Who really wrote the Bible : the story of the scribes / William M. Schniedewind.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schniedewind, William M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible--Authorship.

Bible.

Bible--History.

Bible--Canon.

Authorship.

Genre:

History

Informational works.

Physical Description:

xiii, 337 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton ; Oxford : Princeton University Press, [2024]

Summary:

"Schniedewind draws on ancient inscriptions, archaeology, and anthropology, as well as a close reading of the biblical text itself, to trace the communal origin of biblical literature. Scribes were educated through apprenticeship rather than in schools. The prophet Isaiah, for example, has his 'disciples'; Elisha has his 'apprentice.' This mode of learning emphasized the need to pass along the traditions of a community of practice rather than to individuate and invent. Schniedewind shows that it is anachronistic to impose our ideas about individual authorship and authors on the writing of the Bible. Ancient Israelites didn't live in books, he writes, but along dusty highways and byways. 'Who really wrote the Bible' describes how scribes and their apprentices actually worked in ancient Jerusalem and Judah"--Publisher website.

Contents:

Preface

Introduction: A new approach to the Bible

Scribes and their apprentices : communities at work

Part one. Hebrew scribal communities. The beginning under Egyptian dominion ; In the service of the state ; Refugees from the Samarian scribal office

Part two. The beginnings of the Bible. New scribal communities ; The prophetic scribal community ; Scribes among the people of the land ; Women in the professions ; Priestly scribal communities : Jerusalem and the periphery

Part three. A scribal community survives. Exiled scribal communities : the stories of Jeremiah and Ezekiel ; Working with the Samaritans ; Ezra and Nehemiah : Persian scribal communities

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-320) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780691233178

0691233179

OCLC:

1401654989