Marvin A. Sweeney Books

The Cambridge History of Religion in the Classical World provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the religions of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. The fourteen essays in Volume I begin in the third millennium BCE with the Sumerians and extend to the fourth century BCE through the fall of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and the demise of Alexander the Great. Its contributors, all acknowledged experts in their fields, analyze a wide spectrum of textual and material evidence. An introductory essay by the General Editor sets out the central questions, themes, and historical trends considered in Volumes I and II. Marvin A. Sweeney provides an introduction to the chapters of Volume I. The regional and historical orientations of the essays will enable readers to see how a religious tradition or movement assumed a distinctive local identity, even as they view its development within a comparative framework. Supplemented with maps, illustrations, and detailed indexes, the volume is an excellent reference tool for scholars of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean world.

Exploring a range of topics in biblical and postbiblical theology, this collection features both published and unpublished essays by Marvin A. Sweeney. Key discussions include the canonical interpretation of the Tanak, the nature of Jewish and Asian biblical theology, and the significance of Shabbat. Additionally, it delves into intertextuality within key biblical texts and the evolution of messianism in contemporary Jewish thought. This volume encapsulates Sweeney's extensive scholarship on the Hebrew Bible, making it valuable for scholars, students, and clergy alike.

This commentary on Samuel focuses especially on the qualities of leadership displayed by the major characters of the book. In addition, it provides an analysis of the synchronic, literary structure of the book of Samuel as well as a new theory concerning the composition of the book.