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Papers of a symposium between the department of Bible Studies, Tel Aviv University, and the Faculty of Protestant Theology, Bochum, on the Jewish and Christian Biblical understanding of eschatology.

This book examines the portrayal of Israel as a royal-priestly nation within Exodus and against the background of biblical and ancient Near Eastern thought. Central to the work is a literary study of Exodus 19.4-6 and a demonstration of the pivotal role these verses and their main image have within Exodus.

This study investigates the Dan/Danite tradition in the Hebrew Bible to determine what it tells us about Dan and also the degree to which traditions associated with one representation of Dan may have influenced the characterization of another.

This Symposium asks whether a ''history of Israel'' can be written, and if it can, how? Can the Hebrew Bible be used as a source for such history? The question of writing the ''history of ancient Israel'' has become fiercely debated in recent years. It is a debate that seems to generate more heat than light because of quite different concepts of historical methodology. The European Seminar on Methodology in Israel''s History was founded specifically to address this problem. Members of the Seminar hold a variety of views but all agree that there is a problem to be tackled. The first meeting of the Seminar, held in Dublin in 1996, was devoted to some broad questions: (1) Can a ''history of ancient Israel'' (or Palestine, Syria, the Levant, etc.) be written? (2) If so, how? What place does the Hebrew Bible have as a source in writing this history? This first volume contains the main papers that were prepared to set the stage for the discussion, along with an introduction to the Seminar, its aims and its membership. The editor also provides a concluding chapter summarizing and reflecting on the debate.

The proceedings of an international conference of historians, archaeologists and biblical scholars, who met in Amman to discuss new perspectives on the history of ancient Jerusalem and its relationship to biblical tradition on October 12-14, 2001.

The contributors to this volume use a variety of methodological approaches to explore texts and issues related to prophecy in ancient Israel and the Near East. The essays cover a wide range of themes on the institution of prophecy and on the individual prophets in ancient Israel.

This volume explores the implications for biblical studies of changes in the direction of travel, whether from centre to margin, backwards in time, along byways rather than the main stream, or inside gaps, and using post colonialism, feminism, Marxism, gay theory, and post structuralism.

This anthropological study of the expulsion of the foreign women from the post-exilic community argues that it was the result of a witch-hunt. Its comparative approach notes that the community responded to its weak social boundaries in the same fashion as societies with similar social weaknesses.

''Whybray''s recent book is a masterful review of all the options set out by critical scholarship since Wellhausen, i.e., over the last century. It is an exhaustive and up to date treatment, concise and highly readable.'' E. Dyck, Crux ''Sensitive to standards of ancient historiography and parallels from the Greek sphere, Whybray proposes that the Pentateuch is the work of an ancient historian, possibly designed as a supplement or prologue to the deuteronomistic history. The analysis of the work of others and of the state of [CHECK REVIEW!] extremely valuable; the final suggestion makes it all the more engaging. Essential for all concerned with fundamentals of critical biblical studies.'' W. Lee Humphreys, Religious Studies Review

Underlying Exodus in its priestly redaction is a pilgrimage. Smith''s new book starts by reviewing pilgrimage shrines, feasts and practices in ancient Israel. Next, it examines the two pilgrimage journeys in Exodus. In Exodus 1-15 Moses journeys to Mount Sinai, experiences God and receives his commission. In Exodus 16-40, Moses and the people together journey to Mount Sinai for the people''s experience of God and their commission. Between lies Exodus 15, the fulcrum-point of the book: vv. 1-12 look back and vv. 13-18 look forward to Israel''s journey to Sinai. Finally, the different meanings of torah in the book of Exodus are contrasted, and the book concludes with a consideration of Exodus''s larger place in the Pentateuch.

This synchronic study of the books of Samuel examines the multifaceted character of David. His is a complex tale, seemingly designed to explore the human dimension of a traditional motif: divine election and rejection. Through speeches and actions, David is revealed as a man who never quite understands his fate. Why has Saul been rejected and why is David not rejected? If Saul sinned, David sinned boldly. The man, David, through poetic soliloquies (2 Sam. 1.19-27; 22.2-51; 23.1b-7), explores this question.