Ancient Hebrew Poetry

A Theologically Revised Text: Deuteronomy 32:8-9

Most scholars agree that the masoretic text of Deuteronomy 32:8 reflects a theological revision of a more original text reflected in 4QDeut^j and the Septuagint. I argue below that the revision encompassed the first word of 32:9. This post concludes the series in which I review BHQ 5 and compare it with the OHB sample that covers Deut 32:1-9.

Tuvyah Reubner: an Israeli poet to be read by students of ancient Hebrew

One of the best ways for students of ancient Hebrew to improve their knowledge of the language is to read widely in later Hebrew literature. This may seem counter-intuitive to some. I would lift up Franz Delitzsch, one of the great Hebraists of the nineteenth century, as a model for students today. Before writing, together with Carl Friedrich Keil, a learned commentary on the entire Old Testament between 1861 and 1875, he read widely in Hebrew of all periods, and wrote a magnificent monograph on Hebrew poetry (Zur geschichte der jüdischen Poësie vom abschluss der Heiligen Schriften alten Bundes bis auf die neueste Zeit, Leipzig: K. Tauchnitz, 1836).

Tuvyah Ruebner just won the 2008 Israel Prize for poetry. What a fine poet he is. Below the fold, I provide an example of his art, with translation following.

Biblia Hebraica Quinta and the Oxford Hebrew Bible: The Skinny

In earlier posts, I have shown that BHQ and OHB in sample form, while carefully done, provide an incomplete picture of the textual data in hand and are occasionally guilty of sins of omission and commission with respect to treated loci. The upshot is clear: BHQ and OHB are tools to be used alongside other relevant secondary literature and must be checked against the primary data. They do not replace either.

BHQ and OHB at Deuteronomy 32:5: A Comparison

 In this post, I offer a new solution to an old textual crux. The first part of Deut 32:5, read in five major translations (NJPSV, NRSV, REB, NAB, and NJB), is translated in five, remarkably different ways - none of which convinces. Still, with the help of text-criticism, half of which is really the science of human error, a plausible solution is proposed below.

BHQ and OHB at Deuteronomy 32:2: A Comparison

Textual criticism is not for the faint of heart. Languages and scripts galore! What I find to be a common denominator in the ancient text traditions is an intense devotion to the transmitted text. Any attempt to attribute base motives to the textual tradents is misplaced. (Are you listening, Bart Ehrman?) Of course the tradents were not disinterested transmitters. Why should they have been?

A Review of Biblia Hebraica Quinta 5 (Part One)

Three fascicles of Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) have now appeared: General Introduction and Megilloth (2004), Ezra and Nehemiah (2006), and Deuteronomy (2007). They are beautifully produced and deserve a place on the shelf of every serious student of the Hebrew Bible. In this post, through a comparison with a sample available of the forthcoming Oxford Hebrew Bible (OHB), and in light of general considerations, I begin a review of BHQ 5:

Biblia Hebraica Quinta 5. Deuteronomy (Carmel McCarthy). Gen. ed. Adrian Schenker et al.; Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2007.

North West Semitic Inscriptions: Analyzed Texts and English Translations

LOGOS plans to ship this product out next month. Mike Heiser’s flash presentation will convince you, if you are a student of ancient Hebrew, that you cannot do without the database. It’s true; you can’t. The database includes the canonical collections of ancient epigraphic Hebrew, Byblian-Phoenician, Standard and Mixed dialect Phoenician, Ammonite, Moabite, Ekronite (Philistine), Edomite, and Aramaic inscriptions.

The book of Esther and why the Nazis feared it

It’s simple, really. The book of Esther, potentially, was a prophecy of their demise. A Christian preacher saw this with startling clarity at the time. His name was Wilhelm Vischer, and he deserves to be better-known.

This post is written with fellow bloggers like Phil Sumpter and Daniel Driver in mind who respect the work of Karl Barth and Brevard Childs, but may know next to nothing about Wilhelm Eduard Vischer, and why Barth and Childs thought highly of him.

Purim 2008

I know, it’s a month away, but Purim’s a great holiday, so I thought I’d remind readers that it’s coming up. There are many reasons why the holiday is everything a holiday should be (for a short list, go here), but the most important reason of all is very simple: the holiday enshrines the reading of the book of Esther.

God is not named in Esther, but Esther nonetheless contains the most marvelous intimation of the nexus between human responsibility and divine providence to be found in world literature:

Ten Per Cent of All Americans are Former Catholics

That is a striking figure. The results of a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life are in, with an interesting summary in today’s New York Times by Neela Banerjee.