Twenty-three colleagues, friends, and former students of Richard Nelson honor him by contributing essays to this volume. Nelson is the fromer Kraft Professor of Biblical Studies at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA, and current W. J. A. Power Professor of Biblical Hebrew and Old Testament Interpretation as well as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He is the author of numerous books, commentaries, and articles. Raising Up a Faithful Exegete centers around topics of particular interest to Prof. Nelson, especially Deuteronomy, the Former Prophets, priesthoods, social interactions, and theology. In fact, this book icould be seen as a one-volume summation of current thinking on Deuteronomy, the Former Prophets, Deuteronomism, and Biblical Theology, disguised as a Festschrift.
“For eleven years, I had the distinct pleasure and honor of having Richard Nelson as a senior faculty colleague. He has served as a fine model of what it means to be a dynamic and innovative teacher, an insightful mentor, a world-class scholar, a supportive friend, a dedicated leader in the church, and a person who takes sheer delight in all facets of his calling.”—Richard P. Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA
“Rich Nelson is a truly rare breed of man. He is not only a passionate and respected scholar, thoroughly trained and representative of historical-critical approaches to the Hebrew Bible. But he is also open and interested in the whole spectrum of different ways in which the Bible is read and understood both in the church and the academy. He is a remarkable role-model.”—Roy L. Heller, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
“Rich Nelson was one of the best graduate students I ever taught. In a seemingly effortless manner, he did basic, significant research that provided the grounds for a major but to that point generally undeveloped reading of the Deuteronomistic History. Out of that early study and his later scholarly work, he has rightly become one of our leading interpreters of Deuteronomy and the history that evolved out of its circle.”—Patrick D. Miller, Jr., Princeton Theological Seminary
List of Contributors
“I Still Can’t Believe It”: A Brief Biography of Richard D. Nelson
Brooks Schramm
Bibliographical History of Richard D. Nelson’s Career
Introduction
K. L. Noll
Abbreviations
Part 1: Biblical Studies, Ancient History, and Ancient Literature
Prophetic Madness: Prophecy and Ecstasy in the Ancient Near East and in Greece Martti Nissinen
The Deuteronomic History and the Book of Chronicles: Scribal Works in an Oral World Raymond F. Person Jr.
The Deuteronomistic History: Historical Reconsiderations Niels Peter Lemche
The Deuteronomistic History and “Double Redaction” Philip R. Davies
On the Term Deuteronomistic in Relation to Joshua–Kings in the Persian Period Ehud Ben Zvi
A Portrait of the Deuteronomistic Historian at Work? K. L. Noll
Book-Endings in Joshua and the Question of the So-Called Deuteronomistic History Thomas Römer
Joshua in the Book of Joshua Thomas B. Dozeman
Synoptic David: The View from Chronicles A. Graeme Auld
“Rest All Around from All His Enemies” (2 Samuel 7:1b): The Occasion for David’s Offer to Build a Temple Timothy M. Willis
Why Did David Stay Home? An Exegetical Study of 2 Samuel 11:1 Steven L. McKenzie
David, the Great King, King of the Four Quarters: Structure and Signification in the Catalog of David’s Conquests (2 Samuel 8:1–14, 1 Chronicles 18:1–13) Cynthia Edenburg
Part 2: The Bible, Theology, and the Christian Community
The Self-Limiting God of the Old Testament and Issues of Violence Terence E. Fretheim
Wisdom Influence in the Book of Deuteronomy Jack R. Lundbom
A Simple Matter of Numbering? “Sovereignty” and “Holiness” in the Decalogue Tradition Rodney R. Hutton
What Is Abimelek Doing in Judges? Roy L. Heller
The Chronicler’s Theological Rewriting of the Deuteronomistic History: Amaziah, a Test Case Ralph W. Klein
The Rescue of Jerusalem from the Assyrians in 701 b.c.e. by the Cushites Alice Ogden Bellis
Covenant and Liberation: Diachronic Perspectives Alejandro F. Botta
Woe or Ho: The Lamentable Translation of הוי in Isaiah 55:1 Marty E. Stevens
Tested at the Boundary: Deuteronomy and Matthew in Conversation on Testing Robert L. Foster
Whose Faith? Reexamining the Habakkuk 2:4 Citation within the Communicative Act of Romans 1:1–17 Richard P. Carlson
The Lord’s Supper as a Meal of Siblings Walter F. Taylor Jr.
