167 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXVI N° 1-2, Januari-April 2019 168
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167 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXVI N° 1-2, januari-april 2019 168 OUDE TESTAMENT It also discusses the origin of these books, arguing for a Mosaic core that grew over time and was completed by HUBBARD Jr., R. L. and J. A. DEARMAN — Introducing Ezra. Rather than describing stories as either fact or fiction, the Old Testament. William B. Eerdmans Publishing they propose understanding biblical texts on a literary spec- Co., Grand Rapids, 2018. (23,5 cm, XXII, 540, includ- trum that spans from the factual to the traditional; they ing tables, charts and illustrations). ISBN 978-0-8028- reserve the Exodus and the resurrection of Jesus as historical 6790-2. $ 40.00. events. Chapter four covers Genesis 1-11, explaining its title, organization, and genre. A few other Ancient Near East sto- It can be challenging to find an introduction to the Hebrew ries are described generally, though the authors do not Bible textbook that matches the professor’s desired approach believe they are sources for Genesis, just likewise drawn and the needs of an institution. Is the class designed to intro- from rich Ancient Near Eastern culture. Chapter five covers duce students to the Hebrew Bible? Is it to help religious Genesis 12-50, calling its genre “family history.” As con- students better understand their scriptures and theology? text, the authors provide the history of the second millen- Is it for introducing scholarly methods to students already nium BCE; they concede that there is no direct evidence that familiar with the content of the Bible? Is it something in the patriarchs existed but suggest they are historical persons between? If so, where? because their names, customs, and lifestyle match the time Robert L. Hubbard Jr. and J. Andrew Dearman’s new text- period. Chapter six is on Exodus; the timelines and text men- book concentrates on preparing students for reading the Old tion both an early and a late date for a historical Exodus, but Testament in translation. It provides them with basic intro- a late date seems to be preferred. The Egyptian history of the ductions to aid them in understanding what they read. These period is provided and four routes and possible locations of introductions for each biblical book cover the origin of the Mt. Sinai are discussed, although the map provided only book, the historical and cultural background, the main liter- notes two possible locations for the mountain. The next two ary features and characters, and the structure of the book. chapters on Leviticus and Numbers are perhaps on the brief There is minimal discussion of theology or academic issues; side, but cover the major contents, such as: the festivals, the focus of a course using this textbook would be on reading sacrifices, holiness code, and the important narrative events the Old Testament in order to understand the content of the in Numbers. Chapter nine covers Deuteronomy, introducing books. the idea of the Deuteronomic history and the Josianic reform There are many features that make this a useable textbook. (here too is a brief paragraph on JEDP source criticism). It There are thirty-seven chapters, which can be easily divided covers the major sections of the book and, in order to illus- for a typical length semester. The chapters are mostly short, trate how the material has been edited, it contrasts the Deca- allowing students time to focus on reading the Bible itself. logue in Exodus with the one in Deuteronomy, it includes Each chapter has approximately seven study questions that tables comparing the slave laws in Exod 21 and Deut 15, and aim to make the student reflect on and interact with the bibli- comparing the festival calendars in Exod 23 and Deut 16. cal text; they seem very suitable for starting class discussion Part three covers the Historical Books. Chapter ten and assessing whether students actually did the reading. The describes this grouping, makes the case that these books illustrations are typically artworks or archaeological finds and cover God’s history with Israel, and addresses three major monuments related to the biblical book. There are also helpful issues: which books are preexilic and which are postexilic; maps, timelines, and tables. Each chapter has a short bibliog- how Chronicles reworks material for its early 4th century raphy of works mentioned and commentaries, and typically audience; and the location of Ruth (which is grouped by the include an article summarizing recent scholarship on the authors inconsistently as pre- and post-exilic). Hubbard and book. At the end of the book there is a glossary of terms Dearman’s approach to biblical history is to take the books (though terms defined in the glossary are not marked in the as story, so that there is both factual content and literary main text), a list of Hebrew transliterations, a subject index, shaping, since a historian uses literary features, selects which a scripture index, and an index of other ancient sources. facts to include, and “arbitrarily decides when the principle The book is organized into six sections: 1) Getting Started; of cause and effect link events together” (p. 113). Chapters 2) The Torah; 3) The Historical Books; 4) The Prophets; eleven through fifteen cover Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Sam- 5) The Poetry; 6) Conclusion. Each major section has an uel, and 1-2 Kings, respectively. For each chapter, they dis- introductory chapter explaining the grouping and giving gen- cuss the origin of the book, the major themes, and interpre- eral information about the biblical books grouped under the tive issues (for example, in Joshua the archaeology of heading. Jericho, Ai, and Hazor is mentioned, Judges discusses the The first section has two chapters, the first of which intro- various interpretations of Jephthah’s sacrifice, and Samuel duces the book as a whole. The second chapter explains the discusses prior sources that have been edited). Chapter six- authors’ approach to the historical context of the Old Testa- teen introduces the Postexilic books, giving the major themes ment and defines the terminology used for the major eras of of the books and some information about Persian period Israel’s history. This chapter describes some scholarly Yehud. Chapters seventeen through nineteen covers 1-2 debates about chronology, and takes sides on some issues Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Esther, respectively, and are (such as the late date of a historical exodus), but does not of the same format. Some issues addressed for these books offer an overview of Ancient Near East history (this is cov- are: how Chronicles addresses a different audience than ered piecemeal in later chapters). Kings does, whether Ezra and Nehemiah relied on earlier The Second section deals with the Torah in seven chap- sources, and understanding Esther in light of racism, sexism, ters. The initial chapter describes the genre of the Torah and the holocaust as well as the question of whether the book and explains the terms “Torah,” “Pentateuch,” and “Law.” describes historical events. 169 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — OUDE TESTAMENT 170 Part four covers the Prophets. Chapter twenty, entitled kinsmen-redeemers are called “guardian-redeemers,” and “What is Hebrew Poetry” introduces how Hebrew poetry there are some unique names for offerings and sacrifices. differs from English poetry and describes parallelism based Most bewildering, though, is that in the chapter on Ezra the on Susan Gillingham’s work. Chapter twenty-one is “Who “Festival of Flatbread” is mentioned (which may lead stu- and What were the Prophets?” This chapter defines termi- dents to think pita before they think matzah or lavash), nology for prophets, summarizes the narrative material con- though in the chapter on Leviticus it is called the “feast of cerning biblical prophets, and describes their roles in Israel/ unleavened bread. Judah and the way they spoke and acted. It also describes the This textbook was written to meet the needs of the authors origin of the prophetic books, then defines eschatology and in their classrooms, and it will no doubt be welcomed by illustrates it with the example of Jerusalem. Chapter twenty- other professors who share their needs. Compared to other two covers Isaiah (the authors favor three Isaiahs); chapter similar textbooks, Hubbard and Dearman offer less theology. twenty-two covers Jeremiah (the various editions of the book Zondervans’ A Survey of the Old Testament and Eerdmans’ are mentioned); chapter twenty-four covers Ezekiel; and 1982 book Old Testament Survey both include chapters on chapter twenty-five covers Daniel (and discusses the Apoca- the authority or inspiration of the Old Testament, on theo- lyptic genre and the issue of when the book was composed logical hermeneutics, and talk about the significant theologi- or edited). The Minor Prophets are dealt with in groups based cal themes and contributions of the individual biblical books. on when Hubbard and Dearman believe the prophets were Compared with these textbooks, Hubbard and Dearman also active: chapter twenty-six covers Hosea, Amos, and Micah; include less discussion of the scholarly issues related to vari- chapter twenty-seven covers Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and ous biblical books. For example, the Zondervan text devotes Joel; chapter twenty-eight covers Jonah, Nahum, and Oba- several pages to the rational for the early versus late dating diah; and chapter twenty-nine covers Haggai, Zechariah, and for a historical exodus, whereas Hubbard and Dearman do Malachi. little to defend their stance. But some professors no doubt Part five is “The Poetry.” The first chapter of this part is prefer their text to give little theology or to avoid strong entitled: “What are the Wisdom Books,” and gives a defini- stances on scholarly debates so that the professor can teach tion of wisdom in the Bible, mentions wisdom in Ancient their own perspective in class.