Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures in Five Minutes

Philippe Guillaume is Lecturer at the University of Berne. Diana V. Edelman is Professor Emerita of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo.

• ContentsPreface xiiiDiana V. Edelman and Philippe GuillaumeGeneral Matters1. How Does One Read the Bible from a Scholarly Perspective? 3Diana V. Edelman2. What Is Religion? 6David McConeghy3. Can One Be Religious in a Scientific World? 9Adrien Chauvet4. Do All Religions Have Sacred Books? 14Russell T. McCutcheon5. Why Multiple Biblical Canons? 17Jean Claude Loba-Mkole6. What Is Biblical Exegesis? 22Pauline A. VivianoAuthorship, Audiences, Organization7. Who Wrote the Hebrew Bible? 29Diana V. Edelman8. Why Are There Anonymous, Pseudonymous, and Fictitious Texts in the Bible? 34Philippe Guillaume9. Who Are the Audiences of the Bible? 39Jason M. Silverman10. What Does “Tanak” Stand For? 43Elaine Adler Goodfriend11. What Are the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, and Enneateuch? 47Jean Louis Ska12. Is There a “Book of the Twelve” or Are There Twelve Booklets of Minor Prophets? 53Elena Di PedeGenres in the Hebrew Bible13. How Do We Determine Biblical Genres? 61Diana V. Edelman14. Are There Myths in the Hebrew Bible? 66James R. Linville15. Is There Apocalyptic Literature in the Hebrew Bible? 72Emmanouil Gkinidis16. What Are Psalms Doing in the Hebrew Bible? 77Bernard Gosse17. Wisdom: Where Is It Found? 83Michael C. Legaspi18. What Is the Purpose of Proverbs? 88Sonny E. Zaluchu19. Is the Book of Job a Theodicy? 93Philippe Guillaume20. Why Are There So Many Genealogies in the Bible? 97Dexter E. Callender Jr.Dating the Bible and the Bible as History21. Preexilic, Exilic, and Postexilic: Can We Date the Books of the Hebrew Bible? 105Diana V. Edelman22. How Did Scribes Periodize the Past in the Hebrew Bible? 110Diana V. Edelman23. What Was the Minimalist versus Maximalist Debate? 114Emanuel Pfoh24. Why Are There Two Versions of Israel’s Past in the Hebrew Bible? 120Rodney K. Duke25. Is There Such a Thing as a “Deuteronomistic History”? 126Philippe Guillaume26. Did the Hebrews Conquer Canaan? 131Erin Darby27. Was Josiah’s Scroll Lost and Found Twice? 137Diana V. EdelmanThe Hebrew Bible and Archaeology28. Can Archaeology Prove the Truth of Biblical Texts? 145Tammi J. Schneider29. How Should We Read the “Archaeological Evidence”? 149Raz Kletter30. How Is Archaeology Used to Support Nationalism? 153Erin Darby31. Is It Ethical to Excavate in Contested Areas? 157Laura Wright32. How Do You Define Cultic Context? 161Jonathan S. GreerTranslation and Transmission33. The Septuagint: What Are the Oldest Translation(s) of the Hebrew Bible? 167Ellen De Doncker34. What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal about the Biblical Text? 172Sidnie White Crawford35. Was Philo of Alexandria the Earliest Biblical Commentator? 176Maria Sokolskaya36. What Is Old Testament Theology? 181Pauline A. Viviano37. What Is Rabbinic Interpretation? 186Zev Farber38. Who Were and Are the Samaritans? 190Benedikt HenselThemes39. How Do the Moon, Month, and Sabbath Regulate Biblical Calendars? 199Philippe Guillaume40. Does the Hebrew Bible Apply Holiness to Space or to Time? 204Philippe Guillaume41. Which Numbers Can Be Symbolic in the Hebrew Bible? 208Elaine Adler Goodfriend42. Did Giants, Nephilim, and Other Creatures Ruin the World? 214Elena L. Dugan43. Did Ancient Israelites Believe in Angels and Demons? 219Elisa Uusimäki44. Why Were the Ancestors De-divinized? 224Diana V. Edelman45. Heaven and Hell, or She’ol? 229Diana V. Edelman46. Did the Hebrews Believe in an Afterlife? 234Jan Åge Sigvartsen47. How Did Yhwh Become One? 238James S. Anderson48. Israel in Twelve Tribes: Ideal or Real? 243Andrew Tobolowsky49. Is “Torah” Law or Teaching? 248Megan Turton50. Where Is the Magic? 253Shawna Dolansky51. Were the Biblical Prophets Diviners? 259Philippe Guillaume52. What Is a Covenant? 264Diana V. EdelmanIssues53. Can Religious Texts Serve as Legitimate Explanations of the Origin of the Universe and Terrestrial Life in a Scientific World? 271Fabien Revol54. Does the Hebrew Bible Endorse Genocide? 276James S. Anderson55. Is the Hebrew Bible Patriarchal? 281Philippe Guillaume56. Are There Polemics (Even) in the Hebrew Bible? 286Diana V. Edelman57. Is the Hebrew Bible “Pro-Choice” or “Pro-Life”? 291Athalya Brenner-Idan58. How Does the Hebrew Bible Deal with Ecological Issues? 295Jonathan K. Kavusa59. Does (or How Does) the Old Testament Deal with LGBTQIA Issues? 301Rhiannon GraybillSelected Biblical Figures60. Is Abraham/Ibrahim an Ecumenical Figure? 309Carol Bakhos61. Why Is Melchizedek So Mysterious? 314Panagiotis L. Kampouris62. Joseph: Does His Ability to Interpret Dreams Represent Actual Divinatory Practice? 318Scott B. Noegel63. Moses: How Many Faces? 323Benedetta Rossi64. Ruth: Whore or Matriarch? 329Philippe Guillaume65. King David: Famous or Infamous? 333Baruch Halpern66. Jezebel: Does She Deserve Her Bad Reputation? 339Kristin Joachimsen67. How Many Isaiahs? 343Ehud Ben Zvi68. Jeremiah: Why Is He So Well Remembered? 348Benedetta Rossi69. Jonah: How to Survive in the Belly of Hell? 353Philippe Guillaume70. Is Satan in the Hebrew Scriptures? 358E. Macarena García García71. Was Qohelet Fighting Depression? 362Steinar A. SkarpnesMethods and Approaches72. Synchronic versus Diachronic Readings: Why Choose? 369Diana V. Edelman73. What Is Source Criticism? 373Kåre Berge74. What Is “P”—Source or Editor? 378Philippe Guillaume75. What Is Historical Criticism? 383Michael C. Legaspi76. What Are Redaction and Text Criticism? 388Kåre Berge77. What Are Literary and Form Criticism? 394Kåre Berge78. What Is Ideological Criticism of the Hebrew Bible? 399Patton Taylor79. How Are Memory Studies Applied to the Study of the Hebrew Bible? 403Ehud Ben Zvi80. How Is Social Anthropology Used to Understand the Hebrew Bible? 409Emanuel Pfoh81. How Are Gender Approaches Used in the Study of the Hebrew Bible? 414Rhiannon Graybill82. What Is Postcolonial Studies and How Is It Applied to the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament? 419Sonia Kwok Wong83. What Is Reception Criticism and How Is It Practiced in Hebrew Bible Scholarship? 424Erin RunionsIndexes 429