Founded on a lifetime’s research and creative thought, this is the crowning work of an internationally celebrated Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholar. Part I provides an engaging running commentary on the text from a final-form, canonical perspective, and Part II deals with a range of thematic issues, including: creation, covenant and election, the patriarchs, the promised land, torah, cult, Moses, David, Zion, language about God, prophecy, wisdom, Israel’s historical consciousness, hermeneutics, Jewish and Christian theology of the Hebrew Bible. It is both an invaluable tool for students and a significant work demanding the attention of professionals.

In Christ and the New Creation, Matthew Emerson takes a fresh approach to understanding New Testament theology by using a canonical methodology. Although typically confined to Old Testament theology, Emerson sees fruitfulness in applying this method to New Testament theology as well. Instead of a thematic or book-by-book analysis, Emerson attempts to trace the primary theological message of the New Testament through paying attention to its narrative and canonical shape. He concludes that the order of the books of the New Testament emphasize the story of Christ's inauguration, commissioning, and consummation of the new creation.

This volume draws attention to ancient religious texts, especially the so-called 'non-canonical' texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. The contributors are biblical scholars who have chosen one or more Jewish or Christian apocryphal or pseudepigraphical texts, with the aim of describing their ancient functions in their emerging social settings. These show the fluidity of the notion of scripture in the early centuries of the Church and in Judaism of late antiquity, but they also show the value of examining the ancient religious texts that were not included in the Jewish or Christian biblical canons. These chapters show that there is much that can be learned from examining and comparing these texts with canonical literature and evaluating them in their social context. No ancient text was created in a vacuum, and the non-canonical writings aid in our interpretation not only of many canonical writings, but also shed considerable light on the context of both early Judaism and early Christianity.

A New Handbook of Literary Terms offers a lively, informative guide to words and concepts that every student of literature needs to know. Mikics’s definitions are essayistic, witty, learned, and always a pleasure to read. They sketch the derivation and history of each term, including especially lucid explanations of verse forms and providing a firm sense of literary periods and movements from classicism to postmodernism. The Handbook also supplies a helpful map to the intricate and at times confusing terrain of literary theory at the beginning of the twenty-first century: the author has designated a series of terms, from New Criticism to queer theory, that serves as a concise but thorough introduction to recent developments in literary study. Mikics’s Handbook is ideal for classroom use at all levels, from freshman to graduate. Instructors can assign individual entries, many of which are well-shaped essays in their own right. Useful bibliographical suggestions are given at the end of most entries. The Handbook’s enjoyable style and thoughtful perspective will encourage students to browse and learn more. Every reader of literature will want to own this compact, delightfully written guide.

The long and complex history of reception and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament through the ages, described in the HBOT Project, focuses in this concluding volume III, Part 2 on the multifarious research and the different methods used in the last century. Even this volume is written by Christian and Jewish scholars and takes its wider cultural and philosophical context into consideration. The perspective is worldwide and ecumenical. Its references to modern biblical scholarship, on which it is based, are extensive and updated.The indexes (names, topics, references to biblical sources and a broad body of literature beyond) are the key to the wealth of information provided.Contributors are J. Barton, H.L. Bosman, A.F. Campbell, SJ, D.M. Carr, D.J.A. Clines, W. Dietrich, St.E. Fassberg, D. Føllesdal, A.C. Hagedorn, K.M. Heim, J. Høgenhaven, B. Janowski, D.A. Knight, C. Körting, A. Laato, P. Machinist, M.A.O ́Brien, M. Oeming, D. Olson, E. Otto, M. Sæbø, J. Schaper, S. Sekine, J.L. Ska, SJ, M.A. Sweeney, and J. de Waard.

Dieser erste Teilband des dritten und letzten Bandes des HBOT-Projekts setzt die kritische Darstellung der ganzen Rezeptions-, Auslegungs- und Forschungsgeschichte der Hebräischen Bibel / des Alten Testaments fort und berücksichtigt die neuen Aspekte dieser Geschichte im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, und zwar auf jüdischer wie auf christlicher Seite, unter katholischen wie unter protestantischen Theologen und Forschern. Dabei macht sich vor allem eine neue Faszination des Phänomens einer vielfältigen und bunten Geschichte bemerkbar; die »Geschichte« rückt in den Brennpunkt, und mit dem immer breiter ausgreifenden und vielfältigen historischen Kontext tritt ein entschieden stärkeres Interesse an historischen Fragestellungen bei der Auslegung und Erforschung der Bibel in den Vordergrund. Diese Kursänderung kommt namentlich an den Tag, wenn das Alte Testament in seinen vorderorientalischen Kontext näher eingeordnet wird, während die Bezüge zur Kirche und Synagoge mehr oder weniger geschwächt werden. Sobald eine historisch-kritische Annäherungsweise und Methode in der Bibelforschung allmählich an Dominanz gewinnt, gerät das Verhältnis zwischen der neuen wissenschaftlichen Exegese und der herkömmlichen kirchlichen Auslegung des Alten Testaments mehrfach in eine Krise, und zudem werden Streitigkeiten zwischen Fronten hervorgerufen; doch enthält diese weithin krisenhafte Lage noch Möglichkeiten fruchtbarer Neuorientierungen – in der Bibelwissenschaft wie in Leben und Lehre der Kirchen. Dabei greift das auslaufende 19. Jahrhundert auf das 20. Jahrhundert aus.

Understand the purpose and background of the new The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition project Our understanding of the textual history of the Hebrew Bible has been transformed in the wake of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hendel explores and refines this new knowledge and formulates a rationale for a new edition of the Hebrew Bible. The chapters situate The Hebrew Bible; A Critical Edition project in a broad historical context, from the beginnings of textual criticism in late antiquity and the Renaissance to the controversies in contemporary theory and practice. This book combines close analysis with broad synthesis, yielding new perspectives on the text of the Hebrew Bible. Features Theory and practice of textual criticism Textual history of the Hebrew Bible History of text-critical scholarship

This volume features an impressive array of leading biblical scholars and presents an illuminating and lively cross-section of this traditional field of study. Treating core topics and changing methodologies within twenty-three comprehensive chapters, this Companion provides an outstanding introduction to the historical origins and literary character of the canonical literature.