Bible Review

The following essay represents the substance of my remarks at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, in New Orleans, November 1996, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Muilenburg.

See, for example, John Dominic Crossan, “Why Christians Must Search for the Historical Jesus,” BR 12:02.

See the reviews in the April and June 1993 BR (Bible Books, BR 09:02 and Bible Books, BR 09:03).

Midrash (plural, midrashim) refers to a nonliteral elaboration of a biblical text, often for homiletic purposes. Midrash is a genre of rabbinic literature.

An exception may be Ashyahu, the name of an Israelite king on a recently published ostracon (see Hershel Shanks, “Three Shekels for the Lord,” BAR 23:06).

Bullae, lumps of clay used to seal documents, are often stamped with the sender’s official seal. See, for example, Hershel Shanks, “‘Signature’ of King Hezekiah’s Servant Recovered,” BAR 01:04.

One of the latest names is another Talmai, in this case referring to the king of Geshur and father-in-law of David (2 Samuel 3:3, 13:37; 1 Chronicles 3:2). See Timothy Renner, Moshe Kochavi, Ira Spar and Esther Yadin, “Rediscovered! The Land of Geshur,” BAR 18:04.

The Hurrians were a non-Semitic people who appeared in northern Syria early in the second millennium B.C.E.

See Kenneth Kitchen, “The Patriarchal Age: Myth or History?” BAR 21:02.