Hans M. Barstad

In this collection of essays, Hans M. Barstad deals thoroughly with the recent history debate, and demonstrates its relevancy for the study of ancient Israelite history and historiography. He takes an independent stand in the heated maximalist/minimalist debate on the historicity of the Hebrew Bible. Vital to his understanding is the necessity to realize the narrative nature of the ancient Hebrew and of the Near Eastern sources. Equally important is his claim that stories, too, may convey positivistic historical "facts." The other major topic he deals with in the book is the actual history of ancient Judah in the Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods. Here, the author makes extensive use of extant ancient Near Eastern sources, both textual and archaeological, and he puts much weight on economic aspects. He shows that the key to understanding the role of Judah in the 1st millennium lays in the proper evaluation of Judah and its neighbouring city states within their respective imperial contexts. A proper understanding of the history of Judah during the 6th century BCE, consequently, can only be obtained when Judah is studied as a part of the much wider Neo-Babylonian imperial policy.

Studies in Ancient Israelite and Ancient Near Eastern Historiography

History and the Hebrew Bible

Reinhard G. Kratz

This volume contains the proceedings of a Symposium “Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah”, arranged by the Edinburgh Prophecy Network in the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, 11–12 May 2007. Prophetic studies are undergoing radical changes at the moment. Whereas it was formerly believed that the “historical Jeremiah” was hidden under countless additions and reinterpretations, and thus changed beyond recognition, it was still assumed that it would be possible to recover the real prophet with the tools of historical critical methods. However, according to a majority of scholars today, the recovery of the historical Jeremiah is no longer possible. For this reason, the meeting in Edinburgh gathered specialists from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA, in order to find new and different approaches to the study of prophecy.

Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Reinvestigating and challenging the traditional division between Isaiah 40–55 and 56–66.

Chronological and Thematic Development in Isaiah 40–66

Continuity and Discontinuity

Reinhard Gregor Kratz

This volume contains the proceedings of a Symposium Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah, arranged by the Edinburgh Prophecy Network in the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, 11 12 May 2007. Prophetic studies are undergoing radical changes at the moment. Whereas it was formerly believed that the historical Jeremiah was hidden under countless additions and reinterpretations, and thus changed beyond recognition, it was still assumed that it would be possible to recover the real prophet with the tools of historical critical methods. However, according to a majority of scholars today, the recovery of the historical Jeremiah is no longer possible. For this reason, the meeting in Edinburgh gathered specialists from Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA, in order to find new and different approaches to the study of prophecy. "

Hans M. Barstad

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