Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought [Hardcover]

Joshua A Berman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2008

Joshua Berman engages the text of the Hebrew Bible from a novel perspective -- as a document of social and political thought. He proposes that the Pentateuch can be read as the earliest prescription on record for the establishment of an egalitarian polity. The blueprint that emerges is that of a society that would stand in stark contrast to the social orders found in the surrounding cultures of the ancient Near East -- Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ugarit, and the Hittite Empire -- where the hierarchical structure of the polity was centered on the figure of the king and his retinue. Berman shows that the Pentateuch's egalitarian ideal is articulated in comprehensive fashion and is expressed in its theology, politics, economics, use of technologies of communication, and in its narrative literature. Throughout, he invokes parallels from the modern period as heuristic devices to illuminate the ancient developments under study. Thus, for example, the constitutional principles in the Book of Deuteronomy are examined in the light of principles espoused by Montesquieu, and the rise of the novel in 18th-century England serves to illuminate the advent of new modes of storytelling in biblical narrative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Splendid observations...well worth reading."

--First Things

"Though the higher criticism's "documentary hypothesis" is now the commonly accepted scholarly approach, it is extraordinarily problematic...In recent years, these problems have led some scholars to reconsider the possibility of the literary unity of the text and pursue its interpretation in this light. Joshua Berman's new book Created Equal is an excellent example of this new brand of scholarship and an important contribution to it. ...Berman's argument for the Bible's egalitarianism is powerfully and persuasively argued."

--Commentary Magazine

"Berman is surely correct that the Hebrew Bible's contribution to today's politics has been insufficiently appreciated--thus his articulate, provocative book is worthy of wide attention."

Choice

"Joshua A. Berman answers a question that bothered Bible readers - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - for centuries, and answers it in an interesting, eye opening, and engaging way. Why was the Bible written? ...Dr. Berman offers a host of enlightening examples of the biblical innovations and a newer and deeper understanding of the biblical laws than contained in many Bible commentaries." --The Jewish Eye

"Well-written and carefully argued. ...[F]ascinating and innovative." --Catholic Biblical Quarterly

From the Author

"Joshua Berman has written a superb, scholarly and paradigm-shifting work on the Hebrew Bible as perhaps the first attempt to create a truly egalitarian society. I can think of no better way of renewing our encounter with the biblical text, and I commend it highly.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195374703
• ISBN-13: 978-0195374704
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and informative, October 2, 2008

By 

Irwin B. Robins - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought (Hardcover)

Professor (Rabbi) Berman's book presents a very strong case for the revolutionary political, social and economic ideas in the Pentateuch - but without constituting an Orthodox polemic. Indeed, the author's conclusion that the Pentateuch is very modern in its approach to society is all the more powerful because it does not demand a declaration of faith as a precondition to appreciation of the Pentateuch.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting and thought provoking book, May 26, 2009

By 

Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought (Hardcover)

Joshua A. Berman answers a question that bothered Bible readers - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - for centuries, and answers it in an interesting, eye opening, and engaging way. Why was the Bible written? The author is a lecturer in Bible at Bar-Ilan University and Associate Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel.

The common misconception is that the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch, was composed to teach people how to relate to God. Dr. Berman shows by a clear reading of the biblical texts, comparisons with ancient cultures, and analyses of many rather interesting biblical details that the Bible ventures far beyond that. Indeed, it is the precursor of modern ideas about the purpose of society and the dignity of the individual.

The Bible asserts the equality of all people in its statement that everyone, without distinction, is created in the image of God. This was remarkable for the period in which it was written. Later, Thomas Jefferson captured, actually copied, this biblical teaching when he wrote "all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights."

In contrast to the ancients, all Israelites are equal citizens because all were liberated from Egyptian bondage, all stood at Mount Sinai to receive the law, and all entered into a covenant with God; in a word, all participated in the past and have a right and duty to be involved in the present and future. This scriptural individual responsibility - highlighted by the oft-repeated biblical use of the singular "you," an address to each Israelite separately - is unfortunately still underemphasized in modern societies.

Dr. Berman shows in 175 pages, followed by notes, bibliography and index, how in ancient societies the common person was a servant, the lowest rung in a self-serving hierarchy, a non-entity, a being without self-worth, a creation designed to enhance the comfort of arrogant despots. Ancient leaders justified their worldview with theological writings that declared that the state exists solely to carry out a will and whim of the gods, whose earthly representative was the king, and not the protection of humans.

The Bible countered this notion. Biblical checks and balances were instituted to curb the powers of authority, of kings, priests, judges, and even of prophets. Berman shows how the Torah innovations, its teaching of equality, spawned the great political theorists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and served as the basis for modern ideas of human rights, civic duties, egalitarianism and democratic government.

Josephus wrote to his Roman audience in the first century - where only about twenty percent of the population had citizen rights - informing them that the ideas of government that they and the Greeks before them extolled are found in the Bible. In June 1788, one of the constitutional delegates addressing the issues facing the new American nation, referred to the lessons of the book of Deuteronomy, and said, "If I am not mistaken, instead of the twelve tribes of Israel we may substitute the thirteen States of the American union." These men understood what Berman highlights, that the Bible was teaching that rather than working as servants for leaders, a perfect society is one where everyone joins together to help and improve each individual.

Dr. Berman offers a host of enlightening examples of the biblical innovations and a newer and deeper understanding of the biblical laws than contained in many Bible commentaries. He shows how Deuteronomy 4:8 was correct in stating: "what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law!" Readers will find it fascinating to see how the Torah poor laws contributed to equality, as did the rules regarding the sale of land, and many others such as the laws concerning non-Israelites.

Rather than tokens of respect and honor being a one-way streak, from inferior to superior, as required in ancient societies, the Bible portrays the relationship between humans and God as a marriage requiring intimate reciprocal acts of affection.

Like the restrictions placed on the executive branch of government in the United States today, the Bible strips the king of many of the powers that he had in other cultures. He was not responsible for religion, nor the author of legislation, and did not appoint judges. The judges, in turn, could be from every class of society.

Thus, with these and many more examples, Dr. Berman dramatizes the Torah in a new light, a lght focused on an enlightened future, the forerunner of societies based on the equality. One has to agree with Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, that "Jonathan Berman has written a superb, scholarly, and paradigm shifting work on the Hebrew Bible as perhaps the first attempt to create a truly egalitarian society. I can think of no better way of renewing our encounter with the biblical text, and I recommend it highly."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Thoughtful and Thought-Provoking, September 26, 2008

By 

Liz Dashwood (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought (Hardcover)

Berman offers a very convincing case for God in this book, postulating (and methodically proving) that the Hebrew Bible provides the first prescription for egalitarian society.

A fascinating new look at a familiar text. One need not be a biblical scholar to approach this book and, thankfully, readers need not be fluent in political philosophy to understand Berman's argument.

All in all, CREATED EQUAL is an important read for anyone wishing to understand and intelligently discuss the basis for and the notion of faith-based politics.