Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah
by Christopher B. Hays
Death is one of the major themes of ‘First Isaiah,’ although it has not generally been recognized as such. Images of death are repeatedly used by the prophet and his earliest tradents.The book begins by concisely summarizing what is known about death in the Ancient Near East during the Iron Age II, covering beliefs and practices in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria-Palestine, and Judah/Israel. Incorporating both textual and archeological data, Christopher B. Hays surveys and analyzes existing scholarly literature on these topics from multiple fields.Focusing on the text’s meaning for its producers and its initial audiences, he describes the ways in which the ‘rhetoric of death’ functioned in its historical context and offers fresh interpretations of more than a dozen passages in Isa 5-38. He shows how they employ the imagery of death that was part of their cultural contexts, and also identifies ways in which they break new creative ground.This holistic approach to questions that have attracted much scholarly attention in recent decades produces new insights not only for the interpretation of specific biblical passages, but also for the formation of the book of Isaiah and for the history of ancient Near Eastern religions.
- By (author) Christopher B Hays
Other Titles in this Series
Elephantine in Context
Studies on the History, Religion and Literature of the Judeans in Persian Period Egypt
Volume 155
Rhetoric and Hermeneutics
Approaches to Text, Tradition and Social Construction in Biblical and Second Temple Literature
Volume 130
Sunde und Vergebung
Eine Rekonstruktion der Redaktionsgeschichte der hinteren Sinaiperikope (Exodus 32-34) vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Pentateuchmodelle
Volume 58
Die Bedingungen des Bundes
Studien zur konditionalen Struktur alttestamentlicher Bundeskonzeptionen
Volume 140
Reading Prophetic Books
Form, Intertextuality, and Reception in Prophetic and Post-Biblical Literature
Volume 89
From the Reed Sea to Kadesh
A Redactional and Socio-Historical Study of the Pentateuchal Wilderness Narrative
Volume 159
Wie JHWH spricht
Die temporelle Steuerung von Verbalaussagen in den Reden nach den Gottesspruchformeln
Gott in Bewegung
Religions- und theologiegeschichtliche Beitrage zu Gottesvorstellungen im alten Israel
Volume 76
Women in the Wilderness
The 'Female Legislation' of the Book of Numbers (Num 5,11-31; 27,1-11; 30,2-17)
Volume 138
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