Well, not all of the literature, but this book is by far the best encapsulation of all of the literature of the period in one place. Other works, such as those by Charlesworth, present the actual writings but I have not encountered a work that summarizes thematically the various beliefs of the period so concisely.

Kugel's book delves into the Pentateuch primarily, dealing with various themes from these books. But from here come multitudes of other themes shooting off from these main themes, taken us on a journey through the massive amounts of writings of this time.

This volume is a hefty price but if you like footnotes and references and other sorts of bibliographic material, it's a dream come true and worth the investment as you can revisit it at your convenience. This version also contains sections following each particular theme called 'Other Readings' which contains elaborations on the main theme thus broadening the scope (and thus embracing even more of this literature) of understanding.

This information is vital to understanding the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity out of the milieu of Second Temple Judaism and neither can truly be understood without this valuable information. Such things as fallen angels, resurrection and life after death, the Messiah/Savior/Son of Man and other such themes all underwent great development during this period of turmoil and the unfolding of their development can be found in this literature.

Kugel does not so much as explain in scholarly fashion the details of this development but highlights the ideas and themes and presents the particular verses chronologically by quoting the various writings.

In the index are all of the writings with a brief history of them and their importance in the history of each faith. This book contains The Bible As It Was and then some. In my opinion, as I've become hooked on the incredible diversity of exegesis (and some flights of fancy) from the Pentateuch, the difference in price is worth it (my only complaint would be that, whereas The Bible As It Was can be obtained relatively inexpensively through various outlets, this one still commands top dollar).

All in all, this is a tremendous and vital resource for anyone seeking to really understand the origins of the split between Judaism and Christianity, the historical development of the beliefs of what became Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism and anyone interested in the historical underpinnings of theological ideas that ultimately affect our worldviews.

This is an expanded addition of Kugel's excellent work "The Bible As It Was." It contains the same introductory material and the discussion of all the "exegetical motifs" from the smaller version plus a lot more. The question for all potential buyers is whether the addtions are worth the price. With "Traditions of the Bible" you will get about 50% more material for about three times the price. The full list of motifs is available in the lenthy table of contents on the Amazon page. Thus, readers can examine the list to decide if the extra material is what they need and, therefore, worth the price. Beyond the pure fascination of encountering the ways in which ancient interpreters addressed the exegetical difficulties of the Torah, both volumes serve, in the long term, as reference works. Anyone working on specific texts from the Torah will not want to be without all of the resources that Kugel has pulled together in these books. For some, these resources will be ample for the task. For other, they will be a great starting point for further research. If the text you are working on is not in "The Bible As It Was," that can be frustrating. If your intent is to have a reference work in your library to use for years to come while working on a wide variety of passages from the Torah, then "Traditions" may be a good buy on a cost-per-use basis. Certainly, any library will want to purchase the larger volume.

"The Bible as it was" is a wonderful and exhaustive work regarding scriptural interpretation and the first five books of the Bible. Early Jewish tradition was to fill in interpretive information when necessary to resolve items that were ambiguous or unclear. In addition, notes and commentary were often passed along with the texts and over time tended to become a part of the text. As a result, the Bible of today includes a lot of commentary as well as the original texts.
Kugel's purpose is to try to reconstruct the Bible as it was in its original form as closely as possible. While we all know that no copies of the original Bible exist today, the King James version was based on the Textus Receptus which was a Greek translation of the Bible and considered the oldest reliable source at the time. Since then there have been many archaeological finds of manuscripts from earlier points in time and in the original Hebrew language. Many of these passages differ somewhat from current translations. In theory, the older versions should be closer to the original version. Working from the oldest texts he examines some of the differences in the way passages were interpreted and what that could mean. This gets us closer to an original version without all the intervening thoughts and interpretations that earlier writers had added in an attempt to make it more understandable and applicable to the people of their time.
Dr. Kugel thoroughly documents his work complete with quotes, sources and annotations as appropriate.

A fascinating book that sheds new light onto many passages it should be read by anyone attempting a serious and scholarly study of the Bible.

This informtive study of the Hebrew Bible provides a chapter-by-chapter analysis of some of the most important stories of the Bible, describing how these stories were interpreted by various peoples, how its message was understood at the time, and the origins of modern explanations. An outstanding contrast between past and present interpretative methods.

As one who has waded through Genesis Rabbah all the way to Deuteronomy, scratching my head, making marginal notes like Rashi, and looking up almost every word, this book came like a 500 BTU central unit, to a cottage deep in the rain forest.

Dr. Kugel has gathered thousands of lines of commentary from unnumbered sources, but all from a 300 year time period, about 200bce to 100ce-- the same time the gospels and epistles were written, the Mishnah was codified and most of the rabbis of the Pirkei Avot were active.

Kugel quotes standard Jewish commentary, but he also quotes from Christian scriptures, treating them (as Christian scholar Rosemary Reuther suggested many years ago) as midrash upon the Jewish texts. He also uses standard histories of the time, such as Josephus' Antiquities, the works of Philo, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

What makes this extensive work such a relief and a delight are the extensive annotations of the author: accurate citations are always given (I checked); end notes are given, describing all sources, and giving dates, or approximate dates. There is a bibliography of modern sources as well. Most importantly, each time a midrash or other commentary is inserted into the text of the Torah, Kugel gives us a most essential bit of information: he tells us what the problem is with that text that the commentator feels needs explaining.

It is not always obvious to a reader 2,000 years later what a certain rabbi's problem was with a text that prompted him to write the several lines of commentary he left us. The work Kugel has done-- his gift to us, is to climb into the minds of these people in a different place, discover what their concerns were, and deduce what parts of the texts would have caught their attention and for what reason. Since none of his interpretations (at least none I have looked-- and I've looked at most of them) seem forced or overly creative, I believe this is the work of a great scholar. I cherish it, and I thank him much.

I have to differ my with esteemed colleagues. I have not read Kugel previously. I cannot find the book to be held in such high regard. This is one example: "Bibliographical and Other Notes" is 52 pages of the book. The Notes are arranged by page number. The reader does not know that there is Note for an individual page; the text does not indicate that. There is no separate Bibliography. The reader has to dig it out of the Notes.

The author refers to his work as the "Project." Well, if the Notes and the Hebrew Bible are removed, then the reader has about 125-165 pages of solid material.

The books intends to acquaint the reader with a different view of God. God changes in the Hebrew Bible. The author points out these changes. Perhaps, the reader's view of God has not considered alternative views. The author gives the reader a God that is not omniscient nor omnipotent, for a good part of the Hebrew Bible.

I guess I have to read some other Kugel works. But I do not share my fellow reviewers opinion of this work. The book is organized thusly: 1 The Project; 2 The Moment of Confusion; 3 Not Searching for God; 4 No Graven Images; 5 The Cry of the Victim; 6 The Soul's Journey; 7 The Last Look; Bibliographical and Other Notes; Scriptual Index; Subject Index.

I really liked this book. Kugel is smart, interesting, original and unafraid to take risks. I know very little about the Bible, but had no trouble understanding his ideas. Conversely, I am quite sure I would have gotten just as much out of it even if I were an expert on the Old Testament.

James Kugel assured his place as a giant of biblical studies with his opus, The Bible as it Was, which examined various secondary texts to understand the way Israelites read the Bible during the Second Temple Period. Here, Kugel examines a subject that, in his own words, is far thinner. Looking at the Bible, particularly the Five Books of the Torah, he tries to gain insight into how Israel perceived G-d in the Biblical period. He does not disappoint. Examining the occasions when individuals encountered the divine or His messengers, Kugel builds a persuasive case that ancient Israelites understanding of the divine stands as remarkable different from what modern readers seek to project backwards through time.

Some may take offense at some of Kugel's assertions, that the ancient Israelites saw G-d as corporeal and did not embrace monotheism as early as modern interpreters argue. However, the modern quirk projecting back modern concepts as far back as possible, while a comforting fiction, bellies our attempts to truly understand our ancestors. The development of Monotheism, easily one of the greatest and most impactful achievements of human history, should not be taken for granted as something that came in a preverbal flash.

Kugel does a wonderful job presenting complex material in an accessible format. His sensitivity to the potentially controversial thesis he espouses only further coxes the reader along for this fascinating journey. People interested in this subject should also read Kugel's other work and consider reading the works of Bill Dever and Baruch Halperin, both also excellent.

I would give this book zero stars if it were possible to do so. Kugel's presentation of what it means to be a Jew in the world today has a heavy-handed Orthodox bias that is most present in its presentation of other Jewish movements. The most disappointing aspect of the book was Judd Lewis's (Yehuda HaLevi's) failure to raise any serious questions to the dogma and doggerel laid down by the man who is supposed to convince him not to intermarry. If you are seeking a good book about what it means to be a Jew today, check out any of Joseph Telushkin's books, which, though written from an Orthodox viewpoint, manage to present all forms of Judaism without bias/

The current time period can be described as the polarization of Modern orthodoxy. Modern orthodoxy is being stretched on two opposite fronts and faces a serious danger of collapse. On the one side there is a "blackening" of Judaism and this threatens compromising basic fundamentals of Judaism which although stems from a tremendous respect and fear (as the term "Charedi" means) for the mitzvoth is nonetheless not ideal. At the same time there is a counter pull which is equally as destructive if not more so (but only on a technical level being that the former adheres to halacha, yet fundamentally they both represent the same horrors and threats). The counter pull is assimilationism.

In contrast to both of these ideas stands Modern orthodoxy. It must be realized that Modern orthodoxy is not a middle ground, it is not a buffer ground between charredim and Conservative/Reform/Reconstructionism. This is a fallacy. Modern orthodoxy is not a compromise. It is not a combination. It is neither an enhancement of religion by the introduction of society nor the enhancement of society by the addition of culture/religion. It is the way of truth. We believe it is the lifestyle that g-d demands out of us. There is no reason that in the modern time people are embarrassed, silent, shy, apprehensive, or apologetic about "our way", the way of Truth! (Rabbi Lamm)

With this understanding the battle to maintain a true Modern orthodoxy in which its adheres are both truly living in the world to serve G-d is 1. a proper understanding of Judaism and 2. a sense of pride within Judaism. I think this work by Professor Kugel is brilliant in that it outlines the fundamentals of Judaism and presents them in an extremely well expressed manner. The book describes how Jews live to serve g-d and he leaves the reader with an inspiration. Essentially I see the book as the answer to what Modern Orthodoxy needs in its current struggle. I see this book as a critical read and encourage it heavily.

A mamiferous animal is considered Kosher if it chews the cud, if it has a hoof and if the hoof is cloven.

Of the many interpretations or reasons of these rules given through time by the Sages of the Scriptures, there is one which comes to mind when reading James Kugel's book. The hoof is hard. It is cloven to show the uncompromising distinctiveness between right and wrong. That is the law! Chewing the cud is a symbol of mercy, of going over what is presented to find some flaw. That is clemency. Eating only Kosher animals is to keep these two apparently contradictory properties firmly in mind.

In "On being a Jew" Kugel shows how the Law and Clemency are intimately interwoven in the fabric of Jewishness. It shines a bright light on our centuries-old traditions and beliefs. A wonderful book for the convinced, the sceptic and the bewildered.