Polyphony in the Biblical Text from a Postmodern Perspective
Polyphony in the Biblical Text from a Postmodern Perspective

Summary/Abstract: “Polyphony in the biblical text from a postmodern perspective” analyzes the concept of “polyphony”, specific to postmodernism. It speaks about encouraging the dialogue between different voices in the community. The author shows that polyphony is also present in the text of the Old Testament. The article mentions Walter Zimmerli who observes two contradictory positions regarding the establishment of the monarchy in 1 Samuel 8–12. The paper also discusses the position of Walter Brueggemann, an important representative of Old Testament scholarship, whose concern was to show that dialogue is crucial for living in community, outlining the strengths and the weaknesses of his position. He agrees that different voices intervene in the dialogue, without considering the consequences of accepting some of them. But we have to be aware of the fact that some extreme voices may affect the other voices involved in the dialogue, producing confusion. The task of the interpreter, in this context, is to make a balanced interpretation. According to Ion Pânzaru interpretation is an art. It allows those who interpret the text to introduce an unlimited number of restrictions. Even though in postmodernism the so called “reality without quotation marks” is being questioned, we have to accept that this is a quest of the human being. It is stated that the interpretation of the sacred text in postmodernism, has the benefit of freeing the biblical message from the presuppositions of the hegemonic interpretation specific to the Rationalistic period. But along with the importance of the dialogue, there are other aspects of community life, decisive for our existence, such as: respecting the freedom of others and the values shared by the community.

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