Treasures Old and New.

• Author: Sweeney, Marvin A.
• Position: Treasures Old and New: Essays in the Theology of the Pentateuch - Book review

Treasures Old and New: Essays in the Theology of the Pentateuch. By JOSEPH BLENKINSOPP. Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 2004. Pp. x + 228. $26 (paper).

Blenkinsopp here presents a selection of revised and updated essays on the Pentateuch, originally published over the past four decades, in an effort to engage readers interested in topics in biblical theology. He appropriately questions whether the Pentateuch can be reduced to a single, coherent system based in large measure on his primarily (but not exclusively) historical-critical approach to reading biblical texts. Footnotes have been reduced to a minimum, and foreign-language citations are largely eliminated to appeal to the general reader. Full citations of the original publications are not provided.

"Memory, Tradition, and the Construction of the Past in Ancient Israel" examines the recording of history, such as the fall of Jerusalem or the Exodus from Egypt, as an act of collective memory in which the past is constructed to provide readers with a sense of participation in and identity with that past that looks to survival and continued development in the future. "Old Testament Theology and the Jewish-Christian Connection" examines the issues inherent in writing a Christian theology of the Old Testament, particularly in the aftermath of the Shoah, when such a theology must take account of the Old Testament's and Christianity's Jewish roots. "Creation, the Body, and Care for a Damaged World" reexamines Priestly/Jewish ritual law concerning the clean and unclean in relation to the looming environmental crisis that threatens creation. "Sacrifice and Social Maintenance in Ancient Israel" points to ritual animal sacrifices as a means to ensure patrilineal social order that is challenged by Deuteronomy's requirement for sacrifice at a central sanctuary.

"YHVH and Other Deities: Conflict and Accommodation in the Religion of Israel" traces the ancient Near Eastern roots of Israelite monotheism and religious universalism and the controversy concerning the exclusive or non-exclusive worship of YHWH that is expressed in the later literature of the Bible. "Gilgamesh and Adam: Wisdom through Experience in Gilgamesh and in the Biblical Story of the Man, the Woman, and the Snake" points to the role of Gilgamesh in helping readers to understand...