Did Moses Speak Attic?

Did Moses Speak Attic?

Author: Lester L. Grabbe

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2001-03-01

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0567417387

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Is the Bible a Hellenistic book? The essays in this volume respond to that challenging question, formulated by Niels Peter Lemche, and offer everything from qualified agreement to vociferous opposition. In so doing, they debate and illuminate the many features of Jewish writing in the Second Temple period, including not only the scriptures themselves and their own history, but the non-canonized literature of the late Second-Temple period. As with all the volumes in this pioneering series, the editor, Lester Grabbe, introduces and reflects upon the discussion and its implications for one of the most controversial topics in current biblical studies.


Hellenism and the Primary History

Hellenism and the Primary History

Author: Robert Karl Gnuse

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09-30

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1000164926

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This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he suggests that although much of the text may originate from the Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant more broadly.


The Bible and Hellenism

The Bible and Hellenism

Author: Thomas L. Thompson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-03

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1317544269

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Did the Bible only take its definitive form after Alexander conquered the Near East, after the Hellenisation of the Samaritans and Jews, and after the founding of the great library of Alexandria? The Bible and Hellenism takes up one of the most pressing and controversial questions of Bible Studies today: the influence of classical literature on the writing and formation of the Bible. Bringing together a wide range of international scholars, The Bible and Hellenism explores the striking parallels between biblical and earlier Greek literature and examines the methodological issues raised by such comparative study. The book argues that the oral traditions of historical memory are not the key factor in the creation of biblical narrative. It demonstrates that Greek texts – from such authors as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus and Plato – must be considered amongst the most important sources for the Bible.


Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus

Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus

Author: Russell Gmirkin

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2006-05-15

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0567025926

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Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus argues that the Pentateuch was written in 273-272 BCE under the patronage of Ptolemy II Philadelphus by the Septuagint scholars drawing on Hellenistic historical sources from the Great Library of Alexandria. >


Rewriting Biblical History

Rewriting Biblical History

Author: Jeremy Corley

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2011-05-26

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 3110240947

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Old Testament texts frequently offer a theological view of history. This is very evident in the Books of Chronicles and in the final section of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus). Today there is renewed interest in both these works as significant theological and cultural Jewish documents from the centuries before Jesus. Both Chronicles and Ben Sira aim to recreate a national identity centered on temple piety. Some chapters in this volume consider the portrayal of Israelite kings like David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, while others deal with prophets like Samuel and Elijah.


From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts

From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts

Author: S. A. Nigosian

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2004-10-27

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 9780801879906

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Nigosian 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.


Ancient Israel in Sinai

Ancient Israel in Sinai

Author: James K. Hoffmeier

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2005-10-06

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 0195155467

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Hoffmeier finds evidence to support Biblical narratives for the years spent by the Israeli tribes in the wilderness, & explores alternative theories on the location of Mount Sinai.


Writing a Commentary on Leviticus

Writing a Commentary on Leviticus

Author: Thomas Hieke

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Published: 2019-04-15

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 3647534714

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Writing a commentary on a biblical book is not limited to the scholar's study and desk. Hence, several experts in the field of Hebrew Bible currently writing a larger commentary on the book of Leviticus followed the invitation of Christian Eberhart and Thomas Hieke to meet between 2014 and 2016 at the Annual SBL Conference. They shared their experiences, discussed hermeneutical and methodological considerations, and presented their ideas about particular themes and issues in the third book of the Torah. The results of these consultative panels had significant impact on the production of the commentaries. The first part of this volume features essays reflecting on the process of writing a Leviticus commentary, including boosts and obstacles, while suggesting innovative insights on particular problems of the book. The second part identifies certain themes of Leviticus, especially sacrifices and rituals ("the cult"), the notion of unintentional and deliberate sins and purity/impurity ("the bad") and how to eliminate them, and the relationship to the sphere of God ("the holy"). This section demonstrates how commenting a biblical book highly depends on the perspective a scholar takes, and how different commentaries on the same biblical text come to different conclusions because of a diversity of methodological and hermeneutical approaches. These are issues innate in the subject matter; in the end the variety of approaches bears witness to the complexity, intricacy, and richness of the biblical text. This volume, therefore, offers a fascinating inside view into the studies and onto the desks of several prolific biblical experts who share their reflections and concepts about their commentaries on Leviticus with an interested audience.


Like a Bird in a Cage

Like a Bird in a Cage

Author: Lester L. Grabbe

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2003-06-01

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 056720782X

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What makes one crime more serious than another, and why? This book investigates the problem of "seriousness of offence" in English law from the comparative perspective of biblical law. Burnside takes a semiotic approach to show how biblical conceptions of seriousness are synthesised and communicated through various descriptive and performative registers. Seven case studies show that biblical law discriminates between the seriousness of different offences and between the relative seriousness of the same offence when committed by different people or when performed in different ways. Recurring elements include location and the offender's social statue. The closing chapter considers some of the implications for the current debate about crime and punishment.


Times of Transition

Times of Transition

Author: Sylvie Honigman

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2021-06-30

Total Pages: 628

ISBN-13: 1646021444

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This multidisciplinary study takes a fresh look at Judean history and biblical literature in the late fourth and third centuries BCE. In a major reappraisal of this era, the contributions to this volume depict it as one in which critical changes took place. Until recently, the period from Alexander’s conquest in 332 BCE to the early years of Seleucid domination following Antiochus III’s conquest in 198 BCE was reputed to be poorly documented in material evidence and textual production, buttressing the view that the era from late Persian to Hasmonean times was one of seamless continuity. Biblical scholars believed that no literary activity belonged to the Hellenistic age, and archaeologists were unable to refine their understanding because of a lack of secure chronological markers. However, recent studies are revealing this period as one of major social changes and intense literary activity. Historians have shed new light on the nature of the Hellenistic empires and the relationship between the central power and local entities in ancient imperial settings, and the redating of several biblical texts to the third century BCE challenges the traditional periodization of Judean history. Bringing together Hellenistic history, the archaeology of Judea, and biblical studies, this volume appraises the early Hellenistic period anew as a time of great transition and change and situates Judea within its broader regional and transregional imperial contexts.