Hellenism and the Primary History

This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary History. With an original introduction and final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent collection for the first time.

Autorentext

Robert Karl Gnuse is the James C. Carter, S.J./Chase Bank Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he has taught since 1980. His degrees are from Vanderbilt University (Ph.D., 1980; M.A., 1978) and Christ Seminary in St. Louis (S.T.M., 1975; M.Div., 1974). He is author of 18 books, most recently The Elohist (2017) and Trajectories of Justice (2015).

Inhalt

Introduction: An Intellectual Odyssey

1. A Hellenistic First Testament: The Views of Minimalist Scholars

2. Spilt Water: Tales of David in II Sam 23:13-17 and of Alexander the Great in Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 6.26.1-3

3. Abducted Wives: A Hellenistic Narrative in the Book of Judges?

4. From Prison to Prestige: The Hero who helps a King in Jewish and Greek Literature

5. Divine Messengers in Genesis 18-19 and Ovid

6. Greek Connections: Genesis 1-11 and the Poetry of Hesiod

7. Genesis 1-11 and the Greek Historiographers Hecataeus of Miletus and Herodotus of Halicarnassus

8. Heed Your Steeds: Achilles' Horses and Balaam's Donkey

9. Samson and Heracles Revisited

10. The Sacrificed Maiden: Iphigenia and Jephthah's Daughter

11. The Maximalist/Minimalist Debate over Historical Memory in the Primary History of the Old Testament