scholarly journals History and the Hebrew Bible: Culture, Narrative, and Memory

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-69
Author(s):  
Ian D. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
King David ◽  
Linguistic Turn ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
And Linguistics

AbstractThis essay offers an introduction to select disciplinary developments in the study of history and in historical study of the Hebrew Bible. It focuses first and foremost on “cultural history,” a broad category defined by nineteenth- and twentieth-century developments in anthropology and sociology, literary theory and linguistics, and other fields of study. The first part of the essay comments on developments since the so-called “linguistic turn,” highlighting some key works on culture, narrative, and memory, in order to establish a contemporary historical approach to biblical studies. It then turns to questions of the Hebrew Bible’s usefulness for historical study, and highlights studies of King David and the Davidic polity in ancient Israel/Judah, to show how scholars of the Bible have done historical work in recent years. And finally, it provides a case study of the book of Joshua, demonstrating how historians can utilize biblical texts as sources for cultural history.

Clio and Canons: in Search of a Cultural Poetics of the Hebrew Bible

1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 300-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
New Historicism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Cultural Poetics ◽  
Leading Edges

AbstractThe enterprise of writing "histories" of "ancient Israel" in which biblical historiography is reproduced by old credulists or critiqued by new nihilists represents one of the leading edges of contemporary biblical studies in relation to the Hebrew Bible. This quest for a cultural poetics or cultural materialist accounts of the Bible is virtually equivalent to a New Historicism in the discipline. In this article analyses of three topics from current debates in biblical studies (historiography of "ancient Israel", the empty land topos, canons and context) are used to provide insights into how new historicist approaches to contextualizing literature may contribute to these current debates about the Bible.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Michael E. Pregill
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Golden Calf ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The Relationship

This book is a study of the famous—or infamous—narrative of the Israelites’ worship of the Golden Calf, explored through historical and literary analysis of the various interpretations and expansions of the episode across more than a thousand years. The story of the Calf is familiar even to laypeople with very little scriptural literacy; many people know it from the version recounted in the Hebrew Bible (sometimes still termed the “Old Testament”), and perhaps from later Jewish and Christian versions as well. However, while those versions will be discussed at length here, this book focuses in particular on the version found in the Qur’an—which, I will argue, represents an integral part of the biblical tradition, broadly conceived. I will trace the development of understandings of the episode from ancient Israel through the consolidation of classical Judaism and Christianity up to the emergence of Islam, using it as a case study through which to re-evaluate the relationship between Bible and Qur’an. Interrogating both historical and contemporary scholarship on the Qur’an and its connections to the Bible and ancient Jewish and Christian traditions of interpretation provides us with a framework in which to investigate the relationships between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, particularly during the long transitional period now commonly termed Late Antiquity....

Ruth

1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward F. Campbell , Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Generation Gap ◽  
Sensitive Analysis ◽  
King David ◽  
Moving Force ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Times ◽  
The City ◽  
And Linguistics

Ruth, a tale of human kindness and just dealing far beyond the norm, contains elements that for centuries have been the subject of debate. With a sprightly translation and a commentary rich in informed speculation, Professor Campbell considers the questions of layman and scholar alike. Finding no overt mighty acts, the layman asks, “Why was Ruth included in the Bible at all? Where is God?” Professor Campbell shows that God is not only present throughout but is indeed the moving force behind all the developments of the story. Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz each act as God to each other, by taking extraordinary responsibility and performing extraordinary acts of kindness. And it is God who is responsible for the series of coincidences on which the plot hinges. The scholar’s questions deal with such matters as purpose, date, and genre. Professor Campbell’s research into ancient customs and linguistics suggests to him that Ruth is a historical novelette, entertaining and instructive, composed not long after the reign of King David, during the time of Solomon or within the subsequent century. Professor Campbell demonstrates the storyteller’s skill with sensitive analysis of form, pacing, and wordplay. By delving into word origins and nuances he shows how convincingly the characters are developed. One instance: Naomi and Boaz use obsolescent language, emphasizing the generation gap between them and Ruth. In addition, the illustrations help the reader understand unfamiliar elements of the story—the setting, the agricultural seasons and harvesting, the clothing of the times, the city gate where elders and interested villagers gather to make sure that all is done in a just and godly way.

Yahweh and His Clio: Critical Theory and the Historical Criticism of the Hebrew Bible

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Social World ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

Discussion about the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel seldom interacts with theoretical literature on the nature of history. Modern attempts to write Israel’s history, however, have been shaped by their theoretical underpinnings for the past two centuries. This essay explores the epistemological underpinnings of the historical criticism of the Hebrew Bible, outlines trends in historiographical theory, and assesses the impact newer theories of intellectual cultural history can have on studies of the history of the social world of ancient Israel.

scholarly journals ALIENASI ISRAEL UTARA

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
pp. 24-39
Author(s):  
Adelvia Tamu Ina Pay Djera
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Media Group

Masyarakat sebagai elemen dasar dari peradaban manusia, sejatinya terbentuk dalam berbagai upaya dan interaksi sosial. Interaksi yang terjalin disebabkan oleh berbagai aspek, hubungan biologis, lokasi tempat tinggal, suku, pemahaman ideologi yang sama termasuk usaha untuk mencapai tujuan bersama melalui kesepakatan-kesepakatan sosial tertentu yang mengikat. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji fenomena ini dengan teori Karl Marx sebagai acuan dari munculnya konflik dalam kehidupan Bangsa Israel, lebih lanjut didukung oleh beberapa teori sosial lainnya. Adapun tulisan ini menggunakan metode hermeneutik untuk memahami situasi sosio-historis dari keberadaan Israel dan menganalisanya sesuai dengan teori-teori sosial.  Dinamika sosial kehidupan bangsa Israel menunjukkan bahwa sebagai komunitas,yaitu komunitas yang bersatu pada masa kepemimpinan Daud (Israel Bersatu) dan terpecah pada masa pemerintahan Salomo menjadi Israel Selatan dan Israel Utara. KEPUSTAKAAN Bernhard W. Anderson. The Books of the Bible. New York: CSS, 1991. Elly M. Setiadi & Usman Kolip. Pengantar Sosiologi: Teori, Aplikasi dan Pemecahannya. Jakarta: Kencana Prenada Media Group, 2011. George Ritzer & Douglas J.Goodman. Teori Sosiologi: Dari Teori Sosiologi Klask sampai perkembangan terakhir teori sosial postmodern. Bantul: Kreasi Wacana, 2016. Heine Andersen & Lars Bo Kaspersen. Classical and Modern Social Theory. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. John A. Titaley. Persepuluhan dalam Alkitab Ibrani Israel Alkitab. Salatiga: Satya Wacana Press, 2016. Norman K. Gottwald. The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985. Norman K. Gottwald. The Tribes of YHWH:  A Sosiology of The Religion of Liberated Israel. New York: Orbis Book, 1979. Norman K. Gottwald. The Politics of Ancient Israel. Louisville Kentucky:Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. Robert B. Coote & David Robert Ord. Sejarah Pertama Alkitab: Dari Eden hingga Kerajaan Daud berdasarkan Sumber Y. BPK Gunung Mulia; Satya Wacana Press, 2015. Robert B. Coote. Demi Membela Revolusi: Sejarah Elohist. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia, 2011. Soerjono Soekanto. Sosiologi: Suatu Pengantar. Jakarta: Raja Grafindo Persada, 1982. Samuel Koenig. Mand and Society, the basic teaching of sociology. New York: Barners & Noble Inc, 1957

Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Joerstad
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Natural World ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Metaphor Theory ◽  
History Of ◽  
Normative Dimension ◽  
Noah's Ark

The flora and fauna of the Hebrew Bible has long fascinated scholars and lay readers alike. From illustrated volumes aimed at children, to the detailed tables and charts of archaeozoology and archaeobotany, the plants and animals of the Bible fascinate because of their many ties to daily life. What did people in ancient Israel eat? How did they garden? What wildflowers and trees grew around their homes? Which animals did they encounter in the desert? Animals and plants also feature centrally in some of the most memorable stories of the Bible: Noah’s ark, Balaam’s ass, Isaiah’s vineyard, Jonah in the belly of the fish, the Song’s lush gardens, God’s menagerie in Job—the list goes on. Because flora and fauna touch on topics historical, archaeological, literary, and symbolic, the study of the Bible’s flora and fauna is by necessity many-pronged. It requires multiple methodologies, as well as attention to a host of topics, including but not limited to law and purity regulations, agriculture and husbandry, metaphor theory, fables and parables, history of domestication, and so on. The recent growth in interest in ecological readings of the Bible has added a new, normative dimension to the study of flora and fauna in the Bible. While many early (and contemporary) studies focus on identification and classification of mentioned species in the Bible, ecological readings instead look at the quality of relationships between humans and their plants and animals, God’s relationship to non-human creatures, as well as relationships among non-human creatures. Scholars in the ecological vein often attempt either to derive ecological guidelines for present-day practice from the text or to critique the text’s lack of attention to responsible human conduct toward the natural world.

Orthodox Variants from old Biblical Manuscripts

1931 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-296
Author(s):  
H. W. Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Trinity College ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
University Library ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University

In our days and in our country very little interest is taken in the contents of MSS. of the Hebrew Bible. This statement is supported by the facts of my own experience. For five years, 1917–22, I was working among Bible MSS. in the Library at Trinity College and in the University Library at Cambridge, and for the last seven years I have been working among similar treasures in the British Museum. The Register of MSS., given above in Section I, will shew that at present I have in use what is practically the whole collection of MSS. of ancient date belonging to the Museum which contain the Hebrew Psalms, as well as MS. 42, kindly lent me by the Council of Trinity College, Cambridge, and MS. 20, reproduced as regards Psalms in photograph. And throughout all these years it has always been matter of surprise when, at rare intervals, some other scholar has applied for permission to consult some one of the many MSS. in use by me. So it is that the corner of the field in which I find myself growing old is a very lonely corner; indeed, the whole field, as well as my corner in it, cries aloud for workers, and is unheeded. By the rulers of Biblical studies in our times the field of the Hebrew MSS. of the Bible has been treated as an expanse of desert, wholly unprofitable for working, and rightly condemned to be left severely unvisifeed. As regards my own corner of this field, under date 11th July, 1925, the whole bulk of my own work among the Bible MSS. and Editions, itself in manuscript, was accepted by the Trustees of the British Museum, under the title “Studies in Hebrew Bible”, and with the Press-mark for the whole, Oriental 9624. The number of volumes of notes and texts to be eventually included will be large, but the first seven volumes already catalogued and available for use by scholars are complete in themselves, in so far as they contain the whole of the Text of Psalms in Ginsburg's (1913) edition, with full tables, notes, and a complete Concordance of the accents of every word of Psalms in that edition.

Arab Prophets of the Qur'an and Bible

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brannon Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
The Common

Recent scholarship on the Qur'an has noted the need for more attention to the historical content of the Qur'an, and in evaluating how the historical study of the Qur'an compares to the long tradition of Biblical studies in Europe and North America. This paper examines the question of the historicity of the Qur'an's contents with particular attention to how historical information in the Qur'an has traditionally been used and compared to the historical narrative drawn from Biblical scholarship by Muslim exegetes. In particular, this study focuses on the question of the ‘Arab’ prophets Hūd, Sālih, and Shucayb: of all the prophets mentioned by name in the Qur'an, only these three appear not to be mentioned in the Bible, and, as such, they provide a helpful example with which to examine the treatment of historical materials in the Qur'an. In addition to Islamic exegesis, this paper uses a number of non-Qur'anic literary sources, and archeological findings, to demonstrate that there is a fair amount of evidence external to the Qur'an for the historicity of the Arab prophets, suggesting the need for a much more varied and wider consideration of the phenomenon of prophecy in the ancient world as the common heritage of the religions of the Book.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document