Abstract
In my book ‘Biblioclasm and the Scriptures: An Investigation of the Phenomena’ I prove that biblioclasm recurs in the written and oral transmission of the Koran, the Bible, and the Sefer Tehillim, and that its consequences are profound and lasting. This triple faceted phenomenon is investigated in the following manner.
In Chapter 1 I correlate written and oral traditions of the Koran with what the Muslim oral tradition of Muhammad and his early followers says about Koranic book burning in the first century AH. The traditional Muslim account is confirmed and refined by reading it in the context of the ritual prayer in Islam.
In Chapter 2 I examine biblioclastic turmoil in the Roman Empire during Christian persecutions initiated by Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE. Comprehensive data that I gather from literary and iconographic sources are correlated with manuscript traditions of the Greek and Latin Bible, and interpreted in the context of Roman law. I argue for the methodological necessity of taking biblioclasm into account when investigating textual traditions that were affected by book burning. This is the case of both the Old and the New Testament.
In Chapter 3 I present a discovery of fragments from what I prove to be the primitive Greek translation of the First Book of Maccabees. Building on this new source, I put forward a thesis that the Sefer Tehillim in its various forms has its origin in biblioclastic events that took place in Judea about 167/166 BC. This thesis is tested against Jewish literary evidence, which is correlated with the manuscript tradition of the book, and illuminated by the history of Biblical and Koranic biblioclasm discussed in the first two chapters.
The work is a starting point for further research on the role of book burning in the editorial and textual history of the Scriptures.
In Chapter 1 I correlate written and oral traditions of the Koran with what the Muslim oral tradition of Muhammad and his early followers says about Koranic book burning in the first century AH. The traditional Muslim account is confirmed and refined by reading it in the context of the ritual prayer in Islam.
In Chapter 2 I examine biblioclastic turmoil in the Roman Empire during Christian persecutions initiated by Emperor Diocletian in 303 CE. Comprehensive data that I gather from literary and iconographic sources are correlated with manuscript traditions of the Greek and Latin Bible, and interpreted in the context of Roman law. I argue for the methodological necessity of taking biblioclasm into account when investigating textual traditions that were affected by book burning. This is the case of both the Old and the New Testament.
In Chapter 3 I present a discovery of fragments from what I prove to be the primitive Greek translation of the First Book of Maccabees. Building on this new source, I put forward a thesis that the Sefer Tehillim in its various forms has its origin in biblioclastic events that took place in Judea about 167/166 BC. This thesis is tested against Jewish literary evidence, which is correlated with the manuscript tradition of the book, and illuminated by the history of Biblical and Koranic biblioclasm discussed in the first two chapters.
The work is a starting point for further research on the role of book burning in the editorial and textual history of the Scriptures.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |
| Number of pages | 400 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-525-56057-0 |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 1 Mar 2024 |
Publication series
| Name | Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |
| Volume | 285 |