Table of Contents

List of Figures vii


List of Maps ix


List of Boxes x


Preface xiv


Acknowledgments xvi


List of Abbreviations xviii


Overview of the Historical Period xix


Timeline xx


Prologue: Orientation to Multiple Bibles and Multiple Translations 1


1 Studying the Bible in Its Ancient Context(s) 15


2 The Emergence of Ancient Israel and Its First Oral Traditions 33


3 Echoes of Empire in Monarchal Israel 53


4 Narrative and Prophecy amidst the Rise and Fall of the Northern Kingdom 85


5 Torah and Other Texts Written in the Wake of the Assyrian Empire 119


6 Bible for Exiles: Promise and Story in the Neo-Babylonian Empire 147


7 Persian Empire and the Emergence of a Temple-Centered Jewish Community 181


8 Hellenistic Empires and the Formation of the Hebrew Bible 205


9 Studying the New Testament in Its Ancient Context 221


10 Paul and his Letters in the Roman Colonial Context 241


11 Mark’s Story of Jesus in the Midst of Roman Retribution 269


12 The Gospel of Matthew: Defining Community in the Wake of Destruction 289


13 Negotiating the Empire in Luke–Acts 307


14 The Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles: Turning Inward as a Strategy for Life in the Empire 327


15 Variations on Responses to Empire in other New Testament Writings 345


Epilogue: The Final Formation of the Jewish and Christian Bibles 363


Glossary 369


Index 379

About the Author

David M. Carr is Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible atUnion Theological Seminary in New York. His previous books include Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and LiteraryApproaches (1996); The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spiritualityand the Bible (2003); and Writing on the Tablet of theHeart: Origins of Scripture and Literature (2005). Colleen M. Conway is Professor of Religious Studiesat Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. Her booksinclude Men and Women in the Fourth Gospel: Gender and JohannineCharacterization (1999) and Behold the Man: Jesus and GrecoRoman Masculinity (2008).

Reviews

"Carr and Conway have broken free from the typical Introduction to the Bible by framing their readable prose around the key effect of empire(s) on the development of biblical traditions. While not ignoring fundamental issues such as authorship, genre, and dating, their unique approach tells a compelling story of crucial periods in canonical history. Helpful sidebars provide readers with key texts as well as comments on content and method, and every chapter is richly illustrated with pictures, photographs, and maps. The whole approach is oriented towards a pedagogy in which students are invited into the conversation through overviews, exercises and reflection questions for each chapter. Students will find this book intellectually engaging and a pleasure to read. Instructors will be pleased to have a creative textbook as a partner in their teaching." ?Richard S Ascough, Queen?s University, Canada ?As reliable as Carr and Conway are in their guidance to the Bible and to biblical scholarship, they are also not afraid to push at the cutting edge. Combine that fearlessness with a genuine concern for and knowledge of how students actually learn, and you?ve got a truly outstanding textbook.? ?Tod Linafelt, Georgetown University