As recent scholarship dates Hebrew Bible materials later and later, the Deuteronomistic History has grown in importance. Viewed as the original, earliest document of the Hebrew Scriptures, it is credited with influencing (formally or informally) almost every level of the Hebrew Bible's composition. The 13 essays in this book include articles by N. Lohfink, A.G. Auld, J. Blenkinsopp, R.J. Coggins, J. Crenshaw, J. Van Seters and R.R. Wilson, as well as outstanding articles by newer scholars in the field. All address the question of whether or not the claims made by the pervasive...

This study breaks new ground in describing how various linguistic and pragmatic mechanisms affect both the form of the narrative clause and the arrangement of the grammatical elements. The various possible forms that a narrative clause can take are classified in terms of their 'topic-comment' and 'focus-presupposition', and it is argued that the way in which these are articulated dictates the word order in the clause. The outcome of the study demonstrates that the traditional binary distinction between foreground and background, based purely on verb forms, is inadequate. A new model is...

This work employs an eclectic mix of structuralist and post-structuralist theories in a doomed attempt to discover the symbolic logic at work in Zechariah 1-8's surreal narrative world. Lengthy analyses of Zechariah's intra- and intertextual logic, or lack thereof, are presented. It is finally concluded that Zechariah lacks a concrete symbolic logic, defies grammatical conventions and is 'unreadable' as it stands-and always was this way. One suggestion is that it was the intent of the author, conceived of in a postmodern way, to produce such a work. It is finally concluded that the...

Ash re-examines the question of the relationship between Egypt and Palestine during the time of David and Solomon. By analysing all the available evidence-epigraphical sources from Egypt, archaeological data from Palestine and the pertinent biblical texts-he concludes that relations and contacts between Egypt and the peoples inhabiting ancient Palestine at the time of David and Solomon were minimal. Any reconstructions of the history of relations and contacts between Egypt and Palestine, including ancient Israel, must take this study into consideration.

This topical volume deals with the adoption of biblical language and narrative and the presentation of 'biblical' images and themes in popular literature, art and mass media. The chapters, all written by experts in cultural studies of the Bible, explore how ideologies are produced, in various ways, when biblical texts are brought into play with each other, with other texts, and with the inevitable and continual demands for cultural and historical "translation"-or "recycling"-of the scriptures. The volume contains some theoretical reflections, but focuses on specific examples of cultural...

This book attempts an interesting exercise in character analysis. It scrutinizes the speeches of Joseph in such a way as to expose the problematic nature of his claims to know God's intentions. While Judah is forced by Joseph's test to choose slavery for the sake of his father's survival, the ironic reversal of Judah's role from victimizer to victim is undercut by the rationale by which he had Joseph sold in order to save him. Unwittingly, Joseph mistakes this rationale as a divine principle that undergirds his suffering and he dreams of domination for the same purpose of survival. He is...

Building on the biblical narrative and on social world analysis, Leeb argues that the terms NA'AR and NA'ARAH refer to persons displaced from the father's house (BET 'AB), usually as a result of debt slavery. Hence, rather than working his father's land, and becoming in turn the head of his own household, the NA'AR, as a domestic or military servant, helps build the household of another. Less frequently, the weakness or absence of the father leads to the same, or a similar, predicament. Any woman venturing from her own household is also likely to acquire the status of a NA'ARAH. This is a...

This is a formidable collection of previously published essays by this distinguished Old Testament scholar. Three significant areas of biblical studies have been a focus of the author's attention throughout his career: the Bible in its ancient Near Eastern world, the Psalms, and Old Testament theology. In Part I, epigraphic discoveries are examined for the light they shed on biblical texts. In Part II, special attention is given to the theological significance of reading the Psalms as a collection. In Part III, a wide range of theological issues-creation, covenant, prayer, cosmology,...