Overview

The seventeen studies in Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam explore the biblical origins of the golden calf story in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and 1 Kings, as well as its reception in a variety of sources: Hebrew Scriptures (Hosea, Jeremiah, Psalms, Nehemiah), Second Temple Judaism (Animal Apocalypse, Pseudo-Philo, Philo, Josephus), rabbinic Judaism, the New Testament (Acts, Paul, Hebrews, Revelation) and early Christianity (among Greek, Latin, and Syriac writers), as well as the Qur’an and Islamic literature. Expert contributors explore how each ancient author engaged with the calf traditions—whether explicitly, implicitly, or by clearly and consciously avoiding them—and elucidate how the story was used both negatively and positively for didactic, allegorical, polemical, and even apologetic purposes.

Full Product Details

9789004386754

Table of Contents

Reviews

The chapters devoted to the golden calf in rabbinic, patristic, Syriac, and Islamic sources best deliver what the collection's title promises and will be useful not only to scholars but also to students; each of these chapters would serve as a useful introduction to scriptural interpretation in general. - Dulcinea Boesenberg, Creighton University, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 82.1, 2020. The strength of the collection is that its 17 chapters maintain a very clear focus on a single theme. Its breadth is also impressive, including biblical and post-biblical Jewish, Christian and Islamic texts. (...) The standard of sholarship is high and there are comprehensive indices. - Jessie Rogers, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 42:5, 2020. The strength of the volume is its breadth, as it covers both the (textual) origin of the calf tradition (whether that be located in Exodus, Deuteronomy or 1 Kings) and various interpretive trajectories down to and including the early Islamic period. (...) the editors and contributors are to be congratulated for producing a handsome, interesting, and impeccably edited volume. - James N. Rhodes, Columbiana, Ohio, Review of Biblical Literature 01, 2021.

The chapters devoted to the golden calf in rabbinic, patristic, Syriac, and Islamic sources best deliver what the collection's title promises and will be useful not only to scholars but also to students; each of these chapters would serve as a useful introduction to scriptural interpretation in general. Dulcinea Boesenberg, Creighton University, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 82.1, 2020.

Author Information

Eric F. Mason, Ph.D. (2005), University of Notre Dame, is Professor and Julius R. Mantey Chair of Biblical Studies at Judson University, Elgin, Illinois. His research focuses on Hebrews, the Catholic Epistles, and various aspects of Second Temple Judaism. Edmondo F. Lupieri, Lic. (1973), Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy, is the John Cardinal Cody Endowed Chair in Theology and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Loyola University Chicago. His most recent book is Una sposa per Gesù (Carocci, 2017).

Tab Content 6

Countries Available