Transforming literature into scripture : texts as cult objects at Nineveh and Qumran / Russell Hobson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hobson, Russell, 1974-

Series:

Bible world (London, England)

BibleWorld

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Bible.

Bible. Old Testament--Canonical criticism.

Dead Sea scrolls--Relation to the Old Testament.

Dead Sea scrolls.

Assyro-Babylonian literature--Relation to the Old Testament.

Assyro-Babylonian literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 230 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Sheffield, UK ; Bristol, CT : Equinox Pub., 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Transforming Literature into Scripture examines how the early textual traditions of ancient Israel - stories, laws, and rituals - were transformed into sacred writings. By comparing evidence from two key collections from antiquity - the royal library at Nineveh and the biblical manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls - the book traces the stabilization of textual traditions in the ancient Near East towards fixed literary prototypes. The study presents a new methodology which enables the quantification, categorisation and statistical analysis of texts from different languages, writing systems, and media. The methodology is tested on a wide range of text genres from the cuneiform and biblical traditions in order to determine which texts tend towards stabilized forms. Transforming Literature into Scripture reveals how authoritative literary collections metamorphosed into fixed ritualized texts and will be of interest to scholars across biblical, Judaic and literary studies.

Contents:

Authoritative texts in the Hebrew and cuneiform traditions

Formulating a new comparative approach

Choosing the right texts

Study one : Enūma Anu Enlil tablet 63

Study two : Mul. Apin

Study three : the Laws of Hammurabi

Study four : tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Study five : Mīs Pî

Study six : manuscripts of Pentateuchal texts from near the Dead Sea

Interpreting the evidence.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-317-54497-8

1-138-10822-7

1-315-72912-1

1-317-54498-6

1-84465-768-X

9781315729121

OCLC:

856413191