Ricoeur and the World of the Text: Imagination, Time, and Hope in the Book of Balaam

Abstract

Held in metaphorical tension with Yann Martel’s novel "Life of Pi," the following thesis compares two readings of Numbers 22-24, the book of Balaam: one historical-critical (the world behind the text), and the other literary-imaginative (the world of the text). This comparison seeks to address the (historical and existential) question: which is true? Concerning methodology, the thesis employs Paul Ricoeur’s philosophical hermeneutics to help mitigate the ongoing tension between history and theology, thus revealing the world of the text of Numbers 22-24. Concerning content, from this world of the text reading of Numbers 22-24, the thesis seeks to uncover a possible meaning for ancient Israel. This is an existential meaning, in which past traditions, with a future orientation, are incorporated into the present—i.e., myth shaping identity.