"Articles ... présentés lors du 48e Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense organisé à Louvain les 28, 29 et 30 juillet 1999..."--Pref.

This book investigates the Dan/Danite tradition in the Hebrew Bible to determine not only what the Bible tells us about Dan, but also how far traditions about the territory, city, ancestor and tribe may have influenced each other. Bartusch argues that the political and theological interests reflected in the relatively late work of the Deuteronomistic Historian have cast a shadow over some earlier traditions, and that by combining social-science models and newer literary criticism with the more traditional historical-critical methodologies, the original meaning of the traditions of Dan may be recovered and clarified. The conclusion of such a study is that the Hebrew Bible as a whole does not entirely support the negative portrayal of Dan in its later traditions.

A major interpretative account of Shakespeare's play, this is a close scrutiny which will engage readers directly with the text and perfomance of the work. The Renaissance code of honor is seen to be of central importance to the character of the hero, his actions, and to the play as a whole; and, viewed in this light, there is fresh revelation of the character of Hamlet himslef and of the dramatic world of which he is a part. Mr. Dodsworth challenges the conventional and traditional reading of Hamlet at many points. But he enforces no single overall meaning and readers are encouraged to remain sensiive to their own individual understanding and response.

Who is Israel? Who were the priestly authors of the Pentateuch? This anthropological reading of the Bible, by a world-renowned scholar, starts by asking why the Book of Numbers lists the twelve tribes of Israel seven times. Mary Douglas argues that the editors, far from being a separate elite unconcerned with their congregation's troubles, cherished a political agenda, a religious protest against the government of Judah's exclusionary policies. The priestly theology depends on God's Covenant with all the descendants of Jacob, including the sons of Joseph. It would have been unpatriotic, even subversive, to speak against the wars with Samaria. This book suggest an explanation of the editors' disappearance from the history of Israel.