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.

This book discusses the ethically problematic passages of the Hebrew Bible and the way scholars have addressed aspects of the bible generally regarded as offensive and unacceptable. In this work Eryl W. Davies sums up a career's worth of in-depth reflection on the thorny issue of biblical ethics examining the bible's, at times problematic, stance upon slavery, polygamy and perhaps its most troublesome aspect, the sanctioning of violence and warfare. This is most pertinent in respect to "Joshua" 6-11 a text which lauds the 'holy war' of the Israelites, anihiliting the native inhabitants of Canaan, and a text which has been used to legitimise the actions of white colonists in North America, the Boers in South Africa and right-wing Zionists in modern Israel. Davies begins with an introductory chapter assessing all these aspects, he then provides five chapters, each devoted to a particular strategy aimed at mitigating the embarrassment caused by the presence of such problematic texts within the canon. In order to focus discussion each strategy is linked by to "Joshua" 6-11. A final chapter draws the threads of the arguments together and suggests the most promising areas for the future development of the discipline.

This Guide for the Perplexed will demonstrate how modern biblical scholars have expressed dissatisfaction with a one-sided historical-critical approach to biblical texts and have argued that developments in secular literary theory should be applied in biblical studies. Whereas the historical-critical approach was concerned with the moment of a text's production (authorship, date, place of writing etc), the literary approach is concerned with the moment of the text's reception. Eryl W. Davies shows how and why approaches such as 'reader-response criticism', 'feminist criticism', 'ideological criticism', 'canonical criticism' and 'post-colonial criticism' are now becoming more popular in many quarters. The volume explains to the uninitiated in a readable and accessible form how strategies originally derived from secular literary criticism have been adopted by biblical scholars in order to understand the text of Scripture and to appreciate its relevance.

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.

The study attempts to examine the role of tradition in the teaching of Isaiah with a view to discerning the basis of the ethics presupposed by the prophet. The view that Isaiah's ethical pronouncements were dependent upon the legal, covenantal and wisdom traditions of Israel is discussed, and the possibility of a direct dependence on the oracles of his contemporary, Amos, is examined. Davies shows that the whole question of the influence of tradition on the thought of Isaiah is fraught with problems.

Davies outlines the composition and date of Numbers, and the various attempts that have been made to establish a coherent and meaningful structure in its arrangement. Davies also shows how the application of reader-response criticism, feminist criticism and postcolonial criticism have contributed to our understanding of selected passages in the book. Addressing theological issues, Davies considers three themes that occupy much of the content of Numbers, namely; land, purity and holiness, and rebellion. The concluding chapter considers the contentious issue of the historicity of the book of Numbers in the light of recent discussions concerning the historical value of the Old Testament. Davies shows how some of the issues Numbers raises - war, disease, survival, hunger, race relations - are among the perennial problems faced by nations across the centuries and across cultures. While individual passages within Numbers may reflect a questionable sense of morality, Davies demonstrates that the book, when viewed in its totality, encompasses a number of important theological themes which recur throughout the Old Testament: the interplay of forgiveness and judgment, and of sin and punishment, and the need to trust in the power of God rather than human might.

This Guide for the Perplexed will demonstrate how modern biblical scholars have expressed dissatisfaction with a one-sided historical-critical approach to biblical texts and have argued that developments in secular literary theory should be applied in biblical studies. Whereas the historical-critical approach was concerned with the moment of a text's production (authorship, date, place of writing etc), the literary approach is concerned with the moment of the text's reception. Eryl W. Davies shows how and why approaches such as 'reader-response criticism', 'feminist criticism', 'ideological criticism', 'canonical criticism' and 'post-colonial criticism' are now becoming more popular in many quarters. The volume explains to the uninitiated in a readable and accessible form how strategies originally derived from secular literary criticism have been adopted by biblical scholars in order to understand the text of Scripture and to appreciate its relevance.

This title discusses the ethically problematic passages of the Hebrew Bible and the way scholars have addressed aspects of the bible generally regarded as offensive and unacceptable. In this work, Eryl W. Davies sums up a career's worth of in-depth reflection on the thorny issue of biblical ethics examining the bible's, at times problematic, stance upon slavery, polygamy and perhaps its most troublesome aspect, the sanctioning of violence and warfare. This is most pertinent in respect to Joshua 6-11 a text which lauds the 'holy war' of the Israelites, annihilating the native inhabitants of Canaan, and a text which has been used to legitimise the actions of white colonists in North America, the Boers in South Africa and right-wing Zionists in modern Israel. Davies begins with an introductory chapter assessing all these aspects, he then provides five chapters, each devoted to a particular strategy aimed at mitigating the embarrassment caused by the presence of such problematic texts within the canon. In order to focus discussion each strategy is linked by to Joshua 6-11. There is a final chapter that draws the threads of the arguments together and suggests the most promising areas for the future development of the discipline.