Considerations On The Pentateuch

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Excerpt from Considerations on the Pentateuch One of the Laity is warranted in coming forward on the present occasion inasmuch as the author of a book which attracts much attention again and again invites the non-clerical members of the Church of England to give him a hearing. But if we of the unlearned laity are to listen, it is implied that we may use our plain understandings in listening; and, moreover, that if we are not convinced by a Bishop's reasoning, we may express our dissatisfaction aloud. Dr. Colenso says, that 'to the strong, practical love of truth, which is the characteristic of his fellow-countrymen, whether Clergy or Laity, he appeals in this instance.' An appeal, thus worded, fairly relieves those to whom it is addressed from the necessity of showing that they, individually, are qualified by much learning, or by ample professional acquirements, for taking a part in the argument. The ground is not (so we take it) a preserve, to intrude upon which should be accounted an offence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In this introduction to the first five books of the Old Testament, Victor Hamilton moves chapter by chapter through the Pentateuch, examining the content, structure, and theology. Hamilton surveys each major thematic unit of the Pentateuch and offers useful commentary on overarching themes and connections between Old Testament texts.

This textbook focuses primarily on the content and structure of the Pentateuch. The process which produced the Pentateuch and the long record of its use within Judaism and Christianity are intricate and fascinating stories, but it is the final forms of these five books to which we have the most reliable access. Discussions of historical and theological issues are included when they serve to illustrate the content and structure of the text. After an opening chapter, which introduces the major issues in the study of the Pentateuch, including a summary of the history of scholarship, a full chapter engages each of the five books. Attention to literary shape, texture, and artistry are at the forefront of the discussion, while historical and theological discussions are included where they are most informative. The book also includes many lists of textual data in each chapter. Most of these provide a view of features, which serve to connect and draw together the diverse literature of the Pentateuch. They are intended to serve as starting points for active textual research in a classroom setting. The material in this book is classroom tested and was even developed during successive opportunities to teach courses in the Pentateuch. - Publisher.

The Pentateuch lies at the heart of the Western humanities. Yet despite nearly two centuries of scholarship, its historical origins and its literary history are still a subject of intense discussion. Critical scholarship has isolated multiple layers of tradition, inconsistent laws, and narratives that could only have originated from separate communities within ancient Israel, and were joined together at a relatively late stage by a process of splicing and editing. In effect, a number of independent scholarly discourses have emerged. Each centers on the Pentateuch, each operates with its own set of working assumptions, and each is confident of its own claims. This volume seeks to stimulate international discussion about the Pentateuch in order to help the discipline move toward a set of shared assumptions and a common discourse. Contributors: Reinhard Achenbach, Rainer Albertz, Yairah Amit, Joel S. Baden, Richard J. Bautch, Erhard Blum, Mark J. Boda, David M. Carr, Sidnie White Crawford, Thomas B. Dozeman, Cynthia Edenburg, Angela Roskop Erisman, Israel Finkelstein, Karin Finsterbusch, Georg Fischer, Tova Ganzel, Jan Christian Gertz, Shimon Gesundheit, David Ben-Gad HaCohen, Sara Japhet, Jan Joosten, John Kessler, Itamar Kislev, Ariel Kopilovitz, Reinhard G. Kratz, Armin Lange, Christoph Levin, Bernard M. Levinson, Risa Levitt Kohn, Michael A. Lyons, Noam Mizrahi, Christophe Nihan, Frank H. Polak, Christopher Rollston, Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Thomas Romer, Konrad Schmid, William Schniedewind, Baruch J. Schwartz, Jean Louis Ska, Benjamin Sommer, Jean-Pierre Sonnet, Jeffrey Stackert, Marvin A. Sweeney, James W. Watts, Markus Witte, Jakob Wohrle, David P. Wright, Molly M. Zah