The Deuteronomistic History Hypothesis: a Reassessment
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Kynes Wisdom Obituary JTS Prepub
[Pre-publication version: Kynes, Will. “The ‘Wisdom Literature’ Category: An Obituary.” Journal of Theological Studies 69 (2018): 1–24.] The ‘Wisdom Literature’ Category An Obituary Will Kynes Whitworth University [email protected] Abstract The consensus that Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job are the primary members of a ‘Wisdom’ collection is nearly universal, though the category’s origin is unknown and its definition debated. This article identifies that origin and argues that it has caused that continuing debate. Wisdom was not born in early Jewish and Christian interpretation, as some suggest, but in nineteenth-century Germany to make the Old Testament palatable to its ‘cultured despisers’. The uncritical acceptance of the category perpetuates the presuppositions that inspired it, which continue to plague its interpretation. Now, as the category’s vital weaknesses are increasingly recognized, the time has come to declare Wisdom Literature dead and replace it with a new approach to genre that reads texts, not in exclusive categories, but in multiple overlapping groupings. This will offer a more nuanced understanding of the so-called Wisdom texts’ place in the intricate intertextual network of the canon and beyond. It will free Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job, as well as the Israelite concept of wisdom to be interpreted more independently, beyond their connections with one another, and thus more fully and accurately. 1 The ‘Wisdom Literature’ category, a collection of biblical books centred on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job, has died.1 After 167 years, it has succumbed to the obsolescence which constantly threatens generic classifications.2 The category’s recent rocketing rise in popularity coupled with the nearly universal agreement on its value for biblical interpretation makes its death more shocking, however, since they had given the impression that Wisdom was in excellent health. -
Concept in Ancient Israel As Depicted in Deuteronomistic
BERITH AS A SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REGULATORY MECHANISM IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AND TRADITIONAL ÈGBẠ́ -YORÙBÁ SOCIETY ___________________________ OLUGBEMIRO OLUSEGUN BEREKIAH MAT. NO. 124391 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AUGUST 2014 i BERITH AS A SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REGULATORY MECHANISM IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AND TRADITIONAL ÈGBẠ́ -YORÙBÁ SOCIETY BY OLUGBEMIRO OLUSEGUN BEREKIAH MAT. NO. 124391 OND,(Bida) Dip.Th, Dip.RS, B.A.HONS, M.A. (Ibadan) A Thesis in the Department of Religious Studies, Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of the UNIVERSITY OF ÌBÀDÀN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AUGUST 2014 ii Abstract Berith, a concept similar to ìmùlè ̣ among the Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá of South-Western Nigeria, is a pact ratified by oath, binding two or more parties in a relationship of moral commitment to certain stipulations. It was used to regulate socio-political and economic life in ancient Israel. Previous studies on Berith have focused on its legal aspect, neglecting its moral basis as a means of effectively regulating and controlling socio-political and economic aspects of human society in ancient Israel and its relevance to the traditional Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá sociocultural context with shared experiences. This study, therefore, examined the effectiveness of berith as a means of regulating socio-political and economic life in ancient Israel as replicated by ìmùlè ̣ among traditional Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá. The work was premised on Manus’ intercultural hermeneutics which relates the Bible to African socio-cultural situations. The historical-critical method was used to analyse relevant texts (2 Kgs.22:8-23:3; Exod.20:22-23:33; Deut.6:1-28:69), taking the Leningrad Codex as the vorlage. -
2 Disambiguating Moses' Book Of
2 DISAMBIGUATING MOSES’ BOOK OF LAW Efforts to delineate the contents of Moses’ book of the law face the chal- lenge of a variety of ambiguous terms and references. The phrase “this law” -occurs nineteen times in Deuteronomy, five times in con ( ַה ָ תּוֹרה ַהזּ ֹאת) and once in connection with 85( ֵסֶפר) ”nection with the word “book ,The terms “law” and “book” are themselves ambiguous 86.( ֲאָבִנים) ”stones“ can mean “instruction” or “teaching” in addition to the law and ָ תּוֹרה since can denote any written surface, from an ancient scroll to engraved ֵסֶפר stone (Barton 1998:2, 13). In 31:9, the narrator reports that Moses wrote “this law” and handed the document over to the Levites and elders with instructions for periodic reading. A little later, the narrator reports that Moses wrote “the words of this law” in “a book” which he consequently handed over to the Levites for deposition beside the ark of the covenant (31:24). Added to the polyvalent terminology and multiple reports of writ- ing are the ancillary terms “testimonies,” “commandments,” “statutes,” and “ordinances” (e.g., 4:44-5). Scholars have resorted to various means to delineate a document bur- dened so with diverse signification. In the process, some scholars have fallen into debate over the swept volume of a plastered stele so that they might better determine whether the entire Deuteronomic (sic) text (chs. 1- 34) could have been etched on its surface (cf. 27:3). While Eugene H. Merrill argues that a plastered stele could not have contained the entire Deuteronomic text, (1994:342), Jeffrey H. -
Three Conquests of Canaan
ÅA Wars in the Middle East are almost an every day part of Eero Junkkaala:of Three Canaan Conquests our lives, and undeniably the history of war in this area is very long indeed. This study examines three such wars, all of which were directed against the Land of Canaan. Two campaigns were conducted by Egyptian Pharaohs and one by the Israelites. The question considered being Eero Junkkaala whether or not these wars really took place. This study gives one methodological viewpoint to answer this ques- tion. The author studies the archaeology of all the geo- Three Conquests of Canaan graphical sites mentioned in the lists of Thutmosis III and A Comparative Study of Two Egyptian Military Campaigns and Shishak and compares them with the cities mentioned in Joshua 10-12 in the Light of Recent Archaeological Evidence the Conquest stories in the Book of Joshua. Altogether 116 sites were studied, and the com- parison between the texts and the archaeological results offered a possibility of establishing whether the cities mentioned, in the sources in question, were inhabited, and, furthermore, might have been destroyed during the time of the Pharaohs and the biblical settlement pe- riod. Despite the nature of the two written sources being so very different it was possible to make a comparative study. This study gives a fresh view on the fierce discus- sion concerning the emergence of the Israelites. It also challenges both Egyptological and biblical studies to use the written texts and the archaeological material togeth- er so that they are not so separated from each other, as is often the case. -
Oct. 28: Genesis 6-25:18; Richard Friedman, “Torah and Covenant
1 Oct. 28: Genesis 6-25:18; Richard Friedman, “Torah 2 and Covenant,” OSB, pp. * 154-163; David L. 3 Petersen, “The Social World of the Old 4 Testament,” OSB, pp. *68-78. 5 6 Abra(ha)mRite of passage: 7 8 >I am always intrigued by the stark differences between the Old and New Testament. In regards 9 to liberation, I think an interesting angle arises when you look at Abraham as a free slave. Had 10 he not been favored by God Abraham would have just been another man in a village trying to 11 survive, but he was freed from his fate by God. He walked with God and was faithful and 12 accomplished great things. Instead of just being another villager his descendants are more 13 numerous than the stars in the sky. He is famous for his life with God. Like all liberation stories 14 Abraham's follows the usual path. He is in one stage of life, and breaks free to another, more 15 enlightened stage. He undergoes many challenges (his wife, Isaac, etc) and experiences a Rite of 16 Passage (circumcision), and he also changes his name (Abram-Abraham). Like other slaves faith 17 was a big factor for abraham, although a slightly bigger part of his liberation. This view of 18 Abraham and the Old Testament sparks a lot of thought. 19 20 21 Abraham’s mistakes / trust/ baptism: 22 23 >First of all, I just want to say how strange it is to read the Bible for the 50th time and try to find 24 something new. -
DEUTERONOMY–KINGS AS EMERGING AUTHORITATIVE BOOKS Ancient Near East Monographs
DEUTERONOMY–KINGS AS EMERGING AUTHORITATIVE BOOKS Ancient Near East Monographs General Editors Ehud Ben Zvi Roxana Flammini Editorial Board Reinhard Achenbach Esther J. Hamori Steven W. Holloway René Krüger Alan Lenzi Steven L. McKenzie Martti Nissinen Graciela Gestoso Singer Juan Manuel Tebes Number 6 DEUTERONOMY–KINGS AS EMERGING AUTHORITATIVE BOOKS A CONVERSATION Edited by Diana V. Edelman Society of Biblical Literature Atlanta Copyright © 2014 by the Society of Biblical Literature All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Offi ce, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Control Number: 2014931428 Th e Ancient Near East Monographs/Monografi as Sobre El Antiguo Cercano Oriente series is published jointly by the Society of Biblical Literature and the Universidad Católica Argentina Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Políticas y de la Comunicación, Centro de Estu- dios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente. For further information, see: http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/Books_ANEmonographs.aspx http://www.uca.edu.ar/cehao Printed on acid-free, recycled paper conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994 standards for paper permanence. To the memory of my father, Arthur T. Vikander, who was so proud of my scholarly pursuits and accomplishments. -
To Sing a New Song: New Perspectives for Doing Old Testament Theology Professor Robert K
To Sing a New Song: New Perspectives for Doing Old Testament Theology Professor Robert K. Gnuse In the past fifteen years Old Testament scholars have critically assessed existing paradigms used not only in scholarly research but also in our textbooks and found them to be wanting. In this period of scholarly ferment one cannot be too sure where the new scholarly paradigms will take us, but a new consensus seems to be emerging on a number of issues, some of which may have significant implications for how Christians and Jews draw forth theological and religious meanings from the biblical texts. Two areas of study in Old Testament research have drawn the attention of this author for the past ten years: first, how archaeologists have begun to interpret the process by which the Israelites "conquered" Palestine; and second, how historians of Israelite religion have begun to portray the emergence of monotheism among the Israelites. Many biblical theologians have taken their cue for the creation of biblical or Old Testament theologies from an understanding of these two aspects of Israelite existence. The emergence of new scholarly understandings will cause biblical theologians perhaps to fine tune their explications and stress different nuances in the future. This paper is designed to be a tentative probe in articulating what might be the themes that biblical theologians will stress in the future as they reflect upon the biblical literature of the Old Testament or Hebrew canon. I shall first make some general observations about the nature of biblical theology in the Old Testament. Then a brief summary will be made of some of the significant new directions taken by scholarship in the discussions about the nature of the Israelite conquest and emerging monotheism. -
THRESHING FLOORS AS SACRED SPACES in the HEBREW BIBLE by Jaime L. Waters a Dissertation Submitted to the Johns Hopkins Universit
THRESHING FLOORS AS SACRED SPACES IN THE HEBREW BIBLE by Jaime L. Waters A dissertation submitted to The Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland August 2013 © 2013 Jaime L. Waters All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Vital to an agrarian community’s survival, threshing floors are agricultural spaces where crops are threshed and winnowed. As an agrarian society, ancient Israel used threshing floors to perform these necessary activities of food processing, but the Hebrew Bible includes very few references to these actions happening on threshing floors. Instead, several cultic activities including mourning rites, divination rituals, cultic processions, and sacrifices occur on these agricultural spaces. Moreover, the Solomonic temple was built on a threshing floor. Though seemingly ordinary agricultural spaces, the Hebrew Bible situates a variety of extraordinary cultic activities on these locations. In examining references to threshing floors in the Hebrew Bible, this dissertation will show that these agricultural spaces are also sacred spaces connected to Yahweh. Three chapters will explore different aspects of this connection. Divine control of threshing floors will be demonstrated as Yahweh exhibits power to curse, bless, and save threshing floors from foreign attacks. Accessibility and divine manifestation of Yahweh will be demonstrated in passages that narrate cultic activities on threshing floors. Cultic laws will reveal the links between threshing floors, divine offerings and blessings. One chapter will also address the sociological features of threshing floors with particular attention given to the social actors involved in cultic activities and temple construction. By studying references to threshing floors as a collection, a research project that has not been done previously, the close relationship between threshing floors and the divine will be visible, and a more nuanced understanding of these spaces will be achieved. -
(At the Service of the Roman Empire) and the Subsequent Economic Imperialism
Image: Map of Western Europe, by Fernão Vaz Dourado (1520-1580). Estimated actual date: ≈1705. European colonization (at the service of the Roman Empire) and the subsequent Economic Imperialism Author: Andreu Marfull-Pujadas 2017 © All rights reserved Exercise done for the Project of the Scientific Direction "New Chronology" - НЕВ ХРОНОЛОГИЈАА - directed by the professors A.T.Fomenko and G.V.Nosovskiy Work developed in the GLOBAL DIAGRAM OF THE DOUBLE CHRONOLOGICAL MANIPULATION OF THE HUMAN HISTORY - Representation of the Global Chronological Map of the "New Chronology" (Part 3) V.3.0 2017/10/12 Posted on 2018/01/12 Index 1. THE RECONSTRUCTION OF DILATED HISTORY ................................................... 3 1.1. The Empire of Human Civilizations, 10th-21st centuries ......................................................................... 3 1.2. Egypt = Rome = Greece, the Original Empire .......................................................................................... 4 1.3. Archaeology and “ancient” Thought ......................................................................................................... 5 1.4. Jerusalem = Holy Land = Several cities ................................................................................................... 5 1.5. America before to “1492” .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.6. The transformation of the Horde-Ottoman Alliance into the Janua (Genoa)-Palaiologos Alliance .......... 8 -
LAW and COVENANT ACCORDING to the BIBLICAL WRITERS By
LAW AND COVENANT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLICAL WRITERS by KRISTEN L. COX (Under the Direction of Richard Elliott Friedman) ABSTRACT The following thesis is a source critical analysis of the law and covenant in the Torah of the Hebrew Bible. Specifically I analyze the presentation of the Israelite Covenant in the Sinai Pericope and in Deuteronomy. I present the argument that, while the biblical writers are influenced by the formula of the ancient Near Eastern treaty documents, they each present different views of what happened at Sinai and what content is contained in the law code which was received there. INDEX WORDS: Covenant, Treaty, Law, Israelite law, Old Testament, Hebrew Bible, Torah, Sinai Pericope, Israelite Covenant, Abrahamic Covenant, Davidic Covenant, Noahic Covenant, Suzerain-vassal treaty, Royal grant, ancient Near Eastern law codes LAW AND COVENANT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLCAL WRITERS by KRISTEN L. COX BA , The University of Georgia, 2008 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Kristen L. Cox All Rights Reserved LAW AND COVENANT ACCORDING TO THE BIBLICAL WRITERS by KRISTEN L. COX Major Professor: Richard Elliott Friedman Committee: William L. Power Wayne Coppins Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2010 iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my all of my family. My mother has been my source of strength every day. My father who passed away my freshman year continues to be my source of inspiration for hard work, integrity and perseverance. -
Chronology of Old Testament a Return to Basics
Chronology of the Old Testament: A Return to the Basics By FLOYD NOLEN JONES, Th.D., Ph.D. 2002 15th Edition Revised and Enlarged with Extended Appendix (First Edition 1993) KingsWord Press P. O. Box 130220 The Woodlands, Texas 77393-0220 Chronology of the Old Testament: A Return to the Basics Ó Copyright 1993 – 2002 · Floyd Nolen Jones. Floyd Jones Ministries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This book may be freely reproduced in any form as long as it is not distributed for any material gain or profit; however, this book may not be published without written permission. ISBN 0-9700328-3-8 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... I am gratefully indebted to Dr. Alfred Cawston (d. 3/21/91), founder of two Bible Colleges in India and former Dean and past President of Continental Bible College in Brussels, Belgium, and Jack Park, former President and teacher at Sterling Bible Institute in Kansas, now serving as a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and President of Jesus' Missions Society in Huntsville, Texas. These Bible scholars painstakingly reviewed every Scripture reference and decision in the preparation of the Biblical time charts herewith submitted. My thanks also to: Mark Handley who entered the material into a CAD program giving us computer storage and retrieval capabilities, Paul Raybern and Barry Adkins for placing their vast computer skills at my every beckoning, my daughter Jennifer for her exhausting efforts – especially on the index, Julie Gates who tirelessly assisted and proofed most of the data, words fail – the Lord Himself shall bless and reward her for her kindness, competence and patience, and especially to my wife Shirley who for two years prior to the purchase of a drafting table put up with a dining room table constantly covered with charts and who lovingly understood my preoccupation with this project. -
Duke University Dissertation Template
The Male Coming-of-Age Theme in the Hebrew Bible by Stephen Michael Wilson Department of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Carol L. Meyers, Supervisor ___________________________ Stephen Chapman ___________________________ Ellen F. Davis ___________________________ Eric M. Meyers ___________________________ Susan Niditch Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 i v ABSTRACT The Male Coming-of-Age Theme in the Hebrew Bible by Stephen Michael Wilson Department of Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Carol L. Meyers, Supervisor ___________________________ Stephen Chapman ___________________________ Ellen F. Davis ___________________________ Eric M. Meyers ___________________________ Susan Niditch An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2013 i v Copyright by Stephen Michael Wilson 2013 Abstract This study identifies and elaborates on a theme in the Hebrew Bible (HB) that has largely gone unnoticed by scholars: the transition of a male adolescent from boyhood to manhood. Beyond identifying the coming-of-age theme in different HB texts, the project also describes how the theme is employed by biblical narrators and redactors to highlight broader messages and transitions in the historical narratives of the HB. It also considers how these stories provide insight into the varying representations of biblical masculinity. The project begins by showing how the recent discussions on masculinity in the HB and biblical rites of passage are incomplete without an analysis of how a boy becomes a man in the biblical text.