Leo G. Perdue, ed. The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible - Book Review

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Summer, 2002 by T. Raymond Hobbs

Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2001. Pp. xxx 471. Cloth, $170.00.

This substantial volume is a collection of twenty-six essays by prominent scholars designed to "provide a coherent, up-to-date introduction" to aspects of the modern study of the First Testament. The twenty five contributors are drawn from seven countries (separating England and Scotland) with by far the largest number, fourteen, coming from the United States. The genre is that of the numerous volumes published in successive decades by the Society for Old Testament Study. In a discipline that is becoming increasingly specialized, and possibly fragmented, such a volume is a welcome aid to keeping abreast of the scope of First Testament studies.

The collection of essays is divided into eight parts dealing first with "The Hebrew Bible in Modern Study" (pp. 1-58), which is an orientation to literary (David Jobling) and social scientific (Charles Carter) approaches. Part II, "Israelite and Early Jewish History" (pp. 59-116) deals with the early history and the rise of the monarchy (Carol Meyers), the monarchical period (Leslie Hoppe) and Exile and post-exilic periods (Robert Carroll [dagger]). Part III, dealing with Archaeology (pp. 11748) contains two essays by William Dever.

The largest individual parts to the collection are Part IV, "The Religious and Social World of Ancient Israel and Early Judaism" (pp. 149-218), which contains four essays on Canaan (Dennis Pardee), Households (Joseph Blenkinsopp), the archaeology of the Solomonic Temple (William Dever) and schools and literacy (Andre Lemaire); and Part V, "Old Testament Theology" (pp. 219-308). This section contains five essays on modern approaches (Henning Graf Reventlow), images of YHWH (Walter Brueggemann), theological anthropology (Phyllis Bird), Community (Ronald Clements) and "Old Testament Ethics" (Bruce Birch).

The final three parts to the volume deal with the canonical order of the Hebrew Bible under "The Torah" (pp. 311-34), "The Prophets" (pp. 335-82) and "The Writings" (pp. 383447). In these sections are essays dealing with the various sub-sections of these bodies of literature by well-known authors, such as Rolf Rendtorff (pp. 311-20 "Creation and Redemption in the Torah"), Calum Carmichael (pp. 321-34 "Law and Narrative in the Pentateuch"), Hermann Spieckermann (pp. 337-52 "The Former Prophets: The Deuteronomistic History"), Klaus Koch (pp. 353-68 "The Latter Prophets: The Major Prophets"), James Crenshaw (pp. 369-82 "The Latter Prophets: The Minor Prophets"), Ralph Klein (pp. 385-401 "Narrative Texts: Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah"), Erhard Gerstenberger (pp. 402-417 "The Psalter"), Katherine Dell (pp. 418-431 "Wisdom Literature") and John Collins (pp. 432447 "Apocalyptic Literature"). An author index and a Scripture index are included at the end of the book, and each essay is accompanied by a useful bibliography for further reading and study.

The editor is to be congratulated in bringing together a collection of fine authors who are acknowledged experts in the topics of their contributions. The intimate knowledge of the subject matter displayed by each author is a valuable asset to the Theological or Religious Studies student who wishes to acquaint herself with the current state of scholarship. All of the contributors are trustworthy guides. As one might expect from the publisher, the volume is well produced with a clear layout, and easy to both browse through and read. It is a fine reference tool, although perhaps beyond the monetary resources of its intended audience.

With such a wide range of writers, however, there is an inevitable mixture of English writing styles. Some essays are smooth and easy reading, while others, notably those by Rendtorff and Koch, reflect a Germanic flavor with run-on sentences and numerous subordinate clauses. Some are simply afflicted with clumsy writing which would have benefitted from further editorial revision.

The title and contents of the volume raise an interesting issue in First Testament studies, which is never confronted here in a satisfactory manner. The use of the term "Hebrew Bible" rather than "Old Testament" is fraught with ambiguity and has been seriously challenged by Jon D. Levenson in many writings. While Levenson's work is acknowledged in a short paragraph of thirteen lines (pp. 232-33) the substance of his valuable criticism is ignored completely. In an age of increased pluralism and ecumenicity in Biblical scholarship a continuation of this dialogue is sorely needed in works such as this.

This comment leads to another concerning the overall "flavor" of the collection. With three exceptions the writers are white males, and predominantly Christian and Protestant. Unintentionally, such a collection perpetuates the problems which younger, non-white, or non-male scholars are seeking to address. If heard at all, their voices are muted here. As a result, the volume has a "state of the nation" feel to it, rather than a presentation of opportunities for future reading and challenge.