Symposia: Dialogues Concerning the History of Biblical Interpretation (BibleWorld) - Softcover

Boer, Roland

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845531027 ISBN 13: 9781845531027

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

By bringing the key people in the history of biblical studies to life in a series of short stories, this book provides an alternative introduction to and engagement with Hebrew Bible studies. It seeks to explain, contextualise and critique key moments in the history of these studies. However, in contrast to the usual dry textbook, it does so by means of an approach that will engage, entertain and hopefully excite students over against the usual dry textbook. The model for the stories is the ancient Greek idea of the symposium, a sitting down together for the purpose of drinking. In Plato's writings, the symposium becomes a genre of writing with Socrates at its centre, a character who perpetually questions in order to develop the pursuit of knowledge. This is the model I follow in this book, where some of the main figures of biblical studies become the central characters in the stories. Here we find people such as Julius Wellhausen, Hermann Gunkel, Martin Noth, Brevard Childs, Norman Gottwald, Phyllis Trible and the Bible and Culture Collective engaged in various discussions with a range of other characters who seek to bring out the essential arguments, contexts, contributions and problems of their innovations in biblical studies.

About this title

Review:

'Six imaginary dialogues bring alive the major figures of twentieth-century biblical (Old Testament) criticism. Despite its unorthodox way of presentation, this is a lovely book.' --International Review of Biblical Studies

Synopsis:

Plato's work describes a gathering hosted by playwright Agathon that included a few famous people--Aristophanes, Socrates, Alcibiades--a few of whom stay sober enough to talk rationally until dawn. Boer (religion and theology, Monash U., Australia) is not so much interested in their topic of discussion, which is love, as in the form of communicatio

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1845531027
• ISBN 13: 9781845531027
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168