The Material Culture of the Bible: An Introduction

Scholarly discussions of biblical interpretation often ignore the fact that language and literature form an integral part of a people's culture, that interpretation therefore implies the total cultural system of the relevant literature, and that biblical interpretation consequently implies inter-cultural communication. This book explores the theoretical and practical implications of this observation from a cultural anthropological perspective, looks at recent anthropological studies of ancient Israelite society, supplies practical examples of a cultural interpretation of ancient Hebrew narratives, and discusses the impact of the notions 'cultural relativity' and 'inter-cultural communication' for biblical interpretation.