The Context of Scripture, Volume 1

Canonical Compositions from the Biblical WorldHalloW. W.YoungerK. L. The Context of Scripture, Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World 1E. J. BrillLeiden/New York/Köln, 1997, xxviii, 599, Nlg 175.00/$109.50

Bibliographic Data

ID9058647
AuthorsH G M Williamson (0000-0002-9477-0668, Christ Church, Oxford, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume49
Issue1
Pages129-131
Publication date1998-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Jewish Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2097 • E-ISSN: 2056-6689
PublisherOxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.18647/2064/jjs-1998
OpenAlexW203363583
LanguageEN
Citations received8

Context of Scripture. Vol. 1, Canonical Compositions from Biblical World, ed. William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Leiden/New York/Cologne: Brill, 1997. Pp. xviii+ 599.$109.50. This substantial work is first installment of a promised three-volume set. Whereas first volume is devoted to canonical compositions, second and third volumes will be devoted to monumental inscriptions and to archival documents from ancient Near Eastern world. title's reference to the context of scripture is deliberate. volume contains no biblical texts, yet work is paradoxically about Bible. editors of this ambitious project, William W. Hallo of Yale University and K. Lawson Younger, Jr., of LeTourneau University, have deliberately selected a variety of documents from ancient Near East and Egypt that readers may compare with portions of Hebrew Bible. biblical orientation of this publication is apparent in another respect. page layout features full cross-referencing to comparable passages in Hebrew scriptures and other ancient Near Eastern works. In this sense, compendium has an intertextual orientation. But, lest readers be misled by work's title, context is also used in another, very different sense. editors have asked translators, all eminent authorities in their fields, to comment on contexts of their assigned texts. Instead of scriptural context or contemporary context, context in this sense designates a given document's original geographical, historical, religious, political, and literary setting. contextual approach employed by various translators thus concentrates on reconstruction and evaluation of ancient Near Eastern settings in which these documents were created and disseminated. Some attention is also paid to questions of genre (Gattung), earlier literary influence, and structure. Much less attention, if any, is given to reconstruction of later contexts in which these same texts may have been read by worshipers, artists, and scholars in two or three millennia since their creation. work is divided into five major sections: Egyptian canonical compositions, canonical compositions, West Semitic canonical compositions, Akkadian canonical compositions, and Sumerian canonical compositions. Each of these major sections is in turn divided into parts and subparts (which may vary), categorized according to principle of focus. It will be useful to take first two major sections-Egyptian canonical compositions and canonical compositions-as examples. Under first standard heading, Divine Focus, section on Egyptian canonical compositions contains subsections on (1) Cosmologies, including selections from of Nut, Coffin Texts Spell 714, Pyramid Texts Spell 527, and The Book of Dead 112; (2) Other Myths, including Repulsing of Dragon, Legend of Isis and Name of Re, Legend of Astarte and Tribute of Sea, and Destruction of Mankind; (3) Hymns, including Great Cairo Hymn of Praise to Amun-Re, Great Hymn to Osiris, Hymns to Sun-god, and Great Hymn to Aten; (4) Prayers, comprising Prayers to Re-Harakhti, (5) Harper's Songs, including Song from Tomb of King Intef and Song from Tomb of Neferhotep; (6) Divination, Incantation, and Ritual, including Execration Texts, Dream and Daily Rituals of Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. Under second standard heading, Royal Focus, section on canonical compositions contains subsections on (1) Epic, comprising -The Queen of Kanesh and Tale of Zalpa; (2) Historiography, including of Anitta of Kuggar, Crossing of Taurus, Deeds of Suppiluliuma, Hittite Conquest of Cyprus: Two Inscriptions of Suppiluliuma [sic] 11; (3) Biography and Autobiography, including The Proclamation of Telipinu- and Apology of Hattugih III; (4) Oracles, including an Excerpt from an Oracle Report and Assuring Safety of King during Winter. ...

Archaeology · Art · Biblical studies · Context (archaeology) · Hebrew · Hebrew Bible · Literature · Sociology · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy

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