Inconsistency in the Torah

Joshua A. Berman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Hebrew Bible at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is the author of Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought.

• AbbreviationsIntroductionPart I - Inconsistency in NarrativeSetting Conflicting Histories Side by Side:1. Diverging Accounts within the Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses II2. The Exodus Sea Account (Exod 13:17-15:19) in Light of the Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses IIDisparity in the Sovereign's Recounting of History to His Vassal3. Divergent Histories between Original and Renewal Treaties in Hittite Diplomatic Literature4. Retold History in the Book of Deuteronomy in Light of the Hittite Treaty TraditionPart II - Inconsistency in Law5. The Pivotal Characterization: Ancient Law as Non-Statutory Law6. The Misapplication of "Strict Construction" and the Semblance of Contradiction7. Honoring a Law Code and Diverging from Its Dictates in the Neo-Babylonian King of Justice and in the Book of Ruth8. Blending Discordant Laws in Biblical Narrative9. Legal Revision in the Torah Law Collections: Supersessionist or Complementary?10. Redacting The Torah's Conflicting Laws: New Empirical ModelsPart III - Renewing Pentateuchal Criticism11. A Critical Intellectual History of the Historical-Critical Paradigm in Biblical Studies12. The Abuses of Negation, Bisection and Suppression in the Dating of Biblical Texts: The Rescue of Moses (Exodus 2:1-10)13. Source Criticism and Its Biases: The Flood Narrative of Genesis 6-914. Conclusion: A New Path ForwardBibliographySubject IndexIndex of Scriptural Passages

I find Berman's call for understanding the Hebrew Bible as a product of the Ancient Near East literary milieu to be foundational. I would argue that in his book, nonstandard, alternative perspectives can be found and built upon, instead of fundamentalist apologetics. As such, the book will engage both avid students who enjoy learning about the history and modern ideas entertained in current historical criticism, as well as scholars who now will have to deal with the substantial challenges Berman raises against the modern practice of the method.