Each of the eighty-three short contributions in this volume is written by an expert on the topic. Each deals with the essentials anyone entering the fascinating world of biblical scholarship needs to master. Concise and jargon-free chapters present the nature of the biblical texts and the different methodologies that have been developed to understand it. In addition, major issues that standard introductions tend to dodge are considered in a balanced way, providing the pros and cons for each position.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Preface xiii
Diana V. Edelman and Philippe Guillaume
General Matters
1. How Does One Read the Bible from a Scholarly Perspective? 3
Diana V. Edelman
2. What Is Religion? 6
David McConeghy
3. Can One Be Religious in a Scientific World? 9
Adrien Chauvet
4. Do All Religions Have Sacred Books? 14
Russell T. McCutcheon
5. Why Multiple Biblical Canons? 17
Jean Claude Loba-Mkole
6. What Is Biblical Exegesis? 22
Pauline A. Viviano
Authorship, Audiences, Organization
7. Who Wrote the Hebrew Bible? 29
Diana V. Edelman
8. Why Are There Anonymous, Pseudonymous, and Fictitious Texts in the Bible? 34
Philippe Guillaume
9. Who Are the Audiences of the Bible? 39
Jason M. Silverman
10. What Does “Tanak” Stand For? 43
Elaine Adler Goodfriend
11. What Are the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, and Enneateuch? 47
Jean Louis Ska
12. Is There a “Book of the Twelve” or Are There Twelve Booklets of Minor Prophets? 53
Elena Di Pede
Genres in the Hebrew Bible
13. How Do We Determine Biblical Genres? 61
Diana V. Edelman
14. Are There Myths in the Hebrew Bible? 66
James R. Linville
15. Is There Apocalyptic Literature in the Hebrew Bible? 72
Emmanouil Gkinidis
16. What Are Psalms Doing in the Hebrew Bible? 77
Bernard Gosse
17. Wisdom: Where Is It Found? 83
Michael C. Legaspi
18. What Is the Purpose of Proverbs? 88
Sonny E. Zaluchu
19. Is the Book of Job a Theodicy? 93
Philippe Guillaume
20. Why Are There So Many Genealogies in the Bible? 97
Dexter E. Callender Jr.
Dating the Bible and the Bible as History
21. Preexilic, Exilic, and Postexilic: Can We Date the Books of the Hebrew Bible? 105
Diana V. Edelman
22. How Did Scribes Periodize the Past in the Hebrew Bible? 110
Diana V. Edelman
23. What Was the Minimalist versus Maximalist Debate? 114
Emanuel Pfoh
24. Why Are There Two Versions of Israel’s Past in the Hebrew Bible? 120
Rodney K. Duke
25. Is There Such a Thing as a “Deuteronomistic History”? 126
Philippe Guillaume
26. Did the Hebrews Conquer Canaan? 131
Erin Darby
27. Was Josiah’s Scroll Lost and Found Twice? 137
Diana V. Edelman
The Hebrew Bible and Archaeology
28. Can Archaeology Prove the Truth of Biblical Texts? 145
Tammi J. Schneider
29. How Should We Read the “Archaeological Evidence”? 149
Raz Kletter
30. How Is Archaeology Used to Support Nationalism? 153
Erin Darby
31. Is It Ethical to Excavate in Contested Areas? 157
Laura Wright
32. How Do You Define Cultic Context? 161
Jonathan S. Greer
Translation and Transmission
33. The Septuagint: What Are the Oldest Translation(s) of the Hebrew Bible? 167
Ellen De Doncker
34. What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal about the Biblical Text? 172
Sidnie White Crawford
35. Was Philo of Alexandria the Earliest Biblical Commentator? 176
Maria Sokolskaya
36. What Is Old Testament Theology? 181
Pauline A. Viviano
37. What Is Rabbinic Interpretation? 186
Zev Farber
38. Who Were and Are the Samaritans? 190
Benedikt Hensel
Themes
39. How Do the Moon, Month, and Sabbath Regulate Biblical Calendars? 199
Philippe Guillaume
40. Does the Hebrew Bible Apply Holiness to Space or to Time? 204
Philippe Guillaume
41. Which Numbers Can Be Symbolic in the Hebrew Bible? 208
Elaine Adler Goodfriend
42. Did Giants, Nephilim, and Other Creatures Ruin the World? 214
Elena L. Dugan
43. Did Ancient Israelites Believe in Angels and Demons? 219
Elisa Uusimäki
44. Why Were the Ancestors De-divinized? 224
Diana V. Edelman
45. Heaven and Hell, or She’ol? 229
Diana V. Edelman
46. Did the Hebrews Believe in an Afterlife? 234
Jan Åge Sigvartsen
47. How Did Yhwh Become One? 238
James S. Anderson
48. Israel in Twelve Tribes: Ideal or Real? 243
Andrew Tobolowsky
49. Is “Torah” Law or Teaching? 248
Megan Turton
50. Where Is the Magic? 253
Shawna Dolansky
51. Were the Biblical Prophets Diviners? 259
Philippe Guillaume
52. What Is a Covenant? 264
Diana V. Edelman
Issues
53. Can Religious Texts Serve as Legitimate Explanations of the Origin of the Universe and Terrestrial Life in a Scientific World? 271
Fabien Revol
54. Does the Hebrew Bible Endorse Genocide? 276
James S. Anderson
55. Is the Hebrew Bible Patriarchal? 281
Philippe Guillaume
56. Are There Polemics (Even) in the Hebrew Bible? 286
Diana V. Edelman
57. Is the Hebrew Bible “Pro-Choice” or “Pro-Life”? 291
Athalya Brenner-Idan
58. How Does the Hebrew Bible Deal with Ecological Issues? 295
Jonathan K. Kavusa
59. Does (or How Does) the Old Testament Deal with LGBTQIA Issues? 301
Rhiannon Graybill
Selected Biblical Figures
60. Is Abraham/Ibrahim an Ecumenical Figure? 309
Carol Bakhos
61. Why Is Melchizedek So Mysterious? 314
Panagiotis L. Kampouris
62. Joseph: Does His Ability to Interpret Dreams Represent Actual Divinatory Practice? 318
Scott B. Noegel
63. Moses: How Many Faces? 323
Benedetta Rossi
64. Ruth: Whore or Matriarch? 329
Philippe Guillaume
65. King David: Famous or Infamous? 333
Baruch Halpern
66. Jezebel: Does She Deserve Her Bad Reputation? 339
Kristin Joachimsen
67. How Many Isaiahs? 343
Ehud Ben Zvi
68. Jeremiah: Why Is He So Well Remembered? 348
Benedetta Rossi
69. Jonah: How to Survive in the Belly of Hell? 353
Philippe Guillaume
70. Is Satan in the Hebrew Scriptures? 358
E. Macarena García García
71. Was Qohelet Fighting Depression? 362
Steinar A. Skarpnes
Methods and Approaches
72. Synchronic versus Diachronic Readings: Why Choose? 369
Diana V. Edelman
73. What Is Source Criticism? 373
Kåre Berge
74. What Is “P”—Source or Editor? 378
Philippe Guillaume
75. What Is Historical Criticism? 383
Michael C. Legaspi
76. What Are Redaction and Text Criticism? 388
Kåre Berge
77. What Are Literary and Form Criticism? 394
Kåre Berge
78. What Is Ideological Criticism of the Hebrew Bible? 399
Patton Taylor
79. How Are Memory Studies Applied to the Study of the Hebrew Bible? 403
Ehud Ben Zvi
80. How Is Social Anthropology Used to Understand the Hebrew Bible? 409
Emanuel Pfoh
81. How Are Gender Approaches Used in the Study of the Hebrew Bible? 414
Rhiannon Graybill
82. What Is Postcolonial Studies and How Is It Applied to the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament? 419
Sonia Kwok Wong
83. What Is Reception Criticism and How Is It Practiced in Hebrew Bible Scholarship? 424
Erin Runions
Indexes 429
About the Author :
Philippe Guillaume is Lecturer at the University of Berne. Diana V. Edelman is Professor Emerita of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo.
