Making of the Modern Jewish Bible

Alan T. Levenson is the Schusterman/Josey Professor of Jewish Intellectual and Religious History at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of several books, including Modern Jewish Thinkers: An Introduction, The Story of Joseph: A Journey of Jewish Interpretation, and Between Philosemitism and Antisemitism. Defenses of Jews & Judaism in Germany, 1871-1932.

• IntroductionChapter 1: Spinoza As Jewish Bible CriticPart I. The Emergence of Modern Jewish Bible Studies in GermanyIntroduction: Starting with GermanyChapter 2: Mendelssohn's Bible: The Ideal of Jewish Self-SufficiencyChapter 3: Samson Raphael Hirsch: The Chimera of Self-Explanatory ScriptureChapter 4: Benno Jacob and the Call for a "Jewish" Bible ScholarshipChapter 5: The Martin Buber-Franz Rosenzweig Bible: Culture or Religion?Part II. Zionism and the Creation of a National BibleIntroduction: The Bible in Modern IsraelChapter 6: Early Zionism and the Bible: Ahad Haam and His OpponentsChapter 7: The Bible As National Linchpin: David Ben Gurion and His OpponentsChapter 8: Nehama Leibowitz's Bible: Returning Tradition to the TextPart III. The Flowering of Jewish Bible Studies in North AmericaIntroduction: America and the Jewish BibleChapter 9: Finding A Jewish Voice: Nahum Sarna & Robert AlterChapter 10: Seeking An American Jewish BibleConclusion: Is There A "Jewish School" of Modern Bible Study?NotesSelective BibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Levenson (Univ. of Oklahoma) provides an important work of cultural history, biblical scholarship, and modern Jewish history in his analysis of how Jewish scholars and communities constructed the modern Jewish Bible. He begins his story with Spinoza, whose Jewish sensibilities foreshadowed the development of the Jewish Bible. The real story, however, begins with Mendelssohn in the late 18th century. The Bible became the touchstone for a Jewish German community, in which one could be both fully Jewish and German. In the 20th century, the Jewish Bible became central to the formation and life of the modern state of Israel. It formed the cultural basis for the new nation and the center of its continuing national intellectual and educational life. Finally, in the United States, a fully Jewish biblical scholarship emerged in the 1960s. Within the synagogue, the Jewish Chumash stands as a common source within various Jewish denominations. As a significant cultural achievement, the formation of the modern Jewish Bible is, Levenson argues, "on par with the Jewish Enlightenment, the scientific study of Judaism, the revival of Hebrew, or the Zionist ideology." This volume will be useful in libraries with collections in biblical and Jewish studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and above; general readers.