First published in 2004. The Biblical World is a comprehensive guide to the contents, historical setting and social context of the Bible. It presents the fruits of years of specialist study in accessible form and is essential reading for anyone who reads the Bible and would like to k ow more about how and why it came to be. Volume One begins with an overview of the full range of Biblical material (Old Testament, Apocrypha and New Testament), before going on to more detailed discussion of the major genres of Biblical literature- from myth and prophecy to poetry and proverbs. The contributors also consider the ways in which the texts have been transmitted, the significance of parallel and related versions and past interpretations of the Bible. Explorations of the historical background are complemented by the findings of archaeology, and discussion of matters such as language, law, administration, social life and the arts offers a fuller understanding of the social and cultural setting of ancient Israel and the early Christian churches. Major figures in the Bible – including Abraham, Jesus and Paul – are studied in detail, as are its central religious concepts, such as salvation and purity. Volume II concludes with a survey of how the Bible is studied and seen today. Written by an international collection of acknowledged experts, this monumental work will be an invaluable resource for students, academic and clergy, and for all to whom the Bible is important as a Religious or cultural document.
Volume I: PART I: THE BIBLE 1 The Old Testament/Hebrew Bible 2 The Apocrypha 3 The New Testament PART II: GENRES 4 Near Eastern myths and legends 5 Historiography in the Old Testament 6 Prophecy 7 Wisdom 8 Apocalypticism 9 The Jewish novel 10 The Gospels 11 Letters in the New Testament and in the Greco-Roman world PART III: DOCUMENTS 12 Text and versions: the Old Testament 13 Text and versions: the New Testament 14 The Dead Sea Scrolls 15 Hebrew inscriptions 16 The Cairo Genizah 17 The gnostic gospels 18 Early Jewish biblical interpretation 19 Early Christian biblical interpretation PART IV: HISTORY 20 Biblical archaeology 21 Palestine during the Bronze Age 22 Palestine during the Iron Age 23 The age of the exile 24 Israel under Persia and Greece 25 Judaea under Roman rule, 63 BCE–135 CE 26 Israel’s neighbours Volume II: PART V: INSTITUTIONS 27 The Hebrew and Aramaic languages 28 The Greek language 29 Warfare 30 The arts: architecture, music, poetry, psalmody 31 Law and administration in the New Testament world 32 Religion in pre-exilic Israel 33 Religion in Israel during and after the exile 34 Judaism at the turn of the era 35 The first churches: social life 36 The first churches: religious practice PART VI: BIBLICAL FIGURES 37 Israel’s ancestors: the patriarchs and matriarchs 38 Moses 39 David and Solomon 40 Jesus 41 Paul PART VII: RELIGIOUS IDEAS 42 Salvation in Jewish thought 43 Salvation in Christian thought 44 Interpretations of the identity and role of Jesus 45 Death and afterlife 46 Purity Gordon Wenham PART VIII: THE BIBLE TODAY 47 Jewish Bible translation 48 Christian Bible translation 49 Modern biblical interpretation.
Biography
John Barton is Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books and articles on biblical texts, and is also the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation (1998) and (with John Muddiman) of The Oxford Bible Commentary (2001).
