This collection of essays examines Leviticus in its compositional and literary context, issues of cult and sacrifice in Leviticus, Leviticus on the priesthood, and Leviticus in translation and interpretation. The volume will serve biblical studies well long into the future.

This volume describes how the rhetorical devices used in Judges inspire its readers to support a divinely appointed Judahite king who endorses the deuteronomic agenda to rid the land of foreigners, to maintain inter-tribal loyalty to YHWH's cult, and to uphold social justice. Matters of rhetorical concern interpreted here include the superimposed cycle-motif and tribal-political schemata, concerns reflected in the plot-layers of each hero story, the force of narrative analogy for characterization, the strategy of entrapment which foreshadows portrayals of Saul and David in 1 Samuel, and the relation between Judges' implied situation of composition and its compiler's intention. In addition to offering new insights into the rhetorical strategy of the Judges compiler, this book illustrates a new method for understanding how plot-layered stories work.

Combining the insights of present-day biblical studies with those of Handelian studies, this book examines the libretti of ten of Handel's Israelite oratorios and evaluates the relationship between each libretto and the biblical story on which it is based.

Drawing on the latest in Genesis scholarship, this volume offers twenty-nine essays on a wide range of topics related to Genesis, written by leading experts in the field. Topics include its formation, reception, textual history and translation, themes, theologies, and place within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Many Bible readers will think that chapter 17 of the second book of Kings refers to the origin of the Samaritans. This understanding of the chapter has its earliest attestation in the works of Josephus. The present book evaluates the methods often used for finding the origin of the Samaritans, makes an assessment of well known and new material, and ventures into some uncharted territory. It is suggested that the moment of birth of the Samaritans was the construction of the temple on Mount Gerizim. This happened in the first part of the fourth century b.c.e. in accordance with the original commandment of Moses in Deut 27:4.

This volume, based on recently published Old Latin material, provides fascinating information and discussion on the textual pluralism attested by the Hebrew texts and versions of the books of Kings, an intriguing page in the history of the biblical texts.

International experts offer fresh insights into: (1) Review of Scholarship and Context; (2) Near Eastern Milieu; (3) Interpretation of Specific Passages; (4) Social Setting; (5) Literary Context, Including Qumran; (6) Reception in Judaism and Christianity; (7) Textual History; and (8) Theology of Daniel.

This volume is dedicated to professor Jacob Hoftijzer on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday as well as of his retirement from the chair of "Hebrew Language and Literature, the Israelite Antiquities and Ugaritic" at the University of Leiden. After a preface by A. van der Heide and a bibliographical list of Hoftijzer's publications, the volume contains 16 essays on syntactical questions in the field of Hebrew and Aramaic. Most of these essays deal with subjects occurring in Hoftijzer's publications. Such are the nominal sentence, the particle 'et', questions related to clause types as well as to word order and concord within sentences, the status and use of particles and verbal forms. Whereas Biblical Hebrew is discussed in most of the essays, other language forms are represented as well, esp. Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew, Imperial Aramaic, Middle Aramaic and Classical Syriac.

Meeting the need for a textbook for classroom use after first year Hebrew grammar, Waltke and O'Connor integrate the results of modern linguistic study of Hebrew and years of experience teaching the subject in this book. In addition to functioning as a teaching grammar, this work will also be widely used for reference and self-guided instruction in Hebrew beyond the first formal year. Extensive discussion and explanation of grammatical points help to sort out points blurred in introductory books. More than 3,500 Biblical Hebrew examples illustrate the points of grammar under discussion. Four indexes (Scripture, Authorities cited, Hebrew words, and Topics) provide ready access to the vast array of information found in the 40 chapters. Destined to become a classic work, this long-awaited book fills a major gap among modern publications on Biblical Hebrew.