Revelation and Authority : Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition / Benjamin D. Sommer; John Collins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sommer, Benjamin D., author.

Series:

Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library

The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rabbinical literature--History and criticism.

Rabbinical literature.

Revelation on Sinai.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (440 p.)

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2025.

Place of Publication:

London : Yale University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file rdaft

Summary:

Winner of the 2016 Goldstein-Goren Award for the best book in Jewish Thought At once a study of biblical theology and modern Jewish thought, this volume describes a "participatory theory of revelation" as it addresses the ways biblical authors and contemporary theologians alike understand the process of revelation and hence the authority of the law. Benjamin Sommer maintains that the Pentateuch's authors intend not only to convey God's will but to express Israel's interpretation of and response to that divine will. Thus Sommer's close readings of biblical texts bolster liberal theologies of modern Judaism, especially those of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Franz Rosenzweig. This bold view of revelation puts a premium on human agency and attests to the grandeur of a God who accomplishes a providential task through the free will of the human subjects under divine authority. Yet, even though the Pentateuch's authors hold diverse views of revelation, all of them regard the binding authority of the law as sacrosanct. Sommer's book demonstrates why a law-observant religious Jew can be open to discoveries about the Bible that seem nontraditional or even antireligious.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Participatory Theories of Revelation

1. Artifact or Scripture?

2. What Happened at Sinai? Maximalist and Minimalist Approaches

3. Command and Law in the Participatory Theology of Revelation

4. Scripture as Tradition, and Tradition as Scripture

5. Event, Process, and Eternity

6. A Modern Jewish Approach to Scripture

Conclusion: Innovation, Continuity, and Covenant

Notes

Bibliography

Subject Index

Index of Ancient and Medieval Sources

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

0-300-28827-1

OCLC:

910553923