Theology: Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures.: Books

Ancient Israelite and Early Jewish Literature offers more than simply an introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). The Hebrew Bible remains not only the primary quantitative source for our knowledge of the literature of Ancient Israel, it also enjoys decisive religious and cultural significance for both Judaism and Christianity. However, increased interest in Early Judaism as successor to the religion of Ancient Israel and background to the New Testament demands an introduction that guides the reader through the maze of Jewish literature dating from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods.This introduction primarily offers a literary and historical-critical approach to the material it treats. Given the nature of certain Ancient Israelite inscriptions, the books of the Hebrew bible and the texts of Early Judaism, however, it contains some religio-historical or theological explanations where appropriate. In particular, the literary-historical analysis found in this volume underlines the canonical character of the Hebrew Bible.The book concludes with a helpful appendix that briefly explains technical concepts and exegetical methods.

A highly regarded expert on the Jewish apocalyptic tradition, John J. Collins has written extensively on the subject. Nineteen of his essays written over the last fifteen years, including previously unpublished contributions, are brought together for the first time in this volume. Its thematic essays organized in five sections, Apocalypse, Prophecy, and Pseudepigraphy complements and enriches Collins's well-known book The Apocalyptic Imagination.

Biblical texts create worlds of meaning and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds, which are strange and complex, they are confronted with theological claims. With this in mind, the purpose of the IBT series is to help serious readers in their experience of reading and interpreting by providing guides for their journeys into textual worlds. The focus of the series is not so much on the world behind the text as on the worlds created by the texts in their engagement with readers. Nowhere is the world of the biblical text stranger than in the apocalyptic literature of both the Old and New Testaments. In this volume, Stephen Cook makes the puzzling visions and symbols of the biblical apocalyptic literature intelligible to modern readers. He begins with definitions of apocalypticism and apocalyptic literature and introduces the various scholarly approaches to and issues for our understanding of the text. Cook introduces the reader to the social and historical worlds of the apocalyptic groups that gave rise to such literature and leads the reader into a better appreciation and understanding of the theological import of biblical apocalyptic literature. In the second major section of the book, Cook guides the reader through specific examples of the Bible's apocalyptic literature. He addresses both the best-known examples (the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation) and other important but lesser known examples (Zechariah and some words of Jesus and Paul).

The Oxford Bible Commentary is a Bible study and reference work for 21st century students and readers that can be read with any modern translation of the Bible. It offers verse-by-verse explanation of every book of the Bible by the world's leading biblical scholars. From its inception, OBC has been designed as a completely non-denominational commentary, carefully written and edited to provide the best scholarship in a readable style for readers from all differentfaith backgrounds. It uses the traditional historical-critical method to search for the original meaning of the texts, but also brings in new perspectives and insights - literary, sociological, and cultural - to bring out the expanding meanings of these ancient writings and stimulate new discussion andfurther enquiry.Newly issued in a series of part volumes, the OBC is now available in an affordable and portable format for the commentaries to the books of the Apocrypha. Includes a general introduction to using the Commentary, in addition to an introduction to study of the Apocrypha.

This collection of essays deals with aspects of women and gender relations in early Judaism (during the Persian, Greek and Roman empires). Some essays focus on specific writings: the Greek (Septuagint) version of Esther, Judith, Joseph and Aseneth and the Letter of Jeremiah. Others explore how certain biblical texts are reinterpreted: Eve in the Life of Adam and Eve; the mixing of the sons of God with the daughters of men from Gen 6:1-4; the Egyptian princess at the birth of Moses; how Josephus retells biblical stories. The third group of essays explore specific social contexts: Philo's views of women in the Roman empire; the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls and women philosophers, the Therapeutae, in Egyptian Alexandria.

The books constituting the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, have a complex history of authorship behind them, resulting in a variety of styles, perspectives, and meanings. The authors and editors of the books that became the Bible lived through the political vicissitudes of a region that was a cultural crossroads, subject to successive waves of invasion, settlement, and influence by a variety of civilizations. Consequently, their works reflect the diverse political, intellectual, and literary legacies of the ancient Near East and, in some cases, the incorporation of non-Hebrew texts. S. A. Nigosian, a scholar of Biblical and Near Eastern religions, explores the diverse literary antecedents of the Old Testament as well as the Apocrypha - books excluded from the canonical Hebrew text but included in the Septuagint. Closely analyzing the formation and contents of these works, Nigosian compares them with the religious, philosophical, didactic, and historical works created by the neighboring Near Eastern civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor. Proceeding book by book, he highlights parallels in language, structure, and story among Hebrew and non-Hebrew and

In this accessible book, David deSilva introduces the Old Testament Apocryphal books and summarizes their context, message, and significance. Now in paperback. "DeSilva does a fine job of placing the Apocrypha within the historical context of the Jewish world in which early Christianity was forged."--Publishers Weekly

This translation of L'apocalittica giudaica e la sua storia makes Professor Sacchi's innovative thesis on Jewish apocalyptic available to a wider, English-reading audience. Sacchi argues that the term 'apocalyptic' is a modern invention, deriving from the wish to conceptualize the field of research on the affinities between the Apocalypse of John and other works of its time. These affinities do not just relate to literary character and form but also in part to content. Focusing on the material of 'Enoch' Sacchi concludes that what is needed is a more precise, literary and historical definition of 'apocalyptic'.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. It discusses key texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Peter, letters attributed to Paul, Peter, and Jesus, and actsand apocalypses written about or attributed to different apostles. Part One consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part Two considers key issues that they raise. These include theircontribution to our understanding of developing theological understandings of Jesus, the apostles and other important figures such as Mary. It also addresses the value of these texts as potential sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus, and for debates about Jewish-Christian relations, thepractice of Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender and sexuality, etc.The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read early Christian apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.