The City In The Hebrew Bible

These essays explore the idea of the city in the Hebrew Bible by means of thematic and textual studies. The essays are united by their portrayal of how the city is envisaged in the Hebrew Bible and how the city shapes the writing of the literature considered. In its conceptual framework the volume draws upon a number of other disciplines, including literary studies, urban geography and psycho-linguistics, to present chapters that stimulate further discussion on the role of urbanism in the biblical text. The introduction examines how cities can be conceived and portrayed, before surveying recent studies on the city and the Hebrew Bible. Chapters then address such issues as the use of the Hebrew term for 'city', the rhythm of the city throughout the biblical text, as well as reflections on textual geography and the work of urban theorists in relation to the Song of Songs. Issues both ancient and modern, historical and literary, are addressed in this fascinating collection, which provides readers with a multi-faceted and interdisciplinary view of the city in the Hebrew Bible.

A revision of the author's thesis, Princeton, 1970, presented under title: The city in the Old Testament.

Ancient cities served as the actual, worldly landscape populated by “material” sites of memory. Some of these sites were personal and others were directly and intentionally involved in the shaping of a collective social memory, such as palaces, temples, inscriptions, walls, and gates. Many cities were also sites of social memory in a very different way. Like Babylon, Nineveh, or Jerusalem, they served as ciphers that activated and communicated various mnemonic worlds as they integrated multiple images, remembered events, and provided a variety of meanings in diverse ancient communities. Memory and the City in Ancient Israel contributes to the study of social memory in ancient Israel in the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods by exploring “the city,” both urban spaces and urban centers. It opens with a study that compares basic conceptualizing tendencies of cities in Mesopotamia with their counterparts in ancient Israel. Its essays then explore memories of gates, domestic spaces, threshing floors, palaces, city gardens and parks, natural and “domesticated” water in urban settings, cisterns, and wells. Finally, the studies turn to particular cities of memory in ancient Israel: Jerusalem, Samaria, Shechem, Mizpah, Tyre, Nineveh, and Babylon. The volume, which emerged from meetings of the European Association of Biblical Studies, includes the work of Stéphanie Anthonioz, Yairah Amit, Ehud Ben Zvi, Kåre Berge, Diana Edelman, Hadi Ghantous, Anne Katrine Gudme, Philippe Guillaume, Russell Hobson, Steven W. Holloway, Francis Landy, Daniel Pioske, Ulrike Sals, Carla Sulzbach, Karolien Vermeulen, and Carey Walsh.

The present study seeks to call attention to a literary genre whose existence in the Hebrew Bible, until recently, has gone largely unnoticed, or at least not fully appreciated. The city-lament is a well-known genre from ancient Mesopotamia. The biblical book of Lamentations has periodically been compared to some of the Mesopotamian city-laments. This study proposes that the resemblances (as well as the differences) between Lamentations and these Mesopotamian city-laments result because the texts are related at the level of genre.

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of the city image in the Hebrew Bible, with specific attention to stylistics. By engaging with spatial theory (Lefebvre 1974, Soja 1996), the author develops a new framework to analyse the concept of ‘city’, arguing that a set of conceptual images defines the Biblical Hebrew city, each of them constructed using the same linguistic toolkit. Contrary to previous studies, the book shows that biblical cities are not necessarily evil or female. In addition, there is no substantial difference between the metaphorical images used for Jerusalem and those used for other cities. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of stylistics, urban studies, critical-spatial theory and biblical studies (especially Biblical Hebrew).

"Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

This unique approach to the compilation of Hebrew Scripture will affect the way it is read and understood

From the ruins of the ancient seaside city of Acco, to the small but archaeologically important town of Yokneam, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible provides readers with a comprehensive guide to the ancient cities that played a vital role in the world from which the Bible originated. Not only covering renowned cities such as Jerusalem and Jericho, the book also includes lesser known towns like Aroer, Beth-Zur and Gibeah, which have all provided their own valuable contributions to the way in which we now understand the biblical world. A fascinating, easy-to-follow text, key features include: * the biblical context of each city or town * a summary of its known archeological history * non-biblical references to the site * photographs and illustrations * a concise bibliography for further reading Also provided is a handy reference map to the major archaeological sites in Israel, as well as chronological tables for easy reference. Concise, informative and high accessible, Fifty Major Cities of the Bible is a superb overview of the cities and towns that made up the Biblical world, and an essential resource for students and enthusiasts.