Table of Contents

List of Figures vi

List of Maps viii

List of Boxes ix

Preface xii

Acknowledgments xiv

List of Abbreviations xvi

Overview of the Historical Period xvii

Timeline xviii

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 The Emergence of the Monarchy and Royal and Zion Texts 53

4 Echoes of Past Empires in Biblical Wisdom, Love Poetry, Law, and Narrative 71

5 Narrative and Prophecy amidst the Rise and Fall of the Northern Kingdom 91

6 Micah, Isaiah, and the Southern Prophetic Encounter with Assyria 115

7 Torah and History in the Wake of the Assyrian Empire 131

8 Prophecy in the Transition from Assyrian to Babylonian Domination 153

9 Laments, History, and Prophecies after the Destruction of Jerusalem 165

10 The Pentateuch and the Exile 187

11 The Torah, the Psalms, and the Persian-Sponsored Rebuilding of Judah 207

12 Other Texts Formed in the Crucible of Post-Exilic Rebuilding 229

13 Hellenistic Empires and the Formation of the Hebrew Bible 245

Glossary 264

Index 273

About the Author

DAVID M. CARR is Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Professor Carr's book-length publications include From D to Q: A Study of Early Jewish Interpretations of Solomon's Dream at Gibeon (1991); Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (1996); The Erotic Word: Sexuality, Spirituality and the Bible (2003); and Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature (2005).

Reviews

"Meanwhile, this is a worthwhile and encouraging introduction: inevitably technical, it is sufficiently helpful in its layout and presentation for a student to use it on her own, without reference to a course tutor." (New Directions, 1 March 2011)

"Carr's book is an excellent introduction to what mainstream (non-evangelical) scholars have come to believe about ancient Israel's literary history." (International Review of Biblical Studies, 2010) "I recommend this book to advanced students who already have a good grasp of the text of the Bible in their own mother tongue translations; they will be able to apreciate the nuanced meanings and implications of this book better; they will be challenged to think through the details that are presented here; on the whole they will be thankful for their leaning experience." (Theological Book Review, 2010)