This commentary examines the book of Amos as it appears in the Hebrew Bible: a collection of messages from a prophet in the 8th century BCE who warned that the Kingdom of Israel would fall because of the wrongs of its wealthy elite. Despite this warning, the book ultimately offers hope for a restored future to the survivors in Judah and Israel. The analysis traces how Amos's original message - now only faintly visible - was reshaped by later scribes after Israel=s fall, leading to the fina...

This commentary sets the ancient Jewish story of Tobit within a broad tradition-historical context, analyzing the conceptions of angels and demons it contains, as well as its notions of ancient medicine, together with its understanding of the Torah. Presented along with this is a synchronically oriented interpretation of the whole text, which shows that the narrative should ultimately be understood in terms of historical theology. It reveals how, in the days of Hellenistic rule, ancient Ju...

The commentary interprets Jeremiah 1-25 as a dramatic text: In laments, accusations, and announcements of doom, a polyphonic message about the fall of Jerusalem and Judah emerges. The colorful and at times disturbing texts narrate a cultural trauma and try to develop an image of God that can explain history and at the same time convey hope for a better future. The female personification of Jerusalem provides an emotional and compassionate portrait of the people, giving voice to their exper...

There is no other book in the Bible like the Song of Songs. It is a highly literate collection of love poems, at times intense with erotic desire and at times playful or flirtatious. This commentary draws out the tone of each poem, along with its language and literary qualities, including its metaphors, allusions, and clever use of words.While there are correspondences between the Song and the literatures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and they are cited in the commentary, the greatest ...

First published in 2004, The Jewish Study Bible is a landmark, one-volume resource tailored especially for the needs of students of the Hebrew Bible. It has won acclaim from readers in all religious traditions. The Jewish Study Bible, which comes in a protective slipcase,combines the entire Hebrew Bible--in the celebrated Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation--with explanatory notes, introductory materials, and essays by leading biblical scholars on virtually ever...

Understanding of biblical poetry is enhanced by the study of its structure. In this book Adele Berlin analyzes parallelism, a major feature of Hebrew poetry, from a linguistic perspective. This new edition of Berlin's study features an additional chapter, "The Range of Biblical Metaphors in Smikhut,"by late Russian linguist Lida Knorina. Berlin calls this addition "innovative and instructive to those who value the linguistic analysis of poetry." It is a fitting coda to Berlin's ad...

In this accessible volume, Adele Berlin explicates the five poems of Lamentations and builds a convincing case for Lamentations' immense power to address violence and grief.The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special emphasis on the pivotal medieval period. It focuses on three areas: responses in the different faith traditions to tensions created by the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its importance vis-à-vis non-literal senses, such as the figurative, spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in w...

First published in 2004, The Jewish Study Bible is a landmark, one-volume resource tailored especially for the needs of students of the Hebrew Bible. It has won acclaim from readers in all religious traditions. The Jewish Study Bible, which comes in a protective slipcase,combines the entire Hebrew Bible--in the celebrated Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation--with explanatory notes, introductory materials, and essays by leading biblical scholars on virtually ever...