Bibliographical details:
Brettler, M. Z. (2005). How to Read the Bible. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society.
Publisher’s information:
In his new book, master Bible scholar and teacher Marc Brettler argues that today’s contemporary readers can only understand the ancient Hebrew scripture by knowing more about the culture that produced it. And so Brettler unpacks the literary conventions, ideological assumptions, and historical conditions that inform the biblical text and demonstrates how modern critical scholarship and archaeological discoveries shed light on this fascinating and complex literature.
Brettler surveys representative biblical texts from different genres to illustrate how modern scholars have taught us to ‘read’ these texts. Using the ‘historical-critical method’ long popular in academia, he guides us in reading the Bible as it was read in the biblical period, independent of later religious norms and interpretive traditions. Understanding the Bible this way lets us appreciate it as a fascinating text that speaks in multiple voices on profound issues.
In his afterword, the author discusses how the historical-critical method can help contemporary Jews relate to the Bible as a religious text in a more meaningful way.
‘At last, a book that successfully bridges the gap between the discoveries of biblical scholarship and the needs of contemporary readers! How to Read the Bible is an extraordinary book – both erudite and accessible.’ – Carol Meyers, Mary Grace Wilson Professor in the Department of Religion, Duke University
‘An introduction to the Hebrew Bible I can recommend with enthusiasm and confidence. Marc Brettler’s new book is a model of educational clarity, judicious discussions, and critical analysis. He is an authoritative guide into the Bible’s many genres, stylistic intricacies, and religious teachings.’ – Michael Fishbane, Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Chicago
‘Brettler offers a discussion that is explicitly and specifically concerned for Jewish faith, but his work will be instructive for others as well, especially Christians who struggle with the same issue[s]. Brettler’s contribution is a welcome one, reflecting deep learning, judicious judgment, and shrewd interpretation.’ – Walter Brueggemann, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary
‘Marc Brettler’s How to Read the Bible is a marvelous and unique introduction to the Bible for contemporary readers. In a clear and readable style Brettler helps us understand the Bible in its own context, clarifying its world view and religious sensibility and opening up the cultural context and historical background of the age in which it was born. Brettler shows the way that modern biblical scholarship can help us understand and appreciate the foundational book of Jewish civilization.’ – Barry W. Holtz, Theodore and Florence Baumritter Professor of Jewish Education, Jewish Theological Seminary
A GUIDE TO READING THE BIBLE THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS WRITERS
This book is the first ‘Jewishly sensitive’ introduction to the historical-critical method of interpreting the Bible. Unlike other such introductory texts, the Bible that this book speaks about is the Jewish one – with the three-part TANAKH arrangement, the sequence of books found in modern printed Hebrew editions, and the chapter and verse enumerations used in most modern Jewish versions.
Marc Zvi Brettler received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, where he is now Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Literature and chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. His main areas of research are religious metaphors and the Bible, biblical historical texts, and women and the Bible. He is the author of several books and co-editor of The Jewish Study Bible.
Table of contents:
Preface … ix
Abbreviations … xiii
1. Reading as a Jew and as a Scholar … 1
2. What Is the Bible, Anyway? … 7
3. The Art of Reading the Bible … 13
4. A Brief History of Israel … 19
5. With Scissors and Paste: The Sources of Genesis … 29
6. Creation vs. Creationism: Genesis 1–3 as Myth … 37
7. The Ancestors as Heroes … 49
8. Biblical Law: Codes and Collections … 61
9. Incense Is Offensive to Me: The Cult in Ancient Israel … 73
10. ‘In the Fortieth Year … Moses Addressed the Israelites’: Deuteronomy … 85
11. ‘The Walls Came Tumbling Down’: Reading Joshua … 95
12. ‘May My Lord King David Live Forever’: Royal Ideology in Samuel and Judges … 107
13. ‘For Israel Tore Away from the House of David’: Reading Kings … 117
14. Revisionist History: Reading Chronicles … 129
15. Introduction to Prophecy … 137
16. ‘Let Justice Well Up like Water’: Reading Amos … 149
17. ‘They Shall Beat Their Swords into Plowshares’: Reading (First) Isaiah … 161
18. ‘I Will Make This House like Shiloh’: Reading Jeremiah … 173
19. ‘I Will Be for Them a Mini-Temple’: Reading Ezekiel … 185
20. ‘Comfort, Oh Comfort My People’: The Exile and Beyond … 199
21. ‘Those That Sleep in the Dust … Will Awake’: Zechariah, Apocalyptic Literature, and Daniel … 209
22. Prayer of Many Hearts: Reading Psalms … 219
23. ‘Acquire Wisdom’: Reading Proverbs and Ecclesiastes … 231
24. ‘Being But Dust and Ashes’: Reading Job … 243
25. ‘Drink Deep of Love!’: Reading Song of Songs … 257
26. ‘Why Are You So Kind … When I Am a Foreigner?’: Reading Ruth vs. Esther … 267
27. The Creation of the Bible … 273
Afterword: Reading the Bible as a Committed Jew … 279
Notes … 285
Sources Cited … 339
Index of Subjects … 361
Index of Biblical Passages and Other References … 372
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You may also be interested to read the review (in French) by Pierre Keith, published in the Review of Biblical Literature. |
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