Remembering the Story of Israel: Historical Summaries and Memory Formation in Second Temple Judaism

by Aubrey E. Buster

In this book, Aubrey Buster demonstrates how methods adapted from cultural and social memory studies and the new formalism can illuminate the communal function of biblical and extra-biblical historical summaries in Second Temple Judaism. Refining models drawn from memory studies, she applies them to ancient texts and demonstrates the development of Judah's speech about their past across the Second Temple period. Buster's wide-ranging study demonstrates how and where the historical summary functions in the book of Psalms, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as the Qumran Psalms Scrolls, Words of the Luminaries, Paraphrase of Genesis and Exodus, and Pseudo-Daniel. She shows how the historical summary proves to be a generative, replicable, and ultimately productive form of memory. Crossing the boundaries of genre categories and time periods, liturgical performances, and literary works, historical summaries crafted a highly selective but broadly useful mode of commemoration of key events from Israel's past.

Genres: Old Testament

350 pages, Hardcover

Published May 19, 2022

Reviews

[Joey Hyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buster is working in a new(er-ish) paradigm of biblical studies emphasizing the role and function of memory. This is a fascinating examination of the mini histories in various biblical texts (eg, Pss 105-106; 1 Chr 16, etc) and parabiblical material. Relevant to anyone working in second temple studies, broadly defined. Worthwhile.