Monthly Archives: April 2011

I’ve been reading Jeffrey Tigay’s excurses in his Jewish Publication Society commentary on Deuteronomy.  What I like is Tigay’s clear explanation of the different scholarly positions on issues. In this post, I’ll talk about Tigay’s excursus on “Child Sacrifice and … Continue reading →

I finished up Niels Peter Lemche’s Early Israel.  I have four items: 1.  On pages 329-336, Lemche talks about the Sea of Reeds and Exodus 15.  He argues against S.I.L. Norin, whose position is that the union of the Exodus … Continue reading →

For my write-up today of Niels Peter Lemche’s Early Israel, I have three items: 1.  Lemche talks at length about whether ancient Israel consisted primarily of nuclear families, or extended families.  On the basis of archaeology and the Hebrew Bible, … Continue reading →

I’m continuing my way through Niels Peter Lemche’s Early Israel.  In this post, I have two items: 1.  On pages 136-137, Lemche states the following: “Nomadic societies are usually a-historical, which means that with the exception of a few rather … Continue reading →

I’m continuing my series on John Van Seters’ treatment of Exodus 19-20 in Life of Moses.  I’m doing this one bite at a time.  In this post, I’ll be trying to understand Van Seters’ argument on pages 272-273. I’ll start … Continue reading →

I’m continuing my way through Niels Peter Lemche’s Early Israel.  In this post, I’ll talk about William Foxwell Albright’s views on the historicity of the biblical Conquest narratives, which Lemche discusses on pages 56-57.  I’ll also consult an article by … Continue reading →

I’m continuing my series on John Van Seters’ discussion of Exodus 19-20 in Life of Moses.  Yesterday, I talked about Van Seters’ division of sources for those chapters.  In this post, I’ll quote Van Seters’ summary of the traditional Documentary … Continue reading →