The Hebrew Bible and History: Critical Readings

by Lester L. Grabbe (Editor)

Overview

These critical readings explore the history of ancient Israel, from the Late Bronze Age to the Persian period, as it relates to the Bible. Selected by one of the world's leading scholars of biblical history, the texts are drawn from a range of highly respected international scholars, and from a variety of historical and religious perspectives, presenting the key voices of the debate in one convenient volume.

Divided into five sections - each featuring an introduction by Lester Grabbe - the volume first covers general methodological principles, before following the chronology of Israel's earliest history; including two sections on specific cases studies (the reforms of Josiah and the wall of Nehemiah). A final chapter summarizes many of the historical principles that emerge in the course of studying Israelite history, and an annotated bibliography points researchers towards further readings and engagements with these key themes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780567716873
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/26/2024
Series:	T&T Clark Critical Readings in Biblical Studies
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	6.65(w) x 9.61(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, UK, and the author of numerous books on the history of Ancient Israel.

Table of Contents

Contents
Original Publication
Introduction
Principles for Writing History
Contents of the Volume

Part I: Studies in Methodology
Introduction
1. Herbert Niehr: 'Some Aspects of Working with the Textual Sources'
2. Hans M. Barstad: 'The Strange Fear of the Bible: Some Reflections on the “Bibliophobia” in Recent Ancient Israelite Historiography'
3. J. Maxwell Miller: 'Is it Possible to Write a History of Israel without Relying on the Hebrew Bible?'
4. Max Miller: 'Reading the Bible Historically: The Historian's Approach'
5. Nadav Na'aman: 'Does Archaeology Really Deserve the Status of a “High Court” in Biblical Historical Research?'
6. Ehud Ben Zvi: 'Malleability and its Limits: Sennacherib's Campaign against Judah as a Case-Study'
7. Niels Peter Lemche: 'On the Problems of Reconstructing Pre-Hellenistic Israelite (Palestinian) History'
8. Thomas L. Thompson: 'Text, Context, and Referent in Israelite Historiography'
9. Lester L. Grabbe: 'The Big Max: Review of A Biblical History of Israel by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III'
10. Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III: '“Who Is the Prophet Talking about, Himself or Someone Else?” (Acts 8.34): A Response to Lester Grabbe's Review of A Biblical History of Israel'
Further Readings
Part II: The Beginnings of Israel and the Rise of the Monarchy
Introduction
11. John Van Seters: 'The Geography of the Exodus'
12. Ernst Axel Knauf: 'History in Joshua'
13. Ernst Axel Knauf: 'History in Judges'
14. Diana Edelman: 'Saul ben Kish in History and Tradition'
15. Lester L. Grabbe: 'The Mighty Men of Israel: 1-2 Samuel and History'
16. Nadav Na'aman: 'Sources and Composition in the History of David'
17. Walter Dietrich: 'David and the Philistines: Literature and History'
18. Ernst Axel Knauf, 'King Solomon's Copper Supply'
19. Hermann Michael Niemann: 'The Socio-Political Shadow Cast by the Biblical Solomon'
20. Ann E. Killebrew: 'Biblical Jerusalem: An Archaeological Assessment'
21. Rainer Albertz: 'Secondary Sources also Deserve to Be Historically Evaluated: The Case of the United Monarchy'
Further Readings
Part III: Case Study: The Question of the Reform under Josiah
Introduction
22. Philip R. Davies: 'Josiah and the Law Book'
23. Rainer Albertz: 'Why a Reform like Josiah's Must Have Happened'
24. Christoph Uehlinger: 'Was There a Cult Reform under King Josiah? The Case for a Well-Grounded Minimum'
Further Readings
Part IV: Case Study: The Problem of Nehemiah's Wall
Introduction
25. Israel Finkelstein: 'Geographical Lists in Ezra and Nehemiah in the Light of Archaeology: Persian or Hellenistic?'
26. Oded Lipschits: 'Jerusalem between Two Periods of Greatness: The Size and Status of the City in the Babylonian, Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods'
Further Readings
Part V: Conclusions
27. Lester L. Grabbe: 'Seventeen Years of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology: The Results'
Further Readings
Index

Editorial Reviews

It is well known that for the last several decades the study of ancient Israelite history has been a hotbed of scholarly dispute. Lester Grabbe's new book addresses this dispute directly. The essays, from a variety of scholars, range from general reflections on historical method to studies of particular episodes in the history of ancient Israel and the sources for them, especially the Hebrew Bible. To help the reader sort these essays out, Grabbe provides summaries of them, along with remarks on the common issues they treat and the context of contemporary scholarship to which they belong. The essays themselves are detailed and provocative, and while a number of them take a seriously critical stance toward the Hebrew Bible as a reliable historical source, Grabbe has sought in places to balance these out with others that offer an opposing or moderating voice. In all, a substantial volume that repays close scrutiny.” —PETER MACHINIST, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, USA

From the Publisher