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Human beings are captivated by trees, and history bears this out. From ancient times and in various cultures, trees function as central features of daily life, building and development, economics, shelter, and even religious reflection. In this volume, contributors explore how trees captivated the ancient mind, as revealed in metaphor and analogy in the biblical text, and then turn to reflect upon how modern research methods have aided interpreters in accessing the realia of the biblical world. Utilizing relevant data secured through methods of botany and archaeo-botany, this collection first explores the symbolic imagery of trees found in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, from soil, roots and branches to fruit, leaves and the Tree of Life itself. Moving then to different types of trees, the contributors assess the depictions and importance of fig trees, vines, date-palms, deciduous trees, cedars and olive trees. This volume serves biblical scholars by offering a confluence of textual analysis, archaeological reflection, and scientific exploration.
List of contents
Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations
Chapter One: Introduction
Part One: Tree Parts Chapter Two: The Metaphor of Root and Soil in the Hebrew Bible: Botany, Metaphor Theory, and the Balance Between Divine Agency and Human Responsibility -
Amy Balogh, Regis University, USA Chapter Three: Shady Trees: Figurative Ecologies of Power and Pride in Branch Imagery in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East -
William R. Osborne, College of the Ozarks, USA Chapter Four: The
Corona Triumphalis and the Tree of Life -
Douglas Estes, Friends University, USA Chapter Five: Fruit for Food, Leaves for Healing: Archaeobotany, Conceptual Metaphor, and Ezekiel 47 -
Beth Stovell, Ambrose University, Canada Chapter Six: Burning Trees and Enduring Seeds: Isaiah Future Hope -
Mark J. Boda, McMaster Divinity College, Canada Chapter Seven: The World Tree in Hebrew Scripture -
Stephen Cook, Virginia Theological Seminary, USA Part Two: Tree Types Chapter Eight: Fig Trees in the Prophetic Imagination -
Brady Beard, Emory University, USA Chapter Nine: Swaying over the Trees: Tree-Inspired Elements in Biblical Vine Metaphors -
Tina Sherman, University of Minnesota, USA Chapter Ten: The Apotropaic Power of the Date-Palm Image -
Norma Franklin, University of Haifa, Israel Chapter Eleven: Great Deciduous Trees -
Ben Austin, Providence Christian College, USA Chapter Twelve: Cedars and Lebanon: Ancient Near Eastern Themes and Ezekiel 31 -
Lindy Williams, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA Chapter Thirteen: King of Trees: The Olive Tree in the Biblical World -
Brian Moselle, Los Angeles, USA Part Three: Respondents Biblical Literary Respondent: TBD
Scientific Respondent: TBD
Bibliography Index
About the author
Mark J. Boda is Professor of Old Testament at McMaster Divinity College, Professor, Faculty of Theology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaWilliam R. Osborne is Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, College of the Ozarks, USA.
