The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity

Zusatztext The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls overturned longstanding assumptions about the formation of biblical books and canons. Moving beyond this much-repeated insight, Eva Mroczek invites the reader to rethink what 'books' and 'literature' did and meant for ancient Jewsin and beyond the Bible. The result is a brilliant study bristling with astonishingly fresh insights, challenging questions, and creative new approaches, opening up exciting conversations at the crossroads of Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies, and Book History. Informationen zum Autor Eva Mroczek is Assistant Professor of Premodern Judaism at University of California, Davis. Klappentext How did Jews understand sacred writing before the concepts of Bible and book emerged? The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity challenges anachronistic categories to reveal new aspects of how ancient Jews imagined written revelation. Zusammenfassung How did Jews understand sacred writing before the concepts of "Bible" and "book" emerged? The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity challenges anachronistic categories to reveal new aspects of how ancient Jews imagined written revelation. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements Introduction: Beyond Bible and Book 1. The Mirage of the Bible: The Case of the Book of Psalms Introduction: Milton's Vial and the Uncontained Text I. Biblical Spectacles II. Why there was no "Book of Psalms" in the Second Temple Period: Manuscripts and the Imagination III. Psalms without Psalters: Rethinking Psalms Traditions Beyond "Bible" and "Book" Conclusion: Bibliographic Surprises in Early Judaism 2. The Sweetest Voice: the Poetics of Attribution Introduction: What Did Ancient Attribution Claim? Aesthetics and Authorship I. Characters in Search of Stories: Authority, Pseudonymity, and Poetics II. The Psalm Superscriptions and Davidic Voice III. Sinful King to Angelic Bard: The Making of the Sweet Singer of Israel Conclusion: The Life of the Writer 3. Like A Canal from a River: Scribal Products and Projects Introduction: The Poetic "I": Historical or Legendary? I. The First Jewish Author? Ben Sira and the Authorial Name II. What is "The Book of Ben Sira"? Open Books and Authentic Text III. The Afterlives of Ben Sira as Text and Character Conclusion: Metaphors and Manuscripts 4. Shapes of Scriptures: The Non-Biblical Library of Early Judaism Introduction: "Collecting, if possible, all the books in the world" I. Mental Architecture and the Shape of the Sacred Library in Early Judaism II. From Forgery to Exegesis: The Non-Biblical Libraries of Modern Publishing III. Jubilees as Bibliography: A Native History of Written Revelation Conclusion: Bibliography and Totality 5. Outside the Number: Counting, Canons, and the Boundaries of Revelation Introduction: When Haile Selassie Finished the Bible I. Qualitative Numbers: Twenty-Two and Twenty-Four Books in Josephus and 4Ezra II. Beyond Psalm 150: When King David Finished the Psalter III. Canons, Closure, and the Insufficiency of Scripture Conclusion: Revelation Out of Reach Conclusion Bibliography Index ...

Auteur
Eva Mroczek is Assistant Professor of Premodern Judaism at University of California, Davis.

Texte du rabat

How did Jews understand sacred writing before the concepts of Bible and book emerged? The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity challenges anachronistic categories to reveal new aspects of how ancient Jews imagined written revelation.

Résumé
How did Jews understand sacred writing before the concepts of "Bible" and "book" emerged? The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity challenges anachronistic categories to reveal new aspects of how ancient Jews imagined written revelation.

Contenu

• Acknowledgements

• Introduction: Beyond Bible and Book

• 1. The Mirage of the Bible: The Case of the Book of Psalms

• Introduction: Milton's Vial and the Uncontained Text

• I. Biblical Spectacles

• II. Why there was no "Book of Psalms" in the Second Temple Period: Manuscripts and the Imagination

• III. Psalms without Psalters: Rethinking Psalms Traditions Beyond "Bible" and "Book"

• Conclusion: Bibliographic Surprises in Early Judaism

• 2. The Sweetest Voice: the Poetics of Attribution

• Introduction: What Did Ancient Attribution Claim? Aesthetics and Authorship

• I. Characters in Search of Stories: Authority, Pseudonymity, and Poetics

• II. The Psalm Superscriptions and Davidic Voice

• III. Sinful King to Angelic Bard: The Making of the Sweet Singer of Israel

• Conclusion: The Life of the Writer

• 3. Like A Canal from a River: Scribal Products and Projects

• Introduction: The Poetic "I": Historical or Legendary?

• I. The First Jewish Author? Ben Sira and the Authorial Name

• II. What is "The Book of Ben Sira"? Open Books and Authentic Text

• III. The Afterlives of Ben Sira as Text and Character

• Conclusion: Metaphors and Manuscripts

• 4. Shapes of Scriptures: The Non-Biblical Library of Early Judaism

• Introduction: "Collecting, if possible, all the books in the world"

• I. Mental Architecture and the Shape of the Sacred Library in Early Judaism

• II. From Forgery to Exegesis: The Non-Biblical Libraries of Modern Publishing

• III. Jubilees as Bibliography: A Native History of Written Revelation

• Conclusion: Bibliography and Totality

• 5. Outside the Number: Counting, Canons, and the Boundaries of Revelation

• Introduction: When Haile Selassie Finished the Bible

• I. Qualitative Numbers: Twenty-Two and Twenty-Four Books in Josephus and 4Ezra

• II. Beyond Psalm 150: When King David Finished the Psalter

• III. Canons, Closure, and the Insufficiency of Scripture

• Conclusion: Revelation Out of Reach

• Conclusion

• Bibliography

• Index