RELG 203: Hebrew Bible and its Interpretations

Winner, The New York Public Library, Best of Reference Award, 2002 New York University Press is proud to announce the return of a valuable resource for both Jewish families and those interested in learning more about the Jewish faith. The New Encyclopedia of Judaism is a comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia that accessibly presents every aspect of the Jewish religion and represents current thinking among scholars in the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox movements. The original version of the encyclopedia was selected by the American Library Association as an Outstanding Reference Book. This revised and expanded edition updates the original thousand entries and adds nearly 250 new ones. Magnificently illustrated, it also contains a new introduction, a guide for usage, new illustrations, as well as a new annotated bibliography. Its compilation was overseen by the late Geoffrey Wigoder, best known as the Editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Judaica. The articles cover a vast spectrum of topics. There are biographical entries on biblical figures, rabbis, and others whose thoughts and actions have influenced the development of Judaism. Also included are dozens of insightful commentaries on specific prayers. Issues of particular contemporary interest are given special attention, as are women's roles, with a separate entry on the feminist movement and new biographical entries on figures ranging from Miriam and Deborah to Blu Greenberg and Suzannah Heschel. Particularly emphasized are the customs and folk traditions of Jewish outposts the world over. Authoritative and accessible, The New Encyclopedia of Judaism fulfills the promise of the first edition and serves as a standard one-volume Jewish reference work for the new millennium. It is an ideal reference for every Jewish household and synagogue library.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies is part of a major new series of Oxford Handbooks. The volume on Jewish Studies reflects the aim of the series to produce distinctive and original surveys of today's interests and directions in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Handbook covers all the main areas currently taught and researched as part of Jewish Studies in universities throughout the world, especially in Europe, the United States, and Israel. The span of the volume chronologically and geographically is thus enormous, but all contributors have in commontheir expertise in the study of the history, literature, religion, and culture of the Jews.Jewish Studies is a comparatively young discipline which has grown over the past fifty years in a somewhat undisciplined way. In a period of great upheaval for Jews following the Holocaust, the creation of the State of Israel, the emergence of new forms of dialogue between Jews and Christians,deepening divisions between secular and religious Jews, and unprecedented assimilation by diaspora Jews to the wider culture, the study of Jewish traditions and history has rarely been dispassionate. This is a good time to examine where we are and where the subject is going.There have been some attempts in recent years to encapsulate current conclusions about particular aspects of Jewish Studies, but these other works aim to provide compendia of agreed facts rather than a survey of interests and directions such as is found in the Oxford Handbook.The Handbook begins with an examination of Jewish Studies as an academic discipline in its own right. The first half of the volume is organized chronologically, followed by sections on languages and literature, general aspects of religion, and other branches of Jewish Studies which have eachaccumulated a considerable corpus of scholarship over the past half-century.This substantial volume of c. 400,000 words reflects the current state of scholarship as analysed by an international team of experts in the different and varied fields represented within contemporary Jewish Studies.

The Oxford Handbooks series is a major new initiative in academic publishing. Each volume offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned essays from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of theprogress and direction of debates. Biblical studies is a highly technical and diverse field. Study of the Bible demands expertise in fields ranging from Archaeology, Egyptology, Assyriology, and Linguistics through textual, historical, and sociological studies to Literary Theory, Feminism, Philosophy, and Theology, to name only some.This authoritative and compelling guide to the discipline will, therefore, be an invaluable reference work for all students and academics who want to explore more fully essential topics in Biblical studies.

The Encyclopedia of Midrash Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism, provides a systematic account of biblical interpretation in Judaism, from well before the second century BCE through the end of the seventh century CE. While emphasizing the Rabbinic literature, it also covers interpretation of Scripture in a number of distinct canons, ranging from the Targumic literature and Dead Sea Scrolls to the New Testament and Church Fathers. The encyclopedia comprises fifty-six essays written by thirty scholars, representing the leading figures in the study of ancient Judaism and biblical interpretation in North America, Europe, and the State of Israel.Alongside a general introduction to Rabbinic Midrash and its traits, including the theoretical questions of definition, origins, theology, hermeneutics, genre-criticism, and language, the encyclopedia addresses specific topics of concern in the study of scriptural interpretation. How Rabbinic midrashic documents that focus on specific books of Scripture read those specific books, the theology expressed by Rabbinic midrashic compilations, and the historical context in which Rabbinic Midrash took shape all are treated. Beyond these central issues in understanding Rabbinic Midrash, the encyclopedia treats interpretations of Scripture that came to closure prior to, or outside of, the framework of Rabbinic Midrash: Hellenistic Jewish Midrash, Josephus, Pseudo-Philo, Jubilees, as well as to the New Testament, Karaite and Samaritan writings, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.The Encyclopedia of Midrash provides readers with a depth and breadth of treatment of Midrash unavailable in any other single source. Through the writings of top scholars in each of their fields, it sets out the current state of the question for each of the many topics discussed in its pages.

The two-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation (OEBI) will fill a crucial need in the field of biblical studies by providing detailed, comprehensive treatments of the latest approaches to and methods for interpretation of the Bible written by expert practitioners. It willprovide a single source for authoritative reference overviews of scholarship on some of the most important topics of study in the field of biblical studies. As with all high quality reference works, it provides a solid foundation that students and scholars can use to orientate themselves beforeventuring into original research. The Encyclopedia will contain nearly 120 entries, ranging in length from 3,000 to 5,000 words. It will be organized in an A-to-Z format. Each entry will be signed, contain a bibliography for further reading, and will be cross-referenced to other useful points of interest within the Encyclopedia. Itwill also feature a topical outline of contents and an extensive index.

Through this Handbook of Patristic Exegesis, the reader will obtain a balanced and cohesive picture of the Early Church. It gives an overall view of the reception, transmission, and interpretation of the Bible in the life and thought of the Church during the first five centuries of Christianity, the so-called patristic era. The handbook offers the context and presuppositions necessary for understanding the development of the interpretative traditions of the Early Church, in its catechesis, its liturgy and as a foundation of its systems of theology.The handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the history of patristic exegesis. Apart from a general introduction to the major topics in this field, it contains essays by leading patristic scholars on the most important Church Fathers, such as Augustine, Irenaeus, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and others. The essays are supplemented by bibliographies of editions and studies on patristic exegesis published from 1945 until 1995. Together, these bibliographies form the only comprehensive bibliography presently available on this topic.Now available in one volume. This one volume edition is an unabridged version of the two volume edition that was published in 2004 (no longer available).

Uniquely authoritative and wide-ranging in its scope, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church is the indispensable one-volume reference work on all aspects of the Christian Church. It contains over 6,000 cross-referenced A-Z entries, and offers unrivalled coverage of all aspects of thisvast and often complex subject, from theology; churches and denominations; patristic scholarship; and the bible; to the church calendar and its organization; popes; archbishops; saints; and mystics. In this revision, innumerable small changes have been made to take into account shifts in scholarly opinion, recent developments, such as the Church of England's new prayer book (Common Worship), RC canonizations, ecumenical advances and mergers, and, where possible, statistics. A number of existingarticles have been rewritten to reflect new evidence or understanding, for example the Holy Sepulchre entry, and there are a few new articles, on Desmond Tutu and Padre Pio, for example. Perhaps most significantly, a great number of the bibliographies have been updated. Established since its first appearance in 1957 as an essential resource for ordinands, clergy, and members of religious orders; ODCC is an invaluable tool for academics, teachers, and students of church history and theology, as well as for the general reader. THEOLOGY- the development of doctrines throughout the ages, with their philosophical background and the different traditions of the major Churches- spirituality and heresy- history of the Reformation and Counter-ReformationPATRISTIC SCHOLARSHIP: Fathers of the Church, on whose work later theology is founded, are covered in detail, for example- the Nag Hammadi papyri and their significance for our understanding of Gnosticism- the problems of Marcarius of Egypt and Macarius/Simeon are explored- the recently discovered sermons of Augustine are mentioned, with their places of publication listedCHURCHES AND DENOMINATIONS- the beliefs and structures of both the mainstream and lesser-known denominations such as Amish, Muggletonians, Shakers, and Wee Frees- lengthy articles on the history of Christianity throughout the world, in countries such as Angola, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Spain, the United States, Vietnam, and ZaireTHE CHURCH CALENDAR AND ORGANIZATION- feast and saints' days- Sacraments- church services, offices, rites, and practices- canon law including Catholic revision- councils and synods- religious ordersTHE BIBLE- individual Biblical Books- major figures from Abraham, Moses, and King David to St Paul and the Evangelists- schools of Biblical criticism and entries on their chief exponentsBIOGRAPHICAL ENTRIES- these are wide ranging and include saints, popes, patriarchs, and archbishops- emperors, kings, and other rulers- mystics, heretics, and reformers- theologians and philosophers, with a summary of their opinions- artists, poets, and musicians