This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of I and II Chronicles. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
In the last several decades, interest in the Exilic and Postexilic periods of ancient Israel’s history has grown, especially as this era has been recognized to be important for the formation of the Hebrew Bible. One of the scholars at the forefront of interest in this period is Sara Japhet, now Yehezkel Kaufmann Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This volume, which is based on Japhet’s 1973 Ph.D. dissertation at the Hebrew University (published in Hebrew in 1978), was first published in English in 1989 and rapidly was recognized as a major distillation of the themes underlying the ideology of the book of Chronicles. The book of Chronicles, written at the end of the fourth century B.C.E., relates the history of Israel from its beginnings with the creation of man to the return from exile with the declaration of Cyrus. The historical and theological points of departure of the Chronicler’s description are to be found in the realities of his own day. Through this historical composition, he attempts to imbue with new meaning the two components of Israel’s life: the past, which through its sublimation and transformation into a norm was in danger of becoming remote and irrelevant, and the present, which is granted full legitimization by demonstrating its continuity with this past. The one is interpreted in terms of the other. Japhet’s study strives to reveal the Chronicler’s views and perspectives on all the major issues of Israel’s history and religion, unveiling his role as a bridge between biblical and postbiblical faith. The book has been out of print for a number of years; this edition, which has been completely retypeset (so that it is more readable), makes an important contribution to the growing body of literature that explores the development of Israelite religion during the time of the formation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Japhet’s ground-breaking work continues to make a lasting contribution to our understanding of the historical and theological position of the Chronicler.
This extraordinary commentary by a late twelfth-century anonymous northern French exegete interprets the Song of Songs solely according to its plain meaning as a story of two young lovers and their developing relationship. The exegete pays attention to every detail of the text, offering many enlightening insights into its meaning, all the while expanding upon the “way of lovers” – the ways that young people in love go about their lovemaking. The French background of the exegete is made clear by numerous references to knights, coats of arms, weapons, chivalry, and of course, wine drinking. The edition is accompanied by an English translation and extensive introduction which analyzes the various linguistic, literary, and exegetical features of the text.
Culled from various books, journals, and festschrifts, the most important essays by Sara Japhet on the biblical restoration period and the books of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles appear in this accessible collection."--BOOK JACKET.
This commentary was first published in 1855 in the Aharon Yelink Edition of the 32 Hamburg manuscripts and was welcomed happily by the Jewish Sages of that generation, however it was quickly forgotten and its relation to RASHBAM was distrusted. The damaged edition, in which it was published, did not benefit it either, and it hardly left any impression on the Biblical research of the new age. The current essay is a revised scientific edition of the commentary, based on all the known wording testimonies known today: 3 complete manuscripts, 2 segments of other manuscripts and another written testimony of another manuscript which we do not hold. The commentary's edition is preceded by a comprehensive preface which deals with a wide range of subjects: identifying the commentary's author, its affinity to other essays by RASHBAM, the sources of the commentary, the literary aspects of the commentary, allegoric commentary of SONG OF SONGS and his message according to his time and era, verbal issues in the commentary and an introduction to this edition.
seasons of life is a book where we come across different phases we go through but this is something where we enjoy pain besides learning from it. learning and growing out of myraids of situation should be the main focus of ones life
This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of I and II Chronicles. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
Culled from various books, journals, and festscrifts, the most important essays by Sara Japhet on the biblical restoration period and the books of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles appear in this accessible collection. Japhet, who is Yehezkel Kaufmann Professor of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and received the Israel Prize for biblical scholarship in 2004, has been a leading scholar on these topics for more than 30 years. Included here are studies on the question of common authorship of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles, the temple during the restoration period, the use of the law in Ezra-Nehemiah, postexilic historiography, the “remnant” and self-definition during the restoration period, the historical reliability of Chronicles, and conquest and settlement in Chronicles. Scholars and students with an interest in the history, historiography, and theology of the restoration period, and in the interpretation of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles will want to own this compendium of valuable essays.
Bathsheba is undeniably a minor character in the biblical plotline, appearing in only four chapters in Samuel and Kings combined, and even therein saying and doing very little. Thus she is often ignored or mentioned merely parenthetically. When Bathsheba has been considered, she has been depicted in a myriad of ways on the spectrum from helpless victim to hapless seductress. In fact, with so many different interpretations of her throughout the centuries, it is easy to find oneself asking, along with the anonymous informant in 2 Sam 11:3, "Isn't this Bathsheba?"This study argues that while she is a minor character, Bathsheba is complex and positive, and shows development from when she first appears in Samuel to when she fades out of the story in Kings. Koenig compares close and careful reading of Bathsheba in the Masoretic Text with the story as it appears in the versions of the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Targum of Jonathan. In those versions, Bathsheba's characterization as a complex, generally positive individual and as a character who shows development remains consistent with the Masoretic Text: not in spite of the changes from the Hebrew into Greek, Syriac, and Aramaic, but because of them. This study also considers how Bathsheba is portrayed in early Jewish interpretations from Josephus, the Talmud, and rabbinic Midrash. Even there, the portrayal of Bathsheba is rich and positive. Studying Bathsheba's character has implications for a broader understanding of how texts are read, how meanings are gathered, and how characters are built.
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