New Books in Biblical Studies

In Max Weber's Studies of Ancient Judaism: The Historical Foundation for a Theory of the Modern Age (Mohr Siebeck, 2002) Eckart Otto provides a history of Max Weber's work on the cultural history of ancient Judaism, a subject on which Weber spent more than 10 years. He shows how closely these studies are linked not only to theology and Jewish studies, jurisprudence and economics, the science of history and philosophy but also to the contemporary discussions surrounding the historico-cultural significance of Judaism for the »spirit of capitalism« and the chances for Judaism to preserve its identity in the conflict between assimilation and Zionism.

This conversation is a companion to Željko Stanojević's interview with Eckart Otto about Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch and the Hexateuch: Studies of the Literary History of the Pentateuch and the Hexateuch within the Framework of Deuteronomy.

Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Eckart Otto is a highly distinguished German theologian, biblical scholar, and internationally recognised authority on Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch, biblical law, the Hebrew Bible, and the legal traditions of the ancient Near East. He is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Hebrew Bible at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Professor Eckart Otto is also a prominent member of the Editorial Board of the European Hebrew Journal, published by the Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature in Belgrade, Serbia.

This interview is hosted by Professor Željko Stanojević, a Serbian-Israeli Hebrew linguist, biblical philologist, lexicographer, translator, and researcher in Semitic languages. He is President of the Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the European Hebrew Journal, and a host on the New Books Network. European Hebrew Journal
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In Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch and the Hexateuch: Studies of the Literary History of the Pentateuch and the Hexateuch within the Framework of Deuteronomy (Mohr Siebeck, 2000; unrevised e-book edition, 2019), Eckart Otto contributes to the study of Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch, the Hexateuch. The book argues that both the Hexateuch and the Pentateuch developed ideas already articulated in the Deuteronomistic form of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy therefore appears not simply as one component of the Pentateuch, but as a central point of departure for understanding the formation of larger compositions.

Otto places Deuteronomy at the centre of the literary history of ancient Israel. Rather than treating Deuteronomy, the Priestly Writing, Joshua, and Pentateuchal traditions as isolated units, he reconstructs the processes through which these texts were connected, revised, and reinterpreted. The combination of the Priestly Writing with Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic Book of Joshua produced a Hexateuchal composition extending from Genesis through Joshua. A later Pentateuchal redaction separated the Torah from Joshua and placed Deuteronomy’s covenant at Horeb at its centre.

The Hexateuch reaches its narrative conclusion with Israel’s arrival in the promised land, while the Pentateuch ends with Moses and Israel still outside the land. This makes Torah and covenant, rather than possession of the land, central to Israel’s identity. Otto also argues that Hexateuchal and Pentateuchal redactors did not merely use a completed Deuteronomy; they reshaped Deuteronomy itself to serve their conceptions of covenant, law, land, and Israel’s relationship with God.

Deuteronomy contributed to the emergence of the Hexateuch and Pentateuch, but the later redactions of these larger works also transformed Deuteronomy. Otto connects these literary developments with conflicts among priestly groups in the Persian period and with debates over priesthood, law, authority, identity, and inherited traditions.

Through this approach, Otto challenges the traditional separation between Pentateuchal and Deuteronomic research. His study also has implications for the hypothesis of a “Deuteronomistic History,” inviting scholars to reconsider the relationship between Deuteronomy, Joshua, the historical books, the Priestly Writing, and the final form of the Torah. It also contributes to discussions of biblical historiography, authoritative scripture, law and narrative, and the Torah’s emergence as Judaism’s foundational text.

In this New Books Network interview, Professor Otto explains the book’s central arguments in his own words. The conversation addresses the relationship between Pentateuch and Hexateuch, the integration of Priestly and Deuteronomistic traditions, the role of Joshua, the covenant at Horeb, and the priestly conflicts that shaped the Torah in the Persian period.

This conversation is a companion to Željko Stanojević’s interview with Eckart Otto about Max Weber’s Studies of Ancient Judaism: The Historical Foundation for a Theory of the Modern Age.

Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Eckart Otto is a distinguished German theologian and biblical scholar, known for his work on Deuteronomy, the Pentateuch, biblical law, the Hebrew Bible, and ancient Near Eastern legal traditions. He is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Hebrew Bible at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and a member of the Editorial Board of the European Hebrew Journal.

This interview is hosted by Professor Željko Stanojević, a Serbian-Israeli Hebraist, biblical philologist, lexicographer, translator, and Semitic-language researcher. He is President of the Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the European Hebrew Journal, and a host on the New Books Network.
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The story of the woman caught in adultery in John’s Gospel has long stirred controversy. Given its checkered manuscript witness, many scholars don’t believe it belongs in John’s Gospel or even in the Scriptures at all, while others think it is Scripture but belongs in a different canonical setting, and still others, like our guest today, believe it is indeed authentically Johannine, foreshadowing Jesus’ own trial and his final victory over darkness.

Tune in as we speak with Onyekachi Ugwu about his recent monograph The Woman Caught in Adultery and the Gospel of John (Mohr Siebeck, 2026).

Onyekachi Ugwu earned his PhD at the Catholic University of Paris in 2024, and is a lecturer in New Testament studies.
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In Jacob: Conflicted Twin, Aggrieved Patriarch (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2025), George Savran brings his narrative interpretive approach to look closely at Jacob's shifting identity. Jacob is indelibly linked to his brother Esau in the Genesis narrative, and their complex relationship as twins foregrounds this problematic connection. Jacob's lineage is examined-he differs noticeably from his ancestors and his offspring in the complexity of his changing character. At times he is a "simple man" at the mercy of the demands of others; elsewhere he is a devious trickster eager to use his wits to achieve personal success. His search for a coherent identity, as it unfolds in this study, leads to his emergence as the patriarch of his family, compelled to make peace with his brother and his sons in the midst of ongoing conflict.

This study brings out how Jacob's mature identity is clarified further by his reactions to three unusual and unexpected encounters which shed light on his ability to recalibrate his self-understanding.

The first is his struggle with the man/angel at the Jabbok, where he receives a blessing with the name Israel, and comes to realize that his relationship to God is more complicated (and less predictable) than he had previously thought.

An additional insight comes the following day during his reunion with Esau, as he learns to appreciate him in a new way and compares beholding his face to "seeing the face of God". This is a remarkable admission by a brother who thought only the worst of his twin.

Jacob's rethinking his own self-importance emerges later in the Joseph story, when he is compelled to realizes that his insistence on his personal concerns will lead to the dissolution of his family.

Savran's interpretation of these reactions underscores their significance in Jacob's development, revealing a character of depth and resilience and giving new meaning to his role as the avatar of Israel.
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In Beyond Hope: Rabbinic Eschatology of Late Antiquity in Comparative Perspective (Oxford UP, 2026) Jenny Labendz addresses distinct patterns within rabbinic eschatology that have been overlooked in scholarship and in Jewish thought. Contrary to what is usually expected of eschatology, this book demonstrates that the rabbis held a sustained eschatology of irresolution. While the rabbis occasionally waxed poetic along the lines of a perfected new world in the eschaton, a vast store of rabbinic texts depicts a deeply imperfect eschaton. This is the profound difference between rabbinic and early Christian eschatology.Despite its differences from the Christian doctrine of perfection, rabbinic eschatology aligns neatly with a different Christian concept, namely inaugurated eschatology. The eschaton is not only be hoped for in the future, but can be attained in the present. The best of all possible worlds has not yet been entirely actualized, but it has been inaugurated, in the rabbinic view by the exodus from slavery in Egypt, the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, and the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. This is a paradigm shift for thinking about rabbinic eschatology, which rejects the dogmas and binaries that generations of scholars have taken for granted.

In this new book, Jenny Labendz explores the relationship between this world and the best possible world, the limits of that best possible world, and asks a crucially grounding question--what are we talking about when we're talking about the end of the world?

Interviewee: Jenny R. Labendz received her PhD from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2010 and was Associate Professor of Religious Studies at St. Francis College until 2025. She is also the author of Socratic Torah: Non-Jews in Rabbinic Intellectual Culture, published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the author of Brooklyn Odyssey: My Journey out of Hasidism and Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com.
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