The Biblical World is a comprehensive guide to the contents, historical settings and social context of the Bible. It presents the fruits of years of specialist study in an accessible form, and is essential reading for anyone who reads the Bible and would like to know more about how and why it came to be.
Written by an international collection of experts, the volumes include a full overview of the full range of biblical material, before going on to more detailed discussions of myth and prophecy to poetry and proverbs.
Explorations of the historical background are complemented by the findings of archaeology, and the book explores language, law, administration, social life and the arts as well. Major figures of the Bible - including Abraham, Jesus and Paul - are studied in detail, as are the main religious concepts it contains, such as salvation and purity.
Also including an examination of how the Bible is viewed today, this monumental work will be an invaluable resource for students, academics and clergy, and for all to whom the Bible is important as a religious or cultural document.
Review
'This should prove a most valuable addition to any library. The illustrations, of which there are many, are helpful. Because the entries are not over-long they make for easier reading, essential in a reference work.' - James Munson, Contemporary Review
About the Author
John Barton is Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books and articles on biblical texts, and is also the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation (1998) and (with John Muddiman) of The Oxford Bible Commentary (2001).

motw/The Biblical World, Volumde 1 - John Barton.epub

motw/The Biblical World, Volumde 1 - John Barton.pdf

The biblical world. Vol. II

Barton, John

Ashgate Publishing Limited

Taylor & Francis Group

Taylor & Francis Ltd

Gower Publishing Ltd

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

Biblical world, London, 2002

Routledge Worlds, 2002

London, 2004?], ©2002

2019

producers:
Acrobat Distiller 6.0.1 (Windows)

Memory of the World Librarian: Slowrotation

CONTENTS 6
ILLUSTRATIONS 10
CONTRIBUTORS 15
PREFACE 22
ABBREVIATIONS 23
INTRODUCTION 29
PART I THE BIBLE 31
CHAPTER ONE THE OLD TESTAMENT/ HEBREW BIBLE 33
CHAPTER TWO THE APOCRYPHA 44
CHAPTER THREE THE NEW TESTAMENT 57
PART II GENRES 68
CHAPTER FOUR NEAR EASTERN MYTHS AND LEGENDS 70
CHAPTER FIVE HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 95
CHAPTER SIX PROPHECY 117
CHAPTER SEVEN WISDOM 136
CHAPTER EIGHT APOCALYPTICISM 158
CHAPTER NINE THE JEWISH NOVEL 177
CHAPTER TEN THE GOSPELS 190
CHAPTER ELEVEN LETTERS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AND IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD 215
PART III DOCUMENTS 231
CHAPTER TWELVE TEXT AND VERSIONS 233
CHAPTER THIRTEEN TEXT AND VERSIONS 255
CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS 276
CHAPTER FIFTEEN HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS 295
CHAPTER SIXTEEN THE CAIRO GENIZAH 312
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS 330
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN EARLY JEWISH BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION 347
CHAPTER NINETEEN EARLY CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION 357
PART IV HISTORY 367
CHAPTER TWENTY BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 369
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE PALESTINE DURING THE BRONZE AGE 387
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO PALESTINE DURING THE IRON AGE 414
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE THE AGE OF THE EXILE 439
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR ISRAEL UNDER PERSIA AND GREECE 463
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE JUDAEA UNDER ROMAN RULE 63 BCE-135 CE 480
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX ISRAEL’S NEIGHBOURS 513

This book has been several years in the making, and much is owed to many advisers andhelpers, as well as to the contributors. I am particularly indebted to its commissioningeditor, Richard Stoneman, who first conceived the idea, and to his assistants CocoStevenson and Catherine Bousfield who have seen it through to publication

This book is a comprehensive guide to the contents, historical setting, and social context of the Bible

2025-10-27