Abstract
BUTTERFIELD, ROBERT A., Making Sense of the Hebrew Bible (foreword by Vitor Westhelle; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016), pp. xiii + 105. $17.00. ISBN 978-1-5326-0040-1.
This short volume is aimed at ‘the general reader’ (p. 1). Its first major presupposition, based on the archaeological work of Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, is that the Pentateuch was constructed (or rather, concocted by unknown literary geniuses) at the time of Josiah's reforms in the late 7th century BCE, and is completely ahistorical. The second presupposition is that practically the whole of the OT was turned into a propaganda document in the 5th century to bolster the sense of national identity of the Yehud community of returned exiles. There is no mention of the 8th-century prophets as witnesses to any historical events, nor of the power of oral history in pre-literate societies. Whether ‘the general reader’ would accept such an academic platform of interpretation is debatable. B. aims to discover the literary structure of the OT, by which he means thematic structure rather than discourse analysis, and in this becomes more insightful and stimulating. He sees a constantly repeated theme of destruction/recreation running through many of the OT stories, and thus forming a link with the Judaism of both the postexilic period and of NT times. Moreover, in the final chapter, he proposes several thought-provoking instances of this same theme in the Gospel of Mark, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus. These at least he appears to regard as genuine historical events. There are few misprints, the only significant one being the birth of Cain and Abel in Exodus 4 rather than Genesis 4 (p. 15)!
DAVID J. CLARK
COOGAN, MICHAEL D. (ed., with associate eds. MARC Z. BRETTLER, CAROL A. NEWSOM, and PHEME PERKINS), The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. An Ecumenical Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 5th edn, 2018), pp. xvi + 2386. 14 maps. £27.99. ISBN 978-0-19-027608-9.
This volume has many predecessors unnoticed in the B.L. First with the RSV were the Oxford Annotated Bible (1962) and New Oxford Annotated Bible (1973; with Apocrypha, 1977). Then came a second edition of the latter with the NRSV (1991, with or without Apocrypha). As well as the marginal text notes, these gave introductory articles for each book and section plus a few general articles. A decade later came the third edition with a new set of (still current) editors and an almost completely new cast of authors (2001; ‘Augmented’ with the Apocrypha, 2007). Next was a ‘Fully Revised’ fourth edition, this time with completely new typesetting, further new authors and more study aids (2010). And now there is a Fully Revised and Expanded Fifth Edition. The expansion (noted on outer cover but not the title page) is very limited: two further general articles and a few other small additions. The revision is more obvious, with a change to about a quarter of the 60 authors and some rewriting of the retained articles, all contributing to a successive broadening of interpretative range. For example, B.M. Levenson remains the contributor for Deuteronomy, but his introduction has some revision (e.g. more on the book's name in Jewish tradition) and the notes have some addition (e.g. at 12.1). This evolution has led to a huge wealth of material in a single volume, so much so that the paperback binding is hardly adequate for the 2400 pages-the hardback would be a worthwhile investment. After the various introductions, the text notes are extensive, on average filling a quarter page. There are some 90 illustrations (maps, charts, diagrams), 15 general articles on canon, language, translation, interpretation and cultural contexts, and finally various tables and indexes. In sum, the assiduous reader will find here an invaluable library of biblical text and diverse scholarship.
PHILIP S. JOHNSTON
CRISOSTOMO, C. JAY, EDUARDO A. ESCOBAR, TERRI TANAKA, and NIEK VELDHUIS (eds.), The Scaffolding of our Thoughts: Essays on Assyriology and the History of Science in Honor of Francesca Rochberg (Ancient Magic and Divination, 13; Leiden: Brill, 2018), pp. xx + 452. €115.00. ISBN 978-90-04-36337-3.
This excellent Festschrift, dedicated to Francesca Rochberg, offers fascinating insight into the world of ancient magic and divination. Some of the essays may be too specialized for the average biblical scholar—instead falling squarely in the field of Assyriology -whereas others are more closely linked to the field of biblical studies. The volume contains 20 essays, all of consistently high quality: G.E.R. Lloyd, ‘Where Next for “Ancient Science”?’; A.K. Guinan, ‘Crow Omens in Mesopotamia’; A. Winitzer, ‘Old Signs in New Dress? On the Meaning of Inanna's Symbol as Sign and “Presence” in Early Babylonian Divination’; A. Lenzi, ‘Material, Constellation, Image, God: The Fat of the Chosen Bull according to KAR 50 and Duplicates’; M. Rutz, ‘A Late Babylonian Compilation Concerning Ritual Timing and Materia Medica’; M.W. Monroe, ‘BM 40187: A Birthnote for Two Named Individuals’; U. Koch, ‘Converging Fortunes-Links between Celestial and Intestinal Divination’; C.J. Crisostomo, ‘Sumerian Divination’; T. Abusch, ‘The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabû’; N. Veldhuis, ‘Translation in the Elevation of Ištar’; J.L. Cooley, ‘Judean Scribalism, Documentary Epistemology, and the Name ישׂראל’; N.P. Heessel, ‘Dating EAE: When was the Astrological Series Enüma Anu Ellil Created?’; EA. Escobar and L.E. Pearce, ‘Bricoleurs in Babylonia: The Scribes of Enüma Anu Enlil '; G. Frame, ‘The Date of the Accession of Nabonidus to the Throne of Babylon: A Reappraisal of the Evidence’; M.W. Stolper, ‘Intercalary Months in Achaemenid Elamite Administrative Documents from Persepolis’; Z. Misiewicz, ‘The Importance of Experts: Agents in the Transfer of Astral Knowledge between Hellenistic Mesopotamia and the Greek-speaking World’; A. Jones and J. Steele, ‘Diodorus on the Chaldeans’; A.C. Bowen, ‘Observing Eclipses: An Optical Question in Problemata 15.11’; M Ossendrijver and A. Winkler, ‘Chaldeans on the Nile: Two Egyptian Astronomical Procedure Texts with Babylonian Systems A1 and A2 for Mercury’; and D. Lehoux, ‘Clever Machines and the Gods Who Make Them: The Antikythera Mechanism and the Ancient Imagination’. The volume features an index of subjects and an index of ancient texts and words.
LENA-SOFIA TIEMEYER
DELL, KATHARINE, Who Needs the Old Testament? Its Enduring Appeal and Why the New Atheists Don't Get It (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017), pp. x + 257. $34.00. ISBN 978-1-5326-1964-9.
D. offers a robust and engaging defence of the OT as Christian Scripture. The book has two parts. In Part 1, D. singles out the writings of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens as representatives of the New Atheists who disparage the God of the OT. She admits that there are areas of the OT presentation of God that offend modern sensibilities, but she argues that both writers ignore the cultural distance from the past to the present, and especially the developing understanding of God over time in ancient Israel. She challenges Dawkins’ and Hitchens’ treatment of a range of OT texts, especially in the Pentateuch and the ‘histories’, highlighting their superficial treatment. In Part 2, D. recites the ‘rich and multifaceted nature of the OT’ by looking at some books in the Prophets and the Writings. Here, D. shows up the narrow confines of the atheistic protagonists. She ranges over a wide terrain of OT texts to reveal a more nuanced understanding of the nature of God, but not denying the unpalatable parts of some books. Chapter 9 tackles the scepticism within the biblical studies guild regarding the reliability of the history of Israel, and in ch. 10, D. offers ‘A Christian Perspective on the Old Testament’, concluding that the OT is a complicated set of texts but it ‘can be our friend, even if a rather challenging and contrary one’. For those who value the OT as Christian Scripture, this is a book worth reading.
NORMAN S. WILSON
DIETRICH, WALTER (ed.), Die Welt der Hebräischen Bibel. Umfeld—Inhalte—Grundthemen (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2017), pp. 488. €49.00. ISBN 978-3-17-030297-6.
This volume is conceptualized as an anthology in the tradition of an OT/HB introduction, offering the beginner student and a wider audience a cross-section through the world of the HB. Thirty-two authors, mainly from the German-speaking university landscape, have each made a contribution on their expertise. The articles are organized into six sections: The first section assembles articles under the traditional heading ‘Surroundings’, which deal with questions of ‘Bible and the East’, ‘Bible and Archaeology’, ‘Bible and History’, ‘Bible, Judaism, and Christianity’, and ‘Bible, Language, and Script’. The second section offers an overview on the literary history, focusing on ‘Literary History of the Old Testament’, ‘Canon’, ‘Torah’, ‘The Historical Books and Historiography’, ‘Prophecy’, and ‘Poetry and Wisdom’. New horizons are explored in Section 3 which deals with society, comprising contributions on ‘Individual and Society’, ‘Family and Tribe’, ‘Kingdom and State’, ‘Economics, City, and Land’, and ‘War and Peace’. The fourth section assembles articles regarding religious observance: ‘Places of Holiness’, ‘Worship’, ‘Sacrifice and Atonement’, and ‘Prayer and Songs’. The last two sections fall into the realm of traditional OT theology. While Section 5 deals with conceptions of humanity (‘Foundations of Hebrew Anthropology’, ‘Gender Relations’, ‘Conduct, Deeds, and Consequences’, ‘Violence and Overcoming It’, ‘Culpability and Reconciliation’, ‘Suffering and Death’), Section 6 adds the doctrine of God (‘God's Uniqueness’, ‘God's Revelation’, ‘God's Creation’, ‘God's Love and Wrath’, ‘God's Omnipotence and Powerlessness’, ‘God's Future’). A chart on biblical history, maps, and detailed indexes contribute to the reading experience. This is an exceptionally well-conceived book that draws together distinct aspects of HB study and allows the interested reader both to skim individual articles and to study whole sections in depth. If there is a weakness, it is the lack of introductory and/or summarizing material for each section, which would allow the reader to make connections between the different articles and help to assess different approaches and findings against the background of the current state of research. However, this is a great tool and it can only be hoped that there will soon be a translation into English.
ANJA KLEIN
GOLDINGAY, JOHN, A Reader's Guide to the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017), pp. vi + 191. $20.00. ISBN 978-0-8308-5174-4.
Conciseness is a challenge familiar to B.L. reviewers. G. has embraced the task of distilling his wide-ranging knowledge of biblical texts, biblical theology and hermeneutics into a brief paperback. Clear, direct language, avoiding technical terms and footnotes, makes the content accessible to a wide variety of readers. Limited discussion of complex interpretive issues is inevitable; yet G.'s impressive economy of language enables him to suggest different nuances and possibilities in understanding historical events such as those behind the biblical accounts of the exodus and conquest. He considers the protestant canon as a whole, interweaving chapters on the NT gospels, letters and apocalypse among others on the OT books. After an introduction to the major events, people and places depicted in the Bible, he considers the biblical books under three broad headings: ‘The Story of God and His People’, ‘The Word of God to His People’ and ‘Israel's Response to God’. Inevitably readers may question the weighting given to individual biblical books and some will argue that G.'s specialism becomes evident in the overall proportion of space devoted to the OT. But if this is an imbalance, it can help compensate for many contemporary readers’ limited knowledge of the OT in particular. Visual stimulus is limited to a few helpful tables and maps; the rest relies simply on the author's lucid prose to engage the reader's attention. The outcome is a very effective overview of the Bible's riches, particularly for anyone exploring them for the first time.
BILL GOODMAN
GOW, ANDREW, and PETER SABO (eds.), Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof: Poetry, Prophecy, and Justice in Hebrew Scripture: Essays in Honor of Francis Landy on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday (Biblical Interpretation Series, 157; Leiden: Brill, 2018), pp. xiv + 225. €95.00. ISBN 978-90-04-35573-6.
Already honoured in the 2015 volume Poets, Prophets, and Texts in Play (reviewed in B.L. 2018, p. 4), this second Festschrift for Francis Landy comprises the following essays: Maria Metzler, ‘The Glory of God in Animal Eyes: Ezekiel's Cherubim and Clarice's Cockroach’; Christopher Meredith, ‘The Paper I Have Not Yet Written: An Heuristic Atlas of Biblical Scholarship’; Keith Bodner, ‘Isaiah's Interview’; Ian D. Wilson, ‘Isaiah 1-12: Presentation of a (Davidic?) Politics’; Kenneth Ristau, ‘Recreating Jerusalem: Trito-Isaiah's Vision for the Reconstruction of the City’; Peter J. Sabo, ‘The Bible and Literature (in Secret): A Religious Reading’; Salima Versi and Ehud Ben Zvi, ‘Practicing Pluralism: Re-Conceptualizing Introduction to World Religions Courses as a Vehicle for Inter-Cultural Competence’; Justin Jaron Lewis, ‘Enemies Within: Canaanite Nations and Spiritual Struggle in Hasidism’; Jennifer L. Koosed, ‘Moses in the Cave of Forgotten Dreams’; Frauke Uhlenbruch, ‘Substitution Awe: Science Fiction Cinema and the Computer-Generated Mysterium’; Bob Becking, ‘That Is Really Good: Remarks on Micah 6:8’; and Reinhard Müller, ‘A Heart to Understand: Deuteronomy 29:3 and the Recognition of the Divine’. In the Preface each of the editors records individually his admiration and affection for Landy. The book concludes with an ‘Index of Scripture’. On the whole the essays collected in this volume are characterized by an imaginative, sometimes unusual, yet often illuminating approach to critical thinking.
GEORGE NICOL
GREENSPAHN, FREDERICK E., and GARY A. RENDSBURG (eds.), Le-ma'an Ziony: Essays in Honor of Ziony Zevit (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017), pp. xxxvi + 437. $48.00. ISBN 978-1-4982-0691-4.
The breadth of Zevit's interests is reflected in this collection published in his honour, which is divided into three parts with seven essays in each part. Part 1, ‘History and Archaeology’, consists of W.G. Dever, ‘History from Things: On Writing New Histories of Ancient Israel’; A. Faust, ‘Tel ‘Eton Excavations and the History of the Shephelah during the Iron Age’; S. Fine, ‘Jerusalem in Rome: Moses Mendelssohn on the Arch of Titus Menorah’; S. Gitin, ‘Ekron of the Philistines: A Response to Issues Raised in the Literature’; R. Kletter, ‘Regional and Local Museums for Archaeology in the First Years of the State of Israel’; C. Meyers, ‘Disks and Deities: Images on Iron Age Terracotta Plaques’; and W.M. Schniedewind, ‘An Early Iron Age Phase to Kuntillet ‘Ajrud?’. Part 2, ‘Bible’, has A. Berlin, ‘Psalm 122: The Idealized Jerusalem’; M.V. Fox, ‘The Qeré in the Context of the Masorah Parva’; Z. Garber and B. Zuckerman, ‘The Odd Prophet Out and In’; F.E. Greenspahn, ‘Canon, Codex, and the Printing Press’; T.J. Lewis, ‘Piercing God's Name: A Mythological Subtext of Deicide Underlying Blasphemy in Leviticus 24’; S.M. Paul, ‘Varia on Crowns and Diadems in the Bible and Mesopotamia’; and K. van der Toorn, ‘Psalm 20 and Amherst Papyrus 63, XII, 11-19: A Case Study of a Text in Transit’. The third part, ‘Hebrew (and Aramaic) Language’, comprises S.E. Fassberg, ‘Two Maskilic Explanations of the Difference between the Causative Pi ‘el and the Hiph‘il in Biblical Hebrew’; R.E. Friedman, ‘Kissing through a Veil: Translating the Emphatic in Biblical Hebrew’; L.L. Grabbe, ‘H.H. Rowley's Aramaic of the Old Testament after (Almost) a Century’; C.L. Miller-Naudé, JA. Naudé, T. Beelders, and L. Bergh, ‘Visual Grammar: An Eye-Tracking Perspective on Cognitive Complexity in Biblical Hebrew Pronunciation’; F.H. Polak, ‘Syntactic-Stylistic Aspects of the So-Called “Priestly” Work in the Torah’; GA. Rendsburg and I. Young, ‘שמן תורק šemen tūraq (Song 1:3)’; and J.H. Tigay, ‘On the Tolerative/ Permissive Hiph‘il’. The essays are preceded by the editors’ Introduction, which reflects upon Zevit's career and academic interests and provides a list of his publications; they are followed by indexes of scholars cited and biblical passages. Although it is almost inevitable that the contributions are not all of equal worth and individual readers may have a greater interest in one part of the book or another, there is much in this collection that will be of interest and value to its readers.
GEORGE NICOL
HAMILTON, MARK W., A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), pp. xii + 419. £22.99. ISBN 978-0-19-020311-5.
Any author who attempts to write a theological introduction to the OT in the space of 388 pages takes on a herculean task. H. acquits himself well. He covers every OT book in 31 chapters. He has a well-informed critical awareness of the hermeneutical issues required for such an enterprise, and is not afraid to address contemporary concerns. It is impossible to comment on all of its contents, but I will highlight some areas. I particularly enjoyed his treatment of Genesis–Deuteronomy. He does not attempt to include every facet of these books, but he picks out major themes for treatment. Leviticus and Numbers are especially well handled, giving due attention to their literary structure. H. wisely stresses the importance of the cultural context in dealing with the sensitive moral issues raised. The same can be said of the chapters on the books of Samuel and Kings. His assessment of David's character is very informative and balanced. More substantial OT books are 18-20 pages in length. Material is lighter on books like Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Lamentations. Given the enormous range of material covered, H. has presented students of OT theology with enough detail to inspire further interest in these fascinating books. I found that the theological dimension was somewhat light in treatment in some areas, noticeably in Job and Ecclesiastes. Nonetheless, overall, H. has turned out a very commendable book for students, and being a hardback copy, it represents very good value.
NORMAN S. WILSON
HARRISON, R.K., Introduction to the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2016), pp. xvi + 1325. $49.95. ISBN 978-1-61970-749-8. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]
This is a reprint of a work first published by Eerdmans in 1969 (with a UK edition published by Tyndale House in 1970 minus the section on the Apocrypha), and reviewed in B.L. 1970, pp. 48-49.
(BOOK LIST EDITOR)
HOLDSWORTH, JOHN, Conversations with the Old Testament (Learning Church; London: SCM Press, 2016), pp. xii + 127. £14.99. ISBN 978-0-334-05401-6.
The series of which this is part aims to serve Christian adult learners by filling the gap between ‘popular’ and ‘academically-oriented’ books. H. seeks to mount an apologetic for the OT by showing how scholarly approaches to the texts help answer eight questions someone from his intended readership might ask. So in ch. 1 he tackles ‘What does the Bible mean when it says God created the World?’, discussing the ways in which different OT texts use creation themes. Subsequent chapters look at God's allocation of the land to Israel, religion and politics, whether the OT talks about the end of the world, suffering, worship, ethics, and the value of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. The picture H. paints is of a multi-layered text, with much worthy of the attention of the modern reader (though not providing easy answers) when each part is read against its own context. In the course of his discussion he introduces much of the OT and many key issues and approaches in OT study—a lot of ground is covered in a few pages. Regular ‘to do’ boxes seek to encourage the reader to engage actively (and encourage working with a group), rather than simply reading through the book. This might be a helpful resource for helping Christian lay people who want to think seriously about the OT, though it would benefit from saying more about other approaches to Christian interpretation, especially those which complement rather than reject the kind of historical work H. rightly judges important.
KEITH BEECH-GRÜNEBERG
HUBBARD, ROBERT L., JR, and J. ANDREW DEARMAN, Introducing the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), pp. xxi + 538. $40.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-6790-2. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]
The juggernaut of large-scale OT survey class textbooks aimed at seminaries is a big North American ship, and slow to turn. But there are encouraging signs here that H. and D. are seeking fresher waters. The format is straightforward: a book-by-book content review with a very few overview chapters such as ‘What Are the Historical Books?’ Initial signs of orientation suggest that historical context is key, but although this starts out in the Torah with some caution, it eventually becomes clear that they see originating context as one relevant context, perhaps unrecoverable. Thus eventually we have 3+ Isaiahs, a 2nd-century book of Daniel, and the leaving behind of authorship worries when appropriate. Instead, some quite ambitious questions for the reader are left to do the work: How adequately does ‘parable’ describe Jonah? (Other questions include ‘Which characters in Kings do you find most offensive?’ and ‘How do you understand the role of Gomer?’). Generally there is a focus on basic content coverage (a wise choice), including seven ‘programmatic texts’, although little is made of them. There is a lightness of touch that is most welcome: the Deuteronomic grade book for the kings; Homer Simpson's response to how to build a tabernacle; and do they really end by imagining the Song of Songs sung by One Direction? Overall this is a cautiously canonical, mildly confessional and remarkably beautifully produced volume, though doubtless not well suited to the timetable constraints of the UK educational system.
RICHARD S. BRIGGS
JARICK, JOHN (ed.), SOTS at 100: Centennial Essays of the Society for Old Testament Study (LHBOTS, 650; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018), pp. x + 182. 12 illustrations, 30 charts. £28.99. ISBN 978-0-5676-8357-1 (paperback).
This is the paperback edition of a work published in hardback in 2017, and reviewed in B.L. 2017, pp. 5-6.
(BOOK LIST EDITOR)
JONES, SCOTT C., and CHRISTINE ROY YODER (eds.), ‘When the Morning Stars Sang’: Essays in Honor of Choon Leong Seow on the Occasion of his Sixty-Fifth Birthday (BZAW, 500; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018), pp. xvii + 389. €139.95/$160.99/£114.99. ISBN 978-3-11-042520-8.
A fitting Festschrift for the former long-time Professor of OT at Princeton Theological Seminary who has made major contributions particularly in the study of wisdom literature and the teaching of Biblical Hebrew, this volume assembles a fine cast of scholars sharing their expertise. After an Introduction by the editors, C. Hooker contributes ‘an intellectual biography and curriculum vitae’ of the honoree and W.H.C. Propp ‘an appreciation’ of him. There follow seven articles on Job (M.V. Fox on the speaker in Job 28; E.L. Greenstein on metaphors of illness and wellness; J.G. Janzen on blessing and justice; T. Krüger on Job 42.7-8; M. Oeming on the book's kerygma; CA. Newsom on its reception in the DSS; and K.J. Dell on the 20th-century oratorios of David Jenkins and Peter Maxwell-Davies); three on Proverbs (R.J. Clifford on chs. 1-9 as instruction for ‘Everyman’; B.U. Schipper on the composition of ch. 10; and A. Gianto on the use of the particle yēš to introduce a reflection); two on Ecclesiastes (S. Weeks on the difficulty of reading the book; and J.L. Crenshaw on God as judge); two on the wisdom traditions more broadly (S. Gillmayr-Bucher on several appropriations of Solomon in recent literature [namely in I. Merkel's Sie kam zu König Salomo, S. Heym's The King David Report, S. Obermeier's Salomo und die Königin von Saba, S. Gronemann's Der Weise und der Narr, and F. Dürrenmatt's The Physicists]; and W.P. Brown on the acknowledgment of failure in the wisdom literature); two on Sirach (J.H. Newman on the formation of the scribal self; and B.G. Wright III on the book as a case study in the art of translation); and one each on the Wisdom of Solomon (M. Witte on God and evil), Genesis (K. Schmid on chs. 2-3 as a sapiential text), Psalms (H. Spieckermann on the place of wisdom and torah in the Psalter), and the Song of Songs (L. Schwienhorst-Schönberger on traces of an allegedly original allegorical meaning); and finally two articles on Semitic inscriptions (P. Machinist on royal inscriptions in the HB and Mesopotamia; and R.C. van Leeuwen on the Gezer calendar). Indexes of ancient (primarily biblical) sources and of subjects bring the volume to a close. The headline quotation is from Job 38.7, and is intended to reflect something of the ‘infectious joy and passion for his field’ (p. xi) that the honoree has shown to his students and interlocutors over the years.
JOHN JARICK
JONKER, LOUIS C, GIDEON R. KOTZÉ, and CHRISTL M. MAER (eds.), Congress Volume Stellenbosch 2016 (VTSup, 177; Leiden: Brill, 2017), pp. xvi + 448. €138.00. ISBN 978-90-04-35364-0.
This volume contains the invited main papers delivered at the 2nd IOSOT Congress held at Stellenbosch, South Africa, under the presidency of Johann Cook, in September 2016. Cook's presidential address, ‘Interpreting the Septuagint’, is followed by a further 15 contributions: C. Nihan, ‘Le pectoral d'Aaron et la figure du grand prêtre dans les traditions sacerdotales du Pentateuque’; D. Rom-Shiloni, ‘The Forest and the Trees: The Place of Pentateuchal Materials in Prophecy of the Late Seventh/Early Sixth Centuries BCE’; J.E. Lapsley, ‘Ethics and Creational Dignity in the Old Testament’; D. Edelman, ‘Adjusting Social Memory in the Hebrew Bible: The Teraphim '; H. Niehr, ‘Die rapi ᵓūma/ rephāᵓ îm als konstitutives Element der westsemitischen Königsideologie. Herkunft-Rezeptionsgeschichte-Ende’; W. Boshoff, ‘Caton-Thompson, Kenyon and Gardner: Where Near Eastern and Southern African Archaeology Intersected’; I. Cornelius, ‘The Study of the Old Testament and the Material Imagery of the Ancient Near East, with a Focus on the Body Parts of the Deity’; H. Ausloos, ‘Sept défis posés à une théologie de la Septante’; M. Segal, ‘Daniel 5 in Aramaic and Greek and the Textual History of Daniel 4–6'; M. Masenya, ‘“Can the Cushite Change his Skin?” (Jer 13:23): Beating the Drums of African Biblical Hermeneutics’; M.L.G. Bachmann, ‘“Love Is Strong as Death” (Song 8:6): Reading the Old Testament in a Context of Gender Violence’; M. Witte, ‘Hiob als jüdisches, christliches und paganes Werk. Überlegungen zur Hermeneutik heiliger Schriften’; M. Rösel, ‘Gott in anderem Licht. Das Gottesbild der apokalyptischen Literatur im 3. und 2. Jahrhundert’; W. van Peursen, ‘New Directions in the Computational Analysis of Biblical Poetry’; and E. Tigchelaar, ‘Changing Truths: אמת and קשט as Core Concepts in the Second Temple Period’. Here, as much as in many earlier Congress volumes, there is sufficient variety of subject and approach to provide readers with something of a snapshot of current OT scholarship. Perhaps unsurprisingly South African connections are well represented in this volume, while the presence of a contribution for the first time from Latin America is surely to be welcomed. The book ends with indexes of ‘cited modern authors’ and ‘ancient sources’.
GEORGE NICOL
KAMPLING, RAINER, and ILSE MÜLLNER (eds.), Gottesrede. Gesammelte Aufsätze von Erich Zenger zum jüdisch-christlichen Dialog (Stuttgarter Biblische Aufsatzbände, 65; Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2018), pp. 167. €52.00. ISBN 978-3-460-06651-9.
This collection of the late Erich Zenger's essays on Jewish-Christian dialogue is entirely in German, divided into three sections. Under ‘Covenant’ are the following essays: ‘Israel and Church in a Single Covenant? In Search of a Relationship Agreeable to Both’; ‘Israel and Church in a Common Divine Covenant: Observations on the Theological Programme of Psalms 90-106’; ‘Are Not Jews and Christians in a Common Divine Covenant? An Answer to Frank Crüsemann’; and ‘God's Eternal Covenant with Israel: Christian Appreciation of Judaism in Connection with Herbert Vorgrimler’. Under ‘Hermeneutical Commentary (OT-NT)’ are essays on ‘The Search for a New Jewish-Christian Bible Hermeneutic: A Brief Answer to Horst Seebass’; ‘The First Testament between Fulfilment and Promise’; ‘The Foundational Meaning of the First Testament: Christian-Jewish Bible Hermeneutic after Auschwitz’; ‘What the Church Can Learn from Jewish Bible Exposition’; ‘ “One Thing Has God Spoken, Two Things Have I Heard” (Psalm 62.12): On the Search for New Means of Christian Bible Exposition’. The section ‘Speech from God/Speech with God’ has the following essays: ‘The God of Israel Strives with Holy Strife Concerning his People: The Picture of God in the OT I’; ‘ “I Cry to You, and You Do Not Respond”: The Picture of God in the OT II’; ‘ “No One Has Ever Seen God” (John 1.18): Christian God Speech in the View of Judaism’; ‘Psalm 73 as a Jewish-Christian Prayer’; ‘“I Say, You Are my God” (Psalm 31.14): Church Psalm Prayers after the Shoah’. These essays by one of the leading Catholic OT scholars are an important contribution to Jewish-Christian dialogue.
LESTER L. GRABBE
KOHLENBERGER, JOHN, III, Zondervan NIV Nave's Topical Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), pp. xiv + 1152. $29.99. ISBN 978-0-3105-3488-4.
This is a reprint of the 1994 edition (unnoted in B.L.). However, the concept goes back much earlier. The eponymous originator, Orville James Nave, was a 19th-century American army chaplain, who with his wife, Anna Semans Nave, attempted to ‘classify everything found in the Scriptures’, and felt he had compiled an ‘approximately exhaustive’ (!) digest of the Authorised Version. Through the 20th century there followed many editions and adaptations with different Bible versions, editors and publishers. Finally the indefatigable John Kohlenberger III and colleagues recast this work in line with the NIV and related reference works. A ‘Topical Bible’ is essentially a combination of dictionary and concordance, with biblical texts often given in full. The shorter articles are more a summary of the topic, the longer more a concatenation of texts. Its intended readership is clearly lay rather than scholarly, and like many similar aids it will usefully expand the knowledge of assiduous Bible students. However, I suspect it is better in the longer articles which feature the biblical text itself, albeit shorn of context. The updating is patchy, e.g. the article on Sheol still has ‘When translated “hell”…’ even though the NIV never translates sheol this way. And while the 2011 NIV is listed in the publication details, its more inclusive language is not included. Nevertheless, this Topical Bible will continue to serve its constituency well, and B.L. readers will hardly need one.
PHILIP S. JOHNSTON
LEVIN, CHRISTOPH, Das Alte Testament (Munich: C.H. Beck, 5th edn, 2017), pp. 128. €9.95. ISBN 978-3-406-72191-5.
This is the 5th ‘revised’ edition of the Hebrew Bible Introduction welcomed and reviewed in B.L. 2002, p. 13. Exactly how it has been revised is not stated, though it remains the same 20 chapters and 128 pages as the 1st edition. The short bibliography has a number of items that have appeared since 2001. An English edition appeared in 2005, though not reviewed in the B.L. This overview has certainly retained its usefulness for German speakers.
LESTER L. GRABBE
LIEW, TAT-SIONG BENNY (ed.), Present and Future of Biblical Studies: Celebrating 25 Years of Brill's Biblical Interpretation (Biblical Interpretation Series, 161; Leiden: Brill, 2018), pp. x + 327. €115.00. ISBN 978-90-04-36306-9.
This considers the landscape of Biblical Studies. L.'s ‘Introduction: Nostalgic for a Future’ detects the contributors’ feeling that the ‘Guild is not a Home’ (p. 2), and that its ‘Syntax without a Plot’ is due to ‘disciplinary boundary, methodological division, ivory-tower mentality of the academy, geopolitical power differential, or racial/ethnic difference’ (p. 4). Part 1 (‘Questions of Time and History’): Roland Boer, ‘An Essay on Method’; Yvonne Sherwood, ‘Grammars of Sacrifice: Futures, Subjunctives, and What Would Have/Could Have Happened on Mount Moriah’; Davina C. Lopez, ‘Curational Reflections: On Rhetorics of Tradition and Innovation in Biblical Scholarship’; Jay Twomey, ‘Contemporary (Analog) Tensions and Digital Futures’; Yii-Jan Lin, ‘Certeau and the Two Ways: Digital Dissolution and the Demands of Power in Biblical Studies’. Part 2 (‘Questions of Time, Place, and Planet’): Jacqueline M. Hildago, ‘No Future for Biblical Studies? Or, Still Living with a Contingent Apocalypse as Biblical Interpretation Turns 25’; Steed Vernyl Davidson, ‘Postcolonializing the Bible with a Little Help from Derek Walcott’; Fiona C. Black, ‘Erasures and Dysplacements: The “Belly-Myther” of Endor and Biblical Studies from Canada in Light of the TRC’; Jorun Økland, ‘The Power of Canonised Motifs: The Chance for Biblical Studies in a Secular, Canonic-ally Illiterate World?’; Gerald O. West, ‘African Biblical Scholarship as Post-Colonial, Tri-Polar, and a Site-of-Struggle’; Stephen D. Moore, ‘Those Incommensurate Activities We Call “Biblical Studies”: A Future-Oriented History of their Bifurcated Present’; Ken Stone, ‘ “Staying with the Trouble”: Climates of Change in Biblical Studies’. This collection, self-reflexive and outward-looking, celebrates an innovative series.
HYWEL CLIFFORD
MANGUM, DOUGLAS, and DOUGLAS ESTES (eds.), Literary Approaches to the Bible (Lexham Methods Series, 4; Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), pp. xviii + 323. $27.99. ISBN 978-1-57799-666-8.
Following Douglas Estes’ informative Introduction on ‘The Literary Approach to the Bible’, which usefully indicates for the student some of the major trends in literary theory and interpretation that predated their adoption by biblical scholars, the book contains the following seven essays: Ron Haydon and David Schreiner, ‘Canonical Criticism’; Suzanna Smith, ‘Old Testament Rhetorical and Narrative Criticism’; Jeffery Leonard, ‘Inner-Biblical Interpretation and Intertextuality’; Daniel Brendsel, ‘Narrative Criticism of the New Testament’; Douglas Estes, ‘Rhetorical Criticism of the New Testament’; Gretchen Ellis, ‘Structural Criticism’; and John DelHousaye, ‘Poststructural Criticism’. Each chapter ends with a short annotated list of resources for further study, picking out a few books the chapter's author considers most important, while the book ends with bibliography and indexes of subjects and Scripture. While some of these essays, as their titles indicate, belong particularly to New Testament studies, they nonetheless introduce methods that might be applied equally to Old Testament texts. Aimed, as it is, more at the student than the specialist and largely from an evangelical perspective, it is perhaps surprising that the first essay following the introduction introduces canonical criticism, an approach that seems to have rather more to do with the theological interpretation than the literary interpretation of the Bible.
GEORGE NICOL
MCKNIGHT, SCOT, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2nd edn, 2018), pp. 333. $19.99. ISBN 978-0-310-53892-9.
Whether this book will, in the words of its subtitle, make you ‘rethink how you read the Bible’ depends, of course, on how you read it in the first place. The first place that M. has in mind is basically a well-meaning but rather conservative North-American evangelical position, at least as it was understood ten years ago when the first edition of this book (not noted in the B.L.) appeared. But to such readers, M. appeals with elegance, good sense, and an unusually chatty approach to scholarship, urging them to let the Bible be itself, and to break free from (standard evangelical) straight-jackets. Case studies on slavery and atonement and justice flesh things out, and fully 70 pages close the book on defending a woman's biblical prerogative to teach, aimed squarely at M.'s target audience. The ‘blue parakeet’ of the title is an engaging if slightly out-of-focus image for texts that defy easy categorization, or outlier texts that trouble a conventional reading, or ideas/ people that force rethinking for some approaches. The book urges readers to let the blue parakeets fly. A persistent sub-theme enjoins readers to read ‘with’ (rather than ‘through’) the (great) tradition. It turns out that this means—roughly—reading with an Anglican commitment to Scripture and tradition in dialogue, and the Anglican collect asking believers to ‘read, mark, learn and inwardly digest’ makes a surprise appearance on p. 91. So all in all, to be British one more time, this book is ‘not bad’ at encouraging American evangelical enthusiasts towards wiser reading.
RICHARD S. BRIGGS
MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN L., An Introduction to Israel's Wisdom Traditions (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), pp. xi + 217. $25.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7454-2. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]
This well-informed work presents a broad vista of Israel's wisdom traditions. After a brief introduction on ‘The Nature of Wisdom’, M. correctly situates Israel's wisdom in the international context of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Canaan. Chapter 2 deals with ‘The Expression of Wisdom’, i.e. poetic forms, literary devices, and various structural elements, while ch. 3 outlines ‘Proverbs’, ch. 4 ‘Job’, and ch. 5 ‘Ecclesiastes’. The author engages with scholarly opinion in his presentation of these intriguing books and gives his own understanding with balanced judgments. Much the same can be said of his handling of the later deuterocanonical books, ‘Ben Sira’ in ch. 6 and ‘The Wisdom of Solomon’ in ch. 7, thus giving an overview of Israel's wisdom traditions. Chapter 8 explores the interesting topic, ‘Wisdom Influence in the First Testament’, with the Pentateuch, the Deuteronomistic History, Psalms, and the Prophets being possible sites of influence. There is contested scholarly debate here, but M. offers an assured and even-handed guide. Chapter 9 advances observations on ‘Wisdom Theology’ that centre on creation, and on the order and structure of the created world vis-à-vis the implications of human action. Finally, ch. 10 presents the possible ‘Continuation of Wisdom’ in Apocalyptic writings, the DSS and the NT. This is a very competently written book on a fascinating area of OT study. There have been many worthwhile ‘Introductions’ in recent years, but this is one that would be on my list for the beginning student of Wisdom Literature in ancient Israel.
NORMAN S. WILSON
MORGAN, DONN F. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Writings of the Hebrew Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019), pp. xix + 505. £97.00. ISBN 978-0-19-021243-8.
This unusually engaging handbook takes seriously the canonical construct of ‘the writings’ with respect to their postexilic provenance, their diversity and the inner-biblical hermeneutical implications. After the editor's lucid introductory overview, there are 29 chapters across the four parts of the book. Part I (‘History’) contains three papers exploring Persian, then Hellenistic and Roman, and then (oddly) archaeological contexts: by L.L. Grabbe, T.H. Lim, and B.D. Gordon respectively. Part II offers five papers on ‘Institutional and Literary Traditions’. Here we have illuminating discussions of the value of reading in dialogue with cultic traditions (M.A. Leuchter), wisdom traditions (J.L. Crenshaw, in an overview untouched by the last ten years of ferment on this topic), apocalyptic traditions (B.H. Reynolds III), and prose and poetic traditions (T.M. Bolin and S.E. Gillingham respectively). Part III (‘Literature’) takes each of the eleven constituent books of the writings and allots a chapter per book. Although each attends to some extent to intertextual matters, the proportion of energy given to this broader task varies markedly. I was surprised how much space, in contrast, is given to relatively detailed summaries and readings of some texts themselves. Individual books covered are: Psalms (W.P. Brown), Job (K.J. Dell, with the shortest chapter here), Proverbs (J. Steinberg), Lamentations (S. Ellington), Ruth (A.G. Auld—these last two perhaps the most creative contributions), Esther (T.J. Stone), Qoheleth (E.S. Gerstenberger), Song of Songs (C. Walsh), Ezra–Nehemiah (M.D. Knowles), Chronicles (J.C. Endres), and Daniel (R.W. Klein). Part IV (‘Later Interpretation’) offers ten forays into receptive contexts: the DSS (L.H. Schiffman), ‘nascent Judaism’ (J.L. Berquist), the ANE (D.C. Snell), in dialogue with the Confucian Analects (A.C.C. Lee), Western music and visual arts (R. Ferlo), the (Christian) canon (L.M. McDonald), Jewish reception (A. Cooper), the Christian Bible (M.W. Elliott, on points of substantive interpretative take-up, rather than McDonald's more formal emphasis), and a closing review by the editor. This last piece tallies with an additional part IV essay on ‘The Canonical Shape and Function of the Writings’ by T.J. Stone: both push towards the hermeneutical significance of the collection for reading each book, and in so doing situate the handbook as to some extent a companion to the Steinberg/Stone-edited The Shape of the Writings (reviewed in B.L. 2017, pp. 130-31). Together these two books now offer an excellent way in to the issues awaiting students of these texts.
RICHARD S. BRIGGS
NODET, ÉTIENNE, Il libro dei libri: Le grandi domande e i grandi temi della Bibbia (with the collaboration of Adina Candréa and Agnès Staes; trans. and ed. Alfio Filippi and Paolo Gazzotti; Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane, 2016), pp. 922. €69.99. ISBN 978-88-10-24129-5.
This is the Italian edition of the original French work L'Odyssée de la Bible: Études et thèmes (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2014), reviewed in B.L. 2015, p. 27.
(BOOK LIST EDITOR)
NOVICK, TZVI, An Introduction to the Scriptures of Israel: History and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), pp. ix + 203. $25.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7542-6. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]
This is a textbook for advanced students and is a refreshingly succinct and different introduction to the OT. N.'s approach recognizes the variety of other methods of understanding the OT, but this book is distinctive. The introduction is divided into three, covering the Particular and Universal, the Traditional-Canonical and Historical-Critical Methods, and Some Biblical Basics. For the new student this will be helpful because N. is demonstrating different approaches. He then begins his review of the OT with the Wisdom Tradition because, he argues, the book of Proverbs offers the most universalist approach. Each chapter begins with some key texts with discussion of these and of the main issues in that part of the OT. Every chapter ends with questions for further reflection and a brief bibliography. The chapters reveal N.'s thematic approach to the OT (including some of the Apocrypha, e.g. 2 Macc.). They are Wisdom; Patriarchal Narratives and Song of Songs; Joseph Narrative; Exodus; Sinai, Covenant and Code; Monarchy; Condemning Israel (Amos and Jonah); Eden; Priestly Theology and Holy Space; Exile and Return; Temple and Torah; Violence and Identity (Joshua and Judges); Jews, Gentiles and Gender; Apocalyptic; and finally Psalms. In a relatively short work N. is able to draw out significant themes, recognizing textual issues and theology, look at the tension between universalism and the particular and suggest opportunities for further study. He includes other texts, e.g. the Epic of Gilgamesh, as appropriate. As an introduction to the OT this is innovative and approachable.
FRANCIS LOFTUS
PAUL, IAN, How to Interpret the Bible: Four Essential Questions (Cambridge: Grove Books, 2017), pp. 28. £3.95. ISBN 978-1-78827-031-1.
As part of the Grove series, this volume is written from a faith standpoint, but the essential advice in the book is helpful to all. Having established that biblical interpretation is essential to understanding the text, P. poses four questions: What kind of writing? What did it mean? What does it say? What part of the story? He argues that recognizing genre is important. This affects the interpretation because the writer has adopted a particular genre to suit the message. He warns against ‘playing pick and mix’ (p. 8) in reading—only choosing the genres that the reader likes. He notes that genre comes from the text, not the reader. P.'s answer to the second question illustrates the importance of the historical context of the writing (recognizing that this is not always easy to identify, particularly in the OT). In answering the third question on content, P. warns against ‘confirmation bias’ and that the reader should look at what the text actually says. He examines some NT passages on gender to warn against confirmation bias. Finally, P. writes about the canon. It is important to look at any text ‘within the whole sweep of the Bible’ (p. 19). He does not deal with the issue of which canon, just the one in the version of the Bible being read. Each chapter ends with some questions for reflection. This book will assist in developing biblical literacy within study groups and those beginning academic biblical interpretation.
FRANCIS LOFTUS
PHILLIPS, ELAINE A., An Introduction to Reading Biblical Wisdom Texts (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2017), pp. xvi + 293. £24.99. ISBN 978-1-61970-710-8. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]
This book is written for teachers and students in a classroom setting. Each chapter has extra information in boxes and a bibliography. It is an introduction to the wisdom literature taking nothing for granted and so starting with the basics of definition. In Part 1, P. emphasizes wisdom and folly as introducing the reader to the moral contrasts contained in ‘universal’ wisdom literature. She also discusses poetic devices and historical context (Solomon's court as a Wisdom ‘Hub’) and the importance of the phrase ‘the fear of the Lord’ for forming ‘trust’ as a character trait and in association with ‘torah’. In Part 2, Proverbs is mined for its ‘practical nuggets’, and themes such as the nature of moral choice, communication, the formation of character, discipline and relationships with others in family and society are explored. Part 3 treats Ecclesiastes and its different realities such as experience of life from a human perspective versus acceptance of God's gifts. While frustration, preoccupation with the brevity and finality of human life and concern for injustice dominate, there are notes of hope (she mentions ‘hope of judgement’ [Eccl. 8.10-14] which is not so usually stressed). Part 4 treats Job and its literary and theological complexity as we move from section to section of the book. Finally Part 5 includes the Song of Songs in the wisdom tradition. She writes, ‘Because wisdom wrestles with the truly challenging aspects of being human, it will inevitably encounter the mysteries of love’ (p. 257). Inevitably? Or is that to over-simplify? This book has its place as a readable start for the seeker of biblical wisdom and inevitably such a seeker will desire to discover more.
KATHARINE J. DELL
SHEPHERD, MICHAEL B., Textuality and the Bible (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016), pp. xi + 109. $17.00. ISBN 978-1-4982-8277-2.
This volume has been written to re-emphasize the importance of the biblical text. S. regrets that many introductions to the Bible are little more than background for the Middle Eastern context of the Bible. His aim is to remind readers of the importance of the text and to recognize that it is literature containing history and theology. He notes that oral tradition underpins the biblical text, but this is not now recoverable, and the text must stand to create the meaning and the message. He references other written texts noted in the biblical narrative as evidence that it is the writing that matters. S. develops an argument which shows the links between the biblical books in the creation of the canon. He looks particularly at the Torah and the Prophets but also the NT and Targumim. His view is that ‘canon consciousness’ (p. 26) is a complex web created by the way the biblical books seem to be intertextually linked. Examples used by S. to emphasize the importance of understanding the literary analysis of the text and biblical language study include the Joseph narratives (Gen. 37-50) and a more detailed look at 1 Samuel 17-18 comparing the MT with the LXX. There is discussion of the Syriac version of Chronicles, and detailed discussion of the use of את and the alleged meaning of אהב as ‘choose’. This book gives those responsible for supporting the next generation some good examples of approaches to the text.
FRANCIS LOFTUS
Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:
BEKKUM, KOERT VAN, et al. (eds.), Biblical Hebrew in Context: Essays in Semitics and Old Testament Texts in Honour of Professor Jan P. Lettinga - see p. 217
BIRDSONG, SHELLEY L., and SERGE FROLOV (eds.), Partners with God: Theological and Critical Readings of the Bible in Honor of Marvin A. Sweeney - see p. 160
GOLDSTEIN, BINYAMIN Y., et al. (eds.), Hā-'îsh Mōshe: Studies in Scriptural Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature in Honor of Moshe J. Bernstein - see p. 213
PANAYOTOV, STRAHIL V., and LUDĚK VACÍN (eds.), Mesopotamian Medicine and Magic: Studies in Honor of Markham J. Geller — see p. 199
SIMPSON, ELIZABETH (ed.), The Adventure of the Illustrious Scholar: Papers Presented to Oscar White Muscarella — see p. 24