Synopses & Reviews
For centuries, biblical scholars have worked on discovering how the Bible came to be. The consensus that emerged from experts of various traditions was the Documentary Hypothesis: the idea that ancient writers produced documents of poetry, prose, and law over many hundreds of years, 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, Richard Elliott Friedman, one of the world's foremost experts on the Bible and author of the bestselling Who Wrote the Bible?, offers a new visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy -- unlocking their complex and fascinating tapestry of sources. 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; and
•Helping readers appreciate that the Bible is a rich, complex, beautiful work as a result of the extraordinary way in which it was created.
Now everyone can explore these rich resources. This new version will forever change the way you understand the Five Books of Moses.
Review
“An important and useful volume which should be on the book shelf of every serious student of the Bible.” Frank Moore Cross, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus, Harvard University
Review
“Friedmans The Bible with Sources Revealed is a paradigm of accessible scholarship of the highest order.” Michael D. Coogan, Editor, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, The Oxford History of the Biblical World, and The Oxford Companion to the Bible
Review
“A fundamental resource for understanding what the Hebrew Bible is all about.” Peter Machinist, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages, Harvard University
Review
“A succinct, lucid, detailed exposition and defense of the classic Documentary Hypothesis--a highly useful resource.” Eugene Ulrich, University of Notre Dame
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“Very highly recommended.” Library Journal
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“A volume indispensable for study in Biblical history. No one can really understand the Bibles composition without consulting this work.” Baruch Halpern, Chaiken Family Chair in Jewish Studies, Pennsylvania State University
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“An amazing work. It makes the theory of the Bibles origins available to all in a clear and concise way.” David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion
Synopsis
Friedman is widely acknowledged as one of the world's foremost experts on the Hebrew bible, and this work will be the definitive presentation of the fascinating quiltwork that is the Pentateuch. This is the first time that the findings of modern source criticism have ever been identified and laid out in a popular version of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), clearly showing the individual literary strands that make up the whole.
About the Author
Richard Elliott Friedman is professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature and holds the Katzin Chair at the University of California, San Diego. One of the premier biblical scholars in the country, he received his doctorate at Harvard and was a visiting fellow at Oxford and Cambridge. Author of The Hidden Face of God, The Hidden Book in the Bible, Commentary on the Torah, The Exile and Biblical Narrative, and the bestselling Who Wrote the Bible?, Friedman is also the president of the Biblical Colloquium West. A consultant to universities, journals, encyclopedias, and publishers, he is also the editor of four books on biblical studies and has authored over fifty articles, reviews, and notes in scholarly and popular publications.