The formation of the Book of the Twelve is one of the most vigorously debated subjects in Old Testament studies today. This volume assembles twenty-four essays by the world s leading experts, providing an overview of the present state of scholarship in the field. The book s contributors focus on questions of method, history, as well as redactional and textual history."

The book deals with the genesis of the Book of the Four Prophets (Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah) from the time of exile, the Haggai-Zechariah-Corpus and the integration of the Book of Joel into the Book of the Four Prophets from the time of exile. In contrast to previous research, the findings are based for the first time on an analysis of the editorial history of each of the individual books. Thus it is possible to provide a precise description of the composition, intention and historical theological backgrounds of these early collections.

This volume presents a study of the late stages in the genesis of the Book of the Twelve; it is based on a complete analysis of the editorial history of the Books of Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Deuterozachariah und Malachi and leads to a new model for the origin of the Book of the Twelve Prophets.

Besides two hitherto unpublished papers, this collection contains 15 of Rainer Albertz' papers from the period 1978 - 2000. They reflect the author's concern to understand biblical developments against the background of the religious and socio-historical developments and currents in Israel and the Ancient Orient. The volume includes, for example, reflections on the development of the tradition of prehistory, of the commandment to honour one's parents, of the issue of monotheism, or of the significance of personal piety. The collection is completed with socio-historical studies on the social background to the Book of Job or the moving forces behind the Deuteronomistic History, together with approaches to the editorial history of the Books of Jeremiah and Deuteroisaiah.

The ancestral narratives of Genesis have a decidedly political character. The narrative presentations of ancestors and their kin reflect the relationships of the later people of Israel with their neighboring peoples. In light of the findings of recent Pentateuch research, this volume addresses important aspects of the political meaning of these narratives. The collection of nineteen contributions from internationally renowned experts explores, for example, the political intention of various narrative units or literary layers. The political significance of the ancestresses is also discussed, and the political receptions of ancestral narratives in early Jewish literature and in Islam traced.