In this impressive volume; leading scholars offer compelling glimpses into the biblical world; the world in which prophets; poets; sages; and historians created one of our most important texts--the Bible. For more than a century; archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs; temples; texts; and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches; contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship; and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the reader with a readable and integrated study of the history; art; architecture; languages; literatures; and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts. The authors also examine such issues as the roles of women; the tensions between urban and rural settings; royal and kinship social structures; and official and popular religions of the region. Understanding the biblical world is a vital part of understanding the Bible. Broad; authoritative; and engaging; The Oxford History of the Biblical World will illuminate for any reader the ancient world from which the Bible emerged.
#894406 in Books James Oliver Horton Lois E Horton 1998-04-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x 1.20 x 9.20l; 1.11 #File Name: 0195124650352 pagesBlack historyAfrican-American identityColonial black historyBlack experienceBlack freedom
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Exceptional AccountBy Blue SkyThis was an exceptionally detailed view of northern slavery. It was well written. This is a difficult subject to tackle and cover in one book. I enjoyed it and will use it in footnotes of my own work.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. An Important Statement on the Role of African Americans in the Antebellum NorthBy Roger D. LauniusOne of the most important developments in the historiography of the antebellum abolitionist crusade is the emphasis on the role of free blacks in the North as shapers of the national agenda. We have long known of Frederick Douglass's role in this regard; of course; but in the 1960s historians began to appreciate in much greater depth the role of northern African Americans in the antislavery struggle. Leon F. Litwack's "North of Slavery: The Negro in the Free States; 1790-1860" (University of Chicago Press; 1961) and Benjamin Quarles's "The Negro in the American Revolution" (University of North Carolina Press; 1961) were both undeniably significant benchmarks in this historiography. Historians James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton now provide a much richer perspective and make clear the effort was much broader than most have appreciated. The Hortons integrate a broad body of secondary literature on free blacks in the antebellum North with their own research into an elegantly crafted narrative.The Hortons take as their thesis that northern African Americans not in bondage embraced the ideals of the American Revolution and the early republic for "liberty" and "freedom." As disinherited sons and daughters of the Revolution their constant critique served to remind and press the status quo of white America throughout the antebellum period. As the Hortons write; "American ideals were not bounded by color; and the desire for liberty and equality was strongest to those whom they were denied" (p. xii). Taking a generally chronological approach they trace the cause of freedom and liberty among free northern African Americans from the Revolution to the4 civil War. Along the way they tell the story of Crispis Attucks; an African American killed in the Boston Massacre; those who fought in the Revolution; and those who embrace the antislavery crusade and sought both legal and extralegal means to end its hold over human beings in the United States. Much of this is now familiar terrain; but the Hortons bring a depth to the story not present elsewhere and that; coupled with an elegance of style makes this an excellent reading experience.More significant is the authors' portrait of the lives of north free blacks. To a degree not seen previously; the Hortons explore the themes of the new social history--especially issues of race; ethnicity; class; and gender--in relation to the lives of this community. To a very real extent they depict the world the free African Americans made in a nation increasingly hostile to their objectives of freedom and liberty in the first half of the nineteenth century. Issues of family lifestyles; kinship; work relations; political power both in the larger society and within the black community; religion; social organizations; the question of re-colonization of Africa; and the abolitionist cause are the meat of this book.As a unit this is an exceptionally valuable work. I recommend it as a highly successful discussion of one significant aspect of the reform movements of antebellum American society.
