Garfield translates Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika and provides a philosophical commentary. Mulamadhyamakakarika is the foundational text for all Mahayana Buddhism and is one of the most influential works in the history of Indian philosophy.

There is general agreement in the field of Biblical studies that study of the formation of the Pentateuch is in disarray. David M. Carr turns to the Genesis Primeval History, Genesis 1-11, to offer models for the formation of Pentateuchal texts that may have traction within this fractious context. Building on two centuries of historical study of Genesis 1-11, this book provides new support for the older theory that the bulk of Genesis 1-11 was created out of a combination of two originally separate source strata: a Priestly source and an earlier non-Priestly source that was used to supplement the Priestly framework. Though this overall approach contradicts some recent attempts to replace such source models with theories of post-Priestly scribal expansion, Carr does find evidence of multiple layers of scribal revision in the non-P and P sources, from the expansion of an early independent non-Priestly primeval history with a flood narrative and related materials to a limited set of identifiable layers of Priestly material that culminate in the P-like redaction of the whole. This book synthesizes prior scholarship to show how both the P and non-Priestly strata of Genesis also emerged out of a complex interaction by Judean scribes with non-biblical literary traditions, particularly with Mesopotamian textual traditions about primeval origins. The Formation of Genesis 1-11 makes a significant contribution to scholarship on one of the most important texts in the Hebrew Bible and will influence models for the formation of the Hebrew Bible as a whole.

The lore of the supposed magic and medical virtue of stones goes back to the Babylonians and peaks out in the lapidary literature of the Middle Ages. The famous work of Marbode of Rennes, which made lapidaries a very popular type of medieval scientific literature, was translated into numerous vernacular languages. The Jewish tradition, missing a particular lapidary literature of its own, absorbed non-Jewish works like that of Marbode. Several Anglo-Norman Marbode translations could be identified as the main source of the present edited Hebrew lapidary Ko'ah ha-Avanim, written by Berakhyah Ben Natronai ha-Nakdan around 1300. The edition is accompanied by an English translation, a source study, and a linguistic analysis of the Romance, mostly Anglo-Norman, terms featuring within the text in Hebrew spelling.

Religious encounters with mystery can be fascinating, but also terrifying. So too when it comes to encounters with the monsters that haunt Jewish and Christian traditions. Religion has a lot to do with horror, and horror has a lot to do with religion. Religion has its monsters, and monsters have their religion. In this unusual and provocative book, Timothy Beal explores how religion, horror, and the monstrous are deeply intertwined. This new edition has been thoughtfully updated, reflecting on developments in the field over the past two decades and highlighting its contributions to emerging conversations. It also features a new chapter, "Gods, Monsters, and Machines," which engages cultural fascinations and anxieties about technologies of artificial intelligence and machine learning as they relate to religion and the monstrous at the dawn of the Anthropocene. Religion and Its Monsters is essential reading for students and scholars of religion and popular culture, as well as for any readers with an interest in horror theory or monster theory.

This book presents an edition and English translation of a medieval commentary on the book of Hosea that was written by an anonymous Karaite author in the Middle Ages. The text has been established by joining together hundreds of small fragments that have been preserved in the Cairo Genizah collections. The edited work is written in Judaeo-Arabic (Arabic in Hebrew letters). The publication includes copious notes, which clarify the meaning and background of the text. This book brings into the light of scholarship an important but hitherto lost text in the intellectual history of the Karaites.

A Glossary of the Quran is a ready reckoner for those who are interested to know the spirit of the Quran but are discouraged by the lack of knowledge of the Arabic language. The author has compiled the most common words used in the Quran so that one is able to grasp the gist of the Quran without learning the intricacies of the Arabic language. The book will be an ideal tool for those who are interested in reading and understanding the Holy Qur'an.

This comprehensive, textual treatment of the Kaifeng Passover Rite is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of the community's origins in particular and to comparative Jewish liturgy in general. The book includes a facsimile of one manuscript and a sample of the other, the full text of the Hebrew/Aramaic and Judeo-Persian Haggadah in Hebrew characters, as well as an English translation. Following a review of the community's history, sources for study, and related scholarly work conducted to date, the languages used in the Haggadah and their backgrounds are discussed in detail. Analysis of the order of the service allows for comparison of the Kaifeng Jewish community's recitation of the Passover liturgy, performance of ritual, and consumption of ceremonial food to other communities in the Jewish Diaspora. The various parts and chapters of the book, including its extensive and meticulous annotations and bibliographical references, provide much fresh and useful material for scholars and readers interested in pre-modern Jewish, Judeo-Persian and Chinese literary traditions and cultures. David Yeroushalmi, Tel Aviv University, 2015

Unexplainable coincidences abound in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew. For example, the Hebrew words for ear and balance are derived from the same philological root. But it was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that scientists discovered that the human body s balancing mechanism resides in the ear. Coincidences in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew details scores of such incidents, including:

Words in Hebrew that show intent to convey a message
Coincidences in the Hebrew language that show intent to convey hidden information, and occasionally information that could not be expected to be known in biblical times
Passages in the Bible that convey or assume information or knowledge unlikely to have been known in biblical times
Other coincidences from Jewish tradition or Jewish history

In this second edition, author Haim Shore discusses two types of coincidences-those that can be considered just that, and others that are subject to rigorous statistical analysis. Altogether, nineteen analyses have been conducted with highly significant results. Simple plots that accompany the analyses clarify their meanings and implications so that no prior statistical know-how is required. Genesis creation story is statistically analyzed.

"Speaking of Gods in Figure and Narrative" analyzes the figurative-narrative creation of gods, their heavenly abodes, and behaviors, reaching back to the beginning of history in Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, and Greece, and continuing through a biblical tradition that includes the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an. Each culture leaves its linguistic residue for the next to incorporate into its sacred texts, resulting in the perpetuation and validation of ancient imagining, attitudes, and ideas.

The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature explores the growth, makeup, and transformation of Chan (Zen) Buddhist literature in late medieval China. The volume analyzes the earliest extant records about the life, teachings, and legacy of Mazu Daoyi (709-788), the famous leader of the Hongzhou School and one of the principal figures in Chan history. While some of the texts covered are well-known and form a central part of classical Chan (or more broadly Buddhist) literature in China, others have been largely ignored, forgotten, or glossed over until recently. Poceski presents a range of primary materials important for the historical study of Chan Buddhism, some translated for the first time into English or other Western language. He surveys the distinctive features and contents of particular types of texts, and analyzes the forces, milieus, and concerns that shaped key processes of textual production during this period. Although his main focus is on written sources associated with a celebrated Chan tradition that developed and rose to prominence during the Tang era (618-907), Poceski also explores the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Song (960-1279) periods, when many of the best-known Chan collections were compiled. Exploring the Chan School's creative adaptation of classical literary forms and experimentation with novel narrative styles, The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature traces the creation of several distinctive Chan genres that exerted notable influence on the subsequent development of Buddhism in China and the rest of East Asia.

Though he has no formal rabbinical training, Ephraim Sobol began teaching a weekly parsha class in his community. In two years time, the class grew as his students shared their excitement. He began writing "Two Minutes of Torah," a weekly Dvar Torah email based on his class. These emails took on lives of their own, and soon they were a much sought after read. Appealing to audiences with a broad spectrum of knowledge, Two Minutes of Torah offers original and concise insights into the parsha. To help students connect with the lessons, he has woven many of his real-world experiences into his essays.In the third volume of his popular series of books on the parsha, Sobol completes that which he set out to do: provide a constant companion for those seeking insights on the parsha every week. Now spanning the entire Torah, these works have become an essential component of many Shabbos tables.Using a folksy and inviting manner Sobol provides fresh, deep insights into an ancient text.

In the wake of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the displacement of exile, there is a unique story that is told about the remnant left behind after the invasion. The narrative of Jeremiah 40-44 unfolds the challenges and crises of this community who remain in Judah as they negotiate their survival following the catastrophe of Jerusalem's fall. After the Invasion shares the often overlooked, but compelling story that emerges from the five later chapters of Jeremiah. Keith Bodner expertly reveals the assortment of personalities, geographic locations, shifts in point of view, temporal compression, and layers of irony. Primary focused on the narrative design of this text, Professor Bodner proves that these chapters form a creative and sophisticated narrative that make a rich, though perhaps underestimated, contribution to the book of Jeremiah as a whole.

This study, based on a careful examination of hundreds of authoritative rabbinic writings, offers a very different picture of the textual reality of, and the rabbinic beliefs about the Torah. B. Barry Levy explores exactly how perfect or imperfect these rabbis thought the text to be. He demonstrates conclusively that many of the same rabbinic figures whose teachings inform other contemporary Orthodox doctrines were quite open about the fact that their Bible texts, even their Torah scrolls, were not completely accurate. Moreover, though many of the variations are of little exegetical significance, these rabbis often acknowledged that, textually speaking, the situation was beyond repair.

Most scholars studying the first five books of the Bible either attempt to dissect it into various pre-pentateuchal documents or, at the very least, analyze Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy as separate, self-contained documents. The Pentateuch As Narrative focuses on the narrative and literary continuity of the Pentateuch as a whole. It seeks to disclose how the original Jewish readers may have viewed this multivolume work of Moses. Its central thesis is that the Pentateuch was written from the perspective of one who had lived under the Law of the Covenant established at Mount Sinai and had seen its failure to produce genuine trust in the Lord God of Israel. In this context, the Pentateuch pointed the reader forward to the hope of the New Covenant, based on divine faithfulness. Throughout the commentary Dr. Sailhamer pays close attention to and interacts with a wide range of classical and contemporary literature on the Pentateuch, written by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.