Transforming Literature into Scripture: Texts as Cult Objects at Ninevah and Qumran

Updated by: 
Oren Ableman
Research notes: 
Reader Checked OA 30/09/2013
Reference type: 
Book
Author(s): 
Hobson, Russell
year: 
2012
Full title: 

Transforming Literature into Scripture: Texts as Cult Objects at Ninevah and Qumran

Series Title: 
Bible World
Place of Publication: 
Sheffield
Publisher: 
Equinox
Abstract: 

Transforming Literature into Scripture examines how the early textual traditions of ancient Israel – stories, laws, and rituals – were transformed into sacred writings. By comparing evidence from two key collections from antiquity – the royal library at Nineveh and the biblical manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls – the book traces the stabilisation of textual traditions in the ancient Near East towards fixed literary prototypes.

The study presents a new methodology which enables the quantification, categorisation and statistical analysis of texts from different languages, writing systems, and media. The methodology is tested on a wide range of text genres from the cuneiform and biblical traditions in order to determine which texts tend towards stabilised forms.

Transforming Literature into Scripture reveals how authoritative literary collections metamorphosed into fixed ritualised texts and will be of interest to scholars across biblical, Judaic and literary studies.

Hebrew bible: 
Book: 
Genesis
Book: 
Exodus
Book: 
Leviticus
Book: 
Numbers
Book: 
Deuteronomy
URL: 
http://www.acumenpublishing.co.uk/display.asp?K=e2012102917245881&m=11&ds=reference&dc=32&sort=sort_date/d&mw=1&st_01=bs&sf_01=subj_code
Label: 
25/02/2013
Record number: 
16 790