Bible Review

The Talmud was written and collected between 200 B.C.E. and 500 C.E. It has come down to us in two versions, called the Palestinian Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.

See Martin A. Cohen, “The Prophets as Revolutionaries: A Sociopolitical Analysis,” BAR 05:03; and Margaret Parker, “Exploring Four Persistent Prophetic Images,” BR 06:05.

See Victor Hurowitz, “P—Understanding the Priestly Source,” BR 12:03.

See Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The Documentary Hypothesis in Trouble,” BR 01:04; and P. Kyle McCarter, “A New Challenge to the Documentary Hypothesis,” BR 04:02.)

See James Sanders, “Spinning the Bible,” BR 14:03.

Tikva Frymer-Kensky, “Forgotten Heroines of the Exodus,” BR 13:06.

Adele Berlin, “Ruth: Little Book, Big Theme,” BR 12:04.

The Hebrew word is the general word for “play,” but it has a wide range of meanings, from expressions of joy to sexual overtones as well. See Jonathan Kirsch, “What Did Sarah See?” BR 14:05.

I refer to Genesis 16:12 pere’ ’adam “a wild ass of a man,” usually understood as an insult but in truth to be understood in very positive terms. The wild ass, or onager, is a noble beast, roaming the wilderness, undomesticated, with no human as his master.