Biblical Prophets in Byzantine Palestine: Reassessing the Lives of the Prophets (Studia in Veteris Testamenti Pseudepigrapha)

The Lives of the Prophets, a series of brief biographical sketches of the major and minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible, is a unique composition. Generally held to be a Jewish document from the end of the period of the Second Temple, the Lives offers an abundance of geographical, genealogical, and narrative detail which is not readily paralleled. This study provides the first thorough assessment of the work in nearly a century. A survey of the textual state of the composition and its reception is followed by a detailed examination of the literary structures which underlie the individual vitae. It is argued that the Lives is an evolved, heavily redacted document whose present form cannot predate the fourth century C.E. Only within the context of early Byzantine Christian concerns — holy men, sacred sites, and the veneration of the saints — does the Lives of the Prophets become a comprehensible and vital text. Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgments References and Abbreviations Introduction Biblical Traditions and Christian Audiences Form and Method 1. Evidence, Consensus, and Context Textual Evidence History of Research The Lives of the Prophets in Modern Research Searching for an Ur-Text: Date, Provenance, Language Sacred Tombs and Loca Sancta in Early Judaism Prophets and Martyrs in Second Temple Period Judaism Contexts of Transmission 2. Structure, Content, and Composition The Structure of the vitae Birth and Burial Biblical Exegesis and Creative Topography Conclusion Legendary Narrative Martyrs, Miracle-Workers and Intercessors Conclusion Eschatological Prophecy The Composition of the Lives of the Prophets Recensional Trajectories Sources and Development Conclusion 3. The Vita of Daniel: an Early Byzantine Legend The Transformation and Penitence of Nebuchadnezzar Exemplars of Early Byzantine Society 4. Context, Genre, and Meaning Prophets and Holy Men Scriptural Geography The Righteous Dead Conclusion Appendix: The Lives of the Prophets—an English translation Bibliography Indices Biblical and Apocryphal Literature General Index The "Lives of the Prophets" is a series of biographical sketches of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. This analysis of the work provides a survey of the textual state of the composition and its reception, followed by an examination of the literary structures which underlie the individual "vitae". By David Satran. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [129]-144) And Indexes.