The demarcation of hymns and prayers in The Prophets (2)

The author aims to identify hymns and prayers in the prophetic literature and try to establish their function in their wider literary context. The chapter is started with a definition of the genres. It gave some examples of combinations of hymns and prayers with prophecy attested elsewhere in the ancient Near East. The chapter discusses a number of very short hymns and prayers that are usually regarded as integral parts of the compositions in which they occur. Making use of the unit delimitation found in ancient manuscripts, the chapter describes two examples of somewhat longer poems: the penitential prayer in Hosea. 6:1-3 and the hymn in Isaiah. 2:10-12. In both cases the poems appeared to be firmly embedded in the context. The chapter concludes that if these songs were later redactional additions, they must have been composed with an eye on the context.Keywords: ancient manuscripts; Hosea; hymns; Isaiah; penitential prayer; prophetic literature