How Old Is the Hebrew Bible?
A Linguistic, Textual, and Historical Study
Jan Joosten author Ronald Hendel author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:8th Jan '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
From two expert scholars comes a comprehensive study of the dating of the Hebrew Bible
The age of the Hebrew Bible is a topic that has sparked controversy and debate in recent years. The scarcity of clear evidence allows for the possibility of many views, though these are often clouded by theological and political biases. This impressive, broad‑ranging book synthesizes recent linguistic, textual, and historical research to clarify the history of biblical literature, from its oldest texts and literary layers to its youngest. In clear, concise language, the authors provide a comprehensive overview that cuts across scholarly specialties to create a new standard for the historical study of the Bible. This much‑needed work paves the path forward to dating the Hebrew Bible and understanding crucial aspects of its historical and contemporary significance.
“An impressive work in its scope and erudition, this will be a major contribution to the study of biblical literature and the history of the Hebrew language.”—William M. Schniedewind, author of A Social History of Hebrew
“Dating biblical texts, which has become contentious recently, is finally defended cogently and coherently, with a careful and even-handed tone. This book is a major methodological contribution, which should be required reading for any biblical philologist.”—Na’ama Pat-El, University of Texas at Austin
“In this full-scale and comprehensive treatment, two experts of the Hebrew Bible demonstrate conclusively the validity of applying historical linguistics to the relative dating of Biblical Hebrew texts. This book has long been a desideratum.”—Steven E. Fassberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“An engaging, nuanced, and candid inquiry into Biblical Hebrew ‘chronolects’ and an array of other issues surrounding biblical textual criticism and history. This is an important book.”—W. Randall Garr, University of California, Santa Barbara
ISBN: 9780300234886
Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 21mm
Weight: 499g
240 pages