The Rhetoric of the Canon

Obadiah and Jonah

Paper and Performance by Cliff Barbarick, November 19, 2022

Performance Criticism of the Bible and Other Ancient Media (PC-BOAT)

Recent interpretation of the Book of the Twelve has enriched our understanding of each individual prophetic book by recognizing it as a part of a larger composition. Using performance criticism, this presentation builds on those insights, moving beyond identifying linguistic, stylistic, or thematic links across the Book of the Twelve in order to explore the rhetorical impact that the arrangement of the books has on an audience. Specifically, by performing Obadiah and Jonah in their canonical order, the presentation will invite a present-day audience to experience how these two prophetic books interact with one another to shape an audience's attitudes toward and engagement with the "other" perceived as the enemy.

Watch the paper and performance: