The Bible and Hellenism: Greek Influence on Jewish and Early Christian Literature [Hardcover]

Did the Bible only take its definitive form after Alexander conquered the Near East, after the Hellenisation of the Samaritans and Jews, and after the founding of the great library of Alexandria? The Bible and Hellenism takes up one of the most pressing and controversial questions of Bible Studies today: the influence of classical literature on the writing and formation of the Bible.

Bringing together a wide range of international scholars, The Bible and Hellenism explores the striking parallels between biblical and earlier Greek literature and examines the methodological issues raised by such comparative study. The book argues that the oral traditions of historical memory are not the key factor in the creation of biblical narrative. It demonstrates that Greek texts  from such authors as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus and Plato  must be considered amongst the most important sources for the Bible.

Introduction: Making Room for Japheth, Thomas L. Thompson and Philippe Wajdenbaum 
Part I: A Mediterranean or Ancient Near Eastern Context?
1. Ancient Historiography, Biblical Stories and Hellenism, Emanuel Pfoh
2. Editing the Bible: Alexandria or Babylon? Etienne Nodet, o.p.
3. Greek Evidence for the Hebrew Bible, Russell E. Gmirkin
4. The Philistines as Intermediaries Between the Aegean and the Near East, Aukasz NiesioBowski-Span?
5. Narrative Reiteration and Comparative Literature: Problems in Defining Dependency, Thomas L. Thompson
Part II: Greek-Jew or Jew-Greek?
6. Stranger and City Girl: An isomorphism between Genesis 24 and Homer's Odyssey 6-13, Yaakov S. Kupitz
7. Hesiods Heroic Age and the Biblical Period of the Judges, Philippe Guillaume
8. Sex, Violence and State Formation in Judges 19-21, Anne Katrine de Helój