SUGGESTION: Jewish Concepts of Scripture

David Paul
David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭
edited January 22 in Book Requests

This seems like a fairly comprehensive overview of a critical topic. Sommer also wrote The Bodies of God, which I requested for Logos a couple or more years back. FL should probably offer a Sommer Collection. One of his titles is potentially available in this AYBR upgrade .

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  • Ben
    Ben Member Posts: 1,787 ✭✭✭

    Agreed. More Benjamin Sommer please!

    "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected."- G.K. Chesterton

  • Matthew
    Matthew Member Posts: 78 ✭✭

    [Y]

  • Rosie Perera
    Rosie Perera Member Posts: 26,194 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Looks good. It's by NYU Press. Faithlife doesn't have any of their books yet, but they have worked with Yale University Press before for the Anchor Yale stuff, and Baylor University Press, so they ought to be able to explore further university presses. Some of them have some really good books in religion/theology. For example Indiana University Press has The Poetics of Biblical Narrative by Meir Sternberg, which I've been wanting.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    For example Indiana University Press has The Poetics of Biblical Narrative by Meir Sternberg, which I've been wanting.

    Also by IUP and including an essay by Sternberg along with most of the other usual suspects in the narrative field. Had to buy it in hard copy format...doubt FL will ever carry it.

    Many titles from the Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature series are on my wish list or are already on my shelves.

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    For example Indiana University Press has The Poetics of Biblical Narrative by Meir Sternberg, which I've been wanting.

    My hard copy arrived today...couldn't wait. Still want Jewish Concepts of Scripture and The Bodies of God, FaithLife.

    STEP UP!!!

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • Milkman
    Milkman Member Posts: 4,880 ✭✭✭

    [Y]

    mm.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    STILL wanting Logos to acquire everything Benjamin Sommer. Just started reading my hard copy of The Bodies of God (see OP) and definitely want that ASAP.  Book won two awards when it was published. Also just saw this along the same theme, so FL...get this, too.

    https://www.amazon.com/Human-Shaped-God-Theology-Embodied/dp/0664265006/

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 3,087 ✭✭✭

    STILL wanting Logos to acquire everything Benjamin Sommer. Just started reading my hard copy of The Bodies of God (see OP) and definitely want that ASAP.  Book won two awards when it was published.

    It'd certainly be a good addition to Mark Smith's Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World .  I just finished it; it's more hard-core analysis, but good for documenting across the cultures (though granted Logos is missing most of the references).  He didn't attempt the Davidic temple vs the Mount of Olives high places (which I think Zechariah did).

    Before that, I was reading James Barr's Scope and Authority of the Bible which oddly enough fits into Smith's ancient religion pattern.

    Sommer would offer an even better perspective.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    I have Smith's book in Logos...I need to make a point of reading it. I think I have the Barr book in hard copy, but it would be in storage (moving soon--eastern time zone--I've only ever lived in central). I have most of what else he's written. Recently got and started Peckham's Divine Attributes; he focuses on the variance between classic Christian theology about ':Elohhiym's nature and the revelation presented in the Bible's text. One of those variances is what Sommer focuses on...the classical view that YHWH is incorporeal vs. Sommer's observation (p. 5) regarding "the fact that the Hebrew Bible contains not a single verse denying that God has a body". It's nice to occasionally read a book I mostly agree with, but I just started so we'll see. Finished Ben-Hillel's book I posted about earlier. 

    https://community.logos.com/forums/t/210008.aspx <---FL...get this book!!

    His early chapter on the Bible's witness was useful. As he progressed through the Rabbinic stage and into the Kabbalistic phase, I had to force myself to slog through. I've never muttered the phrase "word salad" so often in my life. But his final chapter comments were actually pretty good...I even marked "excellent" in the margin regarding some of his closing remarks. That almost never happens. A somewhat unexpected theme of all of these books has been the vast disjunction between the Bible and what people have historically invoked as theological doctrine. Most of these issues aren't even close enough to legitimately be termed "judgment calls". Peckham's first chapter sets the stage: "The God of the Bible [the textual witness] vs. the God of the Philosophers [the God of the church fathers, and as Ben-Hillel would add, the rabbis]". The history of theological interpretation is sort of like a bizarre, perverse take on the Wizard's "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain", with the typical theologian's view being "pay no attention to that God in the text".

    Sommer's take: "The God of the Hebrew Bible has a body. The evidence for this simple thesis is overwhelming...". For some reason, historical Christianity resists and differs, even though "one could add copious evidence from narrative, prophecy, and psalms...". He summarizes the perspective of most scholars (and I would add, clergy), specifically "the habit of assuming that because we all know the Hebrew Bible's God has no body, evidence to the contrary must be denied or, if that is not possible, explained away." It will be interesting to see where he ventures.

    FL...get this book!!---> https://www.amazon.com/Bodies-God-World-Ancient-Israel/dp/1107422264/ 

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 3,087 ✭✭✭

    . A somewhat unexpected theme of all of these books has been the vast disjunction between the Bible and what people have historically invoked as theological doctrine. Most of these issues aren't even close enough to legitimately be termed "judgment calls". Peckham's first chapter sets the stage: "The God of the Bible [the textual witness] vs. the God of the Philosophers [the God of the church fathers, and as Ben-Hillel would add, the rabbis]". The history of theological interpretation is sort of like a bizarre, perverse take on the Wizard's "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain", with the typical theologian's view being "pay no attention to that God in the text".

    You got that right.  That's why I jokingly am a member of the Literalist Denomination, membership 1. 'Literal' doesn't refer to language vs meaning. Rather what's there ... and what's churchmen.  Always keep your eye on what's there.

    Probably not so much up your alley maybe, but a big benefit is reduced apologetics ... most apologetics is trying to defend layers of doctrines; not the old text.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    In keeping with the theme of Sommer's book, please also acquire this title, which really should already be in Logos along with the hundreds of others from the same series.

    https://community.logos.com/forums/p/210407/1225913.aspx#1225913 

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • David Paul
    David Paul Member Posts: 6,047 ✭✭✭

    ASUS  ProArt x570s Creator, AMD R9 5950x, HyperX 64gb 3600 RAM, ASUS Strix RTX 2080 ti

    "The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not."  Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,492
    edited January 10

    @Jason Stone (Logos)

    This belongs as a book request - I suspect that the old suggestions forum as a whole is misplaced. Many people didn't double post in feedbear. I wanted to drum up more support for this title but …

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."