Historiography and self-definition : Josephos, Luke-Acts, and apologetic historiography /
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For centuries scholars have recognized the apologetic character of the Hellenistic Jewish historians, Josephos, and Luke-Acts; they have not, however, adequately addressed their possible relationships to each other and to their wider cultures. In this first full systematic effort to set these authors within the framework of Greco-Roman traditions, Professor Sterling has used genre criticism as a method for locating a distinct tradition of historical writing, apologetic historiography. Apologetic historiography is the story of a subgroup of people which deliberately Hellenizes the traditions of the group in an effort to provide a self-definition within the context of the larger world. It arose as a result of a dialectic relationship with Greek ethnography. This work traces the evolution of this tradition through three major eras of eastern Mediterranean history spanning six hundred years: the Persian, the Greek, and the Roman.
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1 online resource (xiv, 500 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-426) and indexes. :
9789004266940 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The past is prologue : the revolution of Nicene historiography /
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While there has been substantial scholarly work done on the development of Christian doctrine in the fourth and fifth centuries, very little corresponding attention has been paid to the writing of church history during this critical period. This work examines how authors began to construct the historical narrative of the "Arian" controversy and focuses on the interplay between theology and worshipping communities. Major figures such as Eusebius and Athanasius are examined, and important but overlooked figures such as an anonymous non-Nicene chronicler and Philostorgius are also included. In the introduction the book surveys recent developments in the study of "Arianism" and discusses the usefulness of the very category of an "Arian controversy." Subsequent chapters set forth the thesis that church histories are important sources for understanding the development of doctrine. A chapter is devoted to Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, especially the oft-overlooked Book X. Further chapters explore the role of Rufinus as the first extant author to write a continuation of Eusebius. The work also consciously includes marginalized non-Nicene sources, and there are chapters which examine an anonymous non-Nicene chronicler and the Ecclesiastical History of the Eunomian Philostorgius of Borissus. The book is particularly useful for persons interested in examining the development of doctrine in the fourth century from fresh perspectives. The work approaches church histories as narrative myths of community origins produced by worshipping communities standing in continuity to local schools of thought.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, 2002. :
1 online resource (xiii, 226 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-177) and index. :
9789047407836 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Jewish dialogue with Greece and Rome : studies in cultural and social interaction /
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Twenty-seven interdisciplinary essays on aspects of Judaism in the Greco-Roman world, exemplifying a wide range of techniques, by a well-known scholar. Three are previously unpublished, including a reappraisal of the Judaism and Hellenism debate and a study of the Sardis synagogue. The book's overall coherence derives from the author's long-standing interests in the analysis of texts as documents of cultural and religious interaction, and in how Jewish communities were woven into the social fabric of Greek cities in the Hellenistic and Roman East. The four sections are: Greeks and Jews, Josephus, The Jewish Diaspora and Epigraphy, and finally Beyond the Greeks and Romans, essays which extend into Christian literature and on to the nineteenth century reception of the Judaism/Hellenism dichotomy. Scholars and students from a wide variety of backgrounds will benefit. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
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1 online resource (xix, 579 pages cm) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047400196 :
0169-734X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Man, Meaning, and Mystery : 100 Years of History of Religions in Norway. The Heritage of W. Brede Kristensen /
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At an international symposium in Norway, the 100 years' anniversary of the academic study of religion was celebrated. This volume contains the papers that were presented at this conference. A major part of the papers deals with the situation of this discipline around the turn of the last century, focussing especially on the work of the Dutch-Norwegian scholar W. Brede Kristensen (1867-1953) and on other founding fathers in the Scandinavian countries. Other contributors discuss methodological questions relating to the idea of a phenomenology of religion. Furthermore, an attempt is made to compare the study of religion at the end of the twentieth century with the situation a hundred years earlier, and to trace some of the lines of development. The book includes a bibliography of publications by W. Brede Kristensen.
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Consists chiefly of lectures given during an international symposium, held in Oslo Sept. 17-20, 1998. :
1 online resource. :
"William Brede Kristensen: a bibliography": pages [287]-294.
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047400264 :
0169-8834 ;
Between evidence and ideolog y essays on the history of ancient Israel read at the joint meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Oud Testamentisch Werkgezelschap, Li...
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The historiography of Ancient Israel is much debated. The various approaches are never void of ideology and some reckon more with the available evidence than others. This volume consists of a set of case-studies that reveal the difficulties that arise when trying to write a history as honestly as possible. This implies that both the archaeology of Ancient Palestine - the finds and their interrogation - as well as the Philosophy of History - their models and their implications - are discussed. The outcome is a variety of approaches that inform the reader of current views on the history of Ancient Israel.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004203228 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The despoliation of Egypt in pre-rabbinic, rabbinic and patristic traditions /
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This work examines the role played by the biblical motif of the despoliation of Egypt in the understanding Gentiles had of Jews, and how Jews defended themselves, their heroes and their God in the face of anti-Jewish slander. It also examines the manner in which Christians learned from their rabbinic counterparts how to defend Moses and his God against the gnostic challenge. Beginning with Philo and based on haggadic additions, the embarrassment of the episode was 'healed' through allegory and became a critically important biblical justification for the Christian appropriation of the 'Egyptian treasures' of their Greco-Roman cultural heritage. This work describes how Christians borrowed exegetical traditions from rabbis not only to defend their sacred texts against gnostic attacks but to justify their interest in and appropriation of non-Christian philosophy in their theological understandings.
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1 online resource (viii, 305 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-298) and indexes. :
9789047433569 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reading for history in the Damascus document : a methodological study /
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Scholars tend to view the Damascus Document as a historical source, but a reading of the text in light of contemporary (audience-oriented) literary criticism finds its emphasis in the ideological construction of history and communal identity, rather than in the preservation of a historical record. An introduction to contemporary literary criticism is followed by a series of thematic readings, focusing on historical narrative, priestly imagery, and gender in the covenant community. Each theme is examined in terms of its potential for multiple (sometimes contradictory) interpretations and for its place in the larger sectarian discourse. This study offers an alternative approach to the historiography of ancient Jewish sectarianism, acknowledging the presence of competing claims to shared traditions and the potential for changes in textual interpretation over time or among diverse communities.
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1 online resource (xii, 255 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-241) and indexes. :
9789004350434 :
0169-9962 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Representing the pas t a literary analysis of narrative historiography in the book of Samuel /
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Eschewing both so-called minimalist and maximalist readings, this volume advocates an understanding of the book of Samuel as ancient narrative historiography that must be understood according to its own conception and ideology of history before being judged as a historical source. This study shows how narrative strategies and literary embellishment, unaccustomed in modern historiography, are used to express familiar historical concepts such as causation, meaning and evaluation of the past. The requirements for historical 'accuracy' within the book's cultural milieu are investigated through analysis of the differences tolerated between the LXX and MT versions. Fresh interpretive insights for specific passages emerge as the conventions of historiography in Samuel are compared and contrasted to the ideals of modern historical theory.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Sydney, 2010. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-320) and index. :
9789004203419 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The transmission and dynamics of the textual sources of Islam : essays in honour of Harald Motzki /
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For many Muslims, the textual sources of Islam provide the guiding principles on which they base their beliefs. These texts have also been studied by Western scholars of Islam for centuries. Most of their work has focussed on the historicity of the texts, often at the expense of the study of Muslims' highly diverse interpretation and application of these sources in everyday life. This volume provides new insights into the transmission of these sources (primarily the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīth) and combines this with the dynamics of these scriptures by paying close attention to how believers in the Muslim world as well as the West interpret and apply them. As such, this volume provides a fascinating overview of how the sources of Islam are dated, debated and negotiated. Contributors include: Nicolet Boekhoff-van der Voort, Gregor Schoeler, Maribel Fierro, Fred Leemhuis, Claude Gilliot, Andreas Görke, Jens Scheiner, Michael Lecker, Maher Jarrar, Gerard Wiegers, Uri Rubin, Kees Versteegh, Joas Wagemakers, Herbert Berg, Abdulkader Tayob, Roel Meijer, Martijn de Koning, Carmen Becker and Ulrike Mitter.
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1 online resource (xvi, 495 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [13]-24) and index. :
9789004206786 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.