By the Irrigation Canals of Babylon: Approaches to the Study of the Exile(The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)

This work assembles some of the finest scholars who have contributed to study and examination of the impact of the exile in biblical literature. Past, present, and future scholars examining the 6th century B.C.E. through historical and archeological (including paleoclimatology), literary, and the social sciences have been assembled. Approximately twelve papers from among the twenty papers presented over the four sessions (parallel to a sizable conference on the exile) will be represented in this volume. The book will be organized in a traditional history of scholarship manner, i.e., moving from historical to sociological. It should be noted that within each subcategory, there is a forward progressive movement from a traditional starting point (Klein, Olson, Wilson) ending at the progressive or cutting edge (Beck, Ahn). Jill Middlemas will open the volume with and introductory essay. John Ahn will close off the volume by pointing to the field of "forced migration studies" as a way to help better define and demarcate the import of 597, 587, and 582.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Jill Middlemas, University of Aarhus Historical & Archeological Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Israel in Exile after Thirty Years Rainer Albertz, Universität Münster More than a Myth: The Reality and Significance of Exile for the Political, Social, and Religious History of Judah Hans M. Barstad, University of Edinburgh The Exile: A Neo-Babylonian Perspective Bob Becking, Utrecht University Global Warming and the Babylonian Exile Literary Dennis T. Olson, Princeton Theological Seminary From Horeb to Nebo: Moses, Exile, and the Promise of Home in Exodus 2:1-3:6 and Deuteronomy 34 Pamela Barmash, Washington University Reimagining Exilic Catastrophe through the Lens of the Exodus Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor, University of Virginia What is Exile in Jeremiah's Book of Consolation? Sociological Robert R. Wilson, Yale University The Exile and the Shape of the Prophetic Literature Daniel Smith-Christopher, Loyola Marymount University Reading Exile: Sociological and Literary Agendas Lester L. Grabbe, University of Hull "They Never Returned": Were the Babylonian Jewish Settlers Exiles or Pioneers? John Ahn, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Forced Migration Studies as a New Approach to the Study of the Exilic Period

About the Author :
Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Jill Middlemas is Research Associate, Department of Old Testament, Faculty of Theology, at the University of Zurich.