This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in volume 14 (2014) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

Purity is a cultural construct that had a central role in the forming and the development of religious traditions in the ancient Mediterranean. This volume analyzes concepts, practices and images associated with purity in the main cultures of Antiquity, and discusses from a comparative perspective their parallel developments and transformations. The perspective adopted is both synchronic and diachronic; the comparative approach takes into account points of contact and mutual influences, but also includes major transcultural trends. A number of renowned specialists contribute a large variety of perspectives and approaches, combining archaeology, epigraphy and social history; in addition, particular attention is given to concepts of purity in ancient Israel and early Judaism as a test-case of sorts. Through its extensive coverage, the volume contributes decisively to the present discussion about the forming of religious traditions in the ancient Mediterranean world.

"If the promised series of books on the biblical Torah to follow adhere to the high standard of scholarship, simplicity of language, ease of prose, and joy-in-reading of this volume they will be extremely useful." - Jim West, Quartz Hill School of Theology "The work is scholarly but accessible...the introduction makes a valuable contribution. Essential." - Choice Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most important of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. The book presents a broad overview, which provides a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; and an examination of key concerns and topics, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses. The book is the first volume in a six volume collection within the BibleWorld series that will explore in detail each of the individual books of the Pentateuch in turn. This first volume sets the stage as serves as a general introduction.

"If the promised series of books on the biblical Torah to follow adhere to the high standard of scholarship, simplicity of language, ease of prose, and joy-in-reading of this volume they will be extremely useful." - Jim West, Quartz Hill School of Theology "The work is scholarly but accessible...the introduction makes a valuable contribution. Essential." - Choice Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most important of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. The book presents a broad overview, which provides a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; and an examination of key concerns and topics, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses. The book is the first volume in a six volume collection within the BibleWorld series that will explore in detail each of the individual books of the Pentateuch in turn. This first volume sets the stage as serves as a general introduction.

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible contain a significant number of texts describing ritual practices. Yet it is often unclear how these sources would have been understood or used by ancient audiences in the actual performance of cult. This volume explores the processes of ritual textualization (the creation of a written version of a ritual) in ancient Israel by probing the main conceptual and methodological issues that inform the study of this topic in the Pentateuch. This systematic and comparative study of text and ritual in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible maps the main areas of consensus and disagreement among scholars engaged in articulating new models for understanding the relationship between text and ritual and explores the importance of comparative evidence for the study of pentateuchal rituals. Topics include ritual textualization in ancient Anatolia, Egypt, Greece, and Mesopotamia; the importance of archaeology and materiality for the study of text and ritual in ancient Israel; the relationship between ritual textualization and standardization in the Pentateuch; the reception of pentateuchal ritual texts in Second Temple writings and rabbinic literature; and the relationship between text and ritual in the Dead Sea Scrolls. In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume include Dorothea Erbele-Kuster, Daniel K. Falk, Yitzhaq Feder, Christian Frevel, William K. Gilders, Dominique Jaillard, Giuseppina Lenzo, Lionel Marti, Patrick Michel, Rudiger Schmitt, Jeremy D. Smoak, and James W. Watts.

English summary: This introduction to the Old Testament not only presents the structure and content of the various books but also their central topics, historical background, and questions of authorship. It also contains essays on the history of research and the current discussion around the Pentateuch and the so-called Deuteronomistic historical oeuvre. All essays are written by well-known Old Testament specialists. German text. German description: Diese Einleitung bespricht neben Aufbau und Inhalt der Bucher des Alten Testaments auch ihre zentralen Themen, den geschichtlichen Hintergrund und die Verfasserfrage. Besonders behandelt werden zudem die Forschungsgeschichte und die aktuelle Diskussion um den Pentateuch und das sogenannte deuteronomistische Geschichtswerk. Neu hinzugekommen in der 2. Auflage des franzosischen Originals sind ein ausfuhrlicher Abriss uber die Geschichte Israels und Judas sowie das Kapitel Das Alte Testament der Ostkirchen. Die Beitrage stammen von ausgewiesenen Spezialisten des Alten Testaments: Philippe Abadie, Olivier Artus, Alain Buhlmann, Simon Butticaz, Philippe Guillaume, David Hamidovic, Innocent Himbaza, Ernst Axel Knauf, Michael Langlois, Corinne Lanoir, Thierry Legrand, Jean-Daniel Macchi, Christophe Nihan, Dany Nocquet, Albert de Pury, Thomas Romer, Martin Rose, Adrian Schenker, Konrad Schmid, Arnaud Serandour, Christoph Uehlinger, Jacques Vermeylen. Thomas Romer, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1955, ist Professsor fur Hebraische Bibel am College de France, Paris, und an der Universitat Lausanne. Jean-Daniel Macchi, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1963, ist Professor fur Altes Testament an der Faculte de theologie protestante der Universitat Genf. Christophe Nihan, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1972, ist Professor fur Hebraische Bibel und Geschichte des Alten Israel an der theologischen und religionswissenschaftlichen Fakultat der Universitat Lausanne. DE