Die Prophetie im alten Israel ist eine einzigartige Erscheinung von welt- historischer Bedeutung. Tief verwurzelt in den geschichtlichen Zusammen- hangen der ersten Halfte des ersten vorchristlichen Jahrtausends hat sie den drei groBen Weltreligionen Judentum, Christentum und Islam ihr Erbe hin- terlassen, unter ihnen weitreichende Wirkungen ausge16st und Krafte der Hoffnung und Zuversicht, der unbedingten GewiBheit im Vertrauen auf gottliche Zusagen entbunden. Ihre Geltung bis auf den heutigen Tag lebt im religiosen BewuBtsein fort und vermag Grundpositionen religioser, aber zuweilen auch von ihnen abgeleiteter religionsphilosophischer Denksysteme 1 und in ihnen wirksamer Einzelelemente zu stutzen und zu bestatigen - DaB der Prophet, unter welchen Voraussetzungen auch immer, das Kommende mit GewiBheit voraussage, ist selbst dem popularen AllgemeinbewuBtsein eine bekannte und gelaufige Vorstellung. Damit mag es zusammenhangen, daB Prophetie" in erster Linie dem Ressort der Religionswissenschaft und Theologie zugesprochen wird. Histo- rische Wissenschaften und Darstellungen der Geistesgeschichte vermerken das Phanomen am Rande. Es ist fur sie kein Forschungsobjekt von eigen- standiger Bedeutung. So kam es, daB die Masse der wissenschaftlichen Litera- tur zu diesem Thema aus theologischer Feder stammt und sich in der Regel aum in der theologischen Debatte erschopft, ohne den Zusammenhang von t Hingewiesen sei auf die Vorlesungsreihe von W. Zimmerli, Der Mensch und seine Hoff- nung im Alten Testament, Kleine Vandenhoeck-Reihe 272 S, 1968, wo auch die Ausein- andersetzung mit dem nPrinzip Hoffnung" bei Ernst Bloch gefiihrt wird.

This volume presents the first study, critical edition, and translation of one of the earliest works by Richard Rolle (c. 1300-1349), a hermit and mystic whose works were widely read in England and on the European continent into the early modern period. Rolle's explication of the Old Testament Book of Lamentations gives us a glimpse of how the biblical commentary tradition informed what would become his signature mystical, doctrinal, and reformist preoccupations throughout his career. Rolle's English and explicitly mystical writings have been widely accessible for decades. Recent attention has turned again to his Latin commentaries, many of which have never been critically edited or thoroughly studied. This attention promises to give us a fuller sense of Rolle's intellectual, devotional, and reformist development, and of the interplay between his Latin and English writings. Richard Rolle: On Lamentations places Rolle's early commentary within a tradition of explication of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and in the context of his own career. The edition collates all known witnesses to the text, from Dublin, Oxford, Prague, and Cologne. A source apparatus as well as textual and explanatory notes accompany the edition.

This book addresses intertextual connections between Lamentations and texts in each division of the Hebrew Bible, along with texts throughout history. Sources examined range from the Dead Sea Scrolls to modern Shoah literature, allowing the volume's impact to reach beyond Lamentations to each of the 'intertexts' the chapters address. By bringing together scholars with expertise on this diverse array of texts, the volume offers a wide range of exegetical insight. It also enables the reader to appreciate the varying intertextual approaches currently employed in Biblical Studies, ranging from abstract theory to rigid method. By applying these to a focused analysis of Lamentations, this book will facilitate greater insight on both Lamentations and current methodological research.

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.