Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Research Papers (original) (raw)

This is an abridged version of my "Counting Stars with Abraham and the Prophets" (JETS 2015). Paul’s application of the “seed” designation to both Jews and Gentiles in Christ marks a redemptive-historical shift from an age of promise to an age of fulfillment. Both the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants initially restricted “seed” language to physical descent and marked covenant membership by physical birth. Nevertheless, they also pointed ahead to a day when covenantal, spiritual adoption would replace ethnicity and biology as the foundational mark of the patriarch’s “fatherhood.” The OT’s promised royal deliver would initiate this eschatological and ecclesiological development, which by its nature supports a progressive covenantal flavor of Baptistic new covenant ecclesiology.

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- Theology, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Prophecy, Old Testament Theology

Manasseh of Judah: an idolatrous ruler and murderer to be condemned, as depicted in 2 Kgs 21:1-18, or a converted sinner and restorer of his kingdom, a pattern to follow, as presented in 2 Chr 33:1-20? These two biblical portrayals of the king cannot be reconciled without raising questions about the assumptions of the biblical historiographers who built up two alternative traditions about this biblical figure. The case of King Manasseh is therefore an intriguing example of the Chronicler's reinterpretation of historical material found in the Books of Kings. It is argued that particular narrative strategy and theological issues lie behind this vision of the king and its significance for the addressees of both writings. Consequently, the biblical figure of Manasseh is somehow biased, and its historical reconstruction has its limitations.

- by Collectanea Theologica
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- History, Theology, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology

The rhetorical impact of the explicit and allusive references to Gerizim and Jerusalem in the first seven books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis-Judges) implies that all these writings originate from the territory of Ephraim, and not from Judah. Their rhetoric consistently highlights the importance of the central sanctuary of Yahweh in the region of Shechem in the territory of the tribe of Joseph/Ephraim, more and more clearly pointing to its location on Mount Gerizim. On the other hand, their allusive rhetoric presents the tribe of Judah, especially its historical capital in Jerusalem, in negative terms, thus conveying the idea of the superiority of the sanctuary on Mount Gerizim over the rival sanctuary on Mount Zion, as well as that at Dan.

- by Bartosz Adamczewski
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- Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomistic History, Book of Genesis, Deuteronomy

Since the dawn of critical study of the Hebrew Bible, the diachronic paradigm has reigned supreme. Scholars have understood their primary task to be that of laying bare the history of the text: how many stages were there in the composition of the text? What were the various strata of the text's composition and when were they each added? This field of study continues to be the primary focus for much of biblical studies. Increasingly, however, there have been signs of crisis within this field. I'd like to share with you this morning some signs of this crisis and how I believe the field can emerge from this crisis and move forward on better footing. I'd like to build my analysis of the state of diachronic study of the Hebrew Bible around a fascinating set of papers that were delivered at a major conference on the topic of Pentateuch formation this past May at the Institute for Advanced Study on the campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A group of eight leading scholars in the field were invited to participate in a year-long study group at the Institute. The scholars were in residence on a daily basis and engaged with each other in ongoing consultation on both a formal and informal basis. These scholars hailed from the leading centers of Pentateuch study today -Israel, Central Europe and the United States. They committed themselves to addressing the fundamental methodological questions of the discipline. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the major approaches to the formation of the Pentateuch-sources, fragments or supplements? Just what is meant when we use a standard term of the trade such as "source": is this an individual, a school, a tradition? Do we have access to the sources in full form, or only in partial form? When speaking of "source" criticism how do we identify the source? Do we seek similarities of style, and then with a delineated set of texts, go back and only secondarily determine the ideology? Or, is it perhaps, the opposite: a source is identified on the basis of its ideology, with no regard to style. What do we mean when we speak of "redactor": One or many? Is the redactor a technocrat who combines, but has no ideology of his own? Or, as redaction criticism emphasizes, do we see the work of the redactor as central to determining the message of the completed whole? What do we mean by an "editorial layer"? Does an editor simply add material to an already canonized text, or were editors also free to delete material? How many, redactors? How many layers? It is the Institute's custom to conclude the year-long project with an open conference, in which another dozen or so scholars from the field are invited and the proceedings are opened to the public.

- by Joshua Berman
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- Jewish Studies, Hebrew Language, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology

This article deals with the process of the formation of the traditions concerning the three patriarchs in the book of Genesis. It can already be stated that the traditions concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were initially formed independently of each other. Chronological priority should be assigned to the tradition concerning Jacob. It was originally somehow combined with the tradition concerning Isaac (in Amos), and at the time before the exile it constituted the earliest point of reference for seeking the roots and identity of Israel. Only by the end of the exile did the particular time and situation cause the local Judaean traditions concerning Abraham to play a greater role also from a theological aspect. Abraham then became not only a model of faith and an example of behaviour for the exiles and the repatriates, but also from a the first link in the chain of the three patriarchs. It is possible that at that time some of the motifs of the story of Abraham were borrowed from the traditions concerning Isaac (cf. Gen 26).

- by Collectanea Theologica
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- Hebrew Bible, Book of Genesis, Bible, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East

The flow of time can be divided into three aspects: past, present, and future. It is often believed that the past creates the present, and thus the future. Yet, the quest for the past is always motivated by perspectives from the present, and writing past events is an action inevitably related to the present of the authors/readers. In this sense, the present creates the past. Investigating archaeology’s past relating to the Hebrew Bible is nothing more than an examination of the contemporary situation of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible. To understand the current situation and proceed to the future, it is necessary to collect information from what happened in the past. This paper will present a history of the relationship between archaeology and the Hebrew Bible, from the origin of biblical archaeology to the era in which biblical archaeology was lauded as proving the historicity of biblical story, through the fall of biblical archaeology, and the rise of archaeology independent of the Hebrew Bible, and finally to a future where these two disciplines have the potential to work in harmony with each other.

Amidst various methodologies for the comparative study of the Hebrew Bible, at times the opportunity arises to improve on a method recently introduced into the field. In YHWH is King, Flynn uses the anthropological method of cultural translation to study diachronic change in YHWH's kingship. Here, such change is compared to a similar Babylonian development to Marduk's kingship. Based on that comparison and informed by cultural translation, Flynn discovers that Judahite scribes suppressed the earlier YHWH warrior king and promoted a creator/universal king in order to combat the increasing threat of Neo-Assyrian imperialism. Flynn thus opens the possibility, that Judahite scribes engaged in a cultural translation of Marduk to YHWH, in order to respond to the mounting Neo-Assyrian presence.

- by Shawn W Flynn
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- Comparative Religion, History, Ancient History, Comparative Literature

This paper studies the theory that Samson was the first attested case of autism. In a broader sense it deals with the limitations of trying to diagnose biblical characters.

Published on Academia Edu on 2017 02 27

- by Ad Thijs
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- Neurology, Autism, History of Medicine, Hebrew Bible

This is a review of Carmen Joy Imes recent publication that popularizes her Wheaton dissertation "Bearing YHWH's Name at Sinai." The basic argument is that the Church has misunderstood the meaning of the "Name Command" in Exodus 20:7. She asserts that the intention is not a prohibition against speaking/pronouncing the Name, or using is carelessly (as a swear word) or even in swearing oaths by the Name. Rather, appealing to the common English gloss for the Hebrew lexeme nasa (to lift, bear, or carry), she concludes that Name command is concerned primarily with representing YHWH well amongst the nations.

Ancient creation stories define humanity in relation to the gods. In the Atraḫasīs Epic, for example, humans were created as a labor force to relieve the lower caste of deities from their toil. In Gen 1-2 humanity was also created to serve God, but the commands to rule and subdue the earth, and to care and cultivate the garden of Eden, are framed by the preceding statement in Gen 1:26-27 that humanity was created in God’s image and likeness, that is, as his children. To appreciate Genesis’s claim, we must consider it in light of its ancient Near Eastern environment. For Gen 1-2 this includes a set of ritual texts from Mesopotamia, the "Washing and Opening of the Mouth," which describe the process by which divine images, or statues of the gods, were created. Genesis 2 seems to draw from these rituals, or at least the ideas they represent, in order to elaborate on the meaning of בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים in Gen 1:26-28. If our aim is to understand how Genesis 1-2 redefines human identity and purpose, we must consider the prevailing views on human creation and the birth of the gods (in their statues) with which it interacted.

The biblical scholar, historian, and Jewish thinker Yehezkel Kaufmann (1889–1963) is
best known for two magisterial works: a two-volume interpretation of Jewish history,
Golah ve-nekhar (Exile and Alienation, 1928–1932), and a four-volume study of biblical
religion, Toledot ha-emunah ha-yisre’elit (A History of the Israelite Faith, 1937–
1956). Toledot in particular is the most monumental achievement of modern Jewish
biblical scholarship. No other figure, not even Martin Buber, has had such a profound
influence on the work of Jewish scholars of the Bible. Whether by supporting
his ideas with new evidence, modifying them in light of new discoveries or methods,
or attacking them, and whether addressing his work explicitly or implicitly, a substantial
amount of modern Jewish biblical criticism builds upon the foundation set
by Kaufmann. The latter’s phenomenological analysis of biblical monotheism as well
as his critique of theoretical and methodological assumptions that are still dominant
in historical studies in general, and biblical scholarship in particular, are an invaluable
asset for those who engage in biblical scholarship, historical studies, and comparative
religion.
The idea of this volume was conceived at an international symposium held in Switzerland,
from June 10–11, 2014, “Yehezkel Kaufmann and the Reinvention of Jewish Exegesis
of the Bible in Bern.” This gathering was held at the Universities of Bern and of
Fribourg in order to commemorate the centenary of Yehezkel Kaufmann’s matriculation
at the University of Bern on May 5, 1914, and to document and reassess the significance
of his legacy and its reception. The symposium had three foci, corresponding
with sections I-III of this volume: Kaufmann’s biography and intellectual
background, his impact on Jewish studies, and his contribution to modern biblical
scholarship.
The volume provides a comprehensive and multi-faceted account of Kaufmann’s
work, through which Anglophone readers, students and scholars alike, can explore
the hitherto unrecognized significance and profundity of Kaufmann’s legacy. It includes
not only the symposium papers but also other essays, including two testimonies
by two of his students, Menahem Haran and Moshe Greenberg and some of
Kaufmann’s own writings—all heretofore unavailable in English—that are crucial for
a fuller appreciation of his life project.
Contributors: Job Y. Jindo, Lawrence Kaplan, Othmar Keel, Israel Knohl, Thomas Krapf,
Adrian Schenker, Benjamin D. Sommer, Thomas Staubli, Nili Wazana and Ziony Zevit.

- by Benjamin Sommer and +1
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- Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology, Biblical Studies, Old Testament

With a title adapted from Deut 6:24, For Our Good Always is a collection of 25 essays from evangelical scholars on the message of Deuteronomy and its influence on Christian Scripture. No other book colors the tapestry of biblical thought quite like Deuteronomy. It synthesized the theology of the Pentateuch, provided Israel with a constitution for guiding their covenant relationship with Yahweh in the promised land, and served as a primary lens through which later biblical authors interpreted Israel’s covenant history. Recent advances in scholarship on Deuteronomy and developments in biblical interpretation are raising fresh questions and opening new paths for exploration. This collection of studies wrestles with Deuteronomy from historical, literary, theological, and canonical perspectives and offers new questions, presents original discoveries, and makes innovative proposals.
The volume is offered in honor of Daniel I. Block on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Few Old Testament scholars have worked so ably, carefully, and intentionally to help the church and the academy grasp the message of Deuteronomy. Block’s own studies always exhibit an admirable balance of exegetical rigor, literary and theological awareness, and pastoral care, and for well over a decade he has, like the priest-scribe Ezra, devoted himself to the study, practice, and teaching of the deuteronomic torah (Ezra 7:10), helping and urging others to hear the life-giving gospel of Moses in Deuteronomy. The international group of specialists that contributed to this volume consists of Daniel Block’s colleagues, friends, and former students. It is their hope that these studies will in various ways supplement Daniel Block’s work, serving the church and the academy and honoring the God of Israel.

- by Jason S DeRouchie and +1
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- Old Testament Prophecy, Old Testament Theology, Biblical Studies, Old Testament

"...Nationalist archaeology has no choice but to be political. ...In cases of disputed pasts
it has to become manipulative as well. Manipulating archaeology to legitimize specific
pasts - real or invented - is a potent concoction to use when one wants to forge a
national identity and create cohesion by fostering a strong sense of a shared past..." This is the problem that Thomas L. Thompson addresses in The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel : the creation of an invented past that was accomplished long ago, for purposes of forging a national identity among refugees. However, at the time it was originally done, the target audience understood that it was not a real "history," but rather an ideological textbook for the future. The real problems began when another group, some time later, decided to use the same stories (handily already available), for their own imperial ambitions and presented this ideological literature as History. In short, as Thompson and others point out, the "History of Israel" was really created by European elitists seeking to colonize the world and knew a good thing when they saw it.

- by Laura Knight-Jadczyk
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- Hebrew Bible / Old Testament

Феномен священства в израильском мировоззрении считался «пластичным» явлением (колено Левия, назареи, народ). Его многовариативность научным сообществом не оспаривается. Известно, что параллельно функционированию священнической структуры «царство священников» (Исх.19:5-6) в богословие Израиля была внедрена и закреплена идея сконцентрированности в одной персоне различных институций: эсхатологического царя-первосвященника-слуги (1Цар.2:35; Пс.109; Ис.52:13–53:12; Зах.3:1-10; 6:9-15; 9:9). Указанные нами тексты и отрывки из Ветхого Завета, неоднократно становились объектами богословского анализа и историко-религиоведческой редактуры. В нашем случае границы исследования обусловлены тематикой, вынесенной в название статьи.
Ключевые слова: Священник, Мелхиседек, воин, Мессия, чин, Ягве, Адонай

For many years, English Bibles were printed with an explanatory chronology derived from the work of James Ussher (1581 – 1656), an Irish archbishop of the Anglican Church. This article reviews Ussher’s work, and shows how more modern research has produced a chronological system that is more in agreement with the exact specifications of the chronological texts of the Hebrew Bible than that of Ussher. This is especially true of the Hebrew kingdom period, where recent scholarship has shown the internal harmony of many dates that Ussher could not reconcile exactly. The modern research is built on the pioneering work of Valerius Coucke of Belgium and Edwin Thiele of the United States. The resultant chronology has proved to be so accurate that Assyriologists have used the Biblical chronology based on Thiele’s work to correct some of their “assured” dates, and Egyptologists now use the synchronism of 2 Chronicles 12:2, along with Thiele’s date for that event, to refine their dates for Egypt’s 21st and 22nd Dynasties. To quote from the article, “All this was unanticipated by scholars of the late-date-for-everything school, who taught that there must be numerous inconsistencies in these many numbers that span over 400 years of history.”

- by Rodger Young
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- Ancient History, Archaeology of Ancient Israel, Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies

An extract from The Songs of Ascents (2015)

- by David C Mitchell
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Hebrew Literature, Historical Archaeology

A paper I wrote in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a course on Old Testament Hermeneutics.

- by Andreas Stutz
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- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Theology, Book of Jonah, Old Testament Exegesis

In 2001, Manfred Görg published a new reading of a fragmentary name ring on a topographical pedestal relief in the Berlin Museum . Although the inscription had previously been listed in topographical studies, the reading of the fragmentary third name ring had not received adequate attention. Görg suggested reading the broken name as an archaic form for “Israel” and argued that it could have been copied during the Nineteenth Dynasty from an earlier list. As his publication was in German, his proposal has so far been unavailable to a wider English-speaking readership. The present authors republish the relief fragment here in English and include new evidence that appears to support Görg’s original reading.

- by Pieter Gert van der Veen and +1
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Historical Archaeology

Theme of the Pentateuch: Tripartite covenant; progeny, relationship with God, and Land.

- by Kenneth R . Lockridge
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- Ancient History, Sovereignty, Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology
- by Benjamin Sommer
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- Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology, Biblical Studies, Old Testament

This thesis seeks to reveal an important functional element in the patriarchal promise that has been neglected or simply gone unnoticed by modern commentators. The Abrahamic promise of star-like seed in Genesis 15:5, as well as its reiterations in Genesis (22:15-18; 26:3-5), were intended to be understood qualitatively as well as quantitatively in their ANE and literary contexts. Not only was Abraham’s seed to be multiplied as the stars of heaven, but also they were to become like them, functioning as the astrally conceived gods or angels of the nations, the "father/s" of the nations. This is demonstrated by framing the text within the literary contexts and narrative structures of Genesis and the wider received Torah as well as the ANE cosmic-political context and cognate conceptual world of the Hebrew Bible. This thesis will become particularly evident when read within the narrative art of Genesis and the demonstration of the subsequent reception of this tradition in the Hebrew Bible.

- by David A Burnett
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- Narrative, Literary Criticism, Old Testament Prophecy, Old Testament Theology

This was my first supplementary paper to my Messageof the Psalter (1997).
Published abstract: After defining the Korah collection, the author shows that biblical tradition about the Korahites is marked by the theme of redemption from Sheol. This theme is discussed, particularly in regard to the resurrection of the dead. Then an examination of the Korah Psalms shows that the theme appears there also. Moreover some of these psalms seem to feature the related idea of the righteous being caught up in the air when the earth opens. These ideas occur in later literature with proof-texts from the Korah Psalms, which would appear to be their source. Correspondences are drawn between these traits of the Korah Psalms and the author's proposed eschatological programme in the Psalter.

- by David C Mitchell
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- Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Prophecy, Old Testament Theology, Biblical Studies

In this article I make a very simple point concerning the dating of texts. It is odd that one needs to make this point; yet it does need to be made, because it pertains to a practice that is as common within biblical studies as it is specious. Scholars in our field frequently support a speculative dating of a text by asserting that, since the text's ideas match a particular time period especially well, the text was most likely composed then. These scholars seem to take the teaching of Qohelet rather overliterally: ~yI m' V' h; tx; t; #p, xe -lk' l. t[e w> !m' z> lKo l;

- by Benjamin Sommer
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- Hebrew Bible, Old Testament Theology, Historicism, Biblical Studies

The present study explores the origins of Jewish ritual immersion – inquiring when immersion first appeared as a rite of purification and what the reasons may have been for this development specifically at this time. Textual and archaeological evidence suggest that immersion emerged at some point during – or perhaps slightly prior to – the first half of the first century B.C.E. It is suggested here that the practice grew out of contemporary bathing practices involving the Hellenistic hip bath. Through a process of ritualization, full-body immersion emerged as a method of purificatory washing clearly differentiated from profane bathing. By way of a subsequent process of 'hyper-ritualization', some ventured further to distinguish purificatory ablutions from profane bathing by restricting use of 'drawn water' for purification and by assigning impurity to anyone who bathed in such water. Before us is an enlightening example of one of the many ways wherein Jewish religious practices evolved and adapted in response to Hellenistic cultural innovations.

- by Yonatan Adler
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- Religion, Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology

This course introduces Old Testament biblical literature, hermeneutics, and literary critical methodologies with a primary focus on the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Students learn to observe the overall structure of these books, their historical settings, and modern approaches to their literary analysis. Students learn to interpret individual texts within each book. Students study how Deuteronomy uses the material of Exodus to communicate God’s Word to a new generation.

- by Michael DeVries
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- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies, Biblical Interpretation, Deuteronomy

The French archaeomusicologist Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura made two important proposals that have never been fully investigated: first, that the te'amim or cantillation marks of the Hebrew scriptures did not originate with the Masoretes, but date back to temple times; second, that she had developed a system for their musical deciphering. This paper suggests that there is indeed evidence for the great antiquity of the Masoretic cantillation. It also suggests that the basic idea of Haïk-Vantoura's deciphering system—that the sublinear te'amim represent the steps of a diatonic scale—is confirmed by more recent archaeomusicological research. Finally, a comparison between the ancient tonus pere-grinus to Psalm 114 and the cantillation of the same psalm deciphered according to Haïk-Vantoura's system provides strong evidence in support of her claims. The fragrance of the songs of Zion blows down through the leaves of the Bible.

- by David C Mitchell
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- Hebrew Literature, Music, Music History, Musicology

Paper done for Religious Studies Old Testament/Hebrew Bible undergraduate course at Indiana University Southeast. Paper examines and contextualizes Old Testament passage from the Book of Jeremiah. Explains how its focuses on the ancient Near Eastern goddess Asherah and her place in ancient Hebrew and Israelite religion along with the history of the book itself.

- by Nicholas Perez
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- Religion, Jewish Studies, History of Religion, Hebrew Bible
- by Natalie Naomi May
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Visual Studies

This article looks at Cain's city, Noah's Ark and the Babel tower and understands the latter in the context of the first two. It concludes that 'the Babel Tower stands as a monument to God’s faithfulness'. It Explains ‘nothing they plan... more

- by Alroy Mascrenghe
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- Hermeneutics and Narrative, Book of Genesis, Tower of Babel, Babel

This article focuses on Malachi’s distinctive claims that guarantee a well-ordered community, namely; the validity and feasibility of a Torah-compliant community. Since Torah-compliance is a fundamental core of Israel’s life, in the book of Malachi, Yahweh’s Torah functions as the reliable and invariable authority for the community well-being as a whole. Community well-being as pictured by Malachi is created not only by Yahweh but also as the consequent contemplation and action of community. Malachi notes clearly that it is the sins of the community as a whole that renders it inconceivable that Yahweh’s blessings should attend to them as they are now, and Malachi demands certain definite and substantial actions as preconditions to the manifestation of the desired expectations. To him the secret of creating and maintaining a healthy, viable community and living as people in covenant relationship with Yahweh, is by “remembering” (upholding and practicing) Yahweh’s Torah. Accordingly, Malachi enjoined his audience to remember the Torah of Moses, which constitutes the fundamental dimensions of their relationship with Yahweh. This article is thus an attempt to understand Malachi’s concept of Torah-compliance community and its associated blessings of happiness and shalom.

- by Alphonso Groenewald and +1
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- Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomistic History, Prophets, Biblical Archaeology

"¿Quién subió al cielo, y descendió? ¿Quién encerró los vientos en sus puños? ¿Quién ató las aguas en un paño? ¿Quién afirmó todos los términos de la tierra? ¿Cuál es su nombre, y el nombre de su HIJO, si sabes?" (Proverbios 30:4) Rpta.:... more

- by Luis Alejandro Yarcho
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- Christianity, Theology, New Testament, Old Testament Prophecy