The Social Roots Of Biblical Yahwism (Studies in Biblical Literature) - Softcover

Stephen L. Cook

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1589830989 ISBN 13: 9781589830981

Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004

Synopsis

Sure to provoke discussion and debate as it offers a unique approach to some old and perplexing issues in the history of ancient Israel and its religion, Cook’s study is a bold new proposal for synthesizing the social history of Israel’s religious traditions. Among the many “Yahwisms” coexisting in ancient Israel was an initially small minority stream of theological tradition composed of geographically and socially diverse groups in northern and southern Israel. These groups shared a religious commitment to a covenantal, village-based, land-oriented Yahwism that arose before the emergence of Israelite kingship. It eventually rose to dominance, and its theology provided robust resources for dealing with the Babylonian exile. It thus came to occupy a prominent place in the present canon of the Hebrew Bible. Cook combines detailed study of biblical texts with a carefully constructed social-scientific method and body of data to argue for the early origins of biblical Yahwism. This book is written to be accessible to lay readers and also of significant interest to Hebrew Bible students and specialists.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen L. Cook, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary, has previously authored The Apocalyptic Literature (2003) and Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting (1995), and is an editor of Ezekiel’s Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality (SBL, 2004).

About this edition

• Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1589830989
• ISBN 13: 9781589830981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 322