audiobook How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel by William M. Schniedewind in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent information. I learned an enormous amount from this ...By Kerry ShirtsExcellent information. I learned an enormous amount from this book! Well worth having. Good; significant scholarship and careful on the speculation. Grounded in actual evidence. Just the kind of perfect book for a rainy day.... a sunny one; a cloudy one; heck ANY day.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. The Transition from Oral Teaching to the Written WordBy Edward G. SimmonsSchniedewind uses archaeology and the study of literacy to argue against leading theories of when the Hebrew Bible was written. Most scholars have followed Julius Wellhausen in adopting a documentary hypothesis that focuses on J; E; D; and P documents. A great many scholars also emphasize the Persian period as the time when most of the Bible was written. Schniedewind counters these scholars by pointing to the limitation of literacy to palace and temple up to the days of Hezekiah. Thus; J; E; and P were oral traditions and not written documents. Wellhausen's claim that P was the latest of the four is countered by pointing out that P material shows no sign of being aware of traditions being written rather than oral; whereas Deuteronomy is very clear that key religious teachings are in writing. The Persian period; he maintains; was a dark age when few books of the Bible were developed. Part of the archaeology that supports this point is the proof that Aramaic rather than Hebrew became the ordinary language in Jewish lands under the Persians.Most of the Hebrew Bible; says Schniedewind; was written down from the eighth through the sixth centuries B.C.E.; the period from Isaiah to Jeremiah; centering on the policies of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah. Archaeology indicates that Judah underwent extensive urbanization following the conquest of Israel by Assyria; so that literate elites from Israel migrated into Judah and brought royal archives and traditions with them. Thus Hezekiah's period saw an emphasis on trying to blend the traditions of Israel and Judah; which resulted in glorifying the united kingdom of David and Solomon as a golden age which Hezekiah hoped to recapture. There was an agrarian rebellion that put Josiah on the throne; leading to writings that demoted the influence of Israel and its transplanted elites. At the same time; literacy spread and literature flourished leading to "one of the most profound cultural revolutions in human history: the assertion of the orthodoxy of texts." (p.91) From that time onward there was a tension between the oral tradition and the written holy text.Among the interesting points Schniedewind makes is how the story of the Ten Commandments differs in Exodus and Deuteronomy. In Exodus; the commandments are oral rather than written. "Somehow the story of the revelation in Exodus 19-23 seems unaware that the Torah is a text. This fact will become all the more remarkable when we see how later traditions will be obsessed with telling the story of the writing of the Torah." (p. 121) His analysis of the narratives in Exodus and Deuteronomy leads him to conclude that the tablets Moses received contained plans for the tabernacle rather than the Ten Commandments.The tension between oral tradition and the written text becomes an important theme from the time of Josiah. Schniedewind points out that the Book of Chronicles was the first text to apply the term "word of YHWH' to the written Torah rather than to words spoken by prophets. He maintains that the priesthood which ruled during the period of the second temple championed the written text as holy and that the Sadducees and Essenes were movements which focused on the written text. But; he says; the Pharisees; early Christians; and Rabbinic Judaism emphasized a key role for the oral tradition.This is a book that can be enjoyed by the general public as well as biblical specialists. Anyone interested in Bible study will find his analyses enlightening. His focus on the spread of literacy and the transition from oral to textual culture adds a significant dimension to study and understanding of the Bible.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great book!By TwocentsThis book was a fantastic exploration of what archaeology and rational analysis indicate about when the bible was transcribed and complied. Along the way it gave great information about the early culture and history of the Jewish people. It answered many questions I had regarding the relationship between the invention of and early days of alphabetic writing; and the writing down of the bible. I would not recommend it for devout Christians and Jews who believe the bible was written by god. However; I do recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is interested in religion and the bible; but does not believe in magic and the supernatural.