My interest in biblical studies generally has led me to an exploration of ancient scribal practices, and particularly to consideration of the plausibility that Hebrew Torah texts were created in a recursive parallelism, like a weave of texts, from the pericope and unit level to the book level.
Contact : Email:
Academia.edu: https://chester.academia.edu/PaulHocking
Qualifications
My professional background was in science teaching and leadership development, including a masters in public health and action research and my publications were in this context. My personal interest in biblical studies has been life-long, and developed through many years in church ministry, and also the last 8 years studying with an orthodox Jewish Scholar in Jerusalem via skype. Moshe Kline argues that the Torah has been created as a ‘woven text’, and that there is esoteric meaning or theology in the parallel reading, beyond the normal linear reading. This led me to Chester TRS department, as a mature student, as they were able to supervise such research in the Hebrew Bible.
Research
My research is focused on the book of Leviticus and on the question: ‘What is the literary composition of the book of Leviticus as received, and how does this appear designed to persuade?’
I am examining the various rhetorical constructs that are proposed for the book of Leviticus, with a particular focus on scholarship since 1990, such as Milgrom, Douglas, Warning and Kline, and how they use the structure of the final form to argue for particular intended theology/ ideology/ persuasion?
I will create a ‘map’ of the key views on the structure and rhetoric of Leviticus as a book (an organising principle), and seek to identify how the structure contributes to the redactor’s persuasive intent (‘of positing a new reality and persuading others to adopt it’ Porter).
Published work
Burtonwood, A. P., Hocking, P. J., & Elwyn, G. E. (2001). Joining them up: the challenges of organisational change in the professional politic of general practice. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 15(4), 383-393.
Elwyn, G., Carlisle, S., Hocking, P., & Smail, S. (2001). Practice and professional development plans (PPDPs): results of a feasibility study. BMC Family Practice, 2(1), 1.
Elwyn, G., & Hocking, P. (2000). Organisational development in general practice: lessons from practice and professional development plans (PPDPs). BMC Family Practice, 1(1), 2.
Elwyn, G. E., Hocking, P. J., Burtonwood, A. P., Harry, K., & Turner, A. (2002). Learning to Plan? Critical fiction about the facilitation of Professional and Practice Development Plans in Primary Care. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16(4), 349-358.
Rao, U., & Hocking, P. J. (2006). The ‘wicked problem’ of the cardiology clinic. British Journal of Cardiology, 13(3), 209-211.