The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction

537 Pages·2011·7.09 MB·English

by  David M. Carr

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Th e Formation of the Hebrew Bible
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Th e Formation
of the Hebrew Bible
A New Reconstruction
David M. Carr

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3

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carr, David McLain, 1961–
Th e formation of the Hebrew Bible : a new reconstruction / David M. Carr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-974260-8
1. Bible. O.T.—Canon. 2. Bible. O.T.—Evidences, authority, etc. I. Title.
BS1135.C37 2011
221.1'2—dc22 2010044479
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
■ T o my Doktorvater with gratitude, James A. Sanders
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book contains fragments of several prior (or concurrent) publications where
I explored various topics relevant to it: “Empirische Perspektiven auf das
Deuteronomistische Geschichtswerk,” in D as deuteronomistische Geschichtswerk:
Redaktions- und religionsgeschichtliche Perspektiven zur ‘Deuteronomismus’-
Diskussion in Tora und Vorderen Propheten, ed. Markus Witte, et al., BZAW 365
(Berlin: de Gruyter, 2006), 1–17; “The Rise of the Torah,” in Th e Pentateuch as
Torah: New Models for Understanding Its Promulgation and Acceptance, ed. Gary
Knoppers and Bernard Levinson (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2007), 39–56;
“A Response [to Jacob Wright, R ebuilding Identity ],” JHS 8 (2008): 11–20, http://
www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/Articles/article_73.pdf; “The Tel Zayit Abecedary in
(Social) Context,” in Literate Culture and Tenth-Century Canaan: The Tel Zayit
Abecedary in Context , ed. Ron Tappy and P. Kyle McCarter (Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 2008), 113–29; “Torah on the Heart: Literary Jewish Textuality
within Its Ancient Near Eastern Context,” Oral Tradition 25 (2010); “Scribal
Processes of Coordination/Harmonization and the Formation of the First
Hexateuch(s),” in The Pentateuch: International Perspectives on Current Research ,
ed. Thomas Dozeman, Baruch Schwartz, and Konrad Schmid, FAT (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 63–83; “Refractions of Trauma in Biblical Prophecy,” in
Interpreting Exile: Interdisciplinary Studies of Displacement and Deportation in
Biblical and Modern Contexts , ed. Frank Ames, SBL Ancient Israel and Its
Literature (Atlanta: SBL, 2011); ‘‘ ‘Empirical’ Comparison and the Analysis of the
Relationship of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets,” in P entatuech,
Hexateuch or Enneateuch: Identifying Literary Works in Genesis through Kings , ed.
Konrad Schmid and Thomas Dozeman (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature,
2011); “Changes in Pentateuchal Criticism,” in The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament:
The History of Its Interpretation—The Modern Period: Twentieth Century , ed.
Magne Saebo (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011); and “The Many Uses
of Intert extuality in Old Testament Studies: Actual and Potential,” in Helsinki
IOSOT Congress Volume, ed. Martti Nissinen (VTSup; Leiden: Brill, 2011), 519–49.
Despite significant overlap in some cases (providing ample data for any future
source critic of this work), this book represents a final redaction and synthesis of
the material in those studies (used with prior permission). In addition, while
working on this book, I wrote I ntroduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and
Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible (Oxford: Blackwell, 2010; also included [in
briefer form] in A n Introduction to the Bible with Colleen Conway and the same
publisher), which only rarely reflects the newer ideas introduced in this book,
since I did not judge an introductory textbook the best place to discuss theses
untested in scholarly discussion.
F inally, I wish to specifically thank some of the many people whose support
and critiques have contributed to the completion of this book. In addition to
viii ■ Acknowledgments
numerous colleagues who have discussed and critiqued ideas in this book as I
have presented them at various conferences, lectures, and symposia over the past
five years, I want to offer special thanks to those who read and critiqued earlier
drafts of chapters actually published in this book and to the colleagues more
numerous than I can recall (e.g., William Morrow, William Toonan, Baruch
Schwartz) who shared work in progress with me. I particularly benefited from a
mini-seminar on the Song of Songs on December 18, 2008, where several col-
leagues (including Gary Rendsburg, Martti Nissinen, Chip Dobbs-Allsopp, and
Yair Zakovitch, among others) circulated materials we had written on the Song
of Songs and critiqued each others’ work. The spirited discussion at that session
was crucial in leading me to reconceptualize my book and rearrange the pro-
jected order of chapters into the form in which they now stand. Another major
turning point for the composition of my book came in January 2010, with a
major conference on the formation of the Pentateuch in Zurich (organized by
Konrad Schmid with Baruch Schwartz and Thomas Dozeman) and then a
smaller day-long discussion of my draft chapter on the formation of the
Hexateuch hosted in Tübingen by Erhard Blum and including Konrad Schmid
and Jan Gertz. Finally, toward the end of my writing process, I invited a number
of additional colleagues to read one or more chapters of my draft book, many of
whom I knew would disagree in informative ways with my conclusions. A
number of them generously offered to read and critique my materials. They
include Michael Fox, Edward Greenstein, Sara Milstein, Christophe Nihan, Kent
Reynolds, Konrad Schmid, Benjamin Sommer, Jeffrey Stackert, Marvin Sweeney,
and Jacob Wright. At a late stage two doctoral students of mine, Todd Kennedy
and Aron Freidenreich, stepped in to offer excellent copyediting assistance on
some troublesome chapters. As always, none of these fine scholars should be
held responsible for shortcomings in the book as it stands now. It is better than
it was thanks to their gracious gift of expertise amidst their own busy schedules.
More broadly, I remain grateful for the support offered by my institution, Union
Theological Seminary in New York, for my ongoing research, both in the form of
sabbaticals and the provision of significant research time during the teaching
term itself. The Burke Library of Union and associated libraries of the Columbia
University system have remained a terrific research resource throughout this
process. In addition, I have benefited in many direct and indirect ways from the
intellectual stimulation of the excellent community of scholars of the Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament in the New York area at NYU, JTS, UTS, Fordham,
Princeton, Yale, and other local institutions. Even when we are not discussing
issues together at the Columbia Hebrew Bible Seminar or over drinks and/or
dinner, I find myself challenged to offer observations worthy of their
consideration as I work alone on my computer, and their insights have been far
more influential on me (by direct oral means) than is evident sometimes in the
breadth of my citation of their written work. I remain deeply grateful to these
colleagues and to my wife and fellow biblical scholar, Colleen Conway (Professor
of New Testament, Seton Hall University), for supporting and calling forth the
best in me. Finally, I dedicate this book in gratitude to my Doktorvater,
Acknowledgments ■ ix
James A. Sanders, with whom I share a love for both investigation of the overall
growth of the Hebrew Bible and study of primary texts, even if I often do not
express that love in the same way that he has in his distinguished career.
—David M. Carr
August 31, 2010