Enquire of the former age
Subtitle: ancient historiography and writing the history of Israel
By: edited by Lester L. Grabbe
Series: Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies -- 554; European seminar in historical methodology -- 9; T & T Clark library of biblical studies; Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies -- 554.; European seminar in historical methodology -- 9.; T & T Clark library of biblical studies
Publisher: T & T Clark International
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 282
ISBN-13: 9780567098238
Subjects: Historiography; Bible; Jews; History
Description: When methodology relating to the history of ancient Israel is discussed, the issue of historiography is frequently injected into the debate. This includes both principles of writing history from a modern perspective and also historiography as it relates to ancient writings. The first part of this most recent volume in the European Seminar in Historical Methodology series contains essays on historiography, including such well-known scholars as Ehud Ben Zvi, Philip Davies, and Axel Knauf. The second part is made up of reviews of histories of Israel or related works by such writers as William Dever, Baruch Halpern, Steven McKenzie, Mario Liverani, Alberto Soggin, Lester Grabbe, Jens Bruun Kofoed, and Iain Provan, V. Phillips Long, and Tremper Longman, III. Reviewers include Rainer Albertz, Niels Peter Lemche, Joseph Blenkinsopp, Philip Davies, Bob Becking, Ehud Ben Zvi, and Lester Grabbe. The original authors had the opportunity to respond to the reviews, while the editor provides an introduction that summarizes the various contributions and also a conclusion that provides personal reflections on the debate.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Introduction  -- Lester L. Grabbe; title: General observations on ancient Israelite histories in their ancient contexts  -- Ehud Ben Zvi; title: The origins of biblical Israel  -- Philip R. Davies; title: Against historiography--in defence of history  -- E. Axel Knauf; title: Why the Hebrew Bible might be all Greek to me : on the use of the Xenophontic corpus in discussions of biblical literature  -- Christine Mitchell; title: (Pseudo-)Eupolemus and Shechem : methodology enabling the use of Hellenistic Jewish historians' work in biblical studies  -- Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò; title: Review of William G. Dever, What did the biblical writers know and when did they know it? (2001) and Who were the early Israelites and where did they come from? (2003)  -- Rainer Albertz; title: A response to Rainer Albertz  -- William G. Dever; title: "From my corner of the field" : a preliminary response to L.L. Grabbe, A history of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple period, volume 1, Yehud : a history of the Persian province of Judah  -- Ehud Ben Zvi; title: Damn, I thought he would never notice : a response to Ehud Ben Zvi's review of A history of the Jews and Judaism, volume 1  -- Lester L. Grabbe; title: Evading the facts : notes on Jens Bruun Kofoed, Text and history : historiography and the study of the biblical text (2005)  -- Niels Peter Lemche; title: Factualizing the evasion : a response to Niels Peter Lemche  -- Jens Bruun Kofoed; title: A different kind of minimalism : Mario Liverani's Oltre la Bibbia  -- Joseph Blenkinsopp; title: Way beyond the Bible--but far enough?  -- Philip R. Davies; title: A response to Joseph Blenkinsopp and Philip R. Davies  -- Mario Liverani; title: David at the threshold of history : a review of Steven L. McKenzie, King David : a biography (2000), and Baruch Halpern, David's secret demons : messiah, murderer, traitor, king (2001)  -- Bob Becking; title: David and the historical imagination : a counterpoint in evocation  -- Baruch Halpern; title: The big max : review of A biblical history of Israel, by Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III  -- Lester L. Grabbe; title: "Who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" (Acts 8:34) : a response to Lester Grabbe's review of A biblical history of Israel  -- Iain Provan, V. Philips Long, and Tremper Longman III; title: Alberto Soggin's Storia d'Israele : exemplifying twenty years of debate and changing trends in thinking  -- Lester L. Grabbe; title: Reflections on the discussion -- Lester L. Grabbe.