Inconsistency in the Torah

Inconsistency in the Torah PDF Author: Joshua A. Berman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190658827
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Inconsistency in the Torah

Inconsistency in the Torah

Inconsistency in the Torah PDF Author: Joshua A. Berman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190658827
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Inconsistency in the Torah

Ani Maamin

Ani Maamin PDF Author: Joshua Berman
Publisher: Maggid
ISBN: 9781592645381
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Created Equal

Created Equal PDF Author: Joshua Berman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199832404
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
In Created Equal, Joshua Berman engages the text of the Hebrew Bible from a novel perspective, considering it as a document of social and political thought. He proposes that the Pentateuch can be read as the earliest prescription on record for the establishment of an egalitarian polity. What emerges is the blueprint for a society that would stand in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures of the ancient Near East -- Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ugarit, and the Hittite Empire - in which the hierarchical structure of the polity was centered on the figure of the king and his retinue. Berman shows that an egalitarian ideal is articulated in comprehensive fashion in the Pentateuch and is expressed in its theology, politics, economics, use of technologies of communication, and in its narrative literature. Throughout, he invokes parallels from the modern period as heuristic devices to illuminate ancient developments. Thus, for example, the constitutional principles in the Book of Deuteronomy are examined in the light of those espoused by Montesquieu, and the rise of the novel in 18th-century England serves to illuminate the advent of new modes of storytelling in biblical narrative.

The Temple

The Temple PDF Author: Joshua Berman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1608997766
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
When thinking of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, one often conjures up images of animal sacrifice, pilgrimages to the Holy City on religious festivals, and the High Priest solemnly entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. Indeed, each of these observances was a staple of Temple ritual, but it is easy to lose sight of the Temple as it impacted, and impacts, upon the daily life of Jews and their physical and spiritual responsibilities. Building the Temple is not merely one commandment of many; it cannot be examined in isolation. This volume shows how the Temple relates to the notions of Shabbat, the land of Israel, monarchy, Jewish independence and sovereignty, education, justice, covenant, Sinai, the garden of Eden, the Jewish relationship to the gentile world, and the very way the Jew relates to God. From a biblical viewpoint, the Temple is not only the central institution of the ideal Jewish society but also the central concept that binds and organizes all others. The minutiae of the Temple as portrayed in the liturgy and in the Bible often seem tedious and overritualistic. Classical sources of all genres abound to explain a particular passage or a particular rite. This book identifies broad themes that animate the meaning of the Temple, its rites, and the biblical passages that describe it. Details are probed as a larger conceptual whole. Animal sacrifice, particularly problematic to many on moral grounds, is examined in a new and revealing light. Many Torah commandments stand unchanged for all time regardless of historical events. Not so the commandment to erect the Temple. Social, economic, political, and religious currents were integral to the Temple's construction, destruction, and reconstruction. By probing these currents from the Bible's perspective, one can gain insight into the meaning of the times in which we live; we are in a process of rebuilding, even though we are far from redemption.

Narrative Analogy in the Hebrew Bible

Narrative Analogy in the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Joshua Berman
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047413687
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This volume sheds fresh light upon the phenomenon of narrative doubling in the Hebrew Bible. Through an innovative interdisciplinary model the author defines the notion of narrative analogy in relation to other literatures where it has been studied such as English Renaissance drama and makes extensive critical use of contemporary literary theory, particularly that of the Russian formalist Vladimir Propp. His exploitation of narrative doubling, with a focus upon the metaphorical, reorients our reading by uncovering a major dynamic in biblical literature. The author examines several battle reports and demonstrates how each could be interpreted as an oblique commentary and metaphor for the non-battle account that immediately precedes it. Battle scenes are revealed to stand in metaphoric analogy with, among others, accounts of a trial, a rape, a drinking feast, and a court-deliberation. Joshua Berman offers new insights to the ever-growing concern with the relationship between historiography and literary strategies, and succeeds in articulating a new aspect of biblical ideology concerning human and divine relationship.

The Bible with Sources Revealed

The Bible with Sources Revealed PDF Author: Richard Elliott Friedman
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061951293
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 606

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Book Description
This groundbreaking volume of the Five Books of Moses shows and explains how the source texts were compiled: “A fundamental resource” (Peter Machinist, Harvard University). For centuries, biblical scholars have worked on discovering how the Bible came to be. The consensus among a broad range of experts is known as The Documentary Hypothesis: the idea that ancient writers produced documents of poetry, prose, and law over many centuries, which editors then used as sources to fashion the books of the Bible that people have read for the last two thousand years. In The Bible with Sources Revealed, eminent scholar Richard Elliott Friedman offers a new, visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—unlocking the complex and fascinating tapestry of their origins. Different colors and type styles allow readers to easily identify each of the distinct sources, showcasing Friedman's highly acclaimed and dynamic translation. This unique Bible provides a new means to explore the riches of scripture by: •Making it possible to read the source texts individually, to see their artistry, their views of God, Israel, and humankind, and their connection to their moment in history •Presenting the largest collection of evidence ever assembled for establishing and explaining the Documentary Hypothesis •Showing visually how the Bible was formed out of these sources •Helping readers appreciate that the Bible is a rich, complex, beautiful work as a result of the extraordinary way in which it was created.

Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible

Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible PDF Author: Emanuel Tov
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004502734
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
Customers in North America who wish to purchase this publication, please contact Augsburg Fortress Press. First published in 1992, Emanuel Tov’s Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible has rapidly established itself as the authoritative reference work for all those engaged in the study of the text of the Hebrew Bible. This thoroughly revised second edition will be welcomed by students and scholars alike. A wide range of readers will find this book accessible and indispensable. Emanuel Tov offers extensive descriptions of the major witnesses to the text of the Hebrew Bible–the Hebrew texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text–as well as the Aramaic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate, and others. Special attention is given to the exegetical aspects of the textual transmission, literary issues, and the problem of the original shape of the biblical text. Praise for the First Edition: “Emanuel Tov is preeminent in the world in the field of Septuagint studies. This is a solid and durable work which, given its technical character, is written in a readable way.” Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University “Nowhere else can you find such a thorough presentation of how the Bible was transmitted in Second Temple times ... This excellently written handbook represents a major step forward for biblical studies.” Lawrence Schiffman, New York University “History will surely regard Emanuel Tov’s monumental work as the definitive discussion of textual criticism of this generation. A ‘must-have’ for any serious scholar of the Bible!” Sidnie A. White, University of Nebraska “The basic reference work on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible for at least the next decade. This is a magisterial work which is badly needed and masterfully done.” Journal for the Study of Judaism “This book will soon be viewed as a classic of biblical studies.” Ralph W. Klein, Journal of Religion “Replete with examples, tables, plates, lucid definitions and explanations, as well as extensive bibliographies, the volume brings together a wealth of information not previously so accessible and makes the theory and practice of textual criticism easily understandable and visually clear.” Judith E. Sanderson, Seattle University

The Composition of the Pentateuch

The Composition of the Pentateuch PDF Author: Joel S. Baden
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300152647
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
For well over two centuries the question of the composition of the Pentateuch has been among the most central and hotly debated issues in the field of biblical studies. In this book, Joel Baden presents a fresh and comprehensive argument for the Documentary Hypothesis. Critically engaging both older and more recent scholarship, he fundamentally revises and reorients the classical model of the formation of the Pentateuch. Interweaving historical and methodological chapters with detailed textual case studies, Baden provides a critical introduction to the history of Pentateuchal scholarship, discussions on the most pressing issues in the current debate, and a practical model for the study of the biblical text.

God Is Not Great

God Is Not Great PDF Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 1551991764
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

Murmuring Against Moses: The Contentious History and Contested Future of Pentateuchal Studies

Murmuring Against Moses: The Contentious History and Contested Future of Pentateuchal Studies PDF Author: Jeffrey L. Morrow
Publisher: Emmaus Academic
ISBN: 1645851516
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
For much of the history of both Judaism and Christianity, the Pentateuch—first five books of the Bible—was understood to be the unified work of a single inspired author: Moses. Yet the standard view in modern biblical scholarship contends that the Pentateuch is a composite text made up of fragments from diverse and even discrepant sources that originated centuries after the events it purports to describe. In Murmuring against Moses, John Bergsma and Jeffrey Morrow provide a critical narrative of the emergence of modern Pentateuchal studies and challenge the scholarly consensus by highlighting the weaknesses of the modern paradigms and mustering an array of new evidence for the Pentateuch’s antiquity. By shedding light on the past history of research and the present developments in the field, Bergsma and Morrow give fresh voice to a growing scholarly dissatisfaction with standard critical approaches and make an important contribution toward charting a more promising future for Pentateuchal studies.