Historical criticism of the Bible has long sought to uncover the human authors behind the text. But how might the »death of the author,« so forcefully declared by Roland Barthes over fifty years ago, change the contours of this search? This volume brings together leading experts in the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, cuneiform texts and cognate literature to reimagine the literary and discursive functions of »authorship« in ancient Israel.
Does »authorship« still have a place in the study of the Hebrew Bible? Historical criticism has long sought to uncover the human authors behind the biblical texts. But how might the »death of the author,« so forcefully declared by Roland Barthes over fifty years ago, change the contours of this search? This volume brings together leading experts in the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, cuneiform texts and cognate literature to reimagine the literary and discursive functions of »authorship« in ancient Israel. Bridging the gap between theoretical reflection and exegetical practice, the volume explores key features of biblical texts, from anonymity to divine speech, scribal editing to textual fluidity, to reveal the complex and varied author functions that shaped biblical literature.
Survey of contents
Sonja Ammann: What Follows the Death of the Author? Introduction –
Sophus Helle: Narratives of Authorship and Cuneiform Literature –
Sylvie Honigman: The Greek and Judahite Representations of Author, Book, and Event: An Inquiry into Cultural Differences and Their Social Underpinnings –
George Brooke: Rewriting Authorship in the Dead Sea Scrolls –
Melanie Köhlmoos: Authorial Intention(s) in Old Testament Texts –
Ehud Ben Zvi: Matters of Authorship, Authority and Power from the Perspective of a Historian of the World of Yehudite/Judean Literati –
Konrad Schmid: From Amos to Ben Sira: Some Questions and Answers on the Intellectual History of Authorship in the Hebrew Bible –
David Carr: Rereading Anonymous Oral-written Pentateuchal Prose in a Post-author 21st Century Context: Strategies and Goals for Historically-oriented Interpretation –
Julia Rhyder: Divine Authorship: Diverse Images of Yhwh as Legislative Author in the Pentateuch and Beyond –
Ilse Müllner: Between Narrator and Author: Observations on the Boundaries of the Books of Samuel –
Christophe Nihan: David Superscripts in the Psalms and Concepts of Authorship in the Hebrew Bible –
Thomas Krüger: Authors and Narrators in Wisdom Literature: Proverbs, Qoheleth, and Job Compared –
Christian Frevel: Jeremiah, the »Paradigmatic« Author: Authorship In, Behind, and Beyond Lamentations –
Katharina Pyschny: Author Figuration in the Book of Ezechiel: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Authorship in Prophetic Literature
