This book forms a lively exploration of biblical voices and their echoes throughout history and in the present. The chapters move from ancient Israel and the early church, through mediaeval and early modern approaches to the bible, to the modern period and bird’s-eye views from ancient to contemporary times. Rooted in talks given in the public sphere, this book provides insights gleaned from a huge range of material, including literature and art.
An overall theme is the interaction between the biblical books and the life of the Jewish people and the Christian church. Topics include the bible and liturgy and sacrament, the work of the translators of King James’s Bible, Christian interest in Hebrew and Jewish tradition, and Holy Land archaeology as illustrated by the long series of discoveries concerning the uprising of Bar Kokhba. Imaginative literature is examined alongside the bible, for instance in chapters on Paul and Virgil, and the psalms and the lives of the saints.
The biblical thread evokes a story of individuals and communities seeking to understand their worlds.
William Horbury is Professor Emeritus of Jewish and Early Christian Studies in the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a past president of the British Association for Jewish Studies. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Chester.
He has written on Old and New Testament interpretation, the writings and history of Jews and Christians in the ancient world, and the history of Jewish-Christian contact and argument. Books include Messianism among Jews and Christians (second edition, 2016).
Ordering information
William Horbury, Biblical Voices and Echoes: The People and the Books, 2023, ISBN 978-1-910481-13-4, £16.99.
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