The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity

by Isaac Kalimi

Overview

The book of Esther is one of the most challenging books in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, not only because of the difficulty of understanding the book itself in its time, place, and literary contexts, but also for the long and tortuous history of interpretation it has generated in both Jewish and Christian traditions. In this volume, Isaac Kalimi addresses both issues. He situates 'traditional' literary, textual, theological, and historical-critical discussion of Esther alongside comparative Jewish and Christian interpretive histories, showing how the former serves the latter. Kalimi also demonstrates how the various interpretations of the Book of Esther have had an impact on its reception history, as well as on Jewish-Christian relations. Based on meticulous and comprehensive analysis of all available sources, Kalimi's volume fills a gap in biblical, Jewish, and Christian studies and also shows how and why the Book of Esther became one of the central books of Judaism and one of the most neglected books in Christianity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009266123
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/06/2023
Pages:	350
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Isaac Kalimi is emeritus Research Professor of Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament studies, Ancient Israelite history, and Jewish Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is one of the most important and influential scholars in our time. His scholarly output has been prodigious and has encompassed a wide variety of fields. He is an ordinary member of the Academia Europaea and author of numerous books and articles, including The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles (2005, 2012; R.B.Y. Scott Book Award of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies 2006); An Ancient Israelite Historian (2005); The Retelling of Chronicles in Jewish Tradition and Literature (2009); Fighting Over the Bible (2017); Metathesis in the Hebrew Bible (2018); Untersuchungen zur Jüdischen Schriftauslegung und Theologie (2018; Franz Delitzsch Prize 2019); and Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel (2018).

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction; Part I. Esther: Story and History, Literary Features and Theology: 2. Esther's Story: Composition, literary unity, textual development, and noble characters; 3. Virtuosity, literary style and features; 4. The central message of Esther within biblical and ancient near east contexts; 5. Historical setting and historicity; 6. Ancient parallels to Haman's accusations; Part II. 'Oh, How Much They Love the Book Of Esther!' Esther Among the Jews: 7. Esther, Torah's Law, and the dead sea scrolls' community; 8. Esther in Jewish canon, tradition, culture and thought; 9. Identification of Jew-haters with Haman: New 'Hamans,' 'Purims' and 'Megillot'; Part III. Divine or Demon? Esther Among the Christians: 10. Esther in the Christian canon, interpretation, tradition and culture; 11. Esther, the Jews, and Martin Luther; 12. Christian Anti-Esther and Judeophobic interpretation; 13. Christian pro-esther interpretation; 14. Synthesis and conclusion; Bibliography; Indexes.

Editorial Reviews

‘This book is an excellent companion for anyone wishing to learn more about the book of Esther and its interpretation. It assumes (of course) that the reader is already familiar with the story and leads us to a deeper understanding of the text and the way in which it has been understood. It is of particular value for anyone wishing to know more about the Jewish reading or that of Martin Luther in particular. It is very readable and interesting, since Dr Kalimi writes with a captivating style that makes an academic book genuinely enjoyable to read.’ Dom Anselm Brumwell, The Downside Review

From the Publisher