Project title
The Book of Esther: A Commentary (New Cambridge Bible Commentaries series, Cambridge University Press)
Project description
The book of Esther is a highly contentious writing within the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, with a deep divide between Jews and Christians. The Jews hold the book in high esteem and consider it integral to their interpretation, theology, liturgy, festivals, literature, and art. In contrast, Esther does not feature in Christian theology, literature, and liturgy, and the book has often been ignored or even condemned, along with Jews and Judaism.
Professor Isaac Kalimi aims to shed new light on Esther from literary, historical, and theological perspectives and provide a comprehensive and innovative reference work for generations of scholars, teachers, students, Jewish and Christian clergy, intellectuals, and interested laypeople.
Selected publications
The Position of Martin Luther toward Jews and Judaism: Historical, Social, and Theological Avenues (The Journal of Religion 103 (2023), pp. 431-481).
The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity: The Biblical Story, Self-Identification, and Antisemitic Interpretation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023). https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/book-of-esther-between-judaism-and-christianity/15E91BC934A3368C6FDC51A30F5733AB
Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019). http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/07/Writing-and-Rewriting-the-Story-of-Solomon
Fighting Over the Bible: Jewish Interpretation and Polemic from Temple to Talmud and Beyond (The Brill Reference Library of Judaism 54; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2017). http://www.brill.com/products/book/fighting-over-bible