Hebrew Philosophy or Jewish Theology? A False Dichotomy

Abstract

Yoram Hazony’s book, The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture (2012)1, is a clarion call to engage with the philosophical content of the Hebrew Bible. The book’s champions rank among my most cherished religious and academic heroes (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Eleonore Stump). Having spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow at Yoram’s research institute, I have long been impressed by his razor sharp intellect and his passion for bringing Jewish philosophy into a new and more vibrant age. But, in my opinion, the book is host to a number of serious flaws. So, in the collegial spirit with which Yoram closes his book, putting down his pen to ‘hear what others have to say and especially to see what others can contribute to this, our joint project’ (pg. 259), I will concentrate in these few pages upon some of my concerns, which culminate with the false dichotomy I fear he presents us between approaching the Hebrew Bible as a work of Hebrew philosophy or as a work of Jewish theology.