Research Guides: RELG 203: Hebrew Bible and its Interpretations: Finding Books

Identifying Relevant Books

Use the Tripod Books and More catalog to look for relevant titles owned by Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore.

The following subject searches are a sampling of possibilities. To find materials on a topic, try doing a keyword search in the Tripod Catalog to find relevant materials and then use the subject headings assigned to those titles to find more books. Just substitute these terms for terms that are useful to your project. Remember that you can select "keyword" or "subject" from the drop down menu--try the same search with both of these selections and see how they are different.

(("material culture" religio*) OR "religious articles") (america* OR "united states") [Keyword Search]

(food OR cookery) (religio* OR christianity) [Subject Search]

(sports OR athlet*) (religio* OR judaism OR jew*) [Subject Search]

united states religious life and customs [Subject Search ]

EZ Borrow and Interlibrary Loan Request items that are not available in Tripod on this page. This includes books that are already checked out by someone else--instead of recalling it, order it through E-Z Borrow. You'll get it faster! Note that E-Z Borrow provides books in 3 to 5 days. For books not in E-Z Borrow, request though Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Again materials may arrive in as little as 3 days. For journal articles not in Tripod, request through Article Delivery. They will be sent to you by email.

Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are a particularly useful kind of article when doing research. They address the issues involved in a particular question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles.

The Oxford Bibliographies Online provide literature reviews for a variety of fields including Biblical Studies. The essays take the form of an annotated bibliography. It gives you the benefit of expert advice when identifying what to read for your research.

Oxford Bibliographies Online Biblical Studies
Relevant essays include:
"Deuteronomy" Stephen L. Cook

"Biblical Criticism" Daniel J. Harrington
"Biblical Canon" Lee Martin McDonald

Religion Compass

RELIGION COMPASS is a journal is devoted to the study of religion, and all of the articles are written in the form of literature reviews. Specialists analyze the issues involved in a particular question and discuss individual books, journal articles, and other scholarship that are essential for research in that area. Browse or search the journal website for overviews related to your research topic. The bibliographies accompanying articles in Religion Compass will lead you to relevant sources for further reading. Other Compass titles, like History Compass and Literature Compass, may have useful articles as well.

Relevant articles include:

The Comparative Use of Ancient Near Eastern Texts in the Study of the Hebrew Bible by Mark Chavalas

Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls Alex P. Jassen

Books on Reserve at the Library

The following list of Books are on reserve in Founders. This is a good place to start if you are unsure about your final paper or want to see what your professor recommends. It also includes your required reading.

Holy Bible
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Genesis 1-11 by Andrew Louth
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ISBN: 083081471X
Publication Date: 2001-04-03
The rich tapestry of the creation narrative in the early chapters of Genesis proved irresistible to the thoughtful, reflective minds of the church fathers. Within them they found the beginning threads from which to weave a theology of creation, fall and redemption. Following their mentor, the apostle Paul, they explored the profound significance of Adam as a type of Christ, the second Adam.The six days of creation proved especially attractive among the fathers as a subject for commentary, with Basil the Great and Ambrose producing well-known Hexaemerons. Similarly, Augustine devoted portions of five works to the first chapter of Genesis. As in previous volumes within the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, the range of comment contained in Genesis 1--11 spans from the first century to the eighth, from East to West, and from Greek and Latin speakers to Syriac. Especially helpful in this volume is editor Andrew Louth's supply of Septuagintal alternative readings to the Masoretic text, which are often necessary to understanding the fathers' flow of thought.Genesis 1--11 opens up a treasure house of ancient wisdom--allowing these faithful witnesses, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to speak with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.
Genesis 12-50 by Mark Sheridan
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ISBN: 0830814728
Publication Date: 2002-10-01
Genesis 12-50 recounts the history of the patriarchs;Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. From their mentors Paul, Peter, Stephen and the author of the letter to the Hebrews, the early fathers learned to draw out the spiritual significance of the patriarchal narrative for Christian believers. The Alexandrian school especially followed Paul's allegorical use of the story of Sarah and Hagar as they interpreted the Genesis accounts. The Antiochene school eschewed allegorical interpretation but still set about to find moral lessons in the ancient narrative. For all of them the events pointed toward the promises of the age to come, the new age revealed in the resurrection of Jesus.Among the principal Greek-speaking commentators included within this volume, readers will find Origen, Didymus the Blind, John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria. Among the Latin-speaking interpreters they will find Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Caesarius of Arles and Bede the Venerable. Ephrem the Syrian is the most commonly cited Syriac-speaking interpreter, while the fifth-century Catena on Genesis provides access to such fathers as Eusebius of Caesarea, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Didymus of Alexandria, Epiphanius of Salamis, Irenaeus of Lyons, Eusebius of Emesa, Severian of Gabala and Theodore of Mopsuestia among others.Varied in texture and nuance, the interpreters cited provide a wealth of ancient wisdom, some appearing here in English translation for the first time, to stimulate the mind and nourish the soul of the church today.
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy by Joseph T. Lienhard
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ISBN: 0830814736
Publication Date: 2001-08-30
From its inception the church has always had a Bible--the Jewish Scriptures. But Christians have not read these Scriptures in the same way the Jews did. They have read them in the light of what God did in Jesus the Christ. Thus the Jewish Scriptures became for Christian readers the Old Testament.This Ancient Christian Commentary on Exodus through Deuteronomy bears ample witness to this new way of reading these ancient texts. Among the earliest interpreters whose works remain extant is Origen, who virtually single-handedly assured the Old Testament a permanent place within the Christian church through his extensive commentary and reflection. His twenty-seventh homily on Numbers is particularly noteworthy for his interpretation of the forty-two stopping places in the desert wanderings as the forty-two stages of growth in the spiritual life.Among Greek-speaking interpreters, the current volume draws widely on John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyr and John of Damascus. Among Latin-speaking interpreters, quotations from Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, Peterius, Caesarius of Arles, Cassiodorus and Isidore are found in abundance. Ephrem and Aphrahat are represented among Syriac speakers. Numerous other interpreters are present from each grouping.Varied in texture and nuance, the interpreters included in this volume edited by Joseph T. Lienhard display a treasure house of ancient wisdom that speaks with eloquence and intellectual acumen to the church today.
Exodus by Carol Meyers; Bill T. Arnold (Contribution by); James D. G. Dunn (Contribution by); Michael V. Fox (Contribution by); Robert P. Gordon (Contribution by); Judith M. Gundry-Volf (Contribution by); Ben Witherington (Contribution by)
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ISBN: 0521807816
Publication Date: 2005-07-25
This commentary views Exodus as a cultural document, preserving the collective memories of the Israelites and relating them to the major institutions and beliefs that emerged by the end of the period of the Hebrew Bible. It is intended to help the reader follow the story line of Exodus, understand its socio-cultural context, appreciate its literary features, recognize its major themes and values, and also note its interpretive and moral problems. It explains important concepts and terms as expressed in the Hebrew original so that both people who know Hebrew and those who don't will be able to follow the discussion. Frequent 'closer look' sections examine key elements of the Ancient Near East that bear on the text's meaning, while 'Bridging the Horizons' articles connect this world with the cultural, political and religious environments of today.
Exodus 1-18 by William H. Propp
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ISBN: 0385148046
Publication Date: 1999-10-05
The Book of Exodus is without a doubt one of the most eventful and important books of the Bible. William H. Propp's "Exodus 1-18" is a masterful translation, exploration, and analysis of the book's first eighteen chapters, which center around the dramatic conflict between the God of Israel and the pharaoh of Egypt over the fate of the Israelite slaves. With divine intervention and Moses on their side, the enslaved descendants of Abraham manage a harrowing escape across the parted Red Sea, leading to the birth of the nation of Israel. Threaded throughout this story of an oppressed people struggling for freedom are some of the most intriguing episodes in the Bible. From the discovery of Moses in a basket made of bulrushes to the story of the burning bush, from the plagues visited upon the Egyptians by God to water from rock and quail and manna from the skies, Exodus is filled with the miraculous and the dramatic. Doubleday is proud to be, at long last, publishing the first of two Anchor Bible Commentary volumes on Exodus. Exhaustive, meticulous, and brilliantly researched, Propp's "Exodus 1-18" will be regarded as the definitive analysis of this crucial biblical text.
Exodus 19-40 by William H. Propp
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ISBN: 0385246935
Publication Date: 2006-12-01
The long-awaited conclusion of William H. C. Propp's masterful study of Exodus, this informative, clearly written commentary provides a new perspective on Israelite culture and on the role of ritual, law, and covenant in biblical religion. Exodus 19-40 sets a new standard in biblical scholarship. Thorough and up-to-date, it is the first commentary on Exodus to include critical textual evidence from the recently edited Dead Sea Scrolls. Informed by Propp's deep understanding of ancient cultural mores and religious traditions, it casts new light on the Israelites' arrival at Sinai, their entry into a covenant with God, their reception of the Law, their worship of the golden calf, and their reconciliation to God. The incisive commentary on the building of the Holy Tabernacle-God's wilderness abode-is supplemented by numerous illustrations that clarify the biblical text. Propp extends the scope and relevance of this major work in five appendices that discuss the literary formation of the Torah, the historicity of the Exodus tradition, the origins of Israelite monotheism, the Exodus theme in the Bible, and the future of Old Testament scholarship. By taking an anthropological rather than strictly theological approach, Propp places familiar stories within a fresh context. The result is a fully accessible guide to one of the most important and best known books of the Bible.
Levitucus 1-16 by Jacob Milgrom
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ISBN: 0385114346
Publication Date: 1998-12-01
Leviticus served as the liturgical handbook of the Levitical Priesthood of the Israelites. From a professor of Religion and the Bible at the University of California at Berkeley comes a comprehensive commentary on Leviticus, now available with a new translation that is sure to set the standard for years to come.
Leviticus 17-22 by Jacob Milgrom
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ISBN: 038541255X
Publication Date: 2000-12-05
Leviticus 23-27 by Jacob Milgrom
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ISBN: 0385500351
Publication Date: 2001-05-22
Jacob Milgrom, a rabbi and Bible scholar, has devoted the bulk of his career to examining the laws of the Torah. His incisive commentary on Leviticus, which began withLeviticus 1-16, continues in this last volume of three. It provides an authoritative and comprehensive explanation of ethical values concealed in Israel's rituals. Although at first glance Leviticus seems far removed from the modern-day world, Milgrom's thoughtful and provocative comments and notes reveal its enduring relevance to contemporary society. Leviticus 23-27brings us to the climactic end of the book and its revolutionary innovations, among which are the evolution of the festival calendar with its emphasis on folk traditions, and the jubilee, the priestly answer to the socio-economic problems of their time. With English translations that convey the nuance and power of the original Hebrew, this trilogy will take its place alongside the best of the Anchor Bible Commentaries.
Numbers 1 to 20 by Baruch Levine
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ISBN: 0385156510
Publication Date: 1993-01-01
Baruch A. Levine has written a masterful study of the first half of the Book of Numbers for the Anchor Bible Commentaries. The Book of Numbers--from the numbering or census of the people in the opening chapters--is a much-neglected part of the Torah, the five books of Moses, which constitutes the heart of Holy Scriptures for Jews, while also forming an integral part of the Bible for Christians. The Book of Numbers is an account of the young would-be nation of Israel's wanderings in the Wilderness after the magnificent event at Sinai, where Moses speaks with God face-to-face and receives the Ten Commandments. Throughout this time of trial, the people complain, sensing the contrast between the relative security of slavery in Egypt, from which they have fled, and the precarious insecurity of freedom in the Wilderness. Numbers is a book filled with power struggles, raising questions about who speaks for God, along with personal and communal crises of faith and rumors of revolt. Yet despite the people's blindness and rebelliousness, God remains faithful to the promises made to Israel's ancestors--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Moses--and remains at Israel's side, guiding her slowly but surely to the Promised Land. In all, Numbers describes a terrific journey of discipline and dependence upon the God who liberated the Hebrews from bondage in Egypt: a journey to strengthen Israel for the challenge of a new and wondrous land and the battles she wifl have to fight in order to claim and keep it. Despite the importance of The Book of Numbers, its rich collection of stories is not easily assimilated, even by the most conscientious of readers. As such, it requires the help of an expert guide to thread one's way through this mixture of interesting episodes and anecdotes on the one hand, and the many lists, prescriptive rules, ritual regulations, and repeated admonitions on the other. Professor Levine shows us the way into this difficult and sometimes forbidding book of the Bible, and we can be confident of our guide, and secure in the knowledge that the one who led us into the thicket will lead us out again into a broad and fair land.
Numbers 21-36 by Baruch A. Levine
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ISBN: 0385412568
Publication Date: 2000-07-18
Numbers 21-36 is the concluding part of Baruch Levine's two volume translation and study of the biblical book of Numbers.
Deuteronomy 1-11 by Moshe Weinfeld
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ISBN: 0385175930
Publication Date: 1991-09-01
Deuteronomy 1-11 is here presented in a groundbreaking new translation, with a comprehensive introduction and thorough commentary by world-renowned Israeli biblical scholar Moshe Weinfeld. The "second law," Deuteronomy portrays Moses as the founder and great lawgiver of Israel. In a series of addresses, Moses reviews his life and the life of God's people. He reminds them of the guiding hand of God, which has brought them thus far along the way, and will bring their Exodus and Wanderings to a triumphal conclusion in the Holy Land. Through a beautiful translation and insightful comments in this first of two volumes on Deuteronomy, Weinfeld reinvigorates the basic laws of society with their life-giving power: the Shema ("Hear 0 Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One"), the Great Commandment ("You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might"). These laws govern Israelite religious and communal life under God's guidance. Moshe Weinfeld is the foremost commentator on the Deuteronomist and the Deuteronomic School. He is Professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
How to Read the Bible by James L. Kugel
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ISBN: 9780743235860
Publication Date: 2007-09-11
Scholars from different fields have joined forces to reexamine every aspect of the Hebrew Bible. Their research, carried out in universities and seminaries in Europe and America, has revolutionized our understanding of almost every chapter and verse. But have they killed the Bible in the process?InHow to Read the Bible,Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the "quiet revolution" of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today's researchers differ from what people have always thought. The story of Adam and Eve, it turns out, was not originally about the "Fall of Man," but about the move from a primitive, hunter-gatherer society to a settled, agricultural one. As for the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Esau, these narratives were not, at their origin, about individual people at all but, rather, explanations of some feature of Israelite society as it existed centuries after these figures were said to have lived. Dinah was never raped -- her story was created by an editor to solve a certain problem in Genesis. In the earliest version of the Exodus story, Moses probably did not divide the Red Sea in half; instead, the Egyptians perished in a storm at sea. Whatever the original Ten Commandments might have been, scholars are quite sure they were different from the ones we have today. What's more, the people long supposed to have written various books of the Bible were not, in the current consensus, their real authors: David did not write the Psalms, Solomon did not write Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; indeed, there is scarcely a book in the Bible that is not the product of different, anonymous authors and editors working in different periods.Such findings pose a serious problem for adherents of traditional, Bible-based faiths. Hiding from the discoveries of modern scholars seems dishonest, but accepting them means undermining much of the Bible's reliability and authority as the word of God. What to do? In his search for a solution, Kugel leads the reader back to a group of ancient biblical interpreters who flourished at the end of the biblical period. Far from naïve, these interpreters consciously set out to depart from the original meaning of the Bible's various stories, laws, and prophecies -- and they, Kugel argues, hold the key to solving the dilemma of reading the Bible today.How to Read the Bible is,quite simply, the best, most original book about the Bible in decades. It offers an unflinching, insider's look at the work of today's scholars, together with a sustained consideration of what the Bible was for most of its history -- before the rise of modern scholarship. Readable, clear, often funny but deeply serious in its purpose, this is a book for Christians and Jews, believers and secularists alike. It offers nothing less than a whole new way of thinking about sacred Scripture.
How to Read the Jewish Bible by Marc Zvi Brettler
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ISBN: 0195325222
Publication Date: 2007-05-01
In his new book, master Bible scholar and teacher Marc Brettler argues that today's contemporary readers can only understand the ancient Hebrew Scripture by knowing more about the culture that produced it. And so Brettler unpacks the literary conventions, ideological assumptions, andhistorical conditions that inform the biblical text and demonstrates how modern critical scholarship and archaeological discoveries shed light on this fascinating and complex literature. Brettler surveys representative biblical texts from different genres to illustrate how modern can read these texts. He guides us in reading the Bible as it was read in the biblical period, independent of later religious norms and interpretive traditions. Understanding the Bible this way lets usappreciate it as an interesting text that speaks in multiple voices on profound issues. Although the emphasis of How to Read the Jewish Bible is on showing contemporary Jews, as well as Christians, how they can relate to the Bible in a more meaningful way, readers at any level of religious faith can benefit greatly from this comprehensive but remarkably clear guide to interpretingthe Jewish Bible.
Adam, Eve, and the Serpent by Elaine Pagels
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ISBN: 0394521404
Publication Date: 1988-05-12
Deepens and refreshes our view of early Christianity while casting a disturbing light on the evolution of the attitudes passed down to us. From the Trade Paperback edition.
"Be Fertile and Increase, Fill the Earth and Master It" by Jeremy Cohen
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ISBN: 0801423074
Publication Date: 1989-12-01
The ancient and medieval career of a Biblical text.
Beginnings by Peter C. Bouteneff
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ISBN: 9780801032332
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
You can believe because of the evidence, not in spite of it. For the first thirty-five years of his life, J. Warner Wallace was a devout atheist. After all, how can you believe a claim made about an event in the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence? Then Wallace realized something. Christianity was a lot like the cold cases he solved as a homicide detective - cold cases that turned out to have enough evidence, eyewitnesses, and records to solve. When Wallace applied his skills as an expert detective to the assertions of the New Testament, he came to a startling realization: the case for Christianity was as convincing as any case he'd ever worked as a detective.
Exodus Through the Centuries by Scott M. Langston
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ISBN: 063123523X
Publication Date: 2005-12-23
This bible commentary looks at how Exodus has influenced and has been influenced by history, religion, politics, the arts and other forms of culture over the ages. A bible commentary tracing the reception history of Exodus from Old Testament times, through the Patristic and Reformation periods, to the present day. Considers the ways in which Exodus has influenced and has been influenced by history, religion, politics, the arts and other forms of culture in Jewish, Christian and secular settings. Looks at how Exodus has served as a tool of liberation and tyranny in a variety of settings. Shows how Exodus has been used to shape the identities of individuals and groups. Discusses the works of current and past poets, musicians, film-makers, authors and artists influenced by Exodus. Addresses uses of Exodus related to American and European history such as the Glorious Revolution, colonialism, the American Revolution, Civil War, Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans, and Native Americans, as well as uses by prominent and little-known historical figures Considers the impact of the Ten Commandments and other laws, in legal, political and religious contexts. The Blackwell Bible Commentary series is supported by a website at www.bbibcomm.net
The First Love Story by Bruce Feiler
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ISBN: 9781101980507
Publication Date: 2018-03-20
Since antiquity, one story has stood at the center of every conversation about men and women. One couple has been the battleground for human relationships and sexual identity. That couple is Adam and Eve. Yet instead of celebrating them, history has blamed them for bringing sin, deceit, and death into the world. In this fresh retelling of their story, New York Times columnist and PBS host Bruce Feiler travels from the Garden of Eden in Iraq to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, from John Milton's London to Mae West's Hollywood, discovering how Adam and Eve should be hailed as exemplars of a long-term, healthy, resilient relationship. At a time of discord and fear over the strength of our social fabric, Feiler shows how history's first couple can again be role models for unity, forgiveness, and love. Containing all the humor, insight, and wisdom that have endeared Bruce Feiler to readers around the world, The First Love Story is an unforgettable journey that restores Adam and Eve to their rightful place as central figures in our culture's imagination and reminds us that even our most familiar stories still have the ability to surprise, inspire, and guide us today.
The Genesis of Perfection by Gary A. Anderson
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ISBN: 066422699X
Publication Date: 2002-09-01
In a book that will appeal to both Jews and Christians, Gary Anderson explores the story of Adam and Eve and its perspectives on the problem of evil, the nature of sexuality, and the question of sin and forgiveness.
Jewish and Christian Cosmogony in Late Antiquity by Lance Jenott (Editor); Sarit Kattan Gribetz (Editor)
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ISBN: 9783161519932
Publication Date: 2013-11-01
The authors of this collection of essays explore different ways that ancient Jews and Christians understood the world's creation and how this understanding shaped their world. In this volume, discussions of cosmogony are not only placed within the contexts of biblical hermeneutics and the politics of interpretation, but more broadly within the diverse realms of ancient life. The authors demonstrate how beliefs about Creation played an important role in constructing rituals, pedagogy, ethics, geography, and anthropology. A biblically-based tradition shared by Jews and Christians, the Creation story serves as a fruitful point of departure for this collection of studies about these communities, their interactions, and their overlapping and competing conceptions of the world.
Midrash Rabbah
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ISBN: 0900689382
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
10 volumes; the first two are on reserve.
Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston; Blyden Jackson (Introduction by)
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ISBN: 0252011228
Publication Date: 1984-12-01
Queer Commentary and the Hebrew Bible by Kenneth Stone; Claudia V. Camp (Contribution by); Andrew Mein (Contribution by)
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ISBN: 184127237X
Publication Date: 2002-01-09
Essays exploring and explaining how 'queer' reading makes a difference to biblical exegesis. As with feminism, theoretical questions arise such as whether such readings are characterized by certain questions or can only legitimately be done by gay or lesbian readers. The contributors are drawn from a range of backgrounds and a variety of interests--Jewish, Christian, agnostic, male, female, heterosexual, gay and lesbian--and mostly concentrate on individual passages and books. But the volume also contains some theoretical reflections, and it ends with three +critical responses' from scholars with interdisciplinary interests on the place of queer read-ing of the Bible in broader contexts. A book for anyone interested in contemporary issues of bible interpretation or in queer theory generally.
A Rivalry of Genius by Marc Hirshman
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ISBN: 0791427285
Publication Date: 1995-11-02
Compares Rabbinic midrash and Patristic exegesis in late antiquity and provides an introduction to the various forms of Patristic literature.
Shared Stories, Rival Tellings by Robert C. Gregg
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ISBN: 9780190231491
Publication Date: 2015-09-03
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are considered kindred religions - holding ancestral heritages and monotheistic belief in common - but there are definitive distinctions between these "Abrahamic" peoples. Shared Stories, Rival Tellings explores the early exchanges of Jews, Christians, andMuslims, and argues that their interactions were dominated by debates over the meanings of certain stories sacred to all three communities.Author Robert C. Gregg shows how Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interpreters - artists as well as authors - developed their unique and particular understandings of narratives present in the two Bibles and the Qur'an. Gregg focuses on five stories: Cain and Abel, Sarah and Hagar, Joseph and Potiphar'sWife, Jonah and the Whale, and Mary the Mother of Jesus. As he guides us through the often intentional variations introduced into these shared stories, Gregg exposes major issues under contention and the social-intellectual forces that contributed to spirited, and sometimes combative, exchangesbetween Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Offering deeper insight into these historical moments and their implications for contemporary relations between the three religions, Shared Stories, Rival Tellings will inspire readers to consider--and reconsider--the dynamics of traditional and current social-religious competition.
Sinai and Zion by Jon D. Levenson
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ISBN: 0866839615
Publication Date: 1985-01-01
A treasury of religious thought and faith--places the symbolic world of the Bible in its original context.
Women, Seduction, and Betrayal in Biblical Narrative by Alice Bach
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ISBN: 0521475325
Publication Date: 1997-08-28
This accessible, readable book looks at the cultural study of the Bible, challenging the traditional mode of reading the women in the Bible. Alice Bach applies literary theory, cultural representations of biblical figures, films, and paintings to a close reading of a group of biblical texts revolving around the 'wicked' literary figures in the Bible. She compares the biblical character of the wife of Potiphar with the Second Temple Period narratives and rabbinic midrashim that expand her story. She then reads Bathsheba against a Yiddish novel by David Pinski, and finally looks at the Biblical Salome against a very different Salome created by Oscar Wilde, and the selection of Salomes created by Hollywood. Bach argues that biblical characters have a life in the mind of the reader independent of the stories in which they were created, thus making the reader the site at which the texts and the cultures that produced them come together.
Women's Bible Commentary by Carol A. Newsom (Editor); Sharon H. Ringe (Editor)
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ISBN: 028104581X
Publication Date: 1992-01-01
In the critically acclaimed best-seller, "Women's Bible Commentary," an outstanding group of women scholars introduced and summarized each book of the Bible and commented on those sections of each book that have particular relevence to women, focusing on female charecters, symbols, life situations such as marriage and family, the legal status of women, and religious principles that affect relationships of women and men. Now, this expanded edition provides similar insights on the Apocrypha, presenting a significant view of the lives and religious experiences of women as well as attitudes toward women in the Second Temple period. This expanded edition sets a new standard for women's and biblical studies.