The Review of Biblical Literature for this week is a bit sparse, though there are some noteworthy books under review. Based on the positive review, David Carr’s work looks quite facinating. From a comparative study of the educational curriculum of several ancient Near Eastern societies, Carr argues that rather than understand the production of Israelite Scripture being the result of editorial activity on actual manuscripts (e.g., documentary hypothesis), it is the result of “the ability of the erudite scribes to recite from memory long passages from the authoritative curriculum and to use them as templates in the composition of new texts.” I quite liked Carr’s Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (WJK, 1996), and it appears this work is worthy of perusal. For those intersted in a more synchronic analysis of the Hebrew Bible, then David Dorsey’s book is for you. Dorsey performs a comprehensive examination of the books of the Hebrew Bible looking for literary connections and patterns (especially pivot patterns or palistrophes). Shapira’s rant review brings up some interesting points, perhaps the most important is the general lack of awareness on the part of English scholars of research written in modern Hebrew. While I agree that there are many excellent works on the Hebrew Bible being published in modern Hebrew by Israeli scholars, it is quite difficult to access many of them in North America (at least Canada). That being so, the fact that Dorsey missed a recent work expressly devoted to pivot patterns in the Hebrew Bible just because it was written in modern Hebrew is unfortuant to say the least. Finally, the collection of essays edited by Marguerat includes what looks like some interesting essays that relate to ancient Israelite historiography.
- David M. Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature. Reviewed by Itamar Singe
- David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi. Reviewed by Amnon Shapira
- John Eaton, Meditating on the Psalms. Reviewed by Gerald Wilson
- Rex Mason, Micah, Nahum and Obadiah (T and T Clark Study Guides; previously Shefffield Guides). Reviewed by Julia O’Brien
- Daniel Marguerat, ed., La Bible en récits: L’exégese biblique a l’heure du lecteur. Reviewed by Jean-Francois Racine [in French]
- Frank Anthony Spina, The Faith of the Outsider: Exclusion and Inclusion in the Biblical Story. Reviewed by Thomas Kraus