Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition

In this groundbreaking work, Sommer (The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel), who teaches biblical studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, argues that the idea of participatory revelation (in which those who receive a divine command participate in creating the resulting sacred texts and laws) has long been accepted in Jewish tradition, and he traces the history of that concept. Notably, Sommer benefits from source-critical Bible scholarship, which holds that early biblical books were derived from multiple text sources. In fact, Sommer proposes that the Hebrew Bible be officially acknowledged as a composite of Israelite/Jewish traditional voices in dialogue—though deriving ultimately from the divine command—and that this view, far from being hostile to religious belief, makes the Bible more valuable. A resulting modest and flexible theory of Jewish law potentially resolves some contradictions of belief and practice for modern Jews. Clearly written and broad in application, this is an important read for Jewish laypeople, clergy, and scholars. This volume is also likely to appeal to non-Jews who want to make modern biblical scholarship relevant for believers. (June)