Ronald Hendel
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195177961
- eISBN:
- 9780199784622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195177967.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Ancient Israel was a nation in the Near East, but it conceived of itself as a unique people. This chapter investigates the ways that Israel constructed its cultural identity in relation to its ...
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Ancient Israel was a nation in the Near East, but it conceived of itself as a unique people. This chapter investigates the ways that Israel constructed its cultural identity in relation to its neighbors, and how its cultural, religious, and ethnic boundaries were contested and reinterpreted in various biblical texts.Less
Ancient Israel was a nation in the Near East, but it conceived of itself as a unique people. This chapter investigates the ways that Israel constructed its cultural identity in relation to its neighbors, and how its cultural, religious, and ethnic boundaries were contested and reinterpreted in various biblical texts.
David T. Lamb
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231478
- eISBN:
- 9780191710841
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231478.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This book examines not only the dynasty of Jehu within the narrative of 2 Kings, but also the broader context of the dynasties of Israel and Judah in the books of Kings and Samuel. It discusses ...
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This book examines not only the dynasty of Jehu within the narrative of 2 Kings, but also the broader context of the dynasties of Israel and Judah in the books of Kings and Samuel. It discusses religious aspects of kingship (such as anointing, divine election, and prayer) in both the Old Testament and in the literature of the ancient Near East. The book concludes that the Deuteronomistic editor, because of a deep concern that leaders be divinely chosen and obedient to Yahweh, sought to subvert the monarchical status quo by shaping the Jehuite narrative to emphasize that dynastic succession disastrously fails to produce righteous leaders.Less
This book examines not only the dynasty of Jehu within the narrative of 2 Kings, but also the broader context of the dynasties of Israel and Judah in the books of Kings and Samuel. It discusses religious aspects of kingship (such as anointing, divine election, and prayer) in both the Old Testament and in the literature of the ancient Near East. The book concludes that the Deuteronomistic editor, because of a deep concern that leaders be divinely chosen and obedient to Yahweh, sought to subvert the monarchical status quo by shaping the Jehuite narrative to emphasize that dynastic succession disastrously fails to produce righteous leaders.
Ronald Hendel
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195177961
- eISBN:
- 9780199784622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195177967.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The distinctive features of the biblical sense of history may be illuminated by comparison with classical Greek and ancient Near Eastern concepts. The biblical view includes features of what we call ...
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The distinctive features of the biblical sense of history may be illuminated by comparison with classical Greek and ancient Near Eastern concepts. The biblical view includes features of what we call myth, epic, and history. A useful category is “genealogical time,” in which the past provides a foundation, a model, and continuous connection to the present and future.Less
The distinctive features of the biblical sense of history may be illuminated by comparison with classical Greek and ancient Near Eastern concepts. The biblical view includes features of what we call myth, epic, and history. A useful category is “genealogical time,” in which the past provides a foundation, a model, and continuous connection to the present and future.
Dennis Pardee
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264928
- eISBN:
- 9780191754104
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264928.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter lays out the peculiarities of the Ugaritic language and hence of its peculiar contributions to our knowledge of the history of culture. It discusses the nature of the language and its ...
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This chapter lays out the peculiarities of the Ugaritic language and hence of its peculiar contributions to our knowledge of the history of culture. It discusses the nature of the language and its place within the languages of the ancient Near East, the nature of the writing system, and the nature of the Ugaritic texts that have been preserved.Less
This chapter lays out the peculiarities of the Ugaritic language and hence of its peculiar contributions to our knowledge of the history of culture. It discusses the nature of the language and its place within the languages of the ancient Near East, the nature of the writing system, and the nature of the Ugaritic texts that have been preserved.
Amy Rebecca Gansell and Ann Shafer
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- February 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190673161
- eISBN:
- 9780190673192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190673161.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, History of Art: pre-history, BCE to 500CE, ancient and classical, Byzantine
Serving as the volume introduction, Chapter 1 lays out the scope of the ancient Near Eastern canon as it has been understood since its inception. Situating the canon within Art History, Archaeology, ...
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Serving as the volume introduction, Chapter 1 lays out the scope of the ancient Near Eastern canon as it has been understood since its inception. Situating the canon within Art History, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, this chapter raises an inquiry about the fluidity and staying power of its content. Through a case study of the ancient Near Eastern canon as it appears in college art history textbooks, we detect patterns in the canon, which remains a flexible but essentially conservative phenomenon. Nevertheless, the individual contributions in the volume’s four sections are shown here through chapter synopses to be historically grounded, theoretically provocative, and full of potential avenues for research and revision of the seemingly outmoded phenomenon of the canon. The chapter proposes that celebrating the longevity and future of the canon, rather than dismissing it, can allow today’s researchers to take the study of the ancient Near East to new levels and share it with expanded audiences.Less
Serving as the volume introduction, Chapter 1 lays out the scope of the ancient Near Eastern canon as it has been understood since its inception. Situating the canon within Art History, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, this chapter raises an inquiry about the fluidity and staying power of its content. Through a case study of the ancient Near Eastern canon as it appears in college art history textbooks, we detect patterns in the canon, which remains a flexible but essentially conservative phenomenon. Nevertheless, the individual contributions in the volume’s four sections are shown here through chapter synopses to be historically grounded, theoretically provocative, and full of potential avenues for research and revision of the seemingly outmoded phenomenon of the canon. The chapter proposes that celebrating the longevity and future of the canon, rather than dismissing it, can allow today’s researchers to take the study of the ancient Near East to new levels and share it with expanded audiences.
Richard S. Briggs
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195383355
- eISBN:
- 9780199870561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383355.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, History of Christianity
This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or ...
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This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or less the same time as the impact of Darwin's writing. As a result, the interpretation of Genesis could operate within two completely different hermeneutical frameworks, neither of which was directly linked to the plain-sense concerns of the Genesis text. A variety of examples of interpreting Genesis in the light of ancient Near Eastern texts is explored, seeking to demonstrate that there is a variety of ways in which hermeneutical benefit may be derived from reading a text in the light of other concerns, and a similar case is then made with respect to the hermeneutics of reading Genesis after Darwin.Less
This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or less the same time as the impact of Darwin's writing. As a result, the interpretation of Genesis could operate within two completely different hermeneutical frameworks, neither of which was directly linked to the plain-sense concerns of the Genesis text. A variety of examples of interpreting Genesis in the light of ancient Near Eastern texts is explored, seeking to demonstrate that there is a variety of ways in which hermeneutical benefit may be derived from reading a text in the light of other concerns, and a similar case is then made with respect to the hermeneutics of reading Genesis after Darwin.
AMÉLIE KUHRT
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264010
- eISBN:
- 9780191734946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264010.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines how an historian of the ancient Near East sets about reconstructing a picture of the past using material of great diversity in terms of type and historical value. It ...
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This chapter examines how an historian of the ancient Near East sets about reconstructing a picture of the past using material of great diversity in terms of type and historical value. It demonstrates this approach by considering the figure of the Achaemenid king, Cyrus II ‘the Great’ of Persia. The discussion begins by creating a conventional image of the king and consolidating it. It then analyses the evidence that has been used to strengthen the picture and presents some historical realities. The basis for the standard picture of Cyrus the Great is provided by material in classical writers and the Old Testament. Cyrus introduced a new policy of religious toleration together with active support for local cults, exemplified by the permission he granted to the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple, with generous funding from central government. The chapter also considers the date for Cyrus' defeat of the Median king Astyages (550), as well as his conquest of Babylon itself.Less
This chapter examines how an historian of the ancient Near East sets about reconstructing a picture of the past using material of great diversity in terms of type and historical value. It demonstrates this approach by considering the figure of the Achaemenid king, Cyrus II ‘the Great’ of Persia. The discussion begins by creating a conventional image of the king and consolidating it. It then analyses the evidence that has been used to strengthen the picture and presents some historical realities. The basis for the standard picture of Cyrus the Great is provided by material in classical writers and the Old Testament. Cyrus introduced a new policy of religious toleration together with active support for local cults, exemplified by the permission he granted to the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple, with generous funding from central government. The chapter also considers the date for Cyrus' defeat of the Median king Astyages (550), as well as his conquest of Babylon itself.
Bernard A. Knapp
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199237371
- eISBN:
- 9780191717208
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199237371.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This chapter provides an island history of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Cyprus, discussing at length all published documentary evidence related to Alashiya, Ku‐pi‐ri‐jo, and Iadnana (Neo‐Assyrian ...
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This chapter provides an island history of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Cyprus, discussing at length all published documentary evidence related to Alashiya, Ku‐pi‐ri‐jo, and Iadnana (Neo‐Assyrian cuneiform texts). Whilst specific focus falls on issues of identity, the more general intention is to situate Cyprus in its eastern Mediterranean context. Each section — on economy, society, and polity — provides commentary on the material dimensions of the textual evidence; a general historical overview concludes the chapter. Given converging streams of evidence, it is argued that Late Bronze Age Cyprus was centrally organized — politically and economically — under a ruling class that had adopted a coherent ideological and symbolic repertoire of material paraphernalia to signal their identity, within and beyond the island. The documentary evidence related to Alashiya demonstrates a role so pervasive and influential in the international world of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East at this time that it is difficult to see how its king would not have controlled the entire island.Less
This chapter provides an island history of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Cyprus, discussing at length all published documentary evidence related to Alashiya, Ku‐pi‐ri‐jo, and Iadnana (Neo‐Assyrian cuneiform texts). Whilst specific focus falls on issues of identity, the more general intention is to situate Cyprus in its eastern Mediterranean context. Each section — on economy, society, and polity — provides commentary on the material dimensions of the textual evidence; a general historical overview concludes the chapter. Given converging streams of evidence, it is argued that Late Bronze Age Cyprus was centrally organized — politically and economically — under a ruling class that had adopted a coherent ideological and symbolic repertoire of material paraphernalia to signal their identity, within and beyond the island. The documentary evidence related to Alashiya demonstrates a role so pervasive and influential in the international world of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East at this time that it is difficult to see how its king would not have controlled the entire island.
David Chidester
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226117263
- eISBN:
- 9780226117577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226117577.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
Focusing on the circulation of knowledge about religion and religions, this chapter shifts focus from Europe to the history of the study of religion in the United States, highlighting the importance ...
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Focusing on the circulation of knowledge about religion and religions, this chapter shifts focus from Europe to the history of the study of religion in the United States, highlighting the importance of Morris Jastrow Jr. in the emergence of an academic discipline in America. Like imperial comparative religion, this study of religion was structured by the divide between savagery and civilization, with Native Americans and African Americans cast as proximate savages. This chapter also reviews research in American folklore, anthropology, and religious studies that contrasted the visionary quality of Native American religion with the emotional character of African American religion. In the study of the religions of ancient civilizations, the British interest in India was superseded by the American interest in the Ancient Near East. Between 1914 and 1920, Jastrow dedicated his scholarship to analyzing conflicts and identifying conditions for peace in the Middle East. The chapter concludes with observations about the persistence of imperial comparative religion.Less
Focusing on the circulation of knowledge about religion and religions, this chapter shifts focus from Europe to the history of the study of religion in the United States, highlighting the importance of Morris Jastrow Jr. in the emergence of an academic discipline in America. Like imperial comparative religion, this study of religion was structured by the divide between savagery and civilization, with Native Americans and African Americans cast as proximate savages. This chapter also reviews research in American folklore, anthropology, and religious studies that contrasted the visionary quality of Native American religion with the emotional character of African American religion. In the study of the religions of ancient civilizations, the British interest in India was superseded by the American interest in the Ancient Near East. Between 1914 and 1920, Jastrow dedicated his scholarship to analyzing conflicts and identifying conditions for peace in the Middle East. The chapter concludes with observations about the persistence of imperial comparative religion.
Bruce Zuckerman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195058963
- eISBN:
- 9780199853342
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195058963.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The chapter believes that Job is the most death-oriented book in the Bible making Job one of the most basic resources, with regard to death in the Ancient Near East. The poet of Job was able to use ...
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The chapter believes that Job is the most death-oriented book in the Bible making Job one of the most basic resources, with regard to death in the Ancient Near East. The poet of Job was able to use the theme of death conventionally but with a further purpose or serving parodistic ends. Joban depicts death as a place where all mortals eventually go (Sheol, “There”) or, simply put, the ultimate ending to mortals. In Job’s lament, the poet’s use of the death-motif showed a slight variation from the norm when not only Job wishes that he is at death’s door but that he might as well be already dead. In this point, Job is seen parallel to Jeremiah’s desires which proves that a sufferer so driven in despair feels moved to repudiate his very existence. The poet wants readers to see how things are not meshing together conventionally as Job wants to affirm his innocence and demand justice by asking to be dead. On the other hand, Job requests God for protection from the wrathful Deity who is the same God. Being popular endeavor for rulers in Ancient Near East, Job also wanted to make a stone inscription, leaving a memorial of how his Redeemer saved him through his resurrection. Nowadays, the resurrection in Job can be considered as his words of hope that endures all men who follow his path towards oblivion.Less
The chapter believes that Job is the most death-oriented book in the Bible making Job one of the most basic resources, with regard to death in the Ancient Near East. The poet of Job was able to use the theme of death conventionally but with a further purpose or serving parodistic ends. Joban depicts death as a place where all mortals eventually go (Sheol, “There”) or, simply put, the ultimate ending to mortals. In Job’s lament, the poet’s use of the death-motif showed a slight variation from the norm when not only Job wishes that he is at death’s door but that he might as well be already dead. In this point, Job is seen parallel to Jeremiah’s desires which proves that a sufferer so driven in despair feels moved to repudiate his very existence. The poet wants readers to see how things are not meshing together conventionally as Job wants to affirm his innocence and demand justice by asking to be dead. On the other hand, Job requests God for protection from the wrathful Deity who is the same God. Being popular endeavor for rulers in Ancient Near East, Job also wanted to make a stone inscription, leaving a memorial of how his Redeemer saved him through his resurrection. Nowadays, the resurrection in Job can be considered as his words of hope that endures all men who follow his path towards oblivion.
Stephen C. Russell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199361885
- eISBN:
- 9780190244859
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199361885.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Chapter 2 reads the description of David’s purchase of Araunah’s land in 2 Samuel 24 in light of ancient Near Eastern texts depicting royal power over land, especially land sales and land grants. ...
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Chapter 2 reads the description of David’s purchase of Araunah’s land in 2 Samuel 24 in light of ancient Near Eastern texts depicting royal power over land, especially land sales and land grants. Kings enjoyed administrative rights in all land within their territory, but could not legally seize land from landowners without just cause. Furthermore, kings could dedicate land to their gods. There were two types of land dedication in the ancient Near East: the transfer of administrative rights and of productive rights in land to the god. Literary motifs associated with depictions of both types are found in 2 Samuel 24. The account in 2 Samuel 24 vindicates David as an ancient Near Eastern king who is scrupulous in his dealings with his god.Less
Chapter 2 reads the description of David’s purchase of Araunah’s land in 2 Samuel 24 in light of ancient Near Eastern texts depicting royal power over land, especially land sales and land grants. Kings enjoyed administrative rights in all land within their territory, but could not legally seize land from landowners without just cause. Furthermore, kings could dedicate land to their gods. There were two types of land dedication in the ancient Near East: the transfer of administrative rights and of productive rights in land to the god. Literary motifs associated with depictions of both types are found in 2 Samuel 24. The account in 2 Samuel 24 vindicates David as an ancient Near Eastern king who is scrupulous in his dealings with his god.
Bruce Zuckerman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195058963
- eISBN:
- 9780199853342
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195058963.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The “Poem of Job” like Bontsye Shvayg maintains a sharply critical line against pietistic worldview that a poet like Perets wished to address. The chapter mentions that to understand fully the “Poem ...
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The “Poem of Job” like Bontsye Shvayg maintains a sharply critical line against pietistic worldview that a poet like Perets wished to address. The chapter mentions that to understand fully the “Poem of Job,” one must see what the poet wished to turn inside out for purposes of parody, both in broad and small scale terms. Perets wanted the same thing on a whole array of Yiddish themes though it is not as easy as it is in Bontsye since it has a relative wealth of contemporaneous information while Job does not. The two reasons for such is Job, as a literary work, clearly stands within the “Wisdom” tradition and literature within the Ancient Near East is remarkably conservative. The basic structure of the “Poem of Job” is said to be parallel to the “Theodicity” or “Babylonian Theodicity” with the dialogue between Job and his friends as actually an appeal to his God. There is also similarity of Ludlul to the “Poem of Job” which is sometimes called the “Babylonian Job.” The Dialogue/Appeal was an excellent way to show the transition of Job into Anti-Job keeping in mind that the innocent victim must always keep his complains within the bounds of propriety, thus being a “Righteous Sufferer.” At the same time, issues of justice and righteousness do play a role in the standard Dialogue/Appeal though in the end things do turn around right for God acts decisively and dramatically to restore the victim.Less
The “Poem of Job” like Bontsye Shvayg maintains a sharply critical line against pietistic worldview that a poet like Perets wished to address. The chapter mentions that to understand fully the “Poem of Job,” one must see what the poet wished to turn inside out for purposes of parody, both in broad and small scale terms. Perets wanted the same thing on a whole array of Yiddish themes though it is not as easy as it is in Bontsye since it has a relative wealth of contemporaneous information while Job does not. The two reasons for such is Job, as a literary work, clearly stands within the “Wisdom” tradition and literature within the Ancient Near East is remarkably conservative. The basic structure of the “Poem of Job” is said to be parallel to the “Theodicity” or “Babylonian Theodicity” with the dialogue between Job and his friends as actually an appeal to his God. There is also similarity of Ludlul to the “Poem of Job” which is sometimes called the “Babylonian Job.” The Dialogue/Appeal was an excellent way to show the transition of Job into Anti-Job keeping in mind that the innocent victim must always keep his complains within the bounds of propriety, thus being a “Righteous Sufferer.” At the same time, issues of justice and righteousness do play a role in the standard Dialogue/Appeal though in the end things do turn around right for God acts decisively and dramatically to restore the victim.
E. W. Heaton
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263623
- eISBN:
- 9780191601156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263627.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The presuppositions of the comfortable outlook – ‘God’s in his heaven: All’s right with the world’ – had been questioned from time to time over the centuries, but Job and Ecclesiastes are the only ...
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The presuppositions of the comfortable outlook – ‘God’s in his heaven: All’s right with the world’ – had been questioned from time to time over the centuries, but Job and Ecclesiastes are the only major works in the Old Testament deliberately undertaken to articulate the doubt and debate then current in the Israeli schools. They are generally thought to come from the fifth or fourth and third centuries BC respectively, but there is no evidence to support the speculation that it was at this period that the age-old conflict between the theories of the theologians and the facts of life became more than usually acute. The two parts of the chapter look first at doubt, disaster, despair and pessimism in Job and then at the same attitudes in Ecclesiastes, and in doing so make comparisons between the two books. The Egyptian and Babylonian precedents to passages in Job suggest that its author is writing within a convention well established in the circles of schoolmen of the Ancient Near East, rather than presenting actual experiences, and the sustained protest of Job’s speeches challenges the two principal (and contradictory) dogmas that had become fossilized in the Israeli school tradition: ‘God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform’, and ‘God’s way in the world is not in the least mysterious and may be traced in the prosperity of the righteous and the suffering of the wicked’. Any interpretation of Ecclesiastes, who like Job was a literary stylist, must give due weight to the fact that he was a teacher, but the application of doleful description in the body of the work is discriminating, and probably represents his thought.Less
The presuppositions of the comfortable outlook – ‘God’s in his heaven: All’s right with the world’ – had been questioned from time to time over the centuries, but Job and Ecclesiastes are the only major works in the Old Testament deliberately undertaken to articulate the doubt and debate then current in the Israeli schools. They are generally thought to come from the fifth or fourth and third centuries BC respectively, but there is no evidence to support the speculation that it was at this period that the age-old conflict between the theories of the theologians and the facts of life became more than usually acute. The two parts of the chapter look first at doubt, disaster, despair and pessimism in Job and then at the same attitudes in Ecclesiastes, and in doing so make comparisons between the two books. The Egyptian and Babylonian precedents to passages in Job suggest that its author is writing within a convention well established in the circles of schoolmen of the Ancient Near East, rather than presenting actual experiences, and the sustained protest of Job’s speeches challenges the two principal (and contradictory) dogmas that had become fossilized in the Israeli school tradition: ‘God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform’, and ‘God’s way in the world is not in the least mysterious and may be traced in the prosperity of the righteous and the suffering of the wicked’. Any interpretation of Ecclesiastes, who like Job was a literary stylist, must give due weight to the fact that he was a teacher, but the application of doleful description in the body of the work is discriminating, and probably represents his thought.
Stuart Weeks
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198270072
- eISBN:
- 9780191683879
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198270072.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
This is a new and ground-breaking study of the nature and origins of the earliest material in the book of Proverbs, drawing on evidence from Israel and neighbouring ...
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This is a new and ground-breaking study of the nature and origins of the earliest material in the book of Proverbs, drawing on evidence from Israel and neighbouring countries in the ancient Near East. This literature has widely been believed to have originated as pedagogical material, designed for the education of future administrators in the royal bureaucracy from the time of Solomon. That belief has played an important part not only in the interpretation of the texts, but in reconstructions of Israelite society and history. This book challenges this view, arguing that it is largely founded on assumptions which are now widely discredited, and sets out to re-evaluate the evidence in the light of more recent research. The conclusions drawn here will have important implications for the future study of this material from both a Christian and Jewish perspective, and for our understanding of ancient Israel's society and history.Less
This is a new and ground-breaking study of the nature and origins of the earliest material in the book of Proverbs, drawing on evidence from Israel and neighbouring countries in the ancient Near East. This literature has widely been believed to have originated as pedagogical material, designed for the education of future administrators in the royal bureaucracy from the time of Solomon. That belief has played an important part not only in the interpretation of the texts, but in reconstructions of Israelite society and history. This book challenges this view, arguing that it is largely founded on assumptions which are now widely discredited, and sets out to re-evaluate the evidence in the light of more recent research. The conclusions drawn here will have important implications for the future study of this material from both a Christian and Jewish perspective, and for our understanding of ancient Israel's society and history.
W. G. E. Watson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This is the last of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and discusses Hebrew poetry in the context of the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible. The introductory section looks at recent work on ...
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This is the last of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and discusses Hebrew poetry in the context of the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible. The introductory section looks at recent work on the discovery of the verse traditions of the ancient Near East, and discusses the difficulty of reading Hebrew poetry, the Hebrew poet's resources (tradition versus innovation) and the poet's voice and the lyrical first person singular (the lyrical ‘I’). The second section discusses the issue of differentiating between prose and poetry, the third discusses metre and rhythm, and the fourth discusses parallelism. Further sections discuss building blocks (line, half‐line, and couplet), the segmentation of poems, repetition, the exploitation of sound, figurative language, and poetic diction. The last section of the chapter looks at the matter of holding the reader's attention.Less
This is the last of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and discusses Hebrew poetry in the context of the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible. The introductory section looks at recent work on the discovery of the verse traditions of the ancient Near East, and discusses the difficulty of reading Hebrew poetry, the Hebrew poet's resources (tradition versus innovation) and the poet's voice and the lyrical first person singular (the lyrical ‘I’). The second section discusses the issue of differentiating between prose and poetry, the third discusses metre and rhythm, and the fourth discusses parallelism. Further sections discuss building blocks (line, half‐line, and couplet), the segmentation of poems, repetition, the exploitation of sound, figurative language, and poetic diction. The last section of the chapter looks at the matter of holding the reader's attention.
Kim Ryholt and Gojko Barjamovic
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199655359
- eISBN:
- 9780191841347
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199655359.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Ancient Egypt and Western Asia had a library tradition many centuries before the advent of the Greek script and the building of the Library of Alexandria. The chapter provides an overview of this ...
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Ancient Egypt and Western Asia had a library tradition many centuries before the advent of the Greek script and the building of the Library of Alexandria. The chapter provides an overview of this tradition from the third millennium BCE onwards. It presents a rich archaeological record of many thousands of texts; the scripts, languages, and different types of manuscripts and writing equipment; the scholarship, acquisition, and curation that went into their creation; the various types of collections and assemblages of texts; literacy, reading, and access; and the architecture, storage, and maintenance of these early collections.Less
Ancient Egypt and Western Asia had a library tradition many centuries before the advent of the Greek script and the building of the Library of Alexandria. The chapter provides an overview of this tradition from the third millennium BCE onwards. It presents a rich archaeological record of many thousands of texts; the scripts, languages, and different types of manuscripts and writing equipment; the scholarship, acquisition, and curation that went into their creation; the various types of collections and assemblages of texts; literacy, reading, and access; and the architecture, storage, and maintenance of these early collections.
Walter Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198732679
- eISBN:
- 9780191796951
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732679.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
World literature is a systematic category from the start—in antiquity referring to an Old World literary system. Three stages of that system can be discerned in the ancient world. The first, ...
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World literature is a systematic category from the start—in antiquity referring to an Old World literary system. Three stages of that system can be discerned in the ancient world. The first, 3000–1200 BCE, turns on the invention and diffusion of literature in the ancient Near East. The second, 1200–550 BCE, sees the emergence of three literatures that, unlike their predecessors, do not die out, instead going on to become crucial to world civilization—Chinese, Greek, and Hebrew. The third, 550 BCE–750 CE, is the age of the ancient empires, which, beginning with the Persian Empire in the Axial Age, binds together Afro-Eurasia, including its culture, in unprecedented fashion. European literature is eventually the heir of this Old World system.Less
World literature is a systematic category from the start—in antiquity referring to an Old World literary system. Three stages of that system can be discerned in the ancient world. The first, 3000–1200 BCE, turns on the invention and diffusion of literature in the ancient Near East. The second, 1200–550 BCE, sees the emergence of three literatures that, unlike their predecessors, do not die out, instead going on to become crucial to world civilization—Chinese, Greek, and Hebrew. The third, 550 BCE–750 CE, is the age of the ancient empires, which, beginning with the Persian Empire in the Axial Age, binds together Afro-Eurasia, including its culture, in unprecedented fashion. European literature is eventually the heir of this Old World system.
Amram Tropper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199267125
- eISBN:
- 9780191699184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267125.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter reviews and summarizes the central themes of the study. As a whole, the eight chapters have offered a portrait of a treatise and its relationship to the literary and historical setting ...
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This chapter reviews and summarizes the central themes of the study. As a whole, the eight chapters have offered a portrait of a treatise and its relationship to the literary and historical setting of the ancient Near East and to the local Jewish context. The first part of the book has explored the wisdom of literary genre and the political framework of third-century Palestine in order to contextualize and enhance the synchronic interpretation of Avot. The second part of the book turned to the wider landscape of the Graeco-Roman world in order to integrate the first part's synchronic reading of Avot into the contemporary setting of the Near East. This chapter concludes with the analysis of Avot based on Berger's and Luckmann's model to show how various dimensions of legitimation in Avot contributed to the texture of rabbinic life in the early third century.Less
This chapter reviews and summarizes the central themes of the study. As a whole, the eight chapters have offered a portrait of a treatise and its relationship to the literary and historical setting of the ancient Near East and to the local Jewish context. The first part of the book has explored the wisdom of literary genre and the political framework of third-century Palestine in order to contextualize and enhance the synchronic interpretation of Avot. The second part of the book turned to the wider landscape of the Graeco-Roman world in order to integrate the first part's synchronic reading of Avot into the contemporary setting of the Near East. This chapter concludes with the analysis of Avot based on Berger's and Luckmann's model to show how various dimensions of legitimation in Avot contributed to the texture of rabbinic life in the early third century.
Zvi Ben‐Dor Benite
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195307337
- eISBN:
- 9780199867868
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195307337.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter presents the historical circumstances that gave birth to the story of the Ten Lost Tribes in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The two most important elements in this chapter are the ...
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This chapter presents the historical circumstances that gave birth to the story of the Ten Lost Tribes in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The two most important elements in this chapter are the imperial deportations and the prophetic culture that “processed” them into a divine punishment understood to be an overall exile of an entire nation. The chapter tells how the rise of the Assyrian Empire to world dominance during the 8th century BCE resulted in the destruction of the Israelite kingdom in Northern ancient Palestine and the deportation of several tens of thousands of its subjects to the eastern provinces of the Empire. This was an uncommon occurrence in the ancient Near East as other small kingdom and nations were deported as well. However, this particular deportation was recorded in the Bible. The chapter then describes how prophets in Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judea‐most notably Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah turned the deportation into a divine punishment enacted by God through Assyria. Most crucially, Isaiah (and he was followed by other prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel) promised that the tribes would return. When they did not, their search began.Less
This chapter presents the historical circumstances that gave birth to the story of the Ten Lost Tribes in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The two most important elements in this chapter are the imperial deportations and the prophetic culture that “processed” them into a divine punishment understood to be an overall exile of an entire nation. The chapter tells how the rise of the Assyrian Empire to world dominance during the 8th century BCE resulted in the destruction of the Israelite kingdom in Northern ancient Palestine and the deportation of several tens of thousands of its subjects to the eastern provinces of the Empire. This was an uncommon occurrence in the ancient Near East as other small kingdom and nations were deported as well. However, this particular deportation was recorded in the Bible. The chapter then describes how prophets in Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judea‐most notably Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah turned the deportation into a divine punishment enacted by God through Assyria. Most crucially, Isaiah (and he was followed by other prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel) promised that the tribes would return. When they did not, their search began.
Jonathan Burnside
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199759217
- eISBN:
- 9780199827084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199759217.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The lack of a systematic account of marriage and divorce in biblical law means drawing on a wide range of legal materials in order to reconstruct what the typical practice might have been in biblical ...
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The lack of a systematic account of marriage and divorce in biblical law means drawing on a wide range of legal materials in order to reconstruct what the typical practice might have been in biblical Israel. This includes evidence of local custom, shared ancient Near Eastern conventions, formal rules, and rabbinic traditions. Nevertheless, the typical marriage seems to have followed a conventional procedure and problems arose when this was subverted (e.g., such cases as the “rape” of Dinah, and Tamar). This chapter argues that, in some cases, what we call “sexual offences” are really deviations from what the biblical texts regard as the normal sequence of marital relations. Biblical law regulates the practice of divorce and sets limits to its operation. It also shows concern for issues of consent, equality, protection, gender, and heterosexual ideology, although these are expressed differently from similar interests in modern law.Less
The lack of a systematic account of marriage and divorce in biblical law means drawing on a wide range of legal materials in order to reconstruct what the typical practice might have been in biblical Israel. This includes evidence of local custom, shared ancient Near Eastern conventions, formal rules, and rabbinic traditions. Nevertheless, the typical marriage seems to have followed a conventional procedure and problems arose when this was subverted (e.g., such cases as the “rape” of Dinah, and Tamar). This chapter argues that, in some cases, what we call “sexual offences” are really deviations from what the biblical texts regard as the normal sequence of marital relations. Biblical law regulates the practice of divorce and sets limits to its operation. It also shows concern for issues of consent, equality, protection, gender, and heterosexual ideology, although these are expressed differently from similar interests in modern law.
