Scriptural tales retold : the inventiveness of Second Temple Jews / Erich S. Gruen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gruen, Erich S., author.

Series:

Jewish and Christian Texts.

Jewish and Christian Texts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible stories.

Jewish authors.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (185 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2024.

Place of Publication:

London : T&T Clark, 2024.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file HTML

Summary:

Erich S. Gruen investigates a remarkable phenomenon in religious and literary history: the freedom with which Jewish writers in antiquity retold and recast, sometimes distorted or bypassed, biblical narratives that ostensibly had the status of sacred texts. Gruen asks the question of what prompted such tampering with tales that carried divine authority, and what implications this widespread practice of liberal revising had for attitudes toward the sacrality of the scriptures in general. Gruen focuses upon writings of the Second Temple period, an era of the deep integration of Jewish history and the Greco-Roman world. Gruen brings to the task the training of a classicist and ancient historian rather than that of a biblical textual critic or a rabbinics scholar, not pursuing the commentaries of the later rabbis with their very different approaches, methods, and goals. As such, Gruen's emphasis rests upon narrative rather than legal matters, the haggadic rather than the halakhic. The former lends itself most readily to the creative instincts of the re-tellers.

Contents:

Preface Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Tower of Babel 2. Abraham in Egypt 3. Sarah and Hager 4.The Aqedah 5.The Testament of Abraham 6. The Rape of Dinah 7. The Conflicting Character of Joseph 8. Tamar and Judah 9. Moses and God 10. Moses in Ethiopia 11. Moses as Universal Figure 12. Balaam and Wayward Prophecy 13. Yael and he Death of Sisera 14. Jephthah and his Daughter 15. Samson as Superhero 16. The Judean Monarchy and Saul 17. Solomon and the Building of the Temple 18. The Travails of Job 19. The Additions to Esther Conclusion Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780567715203

0567715205

9780567715180

0567715183

9780567715197

0567715191

OCLC:

1435635642