Closure in Short Biblical Narrative

Zeelander (U. of Pennsylvania) selected 38 short narratives from Genesis for this analysis of the methods used to construct endings to stories, revealing the connection of the endings to ritual in many cases. Acknowledging the influence of Barbara Herrnstein Smith's method as put forth in her Poetic closure; a study of how poems end, Zeelander utilizes a careful textual analysis for each of the Genesis stories to trace the process of ending employed, expanding her analysis to consider the language used in forming the narratives, and the psychological states implied by openness and closure, among other themes. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Susan Zeelander, Ph.D.,University of Pennsylvania, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (2010), lectures at academic conferences and for lay groups, primarily on narrative in the Hebrew Bible. She is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.