Getting a fix on the social context of the Hebrew Bible is imperative for anyone reconstructing either the "story" of the text or the "history" behind the text. Resources in this area often prove over
An expert on the world of ancient Israel introduces students to the Hebrew Prophets in this substantially revised and expanded edition of a successful text.
Encapsulating as it does research that has been undertaken on the sociological, anthropological and political aspects of the history of ancient Israel, this important book is designed to follow in the tradition of works in the series sponsored by The Society for Old Testament Study which began with the publication of The People and the Book in 1925. The World of Ancient Israel is especially concerned to explore in greater depth than comparable studies the areas and degrees of overlap between approaches to the subject of Old Testament research adopted by scholars and students of theology and the social sciences. Increasing numbers of scholars have recognised the valuable insights that can be gained from a cross-disciplinary approach, and it is becoming clear that the early biblical traditions about the formation of the Israelite state must be examined in the light of comparative anthropology if useful historical conclusions are to be drawn from them.
Contrary to the widespread view that nationalism is a modern phenomenon, Goodblatt argues that it can be found in the ancient world. He argues that concepts of nationalism compatible with contemporary social scientific theories can be documented in the ancient sources from the Mediterranean Rim by the middle of the last millennium BCE. In particular, the collective identity asserted by the Jews in antiquity fits contemporary definitions of nationalism. After the theoretical discussion in the opening chapter, the author examines several factors constitutive of ancient Jewish nationalism. He shows how this identity was socially constructed by such means as the mass dissemination of biblical literature, retention of the Hebrew language, and through the priestly caste. The author also discusses each of the names used to express Jewish national identity: Israel, Judah and Zion.
Contrary to the widespread view that nationalism is a modern phenomenon, Goodblatt argues that it can be found in the ancient world. He argues that concepts of nationalism compatible with contemporary social scientific theories can be documented in the ancient sources from the Mediterranean Rim by the middle of the last millennium BCE. In particular, the collective identity asserted by the Jews in antiquity fits contemporary definitions of nationalism. After the theoretical discussion in the opening chapter, the author examines several factors constitutive of ancient Jewish nationalism. He shows how this identity was socially constructed by such means as the mass dissemination of biblical literature, retention of the Hebrew language, and through the priestly caste. The author also discusses each of the names used to express Jewish national identity: Israel, Judah and Zion.
Homicide in the Biblical World analyses the treatment of homicide in the Hebrew Bible and demonstrates that it is directly linked to the unique social structure and religion of ancient Israel. Close parallels between biblical law and ancient Near Eastern law are evident in the laws of the ox that gored and the pregnant woman who is assaulted, but, when the total picture of the process by which homicide was adjudicated comes into view, what is most noticeable is how little of it is similar to ancient Near Eastern law. This book reconstructs biblical law from both legal texts and narrative texts and analyses both the law collections and documents from actual legal cases from the ancient Near East.
Homicide in the Biblical World analyses the treatment of homicide in the Hebrew Bible and demonstrates that it is directly linked to the unique social structure and religion of ancient Israel. Close parallels between biblical law and ancient Near Eastern law are evident in the laws of the ox that gored and the pregnant woman who is assaulted, but, when the total picture of the process by which homicide was adjudicated comes into view, what is most noticeable is how little of it is similar to ancient Near Eastern law. This book reconstructs biblical law from both legal texts and narrative texts and analyses both the law collections and documents from actual legal cases from the ancient Near East.
This book brings together for the first time in English internationally-recognized specialists who seek to identify what is 'living' and what is 'dead' in the great German social scientist Max Weber's analyses of China, India and Ancient Israel found in his massive, unfinished Economic Ethic of the World Religions. In so doing, the volume offers a powerful new perspective on the current debate concerning the timing of and deeper roots of the 'Great Divergence' - and more recent convergence - in the economic and political development of the West on the one hand, and the great civilizations of Asia on the other. At the same time, this volume also rebalances our understanding of Weber's entire intellectual output by returning The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism to its proper place within Economic Ethic of the World Religions and establishing that work as the equal of the similarly unfinished Economy and Society.
While Jews in the land of Israel in ancient times shared much in common - scripture, reverence for the Temple and its cult, some traits as one 'Orthodox' Judaism. Diverse 'Judaisms' flourished, each with its particular way of life, world view, and definition of the social entity, or 'Israel'. Because there was no single, unitary Judaism, there also was no one 'Messiah-idea' or 'Messianic doctrine'. Various readings of the Messiah-theme reached definition in the various, unrelated religious systems or Judaisms produced by those Jews - hence 'Judaisms' and 'their Messiahs'. In this book, distinguished specialists in various Judaisms of late antiquity, including Christian scholars, take up the differing roles of the Messiah-idea in the various traditions examined. Dealing with the best-documented Judaic systems - the Essene community at Qumran, Christian Judaisms represented by Mark and by Matthew, the nascent rabbinic Judaism portrayed in the Mishnah, the Judaic system implicit in the wr
While Jews in the land of Israel in ancient times shared much in common - scripture, reverence for the Temple and its cult, some traits as one 'Orthodox' Judaism. Diverse 'Judaisms' flourished, each with its particular way of life, world view, and definition of the social entity, or 'Israel'. Because there was no single, unitary Judaism, there also was no one 'Messiah-idea' or 'Messianic doctrine'. Various readings of the Messiah-theme reached definition in the various, unrelated religious systems or Judaisms produced by those Jews - hence 'Judaisms' and 'their Messiahs'. In this book, distinguished specialists in various Judaisms of late antiquity, including Christian scholars, take up the differing roles of the Messiah-idea in the various traditions examined. Dealing with the best-documented Judaic systems - the Essene community at Qumran, Christian Judaisms represented by Mark and by Matthew, the nascent rabbinic Judaism portrayed in the Mishnah, the Judaic system implicit in the wr
In this volume contributors examine the varied roles of scribes and scribal practices in ancient Israel and Judah, shedding light on the social world of the Hebrew Bible. The volume is split into thre
The Old Testament is viewed from 35 feminist perspectives (1974-97) on: the social world of women in ancient Israel, reading women into biblical narratives, goddesses and women of magic, rereading wom
