The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction with CD-ROM

by Norman K. Gottwald

Along with an overview of the Hebrew Bible, including introductions to each book, Gottwald provides social analysis of ancient Israel and how these books fit into that society. His acute treatment of literary genres, social conflicts, and contemporary scholarship makes this an indispensable textbook and reference work. The volume contains many charts, study questions, and other aids, now enhanced by the new CD-ROM, which contains copious complete, searchable text of the book glossary hyperlinked to the text of the book NRSV hyperlinks student assignments and discussion questions a wealth of internet links notetaking, bookmarking, and highlighting capabilities

Genres: Theology, Religion, Biblical Studies

736 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Norman Karol Gottwald is an American Marxist biblical scholar and political activist.
Gottwald, a Fulbright scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1960 and a former Baptist minister, is presently the W. W. White Professor of Biblical Studies at New York Theological Seminary. He has lectured at numerous universities, including Princeton, Brown, Brandeis and the Universities of California at Santa Cruz and Berkeley. He is the author of The Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion-of Liberated Israel 1250–1050 B.C.E. (Orbis Books: Maryknoll, N.Y., 1979).

Reviews

[Roslyn Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not an expert on the Bible. But I am someone who enjoys reading textbooks and has read quite a few. As a textbook, complete with study questions at the end of every chapter and suggested readings at the beginning, this one was 100% average. I did enjoy the history and sociology, but otherwise it was extremely dry, tangential, and super inconclusive about pretty much everything (though that is understandable).

As a textbook, this book is also extremely liberal. I mean, would this be considered an academic work otherwise? Is there a rule that one must throw in a couple lines on every page about parasitic upper classes and the productive masses? That being said: I find it hard to trust what Gottwald has written in this book. Is the Old Testament really about productive socialists fighting evil capitalists for social justice ... or has Gottwald tried to make the Bible about his own political views? I am not an expert in the Bible, so I can't answer that question, but due to the sheer amount of social justice commentary I'm going with "This textbook is more about today than the past."

The politics were extremely annoying, but still the worst part of this book was the literary analysis sections. They were like bad English papers. And WHY?! Why include that at all!? He says at the beginning, "Thus, "Who wrote this book, or part of a book, from what sources, in what historical setting, and with what aims?" is for literary critics in the new mode a far less productive series of questions than "What is the distinct structure of writing, and what meaning does it project from within its own confines as a work of art or as a system of linguistic meanings?" I want the old mode!!! The old mode sounds amazing!!!! So, it's my bad for buying a book clearly titled "Socio-LITERARY" but man ....

This book should be titled: Marxist Analysis of Hebrew Bible with English Essays by Local Freshman

[C.H.E. Sadaphal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bottom line: Valuable information about the world in which ancient Israel lived, but at a very steep price.

There were many forces, players, and themes occurring behind and around the narrative of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) that served to shape Israel’s history.
Gottwald’s The Hebrew Bible sheds new light on the Biblical text with an acute emphasis on the sources of the scriptures and the traditions the texts drew from, as well as the secular social and political influences of the empires of ancient times.

The book excels for ... http://www.chesadaphal.com/the-hebrew...