283 research outputs found
Once More: Monotheism in Biblical Israel
Journal of the interdisciplinary study of monotheistic religions, special issue: p. 25-39p.29. After the name Sigmund Freud, dates should be added: "…Sigmund Freud (1856-1939),…"p.39. In the sentence beginning, "For Deuteronomy 32 and Hosea 14…" the Hosea reference should be to Hos. 13, not 14.application/pdfresearch repor
Conquest and Form: Narrativity in Joshua 5-11 and Historical Discourse in Ancient Judah
One goal of this essay is to offer an exploratory, historiographical analysis of the conquest account in the book of Joshua, an analysis that focuses upon the sociocultural milieu of ancient Judah. I propose to show how this narrative of conquest might have contributed to discourse(s) among the literate Judean community that perpetuated the text, and I will offer a few thoughts on the potential relationship between the narrative and the supposed cultic reforms of the late seventh century b.c.e. A number of biblical scholars have argued that the late monarchic period gave rise to the conquest story as recounted in Joshua. In this essay, I would like to pay special attention to precisely how this narrative might have functioned within the milieu of the late monarchic period, thus refining our understanding of the narrative’s contribution to the discourses of this era and our knowledge of its relationship to other narratives that were probably extant at the same time. In other words, what particular features of the narrative might have had special import in this period? Specifically, I will argue that the narrative reveals certain discursive statements about Yahweh’s cultic supremacy and about important cultic sites in late monarchic Judah, and that this is evident in particular narratival features that are present in the text
Sociology’s missed opportunity: John Stuart-Glennie’s lost theory of the moral revolution, also known as the axial age
In 1873, 75 years before Karl Jaspers published his theory of the Axial Age in 1949, unknown to Jaspers and to contemporary scholars today, Scottish folklorist John Stuart Stuart-Glennie elaborated the first fully developed and nuanced theory of what he termed “the Moral Revolution” to characterize the historical shift emerging roughly around 600 BCE in a variety of civilizations, most notably ancient China, India, Judaism, and Greece, as part of a broader critical philosophy of history. He continued to write on the idea over decades in books and articles and also presented his ideas to the fledgling Sociological Society of London in 1905, which were published the following year in the volume Sociological Papers, Volume 2. This article discusses Stuart-Glennie’s ideas on the moral revolution in the context of his philosophy of history, including what he termed “panzooinism”; ideas with implications for contemporary debates in theory, comparative history, and sociology of religion. It shows why he should be acknowledged as the originator of the theory now known as the axial age, and also now be included as a significant sociologist in the movement toward the establishment of sociology
Epilogue: Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom: Some Reflections on Reading and Studying the Hebrew Bible
<i>Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study</i> (review)
Royal Inscriptions in the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamia: Reflections on Presence, Function, and Self-Critique
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