front cover of Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity
Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement in Early Judaism and Christianity
Constituents and Critique
Henrietta L. Wiley
SBL Press, 2016

Critical and creative studies that offer fresh perspectives on ancient ideas and practices

The contributions to this volume deal in various ways with the cult at the Jerusalem Temple that epitomized the religious, cultural, and socio-political identity of Judaism for many centuries. Some essays examine ancient constitutive practices and concepts, such as purification rituals, sacrifices, atonement, or sacred authorities at the temple, with the goal of interpreting their meanings for modern readers. Other essays explore alternatives to ancient cultic meaning and practice. Essays critique established traditions, attempt to renegotiate them, or use metaphor and spiritualization to expand the potential of these phenomena to serve as terminological and ideological resources. Thus they examine and affirm the continuing relevance of ancient Jewish cultic notions long after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

  • An international group of scholars representing different fields and diverse religious backgrounds
  • A thorough examination of traditions as through the lens of contemporaneous interpretive traditions such as Jewish prophecy, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Early Christian literature
  • Examination of topics such as purification, sacrifice, and atonement, and the depiction and development of sacred authority throughout the Bible
[more]

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The Samaritan Pentateuch
An Introduction to Its Origin, History, and Significance for Biblical Studi
Robert T. Anderson
SBL Press, 2012
The Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) is the sacred scripture of the Samaritans, a tenacious religious community made famous by Jesus’ Good Samaritan story that persists to this day. Not so widely known is the impact of the SP outside the Samaritan community. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in this scripture, as evidenced by several translations of the SP as well as reference in Qumran scroll studies to the SP or an SP-like tradition in an effort to describe some of the textual evidence present in the scrolls. This volume presents a general introduction to and overview of the SP, suitable for a course text and as a reference tool for the professional scholar.
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Sargon II, King of Assyria
Josette Elayi
SBL Press, 2017

A critical resource that traces the reign of Sargon in context

Josette Elayi's book is the only existing biography of Sargon II, the famous Assyrian king, who was a megalomaniac and a warlord. Elayi addresses such important questions, including what was his precise role in the disappearance of the kingdom of Israel; how did Sargon II succeed in enlarging the borders of the Assyrian Empire by several successful campaigns; how did he organize his empire (administration, trade, agriculture, libraries), and what was the so-called sin of Sargon?

Features:

  • Interpretations of decisive events during the life and reign of the Assyrian king
  • An evaluation of Sargon II s reign
  • Maps, tables, and illustrations
[more]

front cover of Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel
Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel
Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives
Joachim J. Krause
SBL Press, 2020

Ponder questions of the united monarchy under Saul and David in light of current historical and archaeological evidence

Reconstructing the emergence of the Israelite monarchy involves interpreting historical research, approaching questions of ancient state formation, synthesizing archaeological research from sites in the southern Levant, and reexamining the biblical traditions of the early monarchy embedded in the books of Samuel and Kings. Integrating these approaches allows for a nuanced and differentiated picture of one of the most crucial periods in the history of ancient Israel. Rather than attempting to harmonize archaeological data and biblical texts or to supplement the respective approach by integrating only a portion of data stemming from the other, both perspectives come into their own in this volume presenting the results of an interdisciplinary Tübingen–Tel Aviv Research Colloquium.

Features:

  • Essays on Israel's monarchy by experts in biblical archaeology and biblical studies
  • Methods for integrating archaeology and biblical traditions in reconstructing ancient Israel's history
  • New research on the sociopolitical process of state formation in Israel and Judah
[more]

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The SBL Commentary on the Septuagint
An Introduction
Dirk Büchner
SBL Press, 2017

Explore the groundwork for a new commentary series from SBL Press

This book contains verse by verse commentary on selections from the Greek text of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint. Each chapter is from a different bible book, for which there will eventually be a full commentary published in the Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint. The commentary series focuses on the actual process of translation, so its authors try to describe and explain the kinds of decisions the ancient Alexandrian translators made about how to render Hebrew into Greek.

Features

  • Translations from and commentary on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Esther, Job, and Psalms
  • Contributions from eight experts on the Septuagint
  • Guidelines and procedures used in the production of the translations in the series
[more]

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The SBL Handbook of Style
Society of Biblical Literature
SBL Press, 2014

The definitive source for how to write and publish in the field of biblical studies

The long-awaited second edition of the essential style manual for writing and publishing in biblical studies and related fields includes key style changes, updated and expanded abbreviation and spelling-sample lists, a list of archaeological site names, material on qur’anic sources, detailed information on citing electronic sources, and expanded guidelines for the transliteration and transcription of seventeen ancient languages.

Features:

  • Expanded lists of abbreviations for use in ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies
  • Information for transliterating seventeen ancient languages
  • Exhaustive examples for citing print and electronic sources
[more]

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Scribal Memory and Word Selection
Text Criticism of the Hebrew Bible
Raymond F. Person Jr.
SBL Press, 2023

What were ancient scribes doing when they copied a manuscript of a literary work? This question is especially problematic when we realize that ancient scribes preserved different versions of the same literary texts. In Scribal Memory and Word Selection: Text Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Raymond F. Person Jr. draws from studies of how words are selected in everyday conversation to illustrate that the same word-selection mechanisms were at work in scribal memory. Using examples from manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, Person provides new ways of understanding the cognitive-linguistic mechanisms at work during the composition/transmission of texts. Person reveals that, while our modern perspective may consider textual variants to be different literary texts, from the perspective of the ancient scribes and their audiences, these variants could still be understood as the same literary text.

[more]

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The Scribes of the Torah
The Formation of the Pentateuch in Its Literary and Historical Contexts
Konrad Schmid
SBL Press, 2023

A revised view of the Pentateuch with consequences for the broader literary history of the Bible

This collection of thirty-one studies on the Pentateuch represents more than twenty years of Konrad Schmid’s research and publications advocating for a new view of the Pentateuch’s formation. Schmid’s essays present the case for a Persian period Priestly document that provided a basic narrative thread to the Torah, which included separate, pre-Priestly components of narratives in Genesis and the Moses story. Schmid’s open discussion includes evidence from various fields, such as literary history, comparative cultural history, historical linguistics, epigraphy, and archaeology. The essays are divided into eight sections usefully structured around the themes of the Pentateuch in the Enneateuch, the history of scholarship, the formation of the Torah, Genesis, the Moses story, the Priestly document, legal texts, and the Pentateuch in the history of ancient Israel’s religion.

[more]

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Scripturalizing Revelation
An African American Postcolonial Reading of Empire
Lynne St. Clair Darden
SBL Press, 2015

A fresh contribution to the growing body of New Testament scholarship on empire, both ancient and modern

Darden’s reading of Revelation examines John the Seer’s rhetorical strategy, in general, and imperial cult imagery in chapters 4 and 5, in particular, through the lens of an African American scripturalization supplemented by postcolonial theory. The scripturalization proposes that John the Seer’s signifyin(g) on empire demonstrated that he was well aware of the oppressive nature of Roman imperialism on the lives of provincial Asian Christians. Yet, ironically, John reinscribed imperial processes and practices. Darden argues that African American biblical scholarship must now attend adequately to these complex cultural negotiations lest it find itself inadvertently feeding the imperial beast.

Features:

  • Relates the potential for African American cooption by the U.S. Empire to the cooption by the Roman Empire both thematized and performed in Revelation
  • Book-length study on postcolonial African American biblical hermeneutics
  • A reading supplemented by postcolonial theory that better addresses the hybridity of African American identity
[more]

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Sea of Readings
The Bible in the South Pacific
Jione Havea
SBL Press, 2018

Readings by South Pacific islanders

This book offers readings of the Bible by native biblical critics from the South Pacific (Pasifika). An essay from editor Jione Havea introduces the volume by locating these essays within islander criticism and by explaining the flow of the book. Essays are presented in three sections. “Island Twists” offers readings that twist, like a whirlpool, biblical texts around insights of Pasifika novelists, composers, poets, and sages. “Island Turns” contains contextual readings that turn biblical texts toward Pasifika. “Across the Sea” contains responses by biblical critics from across the sea.

Features

  • Contributions to islander criticism
  • A showcase of texts by native writers, poets, and composers
  • Crosscultural and postcolonial readings
[more]

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Sea Voyages and Beyond
Emerging Strategies in Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation
Vernon K. Robbins
SBL Press, 2018

Explore insights, methodologies, and advances in socio-rhetorical interpretation

Essays in this volume from Vernon K. Robbins merge social and rhetorical strategies of interpretation and set the stage for how socio-rhetorical interpretation has developed in the context of research into the rhetoric of religious antiquity. This book contains “By Land and By Sea: The We Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages” (1978), which initially received widespread praise and then became an object of significant criticism. The volume includes Robbins’s varied, detailed responses to both encouragement and critique of his approach.

Features:

  • Introduction to the collection by David B. Gowler
  • Twelve essays that programmatically study early Christian texts using resources from the social sciences
  • Reflections on the future of socio-rhetorical criticism
[more]

front cover of Second Wave Intertextuality and the Hebrew Bible
Second Wave Intertextuality and the Hebrew Bible
Marianne Grohmann
SBL Press, 2019

An innovative collection of inner-biblical, intertextual, and intercontextual dialogues

Essays from a diverse group of scholars offer new approaches to biblical intertextuality that examine the relationship between the Hebrew Bible, art, literature, sociology, and postcolonialism. Eight essays in part 1 cover inner-biblical intertextuality, including studies of Genesis, Judges, and Qoheleth, among others. The eight postbiblical intertextuality essays in part 2 explore Bakhtinian and dialogical approaches, intertextuality in the Dead Sea Scrolls, canonical critisicm, reception history, and #BlackLivesMatter. These essays on various genres and portions of the Hebrew Bible showcase how, why, and what intertextuality has been and presents possible potential directions for future research and application.

Features:

  • Diverse methods and cases of intertextuality
  • Rich examples of hermeneutical theory and interpretive applications
  • Readings of biblical texts as mutual dialogues, among the authors, traditions, themes, contexts, and lived worlds
[more]

front cover of Sedulius, The Paschal Song and Hymns
Sedulius, The Paschal Song and Hymns
Carl P. Springer
SBL Press, 2013
This is the first complete English translation of the poetic works of Sedulius, a Christian Latin poet of late antiquity whose biblical epic and hymns were enormously popular during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The introduction places the poet and his works into his historical and literary contexts, followed by the Latin text of Sedulius’s poetic works with English translation on facing pages. Notes on linguistic and historical matters are designed to help the reader with little or no Latin and only some familiarity with Sedulius’s classical and biblical sources. Appendices supply texts and translations of incidental related materials, including Sedulius’s dedicatory letters; biographical notices, subscriptions, and laudatory poems associated with Sedulius’s works in the manuscript tradition; and representative excerpts from Sedulius’s own prose paraphrase of the Paschale Carmen. The volume includes a bibliography and index.
[more]

logo for SBL Press
Semeia 83/84
Slavery in Text and Interpretation
Allen Dwight Callahan
SBL Press, 2001
The classic essays in this volume address the usefulness of Orlando Patterson’s work on slavery to New Testament studies. Contributors approach the question of slavery from two directions. Part One examines the evidence for slavery in antiquity and attitudes toward it. Part Two considers specific receptions of Paul and slavery by persons of African descent in North America. Contributions to this essential collection pushed scholars toward a more complex, critical view of the Greek and Roman slave systems, and their work continues to influence New Testament studies today.
[more]

front cover of Sennacherib, King of Assyria
Sennacherib, King of Assyria
Josette Elayi
SBL Press, 2018

A critical resource for students and scholars of the ancient Near East and the Bible

Josette Elayi’s Sennacherib, King of Assyria is the only biography of Sargon II’s famous son. Elayi traces the reign of Sennacherib in context in order to illuminate more fully the life and contributions of this warlord, builder, innovator, and social reformer—a unique figure among the Assyrian kings. Elayi offers both an evaluation of this royal figure and an assessment of the Assyrian Empire by interpreting the historical information surrounding the decisive events of his reign.

Features:

  • Exploration of why Sennacherib did not seize Jerusalem or remove Hezekiah from the throne
  • An extensive investigation of annals, royal inscriptions, letters, palace reliefs, clay tablets, and excavation reports
  • Maps and tables
[more]

front cover of Sensing World, Sensing Wisdom
Sensing World, Sensing Wisdom
The Cognitive Foundation of Biblical Metaphors
Nicole L. Tilford
SBL Press, 2017

Examine new insights into the conceptual worldview of biblical wisdom communities

The Bible is full of metaphors. On the surface, these metaphors seem like simple literary flourishes that have been added to the text for artistic effect. This book, however, argues that biblical metaphors reflect more basic, prelinguistic cognitive structures. These conceptual metaphors developed out of common concrete experiences and only gradually developed into the complex metaphors that one finds within biblical texts. This book explores how common sensory activities like seeing, hearing, touching, eating, breathing, and walking developed into the abstract metaphors for wisdom that one finds in Proverbs, Job, and Qohelet. Because it traces the cognitive development of a set of related metaphors across several congruent texts, it provides a model by which scholars can trace the cognitive development of biblical metaphors more generally in the Hebrew Bible and other early Jewish and Christian texts.

Features:

  • A synthesis of conceptual metaphor theory that provides a workable theory for examining biblical texts
  • An analytical framework for studying sensory experience and sensory metaphors in biblical texts
  • Diagrams
[more]

front cover of The Sentences of Sextus
The Sentences of Sextus
Walter T. Wilson
SBL Press, 2012
Described by Origen as a writing that “even the masses of believers have read,” the Sentences of Sextus offers unique insights into popular Christian thought during the late second century C.E. Although it draws extensively on canonical texts for the composition of its sayings, it is especially fascinating for the manner in which it integrates these texts with material derived from two generically similar collections of Pythagorean maxims. This volume provides a critical edition including evidence from the Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic versions; a new translation; and the first commentary for the Sentences, an important document for investigating the history of early Christian wisdom, asceticism, and ethics.
[more]

front cover of Sepher Ha-Razim
Sepher Ha-Razim
The Book of Mysteries
Michael A. Morgan
SBL Press, 1983
Michael A. Morgan translates Mordecai Margaliath’s text of Sepher Ha-Razim, a fourth century CE magical text, into English. Sepher Ha-Razim includes a story about the book’s transmission from the angel Raziel to Noah eventually down to Solomon, six sections describing the nature, function, magical praxis and angelic inhabitants of six of the heavens, and the divine throne in the seventh heaven. With parallels to Talmudic passages, Enochic literature, and Hekhaloth literature, Sepher Ha-Razim sheds light on Greco-Roman magic in general and more specifically Jewish life in the early centuries CE.
[more]

front cover of Sex, Christ, and Embodied Cognition
Sex, Christ, and Embodied Cognition
Paul's Wisdom for Corinth
Robert H. von Thaden Jr.
SBL Press, 2017

A sociorhetorical analysis of First Corinthians

Robert H. von Thaden Jr.'s sociorhetorical analysis examines Paul's construction of sexual Christian bodies in First Corinthians by utilizing new insights from conceptual integration (blending) theory about the embodied processes of meaning making. Paul's teaching about proper sexual behavior in this letter is best viewed as an example of early Christian wisdom discourse. This discourse draws upon apocalyptic and priestly cognitive frames to increase the rhetorical force of the argument. Reading Paul's argument through the lens of rhetorical invention, von Thaden demonstrates that Paul first attempts to show the Corinthians why sexual immorality is the worst of all bodily sins before shifting rhetorical focus to explain to them how they can best avoid this infraction against the body of Christ.

Features:

  • A programmatic application of conceptual integration theory using a sociorhetorical mode of interpretation
  • A vivid account of key aspects of conceptual integration theory and how they function in sociorhetorical interpretation
  • A detailed application of these strategies to interpret 1 Corinthians 1-4; 6:12-7:7
[more]

front cover of The Shape and Shaping of the Book of Psalms
The Shape and Shaping of the Book of Psalms
The Current State of Scholarship
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford
SBL Press, 2014

A new and innovative way to approach the Psalter that moves beyond form and cult-functional criticism

Drawing inspiration from Gerald H. Wilson’s The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter, this volume explores questions of the formation of the Psalter from the perspective of canonical criticism. Though called “canonical criticism,” the study actually employs a number of historically traditional and nontraditional approaches to reading the text including form criticism, historical criticism of individual psalms as well as of the whole Psalter, and redaction criticism.

Features:

  • Exploration of collections of psalms, theological viewpoints, sovereignty, and the shape and shaping of Psalms
  • Examination of the impact of canonical criticism on the study of the Psalter
  • Sixteen essays from the Book of Psalms Consultation group and invited scholars
[more]

front cover of The Social Groups behind the Pentateuch
The Social Groups behind the Pentateuch
Jaeyoung Jeon
SBL Press, 2021

A reexamination of the Pentateuch in light of the complex social, religious, and political conflicts of the Persian period

During the last several decades, scholars in pentateuchal studies have suggested new compositional models to replace the Documentary Hypothesis, yet no consensus has emerged. The ten essays in this collection advance the discussion by shifting the focus of pentateuchal studies from the literary stratification of different layers of the texts to the social, economic, religious, and political agendas behind them. Rather than limiting the focus of their studies to scribal and community groups within Persian Yehud, contributors look beyond Yehud to other Judahite communities in the diaspora, including Elephantine and the Samaritan community, establishing a proper academic context for setting the diverse voices of the Pentateuch as we now understand them. Contributors include Olivier Artus, Thomas B. Dozeman, Innocent Himbaza, Jürg Hutzli, Jaeyoung Jeon, Itamar Kislev, Ndikho Mtshiselwa, Dany Noquet, Katharina Pyschny, Thomas Römer, and Konrad Schmid.

[more]

front cover of Social Theory and the Study of Israelite Religion
Social Theory and the Study of Israelite Religion
Essays in Retrospect and Prospect
Saul M. Olyan
SBL Press, 2012
This volume assesses past, theoretically engaged work on Israelite religion and presents new approaches to particular problems and larger interpretive and methodological questions. It gathers previously unpublished research by senior and mid-career scholars well known for their contributions in the area of social theory and the study of Israelite religion and by junior scholars whose writing is just beginning to have a serious impact on the field. The volume begins with a critical introduction by the editor. Topics of interest to the contributors include gender, violence, social change, the festivals, the dynamics of shame and honor, and the relationship of text to ritual. The contributors engage theory from social and cultural anthropology, sociology, postcolonial studies, and ritual studies. Theoretical models are evaluated in light of the primary data, and some authors modify or adapt theory to increase its utility for biblical studies. The contributors are Susan Ackerman, Stephen L. Cook, Ronald Hendel, T. M. Lemos, Nathaniel B. Levtow, Carol Meyers, Saul M. Olyan, Rüdiger Schmitt, Robert R. Wilson, and David P. Wright.
[more]

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Soul Matters
Plato and Platonists on the Nature of the Soul
Sara Ahbel-Rappe
SBL Press, 2023

Platonic discourses concerning the soul are incredibly rich and multitiered. Plato's own diverse and disparate arguments and images offer competing accounts of how we are to understand the nature of the soul. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the accounts of Platonists who engage Plato’s dialogues are often riddled with questions. This volume takes up the theories of well-known philosophers and theologians, including Plato, Plotinus, Proclus, the emperor Julian, and Origen, as well as lesser-known but equally important figures in a collection of essays on topics such as transmigration of the soul, the nature of the Platonist enlightenment experience, soul and gender, pagan ritual practices, Christian and pagan differences about the soul, mental health and illness, and many other topics. Contributors include Crystal Addey, Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Dirk Baltzly, Robert Berchman, Jay Bregman, Luc Brisson, Kevin Corrigan, John Dillon, John F. Finamore, Lloyd P. Gerson, Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum, Elizabeth Hill, Sarah Klitenic Wear, Danielle A. Layne, Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, Gregory Shaw, Svetla Slaveva-Griffine, Suzanne Stern-Gillet, Harold Tarrant, Van Tu, and John D. Turner.

[more]

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Sourcebook for Ancient Mesopotamian Medicine
JoAnn Scurlock
SBL Press, 2014
An introductory guide for scholars and students of the ancient Near East and the history of medicine

In this collection JoAnn Scurlock assembles and translates medical texts that provided instructions for ancient doctors and pharmacists. Scurlock unpacks the difficult, technical vocabulary that describes signs and symptoms as well as procedures and plants used in treatments. This fascinating material shines light on the development of medicine in the ancient Near East, yet these tablets were essentially inaccessible to anyone without an expertise in cuneiform. Scurlock’s work fills this gap by providing a key resource for teaching and research.

Features:

  • Accessible translations and transliterations for both specialists and non-specialists
  • Texts include a range of historical periods and regions
  • Therapeutic, pharmacological, and diagnostic texts
[more]

front cover of Sources for the Study of Greek Religion, Corrected Edition
Sources for the Study of Greek Religion, Corrected Edition
David G. Rice
SBL Press, 2009
Since its initial publication in 1979, Sources for the Study of Greek Religion has become an essential classroom resource in the field of classical studies. The Society of Biblical Literature is pleased to present a corrected edition—in a new, attractive, and electronic-friendly format—with hopes that it will inspire a new generation of classicists and religious historians.
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Steps to a New Edition of the Hebrew Bible
Ronald Hendel
SBL Press, 2016

Understand the purpose and background of the new The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition project

Our understanding of the textual history of the Hebrew Bible has been transformed in the wake of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hendel explores and refines this new knowledge and formulates a rationale for a new edition of the Hebrew Bible. The chapters situate The Hebrew Bible; A Critical Edition project in a broad historical context, from the beginnings of textual criticism in late antiquity and the Renaissance to the controversies in contemporary theory and practice. This book combines close analysis with broad synthesis, yielding new perspectives on the text of the Hebrew Bible.

Features
  • Theory and practice of textual criticism
  • Textual history of the Hebrew Bible
  • History of text-critical scholarship
[more]

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Stones, Bones, and the Sacred
Essays on Material Culture and Ancient Religion in Honor of Dennis E.
Alan H. Cadwallader
SBL Press, 2016

A crucial text for any university course on the interaction of archaeology and the Bible

The world of early Christians was not a world lived in texts; it was a world saturated with material reality and concerns: what, where and when to eat or drink; how to present oneself in the space of bodily life and that of death; how to move from one place to another; what impacted status or the adjudication of legal charges. All these and more controlled so much of life in the ancient world. The Christians were not immune from the impact of these realities. Sometimes they absorbed their surrounds; sometimes they quite explicitly rejected the material practices bearing in on them; frequently they modified the practice and the rationale to create a significant Christian alternative. The collection of essays in this volume come from a range of international scholars who, for all their different interests and critical commitments, are yet united in treasuring research into the Greek and Roman worlds in which Christians sought to make their way. They offer these essays in honor of one who has made a lifetime's work in mining ancient material culture to extract nuggets of insight into early Christian dining practices: Dennis E. Smith.

Features

  • Rich examples of method in the utilization of ancient material culture for biblical interpretation.
  • Thirteen essays with a response from Dennis E. Smith
  • Maps, diagrams, and plates
[more]

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The Straight Mind in Corinth
Queer Readings across 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Gillian Townsley
SBL Press, 2017

A new reading that troubles and transgresses the normal with regard to biblical studies and our understandings of gender and sexuality

Despite its lack of both historical and exegetical clarity, 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 has often been fundamental to understandings of gender and sexuality in many Christian traditions. In particular, a hierarchical model of gender and a heterosexual model of sexuality tend to dominate and are presented as “natural” and “God-ordained.” With the materialist lesbian theory of Monique Wittig providing the theoretical basis for discussion, this book intersects various biblical, theological, and queer lines of inquiry across 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 in order to reveal and challenge these models of gender and sexuality that lie behind both the text itself and its various interpretations.

Features

  • Reveals the complex relationship between effeminacy, masculinity and sexual relations in the first century Greco-Roman environment of the New Testament
  • Explores the ideologies of sexuality that underlie much of the debate within evangelical circles
  • Examines Karl Barth’s theology on the binary pairing of “man and woman” as asymmetrically related to each other and to God through the notion of the imago dei, revealing and challenging the ways in which this reflects androcentric and patriarchal ideologies
[more]

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Strength to Strength
Essays in Honor of Shaye J. D. Cohen
Michael L. Satlow
SBL Press, 2018

Essays that engage the scholarship of Shaye J. D. Cohen

The essays in Strength to Strength honor Shaye J. D. Cohen across a range of ancient to modern topics. The essays seek to create an ongoing conversation on issues of identity, cultural interchange, and Jewish literature and history in antiquity, all areas of particular interest for Cohen. Contributors include: Moshe J. Bernstein, Daniel Boyarin, Jonathan Cohen, Yaakov Elman, Ari Finkelstein, Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, Steven D. Fraade, Isaiah M. Gafni, Gregg E. Gardner, William K. Gilders, Martin Goodman, Leonard Gordon, Edward L. Greenstein, Erich S. Gruen, Judith Hauptman, Jan Willem van Henten, Catherine Hezser, Tal Ilan, Richard Kalmin, Yishai Kiel, Ross S. Kraemer, Hayim Lapin, Lee I. Levine, Timothy H. Lim, Duncan E. MacRae, Ivan Marcus, Mahnaz Moazami, Rachel Neis, Saul M. Olyan, Jonathan J. Price, Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Michael L. Satlow, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Daniel R. Schwartz, Joshua Schwartz, Karen Stern, Stanley Stowers, and Burton L. Visotzky.

Features:

  • A full bibliography of Cohen’s published works
  • An essay on the contributions of Cohen
[more]

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The Struggle over Class
Socioeconomic Analysis of Ancient Christian Texts
G. Anthony Keddie
SBL Press, 2021

An interdisciplinary discussion engaging classics, archaeology, religious studies, and the social sciences

The Struggle over Class brings together scholars from the fields of New Testament and early Christianity to examine Christian texts in light of the category of class. Historically rigorous and theoretically sophisticated, this collection presents a range of approaches to, and applications of, class in the study of the epistles, the gospels, Acts, apocalyptic texts, and patristic literature. Contributors Alicia J. Batten, Alan H. Cadwallader, Cavan W. Concannon, Zeba Crook, James Crossley, Lorenzo DiTommaso, Philip F. Esler, Michael Flexsenhar III, Steven J. Friesen, Caroline Johnson Hodge, G. Anthony Keddie, Jaclyn Maxwell, Christina Petterson, Jennifer Quigley, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Daniëlle Slootjes, and Emma Wasserman challenge both scholars and students to articulate their own positions in the ongoing scholarly struggle over class as an analytical category.

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Studia Philonica Annual XXIV, 2012
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2012
The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to furthering the study of Hellenistic Judaism, and in particular the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 B.C.E. to circa 50 C.E.).
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front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXIX, 2017
The Studia Philonica Annual XXIX, 2017
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2017

The best current research on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE). This volume includes a soecial section on Philo's De plantatione.

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by experts in the field
  • Bibliography
  • Book reviews
[more]

front cover of Studia Philonica Annual XXV, 2013
Studia Philonica Annual XXV, 2013
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2013
The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 B.C.E. to circa 50 C.E.).
[more]

front cover of Studia Philonica Annual XXVI, 2014
Studia Philonica Annual XXVI, 2014
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2014

The best current research on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE).

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by experts in the field
  • Bibliography
  • Book reviews
[more]

front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXVII, 2015
The Studia Philonica Annual XXVII, 2015
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2015

The best current research on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE).

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by experts in the field
  • Bibliography
  • Book reviews
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front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXVIII, 2016
The Studia Philonica Annual XXVIII, 2016
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2016

Celebrate the contributions of David T. Runia

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria. More than fifteen scholars from around the world offer contributions to this special edition of the Annual in honor of Professor David T. Runia on the occasion of his 65th birthday and retirement from his post as Master of Queens College, University of Melbourne. Professor Runia is internationally recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on Philo of Alexandria. As founder of The Studia Philonica Annual, he has been editor or coeditor for twenty-seven years. He initiated a Philo Bibliography project prior to the Annual and incorporated the bibliography into the Annual from the outset. It serves as the primary bibliography for Philonic studies worldwide.

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front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXX, 2018
The Studia Philonica Annual XXX, 2018
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2018

Studies on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism from experts in the field

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria. This volume includes five articles on topics ranging from preserved fragments of Philo to travel in Philo’s works. Nine book reviews cover recent books on Philo, Josephus, and ancient pedagogy.

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by scholars from around the world
  • Comprehensive bibliography and book reviews
[more]

front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXXI, 2019
The Studia Philonica Annual XXXI, 2019
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2019

Studies on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism from experts in the field

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria. This volume includes articles on allegory, Platonic interpretations of the law, rhetoric, and Philo’s thoughts on reincarnation.

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by scholars from around the world
  • Comprehensive bibliography and book reviews
[more]

front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXXII, 2020
The Studia Philonica Annual XXXII, 2020
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2021

Celebrate the contributions of Gregory E. Sterling

Harold W. Attridge, Ellen Birnbaum, Adela Yarbro Collins, John J. Collins, Michael B. Cover, Jan Willem van Henten, Carl R. Holladay, Andrew McGowan, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Maren R. Niehoff, James R. Royse, and David T. Runia offer essays honoring Professor Gregory E. Sterling in this special edition of the The Studia Philonica Annual. This volume includes a biography of Sterling’s life by David T. Runia and a bibliography of Sterling’s scholarship by Michael B. Cover. Essays cover a range of topics on Philo, the Bible, and Josephus.

Features:

  • Articles on aspects of Hellenistic Judaism written by scholars from around the world
  • Comprehensive bibliography of scholarship on Philo
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front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXXIII, 2021
The Studia Philonica Annual XXXIII, 2021
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2021

Studies on Philo and Hellenistic Judaism from experts in the field

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE). Volume 33 includes a special section on the history of editions of Philo, five general articles on Philo’s work, an annotated bibliography, and thirteen book reviews.

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front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXXIV, 2022
The Studia Philonica Annual XXXIV, 2022
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2022
The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE).
[more]

front cover of The Studia Philonica Annual XXXV, 2023
The Studia Philonica Annual XXXV, 2023
Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
David T. Runia
SBL Press, 2023

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE).

[more]

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Studies in Josephus and the Varieties of Ancient Judaism
Louis H. Feldman Jubilee Volume
Shaye J. D. Cohen
SBL Press, 2016

Now in paperback!

Former students, colleagues and friends of the eminent classicist and historian Louis H. Feldman are pleased to honor him with a Jubilee volume. While Feldman has long been considered an outstanding scholar of Josephus, his scholarly interests and research interests pertain to almost all aspects of the ancient world and Jews.

Features:

  • Paperback format of an essential Brill resource
  • Articles cover topics such as biblical interpretation, Judaism and Hellenism, Jews and Gentiles, history of the Mishnah and Talmud periods, and Jerusalem
  • Contributors include the most prominent international scholars
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front cover of Studies in Rabbinic Narratives, Volume 1
Studies in Rabbinic Narratives, Volume 1
Jeffrey L. Rubenstein
SBL Press, 2021

Explore new theoretical tools and lines of analysis of rabbinic stories

Rabbinic literature includes hundreds of stories and brief narrative traditions. These narrative traditions often take the form of biographical anecdotes that recount a deed or event in the life of a rabbi. Modern scholars consider these narratives as didactic fictions—stories used to teach lessons, promote rabbinic values, and grapple with the tensions and conflicts of rabbinic life. Using methods drawn from literary and cultural theory, including feminist, structuralist, Marxist, and psychoanalytic methods, contributors analyze narratives from the Babylonian Talmud, midrash, Mishnah, and other rabbinic compilations to shed light on their meanings, functions, and narrative art. Contributors include Julia Watts Belser, Beth Berkowitz, Dov Kahane, Jane L. Kanarek, Tzvi Novick, James Adam Redfield, Jay Rovner, Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, Zvi Septimus, Dov Weiss, and Barry Scott Wimpfheimer.

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front cover of Studies in the History of the Greek Text of the Apocalypse
Studies in the History of the Greek Text of the Apocalypse
The Ancient Stems
Josef Schmid
SBL Press, 2018

Now available in English

Josef Schmid's landmark publication, Studien zur Geschichte des Griechischen Apokalypse-Textes, has been the standard work for understanding Revelation's Greek manuscript tradition and textual history for more than sixty years. Despite the fact that most major studies on the book are based on Schmid's work, the work itself has long been out of print, making it difficult for the broader scholarly community to reassess Schmid's conclusions in light of recent manuscript discoveries and technological advances. This new translation of the work makes Schmid's detailed review of the history of textual scholarship; his comprehensive examination of the origin, history, and development of the Greek manuscripts of the book of Revelation; and his assessment of John's peculiar linguistic writing style accessible to a new generation of scholars.

Features

  • A critical introduction that places Schmid's work in its historical and theoretical context
  • Definitions and explanations of Schmid's text-critical terms and categories used in his construction of Revelation's Greek manuscript tradition
  • The latest available information used to correct, update, and supplement Schmid's Greek manuscript data and historical and text-critical conclusions
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front cover of The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees
The Subversion of the Apocalypses in the Book of Jubilees
Todd R. Hanneken
SBL Press, 2012
In spite of some scholars’ inclination to include the book of Jubilees as another witness to “Enochic Judaism,” the relationship of Jubilees to the apocalyptic writings and events surrounding the Maccabean revolt has never been adequately clarified. This book builds on scholarship on genre to establish a clear pattern among the ways Jubilees resembles and differs from other apocalypses. Jubilees matches the apocalypses of its day in overall structure and literary morphology. Jubilees also uses the literary genre to raise the issues typical of the apocalypses—including revelation, angels and demons, judgment, and eschatology—but rejects what the apocalypses typically say about those issues, subverting reader expectations with a corrected view. In addition to the main argument concerning Jubilees, this volume’s survey of what is fundamentally apocalyptic about apocalyptic literature advances the understanding of early Jewish apocalyptic literature and, in turn, of later apocalypses and comparable perspectives, including those of Paul and the Qumran sectarians.
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front cover of Supplementation and the Study of the Hebrew Bible
Supplementation and the Study of the Hebrew Bible
Saul M. Olyan
SBL Press, 2018

Explore the role supplementation played in the development of the Hebrew Bible

This new volume includes ten original essays that demonstrate clearly how common, varied, and significant the phenomenon of supplementation in the Hebrew Bible is. Contributors examine instances of supplementation ranging from minor additions to aid pronunciation, to fill in abbreviations, or to clarify ambiguous syntax to far more elaborate changes, such as interpolations within a work of prose, in a prophetic text, or in a legal text. Scholars also examine supplementation by the addition of an introduction, a conclusion, or an introductory and concluding framework to a particular lyrical, legal, prophetic, or narrative text.

Features:

  • A contribution to the further development of a panbiblical compositional perspective
  • Examples from Psalms, the pentateuchal narratives, the Deuteronomistic History, the Latter Prophets, and legal texts
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