Description
Book SynopsisFresh understandings concerning the Bible have not filtered down beyond specialists in university settings. This volume seeks to meet this need, with chapters describing how archeology, theology, ancient studies, literary studies, feminist studies, and other disciplines understand the Bible.
Trade ReviewThe goal of the present book is to try to introduce lay Jewish audiences to some of the results of modern biblical research. * Journal of Jewish Studies *
An excellent supplementary textbook for survey courses on the Hebrew Bible or on biblical scholarship. -- John J. Collins,Yale University
This superb collection written by scholars for non-specialists should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the most important issues in the contemporary study of the Bible. -- S. David Sperling,author of The Original Torah
This collection admirably bridges the gap between biblical scholarship and lay readership, allowing laypeople to engage in the ‘conversations’ that have been ongoing for decades in academic circles and to ‘reach their own conclusions. * Choice *
Table of ContentsAbbreviationsPreface Part I The Bible and History1 Israel Without the Bible Gary A. Rendsburg2 Bible, Archaeology, and the Social Sciences: The Next Generation Elizabeth Bloch-SmithPart II New Approaches to the Bible3 Literary Approaches to Biblical Literature: General Observations and a Case Study of Genesis 34 Adele Berlin4 Feminist Approaches to the Hebrew Bible Esther FuchsPart III Ancient Practice5 The Laws of Biblical Israel Raymond Westbrook6 The Study of Ritual in the Hebrew Bible David P. WrightPart IV Judaism and the Bible7 By the Letter?/Word for Word? Scripture in the Jewish Tradition Leonard Greenspoon8 From Judaism to Biblical Religion and Back Again Ziony Zevit9 Jewish Biblical Theology Marvin A. SweeneyEpilogue: Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom: Some Re?ections on Reading and Studying the Hebrew Bible Peter MachinistAbout the Contributors Index Index of Biblical Passages