The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics

Balances historical and contemporary concerns in an engaging and informative way, drawing connections between ancient and contemporary ethical problems.

C. L. Crouch (Edited by)

9781108461511, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 January 2021

350 pages
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.45 kg

'The book could serve as a reader to accompany coursework on the scriptures and ethics … Highly recommended.' J. W. Wright, Choice Connect

The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics offers an engaging and informative response to a wide range of ethical issues. Drawing connections between ancient and contemporary ethical problems, the essays address a variety of topics, including student loan debt, criminal justice reform, ethnicity and inclusion, family systems, and military violence. The volume emphasizes the contextual nature of ethical reflection, stressing the importance of historical knowledge and understanding in illuminating the concerns, the logic, and the intentions of the biblical texts. Twenty essays, all specially commissioned for this volume, address the texts' historical and literary contexts and identify key social, political, and cultural factors affecting their ethical ideas. They also explore how these texts can contribute to contemporary ethical discussions. The Cambridge Companion to the Hebrew Bible and Ethics is suitable for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in liberal arts colleges and universities, as well as seminaries.

Part I. Legal Ethics: 1. The decalogue: an icon of ethical discourse Dominik Markl
2. The Talionic principle and its calibrations Sandra Jacobs
3. Community violence in Deutoronomy Caryn Reeder
4. The construction of gender roles in the Book of the Covenant and in Deutoronomy Carolyn J. Pressler
5. Economics and the law Albino Barrera
Part II. Narrative Ethics: 6. Creation ethics in Genesis Matthew Schlimm
7. Migrant ethics in the Jacob narratives C. A. Strine
8. Settler mandates and the Book of Joshua Mark Brett
9. David's ethic of togetherness and its victims Richard Smith
10. Ethics and ethnicity in the Deutoronomistic history Brian Rainey
Part III. Prophetic Ethics: 11. Religion and ethics in Isaiah Bohdan Hrobon
12. Covenant in the Book of Jeremiah Else K. Holt
13. Ezekiel and criminal justice reform C. L. Crouch
14. Poverty and social justice in Micah Matthew Coomber
15. War violence in Hosea, Amos, and Nahum Stacy Davis
Part IV. Wisdom/Poetic Ethics: 16. Teaching complex ethical thinking with Proverbs Anne W. Stewart
17. Divine justice in the Book of Job C. -L Seow
18. Justice and retribution in the Psalms Tarah Van De Wiele
Part V. Faithful Ethics: 19. Jewish ethics and the Hebrew bible Deborah Barer
20. Christian ethics and the Hebrew bible Julián Andrés González Holguín.

Subject Areas: Judaism [HRJ], Old Testaments [HRCF1], Bibles [HRCF], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]