J. Rogerson – The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies

Автор: J. Rogerson
Название книги: The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies
Формат: PDF
Жанр: История
Страницы: 920
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

Biblical studies is a highly technical and diverse field. This authoritative and state-of-the-art survey of original research will therefore be invaluable to scholars and students who need to command linguistic, historical, literary, and philosophical skills. Forty-five original contributions by leading figures in the discipline review and analyze current thinking and work and give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates.

What is (or should it be are? but we shall stay with the singular) Biblical Studies? Is
it a watered-down version of theology with the doctrinal parts omitted? Is it like
Religious Studies, but concentrating on Judaism and Christianity? The answer is
that Biblical Studies is a collection of various, and in some cases independent,
disciplines clustering around a collection of texts known as the Bible whose precise
limits (those of the Bible) are still a matter of disagreement among various
branches of the Christian churches. These disciplines range from Archaeology,
Egyptology, and Assyriology through Textual Criticism, Linguistics, History, and
Sociology, to Literary Theory, Feminism, and Theology, to name only some. That
these disciplines should have come to be connected with the study of the Bible
results from the unique position that the Bible (however understood) has occupied
inWestern history, art, and culture for some 2,000 years. No comparable collection
of texts has been subjected to such sustained critical examination and elucidation
over such a long period of time. The present Handbook aims to indicate to readers
the current state of scholarship associated with the Bible.
On the assumption that readers will concentrate upon particular chapters that
interest or concern them, rather than attempt to read the Handbook from beginning
to end, no attempt has been made by the editors to harmonize the contributions.
Anyone who does succeed in reading it from beginning to end will notice
that there is occasionally some overlap of material, not to mention differences of
opinion among the contributors. Also, it will be noticeable that English-speaking
contributors from North America seem to read a different set of books from those
in Britain, while contributors from Germany concentrate primarily on Germanspeaking
scholarship (an exception is the essay on feminism). These differences are
representative of the state of scholarship, which has become so technical and
specialized that even scholars working in a comparatively small area cannot hope
to master the secondary literature produced by experts working in different
countries and languages. However, in the view of the editors, the diversity that
becomes apparent in the Handbook is a reliable guide to the present state of
Biblical Studies.
The Handbook has taken longer to reach its final form than the editors originally
envisaged. In several cases, contributors had to withdraw for personal reasons, and
in one case, that of Dr Ian MacDonald, who agreed to write the chapter on ethics,
his sad death before he had been able to complete the work meant that another contributor had to be sought at short notice. Also, Professor J. N. Birdsall died
before his article went to press. The editors wish to record their gratitude both to
those colleagues who met the original deadlines and who then had to wait longer
than expected for the collection to be completed, and those who stepped in at short
notice to fill unanticipated gaps.
The four essays from German colleagues have been translated by John Rogerson
and approved and amended by the contributors. In the case of the highly technical
essay by Johannes Floss, additional help was given by two colleagues in Aachen,
Professor P. G. Meyer and Dr. P. H. Marsden. John Rogerson is also grateful to his
niece Rhianna Fulford, who provided help with scanning, typing, indexing, and
formatting.
Judith Lieu