Once More, with Feeling: Rewritten Scripture in Ancient Judaism - A Review of Recent Developments

Use of the term ‘Rewritten Bible’ or ‘Rewritten Scripture’ to describe a group or genre of ancient Jewish texts has proven to be a source of vigorous scholarly debate over the past two decades. While one might hope for this debate to bring a growing consensus and clarity to our use of ‘Rewritten Bible (or Scripture)’, this survey of three recent monographs dealing with texts characterised as such demonstrates the confusion and disagreement which remain. This article seeks to draw together the main threads of the debate, provide an assessment of the current status quaestionis , draw attention to lines for further enquiry, and propose possible ways forward for some of the issues surrounding the use of these terms. Ultimately it is argued that the term remains useful, but only if used in a relatively restricted sense.Copyright © Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies