Inconsistency in the Torah
Joshua A. Berman
€ 198.43
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Description for Inconsistency in the Torah
Rather than viewing inconsistencies in the Torah as signs of revision, this book identifies precursors for these phenomena in ancient Near Eastern writings. It claims that Enlightenment and German historicist influences corrupted critical study of the Bible, and calls for a return to the more modest agenda set out by Spinoza. Num Pages: 320 pages. BIC Classification: HRJ; HRJS. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 235 x 156. .
Inconsistencies in the Torah is a critical intellectual history of the theories of textual growth in biblical studies. The historical critical approach to the Pentateuch has long relied upon scholarly intuition concerning some of its narrative and legal discrepancies, which scholars have taken as signs of fragmentation and competing agendas. Those hypotheses are, Joshua A. Berman argues, based on anachronistic, nineteenth-century understandings of ancient Near Eastern and biblical law as statutory law. Indeed, the Pentateuch's inconsistencies are not dissimilar to types of narrative inconsistencies from Egyptian monumental inscriptions and the historical prologues of the Hittite vassal treaty tradition. Berman here ... Read more
Inconsistencies in the Torah is a critical intellectual history of the theories of textual growth in biblical studies. The historical critical approach to the Pentateuch has long relied upon scholarly intuition concerning some of its narrative and legal discrepancies, which scholars have taken as signs of fragmentation and competing agendas. Those hypotheses are, Joshua A. Berman argues, based on anachronistic, nineteenth-century understandings of ancient Near Eastern and biblical law as statutory law. Indeed, the Pentateuch's inconsistencies are not dissimilar to types of narrative inconsistencies from Egyptian monumental inscriptions and the historical prologues of the Hittite vassal treaty tradition. Berman here ... Read more
Product Details
Publisher
Oxford University Press Inc United States
Number of pages
320
Condition
New
Number of Pages
320
Format
Hardback
Place of Publication
New York, United States
ISBN
9780190658809
SKU
V9780190658809
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-13
About Joshua A. Berman
Joshua A. Berman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Hebrew Bible at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is the author of Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought.
Reviews for Inconsistency in the Torah
I find Berman's call for understanding the Hebrew Bible as a product of the Ancient Near East literary milieu to be foundational. I would argue that in his book, nonstandard, alternative perspectives can be found and built upon, instead of fundamentalist apologetics. As such, the book will engage both avid students who enjoy learning about the history and modern ideas ... Read more