Out of Stock
The End Will Be Graphic: Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Published: Jun 2012
£45.00
This collection is based on the premise that apocalyptic imagery and themes pervade not only cultural products that employ specifically biblical imagery but are also found in media that do not purport to impart biblical or even religious messages. Comic books and graphic novels are the focus here because, it is suggested, they are the medium that comes the closest to the imaginative malleability found in the history of biblical interpretation. In Part One, the focus is on Indie/Creator-owned works. Emily Laycock demonstrates the overwhelming influence of Herbert W. Armstrong and his apocalyptic Worldwide Church of God on Basil Wolverton's work, especially his biblical art. Aaron Kashtan then introduces us to Kevin Huizenga's short 'Jeepers Jacobs', in which the title character —a theologian whose main area of research is the Christian doctrine of Hell —tries to convert an acquaintance with odd and fatal results. In her chapter, Diana Green examines Alan Moore's Promethea , a character whose purpose is to initiate an Apocalypse but whose journey is much more complicated. Finally, A. David Lewis engages humorous and profane examples of apocalyptic imagery in the recent Indie comics Battle Pope and The Chronicles of Wormwood . Part Two examines more mainstream works and begins with Terry Ray Clark's adroit examination of how Kingdom Come utilizes both the functions and forms of ancient apocalyptic literature. Greg Stevenson then analyses a variety of texts —including X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse and issues 666 of Superman and Batman —to discern the way(s) in which the mythological language of apocalyptic and the mythology of superheroes interact. And finally, Greg Garrett provides a broad and thoughtful rumination on the two most widely read mainstream comics that deal with the End of Days: Kingdom Come and Watchmen . This is the fifth volume in the series Apocalypse and Popular Culture; see also (1) Walliss and Quinby, Reel Revelations , (2) Gribben and Sweetnam, Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination , (3) Howard, Network Apocalypse , (4) Partridge, Anthems of Apocalypse , and (6) Aston and Walliss, Small Screen Revelations .
Out of Stock
The End Will Be Graphic: Apocalyptic in Comic Books and Graphic Novels
£45.00
This collection is based on the premise that apocalyptic imagery and themes pervade not only cultural products that employ specifically biblical imagery but are also found in media that do not purport to impart biblical or even religious messages. Comic books and graphic novels are the focus here because, it is suggested, they are the medium that comes the closest to the imaginative malleability found in the history of biblical interpretation. In Part One, the focus is on Indie/Creator-owned works. Emily Laycock demonstrates the overwhelming influence of Herbert W. Armstrong and his apocalyptic Worldwide Church of God on Basil Wolverton's work, especially his biblical art. Aaron Kashtan then introduces us to Kevin Huizenga's short 'Jeepers Jacobs', in which the title character —a theologian whose main area of research is the Christian doctrine of Hell —tries to convert an acquaintance with odd and fatal results. In her chapter, Diana Green examines Alan Moore's Promethea , a character whose purpose is to initiate an Apocalypse but whose journey is much more complicated. Finally, A. David Lewis engages humorous and profane examples of apocalyptic imagery in the recent Indie comics Battle Pope and The Chronicles of Wormwood . Part Two examines more mainstream works and begins with Terry Ray Clark's adroit examination of how Kingdom Come utilizes both the functions and forms of ancient apocalyptic literature. Greg Stevenson then analyses a variety of texts —including X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse and issues 666 of Superman and Batman —to discern the way(s) in which the mythological language of apocalyptic and the mythology of superheroes interact. And finally, Greg Garrett provides a broad and thoughtful rumination on the two most widely read mainstream comics that deal with the End of Days: Kingdom Come and Watchmen . This is the fifth volume in the series Apocalypse and Popular Culture; see also (1) Walliss and Quinby, Reel Revelations , (2) Gribben and Sweetnam, Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination , (3) Howard, Network Apocalypse , (4) Partridge, Anthems of Apocalypse , and (6) Aston and Walliss, Small Screen Revelations .
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought
Published: Mar 2012
£50.00
Popular music is no stranger to apocalyptic discourse. Whether focusing on biblical or secular apocalypses, musicians often want to tell us things about the end of the world we may not have wanted to know in ways we may not have thought about before. This volume seeks to introduce readers to some of these messengers and their anthems of apocalypse. Roland Boer's discussion of Nick Cave indicates that references to the portents and monsters of the apocalypse have been used to refer, not to an age to come, but to the authorities and demons of the present world. Likewise, Kennet Granholm's chapter on the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis shows that biblical apocalyptic provides a lens through which to examine environmental politics. This is also true of the work of Rage against the Machine's Tom Morello, who, as Michael Gilmour discusses, provides a powerful socialist critique of capitalism, American imperialism, new left-activism and identity politics. Along with these 'secular' uses of biblical apocalyptic are, of course, the more conspicuously Christian theological treatments: Mark Sweetnam discusses dispensationalism in Johnny Cash's music; Marcus Moberg explores eschatological themes in Christian heavy metal; and Steve Knowles looks at the uses of apocalyptic imagery in the music of Extreme. Alongside these are the perennially popular esoteric interpretations of biblical apocalyptic thought. These are explored in Rupert Till's analysis of heavy metal and SÌ©rgio Fava's discussion of apocalyptic folk. This is the fourth volume in the series Apocalypse and Popular Culture; see also (1) Walliss and Quinby, Reel Revelations , (2) Gribben and Sweetnam, Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination , (3) Howard, Network Apocalypse , (5) Clanton, The End Will Be Graphic , and (6) Aston and Walliss, Small Screen Revelations .
Out of Stock
Anthems of Apocalypse: Popular Music and Apocalyptic Thought
£50.00
Popular music is no stranger to apocalyptic discourse. Whether focusing on biblical or secular apocalypses, musicians often want to tell us things about the end of the world we may not have wanted to know in ways we may not have thought about before. This volume seeks to introduce readers to some of these messengers and their anthems of apocalypse. Roland Boer's discussion of Nick Cave indicates that references to the portents and monsters of the apocalypse have been used to refer, not to an age to come, but to the authorities and demons of the present world. Likewise, Kennet Granholm's chapter on the vegan straight edge band Earth Crisis shows that biblical apocalyptic provides a lens through which to examine environmental politics. This is also true of the work of Rage against the Machine's Tom Morello, who, as Michael Gilmour discusses, provides a powerful socialist critique of capitalism, American imperialism, new left-activism and identity politics. Along with these 'secular' uses of biblical apocalyptic are, of course, the more conspicuously Christian theological treatments: Mark Sweetnam discusses dispensationalism in Johnny Cash's music; Marcus Moberg explores eschatological themes in Christian heavy metal; and Steve Knowles looks at the uses of apocalyptic imagery in the music of Extreme. Alongside these are the perennially popular esoteric interpretations of biblical apocalyptic thought. These are explored in Rupert Till's analysis of heavy metal and SÌ©rgio Fava's discussion of apocalyptic folk. This is the fourth volume in the series Apocalypse and Popular Culture; see also (1) Walliss and Quinby, Reel Revelations , (2) Gribben and Sweetnam, Left Behind and the Evangelical Imagination , (3) Howard, Network Apocalypse , (5) Clanton, The End Will Be Graphic , and (6) Aston and Walliss, Small Screen Revelations .
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Out of Stock
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.
Preposterous Revelations: Visions of Apocalypse and Martyrdom in Hollywood Cinema 1980-2000
Published: Jan 2012
£21.00
This is an ambitious attempt to produce an interdisciplinary reading of a set of relatively recent Hollywood films that appear to make references to the biblical genre of apocalyptic and associated ideas of Christian martyrdom and eschatology: End of Days , Armageddon , Alien3 , The Rapture , The Seventh Sign . It is a 'preposterous' reading (Mieke Bal's term), reversing a common-sense impulse to view what comes first chronologically (the biblical text) as an unproblematic template rather than as itself the consequence of subsequent, contextualized readings. The cinematic reworkings Copier describes shift our understanding of both texts (biblical and cinematic) and genre. Within this process, the apocalyptic subject —the martyr —adopts variable poses that reflect the effects of this disorienting reversal: across the five films analysed, the martyr moves from identifiably Christian motivations to the representation of patriotic American masculinity, or even to something that, in a contrary sense, powerfully challenges the conventional masculinity of any martyrdom that counts as significant. To achieve a genuine interdisciplinarity, Copier not only avoids reading each film as if it were simply the visual counterpart to a (biblical) narrative, but also analyses in the case of each film what the 'shot list' of a key sequence reveals about the semiotics at work within its construction. Unlike most encounters between religion and film, her film analysis goes far beyond the identification of themes and motifs. Here the author engages with the larger field of film studies, and especially with film as a visual medium.
Preposterous Revelations: Visions of Apocalypse and Martyrdom in Hollywood Cinema 1980-2000
£21.00
This is an ambitious attempt to produce an interdisciplinary reading of a set of relatively recent Hollywood films that appear to make references to the biblical genre of apocalyptic and associated ideas of Christian martyrdom and eschatology: End of Days , Armageddon , Alien3 , The Rapture , The Seventh Sign . It is a 'preposterous' reading (Mieke Bal's term), reversing a common-sense impulse to view what comes first chronologically (the biblical text) as an unproblematic template rather than as itself the consequence of subsequent, contextualized readings. The cinematic reworkings Copier describes shift our understanding of both texts (biblical and cinematic) and genre. Within this process, the apocalyptic subject —the martyr —adopts variable poses that reflect the effects of this disorienting reversal: across the five films analysed, the martyr moves from identifiably Christian motivations to the representation of patriotic American masculinity, or even to something that, in a contrary sense, powerfully challenges the conventional masculinity of any martyrdom that counts as significant. To achieve a genuine interdisciplinarity, Copier not only avoids reading each film as if it were simply the visual counterpart to a (biblical) narrative, but also analyses in the case of each film what the 'shot list' of a key sequence reveals about the semiotics at work within its construction. Unlike most encounters between religion and film, her film analysis goes far beyond the identification of themes and motifs. Here the author engages with the larger field of film studies, and especially with film as a visual medium.
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.
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.
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew: Volumes 1-9 paperback
Published: Nov 2011
£445.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew is a completely new and innovative dictionary.
Unlike previous dictionaries, which have been dictionaries of biblical Hebrew, this is the first dictionary of the classical Hebrew language to include, as well as the biblical texts, Ben Sira, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and all the other known Hebrew inscriptions and manuscripts.
This Dictionary covers the period from the earliest times to 200 CE. It lists and analyses every occurrence of each Hebrew word that occurs in texts of that period, with an English translation of every Hebrew word and phrase cited. Among its special features are: a list of the non-biblical texts cited (especially the Dead Sea Scrolls), a word frequency index for each letter of the alphabet, a substantial bibliography and an English–Hebrew index in each volume.
The paperback edition contains exactly the same pages as the hardback, and is priced at less than half the hardback price.
Please use this page for ordering the complete set of 9 paperback vols., originally published between 1993 and 2016.
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew: Volumes 1-9 paperback
£445.00
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew is a completely new and innovative dictionary.
Unlike previous dictionaries, which have been dictionaries of biblical Hebrew, this is the first dictionary of the classical Hebrew language to include, as well as the biblical texts, Ben Sira, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and all the other known Hebrew inscriptions and manuscripts.
This Dictionary covers the period from the earliest times to 200 CE. It lists and analyses every occurrence of each Hebrew word that occurs in texts of that period, with an English translation of every Hebrew word and phrase cited. Among its special features are: a list of the non-biblical texts cited (especially the Dead Sea Scrolls), a word frequency index for each letter of the alphabet, a substantial bibliography and an English–Hebrew index in each volume.
The paperback edition contains exactly the same pages as the hardback, and is priced at less than half the hardback price.
Please use this page for ordering the complete set of 9 paperback vols., originally published between 1993 and 2016.
Reconfiguring Mark’s Jesus: Narrative Criticism After Poststructuralism
Published: Oct 2011
£60.00
As readers, we are captivated by the resemblance of literary characters to actual persons. But it is precisely this illusion that allows characterization to play host to dominant ideologies of both 'literature' and 'the self'. This is especially true when we confuse narrative figures and historical persons.
Over the last thirty years, New Testament narrative criticism has developed into a major methodological approach in Biblical Studies. But for all its ingenuity and promise, it has been reluctant to let go of conventional historical-critical moorings. As a result, one is hard pressed to find any substantive difference between reconstructions of the historical Jesus and narrative-critical readings of the character Jesus.
Reconfiguring Mark's Jesus endeavors to reorient and advance narrative criticism by analysing the Gospel of Mark's characterization of the figure of Jesus in relation to three other fundamental aspects of narrative discourse: focalization, dialogue, and plot. This intertextual reading, in which Mark is set alongside two ancient novels — Leucippe and Clitophon and the Life of Aesop —problematizes implicitly modern notions of literary characters as autonomous 'agents', as well as 'naturalizing' treatments of literary characters as historical referents. Highlighting the inherent ambiguity of narrative discourse, particularly with regard to referentiality, human agency, and the complex relationship between literature and history, Reconfiguring Mark's Jesus illustrates the diverse and complex ways that narratives, of necessity, produce fragmented characters that refract the inherent paradoxes of narrative itself and of human subjectivity.
Reconfiguring Mark’s Jesus: Narrative Criticism After Poststructuralism
£60.00
As readers, we are captivated by the resemblance of literary characters to actual persons. But it is precisely this illusion that allows characterization to play host to dominant ideologies of both 'literature' and 'the self'. This is especially true when we confuse narrative figures and historical persons.
Over the last thirty years, New Testament narrative criticism has developed into a major methodological approach in Biblical Studies. But for all its ingenuity and promise, it has been reluctant to let go of conventional historical-critical moorings. As a result, one is hard pressed to find any substantive difference between reconstructions of the historical Jesus and narrative-critical readings of the character Jesus.
Reconfiguring Mark's Jesus endeavors to reorient and advance narrative criticism by analysing the Gospel of Mark's characterization of the figure of Jesus in relation to three other fundamental aspects of narrative discourse: focalization, dialogue, and plot. This intertextual reading, in which Mark is set alongside two ancient novels — Leucippe and Clitophon and the Life of Aesop —problematizes implicitly modern notions of literary characters as autonomous 'agents', as well as 'naturalizing' treatments of literary characters as historical referents. Highlighting the inherent ambiguity of narrative discourse, particularly with regard to referentiality, human agency, and the complex relationship between literature and history, Reconfiguring Mark's Jesus illustrates the diverse and complex ways that narratives, of necessity, produce fragmented characters that refract the inherent paradoxes of narrative itself and of human subjectivity.
Holy Land as Homeland? Models for Constructing the Historic Landscapes of Jesus
Published: Oct 2011
£50.00
The quest for the historical Jesus has invariably tried to make sense of his world by constructing what it considers to be the historic landscapes that he inhabited. These essays explore how we do not create an actual past or rediscover an actual landscape with its towns and villages but 'imaginary homelands' that allow us to inhabit and possess the past.
The papers in this volume explore the ways in which constructions of the Holy Land as homeland have been mediated through history textbooks, geographies and maps, and continue to exert an influence on contemporary scholarship. The complex interrelationships between scholarship and its national settings is a constant thread throughout the papers: the work of many of the iconic figures of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European biblical scholarship (Moxnes); the roots of European constructions of homeland from the Enlightenment onwards (Birch); American biblical scholarship in the twentieth century (Long); cartography and the construction of homeland (Whitelam); the constructions of a Galilaean homeland for Jesus (Baergen and Vaage); a contemporary imagined homeland in British politics (Crossley). The final essay takes up the themes of 'home', 'homeland' and 'homelessness' to reflect on the methods and models that underpin contemporary scholarship (Penner and Lopez).
These essays show how the scholarly task is a continuing questioning —and self-questioning —of the models and methods with which we are most at home.
The papers collected in this volume were presented in Oslo as one of the events organized by the 'Jesus in Cultural Complexity: Interpretation, Memory and Identification' project directed by Halvor Moxnes at the University of Oslo and funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
Holy Land as Homeland? Models for Constructing the Historic Landscapes of Jesus
£50.00
The quest for the historical Jesus has invariably tried to make sense of his world by constructing what it considers to be the historic landscapes that he inhabited. These essays explore how we do not create an actual past or rediscover an actual landscape with its towns and villages but 'imaginary homelands' that allow us to inhabit and possess the past.
The papers in this volume explore the ways in which constructions of the Holy Land as homeland have been mediated through history textbooks, geographies and maps, and continue to exert an influence on contemporary scholarship. The complex interrelationships between scholarship and its national settings is a constant thread throughout the papers: the work of many of the iconic figures of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European biblical scholarship (Moxnes); the roots of European constructions of homeland from the Enlightenment onwards (Birch); American biblical scholarship in the twentieth century (Long); cartography and the construction of homeland (Whitelam); the constructions of a Galilaean homeland for Jesus (Baergen and Vaage); a contemporary imagined homeland in British politics (Crossley). The final essay takes up the themes of 'home', 'homeland' and 'homelessness' to reflect on the methods and models that underpin contemporary scholarship (Penner and Lopez).
These essays show how the scholarly task is a continuing questioning —and self-questioning —of the models and methods with which we are most at home.
The papers collected in this volume were presented in Oslo as one of the events organized by the 'Jesus in Cultural Complexity: Interpretation, Memory and Identification' project directed by Halvor Moxnes at the University of Oslo and funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reading Ideologies: Essays on the Bible and Interpretation in Honor of Mary Ann Tolbert
Published: Sep 2011
£75.00
Mary Ann Tolbert has been a pioneering voice in what we have now come to call 'interdisciplinary reading' of the Bible. In the early stages of her career, Tolbert used New Testament parables to push biblical scholarship beyond the traditional confines of historical-critical methods. Over the past four decades, she has made significant contributions to psychoanalytical, narrative, rhetorical, feminist, and queer readings of the Bible, and has interrogated the social location of biblical interpreters as well as the ideological implications of reading and reading methodologies.
Divided into three main sections, this collection of essays from biblical scholars around the world to honor Tolbert engage the very issues that have driven and defined Tolbert's scholarship: reading between the historical and the literary; reading between biblical authority and social location; and reading between gender and sexuality. The title of the collection focuses on an often-used but arguably under-examined term in biblical studies: 'ideology'. Together, essays in this volume not only perform ideological criticism of the Bible but also profess the ideological nature of criticism itself, since —regardless of 'what' and 'how' one is reading —the act of reading is always already infused with ideology. By highlighting the work of ideology in interpretation, this volume ultimately suggests that while ideology impacts interpretation of meaning, the meaning of ideology itself also needs to be interpreted.
Reading Ideologies: Essays on the Bible and Interpretation in Honor of Mary Ann Tolbert
£75.00
Mary Ann Tolbert has been a pioneering voice in what we have now come to call 'interdisciplinary reading' of the Bible. In the early stages of her career, Tolbert used New Testament parables to push biblical scholarship beyond the traditional confines of historical-critical methods. Over the past four decades, she has made significant contributions to psychoanalytical, narrative, rhetorical, feminist, and queer readings of the Bible, and has interrogated the social location of biblical interpreters as well as the ideological implications of reading and reading methodologies.
Divided into three main sections, this collection of essays from biblical scholars around the world to honor Tolbert engage the very issues that have driven and defined Tolbert's scholarship: reading between the historical and the literary; reading between biblical authority and social location; and reading between gender and sexuality. The title of the collection focuses on an often-used but arguably under-examined term in biblical studies: 'ideology'. Together, essays in this volume not only perform ideological criticism of the Bible but also profess the ideological nature of criticism itself, since —regardless of 'what' and 'how' one is reading —the act of reading is always already infused with ideology. By highlighting the work of ideology in interpretation, this volume ultimately suggests that while ideology impacts interpretation of meaning, the meaning of ideology itself also needs to be interpreted.
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.
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.
Bible, Art, Gallery
Published: Sep 2011
£50.00
While Old Masters' paintings of biblical scenes held by major galleries in many countries are visited and seen by thousands, gems of biblical art in smaller, provincial galleries seldom get the recognition and attention they deserve. Over two years, assisted by funding from the British Academy, conferences were held at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, and at the Manchester Art Gallery, highlighting some of the significant biblical paintings held in the collections of both galleries. The papers presented at these conferences, drawn from the worlds of biblical studies, art history, philosophy, sociology and music, and collected in this volume, reflect the interdisciplinary goals of the project. These essays serve not only to showcase biblical paintings by lesser known artists but also to illustrate the wide range of perspectives and insights brought by the different academic disciplines.
Bible, Art, Gallery
£50.00
While Old Masters' paintings of biblical scenes held by major galleries in many countries are visited and seen by thousands, gems of biblical art in smaller, provincial galleries seldom get the recognition and attention they deserve. Over two years, assisted by funding from the British Academy, conferences were held at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, and at the Manchester Art Gallery, highlighting some of the significant biblical paintings held in the collections of both galleries. The papers presented at these conferences, drawn from the worlds of biblical studies, art history, philosophy, sociology and music, and collected in this volume, reflect the interdisciplinary goals of the project. These essays serve not only to showcase biblical paintings by lesser known artists but also to illustrate the wide range of perspectives and insights brought by the different academic disciplines.
Korean Feminists in Conversation with the Bible, Church and Society
Published: Sep 2011
£50.00
This book offers scholars and students outside Korea some insight into what forms feminist biblical interpretation takes in Korea and what approaches Korean feminists adopt for dealing with the Bible in their writing and their professional lives.
The contributors to this book represent a wide spectrum of the Korean feminist Christian movement. They include university and seminary teachers, ministers, and field workers. This book is a product of their numerous meetings and discussions on the practical issues that define contemporary Korean women's lives. In it, the contributors reflect on the diverse situations modern Korean women have faced and continue to struggle with, among them, the traditional religious culture based on Confucianism, economic globalization, postcolonialism, the problems of migrant women labourers, and the trauma of being forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II. They view these situations in the light of the lives and experiences of women in the Old and New Testaments, and they look to the Bible for resources for dealing with them.
This is socially engaged biblical interpretation. It goes beyond the academic study of the Bible to a wider engagement with the church and with Korean society.
The volume is published in cooperation with Ewha Institute for Women's Theological Studies.
Korean Feminists in Conversation with the Bible, Church and Society
£50.00
This book offers scholars and students outside Korea some insight into what forms feminist biblical interpretation takes in Korea and what approaches Korean feminists adopt for dealing with the Bible in their writing and their professional lives.
The contributors to this book represent a wide spectrum of the Korean feminist Christian movement. They include university and seminary teachers, ministers, and field workers. This book is a product of their numerous meetings and discussions on the practical issues that define contemporary Korean women's lives. In it, the contributors reflect on the diverse situations modern Korean women have faced and continue to struggle with, among them, the traditional religious culture based on Confucianism, economic globalization, postcolonialism, the problems of migrant women labourers, and the trauma of being forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II. They view these situations in the light of the lives and experiences of women in the Old and New Testaments, and they look to the Bible for resources for dealing with them.
This is socially engaged biblical interpretation. It goes beyond the academic study of the Bible to a wider engagement with the church and with Korean society.
The volume is published in cooperation with Ewha Institute for Women's Theological Studies.
The Letter to the Romans: Salvation as Justice and the Deconstruction of Law
Published: Sep 2011
£70.00
Romans, says Waetjen, is the first publication of the Christ movement. To understand it well is therefore a task of monumental importance, and to understand it today requires a postmodern hermeneutics, in which the interpreter's subjective experience of reading the text is correlated with historical-critical knowledge and social-scientific criticism. That hermeneutics has to create a new genre of commentary, making room for readers' prior understandings as well as for a dynamic form of close reading and consistency building. The outcome is a contemporizing of Paul's theology that induces conversation with Derrida, Žižek, Badiou and Agamben and others.
The central theme of Romans is, according to Waetjen, the healing of humanity through the realization of 'the justice of God', which is disclosed in the movement 'out of trust into trust', or, more specifically, out of the trust of Abraham into the trust of Jesus Christ. Living on this side of the law of Sinai and therefore being conscious of the condition of sin requires the reconciliation of Christ's death and the justification of Christ's resurrection in order to participate in the New Humanity of life-giving spirits.
Consequently Romans is more than a rhetorical effort to mediate conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. Composed prior to his journey to Jerusalem with the possibility of martyrdom before him, the letter is Paul's major theological testament.
The Letter to the Romans: Salvation as Justice and the Deconstruction of Law
£70.00
Romans, says Waetjen, is the first publication of the Christ movement. To understand it well is therefore a task of monumental importance, and to understand it today requires a postmodern hermeneutics, in which the interpreter's subjective experience of reading the text is correlated with historical-critical knowledge and social-scientific criticism. That hermeneutics has to create a new genre of commentary, making room for readers' prior understandings as well as for a dynamic form of close reading and consistency building. The outcome is a contemporizing of Paul's theology that induces conversation with Derrida, Žižek, Badiou and Agamben and others.
The central theme of Romans is, according to Waetjen, the healing of humanity through the realization of 'the justice of God', which is disclosed in the movement 'out of trust into trust', or, more specifically, out of the trust of Abraham into the trust of Jesus Christ. Living on this side of the law of Sinai and therefore being conscious of the condition of sin requires the reconciliation of Christ's death and the justification of Christ's resurrection in order to participate in the New Humanity of life-giving spirits.
Consequently Romans is more than a rhetorical effort to mediate conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome. Composed prior to his journey to Jerusalem with the possibility of martyrdom before him, the letter is Paul's major theological testament.
Revelation, Second Edition
Published: Aug 2011
£15.00 – £35.00
This reading of Revelation views the text as John's response to the problem of social accommodation in the churches of Asia Minor. Knight works from the hypothesis, now increasingly argued in scholarly circles, that there was no persecution of the Christians by the emperor Domitian at the end of the first century CE, and he explains the references to martyrdom in the Apocalypse as mainly symbolic. Knight argues that John is creating awareness of a crisis in order to call his readers to a stricter pattern of behaviour than Paul had allowed when writing to the Corinthians. This readable chapter-by-chapter commentary on the book concludes with a section on the main theological ideas of Revelation. This is a reprint of the edition originally published in 1999.
Revelation, Second Edition
£15.00 – £35.00
This reading of Revelation views the text as John's response to the problem of social accommodation in the churches of Asia Minor. Knight works from the hypothesis, now increasingly argued in scholarly circles, that there was no persecution of the Christians by the emperor Domitian at the end of the first century CE, and he explains the references to martyrdom in the Apocalypse as mainly symbolic. Knight argues that John is creating awareness of a crisis in order to call his readers to a stricter pattern of behaviour than Paul had allowed when writing to the Corinthians. This readable chapter-by-chapter commentary on the book concludes with a section on the main theological ideas of Revelation. This is a reprint of the edition originally published in 1999.
The Birth, the Curse and the Greening of Earth: An Ecological Reading of Genesis 1-11
The Birth, the Curse and the Greening of Earth: An Ecological Reading of Genesis 1-11