Scripture and Its Readers

Scripture and Its Readers PDF Author: Vincent K. H. Ooi
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 157506720X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
That readers and biblical texts are somehow linked in a mutually transformative relationship is hardly a novel perception, especially in contexts where the Christian Bible has been received as normative Scripture for faithful worship and living. This study focuses on an aspect of this relationship and wrestles with it not only in theory, but also in practice by asking: How may a reader who wishes to read the Christian Bible as Scripture well today be formed; and how may interpretations of Scripture themselves inform such concern? Vincent Ooi begins by showing that such concern is not only contemporary but integral to Christian traditions of reading Scripture, and that it is only recently receiving some renewed scholarly attention. He reviews some of these recent works before setting out his own approach from the perspective of theological interpretation of Scripture. He then demonstrates his approach via close exegetical engagement with three biblical texts, namely Nehemiah 9:6–37, Ezekiel 20:5–32, and Acts 7:2–60, which offer different inner-canonical readings of Scripture in the form of distinctive retellings of Israel’s story. He first considers how these texts portray readers of Scripture and use scriptural traditions in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon; he then discusses what they, individually and in concert, might suggest as significant for shaping readers seeking to faithfully appropriate Scripture today. The posture of prayer, the pulse of liturgy, and the patterning of Christ are among the things proposed as formatively significant.

The Five Books of (Robert) Moses

The Five Books of (Robert) Moses PDF Author: Arthur Nersesian
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1617758388
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1422

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Book Description
A dramatic, playful, brutal, sweeping, and always entertaining reimagining of New York City history, presaging today's political tyranny. "A postmodern masterwork that outdoes Pynchon in eccentricity--and electricity, with all its dazzling prose." --Kirkus Reviews, Starred review "A masterwork of modern speculative adventure." --Rain Taxi Review of Books "Mr. Nersesian's work is a tale of extremes. The finished product weighs more than 4 pounds. If he stacked all his manuscript pages since he began the book back in 1993 it would stand 6 feet tall, a shade taller than himself, Mr. Nersesian says...Main characters include a fictionalized Robert Moses, the powerful public official who reshaped New York City and its environs, and his brother Paul, an electrical engineer. A difficult relationship between the two has dire consequences. There are also pop-culture favorites from the period, including psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary; urbanologist Jane Jacobs, and poet Allen Ginsberg. All are intended to show readers how the value of culture erodes in an isolated world." --Wall Street Journal "Arthur Nersesian is the Bard of Lower East Side Manhattan...He knows every street corner, every bar, store, book stall, and even the famous 100-year-old Russian shvitz on 10th Street. Nobody does it better. Not Don DeLillo, not Richard Price, and not William Burroughs." --On the Seawall "A sprawling, engrossing Pentateuch of an alternate New York City...Nersesian's binge-worthy odyssey is a singularly wild ride." --Publishers Weekly "Nersesian is one of my favorite New York authors; this tome is one to lose yourself in." --Bob Odenkirk, actor, Breaking Bad After a domestic terrorist unleashes a dirty bomb in Manhattan in 1970, making the borough uninhabitable, FBI agent Uli Sarkisian finds himself in a world that is suddenly unrecognizable as the United States is faced with its greatest immigration crisis ever: finding housing for millions of its own citizens. The federal government hastily retrofits an abandoned military installation in the Nevada desert, vast in size. Despite the government's best intentions, as the military pulls out of "Rescue City," the residents are increasingly left to their own devices, and tribal warfare fuses with democracy, forming a frightening evolution of the two-party system: the gangocracy. Years after the Manhattan cleanup was supposed to have been finished, Uli travels through this bizarre new New York City, where he is forced to reckon with his past, while desperately trying to get out alive. The Five Books of (Robert) Moses alternates between the outrageous present of Rescue City and earlier in the twentieth century, detailing the events leading up to the destruction of Manhattan. We simultaneously follow legendary urban planner Robert Moses through his early years and are introduced to his equally ambitious older brother Paul, a brilliant electrical engineer whose jealousy toward Robert and anger at the devastation caused by the man's "urban renewal" projects lead to a dire outcome. Arthur Nersesian's most important work to date examines the political chaos of today's world through the lens of the past. Fictional versions of real historical figures populate the pages, from major politicians and downtown drag queens to notorious revolutionaries and obscure poets.

Walking the Bible

Walking the Bible PDF Author: Bruce Feiler
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062390899
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
“An instant classic. . . . A pure joy to read.” —Washington Post Book World Both a heart-racing adventure and an uplifting quest, Walking the Bible presents one man’s epic journey- by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel- through the greatest stories ever told. From crossing the Red Sea to climbing Mount Sinai to touching the burning bush, Bruce Feiler’s inspiring odyssey will forever change your view of history’s most legendary events. The stories in the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah, come alive as Feiler searches across three continents for the stories and heroes shared by Christians and Jews. You’ll visit the slopes of Mount Ararat, where Noah’s ark landed, trek to the desert outpost where Abraham first heard the words of God, and scale the summit where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Using the latest archeological research, Feiler explores how physical location affects the larger narrative of the Bible and ultimately realizes how much these places, as well as his experience, have affected his faith. A once-in-a-lifetime journey, Walking the Bible offers new insights into the roots of our common faith and uncovers fresh answers to the most profound questions of the human spirit. “Smart and savvy, insightful and illuminating.” —Los Angeles Times “An exciting, well-told story informed by Feiler’s boundless intellectual curiosity . . . [and] sense of adventure.” —Miami Herald

Moses

Moses PDF Author: Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300225121
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
An unprecedented portrait of Moses's inner world and perplexing character, by a distinguished biblical scholar No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, acclaimed for her many books on Jewish thought, turns her attention to Moses in this remarkably rich, evocative book. Drawing on a broad range of sources—literary as well as psychoanalytic, a wealth of classical Jewish texts alongside George Eliot, W. G. Sebald, and Werner Herzog—Zornberg offers a vivid and original portrait of the biblical Moses. Moses's vexing personality, his uncertain origins, and his turbulent relations with his own people are acutely explored by Zornberg, who sees this story, told and retold, as crucial not only to the biblical past but also to the future of Jewish history.

The Lost Book of Moses

The Lost Book of Moses PDF Author: Chanan Tigay
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062206435
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
One man’s quest to find the oldest Bible scrolls in the world and uncover the story of the brilliant, doomed antiquarian accused of forging them. In the summer of 1883, Moses Wilhelm Shapira—archaeological treasure hunter and inveterate social climber—showed up unannounced in London claiming to have discovered the oldest copy of the Bible in the world. But before the museum could pony up his £1 million asking price for the scrolls—which discovery called into question the divine authorship of the scriptures—Shapira’s nemesis, the French archaeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau, denounced the manuscripts, turning the public against him. Distraught over this humiliating public rebuke, Shapira fled to the Netherlands and committed suicide. Then, in 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Noting the similarities between these and Shapira’s scrolls, scholars made efforts to re-examine Shapira’s case, but it was too late: the primary piece of evidence, the parchment scrolls themselves had mysteriously vanished. Tigay, journalist and son of a renowned Biblical scholar, was galvanized by this peculiar story and this indecipherable man, and became determined to find the scrolls. He sets out on a quest that takes him to Australia, England, Holland, Germany where he meets Shapira’s still aggrieved descendants and Jerusalem where Shapira is still referred to in the present tense as a “Naughty boy”. He wades into museum storerooms, musty English attics, and even the Jordanian gorge where the scrolls were said to have been found all in a tireless effort to uncover the truth about the scrolls and about Shapira, himself. At once historical drama and modern-day mystery, The Lost Book of Moses explores the nineteenth-century disappearance of Shapira’s scrolls and Tigay's globetrotting hunt for the ancient manuscript. As it follows Tigay’s trail to the truth, the book brings to light a flamboyant, romantic, devious, and ultimately tragic personality in a story that vibrates with the suspense of a classic detective tale.

Essential Torah

Essential Torah PDF Author: George Robinson
Publisher: Schocken
ISBN: 0805241868
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 621

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Book Description
Whether you are studying the Bible for the first time or you're simply curious about its history and contents, you will find everything you need in this "accessible, well-written handbook to Jewish belief as set forth in the Torah" (The Jerusalem Post). George Robinson, author of the acclaimed Essential Judaism, begins by recounting the various theories of the origins of the Torah and goes on to explain its importance as the core element in Jewish belief and practice. He discusses the basics of Jewish theology and Jewish history as they are derived from the Torah, and he outlines how the Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries have enhanced our understanding of the Bible. He introduces us to the vast literature of biblical commentary, chronicles the evolution of the Torah’s place in the synagogue service, offers an illuminating discussion of women and the Bible, and provides a study guide as a companion for individual or group Bible study. In the book’s centerpiece, Robinson summarizes all fifty-four portions that make up the Torah and gives us a brilliant distillation of two thousand years of biblical commentaries—from the rabbis of the Mishnah and the Talmud to medieval commentators such as Rashi, Maimonides, and ibn Ezra to contemporary scholars such as Nahum Sarna, Nechama Leibowitz, Robert Alter, and Everett Fox. This extraordinary volume—which includes a listing of the Torah reading cycles, a Bible time line, glossaries of terms and biblical commentators, and a bibliography—will stand as the essential sourcebook on the Torah for years to come.

Opening the Books of Moses

Opening the Books of Moses PDF Author: Diana V. Edelman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134945868
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Opening the Books of Moses presents an introduction to the first five books of the Bible. It is written for any student engaged in the scholarly study of these most central of biblical texts. The aim throughout is to examine the books with a view to illuminating the ideas, beliefs and experiences of the time. This broad overview provides: a survey of the current state of Pentateuchal research; an analysis of how the texts were shaped by their time and audience; an outline of Jewish areas in the Persian period; the study concludes with an analysis of key concerns in the study of the Pentateuch, notably the Torah, geography, ethnicity, the nature of Yahweh and other deities, theories of cult, treaties and oaths, and Moses himself.

Genesis

Genesis PDF Author: Robert Alter
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393316704
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
A translation of Genesis, which attempts to recover the meanings of the ancient Hebrew and convey them in modern English prose. It is accompanied by a commentary and annotations, and aims to illuminate the original work without any touch of the fake antique.

Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus

Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus PDF Author: Seth Postell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781683593539
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
This book addresses the questions about the believer's relationship to the Torah (the five Books of Moses, or the Pentateuch) and its commandments (the Law): Since Jesus kept the Law, are believers (Jewish and Gentile) also obliged to keep the Law, or at least some portions of it (Sabbath, the food laws, etc.)? What about the Oral Law (rabbinic traditions)? How does the Torah point to the Messiah? How do we apply the Law of Moses today? Though this book is based on more than a decade of academic research, it is written with the non-academic reader in mind and provides easy-to-understand answers to the questions related to the Torah and does so in a manner thoroughly rooted in a careful reading of the biblical text.

Scripture and Its Readers

Scripture and Its Readers PDF Author: Vincent K. H. Ooi
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 157506720X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
That readers and biblical texts are somehow linked in a mutually transformative relationship is hardly a novel perception, especially in contexts where the Christian Bible has been received as normative Scripture for faithful worship and living. This study focuses on an aspect of this relationship and wrestles with it not only in theory, but also in practice by asking: How may a reader who wishes to read the Christian Bible as Scripture well today be formed; and how may interpretations of Scripture themselves inform such concern? Vincent Ooi begins by showing that such concern is not only contemporary but integral to Christian traditions of reading Scripture, and that it is only recently receiving some renewed scholarly attention. He reviews some of these recent works before setting out his own approach from the perspective of theological interpretation of Scripture. He then demonstrates his approach via close exegetical engagement with three biblical texts, namely Nehemiah 9:6–37, Ezekiel 20:5–32, and Acts 7:2–60, which offer different inner-canonical readings of Scripture in the form of distinctive retellings of Israel’s story. He first considers how these texts portray readers of Scripture and use scriptural traditions in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon; he then discusses what they, individually and in concert, might suggest as significant for shaping readers seeking to faithfully appropriate Scripture today. The posture of prayer, the pulse of liturgy, and the patterning of Christ are among the things proposed as formatively significant.

The Book within the Book

The Book within the Book PDF Author: Jean-Pierre Sonnet
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004495614
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
This volume offers a fresh approach to an old issue: the question of Moses' authorship. Whereas traditional interpretation equated the "book" written by Moses (Deut 31:9,24) with Deuteronomy, and even with the Pentateuch, and while critical historical exegesis endeavors to identify Deuteronomy's successive redactors, this study assesses the literary claim of Deuteronomy as far as Moses' writing is concerned. The study first describes the process of communication in Deuteronomy's represented world (by Moses to the sons of Israel); it next characterizes the Book of Deuteronomy as communication (by the narrator to the reader); it eventually focuses on Deuteronomy's powerful embodiment of the theme of the "book within the book". Thus approached, Deuteronomy shows itself as a narrative theory of what (holy) "writ" is all about.