Russell Gmirkin’s "Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible" is a most important book that will elicit a paradigm shift in biblical studies. The detailed comparison of biblical laws with Greek and ANE parallels convincingly demonstrates that the biblical legislation, although having a background in oriental law-codes, was also fashioned on Athenian law and specifically on Plato’s Laws, which contained not only legal prescriptions but the very impetus for creating a national literature, of which Russell Gmirkin brilliantly shows that the Hebrew Bible was the achievement.
In addition, readers interested in the subject of the use of Plato’s Laws by the biblical authors of Genesis-Kings may also consult my book "Argonauts of the Desert: Structural Analysis of the Hebrew Bible" (Equinox 2011 / Routledge 2014); as well as some of my articles, such as "Is the Bible as Platonic Book?" Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 24, 2010; and "From Plato to Moses: Genesis-Kings as a Platonic Epic" in "Biblical Interpretation Beyond Historicity: Changing Perspectives 7", edited by I. Hjelm and T. L. Thompson, 2016; also available on-line on the Bible and Interpretation.
Russell Gmirkin’s "Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible" is a most important book that will elicit a paradigm shift in biblical studies. The detailed comparison of biblical laws with Greek and ANE parallels convincingly demonstrates that the biblical legislation, although having a background in oriental law-codes, was also fashioned on Athenian law and specifically on Plato’s Laws, which contained not only legal prescriptions but the very impetus for creating a national literature, of which Russell Gmirkin brilliantly shows that the Hebrew Bible was the achievement.
In addition, readers interested in the subject of the use of Plato’s Laws by the biblical authors of Genesis-Kings may also consult my book "Argonauts of the Desert: Structural Analysis of the Hebrew Bible" (Equinox 2011 / Routledge 2014); as well as some of my articles, such as "Is the Bible as Platonic Book?" Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 24, 2010; and "From Plato to Moses: Genesis-Kings as a Platonic Epic" in "Biblical Interpretation Beyond Historicity: Changing Perspectives 7", edited by I. Hjelm and T. L. Thompson, 2016; also available on-line on the Bible and Interpretation.
Best regards,
Philippe Wajdenbaum
PhD
Brussels