The collection of essays contains nineteen contributions that aim at locating the Song of Songs in its ancient context as well as addressing problems of interpretation and the reception of this biblical book in later literature. In contrast to previous studies this work devotes considerable attention to parallels from the Greek world without neglecting the Ancient Near East or Egypt. Several contributions deal with the use of the Song in Byzantine, Medieval, German Romantic and modern Greek Literature. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the collection new perspectives and avenues of...

This monograph presents a challenge to the view that the Hebrew Bible contains allusions to Yahweh's battle with chaos, showing how the term has been inappropriately applied in a range of contexts where far more diverse spheres of imagery should instead be recognised. Through the construction of a careful diachronic model (developed with particular reference to the Psalter), the author presents a persuasive case for reversing common assumptions about the development of Israelite religion, finding instead that the combat motif was absent in the earliest period, whilst the slaying of a...

Die Monographie untersucht die Konigspsalmen vor dem Hintergrund der neueren Psalmen- und Psalterforschung, die sich neben einer genauen Untersuchung der Einzeltexte auch den Verbindungen zwischen den einzelnen Psalmen zuwendet. Entgegen der These einer ausschlielich vorexilischen Entstehung der Konigspsalmen weist die detaillierte Analyse der Texte auf eine uber das Exil hinausgehende literarische Entwicklung und eine zusammenhangende Theologie der Konigspsalmen hin.

Die Studie unterzieht das gesamte Hoseabuch einer redaktionsgeschichtlichen Analyse und kommt, ausgehend von einem Kern in Hos 4-9, zu dem Ergebnis, dass es erst sukzessive zu seiner heutigen Gestalt angewachsen ist. Die Geschichtsruckblicke ab Hos 9,10 und die biographischen Symbolhandlungen in Hos 1 und 3 gehoren demnach spateren Redaktionsschichten an. So wird ein literatur- und theologiegeschichtlicher Bogen von den Anfangen prophetischer Uberlieferung im 8. Jh. v. Chr. bis hin zu ihrer Rezeption in Qumran geschlagen.

This monograph investigates the literary development of Ezra 7-10 and Neh 8. With a detailed literary critical analysis, the investigation shows that the text was produced in several successive editorial phases for at least two centuries. Thus the final text cannot be used for historical purposes. The oldest text emerged as a short narrative, entirely written in the third person. It describes how a Torah scribe (Schriftgelehrter) called Ezra came from Babylon to Jerusalem to reinstate the written Torah. In the later editorial phases, Ezra's role was transformed from a scribe to a...

This study explores the interplay between the commendation of enjoyment and the injunction to fear God in Ecclesiastes. Previous studies have tended to examine these seemingly antithetical themes in isolation from one another. Seeing enjoyment and fear to be positively correlated, however, enables a fresh articulation of the book's theology. Enjoyment of life lies at the heart of Qohelet's vision of piety, which may be characterized as faithful realism, calling for an authentic engagement with both the tragic and joyous dimensions of human existence.

Winner of the 2007 John...

Die Arbeit behandelt eine Schlusselstelle innerhalb der Komposition der alttestamentlichen Geschichtsbucher und fuhrt die seit langem und viel verhandelten Probleme von Ri 1 einer neuen Losung zu. In literarkritischen Detailanalysen einerseits und im Zusammenhang bucherubergreifender redaktionsgeschichtlicher Erwagungen andererseits wird nachgewiesen, dass der eigenartige Landnahmebericht in Ri 1 nie - etwa im Sinne eines "negativen Besitzverzeichnisses" - selbststandig existiert hat, sondern von Anfang an als projudaischer Programmtext auf seinen literarischen Kontext hin verfasst wurde....

The papers in this volume revolve around the history of the influence exerted by the person of Moses and the traditions associated with him. They deal not only with the function of the figure of Moses in the Pentateuch, the salvation in the Red Sea and the final day of Moses' life, but also with the way Moses was received in the Deuteronomic history, the Psalms, the Book of Jeremiah, the Septuagint, in Qumran, early Jewish extra-biblical literature, the New Testament and the Early Church.

Recent advances in cognitive linguistics provide new avenues for reading and interpreting Biblical Hebrew prophetic text. This volume utilises a multi-layered cognitive linguistics approach to explore Jeremiah 1:1-6:30, incorporating insights from cognitive grammar, cognitive science and conceptual blending theory. While the modern reader is separated from the originators of these texts by time, space and culture, this analysis rests on the theory that both the originators and the modern reader share common features of embodied experience. This opens the way for utilising cognitive models,...