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The persuasive portrayal of Solomon in 1 Kings 1-11 and the Josianic redaction theory.
This present research is motivated by observing the diversity of views held in
understanding the portrayal of Solomon in 1 Kgs 1-11, its importance in resolving the
problem of the composition of DtrH, and especially by a certain doubt about the
pervasive Josianic understandings of Solomon. The main concern of the present study is
to establish a sound understanding of Solomon as portrayed in I Kgs 1-11 in relation to
the theories of the composition of Kings, especially the Josianic redaction theory. This
study seeks to understand Solomon in 1 Kgs 1-11 from the perspective of the text's
persuasive function in relation to the reader.
Chapter one surveys modem researches on Kings in general and the Solomon narrative
(1 Kgs 1-11) in particular. It shows that the essential question in studies of Kings and
the Solomon account is the understanding of the thematic tensions in relation to their
composition. This chapter also argues that a rhetorical approach is methodologically
relevant in solving the question.
Chapter two defines what rhetorical criticism is, and in relation to the definition, shows
how a rhetorical approach will be applied to our study of 1 Kgs 1-11. Rhetorical
criticism is a methodology concerned with determining the means of persuasion
employed in the communication, through an analysis of the text in its final form. This
chapter also establishes four practical steps for discovering the argumentative or
persuasive function of the Solomon text: the rhetorical unit, arrangement (dispositio)
and style (elocutio), argumentation (inventio), and finally the rhetorical situation and the
original reader.
Following these steps, chapter three identifies 1 Kgs 1-11 as a rhetorical unit by
showing 1 Kgs 1-2 as the true beginning of the narrative through the structural and
rhetorical connections between 1 Kgs 1-2 and 3-11. Chapter four examines how 1 Kgs
1-11 as a persuasive narration has been arranged in order to have an impact on the
reader's apprehension of the Solomon narrative. It shows the concentric structure of 1
Kgs 1-11 based on the function of repetition, which guides the reader to the picture of
Solomon's incapacity in his `covenant relationship' with Yahweh. Chapter five
examines I Kgs 1-11 from the point of view of argumentation or invention, and deals
with the understanding or evaluation of the issue in I Kgs 1-11. The narrator in 1 Kgs 1-11 shows the reader Solomon's failure in the relationship with Yahweh based on his
ethical and rational, and emotional, appeal. Chapter six defines the rhetorical situation
which causes the existence of 1 Kgs 1-11. It shows that Kings would be a fitting
response to the rhetorical situation of the Jewish exilic community in Babylon. The
community may have held very different views about their past, their identity, or the
continuity of the covenant relationship with Yahweh in the exilic or post-exilic period.
Our conclusion in this study of 1 Kgs 1-11 is that the subtle portrayal of Solomon in 1
Kgs 1-11 does not display a Josianic standpoint, but an exilic view, persuading the
Babylonian exiles to recover their covenant relationship with Yahweh or to find a new
understanding of this through the portrayal of Solomon in the light of his inevitable
failure in relationship with Yahweh
Decreased Interleukin-4 Release from the Neurons of the Locus Coeruleus in Response to Immobilization Stress
It has been demonstrated that immobilization (IMO) stress affects neuroimmune systems followed by alterations of physiology and behavior. Interleukin-4 (IL-4), an anti-inflammatory cytokine, is known to regulate inflammation caused by immune challenge but the effect of IMO on modulation of IL-4 expression in the brain has not been assessed yet. Here, it was demonstrated that IL-4 was produced by noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) of the brain and release of IL-4 was reduced in response to IMO. It was observed that IMO groups were more anxious than nontreated groups. Acute IMO (2 h/day, once) stimulated secretion of plasma corticosterone and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the LC whereas these increments were diminished in exposure to chronic stress (2 h/day, 21 consecutive days). Glucocorticoid receptor (GR), TH, and IL-4-expressing cells were localized in identical neurons of the LC, indicating that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal- (HPA-) axis and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary- (SAM-) axis might be involved in IL-4 secretion in the stress response. Accordingly, it was concluded that stress-induced decline of IL-4 concentration from LC neurons may be related to anxiety-like behavior and an inverse relationship exists between IL-4 secretion and HPA/SAM-axes activation
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