Love and Joy: Law, Language, and Religion in Ancient Israel

by Yochanan Muffs, Thorkild Jacobsen

Studying the interplay of figurative language, law, and religious thought, Yochanan Muffs brings us a new understanding of both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern cultures. This first single-volume collection of the pivotal writings of this great religious humanist includes his studies of love and joy as metaphors, the laws of war in ancient Israel, the figurative nature of legal language, the role of the prophet and prophetic speech, and the expressions of belonging which united a culture.

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read just the first chapter because it formed the backbone to my favorite chapter in Gregory Mobley's The Return of the Chaos Monsters. Muffs is a meatier and more distracted writer, but he does good analysis here which Mobley turn spins into gold in his book. So go read The Return of the Chaos Monsters .