Reading the Sacred Scriptures: From Oral Tradition to Written Documents and Their Reception

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Illustrations
Tables
Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
1 The hermeneutic task
	The functions of the scriptures
		Reading layered texts
			The allegorical method
			The literalist method
	The hermeneutic task today
	Conclusion
	Note
	References
Part I
	2 Zoroastrian narrative: From the Avesta to the Book of Kings
		The Iranians
		The Avesta
		The Achaemenids
		The Sasanians
		Transmission
		Orality
		The Indo-European roots
		Iranian mythoepic narratives
			The heroic era
			Era of the kawis
			Eastern connections
			Kawi Vishtāspa and Zarathustra
			Zarathustra, Semiramis and Babylon
		Reception in western scholarship
		Notes
		References
	3 How the Hebrew Bible came to be
		Introduction
		What is the Hebrew Bible?
			Structure of the TaNaK
			The Bible’s “originating event”
		How old is the Hebrew Bible?
		How does one access the text of the Hebrew Bible?
		How the text of the Hebrew Bible came to be
			Phase one: oral/written units
			Phase two: the earliest attested text
			Phase three: the consonantal Hebrew text of approximately 100 ce
			Phase four: the great Masoretic manuscripts of ± 1000 ce
			The contribution of the early versions
		Hebrew Bible textual studies today
		Notes
		References
	4 Mishnah and midrash as process: The evolution of post-biblical Jewish Scriptures
		Introduction – the evolution of Judaism
		Academy and synagogue, mishnah and midrash
		From Bible to mishnah
		Extra-biblical literature
		The history of the Oral Torah
		Hillel and the development of Oral Torah
		The Mishnah
			First mishnah passage: the time for evening prayer
			Second mishnah passage: the economic claims of a wife upon her husband’s estate
		The Midrash
			First midrash: Torah as Logos
		The compassion of God
			Who is in the Jewish communion with God?
		Conclusion
		References
	5 How the early Christians read the Hebrew Scriptures
		The Hebrew Scriptures
		The early Christians
			Paul’s own use of the Hebrew Scriptures
			Matthew
			Hebrews
			The second century and beyond
		Conclusion
		References
	6 Reading the Sacred Scriptures: Some evidence from early Christian Ireland
		Setting the scene
		Scope
		Excavations
			Reading the codices of the Scriptures
			Liturgy
			Canon law
			Teaching
			Exegesis
			Imagination
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	7 Reading The Song of Songs: A Jewish and Christian love affair
		Introduction
		The Song of Songs in the Christian Church
		The origins of the Song of Songs
		The Middle Ages
		More recent readings
		Notes
		References
	8 Mis-reading the Qur’ān: A non-Muslim pitfall?
		Introduction: mis-reading the Qur’ān?
		Islam
		The beginning of revelation
		Chapter, verse and other divisions
		Some Islamic doctrines on the Qur’ān: inimitable, unclassifiable and untranslatable
		Muslim interpretation of the Qur’ā n: the science of Tafsīr
		The Qur’ān: key themes
		The Qur’ān as a physical object: etiquette and respect
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	9 Modern approaches to the Qur’ān
		Introduction: interpreting the Qur’ān
		Early Islamic modernists in the nineteenth century: Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Muhammad ‘Abduh
		The Qur’ān and political Islam in the twentieth century: Abu Al-A’la Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb
		Liberal approaches to the Qur’ān
		Feminist interpretations of the Qur’ān
		Conclusion
		Note
		References
	10 The reading of Scripture: A Baha’i approach
		Basic facts about the Baha’i Faith
		The claim of Baha’u’llah
		Reading the Scriptures
		An example of Baha’u’llah’s reading of Scripture
		The place of scriptural commentary in the writings of Baha’u’llah
			The conversation of scriptures
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
Part II
	11 Hinduism and its basic texts: The Vedas, Upanishads, Epics and Puranas
		Hinduism’s main principles
		Principal texts
			The Vedas
				The Rig Veda
				Yajur Veda
				Sama Veda
				Atharva Veda
		Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads
		Associated literature
		Later developments
		The Epics and Puranas
			The Mahabharata
			The Ramayana
			The Puranas
		Other trends in Hinduism
		Notes
		References
	12 The Buddhist reading of Scripture
		The Baskets
		Evolution
		The Sutra of the Lotus
		References
	13 Reading the Scripture from the Sikh tradition: The Guru Granth Sahib
		Intimacy with the sacred text
		Historical process
		Reading the singular divine
		Reading is praxis
		Platter of truth, contentment, and reflection
		Feminist hermeneutics
		Familiarizing with the other
		Scriptural passages
		Notes
		References
	14 Confucianism and its texts
		Early times, early texts
		The Han dynasty 206 bce – 220 ce
		The Middle Ages
		Modern China
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	15 The Daodejing as a sacred text
		How the DDJ came into being
		The DDJ: testifying to the way of sacrality
		The DDJ’s spiritual authority
		Notes
		References
	16 Sacred texts of the Shinto tradition: Historical sources of myth and ritual
		The study of Japanese mythology
		The classical Japanese texts
			The Kojiki (古事記: “Records of Ancient Matters”):
			The Nihonshoki (日本書紀: “Chronicles of Japan”):
		The mythology of creation
		Distinctive aspects of the mythology
			The relationship between kami and humanity
			Life, death, purity, and impurity
			The Engishiki (延喜式 the Book of the Era of Engi, 901–23 ce)
		Succeeding eras
		Conclusion
		References
Part III
	17 The Book of Isaiah and its readers: The exegetical value of reception history
		“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1: 18)
		Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12)
		An oracle concerning Moab (Isaiah 16–17)
		The Destruction of Sennacherib (Isaiah 36–37)
		“Here I am, here I am” (Isaiah 65: 1–2)
		Notes
		References
	18 The madness of King Saul: An interpretation of I Samuel 9–31 in music
		Introduction
		King Saul in Christian tradition
		The person of Saul
			Insiders and outsiders
			Saul’s dysfunctional relationship with his children
				Merab
				Michal
				Jonathan
		Saul’s mental illness
			The evil spirit and the mystical effect of music therapy
			The story of David’s combat with Goliath
		Saul’s search for David
			The priests of Nob
			The reception of Psalm 52 in music
			David spares Saul’s life on two occasions
		Saul’s night visit to the Witch of Endor
			Le Roi David
			In Guilty Night
		The Battle of Gilboa: Saul’s suicide
			Tsar Saul: Pes’n Saula pered boyem
			The ambiguity over Saul’s death
			The desecration of Saul’s body
			The Chronicler’s account
			David’s lament over Jonathan and Saul
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	19 Parallel narrative methods: Ramayana in the arts of Southeast Asia
		Strategies of storytelling in India
		Transmission of Indian culture to Southeast Asia
		Early renderings of the Ramayana in coastal and insular Southeast Asia
		Localization of the Ramayana in Java and Bali
		Transformations of the Ramayana in mainland Southeast Asia
		Epic as a performance today
		Notes
		References
Index