Wellhausen and Kaufmann: Ancient Israel and Its Religious History in the Works of Julius Wellhausen and Yehezkel Kaufmann

Aly Elrefaei

Published by De Gruyter 2016

Wellhausen and Kaufmann

Ancient Israel and Its Religious History in the Works of Julius Wellhausen and Yehezkel Kaufmann

Aly Elrefaei

Volume 490 in the series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110454338

Overview
Contents

About this book

The controversy between Wellhausen and Kaufmann concerning the history of ancient Israel and the question of historical reconstruction has prompted this study. While Wellhausen’s hypothesis introduces a synthesis of the religious development of ancient Israel, Kaufmann’s work emphasizes the singularity of the Israelite religion. Their respective works, which represent the methodologies, presuppositions and the ideologies of their times, remain an impetus to further inquiry into the history of ancient Israel and its religion.
Both Wellhausen and Kaufmann applied the historical-critical method, but were divided as to its results. They agree that the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible is the primary source on which to base writing about the history of ancient Israel, but differ concerning the authority of its text. This book illustrates the real clash between Wellhausen and Kaufmann, with the aim of providing some basis for reaching a middle ground between these two poles.
As becomes clear in this study, Wellhausen reconstructed the religion of Israel in the framework of its history. Kaufmann, by contrast, proposed that monotheism emerged in Israel as a new creation of the spirit of Israel.

Author / Editor information

Aly Elrefaei, University of Göttingen, Germany.

Reviews

"Not only is this text eminently readable, it is clear and engaging. Furthermore, because the majority of the quotations have been translated from the German (all Hebrew quotations have been translated) this text is also accessible to younger scholars and students as well. This text, then, would function just as well as text for senior scholars as for an introductory class on biblical studies at the graduate level."
Stephen D. Campbell in: CRBMI (26.03.2019), http://crbmi.org/review-of-wellhausen-and-kaufmann/

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	V
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Biographical aspects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
Part I. Julius Wellhausen’s Reconstruction of the History of Israel
Chapter One: From Source and Literary Criticism to Historical Synthesis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter Two: History of Israelite Religion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
Chapter Three: Early History of Israel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
Part II. From Religion to History: Yehezkel Kaufmann’s Interpretation of Ancient Israel
Chapter Four: History of Israelite Religion: Literary Analysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
Chapter Five: Israelite Religion: Phenomenological Interpretation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
Chapter Six: Early Israelite History in Canaan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Chapter Seven: Sources of Kaufmann’s Exegetic Approach Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
Part III. Religion and History: A Comparison of Wellhausen and Kaufmann
Chapter Eight: Moving between Wellhausen and Kaufmann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
Chapter Nine: Early Israel: Priestly Ideal or Prophetic Theocracy? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
Subject index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	300
Index of names Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	303

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Theologians, historians, historians of religions, biblical scholars
Pages
- Front matter: 14
- Main content: 304
Keywords: Wellhausen; Kaufmann; monotheism; theocracy

eBook

Published: January 15, 2016
ISBN: 9783110454338

Hardcover

Published: January 15, 2016
ISBN: 9783110452129