Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel [Paperback]

J. Andrew Dearman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

Religion in ancient Israel didn't develop in a vacuum; it was influenced by the Near Eastern culture around it as much as it in turn influenced that culture. Dearman explores that dynamic interplay in this thought-provoking study. Using archaeological and literary evidence (both biblical and extrabiblical) he shows how distinctive Old Testament traditions (such as the paradoxical role of the prophets) flourished in the interaction of Israelite religion with cultural and political forces, while other traditions languished.

"Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel by J. Andrew Dearman is the comprehensive study of religious forms and customs that has been needed by the discipline for many years. . . . Dearman's work is a mixture of traditional and social scientific examinations of the world of ancient Israel and its social matrix. From its opening use of Clifford Geertz' definition of 'religion,' a tone is set, but not one that 'over interprets' the available sources. There is no parallelomania here, no exaggeration of archaeological data, no theological agenda, and no attempt to rehash Albright or Gottwald. Instead, Dearman provides a fresh approach, geared to both a historical and a literary examination of religious forms and phenomena in ancient Israel. . . . The goal of any textbook is to provide (1) information in a systematic manner and (2) to hold the interest of the reader so that the author's message gets across to his or her audience. Dearman has succeeded well with both of these."
—Victor Matthews, Professor of Religious Studies, Southwest Missouri State University

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. Andrew Dearman is associate professor of Old Testament at Austin Presbyterian Seminary in Austin, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565634659
• ISBN-13: 978-1565634657
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,950,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Religion and Culture in *biblical* Israel, January 21, 2003

By 

Virgil Brown (White Oak, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel (Paperback)

J Andrew Dearman begins his book with definitions of religion and culture from a noted anthropologist named Clifford Geertz. Religion is a set of symbols which act as long-lasting motivations in people. In narrow contrast, culture is
"historically transmitted patterns of meaning." For Dearman religion is "inseparable" (page 5) from culture.

In the first three chapters of his book, Dearman describes the relationship between religion and culture in the Deuteronomistic history, the Chronicler's history, and the Maccabean history. In the last four chapters Dearman addresses four specific phenomena: Covenant instruction, pre-exilic prophecy, wisdom literature, and apocalypticism.

Dearman's book is heavily footnoted. One chapter has more than 200 footnotes. the book is well researched. Yet one shortcoming of Dearman's book is that he does not exercise a criticial view of the historicity of the biblical narratives. On page 127 he states that Deuteronomy "is the most comprehensive statement in the Pentateuch of the application to the life of all Israel." Yet he knows that this writing was written some centuries after the events it intends to record. For this reason I conclude that Dearman never shows that patterns of meaning were historically transmitted.

Second Dearman makes short use of extra-biblical sources in explaining the culture of ancient Israel. So what one reads in this book is a record of religion and culture in *biblical* Israel.

Finally, I find Dearman's thinking in this book to be shallow.
For example, on page 104 Dearman writes that Ezra-Nehemiah represent torah observance as a key to Israel's identity. Some 22 lines later Dearman begins the next paragraph with the same idea and little development of thought in between or afterward.