The Decalogue, commonly known as the Ten Commandments, is usually analysed as a text. Within the Hebrew Bible, however, it is depicted as a monument- an artifact embedded in rituals that a community uses to define itself. Indeed, the phraseology, visual representations, and ritual practices of contemporary monuments used to describe the Ten Commandments imbue them with authority. In this volume, Timothy Hogue, presents a new translation, commentary, and literary analysis of the Decalogue through a comparative study of the commandments with inscribed monuments in the ancient Levant. Drawing on archaeological and art historical studies of monumentality, he grounds the Decalogue's composition and redaction in the material culture and political history of ancient Israel and ancient West Asia. Presenting a new inner-biblical reception history of the text, Hogue's book also provides a new model for dating biblical texts that is based on archaeological and historical evidence, rather than purely literary critical methods.

Presents a new translation, analysis, and history of the Decalogue based on a comparison to ancient Levantine monuments.

About the Author
Timothy Hogue is Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israelite History in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.


Book Information
ISBN 9781009366892
Author Timothy S. Hogue
Format Hardback
Page Count 360
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 660g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 158mm * 26mm