The site of the city of Gibeon is now identified with a fair degree of certainty with el-Jib, a site about eight miles north-west of Jerusalem. Gibeon is mentioned about forty times in the Old Testament, and was clearly a city of some significance, particularly at the time of Saul, David and Solomon. Dr Blenkinsopp examines the evidence, principally contained in the Bible, relating to Gibeon and the Gibeonites, making use of confirmatory evidence provided by excavations at el-Jib and ancient Near Eastern non-biblical writings. He discusses the ethnic identity of the Gibeonites, the obscure...

Most studies of how early Judaism related to the non-Jewish world and how it was perceived by others start no earlier than the Hellenistic period. Joseph Blenkinsopp argues that we must go further back, to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and the liquidation of the political and religious infrastructure -- monarchy, priesthood, scribalism, prophecy -- which had sustained the Judean state for centuries.

Moving beyond the ideologically driven approaches of scholars over the past two centuries, he explores such pragmatic issues as the emergence of a distinctive...

Joseph Blenkinsopp's commentary on the Book of Ezekiel is part of the Interpretation series, a set of full-length commentaries written specifically for those who interpret the Bible through teaching and preaching in the church.

Examines the David theme in the collective mind of ancient Israel and the early church
In this follow-up study to Judaism, The First Phase, Joseph Blenkinsopp traces the development of traditions about David in the collective memory of the people of Israel and the first Christians, from the extinction of the Davidic dynasty in the sixth century B.C.E. to the early common era.
David Remembered is neither a biography of David nor an exegetical study of the biblical narrative about David. Rather, it focuses on the memory of David as a powerful factor in the formation...

In this discursive commentary Joseph Blenkinsopp explores the story of Abraham -- iconic ancestor of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- as told in Genesis 11-25. Presented in continuous discussion rather than in verse-by-verse form, Blenkinsopp's commentary focuses on the literary and theological artistry of the narrative as a whole.
Blenkinsopp discussses a range of issues raised in the Abraham saga, including confirmation of God's promises, Isaac's sacrifice and the death of Jesus, and Abraham's other beloved son, Ishmael. Each chapter has a section called -Filling in the Gaps, - which...