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A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism

April 3, 2015

A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, edited by Matthias Henze, offers a wide selection of essays on the overarching techniques of early biblical interpretation, as well as particular examples from specific texts (i.e. Use of the Scripture in the Community Rule, in The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, or in the Genesis Apocryphon)

41rfiH0yyVLThe introductory essay by James Kugel (comprising Part 1 of the volume) is especially helpful. He begins by outlining historical factors that contributed to the rise of early biblical interpretation, focusing particularly on the Babylonian exile. Among the returnee’s from Babylonian deportation, there was not only an increasing need to reestablish Israelite society with the scriptures of Israel,…

Review Published on DaSilva’s “The Apocrypha”

My review on David DaSilva’s new work, The Apocrypha, has been published in Westminster Theological Journal 76. I’m attaching the PDF here for the full text. This work is part of a new series, Core Biblical Studies, that provides succinct introductions to topics in biblical studies. There is another volume on the Dead Sea Scrolls that looks good as well. With Second Temple Judaism all the rage in biblical studies nowadays, these introductions will surely be helpful for professors introducing their students to…