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Based on two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007), this title provides fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and deepens our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee.

Investigates the composition history of the "Amos-text" by drawing on the influential works of Hans W Wolff and J Jeremias. This redaction-critical study interprets the reasons for judgment in "Amos" 2.6-16 in the literary context of each of the redactional compositions which, it is argued, underlie the "Amos-text".

This volume collects essays from an international body of leading scholars in Old Testament studies, focused upon the key concepts of the question of historicity of biblical stories, the archaeology of Israel/Palestine during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and the nature of biblical narratives and related literature. As a celebration of the extensive body of Thomas L. Thompson's work, these essays enable a threefold perspective on biblical narratives. Beginning with 'method', the contributors discuss archaeology, cultural memory, epistemology, and sociology of knowledge, before moving to 'history, historiography and archaeology' and close analysis of the Qumran Writings, Josephus and biblical rewritings. Finally the argument turn to the narratives themselves, exploring topics including the possibility of invented myth, the genre of Judges and the depiction of Moses in the Qu'ran. Presenting an interdisciplinary analysis of the historical issues concerning ancient Israel/Palestine, this volume creates an updated body of reference to fifty years' worth of scholarship.

This book is an examination of characters in the books of Kings; showing how understanding and interpretation of key characters affects readings of the story. The volume begins with more general pieces addressing how the study of characters can shed light on the composition history of Kings and on how characters and characterization can be considered with respect to ethics, particularly with respect to the moral complexity of biblical characters.Contributors then consider key characters within the Kings narrative in depth, such as Nathan, Bathsheba, Solomon and Jezebel. The contributors use their own specific expertise to analyze these characters and more, drawing on insights from literary theory and considering such approaches as questioning our view of a particular character with based on the character within the text with whom we identify. Contributors also assess whether or not characters as portrayed in the biblical text necessarily match up to their possible counterparts in history.

Traditional interpretations in both Judaism and Christianity argue that the "Akedah" presents not only an ethical question but also an ethical reply. This book shows how the narrative's version did not contain the angelic figure and also re-examines various religious interpretations of the text.

By examining explicit biblical references to Cush and Cushites, a nation and people most modern scholars would deem racially "black," this book explores the manner by which the authors of the Hebrew Bible represented the Cushite, and determines whether differences in human phenotypes facilitated legitimating ideologies that justified subjugation.

Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.

Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible is an investigation of the key hospitality texts and narratives in the Hebrew Bible, such as Abraham's visitors in Mamre in Genesis 18, Lot's visitors in Sodom in Genesis 19, and the partly parallel story of the traveling Levite and his pilegesh in Judges 19. She also includes hospitality scenes with female protagonists, such as Jael in Judges 4, Rahab in Joshua 2, and Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly in Proverbs 9. Gudme applies a historical anthropological approach to these texts as she analyses hospitality in light of classical anthropological themes such as reciprocity, commensality, honor and shame, and patronage structures. The anthropological analysis is supplemented by an intersectional perspective that considers hospitality alongside socio-cultural aspects such as configurations of masculinity, gender roles, and household hierarchies. Gudme offers a critical and systematic overview of hospitality in the Hebrew bible, including the 'dark sides' of hospitality such as deceit, rape, violence, and murder. Her analysis reveals a complex web of socio-cultural values, in which hospitality is sometimes presented as an ultimate and universal value, sometimes merely as nice-to-have and secondary to other socio-cultural concerns. In all instances, however, hospitality is a recognizable type-scene and as such an ideal backdrop for telling tales, both exemplary and horrific, and an ideal literary tool to characterize both people and deities.

Characters provide the entry point to the story of the books of Samuel, just as they do in all stories. In this book the history of research into characters in Samuel, and the role(s) they play in the text are examined and discussed. The contributors look at the interpretative function of characters in the Samuel stories, and at issues of textual composition and what profiling of characters within the text can add to theories surrounding this issue. Specific characters are also profiled and studied. The character of God is examined: is God kind towards Israel? Is God loving and 'worthy to be praised' 2 Sam 22.4. Characters such as Hannah are examined from the perspective of literary type, as well as Eli as priest and Samuel himself as prophet. All of the major characters within the books are studied, including David and Jonathan, and chapters also treat the minor characters and offer information on their roles in the structure of the text. The contributors provide a range of different approaches to characterization, according to their specific expertise, and provide a thorough handbook to the characters in Samuel and their roles in the literary make-up of the text.

In the first half of the 20th century there was immense scholarly interest in the biography of the prophet Jeremiah as the background for understanding the development of the book of Jeremiah. Around the turn of the century this interest disappeared, but it has now resurfaced in a transformed configuration as work seeking to analyze the creation of the literary persona, Jeremiah the prophet.This volume examines the construction of Jeremiah in the prophetic book and its afterlife, presenting a wide range of scholarly approaches spanning the understanding of Jeremiah from Old Testament times via the Renaissance to the 20th century, and from theology to the history of literature.

Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, 2010 under title: Domestic disputations at the dung heap: a reception history of Job and his wife in Christianity of the West.