Review of Henze (ed.), A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism

H-JUDAIC BOOK REVIEW:

Matthias Henze, ed. A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012. 584 pp. $29.99 (paper), ISBN 978-0-8028-0388-7.

Reviewed by Don Carlson (Xavier University)
Published on H-Judaic (October, 2012)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

A Useful Survey of Early Jewish Biblical Interpretation

A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism, edited by Matthias Henze, seeks to provide “a systematic introduction to biblical interpretation in the Jewish literature of antiquity” (p. ix). The Companion includes eighteen essays, under eight headings: “Introduction,” “The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament,” “Rewritten Bible,” “The Qumran Literature,” “Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments,” “Wisdom Literature,” “Hellenistic Judaism,” and “Biblical Interpretation in Antiquity.” A short bibliography is conveniently provided at the end of each essay, as well as a cumulative bibliography and indices at the end of the book.

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