The First Japanese Bible, and its Role in the Emergence of Modern Literary Japanese
Published: Mar 2025
£85.00
This ground-breaking book depicts the life, times and works of the Bible translators of nineteenth-century Japan and the prominent role they played in helping to shape modern Japan.
The translation of the Bible into Japanese occurred at a time of great cultural turmoil, when Japan was grappling with industrial and technological modernization in the shift from a feudal agrarian society after 260 years of isolation. In this turmoil, the cultural question of literary style was deemed of great importance. Because of the dichotomy between those who read Chinese (in a Japanese way) and those who did not, the need for reform and simplification was considered an essential aspect of the modernization of Japanese society. The Japanese Bible emerged as a prime example of such a style.
Suzuki’s study traces the development of the primary versions that culminated in the production of the first complete Japanese Bible, the Meiji Version of 1887. The translation of the Psalms, in particular, gained wide acclaim, even being said to be as incomparable as Mt Fuji. The literary quality of the Hebrew Bible was conveyed by the integration of a pure Japanese elegance, Chinese gravitas and freshness of Western and even some Hebrew elements of style.
For the first time, this volume gives due weight to three factors: appreciation of the Chinese Bible by the Japanese Bible translation, its fidelity to the primary Hebrew and Greek source texts, and its adoption of a pure Japanese style as the foundation.
The First Japanese Bible, and its Role in the Emergence of Modern Literary Japanese
£85.00
This ground-breaking book depicts the life, times and works of the Bible translators of nineteenth-century Japan and the prominent role they played in helping to shape modern Japan.
The translation of the Bible into Japanese occurred at a time of great cultural turmoil, when Japan was grappling with industrial and technological modernization in the shift from a feudal agrarian society after 260 years of isolation. In this turmoil, the cultural question of literary style was deemed of great importance. Because of the dichotomy between those who read Chinese (in a Japanese way) and those who did not, the need for reform and simplification was considered an essential aspect of the modernization of Japanese society. The Japanese Bible emerged as a prime example of such a style.
Suzuki’s study traces the development of the primary versions that culminated in the production of the first complete Japanese Bible, the Meiji Version of 1887. The translation of the Psalms, in particular, gained wide acclaim, even being said to be as incomparable as Mt Fuji. The literary quality of the Hebrew Bible was conveyed by the integration of a pure Japanese elegance, Chinese gravitas and freshness of Western and even some Hebrew elements of style.
For the first time, this volume gives due weight to three factors: appreciation of the Chinese Bible by the Japanese Bible translation, its fidelity to the primary Hebrew and Greek source texts, and its adoption of a pure Japanese style as the foundation.
Reading the Landscape of Ezekiel 40-48: A Theology of Resilience
Published: Feb 2025
£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.
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.
The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised
Published: Jan 2025
£250.00
The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (2024) is a single volume desk dictionary abridgement of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) (2018–2028). The Shorter Dictionary is over 825,000 words in length, placing into a single volume 1/6th of the material of the complete DCHR (over 5 million words), and is designed to be a replacement for BDB (the standard 1906 English lexicon of Hebrew).
The Shorter Dictionary contains more than 6,420 Hebrew words not in BDB, and refers to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions, making it the most thorough Hebrew dictionary ever produced.
Every Hebrew word in The Shorter Dictionary is followed immediately by an English translation (except for the variant forms of a word and the byforms), so that The Shorter Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew.
Further features of the dictionary include:
–Scope—The Shorter Dictionary includes not only Biblical Hebrew but also all Classical Hebrew (pre-200 ce), i .e . Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, inscriptions.
–Syntagmatic analysis—shows examples of subjects and objects of verbs, those of which a noun is subject or object, etc.
–Occurrence statistics—for each word in the four corpora of Classical Hebrew: Hebrew Bible, Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, Inscriptions—and for each voice (binyan) of a verb.
–Parallels and oppositions. Shows all words used in parallel or opposition in texts.
–A notation of: 4,285 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 717 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) -with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica); 345 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun); and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
–An abbreviated version of DCHR’s extensive bibliographies is provided in The Shorter Dictionary.
Not only is The Shorter Dictionary three times longer than The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (2009)—also The Concise Dictionary is an abbreviation of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (1993–2016), whereas The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised contains the improved and expanded approach of DCHR (2018–2028).
The Shorter Dictionary (2024) has always planned to be released during the longer period of publication for the 9 volumes of DCHR. From 2019 to 2022 David J.A. Clines, prior to his final illnesses and death:
–completed every necessary editorial task for the future volumes;
–oversaw the preparation of and collation of most materials;
–and provided the means by which the project Research Associate, David Stec, could collate The Shorter Dictionary as well as bring the remaining DCHR volumes to publication.
List price: £250 / $400 / €300
Scholars' price: £125 / $200 / €150 (use code 'scholar' at checkout)
DCHR 1–9 Subscribers' price: £100 / $160 / €120 (email: phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk for further information)
The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised
£250.00
The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (2024) is a single volume desk dictionary abridgement of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) (2018–2028). The Shorter Dictionary is over 825,000 words in length, placing into a single volume 1/6th of the material of the complete DCHR (over 5 million words), and is designed to be a replacement for BDB (the standard 1906 English lexicon of Hebrew).
The Shorter Dictionary contains more than 6,420 Hebrew words not in BDB, and refers to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions, making it the most thorough Hebrew dictionary ever produced.
Every Hebrew word in The Shorter Dictionary is followed immediately by an English translation (except for the variant forms of a word and the byforms), so that The Shorter Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew.
Further features of the dictionary include:
–Scope—The Shorter Dictionary includes not only Biblical Hebrew but also all Classical Hebrew (pre-200 ce), i .e . Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, inscriptions.
–Syntagmatic analysis—shows examples of subjects and objects of verbs, those of which a noun is subject or object, etc.
–Occurrence statistics—for each word in the four corpora of Classical Hebrew: Hebrew Bible, Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, Inscriptions—and for each voice (binyan) of a verb.
–Parallels and oppositions. Shows all words used in parallel or opposition in texts.
–A notation of: 4,285 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 717 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) -with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica); 345 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun); and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
–An abbreviated version of DCHR’s extensive bibliographies is provided in The Shorter Dictionary.
Not only is The Shorter Dictionary three times longer than The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (2009)—also The Concise Dictionary is an abbreviation of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (1993–2016), whereas The Shorter Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised contains the improved and expanded approach of DCHR (2018–2028).
The Shorter Dictionary (2024) has always planned to be released during the longer period of publication for the 9 volumes of DCHR. From 2019 to 2022 David J.A. Clines, prior to his final illnesses and death:
–completed every necessary editorial task for the future volumes;
–oversaw the preparation of and collation of most materials;
–and provided the means by which the project Research Associate, David Stec, could collate The Shorter Dictionary as well as bring the remaining DCHR volumes to publication.
List price: £250 / $400 / €300
Scholars' price: £125 / $200 / €150 (use code 'scholar' at checkout)
DCHR 1–9 Subscribers' price: £100 / $160 / €120 (email: phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk for further information)
Song of Songs in Sense, Sound and Space
Published: Nov 2024
£70.00
This volume offers 13 cutting-edge essays on the Song of Songs presented in four categories.
1. Exegetical and Contextualised Studies. Fernandes argues Solomon’s sidelining in the Song is unjust and uncovers subtle allusions to him. Scheffler examines the contentious place of Song 7.1 and its depiction. Lombaard challenges whether gender equity exists in the Song, arguing that female voices are more prominent than male ones. Landy employs affect theory to the depiction of the woman as a mare (1.9-11) and the invitation for her to return (7.1). Kim highlights the subjectivity of interpretation by comparing readings of Song 7 by Keel, Black and herself through the lens of Umberto Eco’s semiotic model. Potgieter and Lombaard contemporise Paul Decock’s readings of Origen and Bernard on the Song.
2. Spatial Studies. Fischer applies Lefebvre’s spatial theory to the Song, highlighting the protagonists’ physical space; their conceived (cultural) space; and their lived space (their supra-temporal experience). Dantonel analyses several spatial domains in both the Song and Proverbs: spring; well; and vineyard along with three places of enduring love: mother’s house; door; and window.
3. Comparative Studies. Volkonski compares Early Arabic poetic techniques and the Song to show new possibilities for interpreting the latter. Recalcati investigates parallels between the Song and Hellenistic epigrammatic poetry within the Anthologia Palatina. Biermann explores the metaphor(s) ‘set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm’ in 8.6 through cognitive linguistics and sensory archaeology.
4. Studies in Music. Boyce-Tillman integrates her reading of the Song with her musical compositions to contemporise themes including fertility, the body, ecotheology, and apophatic theology. Lamont and Fernandes survey four shared tropes between Arvo Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry, St. Patrick’s Breastplate and the Song: love and war; incantation and magic; connection with nature; and in medias res.
Song of Songs in Sense, Sound and Space
£70.00
This volume offers 13 cutting-edge essays on the Song of Songs presented in four categories.
1. Exegetical and Contextualised Studies. Fernandes argues Solomon’s sidelining in the Song is unjust and uncovers subtle allusions to him. Scheffler examines the contentious place of Song 7.1 and its depiction. Lombaard challenges whether gender equity exists in the Song, arguing that female voices are more prominent than male ones. Landy employs affect theory to the depiction of the woman as a mare (1.9-11) and the invitation for her to return (7.1). Kim highlights the subjectivity of interpretation by comparing readings of Song 7 by Keel, Black and herself through the lens of Umberto Eco’s semiotic model. Potgieter and Lombaard contemporise Paul Decock’s readings of Origen and Bernard on the Song.
2. Spatial Studies. Fischer applies Lefebvre’s spatial theory to the Song, highlighting the protagonists’ physical space; their conceived (cultural) space; and their lived space (their supra-temporal experience). Dantonel analyses several spatial domains in both the Song and Proverbs: spring; well; and vineyard along with three places of enduring love: mother’s house; door; and window.
3. Comparative Studies. Volkonski compares Early Arabic poetic techniques and the Song to show new possibilities for interpreting the latter. Recalcati investigates parallels between the Song and Hellenistic epigrammatic poetry within the Anthologia Palatina. Biermann explores the metaphor(s) ‘set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm’ in 8.6 through cognitive linguistics and sensory archaeology.
4. Studies in Music. Boyce-Tillman integrates her reading of the Song with her musical compositions to contemporise themes including fertility, the body, ecotheology, and apophatic theology. Lamont and Fernandes survey four shared tropes between Arvo Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry, St. Patrick’s Breastplate and the Song: love and war; incantation and magic; connection with nature; and in medias res.
Ancient Israel, Judah, and Greece: Laying the Foundation of a Comparative Approach
Published: Nov 2024
£70.00
Andrew Tobolowsky offers a new starting point for comparative investigations into the traditions of the Hebrew Bible and of ancient Greece. Noting a number of shared problems and questions in the study of each corpus, he advocates for a method based on comparing not tradition to tradition but scholarly approach to scholarly approach. He argues that such a method not only helps overcome the problem of parallelomania, and a high philological barrier to entry, but transforms scholars in each discipline into fellow travellers, capable of offering each other useful insights.
By applying this method of comparing scholarly approaches, Tobolowsky considers four crucial questions:
- what do contemporary understandings of ethnic identity mean for the study of these traditions;
- what role should extraliterary evidence play in illuminating them;
- how should we understand the data of genealogical traditions;
- and what do new understandings of the porousness of cultural boundaries in the ancient world mean for the study of foundation traditions.
In each case, he surveys the landscape of contemporary debates in both fields to determine what new ideas hold the most promise for solving intractable problems—and for most successfully moving on from outdated assumptions.
In addition, Ancient Israel, Judah, and Greece particularly emphasizes the usefulness of thinking about the historical development of traditions in the Hebrew Bible through the lens of a Mediterranean context where there is so much more evidence for how traditions were inherited and adapted to work with. Overall, Tobolowsky argues that what each of these comparisons most clearly demonstrates is the crucial importance of completing the shift from a “kernels of truth” based approach to the study of traditions to one where their ongoing dynamism as the medium for redescribing identity and the past is emphasized instead.
Ancient Israel, Judah, and Greece: Laying the Foundation of a Comparative Approach
£70.00
Andrew Tobolowsky offers a new starting point for comparative investigations into the traditions of the Hebrew Bible and of ancient Greece. Noting a number of shared problems and questions in the study of each corpus, he advocates for a method based on comparing not tradition to tradition but scholarly approach to scholarly approach. He argues that such a method not only helps overcome the problem of parallelomania, and a high philological barrier to entry, but transforms scholars in each discipline into fellow travellers, capable of offering each other useful insights.
By applying this method of comparing scholarly approaches, Tobolowsky considers four crucial questions:
- what do contemporary understandings of ethnic identity mean for the study of these traditions;
- what role should extraliterary evidence play in illuminating them;
- how should we understand the data of genealogical traditions;
- and what do new understandings of the porousness of cultural boundaries in the ancient world mean for the study of foundation traditions.
In each case, he surveys the landscape of contemporary debates in both fields to determine what new ideas hold the most promise for solving intractable problems—and for most successfully moving on from outdated assumptions.
In addition, Ancient Israel, Judah, and Greece particularly emphasizes the usefulness of thinking about the historical development of traditions in the Hebrew Bible through the lens of a Mediterranean context where there is so much more evidence for how traditions were inherited and adapted to work with. Overall, Tobolowsky argues that what each of these comparisons most clearly demonstrates is the crucial importance of completing the shift from a “kernels of truth” based approach to the study of traditions to one where their ongoing dynamism as the medium for redescribing identity and the past is emphasized instead.
Trauma Theories: Refractions in the Book of Jeremiah
Published: Oct 2024
£75.00
A first of its kind, this monograph examines five common trauma theories used within biblical studies, setting out the assumptions and implications of each and using passages from the book of Jeremiah to demonstrate interpretive possibilities. Trauma Theories highlights the interdisciplinary character of trauma hermeneutics and demonstrates the distinctive contribution each approach offers for biblical interpreters.
In her exploration of trauma theories, Elizabeth Boase treats each school of thought separately, tracing its disciplinary roots and its underlying convictions about language and memory. At the same time, she argues for the importance of understanding the way each theory accounts for the place of texts in a communal setting, suggesting that it is the communal impact of trauma that is key to reading biblical texts.
Boase uses passages from the Book of Jeremiah as case studies, showcasing how different theories offer diverse ways of understanding the impact of suffering experienced during the time of the Babylonian incursion on Judah and Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE.
This volume will be an invaluable resource for newcomers to the field of biblical trauma hermeneutics and for those more familiar with these approaches.
Trauma Theories: Refractions in the Book of Jeremiah
£75.00
A first of its kind, this monograph examines five common trauma theories used within biblical studies, setting out the assumptions and implications of each and using passages from the book of Jeremiah to demonstrate interpretive possibilities. Trauma Theories highlights the interdisciplinary character of trauma hermeneutics and demonstrates the distinctive contribution each approach offers for biblical interpreters.
In her exploration of trauma theories, Elizabeth Boase treats each school of thought separately, tracing its disciplinary roots and its underlying convictions about language and memory. At the same time, she argues for the importance of understanding the way each theory accounts for the place of texts in a communal setting, suggesting that it is the communal impact of trauma that is key to reading biblical texts.
Boase uses passages from the Book of Jeremiah as case studies, showcasing how different theories offer diverse ways of understanding the impact of suffering experienced during the time of the Babylonian incursion on Judah and Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE.
This volume will be an invaluable resource for newcomers to the field of biblical trauma hermeneutics and for those more familiar with these approaches.
A Distraught Prophet and Other Performance Readings in Jeremiah
Published: July 2024
£70.00
Continuing the theme of Valerie M Billingham’s, The Great Drama of Jeremiah: A Performance Reading which addresses eleven scenes in Jer 1-19, Billingham presents a performance reading of nine further scenes from chs. 20-32. In a synchronic reading, she undertakes rhetorical analyses of her own translations of the Masoretic Text, noting repetitions, chiastic structures, parallelism, alliteration and assonance that add impact to the messages. She analyses each scene according to their actors, audience, settings (geographical and socio-political), and improvisation of traditional scripts.
Employing the Earth Bible Team’s six Eco-justice Principles, she attends to the voices of Earth and members of the Earth community as they express their distress at the Babylonian invasion of Judah, and rejoice at the prospect of the exiles’ return. With the exilic community suffering Post Traumatic Stress, she argues that Jeremiah presents a manual that offers healing and restoration. Acknowledging performance as a worthy pursuit, Billingham provides helpful groundwork for engaging with texts in order to produce scripts for acting.
The performances presented include Jeremiah's distress at Yhwh's apparent deception and coercion regarding his prophetic vocation. The kings are the problem in Judah, provoking Yhwh’s judgment, but plans to appoint an ideal leader who will rule according to the covenantal qualities of wisdom, justice and righteousness. Two baskets of figs represent the exilic community and those who remain in Judah. In a twist, the good figs are identified as the suffering exiles, and the bad figs are those who avoided deportation. In a heated clash over the severity and duration of exile, yokes are smashed and Jeremiah is declared to be the true prophet of Yhwh. Jeremiah purchases his uncle’s block of land. An ecological reading presents the field as a silent symbol of hope for the exilic community. It represents all the other fields that will be restored to the rightful families of the returning exiles.
A Distraught Prophet and Other Performance Readings in Jeremiah
£70.00
Continuing the theme of Valerie M Billingham’s, The Great Drama of Jeremiah: A Performance Reading which addresses eleven scenes in Jer 1-19, Billingham presents a performance reading of nine further scenes from chs. 20-32. In a synchronic reading, she undertakes rhetorical analyses of her own translations of the Masoretic Text, noting repetitions, chiastic structures, parallelism, alliteration and assonance that add impact to the messages. She analyses each scene according to their actors, audience, settings (geographical and socio-political), and improvisation of traditional scripts.
Employing the Earth Bible Team’s six Eco-justice Principles, she attends to the voices of Earth and members of the Earth community as they express their distress at the Babylonian invasion of Judah, and rejoice at the prospect of the exiles’ return. With the exilic community suffering Post Traumatic Stress, she argues that Jeremiah presents a manual that offers healing and restoration. Acknowledging performance as a worthy pursuit, Billingham provides helpful groundwork for engaging with texts in order to produce scripts for acting.
The performances presented include Jeremiah's distress at Yhwh's apparent deception and coercion regarding his prophetic vocation. The kings are the problem in Judah, provoking Yhwh’s judgment, but plans to appoint an ideal leader who will rule according to the covenantal qualities of wisdom, justice and righteousness. Two baskets of figs represent the exilic community and those who remain in Judah. In a twist, the good figs are identified as the suffering exiles, and the bad figs are those who avoided deportation. In a heated clash over the severity and duration of exile, yokes are smashed and Jeremiah is declared to be the true prophet of Yhwh. Jeremiah purchases his uncle’s block of land. An ecological reading presents the field as a silent symbol of hope for the exilic community. It represents all the other fields that will be restored to the rightful families of the returning exiles.
Sale
Nahum: A Trauma for a Trauma
Published: Jun 2024
£18.00 – £60.00
In this first volume of our Trauma Bible Commentary series, Bob Becking encourages attention to Nahum as a text that could—or probably should—be read as a reflection to trauma. The text sits within a history of humankind that is full of traumatising events, which may be experienced on an almost daily basis.The small Book of Nahum saw the light of day in times of trouble. Samaria was reduced to an Assyrian province; Judah to a vassal-state—both suffered from the presence of the Assyrian yoke, including loss of independence, deportations and paying of tribute.
This commentary re-considers the author, noting he was a person who had inside knowledge of Assyrian culture and language. This anonymous author was veiled behind the name Nahum, meaning consolation. What kind of consolation is promised in this pamphlet and at what price? In what way is the book of Nahum to be seen as a consoling reaction to this trauma?
Becking provides a contemporary trauma informed critique of the book’s approach—and by reading against the grain explains Nahum’s way out of trauma is not the only route; rather another pathway of mourning, coping and healing could be taken. The God of Nahum has two faces: one compassionate and one full of wrath. Using close textual analysis, Becking argues that the Assyrians will be defeated by divine wrath leading to an end of Israel’s trauma. Reading Nahum conceptually, reveals that the book is based on the idea of retribution: ‘an eye for an eye’. Theologically this raises big questions when appropriating the ‘message’ of Nahum to our times:
- Is it not against humanitarianism to believe in such a revengeful God?
- Or is it perhaps worse: to adopt this idea to justify human acts in the many traumatising conflicts that determine our age?
Sale
Nahum: A Trauma for a Trauma
£18.00 – £60.00
In this first volume of our Trauma Bible Commentary series, Bob Becking encourages attention to Nahum as a text that could—or probably should—be read as a reflection to trauma. The text sits within a history of humankind that is full of traumatising events, which may be experienced on an almost daily basis.The small Book of Nahum saw the light of day in times of trouble. Samaria was reduced to an Assyrian province; Judah to a vassal-state—both suffered from the presence of the Assyrian yoke, including loss of independence, deportations and paying of tribute.
This commentary re-considers the author, noting he was a person who had inside knowledge of Assyrian culture and language. This anonymous author was veiled behind the name Nahum, meaning consolation. What kind of consolation is promised in this pamphlet and at what price? In what way is the book of Nahum to be seen as a consoling reaction to this trauma?
Becking provides a contemporary trauma informed critique of the book’s approach—and by reading against the grain explains Nahum’s way out of trauma is not the only route; rather another pathway of mourning, coping and healing could be taken. The God of Nahum has two faces: one compassionate and one full of wrath. Using close textual analysis, Becking argues that the Assyrians will be defeated by divine wrath leading to an end of Israel’s trauma. Reading Nahum conceptually, reveals that the book is based on the idea of retribution: ‘an eye for an eye’. Theologically this raises big questions when appropriating the ‘message’ of Nahum to our times:
- Is it not against humanitarianism to believe in such a revengeful God?
- Or is it perhaps worse: to adopt this idea to justify human acts in the many traumatising conflicts that determine our age?
‘Good Omens’ and the Bible
Published: Jun 2024
£50.00
Good Omens and the Bible provides a diversely rich collection of considerations of apocalypse and apocalypticism, via responses to the reception of the Bible in the landmark cultural icon that is Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990). These essays explore the perplexing, captivating, and curious interactions between Good Omens and biblical literature.
Interdisciplinary explorations reveal how both the novel and TV series reflects and explodes contemporary ideas about the end times. Filtering references to biblical apocalypses through the lens of popular culture, Good Omens shines a light on the received interpretations of apocalyptic thinking that resonate in the present, revealing in turn something about ourselves.
Together, these essays open up conversations about how Good Omens makes use of religious ideas about textuality, performance, theodicy, and the role of popular culture in the proliferation of those conversations. This book illustrates the ways in which the novel and series are agents in the continuation of cultural debates about important, wide-ranging theological and biblical issues.
‘Good Omens’ and the Bible
£50.00
Good Omens and the Bible provides a diversely rich collection of considerations of apocalypse and apocalypticism, via responses to the reception of the Bible in the landmark cultural icon that is Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990). These essays explore the perplexing, captivating, and curious interactions between Good Omens and biblical literature.
Interdisciplinary explorations reveal how both the novel and TV series reflects and explodes contemporary ideas about the end times. Filtering references to biblical apocalypses through the lens of popular culture, Good Omens shines a light on the received interpretations of apocalyptic thinking that resonate in the present, revealing in turn something about ourselves.
Together, these essays open up conversations about how Good Omens makes use of religious ideas about textuality, performance, theodicy, and the role of popular culture in the proliferation of those conversations. This book illustrates the ways in which the novel and series are agents in the continuation of cultural debates about important, wide-ranging theological and biblical issues.
Biblical Daughters and Queens Re-imagined in Music
Published: Jun 2024
£74.00
In Biblical Daughters and Queens, Helen Leneman continues her sustained approach to biblical reception in music traversing several centuries. She offers a immersive reading of two types of biblical women—daughters and queens—in a wide range of musical representations spanning over 300 years (1648-1993). Music, as Leneman highlights, goes beyond words: music expresses how feelings sound. Leneman’s unique analysis shares the ways in which these women’s stories have been altered, their emotions imagined and amplified.
The stories of two daughters are explored: the tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11); and the Apocryphal story of Susannah. The tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter seems to have been of greater interest to early composers, with most works, whether oratorios or operas, dating to pre-20th century. Susanna was a lesser-known story yet was treated both in two early oratorios and, unusually, in an operatic retelling of the story from the mid-20th century.
Queens included are Sheba (1 Kings), Athalia (2 Kings), and Esther (Book of Esther). In general, the Queen of Sheba has not been re-imagined with much nuance in musical works, mostly depicted as a sexy siren (though not always). Esther is the most popular queen for musical retellings, featured in no fewer than nine works in this volume. An interesting discovery was an eighteenth-century oratorio with a Hebrew libretto. Athalia is the least known of the three but Handel thought she was worth an oratorio (he is well represented throughout the book).
In previous volumes Leneman has considered the biblical reception in music of Moses and Miriam in Exodus; David, Saul and Bathsheba in the Book of Kings; Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth; and Judith in the Book of Judith. Leneman also discussed the varied biblical characters in the Book of Genesis.
This volume encourages an experiential approach, to enable the reader, and listener to hear and feel these women’s stories as never before. Links to the musical works are provided throughout. Each setting is filled with both text and music that will inspire the listener to return to the original story with a new and different understanding.
Biblical Daughters and Queens Re-imagined in Music
£74.00
In Biblical Daughters and Queens, Helen Leneman continues her sustained approach to biblical reception in music traversing several centuries. She offers a immersive reading of two types of biblical women—daughters and queens—in a wide range of musical representations spanning over 300 years (1648-1993). Music, as Leneman highlights, goes beyond words: music expresses how feelings sound. Leneman’s unique analysis shares the ways in which these women’s stories have been altered, their emotions imagined and amplified.
The stories of two daughters are explored: the tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11); and the Apocryphal story of Susannah. The tragedy of Jephthah’s daughter seems to have been of greater interest to early composers, with most works, whether oratorios or operas, dating to pre-20th century. Susanna was a lesser-known story yet was treated both in two early oratorios and, unusually, in an operatic retelling of the story from the mid-20th century.
Queens included are Sheba (1 Kings), Athalia (2 Kings), and Esther (Book of Esther). In general, the Queen of Sheba has not been re-imagined with much nuance in musical works, mostly depicted as a sexy siren (though not always). Esther is the most popular queen for musical retellings, featured in no fewer than nine works in this volume. An interesting discovery was an eighteenth-century oratorio with a Hebrew libretto. Athalia is the least known of the three but Handel thought she was worth an oratorio (he is well represented throughout the book).
In previous volumes Leneman has considered the biblical reception in music of Moses and Miriam in Exodus; David, Saul and Bathsheba in the Book of Kings; Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth; and Judith in the Book of Judith. Leneman also discussed the varied biblical characters in the Book of Genesis.
This volume encourages an experiential approach, to enable the reader, and listener to hear and feel these women’s stories as never before. Links to the musical works are provided throughout. Each setting is filled with both text and music that will inspire the listener to return to the original story with a new and different understanding.
Activism, Bible, and Research-Based Teaching: Practical Approaches for the Global Biblical Studies Classroom
Published: May 2024
£75.00
Activism, Bible, and Research-Based Teaching demonstrates how the cross-fertilisation between biblical studies and social justice activism generates creativity that is powerful, empowering, and inspiring. This volume offers diverse and critical insights, as well as hands-on strategies for classroom settings. Shared emphasis on academic rigour and practical application is evident throughout.
Socially engaged biblical scholars—from Aoterora New Zealand, Botswana, Hong Kong, South Africa, Uganda, the UK and the USA—focus on a spectrum of activist causes. Topics include resistance to discrimination on the grounds of HIV/AIDS status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, migrant status, and ethnicity, as well as advocacy for environmental protection, equity, and getting out of one's ‘bubble’. Multiple chapters reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tertiary education.
The volume contains an introduction and forewords by Richard Newton (University of Alabama, USA) and Emily Colgan (Trinity Theological College, Aotearoa New Zealand). The 14 chapters include 12 revised contributions previously published in a special issue of the open access Journal of Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies, alongside two new chapters, which were both presented at a Bible and Activism event combining community and academic engagements.
Activism, Bible, and Research-Based Teaching: Practical Approaches for the Global Biblical Studies Classroom
£75.00
Activism, Bible, and Research-Based Teaching demonstrates how the cross-fertilisation between biblical studies and social justice activism generates creativity that is powerful, empowering, and inspiring. This volume offers diverse and critical insights, as well as hands-on strategies for classroom settings. Shared emphasis on academic rigour and practical application is evident throughout.
Socially engaged biblical scholars—from Aoterora New Zealand, Botswana, Hong Kong, South Africa, Uganda, the UK and the USA—focus on a spectrum of activist causes. Topics include resistance to discrimination on the grounds of HIV/AIDS status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, migrant status, and ethnicity, as well as advocacy for environmental protection, equity, and getting out of one's ‘bubble’. Multiple chapters reflect on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on tertiary education.
The volume contains an introduction and forewords by Richard Newton (University of Alabama, USA) and Emily Colgan (Trinity Theological College, Aotearoa New Zealand). The 14 chapters include 12 revised contributions previously published in a special issue of the open access Journal of Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies, alongside two new chapters, which were both presented at a Bible and Activism event combining community and academic engagements.
Amos and Micah
Published: May 2024
£20.00 – £60.00
Amos denied being a prophet, for he was a Visionary, one who ‘saw’ and assessed what was happening around him. Micah condemned all prophets as corrupt liars, ensuring that he should not be mistaken for one. He too was a Visionary who ‘saw’ the state of affairs in that same eighth century BCE Israelite society. The fact that neither of these men is identified in the text as a prophet is vitally important, for it indicates how one must read their edited works. The traditional view that these men spoke what Yahweh their God revealed to them is not applicable; both spoke about what they themselves ‘saw’ in the social and religious context within Israel at the time.
Both books, Amos and Micah, are reports of their insights now set within new frames. Amos is structured about discrete blocks of material with shared forms, such as the opening series of numerical x, x+1 forms (1.3—2.16), the calls to ‘Hear this word…’ (3.1—5.17), ‘Woe…’ forms (5.18—6.7) and his five visions (7.1—9.6). It is a planned re-arrangement of Amos’ words (1.1) as recalled. Micah’s editor similarly has selected a number of discrete and generalized speeches attributed to Micah, setting them within a chiastic structure with 4.11-13 as the central unit; it spells out his conviction that Yahweh is ‘master of the whole earth’. Indeed, Micah’s very name asks the question ‘Who is like Yah(weh)?’ and 4.11-13 is his response, closing in 7.18-20 with another rhetorical question ‘Who is a God like you?’ Micah sees his God as incomparable!
The commentary depends on the text’s literary and rhetorical evidence to give expression to Amos’ and Micah’s deep personal concerns within the historical and cultural setting of their time.
Amos and Micah
£20.00 – £60.00
Amos denied being a prophet, for he was a Visionary, one who ‘saw’ and assessed what was happening around him. Micah condemned all prophets as corrupt liars, ensuring that he should not be mistaken for one. He too was a Visionary who ‘saw’ the state of affairs in that same eighth century BCE Israelite society. The fact that neither of these men is identified in the text as a prophet is vitally important, for it indicates how one must read their edited works. The traditional view that these men spoke what Yahweh their God revealed to them is not applicable; both spoke about what they themselves ‘saw’ in the social and religious context within Israel at the time.
Both books, Amos and Micah, are reports of their insights now set within new frames. Amos is structured about discrete blocks of material with shared forms, such as the opening series of numerical x, x+1 forms (1.3—2.16), the calls to ‘Hear this word…’ (3.1—5.17), ‘Woe…’ forms (5.18—6.7) and his five visions (7.1—9.6). It is a planned re-arrangement of Amos’ words (1.1) as recalled. Micah’s editor similarly has selected a number of discrete and generalized speeches attributed to Micah, setting them within a chiastic structure with 4.11-13 as the central unit; it spells out his conviction that Yahweh is ‘master of the whole earth’. Indeed, Micah’s very name asks the question ‘Who is like Yah(weh)?’ and 4.11-13 is his response, closing in 7.18-20 with another rhetorical question ‘Who is a God like you?’ Micah sees his God as incomparable!
The commentary depends on the text’s literary and rhetorical evidence to give expression to Amos’ and Micah’s deep personal concerns within the historical and cultural setting of their time.
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.
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.
Habitats of the Basileia: Essays in Honour of Elaine M. Wainwright
Published: Jan 2024
£65.00
Habitats of the Basileia brings together some of the current and important work in biblical studies and theology, which takes seriously the demands and possibilities of applying contextual, feminist, decolonial, and ecological approaches to the critical study of the Bible and religion. The volume is inspired by the engaging work of Elaine M. Wainwright RSM; and invites us to imagine what thriving conditions and communities of the human and more-than-human might look like across multiple contexts.
- What did it mean for those living in biblical times, or for the early Jesus movement who proclaimed an alternative basileia or kingdom against the backdrop of Roman imperial power?
- What does it mean for various communities today, as we seek to understand and re-imagine what thriving conditions might look like in our own complex and often rapidly changing environments?
Written by a diverse range of biblical, theological, and religious studies scholars, the chapters in this volume collectively argue for and demonstrate the importance of context and being attuned to social location in the production of biblical and theological scholarship.
The essays are divided into three categories: the first seven chapters deal with the Gospel of Matthew, given the importance of this book to Elaine’s work. The next nine chapters explore biblical texts beyond Matthew through various lenses including those of gender, colonialism, the environment, animal studies, contextual hermeneutics, and class. The final three chapters are concerned with the legacies of both Elaine’s lifework and the broader avenues in current biblical research that have been nurtured and influenced through her efforts.
Habitats of the Basileia: Essays in Honour of Elaine M. Wainwright
£65.00
Habitats of the Basileia brings together some of the current and important work in biblical studies and theology, which takes seriously the demands and possibilities of applying contextual, feminist, decolonial, and ecological approaches to the critical study of the Bible and religion. The volume is inspired by the engaging work of Elaine M. Wainwright RSM; and invites us to imagine what thriving conditions and communities of the human and more-than-human might look like across multiple contexts.
- What did it mean for those living in biblical times, or for the early Jesus movement who proclaimed an alternative basileia or kingdom against the backdrop of Roman imperial power?
- What does it mean for various communities today, as we seek to understand and re-imagine what thriving conditions might look like in our own complex and often rapidly changing environments?
Written by a diverse range of biblical, theological, and religious studies scholars, the chapters in this volume collectively argue for and demonstrate the importance of context and being attuned to social location in the production of biblical and theological scholarship.
The essays are divided into three categories: the first seven chapters deal with the Gospel of Matthew, given the importance of this book to Elaine’s work. The next nine chapters explore biblical texts beyond Matthew through various lenses including those of gender, colonialism, the environment, animal studies, contextual hermeneutics, and class. The final three chapters are concerned with the legacies of both Elaine’s lifework and the broader avenues in current biblical research that have been nurtured and influenced through her efforts.
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, Revised
Published: Nov 2023
£150.00 – £250.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) is a complete revision, with over 100,000 improvements, of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (1993 —2016).
It contains 6,300 Hebrew words not in the standard lexicon of BDB, and refers to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions. New features include: a notation of 3,700 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 700 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica), 330 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun), and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
Data on synonyms have been greatly expanded, and loanwords from other languages included. Articles on personal names show (for the first time) all short forms, long forms, and alternative forms of the name, bibliographies have been updated and expanded, and 35,000 emendations of biblical texts noted. Every occurrence of each word in Classical Hebrew is noted.
All the subjects and objects of verbs are listed, and the verbs used with each noun, as well as all nouns used in a construct (genitive) relation with another noun. As with DCH, every Hebrew word in the Dictionary (except for the sections on synonyms) is followed immediately by an English translation, so that the Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew. When completed, DCHR will be 5 million words in length (equivalent to 50 standard-size books), 25% longer than DCH, and 4 times the length of BDB and HALOT.
There is a special discount price for customers subscribing to the DCHR set, and an easy payment plan (details from phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk).
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, Revised
£150.00 – £250.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) is a complete revision, with over 100,000 improvements, of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (1993 —2016).
It contains 6,300 Hebrew words not in the standard lexicon of BDB, and refers to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions. New features include: a notation of 3,700 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 700 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica), 330 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun), and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
Data on synonyms have been greatly expanded, and loanwords from other languages included. Articles on personal names show (for the first time) all short forms, long forms, and alternative forms of the name, bibliographies have been updated and expanded, and 35,000 emendations of biblical texts noted. Every occurrence of each word in Classical Hebrew is noted.
All the subjects and objects of verbs are listed, and the verbs used with each noun, as well as all nouns used in a construct (genitive) relation with another noun. As with DCH, every Hebrew word in the Dictionary (except for the sections on synonyms) is followed immediately by an English translation, so that the Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew. When completed, DCHR will be 5 million words in length (equivalent to 50 standard-size books), 25% longer than DCH, and 4 times the length of BDB and HALOT.
There is a special discount price for customers subscribing to the DCHR set, and an easy payment plan (details from phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk).
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised. III. Zayin–Teth.
Published: Nov 2023
£150.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) (2018–2028) is a complete revision in nine volumes, with over 100,000 improvements, of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH) (1993–2016). When completed, DCHR will be 5 million words in length (equivalent to 50 standard-size books), 25% longer than DCH, and 4 times the length of BDB and HALOT.
The third Volume of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised, Zayin–Teth, arrives 27 years after the publication of the corresponding volume in the first edition (DCH) in 1996. Readers will find in the present volume some 32% more words (lemmas) than in the original 3rd volume, amounting to 40% more material, which consists of many thousands of additions and corrections, references to the multitude of Dead Sea Scrolls texts and inscriptions published since 1996, and a much expanded Bibliography.
The nine volumes of DCHR were originally expected to be published at intervals of approximately one year, after the first volume in August 2018. There was, after the second volume, in 2019, a pause until now. From 2019 to 2022 David J.A. Clines, prior to his final illnesses and death:
-completed every necessary editorial task for the future volumes;
-oversaw the preparation of and collation of most materials;
-and provided the means by which the project Research Associate, David Stec, could bring the remaining volumes to completion between 2023 and 2028.
David Clines wrote the Preface for this volume and David Stec completed all outstanding work including the final collation of the sets of synonyms.
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised, when completed, will contain more than 6,420 Hebrew words not in BDB, and will refer to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions. New features in DCHR include: a notation of 4,285 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 717 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica), 345 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun), and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
Data on synonyms have been greatly expanded, and loanwords from other languages included. Articles on personal names show (for the first time) all short forms, long forms, and alternative forms of each name, the Bibliography has been updated and expanded, and 35,000 emendations of biblical texts noted.
Every occurrence of each word in Classical Hebrew is noted. All the subjects and objects of verbs are listed, and the verbs used with each noun, as well as all nouns used in a construct (genitive) relation with another noun. As with DCH, every Hebrew word in the revised Dictionary (except for the variant forms of a word, the byforms and the sections on synonyms) is followed immediately by an English translation, so that the Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew.
Among the resources that have been reviewed for the present volume are:
-philological studies on Hebrew words, such as Aitken on blessing and cursing, Koller on tools, and Peters on cooking;
-handbooks on loanwords from other languages, such as Noonan on non-Semitic words, Mankowski on Akkadian and Muchiki on Egyptian loanwords;
-treatments of realia such as Borowski on agriculture and animals, Musselman on plants and Wiggins on weather;
-collections of inscriptions such as the second volume of Davies on Hebrew inscriptions, Lifschits and Vanderhooft on Yehud stamp impressions and Deutsch on Hebrew bullae and biblical period epigraphy.
The Bibliography itself, with over 4,000 entries, an average of 30 items— merely on words beginning Zayin to Teth—for each of the last 120 years, testifies to the vitality of scholarship on the Classical Hebrew language.
There is a special discount price for customers subscribing to the DCHR set, and an easy payment plan (details from phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk).
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised. III. Zayin–Teth.
£150.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised (DCHR) (2018–2028) is a complete revision in nine volumes, with over 100,000 improvements, of the original Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH) (1993–2016). When completed, DCHR will be 5 million words in length (equivalent to 50 standard-size books), 25% longer than DCH, and 4 times the length of BDB and HALOT.
The third Volume of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised, Zayin–Teth, arrives 27 years after the publication of the corresponding volume in the first edition (DCH) in 1996. Readers will find in the present volume some 32% more words (lemmas) than in the original 3rd volume, amounting to 40% more material, which consists of many thousands of additions and corrections, references to the multitude of Dead Sea Scrolls texts and inscriptions published since 1996, and a much expanded Bibliography.
The nine volumes of DCHR were originally expected to be published at intervals of approximately one year, after the first volume in August 2018. There was, after the second volume, in 2019, a pause until now. From 2019 to 2022 David J.A. Clines, prior to his final illnesses and death:
-completed every necessary editorial task for the future volumes;
-oversaw the preparation of and collation of most materials;
-and provided the means by which the project Research Associate, David Stec, could bring the remaining volumes to completion between 2023 and 2028.
David Clines wrote the Preface for this volume and David Stec completed all outstanding work including the final collation of the sets of synonyms.
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew Revised, when completed, will contain more than 6,420 Hebrew words not in BDB, and will refer to many newly published texts, including 540 Dead Sea Scrolls and 4,000 ancient Hebrew inscriptions. New features in DCHR include: a notation of 4,285 byforms (words with the same meaning and similar form) identified for the first time; 717 verbal nouns (nouns derived from a verb) with their own articles (not previously shown in Hebrew lexica), 345 denominative verbs (verbs derived from a noun), and the semantic field to which every word belongs (a totally new feature for Hebrew dictionaries).
Data on synonyms have been greatly expanded, and loanwords from other languages included. Articles on personal names show (for the first time) all short forms, long forms, and alternative forms of each name, the Bibliography has been updated and expanded, and 35,000 emendations of biblical texts noted.
Every occurrence of each word in Classical Hebrew is noted. All the subjects and objects of verbs are listed, and the verbs used with each noun, as well as all nouns used in a construct (genitive) relation with another noun. As with DCH, every Hebrew word in the revised Dictionary (except for the variant forms of a word, the byforms and the sections on synonyms) is followed immediately by an English translation, so that the Dictionary can be easily understood by a person with little or no Hebrew.
Among the resources that have been reviewed for the present volume are:
-philological studies on Hebrew words, such as Aitken on blessing and cursing, Koller on tools, and Peters on cooking;
-handbooks on loanwords from other languages, such as Noonan on non-Semitic words, Mankowski on Akkadian and Muchiki on Egyptian loanwords;
-treatments of realia such as Borowski on agriculture and animals, Musselman on plants and Wiggins on weather;
-collections of inscriptions such as the second volume of Davies on Hebrew inscriptions, Lifschits and Vanderhooft on Yehud stamp impressions and Deutsch on Hebrew bullae and biblical period epigraphy.
The Bibliography itself, with over 4,000 entries, an average of 30 items— merely on words beginning Zayin to Teth—for each of the last 120 years, testifies to the vitality of scholarship on the Classical Hebrew language.
There is a special discount price for customers subscribing to the DCHR set, and an easy payment plan (details from phoenix.bibs@sheffield.ac.uk).
The Spirit of Prophecy and Reconciliation. A Festschrift for Rickie Moore.
Published: Nov 2023
£65.00
This volume focuses on the relationship of prophecy and reconciliation, within the frame of Pentecostal hermeneutics. These themes have been prominent throughout Rickie D. Moore’s work and this collection celebrates his life and academic career—as a professor of Old Testament, a specialist in the prophetic literature, a leading voice in the development of Pentecostal hermeneutics, and an influential figure of the Cleveland School of Pentecostal theology.
The editors and contributors of this volume represent a small selection of Moore’s mentors (Walter Brueggemann and James Crenshaw), his colleagues (Lee Roy Martin, John Christopher Thomas, Blaine Charette, Amos Yong, Kimberly Alexander, and Chris Green), and former students (Caroline Reddick, Robby Waddell, Jesse Stone, David Johnson, Daniela Augustine, and Casey Cole). Their words testify to the deep, far-reaching effects of his teaching and his presence.
The essays are gathered into three main sections: the first two deal explicitly with a close reading of biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the last deals with the theological issues that emerge in consideration of prophetic awareness and action and the hope of intergenerational reconciliation. Moore pioneered an integrative approach to reading and teaching the Scriptures, keenly aware of his own theological and spiritual inheritance as a Pentecostal and deeply committed to the life-altering power of sacred study, skillfully blending critical self-reflection and testimony with rigorous scholarship.
The Spirit of Prophecy and Reconciliation. A Festschrift for Rickie Moore.
£65.00
This volume focuses on the relationship of prophecy and reconciliation, within the frame of Pentecostal hermeneutics. These themes have been prominent throughout Rickie D. Moore’s work and this collection celebrates his life and academic career—as a professor of Old Testament, a specialist in the prophetic literature, a leading voice in the development of Pentecostal hermeneutics, and an influential figure of the Cleveland School of Pentecostal theology.
The editors and contributors of this volume represent a small selection of Moore’s mentors (Walter Brueggemann and James Crenshaw), his colleagues (Lee Roy Martin, John Christopher Thomas, Blaine Charette, Amos Yong, Kimberly Alexander, and Chris Green), and former students (Caroline Reddick, Robby Waddell, Jesse Stone, David Johnson, Daniela Augustine, and Casey Cole). Their words testify to the deep, far-reaching effects of his teaching and his presence.
The essays are gathered into three main sections: the first two deal explicitly with a close reading of biblical texts from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and the last deals with the theological issues that emerge in consideration of prophetic awareness and action and the hope of intergenerational reconciliation. Moore pioneered an integrative approach to reading and teaching the Scriptures, keenly aware of his own theological and spiritual inheritance as a Pentecostal and deeply committed to the life-altering power of sacred study, skillfully blending critical self-reflection and testimony with rigorous scholarship.
Ruth: A Commentary
Published: Oct 2023
£58.00
After the significant and ground-breaking commentaries on Ezra and Nehemiah by Lisbeth Fried, she now turns her attention to a different genre of biblical literature and to the book of Ruth. Fried approaches Ruth as folktale, specifically, a fairy tale. This new reading of Ruth allows the book to be experienced in a new way, a way infrequently recognized, that provides novel but compelling insights into the author’s intentions and goals.
Fried uses Propp’s Morphology of a Folktale to provide the guideposts for her strikingly refreshing approach. The story of Ruth is one of a stranger in a strange land. Ruth’s author explores the meaning of identity, assimilation and acceptance. He asks whether identity can be changed, whether the Judean god and the Judean nationality can be taken on voluntarily, whether assimilation is possible,
whether the stranger can or should be welcomed into the bosom of a family, and indeed, whether he or she can be trusted. These are questions we deal with today, but it was a vital issue after the return from Babylon and on into the Hellenistic period, when foreigners (first Persian and then Greek) were everywhere, and in control of everyday life, and when their foreign ways were rampant. Ruth’s author recognizes that welcoming the stranger was and indeed is a scary proposition.
Like her Commentaries on Ezra and Nehemiah, the present volume includes a new translation of the book, plus text-critical notes on each verse which compares and contrasts the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions as well as the Aramaic Targum. The Introduction and extensive chapter commentaries provide a discussion of the larger historical and literary issues. Fried’s commentary promises to revolutionize how we read the book of Ruth.
This is the fourth volume in the Critical Commentaries series.
Ruth: A Commentary
£58.00
After the significant and ground-breaking commentaries on Ezra and Nehemiah by Lisbeth Fried, she now turns her attention to a different genre of biblical literature and to the book of Ruth. Fried approaches Ruth as folktale, specifically, a fairy tale. This new reading of Ruth allows the book to be experienced in a new way, a way infrequently recognized, that provides novel but compelling insights into the author’s intentions and goals.
Fried uses Propp’s Morphology of a Folktale to provide the guideposts for her strikingly refreshing approach. The story of Ruth is one of a stranger in a strange land. Ruth’s author explores the meaning of identity, assimilation and acceptance. He asks whether identity can be changed, whether the Judean god and the Judean nationality can be taken on voluntarily, whether assimilation is possible,
whether the stranger can or should be welcomed into the bosom of a family, and indeed, whether he or she can be trusted. These are questions we deal with today, but it was a vital issue after the return from Babylon and on into the Hellenistic period, when foreigners (first Persian and then Greek) were everywhere, and in control of everyday life, and when their foreign ways were rampant. Ruth’s author recognizes that welcoming the stranger was and indeed is a scary proposition.
Like her Commentaries on Ezra and Nehemiah, the present volume includes a new translation of the book, plus text-critical notes on each verse which compares and contrasts the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions as well as the Aramaic Targum. The Introduction and extensive chapter commentaries provide a discussion of the larger historical and literary issues. Fried’s commentary promises to revolutionize how we read the book of Ruth.
This is the fourth volume in the Critical Commentaries series.
First and Second Peter: An Oral and Performance Commentary
Published: Oct 2023
£55.00
David Seal’s reading of 1 and 2 Peter in this commentary, in addition to explaining the text as written, also highlights the stylistics of oral literature employed by the author. The first-century Mediterranean world was a blend of an oral and a scribal culture; many commentaries overlook the oral nature of the New Testament letters. In oral societies, most people experienced written texts by hearing them read aloud. These two letters would have been experienced primarily through the listener’s ears rather than by reading with their eyes.
1 Peter encourages its recipients, in their present sufferings, by reminding them of their future inheritance. One oral stylistic that Peter uses to highlight this reward and make a memorable impression on his audience is through both the cadence and the alliteration of the description of their inheritance. These oral features are captured in the English translation where Peter describes the nature of the reward as ‘untouched by the ravages death, unstained by evil, and unhindered by the passing of time’. When spoken, these oral features, help to underscore the value and durability of the Christian’s future reward.
Peter’s knowledge that the church was experiencing challenges from false teachers is one reason he writes 2 Peter. To facilitate a negative view of these teachers, Peter compares their behavior to that of pigs and dogs. Manipulation of emotions was also a characteristic of oral performance. Portraying the teachers in an emotionally disturbing manner may have helped motivate the church to remove the false teachers from their community.Some of the other oral stylistics discussed in this commentary include the author’s manners of expression in terms of word choices, sentence patterns, sound patterns, and gestures that may have accompanied the recitation. By highlighting the patterns and poetic delivery of Peter’s letters, which may be missed by modern readers, this commentary seeks to foster a deeper and clearer understanding of 1 and 2 Peter.
First and Second Peter: An Oral and Performance Commentary
£55.00
David Seal’s reading of 1 and 2 Peter in this commentary, in addition to explaining the text as written, also highlights the stylistics of oral literature employed by the author. The first-century Mediterranean world was a blend of an oral and a scribal culture; many commentaries overlook the oral nature of the New Testament letters. In oral societies, most people experienced written texts by hearing them read aloud. These two letters would have been experienced primarily through the listener’s ears rather than by reading with their eyes.
1 Peter encourages its recipients, in their present sufferings, by reminding them of their future inheritance. One oral stylistic that Peter uses to highlight this reward and make a memorable impression on his audience is through both the cadence and the alliteration of the description of their inheritance. These oral features are captured in the English translation where Peter describes the nature of the reward as ‘untouched by the ravages death, unstained by evil, and unhindered by the passing of time’. When spoken, these oral features, help to underscore the value and durability of the Christian’s future reward.
Peter’s knowledge that the church was experiencing challenges from false teachers is one reason he writes 2 Peter. To facilitate a negative view of these teachers, Peter compares their behavior to that of pigs and dogs. Manipulation of emotions was also a characteristic of oral performance. Portraying the teachers in an emotionally disturbing manner may have helped motivate the church to remove the false teachers from their community.Some of the other oral stylistics discussed in this commentary include the author’s manners of expression in terms of word choices, sentence patterns, sound patterns, and gestures that may have accompanied the recitation. By highlighting the patterns and poetic delivery of Peter’s letters, which may be missed by modern readers, this commentary seeks to foster a deeper and clearer understanding of 1 and 2 Peter.
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes