Victor H. Matthews

A brief history of ancient Israel

Grounded in the latest archeological developments, Victor Matthewss A Brief History of Ancient Israel presents a concise history of Israel covering the ancestral period, conquest and settlement, the monarchy, and both the exilic and postexilic periods. Using supplemental figures and insets, the author concentrates on providing a cogent and condensed discussion of events. He examines historical geography, archaeological data, and, where relevant, comparative cultural materials from other ancient Near Eastern civilizations. With an accessible yet high-quality introduction, A Brief History of Ancient Israel will be of immense value to both students of the Old Testament and the scholars who teach them.

Hospitality and Hostility in Judges 4

The customs that make up the hospitality code in the ancient Middle East, as portrayed in the biblical narrative, demonstrate the intent to maintain the honor of person, household and community by offering service and protection to strangers. Analogies between the code of hospitality found in the biblical narrative and more modem communities in the Middle East are striking. A model of behavior operates, which attempts to transform the hostile stranger into a non-threatening guest. However, if the protocol of custom is violated by either the guest or host, all restraints and protections are set aside and the host may become hostile. The episode in Judges 4 is explained by the application of the hospitality model. The author/editor manipulates customary expectations by using a scheme of systematic violation of the code of hospitality in working toward the climactic and ironic end.

Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East

This striking new contribution to gender studies demonstrates the essential role of Israelite and Near East law in the historical analysis of gender. The theme of these studies of Babylonian, Hittite, Assyrian, and Israelite law is this: What is the significance of gender in the formulation of ancient law and custom? Feminist scholarship is enriched by these studies in family history and the status of women in antiquity. At the same time, conventional legal history is repositioned, as new and classical texts are interpreted from the vantage point of feminist theory and social history. Papers from SBL Biblical Law Section form the core of this collection.

The Anthropology of Clothing in the Joseph Narrative

One motif found throughout the Joseph narrative which has not received a great deal of attention is the garment motif. Garments are central to Josephs position within his family and in the households he serves in Egypt. In each case he is given a distinctive garment and in the first three cases he leaves it behind, initiating a status change. In the final episode, when he has revealed himself to his family and is preparing to bring them to Egypt, Joseph reverses the pattern and gives garments to others (Gen. 45.22), marking the final status change in which he becomes the master.

The Determination of Social Identity in the Story of Ruth

This study focuses on the formation of social identity in ancient Israel. In particular, the issue raised here is the manner in which displaced individuals are able to integrate or reintegrate themselves into a local community. The process, as exemplified in the story of Ruth and Naomi, demonstrates the movement from a liminal social condition to a liminal spatial placement to a defined social condition within an established social space.

The Wells of Gerar

Using Genesis 21:22-32 and 26:12-22 as his basis, and drawing on helpful analogies from ancient Mesopotamia and from the contemporary Middle East, the author demonstrates how one may attempt to reconstruct the social world of the biblical patriarchs.

Studies in biblical law : from the Hebrew Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls

Gershon Brin examines the development of biblical law, suggesting that it may be due to different authors with different legal outlooks, or that the differing policies were required in response to different social needs, etc. Biblical laws appearing in the Dead Sea Scrolls literature are treated in a separate unit. Study of this subject can shed light both on the biblical laws as such, as well as on the manner of their reworking by the Judaean Desert sect. Brin also discusses here questions of the style, the idea, and the historical and ideological background underlying the reworking of these laws in Qumran. The second part of the book presents a comprehensive picture of the issues involved in the laws of the first-born, a subject that has legal, social and religious implications.

Making Your Point: The Use of Gestures in Ancient Israel

More than simple narrative embellishment, the descriptions of physical gestures or other body movements by characters in biblical stories are a rich source of cultural information. As is the case with live dialogue, various forms of nonverbal communication both accompany and enliven the scene in a written narrative. They convey emotion, dominance, and social status, and they help to illustrate a position or specific point being made by the dialogue partners. Therefore the use of kinesics and other methods of analyzing nonverbal communication become a valuable interpretative tool for biblical scholars. This study examines categories of nonverbal comunication and provides an annotated survey of their use in biblical narrative.

The Social Context of Law in the Second Temple Period

In this study, cultural expectation, situational expedience, and adaptation to new social norms will be the guide for the examination of legal statements. It will be determined that in the post-exilic period, legal pronouncement blended with political expediency and religious zeal to shape the social context. Concerns over defensive posture within disputed regions, maintenance of protocol and recognition of the rights of posted garrisons in conquered territories (as at Elephantine), and the general sense that people who can be defined as identifiable groups and set in fixed patterns are easier to control may have separately or together driven Persian policy. The reforms imposed by Nehemiah and Ezra suggest both imperial meddling as well as cultural incursion by the advocates of Diasporic Judaism and its more rigid concept of law and ethnic identity.

Pastoralists and Patriarchs

Subsistence in ancient Palestine was based upon a mixed economy. The Patriarchs of the Old Testament worked and prospered within this system.