All the boundaries of the land
Subtitle: the Promised Land in Biblical thought in light of the ancient Near East
By: Nili Wazana ; translated by Liat Qeren
Publisher: Eisenbrauns
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Winona Lake, Indiana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9781575062839
Subjects: Old Testament; Relation to the Bible; Ancient Middle Eastern literature; Palestine in the Bible; Boundaries; Bibel; Landverheißung; 11.41 study and interpretation of the Old Testament; Biblical teaching; In the Bible
Work titles: Kol gevulot arets
Description: What are the borders of the Promised Land in the Hebrew Bible? What drives and characterizes the descriptions given of them? The starting point for this research lies in the premise that, despite their detailed geographical nature, the biblical texts are not genuinely geographical documents. They are more appropriately to be understood and examined as literary texts composed in the service of an ideological agenda. In order to comprehend properly the idea of the Promised Land presented in the Hebrew Bible--its definitions, dimensions, and significance--we must understand that the descriptions belong to diverse literary genres, were composed according to various literary devices that require decoding, and that reflect a range of perspectives, outlooks, and notions. All the Boundaries of the Land provides engaging fresh perspectives on the variant views of the Promised Land in the interface between literature, history, geography, and ideology. It does not intend to answer the question of how the borders of the land altered throughout the course of history. The reader will find no maps or outlines in this book. The emphasis is on the literary tools that were employed by the biblical authors who described the borders, and the ideological motives that guided them.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-322) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Part 1. Borders and the concept of the border in the Bible and ancient Near East. "Border" versus "frontier"; title: Spatial merisms; title: Part 2. The Promised Land. The land promised to the patriarchs; title: The promise of world dominion; title: "The land of Canaan with its various boundaries" document (Numbers 34:1-12); title: Ezekiel's vision of the ideal land; title: Part 3. The fulfillment of the promise. The dimensions of the land in the "book of conquest" (Joshua 1-12); title: "The land that yet remains" (Joshua 13:1-6); title: The "book of settlement" : the land of the tribal portions; title: The dimensions of the land according to biblical historiography.