Origins Ancient Hebrew Scriptures Canons Scribes Schools Libraries Old Testament

Description: Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures by Philip R. Davies. DESCRIPTION: Hardback with Dust Jacket: 219 pages. Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; (1998). Few problems have been as vexing and as overridden with theological argumentation as the origins of the canon. In this volume in the Library of Ancient Israel, Phillip R. Davies investigates the ways that the ancient world produced canons and textual collections, with special attention to the social practices embodied by scribes, schools, archives, and libraries. The result is a constructive proposal for how the Old Testament arose in its many parts and grew to status as an accepted document, even as a religious object. This book is a significant contribution to the understanding of a scribal activity and its effect on Israel’s texts, and it is sure to be as controversial as it is elucidating. Philip R. Davies is Professor in the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield, England. Contents (Chapter Headings) Include: 1) The Dimensions of Canon; 2) Canons in the Ancient World; 3) Canon, Canonizing, and Canonical Criticism: Approaches to Jewish Canonizing; 4) Sketch of Israelite and Judean History; 5) Judean Scribes, Schools, Archives, and Libraries; 6) The Mosaic Canon; 7) The Canonizing of Prophets; 8) Canons of David and Solomon; 9) Serious Entertainment; 10) Canons and the Dead Sea Scrolls; 11) Holy Books. CONDITION: NEW. Unblemished except VERY slight shelfwear to dustjacket. Pages are pristine; clean, crisp, unmarked, unmutilated, tightly bound, unambiguously unread. Condition is entirely consistent with a new book from an open-shelf bookstore environment such as Barnes & Noble. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK. PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW. PUBLISHER REVIEW: REVIEW: Philip R. Davies investigates the ways that the ancient world produced canons and textual collections, with special attention to the social practices embodied by scribes, schools, archives, and libraries. The result is a constructive proposal for how the Old Testament arose in its many parts and grew to status as an accepted document, even as a religious object. This book is a significant contribution to the understanding of scribal activity and its effect on Israel's texts, and it is sure to be as controversial as it is elucidating. “Scribes and Schools” is a volume in the Library of Ancient Israel. The historical and literary questions about ancient Israel that have traditionally preoccupied biblical scholars have often overlooked the social realities of life experienced by the vast majority of the population of ancient Israel. Volumes in the Library of Ancient Israel draw upon multiple disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and literary criticism, to illumine the everyday realities and social subtleties these ancient cultures experienced. This series employs sophisticated methods resulting in original contributions that depict the reality of the people behind the Hebrew Bible and interprets these insights for a wide variety of readers. Individually and collectively, these books will expand our vision of the culture and society of ancient Israel, thereby generating new appreciation for its impact up to the present. PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS: REVIEW: Professor Davies fills a considerable gap with a study characterized by critical acumen and sharp observation. He considers the subject in the context of writing and bookmaking in the ancient Near East and the entire process of the growth of what became of the Hebrew Bible. With many original thoughts and insights, this stimulating book will provide the essential basis for the continuing debate on how the traditions became an authoritative book. REVIEW: Professor Philip Davies has written a fine account of the processes which led to the canonization of the Hebrew Bible. His distinctive stress on the social reasons for the growth and compilation of canonical tests results in a much clearer picture of how the Bible came into being. READER REVIEWS: REVIEW: A tantalizing look at how The Bible may have come to be! Philip Davies has a reputation as one of the more extreme members of the recent school of Biblical minimalists/revisionists. However, in "Scribes and Schools" he keeps himself fairly well restrained and highly referenced. The result is a book that, while not conclusively definitive, intrigues the reader with a wealth of possibilities about how the canon of the Bible grew into the one we are familiar with today. He starts by introducing us to the idea of canons generally, moves to those who controlled the technology of writing in the ancient world, a hereditary international class of scribes attached to palaces and temples, and how they operated in the fairly well-documented societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. He then reviews various approaches taken by scholars regarding these issues in Judaism, and summarizes Israelite and Judean history from the monarchic to the Roman periods. The remainder of the book is devoted to specific divisions of the Bible: the Torah, Prophets, Wisdom Literature and Apocryphal writings, taking into account the libraries at and around Qumran. The final chapter considers the final form: the transition of canonical collections of literature into Holy Books as we now know them. The book is fairly short and good enough to recommend to anyone thinking about the Bible's growth into its present form. Sometimes Davies is insightful, as when he suggests a Persian period date for the composition of Deuteronomy on the basis of its diminished notion of the role of the king, which would have been unsuitable for a monarchic state but well-adapted to a colonial one. Davies also refers to obscure sources which is very interesting, at least to me. REVIEW: A thought-provoking original view that traces the development of scribes and the notion of canon in ancient Israel and other ancient cultures. Simply stated, it is a study of the process which led to the canonization of the Hebrew Bible. I found it made me rethink what I thought I "knew" about the development of the canon. I always ship books Media Mail in a padded mailer. This book is shipped FOR FREE via USPS INSURED media mail (“book rate”). All domestic shipments and most international shipments will include free USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the USPS Web Site and free insurance coverage). A small percentage of international shipments may require an additional fee for tracking and/or delivery confirmation. If you are concerned about a little wear and tear to the book in transit, I would suggest a boxed shipment - it is an extra $1.00. Whether via padded mailer or box, we will give discounts for multiple purchases. International orders are welcome, but shipping costs are substantially higher. Most international orders cost an additional $12.99 to $33.99 for an insuredshipment in a heavily padded mailer, and typically includes some form of rudimentary tracking and/or delivery confirmation (though for some countries, this is only available at additional cost). 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Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA. That’s why all of our domestic shipments (and most international) shipments include a USPS delivery confirmation tag; or are trackable or traceable, and all shipments (international and domestic) are insured. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with. If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price (less our original shipping costs). Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world - but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology. I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the "business" of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a $2 fee for mailing under separate cover. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly - even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."

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End Time: 2024-12-29T06:39:32.000Z

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