The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us
496The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us
496Paperback
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Overview
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780062067739 |
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Publisher: | HarperCollins |
Publication date: | 08/21/2012 |
Pages: | 496 |
Sales rank: | 457,962 |
Product dimensions: | 6.10(w) x 8.82(h) x 1.26(d) |
About the Author
Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University and affiliate faculty at the Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations in Cambridge, UK. Levine is the author of The Misunderstood Jew and served as co-editor of The Jewish Annotated New Testament.
AMY-JILL LEVINE is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. She has also taught at Swarthmore College, Cambridge University, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. She is the author of many books, including The Misunderstood Jew and Short Stories by Jesus, and she is the co-editor of the Jewish Annotated New Testament.
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction xiii
Part 1
1 The History of Ancient Israel 3
Reconstructing History 5
Historical Synopsis 7
The Ancestors 10
The Exodus 13
Settlement of the Land 17
The Founding of the Monarchy 22
From the Divided Kingdom to the Fall of Jerusalem 25
Exile and Return 32
The Persian and Hellenistic Periods 34
The Historical Time Frame 40
2 The Literary Heritage of Ancient Israel 43
Tanakh or Old Testament or Hebrew Bible? 45
Every Translator, a Traitor 48
Literary Conventions 53
Characterization 58
Different Stories, Different Authors 64
Canonization 73
3 Land and Settlement 75
Israel's Environs 77
Topography 81
Climate and Water Resources 91
Settlement of the Land 94
A Land of Milk and Honey 96
Part 2
4 Law and Justice 101
The Written and the Unwritten 104
Ancient Southwest Asia 108
Rhetorical Forms 111
Administering Justice 115
5 The Divine 133
Four Stumbling Blocks to Talking About the Biblical God 135
The Names of God 139
Religious Competition and Co-optation 147
The Divine Feminine 150
Father God, Children of God, Angels 152
Polytheism, Henotheism, and Monotheism 157
Seeing the Portraits Again 159
6 The Cultus 165
The "Domestic Cult" 166
Tabernacles and Temples 169
Priests 176
Purity 181
Dietary Concerns 186
Sacrifice 188
Child Sacrifice 191
7 Chaos and Creation 195
Creation Today 195
Cosmic Architecture 198
Hands-on Artisanship 207
Disorder and Estrangement 213
From Cain and Abel to Noah and Babel 216
Other Biblical Creations 224
8 Continuation and Completion 231
Abrahams Search for a Home 232
From Slavery to Liberation 239
New Exodus: From Prophecy to Apocalyptic 249
Part 3
9 Self and Other 261
Hebrews 262
Circumcision 264
Endogamy 269
The Tribes of Israel 280
The Samaritans 282
Judeans and Jews 284
From Affiliation to Conversion 285
Resident Aliens and Foreigners 288
Chosen People 292
10 Sexuality 293
Revisiting Eden 296
Sexual Seduction, Response, and Potency 304
Legislating Sexuality 306
Marriage, Divorce, and Adultery 314
Abortion 320
Sexual Abuse 322
Innuendo 323
11 Politics and the Economy 329
The Nation-State 330
The Cities 340
The Empire and the Colony 343
The Household 345
The Clan 350
The Tribe 334
12 Diaspora 361
Initial Scattering and Return 361
The Ten Lost Tribes 365
The Babylonian Diaspora 367
Postexilic Diaspora Communities 375
Esther 376
Daniel 383
Tobit 389
Part 4
13 Critique and Reform 395
Historians as Critics 396
Moses, Flawed but Unassailable 398
As His Father David Did 403
Prophets as Critics 415
Politics 419
Economy 421
Religion 423
14 Wisdom and Theodicy 427
Who Is Wise? 428
Sages and Their Literature 431
Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon 434
Woman Wisdom 436
Job and Theodicy 439
Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) and Realism 452
Conclusion 457
Acknowledgments 459
Bibliography 461
Index 465
What People are Saying About This
“A book we have needed for years - learned and accessible, clearly organized by the topics readers care about, and fully engaged with current discussions of deep and broad significance.”
“If anyone thinks the fruit of biblical scholarship is esoteric and heavy reading, direct that person to this book. In it, Knight and Levine demonstrate both their scholarly proficiency and their expertise as seasoned educators. This book should appeal to a broad audience.”
“Amy-Jill Levine and Douglas A. Knight have combined to write a book on the Bible that is as academically brilliant as it is marvelously entertaining. By placing our scriptures into their original Jewish context they have opened up startling and profound new insights. This is a terrific book.”
“Provides new knowledge on the Bible’s rich diversity of teaching on sexuality, familial and ethnic discord, political corruption, religious infidelity, economic exploitation as well as the nature of God, faith, love, and social justice. It is both enlightening and inspiring.”
“A winsome, accessible introduction to the theological thought of the Hebrew Bible. This sort of irenic, thoughtful linkage of criticism and interpretation within a confessing tradition is exactly what we most need in Scripture reading.”
“From its superb introduction to its perfectly worded conclusion, this book does it all. Whether your interest in the Bible is historical or literary, specific texts or broad themes, this book has it—and conveys its relevance for today. ”
“Knight and Levine have done a marvelous job of taking very sophisticated material and presenting it in an illuminating and thoroughly engaging way that bespeaks of excellent scholarship by two distinguished teachers.”