Abstract

This dissertation was primarily comprised of a philosophical analysis of the Deuteronomistic and Chronicler's History. Its basic purpose was to determine which characteristics of historiography are intrinsic to the genre and how those characteristics should be analyzed. The theory used as a philosophical base and an analytical tool for examining the two Old Testament histories was largely appropriated from Analytical Philosophy of History studies. ;Most of the dissertation's content lies in chapters two and three. Chapter two was a review of theory and data from Analytical Philosophy of History. Its inclusion was designed to provide a philosophical basis for the examination of the two Old Testament histories as well as review basic theory from a discipline largely unfamiliar to biblical scholars. The discussion of chapter two included sections on narrative form, historical explanations, causation, and historical interpretation. ;Chapter three entailed an application of this theory to the Deuteronomistic and Chronicler's History. This application proceeded in the same areas as the theoretical discussion of chapter two. The object of this chapter was to examine the basic nature of Old Testament historiography even though many of the intrinsic characteristics of historiography are generally ignored in Old Testament studies. Chapter four entailed an application of the theory developed in chapters two and three to Judges 6-8, II Kings 22:1-23:30, and II Chronicles 10-29. ;The final conclusion of this dissertation is that the understanding of Old Testament historiography could be greatly facilitated if non-Positivist models were adopted. These models would allow the Old Testament material to be examined on both a historical and a theological level