Psalm 29, a sacred text in Jewish and Christian Bibles, has been understood in a variety of ways through time and in different traditions. This volume presents a sample of the use and meaning derived from a single biblical text. From the earliest translations to contemporary African Independent Churches, this psalm has been an integral part of synagogue and church, but what it has meant and how it is used is a fascinating journey through human culture. Not only the understanding of the written word, but also the liturgical use and the musical adaptations of a biblical text are considered here. This is a book for anyone- scholar, student, or laity - with an interest in the Bible in its many contexts.

This work sets out the background world for the story of Jonah. Accepting the biblical book as a fictitious short story based on "real world" locations, the volume uses social science approaches to describe the imaginative world in which the action takes place. Since the story uses real places and recognizable persons to weave the narrative, at least three levels of perception are considered: the "real" world behind the book's references; the social and ideological constructs of the world; the imaginative world of the story itself. All of these are connected by and through the scribal author of the story. Geography, theology, human characters and natural flora and fauna are investigated. The models creatively used by humans to order their vision of the world can be shown to have been used as literary devices in constructing a story with totally fictitious historical citations as well as fabulous creatures and events that nonetheless conveys a message considered an insight into reality by the author. The story of Jonah, often read as a simple children's story, comes across as a more complicated and adult oriented narrative with a serious intent.

This work sets out the background world for the story of Jonah. Accepting the biblical book as a fictitious short story based on "real world" locations, the volume uses social science approaches to describe the imaginative world in which the action takes place. Since the story uses real places and recognizable persons to weave the narrative, at least three levels of perception are considered: the "real" world behind the book's references; the social and ideological constructs of the world; the imaginative world of the story itself. All of these are connected by and through the scribal author of the story. Geography, theology, human characters and natural flora and fauna are investigated. The models creatively used by humans to order their vision of the world can be shown to have been used as literary devices in constructing a story with totally fictitious historical citations as well as fabulous creatures and events that nonetheless conveys a message considered an insight into reality by the author. The story of Jonah, often read as a simple children's story, comes across as a more complicated and adult oriented narrative with a serious intent.

This book considers the various ways in which the last major King of Judah has been presented in biblical texts and the subsequent cultures that have made use of the biblical narratives. It is posited that there is no reliable material that can be dated to the time of Josiah and that the literary constructions of Josiah's reign in Kings, Chronicles, and First Esdras already provided the inventive memory of a no longer recoverable monarch's life. Aspects of these narratives are considered as well as the history of Josiah in historiographical renditions of world history and in presenting his story in narrative artistic productions.

This book considers the various ways in which the last major King of Judah has been presented in biblical texts and the subsequent cultures that have made use of the biblical narratives. It is posited that there is no reliable material that can be dated to the time of Josiah and that the literary constructions of Josiah's reign in Kings, Chronicles, and First Esdras already provided the inventive memory of a no longer recoverable monarch's life. Aspects of these narratives are considered as well as the history of Josiah in historiographical renditions of world history and in presenting his story in narrative artistic productions.

This is a volume of tributes and essays in memory of Gsta W. Ahlstrm, Professor of Old Testament in the Divinity School and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department of the University of Chicago. Nineteen essays written by former students and colleagues deal with the history and archaeology of Iron Age Palestine and the ancient Near East, the Deuteronomistic History, and the history of Old Testament studies. Six tributes read at his memorial service, his final bibliography and a list of the dissertations he chaired combine to yield a montage of the scholar as teacher, character, and friend.>

Description: Psalm 29, a sacred text in Jewish and Christian Bibles, has been understood in a variety of ways through time and in different traditions. This volume presents a sample of the use and meaning derived from a single biblical text. From the earliest translations to contemporary African Independent Churches, this psalm has been an integral part of synagogue and church; but what it has meant and how it is used is a fascinating journey through human culture. Not only the understanding of the written word, but also the liturgical use and the musical adaptations of a biblical text are considered here. This is a book for anyone--scholar, student, or laity--with an interest in the Bible in its many contexts. Endorsements: ""This book provides a fascinating sample of the insights to be gained through the application of reception history to a specific biblical text . . . The span of the articles is encompassing, treating interpretation of Psalm 29 by early and medieval rabbis, the church fathers and medieval Christianity, Syrian Christianity, Luther, Calvin, and indigenous churches in Nigeria . . . Overall, this is an impressive and engaging collection of essays, well-rounded and informative to both scholars and lay readers."" --Alan J. Hauser, Appalachian State University ""If you think you know all there is to know about Psalm 29, read this book If you think that the true meaning of this or any other piece of Scripture is finite, knowable only by experts (ecclesiastical or otherwise), and eternal--by all means read this book The essays are focused, informative, interesting, useful, and reader-friendly. Recommended for multiple readerships and settings, from AP high school courses to Elder Hostel programs."" --W. Boyd Barrick Montana State University--Billings About the Contributor(s): Lowell K. Handy, the editor, is an indexer/analyst at the American Theological Library Association. He is the author of Among the Host of Heaven, Entertaining Faith, and Jonah's World. He is also the editor of The Age of Solomon and co-editor of The Pitcher Is Broken.

This volume provides new directions for thinking about the structure, organization, and "function" of the gods of the Levantine and ancient Near Eastern worlds, arguing that the structure of the pantheon worshiped in Syria-Palestine mirrored the social structure of the city-states of that region.