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The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture

The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture

The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture

Yoram Hazony , Shalem Center, Jerusalem
July 2012
Available
Paperback
9780521176675

    What if the Hebrew Bible wasn't meant to be read as 'revelation'? What if it's not really about miracles or the afterlife – but about how to lead our lives in this world? The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture proposes a new framework for reading the Bible. It shows how biblical authors used narrative and prophetic oratory to advance universal arguments about ethics, political philosophy and metaphysics. It offers bold new studies of biblical narratives and prophetic poetry, transforming forever our understanding of what the stories of Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and David and the speeches of Isaiah and Jeremiah, were meant to teach. The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture assumes no belief in God or other religious commitment. It assumes no previous background in Bible. It is free of disciplinary jargon. Open the door to a book you never knew existed. You'll never read the Bible the same way again.

    • Offers a new framework for reading the Bible
    • Provides a series of bold new studies of biblical narratives and prophetic orations
    • An interdisciplinary work accessible to philosophers, political theorists, intellectual historians, Bible scholars, theologians and educated readers of all backgrounds

    Reviews & endorsements

    "A deep and lucid investigation of the connections between the two chief strands of our intellectual history. A great achievement."
    Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of our Nature

    "A paradigm-shifting work of immense significance."
    Lord Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth

    "Hazony is on a mission to put the greatest book on earth at the heart of academic study … [He] is a modern-day Jerusalem shepherd who is challenging authority - and has no idea how things will turn out."
    David Suissa, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles

    "His argument is … provocative: the Hebrew Bible does not conform to the commonly accepted dichotomy of reason versus revelation … Rewarding for biblical studies or philosophy insiders who are receptive to new ideas."
    Publishers Weekly

    "… a bracing intellectual adventure."
    Alan Mittleman, The Jewish Theological Seminary

    "Hazony does not write simply to persuade us to agree or disagree with his interpretation of any particular story. Reviewers who think so do him an injustice. Instead, Hazony wants to persuade us that to read the Bible is to engage in a necessary argument over how to build a good society."
    Diana Muir Appelbaum, Jewish Ideas Daily

    "First, Hazony's work is an important contribution to understanding the dynamic of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Second, Hazony's argument is important for understanding not just Genesis 4 but as a radical critique of the general understanding of the entire Hebrew Bible."
    Steven D. Ealy, Books and Culture

    See more reviews

    Product details

    July 2012
    Paperback
    9780521176675
    394 pages
    231 × 155 × 25 mm
    0.54kg
    1 b/w illus.
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Introduction: beyond reason and revelation
    • Part I: Reading Hebrew Scripture:
    • 2. The structure of the Hebrew Bible
    • 3. What is the purpose of the Hebrew Bible?
    • 4. How does the Bible make arguments of a general nature?
    • Part II: The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture: Five Studies:
    • 5. The ethics of a shepherd
    • 6. The history of Israel, Genesis-Kings: a political philosophy
    • 7. Jeremiah and the problem of knowing
    • 8. Truth and being in Hebrew scripture
    • 9. Jerusalem and Carthage
    • Part III: Conclusion:
    • 10. God's speech after reason and revelation.
      Author
    • Yoram Hazony , Shalem Center, Jerusalem

      Yoram Hazony is Provost of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem and a Senior Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Political Theory and Religion (PPR). Hazony's previous books include The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul and The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther. His essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Commentary, Azure and Ha'aretz, among other publications. He is author of a regular blog on philosophy, Judaism, Israel and higher education called Jerusalem Letters. Hazony received a BA from Princeton University in East Asian Studies and a PhD from Rutgers University in Political Theory.

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