Research Catalog

Title

Israel's past in present research : essays on ancient Israelite historiography / edited by V. Philips Long.

Publication

Winona Lake, IN : Eisenbrauns, 1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Long, V. Philips.

Description

xx, 612 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

"Historiography differs from history in that the former examines how history is studied and written, while the latter considers what can be known of the past. Note that historiography is not merely a modern study of why writers wrote their histories. It also includes questions as to how ancient writers selected and expressed recognized events of their past in order to achieve their various purposes. Long has provided a splendid service to students of the Old Testament by collecting what he considers to be the best of recent research on the subject of Old Testament historiography. The work, like others in this series, reprints articles by scholars (including a few translated from German, French, or Spanish). There are six parts: discussions of where history writing about ancient Israel came from and where it presently is; examples of how comparisons with ancient Near Eastern texts may serve history writing; various approaches to history writing; assumptions made when writing about biblical history; examples of specific historical periods in the Bible and scholarly examinations of the Bible's historical significance; and Long's own ideas about where history writing is going in the future. Long has done a good job of reflecting the major trends and concerns of the current debates about Isrealite historiography. Of special interest for this generation of scholars is the minimalist/maximalist controversy. On the minimalist side he includes essays by Lemche, Thompson, and Davies. On the maximalist side one finds scholars such as Millard, Younger, Halpern, and Knoppers expressing their opinions. Further, many of the most important names in late twentieth century biblical historiography appear as authors of various contributions: Hayes, Brettler, Van Seters, Miller, and de Vaux. In a work of more than 600 pages, Long finds room for thirty-two different writers. In addition to his concluding chapter, he also introduces each section and reprints an important essay of his own on history and literary technique. Every reader, including those already conversant with the subject, will gain much from reading this book. However, some will also recognize gaps or areas that they wished had been highlighted. Despite the word, 'Recent, ' one wonders why no samples of the writings of Wellhausen, and especially of Alt, Noth, and Albright are included. Although most of the essays date from the 1990's, Hans Walter Wolff's contribution comes from a 1963 volume. At least two of the aforementioned scholars were productive at that time and their contributions to historical study had a profound impact among European and American academics. Secondly, why is there no discussion of biblical chronology? This has been called the 'backbone' of history. It is mentioned by Hayes as key in the development of biblical historiography over the centuries. Yet, the contributions of Thiele and others go unnoticed, as does the ongoing disputes over the issue as it concerns both the second and first millennia. Perhaps no one has contributed more to the maximalist cause than Kenneth Kitchen; yet, though often cited, none of his many studies are included. Finally, two major historical periods have no essays exclusively dedicated to them; yet they have been at the center of scholarly controversy over the past decade: the United Monarchy and the postexilic periods. All of this, of course, reflects personal preferences. It should not diminish the value of this work. It is a major resource for many of the most important studies and writers on recent Israelite historiography. It is hoped that it will enjoy a wide readership and serve as a text for classes in Israelite history and historiography"--R. Hess / Denver Seminary.

Series Statement

Sources for biblical and theological study ; 7

Uniform Title

Sources for biblical and theological study ; 7.

Subject

• Bible. > Historiography
• Bible
• To 622
• Jews > History > Historiography. > To 70 A.D
• Historiography
• Jews > Historiography
• Geschichtsschreibung
• Aufsatzsammlung
• Palestina
• Oudheid
• Geschiedschrijving
• Palestine > History > Historiography. > To 70 A.D
• Middle East > History > Historiography. > To 622
• Middle East
• Middle East > Palestine
• Israel Altertum
• Eretz Israel > History > Historiography. > To 70 A.D

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Contents

1. Israel's past in present research -- Introduction: (i)The path to the present -- The history of the study of israelite and Judaean history: From the Renaissance to the present / John H. Hayes -- (ii) The present lack of consensus -- The new Biblical historiography / Mark Zvi Brettler -- The paradigm is changing: hopes-fears / Rolf Rendtorff -- The historical impulse among Israel's neighbors -- Biblical history in its Near Eastern setting: The contextual approach / William W. Hallo -- Biblical and prebiblical historiography / H Cazelles -- Israelite and Aramean history in the light of inscriptions / A.R. Millard -- Israel's history writing : its multiplex character -- Introduction -- (i)Antiquarian -- The "historical character" of the Old Testament in recent Biblical theology / John J. Collins -- Joshua's campaign of Canaan and Near Eastern Historiography / John Van Seters -- What do we know and Ancient Israel? / R. N. Whybray -- "Ancient Israel" and history: A response to Norman Whybray / Philip R. Davies -- Truth and reality in the Historical understanding of the Old Testament (ii) Aspectual -- History as confession of faith-history as object of scholarly research: On one of the basic problems of the history of Israel / J. Alberto Soggin -- The Old Testament's understanding of history in relation to that of the enlightenment / Claus Westermann -- (iii) Artistic -- History and fiction: What is history? / V. Philips Long -- Narrative art in Joshua-Judges-Samuel-Kings / L. Alonso Schokel -- Writing Israel's history : the methodological challenge -- Introduction (i) General discussions of method -- Doing history in Biblical studies / Diana Edelman -- The underpinnings / K. Lawson Younger, Jr. -- The devaluation of the Old Testament as a historical source: Notes on a problem in the history of ideas / Siegfried Herrmann -- Reading the Bible historically: the historian's approach / J. Maxwell Miller -- Contingency, continuity and integrity in historical understanding: an Old Testament perspective / Ferdinand Deist -- (ii) Literary study and historical reconstruction -- Historical criticism and literary interpretation: is there any common ground? -- Modern literary-critical methods and historicity of the Old Testament / Herbert H. Klement -- The historical impulse in the Hebrew canon : a sampling -- Introduction (i) The law -- The Hebrew patriarchs an history / Roland de Vaux -- Historical and Christian faith / Thomas L. Thompson -- The Patriarchs in scripture and history / John Goldingay -- (ii) The Prophets (former) -- Early Israel in Canaan: A survey of recent evidence and interpretations / Richard S, Hess -- Faces of exile in Old Testament historiography / J.G. McConville (iii) The Prophets (latter) -- The understanding of history in the Old Testament prophets / Hans Walter Wolff -- The early traditions of Israel in the prophecy of Hosea - A review / Heinz-Dieter Neef (iv) The writings -- History and historiography: The royal reforms / Gary N. Knoppers -- The future of Israel's past -- The future of Israel's past: Personal reflections / V. Philips long-- Indexes -- Index of authorities -- Index of Scripture .

ISBN

• 1575060280
• 9781575060286

LCCN

99044925

OCLC

• ocm42290498
• 42290498
• SCSB-14415462

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library