The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Blackwell Companions to Religion The Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field, and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style, providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience. Published 1. The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck 2. The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion Edited by Richard K. Fenn 3. The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Edited by Leo G. Perdue Forthcoming The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology Edited by William T. Cavanaugh and Peter Scott The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Edited by Gavin Flood The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics Edited by Charles Hallisey and William Schweiker The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology Edited by Graham Ward The Blackwell Companion to Theology Edited by Gareth Jones The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion Edited by Robert A. Segal The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Edited by Leo G. Perdue Brite Divinity School Texas Christian University Copyright © Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001 Editorial matter and arrangement copyright © Leo G. Perdue 2001 The moral right of Leo G. Perdue to be identified as author of the Editorial Material has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Blackwell Publishers Ltd 108 Cowley Road Oxford OX4 1JF UK Blackwell Publishers Inc. 350 Main Street Malden, Massachusetts 02148 USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Blackwell companion to the Hebrew Bible / edited by Leo G. Perdue. p. cm. — (Blackwell companions to religion) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–631–21071–7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Bible. O.T.—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Perdue, Leo G. II. Series. BS1171.3 B53 2001 221.6—dc21 00–069786 Typeset in 10.5 on 12.5 pt Photina by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in Great Britain by T.J. International, Padstow, Cornwall This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents Contributors viii Preface: The Hebrew Bible in Current Research x Part I The Hebrew Bible in Modern Study 1 1 Preparatory Issues in Approaching Biblical Texts Antony F. Campbell, SJ 3 2 Methods of Modern Literary Criticism David Jobling 19 3 Social Scientific Approaches Charles E. Carter 36 Part II Israelite and Early Jewish History 59 4 Early Israel and the Rise of the Israelite Monarchy Carol Meyers 61 5 The History of Israel in the Monarchic Period Leslie J. Hoppe 87 6 Exile, Restoration, and Colony: Judah in the Persian Empire Robert P. Carroll 102 Part III Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Early Judaism 117 7 Archaeology and the History of Israel William G. Dever 119 vi CONTENTS 8 Biblical and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology William G. Dever 127 Part IV The Religious and Social World of Ancient Israel and Early Judaism 149 9 Canaan Dennis Pardee 151 10 The Household in Ancient Israel and Early Judaism Joseph Blenkinsopp 169 11 Archaeology, the Israelite Monarchy, and the Solomonic Temple William G. Dever 186 12 Schools and Literacy in Ancient Israel and Early Judaism André Lemaire 207 Part V Old Testament Theology 219 13 Modern Approaches to Old Testament Theology Henning Graf Reventlow 221 14 Symmetry and Extremity in the Images of yhwh Walter Brueggemann 241 15 Theological Anthropology in the Hebrew Bible Phyllis A. Bird 258 16 The Community of God in the Hebrew Bible R. E. Clements 276 17 Old Testament Ethics Bruce C. Birch 293 Part VI The Torah 309 18 Creation and Redemption in the Torah Rolf Rendtorff 311 19 Law and Narrative in the Pentateuch Calum Carmichael 321 CONTENTS vii Part VII The Prophets 335 20 Former Prophets: The Deuteronomistic History Hermann Spieckermann 337 21 Latter Prophets: The Major Prophets Klaus Koch 353 22 Latter Prophets: The Minor Prophets James L. Crenshaw 369 Part VIII The Writings 383 23 Narrative Texts: Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah Ralph W. Klein 385 24 The Psalter Erhard S. Gerstenberger 402 25 Wisdom Literature Katharine J. Dell 418 26 Apocalyptic Literature John J. Collins 432 Author Index 448 Scripture Index 459