Constituting the Community

• PrefaceAbbreviationsIntroduction John T. Strong and Steven S. TuellPart I. Approaching Polity in Ancient IsraelPolity of the Covenant People: The Book of Deuteronomy S. Dean McBride Jr.The Priestly Houses of Early Israel Frank Moore CrossJustice: Perspectives from the Prophetic Tradition James L. MaysPart 2. Polity in the TorahPolities in Genesis 12-36 David L. PetersenIsrael as a Testimony to Yhwh’s Power: The Priest’s Definition of Israel John T. StrongDeuteronomy, Ethnicity, and Reform: Reflections on the Social Setting of the Book of Deuteronomy Robert R. WilsonConstitution or Instruction? The Purpose of Deuteronomy Patrick D. MillerPart 3. Polity in the Nebi’imBearers of the Polity: Isaiah of Jerusalem’s View of the Eighth-Century Judean Society J. J. M. RobertsHosea and the Ambiguity of Kingship in Ancient Israel Peter MachinistThe Priesthood of the ‘Foreigner’: Evidence of Competing Polities in Ezekiel 44:1-14 and Isaiah 56:1-8 Steven S. TuellCovenant and Politics Paul D. HansonPart 4. Polity in the KetubimThe Mortality of the King in Psalm 89 and Israel’s Postexilic Identity Jerome F. D. CreachThe Law and the Sages: A Reexamination of Torah in Proverbs William P. BrownThe Community of the Book of Proverbs Richard J. CliffordBeyond the Blue Horizon: The Polity of Israel and the Nations Yet to Come W. Sibley Towner

"...Constituting the Community contains some gems for everyone, whether scholars of Torah, Nebi'im, or Ketubim. The effort of this book to trace the theme of a theology of democratization throughout the three major divisions of the Bible is one that warrants attention and further consideration. In this respect, Constituting the Community makes a fitting tribute to the contributions of Dean McBride."--Ralph K. Hawkins, Bethel College, Indiana in Review of Biblical Literature, May 2006 "This collection of essays, in general, is a significant contribution to the study of polities in ancient Israel. The inclusion of the essays by McBride, Cross, and Mays provides the reader with a context within which to read the rest of the essays. The individual essays that follow in parts 2, 3, and 4 vary in the extent to which they describe a polity in ancient Israel. However, as a collection the volume would be a useful resource for a course dealing with the nature and structures of community in ancient Israel... "This collection of essays provides a series of stimulating reflections upon some of the polities of ancient Israel that can be uncovered in the Hebrew Bible. It is an appropriate tribute to the contribution made by S. Dean McBride and his work on the polity of ancient Israel."--Donald E. Burke, William and Catherine Booth College in Review of Biblical Literature May 2006