Description
This Oxford Handbook is a serious resource for the study of the literature of the Writings (Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles, Daniel) of the Hebrew Bible, including its context and its scriptural/canonical shape and reception. A first section provides an overview of the post-exilic period in which much of the Writings was written, focusing on history, archeology, and the development of major literary traditions, all of which provide the context for understanding and interpreting this literature. A second section contains creative studies of the books in the Writings, focusing on structure, purpose, and distinctive characteristics of this very diverse literature. A third section looks at the Writings from larger and longer perspectives including the ancient Near East, developing Judaism and Christianity, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, music and the arts, and its canonization and reception by Judaism and Christianity. This handbook has a focus on the special character and shape of the Writings as scripture and canon, including the recurring issues of diversity and difference, dates of canonization, its special relationship to other scripture and canon (Torah, Prophets, New Testament), and its interpretation in religious and non-religious communities.
Table of Contents
PrefaceList of ContributorsAbbreviations1. Studying The Writings As Post-Exilic Literature and Canon Donn F. MorganHistory2. The Early Post-Exilic Period in the Writings (Cyrus through Ezra-Nehemiah) Lester L. Grabbe3. The Writings in the Hellenistic and Roman Period Timothy H. Lim4. Archeology of the Post-Exilic Period and the Writings Benjamin D. GordonInstitutional and Literary Traditions5. Cultic Traditions in the Writings: Priests and Levites in the Post-Exilic Period Mark A. Leuchter6. Wisdom Traditions and the Writings: Sage and Scribe James L. Crenshaw7. Apocalyptic Visions and Revisions of the End in the Writings Bennie H. Reynolds III8. Post-Exilic Prose Traditions in the Writings: Novella Writers, Story Tellers, and History Writers Thomas M. Bolin9. Post-exilic Poetic Traditions in the Writings S.E. GillinghamLiterature10. Reading Psalms Sapientially in the Writings William P. Brown11. The Book of Job in the Context of the Writings Katherine J. Dell12. Reading Proverbs as a Book in the Writings Julius Steinberg13. Lamentations and Canon: Conversations in the Dark Scott Ellington14. Ruth: A Reading of Scripture? A. Graeme Auld15. Esther's Frame within the Writings Timothy J. Stone16. Qoheleth in the Writings Erhard S. Gerstenberger17. The Wisdom of Desire in the Song of Songs Carey Walsh18. Reimagining Community Past and Present in Ezra and Nehemiah Melody D. Knowles19. Chronicles and the Writings John C. Endres20. Reading Daniel as Part of the Writings Ralph W. KleinLater Interpretation21. Writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls Lawrence H. Schiffman22. Nascent Judaism: The Writings and the History of Religions John L. Berquist23. Ancient Near Eastern Religions and the Writings Daniel C. Snell24. The Divine Human Encounter in the Hebrew Wisdom of the Writings and the Confucian Analects Archie Chi-Chung Lee25. Moving Texts: The Writings in Western Music and Visual Arts Roger Ferlo26. The Reception of the Writings and their place in the Biblical Canon Lee Martin McDonald27. The Canonical Shape and Function of the Writings Timothy J. Stone28. Aspects of Jewish Reception of the Ketuvim (Writings) Alan Cooper29. The Writings in the Christian Bible Mark W. Elliott30. The Writings and Canon: Enduring Issues and Legacy Donn F. Morgan
