Mary E. Mills

Reading Ecclesiastes explores the literary style and themes of the Book of Ecclesiastes, investigating its overall theological messages and the cultural perspectives which readers bring to bear on their act of reading. Examining the meaning found in Ecclesiastes through the use of two important contemporary reading methods - narrative criticism and cultural exegesis - Mary E. Mills breaks new ground. Highlighting the range of theological meaning attached to the book of Ecclesiastes as a result of treating the text as a form of narrative and a story told in the first person, this innovative book will appeal to all those interested in narrative criticism, literary studies and interpretation and Wisdom tradition and the ancient world more widely, as well as biblical scholars.

This guide provides a concise introduction to the ways the book of Jeremiah has been interpreted by scholars, and to new possibilities of interpretation still open to readers. Outlining approaches the reader encountering the book may best adopt, Mary E. Mills moves into the reception of the prophetic book in the modern period. The role of historical criticism has been fundamental but she shows how it should be supplemented by recent explorations into the rhetorical structures and devices by which the book communicates its messages. Historically oriented scholars drew upon the book as a record of the words and career of a prophet in monarchical Judah. Literary investigation, on the other hand, focuses on the mood and tone of the literary work. Both interpretative strands acknowledge the persistence of a mood of terror and fragmentation within Jeremiah, the result of its origins in a period of great political upheaval. Examination of the poetic devices a society uses to process its social and cultural trauma leads the reader to a deeper appreciation of the variety of sources and genres found in Jeremiah. This study guide provides reading tools which readers can then develop at their own pace.

The Old Testament tells the story of a particular nation, ancient Israel, from its origins to its collapse in the face of foreign invaders. But what sort of story is this? How does it fit in with the findings of archaeological explorations of ancient Syro-Palestine? Joshua to Kings picks up the two aspects of the story told in the books from Joshua to 2 Kings, that of an actual historical society and that of a literary presentation of a nation, told from a religious perspective. By exploring the contents of these books the student is led into the use of basic tools for biblical study, such as historical criticism, narrative criticism and ideological criticism, in order to engage in a structured manner with the task of reading and interpreting biblical texts in the modern world. For this third edition the text has been revised and updated to take into account the changes and shifts in scholarship. Reading lists and bibliographies have been comprehensively revised.

The Old Testament tells the story of a particular nation, ancient Israel, from its origins to its collapse in the face of foreign invaders. But what sort of story is this? How does it fit in with the findings of archaeological explorations of ancient Syro-Palestine? Joshua to Kings picks up the two aspects of the story told in the books from Joshua to 2 Kings, that of an actual historical society and that of a literary presentation of a nation, told from a religious perspective. By exploring the contents of these books the student is led into the use of basic tools for biblical study, such as historical criticism, narrative criticism and ideological criticism, in order to engage in a structured manner with the task of reading and interpreting biblical texts in the modern world. For this third edition the text has been revised and updated to take into account the changes and shifts in scholarship. Reading lists and bibliographies have been comprehensively revised.

The ancient world believed that the universe was made up of elements both material and spiritual. These elemental forces affected human life positively or negatively and any human being who could share their energy was a person of great significance - a human agent of cosmic power. This is a significant part of the background of the life and career of Jesus of Nazareth. The present work is a reappraisal of Synoptic accounts of Jesus and his followers in the light of recent developments in the study of ancient magic.

This volume brings together aspects of contemporary study of cultural geography and selected passages from prophetic texts of the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The aim is to identify how the image of the city helps to construct meaning inside the biblical material. In order to carry out this task relevant textual narratives are analysed and then read from the viewpoint of space, place and urban studies. This latter category includes the works of Lefebvre, Bachelard, Soja, Massey, Amin and Thrift and Pile, among others. A major finding is that urban imagination is a tool by which the texts manage the experience of political and social events in a time of radical change.

Reading Ecclesiastes explores the literary style and themes of the Book of Ecclesiastes, investigating its overall theological messages and the cultural perspectives which readers bring to bear on their act of reading. Examining the meaning found in Ecclesiastes through the use of two important contemporary reading methods - narrative criticism and cultural exegesis - Mary E. Mills breaks new ground. Highlighting the range of theological meaning attached to the book of Ecclesiastes as a result of treating the text as a form of narrative and a story told in the first person, this innovative book will appeal to all those interested in narrative criticism, literary studies and interpretation and Wisdom tradition and the ancient world more widely, as well as biblical scholars.

Biblical Morality explores a selection of Old Testament narratives, drawing out their views on morality to offer a unique perspective on the meaning of the term 'biblical morality'. Mary Mills argues that Old Testament stories build upon a moral vision across the levels of cosmos, community and person; the author then uses these concepts as interpretative tools for reading texts, as well as literary-critical tools of characterisation, plot and time-space setting. When Old Testament stories are read by a number of different readers, diverse cultural meanings emerge; this book argues that any exploration of biblical morality must take into account plurality of meaning and not expect to settle for a single unified reading which produces a one-dimensional personal behavioural ethic. Presenting a study of biblical morality which allows Old Testament stories to stand in their own right as relevant sources, this book allows for the relevance of 'moral boundaries' without drawing these simplistically or narrowly, and offers an accessible examination of biblical morality to all those exploring biblical texts, narrative criticism and morality and ethics more widely. Mary E. Mills is a Lecturer in Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, UK, and is the author of many books including The Puzzle of the Gospels (HarperCollins); Images of God in the Old Testament (Cassell); Historical Israel, Biblical Israel (Cassell).