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Ambiguities of Prophecy: Old Testament Rhetoric in the American Founding Era

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2020

Jonathan Keller Open the ORCID record for Jonathan Keller [Opens in a new window]
Jonathan Keller*
Affiliation:
Manhattan College
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jonathan Keller, Manhattan College, 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Riverdale, NY, 10471. E-mail: jonathan.keller@manhattan.edu
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Abstract

Scholars have long recognized the impact of Hebrew prophecy on the rhetoric of the American Founding era, but they have assumed it is all of one type, the American Jeremiad, a clarion call for political action. In fact, biblical rhetoric during this era mirrors three types of Old Testament prophecy formulated at three distinct moments in ancient Biblical history: before, during, and after the Babylonian Exile of 587 BCE. I refer to these as repentance, Jeremiad, and disappointment. I interpret sermons by three leading Protestant ministers in order to demonstrate that all three types of Hebraic prophecy were prevalent during this era, but only one of them, the Jeremiad, seeks to inspire political action; second, the Jeremiad was prominent only during the Revolutionary War. Before the war, and after the ratification of the Constitution, the two quietistic modes of prophecy, repentance, and disappointment, are more prevalent. I conclude by speculating about what the American founders might think of the contemporary rhetorical landscape, where the Jeremiad has become dominant, drowning out more moderate forms of biblical discourse.

Type
Article
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 2020 , pp. 575 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2020

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Footnotes

I would like to thank the journal editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions, and John McMahon for his patience, generosity and constructive critique.

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