Oxford Handbook Religion Collection (31 vols.)

by John J. Collins; Paul Dafydd Jones; Paul T. Nimmo; Danna Nolan Fewell

and

52 more

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

, 2002–2021

Overview

One of the most prestigious and successful strands of Oxford’s scholarly publishing, the Handbook series contains in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. Oxford Handbooks are guided by a world-class editorial board that brings together the world’s leading scholars to discuss research and the latest thinking on a range of major topics. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. Handbook articles review the key issues and cutting-edge debates and provide arguments for how those debates might evolve.

Key Features

• Provides an invaluable resource and reference for scholars, students, and general readers
• Features in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field
• Offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research

Product Details

• Title: Oxford Handbook Religion Collection
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Volumes: 31
• Resource Type: Handbooks
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: {F0C53FE7-748D-4742-AD5B-8C453D46265C}

The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature

• Editor: John J. Collins
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 564

The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic is a thematic examination of ancient apocalyptic literature and its analogues in modern times. Apocalypticism first appears in Judaism in the Hellenistic period in the books of Daniel and Enoch. There is a distinctive genre “apocalypse” that describes the disclosure of a transcendent world, both spatial and temporal, to a human recipient, who is usually identified pseudonymously with a famous ancient figure. Apocalyptic themes, however, are also found more broadly in other genres, such as prophecy and wisdom. This volume explores the relationships between apocalypticism and several other genres, including prophecy, wisdom, dreams and visions, scriptural interpretation, and mysticism. It also explores the social function of apocalyptic literature and its use as resistance literature, both in ancient and in modern postcolonial perspective. Another section of the volume is devoted to apocalyptic rhetoric, in both Jewish and Christian contexts, and to the interpretive tradition that treats it as an allegory for political events. Several essays explore themes in apocalyptic theology, such as dualism and determinism. Essays in this section also explore its relation to the Torah in Jewish tradition, its role in Christian origins and its adaptation by Gnostics and Manichaeans. The final section of the volume considers the role of apocalypticism in contemporary Christianity and Judaism, especially its relevance to religious radicalism and violence, and also its role in popular culture.

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative

• Editor: Danna Nolan Fewell
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 656

Comprised of contributions from scholars across the globe, The Oxford Handbook to Biblical Narrative offers critical treatments of both the Bible’s narratives and topics related to the Bible’s narrative constructions. The volume’s fifty-one chapters fall into five sections: The first section covers the general work of biblical narrative, the history of biblical narrative criticism, the socio-historical influences on biblical narrative, and issues of narrative genre. The second section focuses on the biblical narratives themselves, from Genesis to Revelation, providing both overviews of literary-critical treatments of individual biblical books and innovative readings of biblical narratives informed by a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks. The third section targets how various kinds of bodies are constructed in biblical narrative. The fourth section explores the natural, social, and conceptual landscapes of biblical story worlds. The final section raises questions of reading, particularly the relationship of culture to biblical interpretation and the ethical responsibilities of readers. The volume as a whole combines literary sensitivities with the traditional historical and sociological questions of biblical criticism and puts biblical studies into intentional conversation with other disciplines in the humanities. It reframes biblical literature in a way that highlights its aesthetic characteristics, its ethical and religious appeal, its organic qualities as communal literature, its witness to various forms of social and political negotiation, and its uncanny power to affect readers and hearers across disparate time-frames and global communities.

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies

• Editors: John Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 920

The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in biblical studies. The forty-five articles have been written by leading international figures in the discipline, who give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates in this highly technical and diverse field. Study of the Bible demands expertise in fields ranging from Archaeology, Egyptology, Assyriology, and Linguistics through textual, historical, and sociological studies to Literary Theory, Feminism, Philosophy, and Theology, to name but a few.

The Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology

• Editor: Lewis Ayres
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 1008

This book provides a one-volume introduction to Catholic theology. Part I includes chapters on the major themes of Catholic theology. Topics covered include the nature of theological thinking, the Triune God, the Creation, and the mission of the Incarnate Word. Part I also covers the character of the Christian sacramental life and the major themes of Catholic moral teaching. The treatments in this first part of the book offer personal syntheses and perspectives, but each chapter is intended to be in accord with Catholic theology as it is expressed in the Second Vatican Council and the magisterial tradition. Part II focuses on the historical development of modern Catholic theology. An initial section offers chapters on some of Catholic theology’s most important sources between AD200 and 1870, and the final section of the book considers all the main movements and developments in Catholic theology since 1870.

The Oxford Handbook of Christology

• Editor: Francesca Aran Murphy
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 20015
• Pages: 704

This book has forty chapters each written by a scholar with expertise on the person and work of Christ. The book is divided into seven sections. The first section is by historical biblical scholars and it is about Jesus Christ in the Old and New Testaments. The second section is written by patristics scholars and it deals with the formation of the doctrines of the person of Christ and the atonement between the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and the eve of the Second Council of Nicaea, which brought the patristic era to an end. The third section is by scholars of mediaeval theology and its chapters tackle the development of the understanding of who Christ was and of his atoning work from the iconophiles who gathered at Nicaea II (787) through Anselm, Bonaventure, and Aquinas to the late Middle Ages and the mystical Christology of Ruusbroec. The fourth section treats the Christologies of the Protestant Reformers.

The Oxford Handbook of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• Editors: Michael Mawson and Philip G. Ziegler
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 528

This handbook provides a comprehensive resource for those wishing to understand the German theologian, pastor, and resistance conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45) and his writings. It contains sections on Bonhoeffer’s life and context, his contributions to all areas of systematic theology and ethics, constructive uses of Bonhoeffer for engaging contemporary issues, and resources for studying Bonhoeffer today. Contributors include leading Bonhoeffer scholars, historians, theologians, and ethicists.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha

• Editors: Christopher M. Tuckett, Tobias Nicklas and Joseph Verheyden
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 504

This volume addresses issues and themes that arise in the study of early Christian apocryphal literature. Part I consists of authoritative surveys of the main branches of apocryphal literature (gospels, acts, epistles, apocalypses, and related literature) and Part II considers key issues that they raise. These include their contribution to our understanding of developing interpretations of Jesus, the apostles, and other important figures such as Mary. It also shows how these texts contribute to our knowledge of Jewish-Christian relations, Christian worship, and developing understandings of asceticism, gender, and sexuality, etc. The volume also considers questions such as which ancient readers read Early Christian Apocrypha, their place in Christian spirituality, and their place in contemporary popular culture and contemporary theological discourse.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology

• Editors:
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 728

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100–600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in western and eastern late antiquity. The book is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The articles orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30–50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each article points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation

• Editors: Paul M. Blowers and Peter W. Martens
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 784

The Bible was the lifeblood of virtually every aspect of the life of the early churches. The essays in this Handbook explore a wide array of themes related to the reception, canonization, interpretation, uses, and legacies of the Bible in early Christianity. A first group of studies examines the material text transmitted, translated, and invested with authority, and the very conceptualization of sacred Scripture as God’s word for the Church. A second group looks at the culture and disciplines or science of interpretation in representative exegetical traditions. A third group of essays addresses the remarkably diverse literary and non-literary modes of interpretation, while a fourth group canvasses the communal background and foreground of early Christian interpretation, where the Bible was paramount in shaping normative Christian identity. A fifth group assesses the determinative role of the Bible in major developments and theological controversies in the life of the churches. A sixth group returns to interpretation proper and samples how certain abiding motifs from within scriptural revelation were treated by major Christian expositors. A seventh and final group of studies follows up by examining how early Christian exegesis was retrieved and critically evaluated in later periods of church history. Along the way, readers will be oriented to the major resources for, and issues in, the critical study of early Christian biblical interpretation.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual

• Editors: Risto Uro and Juliette Day
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 752

Scholars of religion have long assumed that ritual and belief constitute the fundamental building blocks of religious traditions and that these two components of religion are interrelated and interdependent in significant ways. Generations of New Testament and early Christian scholars have produced detailed analyses of the belief systems of nascent Christian communities, including their ideological and political dimensions, but have by and large ignored ritual as an important element of early Christian religion and as a factor contributing to the rise and the organization of the movement. In recent years, however, scholars of early Christianity have begun to use ritual as an analytical tool for describing and explaining Christian origins and the early history of the movement. Such a development has created a momentum towards producing a more comprehensive volume on the ritual world of early Christianity employing advances made in the field of Ritual Studies.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies

• Editor: David Hunter
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 1048

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100–600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in western and eastern late antiquity. The book is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The articles orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30–50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each article points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area.

The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology

• Editor: Jerry L. Walls
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 744

Eschatology is the study of the last things: death, judgment, the afterlife, and the end of the world. Through centuries of Christian thoughtfrom the early Church fathers through the Middle Ages and the Reformationthese issues were of the utmost importance. In other religions, too, eschatological concerns were central. After the Enlightenment, though, many religious thinkers began to downplay the importance of eschatology which, in light of rationalism, came to be seen as something of an embarrassment. The twentieth century, however, saw the rise of phenomena that placed eschatology back at the forefront of religious thought. From the rapid expansion of fundamentalist forms of Christianity, with their focus on the end times; to the proliferation of apocalyptic new religious movements; to the recent (and very public) debates about suicide, martyrdom, and paradise in Islam, interest in eschatology is once again on the rise. In addition to its popular resurgence, in recent years some of the worlds most important theologians have returned eschatology to its former position of prominence. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology will provide an important critical survey of this diverse body of thought and practice from a variety of perspectives: biblical, historical, theological, philosophical, and cultural. This volume will be the primary resource for students, scholars, and others interested in questions of our ultimate existence.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies

• Editor: Martin Goodman
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 1052

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies reflects the current state of scholarship in the field as analyzed by an international team of experts in the different and varied areas represented within contemporary Jewish Studies. Unlike recent attempts to encapsulate the current state of Jewish Studies, the Oxford Handbook is more than a mere compendium of agreed facts; rather, it is an exhaustive survey of current interests and directions in the field.

The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies

• Editors: Judith M. Lieu and Martinus C. de Boer
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 496

The contribution of the Johannine literature to the development of Christian theology, and particularly to Christology, is uncontested, although careful distinction between the implications of its language, especially that of sonship, in a first century 'Jewish' context and in the subsequent theological controversies of the early Church has been particularly important if not always easily sustained. Recent study has shaken off the weight of subsequent Christian appropriation of Johannine language which has sometimes made readers immune to the ambiguities and challenging tensions in its thought. The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies begins with chapters concentrating on discussions of the background and context of the Johannine literature, leading to the different ways of reading the text, and thence to the primary theological themes within them, before concluding with some discussion of the reception of the Johannine literature in the early church. Inevitably, given their different genres and levels of complexity, some chapters pay most if not all attention to the Gospel, whereas others are more able to give a more substantial place to the letters. All the contributors have themselves made significant contributions to their topic. They have sought to give a balanced introduction to the relevant scholarship and debate, but they have also been able to present the issues from their own perspective. The Handbook will help those less familiar with the Johannine literature to get a sense of the major areas of debate and why the field continues to be one of vibrant and exciting study, and that those who are already part of the conversation will find new insights to enliven their own on-going engagement with these writings.

The Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth

• Editors: Paul T. Nimmo and Paul Dafydd Jones
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2020
• Pages: 736

Karl Barth (1886-1968) is generally acknowledged to be the most important European Protestant theologian of the twentieth century, a figure whose importance for Christian thought compares with that of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Martin Luther, and Friedrich Schleiermacher. Author of the Epistle to the Romans, the multi-volume Church Dogmatics, and a wide range of other works—theological, exegetical, historical, political, pastoral, and homiletic—Barth has had significant and perduring influence on the contemporary study of theology and on the life of contemporary churches. In the last few decades, his work has been at the centre of some of the most important interpretative, critical, and constructive developments in in the fields of Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious studies.

The Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth is the most expansive guide to Barth’s work published to date. Comprising over forty original chapters, each of which is written by an expert in the field, the Handbook provides rich analysis of Barth’s life and context, advances penetrating interpretations of the key elements of his thought, and opens and charts new paths for critical and constructive reflection. In the process, it seeks to illuminate the complex and challenging world of Barth’s theology, to engage with it from multiple perspectives, and to communicate something of the joyful nature of theology as Barth conceived it. It will serve as an indispensable resource for undergraduates, postgraduates, academics, and general readers for years to come.

The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther’s Theology

• Editors: Robert Kolb and Irene Dingel
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 688

As celebrations of the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s initiation of the most dramatic reform movement in the history of Christianity approach, 47 essays by historians and theologians from 15 countries provide insight into the background and context, the content, and the impact of his way of thought. Nineteenth-century Chinese educational reformers, twentieth-century African and Indian social reformers, German philosophers and Christians of many traditions on every continent have found in Luther’s writings stimulation and provocation for addressing modern problems. This volume offers studies of the late medieval intellectual milieus in which his thought was formed, the hermeneutical principles that guided his reading and application of the Bible, the content of his formulations of Christian teaching on specific topics, his social and ethic thought, the ways in which his contemporaries, both supporters and opponents, helped shape his ideas, the role of specific genre in developing his positions on issues of the day, and the influences he has exercised in the past and continues to exercise today in various parts of the world and the Christian church. Authors synthesize the scholarly debates and analysis of Luther’s thinking and point to future areas of research and exploration of his thought.

The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor

• Editors: Pauline Allen and Bronwen Neil
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 624

Maximus the Confessor (c.580-662) has become one of the most discussed figures in contemporary patristic studies. This is partly due to the relatively recent discovery and critical edition of his works in various genres, including On the Ascetic Life, Four Centuries on Charity, Two Centuries on Theology and the Incarnation, On the ‘Our Father’, two separate Books of Difficulties, addressed to John and to Thomas, Questions and Doubts, Questions to Thalassius, Mystagogy and the Short Theological and Polemical Works.

The impact of these works reached far beyond the Greek East, with his involvement in the western resistance to imperial heresy, notably at the Lateran Synod in 649. Together with Pope Martin I (649-53 CE), Maximus the Confessor and his circle were the most vocal opponents of Constantinople’s introduction of the doctrine of monothelitism. This dispute over the number of wills in Christ became a contest between the imperial government and church of Constantinople on the one hand, and the bishop of Rome in concert with eastern monks such as Maximus, John Moschus, and Sophronius, on the other, over the right to define orthodoxy. An understanding of the difficult relations between church and state in this troubled period at the close of Late Antiquity is necessary for a full appreciation of Maximus’ contribution to this controversy. The editors of this volume provide the political and historical background to Maximus’ activities, as well as a summary of his achievements in the spheres of theology and philosophy, especially neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism.

The Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology

• Editors: Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 736

As a multi-faceted introduction to sacramental theology, the purposes of this Handbook are threefold: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The forty-four chapters are organized into the following parts five parts: Sacramental Roots in Scripture, Patristic Sacramental Theology, Medieval Sacramental Theology, From the Reformation through Today, and Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine.

Contributors to this Handbook explain the diverse ways that believers have construed the sacraments, both in inspired Scripture and in the history of the Church’s practice. In Scripture and the early Church, Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics all find evidence that the first Christian communities celebrated and taught about the sacraments in a manner that Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics today affirm as the foundation of their own faith and practice. Thus, for those who want to understand what has been taught about the sacraments in Scripture and across the generations by the major thinkers of the various Christian traditions, this Handbook provides an introduction. As the divisions in Christian sacramental understanding and practice are certainly evident in this Handbook, it is not thereby without ecumenical and missional value. This book evidences that the story of the Christian sacraments is, despite divisions in interpretation and practice, one of tremendous hope.

The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology

• Editors: John Webster, Kathryn Tanner and Iain Torrance
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 768

The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology brings together a set of original and authoritative accounts of all the major areas of current research in Christian systematic theology, offering a thorough survey of the state of the discipline and of its prospects for those undertaking research and teaching in the field. The Handbook engages in a comprehensive examination of themes and approaches, guiding the reader through current debates and literatures in the context of the historical development of systematic theological reflection. Organized thematically, it treats in detail the full array of topics in systematic theology, as well as questions of its sources and norms, its relation to other theological and non-theological fields of enquiry, and some major trends in current work. Each chapter provides an analysis of research and debate on its topic. The focus is on doctrinal (rather than historical) questions, and on major (rather than ephemeral) debates. The aim is to stimulate readers to reach theological judgements on the basis of consideration of the range of opinion. Drawn from Europe, the UK, and North America, the authors are all leading practitioners of the discipline. Readers will find expert guidance as well as creative suggestions about the future direction of the study of Christian doctrine.

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in America

• Editor: Paul C. Gutjahr
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 736

Early Americans have long been considered “A People of the Book” Because the nickname was coined primarily to invoke close associations between Americans and the Bible, it is easy to overlook the central fact that it was a book-not a geographic location, a monarch, or even a shared language-that has served as a cornerstone in countless investigations into the formation and fragmentation of early American culture. Few books can lay claim to such powers of civilization-altering influence. Among those which can are sacred books, and for Americans principal among such books stands the Bible.

The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls

• Editors: John J. Collins; Timothy H. Lim
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 808

In 1946 the first of the Dead Sea Scroll discoveries was made near the site of Qumran, at the northern end of the Dead Sea. Despite the much publicized delays in the publication and editing of the Scrolls, practically all of them had been made public by the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the first discovery. That occasion was marked by a spate of major publications that attempted to sum up the state of scholarship at the end of the twentieth century, including The Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls (OUP 2000). These publications produced an authoritative synthesis to which the majority of scholars in the field subscribed, granted disagreements in detail.

A decade or so later, The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls has a different objective and character. It seeks to probe the main disputed issues in the study of the Scrolls. Lively debate continues over the archaeology and history of the site, the nature and identity of the sect, and its relation to the broader world of Second Temple Judaism and to later Jewish and Christian tradition. It is the Handbook's intention here to reflect on diverse opinions and viewpoints, highlight the points of disagreement, and point to promising directions for future research.

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology

• Editors: William J. Abraham; Frederick D. Aquino
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 720

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology brings together leading scholars in the fields of theology and epistemology to examine and articulate what can be categorized as appropriate epistemic evaluation in theology. This authoritative collection explores how the various topics, figures, and emerging conversations can be reconceived and addressed in light of recent developments in epistemology. Each chapter provides an analysis of the crucial moves, positions, and debates, while also identifying relevant epistemic considerations. This Handbook fulfils the need for the development of this new conversation that will take its natural place in the intersection of theology and epistemology. It links the fields of theology and epistemology in robust, meaningful, and significant ways.

The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms

• Editor: William P. Brown
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 686

The Psalms-the longest and most complex book in the Bible-is a varied collection of religious poetry, the product of centuries of composition and revision. It is the most transcribed and translated book of the Hebrew Bible. Intended for both scholar and student, The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms features a diverse array of essays that treat the Psalms from a variety of perspectives. Beginning with an overview of the Psalms that touches on the history of scholarship and interpretation, the volume goes on to explore the Psalms as a form of literature and a source of creative inspiration, an artifact whose origins remain speculative, a generative presence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and a still-current text that continues to be read and appropriated in various ways. Classical scholarship and traditional approaches as well as contextual interpretations and practices are well represented. The Handbook’s coverage is uniquely wide-ranging, covering everything from the ancient Near Eastern background of the Psalms to contemporary liturgical usage. This volume offers a dynamic introduction into an increasingly complex field and will be an indispensable resource for all students of the Psalms.

The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible

• Editors: Christopher Rowland, Michael Lieb and Emma Mason
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 752

In recent decades, reception history has become an increasingly important and controversial topic of discussion in biblical studies. Rather than attempting to recover the original meaning of biblical texts, reception history focuses on exploring the history of interpretation. In doing so it locates the dominant historical-critical scholarly paradigm within the history of interpretation, rather than over and above it. At the same time, the breadth of material and hermeneutical issues that reception history engages with questions any narrow understanding of the history of the Bible and its effects on faith communities.

The challenge that reception history faces is to explore tradition without either reducing its meaning to what faith communities think is important, or merely offering anthologies of interesting historical interpretations. This major new handbook addresses these matters by presenting reception history as an enterprise (not a method) that questions and understands tradition afresh.

The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible consciously allows for the interplay of the traditional and the new through a two-part structure. Part I comprises a set of essays surveying the outline, form, and content of twelve key biblical books that have been influential in the history of interpretation. Part II offers a series of in-depth case studies of the interpretation of particular key biblical passages or books with due regard for the specificity of their social, cultural or aesthetic context.

These case studies span two millennia of interpretation by readers with widely differing perspectives. Some are at the level of a group response (from Gnostic readings of Genesis, to Post-Holocaust Jewish interpretations of Job); others examine individual approaches to texts (such as Augustine and Pelagius on Romans, or Gandhi on the Sermon on the Mount). Several chapters examine historical moments, such as the 1860 debate over Genesis and evolution, while others look to wider themes such as non-violence or millenarianism. Further chapters study in detail the works of popular figures who have used the Bible to provide inspiration for their creativity, from Dante and Handel, to Bob Dylan and Dan Brown.

The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity

• Editors: Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 704

This handbook examines the history of Trinitarian theology and reveals the Nicene unity still at work among Christians today despite ecumenical differences and the variety of theological perspectives. The forty-three chapters are organized into the following seven parts: the Trinity in Scripture, Patristic witnesses to the Trinitarian faith, Medieval appropriations of the Trinitarian faith, the Reformation through to the 20th Century, Trinitarian Dogmatics, the Trinity and Christian life, and Dialogues (addressing ecumenical, interreligious, and cultural interactions).

The phrase “Trinitarian faith” can hardly be understood outside of reference to the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople and to their reception: the doctrine of the Trinity is indissociably connected to the reading of Scripture through the ecclesial and theological traditions. The modern period is characterized especially by the arrival of history, under two principal aspects: “historical theology” and “philosophies of history.” In contemporary theology, the principal “theological loci” are Trinity and creation, Trinity and grace, Trinity and monotheism, Trinity and human life (ethics, society, politics and culture), and more broadly Trinity and history. In all these areas, this handbook offers essays that do justice to the diversity of view points, while also providing, insofar as possible, a coherent ensemble.

The Oxford Handbook of the Writings of the Hebrew Bible

• Editor: Donn Morgan
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 528

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the Writings, the third division of the Hebrew Bible canon, from historical, literary, and canonical perspectives through the contributions of twenty-eight scholars. A first major section deals with the postexilic period of ancient Israel when most of the Writings were either written or collected, looking at its major events, literary traditions, and archeology. The second major section looks creatively at each book of the Writings from many different perspectives (literary, historical, theological, sociological, ideological, etc.). Finally, the handbook concludes with a section examining the Writings from the perspectives of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Ancient Near East, Asian religions, the history of Israelite religion and canon formation, scripture, and the reception history of this literature in music and the visual arts, Judaism, and Christianity. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography for future research and study.