Synopses & Reviews
This volume makes a positive intervention into maximalist/minimalist debates about Israelite historiography by pointing to the events that happened during the Persian and Hellenistic periods. During this historical epoch, traditions about Israel and Judah's founding became fixed as markers of ethnic identity, and much of the canonical Hebrew Bible came into its present form. Concentrating on these events, a clearer historical picture emerges.
The entire volume is set within the context of Doug Knight's contributions, which have encouraged a rigorous social-scientific and tradition-historical approach to the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel in general. Many scholars have pursued how the social scientific method, first used to analyze early monarchic Israel, can shape the understanding of these later historical periods. Knight's methods, teachings, writings, and scholarly interventions have pointed the contributors of this volume to fresh considerations of the Persian and Hellenistic periods. The concluding essay will examine the future directions in which such sociological and historical investigation can go forward.
About the Author
Jon Berquist is senior academic editor at Westminster John Knox Press, USA.
Alice Hunt is President of Chicago Theological Seminary, USA.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Jon Berquist and Alice Hunt, The Contributions of Douglas A. Knight
History and Contexts
Jack Sasson, Vanderbilt University, Coveting the Second Temple Period
Philip Davies, Sheffield University, The Origins of the Kingdom of Judah
Neils P. Lemche, Copenhagen University, Shechem Revisited
Israel Finkelstein, Tel Aviv University, Jerusalem: A Persian City
Ken Stone, Chicago Theological Seminary, The Zoological Gaze in Post-Exilic Biblical Literature
Julye Bidmead, Chapman University, From New Moon to New Moon: Women's Rituals in the Persian Period
Texts and History
Annalisa Azzoni, Vanderbilt University, Genesis: Creating Creation
Kristin Swanson, Luther College, What happens when we read Judges in the Persian Period?
Robert R. Wilson, Yale University, The Persian Period and the Shaping of the Prophetic Literature
Deborah Appler, Moravian Theological Seminary, "'Digging in the Claws.' Daniel 4 and the Predatory Nature of Empire"
Cheryl B. Anderson, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Ruth and Esther as Models for the Formation of God's People: Engaging Liberationist Critiques
Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University, "Xenophobia" of Ezra/Nehemiah and Post-Colonial Views of "Jews"
Herbert R. Marbury, Vanderbilt University, Nehemiah: Caught Between Court and Cult with Lessons for Church and State
James Crenshaw, Duke University, Pondering the Passing of Time: Psalm 39 and Qoheleth
Norman Gottwald, Pacific School of Religion, Ecclesiastes of the Hellenistic Period
Jennifer L. Koosed, Albright College, The Chronicler Buries Saul
David Penchansky, University of St. Thomas (St. Paul), Sophia and Simon: The Two Poles of Ben Sira's Affection
Peter J. Haas, Case Western Reserve University, Was the Judaism of the Dead Sea Scrolls a Mystery Religion?
Conclusion
Jon Berquist and Alice Hunt, The Future Focus of Biblical Studies: Where Do We Go From Here?