Myths of exile : history and metaphor in the Hebrew Bible / edited by Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Ingrid Hjelm.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer, 1980- editor.

Rosengarten Family Fund.

Series:

Copenhagen international seminar

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--History--Babylonian captivity, 598-515 B.C--Biblical teaching.

Jews.

History.

Biblical teaching.

Exile (Punishment)--Biblical teaching.

Exile (Punishment).

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

Bible.

Bible. Old Testament.

Metaphor in the Bible.

Physical Description:

xiii, 173 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2015.

Summary:

The Babylonian exile in 587-539 BCE is frequently presented as the main explanatory factor for the religious and literary developments found in the Hebrew Bible. The sheer number of both 'historical' and narrative exiles confirms that the theme of exile is of great importance in the Hebrew Bible. However, one does not do justice to the topic by restricting it to the exile in Babylon after 587 BCE. In recent years, it has become clear that there are several discrepancies between biblical and extra-biblical sources on invasion and deportation in Palestine in the 1st millennium BCE. Such discrepancy confirms that the theme of exile in the Hebrew Bible should not be viewed as an echo of a single traumatic historical event, but rather as a literary motif that is repeatedly reworked by biblical authors. Myths of Exile challenges the traditional understanding of 'the Exile' as a monolithic historical reality and instead provides a critical and comparative assessment of motifs of estrangement and belonging in the Hebrew Bible and related literature. Using selected texts as case studies, this book demonstrates how tales of exile and return can be described as a common formative narrative in the literature of the ancient Near East, a narrative that has been interpreted and used in various ways depending on the needs and cultural contexts of the interpreting community. Myths of Exile is a critical study which forms the basis for a fresh understanding of these exile myths as identity-building literary phenomena. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Creating exilic identities 11

1 Exile as the great divide: Would there be an 'ancient Israel' without an exile? / Niels Peter Lemche Lemche, Niels Peter 13

2 God leading his people: Exodus' longue durée / Fabio Porzia Porzia, Fabio 28

3 Exile and return and the closure of the Samaritan and Jewish canons / Ingrid Hjelm Hjelm, Ingrid 51

4 Constructions of exile in the Persian period / Cian Power Power, Cian 65

5 Exile as pilgrimage? / Ingrid Hjelm Hjelm, Ingrid 79

6 Psalm 137: Exile as hell! / Niels Peter Lemche Lemche, Niels Peter 89

Part II Motifs of exile and return 99

7 Sheep without a shepherd: Genesis' discourse on justice and reconciliation as exile's reconciliation as exile's raison d'être / Thomas L. Thompson Thompson, Thomas L. 101

8 Idol-taunt and exilic identity: A Dalit reading of Isaiah 44:9-20 / Dominic S. Irudayaraj Irudayaraj, Dominic S. 125

9 Exile and emergent monotheism: Learning loyalty from Jeremiah 42-44 / Rob Barrett Barrett, Rob 137

10 The return from exile in Ezra-Nehemiah / Roberto Piani Piani, Roberto 150.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Rosengarten Family Fund.

ISBN:

9781138886896

1138886890

OCLC:

903361833

Publisher Number:

99963563402

40025063333