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RENDSBURG, G. A. How the Bible Is Written. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2019, 675 p. – ISBN 9781683071976

O objetivo deste livro é aproximar os leitores interessados do texto original da Bíblia Hebraica / Antigo Testamento e proporcionar-lhes uma apreciação maior de sua arte literária e linguística. Em suma, este livro trata muito mais do modo como a Bíblia diz o que diz do que daquilo que diz.

The goal of How the Bible Is Written is to bring interested readers–scholars and laypeople alike–closer to the original text of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and to provide them with a greater appreciation of its literary artistry and linguistic virtuosity. In short, this book focuses not so much on what the Bible says as how the Bible says it. A book focusing on the nexus between language and literature in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, with specific attention to how the former is used to create the latter; topics include wordplay, wordplay with proper names, alliteration, repetition with variation, dialect representation, intentionally confused language, marking closure, and more.

The first paragraph of my new book reads as follows: “Learned colleagues have written books entitled Who Wrote the Bible?, How to Read the Bible, How the Bible Became a Book, and How the Bible Became Holy. The present volume poses a different question, How the Bible Is Written. My goal in this book is to reveal the manner in which language is used to produce exquisite literature, no less for the ancient Israelite literati who crafted the compositions that eventually were canonized as the Bible than for William Shakespeare or Jane Austen or J. R. R. Tolkien or any other writer whose literature we admire and continue to enjoy. Which is to say, in the most simple of terms: there are many books on what the Bible says; this is a book on how the Bible says it”.

Uma avaliação do livro feita por Jim West pode ser lida em seu blog Zwinglius Redivivus.

Gary A. Rendsburg é Professor de História Judaica na Universidade de Rutgers, Nova Jérsei, Estados Unidos.

 Artigo e livro sobre um texto difícil do Antigo Testamento: Gn 6, 1-4.

Um artigo:

Those Elusive Sons of God: Genesis 6:1–4 Revisited – By Jaap Doedens – The Bible and Interpretation – April 2019

Desde o início do século XX, e especialmente após as numerosas descobertas de expressões semelhantes em textos extrabíblicos, a exegese dominante voltou a uma interpretação “sobre-humana” dos “filhos de Deus” em Gn 6,1-4. No entanto, agora eles não são vistos como anjos (caídos), mas como “seres divinos”, ou divindades (…) Esta solução exegética mais recente é provavelmente a correta.

É possível descobrir o cerne histórico desta narrativa sobre casamentos de seres divinos e mulheres humanas que resultaram no nascimento de heróis gigantes? A origem desta narrativa talvez possa estar ligada à presença de túmulos megalíticos, principalmente na região da Transjordânia, os chamados dólmens, datados de finais do terceiro e início do segundo milênio a.C. É razoável que, devido ao seu tamanho, essas estruturas monumentais deram origem a histórias sobre gigantescos guerreiros caídos. De alguma forma, um destes contos entrou na narrativa bíblica e tornou-se parte de uma estrutura teológica que elucida o destino da humanidade com todas as suas tentativas e erros.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, and especially after the numerous discoveries of similar expressions in extrabiblical texts, mainstream exegesis returned to a ‘superhuman’ interpretation of the ‘sons of God’ in Gen 6:1–4. Yet now they were not viewed as (fallen) angels, but as ‘divine beings’, or deities (…) This newer exegetical solution is most probably the correct one.

Is it possible to discover an historical kernel of this narrative about marriages of divine beings and human women resulting in the birth of giant heroes? The origin of this narrative could perhaps be connected with the presence of megalithic tombs, mainly in the Transjordan region, the so called dolmens, dating from the end of the third and the beginning of the second millennium BCE. It is reasonable  that, because of their mere size, these monumental structures gave rise to tales about giant fallen warriors. Somehow, one of these tales made its way into the biblical narrative, and became part of a theological framework elucidating humanity’s fate with all its trial and error.

Um livro:

DOEDENS, J.  The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4: Analysis and History of Exegesis. Leiden: Brill, 2019, 372 p. – ISBN 9789004284265.

Em Os Filhos de Deus em Gênesis 6,1-4, Jaap Doedens oferece uma visão geral da história da exegese do texto enigmático sobre os “filhos de Deus”, as “filhas dos homens” e os “gigantes”.

Primeiro, ele analisa o texto de Gênesis 6,1–4. Posteriormente, ele acompanha as diferentes propostas exegéticas desde as análises mais antigas até as dos tempos modernos. Ele ainda fornece ao leitor uma avaliação do significado da expressão “filhos de Deus” no Antigo Testamento e no Antigo Oriente Médio. No último capítulo, ele se concentra na mensagem e na função de Gênesis 6,1–4.

Este volume reúne de forma abrangente tentativas exegéticas antigas e modernas, fornecendo os meios para um diálogo contínuo sobre esta passagem bastante complexa e evasiva.

In The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4, Jaap Doedens offers an overview of the history of exegesis of the enigmatic text about the ‘sons of God’, the ‘daughters of men’, and the ‘giants’. First, he analyzes the text of Gen 6:1–4. Subsequently, he tracks the different exegetical proposals from the earliest exegesis until those of modern times. He further provides the reader with an evaluation of the meaning of the expression ‘sons of God’ in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. In the last chapter, he concentrates on the message and function of Gen 6:1–4. This volume comprehensively gathers ancient and modern exegetical attempts, providing the means for an ongoing dialogue about this essentially complex and elusive passage.

Sumário

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations

1 Setting the Course: Introduction
1 From Boulder to Keystone to Stumbling Block
2 The Mainstream Solutions
3 Approach

2 A Quest for Meaning: Analyzing Genesis 6:1–4
1 Introduction
2 Lexical and Grammatical Analysis of Genesis 6:1
3 Lexical and Grammatical Analysis of Genesis 6:2
4 Lexical and Grammatical Analysis of Genesis 6:3
5 Lexical and Grammatical Analysis of Genesis 6:4
6 Content and Context: General Observations Relating to Genesis 6:1–4
7 Dramatis Personae: Provisional Conclusions Related to Genesis 6:1–4

3 Trodden Paths: History of Exegesis of the Expression ‘Sons of God’
1 Introduction
2 The Ancient Versions
3 Philo of Alexandria
4 Flavius Josephus
5 Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
6 Dead Sea Scrolls
7 Rabbinic Tradition
8 New Testament
9 The Church Fathers
10 Late Middle Ages and Reformation
11 Newer Exegesis
12 Conclusions to the History of Exegesis

4 At the Crossroads: Weighing Exegetical Solutions
1 Introduction
2 The Heavenly Category: ‘Sons of God’ Interpreted as Angels
3 The Social Category: ‘Sons of God’ Interpreted as Mighty-Ones
4 The Religious Category: ‘Sons of God’ Interpreted as Sethites
5 The Mythological Category: ‘Sons of God’ Interpreted as Divine Beings
6 Minor Variants and Combinations
7 Conclusions

5 Perspectives: The Functions of Genesis 6:1–4
1 Introduction
2 ‘Sons of God’ and Biblical Monotheism
3 Genesis 6:1–4 and Myth in the Old Testament
4 Truth Claim and Functions of Genesis 6:1–4
5 Final Observations
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources

Jaap Doedens, Ph.D. Kampen Theological University (2013), Pápa Reformed Theological Seminary, Pápa, Hungary, is college associate professor at the latter seminary. He has published articles on the Old Testament, the intertestamental period, and the New Testament in English, Dutch, and Hungarian

Leia mais sobre Gn 6,1-4 em Remnant of Giants.

Who Is David?

By Thomas L. Thompson, Professor Emeritus University of Copenhagen

The Bible and Interpretation – April 4, 2019

Although King David is one of the richest and most varied literary figures of the Bible, we have no direct historical evidence that he ever existed. Neither archaeology nor any contemporary written inscriptions proves the existence of such a king, ruling in Hebron or Jerusalem during the 10th century BCE. Archaeological evidence for ancient settlements of the Judean highlands hardly support the existence of even a small kingdom in this region, let alone a multi-regional state and monarchy. Archaeology has not yet found any settlement in Jerusalem, significant enough to be the capital of a small patronage kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor has archaeology found any widespread agricultural settlement in the southern highlands, which could have supported a functioning kingdom during the period that the Bible gives to David. There is also no known historical kingdom of Judah before the late-9th century, BCE. The David we know from the Bible as a literary figure, on the other hand, embraces, as we will see, a considerable range of themes, and is, perhaps, the richest figure in biblical literature.

All the historical evidence we have that might be linked to the biblical figure of David comes from three fragments of a late 9th century, Aramaic inscription, found during the excavations of Tall al-Qadi in the Jordan rift, which both mentions a king of Israel and, the name bytdwd (continua).

Sobre a origem dos antigos Estados Israelitas, confira aqui e aqui.

Quem é Thomas L. Thompson? Confira aqui, aqui e aqui.