The Writings

The Writings Christopher T. Begg, Richard A. Taylor, Eric J. Wagner CR, Fred W. Guyette, Atilla Bodor, and Bradley C. Gregory ________ 1532. Jalkut Schimoni on the Book of Job Dagmar Börner-Klein (ed. ) and Beat Zuber (tr. ), Jalkut Schimoni zu Ijob (Jüdische Bibelauslegung im Mittelalter; Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2023). Pp. 238. €102. 76. ISBN 978–3-11–125456–3. For general information concerning the medieval Jewish commentary on the books of the Hebrew Bible known as Jalkut Schimoni and de Grutyer's multi-volume, on-going translation of this work, see #1528. The present volume provides a translation of the Jalkut Schimoni commentary on the Book of Job. That commentary takes the form of comments on the individual verses of Job drawn from a variety of talmudic (b. B. B. 14b-16b in particular) and midrashic sources (Gen. Rab. 57: 4 in particular). The volume presents the data of the commentary in accordance with a standardized format. That format opens with a citation of a given verse of the Book of Job. The appended comment (s) to the verse are introduced with reference to the rabbinic authority to whom the comment is attributed and with the source of the comment cited in the margin of the page on which the comment appears. The comments themselves cover a wide range of matters, including philological, geographical, intratextual and intertextual and theological issues, comparisons between the trials of Job and those of Abraham, rabbinic "parables" designed to clarify the meaning of the given verse, and references to Jewish practices inspired by the Job narrative. The footnotes to the translation provide, e. g. , relevant bibliographical references for the rabbinic comments and remarks on distinctive Hebrew terms used in these and in the text of Job to which they relate. —C. T. . B. 1533. The Many Faces of Job in the Premodern Period Choon-Leong Seow (ed. ), The Many Faces of Job: The Premodern Period (Handbooks of the Bible and Its Reception HBR 5. 1; Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2023). Pp. xvi + 592. €224. 30. ISBN 978–3-11–056822–6. This volume is part of a series which is intended to provide a comprehensive account of the multi-century reception history of the books of the Bible. In line with this intention, the essays making up the volume offer discussions of the interpretation and usage made of the Book of Job in the period extending from the last two centuries b. c. e. to ca. 1750 c. e. in a variety of religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and Syriac) as well as in literature, art, and music. Notably, the majority of the contributions are authored by two authors, i. e. , editor S. (9 essays) and Jason Kalman (5 essays). Several of the essays come with iconographical representations of the Job story stemming from different periods and traditions. Each essay concludes with a brief "select bibliography" keyed to the specific topic of the essay. For abstracts of the essays, see ##1267, 1268, 1269, 1275, 1276, 1277, 1279, 1280, 1281, 1282, 1283, 1284, 1285, 1286, 1287, 1288, 1289, 1290. —C. T. B. 1534. Reading the Psalms Ian J. Vaillancourt, Treasuring the Psalms: How to Read the Songs That Shape the Soul of the Church (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2023). Pp. xii + 228. Paper 28. ISBN 978–1-5140–0510–1. The target audience of this book is college and seminary students, pastors, and church study groups. The volume consists of three major parts. In the five chapters of part one, V. urges his audience to read the Psalms canonically and not just individually. This implies taking the superscriptions seriously and paying attention to the structure and message of the Psalter in its final form. V. devotes three chapters to the shape of the Psalter. First, he treats Psalms 1–2 as a gateway to the Psalter, with Psalm 1 emphasizing the torah of Yhwh and what it means to live a life focused on torah, and Psalm 2 emphasizing the king as the consummate keeper of torah. Second, he elaborates in broad terms on the narrative of Books. . .