Research Catalog

Title

The original Torah : the political intent of the Bible's writers / S. David Sperling.

Author

Sperling, S. David.

Publication

New York : New York University Press, [1998], ©1998.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiv, 185 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

• Is the Torah true? Do the Five Books of Moses provide an accurate account of the origins of the people of ancient Israel? In The Original Torah S. David Sperling argues that, while there is no archaeological evidence to support much of the activity chronicled in the Torah - such as the enslavement in Egypt or the subsequent trek through the desert - a historical reality exists in the Torah if we know how to seek it.
• By noting the use of foreign words or mentions of technological innovations, scholars can often pinpoint the date and place in which a text was written. Combining archaeological evidence with critical reading, The Original Torah examines the stories of the Torah against their historical and geographic backgrounds and arrives at a new conclusion: the tales of the Torah were originally composed as allegories whose purpose was distinctly and intentionally political.

Series Statement

Reappraisals in Jewish social and intellectual history

Uniform Title

Reappraisals in Jewish social and intellectual history.

Subject

• Bible. > Criticism, interpretation, etc
• Politics in the Bible

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-177) and index.

Contents

1. It Says in the Torah -- 2. History and Allegory -- 3. The Allegory of Servitude in Egypt and the Exodus -- 4. Yahweh's Berit (Covenant): Which Came First - Sex or Politics? -- 5. Abraham -- 6. Jacob, Jeroboam, and Joseph -- 7. Aaron -- 8. Moses.

ISBN

0814780946 (cloth : alk. paper)

LCCN

97045378

OCLC

• 38042899
• ocm38042899

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries