Social Justice In The Ancient Near East And The People Of The Bible

One of a series of supplementary volumes published alongside the Jerusalem Bible in France and intended to provide a general introduction to the world in which the Bible is set. It is an exhaustive study of the legal and sociological background of texts dealing with social justice, first in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and then in pre-exilic Israel.

In this fascinating and informative work, Weinfeld investigates the ideal of justice in relation to social reforms promoted by Israelite monarchy, the implications of the ideal in individual life, and the theological implications of all aspects of the concept.

In this third volume of his critically acclaimed Old Testament Theology John Goldingay explores the Old Testament vision of Israel's life before God. The first volume focused on the story of God's dealings with Israel, or Israel's gospel. The second volume investigated the beliefs of Israel, or Israel's faith. Now the spotlight falls on the Old Testament's perspective on the life that Israel should live in its present and future, including its worship, prayer and spirituality, as well as its practices, attitudes and ethics before God. Goldingay sees three spheres of life giving order to Israel's vision: its life in relation to God, its life in community and the life of the individual as a self. Within these frameworks he unfurls a tapesetry that is as broad and colorful as all of life, and yet detailed in its intricate attention to the text. With this final volume John Goldingay has given us the third pillar of an Old Testament theology that is monumental in scope and yet invites us to enter through multiple doors to explore its riches. Students will profit from a semester in its courts, and ministers of the Word will find their preaching and teaching deeply enriched by wandering its halls and meditating in its chambers.

"The scriptural laws dealing with widows, strangers, and orphans are conventionally viewed as rules meant to aid the plight of vulnerable persons in ancient Israelite society. In Injustice Made Legal Harold V. Bennett challenges this perspective, arguing instead that key sanctions found in Deuteronomy were actually drafted by a powerful elite to enhance their own material condition and keep the peasantry down." Building his case on a careful analysis of life in the ancient world and on his understanding of critical law theory, Bennett views Deuteronomic law through the eyes of the needy in Israelite society. His unique approach uncovers the previously neglected link between politico-economic interests and the formulation of law. The result is a new understanding of law in the Hebrew Bible and the ways it worked to support and maintain the dehumanization of widows, strangers, and orphans in the biblical community.

This volume comprehensively examines all texts dealing with social justice in the Prophecy of Amos. It also provides evidence of contemporary systemic social injustice. The volume then reflects on how biblical social justice is relevant to the contemporary quest for social justice. This volume demonstrates that irrespective of the hermeneutical challenges, the principles gleaned from the pages of the Hebrew Bible can dialogue effectively with modern issues and deduce living principles that could enable us to deal with issues that confront us today. It is thus a framework by which biblical social justice illuminates the contemporary quest for social justice.

This book traces the theme of justice throughout the narrative of Exodus in order to explicate how yhwh’s reclamation of Israel for service-worship reveals a distinct theological ethic of justice grounded in yhwh’s character and Israel’s calling within yhwh’s creational agenda. Adopting a synchronic, text-immanent interpretive strategy that focuses on canonical and inner-biblical connections, Nathan Bills identifies two overlapping motifs that illuminate the theme of justice in Exodus. First, Bills considers the importance of Israel’s creation traditions for grounding Exodus’s theology of justice. Reading Exodus against the backdrop of creation theology and as a continuation of the plot of Genesis, Bills shows that the ethical disposition of justice imprinted on Israel in Exodus is an application of yhwh’s creational agenda of justice. Second, Bills identifies an educational agenda woven throughout the text. The narrative gives heightened attention to the way yhwh catechizes Israel in what it means to be the particular beneficiary and creational emissary of yhwh’s justice. These interpretative lenses of creation theology and pedagogy help to explain why Israel’s salvation and shaping embody a programmatic applicability of yhwh’s justice for the wider world. This volume will be of substantial interest to divinity students and religious professionals interested in the themes of exodus, exile, and return.

A fully revised and updated analysis of the texts on social justice in the Old Testament; highlighting their importance in shaping a Christian theological approach to injustice.

This newly revised all-encompassing textbook is a guide to the history, beliefs and practice of Judaism. Beginning with the ancient Near Eastern background, it covers early Israelite history, the emergence of classical rabbinic literature and the rise of medieval Judaism in Islamic and Christian lands. It also includes the early modern period and the development of Jewry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Extracts from primary sources are used throughout to enliven the narrative and provide concrete examples of the rich variety of Jewish civilization. Specially designed to assist learning, Judaism: • Introduces texts and commentaries, including the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic texts, mystical literature, Jewish philosophy and Jewish theology • Provides the skills necessary to understand these step-by-step with the help of a companion website • Explains how to interpret the major events in nearly four thousand years of Jewish history • Supports study with discussion questions on the central historical and religious issues, and includes key reading for each chapter, an extensive glossary and index • Illustrates the development of Judaism, its concepts, observances and culture, with maps, photos, paintings and engravings • Links each chapter to a free companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/cohnsherbok which provides things to think about, things to do and tips for teachers as well as other online resources