Eclecticism and the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE) project
I recently finished an essay for a volume celebrating the legacy of James Barr. In my essay I decided to address two issues that felt directly related to some of Barr’s better known published work: 1)...
View ArticleEclecticism and the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE) project, part 2
A continuation of the first post. Part 2: General Objections to Eclecticism If Hendel effectively counters the objections to an eclectic Hebrew text, why would (or should) anyone continue to oppose it?...
View ArticleEclecticism and the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE) project, Part 3
A continuation of the first and second posts. Part 3: Specific Objections, Part A Beyond the principled objection to it given above, a more practical objection against the project is the lack of any...
View ArticleEclecticism and the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE) project, Part 4
The final installment to the first, second, and third posts on this topic. Part 4: Specific Objections, Part Two (and a Conclusion) Unfortunately, Fox’s HBCE commentary leaves unaddressed at least...
View ArticleEclecticism: an additional thought
I knew my position on eclecticism (and the way I articulated it) was provocative. But I had received some excellent feedback during the process from trusted readers (at least one of whom is writing a...
View ArticleEclecticism: a final thought
One more issue has been bouncing around in my head, though I didn’t work it into my essay. Though I’ve been in academic biblical studies for nearly 30 years, I have long wondered about the real purpose...
View ArticleThe Alphabet was not Invented by the Hebrews
Note here for the promised link to a related essay on the alphabet. A review of Douglas Petrovich, The World’s Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script, with a...
View ArticleThe invention of the alphabet
I’ve written a more popular essay* on the early alphabet over at The Bible and Interpretation. Go there for a bit of light reading. *Even my popular essays have footnotes. I will not claim that this...
View ArticlePhilology, Phrenology—What’s the difference?
I first saw an announcement about a movement to retread the worn out tires of philology in biblical studies last spring. It was around April 1 and I honestly wondered at first if it was an April Fool’s...
View ArticlePhilology in the Modern Academy
In my last post, I used satire to address an important issue that has surfaced in Biblical studies in the last few years as well as in the general humanities over the last decade or so. Apparently my...
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