This volume publishes the papers given by invitation at the fifteenth Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, which was held at Cambridge in July 1995, under the Presidency of J.A. Emerton. The articles cover a wide range of subjects relevant to the study of the Old Testament, and reflect the ongoing debate on a variety of themes among the world's leading contemporary Old Testament scholars.

The standard theory of Old Testament canon formation describes a literary process of linear development in three successive stages. In spite of intermittent criticism, the theory has continued to find its place in textbooks and introductions. Here Stephen B. Chapman marshals all of the important counter-arguments to the theory and proposes a fresh way to conceive of the canonical process, based upon evidence internal and external to the biblical text.He argues against the standard theory by exposing its internal inconsistencies and critiquing its methodological presuppositions, especially its assumptions about human agency and the nature of 'canonization.' Using Charles Altieri's literary application of Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor's theory of the self, the author redescribes the canonization of the Old Testament as a process of 'strong evaluation', whose goal was to provide a religious framework for the evaluation of personal and communal alternatives, rather than the imposition of ideology. He redefines the Old Testament 'canon' as the theological 'grammar' formed by the coordination of discrete scriptures into a coherent collection, but retaining their plurality as integral to canonicity.Stephen B. Chapman also demonstrates that the status of the prophetic writings prior to their canonization has remained an intractable problem for the standard theory. He shows how nomistic assumptions about canonization have sustained the view that the prophetic corpus was always subordinate to the Pentateuch, even though this view is at odds with the exegetical evidence. By detailed analysis of 'canon-conscious' editing within the Pentateuch and the prophetic corpus, he illustrates how collections of Law and Prophets developed simultaneously and mutually influenced each other.

This book, emphasizing Genesis 14 and Psalm 110, contributes to the history of composition of the patriarchal narratives in the book of Genesis and to the history of theology of the Second Temple period. Genesis 14 was added on a late stage and in two steps: first, Genesis 14* and later, the so-called Melchizedek episode (ME, vv. 18-20). Genesis 14 is the result of inner-biblical exegesis: both Genesis 14* and the later ME originated from scribal activity in which several earlier biblical texts have served as templates/literary building blocks. As for Genesis 14*, in particular three text groups were important: the Table of Nations, the wilderness wandering narratives and annals from the Deuteronomistic History. As for the ME, it is an example of haggadic exegesis presupposing and without any prehistory independent of its narrative framework. ME is the result of an assimilation between two texts, Genesis 14* and Psalm 110, which assumedly at one point were read as a narrative and a poetic version respectively of Abraham’s war with the kings. Genesis 14 has no value as a source to the history of the patriarchal era and to the religion of pre-Israelite Jerusalem. In contrast, it shows how post-exilic scribes’ painstaking study of biblical texts resulted in the creation of new biblical texts.

There is no woman with a worse reputation than Jezebel, the ancient queen who corrupted a nation and met one of the most gruesome fates in the Bible. Her name alone speaks of sexual decadence and promiscuity. But what if this version of her story, handed down to us through the ages, is merely the one her enemies wanted us to believe? What if Jezebel, far from being a conniving harlot, was, in fact, framed? In this remarkable new biography, Lesley Hazleton shows exactly how the proud and courageous queen of Israel was vilified and made into the very embodiment of wanton wickedness by her political and religious enemies. Jezebel brings readers back to the source of the biblical story, a rich and dramatic saga featuring evil schemes and underhanded plots, war and treason, false gods and falser humans, and all with the fate of entire nations at stake. At its center are just one woman and one man—the sophisticated Queen Jezebel and the stark prophet Elijah. Their epic and ultimately tragic confrontation pits tolerance against righteousness, pragmatism against divine dictates, and liberalism against conservatism. It is, in other words, the original story of the unholy marriage of sex, politics, and religion, and it ends in one of the most chillingly brutal scenes in the entire Bible. Here at last is the real story of the rise and fall of this legendary woman—a radically different portrait with startling contemporary resonance in a world mired once again in religious wars.

This compendium examines the origins of the God Yahweh, his place in the Syrian-Palestinian and Northern Arabian pantheon during the bronze and iron ages, and the beginnings of the cultic veneration of Yahweh. Contributors analyze the epigraphic and archeological evidence, apply fundamental considerations from the cultural and religious sciences, and analyze the relevant Old Testament texts.

This volume offers a critical examination of recent theories concerning the growth of biblical literature in the light of the oldest textual witnesses (the Qumran biblical scrolls and the Septuagint). On the basis of a fresh examination of a selection of passages in the book of Joshua, it is shown that these witnesses do not reflect a stage in the literary formation of the book prior to the standardised (Masoretic) text, but a reinterpretation and reformulation of its contents. The study presents a new literary-critical solution to the intricate problems of Joshua 8 and a detailed exegesis of the Greek version of Joshua 1 and 5. Of special interest for Qumran scholars is the new reconstruction of 4QJoshuaa.