The Priests in the Prophets: The Portrayal of Priests, Prophets, and Other Religious Specialists in the Latter Prophets

Description

Since at least the 19th century Hebrew Bible scholarship has traditionally seen priests and prophets as natural opponents, with different social spheres and world views. In recent years several studies have started to question this perspective. The present volume, arising from a meeting of the Prophetic Texts and their Ancient Contexts Group of the Society of Biblical Literature, represents a series of papers on the general question of the priests as portrayed in the Latter Prophets. The essays published here challenge many of past and current views about the relationship between priests and prophets. They also provide insights into the place of priests, prophets, and some other religious specialists in Israelite and Judean society in pre-exilic and post-exilic times. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, 408

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull. He is founder and convenor of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology. A recent book is Ancient Israel:What Do We Know and How Do We Know it? Alice Ogdon Bellis is Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Howard University School of Divinity, Washington, D.C.

"This research is indeed indispensable to our ongoing attempt to appreciate the social and religious factors that motivated the prophets' criticism of the priests."- Jacob L. Wright, The Society of Biblical Literature, July 2005 "...informative and valuable...I recommend the book for libraries." -The Catholic Biblical Quarterly * Catholic Biblical Quarterly * 'This volume challenges old established conclusions, such as he perceived antagonism between priest and prophet, with a fresh look at prophetic texts. It contributes a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between sections of Israelite society, not only between priest and prophets, but including diviners, cult personnel and scribes as well.' Katherine J. Dell, Expository Times, 1 August 2006 -- Katherine J. Dell * Expository Times * Synopsis' of individual Reviews by Ehud Ben Zvi / Bryan D. Bibb / Corrine Patton / Margaret S. Odell / Julie Galambush / Richard D Nelson / James R. Linville / Joachim Schaper / Daniel E Fleming / Ziony Zevit / Lester L Grabbe in the International Review of Biblical Studies * Intl. Review of Biblical Studies *