Open-Mindedness in the Bible and Beyond A Volume of Studies in Honour of Bob Becking

The contributions to this volume reflect upon changing paradigms within biblical scholarship, and in how biblical scholarship is taught. Taken together, they offer a multifaceted and informative indication of how open-mindedness in one's approach can yield fascinating results across the study of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

The range in topic of the contributions is exemplified in the difference between the first chapter, which works from the personal anecdote of the changing opinion of its author to make a wider point about models for Pentateuchal formation, and the third chapter, which comments on the current state of the study of ancient Israel in universities today. Other contributions include; an essay on the subject of space as a social construct in Isaiah 24-27; civil courage and whether the Bible allows room for protest; the question of monotheism in Persian Judah; the historical Ezra, and the telling of the story of Joseph (Genesis 50: 15-21) in children's Bibles in the Netherlands. The contributors include Hugh Williamson, Ehud Ben Zvi, Rainer Albertz, Karel von der Toorn, and Christoph Uehlinger.

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, UK. He is founder and convenor of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology, and has edited numerous volumes on the Old Testament. He is editor of the T&T Clark Library of Second Temple Studies series.

Marjo C. A. Korpel is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

LESTER L. GRABBE AND MARJO C. A. KORPEL
II. ARTICLES
Open-mindedness for Understanding the Formation of the Pentateuch: The Challenge of Exod. 19–20
RAINER ALBERTZ, University of Münster, Germany
EMPIRE! `… and gave him a seat above the seats of the other kings who were with him in Babylon': Jeremiah 52:31–34: Fact or Fiction?
HANS M. BARSTAD, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Ben Sira and Song of Songs: What about Parallels and Echoes?
PANCRATIUS C. BEENTJES, Faculty of Catholic Theology, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Open-mindedness and Planning for the Future of Academic Studies in Ancient Israel History
EHUD BEN ZVI, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Isaiah 24-27: Spacing a Prophetic Vision
WILLEM A. M. BEUKEN, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium
Einübung in den aufrechten Gang: Beispeile für Zivilcourage in den Samuelbüchern
WALTER DIETRICH, University of Bern, Switzerland
Swords or Ploughshares? The Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age in Northern Jordan
MEINDERT DIJKSTRA AND KAREL VRIEZEN, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Penetrating the Legend: In Quest of the Historical Ezra
LESTER L. GRABBE, University of Hull, England
Joseph, the Pastor and the Conqueror of Evil by Using Good:Observations on Genesis 5015-21 in Dutch Children's and Family Bibles
CORNELIS HOUTMAN, Protestant Theological University at Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Leading Scholars and the Interpretation of Scripture: The Case of LXX Haggai 2:1-9
ARIE VAN DER KOOIJ, Leiden University, the Netherlands
Memories of Exile and Return in the Book of Ruth
MARJO C. A. KORPEL, Protestant Theological University at Groningen, the Netherlands
The Question of Job
PETER MACHINIST, Harvard University, USA
The Open Mind of the Man Born Blind (John 9)
MAARTEN J. J. MENKEN, University of Tilburg, the Netherlands
Jerusalem: Nightmare and Daydream in Micah
JOHANNES DE MOOR, Protestant Theological University at Amsterdam and Groningen (formerly Kampen), the Netherlands.
Four Notes on the Ancient Near Eastern Marzea?
NADAV NA'AMAN, Tel Aviv University, Israel
The Abolition of the Cult of the Dead Kings in Jerusalem (Ezek 43:6-9)
HERBERT NIEHR, University of Tübingen, Germany
A Human and a Deity with Conflicting Morals (Qohelet 2:26)
PAUL SANDERS, Protestant Theological University at Amsterdam, the Netherlands
A Prophet Contest: Jeremiah 28 Reconsidered
KLAAS A. D. SMELIK, University of Ghent, Belgium
Comparing the Book of Judges to Greek Literature
KLAAS SPRONK, Protestant Theological University at Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Speaking of Gods: Dimensions of the Divine in the Ancient Near East
KAREL VAN DER TOORN, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Is the Critical, Academic Study of the Bible Inextricably Bound to the Destinies of Theology?
CHRISTOPH UEHLINGER, University of Zürich, Switzerland
Biblical Studies and the Art of Civilization Maintenance
ANNE-MAREIKE WETTER, Leiden University, the Netherlands
A New Divine Title in Isaiah 10:17
HUGH M. G. WILLIAMSON, Oxford University, England