Religion and Philosophy

This book discusses the the beginning of writing and the Beginning of Biblical Literature. Making the claim that the poetic descriptions of God's appearance from Sinai and the giving of commandments are older than the story in the Torah, this book looks at the drama of the redesign of Sinai traditions and their transfer from the oral poetic expression to the creation of written story. Taking place against the background of the intensification of literacy in the ancient Israeli society in the eighth century BC, the book argues that the emergence of scriptural prophecy is the other side of the same coin. This work is an important read for scholars of early Christianity.