David M. Carr - The Hebrew Bible

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright Page

4 Figures

5 Maps

6 Main Discussions/Outlines of Biblical BooksWhere to Find Basic Information on Biblical Books

7 Preface to the First Edition PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

8 Acknowledgments

9 Abbreviations

10 Overview of the Historical Period

11 Timeline

12 Prologue The Bible as a Complex Product of Many Hands The Different Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity Becoming an Informed User of a Contemporary Bible Translation Conclusion on Critically Analyzing a Page of Your Own Bible CHAPTER REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY APPENDIX 1: TRANSLATION AND PARAPHRASE COMPARISON OF ISA 52:13–15 APPENDIX 2: CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECT ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE

13 1 Studying the Bible in its Ancient Context(s) Academic Study of the Bible The Geography and Major Characters of the Biblical Drama Major Periods in the Biblical Drama Multiple Contexts, Multiple Methods Conclusion CHAPTER ONE REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY APPENDIX: ISRAEL’S HISTORY AND EMPIRES

14 2 The Emergence of Ancient Israel and its First Oral Traditions Imagining Early Israel Problems in Reconstructing Early Israel FOCUS TEXT: The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) as a Window to Ancient Tribal Israel Ancient Israel and Israelites The Oral Background of Genesis Exodus Conclusion: The Creation of “Israel” Through Cultural Memory of Resistance to Domination CHAPTER TWO REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

15 3 Beginnings of the Monarchy and Royal and Zion Texts Imagining Early Monarchal Israel The Rise of the Israelite Monarchy and Resistance to It The Story of David’s Succession Influence of Ancient Empires on Early Israel’s Monarchy and Writings Echoes of Near Eastern Royal Theology in the Royal and Zion Psalms CHAPTER THREE REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

16 4 Interlude Echoes of Texts from Earlier Empires in Writings Attributed to Solomon FOCUS TEXT: The Speech of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 Echoes of Texts from Earlier Empires Elsewhere in the Bible FOCUS TEXT: The Garden of Eden Story (Gen 2:4–3:24) Conclusion CHAPTER FOUR REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

17 5 Narrative and Prophecy Amidst the Rise and Fall of The Northern Kingdom Setting the Stage: The Rise of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Its Texts Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy Amos, Prophet of Justice Hosea, the Northern Prophet, Calling for Israel’s Devotion to Yahweh Alone Conclusion CHAPTER FIVE REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

18 6 Micah, Isaiah, and the Southern Prophetic Encounter with Assyria The Historical Context for Micah and Isaiah Micah, a Southern Prophet, Predicting Judgment for Judah and Jerusalem Isaiah’s Vision of Hope for Jerusalem/Zion Embedded in the Book of Isaiah FOCUS TEXT: Contrasting Prophetic Visions of Zion’s Future CHAPTER SIX REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

19 7 Torah and History in the Wake of the Assyrian Empire The Seventh Century: Josiah’s Reform and the Origins of Deuteronomy The Deuteronomic Torah of Moses and the Phenomenon of Hybridity Historical Texts Infused with the Theology and Values of Deuteronomy Deuteronomistic editing and use of earlier sources in the former prophets Hybridity and the Traumatic Shaping of History FOCUS TEXT: Deuteronomy 6:4–9 CHAPTER SEVEN REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

20 8 Prophecy in the Transition from Assyrian to Babylonian Domination Nahum Zephaniah Jeremiah The growth of the book of Jeremiah FOCUS TEXT: Jer 31:31–34 Conclusion to the Pre‐Exilic Period CHAPTER EIGHT REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

21 9 Laments, History, and Prophecies after the Destruction of Jerusalem The Sixth Century: The Neo‐Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem and Exile The Exilic Editions of Biblical Books Ezekiel Second Isaiah (also called Deutero‐Isaiah) FOCUS TEXT: Isa 52:13–53:12 CHAPTER NINE REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

22 10 Torah and Trauma The Basic Starting Point: A Century‐Old Consensus on Three of the Pentateuch’s Prior Sources Torah and Trauma in Non‐Priestly Narratives about Israel’s Earliest History Promise to traumatized Judeans in the non‐P texts of Genesis Exilic (L) shaping of the non‐P exodus‐Moses story Conclusion on the forging of non‐P Pentateuchal materials by L supplements The Priestly Source (P) History and Fiction FOCUS TEXT: Gen 12:1–3 Conclusions on the Torah (Pentateuch) and Trauma CHAPTER TEN REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

23 11 The Torah, the Psalms, and the Persian‐Sponsored Rebuilding of Judah History: Persian‐Sponsored Building of a Temple and Torah‐Centered Judaism The Formation of the Torah The Book of Psalms as a Torah‐Centered Collection of More Ancient Psalms FOCUS TEXT: The Introduction to Psalms in Psalms 1–2 CHAPTER ELEVEN REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

24 12 Other Texts Formed in the Crucible of Post‐Exilic Rebuilding Texts Closely Associated with the Rebuilding of the Judean Community Texts Emphasizing God’s Favor Toward Foreigners FOCUS TEXT: Isa 56:1–8 Scriptures in the Post‐Exile CHAPTER TWELVE REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

25 13 Hellenistic Empires and the Formation of Multiple Scriptures Judaism and Hellenism before the Hellenizing Crisis The Crisis over Hellenizing Jerusalem and the Book of Daniel A Hellenistic‐Period Kingdom of Israel: The Hasmonean Revolt and Monarchy The Hellenistic/Hasmonean Period as the Setting for Hebrew Bible Texts FOCUS TEXT: Daniel 10–12 The Formation of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament(s) Conclusion CHAPTER THIRTEEN REVIEW RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY

26 Glossary

27 Index

28 End User License Agreement

1 Prologue MAP 0.1 The ancient Near East.

2 c00 FIGURE 0.1 Scholarly edition of the same text as in Figure 0.2, below. In co... FIGURE 0.2 One of our earliest manuscripts of the book of Isaiah, dated to t...

3 Chapter 1 MAP 1.1 The land of Israel and its surroundings. FIGURE 1.1 Ancient visitors to Egypt from the East (Canaanites?). MAP 1.2 The major routes of the ancient Near East. Note how the major routes... MAP 1.3 The reach of three of the major empires that dominated Israel and/or...

4 Chapter 2 FIGURE 2.1 Part of the hill country of central Israel. Notice the ancient te... FIGURE 2.2 Typical pillared house of the Israelites. The bottom floor had st... FIGURE 2.3 Tablet containing a letter from Abdi‐heba, the ruler of Jerusalem... FIGURE 2.4 The Merneptah stela, including a list of Egyptian conquests and d... MAP 2.1 Areas of the hill country occupied by the Israelites and Judeans, an... FIGURE 2.5 Animals feeding on trees, an early Israelite reflection of a yet ...

5 Chapter 3FIGURE 3.1 Artist’s reconstruction of Solomon’s Jerusalem. The Temple is on ...FIGURE 3.2 Scribe standing before the king of a small neighboring kingdom wi...FIGURE 3.3 Mesopotamian student exercise tablet where the teacher wrote a co...FIGURE 3.4 Letters inscribed into the surface of a stone, with an overlay in...FIGURE 3.5 The “Gezer Calendar.” This may be an early educational exercise. ...

6 Chapter 4FIGURE 4.1 Copy of the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope, dated approximatel...FIGURE 4.2 The Hammurabi stela. The king shows respect before the enthroned ...FIGURE 4.3 Tablet of the Gilgamesh Epic containing the flood narrative.FIGURE 4.4 Titian’s painting of Adam and Eve taking the apple from a snake‐t...

7 Chapter 5MAP 5.1 The neighboring kingdoms of Israel and Judah.FIGURE 5.1 One of the ivory carvings found in Samaria, the site of Ahab’s fa...FIGURE 5.2 Detail from a wall‐sized panorama, in the palace of the Assyrian ...FIGURE 5.3 Panel from the Black Obelisk of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III...FIGURE 5.4 Ivory spoon found at Hazor, uniting images of a woman on one side...FIGURE 5.5 Pillar figurines of a sort common in archaeological remains of th...FIGURE 5.6 Drawing and inscription found at a desert trading post called Kun...