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Social theory and the study of Israelite religion : essays in retrospect and prospect / edited by Saul M. Olyan.

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextSeries: Resources for biblical study ; no. 71.Publication details: Atlanta : Society of Biblical Literature, ©2012.Description: 1 online resource (x, 219 pages)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9781589836891
  • 1589836898
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Social theory and the study of Israelite religion.DDC classification:
  • 296.09/01 23
LOC classification:
  • BM165
Other classification:
  • online - EBSCO
Online resources:
Contents:
Introduction / Saul M. Olyan -- Social theory and the study of Israelite religion : a retrospective on the past forty years of research / Robert R. Wilson -- Cult centralization, the erosion of kin-based communities, and the implications for women's religious practice / Susan Ackerman -- The Levites and sociocultural change in ancient Judah : insights from Gerhard Lenski's social theory / Stephen L. Cook -- Away from ritual : the prophetic critique / Ronald Hendel -- "They have become women" : Judean diaspora and postcolonial theories of gender and migration / T.M. Lemos -- Text production and destruction in ancient Israel : ritual and political dimensions / Nathaniel B. Levtow -- The function of feasts : an anthropological perspective on Israelite religious festivals / Carol Meyers -- Theorizing violence in Biblical ritual contexts : the case of mourning rites / Saul M. Olyan -- Theories regarding witchcraft accusations and the Hebrew Bible / Rüdiger Schmitt -- Ritual theory, ritual texts, and the Priestly-Holiness writings of the Pentateuch / David P. Wright.
Summary: This volume assesses the past, theoretically engaged work on Israelite religion and presents new approaches to particular problems and larger interpretive and methadological questions. It gathers previously unpublished research by senior and mid-career scholars well known for their contributions in the area of social theory and the study of the Israelite religion and by junior scholars whose writing is just beginning to have a serious impact on the field. The volume begins with a critical introduction by the editor. Topics of interest to the contributors include gender, violence, social change, the festivals, the dynamics of shame and honor, and the relationship of text to ritual. The contrbutors engage theory from social and cultural anthropology, sociology, postcolonial studies, and ritual studies. Theoretical models are evaluated in light of the primary data, and some authors modify or adapt theory to increase its utility for biblical studies.

This volume assesses the past, theoretically engaged work on Israelite religion and presents new approaches to particular problems and larger interpretive and methadological questions. It gathers previously unpublished research by senior and mid-career scholars well known for their contributions in the area of social theory and the study of the Israelite religion and by junior scholars whose writing is just beginning to have a serious impact on the field. The volume begins with a critical introduction by the editor. Topics of interest to the contributors include gender, violence, social change, the festivals, the dynamics of shame and honor, and the relationship of text to ritual. The contrbutors engage theory from social and cultural anthropology, sociology, postcolonial studies, and ritual studies. Theoretical models are evaluated in light of the primary data, and some authors modify or adapt theory to increase its utility for biblical studies.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction / Saul M. Olyan -- Social theory and the study of Israelite religion : a retrospective on the past forty years of research / Robert R. Wilson -- Cult centralization, the erosion of kin-based communities, and the implications for women's religious practice / Susan Ackerman -- The Levites and sociocultural change in ancient Judah : insights from Gerhard Lenski's social theory / Stephen L. Cook -- Away from ritual : the prophetic critique / Ronald Hendel -- "They have become women" : Judean diaspora and postcolonial theories of gender and migration / T.M. Lemos -- Text production and destruction in ancient Israel : ritual and political dimensions / Nathaniel B. Levtow -- The function of feasts : an anthropological perspective on Israelite religious festivals / Carol Meyers -- Theorizing violence in Biblical ritual contexts : the case of mourning rites / Saul M. Olyan -- Theories regarding witchcraft accusations and the Hebrew Bible / Rüdiger Schmitt -- Ritual theory, ritual texts, and the Priestly-Holiness writings of the Pentateuch / David P. Wright.

Print version record.

English.