The presence of didactic, wisdom-like passages in the Book of Psalms presents a puzzle because it suggests a non-liturgical origin and pedagogical aim distinct from the more dominant psalmic language of lament and praise. Catherine Petrany argues for a literary and theological approach to the question of wisdom's role in the psalms that accounts for its meaningful integration with these other kinds of discourse. The unique contextualization of wisdom motifs in the psalms creates a pedagogical platform unique to the book, one related to but distinct from the pedagogies of the biblical wisdom...
The presence of didactic, wisdom-like passages in the Book of Psalms presents a puzzle because it suggests a non-liturgical origin and pedagogical aim...
Michael J. Chan argues, on a methodological level, for the deeper integration of iconographic materials into the task of tradition history--a method that has tended to focus on textual evidence alone. Following the work of O.H. Steck, however, "tradition" is understood in more flexible terms, to refer to inherited concepts and constellations, which can exist across multiple media. The author undertakes a tradition-historical study of the "Wealth of Nations Tradition"--a series of texts in which the foreign nations of the earth bring their wealth to Zion. The Wealth of Nations tradition is...
Michael J. Chan argues, on a methodological level, for the deeper integration of iconographic materials into the task of tradition history--a method t...
The law on the -cities of refuge- contained in Num 35,9-34 is almost universally seen as a simple repetition of legal content that is basically already present in the legislation of other biblical books. Francesco Cocco demonstrates that we find ourselves here before a case of reformulation instead of simple repetition, the implications of which are extremely interesting for the understanding of biblical penal legislation. In this particular fragment, it exhibits traces of modernity so surprising as to be as good as the defence of civil liberties in the legal systems currently in force in the...
The law on the -cities of refuge- contained in Num 35,9-34 is almost universally seen as a simple repetition of legal content that is basically alread...
In this volume, James A. E. Mulroney explains the Greek style of the Old Greek (Septuagint) book of Habakkuk. Where previous studies have focused on an interlinear model, aligning the Hebrew with the Greek text, this study looks at the Greek text in its own right. Of first importance is the notion of transformation in linguistic/translation studies: all translation involves interpretation. Therefore, the Old Greek is an interpretation of its Hebrew base text. The author offers an extended analysis of present methodological issues in the field of Septuagint studies. The study shows that the...
In this volume, James A. E. Mulroney explains the Greek style of the Old Greek (Septuagint) book of Habakkuk. Where previous studies have focused on a...
Zedekiah ben Josiah was the last king of Judah, and under his leadership, in 586 BCE, Jerusalem was destroyed. Interestingly, the Hebrew and Old Greek versions of Jeremiah present very different portrayals of Zedekiah, prompting a variety of literary and historical-critical questions. In this study, Shelley Birdsong Long uses a multi-critical approach to highlight the two unique characterizations of Zedekiah and address their relationship text- and form-critically. She argues that the Greek text depicts Zedekiah as a manipulative and mysterious Machiavellian prince, whereas the Hebrew...
Zedekiah ben Josiah was the last king of Judah, and under his leadership, in 586 BCE, Jerusalem was destroyed. Interestingly, the Hebrew and Old Greek...
In this book, Aren M. Wilson-Wright proposes a new model for studying gods in the Ancient Near East. The key insight of this model is that the roles, functions, and representations of deities correspond to the daily routines of their worshippers. Soldiers, for example, tend to worship martial gods, while farmers tend to worship agricultural gods. The author then illustrates the utility of this model by applying it to a detailed study of the goddess Athtart at three Late Bronze Age sites: Egypt, Emar, and Ugarit. In the process, he demonstrates that multiple, distinct forms of Athtart existed...
In this book, Aren M. Wilson-Wright proposes a new model for studying gods in the Ancient Near East. The key insight of this model is that the roles, ...
In this study, David Willgren attempts to provide answers to two fundamental questions in relation to the formation of the Book' of Psalms: -how?- and -why?-. The first relates to the diachronic growth of the collection (how are these processes to be reconstructed, and on what grounds?), while the second relates to questions of purpose (to what end are psalms being juxtaposed in a collection?). By conceptualizing the Book' of Psalms as an anthology, and by inquiring into its poetics by means of paratextuality, David Willgren provides a fresh reconstruction of the formation of the Book' of...
In this study, David Willgren attempts to provide answers to two fundamental questions in relation to the formation of the Book' of Psalms: -how?- and...
The minor prophets can be considered an interesting field of study both from an exegetical as well as a theological perspective. An international conference held at the Universite de Lorraine in Metz in November 2015 was dedicated to the Book of the Twelve and this volume contains its proceedings. The conference's principal goal was to explore the link between theory, unstated presuppositions and exegetical analysis. Two specific areas of interest were taken into consideration here: should the Book of the Twelve be read as one book, an anthology, or something else? And how should the...
The minor prophets can be considered an interesting field of study both from an exegetical as well as a theological perspective. An international conf...
