on the conquest narratives from the Book of Joshua. However, should ＂the battles against the Canaanites＂ be considered the most important theme for the Book? This essay begins with a brief introduction of Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative, and, through his method of narrative analysis, interprets the conquest narratives in Joshua chapters 6-12. Following, the essay combs through the texts surrounding battles in Joshua chapters 6-12; then discusses these texts according to the four general rubrics proposed by Alter: word, action, dialogue, and narration. The essay synopsizes the above discussions in conclusion and provides a structural diagram for the whole section. By means of the discussions, the writer of this essay argues that, although war is still one of many themes in the Book of Joshua, it is rather a carrier for many themes of the Book, set as scenery for the presentation of other issues. In other words, war is not the principal axis emphasized by the author of the Book of Joshua.

並列關鍵字

Joshua ； war/battle ； Robert Alter ； narrative