Author: Thomas L. Thompson Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 9781563383892 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 414
Book Description
Archaeology seems to have become an active partner in the attempt to prove the historical truth of the Bible. Biblical archaeologists have gone to the field in search of Noah's ark or the walls of Jericho, as if the finding of these artifacts would make the events of scripture somehow more true or real. Thomas Thompson is one of the most vocal contemporary critics of biblical archaeology. His simple but powerful thesis is that archaeology cannot be used in the service of the Bible. Focusing on the patriarchal narratives the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob he demonstrates that archaeological research simply cannot historically substantiate these stories. Going further, Thompson says that archaeological materials should never be dated or evaluated on the basis of written texts. Looking to the patriarchal narratives in Genesis, he concludes that these stories are neither historical nor were they intended to be historical. Instead, these narratives are written as expressions of Israel's relationship to God. Thomas L. Thompson is Professor of Old Testament, University of Copenhagen. His books include The Mythic Past and The Early History of the Israelite People.
Author: Emanuel Pfoh Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 0567686574 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
This volume collects essays from an international body of leading scholars in Old Testament studies, focused upon the key concepts of the question of historicity of biblical stories, the archaeology of Israel/Palestine during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and the nature of biblical narratives and related literature. As a celebration of the extensive body of Thomas L. Thompson's work, these essays enable a threefold perspective on biblical narratives. Beginning with 'method', the contributors discuss archaeology, cultural memory, epistemology, and sociology of knowledge, before moving to 'history, historiography and archaeology' and close analysis of the Qumran Writings, Josephus and biblical rewritings. Finally the argument turn to the narratives themselves, exploring topics including the possibility of invented myth, the genre of Judges and the depiction of Moses in the Qu'ran. Presenting an interdisciplinary analysis of the historical issues concerning ancient Israel/Palestine, this volume creates an updated body of reference to fifty years' worth of scholarship.
Author: A. R Millard Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers ISBN: 1725221543 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
Today, there is renewed interest in the history and traditions of the patriarchal period. Recent publications have sought, among other things, to show that the biblical patriarchs were a literary, even fictional, creation of the first millennium BC, produced to provide the nation of Israel, which came into prominence only then, with "founding fathers." Much of this new writing is helpful in distinguishing what are traditional or speculative interpretations from the basic texts of Genesis. Sometimes archaeological evidence has been adducted in support of the historicity of the patriarchs and their cultural background in the second millennium BC which can no longer be sustained. Sometimes, however, the value of such evidence is ignored or belittled. -- from the preface
Author: John Van Seters Publisher: ISBN: 9781626549104 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 350
Book Description
"An important work which cannot be ignored." -Journal of Biblical Literature "The author has undertaken an objective evaluation of the more serious scholarly attempts at reconstructing the early Patriarchal Period during the past half century of archaeologically oriented research. . . . He presents a wealth of extra biblical material, in conjunction with the biblical, to determine how much of the data dealing with Abraham (and in part with Isaac) are historical and how the data in general are to be handled. . . . The study provides a badly needed whiff of fresh air in a period whose scholarly atmosphere has become stale. Three useful indexes . . . bring this volume to a close." -Harry Orlinsky, JWB Circle "Old Testament Scholars have learned to expect critical precision and provocative insight from the pen of John Van Seters. His book on the Abraham traditions meets those expectations in detail not previously available in print and this must be welcomed by all involved in Pentateuchal research." -George W. Coats, Interpretation Abraham in History and Tradition evaluates previous scholarly insight on the early patriarchal period while challenging many dominant views in Biblical Studies and providing criticism on tradition history and documentary hypothesis. Upon its initial publication in 1975, this landmark work provided fresh insight in the fields of Near Eastern Studies and Biblical Archaeology. Well-researched and cogent, Van Seter's groundbreaking analysis remains relevant and continues to inspire new research in the present. John Van Seters is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Author: Thomas L Thompson Publisher: Basic Books ISBN: 0786725176 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 438
Book Description
The Jewish people's historical claims to a small area of land bordering the eastern Mediterranean are not only the foundation for the modern state of Israel, they are also at the very heart of Judeo-Christian belief. Yet in The Mythic Past, Thomas Thompson argues that such claims are grounded in literary myth, not history. Among the author's startling conclusions are these: There never was a "united monarch" of Israel in biblical times -- We can no longer talk about a time of the Patriarchs -- The entire notion of "Israel" and its history is a literary fiction. The Mythic Past provides refreshing new ways to read the Old Testament as the great literature it was meant to be. At the same time, its controversial conclusions about Jewish history are sure to prove incendiary in a worldwide debate about one of the world's seminal texts, and one of its most bitterly contested regions.
Author: Thompson Publisher: BRILL ISBN: 9004494227 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 499
Book Description
This is a groundbreaking book on the origins of Israel, taking into account the contexts of geography, anthropology, and sociology, and drawing on a careful analysis of archaeological and written evidence. Thompson argues that none of the traditional models for the origin of biblical Israel in terms of conquest, peaceful settlement, or revolution are viable. The ninth and eighth century BC State of Israel is a product of the Mediterranean economy. The development of the ethnic concept of biblical Israel finds its context in history first at the time of the Persian renaissance. The volume presents a clear historical context and an interpretative matrix for the Bible.
Author: Susan Brownmiller Publisher: Open Road Media ISBN: 1480441953 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 767
Book Description
DIVDIVSusan Brownmiller’s groundbreaking bestseller uncovers the culture of violence against women with a devastating exploration of the history of rape—now with a new preface by the author exposing the undercurrents of rape still present today/divDIV Rape, as author Susan Brownmiller proves in her startling and important book, is not about sex but about power, fear, and subjugation. For thousands of years, it has been viewed as an acceptable “spoil of war,” used as a weapon by invading armies to crush the will of the conquered. The act of rape against women has long been cloaked in lies and false justifications./divDIV It is ignored, tolerated, even encouraged by governments and military leaders, misunderstood by police and security organizations, freely employed by domineering husbands and lovers, downplayed by medical and legal professionals more inclined to “blame the victim,” and, perhaps most shockingly, accepted in supposedly civilized societies worldwide, including the United States./divDIV Against Our Will is a classic work that has been widely credited with changing prevailing attitudes about violence against women by awakening the public to the true and continuing tragedy of rape around the globe and throughout the ages./divDIV Selected by the New York Times Book Review as an Outstanding Book of the Year and included among the New York Public Library’s Books of the Century, Against Our Will remains an essential work of sociological and historical importance./divDIV/div/div