Social Scientific Approach to the Hebrew Bible
In 1979, Cyril Rodd, biblical scholar, predicted the end of social scientific criticism of the Old Testament because its theories cannot be tested. He was wrong. It is currently thriving. It is interdisciplinary: either a biblical scholar who does research in the social sciences who then applies thi...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2008
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| In: |
Religion compass
Year: 2008, Volume: 2, Issue: 3, Pages: 287-300 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In 1979, Cyril Rodd, biblical scholar, predicted the end of social scientific criticism of the Old Testament because its theories cannot be tested. He was wrong. It is currently thriving. It is interdisciplinary: either a biblical scholar who does research in the social sciences who then applies this to the Bible or a social scientist who does research on a biblical text and then applies it to the Bible. Social scientific approaches help fill in gaps that other ways of interpreting the Bible leave behind. For example, have you ever wondered why Cain was not punished with death for killing his brother? The Old Testament commands the death penalty for any murderer. Traditional interpretation emphasizes God's grace because he repented. But an anthropological perspective explains it as due to the fact that Cain was Abel's brother, his kin, and his death would have ended the family line of Adam and Eve. In less developed countries, kinship is very important, and some form of punishments like the death penalty would do more harm than good. Other forms of punishment might include payment, exile, and substitution. |
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| ISSN: | 1749-8171 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion compass
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00072.x |