The Formation of Biblical Texts

Questions concerning the composition and formation of biblical texts have dominated many of the current discussions in biblical studies, especially relating to the relationship between the Pentateuch and the (so-called) Deuteronomistic History, how these texts may have functioned as a corpus (or related corpora), and interconnections among these texts and those of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. As appreciation has grown for the potential text production in Judah and Samaria during the Persian and Hellenistic periods, the discussion has expanded to incorporate explorations of the way that textual criticism - particularly as it relates to the relationships among the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, Qumran corpus, and the Masoretic Text - and literary criticism intersect. In this volume, leading voices come together to tackle questions about the composition and formation of the Hebrew Bible and the future directions of such studies in honor of Gary N. Knoppers.