Download or read book The Messenger in the Ancient Semitic World written by Samuel A. Meier and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-07-17 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Preparation for the Mission -- The Messenger on the Road -- The Messenger's Arrival -- Presenting The Message -- After the Message is Delivered -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Indices.
Download or read book The Origins of Biblical Monotheism written by Mark S. Smith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-08-09 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the leading scholars of ancient West Semitic religion discusses polytheism vs. monotheism by covering the fluidity of those categories in the ancient Near East. He argues that Israel's social history is key to the development of monotheism.
Download or read book The Interpreting Angel Motif in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature written by David P. Melvin and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Melvin traces the emergence and development of the motif of angelic interpretation of visions from late prophetic literature (Ezekiel 40-48; Zechariah 1-6) into early apocalyptic literature (1 Enoch 17-36; 72-82; Daniel 7-8). Examining how the historical and socio-political context of exilic and post-exilic Judaism and the broader religious and cultural environment shaped Jewish angelology in general, Melvin concludes that the motif of the interpreting angel served a particular function. Building upon the work of Susan Niditch, Melvin concludes that the interpreting angel motif served a polemical function in repudiating divination as a means of predicting the future, while at the same time elevating the authority of the visionary revelation. The literary effect is to reimagine God as an imperial monarch who rules and communicates through intermediaries-a reimagination that profoundly influenced subsequent Jewish and Christian tradition.
Download or read book Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East written by Alfonso Archi and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-01-23 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July, 2011, the International Association for Assyriology met in Rome, Italy, for 5 days to deliver and listen to papers on the theme “Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East”. This volume, the proceedings of the conference, contains more than 40 of the papers read at the 57th annual Rencontre, including 3 plenary lectures/papers, many papers directly connected with the theme, as well as a workshop on parents and children. The papers covered every period of Mesopotamian history, from the third millennium through the end of the first millennium B.C.E. The attendees were warmly hosted by faculty and students from the Università di Roma “La Sapienza”.
Download or read book Oral Scribal Dimensions of Scripture Piety and Practice written by Werner H. Kelber and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In April 2008 a conference was convened at Rice University that brought together experts in the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The papers discussed at the conference are presented here, revised and updated. The thirteen contributions comprise the keynote address by John Miles Foley; three essays on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible; three on the New Testament; three on the Qur'an; and two summarizing pieces, by the Africanist Ruth Finnegan and the Islamicist William Graham respectively. The central thesis of the book states that sacred Scripture was experienced by the three faiths less as a text contained between two covers and a literary genre, and far more as an oral phenomenon. In developing the performative, recitative aspects of the three religions, the authors directly or by implication challenge their distinctly textual identities. Instead of viewing the three faiths as quintessential religions of the book, these writers argue that the religions have been and continue to be appropriated not only as written but also very much as oral authorities, with the two media interpenetrating and mutually influencing each other in myriad ways.
Download or read book Ancient Israel s History written by Bill T. Arnold and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2014-11-11 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of Israel is a much-debated topic in Old Testament studies. On one side are minimalists who find little of historical value in the Hebrew Bible. On the other side are those who assume the biblical text is a precise historical record. Many serious students of the Bible find themselves between these two positions and would benefit from a careful exploration of issues in Israelite history. This substantive history of Israel textbook values the Bible's historical contribution without overlooking critical issues and challenges. Featuring the latest scholarship, the book introduces students to the current state of research on issues relevant to the study of ancient Israel. The editors and contributors, all top biblical scholars and historians, discuss historical evidence in a readable manner, using both canonical and chronological lenses to explore Israelite history. Illustrative items, such as maps and images, visually support the book's content. Tables and sidebars are also included.
Download or read book Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post biblical Antiquity written by Edwin M. Yamauchi and published by Hendrickson Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most Bible dictionaries on the market today miss a number of cultural and sociological issues of interest to the study of the Scriptures. The Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post-Biblical Antiquity aims to fill this void. Written and edited by a world-class historian and also by a highly respected biblical scholar, this unique reference work provides background cultural and technical information on the world of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament from 2000 BC to approximately AD 600. Articles on domestic life, technology, culture, laws, and religious practices are rarely found in available Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, but here they are explained in detail, accompanied by bibliographic material for further exploration. Articles range from 5-20 pages long. While the authors are well known, they have also recruited 35-40 experts in the actual fields being discussed in numerous cases, and thus the series is further strengthened by the high level of scholarship applied to each of the articles. Scholars, pastors, and students (and their teachers) will find this to be a very useful resource for biblical study, exegesis, and sermon preparation. This first volume in the The Dictionary of Daily Life series covers topics including: agriculture, art, barbers and beards, boats and ships, camels, childbirth and children, clothing, dance, and many more.
Download or read book Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical Post biblical Antiquity written by Edwin M. Yamauchi and published by Hendrickson Publishers. This book was released on 2017 with total page 1865 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical & Post-Biblical Antiquity is a unique reference work that provides background cultural and technical information on the world of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament from 4000 BC to approximately AD 600. Also available as a 4-volume set (ISBN 9781619708617), this complete one-volume edition covers topics from A-Z. This dictionary casts light on the culture, technology, history, and politics of the periods of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Written and edited by a world-class historian and a highly respected biblical scholar, with contributions by many others, this unique reference work explains details of domestic life, technology, culture, laws, and religious practices, with extensive bibliographic material for further exploration. There are 115 articles ranging from 5-20 pages long. Scholars, pastors, and students (and their teachers) will find this to be a useful resource for biblical study, exegesis, and sermon preparation. "This is not your standard Bible dictionary, but one that focuses on aspects of daily life in Bible times, addressing interesting and sometimes puzzling topics that are often overlooked in other encyclopedias. I highly recommend the Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post-Biblical Antiquity and will be giving it 'shout-outs' in my classes in the years to come." --James K. Hoffmeier, Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "This wonderful resource is much more than a dictionary. It is a compendium of substantive essays on numerous facets of daily life in the ancient world. I am frequently asked by pastors and students for recommendations on books that illuminate the manners, customs, and cultural practices of the biblical world. Now I have the ideal set of books to recommend." --Clinton E. Arnold, Dean and Professor of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Download or read book The Vitality of Enjoyment in Qohelet s Theological Rhetoric written by Eunny P. Lee and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-02-14 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study explores the interplay between the commendation of enjoyment and the injunction to fear God in Ecclesiastes. Previous studies have tended to examine these seemingly antithetical themes in isolation from one another. Seeing enjoyment and fear to be positively correlated, however, enables a fresh articulation of the book’s theology. Enjoyment of life lies at the heart of Qohelet’s vision of piety, which may be characterized as faithful realism, calling for an authentic engagement with both the tragic and joyous dimensions of human existence. Winner of the 2007 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise
Download or read book The Minor Prophets written by J. Glen Taylor and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2016-01-12 with total page 891 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features include • Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text. • Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more. • Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.
Download or read book A People Tall and Smooth Skinned written by Marta Høyland Lavik and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume sheds new light on an old and somehow puzzling text, Isaiah 18. Even though the majority of scholars over the years has regarded this chapter difficult to fully understand, the author of this volume demonstrates how Isa 18 can be seen as a coherent whole by showing itself to be an example of Hebrew rhetoric.
Download or read book The Interface of Orality and Writing written by Annette Weissenrieder and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-10-13 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the visual, the oral, and the written interrelate in antiquity? The essays in this collection address the competing and complementary roles of visual media, forms of memory, oral performance, and literacy and popular culture in the ancient Mediterranean world. Incorporating both customary and innovative perspectives, the essays advance the frontiers of our understanding of the nature of ancient texts as regards audibility and performance, the vital importance of the visual in the comprehension of texts, and basic concepts of communication, particularly the need to account for disjunctive and non-reciprocal social relations in communication. Thus the contributions show how the investigation of the interface of the oral and written, across the spectrum of seeing, hearing, and writing, generates new concepts of media and mediation.
Download or read book The First Book of Samuel written by David Toshio Tsumura and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2007-03-15 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David and Goliath, the call of Samuel, the witch of Endor, David and Bathsheba — such biblical stories are well known. But the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, where they are recorded, are among the most difficult books in the Bible. The Hebrew text is widely considered corrupt and sometimes even unintelligible. The social and religious customs are strange and seem to diverge from the tradition of Moses. In this first part of an ambitious two-volume commentary on the books of Samuel, David Toshio Tsumura sheds considerable light on the background of 1 Samuel, looking carefully at the Philistine and Canaanite cultures, as he untangles the difficult Hebrew text.
Download or read book Brotherhood of Kings written by Amanda H. Podany and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-09 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amanda Podany here takes readers on a vivid tour through a thousand years of ancient Near Eastern history, from 2300 to 1300 BCE, paying particular attention to the lively interactions that took place between the great kings of the day. Allowing them to speak in their own words, Podany reveals how these leaders and their ambassadors devised a remarkably sophisticated system of diplomacy and trade. What the kings forged, as they saw it, was a relationship of friends-brothers-across hundreds of miles. Over centuries they worked out ways for their ambassadors to travel safely to one another's capitals, they created formal rules of interaction and ways to work out disagreements, they agreed to treaties and abided by them, and their efforts had paid off with the exchange of luxury goods that each country wanted from the other. Tied to one another through peace treaties and powerful obligations, they were also often bound together as in-laws, as a result of marrying one another's daughters. These rulers had almost never met one another in person, but they felt a strong connection--a real brotherhood--which gradually made wars between them less common. Indeed, any one of the great powers of the time could have tried to take over the others through warfare, but diplomacy usually prevailed and provided a respite from bloodshed. Instead of fighting, the kings learned from one another, and cooperated in peace. A remarkable account of a pivotal moment in world history--the establishment of international diplomacy thousands of years before the United Nations--Brotherhood of Kings offers a vibrantly written history of the region often known as the "cradle of civilization."
Download or read book Prophet Intermediary King written by Julie B. Deluty and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-04-04 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Prophet, Intermediary, King: The Dynamics of Mediation in the Biblical World and Old Babylonian Mari, Julie B. Deluty investigates the mediation of prophecy for kings in biblical narratives and the Old Babylonian corpus from Mari. In many cases, the prophet’s message is delivered through a third party—sometimes a royal official or family member—who may exercise a degree of autonomy in the transmission of the words. Drawing on social network theory, the book highlights the importance of third-party intermediaries in the process of communication that lies at the core of biblical and ancient Near Eastern prophecy. Recognition of the place of non-prophetic intermediaries in a monarchic system offers a new dimension to the study of prophecy in antiquity.
Download or read book Word and Spirit in Ezekiel written by James Robson and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2006-10-01 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book argues that the relationship between Yahweh's ruah and Yahweh's word in the book of Ezekiel is to be understood not so much in terms of the inspiration and authentication of the prophet but in terms of the transformation of the book's addressees.
Download or read book Letters and Communities written by Paola Ceccarelli and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-16 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The writing of letters often evokes associations of a single author and a single addressee, who share in the exchange of intimate thoughts across distances of space and time. This model underwrites such iconic notions as the letter representing an 'image of the soul of the author' or constituting 'one half of a dialogue'. However justified this conception of letter-writing may be in particular instances, it tends to marginalize a range of issues that were central to epistolary communication in the ancient world and have yet to receive sustained and systematic investigation. In particular, it overlooks the fact that letters frequently presuppose and were designed to reinforce communities-or, indeed, to constitute them in the first place. This volume explores the interrelation of letters and communities in the ancient world, examining how epistolary communication aided in the construction and cultivation of group-identities and communities, whether social, political, religious, ethnic, or philosophical. A theoretically informed Introduction establishes the interface of epistolary discourse and group formation as a vital but hitherto neglected area of research, and is followed by thirteen case studies offering multi-disciplinary perspectives from four key cultural configurations: Greece, Rome, Judaism, and Christianity. The first part opens the volume with two chapters on the theory and practice of epistolary communication that focus on ancient epistolary theory and the unavoidable presence of a letter-carrier who introduces a communal aspect into any correspondence, while the second comprises five chapters that explore configurations of power and epistolary communication in the Greek and Roman worlds, from the archaic period to the end of the Hellenistic age. Five chapters on letters and communities in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity follow in the third, part before the volume concludes with an envoi examining the trans-historical, or indeed timeless, philosophical community Seneca the Younger construes in his Letters to Lucilius.
