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The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies
Biblical studies is a highly technical and diverse field. This authoritative and state-of-the-art survey of original research will therefore be invaluable to scholars and students who need to command linguistic, historical, literary, and philosophical skills. Forty-five original contributions by leading figures in the discipline review and analyze current thinking and work and give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates.
920 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 9, 2016
Like any collection of essays by various authors, this book has a few incomprehensible pieces, many decent overviews, and a few outstanding must-read pieces. In other words, it well represents the sort of scholarship you can expect to find in contemporary academic biblical studies.
The book includes a few good overviews of the state of the fields in Old and New Testament studies. (It includes several pieces from Jewish perspectives, but leans slightly toward Christian Bible discussions.) Essays discuss the nature of scripture, the process of canon formation, matters of translation and language, and the interdisciplinary growth of biblical studies, which includes discussions of particular approaches to biblical study like textual criticism, redaction criticism, literary studies, feminist approaches, ideological criticism, etc.
Some of my favorite essays discuss matters that indirectly pertain to my own faith tradition, Mormonism. There has been a lot of debate about issues of "historicity," and questions about the benefits or dangers inherent to academic approaches to scripture. Margaret Mitchell ably describes the battles between some historical-minded scholars and more literary-driven scholars, and demonstrates that much of the polemical discussion between such approaches overlooks many similarities and shared assumptions in addition to differences. The place of archaeology in biblical studies is addressed directly in two full chapters, and briefly elsewhere, as well.
This is a great state-of-the-field collection. The one downside I'll mention is that the contributions that seemed to be translations from German were very difficult to comprehend. The level of assumed knowledge on the part of the reader varied according to contributor, and a few chapters will likely appeal only to sophisticated specialists. That being said, the overall collection has enough to recommend it to beginning students like me.
The book includes a few good overviews of the state of the fields in Old and New Testament studies. (It includes several pieces from Jewish perspectives, but leans slightly toward Christian Bible discussions.) Essays discuss the nature of scripture, the process of canon formation, matters of translation and language, and the interdisciplinary growth of biblical studies, which includes discussions of particular approaches to biblical study like textual criticism, redaction criticism, literary studies, feminist approaches, ideological criticism, etc.
Some of my favorite essays discuss matters that indirectly pertain to my own faith tradition, Mormonism. There has been a lot of debate about issues of "historicity," and questions about the benefits or dangers inherent to academic approaches to scripture. Margaret Mitchell ably describes the battles between some historical-minded scholars and more literary-driven scholars, and demonstrates that much of the polemical discussion between such approaches overlooks many similarities and shared assumptions in addition to differences. The place of archaeology in biblical studies is addressed directly in two full chapters, and briefly elsewhere, as well.
This is a great state-of-the-field collection. The one downside I'll mention is that the contributions that seemed to be translations from German were very difficult to comprehend. The level of assumed knowledge on the part of the reader varied according to contributor, and a few chapters will likely appeal only to sophisticated specialists. That being said, the overall collection has enough to recommend it to beginning students like me.
March 31, 2011
This was actually fairly easy to read. I would also think that this is an important book to read if you are either studying religions (so Christianity) or studying the Bible and the Torah.
The book discusses the Old and New Testaments and how they were studied, what the problems that people studying them have come across and what they still face.
This part of the title says it all, HANDBOOK.
The book discusses the Old and New Testaments and how they were studied, what the problems that people studying them have come across and what they still face.
This part of the title says it all, HANDBOOK.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews