In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar

In recent years certain 'revisionist' scholars have claimed that little can be known about pre-exilic Israel because the Old Testament was compiled only after the exile. This book argues that this is an extreme and untenable position, and that though the Old Testament was indeed edited in the exilic and post-exilic periods, many of the underlying sources go back to pre-exilic Israel and, when critically analysed, can shed much light on that period. This volume surveys not only historiography but also various aspects of what can be known of pre-exilic prophecy, law, wisdom and psalmody. The light shed by archaeology and ancient Near Eastern texts is also evaluated. This important work is the product of an impressive international team of seventeen noted scholars. All the contributions, previously unpublished, arise from papers delivered to the Oxford Old Testament seminar.