Temple and Worship in Biblical Israel

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Description

This major work examines the subject of Temple and Worship in biblical Israel, ranging from their ancient Near Eastern and archaeological background, through the Old Testament and Late Second Temple Judaism, and up to the New Testament. It is the product of an international team of twenty-three noted scholars.

Special attention is paid to such subjects as the ideology of temples and the evidence for high places in Israel and the Canaanite world; the architecture and symbolism of Solomon's Temple; the attitude of various parts of the Old Testament to the Temple and cult, including that of several prophets; the light shed on Temple worship by the Psalms; the role and fate of the Ark of the Covenant; and the Day of Atonement. It also examines attitudes to the Temple in the Septuagint, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, first-century Judaism, and the New Testament.

This important work is the product of an impressive array of twenty-three noted scholars.

The contributors include John Barton, H.G.M. Williamson, John Day, Susan Gillingham, John Jarick, C.T.R. Hayward, Michael Knibb, George Brooke, Martin Goodman, Christopher Rowland and Larry Kreitzer.

Reviews

Review in International Review of Biblical Studies, vol. 54:2007/08
'an excellent investigation...several of the essays...make important contributions to our further understanding of the Temple in Late Second Temple Judaism and in the First Testament.' -- Ralph K. Hawkins, Bethel College, US * Biblical Theology Bulletin *
"The essays, expanded versions of lectures delivered to the Oxford Old Testament Seminar between 2001 and 2003, are of exceptionally high quality. The collection is a must for theological libraries."- Richard J. Clifford, 68, 2006 * Catholic Biblical Quarterly *
'The collection as a whole...is a good example of the contemporary flourishing of the kind of rigorous and meticulous historical study that has been a central characteristic of modern Old Testament scholarship....The level of the essays is advanced, appropriate to those at home in Old Testament scholarship. Many aspects of Israel's temple, and practices and literature related to it within their ancient context, are indeed illuminated.' Walter Moberly, Expository Times, 01/10/2006 -- Walter Moberly * Expository Times *
"Ably edited by John Day...The contributions are all accomplished scholarly endeavours, as one would expect, and the frame of reference is solid historical criticism with enviable mastery of secondary literature in many languages. Some articles are surveys, the most engaging of which is the editor's analysis of Whatever happened to the ark of the covenant'...There is a wealth of exegetical insight here...[and] this collection will be a useful addition to theological libraries." R. S. B., Heythrop Journal * Heythrop Journal *
"Each essay has been thoroughly researched and many conclude with substantial bibliographies which help to make this volume a very valuable resource. It represents scholarship at its highest level. The interplay between the essays produces another level of insight in to the significance of temple and worship in the development of Israel's identity and self-understanding. Highly recommended." J.E. Tollington SOTS/JSOT Booklist, 2006 -- J.E. Tollington SOTS/JSOT Booklist 2006 * Society for Old Testament Study Booklist *

Author Bio

John Day is Professor of Old Testament Studies in the University of Oxford, and Fellow & Tutor of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He has written or edited numerous books and articles, and in 2014 is President of the Society for Old Testament Study.