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Reading the Landscape of Ezekiel 40-48: A Theology of Resilience

Published: Jun 2024
£75.00
When the landscape architect IChun Kuo opens up an ancient plan written in the book of Ezekiel, she encounters a planner who is called “son of man”, who was instructed to a vision. Bewildered by this unworldly yet grounded visioned plan, Kuo seeks help from Assyrian King Sennacherib who constructed gardens, Jerome who was puzzled by the labyrinth, Newton who was obsessed with the measurement. She asks biblical scholars, archaeologists, architects and planners, until she finds the patterns.  Reading the Landscape of Ezekiel  is a journey of decoding a mesmerizing ancient landscape, which reflects history of social and ecological catastrophes, survival and renovation, and the mechanisms of God’s design. Kuo argues that Ezekiel 40–48 can be understood as an ancient resilient landscape plan that encompasses rigidity and ductility, resistance and recovery. Given the ancient hazards described in Ezekiel (sword, famine, evil creatures, and pestilence), the mechanism of landscape resilience in Ezekiel 40–48 is similar to modern time ecosystem resilience, as well as disaster risk reduction, and epidemiology/public health of war and defence policy. An understanding of the ancient planning in Ezekiel 40–48 may shed light on our reading of the biblical text, our way of viewing the depicted visions, as well as the implications of our planning of the environment.
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Reading the Landscape of Ezekiel 40-48: A Theology of Resilience

£75.00
When the landscape architect IChun Kuo opens up an ancient plan written in the book of Ezekiel, she encounters a planner who is called “son of man”, who was instructed to a vision. Bewildered by this unworldly yet grounded visioned plan, Kuo seeks help from Assyrian King Sennacherib who constructed gardens, Jerome who was puzzled by the labyrinth, Newton who was obsessed with the measurement. She asks biblical scholars, archaeologists, architects and planners, until she finds the patterns.  Reading the Landscape of Ezekiel  is a journey of decoding a mesmerizing ancient landscape, which reflects history of social and ecological catastrophes, survival and renovation, and the mechanisms of God’s design. Kuo argues that Ezekiel 40–48 can be understood as an ancient resilient landscape plan that encompasses rigidity and ductility, resistance and recovery. Given the ancient hazards described in Ezekiel (sword, famine, evil creatures, and pestilence), the mechanism of landscape resilience in Ezekiel 40–48 is similar to modern time ecosystem resilience, as well as disaster risk reduction, and epidemiology/public health of war and defence policy. An understanding of the ancient planning in Ezekiel 40–48 may shed light on our reading of the biblical text, our way of viewing the depicted visions, as well as the implications of our planning of the environment.
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1 & 2 Kings: A Visual Commentary

Published: Mar 2024
£75.00

In this uniquely conceived and brilliantly illustrated book, Martin O’Kane, one of the leading experts internationally on biblical art, turns his attention to the narratives of 1&2 Kings. Here we encounter a large and varied cast of characters, men and women whose lives are portrayed imaginatively, ranging from exotic kings and queens and flamboyant prophets to lowly servants and other insignificant functionaries. Readers meet individuals of all ages, from the old and wise to the young and foolish, saints and sinners alike. Many of these characters, and the stories in which they appear, play a prominent part in the religious traditions and cultural worlds of three major faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Interpreted according to each faith’s distinctive norms, they are popular subjects not only in the literature but particularly in the rich iconographies of the three religions.

1&2 Kings: A Visual Commentary takes the form of a commentary that focuses on the interpretation of characters and stories from the books of Kings in the visual cultures of the three monotheistic faiths. In each chapter, the first section sets out the most distinctive interpretations and appropriations of the biblical story. The second section interprets how the story has been received and interpreted in Jewish, Christian and Islamic literature. The final section details how characters or episodes from Kings re-appear in original ways in the artwork of the three religions. With its over one hundred and seventy-five full-colour images, from Christian mediaeval manuscripts and Persian and Ottoman miniature paintings to contemporary Jewish art, the volume shows why stories from 1&2 Kings feature so prominently in the artistic and cultural worlds the three religions have helped to shape.

Scholars, students and Bible readers in general will find something new and something delightful on every page of this unusually engaging work.

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1 & 2 Kings: A Visual Commentary

£75.00

In this uniquely conceived and brilliantly illustrated book, Martin O’Kane, one of the leading experts internationally on biblical art, turns his attention to the narratives of 1&2 Kings. Here we encounter a large and varied cast of characters, men and women whose lives are portrayed imaginatively, ranging from exotic kings and queens and flamboyant prophets to lowly servants and other insignificant functionaries. Readers meet individuals of all ages, from the old and wise to the young and foolish, saints and sinners alike. Many of these characters, and the stories in which they appear, play a prominent part in the religious traditions and cultural worlds of three major faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Interpreted according to each faith’s distinctive norms, they are popular subjects not only in the literature but particularly in the rich iconographies of the three religions.

1&2 Kings: A Visual Commentary takes the form of a commentary that focuses on the interpretation of characters and stories from the books of Kings in the visual cultures of the three monotheistic faiths. In each chapter, the first section sets out the most distinctive interpretations and appropriations of the biblical story. The second section interprets how the story has been received and interpreted in Jewish, Christian and Islamic literature. The final section details how characters or episodes from Kings re-appear in original ways in the artwork of the three religions. With its over one hundred and seventy-five full-colour images, from Christian mediaeval manuscripts and Persian and Ottoman miniature paintings to contemporary Jewish art, the volume shows why stories from 1&2 Kings feature so prominently in the artistic and cultural worlds the three religions have helped to shape.

Scholars, students and Bible readers in general will find something new and something delightful on every page of this unusually engaging work.

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Doing Biblical Masculinity Studies as Feminist Biblical Studies? Critical Interrogations

Published: Oct 2023
£60.00
This anthology presents a collaborative interrogation at the intersection of feminist biblical studies and biblical masculinity studies. The included essays make a compelling case for both feminist and masculist readers to recognize the advantage of engaging with each other. As they join forces, they produce research that not only brings female characters, gender issues or queer interpretation histories to the forefront but also interrogates critically male characters as well as androcentric and heteronormative conventions, viewpoints and norms. Connections to geopolitical, ethno-religious and other intersectional issues are part and parcel of the diverse range of approaches. As a whole, then, the book expands the scholarly discourse from essentializing attention on ‘women’ or ‘men’ to a multifaceted (de)construction of gender that exposes gendered structures of domination in comprehensive ways. The shared goal is to halt reactionary gender discourses and to foster intersectional comprehension of texts and scholarship. Theoretical, historical, contemporary and textual considerations underscore the methodological, hermeneutical and exegetical value of this kind of work. The volume is organized into three main parts. First, ‘Theoretical Considerations’, presents two essays illuminating meta-level assumptions and developments when biblical scholars embrace the interrelationship of feminist and masculinity studies in their work. Second, ‘Historical and Contemporary Considerations’, contains three essays examining the Bible in past and present cultural contexts. Third, ‘Textual Considerations’, features four essays focusing on specific passages with lenses informed by masculinity and feminist studies. All nine essays, and the three responses addressing them, invite readers to understand, critique and interrupt phallogocentric assumptions in texts, interpretation histories, and research of the Hebrew Bible.
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Doing Biblical Masculinity Studies as Feminist Biblical Studies? Critical Interrogations

£60.00
This anthology presents a collaborative interrogation at the intersection of feminist biblical studies and biblical masculinity studies. The included essays make a compelling case for both feminist and masculist readers to recognize the advantage of engaging with each other. As they join forces, they produce research that not only brings female characters, gender issues or queer interpretation histories to the forefront but also interrogates critically male characters as well as androcentric and heteronormative conventions, viewpoints and norms. Connections to geopolitical, ethno-religious and other intersectional issues are part and parcel of the diverse range of approaches. As a whole, then, the book expands the scholarly discourse from essentializing attention on ‘women’ or ‘men’ to a multifaceted (de)construction of gender that exposes gendered structures of domination in comprehensive ways. The shared goal is to halt reactionary gender discourses and to foster intersectional comprehension of texts and scholarship. Theoretical, historical, contemporary and textual considerations underscore the methodological, hermeneutical and exegetical value of this kind of work. The volume is organized into three main parts. First, ‘Theoretical Considerations’, presents two essays illuminating meta-level assumptions and developments when biblical scholars embrace the interrelationship of feminist and masculinity studies in their work. Second, ‘Historical and Contemporary Considerations’, contains three essays examining the Bible in past and present cultural contexts. Third, ‘Textual Considerations’, features four essays focusing on specific passages with lenses informed by masculinity and feminist studies. All nine essays, and the three responses addressing them, invite readers to understand, critique and interrupt phallogocentric assumptions in texts, interpretation histories, and research of the Hebrew Bible.
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Effective Stories: Genesis Through the Lens of Resilience

Published: July 2023
£70.00
This book is the first monograph-length reading of a biblical book through the lens of resilience. Megan Warner first defines the lens and outlines its boundaries, before training it upon Genesis—to draw new, and often surprising, meaning out of a much-mined text. This innovative reading responds to the need for sustained readings of biblical text, not just in the spheres of resilience and vulnerability, but also in the closely connected interpretative field of trauma.

Warner demonstrates that the authors and editors of Genesis wrote and presented ‘effective stories’—i.e. stories designed to effect change. The devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile and dispiriting return are nowhere explicitly addressed in Genesis. It relates the history of much earlier events. Nevertheless, this reading exposes intimate engagement with these seminal disasters and the formulation of responses to them. Genesis reaches back into ancient history for the purpose of preparing a new and resilient road into an uncertain future. Amongst the contributions of this volume are:
 a presentation of Genesis’ two creation stories as concerted and complementary responses to the Babylonian crisis;
 the identification of an extensive book-wide project, focused on Abraham, to present a history of a united (albeit Judah-centred) Israel designed to challenge the Mosaic Yahwisms of the pre-exilic and exilic periods;
 exploration of patterns of use and recruitment of female characters for political means; and
 a sustained reading of the resilience of a single character, Joseph. Warner’s critical approach exposes limitations of the use of resilience as lens, but ultimately demonstrates its potential to go beyond trauma-centred approaches, to recognise innovative, practical and above all, effective, strategies for the construction of viable futures.
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Effective Stories: Genesis Through the Lens of Resilience

£70.00
This book is the first monograph-length reading of a biblical book through the lens of resilience. Megan Warner first defines the lens and outlines its boundaries, before training it upon Genesis—to draw new, and often surprising, meaning out of a much-mined text. This innovative reading responds to the need for sustained readings of biblical text, not just in the spheres of resilience and vulnerability, but also in the closely connected interpretative field of trauma.

Warner demonstrates that the authors and editors of Genesis wrote and presented ‘effective stories’—i.e. stories designed to effect change. The devastation of the destruction of Jerusalem, the exile and dispiriting return are nowhere explicitly addressed in Genesis. It relates the history of much earlier events. Nevertheless, this reading exposes intimate engagement with these seminal disasters and the formulation of responses to them. Genesis reaches back into ancient history for the purpose of preparing a new and resilient road into an uncertain future. Amongst the contributions of this volume are:
 a presentation of Genesis’ two creation stories as concerted and complementary responses to the Babylonian crisis;
 the identification of an extensive book-wide project, focused on Abraham, to present a history of a united (albeit Judah-centred) Israel designed to challenge the Mosaic Yahwisms of the pre-exilic and exilic periods;
 exploration of patterns of use and recruitment of female characters for political means; and
 a sustained reading of the resilience of a single character, Joseph. Warner’s critical approach exposes limitations of the use of resilience as lens, but ultimately demonstrates its potential to go beyond trauma-centred approaches, to recognise innovative, practical and above all, effective, strategies for the construction of viable futures.
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The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40-55: Beyond New Exodus or Metaphor

Published: Jun 2023
£70.00
Entering into a longstanding debate in Isaiah research on 'way' language in chapters 40–55 comes The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40–55. This discussion concerns whether the 'way' is best understood as a new exodus of the exiles from Babylon or instead as a metaphor signifying the transformation of Jerusalem from a place of judgement to a place of redemption. Caleb Gundlach’s study contributes to this debate by arguing that the pilgrimage to Zion becomes a prevalent aspect of the 'way' theme in Isaiah 40–55 and influences how the homecoming is envisioned in these chapters. Firstly, it lays out criteria for recognizing the pilgrimage to Zion as the predominant journey type in Isaiah 49–55. It then explores the relationship of this pilgrimage journey to the major theme of Zion’s restoration within Isaiah 40–55, a theme also emphasized by metaphorical interpretations of the 'way'. Resituating the homecoming material within the perspective of pilgrimage to Zion sheds light on other interpretive debates on Isaiah 40–55, including: - the Babylonian or Judahite provenance for the text; - emphasis on either the text’s compositional stages or its thematic coherence; - thematic tensions, such as between Zion’s restoration and the Servant’s mission to the nations. Reconsidering Isaiah’s 'way' imagery under the paradigm of the pilgrimage to Zion provides new avenues for negotiating these issues and takes a further step towards understanding how Isaiah 40–55 coheres as a meaningful and complex unity.
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The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40-55: Beyond New Exodus or Metaphor

£70.00
Entering into a longstanding debate in Isaiah research on 'way' language in chapters 40–55 comes The Way to Zion in Isaiah 40–55. This discussion concerns whether the 'way' is best understood as a new exodus of the exiles from Babylon or instead as a metaphor signifying the transformation of Jerusalem from a place of judgement to a place of redemption. Caleb Gundlach’s study contributes to this debate by arguing that the pilgrimage to Zion becomes a prevalent aspect of the 'way' theme in Isaiah 40–55 and influences how the homecoming is envisioned in these chapters. Firstly, it lays out criteria for recognizing the pilgrimage to Zion as the predominant journey type in Isaiah 49–55. It then explores the relationship of this pilgrimage journey to the major theme of Zion’s restoration within Isaiah 40–55, a theme also emphasized by metaphorical interpretations of the 'way'. Resituating the homecoming material within the perspective of pilgrimage to Zion sheds light on other interpretive debates on Isaiah 40–55, including: - the Babylonian or Judahite provenance for the text; - emphasis on either the text’s compositional stages or its thematic coherence; - thematic tensions, such as between Zion’s restoration and the Servant’s mission to the nations. Reconsidering Isaiah’s 'way' imagery under the paradigm of the pilgrimage to Zion provides new avenues for negotiating these issues and takes a further step towards understanding how Isaiah 40–55 coheres as a meaningful and complex unity.
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From Qumran to Jude: A History of Social Crisis at Qumran and in Early Jewish Christianity

Published: Jun 2023
£65.00
Many have noted the Qumran-like language of Jude. Chris Armitage provides a detailed comparative consideration of the similarities between Jude and the Dead Sea Scrolls peshers in the Hebrew Bible. The writers, in each of these texts, frequently appeal to examples of eschatological punishment for deviant theology and conduct, from the Hebrew Bible. This study delves systematically into Jude’s use of pesher technique—appropriating a Hebrew Bible example of deviant teaching and behaviour and its eschatological consequences and applying it to the present—and shows, across the divide of Koine Greek and Classical Hebrew, that this is same technique as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Armitage infers that similar socio-theological crises faced Jude’s and the Qumran community, requiring each to generate literature containing purity and pollution rhetoric, derived from remodelling Hebrew Bible predictions of eschatological punishment to fit its own time, in order to ensure internal solidarity.
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From Qumran to Jude: A History of Social Crisis at Qumran and in Early Jewish Christianity

£65.00
Many have noted the Qumran-like language of Jude. Chris Armitage provides a detailed comparative consideration of the similarities between Jude and the Dead Sea Scrolls peshers in the Hebrew Bible. The writers, in each of these texts, frequently appeal to examples of eschatological punishment for deviant theology and conduct, from the Hebrew Bible. This study delves systematically into Jude’s use of pesher technique—appropriating a Hebrew Bible example of deviant teaching and behaviour and its eschatological consequences and applying it to the present—and shows, across the divide of Koine Greek and Classical Hebrew, that this is same technique as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Armitage infers that similar socio-theological crises faced Jude’s and the Qumran community, requiring each to generate literature containing purity and pollution rhetoric, derived from remodelling Hebrew Bible predictions of eschatological punishment to fit its own time, in order to ensure internal solidarity.
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Joban Papers

Published: Apr 2023
£75.00
In this volume, David J.A. Clines—known for his magisterial three-volume commentary on Job in the Word Biblical Commentary series (1989–2011)—brings together a sequence of 27 of his papers on his favourite biblical book from a variety of publications. In two sections, the wide-ranging Syntheses and the more focused Probes on particular chapters, this collection is a necessary adjunct to his commentary. Among the titles in the Syntheses are: - On the Poetic Achievement of the Book of Job - Why Is There a Book of Job, and What Does It Do to You If You Read It? - Job’s Fifth Friend: An Ethical Critique of the Book of Job - Deconstructing the Book of Job Among the Probes the reader will find: - False Naivety in the Prologue to Job - In Search of the Indian Job - Quarter Days Gone: Job 24 and the Absence of God - Those Golden Days: Job and the Perils of Nostalgia - Putting Elihu in his Place: A Proposal for the Relocation of Job 32–37 - One or Two Things You May Not Know about the Universe - The Worth of Animals in the Book of Job - Job’s Crafty Conclusion, and Seven Interesting Things about the Epilogue to Job
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Joban Papers

£75.00
In this volume, David J.A. Clines—known for his magisterial three-volume commentary on Job in the Word Biblical Commentary series (1989–2011)—brings together a sequence of 27 of his papers on his favourite biblical book from a variety of publications. In two sections, the wide-ranging Syntheses and the more focused Probes on particular chapters, this collection is a necessary adjunct to his commentary. Among the titles in the Syntheses are: - On the Poetic Achievement of the Book of Job - Why Is There a Book of Job, and What Does It Do to You If You Read It? - Job’s Fifth Friend: An Ethical Critique of the Book of Job - Deconstructing the Book of Job Among the Probes the reader will find: - False Naivety in the Prologue to Job - In Search of the Indian Job - Quarter Days Gone: Job 24 and the Absence of God - Those Golden Days: Job and the Perils of Nostalgia - Putting Elihu in his Place: A Proposal for the Relocation of Job 32–37 - One or Two Things You May Not Know about the Universe - The Worth of Animals in the Book of Job - Job’s Crafty Conclusion, and Seven Interesting Things about the Epilogue to Job
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Play the Man! Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity

Published: Apr 2023
£75.00
David J.A. Clines argues in Play the Man! that masculinity is a script, written for men by their societies, a script that men in their various cultures act out their whole lives long: 'no one is born a man'. He has been quick to deploy the insights of sociologists, historians, educationists, health professionals, psychologists and other scholars investigating masculinity in the contemporary and ancient worlds. The book's title is a recognition of masculinity as performance, and the Bible's depictions of males in action as far more than information or entertainment; they function as demands on the men who read them or have them read to them. Hence the subtitle, Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity, presumes that every biblical reference to the masculine is some kind of authoritative command. Clines—in this collection of writings prepared across three decades—has seen biblical texts as an excellent test bed for research into masculinity in one ancient culture as well as being an indubitable influence upon views and practices of masculinity in our own time.  The bulk of the book consists of studies of individual characters and texts of the Bible, analysing and profiling the masculinity that is there attested, assumed and encouraged. In conclusion, Clines reflects on the continuing impact of the biblical imperatives to masculinity, their effect on men, women and religion, in our own time.  
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Play the Man! Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity

£75.00
David J.A. Clines argues in Play the Man! that masculinity is a script, written for men by their societies, a script that men in their various cultures act out their whole lives long: 'no one is born a man'. He has been quick to deploy the insights of sociologists, historians, educationists, health professionals, psychologists and other scholars investigating masculinity in the contemporary and ancient worlds. The book's title is a recognition of masculinity as performance, and the Bible's depictions of males in action as far more than information or entertainment; they function as demands on the men who read them or have them read to them. Hence the subtitle, Biblical Imperatives to Masculinity, presumes that every biblical reference to the masculine is some kind of authoritative command. Clines—in this collection of writings prepared across three decades—has seen biblical texts as an excellent test bed for research into masculinity in one ancient culture as well as being an indubitable influence upon views and practices of masculinity in our own time.  The bulk of the book consists of studies of individual characters and texts of the Bible, analysing and profiling the masculinity that is there attested, assumed and encouraged. In conclusion, Clines reflects on the continuing impact of the biblical imperatives to masculinity, their effect on men, women and religion, in our own time.  
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Lamentations: From Despair to Prayer

Published: May 2022
£65.00
The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the sixth century bce brought its inhabitants pain, a feeling of abandonment by God, and the loss of self-identity—and engendered the six poems of the book of Lamentations. Previous studies of the book have sought for its theological centre, or have read the book solely as an expression of grief, but in this innovative interpretation Elie Assis claims that its main aim is to impart hope to its exiled readers. The intention of Lamentations is to transport the mourners from despair to prayer, and to offer its assurance that the destruction must only be temporary because God has not severed his covenant with the people. The people's wish to feel themselves desired by God can be fulfilled, and the divine commitment is forever binding. Through his sensitive literary analysis Assis lays bare a progression of thought within each poem and as well from poem to poem; it is a movement, theological and emotional, from despair in the first poem to prayer and hope in the last.
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Lamentations: From Despair to Prayer

£65.00
The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the sixth century bce brought its inhabitants pain, a feeling of abandonment by God, and the loss of self-identity—and engendered the six poems of the book of Lamentations. Previous studies of the book have sought for its theological centre, or have read the book solely as an expression of grief, but in this innovative interpretation Elie Assis claims that its main aim is to impart hope to its exiled readers. The intention of Lamentations is to transport the mourners from despair to prayer, and to offer its assurance that the destruction must only be temporary because God has not severed his covenant with the people. The people's wish to feel themselves desired by God can be fulfilled, and the divine commitment is forever binding. Through his sensitive literary analysis Assis lays bare a progression of thought within each poem and as well from poem to poem; it is a movement, theological and emotional, from despair in the first poem to prayer and hope in the last.
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From Words to Meaning: Studies on Old Testament Language and Theology for David J. Reimer

Published: Dec 2021
£60.00
David J. Reimer, to whom this volume is dedicated, has taught over twenty years at New College in Edinburgh. During this time, he has published and supervised many projects in the areas of Hebrew language study and Old Testament theology. These two disciplines often stay each in their own territory. As a token of recognition to David's scholarship, From Words to Meaning is designed to bridge this gap and to demonstrate afresh how speaking theologically about the Old Testament is enriched when it focuses on how these ancient texts communicate their message. With its analysis of selected literary aspects, words, and theological questions, the volume contributes to current methodological discussions in both disciplines. Each of its twelve essays provides a case study that models the crossover between theology and language study. Alongside up-to-date discussions about Bible translation and biblical theology, the volume sheds new light on old questions, such as resurrection and Christology in the Old Testament. Inasmuch as all of these items are established topics in Old Testament theology, From Words to Meaning highlights time and again how close attention to Hebrew language results in a more nuanced understanding. This holds true especially for the many exercises of lexical semantics and pragmatics that are included in the volume. Readers will benefit from the careful study of the words 'to save' and 'glory', but will also gain fresh insights into the rhetoric of David's tears, Hosea's culinary metaphors, and Jeremiah's speech quotation. The combination of well-established writers and emerging new voices results in a rounded sample of how we may move 'from words to meaning'. With its expertise and methodological orientation, the volume is an excellent resource for all scholars who are interested in the interplay of theology and language in the field of Old Testament studies.
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From Words to Meaning: Studies on Old Testament Language and Theology for David J. Reimer

£60.00
David J. Reimer, to whom this volume is dedicated, has taught over twenty years at New College in Edinburgh. During this time, he has published and supervised many projects in the areas of Hebrew language study and Old Testament theology. These two disciplines often stay each in their own territory. As a token of recognition to David's scholarship, From Words to Meaning is designed to bridge this gap and to demonstrate afresh how speaking theologically about the Old Testament is enriched when it focuses on how these ancient texts communicate their message. With its analysis of selected literary aspects, words, and theological questions, the volume contributes to current methodological discussions in both disciplines. Each of its twelve essays provides a case study that models the crossover between theology and language study. Alongside up-to-date discussions about Bible translation and biblical theology, the volume sheds new light on old questions, such as resurrection and Christology in the Old Testament. Inasmuch as all of these items are established topics in Old Testament theology, From Words to Meaning highlights time and again how close attention to Hebrew language results in a more nuanced understanding. This holds true especially for the many exercises of lexical semantics and pragmatics that are included in the volume. Readers will benefit from the careful study of the words 'to save' and 'glory', but will also gain fresh insights into the rhetoric of David's tears, Hosea's culinary metaphors, and Jeremiah's speech quotation. The combination of well-established writers and emerging new voices results in a rounded sample of how we may move 'from words to meaning'. With its expertise and methodological orientation, the volume is an excellent resource for all scholars who are interested in the interplay of theology and language in the field of Old Testament studies.
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Epigraphy, Iconography, and the Bible

Published: Dec 2021
£85.00
The study of the Bible has long been illuminated by 'light from the East' (in the famous phrase of Adolf Deissmann in 1908). Almost daily, new artifacts and inscriptions are announced that will have an impact on how the Bible is read and understood. Following Meir Lubetski's SPP collection New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean and Cuneiform in 2007 and his Festschrift, Visions of Life in Biblical Times in 2015, the present volume garners papers from a wide and distinguished panel of specialists in the Ancient Near East that revisit former assumptions and present new insights on the relevance of its material culture to the Bible. Among the papers, Alan Millard reviews the issue of the use of the early alphabets, André Lemaire revisits the Mesha stele (the Moabite Stone), and Pieter Gert van der Veen takes a fresh look at the seal of Shema with its famous lion (still adorning the cover of the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament). Bezalel Porten contributes a fascinating study, illustrated by twenty colour diagrams, of documents on papyrus or ostraca requesting provisions from storerooms—an insight into the practicalities of daily administrative life in Egypt, Idumea and Israel. There are papers also on the arks of the Hebrew Bible (Yigal Levin), on alleged identifications of Hebrew kings in inscriptions (Lawrence Mykytiuk), on literary images in the Tell Fekheriye inscription and the book of Lamentations (Gideon Kotzé) and on Judaean pillar figurines of women that are ubiquitous in archaeological excavations from Iron Age Judah. Epigraphy, Iconography, and the Bible, in sum, is something of a cornucopia of new and revised data about the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context, intelligible to scholars, students and a more general public alike.
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Epigraphy, Iconography, and the Bible

£85.00
The study of the Bible has long been illuminated by 'light from the East' (in the famous phrase of Adolf Deissmann in 1908). Almost daily, new artifacts and inscriptions are announced that will have an impact on how the Bible is read and understood. Following Meir Lubetski's SPP collection New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean and Cuneiform in 2007 and his Festschrift, Visions of Life in Biblical Times in 2015, the present volume garners papers from a wide and distinguished panel of specialists in the Ancient Near East that revisit former assumptions and present new insights on the relevance of its material culture to the Bible. Among the papers, Alan Millard reviews the issue of the use of the early alphabets, André Lemaire revisits the Mesha stele (the Moabite Stone), and Pieter Gert van der Veen takes a fresh look at the seal of Shema with its famous lion (still adorning the cover of the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament). Bezalel Porten contributes a fascinating study, illustrated by twenty colour diagrams, of documents on papyrus or ostraca requesting provisions from storerooms—an insight into the practicalities of daily administrative life in Egypt, Idumea and Israel. There are papers also on the arks of the Hebrew Bible (Yigal Levin), on alleged identifications of Hebrew kings in inscriptions (Lawrence Mykytiuk), on literary images in the Tell Fekheriye inscription and the book of Lamentations (Gideon Kotzé) and on Judaean pillar figurines of women that are ubiquitous in archaeological excavations from Iron Age Judah. Epigraphy, Iconography, and the Bible, in sum, is something of a cornucopia of new and revised data about the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context, intelligible to scholars, students and a more general public alike.
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A Theology of Genocide? : Reading Deuteronomy 20

Published: Oct 2021
£70.00
The twentieth century has been described, not without justification, as the 'Century of Genocide'. Whole groups of people have been targeted for slaughter because of their ethnicity or religion, from Armenia to Rwanda. Against this background, how are we to understand the command in Deuteronomy to 'not leave alive anything that breathes' of the Canaanite nations present in the Promised Land (Deut 20.17-18)? In this penetrating study, Milner begins by asking if this passage has been used to justify genocidal violence (it has, but not nearly as much as some have thought). He then considers how such texts have been understood, demonstrating that most readers have taken the passage allegorically, as a metaphor for the interior struggle against sin. That may seem to be too easy a solution. Yet, looking at modern historical and literary analyses of the text, Milner shows that the original audiences of this passage would also have taken it symbolically, since they lived many generations after the 'narrated time' of the Conquest when no Canaanites populations remained to be exterminated. Further, the narrative itself demonstrates that the 'military option' was a complete failure, and does not commend it to the audience of the text. Milner argues that God no more commanded genocide than he wandered about in the evening breeze in Eden (Gen 3:8) or encouraged Satan to persecute and tempt Job (Job 1-2). This is by no means a new insight, he says, tracing it back to early Christian theologians, particularly Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, who argued that passages not 'worthy of God' should not be interpreted literally.
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A Theology of Genocide? : Reading Deuteronomy 20

£70.00
The twentieth century has been described, not without justification, as the 'Century of Genocide'. Whole groups of people have been targeted for slaughter because of their ethnicity or religion, from Armenia to Rwanda. Against this background, how are we to understand the command in Deuteronomy to 'not leave alive anything that breathes' of the Canaanite nations present in the Promised Land (Deut 20.17-18)? In this penetrating study, Milner begins by asking if this passage has been used to justify genocidal violence (it has, but not nearly as much as some have thought). He then considers how such texts have been understood, demonstrating that most readers have taken the passage allegorically, as a metaphor for the interior struggle against sin. That may seem to be too easy a solution. Yet, looking at modern historical and literary analyses of the text, Milner shows that the original audiences of this passage would also have taken it symbolically, since they lived many generations after the 'narrated time' of the Conquest when no Canaanites populations remained to be exterminated. Further, the narrative itself demonstrates that the 'military option' was a complete failure, and does not commend it to the audience of the text. Milner argues that God no more commanded genocide than he wandered about in the evening breeze in Eden (Gen 3:8) or encouraged Satan to persecute and tempt Job (Job 1-2). This is by no means a new insight, he says, tracing it back to early Christian theologians, particularly Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, who argued that passages not 'worthy of God' should not be interpreted literally.
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Herald of Good Tidings: Essays on the Bible, Prophecy, and the Hope of Israel in Honour of Antti Laato

Published: Sep 2021
£90.00
This volume is dedicated to the prominent biblical scholar, Antti Laato, of Åbo Akademi University, Finland, on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. In his extensive and many-faceted scholarly work spanning more than 35 years, there have been some focal points. One has been the Book of Isaiah, and, more broadly, the prophetic books and the messianic hopes they contain. From the 2010s onwards, another aspect has gained more visibility in Antti Laato's work: the reception history of the Bible —the Hebrew Bible in particular —in both Judaism and Christianity. Herald of Good Tidings is a collection of papers, by nineteen scholars mainly from the Nordic countries, on the heralds of redemption and hope, the prophets —their voice, words and deeds, and on the status and role of these prophets. The first part of the volume concerns the world of the Hebrew Bible: biblical prophetism, the prophets themselves and their books. The second part is devoted to the continuing message of the prophets in its post-biblical Jewish and Christian reception. A key aspect is their message of a bright future, whether about hope in general or about the Messiah. Their words are constantly being interpreted, sometimes personalities of the post-biblical era also being seen as prophetic figures. The brief third part of the book illustrates the ongoing influence of the prophets in times yet more distant than the post-biblical age from the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
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Herald of Good Tidings: Essays on the Bible, Prophecy, and the Hope of Israel in Honour of Antti Laato

£90.00
This volume is dedicated to the prominent biblical scholar, Antti Laato, of Åbo Akademi University, Finland, on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. In his extensive and many-faceted scholarly work spanning more than 35 years, there have been some focal points. One has been the Book of Isaiah, and, more broadly, the prophetic books and the messianic hopes they contain. From the 2010s onwards, another aspect has gained more visibility in Antti Laato's work: the reception history of the Bible —the Hebrew Bible in particular —in both Judaism and Christianity. Herald of Good Tidings is a collection of papers, by nineteen scholars mainly from the Nordic countries, on the heralds of redemption and hope, the prophets —their voice, words and deeds, and on the status and role of these prophets. The first part of the volume concerns the world of the Hebrew Bible: biblical prophetism, the prophets themselves and their books. The second part is devoted to the continuing message of the prophets in its post-biblical Jewish and Christian reception. A key aspect is their message of a bright future, whether about hope in general or about the Messiah. Their words are constantly being interpreted, sometimes personalities of the post-biblical era also being seen as prophetic figures. The brief third part of the book illustrates the ongoing influence of the prophets in times yet more distant than the post-biblical age from the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
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Explanations for Exile in Amos

Published: July 2021
£60.00
In four places, Amos announces Israel's coming exile to Assyria: 4.1-3, 5.25-27, 6.1-14 and 7.7-17. It will be Yahweh's punishment for social injustice. But who is to blame? Most scholars think it is the women (and men) of the mid-eighth-century BCE Israelite upper class. Not so, says Campos. It is the kings who are the culprits. Kings should champion social justice, as we know from ancient Near Eastern texts and biblical books like Jeremiah, and the endurance of the kingship depends on their upholding justice. Kings must also remain loyal Yahwists, and keep clear of alliances with foreign powers. The kingship has failed on these counts. In this forensic overturning of time-honoured readings of Amos's oracles, and with a fresh eye for his metaphors, Martha Campos outs the successors of Jeroboam (7.9) as the cows of Bashan (4.1), manufacturers of images for non-Yahwistic worship, especially of Ninurta/Sakkuth (5.26), lounging on couches at their banquets (6.4). And Amos himself is a tin wall (7.8), strong enough to fend off the arrows of his opponents. Explanations for Exile will be a breath of fresh air for scholars and students of the prophet Amos.
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Explanations for Exile in Amos

£60.00
In four places, Amos announces Israel's coming exile to Assyria: 4.1-3, 5.25-27, 6.1-14 and 7.7-17. It will be Yahweh's punishment for social injustice. But who is to blame? Most scholars think it is the women (and men) of the mid-eighth-century BCE Israelite upper class. Not so, says Campos. It is the kings who are the culprits. Kings should champion social justice, as we know from ancient Near Eastern texts and biblical books like Jeremiah, and the endurance of the kingship depends on their upholding justice. Kings must also remain loyal Yahwists, and keep clear of alliances with foreign powers. The kingship has failed on these counts. In this forensic overturning of time-honoured readings of Amos's oracles, and with a fresh eye for his metaphors, Martha Campos outs the successors of Jeroboam (7.9) as the cows of Bashan (4.1), manufacturers of images for non-Yahwistic worship, especially of Ninurta/Sakkuth (5.26), lounging on couches at their banquets (6.4). And Amos himself is a tin wall (7.8), strong enough to fend off the arrows of his opponents. Explanations for Exile will be a breath of fresh air for scholars and students of the prophet Amos.
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Sequencing the Hebrew Bible: The Order of the Books

Published: July 2021
£55.00
If the order of the Hebrew Bible's books is significant, as many believe, why did differing arrangements of the Hebrew Bible emerge over time? This is a crucial question for Bible readers generally and especially for scholars of compilational criticism —the study of how the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged in their various orders. Yet few compilational critics offer a solution to this problem and several fail even to recognize the issue. Sequencing the Hebrew Bible makes the novel proposal that multiple orders are part of the compositional intent of the framers of the Hebrew Bible. That is, those responsible for producing the final form of the Hebrew Bible's text created multiple ways in which its books could be meaningfully arranged. No single arrangement, as found in ancient manuscripts and lists of the books, can fully account for the compositional intent of these framers. The task of the compilational critic is to identify these arrangements, classify them, and evaluate the effect of these varying arrangements. This solution has implications both for the production of modern Bibles and for biblical theology. While some interested in compilational criticism argue that modern Bibles should be reorganized to reflect earlier arrangements of the biblical books, this study would suggest that such attempts would be limited in value. For only one of the several attested arrangements could be presented in any printed Bible. As for the idea of attempting to arrange the Bible chronologically, this study argues that to do so would inhibit the reader's understanding of the design of the biblical authors. Since biblical theology bridges the gap between historical-critical and theological studies, internal tensions between historical and theological analyses are often apparent within biblical theology. Compilational criticism helps to relieve these tensions by showing how theology underlies the formation of the Hebrew Bible.
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Sequencing the Hebrew Bible: The Order of the Books

£55.00
If the order of the Hebrew Bible's books is significant, as many believe, why did differing arrangements of the Hebrew Bible emerge over time? This is a crucial question for Bible readers generally and especially for scholars of compilational criticism —the study of how the books of the Hebrew Bible were arranged in their various orders. Yet few compilational critics offer a solution to this problem and several fail even to recognize the issue. Sequencing the Hebrew Bible makes the novel proposal that multiple orders are part of the compositional intent of the framers of the Hebrew Bible. That is, those responsible for producing the final form of the Hebrew Bible's text created multiple ways in which its books could be meaningfully arranged. No single arrangement, as found in ancient manuscripts and lists of the books, can fully account for the compositional intent of these framers. The task of the compilational critic is to identify these arrangements, classify them, and evaluate the effect of these varying arrangements. This solution has implications both for the production of modern Bibles and for biblical theology. While some interested in compilational criticism argue that modern Bibles should be reorganized to reflect earlier arrangements of the biblical books, this study would suggest that such attempts would be limited in value. For only one of the several attested arrangements could be presented in any printed Bible. As for the idea of attempting to arrange the Bible chronologically, this study argues that to do so would inhibit the reader's understanding of the design of the biblical authors. Since biblical theology bridges the gap between historical-critical and theological studies, internal tensions between historical and theological analyses are often apparent within biblical theology. Compilational criticism helps to relieve these tensions by showing how theology underlies the formation of the Hebrew Bible.
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The Great Drama of Jeremiah: A Performance Reading

Published: May 2021
£65.00
In this original work, joining the growing corpus of performance criticism of Hebrew Bible texts, Billingham offers a performance reading of some eleven scenes in the book of Jeremiah, analysing their scripts, actors/speakers, audiences, settings and improvisation of scripts. While kings, priests, prophets and people act in various ways in these performances, Jeremiah himself plays an important role both in reporting their actions and in delivering speeches proclaiming Yhwh's oracles. Earth and members of the Earth community also raise their voices in distress at the absence of the exiled people. The people of the exile themselves can be assumed as the audience if no other is designated in a scene; it will be their role to process the experiences of the drama. Various socio-political and geographical contexts provide safe settings in which they may view the traumatic events that unfold. In a synchronic reading, Billingham argues that Jeremiah improvises several old Israelite traditions, applying them to the new context of exile, challenging the prevailing royal-priestly ideology, and prompting the audience to rethink its beliefs, attitudes and actions. Among the performances analysed in this book are the divine ultrasound of the pre-natal prophet, Jeremiah's vision of the reversal of creation, the people's search for a single righteous person in Jerusalem, the siege of the city and (horror!) the destruction of the temple. In a ludicrous contest with the idols, the best god wins. And Jeremiah smashes a pot as a sign-act for Judah's destruction. This heuristic reading of Jeremiah invites readers to interact with Jeremiah's messages as dramatic performances that may be brought to life in their own experiences of crisis, challenge and triumph.
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The Great Drama of Jeremiah: A Performance Reading

£65.00
In this original work, joining the growing corpus of performance criticism of Hebrew Bible texts, Billingham offers a performance reading of some eleven scenes in the book of Jeremiah, analysing their scripts, actors/speakers, audiences, settings and improvisation of scripts. While kings, priests, prophets and people act in various ways in these performances, Jeremiah himself plays an important role both in reporting their actions and in delivering speeches proclaiming Yhwh's oracles. Earth and members of the Earth community also raise their voices in distress at the absence of the exiled people. The people of the exile themselves can be assumed as the audience if no other is designated in a scene; it will be their role to process the experiences of the drama. Various socio-political and geographical contexts provide safe settings in which they may view the traumatic events that unfold. In a synchronic reading, Billingham argues that Jeremiah improvises several old Israelite traditions, applying them to the new context of exile, challenging the prevailing royal-priestly ideology, and prompting the audience to rethink its beliefs, attitudes and actions. Among the performances analysed in this book are the divine ultrasound of the pre-natal prophet, Jeremiah's vision of the reversal of creation, the people's search for a single righteous person in Jerusalem, the siege of the city and (horror!) the destruction of the temple. In a ludicrous contest with the idols, the best god wins. And Jeremiah smashes a pot as a sign-act for Judah's destruction. This heuristic reading of Jeremiah invites readers to interact with Jeremiah's messages as dramatic performances that may be brought to life in their own experiences of crisis, challenge and triumph.
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Abishag: Administrator of King David’s Household

Published: May 2021
£80.00
Following Daniel Bodi's previous monographs on the three wives of King David —Michal, Bathsheba and Abigail —here is a fourth one on Abishag, the last woman in his life. It has not been recognized before how decisive a role she played as a palace administrator in David's final political crisis, Adonijah's coup d’état , and Solomon's proclamation as king. Hitherto, Abishag has been given androcentric readings. Her position as administrator has been demoted to that of a mere housekeeper, bedfellow or even hot-water bottle. Some rabbinic authors transformed her into an androgynous being, claiming an intersex person warms better than a young female virgin. In fact, the term for Abishag's office as sōkenet is nothing but the feminine form of sken 'palace steward', a well-known functionary across the Semitic world. Much more than a simple housekeeper, Abishag wields administrative power with a legal role as a witness in Solomon's appointment. Exploring further the role of women at royal courts, Bodi also offers a comparative analysis of the famous queens who played a role in the royal succession as kings' mothers in Egypt, Mari, Hatti, Ugarit and Assyria. Solomon's appointment as David's successor results from a palace putsch, executed with cunning and craftiness, which are to be understood as archaic forms of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible, classical Greece and the ancient Near East. The stories of David's wives —and of Abishag —together form a Hebrew document in the style of an Advice to a Prince. An interesting comparison is drawn between David's four wives and the four females Odysseus encounters in Homer's Odyssey: Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa and Penelope. Strikingly, the Hebrew version of the Advice to a Prince and the Homeric Epic were being written at roughly the same time, the end of the eighth century bce.
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Abishag: Administrator of King David’s Household

£80.00
Following Daniel Bodi's previous monographs on the three wives of King David —Michal, Bathsheba and Abigail —here is a fourth one on Abishag, the last woman in his life. It has not been recognized before how decisive a role she played as a palace administrator in David's final political crisis, Adonijah's coup d’état , and Solomon's proclamation as king. Hitherto, Abishag has been given androcentric readings. Her position as administrator has been demoted to that of a mere housekeeper, bedfellow or even hot-water bottle. Some rabbinic authors transformed her into an androgynous being, claiming an intersex person warms better than a young female virgin. In fact, the term for Abishag's office as sōkenet is nothing but the feminine form of sken 'palace steward', a well-known functionary across the Semitic world. Much more than a simple housekeeper, Abishag wields administrative power with a legal role as a witness in Solomon's appointment. Exploring further the role of women at royal courts, Bodi also offers a comparative analysis of the famous queens who played a role in the royal succession as kings' mothers in Egypt, Mari, Hatti, Ugarit and Assyria. Solomon's appointment as David's successor results from a palace putsch, executed with cunning and craftiness, which are to be understood as archaic forms of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible, classical Greece and the ancient Near East. The stories of David's wives —and of Abishag —together form a Hebrew document in the style of an Advice to a Prince. An interesting comparison is drawn between David's four wives and the four females Odysseus encounters in Homer's Odyssey: Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa and Penelope. Strikingly, the Hebrew version of the Advice to a Prince and the Homeric Epic were being written at roughly the same time, the end of the eighth century bce.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: III. Fantasy and Alternative Histories

Published: Mar 2021
£22.00£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and classical literature. By the end of the nineteenth century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways that non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume III argues that fiction and fantasy play an important role in establishing expectations about the past. Changing sensitivities towards realism in art meant that imaginary visions were charged with an archaeological aesthetic. Orientalist painting offered seemingly realistic glimpses of ancient life. Stage plays and opera used the ancient Near East for performances that explored contemporary issues. Mummy stories evolved from humorous time-travel tales into horror fiction rooted in fears of materialism, and adventure novels ruminated on the obligations and dangers of empire. Alongside these explicitly fictional modes of thinking about the past, the nineteenth century saw a rise in popularity of esoteric thinking. People offered alternative versions of ancient history, imagining that ancient religious practices continued into the present, through secret societies like the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians or in the new movements of Mormonism and Theosophy. Volume III ends by examining the interpretations of the Near East offered by Sigmund Freud and H.P. Lovecraft, showing how these two figures influenced later popular experiences of the ancient Near East.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: III. Fantasy and Alternative Histories

£22.00£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and classical literature. By the end of the nineteenth century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways that non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume III argues that fiction and fantasy play an important role in establishing expectations about the past. Changing sensitivities towards realism in art meant that imaginary visions were charged with an archaeological aesthetic. Orientalist painting offered seemingly realistic glimpses of ancient life. Stage plays and opera used the ancient Near East for performances that explored contemporary issues. Mummy stories evolved from humorous time-travel tales into horror fiction rooted in fears of materialism, and adventure novels ruminated on the obligations and dangers of empire. Alongside these explicitly fictional modes of thinking about the past, the nineteenth century saw a rise in popularity of esoteric thinking. People offered alternative versions of ancient history, imagining that ancient religious practices continued into the present, through secret societies like the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians or in the new movements of Mormonism and Theosophy. Volume III ends by examining the interpretations of the Near East offered by Sigmund Freud and H.P. Lovecraft, showing how these two figures influenced later popular experiences of the ancient Near East.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: II. Collecting, Constructing, and Curating

Published: Mar 2021
£23.00£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and classical literature. By the end of the nineteenth century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways that non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume II examines the different ways that non-specialists encountered the materiality of the ancient Near East over the course of the nineteenth century. During this time, people collected artifacts while traveling in the region or paid to see the collections that others brought back. The public experienced the ancient world in museum exhibits that privileged 'real' artifacts in a new context or in hyper-real displays (like the Crystal Palace) where whole buildings from the ancient Near East were reconstructed. Men and women dressed as biblical characters in travelling fairs or spent an evening unwrapping a mummy. Individuals bought Assyriological souvenirs and employed Egyptian styles in their design, first in higher quality designer products and later in novelty items. Egyptian temples provided the architectural inspiration for buildings in London and the ancient use of colour was a strong argument for reimagining Victorian style. The adoption of Egypt, especially, in the world's-fair phenomenon linked the ancient Near East with a global future in which change was naturalized and consumers were taught not to be afraid of the transformations brought by the industrial age.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: II. Collecting, Constructing, and Curating

£23.00£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and classical literature. By the end of the nineteenth century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways that non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume II examines the different ways that non-specialists encountered the materiality of the ancient Near East over the course of the nineteenth century. During this time, people collected artifacts while traveling in the region or paid to see the collections that others brought back. The public experienced the ancient world in museum exhibits that privileged 'real' artifacts in a new context or in hyper-real displays (like the Crystal Palace) where whole buildings from the ancient Near East were reconstructed. Men and women dressed as biblical characters in travelling fairs or spent an evening unwrapping a mummy. Individuals bought Assyriological souvenirs and employed Egyptian styles in their design, first in higher quality designer products and later in novelty items. Egyptian temples provided the architectural inspiration for buildings in London and the ancient use of colour was a strong argument for reimagining Victorian style. The adoption of Egypt, especially, in the world's-fair phenomenon linked the ancient Near East with a global future in which change was naturalized and consumers were taught not to be afraid of the transformations brought by the industrial age.
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Job: From Lament to Penitence

Published: Nov 2020
£60.00
Recent form-critical studies from Mark Boda and Rodney Werline among others have brought about an increased interest in the penitential form and a recognition of the form as distinct and derivative from the lament form. This development in scholarship has enabled the present study to develop a new analysis of the penitential form in Job and its interaction with the lament form. Using the methodological frameworks of form criticism and eco-anthropology —which studies how human identity is formed in relation with the natural world —, Breitkopf argues that the voice of the character Job undergoes a marked shift from lament to penitence as the book proceeds. It corresponds to a shift in the character's worldview, evinced in the book's language about the natural order. Negative language and imagery about nature is abundant in Job, e.g. when Job in chapter 3 curses existence (especially birth and life) and invokes Leviathan. In so doing, Job discloses his understanding of humanity as dominant over the natural world. But as the book of Job nears its end, the divine speeches, where wild animals and Leviathan are described as thriving and free from human control, subvert Job's negative language. Fundamentally, Breitkopf argues, Job's language, such as in chapter 3, is challenged by the divine speeches. Job's final words in response, especially in 42.6, expressed in penitential language, signal a reconsideration of his human identity as mere “dust and ash” within the framework of the natural world and represent a striking change from his original outlook.
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Job: From Lament to Penitence

£60.00
Recent form-critical studies from Mark Boda and Rodney Werline among others have brought about an increased interest in the penitential form and a recognition of the form as distinct and derivative from the lament form. This development in scholarship has enabled the present study to develop a new analysis of the penitential form in Job and its interaction with the lament form. Using the methodological frameworks of form criticism and eco-anthropology —which studies how human identity is formed in relation with the natural world —, Breitkopf argues that the voice of the character Job undergoes a marked shift from lament to penitence as the book proceeds. It corresponds to a shift in the character's worldview, evinced in the book's language about the natural order. Negative language and imagery about nature is abundant in Job, e.g. when Job in chapter 3 curses existence (especially birth and life) and invokes Leviathan. In so doing, Job discloses his understanding of humanity as dominant over the natural world. But as the book of Job nears its end, the divine speeches, where wild animals and Leviathan are described as thriving and free from human control, subvert Job's negative language. Fundamentally, Breitkopf argues, Job's language, such as in chapter 3, is challenged by the divine speeches. Job's final words in response, especially in 42.6, expressed in penitential language, signal a reconsideration of his human identity as mere “dust and ash” within the framework of the natural world and represent a striking change from his original outlook.
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The Edict of Cyrus and Notions of Restoration in Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles

Published: Oct 2020
£50.00
The Edict of Cyrus, both opening Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra 1:1-4) and closing Chronicles (2 Chron. 36:22-23), serves a different role in each book. In Ezra —Nehemiah, it is a command resulting in a restoration event that has failed, whereas in Chronicles it is a command anticipating a successful future restoration event. In the context of canon, these different uses of the edict are theologically significant, especially in formulating ideas of hope for the future in Chronicles. While Chronicles is aware that a historical restoration transpired sometime in the past (1 Chron. 3:19-24; 9:2-44), it shares the sentiment of Ezra —Nehemiah, that the return was something of a failure. Through compositional analysis, Gilhooley argues that the edict closing Chronicles portrays the true, or rather, complete restoration not as a past event to be reflected upon but rather one to be anticipated sometime in the future —at a time when Israel was expected to see the establishment of a new glorified temple, political independence, release from servitude, and the blessings of new creation and of new cultic order. Reading Chronicles as the last book of the Old Testament in accordance with various Jewish witnesses, we find that the edict is transformed into a programmatic conclusion to the canon. Accordingly, the eschatological return to Zion and reconstruction of the temple appear to be dominating concerns of the canonical editors. These verses that bring to an end both Chronicles and the Old Testament as a whole may also be read in dialogue with canon-conscious structural markers elsewhere and, therefore, could be formative in constructing a canonical theology.
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The Edict of Cyrus and Notions of Restoration in Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles

£50.00
The Edict of Cyrus, both opening Ezra-Nehemiah (Ezra 1:1-4) and closing Chronicles (2 Chron. 36:22-23), serves a different role in each book. In Ezra —Nehemiah, it is a command resulting in a restoration event that has failed, whereas in Chronicles it is a command anticipating a successful future restoration event. In the context of canon, these different uses of the edict are theologically significant, especially in formulating ideas of hope for the future in Chronicles. While Chronicles is aware that a historical restoration transpired sometime in the past (1 Chron. 3:19-24; 9:2-44), it shares the sentiment of Ezra —Nehemiah, that the return was something of a failure. Through compositional analysis, Gilhooley argues that the edict closing Chronicles portrays the true, or rather, complete restoration not as a past event to be reflected upon but rather one to be anticipated sometime in the future —at a time when Israel was expected to see the establishment of a new glorified temple, political independence, release from servitude, and the blessings of new creation and of new cultic order. Reading Chronicles as the last book of the Old Testament in accordance with various Jewish witnesses, we find that the edict is transformed into a programmatic conclusion to the canon. Accordingly, the eschatological return to Zion and reconstruction of the temple appear to be dominating concerns of the canonical editors. These verses that bring to an end both Chronicles and the Old Testament as a whole may also be read in dialogue with canon-conscious structural markers elsewhere and, therefore, could be formative in constructing a canonical theology.
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Performing Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Oct 2020
£65.00
In Performing Masculinity, the eminent Bulgarian literary critic Milena Kirova turns her attention to the Hebrew Bible, offering a reworking and condensation of two volumes of essays she published in Bulgarian in 2011 and 2017. Her chapters, each with an attractive and stimulating title, present a distinctive voice in current debates about masculinity in the Hebrew Bible. Masculinity studies have been developing during the last half a century, but there is still some opposition, not always conscious, to the field. Studies in masculinity in the Bible have an even shorter history and have created as yet little by way of a tradition among biblical scholars: it is a field still under development. Kirova has researched a rich variety of narrative situations, poetic characteristics, and symbolic functions of biblical men. Her research here is especially focused on the regal roles ascribed to masculinity in the ancient world. Among the intriguing questions Kirova poses are these: Why should heroes be beautiful? What is the benefit of weeping, and weeping eloquently? Why problematize what is 'natural'? Who is the 'bramble king'? The ten chapters of Performing Masculinity are deliberately interdisciplinary: anthropology, psychoanalysis, literary and gender studies complement biblical criticism. A variety of audiences will find the book a pleasure and an education.
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Performing Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible

£65.00
In Performing Masculinity, the eminent Bulgarian literary critic Milena Kirova turns her attention to the Hebrew Bible, offering a reworking and condensation of two volumes of essays she published in Bulgarian in 2011 and 2017. Her chapters, each with an attractive and stimulating title, present a distinctive voice in current debates about masculinity in the Hebrew Bible. Masculinity studies have been developing during the last half a century, but there is still some opposition, not always conscious, to the field. Studies in masculinity in the Bible have an even shorter history and have created as yet little by way of a tradition among biblical scholars: it is a field still under development. Kirova has researched a rich variety of narrative situations, poetic characteristics, and symbolic functions of biblical men. Her research here is especially focused on the regal roles ascribed to masculinity in the ancient world. Among the intriguing questions Kirova poses are these: Why should heroes be beautiful? What is the benefit of weeping, and weeping eloquently? Why problematize what is 'natural'? Who is the 'bramble king'? The ten chapters of Performing Masculinity are deliberately interdisciplinary: anthropology, psychoanalysis, literary and gender studies complement biblical criticism. A variety of audiences will find the book a pleasure and an education.
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Like the Stars Forever: Narrative and Theology in the Book of Daniel

Published: Oct 2020
£65.00
This anthology of Meadowcroft's essays (all but one previously published) coheres around three claims he makes about the book of Daniel. The first is that Daniel should be understood primarily as a wisdom figure, and that the first chapter of the book of Daniel is programmatic in that regard. The second is that the vision of the one like a son of man represents a theological hinge that guides an understanding of both the tales and the visions as expressions of participation in the divine life on the part of the wise Daniel and his people. The third claim is that the final chapter of Daniel, as the capstone of the wisdom story of Daniel, shows the aim of wise participation in the divine life as an enduring legacy of righteousness in those who encounter this wisdom. These claims are supported by a close reading of aspects of the narrative art on display in the book of Daniel; an exegetical appreciation of the interpretative impact of understanding the faithful wise as expressive of the hopes placed in the temple by the ancient people; and a theological and contextual reading of the experiences of Daniel and his friends —in the daily routines of life in the Babylonian and Persian courts, and in those strange apocalyptic encounters of the later chapters. From such reading there emerges the paradoxical nature of faith as certain hope and ethical clarity alongside mystery and uncertainty and the call to patient endurance. This delicate dance between certainty and patience, clarity and mystery was a feature of the experience of Daniel and his people in their time of exile, of later readers suffering under the heel of Antiochus Epiphanes, of those resisting the claims to lordship on the part of Rome, and still today of readers of the book of Daniel wherever empire is encountered and resisted.
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Like the Stars Forever: Narrative and Theology in the Book of Daniel

£65.00
This anthology of Meadowcroft's essays (all but one previously published) coheres around three claims he makes about the book of Daniel. The first is that Daniel should be understood primarily as a wisdom figure, and that the first chapter of the book of Daniel is programmatic in that regard. The second is that the vision of the one like a son of man represents a theological hinge that guides an understanding of both the tales and the visions as expressions of participation in the divine life on the part of the wise Daniel and his people. The third claim is that the final chapter of Daniel, as the capstone of the wisdom story of Daniel, shows the aim of wise participation in the divine life as an enduring legacy of righteousness in those who encounter this wisdom. These claims are supported by a close reading of aspects of the narrative art on display in the book of Daniel; an exegetical appreciation of the interpretative impact of understanding the faithful wise as expressive of the hopes placed in the temple by the ancient people; and a theological and contextual reading of the experiences of Daniel and his friends —in the daily routines of life in the Babylonian and Persian courts, and in those strange apocalyptic encounters of the later chapters. From such reading there emerges the paradoxical nature of faith as certain hope and ethical clarity alongside mystery and uncertainty and the call to patient endurance. This delicate dance between certainty and patience, clarity and mystery was a feature of the experience of Daniel and his people in their time of exile, of later readers suffering under the heel of Antiochus Epiphanes, of those resisting the claims to lordship on the part of Rome, and still today of readers of the book of Daniel wherever empire is encountered and resisted.
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A Star from Jacob, a Sceptre from Israel: Balaam’s Oracle as Rewritten Scripture in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Published: Sep 2020
£70.00
The fourth Balaam oracle (Numbers 24.17-19) appears in four separate Dead Sea Scrolls. But how it is used and understood remains puzzling and challenging. All four scrolls agree that the biblical text is a living artifact and endorse its authority. But they disagree on what it may mean to the audience of their own day. They adjust, rephrase and rework the biblical text according to their own needs and for the benefit of their audience. Following the twists and turns in this process of interpretation and rewriting has two benefits: first, we become more sensitized to the complexity of the processes by which the scriptural text came into being and to the fact that this process did not have a clear-cut end in mind. Rather, it is thanks to a constant reworking of the scriptural text that it remains alive for its readers. Second, in following closely the process of reinterpretation of this particular text we gain a better understanding of the world of Qumran, of the communication strategy of the Scrolls, and of some of their key theological concepts. In particular, Qumran beliefs about a messiah become more vividly tangible.
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A Star from Jacob, a Sceptre from Israel: Balaam’s Oracle as Rewritten Scripture in the Dead Sea Scrolls

£70.00
The fourth Balaam oracle (Numbers 24.17-19) appears in four separate Dead Sea Scrolls. But how it is used and understood remains puzzling and challenging. All four scrolls agree that the biblical text is a living artifact and endorse its authority. But they disagree on what it may mean to the audience of their own day. They adjust, rephrase and rework the biblical text according to their own needs and for the benefit of their audience. Following the twists and turns in this process of interpretation and rewriting has two benefits: first, we become more sensitized to the complexity of the processes by which the scriptural text came into being and to the fact that this process did not have a clear-cut end in mind. Rather, it is thanks to a constant reworking of the scriptural text that it remains alive for its readers. Second, in following closely the process of reinterpretation of this particular text we gain a better understanding of the world of Qumran, of the communication strategy of the Scrolls, and of some of their key theological concepts. In particular, Qumran beliefs about a messiah become more vividly tangible.
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Samson and Delilah: Selected Essays

Published: July 2020
£75.00
Samson and Delilah. Well-known biblical figures in a tale of deception, betrayal and a haircut. Or is there more to the tale than this? There is, in fact, a good deal more, as J. Cheryl Exum demonstrates in this wide-ranging collection of her essays. Far from being a simple story, the tale in Judges 13 —16 about Samson and his adventures, culminating in his fatal liaison with Delilah, is a subtle, nuanced and highly complex narrative with an elaborate literary structure, a sophisticated theological programme, and an ambitious and problematic androcentric agenda. It is, moreover, a story that lives on in literature, art, music and even Hollywood films. The eleven essays brought together in this volume investigate the Samson story from a diversity of critical perspectives and in a variety of its afterlives. Both Samson and Delilah are characters of many facets, as these essays reveal, and Judges 13 —16 emerges from this investigation as a story that encourages and supports rather than resists multiple, often incompatible, modes of reading it.
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Samson and Delilah: Selected Essays

£75.00
Samson and Delilah. Well-known biblical figures in a tale of deception, betrayal and a haircut. Or is there more to the tale than this? There is, in fact, a good deal more, as J. Cheryl Exum demonstrates in this wide-ranging collection of her essays. Far from being a simple story, the tale in Judges 13 —16 about Samson and his adventures, culminating in his fatal liaison with Delilah, is a subtle, nuanced and highly complex narrative with an elaborate literary structure, a sophisticated theological programme, and an ambitious and problematic androcentric agenda. It is, moreover, a story that lives on in literature, art, music and even Hollywood films. The eleven essays brought together in this volume investigate the Samson story from a diversity of critical perspectives and in a variety of its afterlives. Both Samson and Delilah are characters of many facets, as these essays reveal, and Judges 13 —16 emerges from this investigation as a story that encourages and supports rather than resists multiple, often incompatible, modes of reading it.
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Divine Election in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Nov 2019
£60.00
To citizens of the modern world the idea that someone or something might be especially elected by God seems problematic. If someone is elected, someone else is not elected. Does the God of all people have preferences? The idea that one particular nation should be elected by God is particularly difficult to accept. Nevertheless, as this study intends to show, divine election is a central theme in the Hebrew Bible, and present in all its main parts. There are central acts of elections and less central acts of election. Abraham is elected as the founder of the people of Israel. Moses is elected as the ancestor of the religious and political people of Israel. David is elected as first of the Davidic kings. The election of these persons represents something more important than the persons themselves. There are also other significant acts of election in the Hebrew Bible, especially the election of the land of Israel and of the city of Jerusalem. As well, there is the election of individuals such as the prophets. And even the Assyrians, the Babylonians and King Cyrus of Persia are presented as elected by God for special tasks. A new full-length study of the important concept of divine election in the Hebrew Bible is long overdue, and Hagelia's readable and balanced monograph can be expected to bring the topic back into contemporary conversation.
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Divine Election in the Hebrew Bible

£60.00
To citizens of the modern world the idea that someone or something might be especially elected by God seems problematic. If someone is elected, someone else is not elected. Does the God of all people have preferences? The idea that one particular nation should be elected by God is particularly difficult to accept. Nevertheless, as this study intends to show, divine election is a central theme in the Hebrew Bible, and present in all its main parts. There are central acts of elections and less central acts of election. Abraham is elected as the founder of the people of Israel. Moses is elected as the ancestor of the religious and political people of Israel. David is elected as first of the Davidic kings. The election of these persons represents something more important than the persons themselves. There are also other significant acts of election in the Hebrew Bible, especially the election of the land of Israel and of the city of Jerusalem. As well, there is the election of individuals such as the prophets. And even the Assyrians, the Babylonians and King Cyrus of Persia are presented as elected by God for special tasks. A new full-length study of the important concept of divine election in the Hebrew Bible is long overdue, and Hagelia's readable and balanced monograph can be expected to bring the topic back into contemporary conversation.
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The Subversive Chronicler: Narrative Film Theory and Canon Criticism Refocus his Intention

Published: Nov 2019
£55.00
In 1 and 2 Chronicles, commentators have long noted a pattern of retributive justice whereby kings who comply with Yahweh's will are rewarded with long life and honourable burial, whereas those who do not are disgraced. However, another pattern significantly emerges from a group of kings whose careers display an unexpected reversal. No convincing consensus has yet emerged to explain this reversal pattern. By exploring and adopting the insights of narrative film theory, particularly of cognitive film semiotics, into the effects of macro-repetition, Son uncovers the implications of these unexpected reversals. As the reversal pattern is interwoven with the retributive pattern, the narrative emerges as a falsifying narration, provoking a deep scepticism about the conventional view of retribution theology. Deleuzian film theory offers a crucial insight into how this falsifying narration works. The reversal pattern has a destabilizing effect, which suggests that the Chronicler's theological outlook is more nuanced than that of Samuel —Kings, or perhaps even frankly subversive of it. From a canonical perspective, furthermore, the presence of the Chronicler's work in the Ketuvim points to its potential function as a subtle theological readjustment in the postexilic Jewish community. The Subversive Chronicler is then a challenge to the Chronicler's theology as it is commonly understood and also as a refocusing of its difference from the historiography of Samuel —Kings.
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The Subversive Chronicler: Narrative Film Theory and Canon Criticism Refocus his Intention

£55.00
In 1 and 2 Chronicles, commentators have long noted a pattern of retributive justice whereby kings who comply with Yahweh's will are rewarded with long life and honourable burial, whereas those who do not are disgraced. However, another pattern significantly emerges from a group of kings whose careers display an unexpected reversal. No convincing consensus has yet emerged to explain this reversal pattern. By exploring and adopting the insights of narrative film theory, particularly of cognitive film semiotics, into the effects of macro-repetition, Son uncovers the implications of these unexpected reversals. As the reversal pattern is interwoven with the retributive pattern, the narrative emerges as a falsifying narration, provoking a deep scepticism about the conventional view of retribution theology. Deleuzian film theory offers a crucial insight into how this falsifying narration works. The reversal pattern has a destabilizing effect, which suggests that the Chronicler's theological outlook is more nuanced than that of Samuel —Kings, or perhaps even frankly subversive of it. From a canonical perspective, furthermore, the presence of the Chronicler's work in the Ketuvim points to its potential function as a subtle theological readjustment in the postexilic Jewish community. The Subversive Chronicler is then a challenge to the Chronicler's theology as it is commonly understood and also as a refocusing of its difference from the historiography of Samuel —Kings.
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The Multifaceted Saviour of Psalms 110 and 118: A Canonical Exegesis

Published: Nov 2019
£55.00
Since Gerald H. Wilson's landmark work, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (1985), scholars have been divided on how to interpret the appearances of the king in Book V (Psalms 107 —150). Many have agreed with Wilson in seeing a disjunction between Psalms 1 —89 and 90 —150, with Psalm 89 representing the apparent failure of the Davidic covenant, and signalling its replacement by a hope in the direct intervention of Yhwh without a role for a Davidic king. Although others have countered that Book V marks a return of the king, with references to David pointing to renewed hope in the Davidic covenant, in both cases scholars have interacted with the question as it was framed by Wilson. Vaillancourt moves the discussion forward by broadening the question to the portrayal of the figure of salvation in Book V of the Psalms, and by narrowing the scope to detailed canonical exegesis on two of its most salient psalms. Canonical exegesis of Psalm 110 displays a cosmic king at the right hand of Yhwh, who has a willing army at his disposal, who will mediate as priest between his people and Yhwh, and who will also accomplish a definitive victory for the people of God. Canonical exegesis of Psalm 118 displays a suffering and conquering king who leads the victory procession from the battle-field, one whose role resonates with a prophetic figure like Moses (cf. Deut. 18.18), as he echoes the songs of the first (Exod. 15) and of a second exodus (Isa. 12) in his responsive song of thanks (vv. 19 —28). In the final form of the book of Psalms, the Saviour figure in these psalms emerges as an eschatological figure of salvation who encompasses many hoped-for figures from across the Old Testament in one person, the one who will achieved full-scale deliverance for the people of God.
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The Multifaceted Saviour of Psalms 110 and 118: A Canonical Exegesis

£55.00
Since Gerald H. Wilson's landmark work, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (1985), scholars have been divided on how to interpret the appearances of the king in Book V (Psalms 107 —150). Many have agreed with Wilson in seeing a disjunction between Psalms 1 —89 and 90 —150, with Psalm 89 representing the apparent failure of the Davidic covenant, and signalling its replacement by a hope in the direct intervention of Yhwh without a role for a Davidic king. Although others have countered that Book V marks a return of the king, with references to David pointing to renewed hope in the Davidic covenant, in both cases scholars have interacted with the question as it was framed by Wilson. Vaillancourt moves the discussion forward by broadening the question to the portrayal of the figure of salvation in Book V of the Psalms, and by narrowing the scope to detailed canonical exegesis on two of its most salient psalms. Canonical exegesis of Psalm 110 displays a cosmic king at the right hand of Yhwh, who has a willing army at his disposal, who will mediate as priest between his people and Yhwh, and who will also accomplish a definitive victory for the people of God. Canonical exegesis of Psalm 118 displays a suffering and conquering king who leads the victory procession from the battle-field, one whose role resonates with a prophetic figure like Moses (cf. Deut. 18.18), as he echoes the songs of the first (Exod. 15) and of a second exodus (Isa. 12) in his responsive song of thanks (vv. 19 —28). In the final form of the book of Psalms, the Saviour figure in these psalms emerges as an eschatological figure of salvation who encompasses many hoped-for figures from across the Old Testament in one person, the one who will achieved full-scale deliverance for the people of God.
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The Song of Songs Afresh: Perspectives on a Biblical Love Poem

Published: Oct 2019
£60.00
This volume is one of the fruits of a six-year series of international conferences on the Song of Songs. The 13 diverse articles here being presented in four categories. 1. Classical exegetical studies. What does the blackness of the woman signify? Ausloos sees a tension between an exegetically appropriate and a politically correct interpretation, Biernot an example of Jewish discourse on blackness and whiteness ranging from antiquity to modern times. The function of the so-called dream in the Song is examined in the context of dreams in the ancient Near East with their two kinds of wake-up expressions (Fernandes). Fischer sees the daughters of Jerusalem as a means of identification for the reader and as placeholders for the young women of society. Next are intertextual readings of the Shulammite with a South African poem (Lombaard) and of the Song's vision of love with mythological traces in the Hebrew Bible (Mathys). 2. Post-modern exegetical studies. Included is a dialogue on horses in love and war (Landy and Metzler), a psychoanalytical reading on the theme of death (van der Zwan), and a blend of Ricoeur and cognitive metaphor theory that profiles the man in the Song (Verde). 3. Jewish studies. Baraniak studies the targumic exegesis, and DamohorskÌÁ the Song in Passover Piyyutim. 4. Hermeneutics. Responsible exegesis of the Song is Oosthuizen's theme, and Scheffler's is varieties of allegorizing.
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The Song of Songs Afresh: Perspectives on a Biblical Love Poem

£60.00
This volume is one of the fruits of a six-year series of international conferences on the Song of Songs. The 13 diverse articles here being presented in four categories. 1. Classical exegetical studies. What does the blackness of the woman signify? Ausloos sees a tension between an exegetically appropriate and a politically correct interpretation, Biernot an example of Jewish discourse on blackness and whiteness ranging from antiquity to modern times. The function of the so-called dream in the Song is examined in the context of dreams in the ancient Near East with their two kinds of wake-up expressions (Fernandes). Fischer sees the daughters of Jerusalem as a means of identification for the reader and as placeholders for the young women of society. Next are intertextual readings of the Shulammite with a South African poem (Lombaard) and of the Song's vision of love with mythological traces in the Hebrew Bible (Mathys). 2. Post-modern exegetical studies. Included is a dialogue on horses in love and war (Landy and Metzler), a psychoanalytical reading on the theme of death (van der Zwan), and a blend of Ricoeur and cognitive metaphor theory that profiles the man in the Song (Verde). 3. Jewish studies. Baraniak studies the targumic exegesis, and DamohorskÌÁ the Song in Passover Piyyutim. 4. Hermeneutics. Responsible exegesis of the Song is Oosthuizen's theme, and Scheffler's is varieties of allegorizing.
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God and Humans in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond: A Festschrift for Lennart Boström on his 67th Birthday

Published: Sep 2019
£70.00
In 1990, in his important study The God of the Sages: The Portrayal of God in the Book of Proverbs, Lennart Boström tackled the issue of how the sages viewed their God and God's relationship with the world. In honour of Boström, and in line with that study, this Festschrift takes up this issue anew. A number of international specialists, including James Crenshaw, Göran Eidevall, Mark A. Throntveit, and Antti Laato, discuss various aspects of how God and humans are portrayed in the Bible. The first section of the book focuses on notions of God. There is a fresh look at monolatry in the Hebrew Bible, and at God's faithfulness in Paul's soteriology. The second section deals with humans, featuring, for example, two articles on Psalm 8.5, one with a focus on the Hebrew Bible, and the other reading the psalm through the eyes of women in Myanmar. There is also an article on angst in wisdom literature. The third section brings God and humans into dialogue, looking at how various interpretations of suffering in the psalms shape the view of the divine —human relationship, or how God and humans relate to each other in books like Jonah and Ruth. The fourth and last section of the book focuses on God and God's people, where new proposals are presented on the roles played by Zion and by the ten commandments. This volume presents stimulating and up-to-date engagements with its theme, an excellent resource for scholars of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.
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God and Humans in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond: A Festschrift for Lennart Boström on his 67th Birthday

£70.00
In 1990, in his important study The God of the Sages: The Portrayal of God in the Book of Proverbs, Lennart Boström tackled the issue of how the sages viewed their God and God's relationship with the world. In honour of Boström, and in line with that study, this Festschrift takes up this issue anew. A number of international specialists, including James Crenshaw, Göran Eidevall, Mark A. Throntveit, and Antti Laato, discuss various aspects of how God and humans are portrayed in the Bible. The first section of the book focuses on notions of God. There is a fresh look at monolatry in the Hebrew Bible, and at God's faithfulness in Paul's soteriology. The second section deals with humans, featuring, for example, two articles on Psalm 8.5, one with a focus on the Hebrew Bible, and the other reading the psalm through the eyes of women in Myanmar. There is also an article on angst in wisdom literature. The third section brings God and humans into dialogue, looking at how various interpretations of suffering in the psalms shape the view of the divine —human relationship, or how God and humans relate to each other in books like Jonah and Ruth. The fourth and last section of the book focuses on God and God's people, where new proposals are presented on the roles played by Zion and by the ten commandments. This volume presents stimulating and up-to-date engagements with its theme, an excellent resource for scholars of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.
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Hebrew Masculinities Anew

Published: Jun 2019
£65.00
The study of biblical masculinities is now a clearly recognizable discipline in critical biblical gender studies. This book, the third in a series of SPP volumes that include Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (ed. Ovidiu Creangă, 2010) and Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded (ed. Ovidiu Creangă and Peter-Ben Smit, 2014), takes stock of recent methodological and thematic developments, while introducing fresh new questions, expanding traditional approaches, and adding new texts to the corpus of masculinities in the Hebrew Bible. The volume's introduction (Ovidiu Creangă) celebrates the rich palette of approaches and disciplinary intersections that now characterize the study of Hebrew Bible masculinities, while calling attention to understudied topics. The next thirteen chapters dig deep into the methodological building-blocks underpinning biblical masculinity (Stephen Wilson); the theoretically essential distinction between queer and non-queer masculinities (Gil Rosenberg); the often-neglected yet essential representation of God's masculinity (David J.A. Clines); the competing masculinities of God, Pharaoh, and Moses in historical and lesbian perspective (Caralie Focht and Richard Purcell); Queen Jezebel's performance of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Priestly and Deuteronomic fantasies of male perfection (Sandra Jacobs); the problem-ridden masculinity of Moses (Amy Kalmanofsky); the rhetoric of 'queen-making' in the prophetic literature (Susan E. Haddox); Jonah's homosocial masculinity (Rhiannon Graybill); the scribal masculinity of Daniel (Brian C. DiPalma); the ephemeral masculinity of mortal men (Milena Kirova); the masculine agencies in the Song of Songs (Martti Nissinen); and the intertwining of money and masculinity in the Book of Proverbs (Kelly Murphy). In the final chapter, Stuart Macwilliam reflects on methodological opportunities, thematic expansions, and a future direction for biblical masculinities.
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Hebrew Masculinities Anew

£65.00
The study of biblical masculinities is now a clearly recognizable discipline in critical biblical gender studies. This book, the third in a series of SPP volumes that include Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (ed. Ovidiu Creangă, 2010) and Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded (ed. Ovidiu Creangă and Peter-Ben Smit, 2014), takes stock of recent methodological and thematic developments, while introducing fresh new questions, expanding traditional approaches, and adding new texts to the corpus of masculinities in the Hebrew Bible. The volume's introduction (Ovidiu Creangă) celebrates the rich palette of approaches and disciplinary intersections that now characterize the study of Hebrew Bible masculinities, while calling attention to understudied topics. The next thirteen chapters dig deep into the methodological building-blocks underpinning biblical masculinity (Stephen Wilson); the theoretically essential distinction between queer and non-queer masculinities (Gil Rosenberg); the often-neglected yet essential representation of God's masculinity (David J.A. Clines); the competing masculinities of God, Pharaoh, and Moses in historical and lesbian perspective (Caralie Focht and Richard Purcell); Queen Jezebel's performance of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Priestly and Deuteronomic fantasies of male perfection (Sandra Jacobs); the problem-ridden masculinity of Moses (Amy Kalmanofsky); the rhetoric of 'queen-making' in the prophetic literature (Susan E. Haddox); Jonah's homosocial masculinity (Rhiannon Graybill); the scribal masculinity of Daniel (Brian C. DiPalma); the ephemeral masculinity of mortal men (Milena Kirova); the masculine agencies in the Song of Songs (Martti Nissinen); and the intertwining of money and masculinity in the Book of Proverbs (Kelly Murphy). In the final chapter, Stuart Macwilliam reflects on methodological opportunities, thematic expansions, and a future direction for biblical masculinities.
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Ancestral Queerness: The Normal and the Deviant in the Abraham and Sarah Narratives

Published: May 2019
£50.00
What would it look like to be queer in the time of Abraham and Sarah? What is normative and what is deviant in their stories? What does this have to do with queer lives today? In Ancestral Queerness, Gil Rosenberg uses a careful comparative method to develop a cross-cultural queer category ('Queer'). He applies this category to Abraham and Sarah and argues that, Abraham and Sarah may usefully be regarded as 'Queer'. Rosenberg's comparisons draw on a variety of contemporary queer stories, scholarship, and theories. These include a lesbian mother trying to support her partner and newborn daughter, Australian polyamorous families, Lee Edelman's figure of the Child, and gay men building families through surrogacy. These comparisons lead Rosenberg to surprising new interpretations of several key passages in Genesis 11 —21. For example, he argues that Abraham wants to hide his marriage to Sarah because their relationship is a queer one, and that Sarah may not actually be wanting a biological child. Rosenberg also highlights the combination of normative and deviant elements in Abraham's strategies for obtaining an heir, and the role of ethnic and class difference in Abraham's and Sarah's efforts to become more normative. Bold in its conclusions but careful and precise in its method, Ancestral Queerness breaks new ground by developing a queer theory applicable to diverse cultures, revealing the bias in previous scholarship on Abraham and Sarah, and opening up new paths of interpretation in their narratives.
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Ancestral Queerness: The Normal and the Deviant in the Abraham and Sarah Narratives

£50.00
What would it look like to be queer in the time of Abraham and Sarah? What is normative and what is deviant in their stories? What does this have to do with queer lives today? In Ancestral Queerness, Gil Rosenberg uses a careful comparative method to develop a cross-cultural queer category ('Queer'). He applies this category to Abraham and Sarah and argues that, Abraham and Sarah may usefully be regarded as 'Queer'. Rosenberg's comparisons draw on a variety of contemporary queer stories, scholarship, and theories. These include a lesbian mother trying to support her partner and newborn daughter, Australian polyamorous families, Lee Edelman's figure of the Child, and gay men building families through surrogacy. These comparisons lead Rosenberg to surprising new interpretations of several key passages in Genesis 11 —21. For example, he argues that Abraham wants to hide his marriage to Sarah because their relationship is a queer one, and that Sarah may not actually be wanting a biological child. Rosenberg also highlights the combination of normative and deviant elements in Abraham's strategies for obtaining an heir, and the role of ethnic and class difference in Abraham's and Sarah's efforts to become more normative. Bold in its conclusions but careful and precise in its method, Ancestral Queerness breaks new ground by developing a queer theory applicable to diverse cultures, revealing the bias in previous scholarship on Abraham and Sarah, and opening up new paths of interpretation in their narratives.
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United in Exile, Reunited in Restoration: The Chronicler’s Agenda

Published: May 2019
£50.00
The books of 1 —2 Chronicles, though ostensibly a history work recounting the past, is in reality a challenge to its fourth-century Jewish audience in Babylonia to make a vital decision about their future. They are presented with the choice of remaining in exile, where they have been born, or of uprooting themselves and travelling to their ancestral but unknown land. By introducing unique accounts of exile, such as that of the Reubenite leader Beerah (1 Chron. 5), and by reinterpreting familiar accounts of forced migration, such as the Babylonian exile of 'all Israel', the Chronicler reveals the current state of Israel in exile. As he looks into the future, he inserts pleas for restoration on the lips of Hebrew heroes such as David and Hezekiah, along with stories of transformation, like Manasseh's return from humiliating captivity, to educate his readers about their role in completing the process of restoration for all Israel. Since the exile meant Jerusalem's reduction, the end of the Davidic monarchy, and the scattering of tribal Israel, restoration would mean 'all Israel' reunited in Jerusalem under the levitical priesthood in worship at the rebuilt temple. Cyrus's decree, inspired by Yahweh, had commanded that all God's people 'go up', but Second Temple Israel had stalled somewhere between exile and restoration. Therefore, the Chronicler urges all Diaspora Israel to return home. Previous studies of the exile —restoration theme in segments of Chronicles (mainly 2 Chron. 36) and in Chronicles —Ezra —Nehemiah have led to the distorted view that the Chronicler is proclaiming victory over exile. Heard on his own terms, the Chronicler is rather dissatisfied with Israel's current state of restoration, optimistic that reunion in Jerusalem will conclude the exile, and adamant that 'all Israel' must take responsibility for the nation's sin and judgment —and restoration.
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United in Exile, Reunited in Restoration: The Chronicler’s Agenda

£50.00
The books of 1 —2 Chronicles, though ostensibly a history work recounting the past, is in reality a challenge to its fourth-century Jewish audience in Babylonia to make a vital decision about their future. They are presented with the choice of remaining in exile, where they have been born, or of uprooting themselves and travelling to their ancestral but unknown land. By introducing unique accounts of exile, such as that of the Reubenite leader Beerah (1 Chron. 5), and by reinterpreting familiar accounts of forced migration, such as the Babylonian exile of 'all Israel', the Chronicler reveals the current state of Israel in exile. As he looks into the future, he inserts pleas for restoration on the lips of Hebrew heroes such as David and Hezekiah, along with stories of transformation, like Manasseh's return from humiliating captivity, to educate his readers about their role in completing the process of restoration for all Israel. Since the exile meant Jerusalem's reduction, the end of the Davidic monarchy, and the scattering of tribal Israel, restoration would mean 'all Israel' reunited in Jerusalem under the levitical priesthood in worship at the rebuilt temple. Cyrus's decree, inspired by Yahweh, had commanded that all God's people 'go up', but Second Temple Israel had stalled somewhere between exile and restoration. Therefore, the Chronicler urges all Diaspora Israel to return home. Previous studies of the exile —restoration theme in segments of Chronicles (mainly 2 Chron. 36) and in Chronicles —Ezra —Nehemiah have led to the distorted view that the Chronicler is proclaiming victory over exile. Heard on his own terms, the Chronicler is rather dissatisfied with Israel's current state of restoration, optimistic that reunion in Jerusalem will conclude the exile, and adamant that 'all Israel' must take responsibility for the nation's sin and judgment —and restoration.
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The Decalogue and its Cultural Influence

Published: Oct 2017
£33.00£70.00
Reception history is one of the most inviting, yet also one of the most difficult, fields in the study of the Bible today. It is difficult because it involves so many layers of expertise. The reception-historian does not only need a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the biblical text itself, but also familiarity with the cultures and intellectual background of the many diverse ages in which it has been read and appropriated; and in addition needs to be versed in media other than writing, including the visual and performing arts. But it is inviting because it carries its practitioners so far beyond the confines of ordinary textual study, with its concern for language and text, and out into an ocean of interdisciplinary engagement with writings that have, after all, stimulated the imaginations as well as the intellects of generations of religious (and non-religious) readers. The Decalogue is an obvious candidate for a reception-historical treatment. It has acquired over the centuries an enormous weight of commentary, and has been assimilated into the most varied cultures. Though a text, it has often also been an icon, appearing on walls in churches and now even in American courthouses. The subject was ripe for study, and the conference at which the papers in this book were delivered marked a significant milestone in biblical reception history' (from John Barton's Preface to the volume). The 21 papers in this volume offer the richest and most wide-ranging interdisciplinary collection of studies on the reception of the Decalogue in culture, and will prove to be a fundamental resource for students of the biblical text and of the reception of the Bible in general.
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The Decalogue and its Cultural Influence

£33.00£70.00
Reception history is one of the most inviting, yet also one of the most difficult, fields in the study of the Bible today. It is difficult because it involves so many layers of expertise. The reception-historian does not only need a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the biblical text itself, but also familiarity with the cultures and intellectual background of the many diverse ages in which it has been read and appropriated; and in addition needs to be versed in media other than writing, including the visual and performing arts. But it is inviting because it carries its practitioners so far beyond the confines of ordinary textual study, with its concern for language and text, and out into an ocean of interdisciplinary engagement with writings that have, after all, stimulated the imaginations as well as the intellects of generations of religious (and non-religious) readers. The Decalogue is an obvious candidate for a reception-historical treatment. It has acquired over the centuries an enormous weight of commentary, and has been assimilated into the most varied cultures. Though a text, it has often also been an icon, appearing on walls in churches and now even in American courthouses. The subject was ripe for study, and the conference at which the papers in this book were delivered marked a significant milestone in biblical reception history' (from John Barton's Preface to the volume). The 21 papers in this volume offer the richest and most wide-ranging interdisciplinary collection of studies on the reception of the Decalogue in culture, and will prove to be a fundamental resource for students of the biblical text and of the reception of the Bible in general.
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Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded

Published: Oct 2017
£25.00£65.00
Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded brings together ten innovative studies on varieties of masculinity evidenced in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and other early Christian writings. A sequel to the 2010 collection, Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond, this new volume raises important questions about why the study of biblical masculinities matters, what it contributes to our knowledge of the ancient writers' world as well as to our contemporary world, and which methods adequately attend to that study. The volume is designed as a resource for scholars of both Testaments working from a variety of biblical traditions and ideological perspectives on masculinity. The following studies are offered as companions in the conversation: Yahweh's masculinity in appearances in glory in Exodus and Ezekiel (Alan Hooker); Proverbs' (de)construction of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Saul's troubled masculinity in 1 —2 Samuel (Marcel M€Äcelaru); weeping men in the Torah and the Deuteronomistic history (Milena Kirova); Athaliah's manly rule (Stuart Macwilliam); Joseph of Nazareth as an everyday man (Justin Glessner); being a male disciple in Matthew's 'antitheses' (Hans-Ulrich Weidemann); eunuch masculinity in Matthew's Gospel (Susanna Asikainen); masculinity and circumcision in the first century (Karin Neutel and Matthew Anderson); and Thecla's masculinity in the Acts of Thecla (Peter-Ben Smit). Ovidiu Creangă opens the volume with a critical appraisal of the current state of play in the field, while Martti Nissinen and Bjorn Krondorfer offer closing critical reflections that situate the book's topics within broader debates regarding masculinities in religious studies.
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Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded

£25.00£65.00
Biblical Masculinities Foregrounded brings together ten innovative studies on varieties of masculinity evidenced in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and other early Christian writings. A sequel to the 2010 collection, Men and Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond, this new volume raises important questions about why the study of biblical masculinities matters, what it contributes to our knowledge of the ancient writers' world as well as to our contemporary world, and which methods adequately attend to that study. The volume is designed as a resource for scholars of both Testaments working from a variety of biblical traditions and ideological perspectives on masculinity. The following studies are offered as companions in the conversation: Yahweh's masculinity in appearances in glory in Exodus and Ezekiel (Alan Hooker); Proverbs' (de)construction of masculinity (Hilary Lipka); Saul's troubled masculinity in 1 —2 Samuel (Marcel M€Äcelaru); weeping men in the Torah and the Deuteronomistic history (Milena Kirova); Athaliah's manly rule (Stuart Macwilliam); Joseph of Nazareth as an everyday man (Justin Glessner); being a male disciple in Matthew's 'antitheses' (Hans-Ulrich Weidemann); eunuch masculinity in Matthew's Gospel (Susanna Asikainen); masculinity and circumcision in the first century (Karin Neutel and Matthew Anderson); and Thecla's masculinity in the Acts of Thecla (Peter-Ben Smit). Ovidiu Creangă opens the volume with a critical appraisal of the current state of play in the field, while Martti Nissinen and Bjorn Krondorfer offer closing critical reflections that situate the book's topics within broader debates regarding masculinities in religious studies.
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The Female Ruse: Women’s Deception and Divine Sanction in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Sep 2017
£25.00£60.00
From Eve to Esther, the Hebrew Bible is replete with gendered tales of trickery. A lie is uttered, a mask donned, a seduction staged, while redemption is propelled forward, guided by the divine hand. From the first 'female ruse' — Eve presenting the fruit of the tree of knowledge to Adam — humanity becomes embodied, engaged in history, moving from the Garden to exile, from wandering to homeland and redemption (and back again). Consider Rebekah dressing her beloved son in goatskins to steal the blessing from his blind father; Lot's daughters lying with their drunken father, and then conceiving the founding fathers of Ammon and Moab; Leah and Rachel, the mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel, duping Jacob on their wedding night; Tamar's seduction of Judah, her father-in-law, who then bears the progenitor of the Davidic line; Naomi sending Ruth to the threshing floor to seduce Boaz by night; Bathsheba invoking an oath that King David had supposedly made in order to forward Solomon, her son, as successor to the monarchy; and Queen Esther concealing her Jewish identity in the Persian imperial court. Over the course of nine chapters, the author traces these narratives of deception; in each case, God is in cahoots with these feminine agents in advancing the providential plan. A tension holds between the 'best laid plans' of men and the divine will as forwarded by women. Drawing on classic rabbinic sources and modern literary exegesis, the author exposes the conflict between the simple progression of genealogies and the process of selection through alliances of family and kin. Women are at the crux of that conflict, seemingly compelled to choose the indirect route while the deity appears to endorse their lie.
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The Female Ruse: Women’s Deception and Divine Sanction in the Hebrew Bible

£25.00£60.00
From Eve to Esther, the Hebrew Bible is replete with gendered tales of trickery. A lie is uttered, a mask donned, a seduction staged, while redemption is propelled forward, guided by the divine hand. From the first 'female ruse' — Eve presenting the fruit of the tree of knowledge to Adam — humanity becomes embodied, engaged in history, moving from the Garden to exile, from wandering to homeland and redemption (and back again). Consider Rebekah dressing her beloved son in goatskins to steal the blessing from his blind father; Lot's daughters lying with their drunken father, and then conceiving the founding fathers of Ammon and Moab; Leah and Rachel, the mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel, duping Jacob on their wedding night; Tamar's seduction of Judah, her father-in-law, who then bears the progenitor of the Davidic line; Naomi sending Ruth to the threshing floor to seduce Boaz by night; Bathsheba invoking an oath that King David had supposedly made in order to forward Solomon, her son, as successor to the monarchy; and Queen Esther concealing her Jewish identity in the Persian imperial court. Over the course of nine chapters, the author traces these narratives of deception; in each case, God is in cahoots with these feminine agents in advancing the providential plan. A tension holds between the 'best laid plans' of men and the divine will as forwarded by women. Drawing on classic rabbinic sources and modern literary exegesis, the author exposes the conflict between the simple progression of genealogies and the process of selection through alliances of family and kin. Women are at the crux of that conflict, seemingly compelled to choose the indirect route while the deity appears to endorse their lie.
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Journeys in the Songscape: Space and the Song of Songs

Published: Sep 2017
£20.00£60.00
The poetic world of the Song of Songs is a famously heady and distortive landscape, filled with bright sunlit rills, nocturnal cityscapes, and fecund bodies laid out like kingdoms. But what does the Song's use and abuse of spatial relationships tell us about its subject matter, and what do its strange panoramas tell us about literary space more broadly? Directly challenging recent methodological trends in biblical spatial studies, Journeys in the Songscape uses a range of innovative critical tools to explore, map and critique poetic space in the Song of Songs. Taking the reader on a series of journeys across the Song's gendered, rural, urban and bodily spaces, Meredith argues that the worlds that spring up between the Song's lovers are all subtle reimaginings of the space between the biblical page and its own readers, and that at the heart of the Song is a (con)fusion of the dynamics of loving with the experience of reading. Love is at work in the Song, says Meredith, but it is not its subject so much as a sign under which collusions of power, textuality, space and subjectivity labour. The Song's world speaks not only to sexual relationships, then, but to the structure of language itself; textual spaces do not organize textual meaning but rather image its fundamental instability. Journeys in the Songscape is a bold new literary treatment of the Song of Songs, but it is also a rethinking of what we mean by the term 'literary space', and represents a playful incitement to reconsider how critical tools are put to use in apprehending space as a literary construct.
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Journeys in the Songscape: Space and the Song of Songs

£20.00£60.00
The poetic world of the Song of Songs is a famously heady and distortive landscape, filled with bright sunlit rills, nocturnal cityscapes, and fecund bodies laid out like kingdoms. But what does the Song's use and abuse of spatial relationships tell us about its subject matter, and what do its strange panoramas tell us about literary space more broadly? Directly challenging recent methodological trends in biblical spatial studies, Journeys in the Songscape uses a range of innovative critical tools to explore, map and critique poetic space in the Song of Songs. Taking the reader on a series of journeys across the Song's gendered, rural, urban and bodily spaces, Meredith argues that the worlds that spring up between the Song's lovers are all subtle reimaginings of the space between the biblical page and its own readers, and that at the heart of the Song is a (con)fusion of the dynamics of loving with the experience of reading. Love is at work in the Song, says Meredith, but it is not its subject so much as a sign under which collusions of power, textuality, space and subjectivity labour. The Song's world speaks not only to sexual relationships, then, but to the structure of language itself; textual spaces do not organize textual meaning but rather image its fundamental instability. Journeys in the Songscape is a bold new literary treatment of the Song of Songs, but it is also a rethinking of what we mean by the term 'literary space', and represents a playful incitement to reconsider how critical tools are put to use in apprehending space as a literary construct.
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Persuading God: Rhetorical Studies of First-Person Psalms

Published: Sep 2017
£19.00£45.00
Written by a scholar of rhetoric, Persuading God demonstrates that the first-person psalms that make up over a third of the Book of Psalms were designed not simply to express the feelings of individual Israelites but to persuade God to act. The book casts a new light on the roles of all the players in the situations in which the psalms were composed and performed: the person represented by the speaker on whose particular troubles the psalm is based, the spectators and opponents who are sometimes addressed directly by the speaker, the poet-musicians who craft the speaker's case and occasionally undermine it, and most of all, God as the direct addressee whose presumed openness to persuasion and willingness to intervene underlie the entire event. The readings provide new explanations for many long-standing puzzles: how to deal with the long string of imprecations in Psalm 109, whether Psalm 4 is best read as protesting a false accusation or as countering apostasy, why so many verses in Psalm 62 begin with the exclamation ach , and, more generally, why so many first-person psalms seem to swing abruptly between despair and praise. The book demonstrates the relevance of contemporary rhetorical theory to Hebrew Bible studies, including the work of ChaÌøm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, Kenneth Burke, and Mikhail Bakhtin. It also illuminates the state of rhetorical practice in the ancient Near East at the same time that rhetorical theories were first being codified and taught in archaic and classical Athens.
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Persuading God: Rhetorical Studies of First-Person Psalms

£19.00£45.00
Written by a scholar of rhetoric, Persuading God demonstrates that the first-person psalms that make up over a third of the Book of Psalms were designed not simply to express the feelings of individual Israelites but to persuade God to act. The book casts a new light on the roles of all the players in the situations in which the psalms were composed and performed: the person represented by the speaker on whose particular troubles the psalm is based, the spectators and opponents who are sometimes addressed directly by the speaker, the poet-musicians who craft the speaker's case and occasionally undermine it, and most of all, God as the direct addressee whose presumed openness to persuasion and willingness to intervene underlie the entire event. The readings provide new explanations for many long-standing puzzles: how to deal with the long string of imprecations in Psalm 109, whether Psalm 4 is best read as protesting a false accusation or as countering apostasy, why so many verses in Psalm 62 begin with the exclamation ach , and, more generally, why so many first-person psalms seem to swing abruptly between despair and praise. The book demonstrates the relevance of contemporary rhetorical theory to Hebrew Bible studies, including the work of ChaÌøm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, Kenneth Burke, and Mikhail Bakhtin. It also illuminates the state of rhetorical practice in the ancient Near East at the same time that rhetorical theories were first being codified and taught in archaic and classical Athens.
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Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship

Published: Feb 2016
£60.00
This volume brings together two years of papers read to the Megilloth Consultation Group at the Annual Meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature; it represents some of the most recent work being done by a group of international scholars on the collection of Hebrew Bible books known as the Megilloth. Although the individual books of the Megilloth have received ample academic attention in contemporary scholarship, relatively little has been done to situate them under this broader rubric. To this end, the present volume addresses a range of issues associated with studying the five scrolls, such as the internal relationship between the books themselves, intertextual connections between the five scrolls and other portions of the Hebrew Bible, gender and ethnic concerns in the five scrolls, and the theological commitments and contours of the collection. Several of the papers and the volume itself also intentionally wrestle with the viability of the category 'Megilloth' as a meaningful term in academic studies of these writings. In addition to papers on the Megilloth in general (Galvin, Stone, Fullerton Strollo), there are studies on Esther (Davis, Greenspoon, Avnery, Peters, three of them in relation to Ruth), Lamentations (Gruber and Yona, Flanders) and Qoheleth (Weeks).
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Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship

£60.00
This volume brings together two years of papers read to the Megilloth Consultation Group at the Annual Meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature; it represents some of the most recent work being done by a group of international scholars on the collection of Hebrew Bible books known as the Megilloth. Although the individual books of the Megilloth have received ample academic attention in contemporary scholarship, relatively little has been done to situate them under this broader rubric. To this end, the present volume addresses a range of issues associated with studying the five scrolls, such as the internal relationship between the books themselves, intertextual connections between the five scrolls and other portions of the Hebrew Bible, gender and ethnic concerns in the five scrolls, and the theological commitments and contours of the collection. Several of the papers and the volume itself also intentionally wrestle with the viability of the category 'Megilloth' as a meaningful term in academic studies of these writings. In addition to papers on the Megilloth in general (Galvin, Stone, Fullerton Strollo), there are studies on Esther (Davis, Greenspoon, Avnery, Peters, three of them in relation to Ruth), Lamentations (Gruber and Yona, Flanders) and Qoheleth (Weeks).
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Biblical Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism

Published: Oct 2015
£20.00£80.00
This volume will prove a classic textbook on rhetorical criticism in the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible. Following the lead of the famous Presidential Address to the Society of Biblical Literature in 1968 by James Muilenburg, 'Form Criticism and Beyond', Jack Lundbom has for over 40 years been developing and shaping the field with a stream of papers. 26 of them (three not previously published) are gathered into this volume. Hebrew rhetoric has a long history, reaching back even into the early Israelite period. Recognition of rhetorical elements in the Bible can be seen in Hillel, Augustine, ibn Ezra, and Calvin, as well as among certain biblical scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries. But the revival of rhetoric and the modern method of rhetorical criticism is more recent, having begun in America among classical scholars in the early 1900s, and having been widely adopted by biblical scholars in the last third of the twentieth century. Biblical scholars today invariably have rhetorical criticism in their exegetical toolbox, but the field lacks such a comprehensive corpus of studies as the present volume supplies. Reading the Bible with an eye to the rhetorical nature of its discourse —not just the style, but its structures and modes of argumentation —gives one a sharpened view of biblical figures, their legacy, and much else in the biblical text. One also gets new insight into the audiences for whom biblical messages were originally intended. Rhetorical criticism offers a ready yield for all those seeking a closer understanding of the biblical texts.
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Biblical Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism

£20.00£80.00
This volume will prove a classic textbook on rhetorical criticism in the Bible, especially the Hebrew Bible. Following the lead of the famous Presidential Address to the Society of Biblical Literature in 1968 by James Muilenburg, 'Form Criticism and Beyond', Jack Lundbom has for over 40 years been developing and shaping the field with a stream of papers. 26 of them (three not previously published) are gathered into this volume. Hebrew rhetoric has a long history, reaching back even into the early Israelite period. Recognition of rhetorical elements in the Bible can be seen in Hillel, Augustine, ibn Ezra, and Calvin, as well as among certain biblical scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries. But the revival of rhetoric and the modern method of rhetorical criticism is more recent, having begun in America among classical scholars in the early 1900s, and having been widely adopted by biblical scholars in the last third of the twentieth century. Biblical scholars today invariably have rhetorical criticism in their exegetical toolbox, but the field lacks such a comprehensive corpus of studies as the present volume supplies. Reading the Bible with an eye to the rhetorical nature of its discourse —not just the style, but its structures and modes of argumentation —gives one a sharpened view of biblical figures, their legacy, and much else in the biblical text. One also gets new insight into the audiences for whom biblical messages were originally intended. Rhetorical criticism offers a ready yield for all those seeking a closer understanding of the biblical texts.
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The World of the Child in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Oct 2015
£18.50£50.00
The question 'What is a child?' is not easily answered. To make us aware of the multiple factors that contribute to the social construction of childhood in the Hebrew Bible, Naomi Steinberg draws on ethno-historical evidence and incorporates the insights of contemporary social studies of childhood. Through close readings of Genesis 21, 1 Samuel 1 and Exodus 21.22-25, she argues that chronological age and biological immaturity do not determine the boundaries of childhood in biblical Israel. The social constructions of childhood in the Hebrew Bible were based on what the child could do for the parent, not vice versa. Children were their parents' property and were used to fulfil their parents' desires and needs. Not all children had the same experiences of childhood, of course. For example, whether a child was born into a monogamous or polygamous family shaped the course of its future. Other relevant factors in the construction of the multiplicities of childhoods included gender, birth order, and the socio-political historical contexts of ancient Israel. Steinberg convincingly corrects the notion that childhood is a static category in the human life cycle, showing that meanings of childhood are not generic and cannot be carried over from one society to another. This fascinating study, in which the author draws fruitfully on her personal cross-cultural experience of children's lives in Guatemala, exposes the reality that childhood in the Hebrew Bible was radically different from present-day childhood.
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The World of the Child in the Hebrew Bible

£18.50£50.00
The question 'What is a child?' is not easily answered. To make us aware of the multiple factors that contribute to the social construction of childhood in the Hebrew Bible, Naomi Steinberg draws on ethno-historical evidence and incorporates the insights of contemporary social studies of childhood. Through close readings of Genesis 21, 1 Samuel 1 and Exodus 21.22-25, she argues that chronological age and biological immaturity do not determine the boundaries of childhood in biblical Israel. The social constructions of childhood in the Hebrew Bible were based on what the child could do for the parent, not vice versa. Children were their parents' property and were used to fulfil their parents' desires and needs. Not all children had the same experiences of childhood, of course. For example, whether a child was born into a monogamous or polygamous family shaped the course of its future. Other relevant factors in the construction of the multiplicities of childhoods included gender, birth order, and the socio-political historical contexts of ancient Israel. Steinberg convincingly corrects the notion that childhood is a static category in the human life cycle, showing that meanings of childhood are not generic and cannot be carried over from one society to another. This fascinating study, in which the author draws fruitfully on her personal cross-cultural experience of children's lives in Guatemala, exposes the reality that childhood in the Hebrew Bible was radically different from present-day childhood.
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Visions of Life in Biblical Times: Essays in Honor of Meir Lubetski

Published: Oct 2015
£60.00
This important volume is in honour of the distinguished Semitist and epigrapher Meir Lubetski, of Baruch College, City University of New York. Lubetski has made the chief focus of his research the contribution of the East Mediterranean legacy —languages, literature and archaeological artifacts —to our understanding of the biblical world. The wide-ranging collection of essays gathered here include, after a personal appreciation of the honoree by his children, papers by Paula Berggren on Shakespeare's Cains, Chaim Cohen on the 'third-man' charioteers, John Day on Noah's ark as made of reeds, Robert Deutsch on six new Hebrew seals, Joseph Fleishman on the law of the defamer (Deut. 22), Moshe Garsiel on the rivalry between Adonijah and Solomon, Claire Gottlieb on Genesis 1 in the twenty-first century, Martin Heide on a new ostracon, Richard Hess on the strange absence of Egyptian names from the book of Joshua, Regine Hunziker-Rodewald on a new Ammonite seal, Isaac Kalimi on the key methods of Targum Chronicles, André Lemaire on the place of Qumran in Jewish history, David Marcus on the Aramaic versions of the burning bush narrative, Robert Stieglitz on divine kingship at Ugarit, Peter van der Veen on a two-headed bronze bull figurine, and Ada Yardeni on legal texts from various locations in the Judean desert.
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Visions of Life in Biblical Times: Essays in Honor of Meir Lubetski

£60.00
This important volume is in honour of the distinguished Semitist and epigrapher Meir Lubetski, of Baruch College, City University of New York. Lubetski has made the chief focus of his research the contribution of the East Mediterranean legacy —languages, literature and archaeological artifacts —to our understanding of the biblical world. The wide-ranging collection of essays gathered here include, after a personal appreciation of the honoree by his children, papers by Paula Berggren on Shakespeare's Cains, Chaim Cohen on the 'third-man' charioteers, John Day on Noah's ark as made of reeds, Robert Deutsch on six new Hebrew seals, Joseph Fleishman on the law of the defamer (Deut. 22), Moshe Garsiel on the rivalry between Adonijah and Solomon, Claire Gottlieb on Genesis 1 in the twenty-first century, Martin Heide on a new ostracon, Richard Hess on the strange absence of Egyptian names from the book of Joshua, Regine Hunziker-Rodewald on a new Ammonite seal, Isaac Kalimi on the key methods of Targum Chronicles, André Lemaire on the place of Qumran in Jewish history, David Marcus on the Aramaic versions of the burning bush narrative, Robert Stieglitz on divine kingship at Ugarit, Peter van der Veen on a two-headed bronze bull figurine, and Ada Yardeni on legal texts from various locations in the Judean desert.
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Authority and Violence in the Gideon and Abimelech Narratives: A Sociological and Literary Exploration of Judges 6-9

Published: Sep 2015
£55.00
Authority and violence exhibit a close and complex relationship in the social worlds depicted in biblical narratives as well as in ancient and modern societies. The perceived legitimacy or illegitimacy of authority and violence can hinge upon a number of factors. In the stories of Gideon and Abimelech in Judges 6 —9, lethal actions are depicted as justified, regrettable, or reproachful based, in part, on assumptions regarding kinship, honor, and justice. These narratives form an intriguing interlude within Judges as they directly broach, for the first time in the flow of biblical history, the 'reality' of dynastic kingship within Israel while telling a tale of deadly and divinely motivated reversals of power. An interdisciplinary approach that blends social-scientific analysis driven by Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of social field, habitus, capital, and doxa with a close narrative analysis recommends new ways of understanding the biblical characters' motivations, skills, and social capital; the linguistic capital of the text's creators; and the social worlds from which the narratives emerged. By examining the narrated relations of power through a sociological lens, the study discerns and describes how political and religious power is attained, preserved, transmitted, resisted, endorsed, disguised, or divinized. Building upon this basis, concentration on narrated violence suggests how the stories might be purposed to endorse, legitimate, or resist authority in the ancient context. The study concludes with a synthesis of its results and a survey of scribalism in order to recommend historical settings for the origination of the narratives. The study demonstrates how the biblical text, as a cultural product, can both knowingly and unknowingly communicate information about a society's social relations, values, and concerns. This is the second volume in the sub-series The Bible and Social Science.
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Authority and Violence in the Gideon and Abimelech Narratives: A Sociological and Literary Exploration of Judges 6-9

£55.00
Authority and violence exhibit a close and complex relationship in the social worlds depicted in biblical narratives as well as in ancient and modern societies. The perceived legitimacy or illegitimacy of authority and violence can hinge upon a number of factors. In the stories of Gideon and Abimelech in Judges 6 —9, lethal actions are depicted as justified, regrettable, or reproachful based, in part, on assumptions regarding kinship, honor, and justice. These narratives form an intriguing interlude within Judges as they directly broach, for the first time in the flow of biblical history, the 'reality' of dynastic kingship within Israel while telling a tale of deadly and divinely motivated reversals of power. An interdisciplinary approach that blends social-scientific analysis driven by Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of social field, habitus, capital, and doxa with a close narrative analysis recommends new ways of understanding the biblical characters' motivations, skills, and social capital; the linguistic capital of the text's creators; and the social worlds from which the narratives emerged. By examining the narrated relations of power through a sociological lens, the study discerns and describes how political and religious power is attained, preserved, transmitted, resisted, endorsed, disguised, or divinized. Building upon this basis, concentration on narrated violence suggests how the stories might be purposed to endorse, legitimate, or resist authority in the ancient context. The study concludes with a synthesis of its results and a survey of scribalism in order to recommend historical settings for the origination of the narratives. The study demonstrates how the biblical text, as a cultural product, can both knowingly and unknowingly communicate information about a society's social relations, values, and concerns. This is the second volume in the sub-series The Bible and Social Science.
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Solomon the Lover and the Shape of the Song of Songs

Published: Sep 2015
£50.00
Reading the Song of Songs perpetually raises the question, What is this love that has been sung about so evocatively to ever new generations? The exuberance of the poetry and the remarkable history of its reception make the understanding of what the poetry is all about the more urgent for the conscientious reader. The shape of the Song and what this shape reveals of the poet's concerns are central for this study. Hauge's analysis discloses that a special arrangement of formally independent units, signalled by effects of repetition, is typical of its composition. The strophes are set out in a fivefold pattern containing three types of passage: narrative elements, addresses to the daughters of Jerusalem, and dialogues between the lovers. The tension of the opening scenes dedicated to Solomon and his women, contrasted with a final scene where the king is the humble supplicant, reflects an underlying story of how Solomon the lover of many women was transformed into a lover of the One. The story is dedicated to the power of love, its character as an overwhelming force being even accented by implications of shame. Motifs of absence and separation suggest longing as the essence of love, the final image of the lover as the hart upon the fragrant mountains adding a tinge of sadness to the impression. Themes from the Solomon tradition are important for the narrative strand. The formal shape and the cast of actors are deeply influenced by Proverbs 1 —7, not least when the poet plays havoc with venerable aspects of the wisdom tradition.
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Solomon the Lover and the Shape of the Song of Songs

£50.00
Reading the Song of Songs perpetually raises the question, What is this love that has been sung about so evocatively to ever new generations? The exuberance of the poetry and the remarkable history of its reception make the understanding of what the poetry is all about the more urgent for the conscientious reader. The shape of the Song and what this shape reveals of the poet's concerns are central for this study. Hauge's analysis discloses that a special arrangement of formally independent units, signalled by effects of repetition, is typical of its composition. The strophes are set out in a fivefold pattern containing three types of passage: narrative elements, addresses to the daughters of Jerusalem, and dialogues between the lovers. The tension of the opening scenes dedicated to Solomon and his women, contrasted with a final scene where the king is the humble supplicant, reflects an underlying story of how Solomon the lover of many women was transformed into a lover of the One. The story is dedicated to the power of love, its character as an overwhelming force being even accented by implications of shame. Motifs of absence and separation suggest longing as the essence of love, the final image of the lover as the hart upon the fragrant mountains adding a tinge of sadness to the impression. Themes from the Solomon tradition are important for the narrative strand. The formal shape and the cast of actors are deeply influenced by Proverbs 1 —7, not least when the poet plays havoc with venerable aspects of the wisdom tradition.
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Adam, Eve, and the Devil: A New Beginning, Second Enlarged Edition

Published: Aug 2015
£22.50£60.00
In this book the authors develop an intriguing theory about the Canaanite origin of the biblical traditions concerning the origin of the cosmos and the creation of humankind. Adam, Eve, and the Devil tells a new story about human beginnings and at the same time proposes a fresh start for biblical research into primordial traditions. A number of clay tablets from Ugarit, dating from the late thirteenth century BCE, throw new light, Korpel and de Moor argue, on the background of the first chapters of Genesis and the myth of Adam. In these tablets, El, the creator deity, and his wife Asherah lived in a vineyard or garden on the slopes of Mt Ararat, known in the Bible as the mountain where Noah's ark came to rest. The first sinner was not a human being, but an evil god called Horon who wanted to depose El. Horon was thrown down from the mountain of the gods, and in revenge he transformed the Tree of Life in the garden into a Tree of Death and enveloped the whole world in a poisonous fog. Adam was sent down to restore life on earth, but failed because Horon in the form of a huge serpent bit him. As a result Adam and his wife lost their immortality. This myth found its way into the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigraphical literature, though it was often transformed or treated critically. Adam, Eve, and the Devil traces the reception of the myth in its many forms, and also presents the oldest pictures of Adam and Eve ever identified (one of them on the front cover of the book). A second, enlarged edition is published in paperback in August, 2015.
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Adam, Eve, and the Devil: A New Beginning, Second Enlarged Edition

£22.50£60.00
In this book the authors develop an intriguing theory about the Canaanite origin of the biblical traditions concerning the origin of the cosmos and the creation of humankind. Adam, Eve, and the Devil tells a new story about human beginnings and at the same time proposes a fresh start for biblical research into primordial traditions. A number of clay tablets from Ugarit, dating from the late thirteenth century BCE, throw new light, Korpel and de Moor argue, on the background of the first chapters of Genesis and the myth of Adam. In these tablets, El, the creator deity, and his wife Asherah lived in a vineyard or garden on the slopes of Mt Ararat, known in the Bible as the mountain where Noah's ark came to rest. The first sinner was not a human being, but an evil god called Horon who wanted to depose El. Horon was thrown down from the mountain of the gods, and in revenge he transformed the Tree of Life in the garden into a Tree of Death and enveloped the whole world in a poisonous fog. Adam was sent down to restore life on earth, but failed because Horon in the form of a huge serpent bit him. As a result Adam and his wife lost their immortality. This myth found its way into the Bible, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigraphical literature, though it was often transformed or treated critically. Adam, Eve, and the Devil traces the reception of the myth in its many forms, and also presents the oldest pictures of Adam and Eve ever identified (one of them on the front cover of the book). A second, enlarged edition is published in paperback in August, 2015.
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‘For She Has Heard’: The Standing Stone in Joshua 24 and the Development of a Covenant Symbol

Published: Aug 2015
£50.00
In this unusual and fascinating study, Elizabeth Berne DeGear draws on both biblical studies and psychoanalytic theory to interpret the role of the standing stone erected by Joshua in the sanctuary at Shechem. The presence of a listening stone in the sanctuary distinguishes the ritual space in Joshua 24, yet this religious symbol has received little scholarly attention. DeGear begins with the question: What is this numinous feminine presence serving as witness to the people's covenantal relationship with their God? Comparing this stone's function with the function of other covenant stones in the Hebrew Bible and throughout the ancient Near East, DeGear illuminates both the power of the symbol and its dynamics in the people's religious development. In psychoanalytic mode, DeGear goes on to show how humans create and use symbols differently at various positions along the path to maturity. Her study presents a new perspective on how covenant symbols in the Hebrew Bible function in the development of the communities using them. The present analysis of this one biblical symbol offers scholars and students of biblical and religious studies the tools to engage in psychologically informed consideration of covenant. With its focus on sanctuary, symbol and psyche, DeGear's exploration of the stone extends from the world of ancient Israel to today's worship communities, where the Bible itself is used as a covenant symbol. What emerges is a picture of how the standing stone and other mediating symbols function in the religion of communities in the Bible and beyond.
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‘For She Has Heard’: The Standing Stone in Joshua 24 and the Development of a Covenant Symbol

£50.00
In this unusual and fascinating study, Elizabeth Berne DeGear draws on both biblical studies and psychoanalytic theory to interpret the role of the standing stone erected by Joshua in the sanctuary at Shechem. The presence of a listening stone in the sanctuary distinguishes the ritual space in Joshua 24, yet this religious symbol has received little scholarly attention. DeGear begins with the question: What is this numinous feminine presence serving as witness to the people's covenantal relationship with their God? Comparing this stone's function with the function of other covenant stones in the Hebrew Bible and throughout the ancient Near East, DeGear illuminates both the power of the symbol and its dynamics in the people's religious development. In psychoanalytic mode, DeGear goes on to show how humans create and use symbols differently at various positions along the path to maturity. Her study presents a new perspective on how covenant symbols in the Hebrew Bible function in the development of the communities using them. The present analysis of this one biblical symbol offers scholars and students of biblical and religious studies the tools to engage in psychologically informed consideration of covenant. With its focus on sanctuary, symbol and psyche, DeGear's exploration of the stone extends from the world of ancient Israel to today's worship communities, where the Bible itself is used as a covenant symbol. What emerges is a picture of how the standing stone and other mediating symbols function in the religion of communities in the Bible and beyond.
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Imagination, Ideology and Inspiration: Echoes of Brueggemann in a New Generation

Published: Aug 2015
£60.00
By any account, Walter Brueggemann stands as one of the foremost interpreters of the Hebrew Bible of the past half-century. Yet the question remains of what his influence will be on the next generation of biblical scholars, who have learned from Brueggemann and taken his work in new and often surprising directions. This volume engages that question by presenting the work of fourteen of Brueggemann's former students at Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, Georgia) who are now biblical scholars in their own right, asking how his influence has been received and transformed by them. Essays in this volume present imaginative new readings of well-known texts, from the crisis of God in Genesis 22 to God's birthing body in Job 38. They engage the ideology of the text, discovering the voice of a female prophet in the book of Isaiah, a Job in drag, and a feminist Qohelet. They grapple with the implications of the text for contemporary life, from reading Lamentations after Hiroshima to considering how the production of Bibles is an act of ideological control. While clearly resonating with Brueggemann's work, these essays also take his influence in new directions, from deeper engagement with rabbinic interpretation to the incorporation of new theoretical perspectives from Lacan to Žižek to Deleuze and Guattari. An introduction by Brent Strawn considers Brueggemann's influence in the field more generally, while a response from Carolyn Sharp offers soundings for a new generation of scholars.
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Imagination, Ideology and Inspiration: Echoes of Brueggemann in a New Generation

£60.00
By any account, Walter Brueggemann stands as one of the foremost interpreters of the Hebrew Bible of the past half-century. Yet the question remains of what his influence will be on the next generation of biblical scholars, who have learned from Brueggemann and taken his work in new and often surprising directions. This volume engages that question by presenting the work of fourteen of Brueggemann's former students at Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, Georgia) who are now biblical scholars in their own right, asking how his influence has been received and transformed by them. Essays in this volume present imaginative new readings of well-known texts, from the crisis of God in Genesis 22 to God's birthing body in Job 38. They engage the ideology of the text, discovering the voice of a female prophet in the book of Isaiah, a Job in drag, and a feminist Qohelet. They grapple with the implications of the text for contemporary life, from reading Lamentations after Hiroshima to considering how the production of Bibles is an act of ideological control. While clearly resonating with Brueggemann's work, these essays also take his influence in new directions, from deeper engagement with rabbinic interpretation to the incorporation of new theoretical perspectives from Lacan to Žižek to Deleuze and Guattari. An introduction by Brent Strawn considers Brueggemann's influence in the field more generally, while a response from Carolyn Sharp offers soundings for a new generation of scholars.
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Sin, Impurity, Sacrifice, Atonement: The Priestly Conceptions

Published: May 2015
£16.50£50.00
The goal of this closely reasoned study is to explain why, in Priestly texts of the Hebrew Bible, the verb kipper, traditionally translated 'atone', means the way of dealing both with sin and with impurity —which might seem very different things. Sklar's first key conclusion is that when the context is sin, certain sins also pollute; so 'atonement' may include some element of purification. His second conclusion is that, when the context is impurity, and kipper means not 'atone' but 'effect purgation', impurity also endangers; so kipper can include some element of ransoming. In fact, sin and impurity, while distinct categories in themselves, have this in common: each of them requires both ransoming and purification. It is for this reason that kipper can be used in both settings. This benchmark study concludes with a careful examination of the famous sentence of Leviticus 17.11 that 'blood makes atonement' (kipper) and explains how, in the Priestly ideology, blood sacrifice was able to accomplish both ransom and purification.
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Sin, Impurity, Sacrifice, Atonement: The Priestly Conceptions

£16.50£50.00
The goal of this closely reasoned study is to explain why, in Priestly texts of the Hebrew Bible, the verb kipper, traditionally translated 'atone', means the way of dealing both with sin and with impurity —which might seem very different things. Sklar's first key conclusion is that when the context is sin, certain sins also pollute; so 'atonement' may include some element of purification. His second conclusion is that, when the context is impurity, and kipper means not 'atone' but 'effect purgation', impurity also endangers; so kipper can include some element of ransoming. In fact, sin and impurity, while distinct categories in themselves, have this in common: each of them requires both ransoming and purification. It is for this reason that kipper can be used in both settings. This benchmark study concludes with a careful examination of the famous sentence of Leviticus 17.11 that 'blood makes atonement' (kipper) and explains how, in the Priestly ideology, blood sacrifice was able to accomplish both ransom and purification.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: I. Claiming and Conquering

Published: Apr 2015
£22.50£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and Classical literature. By the end of that century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was now understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways by which non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume I traces how the study of the ancient Near East developed into a professional discipline and how interpretative frameworks were gradually standardized throughout the nineteenth century. Some of the best-sellers of the period were accounts of the early explorers of the region and, beginning with the Napoleonic expedition, the book examines how ancient Near Eastern discoveries were communicated to the public. It looks at how archaeological reporting was shaped in this period and how the study of the ancient Near East was employed to understand issues of progress and decline and was referenced in the political and social satire of the period. It also documents the growth of middle-class tourism to the region and considers how the changing experiences of travel impacted Near Eastern studies. Throughout, the book observes how the ancient Near East mirrored and subverted British society and played a role in European and North American thinking about their places in a larger global and historical perspective.
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The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: I. Claiming and Conquering

£22.50£70.00
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, little was known of the ancient Near East except for what was preserved in the Bible and Classical literature. By the end of that century, an amazing transformation had occurred: the basic outline of ancient Near Eastern history was now understood and the material culture of the region was recognizable to the general public. This three-volume study explores the various ways by which non-specialists would have encountered ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land and how they derived and constructed meaning from those discoveries. McGeough challenges the simplistic view that the experience of the ancient Near East was solely a matter of 'othering' and shows how different people claimed the Near East as their own space and how connections were drawn between the ancient and contemporary worlds. Volume I traces how the study of the ancient Near East developed into a professional discipline and how interpretative frameworks were gradually standardized throughout the nineteenth century. Some of the best-sellers of the period were accounts of the early explorers of the region and, beginning with the Napoleonic expedition, the book examines how ancient Near Eastern discoveries were communicated to the public. It looks at how archaeological reporting was shaped in this period and how the study of the ancient Near East was employed to understand issues of progress and decline and was referenced in the political and social satire of the period. It also documents the growth of middle-class tourism to the region and considers how the changing experiences of travel impacted Near Eastern studies. Throughout, the book observes how the ancient Near East mirrored and subverted British society and played a role in European and North American thinking about their places in a larger global and historical perspective.
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Interpreting the Text: Essays on the Old Testament, its Reception and its Study, edited by Walter J. Houston and Adrian H.W. Curtis

Published: Apr 2015
£60.00
Roger Tomes (1928 —2011) was a well-known British scholar of the Old Testament, wide-ranging in his interests and meticulous in his scholarship. He was particularly productive after his retirement from his post at Northern College, Manchester, an interdenominational college for ministry training and theological study, and remained an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. He excelled in the conference paper or journal article form, but made no collection of his papers in his lifetime. Two of his Manchester colleagues have here made a selection from both his published essays and his unpublished papers, many of them delivered in the last few years to the Ehrhardt Seminar for biblical research in Manchester. Tomes was always concerned with the relevance of the Bible to the life of the Church, and the earliest essay in the volume, from 1969, is a contribution to the theology of the Old Testament. Others deal with the reception of biblical criticism in theological education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One of Tomes's abiding concerns was with Jewish —Christian relations; his interests in Jewish interpretation are reflected here in a study of the rabbinic use of the book of Jeremiah, and an essay on the Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus. He was working on the reception history of the story of David at the time of his death, and the fruits of that study are included in the form of two fascinating essays. Besides all this, the book covers a range of topics in the study of the Old Testament, including the deutero-canonical writings, its law and historical writings in particular.
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Interpreting the Text: Essays on the Old Testament, its Reception and its Study, edited by Walter J. Houston and Adrian H.W. Curtis

£60.00
Roger Tomes (1928 —2011) was a well-known British scholar of the Old Testament, wide-ranging in his interests and meticulous in his scholarship. He was particularly productive after his retirement from his post at Northern College, Manchester, an interdenominational college for ministry training and theological study, and remained an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. He excelled in the conference paper or journal article form, but made no collection of his papers in his lifetime. Two of his Manchester colleagues have here made a selection from both his published essays and his unpublished papers, many of them delivered in the last few years to the Ehrhardt Seminar for biblical research in Manchester. Tomes was always concerned with the relevance of the Bible to the life of the Church, and the earliest essay in the volume, from 1969, is a contribution to the theology of the Old Testament. Others deal with the reception of biblical criticism in theological education in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One of Tomes's abiding concerns was with Jewish —Christian relations; his interests in Jewish interpretation are reflected here in a study of the rabbinic use of the book of Jeremiah, and an essay on the Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus. He was working on the reception history of the story of David at the time of his death, and the fruits of that study are included in the form of two fascinating essays. Besides all this, the book covers a range of topics in the study of the Old Testament, including the deutero-canonical writings, its law and historical writings in particular.
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Text, Time, and Temple: Literary, Historical and Ritual Studies in Leviticus

Published: Mar 2015
£60.00
In their different ways the essays in this collection ask, Why was Leviticus written? What is the relation of text to practice, and to the development of the idea of an Israelite society centred in its Temple through all vicissitudes of its history? The thirteen contributors are engaged in exploring the intersection of literary, historical and ritual approaches to Leviticus, as the central book of the Torah and as a utopian vision of an ideal society. Leading scholars of Leviticus and the Pentateuch, like James Watts, Israel Knohl and Christophe Nihan, combine with others whose primary interest is magic, reception, cultural memory and gender. The collection begins with a chapter by Michael Hundley on the ancient Near Eastern background of the priestly code and the issue of divine fluidity. Several scholars consider the social function of the book, particularly in the Second Temple period. James Watts, for instance, thinks that it combats scepticism about the efficacy of ritual; Reinhard MÌ_ller argues that the 'I am Yhwh' formula locates the texts in a liturgical setting. Christophe Nihan discusses the manipulation of blood in sacrifice as having an indexical function, as part of the 'templization' of Israel. Other chapters engage in analyses of particular texts. Leigh Trevaskis advocates a symbolic interpretation of the prohibition of intercourse with a menstruant. Deborah Rooke analyses the gender and ethnic implications of the story of the blasphemer in Leviticus 24. Similarly, Francis Landy compares the chapters on the Nazirite and the woman suspected of adultery as challenges to the sacerdotal order. Jonathan Burnside argues that the prohibition of necromancy is integral to Leviticus 20. The book concludes with a moving reflection by Jeremy Milgrom on his father's views on the ethical implications of his work, and particularly its relevance to Israeli —Palestinian relations.
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Text, Time, and Temple: Literary, Historical and Ritual Studies in Leviticus

£60.00
In their different ways the essays in this collection ask, Why was Leviticus written? What is the relation of text to practice, and to the development of the idea of an Israelite society centred in its Temple through all vicissitudes of its history? The thirteen contributors are engaged in exploring the intersection of literary, historical and ritual approaches to Leviticus, as the central book of the Torah and as a utopian vision of an ideal society. Leading scholars of Leviticus and the Pentateuch, like James Watts, Israel Knohl and Christophe Nihan, combine with others whose primary interest is magic, reception, cultural memory and gender. The collection begins with a chapter by Michael Hundley on the ancient Near Eastern background of the priestly code and the issue of divine fluidity. Several scholars consider the social function of the book, particularly in the Second Temple period. James Watts, for instance, thinks that it combats scepticism about the efficacy of ritual; Reinhard MÌ_ller argues that the 'I am Yhwh' formula locates the texts in a liturgical setting. Christophe Nihan discusses the manipulation of blood in sacrifice as having an indexical function, as part of the 'templization' of Israel. Other chapters engage in analyses of particular texts. Leigh Trevaskis advocates a symbolic interpretation of the prohibition of intercourse with a menstruant. Deborah Rooke analyses the gender and ethnic implications of the story of the blasphemer in Leviticus 24. Similarly, Francis Landy compares the chapters on the Nazirite and the woman suspected of adultery as challenges to the sacerdotal order. Jonathan Burnside argues that the prohibition of necromancy is integral to Leviticus 20. The book concludes with a moving reflection by Jeremy Milgrom on his father's views on the ethical implications of his work, and particularly its relevance to Israeli —Palestinian relations.
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Reading a Tendentious Bible: Essays in Honor of Robert B. Coote

Published: Oct 2014
£75.00
Robert B. Coote is internationally renowned for work on the Bible and the ancient Near East that crosses the usual disciplinary boundaries. Whether re-examining arcane inscriptions, conventional views of the Pentateuch, Israel's early history, the composition of a particular book of the Bible, or the making of the Bible in the broader sense, his question has been not whether some texts are tendentious and others not, but rather how each biblical composition or re-composition pushes back against its contexts. Coote's skill in explicating the subtle interplay between contextual foil and literary structure and content has been a major characteristic of his work. Nineteen colleagues, friends, and former students have joined to honour Bob Coote with this Festschrift. Their wide-ranging contributions cover many, but not all of the interests of his prodigious career —textual criticism (Emanuel Tov), literary studies in several guises (Barbara Green, Uriah Y. Kim, Annette Schellenberg, Chris Seeman), historiography (Norman K. Gottwald, Ernst Axel Knauf, Keith W. Whitelam), social institutions (John H. Elliott, Sarah Shectman), text and social context (Marvin L. Chaney, Eugene Eung-Chun Park, Herman C. Waetjen), cultural memory (Ronald Hendel), ethnic identity (Aaron J. Brody), relationship of oral and written 'texts' (Antoinette Clark Wire), iconography and text (Annette Weissenrieder), cuneiform and gender studies (Mary Frances Wogec), and hermeneutics (Chandler Stokes).
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Reading a Tendentious Bible: Essays in Honor of Robert B. Coote

£75.00
Robert B. Coote is internationally renowned for work on the Bible and the ancient Near East that crosses the usual disciplinary boundaries. Whether re-examining arcane inscriptions, conventional views of the Pentateuch, Israel's early history, the composition of a particular book of the Bible, or the making of the Bible in the broader sense, his question has been not whether some texts are tendentious and others not, but rather how each biblical composition or re-composition pushes back against its contexts. Coote's skill in explicating the subtle interplay between contextual foil and literary structure and content has been a major characteristic of his work. Nineteen colleagues, friends, and former students have joined to honour Bob Coote with this Festschrift. Their wide-ranging contributions cover many, but not all of the interests of his prodigious career —textual criticism (Emanuel Tov), literary studies in several guises (Barbara Green, Uriah Y. Kim, Annette Schellenberg, Chris Seeman), historiography (Norman K. Gottwald, Ernst Axel Knauf, Keith W. Whitelam), social institutions (John H. Elliott, Sarah Shectman), text and social context (Marvin L. Chaney, Eugene Eung-Chun Park, Herman C. Waetjen), cultural memory (Ronald Hendel), ethnic identity (Aaron J. Brody), relationship of oral and written 'texts' (Antoinette Clark Wire), iconography and text (Annette Weissenrieder), cuneiform and gender studies (Mary Frances Wogec), and hermeneutics (Chandler Stokes).
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Discourse, Dialogue, and Debate in the Bible: Essays in Honour of Frank H. Polak

Published: Aug 2014
£70.00
Frank H. Polak's contributions to Biblical Studies cover many fields, from Septuagint and Qumran studies to many other disciplines. His most important contributions in recent decades, however, have been to the narrative criticism and discourse analysis of the Bible, including their application to issues of date and authorship, which have been debated since ancient times. Polak's work is informed by many branches of general and Semitic linguistics, social anthropology and historiography, along with a broad, humanistic approach. In his work, he has attempted to balance literary, linguistic and historical criticism in order to achieve a synthesis of these separate but overlapping fields, all of them necessary for reading the Hebrew Bible in a responsible manner. This volume is offered to Frank by friends and colleagues from Tel Aviv University, where he has taught for almost 40 years, and from other academic institutions, in honour of his illustrious career and on the occasion of his retirement from teaching. The contributors all debate questions of discourse, dialogue, language and history —questions that have been central to Frank's researches over the years. This is the seventh volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner-Idan), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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Discourse, Dialogue, and Debate in the Bible: Essays in Honour of Frank H. Polak

£70.00
Frank H. Polak's contributions to Biblical Studies cover many fields, from Septuagint and Qumran studies to many other disciplines. His most important contributions in recent decades, however, have been to the narrative criticism and discourse analysis of the Bible, including their application to issues of date and authorship, which have been debated since ancient times. Polak's work is informed by many branches of general and Semitic linguistics, social anthropology and historiography, along with a broad, humanistic approach. In his work, he has attempted to balance literary, linguistic and historical criticism in order to achieve a synthesis of these separate but overlapping fields, all of them necessary for reading the Hebrew Bible in a responsible manner. This volume is offered to Frank by friends and colleagues from Tel Aviv University, where he has taught for almost 40 years, and from other academic institutions, in honour of his illustrious career and on the occasion of his retirement from teaching. The contributors all debate questions of discourse, dialogue, language and history —questions that have been central to Frank's researches over the years. This is the seventh volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner-Idan), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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Anatomical Idiom and Emotional Expression: A Comparison of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint

Published: May 2014
£75.00
The Hebrew Bible abounds in imagery linking feelings and emotions with various parts of the body. These vividly painted word pictures capture the imagination, and the reader can identify physically as well as emotionally with what is being expressed. But this colourful imagery, with its forthright and earthy language, is rather less apparent in modern English translations. Such substitutions are not just common in English translations, but are also found in the first authorized translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Can the changes to body imagery found in English translations be explained as part of a process that began with the Greek text, which often gave a more muted picture than the Hebrew original? This study explores these questions by making a detailed comparative analysis of anatomical idioms (body imagery) associated with the emotions of distress, fear, anger and gladness in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. Differences are identified through literal translation into English from both Hebrew and Greek and the results are categorized, discussed and analysed, and detailed statistical information is presented. The data offer a rich resource for further research, and the analysis provides fascinating insights into the minds of the Greek translators and findings that are surprisingly complex.
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Anatomical Idiom and Emotional Expression: A Comparison of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint

£75.00
The Hebrew Bible abounds in imagery linking feelings and emotions with various parts of the body. These vividly painted word pictures capture the imagination, and the reader can identify physically as well as emotionally with what is being expressed. But this colourful imagery, with its forthright and earthy language, is rather less apparent in modern English translations. Such substitutions are not just common in English translations, but are also found in the first authorized translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Can the changes to body imagery found in English translations be explained as part of a process that began with the Greek text, which often gave a more muted picture than the Hebrew original? This study explores these questions by making a detailed comparative analysis of anatomical idioms (body imagery) associated with the emotions of distress, fear, anger and gladness in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. Differences are identified through literal translation into English from both Hebrew and Greek and the results are categorized, discussed and analysed, and detailed statistical information is presented. The data offer a rich resource for further research, and the analysis provides fascinating insights into the minds of the Greek translators and findings that are surprisingly complex.
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Abigail, Wife of David, and Other Ancient Oriental Women

Published: Oct 2013
£50.00
This is the first book devoted to the biblical figure of Abigail, whose encounter with David is narrated in 1 Samuel 25. An interdisciplinary study, its seven papers combine biblical criticism, narratology, history of religions, Assyriology and the study of midrash. One article (by Michaël Guichard) brings to light a major historical analogy from the Mari documents to the triangular relationship of Abigail, Nabal and David. The career of the princess Inib-sharri, first married to an old sheikh, and, after his sudden, mysterious death, to a younger princeling, provides a very apt analogy to that of Abigail. Another article (by Daniel Bodi) compares David's way of seizing power to the pattern of seizing power in the ancient Near East: Zimri-Lim in Mari, Idrimi in Alalakh, and the 'Apiru in the Amarna texts serve as analogies to David. The tale of David as an ambitious warlord taking power through marriage can be paralleled by the myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal; in its older Amarna version Nergal takes power through violence whereas in its Assyrian version his power is due to Ereshkigal's seduction and love. The Abigail story combines both aspects, beginning with violence and ending with marriage (Jean-Jacques Glassner). Some rabbis saw Abigail as a seducer and a hellish type of woman. The final articles (by Bodi and Jean-Marie Husser) show that, while her behaviour might be ambiguous, she should not be branded a scarlet woman.
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Abigail, Wife of David, and Other Ancient Oriental Women

£50.00
This is the first book devoted to the biblical figure of Abigail, whose encounter with David is narrated in 1 Samuel 25. An interdisciplinary study, its seven papers combine biblical criticism, narratology, history of religions, Assyriology and the study of midrash. One article (by Michaël Guichard) brings to light a major historical analogy from the Mari documents to the triangular relationship of Abigail, Nabal and David. The career of the princess Inib-sharri, first married to an old sheikh, and, after his sudden, mysterious death, to a younger princeling, provides a very apt analogy to that of Abigail. Another article (by Daniel Bodi) compares David's way of seizing power to the pattern of seizing power in the ancient Near East: Zimri-Lim in Mari, Idrimi in Alalakh, and the 'Apiru in the Amarna texts serve as analogies to David. The tale of David as an ambitious warlord taking power through marriage can be paralleled by the myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal; in its older Amarna version Nergal takes power through violence whereas in its Assyrian version his power is due to Ereshkigal's seduction and love. The Abigail story combines both aspects, beginning with violence and ending with marriage (Jean-Jacques Glassner). Some rabbis saw Abigail as a seducer and a hellish type of woman. The final articles (by Bodi and Jean-Marie Husser) show that, while her behaviour might be ambiguous, she should not be branded a scarlet woman.
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Sight and Insight in Genesis: A Semantic Study

Published: Oct 2013
£60.00
Sight and Insight shows how prominent are terms from the semantic field of sight in the book of Genesis. They are constantly found in openings, at turning points, and as constituents in place-names and personal names. Because of their presence at strategic points in the plot of Genesis, words of sight enhance cohesion among the narratives of the book. From the beginning of time, according to Genesis, there have been numerous instances of seeing on the part of both God and humans. But as Genesis progresses, God gradually becomes more hidden and his seeing gives place to human perception. These observations are built upon a sound theoretical foundation, outlined in the opening chapter, which provides a clear definition of the concept of 'semantic field' and an explanation of related semantic terms such as 'frames' and 'prototypes'. Subsequent chapters identify the words that can be assigned to the 'sight' field, examine the deployment of the sight field in individual narratives in Genesis, and study the sight field over larger sections of the book. This is the sixth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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Sight and Insight in Genesis: A Semantic Study

£60.00
Sight and Insight shows how prominent are terms from the semantic field of sight in the book of Genesis. They are constantly found in openings, at turning points, and as constituents in place-names and personal names. Because of their presence at strategic points in the plot of Genesis, words of sight enhance cohesion among the narratives of the book. From the beginning of time, according to Genesis, there have been numerous instances of seeing on the part of both God and humans. But as Genesis progresses, God gradually becomes more hidden and his seeing gives place to human perception. These observations are built upon a sound theoretical foundation, outlined in the opening chapter, which provides a clear definition of the concept of 'semantic field' and an explanation of related semantic terms such as 'frames' and 'prototypes'. Subsequent chapters identify the words that can be assigned to the 'sight' field, examine the deployment of the sight field in individual narratives in Genesis, and study the sight field over larger sections of the book. This is the sixth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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Chorus in the Dark: The Voices of the Book of Lamentations

Published: Oct 2013
£60.00
Chorus in the Dark invites attention to the treaty negotiated by the voices of Lamentations. The issues of God's justice and human rights are at the centre of a forceful discussion embodied in the five poems of Lamentations. Difficult questions are subtly raised: How can God's justice be recognized and honoured in the midst of suffering? How can the human right to protest against mistreatment be respected? How can loss, grief, and shame be overcome? What future is there for the victims? How can these sensitive issues be negotiated without loss? Zion is the first major speaker in Lamentations. Zion projects the voice of a woman crying by the grave. Her pain is intense, her loss is vast, her anger is uncontrollable. Zion is unable to see any future. God is indeed just in destroying her, but her surviving children do not deserve her fate. The other major speaker is the man of Lamentations 3. He too speaks of the pain, grief, anger, and desire for vengeance of a victim bent under the yoke of affliction. Yet, like a Davidic king, he dares to claim covenant promises and hope that darkness will eventually turn to light. Through both harmony and discord, and with a profound ambivalence toward the future, the separate voices of Lamentations resonate in a timbre that transcends the sum of its parts. The five poems, while having unique value individually, are meant to be read together as a living documentation of a moment of suspension, a great turning point in the history of Israel.
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Chorus in the Dark: The Voices of the Book of Lamentations

£60.00
Chorus in the Dark invites attention to the treaty negotiated by the voices of Lamentations. The issues of God's justice and human rights are at the centre of a forceful discussion embodied in the five poems of Lamentations. Difficult questions are subtly raised: How can God's justice be recognized and honoured in the midst of suffering? How can the human right to protest against mistreatment be respected? How can loss, grief, and shame be overcome? What future is there for the victims? How can these sensitive issues be negotiated without loss? Zion is the first major speaker in Lamentations. Zion projects the voice of a woman crying by the grave. Her pain is intense, her loss is vast, her anger is uncontrollable. Zion is unable to see any future. God is indeed just in destroying her, but her surviving children do not deserve her fate. The other major speaker is the man of Lamentations 3. He too speaks of the pain, grief, anger, and desire for vengeance of a victim bent under the yoke of affliction. Yet, like a Davidic king, he dares to claim covenant promises and hope that darkness will eventually turn to light. Through both harmony and discord, and with a profound ambivalence toward the future, the separate voices of Lamentations resonate in a timbre that transcends the sum of its parts. The five poems, while having unique value individually, are meant to be read together as a living documentation of a moment of suspension, a great turning point in the history of Israel.
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The Recovery of the Ancient Hebrew Language: The Lexicographical Writings of D. Winton Thomas

Published: Oct 2013
£75.00
David Winton Thomas (1901 —1970) was Regius Professor of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge (1938 —1968) and one of the most distinguished British lexicographers of the Hebrew language. His special contribution was the identification of words in Biblical Hebrew that had lain undetected since ancient times, sometimes because they were homonyms of other, better-known words. He called his project 'The Recovery of the Ancient Hebrew Language', the title of his inaugural lecture at Cambridge in 1939, as well as of the present book. In this volume John Day has gathered together all Winton Thomas's lexicographical articles (nearly 400 pages altogether) in a convenient format; hitherto these have been scattered around many different journals and books. In addition, he has prefaced them with a very substantial introduction of some 150 pages, in which he offers the first thorough and systematic evaluation of Winton Thomas's work. Day concludes that there are definitely occasions where Thomas has made a positive and enduring contribution to Hebrew lexicography, and it is important that modern scholars do not overlook these conclusions. On the other hand, it becomes clear that Thomas was sometimes too prone to appeal to cognate Semitic languages (especially Arabic) in the search for new meanings of Hebrew words when this was unnecessary. In seeking to make a thorough appraisal of Thomas's proposals this volume offers a valuable contribution to the study of Biblical Hebrew lexicography.
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The Recovery of the Ancient Hebrew Language: The Lexicographical Writings of D. Winton Thomas

£75.00
David Winton Thomas (1901 —1970) was Regius Professor of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge (1938 —1968) and one of the most distinguished British lexicographers of the Hebrew language. His special contribution was the identification of words in Biblical Hebrew that had lain undetected since ancient times, sometimes because they were homonyms of other, better-known words. He called his project 'The Recovery of the Ancient Hebrew Language', the title of his inaugural lecture at Cambridge in 1939, as well as of the present book. In this volume John Day has gathered together all Winton Thomas's lexicographical articles (nearly 400 pages altogether) in a convenient format; hitherto these have been scattered around many different journals and books. In addition, he has prefaced them with a very substantial introduction of some 150 pages, in which he offers the first thorough and systematic evaluation of Winton Thomas's work. Day concludes that there are definitely occasions where Thomas has made a positive and enduring contribution to Hebrew lexicography, and it is important that modern scholars do not overlook these conclusions. On the other hand, it becomes clear that Thomas was sometimes too prone to appeal to cognate Semitic languages (especially Arabic) in the search for new meanings of Hebrew words when this was unnecessary. In seeking to make a thorough appraisal of Thomas's proposals this volume offers a valuable contribution to the study of Biblical Hebrew lexicography.
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Where the Wild Ox Roams: Biblical Essays in Honour of Norman C. Habel

Published: Sep 2013
£75.00
Norman C. Habel, the most eminent Hebrew Bible scholar of our time in Australia, has claimed a special place in biblical hermeneutics through his untiring work in the last two decades to foreground environmental issues as the critical lens through which the Bible must be read, judged and interpreted. This centre of his most recent work has built on a long career of creative engagement with the biblical text, creativity that has witnessed not only major contributions in Hebrew Bible scholarship (most especially on Job and ideologies of 'the land') but in drama, poetry, liturgy, puppetry and music. Norm Habel has demonstrated the possibility of the academic being an activist and the activist being a scholar, all the while encouraging emerging and established scholarship to see further into the text and through the text to the justice demanding to be established in the world. Seventeen friends have joined to honour the man and esteem, through this collection of essays, some of the illustrious facets of his prodigious output — on Job (Mark Brett, David Clines), ecological hermeneutics (Elaine Wainwright, Vicky Balabanski, Alan Cadwallader, Alice Sinnott, Dianne Bergant, Anne Elvey, Philip Davies), the arts (William Urbrock, Carol Newsom), and issues in personal encounters (Martin Buss, Marie Turner, Robert Crotty, Terence Fretheim, Ralph Klein, Gary Stansell).
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Where the Wild Ox Roams: Biblical Essays in Honour of Norman C. Habel

£75.00
Norman C. Habel, the most eminent Hebrew Bible scholar of our time in Australia, has claimed a special place in biblical hermeneutics through his untiring work in the last two decades to foreground environmental issues as the critical lens through which the Bible must be read, judged and interpreted. This centre of his most recent work has built on a long career of creative engagement with the biblical text, creativity that has witnessed not only major contributions in Hebrew Bible scholarship (most especially on Job and ideologies of 'the land') but in drama, poetry, liturgy, puppetry and music. Norm Habel has demonstrated the possibility of the academic being an activist and the activist being a scholar, all the while encouraging emerging and established scholarship to see further into the text and through the text to the justice demanding to be established in the world. Seventeen friends have joined to honour the man and esteem, through this collection of essays, some of the illustrious facets of his prodigious output — on Job (Mark Brett, David Clines), ecological hermeneutics (Elaine Wainwright, Vicky Balabanski, Alan Cadwallader, Alice Sinnott, Dianne Bergant, Anne Elvey, Philip Davies), the arts (William Urbrock, Carol Newsom), and issues in personal encounters (Martin Buss, Marie Turner, Robert Crotty, Terence Fretheim, Ralph Klein, Gary Stansell).
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Toward Understanding the Hebrew Canon: A Form-Critical Approach

Published: Sep 2013
£50.00
Toward Understanding the Hebrew Canon: A Form-Critical Approach explores in an original and reflective way the relations between the linguistic forms, ideas and life involvements of biblical genres. The various forms of the Hebrew Bible reflect and correspond to the richly diverse life experiences of the Hebrew people, which include varied legal, cultic and erotic interactions. Divine speech is a prominent literary form in the Hebrew Bible, according to Buss's analysis. It has an emotive character, and is highly personal. Such speech establishes a series of Origin events that run from creation to the foundation of kingship; it both provides norms for life and struggles with human recalcitrance. Divine speech also provides evaluative assessments of present and envisaged situations, and it promises a truly good End. The humans to whom divine speech is directed are called on to acknowledge the divine reality, which they can do through self-transcendence, as a part of selfhood. In ethics, a receptive attitude acknowledges the unconditional worth of others, which is supported by Deity. Human speech is usually also emotive, although on occasion it is concerned rather with dry historical actualities. It is intertwined with divine speech in narratives and prophecies. In these fourteen essays (one of them previously unpublished) the renowned biblical scholar Martin Buss gathers an array of his work from many years, bringing to bear on the Hebrew Bible his extensive researches in cross-cultural data and in other disciplines such as philosophy and social psychology.
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Toward Understanding the Hebrew Canon: A Form-Critical Approach

£50.00
Toward Understanding the Hebrew Canon: A Form-Critical Approach explores in an original and reflective way the relations between the linguistic forms, ideas and life involvements of biblical genres. The various forms of the Hebrew Bible reflect and correspond to the richly diverse life experiences of the Hebrew people, which include varied legal, cultic and erotic interactions. Divine speech is a prominent literary form in the Hebrew Bible, according to Buss's analysis. It has an emotive character, and is highly personal. Such speech establishes a series of Origin events that run from creation to the foundation of kingship; it both provides norms for life and struggles with human recalcitrance. Divine speech also provides evaluative assessments of present and envisaged situations, and it promises a truly good End. The humans to whom divine speech is directed are called on to acknowledge the divine reality, which they can do through self-transcendence, as a part of selfhood. In ethics, a receptive attitude acknowledges the unconditional worth of others, which is supported by Deity. Human speech is usually also emotive, although on occasion it is concerned rather with dry historical actualities. It is intertwined with divine speech in narratives and prophecies. In these fourteen essays (one of them previously unpublished) the renowned biblical scholar Martin Buss gathers an array of his work from many years, bringing to bear on the Hebrew Bible his extensive researches in cross-cultural data and in other disciplines such as philosophy and social psychology.
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The Necessary King: A Postcolonial Reading of the Deuteronomistic Portrait of the Monarchy

Published: Sep 2013
£80.00
The Necessary King explains why Israel needed a king according to the Deuteronomistic History, and why its exilic readers can expect no future except under Davidic rule. Given Israel's tendency to rebellion against its divine suzerain, the king is the necessary agent of God's colonization of Israel, making and keeping it a loyal subject. The Deuteronomistic History with its pro-Davidic narrative has three prongs, each of which relies on an imitation of the imperial ideology of Judah's colonial masters. First, Dtr imitates the discourse of Neo-Assyrian treaties and Mesopotamian royal inscriptions, replacing the imperial suzerain with God. Second, having established this client —suzerain relationship in Deuteronomy, Dtr then goes on to imitate imperial portrayals of the disloyal and wicked foreign enemies whom the Mesopotamian king colonizes. Israel is a foreign enemy in God's eyes, repetitively proving their disloyalty to their divine suzerain and so demonstrating the need for an Israelite king who will colonize them —for their own good. Third, Dtr imitates the ideology of the Mesopotamian powers in its portrayal of the monarchy. Dtr presents the Davidides' relation to Judah/Israel just as the Mesopotamian colonial powers present their kings' relation to the foreign peoples they have conquered: their colonial rule is necessary, and actually benefits the peoples whom they colonize. Disqualifying prophets, priests, and judges as potential leaders of Israel, and presenting the people as far too sinful to live without leadership, the Deuteronomistic History portrays the Davidic monarchy as a necessity.
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The Necessary King: A Postcolonial Reading of the Deuteronomistic Portrait of the Monarchy

£80.00
The Necessary King explains why Israel needed a king according to the Deuteronomistic History, and why its exilic readers can expect no future except under Davidic rule. Given Israel's tendency to rebellion against its divine suzerain, the king is the necessary agent of God's colonization of Israel, making and keeping it a loyal subject. The Deuteronomistic History with its pro-Davidic narrative has three prongs, each of which relies on an imitation of the imperial ideology of Judah's colonial masters. First, Dtr imitates the discourse of Neo-Assyrian treaties and Mesopotamian royal inscriptions, replacing the imperial suzerain with God. Second, having established this client —suzerain relationship in Deuteronomy, Dtr then goes on to imitate imperial portrayals of the disloyal and wicked foreign enemies whom the Mesopotamian king colonizes. Israel is a foreign enemy in God's eyes, repetitively proving their disloyalty to their divine suzerain and so demonstrating the need for an Israelite king who will colonize them —for their own good. Third, Dtr imitates the ideology of the Mesopotamian powers in its portrayal of the monarchy. Dtr presents the Davidides' relation to Judah/Israel just as the Mesopotamian colonial powers present their kings' relation to the foreign peoples they have conquered: their colonial rule is necessary, and actually benefits the peoples whom they colonize. Disqualifying prophets, priests, and judges as potential leaders of Israel, and presenting the people as far too sinful to live without leadership, the Deuteronomistic History portrays the Davidic monarchy as a necessity.
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The Reception of the Hebrew Bible in the Septuagint and the New Testament: Essays in Memory of Aileen Guilding

Published: July 2013
£50.00
Aileen Guilding was Professor of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield from 1959 to 1965, and was known especially for her monograph The Fourth Gospel and Jewish Worship: A Study of the Relation of St. John's Gospel to the Ancient Jewish Lectionary System (Oxford, 1960), which enjoyed a succès d’estime in its day as an exceptionally fascinating and learned book. She is celebrated in Sheffield as the first female professor in the University; she was also the first woman to hold a chair in theology or religion in the United Kingdom. After her death at the age of 94 a conference on themes relevant to her special interests was held in Sheffield as part of a meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study, and the papers read there are presented in this volume, published in the 101st year after her birth.
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The Reception of the Hebrew Bible in the Septuagint and the New Testament: Essays in Memory of Aileen Guilding

£50.00
Aileen Guilding was Professor of Biblical History and Literature in the University of Sheffield from 1959 to 1965, and was known especially for her monograph The Fourth Gospel and Jewish Worship: A Study of the Relation of St. John's Gospel to the Ancient Jewish Lectionary System (Oxford, 1960), which enjoyed a succès d’estime in its day as an exceptionally fascinating and learned book. She is celebrated in Sheffield as the first female professor in the University; she was also the first woman to hold a chair in theology or religion in the United Kingdom. After her death at the age of 94 a conference on themes relevant to her special interests was held in Sheffield as part of a meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study, and the papers read there are presented in this volume, published in the 101st year after her birth.
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The Joseph of Genesis as Hellenistic Scientist

Published: July 2013
£75.00
To today's confrontations between religion and science Jovanovic contrasts the vibrant collaboration that characterizes Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beginnings. Designation of the patriarch Joseph as both a dream interpreter and a diviner (Gen. 44.4, 15) is a specific example of biblical appropriation of the ancient Mediterranean understanding of cup divination and dream interpretation as among the scientific activities of its social, spiritual and academic elite. Jovanovic argues that the image of Joseph as a Hellenistic scientist nourished the popularity of early Jewish and Christian literature on Joseph. The works of Josephus and Philo, Rabbinic midrashim, and the newly discovered The Ethiopic Story of Joseph, as well as Jubilees, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and Joseph and Aseneth, hold that Joseph's profession was that of a scientist of vision. The interpretation of the symbolic images in dreams and cup divination was a scientific method of communication with the divine and of prediction of the future, which Jovanovic calls 'revelation by visual effects'. Joseph's image as an Egyptian academic provoked varied responses in Hellenistic Jewish circles. The dismay expressed by Jubilees and Philo arose from Joseph's perceived betrayal of religious and traditional values. The acclamation of Josephus and The Ethiopic Story of Joseph demonstrates that a number of Hellenistic Jews believed that their creative integration into the vibrant Hellenistic culture could be successful and deepen their own Jewish identity. While previous scholarship has focused on representations of Joseph either as an ethical model or as a type of Christ, this is the first major work that explores the image of Joseph as an ancient scholar and spiritual expert.
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The Joseph of Genesis as Hellenistic Scientist

£75.00
To today's confrontations between religion and science Jovanovic contrasts the vibrant collaboration that characterizes Jewish, Christian, and Islamic beginnings. Designation of the patriarch Joseph as both a dream interpreter and a diviner (Gen. 44.4, 15) is a specific example of biblical appropriation of the ancient Mediterranean understanding of cup divination and dream interpretation as among the scientific activities of its social, spiritual and academic elite. Jovanovic argues that the image of Joseph as a Hellenistic scientist nourished the popularity of early Jewish and Christian literature on Joseph. The works of Josephus and Philo, Rabbinic midrashim, and the newly discovered The Ethiopic Story of Joseph, as well as Jubilees, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and Joseph and Aseneth, hold that Joseph's profession was that of a scientist of vision. The interpretation of the symbolic images in dreams and cup divination was a scientific method of communication with the divine and of prediction of the future, which Jovanovic calls 'revelation by visual effects'. Joseph's image as an Egyptian academic provoked varied responses in Hellenistic Jewish circles. The dismay expressed by Jubilees and Philo arose from Joseph's perceived betrayal of religious and traditional values. The acclamation of Josephus and The Ethiopic Story of Joseph demonstrates that a number of Hellenistic Jews believed that their creative integration into the vibrant Hellenistic culture could be successful and deepen their own Jewish identity. While previous scholarship has focused on representations of Joseph either as an ethical model or as a type of Christ, this is the first major work that explores the image of Joseph as an ancient scholar and spiritual expert.
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Ben Sira and the Men Who Handle Books: Gender and the Rise of Canon-Consciousness

Published: May 2013
£50.00
What have women to do with the rise of canon-consciousness in early Judaism? Quite a lot, Claudia Camp argues, if the book written by the early second-century BCE scribe, Ben Sira, is any indication. One of the few true misogynists in the biblical tradition, Ben Sira is beset with gender anxiety, fear that his women will sully his honor, their shame causing his name to fail from the eternal memory of his people. Yet the same Ben Sira appropriates the idealized figure of cosmic Woman Wisdom from Proverbs, and identifies her with 'the book of the covenant of the most high God, the law that Moses commanded us'. This, then, is Ben Sira's dilemma: a woman (Wisdom) can admit him to eternity but his own women can keep him out. It is Camp's thesis that these conflicted perceptions of gender are fundamental to Ben Sira's appropriation and production of authoritative religious literature, and that a critical analysis of his gender ideology is thus essential for understanding his relationship to an emerging canon. Ben Sira writes a book, and writes himself into his book, creating a possession into which he can sublimate his anxiety about the women he cannot truly possess and the God he cannot truly trust. What is more, if Ben Sira can be considered representative of his scribal class and context, his work may also provide a window into aspects of the larger cultural process of canon building, including the question of whether we would have a canon at all —or have the canon we have —if the men in that particular patriarchal culture had not coded it in the gendered terms that Ben Sira did.
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Ben Sira and the Men Who Handle Books: Gender and the Rise of Canon-Consciousness

£50.00
What have women to do with the rise of canon-consciousness in early Judaism? Quite a lot, Claudia Camp argues, if the book written by the early second-century BCE scribe, Ben Sira, is any indication. One of the few true misogynists in the biblical tradition, Ben Sira is beset with gender anxiety, fear that his women will sully his honor, their shame causing his name to fail from the eternal memory of his people. Yet the same Ben Sira appropriates the idealized figure of cosmic Woman Wisdom from Proverbs, and identifies her with 'the book of the covenant of the most high God, the law that Moses commanded us'. This, then, is Ben Sira's dilemma: a woman (Wisdom) can admit him to eternity but his own women can keep him out. It is Camp's thesis that these conflicted perceptions of gender are fundamental to Ben Sira's appropriation and production of authoritative religious literature, and that a critical analysis of his gender ideology is thus essential for understanding his relationship to an emerging canon. Ben Sira writes a book, and writes himself into his book, creating a possession into which he can sublimate his anxiety about the women he cannot truly possess and the God he cannot truly trust. What is more, if Ben Sira can be considered representative of his scribal class and context, his work may also provide a window into aspects of the larger cultural process of canon building, including the question of whether we would have a canon at all —or have the canon we have —if the men in that particular patriarchal culture had not coded it in the gendered terms that Ben Sira did.
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From Judah to Judaea: Socio-Economic Structures and Processes in the Persian Period

Published: May 2013
£18.50£50.00
It has long been recognized that the Persian period is crucial to the history of the formation of the biblical corpora. The essays presented in this volume explore this critically important era, reconstructing the socio-economic shifts that took place as well as the religio-theological environment of the Judean community and its neighbours. The topics of this volume, sociological, archaeological and theological, include: ethnicities and administration in Persian-era Palestine (Yigal); the historical origin of the concept of the piety of the poor at Qumran (Ro); the development of the theological concept of Yhwh's punitive justice (Ro); social, cultural and demographic transformations in Persian-period Judah (Faust); changes in Judah and its neighbouring provinces in the fourth century BCE (Fantalkin and Tal); some Greek views of the Persian empire (Sano). The papers collected in this volume were presented at an international conference held at International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, February 17 —19, 2011, a testimony to the fruitfulness of this unusual Asian —Israeli scholarly dialogue.
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From Judah to Judaea: Socio-Economic Structures and Processes in the Persian Period

£18.50£50.00
It has long been recognized that the Persian period is crucial to the history of the formation of the biblical corpora. The essays presented in this volume explore this critically important era, reconstructing the socio-economic shifts that took place as well as the religio-theological environment of the Judean community and its neighbours. The topics of this volume, sociological, archaeological and theological, include: ethnicities and administration in Persian-era Palestine (Yigal); the historical origin of the concept of the piety of the poor at Qumran (Ro); the development of the theological concept of Yhwh's punitive justice (Ro); social, cultural and demographic transformations in Persian-period Judah (Faust); changes in Judah and its neighbouring provinces in the fourth century BCE (Fantalkin and Tal); some Greek views of the Persian empire (Sano). The papers collected in this volume were presented at an international conference held at International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, February 17 —19, 2011, a testimony to the fruitfulness of this unusual Asian —Israeli scholarly dialogue.
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Now My Eye Sees You: Unveiling an Apocalyptic Job

Published: May 2013
£16.50£50.00
This groundbreaking study on the book of Job is the first systematic effort to reveal and organize its apocalyptic impulses. Drawing on such scholars as John Collins, Christopher Rowland and Frank Moore Cross, Johnson argues that interpreting Job through the lens of apocalypse yields a coherent reading that is able to incorporate all of the seemingly disparate literary features of the book that historically stymie interpreters. An apocalyptic reading of Job begins with the presence of three important revelations: Eliphaz's vision, the hymn to wisdom and the Yahweh speeches. A literary division following these revelations contributes to the book's overall emphasis, which is to persevere in the midst of suffering. Thorny questions such as the reason Elihu was not rebuked by God in the epilogue receive fresh treatment from an apocalyptic paradigm. In tracing the history of the interpretation of Job, Johnson offers evidence that both Jewish and Christian traditions recognized many of these 'apocalyptic' elements. For example, the LXX version of Job contains a resurrection plus in the epilogue, the Testament of Job emphasizes the influence of Satan, the Qumran sect may have drawn strength from the book's message to persevere, and the 'apocalyptic' passage of James upholds Job as a model for perseverance. Viewing Job as a nascent form of apocalypse may also resuscitate Von Rad's hypothesis that apocalypse grew out of wisdom categories over against the more commonly accepted prophetic works. Students of Job at all levels are treated here to a stimulating appraisal that will open their eyes to the apocalyptic characteristics woven throughout this diverse book. This monograph will make important contributions to genre studies, the history of interpretation and be valuable to those interested in the intersection of wisdom and apocalypse.
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Now My Eye Sees You: Unveiling an Apocalyptic Job

£16.50£50.00
This groundbreaking study on the book of Job is the first systematic effort to reveal and organize its apocalyptic impulses. Drawing on such scholars as John Collins, Christopher Rowland and Frank Moore Cross, Johnson argues that interpreting Job through the lens of apocalypse yields a coherent reading that is able to incorporate all of the seemingly disparate literary features of the book that historically stymie interpreters. An apocalyptic reading of Job begins with the presence of three important revelations: Eliphaz's vision, the hymn to wisdom and the Yahweh speeches. A literary division following these revelations contributes to the book's overall emphasis, which is to persevere in the midst of suffering. Thorny questions such as the reason Elihu was not rebuked by God in the epilogue receive fresh treatment from an apocalyptic paradigm. In tracing the history of the interpretation of Job, Johnson offers evidence that both Jewish and Christian traditions recognized many of these 'apocalyptic' elements. For example, the LXX version of Job contains a resurrection plus in the epilogue, the Testament of Job emphasizes the influence of Satan, the Qumran sect may have drawn strength from the book's message to persevere, and the 'apocalyptic' passage of James upholds Job as a model for perseverance. Viewing Job as a nascent form of apocalypse may also resuscitate Von Rad's hypothesis that apocalypse grew out of wisdom categories over against the more commonly accepted prophetic works. Students of Job at all levels are treated here to a stimulating appraisal that will open their eyes to the apocalyptic characteristics woven throughout this diverse book. This monograph will make important contributions to genre studies, the history of interpretation and be valuable to those interested in the intersection of wisdom and apocalypse.
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Jeremiah Closer Up: The Prophet and the Book

Published: May 2013
£15.00£40.00
Closer up than what? Many recent studies of Jeremiah leave us with but a faint glimmer of this great Hebrew prophet; in some he disappears completely into later tradition. Some scholars think that the book of Jeremiah lacks historical veracity: when it was composed, supposedly in the late exilic or postexilic periods, historical memories had been dimmed and ideology had come to dominate the Jeremiah legacy. The present essays combine to argue that both the prophet and his book can be viewed “closer up” than the imagination of many modern-day interpreters will allow. The first three essays discuss the text, rhetoric and composition of the book of Jeremiah. The longer Hebrew text is given preference over the Greek Septuagint text, which means that we can dispense entirely with the idea that scribes were busily writing, editing and expanding the Jeremiah book in Babylon. Rhetorical and other delimiting criteria show that Jeremiah’s so-called ‘Temple Sermon’ (7.1-15) is rather a cluster of three oracles manifesting a rudimentary form of logic. Finally, a correlation of Gedaliah’s murder with the exile of 582 argues for a nearly four-year existence of the remnant community at Mizpah, more than enough time for Jeremiah and Baruch to write up the events following the destruction of Jerusalem. The remaining essays discuss Jeremiah’s views of history, the created order, the covenant, and nations of the world, as well as the prophet’s so-called ‘confessions’. These extraordinary insights into the interior disposition of a Hebrew prophet reveal how Jeremiah felt about the word he had to preach, and what impact it had on him personally. The confessions are analysed both as formal psalm-like laments, and as gems of rhetorical composition.
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Jeremiah Closer Up: The Prophet and the Book

£15.00£40.00
Closer up than what? Many recent studies of Jeremiah leave us with but a faint glimmer of this great Hebrew prophet; in some he disappears completely into later tradition. Some scholars think that the book of Jeremiah lacks historical veracity: when it was composed, supposedly in the late exilic or postexilic periods, historical memories had been dimmed and ideology had come to dominate the Jeremiah legacy. The present essays combine to argue that both the prophet and his book can be viewed “closer up” than the imagination of many modern-day interpreters will allow. The first three essays discuss the text, rhetoric and composition of the book of Jeremiah. The longer Hebrew text is given preference over the Greek Septuagint text, which means that we can dispense entirely with the idea that scribes were busily writing, editing and expanding the Jeremiah book in Babylon. Rhetorical and other delimiting criteria show that Jeremiah’s so-called ‘Temple Sermon’ (7.1-15) is rather a cluster of three oracles manifesting a rudimentary form of logic. Finally, a correlation of Gedaliah’s murder with the exile of 582 argues for a nearly four-year existence of the remnant community at Mizpah, more than enough time for Jeremiah and Baruch to write up the events following the destruction of Jerusalem. The remaining essays discuss Jeremiah’s views of history, the created order, the covenant, and nations of the world, as well as the prophet’s so-called ‘confessions’. These extraordinary insights into the interior disposition of a Hebrew prophet reveal how Jeremiah felt about the word he had to preach, and what impact it had on him personally. The confessions are analysed both as formal psalm-like laments, and as gems of rhetorical composition.
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Poetry and Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text

Published: Mar 2013
£60.00
The book of Lamentations is a challenge to its readers. Its ambiguous theology, strident protestations against its deity, and haunting imagery confound interpreters. This monograph engages the enigma of Lamentations by assessing its theology. It does so, however, neither by tracing a single theological perspective through the book nor by reconstructing the history of the composition of the book. Rather, Heath Thomas assesses the poetry of Lamentations by offering a close analysis of each poem in the book. He reconsiders the acrostic as the foundational structure for the poetry, reads the book as an intentionally composed whole, and assesses the pervasive use of repetition, metaphor, and allusion. For the first time in the field, the analysis here is grounded on the insights of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco. Drawing upon Eco's distinction between 'open' and 'closed' textualities, Thomas argues that Lamentations represents a distinctively 'open' text, one that presents its reader with a myriad of surprising avenues to interpret the poetry. This distinctive approach avoids a polarization in the portrait of God in Lamentations, arguing that its poetry neither justifies God outright nor does it exonerate God's people in the exilic age. Rather, it enables these theological visions to interrelate with each another, inviting the reader to make sense of the interaction. The ambiguous theological vision of Lamentations, then, is not a problem that the reader is intended to overcome but an integral feature in the construction of meaning. This original monograph offers a new perspective on how the poetry informs our appreciation of theological thought in the exilic age.
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Poetry and Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text

£60.00
The book of Lamentations is a challenge to its readers. Its ambiguous theology, strident protestations against its deity, and haunting imagery confound interpreters. This monograph engages the enigma of Lamentations by assessing its theology. It does so, however, neither by tracing a single theological perspective through the book nor by reconstructing the history of the composition of the book. Rather, Heath Thomas assesses the poetry of Lamentations by offering a close analysis of each poem in the book. He reconsiders the acrostic as the foundational structure for the poetry, reads the book as an intentionally composed whole, and assesses the pervasive use of repetition, metaphor, and allusion. For the first time in the field, the analysis here is grounded on the insights of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco. Drawing upon Eco's distinction between 'open' and 'closed' textualities, Thomas argues that Lamentations represents a distinctively 'open' text, one that presents its reader with a myriad of surprising avenues to interpret the poetry. This distinctive approach avoids a polarization in the portrait of God in Lamentations, arguing that its poetry neither justifies God outright nor does it exonerate God's people in the exilic age. Rather, it enables these theological visions to interrelate with each another, inviting the reader to make sense of the interaction. The ambiguous theological vision of Lamentations, then, is not a problem that the reader is intended to overcome but an integral feature in the construction of meaning. This original monograph offers a new perspective on how the poetry informs our appreciation of theological thought in the exilic age.
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Psalms 1-2: Gateway to the Psalter

Published: Jan 2013
£50.00
As against the form-critical approach, which sees the first two psalms as more or less random examples of the torah and royal types, this study argues for a deliberate and cogent arrangement of Psalms 1 and 2. A detailed linguistic analysis of and comparison between these two apparently disparate psalms at the outset of the book reveals the purpose for their juxtaposition. The principal characters in the first psalm are further described in the second. The man of Psalm 1 is portrayed in eschatological terms as an impeccable royal, sacerdotal, and all-conquering military figure. He appears again in Psalm 2 but as a heavenly-enthroned victorious priest and king. His opponents, the wicked in Psalm 1, are identified in Psalm 2 as recalcitrant rulers and peoples who reject his rule and seek to do away with him. However, the calculated divine response to their plotting assures their ultimate defeat unless they submit to him. This cohesive and coherent introductory pair of psalms sets a pattern at the beginning for reading all those that follow. Indeed, a thorough understanding of the first two psalms and their integrated message is a prerequisite for understanding the purpose of the entire book.
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Psalms 1-2: Gateway to the Psalter

£50.00
As against the form-critical approach, which sees the first two psalms as more or less random examples of the torah and royal types, this study argues for a deliberate and cogent arrangement of Psalms 1 and 2. A detailed linguistic analysis of and comparison between these two apparently disparate psalms at the outset of the book reveals the purpose for their juxtaposition. The principal characters in the first psalm are further described in the second. The man of Psalm 1 is portrayed in eschatological terms as an impeccable royal, sacerdotal, and all-conquering military figure. He appears again in Psalm 2 but as a heavenly-enthroned victorious priest and king. His opponents, the wicked in Psalm 1, are identified in Psalm 2 as recalcitrant rulers and peoples who reject his rule and seek to do away with him. However, the calculated divine response to their plotting assures their ultimate defeat unless they submit to him. This cohesive and coherent introductory pair of psalms sets a pattern at the beginning for reading all those that follow. Indeed, a thorough understanding of the first two psalms and their integrated message is a prerequisite for understanding the purpose of the entire book.
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The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition and Final Form

Published: Oct 2012
£80.00
Study of the book of Isaiah has in recent times been strongly marked by a tension between synchronic and diachronic approaches. The first is favoured mainly by English-speaking, the second by German-speaking scholars. Berges's book attempts to mediate between the two poles, arguing that the final form analysis and the tracing of the development of that form are deeply interdependent. This new research paradigm is applied here to the entire text of the book of Isaiah. Berges works consistently from the synchronic to the diachronic and back again to the evolved synchronous final form. Features that have been repeatedly observed —the cross-connections, key word associations, resumption of themes, and especially the bracketing of the book by chaps. 1 and 66 —are traces of a deliberate interweaving of various small compositions as well as of larger literary redactions. The paradigm most suited to the book of Isaiah in all its complexity is not that of one comprehensive overall structure or final redaction, but that of smaller compositions that build on one another, come into conversation with one another, and, each in its own way, bring into play specific contemporary problems. We should not force a common thematic denominator on the book, but it becomes clear that Jerusalem and Zion belong to the basic tenor of the book of Isaiah as it was developed and refashioned through the centuries. The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition and Final Form is translated by Millard C. Lind from its German original, Das Buch Jesaja: Komposition und Endgestalt (Freiburg: Herder, 1998).
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The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition and Final Form

£80.00
Study of the book of Isaiah has in recent times been strongly marked by a tension between synchronic and diachronic approaches. The first is favoured mainly by English-speaking, the second by German-speaking scholars. Berges's book attempts to mediate between the two poles, arguing that the final form analysis and the tracing of the development of that form are deeply interdependent. This new research paradigm is applied here to the entire text of the book of Isaiah. Berges works consistently from the synchronic to the diachronic and back again to the evolved synchronous final form. Features that have been repeatedly observed —the cross-connections, key word associations, resumption of themes, and especially the bracketing of the book by chaps. 1 and 66 —are traces of a deliberate interweaving of various small compositions as well as of larger literary redactions. The paradigm most suited to the book of Isaiah in all its complexity is not that of one comprehensive overall structure or final redaction, but that of smaller compositions that build on one another, come into conversation with one another, and, each in its own way, bring into play specific contemporary problems. We should not force a common thematic denominator on the book, but it becomes clear that Jerusalem and Zion belong to the basic tenor of the book of Isaiah as it was developed and refashioned through the centuries. The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition and Final Form is translated by Millard C. Lind from its German original, Das Buch Jesaja: Komposition und Endgestalt (Freiburg: Herder, 1998).
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Making a Difference: Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

Published: Oct 2012
£75.00
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi has a special place in contemporary biblical scholarship. Among the first to bring a focus of scholarly attention to the period of ancient Israel's creativity after the Exile, she has also been a leader in foregrounding the Jewish tradition within the interpretative discourse of biblical scholars. And as a woman scholar, she has advanced the study of issues in the Hebrew Bible that impinge on the concerns of women ancient and modern. Tamara Eskenazi was awarded the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for her volume The Torah: A Women's Commentary and the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies for her commentary on Ruth in the Jewish Publication Society Bible Commentary series. The 26 articles offered to Tamara Eskenazi by her friends in this volume represent the range of her interests in all things biblical and Jewish. From the Book of Genesis to the New Testament to modern Hebrew fiction, from technical studies on the prophets or Qumran to penetrating insights on her beloved philosopher Levinas, this volume beautifully represents the range and depth of Jewish culture.
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Making a Difference: Essays on the Bible and Judaism in Honor of Tamara Cohn Eskenazi

£75.00
Tamara Cohn Eskenazi has a special place in contemporary biblical scholarship. Among the first to bring a focus of scholarly attention to the period of ancient Israel's creativity after the Exile, she has also been a leader in foregrounding the Jewish tradition within the interpretative discourse of biblical scholars. And as a woman scholar, she has advanced the study of issues in the Hebrew Bible that impinge on the concerns of women ancient and modern. Tamara Eskenazi was awarded the 2008 National Jewish Book Award for her volume The Torah: A Women's Commentary and the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies for her commentary on Ruth in the Jewish Publication Society Bible Commentary series. The 26 articles offered to Tamara Eskenazi by her friends in this volume represent the range of her interests in all things biblical and Jewish. From the Book of Genesis to the New Testament to modern Hebrew fiction, from technical studies on the prophets or Qumran to penetrating insights on her beloved philosopher Levinas, this volume beautifully represents the range and depth of Jewish culture.
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Words, Ideas, Worlds: Biblical Essays in Honour of Yairah Amit

Published: Aug 2012
£75.00
This volume brings together fourteen essays by Israeli, European and American scholars honouring the distinct contribution of Yairah Amit to the literary study of the Hebrew Bible and to her public role, fostering especially the place of the Hebrew Bible in Israeli education. In biblical studies she has made significant contributions to the study of redactional and editorial activity, which she has always viewed from a rhetorical and literary point of view. These aspects were uniquely developed in her work on the books of Judges and Chronicles, in which literary considerations always lead to the recognition of the ideology behind the redactor’s work. Another key theme of hers has been overt and hidden polemics expressed or suggested by the narrative text. The studies assembled in the present volume deal with the many aspects of Amit’s work, from the biblical and post-biblical down to the mediaeval and the modern period. Central fields are the art of the redactor and inner-biblical polemics (Diana Edelman, Cynthia Edenburg, Nadav Na’aman, Meira Polliack, Dalit Rom-Shiloni), literary scrutiny (Ed Greenstein, Lillian Klein Abensohn, Frank Polak), ideology in social and religious contexts (Ehud Ben Zvi, Israel Knohl), and feminist and cultural studies in a wider sense (Athalya Brenner, Cheryl Exum, Yael Feldman, Shulamit Valler). This is the fifth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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Words, Ideas, Worlds: Biblical Essays in Honour of Yairah Amit

£75.00
This volume brings together fourteen essays by Israeli, European and American scholars honouring the distinct contribution of Yairah Amit to the literary study of the Hebrew Bible and to her public role, fostering especially the place of the Hebrew Bible in Israeli education. In biblical studies she has made significant contributions to the study of redactional and editorial activity, which she has always viewed from a rhetorical and literary point of view. These aspects were uniquely developed in her work on the books of Judges and Chronicles, in which literary considerations always lead to the recognition of the ideology behind the redactor’s work. Another key theme of hers has been overt and hidden polemics expressed or suggested by the narrative text. The studies assembled in the present volume deal with the many aspects of Amit’s work, from the biblical and post-biblical down to the mediaeval and the modern period. Central fields are the art of the redactor and inner-biblical polemics (Diana Edelman, Cynthia Edenburg, Nadav Na’aman, Meira Polliack, Dalit Rom-Shiloni), literary scrutiny (Ed Greenstein, Lillian Klein Abensohn, Frank Polak), ideology in social and religious contexts (Ehud Ben Zvi, Israel Knohl), and feminist and cultural studies in a wider sense (Athalya Brenner, Cheryl Exum, Yael Feldman, Shulamit Valler). This is the fifth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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In Praise of Editing in the Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays in Retrospect

Published: Jun 2012
£75.00
Yairah Amit is a leading Israeli scholar of the Hebrew Bible who has published some of her articles only in Hebrew. Most of them are here translated for the first time. As she compiled the volume, she discovered that this collection of 19 essays had a common denominator: they are all about the process of editing that has gone on in the creation of the Hebrew Bible, a process that Amit looks on with some favour. Hence her title, In Praise of Editing . The Bible, she argues, is a long carefully edited book, which means that it is not a chance agglomeration of materials bound together, but rather a complete and carefully selected library. Among the essays in this volume are: Who Decided to Open the Torah with the Creation of the Sabbath?, The Garden of Eden as Utopia, Repetition as Poetic Principle, Who Is Afraid of Multiple Voices?, Editorial Considerations Regarding Ending, Who Is Lent to the Lord? Ask the Editor, To Include or Not to Include? Editorial Considerations Regarding the Whole. What makes this volume unique among collections of essays is her decision to add a personal preface to each article, highlighting it from an additional subjective angle. Sometimes the preface reflects her relationship to the subject and its ideology, sometimes the circumstances in which the article was written or published. At other times, readers may learn about the teachers who guided her first steps in the field, and about her own relationship to various issues in biblical research. These prefaces, she believes, show the researcher not as a rigid professional, but as a more rounded human person. This is the fourth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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In Praise of Editing in the Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays in Retrospect

£75.00
Yairah Amit is a leading Israeli scholar of the Hebrew Bible who has published some of her articles only in Hebrew. Most of them are here translated for the first time. As she compiled the volume, she discovered that this collection of 19 essays had a common denominator: they are all about the process of editing that has gone on in the creation of the Hebrew Bible, a process that Amit looks on with some favour. Hence her title, In Praise of Editing . The Bible, she argues, is a long carefully edited book, which means that it is not a chance agglomeration of materials bound together, but rather a complete and carefully selected library. Among the essays in this volume are: Who Decided to Open the Torah with the Creation of the Sabbath?, The Garden of Eden as Utopia, Repetition as Poetic Principle, Who Is Afraid of Multiple Voices?, Editorial Considerations Regarding Ending, Who Is Lent to the Lord? Ask the Editor, To Include or Not to Include? Editorial Considerations Regarding the Whole. What makes this volume unique among collections of essays is her decision to add a personal preface to each article, highlighting it from an additional subjective angle. Sometimes the preface reflects her relationship to the subject and its ideology, sometimes the circumstances in which the article was written or published. At other times, readers may learn about the teachers who guided her first steps in the field, and about her own relationship to various issues in biblical research. These prefaces, she believes, show the researcher not as a rigid professional, but as a more rounded human person. This is the fourth volume of the Amsterdam Studies in the Bible and Religion (ed. Athalya Brenner), a sub-series of the Bible in the Modern World and Hebrew Bible Monographs.
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The Thematic Unity of the Book of the Twelve

Published: Jun 2012
£75.00
“Return to me”, declares Yhwh of Hosts, “and I will return to you”, declares Yhwh of Hosts. The sentence stands at the head of the prophecy of Zechariah (1.3). But what does it mean to 'return to Yhwh?' And what does it mean that Yhwh 'will return to you'? LeCureux argues that it is this call to repentance, and Yhwh's responses to it, that form the unifying and organizing theme of return for the Book of the Twelve. While studies on the development and composition of the Twelve have proved fruitful in recent years, this book attempts to expand on those works by looking closely at the final form of the Twelve, particularly of its opening and closing books (Hosea —Joel, Zechariah —Malachi), and the role that canonical position and theme play within the Book. This project begins by defining the function of theme in biblical books, and then compares the role theme plays in Isaiah with its role in the Twelve, before engaging in the primary task of exegesis. LeCureux examines the use of 'return' in the Twelve, showing that it is the call to return that controls the events of the Day of Yhwh. Going further, the exegesis uncovers the links between the return imperatives of Hosea 14, Joel 2, Zechariah's own calls to return and Malachi's concluding question, 'How are we to return?'(3.7). What is ultimately revealed is the multifaceted nature of God's relationship with his people, one that involves the people's struggle to turn from covenantal disobedience toward Yhwh in repentance, as well as Yhwh's own turning from judgment toward his people in blessing.
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The Thematic Unity of the Book of the Twelve

£75.00
“Return to me”, declares Yhwh of Hosts, “and I will return to you”, declares Yhwh of Hosts. The sentence stands at the head of the prophecy of Zechariah (1.3). But what does it mean to 'return to Yhwh?' And what does it mean that Yhwh 'will return to you'? LeCureux argues that it is this call to repentance, and Yhwh's responses to it, that form the unifying and organizing theme of return for the Book of the Twelve. While studies on the development and composition of the Twelve have proved fruitful in recent years, this book attempts to expand on those works by looking closely at the final form of the Twelve, particularly of its opening and closing books (Hosea —Joel, Zechariah —Malachi), and the role that canonical position and theme play within the Book. This project begins by defining the function of theme in biblical books, and then compares the role theme plays in Isaiah with its role in the Twelve, before engaging in the primary task of exegesis. LeCureux examines the use of 'return' in the Twelve, showing that it is the call to return that controls the events of the Day of Yhwh. Going further, the exegesis uncovers the links between the return imperatives of Hosea 14, Joel 2, Zechariah's own calls to return and Malachi's concluding question, 'How are we to return?'(3.7). What is ultimately revealed is the multifaceted nature of God's relationship with his people, one that involves the people's struggle to turn from covenantal disobedience toward Yhwh in repentance, as well as Yhwh's own turning from judgment toward his people in blessing.
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Three Old Testament Theologies for Today: Helge S. Kvanvig, Walter Brueggemann and Erhard Gerstenberger

Published: Jun 2012
£50.00
This book is a critical analysis and comparison of three Old Testament theologies, those by Helge S. Kvanvig, Historisk Bibel og bibelsk historie (1999), Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament (1997), and Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Theologies of the Old Testament (2002). Since Kvanvig's book is written in Norwegian, his book is not generally known among Old Testament scholars outside Scandinavia. The three volumes have different theological profiles. Kvanvig, unlike other Old Testament theologians, allows theology to develop from his analyses of the biblical narratives and the strategies available to readers. Gerstenberger presents Old Testament theology as a plurality of theologies, and his book is as much a history of Israelite religion and ancient Israel's social history as a theology proper. Brueggemann sees Old Testament theology within the framework of a virtual trial between Israel and Yahweh. All three books are to some degree postmodern in their approach to Old Testament theology, Gerstenberger to a lesser degree, Brueggemann to a greater degree. Hagelia argues that Kvanvig's book could with profit be read as a prolegomenon to Brueggemann's book, whereas Gerstenberger's book follows a different track. On the basis of these three eminent contributions, the author outlines a possible future for the business of writing Old Testament theologies, suggesting that future theologies will be much more in conversation with contemporary issues, ethical, political and social, than the traditional theologies of the past have been.
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Three Old Testament Theologies for Today: Helge S. Kvanvig, Walter Brueggemann and Erhard Gerstenberger

£50.00
This book is a critical analysis and comparison of three Old Testament theologies, those by Helge S. Kvanvig, Historisk Bibel og bibelsk historie (1999), Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament (1997), and Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Theologies of the Old Testament (2002). Since Kvanvig's book is written in Norwegian, his book is not generally known among Old Testament scholars outside Scandinavia. The three volumes have different theological profiles. Kvanvig, unlike other Old Testament theologians, allows theology to develop from his analyses of the biblical narratives and the strategies available to readers. Gerstenberger presents Old Testament theology as a plurality of theologies, and his book is as much a history of Israelite religion and ancient Israel's social history as a theology proper. Brueggemann sees Old Testament theology within the framework of a virtual trial between Israel and Yahweh. All three books are to some degree postmodern in their approach to Old Testament theology, Gerstenberger to a lesser degree, Brueggemann to a greater degree. Hagelia argues that Kvanvig's book could with profit be read as a prolegomenon to Brueggemann's book, whereas Gerstenberger's book follows a different track. On the basis of these three eminent contributions, the author outlines a possible future for the business of writing Old Testament theologies, suggesting that future theologies will be much more in conversation with contemporary issues, ethical, political and social, than the traditional theologies of the past have been.
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Joseph and Aseneth: A Christian Book

Published: Feb 2012
£55.00
Joseph and Aseneth , a book of the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, is a love story about the biblical Joseph and his Egyptian wife Aseneth which, in richly symbolic language, tells how the idol worshipper Aseneth was converted to belief in the one God. In recent decades, it has featured prominently in discussions of Second Temple Judaism as a testimony to a Hellenistic diaspora Judaism that neither observed the rules of conversion to Judaism ( giyyur ) nor cared much for the laws of the Torah. Rivka Nir offers a completely different understanding. Joseph and Aseneth , she argues, teaches us nothing about Second Temple Judaism. Rather, its vocabulary, ideas, symbols and structure become fully comprehensible only when viewed against the background of Syriac Christianity of the third and fourth century. In this setting, Aseneth and Joseph are symbolic and typological images: Aseneth symbolizes the church, Joseph is a prototype of Christ, and their marriage is a symbolic representation of the eternal marriage between Christ and the church. Aseneth's religious transformation should be understood as conversion to Christianity, an example for polytheists to follow. Turning our attention to the central role virginity plays in the story, Nir addresses the problematic scene of the honeycomb and the bees, reading it as a call to those joining the church to take a vow of virginity and resolve to lead a life of sexual abstinence. Through Nir's detailed analysis of the symbols and metaphors of Joseph and Aseneth in a Christian context, the book coalesces into a tightly integrated and meaningful whole, on both the theological and the symbolic levels.
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Joseph and Aseneth: A Christian Book

£55.00
Joseph and Aseneth , a book of the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, is a love story about the biblical Joseph and his Egyptian wife Aseneth which, in richly symbolic language, tells how the idol worshipper Aseneth was converted to belief in the one God. In recent decades, it has featured prominently in discussions of Second Temple Judaism as a testimony to a Hellenistic diaspora Judaism that neither observed the rules of conversion to Judaism ( giyyur ) nor cared much for the laws of the Torah. Rivka Nir offers a completely different understanding. Joseph and Aseneth , she argues, teaches us nothing about Second Temple Judaism. Rather, its vocabulary, ideas, symbols and structure become fully comprehensible only when viewed against the background of Syriac Christianity of the third and fourth century. In this setting, Aseneth and Joseph are symbolic and typological images: Aseneth symbolizes the church, Joseph is a prototype of Christ, and their marriage is a symbolic representation of the eternal marriage between Christ and the church. Aseneth's religious transformation should be understood as conversion to Christianity, an example for polytheists to follow. Turning our attention to the central role virginity plays in the story, Nir addresses the problematic scene of the honeycomb and the bees, reading it as a call to those joining the church to take a vow of virginity and resolve to lead a life of sexual abstinence. Through Nir's detailed analysis of the symbols and metaphors of Joseph and Aseneth in a Christian context, the book coalesces into a tightly integrated and meaningful whole, on both the theological and the symbolic levels.
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The Other Face of God: ‘I Am That I Am’ Reconsidered

Published: Feb 2012
£75.00
‘I am that I am’ (Exodus 3.14) has been an exegetical puzzle to many generations of biblical scholars as well as theologians: is it about the present or the future, is it about God’s presence or his hiddenness? Den Hertog argues that such exegetical questions have been framed too narrowly, and that this deeply suggestive statement about God needs to be set in a broader context. Firstly, the statement must be understood within the narrative of Moses’ call as an answer to his problem: how can his being launched on a radically new, prophetic mission be reconciled with the features of the God of the patriarchs? This book substantiates the view that the meaning of the statement is deliberately indefinite: ‘I may be who I may be’. In its context, it points to Yhwh’s other face, the possibility of his manifesting himself differently from the way he is thought to be. Secondly, the after-history of this text should also be considered, since it has shaped our understanding in one way or another. This book pays particular attention to the renderings by the ancient and early modern versions (including the King James Version). The point of departure is the Septuagint rendering ‘I am the one being’, which has traditionally been associated with the Greek philosophical concept of absolute Being. This rendering, however, appears to have originally signified God’s active presence: ‘I am the one who shows himself to be there’. Thirdly, this fundamental theological statement invites further a psychoanalytic interpretation. Den Hertog adopts a Lacanian perspective, according to which ‘I am that I am’ represents an irruption of an ‘I’ from nowhere, from beyond usual thought and expectation. In its context this means that in a situation of crisis a new orientation is born, one that undermines the pharaonic powers.
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The Other Face of God: ‘I Am That I Am’ Reconsidered

£75.00
‘I am that I am’ (Exodus 3.14) has been an exegetical puzzle to many generations of biblical scholars as well as theologians: is it about the present or the future, is it about God’s presence or his hiddenness? Den Hertog argues that such exegetical questions have been framed too narrowly, and that this deeply suggestive statement about God needs to be set in a broader context. Firstly, the statement must be understood within the narrative of Moses’ call as an answer to his problem: how can his being launched on a radically new, prophetic mission be reconciled with the features of the God of the patriarchs? This book substantiates the view that the meaning of the statement is deliberately indefinite: ‘I may be who I may be’. In its context, it points to Yhwh’s other face, the possibility of his manifesting himself differently from the way he is thought to be. Secondly, the after-history of this text should also be considered, since it has shaped our understanding in one way or another. This book pays particular attention to the renderings by the ancient and early modern versions (including the King James Version). The point of departure is the Septuagint rendering ‘I am the one being’, which has traditionally been associated with the Greek philosophical concept of absolute Being. This rendering, however, appears to have originally signified God’s active presence: ‘I am the one who shows himself to be there’. Thirdly, this fundamental theological statement invites further a psychoanalytic interpretation. Den Hertog adopts a Lacanian perspective, according to which ‘I am that I am’ represents an irruption of an ‘I’ from nowhere, from beyond usual thought and expectation. In its context this means that in a situation of crisis a new orientation is born, one that undermines the pharaonic powers.
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A Critical Engagement: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of J. Cheryl Exum

Published: Nov 2011
£75.00
This volume honours the distinctive contribution to Hebrew Bible studies over four decades by Cheryl Exum, Professor Emerita of Biblical Studies in the University of Sheffield. Her special interests have lain, first, in the modern literary criticism of the Hebrew Bible, where her key work was Tragedy and Biblical Narrative: Arrows of the Almighty . A second area has been feminist criticism of the Hebrew Bible; here her notable contributions were Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives and Plotted, Shot, and Painted: Cultural Representations of Biblical Women . A more recent, and now almost favourite, theme is the Bible and cultural studies, especially the Bible and art. Key works here have been a series of edited volumes, such as Beyond the Biblical Horizon: The Bible and the Arts , and The Bible in Film / The Bible and Film . Her fourth area of continuing interest has been the Song of Songs, with many articles culminating in her perceptive commentary in the Old Testament Library series. In this rich volume, 25 of her friends and colleagues offer her papers on all these themes. Several are on or around the Song of Songs (Graeme Auld, Fiona Black, David Clines, Sara Japhet, Martti Nissinen, Yair Zakovitch), and topics of feminist interest (Yairah Amit, Athalya Brenner, Claudia Camp, Hugh Pyper, Jack Sasson). Cultural studies are represented by Alice Bach, Hans Barstad, Andrew Davies, David Gunn, Martin O'Kane, John Sawyer and Ellen van Wolde, and literary criticism by Michael Fox, Edwin Good, Norman Gottwald, Edward Greenstein, Francis Landy, Burke Long and Hugh Williamson.
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A Critical Engagement: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of J. Cheryl Exum

£75.00
This volume honours the distinctive contribution to Hebrew Bible studies over four decades by Cheryl Exum, Professor Emerita of Biblical Studies in the University of Sheffield. Her special interests have lain, first, in the modern literary criticism of the Hebrew Bible, where her key work was Tragedy and Biblical Narrative: Arrows of the Almighty . A second area has been feminist criticism of the Hebrew Bible; here her notable contributions were Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives and Plotted, Shot, and Painted: Cultural Representations of Biblical Women . A more recent, and now almost favourite, theme is the Bible and cultural studies, especially the Bible and art. Key works here have been a series of edited volumes, such as Beyond the Biblical Horizon: The Bible and the Arts , and The Bible in Film / The Bible and Film . Her fourth area of continuing interest has been the Song of Songs, with many articles culminating in her perceptive commentary in the Old Testament Library series. In this rich volume, 25 of her friends and colleagues offer her papers on all these themes. Several are on or around the Song of Songs (Graeme Auld, Fiona Black, David Clines, Sara Japhet, Martti Nissinen, Yair Zakovitch), and topics of feminist interest (Yairah Amit, Athalya Brenner, Claudia Camp, Hugh Pyper, Jack Sasson). Cultural studies are represented by Alice Bach, Hans Barstad, Andrew Davies, David Gunn, Martin O'Kane, John Sawyer and Ellen van Wolde, and literary criticism by Michael Fox, Edwin Good, Norman Gottwald, Edward Greenstein, Francis Landy, Burke Long and Hugh Williamson.
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Emotions in Biblical Law: A Cognitive Science Approach

Published: Oct 2011
£50.00
This study pioneers the use of insights from cognitive sciences, such as evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, as heuristic tools for interpreting ancient texts. The approach could be described as 'psycho-biological'. The focus is on emotions in the various Pentateuchal legal collections. Kazen discusses the role of disgust, empathy, fear, and a sense of justice, for particular moral and ritual issues: purity and holiness; humanitarian concern for vulnerable categories; ethnocentrism and xenophobia; divine punishment and demonic threat; revenge, compensation, and ransom (kofer), together with removal (kipper) rites. The book consists of two main parts, framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding discussion. In the first part, Kazen explores cognitive foundations, including biological and neuroscientific underpinnings for basic affects, and the role of culture in shaping both conventional morality and ritual behaviour. Four particular emotions are then outlined. In the second part, these insights from cognitive science are applied in analyses of particular texts. After an overview of the Pentateuchal legal collections, each of the four emotions is dealt with in a separate chapter. Kazen constantly relates a cognitive science approach to more traditional source and redaction-critical analysis, regarding them as complementary. As a result, the Pentateuchal legal collections are seen as emotional texts, expressing strong affects —which influences our understanding of the character of Israelite 'law'. Kazen suggests that interaction and conflict between various emotions can explain discrepancies and tensions between humanitarian concerns and ethnocentrism, and between empathy and justice. He also demonstrates that viewing emotions as common denominators contains a potential for solving some difficult and long-standing conundrums. He argues that a focus on the human embodied experience rather than on theological convictions and theoretical ideas may avoid some interpretative dead ends and open up new avenues for understanding ancient texts.
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Emotions in Biblical Law: A Cognitive Science Approach

£50.00
This study pioneers the use of insights from cognitive sciences, such as evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, as heuristic tools for interpreting ancient texts. The approach could be described as 'psycho-biological'. The focus is on emotions in the various Pentateuchal legal collections. Kazen discusses the role of disgust, empathy, fear, and a sense of justice, for particular moral and ritual issues: purity and holiness; humanitarian concern for vulnerable categories; ethnocentrism and xenophobia; divine punishment and demonic threat; revenge, compensation, and ransom (kofer), together with removal (kipper) rites. The book consists of two main parts, framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding discussion. In the first part, Kazen explores cognitive foundations, including biological and neuroscientific underpinnings for basic affects, and the role of culture in shaping both conventional morality and ritual behaviour. Four particular emotions are then outlined. In the second part, these insights from cognitive science are applied in analyses of particular texts. After an overview of the Pentateuchal legal collections, each of the four emotions is dealt with in a separate chapter. Kazen constantly relates a cognitive science approach to more traditional source and redaction-critical analysis, regarding them as complementary. As a result, the Pentateuchal legal collections are seen as emotional texts, expressing strong affects —which influences our understanding of the character of Israelite 'law'. Kazen suggests that interaction and conflict between various emotions can explain discrepancies and tensions between humanitarian concerns and ethnocentrism, and between empathy and justice. He also demonstrates that viewing emotions as common denominators contains a potential for solving some difficult and long-standing conundrums. He argues that a focus on the human embodied experience rather than on theological convictions and theoretical ideas may avoid some interpretative dead ends and open up new avenues for understanding ancient texts.
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The Holy Seed Has Been Defiled: The Interethnic Marriage Dilemma in Ezra 9-10

Published: Sep 2011
£45.00
In the Book of Ezra —Nehemiah, Ezra commands Yehudite men to put away their foreign wives to avoid further defiling the 'holy seed'. What is the meaning of this warning? Are Ezra's words to be understood as a concern about race-mixing or is it emblematic of some more complex set of problems prevalent in the fledgling postexilic community? Ezra's words, with their seemingly racialized thinking, have been influential in much political, religious and popular culture in the USA. It has been a backdrop for constructing racial reality for centuries, melding seemingly biblical ideologies with accepted European Enlightenment-era ideas about racial superiority and inferiority. Willa Johnson combines archaeological data with social-scientific theory to argue for a new interpretation. In this anthropological and narratological analysis, Johnson views Ezra's edict in the light of ancient Yehudite concerns over ethnicity, gender, sexuality and social class following the return from exile. In this context, she argues, the warning against intermarriage appears to be an effort to reconstitute identity in the aftermath of the cataclysmic political dominance by first the Babylonian and then the Persian empires. This book represents a postmodern interdisciplinary approach to understanding an ancient biblical socio-political situation. As such, it offers fresh perspectives on ways that interpretations of the Bible continue to reflect the ideologies of its interpreters.
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The Holy Seed Has Been Defiled: The Interethnic Marriage Dilemma in Ezra 9-10

£45.00
In the Book of Ezra —Nehemiah, Ezra commands Yehudite men to put away their foreign wives to avoid further defiling the 'holy seed'. What is the meaning of this warning? Are Ezra's words to be understood as a concern about race-mixing or is it emblematic of some more complex set of problems prevalent in the fledgling postexilic community? Ezra's words, with their seemingly racialized thinking, have been influential in much political, religious and popular culture in the USA. It has been a backdrop for constructing racial reality for centuries, melding seemingly biblical ideologies with accepted European Enlightenment-era ideas about racial superiority and inferiority. Willa Johnson combines archaeological data with social-scientific theory to argue for a new interpretation. In this anthropological and narratological analysis, Johnson views Ezra's edict in the light of ancient Yehudite concerns over ethnicity, gender, sexuality and social class following the return from exile. In this context, she argues, the warning against intermarriage appears to be an effort to reconstitute identity in the aftermath of the cataclysmic political dominance by first the Babylonian and then the Persian empires. This book represents a postmodern interdisciplinary approach to understanding an ancient biblical socio-political situation. As such, it offers fresh perspectives on ways that interpretations of the Bible continue to reflect the ideologies of its interpreters.
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Jerusalem and the Nations: Studies in the Book of Isaiah

Published: Sep 2011
£50.00
This volume contains the fruit of three decades of Ronald Clements's researches on prophecy in the Old Testament. In sixteen papers, seven of them not previously published, he broaches several leading questions about the origins of written prophecy in the Old Testament. A major focus is on the impact of the events of 701 BCE on the formation of the Isaiah book as a whole and the rise of Jerusalem as a centre of religious hope. Further studies deal with the role of the Isaiah book in current biblical interpretation and the failure of twentieth-century interpreters to explain its unity. Other subjects concern ideas of divine providence, theodicy, and the links between ancient scribal methods of book formation and canonical authority. Special attention is given to the attempts to retain traditional Christian approaches to a book, the interpretation of which has been greatly transformed by modern critical study.
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Jerusalem and the Nations: Studies in the Book of Isaiah

£50.00
This volume contains the fruit of three decades of Ronald Clements's researches on prophecy in the Old Testament. In sixteen papers, seven of them not previously published, he broaches several leading questions about the origins of written prophecy in the Old Testament. A major focus is on the impact of the events of 701 BCE on the formation of the Isaiah book as a whole and the rise of Jerusalem as a centre of religious hope. Further studies deal with the role of the Isaiah book in current biblical interpretation and the failure of twentieth-century interpreters to explain its unity. Other subjects concern ideas of divine providence, theodicy, and the links between ancient scribal methods of book formation and canonical authority. Special attention is given to the attempts to retain traditional Christian approaches to a book, the interpretation of which has been greatly transformed by modern critical study.
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Sacred Texts and Sacred Meanings: Studies in Biblical Language and Literature

Published: Jun 2011
£75.00
John Sawyer has been known for over 40 years as one of the finest British biblical scholars, always alert to new perspectives in biblical criticism and a pioneer in fruitful applications of new, often interdisciplinary, research methods. He has been an inspiring teacher to generations of students in Glasgow (1964-65), Newcastle upon Tyne (1965-94), Lancaster (1994-2002) and Oxford (2005-2008). From the very beginning he saw the need to apply sound linguistic theory to the study of the Bible, with the fundamental insight that all texts can have, and very often have had, more than one meaning. No one meaning can claim priority over the others, he argues. The 'original meaning', more or less convincingly reconstructed by modern scholarship, can claim chronological priority, but that is all. What the text has meant to its Jewish and Christian readers down the centuries should be as much the subject of scholarly attention as any 'original' meaning. This is the unifying strand in the whole of his work, from his groundbreaking Semantics in Biblical Research: New Methods of Defining Hebrew Words for Salvation (1972) and his From Moses to Patmos: New Perspectives in Old Testament Study (1977) to his fascinating The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity (1996) and his Sacred Languages and Sacred Texts (1999). Among his most recent major contributions in this area have been his co-editorship of the Blackwell Bible Commentary Series, his edited Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture (2006) and his own Concise Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception (2009). In 2011 John Sawyer has been elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and to celebrate that appointment Sheffield Phoenix Press is honoured to present this representative selection of 46 of his papers, some previously unpublished and some originally published in rather obscure places.
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Sacred Texts and Sacred Meanings: Studies in Biblical Language and Literature

£75.00
John Sawyer has been known for over 40 years as one of the finest British biblical scholars, always alert to new perspectives in biblical criticism and a pioneer in fruitful applications of new, often interdisciplinary, research methods. He has been an inspiring teacher to generations of students in Glasgow (1964-65), Newcastle upon Tyne (1965-94), Lancaster (1994-2002) and Oxford (2005-2008). From the very beginning he saw the need to apply sound linguistic theory to the study of the Bible, with the fundamental insight that all texts can have, and very often have had, more than one meaning. No one meaning can claim priority over the others, he argues. The 'original meaning', more or less convincingly reconstructed by modern scholarship, can claim chronological priority, but that is all. What the text has meant to its Jewish and Christian readers down the centuries should be as much the subject of scholarly attention as any 'original' meaning. This is the unifying strand in the whole of his work, from his groundbreaking Semantics in Biblical Research: New Methods of Defining Hebrew Words for Salvation (1972) and his From Moses to Patmos: New Perspectives in Old Testament Study (1977) to his fascinating The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity (1996) and his Sacred Languages and Sacred Texts (1999). Among his most recent major contributions in this area have been his co-editorship of the Blackwell Bible Commentary Series, his edited Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture (2006) and his own Concise Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception (2009). In 2011 John Sawyer has been elected President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and to celebrate that appointment Sheffield Phoenix Press is honoured to present this representative selection of 46 of his papers, some previously unpublished and some originally published in rather obscure places.
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Through the ‘I’-Window: The Inner Life of Characters in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Mar 2011
£60.00
It is often said that the inner life of characters in the Hebrew Bible is inaccessible to us, and that we can know little or nothing about how they felt and thought. In this study, original in both its scope and its method, Barbara Leung Lai shows how wrong that assumption is. She directs our attention to the many places where her chosen characters, Daniel, Isaiah, and Yahweh, speak of themselves, using the first-person 'I' voice, and finds those to be a unique point of entry, or window, into the interiority of the characters. To construct an interior profile of these characters, Leung Lai develops an integrated methodology of psychological exegesis, drawing upon psychological perspectives of personality, Bakhtinian views of polyphony and dialogism, current studies of emotion, self and selfhood, and the empirics of reading under the rubric of reader-response literary criticism. From these perspectives, Leung Lai can identify in Daniel two primary realms in his inner identity-seeing and emotive experiencing -- and can characterize Daniel's interior world as a world of paradoxes, of seeing without comprehending, hearing without the capacity to respond. Isaiah, on the other hand, exhibits a broad spectrum of emotions, from love, intimacy, joy and empathy to a sense of being under divine constraint, and to mourning, lament, doubt, distress, helplessness and despair. The prophet exhibits a profound sense of selfhood and subtle inner depths. The character of Yahweh is found to be most striking for its inner conflicts, with its frustrations, disappointments, pain and suffering. This groundbreaking book will stimulate many readers to a new appreciation of characterization in the Hebrew Bible.
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Through the ‘I’-Window: The Inner Life of Characters in the Hebrew Bible

£60.00
It is often said that the inner life of characters in the Hebrew Bible is inaccessible to us, and that we can know little or nothing about how they felt and thought. In this study, original in both its scope and its method, Barbara Leung Lai shows how wrong that assumption is. She directs our attention to the many places where her chosen characters, Daniel, Isaiah, and Yahweh, speak of themselves, using the first-person 'I' voice, and finds those to be a unique point of entry, or window, into the interiority of the characters. To construct an interior profile of these characters, Leung Lai develops an integrated methodology of psychological exegesis, drawing upon psychological perspectives of personality, Bakhtinian views of polyphony and dialogism, current studies of emotion, self and selfhood, and the empirics of reading under the rubric of reader-response literary criticism. From these perspectives, Leung Lai can identify in Daniel two primary realms in his inner identity-seeing and emotive experiencing -- and can characterize Daniel's interior world as a world of paradoxes, of seeing without comprehending, hearing without the capacity to respond. Isaiah, on the other hand, exhibits a broad spectrum of emotions, from love, intimacy, joy and empathy to a sense of being under divine constraint, and to mourning, lament, doubt, distress, helplessness and despair. The prophet exhibits a profound sense of selfhood and subtle inner depths. The character of Yahweh is found to be most striking for its inner conflicts, with its frustrations, disappointments, pain and suffering. This groundbreaking book will stimulate many readers to a new appreciation of characterization in the Hebrew Bible.
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Holiness, Ethics and Ritual in Leviticus

Published: Feb 2011
£70.00
In this book, Trevaskis argues that holiness in Leviticus always has an ethical dimension, and is not simply a cultic category. In so doing he departs from the usual view that in Leviticus 1 —16 (P) holiness is largely a cultic concept. Biblical scholars have commonly read ritual texts as practical instruction or prescription, inferring the theological significance of the rituals from elsewhere. For example, theological interpretations of the 'burnt offering' have been derived from its use in narrative settings (e.g. Gen. 8:20; 22:13) rather than from its legal prescription in Leviticus 1. Trevaskis, however, argues that an implicit command to be holy exists within some ritual texts in Leviticus, which are more than mere ritual prescriptions. It is in the symbolic dimensions of the rituals that the theological significance lies. In support of this argument, he undertakes exegetical studies of the 'burnt offering' (Leviticus 1), of the 'purity regulations' (Leviticus 11 —15) and of the physical appearance of priests and sacrificial animals (Leviticus 21 —22). These studies take place within a methodological framework that avoids capricious symbolic interpretations. Trevaskis draws on cognitive linguistic insights to discern when a text may allude to other texts within the Pentateuch (especially Genesis 1 —3), and attends to the legislator's use of various rhetorical devices (e.g. 'rhetorical progression'). Since the command to 'be holy' in Leviticus 17 —26 (H) only makes explicit what P leaves implicit in Leviticus 1 —16, this study has important implications for the compositional history of Leviticus. It becomes much less clear that H's ethical view of holiness developed from a prophetic critique of P (as Milgrom and Knohl, for example, argue).
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Holiness, Ethics and Ritual in Leviticus

£70.00
In this book, Trevaskis argues that holiness in Leviticus always has an ethical dimension, and is not simply a cultic category. In so doing he departs from the usual view that in Leviticus 1 —16 (P) holiness is largely a cultic concept. Biblical scholars have commonly read ritual texts as practical instruction or prescription, inferring the theological significance of the rituals from elsewhere. For example, theological interpretations of the 'burnt offering' have been derived from its use in narrative settings (e.g. Gen. 8:20; 22:13) rather than from its legal prescription in Leviticus 1. Trevaskis, however, argues that an implicit command to be holy exists within some ritual texts in Leviticus, which are more than mere ritual prescriptions. It is in the symbolic dimensions of the rituals that the theological significance lies. In support of this argument, he undertakes exegetical studies of the 'burnt offering' (Leviticus 1), of the 'purity regulations' (Leviticus 11 —15) and of the physical appearance of priests and sacrificial animals (Leviticus 21 —22). These studies take place within a methodological framework that avoids capricious symbolic interpretations. Trevaskis draws on cognitive linguistic insights to discern when a text may allude to other texts within the Pentateuch (especially Genesis 1 —3), and attends to the legislator's use of various rhetorical devices (e.g. 'rhetorical progression'). Since the command to 'be holy' in Leviticus 17 —26 (H) only makes explicit what P leaves implicit in Leviticus 1 —16, this study has important implications for the compositional history of Leviticus. It becomes much less clear that H's ethical view of holiness developed from a prophetic critique of P (as Milgrom and Knohl, for example, argue).
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Out of Paradise: Eve and Adam and Their Interpreters

Published: Dec 2010
£55.00
This volume explores the afterlives of Eve and Adam beyond the Genesis story. How did they become such a prominent part of mainstream Christian thought and theology —and Jewish and Muslim tradition as well —, and what forms did their story take as it was told and retold? To investigate the traces of Eve and Adam through the centuries is to discover a surprising variety of interpretations. The chapters of this book come from eleven European scholars. Bob Becking writes on how the identity of the primaeval couple is constructed in Genesis, Geert van Oyen on Eve as a character in the New Testament, Willemien Otten on Adam and Eve in Augustine, Harm Goris on them in Aquinas, Theo Bell on them in Luther. Willem van Asselt examines the Pre-Adamites in the theology of Isaac La Peyrère, Heleen Zorgdrager considers Adam and Eve in the theology of Schleiermacher, Susanne Hennecke focuses on Karl Barth and Luce Irigaray looking at Michelangelo's The Creation, Anne-Marie Korte on the Genesis story in a feminist theological perspective, Eric Ottenheijm on Eve and 'women's commandments' in orthodox Judaism, and Karel Steenbrink on Muslim interpretations of their story.
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Out of Paradise: Eve and Adam and Their Interpreters

£55.00
This volume explores the afterlives of Eve and Adam beyond the Genesis story. How did they become such a prominent part of mainstream Christian thought and theology —and Jewish and Muslim tradition as well —, and what forms did their story take as it was told and retold? To investigate the traces of Eve and Adam through the centuries is to discover a surprising variety of interpretations. The chapters of this book come from eleven European scholars. Bob Becking writes on how the identity of the primaeval couple is constructed in Genesis, Geert van Oyen on Eve as a character in the New Testament, Willemien Otten on Adam and Eve in Augustine, Harm Goris on them in Aquinas, Theo Bell on them in Luther. Willem van Asselt examines the Pre-Adamites in the theology of Isaac La Peyrère, Heleen Zorgdrager considers Adam and Eve in the theology of Schleiermacher, Susanne Hennecke focuses on Karl Barth and Luce Irigaray looking at Michelangelo's The Creation, Anne-Marie Korte on the Genesis story in a feminist theological perspective, Eric Ottenheijm on Eve and 'women's commandments' in orthodox Judaism, and Karel Steenbrink on Muslim interpretations of their story.
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The Demise of the Warlord: A New Look at the David Story

Published: Oct 2010
£50.00
The novelty of this monograph on David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11 —12) lies in its placing the narrative in the context of the behaviour of nomadic warlords and Amorite tribal chieftains as reflected in several Akkadian texts from Mari and Mesopotamia. The biblical story is interpreted in the light of an Akkadian literary topos depicting the ideal warlike existence of a Bedouin tribal chieftain. According to this topos, David's dallying with women, and eating, drinking and living in the shade rather than leading armies into military exploits would be considered unworthy of a warlord and disparaging to his reputation. Another new feature in this book is the explanation of the treatment that King David inflicted on Uriah the Hittite, a 'resident alien' according to the rabbis, in the light of the outrage that a high official of a Pharaoh committed upon a resident-alien in El-Amarna times. There seems to have existed a non-written ancient Near Eastern law about the obligation of protecting and not harming resident aliens. As evidenced by the El-Amarna letter 162, disregard for this law entailed a death sentence on the perpetrator of such an outrage. In 2 Samuel 11 —12 the outrage done to the resident alien is expressed through the literary motif of the abduction of the beautiful wife in the context of oppression and threat exercised by the powerful over the weak and the helpless.
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The Demise of the Warlord: A New Look at the David Story

£50.00
The novelty of this monograph on David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11 —12) lies in its placing the narrative in the context of the behaviour of nomadic warlords and Amorite tribal chieftains as reflected in several Akkadian texts from Mari and Mesopotamia. The biblical story is interpreted in the light of an Akkadian literary topos depicting the ideal warlike existence of a Bedouin tribal chieftain. According to this topos, David's dallying with women, and eating, drinking and living in the shade rather than leading armies into military exploits would be considered unworthy of a warlord and disparaging to his reputation. Another new feature in this book is the explanation of the treatment that King David inflicted on Uriah the Hittite, a 'resident alien' according to the rabbis, in the light of the outrage that a high official of a Pharaoh committed upon a resident-alien in El-Amarna times. There seems to have existed a non-written ancient Near Eastern law about the obligation of protecting and not harming resident aliens. As evidenced by the El-Amarna letter 162, disregard for this law entailed a death sentence on the perpetrator of such an outrage. In 2 Samuel 11 —12 the outrage done to the resident alien is expressed through the literary motif of the abduction of the beautiful wife in the context of oppression and threat exercised by the powerful over the weak and the helpless.
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The Centre and the Periphery: A European Tribute to Walter Brueggemann

Published: Oct 2010
£50.00
In this valuable volume, 13 scholars from Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany pay tribute to Walter Brueggemann's outstanding contribution to Old Testament studies, notably his Theology of the Old Testament (1997). His own setting is the USA, and it is not generally recognized how far-reaching his influence has been. This volume aims to demonstrate that many scholars in diverse locations have been stimulated by the sweep of his energetic criticism. Brueggemann himself often speaks of Old Testament scholarship in terms of centre and margin, meaning thereby the dominant historical-critical mode of research as against the new types of analysis that have come into being in the last decades. He constantly has recourse also to the Hebrew Bible's own tension between a mainstream centre with its testimony to Yahweh's power, providence and justice and a margin according to which the deity is called to account for failures in divine governance. The essays in Part I are devoted to 'centrist' questions in the main, including contributions from Rainer Albertz, Katharine Dell, Frederik Lindstršm, Christoph Bultmann, and Hugh Williamson. The essays in Part II are from scholars who apply a range of alternative or 'peripheral' interpretative methods, Walter Moberly, Terje Stordalen, Jill Middlemas, Ulrich Berges, Mark Gray, Else Holt, Gordon McConville and David Clines.
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The Centre and the Periphery: A European Tribute to Walter Brueggemann

£50.00
In this valuable volume, 13 scholars from Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany pay tribute to Walter Brueggemann's outstanding contribution to Old Testament studies, notably his Theology of the Old Testament (1997). His own setting is the USA, and it is not generally recognized how far-reaching his influence has been. This volume aims to demonstrate that many scholars in diverse locations have been stimulated by the sweep of his energetic criticism. Brueggemann himself often speaks of Old Testament scholarship in terms of centre and margin, meaning thereby the dominant historical-critical mode of research as against the new types of analysis that have come into being in the last decades. He constantly has recourse also to the Hebrew Bible's own tension between a mainstream centre with its testimony to Yahweh's power, providence and justice and a margin according to which the deity is called to account for failures in divine governance. The essays in Part I are devoted to 'centrist' questions in the main, including contributions from Rainer Albertz, Katharine Dell, Frederik Lindstršm, Christoph Bultmann, and Hugh Williamson. The essays in Part II are from scholars who apply a range of alternative or 'peripheral' interpretative methods, Walter Moberly, Terje Stordalen, Jill Middlemas, Ulrich Berges, Mark Gray, Else Holt, Gordon McConville and David Clines.
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The Changing Shape of Form Criticism: A Relational Approach

Published: Jun 2010
£45.00
In this important collection of essays by the leading theorist of form, Martin Buss presents in Part I, Steps toward a New Form Criticism, several essays that view forms as complexes of relations that constitute possibilities. This relational approach to form criticism rejects, on the one hand, the idea that reality is at base only particular and, on the other hand, an essentialism that holds that forms are firmly structured and there is a single correct way to classify texts. In Part II, Interdisciplinary Ideas of Sitz im Leben, he shows how Gunkel's notion of Sitz im Leben, derived from his knowledge of other fields, made an impact on leading figures in several disciplines. They modified the notion, and their analyses became known to a number of biblical scholars. This cross-pollination introduced a new understanding of the notion of Sitz im Leben into biblical studies, which, in turn, was noted by scholars in other fields. An appendix to the volume reports relational approaches in several disciplines that provide a stimulus for relational form criticism.
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The Changing Shape of Form Criticism: A Relational Approach

£45.00
In this important collection of essays by the leading theorist of form, Martin Buss presents in Part I, Steps toward a New Form Criticism, several essays that view forms as complexes of relations that constitute possibilities. This relational approach to form criticism rejects, on the one hand, the idea that reality is at base only particular and, on the other hand, an essentialism that holds that forms are firmly structured and there is a single correct way to classify texts. In Part II, Interdisciplinary Ideas of Sitz im Leben, he shows how Gunkel's notion of Sitz im Leben, derived from his knowledge of other fields, made an impact on leading figures in several disciplines. They modified the notion, and their analyses became known to a number of biblical scholars. This cross-pollination introduced a new understanding of the notion of Sitz im Leben into biblical studies, which, in turn, was noted by scholars in other fields. An appendix to the volume reports relational approaches in several disciplines that provide a stimulus for relational form criticism.
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A Question of Sex? Gender and Difference in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond

Published: Dec 2009
£17.50£45.00
Gender differences between men and women are not just a matter of sexual differentiation; the roles that men and women play are also socially and culturally determined, in ancient Israel and post-biblical Judaism as in every other context. That is the theme of these ten studies. The first part of the volume examines the gender definitions and roles that can be identified in the Hebrew Bible's legal and ritual texts. The second part uses archaeological and anthropological perspectives to interrogate the biblical text and the society that formed it on issues of gender. The third part explores similar gender issues in a range of material outside the Hebrew Bible, from the Apocrypha through Josephus and Philo down to mediaeval Jewish marriage contracts (ketubbot). Among the questions here discussed are: Why are men, but not women, required to bathe in order to achieve ritual purity after incurring certain types of defilement? What understandings of masculinity and femininity underlie the regulations about incest? Was ancient Israel simply a patriarchal society, or were there more complex dynamics of power in which women as well as men were involved? What do post-biblical re-interpretations of the female figures of Wisdom and Folly in Proverbs 1 —9 suggest about heterosexual masculinity? And what kind of rights did mediaeval Middle-Eastern Jewish women have within their marriage relationships? This is the first volume in the sub-series King's College London Studies in the Bible and Gender. The second is Embroidered Garments: Priests and Gender in Biblical Israel (2009).
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A Question of Sex? Gender and Difference in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond

£17.50£45.00
Gender differences between men and women are not just a matter of sexual differentiation; the roles that men and women play are also socially and culturally determined, in ancient Israel and post-biblical Judaism as in every other context. That is the theme of these ten studies. The first part of the volume examines the gender definitions and roles that can be identified in the Hebrew Bible's legal and ritual texts. The second part uses archaeological and anthropological perspectives to interrogate the biblical text and the society that formed it on issues of gender. The third part explores similar gender issues in a range of material outside the Hebrew Bible, from the Apocrypha through Josephus and Philo down to mediaeval Jewish marriage contracts (ketubbot). Among the questions here discussed are: Why are men, but not women, required to bathe in order to achieve ritual purity after incurring certain types of defilement? What understandings of masculinity and femininity underlie the regulations about incest? Was ancient Israel simply a patriarchal society, or were there more complex dynamics of power in which women as well as men were involved? What do post-biblical re-interpretations of the female figures of Wisdom and Folly in Proverbs 1 —9 suggest about heterosexual masculinity? And what kind of rights did mediaeval Middle-Eastern Jewish women have within their marriage relationships? This is the first volume in the sub-series King's College London Studies in the Bible and Gender. The second is Embroidered Garments: Priests and Gender in Biblical Israel (2009).
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Embroidered Garments: Priests and Gender in Biblical Israel

Published: Oct 2009
£45.00
This collection of essays, the proceedings of an international conference held at King's College London in 2008, explores issues in the construction of gender that appear in the Hebrew Bible both in relation to priesthood itself and in literature with a priestly world-view (the P source, Chronicles, Ezra —Nehemiah, Ezekiel). Topics covered include female religious functionaries and their absence from the Hebrew Bible, masculinity and femininity as seen through the lens of priestly purity legislation, priestly genealogies as an expression of Jacques Derrida's 'archive fever', the definition of masculinity that is evidenced by priests' clothing, and the marginalization of women in priestly ideologies of nationality and kinship. This is the second volume in the sub-series King's College London Studies in the Bible and Gender. The first was A Question of Sex: Gender and Difference in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (2007).
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Embroidered Garments: Priests and Gender in Biblical Israel

£45.00
This collection of essays, the proceedings of an international conference held at King's College London in 2008, explores issues in the construction of gender that appear in the Hebrew Bible both in relation to priesthood itself and in literature with a priestly world-view (the P source, Chronicles, Ezra —Nehemiah, Ezekiel). Topics covered include female religious functionaries and their absence from the Hebrew Bible, masculinity and femininity as seen through the lens of priestly purity legislation, priestly genealogies as an expression of Jacques Derrida's 'archive fever', the definition of masculinity that is evidenced by priests' clothing, and the marginalization of women in priestly ideologies of nationality and kinship. This is the second volume in the sub-series King's College London Studies in the Bible and Gender. The first was A Question of Sex: Gender and Difference in the Hebrew Bible and Beyond (2007).
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1 Samuel: A Narrative Commentary

Published: Oct 2009
£18.50£45.00
This substantial commentary presents 1 Samuel as a sophisticated work of literature, where the reader is challenged with a narrative that is fraught with interpretative possibilities. In his distinctive literary reading Bodner lays special emphasis on the intriguing array of characters that populate the narrative, and on the plot, in its design and its configurations. Thus, a host of intriguing episodes and personalities are passed in review: from the symbolically charged closed womb of Hannah to the backwards fall and the broken neck of Eli, to the strange tour of the Ark of God through the menacing Philistine pentapolis, wreaking havoc. Then there is the complex portrayal of Samuel the prophet, the emergence of the fugitive David as a leader, and the eventual decline, madness, and necromancy of King Saul. Only through a literary study of its many ironies and ambiguities, Bodner amply shows, can the richness of this classic royal drama be fully appreciated.
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1 Samuel: A Narrative Commentary

£18.50£45.00
This substantial commentary presents 1 Samuel as a sophisticated work of literature, where the reader is challenged with a narrative that is fraught with interpretative possibilities. In his distinctive literary reading Bodner lays special emphasis on the intriguing array of characters that populate the narrative, and on the plot, in its design and its configurations. Thus, a host of intriguing episodes and personalities are passed in review: from the symbolically charged closed womb of Hannah to the backwards fall and the broken neck of Eli, to the strange tour of the Ark of God through the menacing Philistine pentapolis, wreaking havoc. Then there is the complex portrayal of Samuel the prophet, the emergence of the fugitive David as a leader, and the eventual decline, madness, and necromancy of King Saul. Only through a literary study of its many ironies and ambiguities, Bodner amply shows, can the richness of this classic royal drama be fully appreciated.
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Women in the Pentateuch: A Feminist and Source-Critical Analysis

Published: Aug 2009
£50.00
For the first time, literary source criticism and feminist biblical interpretation are here brought together systematically. Taking into account recent trends in Pentateuchal source criticism, Shectman divides the narrative into priestly and non-priestly threads, tracing the portrayal of women in each. In both sources, as Moses comes to the fore, women recede increasingly into the background, with the result that far fewer women appear in Exodus —Numbers than appear in Genesis. A stark contrast between the sources also emerges from this study: non-P contains many more fully developed narrative traditions focused on women, particularly those involving childbirth, pointing to an original genre of narratives unique to biblical women. However, with the combination of traditions in the Pentateuch, these traditions are absorbed into the patriarchal ones, culminating in Genesis 17, P's programmatic statement of the promise and covenant. P significantly limits the roles of women that were preserved in non-P. This difference between the sources is primarily the result of increased centralization: whereas the non-P material reflects a period before centralization had become entrenched, in P, centralization has taken hold, with the result that women's roles are more limited. In addition to a new and detailed source-critical analysis of women in the Pentateuch, this book also provides a detailed overview of feminist biblical criticism, from the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton up to the present, which will be useful for those interested in the history of biblical, particularly feminist, interpretation.
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Women in the Pentateuch: A Feminist and Source-Critical Analysis

£50.00
For the first time, literary source criticism and feminist biblical interpretation are here brought together systematically. Taking into account recent trends in Pentateuchal source criticism, Shectman divides the narrative into priestly and non-priestly threads, tracing the portrayal of women in each. In both sources, as Moses comes to the fore, women recede increasingly into the background, with the result that far fewer women appear in Exodus —Numbers than appear in Genesis. A stark contrast between the sources also emerges from this study: non-P contains many more fully developed narrative traditions focused on women, particularly those involving childbirth, pointing to an original genre of narratives unique to biblical women. However, with the combination of traditions in the Pentateuch, these traditions are absorbed into the patriarchal ones, culminating in Genesis 17, P's programmatic statement of the promise and covenant. P significantly limits the roles of women that were preserved in non-P. This difference between the sources is primarily the result of increased centralization: whereas the non-P material reflects a period before centralization had become entrenched, in P, centralization has taken hold, with the result that women's roles are more limited. In addition to a new and detailed source-critical analysis of women in the Pentateuch, this book also provides a detailed overview of feminist biblical criticism, from the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton up to the present, which will be useful for those interested in the history of biblical, particularly feminist, interpretation.
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With Wisdom as a Robe: Qumran and Other Jewish Studies in Honour of Ida Fröhlich

Published: Nov 2008
£60.00
Professor Ida Fröhlich, Professor of Hebrew Studies and Ancient Near Eastern History in the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, is a celebrated scholar who has been in the forefront of the remarkable development of Hebrew and Jewish studies in recent decades in Hungary. Among her important publications are 'Time and times and half a time': Historical Consciousness in the Jewish Literature of the Persian and Hellenistic Eras (1996), and, more recently, the first translation of the corpus of the Dead Sea Scrolls into Hungarian. Her current major project is, in collaboration with a group of younger scholars, to prepare a Hungarian translation of all the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical materials. In this very substantial volume, presented to her on the occasion of her sixtieth birthday, the essays of 38 international scholars are arranged in three sections: (1) Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, (2) Apocrypha —Pseudepigrapha and Qumran, and (3) Jewish Studies / Christian Interpretation.
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With Wisdom as a Robe: Qumran and Other Jewish Studies in Honour of Ida Fröhlich

£60.00
Professor Ida Fröhlich, Professor of Hebrew Studies and Ancient Near Eastern History in the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, is a celebrated scholar who has been in the forefront of the remarkable development of Hebrew and Jewish studies in recent decades in Hungary. Among her important publications are 'Time and times and half a time': Historical Consciousness in the Jewish Literature of the Persian and Hellenistic Eras (1996), and, more recently, the first translation of the corpus of the Dead Sea Scrolls into Hungarian. Her current major project is, in collaboration with a group of younger scholars, to prepare a Hungarian translation of all the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical materials. In this very substantial volume, presented to her on the occasion of her sixtieth birthday, the essays of 38 international scholars are arranged in three sections: (1) Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, (2) Apocrypha —Pseudepigrapha and Qumran, and (3) Jewish Studies / Christian Interpretation.
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Identity and Loyalty in the David Story: A Postcolonial Reading

Published: Oct 2008
£40.00
In this volume, Uriah Kim examines King David in a new light — the politics of identity and loyalty. He reads the David story from the North American context, in which millions of Americans are compelled to make a choice between their multiple heritages, which are inseparably encoded in their genetic or cultural makeup. In making this choice, their loyalty to their nation and to their particular racial/ethnic community is questioned if they do not define themselves with a single identity. Kim sees a David who was radically inclusive: an egalitarian who was open to making connections with people across various boundaries and differences and who was thus able to build a multi-ethnic kingdom. Rather than basing his rule on his own tribal identity, David built his kingdom by attracting the loyalty of diverse constituents and by putting together an eclectic coalition of ethnic, tribal, and religious groups based on loyalty. It was only later, as part of the identity formation of ancient Israel, that people who were equally part of David's hybridized kingdom were separated into 'real' Israelites as opposed to 'the other' in the narrative. In this reading, Kim leads the reader to a new understanding of David: he did not just use Realpolitik and the sword, nor did he depend totally on God's providence to establish his kingdom; rather, he practised the transgressive power of hesed ('loyalty and kindness') to forge his kingdom.
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Identity and Loyalty in the David Story: A Postcolonial Reading

£40.00
In this volume, Uriah Kim examines King David in a new light — the politics of identity and loyalty. He reads the David story from the North American context, in which millions of Americans are compelled to make a choice between their multiple heritages, which are inseparably encoded in their genetic or cultural makeup. In making this choice, their loyalty to their nation and to their particular racial/ethnic community is questioned if they do not define themselves with a single identity. Kim sees a David who was radically inclusive: an egalitarian who was open to making connections with people across various boundaries and differences and who was thus able to build a multi-ethnic kingdom. Rather than basing his rule on his own tribal identity, David built his kingdom by attracting the loyalty of diverse constituents and by putting together an eclectic coalition of ethnic, tribal, and religious groups based on loyalty. It was only later, as part of the identity formation of ancient Israel, that people who were equally part of David's hybridized kingdom were separated into 'real' Israelites as opposed to 'the other' in the narrative. In this reading, Kim leads the reader to a new understanding of David: he did not just use Realpolitik and the sword, nor did he depend totally on God's providence to establish his kingdom; rather, he practised the transgressive power of hesed ('loyalty and kindness') to forge his kingdom.
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Lions and Ovens and Visions: A Satirical Reading of Daniel 1-6

Published: Sep 2008
£55.00
Are the stories of Daniel at the court of the Persian king simply cheerful tales of a clever and successful courtier, as many assume? Valeta doubts it, insisting that the playful and fantastic storyline must have a more serious meaning. The key to these narratives lies in their genre. These tales of lions and ovens and the like are examples of Menippean satire, argues Valeta, an ancient genre foregrounded in modern literary study by Bakhtin, who saw in the characteristic interplay of voices in the Menippean satire a prime instance of his 'dialogism'. Especially typical of the Menippean satire is an indecorous mixing of styles and elements, which may be the explanation why the Daniel narratives are both comic and serious, Hebrew and Aramaic, episodic and unified. Viewed as satire, the Daniel narratives emerge in their true colours as resistance literature to the regime of Antiochus IV —and so form a perfect accompaniment to the visions of Daniel 7 —12.
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Lions and Ovens and Visions: A Satirical Reading of Daniel 1-6

£55.00
Are the stories of Daniel at the court of the Persian king simply cheerful tales of a clever and successful courtier, as many assume? Valeta doubts it, insisting that the playful and fantastic storyline must have a more serious meaning. The key to these narratives lies in their genre. These tales of lions and ovens and the like are examples of Menippean satire, argues Valeta, an ancient genre foregrounded in modern literary study by Bakhtin, who saw in the characteristic interplay of voices in the Menippean satire a prime instance of his 'dialogism'. Especially typical of the Menippean satire is an indecorous mixing of styles and elements, which may be the explanation why the Daniel narratives are both comic and serious, Hebrew and Aramaic, episodic and unified. Viewed as satire, the Daniel narratives emerge in their true colours as resistance literature to the regime of Antiochus IV —and so form a perfect accompaniment to the visions of Daniel 7 —12.
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Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected Biblical Tales

Published: Aug 2008
£50.00
Readers of all persuasions have a tendency to privilege simple interpretations over complex, unsettling, readings. The more fraught the issue, the more often we find in the history of interpretation that a simple reading has been generated that masks its complexity. 'Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected Biblical Tales' explores seven cases of textual complexity masked by simple readings. One chapter uncovers a counter-intuitive longing for Egypt alongside the Exodus account of liberation from persecution. Another shows how what appears to be a critical attitude in the Bible towards other gods may reflect inner-Israelite tensions rather than some principled antipathy toward others. Yet another confronts the praise of God as a perfect king with the use of the language of divine kingship as a vehicle for constructive criticism. All seven chapters share a focus on the formation of identity. Arguably the Bible's most sensitive subject, for its authors and for present-day readers, this topic has generated a host of simple readings that conceal immense complexity.
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Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected Biblical Tales

£50.00
Readers of all persuasions have a tendency to privilege simple interpretations over complex, unsettling, readings. The more fraught the issue, the more often we find in the history of interpretation that a simple reading has been generated that masks its complexity. 'Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected Biblical Tales' explores seven cases of textual complexity masked by simple readings. One chapter uncovers a counter-intuitive longing for Egypt alongside the Exodus account of liberation from persecution. Another shows how what appears to be a critical attitude in the Bible towards other gods may reflect inner-Israelite tensions rather than some principled antipathy toward others. Yet another confronts the praise of God as a perfect king with the use of the language of divine kingship as a vehicle for constructive criticism. All seven chapters share a focus on the formation of identity. Arguably the Bible's most sensitive subject, for its authors and for present-day readers, this topic has generated a host of simple readings that conceal immense complexity.
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Unity and Disunity in Ezra-Nehemiah: Redaction, Rhetoric, and Reader

Published: May 2008
£55.00
Until the late 1960s the scholarly consensus was that Chronicles —Ezra —Nehemiah was a single, unified literary work. Then arguments began to be mounted for treating Chronicles as a distinct composition, and the majority of scholars were swayed by these arguments, though others retained the older consensus view. In recent years, some scholars have begun to suggest that Ezra and Nehemiah are distinct literary entities. This new debate is the occasion for the present volume. Here scholars from around the globe (Canada, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Korea, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States) showcase current scholarly explanations for the final shape of this literary complex known as Ezra —Nehemiah. Fourteen scholars present their approach to the unity or disunity of this literature employing research methodologies that range from the diachronic to the synchronic. Critical responses to this emerging research are provided by three reviewers (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Tamara Eskenazi and Hugh Williamson) whose work laid the foundation in earlier decades for much of the discussion today. The result is a rich conversation which provides an enlightening resource for the study of these biblical books in particular as well as for reflection on the impact of one's interpretive framework on the study of ancient literature in general.
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Unity and Disunity in Ezra-Nehemiah: Redaction, Rhetoric, and Reader

£55.00
Until the late 1960s the scholarly consensus was that Chronicles —Ezra —Nehemiah was a single, unified literary work. Then arguments began to be mounted for treating Chronicles as a distinct composition, and the majority of scholars were swayed by these arguments, though others retained the older consensus view. In recent years, some scholars have begun to suggest that Ezra and Nehemiah are distinct literary entities. This new debate is the occasion for the present volume. Here scholars from around the globe (Canada, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Korea, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States) showcase current scholarly explanations for the final shape of this literary complex known as Ezra —Nehemiah. Fourteen scholars present their approach to the unity or disunity of this literature employing research methodologies that range from the diachronic to the synchronic. Critical responses to this emerging research are provided by three reviewers (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Tamara Eskenazi and Hugh Williamson) whose work laid the foundation in earlier decades for much of the discussion today. The result is a rich conversation which provides an enlightening resource for the study of these biblical books in particular as well as for reflection on the impact of one's interpretive framework on the study of ancient literature in general.
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The Struggle of Yahweh and El for Hosea’s Israel

Published: Mar 2008
£50.00
In this provocative new proposal, Chalmers presents the prophet Hosea as engaged in a polemic against the Canaanite deity El. Especially in chs. 11 —13 Hosea is exposing the Northern Kingdom's fatal error of mistaking El for Yahweh (just as, in chs. 1 —2, it was Baal who was wrongly identified with Yahweh). Here Hosea is asking, 'Who is the god of Jacob?', 'Who is the god of the exodus?' His answer is: not El —as in many Israelite traditions —, but Yahweh. This recognition leads Chalmers to reconstruct the 'back story' of the god El, from the sanctuary narrative in Genesis 28, the Balaam oracles in Numbers 22 —24, and the account of Jeroboam's cult in 1 Kings 12. Against the standard view that there is no polemic against El in the Hebrew Bible, Chalmers argues that the recurring polemic against the sanctuary at Bethel may have less to do with 'golden calves' or anti-northern rhetoric than with a much older debate about the identity of the god worshipped at Bethel. The second half of this book goes beyond the sanctuary at Bethel to the existence of a deity named Bethel. Just as the cults of Yahweh and El were closely related in Hosea's eighth-century Israel, in the fifth-century Jewish settlement at Elephantine Yahweh and Bethel seem to be almost interchangeable. Since the religious beliefs on display in Elephantine show some striking similarities to that of Hosea's Northern Kingdom, the earlier Yahweh —El dynamic and the later Yahweh —Bethel dynamic may effectively interpret one another.
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The Struggle of Yahweh and El for Hosea’s Israel

£50.00
In this provocative new proposal, Chalmers presents the prophet Hosea as engaged in a polemic against the Canaanite deity El. Especially in chs. 11 —13 Hosea is exposing the Northern Kingdom's fatal error of mistaking El for Yahweh (just as, in chs. 1 —2, it was Baal who was wrongly identified with Yahweh). Here Hosea is asking, 'Who is the god of Jacob?', 'Who is the god of the exodus?' His answer is: not El —as in many Israelite traditions —, but Yahweh. This recognition leads Chalmers to reconstruct the 'back story' of the god El, from the sanctuary narrative in Genesis 28, the Balaam oracles in Numbers 22 —24, and the account of Jeroboam's cult in 1 Kings 12. Against the standard view that there is no polemic against El in the Hebrew Bible, Chalmers argues that the recurring polemic against the sanctuary at Bethel may have less to do with 'golden calves' or anti-northern rhetoric than with a much older debate about the identity of the god worshipped at Bethel. The second half of this book goes beyond the sanctuary at Bethel to the existence of a deity named Bethel. Just as the cults of Yahweh and El were closely related in Hosea's eighth-century Israel, in the fifth-century Jewish settlement at Elephantine Yahweh and Bethel seem to be almost interchangeable. Since the religious beliefs on display in Elephantine show some striking similarities to that of Hosea's Northern Kingdom, the earlier Yahweh —El dynamic and the later Yahweh —Bethel dynamic may effectively interpret one another.
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David Observed: A King in the Eyes of His Court

Published: Mar 2008
£18.50£50.00
From his earliest anointing in 1 Samuel 16 until his deathbed discourse in 1 Kings 2, David is surrounded by a remarkable cast of supporting characters -- an ensemble whose varying perspectives on him create some of the complexity of this royal character in the biblical narrative. David's older brother Eliab speaks only once to his younger sibling, but this conversation has significant implications for the larger narrative. The encounter with Ahimelech the priest in 1 Samuel 21-22 in many ways symbolizes the 'crossing fates' of David and Saul in the sanctuary at Nob. Abner is the rival general who wants to make a deal, but his actions are difficult to gauge: does he have his own set of royal ambitions? Joab is pre-eminently a man of action and a key commander of David's troops, but this military figure surprisingly turns out to be as well an innovative reader and royal exegete. Nathan the prophet has a tendency to surface at pivotal moments in the story, as a decisive influence on the spiritual and political affairs of the king. Ahithophel is a senior counsellor in the Davidic administration who becomes mysteriously embittered against David in the rebellion of Absalom; in narratives about him there is a confluence of tangled motives and prophetic words. Finally, Solomon is the younger son who accedes to the coveted Davidic throne, and curiously shares traits with his ancestor Jacob and has a swearing problem in 1 Kings 1-2.
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David Observed: A King in the Eyes of His Court

£18.50£50.00
From his earliest anointing in 1 Samuel 16 until his deathbed discourse in 1 Kings 2, David is surrounded by a remarkable cast of supporting characters -- an ensemble whose varying perspectives on him create some of the complexity of this royal character in the biblical narrative. David's older brother Eliab speaks only once to his younger sibling, but this conversation has significant implications for the larger narrative. The encounter with Ahimelech the priest in 1 Samuel 21-22 in many ways symbolizes the 'crossing fates' of David and Saul in the sanctuary at Nob. Abner is the rival general who wants to make a deal, but his actions are difficult to gauge: does he have his own set of royal ambitions? Joab is pre-eminently a man of action and a key commander of David's troops, but this military figure surprisingly turns out to be as well an innovative reader and royal exegete. Nathan the prophet has a tendency to surface at pivotal moments in the story, as a decisive influence on the spiritual and political affairs of the king. Ahithophel is a senior counsellor in the Davidic administration who becomes mysteriously embittered against David in the rebellion of Absalom; in narratives about him there is a confluence of tangled motives and prophetic words. Finally, Solomon is the younger son who accedes to the coveted Davidic throne, and curiously shares traits with his ancestor Jacob and has a swearing problem in 1 Kings 1-2.
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Orientalism, Assyriology and the Bible

Published: Oct 2007
£22.50£60.00
'Orientalism' refers both to the academic study of the Orient and to Western scholarship that clings to stock images of the timeless East and oriental despotism. This landmark collection of essays, the first in its field, is written by seasoned art historians, Assyriologists and biblical specialists; it is organized under four rubrics: 1. Intellectual and Disciplinary Histories identifies waymarks in the rise of Assyriology in America, shifting images of ancient Assyria in their cultural context, Smithsonian Institution exhibits of 'biblical antiquities' at the world's fairs of 1893 and 1895, the rise of Egyptology in the nineteenth century, Mari scholarship and its impact on biblical studies, and the ancient Near Eastern text anthology as genre (Foster, Frahm, Holloway Reid, Younger). 2. Visual Perspectives suggests itself as a corrective to the academic habit of conjuring a 'texted Orient'. Here are contributions that describe Assyrianizing engravings in the famous Dalziels' Bible Gallery, the reception of ancient Assyria in nineteenth-century England versus France, and artwork for twentieth-century American histories of Israel (Bohrer, Esposito, Long). 3. Of Harems and Heroines explores gender issues in the context of the figure of Semiramis and the idea of the harem in biblical research and Assyriology (Asher-Greve, Solvang). 4. Assyriology and the Bible offers essays that focus on specific figures (Josiah), texts (Genesis 28.10-22, the Uruk Prophecy), or periods (Persian period in biblical historiography) (Grabbe, Handy, Hurowitz, Scurlock). The volume includes a Bibliography of some 1000 items, an important resource.
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Orientalism, Assyriology and the Bible

£22.50£60.00
'Orientalism' refers both to the academic study of the Orient and to Western scholarship that clings to stock images of the timeless East and oriental despotism. This landmark collection of essays, the first in its field, is written by seasoned art historians, Assyriologists and biblical specialists; it is organized under four rubrics: 1. Intellectual and Disciplinary Histories identifies waymarks in the rise of Assyriology in America, shifting images of ancient Assyria in their cultural context, Smithsonian Institution exhibits of 'biblical antiquities' at the world's fairs of 1893 and 1895, the rise of Egyptology in the nineteenth century, Mari scholarship and its impact on biblical studies, and the ancient Near Eastern text anthology as genre (Foster, Frahm, Holloway Reid, Younger). 2. Visual Perspectives suggests itself as a corrective to the academic habit of conjuring a 'texted Orient'. Here are contributions that describe Assyrianizing engravings in the famous Dalziels' Bible Gallery, the reception of ancient Assyria in nineteenth-century England versus France, and artwork for twentieth-century American histories of Israel (Bohrer, Esposito, Long). 3. Of Harems and Heroines explores gender issues in the context of the figure of Semiramis and the idea of the harem in biblical research and Assyriology (Asher-Greve, Solvang). 4. Assyriology and the Bible offers essays that focus on specific figures (Josiah), texts (Genesis 28.10-22, the Uruk Prophecy), or periods (Persian period in biblical historiography) (Grabbe, Handy, Hurowitz, Scurlock). The volume includes a Bibliography of some 1000 items, an important resource.
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New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean and Cuneiform

Published: Sep 2007
£55.00
This collection of 16 papers is a significant addition to our textual evidence for the world of the Bible: it presents over 50 inscriptions, tablets and seals from the collections of Shlomo Moussaieff, in Hebrew, Idumean, and cuneiform. Most of these texts are being published here for the first time.
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New Seals and Inscriptions, Hebrew, Idumean and Cuneiform

£55.00
This collection of 16 papers is a significant addition to our textual evidence for the world of the Bible: it presents over 50 inscriptions, tablets and seals from the collections of Shlomo Moussaieff, in Hebrew, Idumean, and cuneiform. Most of these texts are being published here for the first time.
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The Birth of Moses and the Buddha: A Paradigm for the Comparative Study of Religions

Published: Aug 2007
£50.00
Responding to a recent upsurge of Jewish interest in Buddhism, Sasson undertakes the first serious academic effort to uncover the common ground between the founders of the two religions, Moses and the Buddha. Because this is a study of traditions rather than a historical investigation, Sasson is able to synthesize various kinds of materials, from biblical and non-biblical, adn from early Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist sources. She notes the striking similarities between the life-patterns of the two leaders. Both were raised as princes and both eventually left their lavish upbringings only to discover something higher. Their mothers play prominent roles in the narratives of their births, while their fathers are often excluded from view. They were both born surrounded by light and embodying miraculous qualities. But there are also some rather consequential differences, which allow these two colossal figures to maintain their uniqueness and significance. Moses was a man chosen for a particular mission by a higher power, a human being serving as the deity's tool. By contrast, the Buddha was a man whose mission was self-determined and actualized over time. Moses lived one life; the Buddha lived many. The Buddha became the symbol of human perfection; Moses was cherished by his tradition despite — or possibly because of — his personal failings. And although Moses is often presented as the founder of Israelite religion, the Buddha was simply following the blueprint outlined by the Buddhas before him. The programme of this study goes further than to compare and contrast the two figures. Sasson argues that the comparative model she adopts can highlight doctrines and priorities of a religion that may otherwise remain hidden. In that way, the birth of Moses and the Buddha may serve as a paradigm for the comparative study of religions.
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The Birth of Moses and the Buddha: A Paradigm for the Comparative Study of Religions

£50.00
Responding to a recent upsurge of Jewish interest in Buddhism, Sasson undertakes the first serious academic effort to uncover the common ground between the founders of the two religions, Moses and the Buddha. Because this is a study of traditions rather than a historical investigation, Sasson is able to synthesize various kinds of materials, from biblical and non-biblical, adn from early Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist sources. She notes the striking similarities between the life-patterns of the two leaders. Both were raised as princes and both eventually left their lavish upbringings only to discover something higher. Their mothers play prominent roles in the narratives of their births, while their fathers are often excluded from view. They were both born surrounded by light and embodying miraculous qualities. But there are also some rather consequential differences, which allow these two colossal figures to maintain their uniqueness and significance. Moses was a man chosen for a particular mission by a higher power, a human being serving as the deity's tool. By contrast, the Buddha was a man whose mission was self-determined and actualized over time. Moses lived one life; the Buddha lived many. The Buddha became the symbol of human perfection; Moses was cherished by his tradition despite — or possibly because of — his personal failings. And although Moses is often presented as the founder of Israelite religion, the Buddha was simply following the blueprint outlined by the Buddhas before him. The programme of this study goes further than to compare and contrast the two figures. Sasson argues that the comparative model she adopts can highlight doctrines and priorities of a religion that may otherwise remain hidden. In that way, the birth of Moses and the Buddha may serve as a paradigm for the comparative study of religions.
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Protest Against God: The Eclipse of a Biblical Tradition

Published: Jan 2007
£15.00£50.00
The Hebrew Bible contains many examples of protest or complaint against God. There are classic cases in the psalms of individual lament, but we find the same attitude in community complaint psalms, in the prophetic challenges to God, and in the Book of Job. And yet, after the exile, the complaint tradition was largely suppressed or marginalized. In this imaginative book, Morrow asks the unheard of question, Why? A shift in the religious imagination of early Judaism had taken place, he argues, spearheaded by the psychology of trauma and by international politics. A magnification of divine transcendence downgraded the intercessory role of the prophet, controlled the raw pain of exile (Lamentations, Second Isaiah), and led to intransigent refusal of the logic of lament (the friends and Yahweh in Job). The theology of complaint was eventually overshadowed by the piety of penitence and praise (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Modern readers of the Hebrew Bible are not obliged to assent to the loss of lament, nevertheless. Ours is an age when the potency of the biblical complaints against God is being newly appropriated. Although the transcendental imagination of Western culture itself is moving into eclipse, a heightened individual consciousness has emerged. There may still be life, therefore, in the ancient prayer pattern of arguing with God, which assumes that worshippers have rights with God as well as duties, that the Creator has obligations to the creation as well as prerogatives. This stylish intellectual history will be welcomed for its scope, its panache and its theological engagement. Awarded the 2007 R.B.Y. Scott Book Award for an outstanding book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the Ancient Near East written by a member of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.
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Protest Against God: The Eclipse of a Biblical Tradition

£15.00£50.00
The Hebrew Bible contains many examples of protest or complaint against God. There are classic cases in the psalms of individual lament, but we find the same attitude in community complaint psalms, in the prophetic challenges to God, and in the Book of Job. And yet, after the exile, the complaint tradition was largely suppressed or marginalized. In this imaginative book, Morrow asks the unheard of question, Why? A shift in the religious imagination of early Judaism had taken place, he argues, spearheaded by the psychology of trauma and by international politics. A magnification of divine transcendence downgraded the intercessory role of the prophet, controlled the raw pain of exile (Lamentations, Second Isaiah), and led to intransigent refusal of the logic of lament (the friends and Yahweh in Job). The theology of complaint was eventually overshadowed by the piety of penitence and praise (the Dead Sea Scrolls). Modern readers of the Hebrew Bible are not obliged to assent to the loss of lament, nevertheless. Ours is an age when the potency of the biblical complaints against God is being newly appropriated. Although the transcendental imagination of Western culture itself is moving into eclipse, a heightened individual consciousness has emerged. There may still be life, therefore, in the ancient prayer pattern of arguing with God, which assumes that worshippers have rights with God as well as duties, that the Creator has obligations to the creation as well as prerogatives. This stylish intellectual history will be welcomed for its scope, its panache and its theological engagement. Awarded the 2007 R.B.Y. Scott Book Award for an outstanding book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the Ancient Near East written by a member of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.
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Voyages in Uncharted Waters: Essays on the Theory and Practice of Biblical Interpretation in Honor of David Jobling

Published: Oct 2006
£50.00
This volume honours the work of David Jobling, the distinguished Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at St Andrew's College, Saskatoon, Canada. Jobling has been noted for his adventurous forays into the theory and practice of biblical interpretation, especially of the Hebrew Bible, and for his interdisciplinary bridge-building. The volume is divided into three sections corresponding to three of Jobling's principal interests, each section being prefaced with an introduction to his work in that area by the editors. Section 1 is on Post-Structuralism, with contributions by Gary Phillips, George Aichele, Francis Landy, Robert Culley and Matthew Mitchell. In Section 2, on Ideological Criticism, the authors are Roland Boer, David Gunn, Volker Greifenhagen and Tina Pippin. Section 3, on Global Readings, contains papers by Gerald West, Jione Havea, Ed Conrad and Norman Habel. The Festschrift concludes with personal tributes by Christopher Lind and Norman Gottwald.
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Voyages in Uncharted Waters: Essays on the Theory and Practice of Biblical Interpretation in Honor of David Jobling

£50.00
This volume honours the work of David Jobling, the distinguished Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at St Andrew's College, Saskatoon, Canada. Jobling has been noted for his adventurous forays into the theory and practice of biblical interpretation, especially of the Hebrew Bible, and for his interdisciplinary bridge-building. The volume is divided into three sections corresponding to three of Jobling's principal interests, each section being prefaced with an introduction to his work in that area by the editors. Section 1 is on Post-Structuralism, with contributions by Gary Phillips, George Aichele, Francis Landy, Robert Culley and Matthew Mitchell. In Section 2, on Ideological Criticism, the authors are Roland Boer, David Gunn, Volker Greifenhagen and Tina Pippin. Section 3, on Global Readings, contains papers by Gerald West, Jione Havea, Ed Conrad and Norman Habel. The Festschrift concludes with personal tributes by Christopher Lind and Norman Gottwald.
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The Michal Affair: From Zimri-Lim to the Rabbis

Published: Jun 2006
£15.95£50.00
This fresh approach to the story of Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David, juxtaposes three quite different interpretative methods: narratological, historical, and history of traditions. In his first chapter Bodi offers a subtle political reading of the Michal story, bringing to the fore the power-struggle between Saul and David that forms its main intrigue. Michal's personal tragedy foreshadows that of the Israelite monarchy and prefigures its end. It is a unique phenomenon in ancient Near Eastern literature that the story of a woman should serve as a means of criticizing the abuses of the monarchy and deconstructing the royal ideology. The second chapter compares the daughters of Saul and the daughters of Zimri-Lim. This eighteenth-century BCE tribal king of Mari offered his two daughters Kirum and Shimatum to the same vassal in order to be able to spy on him. Saul seems to have done something similar with his daughters Merab and Michal, both offered to David. The unhappy marriage of Kirum ended in divorce. Although the announcement of the divorce was made by her husband in a public ceremony, it was prompted by the royal princess —the first example of a divorce initiated by a woman in ancient Near Eastern texts. The third chapter explores a rich variety of rabbinic interpretations of key moments in the Michal story. Important and often little known observations are drawn from both the Talmuds and from midrashic works such as Abrabanel and anthologies like Midrash Rabbah, Yalqut Shimoni, Meam Loez and Malbim, together with the comments by Rashi and Qimhi. Both the narratological investigation and the rabbinic interpretations point to David's guilt during his dance in front of the ark. The rabbis indeed attributed the exile of the nation to David's misdeeds. A careful reading of the biblical texts dealing with the figure of David in his relationship with his first wife Michal reaches the same conclusion: He is not exactly the man he pretends to be.
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The Michal Affair: From Zimri-Lim to the Rabbis

£15.95£50.00
This fresh approach to the story of Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David, juxtaposes three quite different interpretative methods: narratological, historical, and history of traditions. In his first chapter Bodi offers a subtle political reading of the Michal story, bringing to the fore the power-struggle between Saul and David that forms its main intrigue. Michal's personal tragedy foreshadows that of the Israelite monarchy and prefigures its end. It is a unique phenomenon in ancient Near Eastern literature that the story of a woman should serve as a means of criticizing the abuses of the monarchy and deconstructing the royal ideology. The second chapter compares the daughters of Saul and the daughters of Zimri-Lim. This eighteenth-century BCE tribal king of Mari offered his two daughters Kirum and Shimatum to the same vassal in order to be able to spy on him. Saul seems to have done something similar with his daughters Merab and Michal, both offered to David. The unhappy marriage of Kirum ended in divorce. Although the announcement of the divorce was made by her husband in a public ceremony, it was prompted by the royal princess —the first example of a divorce initiated by a woman in ancient Near Eastern texts. The third chapter explores a rich variety of rabbinic interpretations of key moments in the Michal story. Important and often little known observations are drawn from both the Talmuds and from midrashic works such as Abrabanel and anthologies like Midrash Rabbah, Yalqut Shimoni, Meam Loez and Malbim, together with the comments by Rashi and Qimhi. Both the narratological investigation and the rabbinic interpretations point to David's guilt during his dance in front of the ark. The rabbis indeed attributed the exile of the nation to David's misdeeds. A careful reading of the biblical texts dealing with the figure of David in his relationship with his first wife Michal reaches the same conclusion: He is not exactly the man he pretends to be.
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I Have Written to the King, My Lord’: Secular Analogies for the Psalms

Published: Jun 2006
£12.95£35.00
The psalms in the Hebrew Bible have often been compared with the religious texts of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Canaan. Roger Tomes shows, in this incisive monograph, how the letters of the ancient Near East, from Mari, Amarna, Ugarit, Nimrud and Nineveh, are an equally rewarding analogue. In them we find suppliants, caught in crisis situations, appealing to their rulers; they use the same arguments to persuade them to act as the psalmists in their appeals to God: protestations of innocence, confession of faults, promises of loyalty, descriptions of plight, appeal to the other's own interests, direct reproaches and quotation of the reproaches of enemies, and expressions of dependence. These are parallels that have much to teach us about the social position of the psalmists and their relationship to the cult.
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I Have Written to the King, My Lord’: Secular Analogies for the Psalms

£12.95£35.00
The psalms in the Hebrew Bible have often been compared with the religious texts of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Canaan. Roger Tomes shows, in this incisive monograph, how the letters of the ancient Near East, from Mari, Amarna, Ugarit, Nimrud and Nineveh, are an equally rewarding analogue. In them we find suppliants, caught in crisis situations, appealing to their rulers; they use the same arguments to persuade them to act as the psalmists in their appeals to God: protestations of innocence, confession of faults, promises of loyalty, descriptions of plight, appeal to the other's own interests, direct reproaches and quotation of the reproaches of enemies, and expressions of dependence. These are parallels that have much to teach us about the social position of the psalmists and their relationship to the cult.
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Sexual Transgression in the Hebrew Bible

Published: Mar 2006
£60.00
The sex laws of the Hebrew Bible are well known, if not notorious. From them many have concluded that in ancient Israel adultery was a capital crime, that there was no conception of rape, that brides had to be virgins, and that women had no autonomy whatsoever. But was that the reality? Not if we broaden our horizon beyond the laws, argues Lipka, who focusses here on sexual transgression, that is, the trespass against sexual boundaries. She finds three aspects of sexual transgression: it may be transgression against religious boundaries (sexual acts violating divine law), against communal boundaries (sexual acts violating the rights of another member of the community), or against personal boundaries (sexual acts imposed by force and/or violence). Transgressive sex is complicated. But some conclusions are possible. (1) Though adultery was universally disapproved of, there was a wide variety of opinions on who was considered guilty, who was considered the offended party, who was punished, what the punishment was, and who should execute it. (2) There was indeed a conception of rape, with an understanding of its devastating emotional and psychological consequences for the victim. (3) Though virginity in brides was the norm, and young women were under a great deal of pressure to preserve their virginity, it was unrealistic for all men in ancient Israel to expect their wives to be virgins. (4) Women did not enjoy legal autonomy over their sexuality, yet they were not completely powerless; they had some degree of personal sexual autonomy, and some took the liberty of doing with their bodies as they pleased.
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Sexual Transgression in the Hebrew Bible

£60.00
The sex laws of the Hebrew Bible are well known, if not notorious. From them many have concluded that in ancient Israel adultery was a capital crime, that there was no conception of rape, that brides had to be virgins, and that women had no autonomy whatsoever. But was that the reality? Not if we broaden our horizon beyond the laws, argues Lipka, who focusses here on sexual transgression, that is, the trespass against sexual boundaries. She finds three aspects of sexual transgression: it may be transgression against religious boundaries (sexual acts violating divine law), against communal boundaries (sexual acts violating the rights of another member of the community), or against personal boundaries (sexual acts imposed by force and/or violence). Transgressive sex is complicated. But some conclusions are possible. (1) Though adultery was universally disapproved of, there was a wide variety of opinions on who was considered guilty, who was considered the offended party, who was punished, what the punishment was, and who should execute it. (2) There was indeed a conception of rape, with an understanding of its devastating emotional and psychological consequences for the victim. (3) Though virginity in brides was the norm, and young women were under a great deal of pressure to preserve their virginity, it was unrealistic for all men in ancient Israel to expect their wives to be virgins. (4) Women did not enjoy legal autonomy over their sexuality, yet they were not completely powerless; they had some degree of personal sexual autonomy, and some took the liberty of doing with their bodies as they pleased.
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Josiah’s Reform and Jeremiah’s Scroll: Historical Calamity and Prophetic Response

Published: Jan 2006
£50.00
This exciting new study of the prophet Jeremiah attributes to him a pivotal significance in the historical period of Josiah's reign. He was, so Leuchter argues, one of the central agents of Josiah's propaganda machine and was intimately involved with the king's political agenda. Jeremiah, himself originally a member of the scribal school that composed the Deuteronomistic literature, encouraged the Shilonites of Anathoth to become active in Josiah's programme in the North following the waning of Assyrian power. Dismayed by the Shilonites' rejection of him and Josiah, and by the king's death at Megiddo, Jeremiah came to a radically new understanding of the divine purpose, encapsulated in the famous Temple sermon of Jeremiah 7 and evidenced in the prophet's debates with the political establishment in Jerusalem in the years that followed. In his thoroughgoing historical reconstruction, Leuchter outlines a very specific sequence of events that took their rise from the Shilonite rejection of Deuteronomic policy, and on that basis carefully demarcates the texts that would have been included in Jeremiah's first scroll (the Urrolle ). Leuchter's monograph will make an important contribution to the study of the history and the literature of the late seventh century BCE.
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Josiah’s Reform and Jeremiah’s Scroll: Historical Calamity and Prophetic Response

£50.00
This exciting new study of the prophet Jeremiah attributes to him a pivotal significance in the historical period of Josiah's reign. He was, so Leuchter argues, one of the central agents of Josiah's propaganda machine and was intimately involved with the king's political agenda. Jeremiah, himself originally a member of the scribal school that composed the Deuteronomistic literature, encouraged the Shilonites of Anathoth to become active in Josiah's programme in the North following the waning of Assyrian power. Dismayed by the Shilonites' rejection of him and Josiah, and by the king's death at Megiddo, Jeremiah came to a radically new understanding of the divine purpose, encapsulated in the famous Temple sermon of Jeremiah 7 and evidenced in the prophet's debates with the political establishment in Jerusalem in the years that followed. In his thoroughgoing historical reconstruction, Leuchter outlines a very specific sequence of events that took their rise from the Shilonite rejection of Deuteronomic policy, and on that basis carefully demarcates the texts that would have been included in Jeremiah's first scroll (the Urrolle ). Leuchter's monograph will make an important contribution to the study of the history and the literature of the late seventh century BCE.
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