Reclaiming the Hebrew Bible

Ran HaCohen, Michelle Engel

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9783110247572
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

The 19th century saw the rise of Biblical Criticism in German universities, culminating in Wellhausen's radical revision of the history of biblical times and religion. For German-Jewish intellectuals, the academic discipline promised emancipation from traditional Christian readings of Scripture – but at the same time suffered from what was perceived as anti-Jewish bias, this time in scholarly robes. "Reclaiming the Hebrew Bible"? describes the German-Jewish strategies to cope with Biblical Criticism – varying from an enthusiastic welcome in the early decades, through modified adoption in Jewish Reform circles, to resolute rejection in the Orthodox camp. The study surveys the awareness and attitudes towards Biblical Criticism in the popular German-Jewish periodicals, and analyzes in depth the works of the first modern Jewish historian I. M. Jost (1793–1860), of the theologian S. L. Steinheim (1789–1866), and of the Reform activist Siegmund Maybaum (1844–1919).

Table of contents

• Frontmatter
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part One – Biblical Criticism in the Society for Jewish Culture and Science
• Part Two – Biblical Criticism in the Second Third of the Nineteenth Century
• Part Three – The Graf-Wellhausen Era
• Conclusion
• Backmatter