The Book of Exodus : A Biography / Joel S. Baden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baden, Joel S., Author.

Series:

Lives of great religious books.

Lives of Great Religious Books ; 48

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Exodus--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (237 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

An essential biography of one of the Bible's most powerful and inspiring booksExodus is the second book of the Hebrew Bible, but it may rank first in lasting cultural importance. It is here that the classic biblical themes of oppression and redemption, of human enslavement and divine salvation, are most dramatically expressed. Joel Baden tells the story of this influential and enduring book, tracing how its famous account of the Israelites' journey to the promised land has been adopted and adapted for millennia, often in unexpected ways.Baden draws a distinction between the Exodus story and the book itself, which is one of the most multifaceted in the Bible, containing poems, law codes, rituals, and architectural plans. He shows how Exodus brings together an array of oral and written traditions from the ancient Middle East, and how it came to be ritualized in the Passover Seder and the Eucharist. Highlighting the remarkable resilience and flexibility of Exodus, Baden sheds light on how the bestowing of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai divided Jewish and Christian thinkers, on the importance of Exodus during the Reformation and the American Revolution, and on its uses in debates for and against slavery. He also traces how the defining narrative of ancient Israel helped to define Mormon social identity, the American civil rights movement, and liberation theology.Though three thousand years old, the Exodus-as history, as narrative, as metaphor, as model-continues to be vitally important for us today. Here is the essential biography of this incomparable spiritual masterpiece.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. Before the Bible

Chapter 2. The Exodus Story Outside the Book of Exodus

Chapter 3. Exodus as Ritual

Chapter 4. Sinai and the Law

Chapter 5. Social Formation and Communal Identity

Chapter 6. Exodus and Civil Rights

Chapter 7.Liberation Theology

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9781787853843

1787853845

9780691189277

0691189277

OCLC:

1089344628