Michael L. Satlow

Then and Now

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How the Bible Became Holy

How the Bible Became Holy

Now also in Italian, E il Signore parlò a Mosè. Come la Bibbia divenne sacra and in French, Comment la Bible est devenue sacrée.

Publishers Description:

In this startling reinterpretation of biblical history, a leading scholar shows how the Bible became the sacred text it is today

In this sweeping narrative, Michael Satlow tells the fascinating story of how an ancient collection of obscure Israelite writings became the founding texts of both Judaism and Christianity, considered holy by followers of each faith. Drawing on cutting-edge historical and archeological research, he traces the story of how, when, and why Jews and Christians gradually granted authority to texts that had long lay dormant in a dusty temple archive. The Bible, Satlow maintains, was not the consecrated book it is now until quite late in its history.

He describes how elite scribes in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.E. began the process that led to the creation of several of our biblical texts. It was not until these were translated into Greek in Egypt in the second century B.C.E., however, that some Jews began to see them as culturally authoritative, comparable to Homer’s works in contemporary Greek society. Then, in the first century B.C.E. in Israel, political machinations resulted in the Sadducees assigning legal power to the writings. We see how the world Jesus was born into was largely biblically illiterate and how he knew very little about the texts upon which his apostles would base his spiritual leadership.

Synthesizing an enormous body of scholarly work, Satlow’s groundbreaking study offers provocative new assertions about commonly accepted interpretations of biblical history as well as a unique window into how two of the world’s great faiths came into being.

Review Excerpts:

“Satlow proposes new, interesting, and controversial answers to how and when the Bible received its authority as a ‘holy’ book. Impressive in its scope, daring in its claims, masterful in its scholarship, Satlow’s analysis reaches surprising historical conclusions that will challenge readers about how they understand the Bible—its origin, its character, and above all its status as a sacred collection of books, the ‘authoritative’ canon of Scripture.”—Bart D. Ehrman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Michael Satlow gracefully challenges fundamental assumptions about the nature of Biblical authority in this powerful and important book. Prepare for a fascinating exploration of the changing ways in which Jews and Christians encountered the holy in divine oracles, sacred books, and the people who interpret them.”—Karen L. King, Harvard University
“How the Bible Became Holy is a lucid, learned and elegant guide to the history and ideas that gave us our holy books and changed the world.”—Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, author of Why Faith Matters
“Satlow is extremely well-versed in the scholarship and he very innovatively interprets known sources and arranges his interpretations coherently. This is a book that will shake the field.”—Evyatar Marienberg, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“This remarkable book will change the way you think about the Bible.”—A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
“Thorough and impressive.”—Rathe Miller, Philadelphia Inquirer
“The author’s knowledge and his resources, both literary and archaeological, are vast. . . . Regardless of the reader’s familiarity with the material, the author’s expertise cannot be doubted.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Raises vital questions about one of the most important books in history. . . . [Satlow’s] command of the broad outline of ancient history in this region impresses. . . . To articulate the intricacies of the Bible’s history would overwhelm most historians. It is a complex story, but one that Satlow narrates with bold ingenuity and conviction.”—Timothy Michael Law, Los Angeles Review of Books
“How the Bible Became Holy traces how Jewish texts in circulation across many centuries in the ancient world came to assume religious authority. Many of [Satlow’s] findings were revelatory to me.”—Howard Freedman, JWeekly Off the Shelf
“An engaging book with an innovative thesis. . . . Satlow forces us to reexamine what we know (versus what we think we know) about these issues in a fresh and interesting way.”—Ronald Hendel, H-Net Reviews
“[An] informative, popularly written book.”—Philip Davies, Theology.
“It takes a brave man to challenge the received wisdom about how the Bible gained authority among the faithful. Satlow offers wonderful accounts of how specific texts emerged, treating the bible as a crucial but troublesome historical source. . . . [I]f you require proof that Satlow takes the bible seriously, you should read his thought-provoking book.”—Jonathan Wright, Catholic Herald.
“[Satlow] writes for the biblically adventurous and curious reader . . . the sheer range of ideas here [is] dazzling.”—Alice Camille, U.S. Catholic
“Bridging the modern world with the [late] antique is no easy task. . . . [W]e can admire Satlow’s confidence in asking the dynamic questions necessary for such an enterprise.”—Krista N. Dalton, Religion
“Satlow, professor of religious studies and Judaic studies at Brown University, concludes that there is nothing natural about a community based on the writing or reading of texts.”—New Testament Abstracts
“[Satlow’s] ability to trace a single thread of biblical authority through such expansive terrain should be commended.”—Gregory S. Paulson, Reviews of the Enoch Seminar

Table of Contents

Note on Documentation and Sources ix

Map of the Biblical World x

Introduction 1

Part I

1 The Northern Kingdom: Israel, 922-722 BCE 13

2 The Writings of Judah: Judah, 722-586 BCE 31

3 The Second Commonwealth: Babylonia, Persia, and Yehud, 586-520 BCE 52

4 Ezra and the Pentateuch: Persia and Yehud, 520-458 BCE 69

5 Nehemiah to Chronicles: Yehud and Elephantine, 445-350 BCE 85

Part II

6 The Dawn of Hellenism: Judea, 350-175 BCE 103

7 The Maccabean Revolt: Judea, 175-135 BCE 124

8 The Holy Books: Judea, 135-104 BCE 136

9 The Septuagint: Alexandria, Third Century BCE-First Century CE 153

10 The Sadducees and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Judea, 104-103 BCE 171

Part III

11 Jesus and the Synagogue: Judea and Galilee, 4 BCE-30 CE 191

12 Paul: Jerusalem and Abroad, 37-66 CE 210

13 The Gospels: Judea, 66-100 CE 224

14 Early Christians: Rome and Egypt, 100-200 CE 241

15 The Rabbis: Judea, 100-200 CE 257

Epilogue 276

Chronology 283

Notes 287

Bibliography 307

Acknowledgments 329

General Index 331

Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources 345

Discussion Questions

  1. One of the primary arguments of the book is that people gave authority only slowly and unevenly to the texts that would later be considered “biblical.”  What are the implications of this argument?
  2. “Authority,” the book argues, is too general a term to be very useful.  Rather, we should think about such authority in more specific terms, like “literary/cultural,” “oracular,” and “normative.”  What do each of these terms mean?  Can you think of other authoritative texts, and how might this way of thinking about them be useful?
  3. One of the more controversial arguments of the book is that some of the biblical law codes were not meant as what we would call an authoritative law code.  According to the book, how were they meant?  Can you think of other examples of law codes that we might call “aspirational”?
  4. Many writings in antiquity positioned themselves as “holy” or authoritative, but are not considered such by many people today.  Why?
  5. What role did “Scripture” play in early Christianity?  How does it compare to the role of Scripture in today’s churches?
  6. Most people in antiquity, to the extent that they were even marginally acquainted with texts that they thought were holy, knew these texts only through intermediaries, such as oral recitations of selected stories and artistic depictions.  Do you think that this remains true?  Whatever the answer, what are its implications?

 

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ISBN: Hardcover: 978-0300171914; Paper: 978-0300171921; Kindle (ASIN): B00JDA9C20

Yale University Press

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