Friendship in the Hebrew Bible

Saul M. Olyan is the Samuel Ungerleider Jr. Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University, where he has taught since 1992. His books include Social Inequality in the World of the Text: The Significance of Ritual and Social Distinctions in the Hebrew Bible, Disability in the Hebrew Bible: Interpreting Mental and Physical Differences, and Biblical Mourning: Ritual and Social Dimensions.

“Saul Olyan has written a truly original work that not only opens up a new area in biblical studies, but creates a full-blown synthesis of the socio-literary field of biblical friendship.”— Ronald Hendel, University of California, Berkeley“Saul Olyan is one of the world’s most consistently insightful scholars of the Hebrew Bible. Here he offers a study of friendship that will prove a helpful companion for anyone curious about what biblical texts reveal about the history of human relationships."—Steven Weitzman, University of Pennsylvania“A learned yet affecting study of a much-overlooked topic by a world-class scholar.  Olyan brilliantly demonstrates how in the Hebrew Bible family and friends (and to a lesser extent, treaty partners) manifest similar behaviors. This comprehensive survey will become the standard work on the subject.”—Mark S. Smith, Princeton Theological Seminary“Through an insightful and sensitive reading of the vocabulary of friendship along with an astute analysis of its function in a variety of biblical passages, Olyan illuminates with striking clarity this important but oft-ignored concept.”—Carol Meyers, Duke University“Another groundbreaking study from one of the finest scholars in the field of biblical studies. With Olyan as our expert guide, we learn to rethink our assumptions not only about the biblical texts but also about what it means to be human.”—Jacob L. Wright, Emory University