The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch

Book excerpt: Featuring contributions from internationally-recognized scholars in the study of the Pentateuch, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of key topics and issues in contemporary pentateuchal scholarship. The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch considers recent debates about the formation of the Pentateuch and their implications for biblical scholarship. At the same time, it addresses a number of issues that relate more broadly to the social and intellectual worlds of the Pentateuch. This includes engagements with questions of archaeology and history, the Pentateuch and the Samaritans, the relation between the Pentateuch and other Moses traditions in the Second Temple period, the Pentateuch and social memory, and more. Crucially, the Handbook situates its discussions of current developments in pentateuchal studies in relation to the field's long history, one that in its modern, critical phase is now more than two centuries old. By showcasing both this rich history and the leading edges of the field, this collection provides a clear account of pentateuchal studies and a fresh sense of its vitality and relevance within biblical studies, religious studies, and the broader humanities.