Series:

BibleWorld

5 total works

Cover of Opening the Books of Moses

Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Bible. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most central of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. This broad overview provides: a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; the study concludes with an analysis of key concerns in the study of the Pentateuch, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, the nature of Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses himself.

Cover of On the Origins of Judaism

On the Origins of Judaism examines the formation of one of the oldest monotheistic religions. The book covers a diverse range of themes: the identity of those who produced and canonized the Hebrew Bible and subsequently shaped its interpretation; the significance and impact of Second Isaiah and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah; the roots of Jewish apocalyptic literature, and the possible origins of the Exodus story; the ethical systems of the Hebrew Bible and the Athenian tragedians; and the place of food and drink in the Qumran community. On the Origins of Judaism is the most comprehensive exploration of the roots of the Jewish faith and will be invaluable to students and scholars of biblical and religious studies.

Cover of Production of Prophecy
The Persian and Hellenistic periods saw the production and use of a variety of authoritative texts in Israel. 'The Production of Prophecy' brings together a range of influential biblical scholars to examine the construction of prophecy and prophetic books during the Persian period. Drawing on methodological and comparative research and studies of particular biblical texts, the volume explores biblical prophecy as a written phenomenon, examining the prophets of the past, setting this within the general history of Yehud. The relationship between prophetic and other authoritative, written texts is explored, as well as the general social and ideological setting in which the prophetic books emerged.

Cover of Writing the Bible

Writing the Bible

by Thomas Romer and Philip R. Davies

Published 21 August 2013
For many years it has been recognized that the key to explaining the production of the Bible lies in understanding the profession, the practice and the mentality of scribes in the ancient Near East, classical Greece and the Greco-Roman world. In many ways, however, the production of the Jewish literary canon, while reflecting wider practice, constitutes an exception because of its religious function as the written "word of God," leading in turn to the veneration of scrolls as sacred and even cultic objects in themselves. Writing the Bible brings together the wide-ranging study of all major aspects of ancient writing and writers. The essays cover the dissemination of texts, book and canon formation, and the social and political effects of writing and of textual knowledge. Central issues discussed include the status of the scribe, the nature of "authorship," the relationship between copying and redacting, and the relative status of oral and written knowledge. The writers examined include Ilimilku of Ugarit, the scribes of ancient Greece, Ben Sira, Galen, Origen and the author of Pseudo-Clement.

Cover of Yours Faithfully

Yours Faithfully

by Philip R. Davies

Published 1 November 2004
'Yours Faithfully' presents an anthology of virtual letters from the Bible, in which leading scholars imagine correspondence between biblical characters. Each letter conveys the insights that a given character might have and, together, the letters provide a rich sense of the concerns which propel and characters who inhabit the Bible. The letters are written in a range of styles - from the strictly historical to the very contemporary - and embrace the serious and the playful. The aim is to offer a commentary on familiar texts and events and to continue a long tradition of retelling stories from the Bible.