Land, Credit and Crisis: Agrarian Finance in the Hebrew Bible

by Philippe Guillaume

Overview

Land, Credit and Crisis presents a new understanding of the financial culture of the Bible. Biblical Palestine was characterized by an over-abundance of arable land combined with a chronic lack of manpower and agricultural credit - circumstances which lead to much prophetic fulminating against merchants and the rich. The book reveals how the financial instruments and institutions of the time reflected a tough economic realism and argues that the image of the biblical prophet as a champion of social justice must be revised.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845539283
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/15/2012
Series:	BibleWorld
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Philippe Guillaume is a trained agriculturalist, theologian and biblical archaeologist, and has taught Old Testament/Hebrew Bible in Switzerland, Lebanon and England. He is currently writing a Habilitationsschrift at the University of Berne.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I: Land 1. Land Tenure 2. Communal Land 3. The Myth of the Helpless Peasant 4. New Perspectives on Land Passages Part II: Credit 5. Agricultural Credit 6. Debt and Patronage 7. Debt in the Bible Part III: No Crisis in Yehud 8. Life in Yehud 9. Financing Production and Commerce General Conclusion