TY - BOOK AU - Hays,Christopher B. TI - A covenant with death: death in the Iron Age II and its rhetorical uses in proto-Isaiah SN - 9780802873118 (paperback) AV - BS1199.D34 H39 2015 U1 - 224/.106 23 PY - 2011/// CY - Grand Rapids, MI, Cambridge, U.K. PB - William B. Eerdmans KW - Bible KW - Isaiah, I-XXXIX KW - Criticism, interpretation, etc KW - Death in the Bible KW - Iron age KW - Middle East KW - RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Old Testament KW - bisacsh KW - Antiquities N1 - Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-407) and indexes N2 - "Shows how ancient Near Eastern attitudes toward death illumine the prophet Isaiah Death is one of the major themes of First Isaiah, although it has not generally been recognized as such. In this work Christopher Hays offers fresh interpretations of more than a dozen passages in Isaiah 5-38 in light of ancient beliefs about death. What especially distinguishes Hays's study is its holistic approach, as he brilliantly synthesizes both literary and archaeological evidence, resulting in new insights. Hays first summarizes what is known about death in the ancient Near East during the Second Iron Age, covering beliefs and practices in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria-Palestine, and Judah/Israel. He then shows how select passages in the first part of Isaiah employ the rhetorical imagery of death that was part of their cultural context; further, he identifies ways in which these texts break new creative ground"-- ER -