Reading the lines : a fresh look at the Hebrew Bible / Pamela Tamarkin Reis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Reis, Pamela Tamarkin, 1935-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Old Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Bible. Old Testament.

Physical Description:

x, 227 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Peabody, Mass. : Hendrickson Publishers, [2002]

Summary:

Defying conventional wisdom with witty iconoclasm, Pamela Tamarkin Reis proves in these thought-provoking essays that you don't have to be a scholar to formulate intelligent, original opinions about the Bible. In refreshingly readable prose, Ms. Reis presents eleven essays on debated cruxes of the Hebrew Bible, all of which have been published in serious academic journals despite the author's lack of traditional credentials.

Reis challenges many commonly held assumptions of scholars by reading biblical texts as integrated, intelligible literary masterworks. She does not find warrant in these stories for the too-easily accepted conclusion that they are patchworks from multiple authors and sources. Her analyses are patently literary, though she is well informed by modern scholarship and traditional Jewish (medieval rabbinic) interpretation.

Using everyday analogies and paradigms drawn from contemporary life, and infusing her approach with references to literary figures from Cervantes to Edmund Wilson to Ring Lardner, Reis's analyses display originality and unpretentious intellect. Her compelling opinions and down-to-earth approach will show lay readers that the Bible is neither too hard nor too far away and will oblige scholars to approach their own interpretations with more rigorous attention to every word.

Contents:

Rashomon and the biblical creation narratives

What Cain said : a note on Genesis 4:8

Take my wife, please : on the utility of the wife/sister motif

Hagar requited

Dead men tell no tales : on the motivation of Joseph's brothers

Bridegroom of blood : a new reading

Spoiled child : a fresh look at Jephthah's daughter

Collusion at Nob : a new reading of 1 Samuel 21-22

Eating the blood : Saul and the Witch of Endor

Cupidity and stupidity : woman's agency and the "rape" of Tamar

Vindicating God : another look at 1 Kings 13.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1565636961

OCLC:

49285374