Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts Books

Book SynopsisIn this comprehensive survey, a leading New Testament scholar introduces ancient source materials and evaluates their relevance for interpreting the New Testament.Table of ContentsIntroduction1. The Old Testament Apocrypha2. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha3. The Dead Sea Scrolls4. Versions of the Old Testament5. Philo and Josephus6. The Targums7. Rabbinic Literature8. The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha9. Early Church Fathers10. Gnostic Writings11. Other Writings12. Examples of New Testament ExegesisAppendixes1. Canons of Scripture that Include the Apocrypha2. Quotations, Allusions, and Parallels to the New Testament3. Parallels between New Testament Gospels and Pseudepigraphal Gospels4. Jesus' Parables and the Parables of the Rabbis5. Jesus and Jewish Miracle Stories6. Messianic Claimants of the First and Second CenturiesIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this new edition of an accessible and concise primer, a leading authority on the Psalms takes account of the latest developments in Psalms studies.Trade Review"Readers will find a great richness of scholarship here set out in vigorous and exciting language to make plain that the Psalter retains a powerful challenge for the present day." --Ronald E. Clements, King's College, University of LondonTable of Contents1. Getting Started2. Lessons from the Past3. Reading the Psalms4. Laments: Out of the Depths5. Psalms of Praise: Enthroned on the Praises of Israel6. Royal Psalms: A Covenant with My Chosen One, David My Servant7. Wisdom Psalms: I Will Instruct You8. The Psalms and FaithFor Further ReadingFor Further StudyGlossary of Names and TermsIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisBiblical history can be some of the most difficult material for beginning students to grasp. The conventions of contemporary history writing are quite different from those of ancient Israelite writers. Here a master teacher offers basic orientation to the genre and conventions of the Old Testament historical books, helping students become careful and attentive readers.Written in an accessible style with many ancient and contemporary examples, this book introduces students to some of the phenomena they will encounter in the historical books and provides strategies for understanding their significance. The goal is to make further reading and study of Scripture more informed and sensitive. Sidebars, discussion questions, and further reading suggestions are included.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction1. Discovering the Context of the Text2. Listening to the Story in the Text3. Discerning the Interests of the Text4. Examining History in the Text5. Examining the Shape of History in the TextConclusion: Toward a Definition of Biblical HistoriographyIndexes

Read more less

Book Synopsis2013 Word Guild Award (Biblical Studies)A recognized expert in New Testament Greek offers a historical understanding of the writing, transmission, and translation of the New Testament and provides cutting-edge insights into how we got the New Testament in its ancient Greek and modern English forms. In part responding to those who question the New Testament''s reliability, Stanley Porter rigorously defends the traditional goals of textual criticism: to establish the original text. He reveals fascinating details about the earliest New Testament manuscripts and shows that the textual evidence supports an early date for the New Testament''s formation. He also explores the vital role translation plays in biblical understanding and evaluates various translation theories. The book offers a student-level summary of a vast amount of historical and textual information.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction1. The Text of the New TestamentIntroductionIs There a Text of the Greek New Testament? Or, What Is theGoal of Textual Criticism?The History of the Printed Greek Text of the New TestamentBart Ehrman and Misquoting JesusEclectic or Single Manuscript?Conclusion2. The Transmission of the New TestamentIntroductionThe Manuscripts of the Greek New TestamentA Reconstructed History of the Transmission of the GreekNew Testament before the Major CodexesThe Major CodexesMinuscules and LectionariesA Proposal regarding Textual Transmission of the GreekNew TestamentConclusion3. The Translation of the New TestamentIntroductionThe History of Translation of the New TestamentMajor Issues in Translation of the New TestamentConclusionConclusionIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume offers a substantial, reliable introduction that also incorporates the freshest approaches to Luke-Acts.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: The Heart of Luke's Witness to the KingdomPart 1: Luke and His World1. Imperium Romanum: An Empire of Disparity and Want2. Israelite Visions of the Kingdom3. Luke's Place in Caesar's Kingdom: The Social Location of the Third EvangelistPart 2: Luke's Narrative Artistry4. The Building Blocks of Luke's Narrative5. Plotting through Parallels6. The Kingdom Story through Speech and Theme in Luke's Infancy Narrative7. The Kingdom Story through Speech and Theme in Luke 24 and Acts of the Apostles8. The Power and Prominence of Luke's PathosPart 3: Luke's Kingdom Story9. Yahweh Is King and Lord of All10. The Corruption and Redemption of CreationConclusion: Discerning Luke's PurposeIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisA veteran Old Testament teacher shows the theological instincts that are necessary for reading, understanding, and communicating Scripture faithfully.Table of ContentsContents Introduction Part 1: Scripture's Material Form 1. Scripture and Canon 2. Sanding with the Grain: Final Form and Canonical Shape 3. Canonical Intentionality 4. Canon and Textual Criticism: The Search for the Christian Bible Part 2: Scripture's Subject Matter 5. God as Triune and Exegetical Metaphysics 6. The Trinity and the Old Testament Epilogue Indexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisA world-renowned New Testament scholar offers an exegetical and historical defense of the classical substitutionary view of the atonement.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Importance of Substitution Defining Substitution: Christ in Our Place Criticisms of Substitution1. Exegetical Challenges to Substitution The Tübingen Understanding of Representative "Place-Taking" Interchange in Christ Apocalyptic Deliverance The Omission or Downplaying of "Sins" Conclusion2. "Christ Died for Our Sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3) The Importance of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "According to the Scriptures" Substitution in 1 Corinthians 15:3 Conclusion Excursus: An Objection--Why, Then, Do Christians Still Die?3. The Vicarious Death of Christ and Classical Parallels (Rom. 5:6-8) The Translation of Romans 5:6-8 A Sketch of the Exegesis Vicarious Deaths in Classical Tradition The Comparison in Romans 5:6-8 ConclusionConclusionIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis comprehensive exploration of the interpretive process helps students develop an integrated hermeneutical strategy.Table of ContentsContentsPreface to the Third EditionPreface to the Revised EditionPrefaceIntroduction: A Journey into Three WorldsAuthor-Centered Approaches to MeaningText-Centered Approaches to MeaningReader-Centered Approaches to MeaningAn Integrated Approach to MeaningUNIT I: THE WORLD BEHIND THE TEXTChapter 1: Why Study Backgrounds? An Apology for Historical ResearchSummaryReview & StudyChapter 2: The Importance of Language: The Grammatical BackgroundPhonologyMorphologyLexicologySyntaxSummaryReview & StudyChapter 3: Reading and the World Behind the Text: The Historical and Ideological BackgroundsHistorical and Cultural BackgroundSome Examples of Historical Background StudiesThe Ideological ContextThe Ideological World of the Old TestamentExamples of Comparative StudyThe Ideological World of the New TestamentSummaryReview & StudySupplement I: Illustrative Methods That Focus on the World Behind the TextSource CriticismSocial-Scientific CriticismCanonical CriticismUNIT II: THE WORLD WITHIN THE TEXTChapter 4: The Bible as Literature and Literary FormsCommon Literary Sub-GenresArchetypesSummaryReview & StudyChapter 5: How the Hebrew Bible Communicates as LiteratureHebrew NarrativeHebrew PoetryHebrew ProphecySummaryReview & StudyChapter 6: How the New Testament Communicates as LiteratureThe Gospels and ActsThe Gospel of Matthew: A ModelSub-Genres in the GospelsEpistolary LiteratureSub-Genres in the New Testament Epistolary LiteratureApocalyptic LiteratureSummaryReview & StudySupplement II: Illustrative Methods That Focus on the World Within the TextRedaction CriticismLiterary CriticismGenre CriticismUNIT III: THE WORLD IN FRONT OF THE TEXTChapter 7: What Happens When We Read?The Dialectics of DiscourseSummaryReview & StudyChapter 8: What the Reader Brings to the Text: The Role of Reader PresuppositionsThe Role of PreunderstandingReader PresuppositionsTheological PresuppositionsSummaryReview & StudySupplement III: Illustrative Methods That Focus on the World in Front of the TextReader-Response CriticismAutobiographical CriticismFeminist CriticismUNIT IV: INTEGRATING THE THREE WORLDSChapter 9: Mark's Gospel and the Merging of Three WorldsMark's Use of Literary AllusionMark's Use of IntercalationJesus' Relationship to His Contemporary Worldview according to MarkConclusion: The Ending of Mark and the Predicament of the ReaderReview & StudyConclusion: The Never-Ending StoryAPPENDIXES: SYNOPSES OF ADDITIONAL INTERPRETIVE METHODS EMPLOYED BY SCHOLARSOverview: How Methods Affect InterpretationAppendix I: Methods That Focus on the World behind the TextForm CriticismGenetic CriticismTradition CriticismAppendix II: Methods That Focus on the World within the TextFormal CriticismRhetorical CriticismSpeech Act TheoryStructuralismAppendix III: Methods That Focus on the World in Front of the TextAfrican-American CriticismCultural CriticismDeconstructionNew HistoricismPostcolonial Criticism & Liberation TheologyReception TheoryWomanist Criticism/TheologyAppendix IV: Methods Involving More than One WorldIdeological CriticismIntertextual CriticismMarxist CriticismMimetic CriticismNarrative CriticismSocio-Rhetorical CriticismIndexes

Read more less

Book SynopsisSolid scriptural and archaeological evidence refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA noted biblical scholar explores three questions Christians often ask about the Old Testament and provides answers that are both satisfying and understandable.Table of ContentsEditors' PrefaceAuthor's Preface1 What Are the Keys to Understanding the Old Testament?2 Is the God of the Old Testament also the God of the New Testament?3 How Is the Christian to Apply the Old Testament to Life?Scripture IndexSubject Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAfter years of classroom testing and development, this major new textbook is offered for learning biblical Hebrew. The author is one of today's foremost teachers of Hebrew.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA complete introductory textbook and inductive study of the text of Genesis.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBy incorporating biblical characters that have struggled with the same obstacles of faith, pastors, speakers, and teachers make it easier for their listeners to personally apply sermons and lessons.More than just a dictionary of biblical characters, Bible Personalities gives speakers historical context for their messages and simplifies research. Warren W. Wiersbe presents people from Aaron to Zedekiah, offering selected quotes from respected Bible scholars on each character. By putting the thoughts and experiences of these great contributors to work, Wiersbe cracks open complex Bible characters and gives overworked pastors and teachers a simple starting point for effective communication.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text''s concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.'The Gospel of John,' says Boice, 'is a powerful source of instruction and comfort to many millions of God''s people down through the ages of church history.' This first volume in the Gospel of John collection deals with the coming of Jesus Christ into the world and with the initial reaction he had.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDig into chapters 5-8 of the Gospel of John with this engaging commentary from a trusted biblical scholar.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text''s concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.'The Gospel of John,' says Boice, 'is a powerful source of instruction and comfort to many millions of God''s people down through the ages of church history.' This third volume in the Gospel of John collection shows Jesus turning to his followers and beginning to teach them.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text''s concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.'Christianity has been the most powerful, transforming force in human history,' says Boice. 'And the book of Romans is the most basic, most comprehensive statement of true Christianity.' This third volume in the Romans collection develops a Christian view of history.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text''s concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.'The psalms themselves,' says Boice, 'speak so powerfully to the hurts, fears, disappointments, faith, hope, and spiritual aspirations of God''s people.' This third and final volume in the Psalms collection explores the psalms known as the 'Songs of Ascent' (135-150), which deal with the theme of worship-teaching us what true worship is and when and how we should praise God.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Boice Commentary series combines careful scholarship and clear communication in a verse-by-verse and section by section reading of various biblical texts. Combining thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, James Montgomery Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text''s concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live. Whether used for devotions, preaching, or teaching, this authoritative and thought-provoking series will appeal to a wide range of readers, from serious Bible students to interested laypersons.'The Gospel of John,' says Boice, 'is a powerful source of instruction and comfort to many millions of God''s people down through the ages of church history.' This fifth volume in the Gospel of John collection deals with the culmination of Christ''s earthly ministry, centering on his betrayal, trial, death, and resurrection.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNoted preacher and expositor James Montgomery Boice has created a unique blend of scripture insight, rich devotional application, and vivid illustration in this commentary on the book of Acts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA compelling commentary that presents the depth and clarity of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn inspirational commentary on the message of the Minor Prophets. Volume 1 surveys the work of Hosea through Jonah and is now repackaged with a contemporary cover.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA newly repackaged edition of a classic commentary from James Montgomery Boice. Explores the complete story of Joseph, demonstrating his loyalty to God.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn insightful commentary on the life and work of Nehemiah, God's chosen leader, highlighting his courage, strength, and dependence on God.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis edition to Dr. Boice's popular expositional commentary series brings into focus three of John's major themes: righteousness, truth, and love.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCommentaries by James Montgomery Boice explain the meaning of the biblical text verse by verse and section by section, while also relating the text to the realities of Christian life. This latest addition to Boice''s popular expositional commentary series discusses the themes of obedience and love in the context of the life of Joshua, a chosen military commander. Boice''s easy-to-understand writing makes Joshua a helpful commentary for pastors, students, and laypeople alike.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough 92% of American households own at least one Bible, their use of the Bible varies significantly. Only 59% of Americans read the Bible at least occasionally, and an even smaller percentage go beyond merely reading the Bible and actually study it. It is no wonder that even those who say they read the Scriptures often don''t understand them.Veteran Bible professor Richard L. Schultz believes the misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical texts amounts to a crisis of 'interpretive malpractice.' In Out of Context he seeks to explain how biblical interpretation goes wrong and how to get it right. He introduces readers to the important concepts of context, word meaning, genre, and the differences between the world of the Bible and our own. Readers who delve into the fascinating world of biblical interpretation found in this book will find their Scripture reading enhanced and be enlightened by Schultz''s powerful and ultimately positive message.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA leading biblical scholar gives students and teachers of the Bible tools for interpreting Scripture and applying its truths to contemporary life situations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis full-color, intermediate textbook by two leading experts in Biblical Hebrew features pedagogical advancements that enhance student outcomes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhy was the story of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent so important to medieval literary culture? Eric Jager argues that during the Middle Ages the story of the Fall was incorporated into a comprehensive myth about language. Drawing on a wide range of texts...Trade ReviewA very valuable addition to the many studies of both the Fall and how language can be manipulated to clarify or confuse a given issue. * Choice *This book benefits from wide-ranging structuralist, poststructuralist, and feminist interest in Augustinian theories of language and the Fall.... Jager has identified and developed many important issues... and has offered many perceptive observations. -- Norm Klassen * Medium Aevum *This thoughtful, carefully argued, and well-written book studies 'the Fall as a central medieval myth about language, particularly about doctrine, hermeneutics, and eloquence.' -- Gene Vance * Bryn Mawr Medieval Review *While working with the traditional conceptual framework that brings allegory, typology, and exegetical models to bear on the interpretation of medieval vernacular literature, Jager also manages to bring those subjects into harmonious and productive discourse with contemporary literary theory, new historicism, gender theory, and psychoanalytic theory.... The Tempter's Voice makes a significant contribution to medieval studies. -- Lawrence Besserman * Speculum *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis superbly illustrated book examines the depiction of the Apocalypse in the visual arts over nearly 1,000 years, from the great medieval manuscript cycles to the famous woodcuts of Durer to the propaganda and satire of the 20th century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisConsidered by many to be Northrop Frye's magnum opus, The Great Code (1982) reflects a lifetime of thinking about the patterns and meanings of the Bible. In this new edition of The Great Code, Alvin A. Lee presents a corrected and fully annotated version of Frye's text, as well as a comprehensive introduction to help contextualize this important work and guide readers through its allusive passages. Lee's introduction provides a synoptic account of the role of the Bible in Frye's intellectual and spiritual odyssey, as well as a description of how The Great Code as a book came into existence, and an introductory critique of the shape and meaning of the book's argument. The Great Code is culturally allusive to a high degree. It takes much of its inspiration from the Bible itself, including a profusion of biblical passages, but also from the author's extensive reading of a host of other texts from ancient times until the late twentieth centur

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis highly original interpretation of Paul by the Jewish philosopher of religion Jacob Taubes was presented in a number of lectures held in Heidelberg toward the end of his life, and was regarded by him as his "spiritual testament".Trade Review"As always with Taubes, it is all very apocalyptic and reasonably brilliant or, at least, brilliantly distorted and filled with strokes of genius—the genius of a charlatan at his very, very best."—Hebraic Political StudiesTable of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc4:Translator's Note and Acknowledgments iii @toc4:Preface iii @toc2:Introduction 1 @toc3:1. Autobiographical Approaches to the Epistle to the Romans 000 2. Paul in Jewish Religious History: Messianic Logic 000 @toc2:Part I: Readings: Paul and Moses, the Establishment of a New People of God @toc3:1. Addresses of the Epistle to the Romans 000 Excursus: The Fate of the Jewish Christian Congregations 000 2. Nomos: Law and Justification; a Reading of Romans 811 000 3. Election and Rejection: A Reading of Romans 8:319:5 and Berakhot 32a 000 4. Pneuma: The Surpassing of Salvation History and the Overcoming of This World; a Reading of Romans 913 000 @toc2:Part II. Effects: Paul and Modernity, Transfigurations of the Messianic @toc2:1. Strangers in This World: Marcion and the Consequences 000 2. The Zealots of the Absolute and of Decision: Carl Schmitt and Karl Barth 000 3. Nihilism as World Politics and Aestheticized Messianism: Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno 000 4. Exodus from Biblical Religion: Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud 000 @toc2:Appendix A: The Jacob TaubesCarl Schmitt Story 000 @toc2:Apprendix B: Two Letters @toc2:Afterword 000 @tocca:Wolf-Daniel Hartwich, Aleida and Jan Assmann @toc3:1. Readings: The Legitimation and Formation of a New Union-Covenant [Ver-Bund] 000 2. Effects: Paul and Modernity 000 3. Political Theology 000 @toc3:Editorial Note 000 @toc4:Notes 000 @toc4:Index of Names 000 Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Bible, N, T, Romans Criticism, interpretation, etc, Paul, the Apostle, Saint, Christianity and politics

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the interweaving of several of Derrida's characteristic concerns with themes that Paul explores in Romans.Trade Review"This remarkably fine book is timely and provocative. It is also one of a kind: a book that advances detailed exegesis of the New Testament, above all Paul's Letter to the Romans, by drawing deeply on Derrida's reflections concerned with justice and law, gift or grace, debt, duty, love, hospitality, and forgiveness." -- Peggy Kamuf * University of Southern California *"Reading Derrida/Thinking Paul: On Justice yields new insights into the ethical and political stakes of Derrida's writings. Jennings shows Derrida and Paul to share a passion for justice and for thinking through the aporias justice's pursuit entails. Jennings' chapters skillfully juxtapose Paul and Derrida on law, violence, gift, faith, hospitality, and pardon. A book-length study of Derrida in relation to Paul is long overdue, and, after reading Jennings' text, reconsidering Derrida's and Paul's implications for contemporary dilemmas of justice becomes a must." -- Robert S. Oventile * Pasadena City College *"A book-length study of Derrida in relation to Paul is overdue, and Reading Derrrida/Thinking Paul: On Justice offers readers of Derrida many new insights." -- Postmodern CultureTable of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc4:Text References iii Preface iii @toc2:1 Introduction--The Question of Justice ion Paul and Derrida 000 2 Justice Beyond the Law 000 3 Force, Violence and the Cross 000 4 Justice as Gift 000 5 Duty Beyond Debt or the Obedience of Faith 000 6 Hospitality, Ethics and Politics 000 7 Pardon 000 8 Conclusion: The Faith of Deconstruction 000 @toc4:Notes 000 Bibliography 000 Index 000

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores the significance of contemporary "animal studies" for the interpretation of animals and animal symbolism in the Hebrew Bible.Trade Review"Most people who read the Hebrew Bible don't see or hear the animals. But they are everywhere, and they are complicated. This book looks at all of them—the good, the bad, and the ugly animals. Well worth reading if you are interested in literary studies, Biblical studies, or animals."—Laura Hobgood, Southwestern University"This was a book begging to be written, and I can think of no one better qualified to write it than Ken Stone. He has descended more deeply into the field of animal studies than any other scholar of the Hebrew Bible. His ecological sensibilities, theoretical acumen, and incisive exegetical arguments open up fresh perspectives on overread biblical texts and tired scholarly debates."—Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University"Reading the Hebrew Bible with Animal Studies is an excellent book that offers a much-needed interface between biblical and animal studies....[Stone] gives biblical texts—and animals—the opportunity to contribute to both a complete reimagining of the Hebrew Bible and contemporary debates in animal studies. This monograph is poised to become a key work in the field."—Anne Létourneau, Reading Religion"Stone's monograph succeeds on several fronts. It serves as an excellent introduction to the field of animal studies for scholars who may not be familiar with this discipline. His applications of these ideas to biblical passages are always interesting, and often illuminate the text in new ways. What's more, the monograph offers a roadmap for scholars working with contemporary theories of all kinds as to how these theories can be introduced into biblical studies while building on the foundation of historical-critical scholarship."—Brandon R. Grafius, Horizons in Biblical Theology"This superb book fills a void in scholarship and deserves to be widely read....I strongly recommend it for scholars, pastors, graduate students, and other interested readers who care about animals and the future of our planet."––Barry R. Huff, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology"Ken Stone's groundbreaking work...invites readers to enter into the animal world to discover the contributions that animals have made not only to life in ancient Israel but also to the understanding of the Bible's poems and stories....[This] wonderfully crafted, insightful, and accessible book is a 'must read' for all humans on Planet Earth."—Carol J. Dempsey, OP, Horizons"In the context of a growing interest in the multiple relationships between human and other animals, this is an important contribution to the literature, which should enjoy a broad readership."—Philip J. Sampson, Journal of Animal EthicsTable of ContentsIntroduction: Reading the Hebrew Bible with Animal Studies 1. Israel's Companion Species and the Creation of Bibles 2. Tracking the Dogs of Exodus 3. The Chimera of Biblical Sacrifice 4. From Animal Hermeneutics to Animal Ethics 5. Israel's Wild Neighbors in the Zoological Gaze 6. The Psalmist, the Primatologist, and the Place of Animals in Biblical Religion 7. Reading the Hebrew Bible in an Age of Extinction

Read more less

Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAbbreviations Preface 1. Joachism and the Eternal Gospel 2. Respectable Apocalyptic 3. Olivi before 1298 4. The Fifth Period 5. The Dawning Sixth Period 6. The Double Antichrist 7. The Apocalyptic Timetable 8. Life after Antichrist 9. The Condemnation Process, 1318-19 10. The Condemnation Process, 1322-26 11. The Significance of the Condemnation Bibliography of Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents a study of midrash - the biblical exegesis, parables, and anecdotes of the Rabbis. This work examines early, tannaitic legal midrash, focusing on the interpretive tradition associated with the figure of Rabbi Ishmael. It also locates the Rabbi Ishmael hermeneutic within the religious landscape of Second Temple and post-Temple literature.Trade Review"This is perhaps the most significant and innovative scholarly work on the halakhic midrashim in the past thirty years. The claims are extremely convincing, the scholarship is rigorous, and the writing is engaging. The conclusions repeatedly break new ground and dispel mistaken ideas that have been accepted among scholars. Most impressive, Yadin consistently displays a command of both textual expertise and theory." * Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, New York University *Table of ContentsPreface. Legal Midrash Introduction. On the Hermeneutical Dimension of Midrash Halakhah Chapter 1. Torah and Ha-Katuv Chapter 2. Inaction and Attention Chapter 3. Freedom and Restraint in Midrash Halakhah: Hermeneutical Markedness Chapter 4. The Role of Reader I Chapter 5. The Role of Reader II: Middot Chapter 6. Presponsive Torah Chapter 7. Rabbi Ishmael and the Rabbis Chapter 8. The Non-Rabbinic Landscape Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisComposed in Germany in the early thirteenth century by Judah ben Samuel he-hasid, Sefer Hasidim, or Book of the Pietists, is a compendium of religious instruction that portrays the everyday life of Jews as they lived together with and apart from Christians in towns such as Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Regensburg. A charismatic religious teacher who recorded hundreds of original stories that mirrored situations in medieval social living, Judah''s messages advocated praying slowly and avoiding honor, pleasure, wealth, and the lures of unmarried sex. Although he failed to enact his utopian vision of a pietist Jewish society, his collected writings would help shape the religious culture of Ashkenazic Judaism for centuries.In Sefer Hasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe, Ivan G. Marcus proposes a new paradigm for understanding how this particular book was composed. The work, he contends, was an open text written by a single author in hundreds of disjunTrade Review"Ivan G. Marcus lays out in a new way how Sefer Hasidim develops and functions as an Ashkenazic book. The summary, assessment, and synthesis of prior research he presents is enlightening and helpful." * Ephraim Kanarfogel, Yeshiva University *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Tommasino masterfully deploys textual analysis and historical investigations to Alcorano di Macometto. His revealing account of Venetian publishing circles and their eager readership reanimates a fascinating episode of the European Renaissance." * Religious Studies Review *"The Venetian Qur'an is an impressively rich study. It is a model of multidisciplinary research, drawing on historical, literary, and linguistic approaches." * Thomas E. Burman, University of Notre Dame *"A philological masterwork that introduces readers to a shadowy figure who was central to the intellectual life of his age. It is meticulously argued, encompassing early modern Italian literature, intellectual history, and the history of Orientalism, as well as Reformation-era European religious studies." * Karla Mallette, University of Michigan *Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. The Misfortune of a Translation Chapter 2. The Material Text: Three States, One Edition, a History Book Chapter 3. "What Everybody Wishes for and Keeps Silent": Analysis of the Context Through the Paratext Chapter 4. "And He Translated the Alcorano in the Vulgar Tongue": Giovanni Battista Castrodardo, Translator of the Alcorano di Macometto Chapter 5. The Iberian and Italian Mi'rāǧ by Giovanni Battista Castrodardo: An Unknown Dante Scholar and Muhammad's Ascension into Heaven Chapter 6. The Religion of the Italians, or Purgatory and the Qur'an: A Belief and a Place Between Robert of Ketton and Roberto Bellarmino Chapter 7. Scribendae Historiae Gratia: The Oration of Sergius the Monk to the Prophet Muhammad Chapter 8. Reading and Rewriting the Alcorano di Macometto: Francesco Sansovino Between the Historie Universali and the Selve Chapter 9. A Cheese Maker from Lucca and a Miller from Friuli Chapter 10. The Fortune of the Alcorano di Macometto and a Conclusion Appendix Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] phenomenal and ground-breaking volume...This book should be on the bookshelf of any and every rabbi, minister, priest, Sunday School teacher, instructor in Judaism and/or Christianity in modern times, Christian divinity students, Jewish seminarians, and laypersons who care to cultivate the love and compassion taught by precept and example in the very best of Judaism and Christianity, from the time of Jesus to the present. Teachers and students who study Magid’s book will learn to appreciate that the until now relatively obscure Rabbi Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik was a vital link in that chain of love. Thanks are due Shaul Magid for making him known to the world at large." * The Review of Rabbinic Judaism *"The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament is a fascinating book on one of the most intriguing and forgotten rabbinic characters of the nineteenth century. Elijah Soloveitchik was, to be sure, an idiosyncratic figure, but the story of his life and work is extremely instructive for those interested in the Jewish Enlightenment as well as Jewish-Christian relations today." * Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Tel Aviv University *Table of ContentsForeword, by Peter Salovey Introduction: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik, the Jewish Jesus, Christianity, and the Jews A Note on the Text A Translator's Foreword, by Jordan Gayle Levy The Commentaries Dedication A Word to the Reader Author's Preface The Gospel According to Matthew, with Commentary The Gospel According to Mark, with Commentary Bibliography Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Secularism and Hermeneutics is an important work that contains much that will be of interest to any practitioners of biblical studies. Almog's 'genealogy' of the modern universal reading subject presents a bold challenge to those who wish to see the guild operate in a purely 'secular' fashion, as it likewise may unsettle some confessional readers who hold to a 'historical, grammatical' hermeneutic based on 'authorial intent.' Given that many standard surveys of hermeneutics start with Schleiermacher, Almog's point that Schleiermacher's emphasis on the author functioned as a replacement for Herder's emphasis on culture will probably be a significant insight for many readers from a biblical studies background, as this provides a historical background for a platform that often seems to have emerged as a reaction against mere philology or heavy-handed church tradition." * Review of Biblical Literature *"Secularism and Hermeneutics is a well- executed, densely packed text that has the potential to open new vistas on not only the key themes of secularity and hermeneutics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but also the contemporary state of critique itself. Almog has given her readers much to consider with this generative text. A careful read is worth the time." * Religious Studies Review *"[O]ne of the most stimulating scholarly monographs I’ve read recently. Almog focuses on how the thinkers of the German Enlightenment — especially Johann Gottfried Herder, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Johann Michaelis, and Moses Mendelssohn — helped transform the Old Testament into a work of universally resonant world literature, in the process establishing interpretive norms for literary reading as such. Secularism and Hermeneutics is a history not just of biblical reception, but of the development of literary theory." * The Chronicle of Higher Education *"[Secularism and Hermeneutics'] primary project is beautifully executed, and what it promises at the outset, it delivers. The book is, in a word, excellent, and the careful way it treats 'difficult' texts and communities is exemplary. It will be of value for anyone interested in a non-polemic history of secularism, in Jewish-German intellectual relations in the eighteenth century, or in a historically situated history of reading, as well as for those who wish to better understand the political-theological origins of contemporary liberal-secularism." * Eighteenth-Century Studies *"Yael Almog’s work is a superb exploration of both the ideology of religious studies and the rise of secularism. Through a genealogical analysis, Almog tries to show how hermeneutics imagined a public readership not limited to the faithful, thus setting the stage for a new religiously disinterested public sphere—that is, secularism." * Literature & Theology *"In Secularism and Hermeneutics, Yael Almog locates biblical interpretation in the German Enlightenment, through the Hebrew Bible, at the center of the generative hermeneutic practices that shaped modern aesthetic, interpretive, and literary practices...Almog has given us a remarkable work of scholarship with big stakes and haunting implications for our times. The centrality of hermeneutic practices, shaped by Hebrew scriptures and formative of modernity’s linguistically produced universalism meets, ironically, Jewishness as the mark of the limits of Enlightenment toleration." * The Eighteenth Century *"Yael Almog explores the centrality of Biblical interpretation, in the critical period 1750-1850, to the shifting configuration of secularization, hermeneutics and politics. She convincingly shows through original and detailed studies of such figures as Herder, Mendelssohn, Heine, Hegel, and Schleiermacher, that the emergence of a new aesthetics derived from changing interpretations of the Old Testament and that, in turn, the advent of a new 'reader' was constitutive for the appearance of a new citizen." * David Sorkin, Yale University *"Yael Almog demonstrates a broad knowledge of the literature on the topic of secularization and hermeneutics and her analysis is clear, lively, and convincing. Her book is an original and significant contribution to the fields of religious studies, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature, intellectual history, and philosophical hermeneutics." * Jeffrey Andrew Barash, Université de Picardie, Amiens, France *"Secularism and Hermeneutics shows how the most important philosophers constructed or envisioned interpreters of the Bible and other texts in different movements and time periods. The tension Yael Almog describes between the reader as an individual and as a member of a political or religious collective is fascinating." * Abigail Gillman, Boston University *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Secularism and Hermeneutics: The Rise of Modern Readership Chapter 1. Rescuing the Text Chapter 2. Hermeneutics and Affect Chapter 3. Perilous Script Chapter 4. On Jews and Other Bad Readers Chapter 5. The Return of the Repressed Bible Coda. Beyond Hermeneutic Thinking Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"This important, sophisticated work advances the emerging and growing conversation about the relationship between trauma studies and biblical interpretation...This book contains important and provocative proposals that will spark both thinking and discussion about Mark’s community and Gospel, leaving one with much to ponder." * Religious Studies Review *"Thate’s book is a significant contribution to the study of the Gospel of Mark, which may provide an enduring space of reflection from the perspective of trauma studies for years to come." * Review of Biblical Literature *"An erudite and groundbreaking work that advances a new reading of Mark's Gospel at a time when attention to the study of trauma is making an impact on biblical scholarship, The Godman and the Sea is a book that not only New Testament scholars but also theologians and philosophers more generally will turn to as a watershed study." * Harry Maier, Vancouver School of Theology *"Michael Thate is a powerful new intellectual voice capable of transforming our understanding of an exceedingly familiar gospel from the New Testament. His book is an extraordinary achievement that presents us with a compelling rewiring of the historical, textual, and conceptual potential of early Jewish and Christian experience for other canons which also shape us, generally without our realizing it." * Ward Blanton, University of Kent *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisBased on a multi-year consultation in the Society of Biblical Literature, The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology brings new insights to the relationship between patristic exegesis and current strategies of biblical interpretation, specifically with reference to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Read more less