The fall of Samaria is narrated in 2 Kings 17. The cuneiform inscriptions dealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest is ascribed to both Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. The surmise of H. Tadmor that Samaria was conquered twice is investigated. At the same time the events are interpreted in their socio-historical framework. Tadmor's assumption cannot be falsified, although his theory should be modified as regards the date of the first conquest: 723 B.C.E. The fall of Samaria can be interpreted as an inevitable result of the expansion of the Assyrian Empire in...
The fall of Samaria is narrated in 2 Kings 17. The cuneiform inscriptions dealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest is ascri...
The articles in this volume have been written in memory of the feminist biblical scholar, Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes, who died at the early age of 50. The authors endeavour to continue and advance the dialogue with her by evaluating and interacting with her scholarly legacy. Their concern is with various aspects of her work on the Hebrew Bible, and they respond in particular to the feminist hermeneutics she developed for reading biblical texts. Several articles test her method in application to specific prophetic texts. Other contributions focus on aspects of the role of women in the cults...
The articles in this volume have been written in memory of the feminist biblical scholar, Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes, who died at the early age of 50. ...
"The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible is the single major work of reference on the gods, angels, demons, spirits and semi-divine heroes whose names occur in the biblical books. First published in 1995 and chosen by "Choice as Best Reference Work of 1996, it is now republished in a new extensively revised edition. 30 entries appear for the first time in the new edition, while more than 100 others have been brought up to date with the latest state of research. Arranged in the order of the Latin alphabet, the more than four-hundred names are those found in the books of the...
"The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible is the single major work of reference on the gods, angels, demons, spirits and semi-divine heroes w...
Exile and Return have caused a crisis in Israelite religion. This crisis eventually gave the impetus for the emergence of Judaism. The papers in this volume, originally read at a Symposium organized by Utrecht University in April 1998, discuss the relevant aspects of this crisis and the shift from Yahwism to Judaism. The collection of papers is unique in presenting a multidimensional treatment of the problems involved. Biblical texts are read against their historical background with the question in mind: How did the author(s) of this text cope with the changed and shifting situation? Next to...
Exile and Return have caused a crisis in Israelite religion. This crisis eventually gave the impetus for the emergence of Judaism. The papers in this ...
"At a time when many volumes of collected essays are much larger in size, From Babylon to Eternity offers a refreshing change. At 113 pages the book is easily read in a handful of sittings. The effect of this continuous reading is something missed in larger topical collections. Reading the book through, the reader is taken through circles of interpretation starting closest to the event and working outward to matters of interpretation. These interpretations move from the event and its ancient traditions to modern interpretations. In this regard, the collection of essays certainly accomplishes...
"At a time when many volumes of collected essays are much larger in size, From Babylon to Eternity offers a refreshing change. At 113 pages the book i...
"At a time when many volumes of collected essays are much larger in size, From Babylon to Eternity offers a refreshing change. At 113 pages the book is easily read in a handful of sittings. The effect of this continuous reading is something missed in larger topical collections. Reading the book through, the reader is taken through circles of interpretation starting closest to the event and working outward to matters of interpretation. These interpretations move from the event and its ancient traditions to modern interpretations. In this regard, the collection of essays certainly accomplishes...
"At a time when many volumes of collected essays are much larger in size, From Babylon to Eternity offers a refreshing change. At 113 pages the book i...
The view of ancient Israelite religion as monotheistic has long been traditional in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, religions that have elaborated in their own way the biblical image of a single male deity. But recent archaeological findings of texts and images from the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their neighbourhood offer a quite different impression. Two issues in particular raised by these are the existence of a female consort, Asherah, and the implication for monotheism; and the proliferation of pictorial representations that may contradict the biblical ban on images....
The view of ancient Israelite religion as monotheistic has long been traditional in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, religions that have elaborated...
The Babylonian period has often been construed as a time of distress and suffering. The essays in this volume - a selection of papers read at the 50th Anniversary of the SSOTS - discuss this theme from a variety of angles.
The Babylonian period has often been construed as a time of distress and suffering. The essays in this volume - a selection of papers read at the 50th...
The essays in this volume focus on the interpretation of the Book of Psalms and comparable texts in the Hebrew Bible. A variety of methods is applied to the ancient texts. Some essays concentrate on composition and structure, others on redaction and context. It is of great interest to see that each approach has its strength and its limits: stressing the importance to read the Psalms with a multi-dimensional matrix of methods. By viewing the Psalms as prayers, and thus as expressions of both faith and despair, a perspective on the contents of the ancient hymns and their functions in daily life...
The essays in this volume focus on the interpretation of the Book of Psalms and comparable texts in the Hebrew Bible. A variety of methods is applied ...
This volume explores the afterlives of Eve and Adam beyond the Genesis story. How did they become such a prominent part of mainstream Christian thought and theology-and Jewish and Muslim tradition as well-, and what forms did their story take as it was told and retold? To investigate the traces of Eve and Adam through the centuries is to discover a surprising variety of interpretations. The chapters of this book come from eleven European scholars. Bob Becking writes on how the identity of the primaeval couple is constructed in Genesis, Geert van Oyen on Eve as a character in the New...
This volume explores the afterlives of Eve and Adam beyond the Genesis story. How did they become such a prominent part of mainstream Christian though...