The Bible as Literature An Introduction

by Gabel, John B.; Wheeler, Charles B.; York, Anthony D.

• ISBN13: 9780195092851
• ISBN10: 0195092856
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-01-04
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

As in the widely popular Second Edition, this comprehensive and systematic text approaches the Bible from a literary/historical perspective, and studies the work as a body of writing produced by real people who intended to convey messages to a real audience. Avoiding assessments of the Bible's truth or authority, the authors maintain a rigorously objective tone as they discuss such major issues as the forms and strategies found in biblical writing, the actual historical and physical settings of that writing, the process of canon formation, the sources of the Pentateuch, and the nature of such literary biblical genres as prophecy, apocalypse, and gospel. Each chapter is an independent yet related essay, and the Third Edition has been updated and enhanced by two new chapters: "Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Bible" and "The Text of the Bible." In addition, the reading lists following each chapter have been completely updated in order to reflect the most recent scholarship. The result is an easy-to-use, exciting presentation of the art of the Bible that is indispensable to students and accessible to readers of all kinds.

Author Biography

John Gabel and Charles Wheeler are Emeritus Professors of English at The Ohio State University. Anthony York is Estelle Hunt Associate Professor of Biblical Literature at the University of Cincinnati.

Table of Contents

To the Reader	ix
I The Bible as Literature	3	(14)
II Literary Forms and Strategies in the Bible	17	(26)
III Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Bible	43	(20)
IV The Bible and History	63	(12)
V The Physical Setting of the Bible	75	(18)
VI The Formation of the Canon	93	(15)
VII The Composition of the Pentateuch	108	(16)
VIII The Prophetic Writings	124	(13)
IX The Wisdom Literature	137	(18)
X The Apocalyptic Literature	155	(16)
XI The Intertestamental Period	171	(21)
XII Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: The Outside Books	192	(17)
XIII The Gospels	209	(21)
XIV Acts and the Letters	230	(23)
XV The Text of the Bible	253	(14)
XVI Translating the Bible	267	(23)
XVII The Religious Use and Interpretation of the Bible	290	(21)
Appendix I: The Name of Israel's God	311	(4)
Appendix II: Writing in Biblical Times	315	(10)
Index	325