In The Hebrew Bible: A Millennium, scholars from different fields and dealing with different material sources are trying to consider the Hebrew Bible as a whole. The development of new databases and other technological tools have an increasing impact on research practices. By inviting doctoral students, young researchers, and established scholars to contribute, this interdisciplinary book showcases methods and perspectives which can support future scientific collaborations in the field of the Hebrew Bible. This edited volume gathers relevant research from Dead Sea Scrolls Studies, Cairo Genizah Studies, European Genizah Studies, and from Late Medieval Biblical Manuscript Studies.

The ancient Israelites lived among many nations, and knowing about the people and culture of these nations can enhance understanding of the Old Testament. Peoples of the Old Testament World provides up-to-date descriptions of the people groups who interacted with and influenced ancient Israel.
Detailed accounts by specialists cover each group's origin, history, rulers, architecture, art, religion, and contacts with biblical Israel.

Nehemiah's life continues to serve as a significant model for leaders in the 21st century, even though he lived and served over 2500 years ago. From his beginnings as a cupbearer to the king to taking charge of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, he teaches us a remarkably uncommon thing--how to lead as a servant. In Becoming Nehemiah, David McKenna invites the reader to join this remarkable man of God on a journey of leadership that matches the trials and challenges leaders face today. Through Nehemiah's story, one recognizes the difficult task of balancing the promises of biblical leadership with the premises of secular leadership and learns how Nehemiah was able to serve with full integrity in both of these settings. Becoming Nehemiah will give pastors, church leaders, teachers, business professionals, or leaders of any kind compelling insights and practical advice as they begin their own journey to become servants who lead with significance. Becoming Nehemiah offers: Information and insight into the life of Nehemiah Practical exercises at the end of each chapter to assist in developing one's own journey regardless of the level of position he or she holds Scripture references, illustrations, and relevant examples that help to bring Nehemiah's story into the 21st century

These five late biblical books offer readers a range of pleasures not usually associated with the Bible. They are artful, entertaining literary works innovative, even startling. Women often stand center stage. Song of Songs is a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God or covenant. It offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Queen Esther s shrewd triumph is a secular entertainment that mixes farce with sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in Daniel, whose feverish night dreams envision the end of time. And the traditions of prophecy are recast in the tale of a fish that, on God s command, swallows Jonah and imprisons him in its dark wet innards for three days. Alter s translation restores the original power of these popular books."

How can the stories of the Hebrew Bible be read for their ethical value? Eryl W. Davies uses the narratives of King David in order to explore this, basing his argument on Martha Nussbaum's notion that a sensitive and informed commentary can unpack the complexity of fictional accounts. Davies discusses David and Michal in 1 Sam. 19:11-17; David and Jonathan in 1 Sam. 20; David and Bathsheba in 2 Sam. 11; Nathan's parable in 2 Sam. 12; and the rape of Tamar in 2 Sam. 13. By examining these narratives, Davies shows that a fruitful and constructive dialogue is possible between biblical ethics and modern philosophy. He also emphasizes the ethical accountability of biblical scholars and their responsibility to evaluate the moral teaching that the biblical narratives have to offer.

Cushites in the Hebrew Bible offers a reassessment of Cushite ethnographic representations in the biblical literature as a counterpoint to misconceptions about Africa and people of African descent which are largely a feature of the modern age. Whereas current interpretations have tended to emphasize unfavourable portraits of the people biblical writers called Cushites, Kevin Burrell illuminates the biblical perspective through a comparative assessment of ancient and modern forms of identity construction. Past and present modes of defining difference betray both similarities and differences to ethnic representations in the Hebrew Bible, providing important contexts for understanding the biblical view. This book contributes to a clearer understanding of the theological, historical, and ethnic dynamics underpinning representations of Cushites in the Hebrew Bible.

In Justifying Christian Aramaism Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman explores how Christian scholars of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century justify their study of the Targums, the Jewish Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible. She focuses on the four polyglot Bibles - Complutum, Antwerp, Paris, and London -, and describes these books in the scholarly world of those days. It appears that quite a few scholars, Roman-Catholic, protestant, and Anglican, edited Targumic books and translated these into Latin. The book reveals a stimulating and conflicting period of the Targum reception history and is therefore relevant for Targum scholars and historians interested in the history of Judaism, Church history, the history of the book, and the history of Jewish-Christian relationships.

In The Text of the Hebrew Bible and its Editions some of the top world scholars and editors of the Hebrew Bible and its versions present essays on the aims, method, and problems of editing the biblical text(s), taking as a reference the Complutensian Polyglot, first modern edition of the Hebrew text and its versions and whose Fifth Centennial was celebrated in 2014. The main parts of the volume discuss models of editions from the Renaissance and its forerunners to the Digital Age, the challenges offered by the different textual traditions, particular editorial problems of the individual books of the Bible, and the role played by quotations. It thus sets a landmark in the future of biblical editions.

Since ancient times Leviathan and other monsters from the biblical world symbolize the life-threatening powers in nature and history. They represent the dark aspects of human nature and political entities and reveal the supernatural dimensions of evil. Ancient texts and pictures regarding these monsters reflect an environment of polytheism and religious pluralism. Remarkably, however, the biblical writings and post-biblical traditions use these venerated symbols in portraying God as being sovereign over the entire universe, a theme that is also prominent in the reception of these texts in subsequent contexts. This volume explores this tension and elucidates the theological and cultural meaning of 'Leviathan' by studying its ancient Near Eastern background and its attestation in biblical texts, early and rabbinic Judaism, Christian theology, Early Modern art, and film.

Pikor anaylzes the land of Israel in the book of Ezekiel showing how its preoccupation with the Babylonian exile and the loss of the Promised Land that this entails is directly linked to the danger this poses to Israel's covenant with God. Pikor examines the motif of land in its literary and historical contexts and in relation to the oracles of salvation in chapters 34-39 as well as the vision of the new Israel and the return of Yahweh's Glory to the temple. Pikor begins by examining the motif of land in its literary and historical contexts. The main body of the book then addresses specific sections of Ezekiel. Chapter two analyzes the oracles of punishment addressed to Israel, in which the land undergoes a process of anthropomorphization. Chapter three situates the punishment experienced by Ezekiel and his listeners in a broader historical context suggested by the prophet in Ezekiel 20. Chapter four analyses the oracles of salvation in Ezekiel 34-39, in which the restoration of the land of Israel remains intertwined with the promise of the new covenant. Finally, chapter five addresses the closing vision of the new Israel (Ezekiel 40-48), which is characterized by the territorial dimension of the future restoration. This feature is shown via analysis of the rhetoric of the land, the crucial element of which is the return of Yahweh's Glory to the temple. God's presence adds sacral value to the land in which his covenant with his people is to be realized. The covenant will be finalized through Israel's repopulation of the renewed land.

You have a giant in your life. An adversary that's diminishing your ability to live fully in Christ. Whatever it may be-rejection, fear, anger, comfort, or addiction-this giant stands between you and God's promise...and it must fall. Like with David and the Israelites, God has a better plan for you than to stand and be taunted day after day by a 9-foot Goliath. God's plan for you is to live in victory. In this six-session video Bible study (streaming code included), Pastor Louie Giglio reveals a twist in the story of David and Goliath that will help you and your study group see how God works victories in the lives of his people. This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself-with discussion and reflection questions, activities, video notes, and a leader's guide. An individual access code to stream all six video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). Each session will equip you with practical, hands-on steps to take after engaging in passages from the Bible and Louie's video talks, which show how living free from our giants means putting our hope in Jesus. When we do, we get to watch Goliath fall. Sessions and video run times: Dead but Still Deadly (22:30) Fear Must Fall (23:00) Rejection Must Fall (20:00) Comfort Must Fall (20:00) Anger Must Fall (22:30) Addiction Must Fall (22:00) Watch on any device! Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

Foreword by A. Schenker S. C. Daley's book, The Textual Basis of English Translations of the Hebrew Bible, moves us beyond existing uncertainties about the textual basis of modern Bible translations to a fresh understanding of the text-critical constitution of well-known English translations of the past four hundred years. Most translations depart from the Masoretic Text selectively, and in-depth analysis of their textual decisions leads (1) to the identification of distinct periods in the textual history of the English Bible, (2) to a classification of the translations by eclectic type, and (3) to the observation that each translation is ultimately unique from a text-critical perspective. The study then revisits the topic of the text to be translated in Bibles intended for the wider public.

In Re-Imagining Abraham: A Re-Assessment of the Influence of Deuteronomism in Genesis Megan Warner revisits the tradition that Genesis was edited by editors sympathetic to the theology of the Deuteronomist. On the basis of close, contextual readings of the four passages most commonly attributed to (semi-)Deuteronomistic hands, Warner argues that editorial use of Deuteronomistic language and themes points not to a sympathy with Deuteronomistic theology but rather to a sustained project to review and even subvert that theology. Warner's 're-imagining' of Abraham demonstrates how Israel's forebear was 're-imagined' in the post-exilic context for the purpose of offering the returning exiles a way forward at a time when all the old certainties, and even continued relationship with Yahweh, seemed lost.

Exegesis has ethical dimensions. This is the case for the Bible, which has a foundational status in traditional perspectives that is simultaneously contested in the modern world. This innovative essay collection, largely about Hebrew Bible/Old Testament texts, is written by an international team - all Doktorkinder of a pioneer in this area, Professor John Barton, whose 70th birthday this volume celebrates. With interdisciplinary angles, the essays highlight the roles and responsibilities of the biblical scholar, often located professionally between religious and secular domains. This reflects a broader reality: all readers of texts are engaged ethically in the public square of ideas.

Over the course of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as more and more vernacular commentaries on the Decalogue were produced throughout Europe, the moral system of the Ten Commandments gradually became more prominent. The Ten Commandments proved to be a topic from which numerous proponents of pastoral and lay catechesis drew inspiration. God's commands were discussed and illustrated in sermons and confessor's manuals, and they spawned new theological and pastoral treatises both Catholic and Reformed. But the Decalogue also served several authors, including Dante, Petrarch, and Christine de Pizan. Unlike the Seven Deadly Sins, the Ten Commandments supported a more positive image of mankind, one that embraced the human potential for introspection and the conscious choice to follow God's Law.

Biblical scholarship today is divided between two mutually exclusive concepts of the emergence of monotheism: an early-monotheistic Yahwism paradigm and a native-pantheon paradigm. This study identifies five main stages on Israel's journey towards monotheism. Rather than deciding whether Yahweh was originally a god of the Baal-type or of the El-type, this work shuns origins and focuses instead on the first period for which there are abundant sources, the Omride era. Non-biblical sources depict a significantly different situation from the Baalism the Elijah cycle ascribes to King Achab. The novelty of the present study is to take this paradox seriously and identify the Omride dynasty as the first stage in the rise of Yahweh as the main god of Israel. Why Jerusalem later painted the Omrides as anti-Yahweh idolaters is then explained as the need to distance itself from the near-by sanctuary of Bethel by assuming the Omride heritage without admitting its northern Israelite origins. The contribution of the Priestly document and of Deutero-Isaiah during the Persian era comprise the next phase, before the strict Yahwism achieved in Daniel 7 completes the emergence of biblical Yahwism as a truly monotheistic religion.