A History of the Bible

A History of the Bible
Author: John Barton
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0143111205

A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context--from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries. It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world--and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording--which is impossible to determine--and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

The Origin of Biblical Traditions

The Origin of Biblical Traditions
Author: Albert T. Clay
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1597527181

Many scholars during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries argued that ancient Israel simply borrowed most of its culture and religion from Babylonia. In this volume Clay counters that West Semitic cultures (the Amorites) were already a developed civilization before Israel came under Babylonian influence. Writing a decade before the discoveries of Ugarit and Mari, Clay noted that there were numerous clues to West Semitic cultures. While some of his arguments and conclusion are no longer tenable, this work retains its interest for its place in the discussion. Without directly referring to Clay, George Mendenhall affirms Clays fundamental point in this volume: from the MB Age on there was no region of the Levant that had not been influenced by the Amorite language and culture in various ways and various degrees. Their cultural and linguistic influence was a lasting one that is gradually coming to light, especially in the areas of religion and law (The Amorites, in 'Anchor Bible Dictionary').

The Israelites in History and Tradition

The Israelites in History and Tradition
Author: Niels Peter Lemche
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1998-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664227272

Niels Peter Lemche focuses on the way Israelites understood themselves at different points in history--before, within, and after the monarchy. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Israel's rich history. Volumes in the Library of Ancient Israel draw on multiple disciplines--such as archaeology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and literary criticism--to illuminate the everyday realities and social subtleties these ancient cultures experienced. This series employs sophisticated methods resulting in original contributions that depict the reality of the people behind the Hebrew Bible and interprets these insights for a wide variety of readers.

The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis

The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis
Author:
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Total Pages: 146
Release: 1999
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9780802136107

Hailed as "the most radical repackaging of the Bible since Gutenberg", these Pocket Canons give an up-close look at each book of the Bible.

The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions

The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions
Author: Angela Kim Harkins
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2014-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1451465130

Leading scholars explore the tradition, rooted in Genesis 6, of “the Watchers,” mysterious heavenly beings who became the focus of rich cosmological and theological speculation in early Judaism. Chapters trace the development of the Watchers through the Enoch literature, Jubilees, and other early Jewish and Christian writings.

The Making of the Bible

The Making of the Bible
Author: Konrad Schmid
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2021-10-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0674248384

The authoritative new account of the BibleÕs origins, illuminating the 1,600-year tradition that shaped the Christian and Jewish holy books as millions know them today. The Bible as we know it today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the tenth century BCE. In this revelatory account, a world-renowned scholar of Hebrew scripture joins a foremost authority on the New Testament to write a new biography of the Book of Books, reconstructing Jewish and Christian scriptural histories, as well as the underappreciated contest between them, from which the Bible arose. Recent scholarship has overturned popular assumptions about IsraelÕs past, suggesting, for instance, that the five books of the Torah were written not by Moses but during the reign of Josiah centuries later. The sources of the Gospels are also under scrutiny. Konrad Schmid and Jens Schršter reveal the long, transformative journeys of these and other texts en route to inclusion in the holy books. The New Testament, the authors show, did not develop in the wake of an Old Testament set in stone. Rather the two evolved in parallel, in conversation with each other, ensuring a continuing mutual influence of Jewish and Christian traditions. Indeed, Schmid and Schršter argue that Judaism may not have survived had it not been reshaped in competition with early Christianity. A remarkable synthesis of the latest Old and New Testament scholarship, The Making of the Bible is the most comprehensive history yet told of the worldÕs best-known literature, revealing its buried lessons and secrets.

The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1

The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1
Author: Geoffrey Khan
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 762
Release: 2020-02-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1783746777

These volumes represent the highest level of scholarship on what is arguably the most important tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Written by the leading scholar of the Tiberian Masoretic tradition, they offer a wealth of new data and revised analysis, and constitute a considerable advance on existing published scholarship. It should stand alongside Israel Yeivin’s ‘The Tiberian Masorah’ as an essential handbook for scholars of Biblical Hebrew, and will remain an indispensable reference work for decades to come. —Dr. Benjamin Outhwaite, Director of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library The form of Biblical Hebrew that is presented in printed editions, with vocalization and accent signs, has its origin in medieval manuscripts of the Bible. The vocalization and accent signs are notation systems that were created in Tiberias in the early Islamic period by scholars known as the Tiberian Masoretes, but the oral tradition they represent has roots in antiquity. The grammatical textbooks and reference grammars of Biblical Hebrew in use today are heirs to centuries of tradition of grammatical works on Biblical Hebrew in Europe. The paradox is that this European tradition of Biblical Hebrew grammar did not have direct access to the way the Tiberian Masoretes were pronouncing Biblical Hebrew. In the last few decades, research of manuscript sources from the medieval Middle East has made it possible to reconstruct with considerable accuracy the pronunciation of the Tiberian Masoretes, which has come to be known as the ‘Tiberian pronunciation tradition’. This book presents the current state of knowledge of the Tiberian pronunciation tradition of Biblical Hebrew and a full edition of one of the key medieval sources, Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ ‘The Guide for the Reader’, by ʾAbū al-Faraj Hārūn. It is hoped that the book will help to break the mould of current grammatical descriptions of Biblical Hebrew and form a bridge between modern traditions of grammar and the school of the Masoretes of Tiberias. Links and QR codes in the book allow readers to listen to an oral performance of samples of the reconstructed Tiberian pronunciation by Alex Foreman. This is the first time Biblical Hebrew has been recited with the Tiberian pronunciation for a millennium.

The Origin Tradition of Ancient Israel

The Origin Tradition of Ancient Israel
Author: Linda Thompson
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 225
Release: 1987-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567333035

For more than three decades, Thomas L. Thompson has written at the intersection of biblical theology and archaeology. Origin Tradition of Ancient asks important questions about historicity in general and Israel's history in particular-including, perhaps most importantly, at what point Israel's history begins. After surveying the recent literature on the subject, Thompson closely examines the Pentateuchal tradition as a narrative of Israel's history, and offers detailed exegesis of the historical narratives in Genesis and Exodus, including Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the sojourn in the wilderness. He closes with a discussion of chronology and historiography.