Social memory studies offer an under-utilised lens through which to approach the texts of the Hebrew Bible. In this volume, the range of associations and symbolic values evoked by twenty-one characters representing ancestors and founders, kings, female characters, and prophets are explored by a group of international scholars.

Introduction ; I: REMEMBERING ANCESTORS AND FOUNDERS ; 1. The Memory of Abraham in Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Yehud/Judah ; 2. Remembering Jacob in the Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Era ; 3. Moses, the Royal Lawgiver ; 4. Exploring The Memory of Aaron in Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Period Yehud ; 5. Remembering Joshua ; II: REMEMBERING KINGS (ISRAELITE AND FOREIGNERS) ; 6. Saul, Hero and Villain ; 7. David in Israelite Social Memory ; 8. Solomon as Cultural Memory ; 9. Between Realpolitiker and Hero of Faith: Memories on Hezekiah in Biblical Traditions and Beyond ; 10. The Memory of Sennacherib in Late Persian Yehud ; 11. Rehabilitating Manasseh: Remembering King Manasseh in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods ; 12. Remembering Josiah ; 13. Nebuchadnezzar: History, Memory and Myth-Making in the Persian Period ; 14. Now You See Him, Now You Don t: Nabonidus in Jewish Memory ; 15. Remembering Cyrus the Persian: Exploring Monarchy and Freedom in Classical Greece ; III: REMEMBERING FEMALE CHARACTERS ; 16. Tamar, from Victim to Mother of a Dynasty ; 17. Ruth: The Art of Memorising Past Enemies, Ambiguously ; 18. Why Remember Jezebela ; IV: REMEMBERING PROPHETS ; 19. Exploring the Memory of Moses 'The Prophet' In Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Yehud/Judah ; 20. Isaiah a Memorable Prophet: Why Was Isaiah so Memorable in the Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Periodsa Some Observations ; 21. Remembering Jeremiah in the Persian Period ; 22. The Memory of Ezekiel in Postmonarchic Yehud ; V: ADDITIONAL AND COMPLEMENTARY METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ; 23. Reflections on a Cognitive Theory of Culture and a Theory of Formalised Language for Late Biblical Studies

Focuses on texts from the Hebrew Bible in terms of how they reflect and shape social memory for a community of Judeans who also considered themselves to represent the religious community of Israel Examines selected biblical figures as nodes of memory evoking certain associations for readers/hearers in the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods Approaches characters compositely, across many books, and focuses on their symbolic/mnemonic value rather than simply on their portrayal as literary characters Contributes to understanding processes of group identity formation in antiquity and engages readers in the debate about the function(s) of the texts of the Hebrew Bible that became authoritative Aids understanding of the world of ideas of Persian and Early Hellenistic Judah

Diana V. Edelman is an independent scholar based in the UK. Her work focuses on the history, archaeology, literature and social memory of the ancient Southern Levant, especially in the Iron Age and the Persian period. Ehud Ben Zvi is a professor in History & Classics at the University of Alberta. He has authored or (co)-edited more than twenty volumes and written numerous essays primarily on ancient Israel, its intellectual history, social memory, historiography, and prophetic books.

Focuses on texts from the Hebrew Bible in terms of how they reflect and shape social memory for a community of Judeans who also considered themselves to represent the religious community of Israel Examines selected biblical figures as nodes of memory evoking certain associations for readers/hearers in the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods Approaches characters compositely, across many books, and focuses on their symbolic/mnemonic value rather than simply on their portrayal as literary characters Contributes to understanding processes of group identity formation in antiquity and engages readers in the debate about the function(s) of the texts of the Hebrew Bible that became authoritative Aids understanding of the world of ideas of Persian and Early Hellenistic Judah