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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
Ritual in Deuteronomy explores the symbolic world of Deuteronomy's
ritual covenant and curses through a lens of religious studies and
anthropology, drawing on previously unexamined Mesopotamian
material. This book focuses on the ritual material in Deuteronomy
including commands regarding sacrifice, prayer objects, and
especially the dramatic ritual enactment of the covenant including
curses. The book's most unique feature is an entirely new
comparative study of Deut 27-30 with two ritual texts from
Mesopotamia. No studies to date have undertaken a comparison of
Deut 27-30 with ancient Near Eastern ritual texts outside of the
treaty oath tradition. This fresh comparison illuminates how the
ritual life of ancient Israel shaped the literary form of
Deuteronomy and concludes that the performance of oaths was a
social strategy, addressing contemporary anxieties and reinforcing
systems of cultural power. This book offers a fascinating
comparative study which will be of interest to undergraduate and
graduate students in biblical studies, classical Hebrew, theology,
and ancient Near Eastern studies. The book's more technical aspects
will also appeal to scholars of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy,
Biblical Law, Ancient Near Eastern History, Mesopotamian Studies,
and Classics.
Exploring the Heart Sutra offers readers an interdisciplinary
philosophical approach to this much-loved Buddhist classic, with a
new translation and commentary. Situating the Heart Sutra within a
Chinese context, Sarah A. Mattice brings together voices past and
present, Asian and Western, on topics from Buddhology, translation
theory, feminism, religious studies, ethnography, Chinese
philosophy, and more, in order to inspire readers to understand the
sutra in a new light. Mattice's argument for the importance of
appreciating the Heart Sutra from a Chinese philosophical context
includes a new hermeneutic paradigm for approaching composite
texts; an argument for translating the text from the Chinese,
rather than the Sanskrit; an extended discussion of the figure of
Guanyin, bodhisattva of compassion and main speaker of the Heart
Sutra, as a distinctively Chinese figure; an inquiry in to the
history of women's practice, with a special focus on China; and a
commentary on the text that draws on philosophical resources from
Chinese Buddhist, Ruist, and Daoist traditions. Mattice presents
the Heart Sutra in its depth and complexity, inviting readers to
return to this classic text with fresh perspectives and new
insights into its relevance for living well in the contemporary
world.
We live in an age when it is not uncommon for politicians to invoke
religious doctrine to explain their beliefs and positions on
everything from domestic to foreign policy. And yet, many of us
would be hard pressed to pinpoint the exact source of these
political beliefs in the religious texts that are said to have
spawned them. In Politics in the Hebrew Bible: God, Man, and
Government, Kalman J. Kaplan and Matthew B. Schwartz offer a
genre-straddling examination of the political themes in the Jewish
Bible. By studying the political implications of 42 biblical
stories (organized into the categories Social Order, Government and
Leadership, Domestic Relations, Societal Relations, Morale and
Mission, and Foreign Policy), the authors seek to discern a
cohesive political viewpoint embodied by the Jewish Bible.
Throughout the text, the views put forth in the Jewish Bible are
compared to those put forth by Greco-Roman philosophers in order to
argue that the Bible offers a worldview that fosters a "high degree
of creative individualism within a supportive non-chaotic and
well-functioning society". Kaplan and Schwartz are generous with
their explanations of Greco-Roman philosophical concepts in the
introductory chapters and with giving background information about
the biblical stories engaged in the text.
This book provides a comprehensive study on the proclamation of
Holy Scriptures as an enacted celebration, as well as its function
as a performance within sacralized theatrical spaces. Scripture is
integral to religious life within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
and these traditions have venerated the reading of texts from an
appointed place as a sacred act. Thus, the study of how these
readings are conducted illuminates some vitally important aspects
of this widespread act of worship. Contributing to an underexplored
area of scholarship, the book offers an overview of scripture
reading in the three Abrahamic faiths and then focuses on where and
how the "Word of God" is presented within the Christian tradition.
It gathers and summarizes research on the origins of a defined
place for the proclamation of holy writings, giving a thorough
architectural analysis and interpretation of the various uses and
symbols related to these spaces over time. Finally, the listener is
considered with a phenomenological description of the place for
reading and its hermeneutical interpretation. The material in this
book uncovers the contemporary impact of a rich history of publicly
reading out scriptures. It will, therefore, be of great interest to
scholars of liturgical theology, religious studies, and ritual
studies.
Text Linguistics of Qur'anic Discourse is an in-depth investigation
of the fabric of Qur'anic Discourse. It unravels the texture of the
macro Qur'anic text; its cohesion and coherence systems; the
notions of intertextuality, semantic relatedness, and thematic
sequentiality; the macro textual features of ellipsis, repetition,
and argumentation structure; and the contextual, co-textual,
grammatical, and semantic factors involved in the macro Qur'anic
text. This book is a valuable and methodologically consistent
learning and teaching academic resource for universities worldwide
in this intriguing new discipline. Through its methodologically
coherent discussion and in-depth analysis that is hinged upon
modern European text linguistics, Text Linguistics of Qur'anic
Discourse provides an insight into the newly established discipline
of text linguistics, and explores the different layers of the macro
Qur'anic text as an academic requirement.
The Mahabharata, one of the major epics of India, is a sourcebook
complete by itself as well as an open text constantly under
construction. This volume looks at transactions between its modern
discourses and ancient vocabulary. Located amid conversations
between these two conceptual worlds, the volume grapples with the
epic's problematisation of dharma or righteousness, and
consequently, of the ideal person and the good life through a
cluster of issues surrounding the concept of agency and action.
Drawing on several interdisciplinary approaches, the essays reflect
on a range of issues in the Mahabharata, including those of duty,
motivation, freedom, selfhood, choice, autonomy, and justice, both
in the context of philosophical debates and their ethical and
political ramifications for contemporary times. This book will be
of interest to scholars and researchers engaged with philosophy,
literature, religion, history, politics, culture, gender, South
Asian studies, and Indology. It will also appeal to the general
reader interested in South Asian epics and the Mahabharata.
Becoming a Mensch is a "user's guide" to becoming a better person,
taking readers through a process of personal growth by means of
modern-day vignettes that draw upon the Talmud's ancient wisdom. By
examining character traits such as "kindness and compassion,"
"self-mastery and self discipline," and "humility and flexibility,"
readers of any or no faith learn what it takes to become a "mensch"
-- a decent and honorable human being. Readers are introduced to
the greatest sages of the Talmudic era and many modern masters of
ethical behavior. Becoming a Mensch is not only a guidebook for
personal growth -- it is also a useful guide for parents who want
to foster the ethical development of their children.
This volume showcases a wide range of contemporary approaches to
the identification of literary structures within Qur'anic surahs.
Recent academic studies of the Qur'an have taken an increasing
interest in the concept of the surah as a unity and, with it, the
division of complete surahs into consecutive sections or parts.
Part One presents a series of case studies focussing on individual
Qur'anic surahs. Nevin Reda analyzes the structure of Surat Al
'Imran (Q 3), Holger Zellentin looks at competing structures within
Surat al-'Alaq (Q 96), and A.H. Mathias Zahniser provides an
exploration of the ring structures that open Surat Maryam (Q 19).
Part Two then focusses on three discrete aspects of the text. Nora
K. Schmid assesses the changing structural function of oaths,
Marianna Klar evaluates how rhythm, rhyme, and morphological
parallelisms combine in order to produce texture and cohesion,
while Salwa El-Awa considers the structural impact of connectives
and other discourse markers with specific reference to Surat Taha
(Q 20). The final section of the volume juxtaposes contrasting
attitudes to the discernment of diachronic seams. Devin Stewart
examines surah-medial oracular oaths, Muhammad Abdel Haleem
questions a range of instances where suggestions of disjointedness
have historically been raised, and Nicolai Sinai explores the
presence of redactional layers within Surat al-Nisa' (Q 4) and
Surat al-Ma'idah (Q 5). Bringing a combination of different
approaches to Qur'an structure into a single book, written by
well-established and emerging voices in Qur'anic studies, the work
will be an invaluable resource to academics researching Islam,
religious studies, and languages and literatures in general.
Chapter #6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open
Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No
Derivatives 4.0 license available at
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003010456
This book, first published in 1968, is a collection of twenty-five
lectures by Swami Prabhavananda, the outstanding scholar and
translator of Hindu scriptures. They present a direct and pragmatic
approach to spiritual life, and a clear guide to Hinduism.
This book, first published in 1968, comprises five articles on the
immortality of the soul. According to Hindu tradition this
immortality cannot be proved by the scientific method of reasoning
- it is based upon scriptural evidence and on the direct experience
of enlightened souls. These articles examine the Hindu tradition
and provide reasoned support to the scriptures and experiences.
This book, first published in 1957, was the first in English to
provide a full and clear introduction to one of the most
significant of Indian gods, and stresses his supreme role in Indian
religion and art. The book relates the full Krishna story,
explaining his role in Indian religion, and traces the history of
Krishna in Indian painting. There are 39 plates of Indian pictures,
each accompanied by a commentary by the author, revealing a wealth
of subtle and poetic detail.
This book, first published in 1962, is an analysis of the history
of the philosophy of a country that has never distinguished
philosophy from religion. Indian philosophy is not merely
metaphysical speculation, but has its foundation in immediate
perception. This insistence upon immediate perception rather than
abstract reasoning is what distinguishes the Indian philosophy of
religion from philosophy as Western nations know it.
Indian art, increasingly popular in the west, cannot be fully
appreciated without some knowledge of the religious and
philosophical background. This book, first published in 1985,
covers all aspects of Hindu iconography, and explains that its
roots lie far back in the style of prehistoric art. The dictionary
demonstrates the rich profusion of cults, divinities, symbols,
sects and philosophical views encompassed by the Hindu religious
tradition.
'Hinduism' is a term often used to summarize the aspirations of the
majority of the Indian people. But any simple definition of it is
difficult, if not impossible. This is partly owing to the nuances
of the Sanskrit language, in which many texts are written, and
partly to the too literal interpretation of Hindu imagery and
mythology that often veils its real significance. This book, first
published in 1977, is an essential reference source that goes some
way to clarifying the difficulties of understanding Hinduism.
Of the score of documents in the Rabbinic canon that reached
closure in late antiquity, the first six centuries of the Common
Era, the Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan Text A (Abot de Rabbi
Natan, henceforward: ARNA) proves the most difficult to classify in
the canonical context. It presents a challenge because it is
different in its indicative traits from any other in the Rabbinic
documents of its period. In the conclusion, (Chapter Forty-Five),
Neusner explains what is at stake for the documentary hypothesis of
the Rabbinic canon in that observation. Jacob Neusner follows the
procedures that have guided his prior work in situating Rabbinic
documents within their formal context and in ordinal sequence in
their larger canonical setting. After introducing the two documents
compared here, Abot and ARNA, Neusner sets out a prologue
explaining the analytical procedure. Then, he takes up a detailed
probe of all the evidence and produces a hypothetical
category-system of forms. This is exposed through a system of
visual indicators, which Neusner defines and explains in the
prologue to Part One. Part Two in two chapters follows. The results
of Chapter Forty-Four, where Neusner tests the givens of the
documentary hypothesis against the facts of ARNA and Abot, yield
the concluding chapter, Chapter Forty-Five, where Neusner surveys
the results for the entire document to see what rules govern in the
context of the documentary hypothesis. These call into question the
universal applicability of that hypothesis. There is no documentary
program that derives uniquely from ARNA in canonical context.
This volume is a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one
of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gita. The
Bhagavad-gita is at its core a religious text, a philosophical
treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative
position within Hinduism for the past millennium. This book brings
together themes central to the study of the Gita, as it is
popularly known - such as the Bhagavad-gita's structure, the
history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions
within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It
highlights the richness of the Gita's interpretations, examines its
great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a
conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition.
With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book
will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious
studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy,
Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.
This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical
authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for
inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary
History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that
there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical
and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek
works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities
in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for
by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he
suggests that although much of the text may originate from the
Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the
Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and
final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent
collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a
valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew
Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant
more broadly.
This path-breaking book sets aside the traditional story of the
life of Muhammad, and inquires into the internal history of the
Qur'an itself. Drawing on fresh insights from linguistics and
theology, Durie puts forward a new and very different explanation
for the "Mecca-Medina" division, attributing it to a theological
crisis which arose in the Qur'anic community. Through careful
investigation of theologically charged topics such as prophecy,
Satan, sin, the oneness of God, covenant, warfare, divine presence,
and holiness, Durie questions whether the Qur'an and Bible really
do share a deeper connection. He invites the reader to set aside
the frames through which the Qur'an has been viewed in the past,
whether Biblical or Islamic, and invites us to attend to the
Qur'an's distinctive and unique theological vision, in its own
terms.
The Mahabharata has been explored extensively as a work of
mythology, epic poetry, and religious literature, but the text's
philosophical dimensions have largely been under-appreciated by
Western scholars. This book explores the philosophical implications
of the Mahabharata by paying attention to the centrality of
dialogue, both as the text's prevailing literary expression and its
organising structure. Focusing on five sets of dialogues about
controversial moral problems in the central story, this book shows
that philosophical deliberation is an integral part of the
narrative. Black argues that by paying attention to how characters
make arguments and how dialogues unfold, we can better appreciate
the Mahabharata's philosophical significance and its potential
contribution to debates in comparative philosophy today. This is a
fresh perspective on the Mahabharata that will be of great interest
to any scholar working in religious studies, Indian/South Asian
religions, comparative philosophy, and world literature.
The father-daughter dyad features in the Hebrew Bible in all of
narratives, laws, myths and metaphors. In previous explorations of
this relationship, the tendency has been to focus on discrete
stories - notable among them, Judges 11 (the story of Jephthah's
human sacrifice of his daughter) and Genesis 19 (the dark tale of
Lot's daughters' seduction of their father). By taking the full
spectrum into account, however, the daughter emerges prominently as
(not only) expendable and exploitable (as an emphasis on daughter
sacrifice or incest has suggested) but as cherished and protected
by her father. Depictions of daughters are multifarious and there
is a balance of very positive and very negative images. While not
uncritical of earlier feminist investigations, this book makes a
contribution to feminist biblical criticism and utilizes methods
drawn from the social sciences and psychoanalysis. Alongside
careful textual analysis, Johanna Stiebert offers a critical
evaluation of the heuristic usefulness of the ethnographic
honour-shame model, of parallels with Roman family studies, and of
the application and meaning of 'patriarchy'. Following semantic
analysis of the primary Hebrew terms for 'father' ( ) and
'daughter' ( ), as well as careful examination of inter-family
dynamics and the daughter's role vis-a-vis the son's, alongside
thorough investigation of both Judges 11 and Genesis 19, and also
of the metaphor of God-the-father of daughters Eve, Wisdom and
Zion, Stiebert provides the fullest exploration of daughters in the
Hebrew Bible to date.
This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special
emphasis on the pivotal medieval period. It focuses on three areas:
responses in the different faith traditions to tensions created by
the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic
contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its
importance vis-a-vis non-literal senses, such as the figurative,
spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in which classical rhetoric and
poetics informed - or were resisted in - interpretation.
Concentrating on points of intersection, the authors bring to light
previously hidden aspects of methods and approaches in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. This volume opens new avenues for
interdisciplinary analysis and will benefit scholars and students
of biblical studies, religious studies, medieval studies, Islamic
studies, Jewish studies, comparative religions, and theory of
interpretation.
This collection of papers arrives from the eighth annual symposium
between the Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies of Tel Aviv
University and the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University
of Ruhr, Bochum held in Bochum, June 2007. The general theme of the
Decalogue was examined in its various uses by both Jewish and
Christian traditions throughout the centuries to the present. Three
papers deal with the origin of the Decalogue: Yair Hoffman on the
rare mentioning of the Decalogue in the Hebrew Bible outside the
Torah; E. L. Greenstein considers that already A. ibn Ezra doubted
that God himself spoke in the Ten Commandments and states that more
likely their rhetoric indicates it was Moses who proclaimed the
Decalogue; A. Bar-Tour speaks about the cognitive aspects of the
Decalogue revelation story and its frame. The second part considers
the later use of the Decalogue: G. Nebe describes its use with
Paul; P. Wick discusses the symbolic radicalization of two
commandments in James and the Sermon on the Mount; A. Oppenheimer
explains the removal of the Decalogue from the daily Shem'a prayer
as a measure against the minim's claim of a higher religious
importance of the Decalogue compared to the Torah; W. Geerlings
examines Augustine's quotations of the Decalogue; H. Reventlow
depicts its central place in Luther's catechisms; Y. Yacobson
discusses its role with Hasidism. The symposium closes with papers
on systematic themes: C. Frey follows a possible way to legal
universalism; G. Thomas describes the Decalogue as an "Ethics of
Risk"; F. H. Beyer/M. Waltemathe seek an educational perspective.
This book focuses on the expressions used to describe Job's body in
pain and on the reactions of his friends to explore the moral and
social world reflected in the language and the values that their
speeches betray. A key contribution of this monograph is to
highlight how the perspective of illness as retribution is
powerfully refuted in Job's speeches and, in particular, to show
how this is achieved through comedy. Comedy in Job is a powerful
weapon used to expose and ridicule the idea of retribution.
Rejecting the approach of retrospective diagnosis, this monograph
carefully analyses the expression of pain in Job focusing
specifically on somatic language used in the deity attack
metaphors, in the deity surveillance metaphors and in the language
connected to the body and social status. These metaphors are
analysed in a comparative way using research from medical
anthropology and sociology which focuses on illness narratives and
expressions of pain. Job's Body and the Dramatised Comedy of
Moralising will be of interest to anyone working on the Book of
Job, as well as those with an interest in suffering and pain in the
Hebrew Bible more broadly.
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