Thomas L. Thompson - Böcker

A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine discusses prospects andmethods for a comprehensive, evidence-based history of Palestine with acritical use of recent historical, archaeological and anthropological methods.This history is not an exclusive history but one that is ethnically andculturally inclusive, a history of and for all peoples who have lived in Palestine.After an introductory essay offering a strategy for creating coherenceand continuity from the earliest beginnings to the present, the volume presentstwenty articles from twenty-two contributors, fifteen of whom are ofMiddle Eastern origin or relation.Split thematically into four parts, the volume discusses ideology, nationalidentity and chronology in various historiographies of Palestine, and thelegacy of memory and oral history; the transient character of ethnicity inPalestine and questions regarding the ethical responsibilities of archaeologistsand historians to protect the multi-ethnic cultural heritage of Palestine;landscape and memory, and the values of community archaeology andbio-archaeology; and an exploration of the “ideology of the land” and itsinfluence on Palestine’s history and heritage.The first in a series of books under the auspices of the Palestine Historyand Heritage Project (PaHH), the volume offers a challenging new departurefor writing the history of Palestine and Israel throughout the ages. ANew Critical Approach to the History of Palestine explores the diverse historyof the region against the backdrop of twentieth-century scholarly constructionof the history of Palestine as a history of a Jewish homeland with rootsin an ancient, biblical Israel and examines the implications of this ancientand recent history for archaeology and cultural heritage. The book offers afascinating new perspective for students and academics in the fields of anthropological,political, cultural and biblical history.

Did the Bible only take its definitive form after Alexander conquered the Near East, after the Hellenisation of the Samaritans and Jews, and after the founding of the great library of Alexandria? The Bible and Hellenism takes up one of the most pressing and controversial questions of Bible Studies today: the influence of classical literature on the writing and formation of the Bible.Bringing together a wide range of international scholars, The Bible and Hellenism explores the striking parallels between biblical and earlier Greek literature and examines the methodological issues raised by such comparative study. The book argues that the oral traditions of historical memory are not the key factor in the creation of biblical narrative. It demonstrates that Greek texts – from such authors as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus and Plato – must be considered amongst the most important sources for the Bible.

Modern biblical scholarship's commitment to the historical-critical method in its efforts to write a history of Israel has created the central and unavoidable problem of writing an objective and critical history of Palestine through the biblical literature with the methods of Biblical Archaeology. 'Biblical Narrative and Palestine's History' brings together key essays on historical method and the archaeology and history of Palestine. The essays employ comparative and formalistic techniques to illuminate the allegorical and mythical in Old Testament narrative traditions from Genesis to Nehemiah. In so doing, the volume presents a detailed review of central and radical changes in both our understanding of biblical traditions and the archaeology and history of Palestine. The study offers an analysis of Biblical narrative as rooted in ancient Near Eastern literature since the Bronze Age.

In History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity", Hjelm and Thompson argue that a ‘crisis’ broke in the 1970s, when several new studies of biblical history and archaeology were published, questioning the historical-critical method of biblical scholarship. The crisis formed the discourse of the Copenhagen school’s challenge of standing positions, which—together with new achievements in archaeological research—demand that the regional history of ancient Israel, Judaea and Palestine be reconsidered in all its detail. This volume examines the major changes that have taken place within the field of Old Testament studies since the ground breaking works of Thomas Thompson and John van Seters in 1974 and 1975 (both republished in 2014). The book is divided in three sections: changing perspectives in biblical studies, history and cult, and ideology and history, presenting new articles from some of the field’s best scholars with comprehensive discussion of historical, archaeological, anthropological, cultural and literary approaches to the Hebrew Bible and Palestine’s history. The essays question: "How does biblical history relate to the archaeological history of Israel and Palestine?" and "Can we view the history of the region independently of a biblical perspective?" by looking at the problem from alternative angles and questioning long-held interpretations. Unafraid to break new ground, History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity" is a vital resource to students in the field of Biblical and East Mediterranean Studies, and anyone with an interest in the archaeology, history and religious development in Palestine and the ancient Near East.

An international team of historians, archaeologists and biblical scholars discuss new perspectives on the archaeology, history and biblical traditions of ancient Jerusalem and examine their ethical, literary, historical and theological relationships. Essays range from a discussion of the Hellenization of Jerusalem in the time of Herod to an examination of its identity and myth on the Internet, while Thomas L. Thompson's informed Introduction queries whether a true history of ancient Jerusalem and Palestine can in fact ever be written. Contributors include: Thomas L. Thompson, Michael Prior, Niels Peter Lemche, Margreet Steiner, Sara Mandell, John Strange, Firas Sawwah, Lester Grabbe, Philip Davies, Thomas M. Bolin, Ingrid Hjelm, David Gunn and Keith Whitelam.

A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine discusses prospects andmethods for a comprehensive, evidence-based history of Palestine with acritical use of recent historical, archaeological and anthropological methods.This history is not an exclusive history but one that is ethnically andculturally inclusive, a history of and for all peoples who have lived in Palestine.After an introductory essay offering a strategy for creating coherenceand continuity from the earliest beginnings to the present, the volume presentstwenty articles from twenty-two contributors, fifteen of whom are ofMiddle Eastern origin or relation.Split thematically into four parts, the volume discusses ideology, nationalidentity and chronology in various historiographies of Palestine, and thelegacy of memory and oral history; the transient character of ethnicity inPalestine and questions regarding the ethical responsibilities of archaeologistsand historians to protect the multi-ethnic cultural heritage of Palestine;landscape and memory, and the values of community archaeology andbio-archaeology; and an exploration of the “ideology of the land” and itsinfluence on Palestine’s history and heritage.The first in a series of books under the auspices of the Palestine Historyand Heritage Project (PaHH), the volume offers a challenging new departurefor writing the history of Palestine and Israel throughout the ages. ANew Critical Approach to the History of Palestine explores the diverse historyof the region against the backdrop of twentieth-century scholarly constructionof the history of Palestine as a history of a Jewish homeland with rootsin an ancient, biblical Israel and examines the implications of this ancientand recent history for archaeology and cultural heritage. The book offers afascinating new perspective for students and academics in the fields of anthropological,political, cultural and biblical history.

In History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity", Hjelm and Thompson argue that a ‘crisis’ broke in the 1970s, when several new studies of biblical history and archaeology were published, questioning the historical-critical method of biblical scholarship. The crisis formed the discourse of the Copenhagen school’s challenge of standing positions, which—together with new achievements in archaeological research—demand that the regional history of ancient Israel, Judaea and Palestine be reconsidered in all its detail. This volume examines the major changes that have taken place within the field of Old Testament studies since the ground breaking works of Thomas Thompson and John van Seters in 1974 and 1975 (both republished in 2014). The book is divided in three sections: changing perspectives in biblical studies, history and cult, and ideology and history, presenting new articles from some of the field’s best scholars with comprehensive discussion of historical, archaeological, anthropological, cultural and literary approaches to the Hebrew Bible and Palestine’s history. The essays question: "How does biblical history relate to the archaeological history of Israel and Palestine?" and "Can we view the history of the region independently of a biblical perspective?" by looking at the problem from alternative angles and questioning long-held interpretations. Unafraid to break new ground, History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity" is a vital resource to students in the field of Biblical and East Mediterranean Studies, and anyone with an interest in the archaeology, history and religious development in Palestine and the ancient Near East.

Papers from the International Scandinavian Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran, sponsored by the University of Copenhagen and held in 1995. In addition to the contributions of Florentino Garc'a Mart'nez, Emanuel Tov and Ben Zion Wacholder, this collection offers a wide range of recent Scandinavian scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Central issues dealt with include the dating of the scrolls, the theological relationships between the Scrolls and the Old Testament, questions relating to text and tradition formation, and the social relations between Qumran and contemporary Jewish sectarianism.

The historicity of Jesus is now widely accepted and hardly questioned by most scholars. But this assumption disarms biblical texts of much of their power by privileging an historical interpretation which effectively sweeps aside much theological speculation and allusion. Furthermore, the assumption of historicity gathers further assumptions to it, shaping the interpretation of texts, both denying and adding subtext. Scholars are now faced with an endless array of works on the historical Jesus and few question what has been lost through this wide-spread assumption of historicity. Is This Not the Carpenter? presents a very valuable corrective: a literary rereading of the New Testament.

Did the Bible only take its definitive form after Alexander conquered the Near East, after the Hellenisation of the Samaritans and Jews, and after the founding of the great library of Alexandria? The Bible and Hellenism takes up one of the most pressing and controversial questions of Bible Studies today: the influence of classical literature on the writing and formation of the Bible.Bringing together a wide range of international scholars, The Bible and Hellenism explores the striking parallels between biblical and earlier Greek literature and examines the methodological issues raised by such comparative study. The book argues that the oral traditions of historical memory are not the key factor in the creation of biblical narrative. It demonstrates that Greek texts – from such authors as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus and Plato – must be considered amongst the most important sources for the Bible.

The historicity of Jesus is now widely accepted and hardly questioned by most scholars. But this assumption disarms biblical texts of much of their power by privileging an historical interpretation which effectively sweeps aside much theological speculation and allusion. Furthermore, the assumption of historicity gathers further assumptions to it, shaping the interpretation of texts, both denying and adding subtext. Scholars are now faced with an endless array of works on the historical Jesus and few question what has been lost through this wide-spread assumption of historicity. Is This Not the Carpenter? presents a very valuable corrective: a literary rereading of the New Testament.

Modern biblical scholarship's commitment to the historical-critical method in its efforts to write a history of Israel has created the central and unavoidable problem of writing an objective and critical history of Palestine through the biblical literature with the methods of Biblical Archaeology. 'Biblical Narrative and Palestine's History' brings together key essays on historical method and the archaeology and history of Palestine. The essays employ comparative and formalistic techniques to illuminate the allegorical and mythical in Old Testament narrative traditions from Genesis to Nehemiah. In so doing, the volume presents a detailed review of central and radical changes in both our understanding of biblical traditions and the archaeology and history of Palestine. The study offers an analysis of Biblical narrative as rooted in ancient Near Eastern literature since the Bronze Age.