This volume publishes the papers given by invitation at the fifteenth Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, which was held at Cambridge in July 1995, under the Presidency of J.A. Emerton. The articles cover a wide range of subjects relevant to the study of the Old Testament, and reflect the ongoing debate on a variety of themes among the world's leading contemporary Old Testament scholars.

This Congress Volume comprises not only the main lectures of the XVIth I.O.S.O.T. Congress, held in Oslo 1998, but also the interventions at the two panels on "Intertextuality and the Pluralism of Methods" and on "The Hebrew Bible and History." Both the main lectures and the panelists' interventions focus on current methodological problems and study central questions in the present study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in its environment.

This volume brings together the main contributions to the 20th congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT) held in Helsinki, Finland in August, 2010, focusing on archaeology, textual history, Deuteronomistic texts, and Wisdom and apocalypticism.

This Congress Volume comprises not only the main lectures of the XVIth I.O.S.O.T. Congress, held in Oslo 1998, but also the interventions at the two panels on "Intertextuality and the Pluralism of Methods" and on "The Hebrew Bible and History". Both the main lectures and the panelists' interventions focus on current methodological problems and study central questions in the present study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in its environment.

This volume publishes the papers given by invitation at the 17th Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, which was held in Basel from 5-10 August 2001. It presents a state of the art of the current exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, taking into account the latest research in general linguistics and semitic philology, as well as textual criticism (Massora Magna, Septuagint, Qumran manuscripts), ethno-sociology and archaeology. Feminist biblical studies are duly represented as well as the last research on literary criticism on the Pentateuch, especially in its relation to other ancient Near Eastern texts (Neo-assyrian and Aramaic inscriptions). Finally, two contributions throw light on the problem of religious interpretation of the Bible (Resurrection of the Dead and Biblical Theology).

The Hebrew Bible portrays King Manasseh and child sacrifice as the most reprehensible person and the most objectionable practice within the story of 'Israel'. This monograph suggests that historically, neither were as deviant as the Hebrew Bible appears to insist. Through careful historical reconstruction, it is argued that Manasseh was one of Judah's most successful monarchs, and child sacrifice played a central role in ancient Judahite religious practice. The biblical writers, motivated by ideological concerns, have thus deliberately distorted the truth about Manasseh and child sacrifice.

The Bible proclaims a message of liberation. Though the Bible arose in an age when slavery and patriarchalism permeated society, the biblical authors sought to elevate the rights of slaves, the poor, and women. Their attempts to elevate the oppressed set in motion a trajectory of evolution, which we should still be advancing today. Critics of the Bible declare that it accepts slavery and the subordination of women, but they fail to understand the biblical texts in their historical context. For their age the biblical authors were advanced in their understanding of human rights, and the democratic values we hold today actually resulted from their early attempts to affirm the dignity and rights of slaves and women. It is equally important that we critique those spokespersons of the church who quote the Bible literally but have lost sight of its historical context so that they might still subordinate women today. Such spokespersons also declare that the Bible condemns homosexuality. But a closer reading of the text discerns that those few passages that address same-sex relations actually condemn rape, ritual prostitution, and master-slave relations. To use the Bible to condemn people often is to misuse the Bible.

In der Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) erscheinen Arbeiten zu sämtlichen Gebieten der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Im Zentrum steht die Hebräische Bibel, ihr Vor- und Nachleben im antiken Judentum sowie ihre vielfache Verzweigung in die benachbarten Kulturen der altorientalischen und hellenistisch-römischen Welt. Die BZAW akzeptiert Manuskriptvorschläge, die einen innovativen und signifikanten Beitrag zu Erforschung des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt leisten, sich intensiv mit der bestehenden Forschungsliteratur auseinandersetzen, stringent aufgebaut und flüssig geschrieben sind.

This exhaustive analysis of the issue of Hellenistic colouring of LXX Proverbs concludes that the impact of Stoicism has been overestimated. Moreover, the law plays a more prominent role than previously thought, and this document should be placed in Palestine.

Written by leading experts in the field, The Book of Exodus: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation offers a wide-ranging treatment of the main aspects of Exodus. Its twenty-four essays fall under four main sections. The first section contains studies of a more general nature, including the history of Exodus in critical study, Exodus in literary and historical study, as well as the function of Exodus in the Pentateuch. The second section contains commentary on or interpretation of specific passages (or sections) of Exodus, as well as essays on its formation, genres, and themes. The third section contains essays on the textual history and reception of Exodus in Judaism and Christianity. The final section explores the theologies of the book of Exodus.