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Book Reviews 157 lIan is to be congratulated for tackling this very difficult subject and for presenting a wealth ofdata; students ofwomen's history will benefit from her efforts. In tum, her study reveals the almost insurmountable difficulties in reconstructing Jewish women's lives in Judea and the Galilee during the Greco-Roman period. By pointing to the pitfalls ofapologetic, by introducing archaeological data and Christian sources into the discussion, and by raising the methodological questions-ifnot sufficiently answering them-ofutilizing Rabbinic sources for this task, Han offers a foundation upon which historians, those who are feminist and those who are not, may build. Amy-Jill Levine Vanderbilt Divinity School The Bible as It Was, by James L. Kugel. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1997. 680 pp. $35.00. Every once in a while a book comes along which has the possibility oftruly modifying our understanding of a text which has more written about it than any other text in existence. The book, The Bible as It Was, by James L. Kugel, is a very valuable, well written, and important document in the quest for understanding not only how Tanach came to be, but also the crucial need for understanding how interpretation comes to be. The Tanach has the characteristic of being all things to all people in all circumstances , all the time. Using multiple sources, focusing on multiple levels ofanalysis and interpretation, the author is able to coax out ofTanach the fullness ofthe oral tradition. This is truly an impressive work, which at its heart represents the hermeneutical circle. The hermeneutical circle discussed by such scholars as Gadamer, Hirsch, and Palmer essentially says that to read, one must understand; yet, to understand one must read. Kugel gives the reader a context for understanding how the original redactors and editors ofthe massive oral text that would eventually become the biblical canon. As a scholar of rhetoric and Jewish Studies I find this book to be of exceptional usefulness. It provides both the scholar and the lay person with resources and under~ standing difficult to reach in works like Louis Ginsberg's The Legends ofthe Jews or the more traditional work ofSefer Ha-Aggadah. Tanach, like other works derived from oral tradition, contains layer upon layer ofinterpretation. At the same time it underwent significant redaction from original sources; thatvery process removed essential contexts which might have permitted more complete comprehension ofthe oral. Kugel has begun the process ofrecapturing for us the original. In 25 chapters and an epilogue we see an outline ofthe Bible stories as they developed into what we know today. Kugel'S analysis is remarkable in its ability to see the layer upon layer of interpretation as well as the core concepts embedded in the text ofthe Tanach. Through 158 SHOFAR Winter 2000 Vol. 18, No.2 his intriguing analysis and explanation the reader is able to get through those layers to the essence of the biblical story. The variety of perspective used as evidence in this work covers Jewish, pagan, and Christian sources. This breadth ofapproach permits the reader a continuum of vision that permits multiple levels of comprehension. The usefulness ofthis approach is evident in the chapter on "The Life of Torah." In the discussion on divorce we clearly see the continuum at work. Kugel sets out using first primarily Jewish sources the perspective that divorce is permitted and second that divorce is not permitted from primarily Christian sources referring to Jewish sources. Sections are subtitled "Necessary Paperwork," "No Divorce-Except for Indecency," and "Any Old Reason Is Valid." In the section on "Necessary Paperwork," Kugel uses sources from Tanach to Talmud to archaeological discoveries including a citation from a bill of divorce discovered at Murabba'at in Judah, circa 71 C.E. These references show evidence of the elasticity of Jewish law and practice. In the section on "No Divorce" which focuses primarily on Christian sources, Kugel gives a very different perspective sans elasticity. One can clearly see where the modem Catholic position on divorce comes from. Interestingly enough, one ofthe few Jewish sources quoted in this portion refers to the School ofShammai, saying that the only reason for divorce was...

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