Download or read book Ezra the Law in History and Tradition written by Lisbeth S. Fried and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 2014-04-23 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the real Ezra in this in-depth study of the Biblical figure that separates historical facts from cultural legends. The historical Ezra was sent to Jerusalem as an emissary of the Persian monarch. What was his task? According to the Bible, the Persian king sent Ezra to bring the Torah, the five books of the Laws of Moses, to the Jews. Modern scholars have claimed not only that Ezra brought the Torah to Jerusalem, but also that he actually wrote it, and in so doing Ezra created Judaism. Without Ezra, they say, Judaism would not exist. In Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition, Lisbeth S. Fried separates historical fact from biblical legend. Drawing on inscriptions from the Achaemenid Empire, she presents the historical Ezra in the context of authentic Persian administrative practices and concludes that Ezra, the Persian official, neither wrote nor edited the Torah, nor would he even have known it. The origin of Judaism, so often associated with Ezra by modern scholars, must be sought elsewhere. After discussing the historical Ezra, Fried examines ancient, medieval, and modern views of him, explaining how each originated, and why. She relates the stories told about Ezra by medieval Christians to explain why their Greek Old Testament differs from the Hebrew Bible, as well as the explanations offered by medieval Samaritans concerning how their Samaritan Bible varies from the one the Jews use. Church Fathers as well as medieval Samaritan writers explained the differences by claiming that Ezra falsified the Bible when he rewrote it, so that in effect, it is not the book that Moses wrote but something else. Moslem scholars also maintain that Ezra falsified the Old Testament, since Mohammed, the last judgment, and Heaven and Hell are revealed in it. In contrast Jewish Talmudic writers viewed Ezra both as a second Moses and as the prophet Malachi. In the process of describing ancient, medieval, and modern views of Ezra, Fried brings out various understandings of God, God’s law, and God’s plan for our salvation. “A responsible yet memorable journey into the life and afterlife of Ezra as a key personality in the history, literature and reflection of religious and scholarly communities over the past 2,500 years. A worthwhile and informative read!” —Mark J. Boda, professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, professor of theology, McMaster University
Download or read book According to the Law written by Csilla Saysell and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2012-10-03 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian interpreters have struggled with the story of Ezra 9–10 for many reasons. Its apparent legalism and racism, as well as its advocacy of divorce as a solution for intermarriage, is unacceptable for many Christians, yet this incident is presented in implicitly positive terms, and the narrative forms a part of Scripture. What then should a Christian reader make of such a story, not least from the vantage point of the NT? The troubling aspects of the incident are considered in Part I through a detailed exegesis outlining the exiles’ legal reasoning, rooted in pentateuchal laws. Part II then discusses questions of a broader hermeneutical framework. Saysell suggests that prior Christian assumptions, such as the combination of scriptural authority and the primacy of narrative in interpretation, can lead to an unhelpful way of reading stories that takes them as examples to follow/avoid rather than invites engagement for the renewing of the mind (Rom 12:1–2). One also needs to consider how such a difficult question as intermarriage is handled in the rest of the canon (and in tradition), which put into perspective the solution offered and constrains the meaning of the primary text. Specifically, “the holy seed” rationale (Ezra 9:2), which gives rise to the charge of racism, is shown to have flourished briefly in the Second Temple Period but proved to be a dead end in the long run. A comparison with the NT treatment of a specific intermarriage crisis in 1 Cor 7:12–16, as well as with other, present-day solutions, can highlight what went wrong in the exilic reasoning and yet what constructive challenge the text as Scripture may hold for the Christian reader.
Download or read book The Authority of Law in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism written by Jonathan Vroom and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Authority of Law in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism, Vroom tracks the emergence of legal obligation in early Judaism. He draws from legal theory to develop a means of identifying instances in which ancient interpreters treated a legal text as a source of binding obligation.
Download or read book The Making of the Bible written by Konrad Schmid and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-29 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authoritative new account of the BibleÕs origins, illuminating the 1,600-year tradition that shaped the Christian and Jewish holy books as millions know them today. The Bible as we know it today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the tenth century BCE. In this revelatory account, a world-renowned scholar of Hebrew scripture joins a foremost authority on the New Testament to write a new biography of the Book of Books, reconstructing Jewish and Christian scriptural histories, as well as the underappreciated contest between them, from which the Bible arose. Recent scholarship has overturned popular assumptions about IsraelÕs past, suggesting, for instance, that the five books of the Torah were written not by Moses but during the reign of Josiah centuries later. The sources of the Gospels are also under scrutiny. Konrad Schmid and Jens Schrter reveal the long, transformative journeys of these and other texts en route to inclusion in the holy books. The New Testament, the authors show, did not develop in the wake of an Old Testament set in stone. Rather the two evolved in parallel, in conversation with each other, ensuring a continuing mutual influence of Jewish and Christian traditions. Indeed, Schmid and Schrter argue that Judaism may not have survived had it not been reshaped in competition with early Christianity. A remarkable synthesis of the latest Old and New Testament scholarship, The Making of the Bible is the most comprehensive history yet told of the worldÕs best-known literature, revealing its buried lessons and secrets.
Download or read book Oxford Bibliographies written by Ilan Stavans and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.
Download or read book The God of Israel in History and Tradition written by Michael J. Stahl and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-03-22 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The “God of Israel” in History and Tradition, Michael Stahl examines the historical and ideological significances of the formulaic title “god of Israel” (’elohe yisra’el) in the Hebrew Bible using critical theory on social power and identity.
Download or read book The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah written by F. Charles Fensham and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1982 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing clear exposition based on solid contemporary scholarship, this commentary by F. Charles Fensham examines the books of Ezra and Nehemiah--two books of Scripture that are especially important for understanding the last century of Old Testament Jewish history and for marking the beginnings of Judaism. A biblical scholar well known for his expertise in ancient Near Eastern studies, especially Ugaritic, Fensham places Ezra and Nehemiah against the ancient Near Eastern environment. In his introduction Fensham discusses the original unity of the books as well as the problems of authorship. He then treats the historical and religious background of the books, taking special note of the development of a Jewish religious society in postexilic times. Text and language are examined next, followed by a thorough bibliography. The commentary proper, based on Fensham's own fresh translation of the biblical texts, is richly documented and displays cautious good judgment, willingness to consider different options, a sensible approach, and keen insight into the religious meaning of these key Hebrew texts.
Download or read book Ezra Nehemiah written by Lester L. Grabbe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-08-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative study, Lester Grabbe presents a unique approach to Ezra-Nehemiah with the combination of a literary and historical approach. Lester Grabbe challenges commonly held assumptions about Joshua and Zerubbabel, the initial resettlement of land after the exile, the figure of Ezra and the activities of Nehemiah. Controversially, the challenge comes, not from radical theory but from paying careful attention to the text of the Bible itself.
Download or read book Old Testament Theology The theology of Israel s historical traditions written by Gerhard von Rad and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This republication of a classic work contains a new introduction by Walter Brueggemann that places Gerhard von Rad's work within the context of German theology, Old Testament theology, and the history of interpretation of the Old Testament. In Old Testament Theology, von Rad applies the most advanced results of form criticism to develop a new understanding of the Bible. His original approach is now available once again in English. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible written by Brad E. Kelle and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible offers 36 essays on the so-called "Historical Books": Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah, and 1-2 Chronicles. The essays are organized around four nodes: contexts, content, approaches, and reception. Each essay takes up two questions: (1) what does the topic/area/issue have to do with the Historical Books?" and (2) how does this topic/area/issue help readers better interpret the Historical Books?" The essays engage traditional theories and newer updates to the same, and also engage the textual traditions themselves which are what give rise to compositional analyses. Many essays model approaches that move in entirely different ways altogether, however, whether those are by attending to synchronic, literary, theoretical, or reception aspects of the texts at hand. The contributions range from text-critical issues to ancient historiography, state formation and development, ancient Near Eastern contexts, society and economy, political theory, violence studies, orality, feminism, postcolonialism, and trauma theory-among others. Taken together, these essays well represent the variety of options available when it comes to gathering, assessing, and interpreting these particular biblical books"--
Download or read book The Oxford History of the Biblical World written by Michael D. Coogan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-06-07 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this impressive volume, leading scholars offer compelling glimpses into the biblical world, the world in which prophets, poets, sages, and historians created one of our most important texts--the Bible. For more than a century, archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs, temples, texts, and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches, contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the reader with a readable and integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts. The authors also examine such issues as the roles of women, the tensions between urban and rural settings, royal and kinship social structures, and official and popular religions of the region. Understanding the biblical world is a vital part of understanding the Bible. Broad, authoritative, and engaging, The Oxford History of the Biblical World will illuminate for any reader the ancient world from which the Bible emerged.
Download or read book The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah written by Herbert Edward Ryle and published by . This book was released on 1901 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Judging in the Islamic Jewish and Zoroastrian Legal Traditions written by Janos Jany and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-06 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a comparative analysis of the judiciary in the Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian legal systems. It compares postulations of legal theory to legal practice in order to show that social practice can diverge significantly from religious and legal principles. It thus provides a greater understanding of the real functions of religion in these legal systems, regardless of the dogmatic positions of the religions themselves. The judiciary is the focus of the study as it is the judge who is obliged to administer to legal texts while having to consider social realities being sometimes at variance with religious ethics and legal rules deriving from them. This book fills a gap in the literature examining Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian law and as such will open new possibilities for further studies in the field of comparative law. It will be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of comparative law, law and religion, law and society, and legal anthropology.
Download or read book Evidence Unseen written by James Rochford and published by New Paradigm Pub.. This book was released on 2013-05-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evidence Unseen is the most accessible and careful though through response to most current attacks against the Christian worldview.
Download or read book The Concept of Exile in Ancient Israel and its Historical Contexts written by Ehud Ben Zvi and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2010-10-19 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In ancient Israelite literature Exile is seen as a central turning point within the course of the history of Israel. In these texts “the Exile” is a central ideological concept. It serves to explain the destruction of the monarchic polities and the social and economic disasters associated with them in terms that YHWH punished Israel/Judah for having abandoned his ways. As it develops an image of an unjust Israel, it creates one of a just deity. But YHWH is not only imagined as just, but also as loving and forgiving, for the exile is presented as a transitory state: Exile is deeply intertwined with its discursive counterpart, the certain “Return”. As the Exile comes to be understood as a necessary purification or preparation for a renewal of YHWH’s proper relationship with Israel, the seemingly unpleasant Exilic conditions begin, discursively, to shape an image of YHWH as loving Israel and teaching it. Exile is dystopia, but one that carries in itself all the seeds of utopia. The concept of Exile continued to exercise an important influence in the discourses of Israel in the Second Temple period, and was eventually influential in the production of eschatological visions.
Download or read book Holman Old Testament Commentary Ezra Nehemiah Esther written by Knute Larson and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2005 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No other book in the Bible compares with the wonder of the sacred collection of inspired worship songs known as the Psalms. Considered by many to be the most loved portion of Scripture, the Psalms have been a bedrock of comfort and a tower of strength for believers in every experience of life. This is the second of two volumes in the Holman Old Testament Commentary given to the Psalms, that provide commentary on Psalms chapters 76-150. Some of the key Psalms receive an added in-depth treatment that includes exposition, illustrations, and teaching plans. - http://www.christianbook.com
Download or read book Ezra Nehemiah written by Joseph Blenkinsopp and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1988-11-01 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of Ezra and Nehemiah The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
