Overview
Abram to Abraham explores the Abraham saga (11:27-22:24) through a literary lens, following the legendary figure of Abraham as he navigates the arduous odyssey to nationhood. Rather than overlook the textual discrepancies, repetitions and contradictions long noted by diachronic scholars, this study tackles them directly, demonstrating how many problems of the ancient text in fact hold the key to deeper understanding of the narrative and its objectives. Therefore, the book frequently notes the classic division of the text according to primary sources, but offers an alternative, more harmonious reading based on the assumption that the narrative forms a single, intentionally designed unit. The narrative’s artistic design is especially evident in its arrangement of the two halves of the story around the protagonists’ change of name. The stories of Abram and Sarai in the first half of the cycle (11:27-16:16) are parallel to the stories of Abraham and Sarah in the second half (18:1-22:24). A close reading of this transformation in the biblical narrative illuminates the moral and theological values championed by the figure of Abraham as luminary, soldier, family man, and loyal subject of God.
Full Product Details
Author: Michael Fieger ,
Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes ,
Jonathan Grossman
Publisher: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Imprint: Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Edition: New edition
Volume: 11
Weight: 0.830kg
ISBN: 9783034320771
ISBN 10: 3034320779
Pages: 574
Publication Date: 02 February 2016
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
[...] Grossman weaves a masterful synthesis, in which the conflicts and ambiguities in the Abraham narrative are shown to be essential elements in our understanding of the inherent complexity of the mission of the followers of Abraham. (David Curwin, TRADITION 50.1 2017)
«[...] Grossman weaves a masterful synthesis, in which the conflicts and ambiguities in the Abraham narrative are shown to be essential elements in our understanding of the inherent complexity of the mission of the followers of Abraham.» (David Curwin, TRADITION 50.1 2017) «[...] on apprendra beaucoup de cette analyse très fouillée.» (D. Luciani, Nouvelle revue théologique 140/1 2018) «Insgesamt ist Abram to Abraham eine kompetent geschriebene Kommentierung der Abrahamgeschichte, die die Verbindungslinien betont und die vorhandenen Widersprüche ohne Zuhilfenahme von Quellenhypothesen zu erklären sucht [...] (Benjamin Ziemer, Theologische Revue 5/2017)
Author Information
Jonathan Grossman is a faculty member of the Department of Bible at Bar Ilan University. His main field of interest is the Bible as literature. Among his previous books are Esther: The Outer Narrative and the Hidden Reading (2011); Ruth: Bridges and Boundaries (Peter Lang, 2015); Text and Subtext: On Exploring Biblical Narrative Design (2015).
