Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic


Book Description

Annotation The essays contained in this book are preliminary studies directed toward a new synthesis of the history of the religion of Israel. Each study is addressed to a special and, in the authors view, unsolved problem in the description of Israel's religious development.




Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic


Book Description

The essays in this volume address key aspects of Israelite religious development. Frank Moore Cross traces the continuities between early Israelite religion and the Canaanite culture from which it emerged; explores the tension between the mythic and the historical in Israel’s religious expression; and examines the reemergence of Canaanite mythic material in the apocalypticism of early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls.







Ancient Israelite Religion


Book Description

ANCIENT ISRAELITE RELIGION Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross "A distinguished tribute to a truly distinguished scholar and teacher." -Catholic Biblical Quarterly Although the Hebrew Bible serves as the main source of knowledge of ancient Israelite religion, much additional information comes from the material and written remains uncovered in the archaeological investigations of the Ancient Near East. In this volume, internationally renowned scholars examine all of these sources in order to present the most impressive, comprehensive study of ancient Israelite religion yet to appear. The Editors PATRICK D. MILLER is Professor of Old Testament Theology Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. His books include Interpreting the Psalms (1986) and They Cried to the Lord (1994), both published by Fortress Press. PAUL D. HANSON is Corliss Lamont Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of The Dawn of Apocalyptic: The Historical & Sociological Roots of Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology (1984) and the editor of several volumes in the Hermeneia series, all published by Fortress Press. S. DEAN McBRIDE is Cyrus H. McCormick Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Interpretation Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He is an author and editor for the Hermeneia series published by Fortress Press.




From Epic to Canon


Book Description

Winner of the Centennial Book Award from the Tuttleman Family Foundation of Gratz College In From Epic to Canon, Frank Moore Cross discusses specific issues that illuminate central questions about the Hebrew Bible and those who created and preserved it. He challenges the persistent attempt to read Protestant theological polemic against law into ancient Israel. Cross uncovers the continuities between the institutions of kinship and of covenant, which he describes as "extended kinship." He examines the social structures of ancient Israel and reveals that beneath its later social and cultural accretions, the concept of covenant—as opposed to codified law—was a vital part of Israel's earliest institutions. He then draws parallels between the expression of kinship and covenant among the Israelites and that practiced by other ancient societies, as well as in primitive societies.




Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: A Textbook on History and Religion


Book Description

This comprehensive classic textbook represents the most recent approaches to the biblical world by surveying Palestine's social, political, economic, religious and ecological changes from Palaeolithic to Roman eras. Designed for beginners with little knowledge of the ancient world, and with copious illustrations and charts, it explains how and why academic study of the past is undertaken, as well as the differences between historical and theological scholarship and the differences between ancient and modern genres of history writing. Classroom tested chapters emphasize the authenticity of the Bible as a product of an ancient culture, and the many problems with the biblical narrative as a historical source. Neither "maximalist" nor "minimalist'" it is sufficiently general to avoid confusion and to allow the assignment of supplementary readings such as biblical narratives and ancient Near Eastern texts. This new edition has been fully revised, incorporating new graphics and English translations of Near Eastern inscriptions. New material on the religiously diverse environment of Ancient Israel taking into account the latest archaeological discussions brings this book right up to date.




The Great Angel


Book Description

In this groundbreaking book, Barker claims that pre-Christian Judaism was not monotheistic and that the roots of Christian Trinitarian theology lie in a pre-Christian Palestinian belief about angels derived from the ancient religion of Israel. Barker's beliefs are based on canonical and deutero-canonical works and literature from Qumran and rabbinic sources.




The Oxford Guide to People & Places of the Bible


Book Description

This guide to people and places of the Bible covers both the New and Old Testament. It will be of interest to anyone needing an A-Z reference work on the people and places mentioned in the Bible, from prophets and apostles, to kingdoms and monuments.




The Canaanites


Book Description

The term Canaanite will be familiar to anyone who has even the most casual familiarity with the Bible. Outside of the terminology for Israel itself, the Canaanites are the most common ethnic group found in the Bible. They are positioned as the foil of the nation of Israel, and the land of Canaan is depicted as the promised allotment of Abraham and his descendants. The terms Canaan and Canaanites are even evoked in modern political discourse, indicating that their importance extends into the present. With such prominent positioning, it is important to gain a more complete and historically accurate perspective of the Canaanites, their land, history, and rich cultural heritage. So, who were the Canaanites? Where did they live, what did they believe, what do we know about their culture and history, and why do they feature so prominently in the biblical narratives? In this volume, Mary Buck uses original textual and archaeological evidence to answer to these questions. The book follows the history of the Canaanites from their humble origins in the third millennium BCE to the rise of their massive fortified city-states of the Bronze Age, through until their disappearance from the pages of history in the Roman period, only to find their legacy in the politics of the modern Middle East.




Lesser Deities in the Ugaritic Texts and the Hebrew Bible


Book Description

This book presents a comparative work on the nature and various roles of the lesser deities, the so-called angels, in the Ugaritic texts and the Hebrew Bible.