Marc Brettler | Duke University (original) (raw)
Papers by Marc Brettler
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, May 27, 2024
On the Term "Historical-Critical", 2024
The Origin of »Historical-Critical« in Biblical Studies: Some Common Errors Given the recent deba... more The Origin of »Historical-Critical« in Biblical Studies: Some Common Errors Given the recent debates concerning the validity of the historical-critical method,1 we looked in vain for a discussion of the origin and early uses of this term. This article attempts to fill this lacuna with respect to the study of the Hebrew Bible. The term »historical-critical« is often misused by modern scholars in reference to figures who never employ the term, but are considered to be the founders of modern biblical studies, such as Baruch/Benedict Spinoza and Richard Simon,2 or
Master Bible scholar and teacher Marc Brettler argues that today's contemporary readers can o... more 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, and historical 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 us appreciate 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 interpreting the Jewish Bible.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2013
Understanding the History of Ancient Israel, 2007
This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian centur... more This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian century may be used to reconstruct select ‘real’ events of that century. Using several examples, it reflects on method, namely, the problems that these texts present to the modern historian of ancient Israel. The modern historian of ancient history should approach the texts dealing with the ninth century in the same way he or she would approach earlier or later periods. This essay considers two types of texts: those that explicitly mark themselves as primarily didactic, and those that are marked as symbolic. The texts from the first group are from the Psalms, while Jonah, Job, and Ruth comprise the second group. There may be other sources beyond Kings that need to be considered for reconstructing the history of the ninth century, including Chronicles and the Pentateuch. Different Mesopotamian sources mention kings of Israel and Judah, usually in the context of the offering of tribute.
The Jewish Quarterly Review, 1999
... LAWRENCE J. KAPLAN AND DAVID SHATZ The Americanization of the Jews EDITED BY ROBERT M. SELTZE... more ... LAWRENCE J. KAPLAN AND DAVID SHATZ The Americanization of the Jews EDITED BY ROBERT M. SELTZER AND NORMAN J. COHEN Russia's First ... First, I want to thank my daughter Deb-orah Lewis Sperling who came home from Temple Israel Religious School one day ...
The Bible and the Believer, 2012
The Bible and the Believer, 2012
Women, war, and metaphor, 1993
Jewish Concepts of Scripture, 2012
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1991
... 1. See for example I. Benzinger, Die Bücher der Könige (KHAT; Freiburg: JCB... more ... 1. See for example I. Benzinger, Die Bücher der Könige (KHAT; Freiburg: JCB Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1899), p. 76; JA Montgomery and HS Gehman, The Book of Kings (ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1951), p. 231; B. Porten, 'The Structure and Theme of the Solomon ...
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2001
... 235 D. Arad and Other Judean Inscriptions 242 Systems of Accounting: Hieratic Numerals and Ot... more ... 235 D. Arad and Other Judean Inscriptions 242 Systems of Accounting: Hieratic Numerals and Other Symbols 250 7. CONCLUSIONS Royal Functionaries and the State-Organization 269 Foreign Influence on the Israelite Bureaucracy 276 Tables A. 1. A Chronological Index of ...
A Wise and Discerning Mind, 2020
Jewish and Christian approaches to Psalms, 2009
Approaches to Teaching the Hebrew Bible as Literature in Translation, 1989
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, May 27, 2024
On the Term "Historical-Critical", 2024
The Origin of »Historical-Critical« in Biblical Studies: Some Common Errors Given the recent deba... more The Origin of »Historical-Critical« in Biblical Studies: Some Common Errors Given the recent debates concerning the validity of the historical-critical method,1 we looked in vain for a discussion of the origin and early uses of this term. This article attempts to fill this lacuna with respect to the study of the Hebrew Bible. The term »historical-critical« is often misused by modern scholars in reference to figures who never employ the term, but are considered to be the founders of modern biblical studies, such as Baruch/Benedict Spinoza and Richard Simon,2 or
Master Bible scholar and teacher Marc Brettler argues that today's contemporary readers can o... more 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, and historical 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 us appreciate 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 interpreting the Jewish Bible.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2013
Understanding the History of Ancient Israel, 2007
This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian centur... more This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian century may be used to reconstruct select ‘real’ events of that century. Using several examples, it reflects on method, namely, the problems that these texts present to the modern historian of ancient Israel. The modern historian of ancient history should approach the texts dealing with the ninth century in the same way he or she would approach earlier or later periods. This essay considers two types of texts: those that explicitly mark themselves as primarily didactic, and those that are marked as symbolic. The texts from the first group are from the Psalms, while Jonah, Job, and Ruth comprise the second group. There may be other sources beyond Kings that need to be considered for reconstructing the history of the ninth century, including Chronicles and the Pentateuch. Different Mesopotamian sources mention kings of Israel and Judah, usually in the context of the offering of tribute.
The Jewish Quarterly Review, 1999
... LAWRENCE J. KAPLAN AND DAVID SHATZ The Americanization of the Jews EDITED BY ROBERT M. SELTZE... more ... LAWRENCE J. KAPLAN AND DAVID SHATZ The Americanization of the Jews EDITED BY ROBERT M. SELTZER AND NORMAN J. COHEN Russia's First ... First, I want to thank my daughter Deb-orah Lewis Sperling who came home from Temple Israel Religious School one day ...
The Bible and the Believer, 2012
The Bible and the Believer, 2012
Women, war, and metaphor, 1993
Jewish Concepts of Scripture, 2012
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1991
... 1. See for example I. Benzinger, Die Bücher der Könige (KHAT; Freiburg: JCB... more ... 1. See for example I. Benzinger, Die Bücher der Könige (KHAT; Freiburg: JCB Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1899), p. 76; JA Montgomery and HS Gehman, The Book of Kings (ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1951), p. 231; B. Porten, 'The Structure and Theme of the Solomon ...
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2001
... 235 D. Arad and Other Judean Inscriptions 242 Systems of Accounting: Hieratic Numerals and Ot... more ... 235 D. Arad and Other Judean Inscriptions 242 Systems of Accounting: Hieratic Numerals and Other Symbols 250 7. CONCLUSIONS Royal Functionaries and the State-Organization 269 Foreign Influence on the Israelite Bureaucracy 276 Tables A. 1. A Chronological Index of ...
A Wise and Discerning Mind, 2020
Jewish and Christian approaches to Psalms, 2009
Approaches to Teaching the Hebrew Bible as Literature in Translation, 1989