Making sense of Old Testament genocide : Christian interpretations of herem passages / Christian Hofreiter. [print]

By:

Hofreiter, Christian, 1975- [Author]

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Oxford theology and religion monographsPublication details: Oxford ; New York, New York : Oxford University Press, (c)2018.Edition: First editionDescription: x, 282 pages ; 24 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780198810902

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

BS1199.H713.M355 2018
BS1199

Available additional physical forms:

Summary: The divine commands to annihilate the seven nations living in Canaan (to 'devote them to destruction', herem in Biblical Hebrew) are perhaps the most morally troubling texts of the Hebrew and Christian bibles. 'Making Sense of Old Testament Genocide: Christian Interpretations of "Herem" Passages' addreses the challenges these texts pose. It presents the various ways in which interpreters from the first century to the twenty-first have attempted to make sense of them. The most troubling approach was no doubt to read them as divine sanction and inspiration for violence and war: the analysis of the use of "herem" texts in the crusades, the inquisition, and various colonial conquests illustrates this violent way of reading the texts, which has such alarming contemporary relevance. Three additional approaches can also be traced to antiquity, viz. pre-critical, non-literal, and divine-command-theory readings. Finally, critics of Christianity from antiquity via the Enlightenment to today have referenced "herem" texts: their critical voices are included as well.

Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Circulating Book (checkout times vary with patron status)	G. Allen Fleece Library CIRCULATING COLLECTION	Non-fiction	BS1199.V56 H64 2018 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		31923001741111

Browsing G. Allen Fleece Library shelves, Shelving location: CIRCULATING COLLECTION, Collection: Non-fiction Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)

Previous								Next
Previous	BS1199.T44T48 1983 Theodicy in the Old Testament /	BS1199.T45B67 Christ in the Old Testament /	BS1199.T68T73 2007 Tradition and theology in the Old Testament /	BS1199.V56 H64 2018 Making sense of Old Testament genocide : Christian interpretations of herem passages /	BS1199.V56W74 2015 Wrestling with the violence of God : soundings in the Old Testament /	BS1199.V58I2 2014 'I lifted my eyes and saw' : reading dream and vision reports in the Hebrew Bible /	BS1199.W2C72 The problem of war in the Old Testament /	Next

Includes bibliographies and index.

The divine commands to annihilate the seven nations living in Canaan (to 'devote them to destruction', herem in Biblical Hebrew) are perhaps the most morally troubling texts of the Hebrew and Christian bibles. 'Making Sense of Old Testament Genocide: Christian Interpretations of "Herem" Passages' addreses the challenges these texts pose. It presents the various ways in which interpreters from the first century to the twenty-first have attempted to make sense of them. The most troubling approach was no doubt to read them as divine sanction and inspiration for violence and war: the analysis of the use of "herem" texts in the crusades, the inquisition, and various colonial conquests illustrates this violent way of reading the texts, which has such alarming contemporary relevance. Three additional approaches can also be traced to antiquity, viz. pre-critical, non-literal, and divine-command-theory readings. Finally, critics of Christianity from antiquity via the Enlightenment to today have referenced "herem" texts: their critical voices are included as well.

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.