Conversational networks: prophets and kings in the Old Testament

Abstract

This article analyzes discourse in the Old Testament in terms of the frequency of direct speech between the main characters. We visualize the speakers, the hearers, and the amount of conversation between them in graphs known as conversational networks. We investigate whether these networks can help identify speech genres and significant relationships between biblical kings, prophets, and God. In an analysis on three books in the Minor Prophets, the networks are shown to reveal differences in book structure and speech genres including prophetic call, prayer, vision report, judgment speech, and historical narrative. In an analysis on the books of Samuel and King, the networks are shown to capture the web of relationships between kings and prophets, as well as divine communication with kings and prophets. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a comparison between these networks and their counterparts in Chronicles can visualize some major content differences identified in biblical research. These findings are expected to promote conversational networks as a visualization tool to support quantitative discourse analysis in the Bible.