Text in Context

This is a collection of essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study. It reviews new approaches and major developments in established approaches to Old Testament study over a wide range of topics. It reflects clearly the lively diversity which characterizes this area of scholarly study.
The scholarly study of the Old Testament is now marked by a rich diversity of approaches and concerns. Since 1980 an interest in the text and the implications for its interpretation is no longer the preserve of a single scholarly community, while the reconstruction of the history of the people from whom it derived has been transformed by new methods. This book published under the auspices of the Society for Old Testament Study reflects these approaches and developments, and has a particular concentration on literary and historical study. Thus, it not only recognizes the diversity now inherent in "Old Testament study", but also welcomes the integration into its field of the wide range of approaches available in late-1990s literary and historical investigation. The study of the biblical text and how it is received and interpreted by its various readerships has a certain logical priority over the study of its historical background and authorship. Yet an ongoing investigation of issues relating to the latter cannot await definitive conclusions on the former. This book is intended for scholars and students whose interests lie in the areas of Old Testament studies, especially textual cri