Metaphors of Renewal and Return in the Hebrew Bible and Today

This guide accompanies the following article(s): Mark Sneed, Social Scientific Approach to the Hebrew Bible, Religion Compass 2/3 (2008) pp. 287–300, 10.1111/j.1749‐8171.2008.00072.x Author’s Introduction The social science approach to the Hebrew Bible has steadily gained in popularity in recent years. It is heir to the older and formerly dominant historical critical approach to the Bible but focuses on society as whole instead of just kings, high priests, and the elite. And it goes beyond the also popular social history approach by incorporating social theory into its interpretation of texts and Israelite society. It transforms the two dimensional portrayal of biblical characters in Scripture into three dimensional flesh and blood figures whose lives are motivated and shaped by larger societal forces. The social science approach also aids in foregrounding the ‘Otherness’ of the biblical text, demonstrating how the biblical text reflects a culture that is unfamiliar to our modern Western world. It also serves as a check against the currently popular literary critical approach to the Bible that has a tendency to blunt that strangeness of the ancient text and read modern cultural assumptions and notions back into the same text. But the social science approach has also become more postmodern, and its adherents are not naïve about how their own social locations influence the way they interpret Scripture and the choices they make regarding what models they apply to the biblical text. Biblical sociologists have also become more skeptical about the reliability of ancient texts for reconstructing socio‐historical reality because of their inherently biased character and have proposed ways to separate the wheat from the chaff. And finally, the social science approach has become more self‐conscious of the speculative nature of applying theoretical models to ancient texts and the danger of making the text fit the model. However, in spite of this, biblical sociologists believe it is worth the risk and that their approach makes an important contribution to biblical criticism and that it makes biblical studies exciting and relevant. Online Materials 1. http://www.kchanson.com/ A fascinating site from a New Testament sociologist. It contains tremendous amounts of information including archaeological photos, bibliographies (e.g. ‘The Old Testament: Social Sciences &amp; Social Description’), and numerous links to other related sites like Ancient World on the Web (with over 250 www‐sites) and to electronic journals. 2. http://virtualreligion.net/vri/ Its Biblical Studies: Social World of the Bible provides links to electronic journals and other related sites, some with photos. 3. http://sites.google.com/site/biblicalstudiesresources/ This site has a Hebrew Bible Resources category that includes electronic journals and the homepages of three Hebrew Bible sociologists: Don Benjamin, David J. A. Clines, and Philip Davies, with some of their articles. 4. http://courses.missouristate.edu/VictorMatthews/ Homepage of a preeminent Hebrew Bible anthropologist and Ancient Near Eastern expert that contains bibliographies and numerous links to other related sites and to electronic journals. 5. http://www.socioweb.com/ The Socio Web has links to great sites that often have articles on various sociological topics and social theorists. 6. http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/index.html A Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace is an amazing site that is colourful and filled with articles about and guides to various aspects of sociology and links to numerous related sites. 7. http://socserv2.mcmaster.ca/w3virtsoclib/index.html WWW Virtual Library: Sociology: Theories has wonderful articles on the primary theorists in sociology and related resources. 8. http://www.denverseminary.edu/dj/articles2005/0100/0101.php#trans The Denver Journal has various related resources, and its Annotated Old Testament Bibliography: Sociological and Anthropological Studies is helpful. Annotated Reading List 1. Weber, Max. Ancient Judaism. Translated by Hans H. Gerth and Don Martindale. New York: Free, 1952 So fortuitous for biblical sociologists, one of the fathers of sociology theorizes on the development of the Israelite religion from a comparative religion standpoint; a classic. It is not the easiest read, so it should be reserved for graduate students. 2. Gottwald, Norman K. The Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, 1250–1050 bce. Paperback ed. The Biblical Seminar. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999 The father of modern Hebrew Bible sociology draws on Durkheim, Weber, and especially Marx to trace the development of the early Israelite faith that sprang from a confederation of recently liberated peasants; another classic. Compare the following reviews: Bernhard W. Anderson ( Theology Today 38 [1981]: 107–8 – mainly critical); Robert R. Wilson ( Interpretation 38 [1982]: 71–4 – generally positive); Carol Meyers ( Catholic Biblical Quarterly 43 [1981]: 104–9 – somewhat positive). 3. Gottwald, Norman K. The Hebrew Bible: A Brief Socio‐Literary Introduction. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009 This abridged version of the 1985 classic introduces the student broadly to biblical sociology and then applies it book by book to the Hebrew Bible. Compare the following reviews of the unabridged version: J. J. M. Roberts ( Theology Today 43 [1987]: 580–1 – generally negative); Robert Gnuse ( Currents in Theology and Mission 13 [1986]: 174–5 – generally positive). </jats:

How Old Is the Hebrew Bible? A Linguistic, Textual, and Historical Study

Jonah and the Human Condition: Life and Death in Yahweh’s World

Zechariah 1-8 is an important text from the point of view of the history of the Hebrew language. Everyone can agree that it is post-exilic, and yet there are only a few traces of Late Biblical Hebrew in these chapters. In this regard it equals many Early Biblical Hebrew texts. The article examines the language of Zechariah 1-8 and compares it to Early Biblical Hebrew. It finds that Zechariah 1-8 exhibits a number of traits characteristic of Early Biblical Hebrew and rare in Late Biblical Hebrew. Holding this fact together with the absence of any significant Late Biblical Hebrew features, the article concludes that the text is an Early Biblical Hebrew text. If correct, this means that knowledge of Early Biblical Hebrew did not end with the Exile and raises the question of how long this knowledge lasted.

Growing Up in Ancient Israel: Children in Material Culture and Biblical Texts

REVIEWS LINGUISTICS AND BIBLICAL HEBREW. Walter R. Bodine, ed. Pp. x + 323. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992. Cloth, $34.50. The premise of this volume is that analyses of the language of the Bible ought to be "commensurate with those advanced for comparable phenomena in other languages, and they must be subject to the same standards of evaluation" (p. 191). Because linguistic facts fonn a language system, "it is illegitimate to analyze any piece of data independently of the systems of which it constitutes an element" (p. 206). Philologists, however, have often failed to incorporate the insights of modem linguistics in their research on the biblical text because of the predisposition of linguistics to a synchronic analysis of spoken language and the inherently diachronic nature of the biblical data. This volume attempts to introduce the discipline of linguistics to philologists and to illustrate the validity and utility of linguistics for a description and elucidation of the language of the biblical text (p. 2). It is, perhaps, most important for biblical scholars to consider the plethora of factors apart from questions of textual transmission which contribute to linguistic variation within the text: phonological conditioning (including the selective application or non-application of phonological rules), morphophonemic processes, diachronic change, regional dialects, and discourse strategies. Following the editor's brief introduction to "The Study of Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew" (pp. 1-5), the volume is structured along the lines of the major divisions of linguistics, with sections on phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse analysis, historicaVcomparative linguistics, and graphemics. The initial essay in each section introduces the linguistic field to scholars of Biblical Hebrew; the following essay illustrates the application of that linguistic field to Biblical Hebrew. Most of the essays in the volume were delivered during 1983-1987 at the Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew unit of the annual Society of Biblical Literature meetings and are published without substantial revision. A basic bibliography is included, which covers the linguistic analysis of Biblical Hebrew in each of the linguistic fields discussed in the volume with additional sections covering poetry and translation. The volume concludes with extensive indices of authorities and biblical citations. The first (and most extensive) section treats phonology in its two main branches: descriptive phonology and generative phonology. Although these Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 124 Reviews are historically the major branches of phonology and thus foundational for the linguistic study of sound systems, philologists would have benefited from an additional essay surveying the full range of phonological theory and including, in particular, autosegmental phonology. Devens' essay ("What Descriptive Phonologists Do: One Approach to the Study of Language, with Particular Attention to Biblical Hebrew," (pp. 7-16) introduces the terminology, methodology, and goals of descriptive phonology, with particular attention to the problem of phonetic and phonemic interpretation of the masoretic text. Revell presents a fme example of descriptive phonology in "The Development of SegOi in an Open Syllable as a Reflex of *a: An Exercise in Descriptive Phonology" (pp. 1728 ), in which he argues that the three reflexes of *a in open syllables (parall, segOi , and qame$) represent stages in a single process of development which was conditioned by the total phonological environment and not just the following sound (p. 26). In "An Introduction to a Generative Phonology of Biblical Hebrew" (pp. 29-40) Greenstein clearly presents the theoretical underpinnings of the generative method with Biblical Hebrew examples. He interacts with some of the particular problems inherent in a generative approach to Biblical Hebrew (especially the question of masoretic vocalization and its relationship to a spoken language) and illustrates the value of an abstract analysis. Enos explores these problems with respect to the guttural consonants in "Phonological Considerations in the Study of Hebrew Phonetics: An Introductory Discussion" (pp. 41-47). Garr's essay, "The Linguistic Study of Morphology" (pp. 49-64), provides a classic introduction to morphology and morphophonemics with copious Biblical Hebrew examples. Rendsburg compiles examples of morphological variation within the text to differentiate sociolinguistic communities in "Morphological Evidence for Regional Dialects in Ancient Hebrew" (pp. 65-88). These two fine articles could have been in separate sections: Garr's essay followed by a study of a discrete morphological problem and Rendsburg's...

If one is to make some progress towards understanding ‘miracle’ in the Hebrew Bible (HB), then certain initial cautionary notes need to be sounded. First, there is arguably no Hebrew word for ‘miracle’; which is arguable because sometimes HB translations do render particular Hebrew words as ‘miracle’. The issue here is a recurrent problem in biblical interpretation, for many of the common terms that interpreters use – ‘conversion’ or ‘history’ or ‘theology’ – cannot be straightforwardly translated into biblical Hebrew (or septuagintal Greek). This does not make such terms unusable, but it does necessitate that they be used with care. For although there may be continuity between what we mean by these terms and what is going on in the biblical text, there may also be difference; and that difference may be partly or wholly obscured if we are insufficiently self-critical in use of a familiar and apparently convenient interpretative category. So, for example, there is a danger that in using the familiar English word ‘miracle’ with reference to the HB one may import familiar implications and overtones from historic debates – such as Hume’s famous definition of a miracle as ‘a violation of the laws of nature’, although the notion of an autonomous natural world was unknown to the writers of the HB. Second, and related, an interest in ‘miracle’ may well introduce distinctions in relation to divine action within the HB which are absent within the biblical text. For within the HB there is a wide spectrum and continuum of divine actions, which happen in both ordinary and extraordinary ways, sometimes with human or other agency and sometimes without. The fact that God does something may indeed make that action or event extraordinary; but the extraordinary as such is not seen as the particular locus of divine action.

Literary Forms/Techniques & Methods of Study Jaime A. Banister, WF Walter A. Vogels, Francis M. Macatangay, and Christopher T. Begg 1442. Edward L. Greenstein, "Fugitive Hero Narrative Pattern in Mesopotamia," Worship, Women, and War, 17-35 [see #2002]. G. proposes his own theory regarding the structure of the "fugitive hero narrative" (FHN) (i.e., someone is exiled or otherwise spends time away from home, often facing danger, and returns home as a hero) motif in ANE texts. According to G., there are fourteen elements to the FHN, though some of these are optional. Extra-biblical examples include Sinuhe (Egypt), Idrimi (North Syria), Hattushili III (Hatti), Esarhaddon (Assyria), and Nabonidus (Babylon); G. focuses on the latter two instances. Biblical passages exemplifying the pattern include Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, and the story of Israel's beginnings (Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan), though G. notes that the pattern is also found in a more limited form in a few other biblical passages (i.e., the stories of Hagar, Gideon, Jephthah, Absalom, Jeroboam ben Nabat, Hadad the Edomite, and Joash).—J.A.B. 1443. Marie-Françoise Maincent-Hanquez, "La Bible et les femmes: Les Américaines aux avant-postes de la théologie féministe," MScRel 73 (2016) 93-110. The New World where the Pilgrim Fathers settled granted the Bible a special status from the very beginning. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first American woman to publish a critical book on the Bible entitled The Woman's Bible (1895–1898). Since then, in the United States, feminist theologians have continued to analyze and discuss the biblical material. Their theological reflections inspired women far beyond America. Still women's contexts and experiences have become so diversified that the fundamental original premises of feminist theology have been challenged from the side of multiple, evolutive, extended, and sometimes contradictory theological tendencies. However, rather than being seen as signs of weakness, these developments should be welcomed as proofs of feminism's ongoing vitality and energy. [Adapted from published abstract—W.V.] 1444. Saul M. Olyan, "Ritual Inversion in Biblical Representations of Punitive Rites," Worship, Women, and War, 135-43 [see #2002]. O. investigates three major motifs of ritual inversion in their relation to punitive rites in the Hebrew Bible. The first motif involves exhumation and how this treats human remains in a manner designed to reverse the funeral or burial rites which preserved the body. The second motif is that of imposing upon one's enemy humiliating depilation that if it were voluntarily done to oneself would be viewed as acts of mourning and/or humility. The third motif of ritual inversion is that of forcing Nazirites to break their vows by making them drink wine.—J.A.B. [End Page 480] 1445. Frank H. Polak, "Whodunit? Implicit Subject, Discourse Structure, and Pragmatics in the Hebrew and Greek Bibles," From Author to Copyist, 223-47 [see #2021]. P. discusses the phenomenon of the implicit subject of the given verb in the Hebrew Bible. The mention or non-mention of the subject in such biblical narratives as 2 Sam 13:24-27; Gen 25:29-34; 1 Kgs 21:4-7; Judg 3:20-25; and 2 Sam 2:20-23 is related to such literary phenomena as highlighting, discourse structure, the pragmatics of the action sequence and the presentation of the character (i.e., that character's success or failure in the spoken interaction and the way a character views him/herself). In other versions, such as in the DSS and the LXX, there is a preference for clarity over the pragmatics of the Hebrew text.—F.M.M. 1446. Matthieu Richelle, "Des yeux pour voir, des oreilles pour entendre … Comparison entre un motif biblique et un formule mésopotamienne," ZAW 124 (2012) 103-6. R.'s note compares the motif of blindness and deafness in biblical texts (esp. Isaiah) with an Akkadian formula that appears in Assyrian prayers and Babylonian oracles. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1447. Nili Shupak, "Weighing in the Scales: How an Egyptian Concept Made its Way into Biblical and Postbiblical Literature," From Author...

Pain and suffering are challenging terms to define and delimit, both individually and in connection to one another. They are affected by biological, emotional, psychological, and social factors; they resist simple expression via language; and they are anchored in the cultural context in which they are experienced and perceived. All of this makes examining pain and suffering in the Hebrew Bible, as a composite text from thousands of years ago, a difficult task. Nevertheless, biblical texts are so full of descriptions of various types of pain and suffering that these topics have naturally attracted a considerable amount of scholarship. Some researchers have addressed the issue of how to identify pain in the Hebrew Bible, with philological, literary, and psychological approaches—as well as insights from medical anthropology—thus far having provided valuable insights. For example, biblical scholars are united in their assessment that the Hebrew Bible portrays pain as a complex physical, psychological, emotional, social, and (because it is a text about religion) religious experience. Meanwhile, other scholars have focused on the specific types of pain and suffering most frequently addressed in the Hebrew Bible, such as illness, disability, childbirth, infertility, trauma, and exile/involuntary migration. Some of these experiences are associated with individual characters, while others are associated with entire communities—though occasionally by means of a single, representative literary figure (such as the “suffering servant” of Isaiah 53). The Hebrew Bible tends to present all experiences of pain and suffering in relation to its understanding of God, asking whether it is God who causes them and, more importantly, why. Scholarly treatments that evaluate the theological aspects of pain and suffering in the Hebrew Bible as a whole often attempt to trace diachronic developments in the corpus’s presentations of pain, usually with a view toward developments evident in the New Testament. Still other scholars prefer to limit their focus to the analysis of pain and suffering in individual texts or groups of texts within the Hebrew Bible. Most such works address the Garden of Eden story in Genesis 2-3; the books of Job or Lamentations; select Psalms of lament; or the major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (or parts thereof). Since pain and suffering are integral aspects of these biblical books as well as many others, treatments of these topics can naturally be found in many scholarly works that do not cite pain and suffering as their focus. Since a review of all such literature would be impossible, this article attempts to highlight publications that most explicitly and representatively address the topics of pain and suffering as they are presented in the Hebrew Bible.

Vielfalt in der hebräischen Sprache der Vorexilzeit. Studienausgabe.

Research Article| April 01 2005 Genesis and Family Values David L. Petersen David L. Petersen Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Biblical Literature (2005) 124 (1): 5–23. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040988 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation David L. Petersen; Genesis and Family Values. Journal of Biblical Literature 1 January 2005; 124 (1): 5–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/30040988 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveSBL PressJournal of Biblical Literature Search Advanced Search Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Reviewed by: Washing Away Sin: An Analysis of the Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and Its Influence by Lesley R. DiFransico Joseph Lam Lesley R. DiFransico. Washing Away Sin: An Analysis of the Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and Its Influence. Leuven: Peeters, 2016. xiii + 256 pp. doi:10.1017/S0364009419000096 This new contribution by Lesley DiFransico to the growing field of the study of biblical metaphor considers the theme of washing away sin, with the goal of "trac[ing] the trajectory of the metaphor's development in the Hebrew Bible" and relating that "to the later practice of washing away sin attested in the sectarian literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the New Testament gospels" (3). Observing that "immersion or rinsing in water is not attested in the Hebrew Bible as an actual practice performed to solve the problem of sin" (19), the book examines the [End Page 195] interrelationships between the relevant metaphors in the Hebrew Bible and explores the potential impact of these Hebrew Bible texts on later communities in which practices involving water as a solution to sin are known. After an initial chapter that introduces the topic and describes DiFransico's approach, which involves applying the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, the core of the book consists of a series of close readings of passages in which language relating to the washing away of sin is found. Chapter 2 treats texts in Isaiah and Jeremiah (specifically, Isaiah 1:2–20; 4:2–6; Jeremiah 2:20–25; 4:11–18) containing novel metaphorical expressions envisioning sin as something that can be washed; chapter 3 discusses Psalm 51, Ezekiel 36:22–36, and Zechariah 13:1, arguing that these are based on "the more specific dimension of ritual washing and/or cleansing" (79; emphasis mine); and chapter 4 explains passages in the Dead Sea Scrolls (especially 1QS II, 25–III, 12; and IV, 15–26) and the New Testament (focusing mostly on the figure of John the Baptist) as representing "an additional stage in the development of the concept of washing away sin in which the metaphorical concept is put into ritual practice" (144). A brief concluding chapter recapitulates the main arguments. The textual analyses in the book are, for the most part, competently done. Each passage is presented in the author's translation along with numerous exegetical notes, followed by a more extensive "comment and analysis" section that treats various interpretive issues. A strength of the book lies in its consideration of the precise contours of each metaphor in question: from the source and target domains of the metaphor, to the theological implications of the expression in context, to possible resonances with other biblical texts. The format allows for more in-depth discussion of the metaphorical dimension of these texts than one finds in a standard commentary. That said, despite the textual focus that this format makes possible, DiFransico occasionally overlooks details that have broader implications for the overall argument. Two examples are worth mentioning. In Jeremiah 2:22, DiFransico renders the phrase as "the stain your iniquity is before me" (63, 65), ostensibly taking the first two words as a construct phrase (following such established translations as the NRSV and NIV). However, despite devoting a footnote (63 n. 125) specifically to the word , DiFransico does not observe that its masoretic pointing precludes the possibility of a construct form, which would have had patakh and not qamets as the second vowel. If one construes this participle as a substantive, denoting an object that is stained, then this would be consistent with an understanding of the metaphor as referring to stained clothing (cf. DiFransico's discussion in 65–68). But whether or not such an interpretation is to be preferred, the grammatical issue deserves at least some attention in view of its importance to the discussion. A second example is the handling of the phrase in 1QS 3, 9. Here DiFransico offers divergent renderings of the phrase throughout the discussion, alternatively opting for "waters of repentance" (179, 185 [bottom]) or "running waters" (181, 185 [top], 186), with a footnote (181 n. 12) arguing for the "running waters" interpretation over...

History & Geography Victor H. Matthews, Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, Joseph E. Jensen, Eric F. Mason, Fred W. Guyette, Thomas Hieke, Andrew W. Dyck, Randy C. Payne, Joseph E. Jensen, Victor H. Matthews, and Paul R. Redditt 235. [Pella] Abdelkader Ababneh, "The Site of Pella in Jordan: A Case Study for Developing Interpretive Strategies in an Archaeological Heritage Attraction," NEA 81(2018) 100-107. A.'s study explores issues relating to site interpretation and the potential benefits of improved interpretative strategies. Based on an analysis of the literature and on an exploratory study at the site of Tabqat Fahl (ancient Pella), A. offers concrete recommendations for exploring the potential of the site and improving the interpretative media choices that might be used to communicate the site's themes to visitors. The aim is to preserve the site into the future and to revitalize it by enhancing the standard of information about the natural and cultural heritage value found there. [Adapted from published abstract—V.H.M.] 236. James K. Aitken, "Introduction: A City Perspective," The City in the Hebrew Bible, 3-16 [see #705]. A. provides an introduction to the overall topic of the above volume and summaries of the individual essays making it up. His presentation is organized under three main headings: [End Page 70] The City in Ancient Israel; The Ancient and Biblical City; and The City in the Hebrew Bible.—C.T.B. 237. [Bethel] Bradford A. Anderson, "Mapping Narrative Complexity: Textual Geography, Literary Studies, and the City in the Hebrew Bible," The City in the Hebrew Bible, 55-72 [see #705]. A. explores the city in the Hebrew Bible by reflecting on the fields of textual geography and literary studies. Specifically, his study asks how these fields might contribute to an understanding of place in the canonical biblical text, given the expansive nature of the canon and the fact that particular places can be found across the disparate texts and traditions of this collection. Bethel is used as a test case by A. for his reflections and as a helpful example, given its occurrences at various points throughout the canon. Indeed, next to Jerusalem, Bethel is mentioned more than any other place name in the Hebrew Bible, occurring in texts ranging from the ancestors, to the judges, to the early monarchical period, and even briefly re-emerging in the postexilic period. Against this background, A.'s discussion proceeds along three lines. First, he highlights several ways in which interpreters have tried to make sense of the biblical portrayal of Bethel. Second, his essay explores how geographers interested in textual geography, as well as contemporary literary critics, have read space and place in literature, particularly the city in modern fiction. Finally, A. returns to biblical Bethel in order to tease out ways in which findings from textual geography and literary studies might add another dimension to our understanding of the site and the wider notion of the city in the Hebrew Bible. Here A. suggests that these fields can broaden the discussion of the biblical city by reminding us of the narrative complexity that is inherent in the depiction of place within the biblical text itself, as well as the complexity of lived experience that such places represent. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 238. Rami Arav, "Bethsaida: The Capital City of the Kingdom of Geshur," Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah, 79-98 [see #712]. In this essay, A. takes us through the history of Bethsaida, an important site in the lower Golan where he has led excavations for many years. Bethsaida began as an impressively planned capital of the kingdom of Geshur and ended in a dramatic conflagation at the hands of Assyrian soldiers. It is one of the best-preserved capital cities of the Iron Age, and as such, it offers a glimpse of urban life in the 8th-cent. Levant. The terraced layout of the mound—which is unique to this site—witnesses to expert city planning; by contrast, most towns emerged as natural outgrowths of earlier, smaller settlements. If A. is right in drawing comparisons between Bethsaida and the institutions of...

Introduction Part I: The Languageand Literature of the Pentateuch 1.The imagodei in Genesis 1-3 - N. MacDonald 2.Evensong in Eden: As It Was Probably Not in the Beginning - R.P. Gordon 3.Noah's Drunkenness and the Curse of Canaan inGenesis 9.18-27 - J. Day 4.Dividing Up the Pentateuch: Some Notes on the Hebrew Tradition - G.I. Davies Part II: The Language and Literature of the Historical Books 5.Can The Samson Narrative Properly Be Called Heroic? - C. Echols 6.Translating Politics into Religion: Theological Enrichment in 1 Kings 5-9 - G. Eberhardt 7.Behind Closed Doors: the Secret World of Jerusalem's Palace Diplomacy - R.E. Clements Part III: TheLanguage and Literature of the Prophets 8.YHWH's Wise Man (Psalm 1) in LXX Isaiah 32. A Case of Fortunate Reframing - D.A. Baer 9.Food forthe Birds of Heaven: Staged Death and Intercession in Jeremiah in Light of Shakespeare's Cymbeline - D. Lipton 10.David their King (Whom God Will Raise): Hosea3.5 and the Onset of Messianic Expectation in the Prophetic Books - A. Rofe 11.Goddesses, Trees, and the Interpretation of Hosea 14.9 - J. Hadley 12.The Text and Interpretation of Nahum 2.2 - E. Ball Part IV: The Language and Literature of the Writings 13.Psalm 102.14 and Didache 10.6 on Grace to Come -W. Horbury 14.Wisdom and Psalm 119 - C. Engle 15.Biblical Texts in New Contexts: Job in Music - K. Dell 16.An Overlooked Suggestion at Proverbs 1.10 - H.G.M. Williamson 17.Reflections on the Aramaic Portions of Daniel - E. Hunter 18.The Text of Daniel 3.16 - B. Mastin Part V: Themes and Resonances of Biblical Language and Literature 19.Some Comments on the Semantic Range of the Stem ??? in Early Rabbinic Texts - S. Reif 20.Wine Production in Ancient Israel and the Meaning of shemarim in the Hebrew Bible - W.D. Barker 21.The Cherished Child: Images of Parental Love in the Hebrew Bible - R. Lentin 22.'The Hills are Alive!': The Personification ofNature in the Hebrew Bible - H. Marlow 23.Beginning and Ending: Genesis 1.1 and the Gospel of John - D. Ford Part VI:Afterword (the editors)

This study addresses the question why the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible as a whole can be seen as valid and helpful dialogue-partners and guides in the assessment of current ethical issues. It begins with an overview of the broad range of answers that have been given to the question, arguing for a position that views the Bible as an important point of orientation even though in many cases there is no meaningful way to directly “apply” biblical texts, mostly because of the differences between “then” and “now”. An important argument for the usefulness of the Bible can be found in its positive role in shaping ethics and life in societies in which it had a dominating influence in the past.