Understanding the Bible as a Scripture in History, Culture, and Religion

A cutting-edge introduction to how the Bible functions as a scripture, and how it came to be that way

Understanding the Bible as A Scripture in History, Culture, and Religion provides a unique introduction to the Bible. The author, James W. Watts--a noted expert on biblical rhetoric and the ritualization of books--describes how Jews and Christians ritualize scripture by interpreting it, by expressing it in recitations, music, and art, and by venerating the physical scroll and book. Rather than just focusing on questions of how and when the books of the Bible were composed, edited, and canonized as scripture, the author includes these issues within a broader perspective on comparative scriptures in religious studies.

The book highlights the Torah and Gospels, which have been the focus of Jewish and Christian ritualization of scriptures from ancient to modern times, when one-volume printed bibles became common. Watts describes both the use of biblical books in the centuries since they began to function as a scripture, and their earlier origins in ancient Judaism and Christianity. This important book:

Analyzes the semantic contents of all of the Bible's books as persuasive rhetoric Gives equal space to the Bible's ritualization in the iconic and expressive dimensions as to its semantic interpretation Fully integrates the cultural history of the Bible in art, music, theatre, and film with its influence on Jewish and Christian rituals and beliefs Concludes with the cultural influence of modern bibles and the controversies they have fueled about history, science, race, and gender

Written for students and scholars, Understanding the Bible as A Scripture in History, Culture, and Religion is a groundbreaking work that highlights new research data and organizes the material to focus attention on the Bible's function as a scripture.