Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Update on Davila's forthcoming books

GOOD NEWS about both of my imminently forthcoming books.

First, the final editing process for my translation of the Hekhalot literature is completed and the book has gone to the printer. It should be out, published by Brill, early next month.
Hekhalot Literature in Translation
Major Texts of Merkavah Mysticism


James Davila

The Hekhalot literature is a motley collection of textually fluid and often textually corrupt documents in Hebrew and Aramaic which deal with mystical themes pertaining especially to God's throne-chariot (the Merkavah). They were composed between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, with roots in earlier traditions and a long and complex subsequent history of transmission.

This volume presents English translations of eclectic critical texts, with a full apparatus of variants, of most of the major Hekhalot documents: Hekhalot Rabbati; Sar Torah; Hekhalot Zutarti; Ma'aseh Merkavah; Merkavah Rabba; briefer macroforms: The Chapter of R. Nehuniah ben HaQanah, The Great Seal-Fearsome Crown, Sar Panim, The Ascent of Elijah ben Avuyah, and The Youth; and the Hekhalot fragments from the Cairo Geniza.
Second, I have just received the page proofs for Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, Volume 1, the firstfruits of The More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project. (If you are a contributor, the proofs for your contribution should be arriving soon.) The book should be out, published by Eerdmans, by the end of September at the latest.
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
More Noncanonical Scriptures, Volume 1


Richard Bauckham
James R. Davila
Alexander Panayotov

HARDCOVER; Coming Soon: 9/30/2013
ISBN: 978-0-8028-2739-5
Available for Backorder
Price: $ 90.00

DESCRIPTION
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (OTP) (Volume 1) stands among the most important publications in biblical studies over the past twenty-five years.

Intended to complement James Charlesworth's Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, this new two-volume collection adds a great many previously unpublished or newly translated texts. Providing the reader with virtually all known surviving pseudepigrapha written before the rise of Islam, OTP presents the sacred legends and spiritual reflections of numerous works that were lost, neglected, or suppressed for many centuries, with authoritative yet accessible introductions to each text.
You can preorder the latter with Amazon at a substantial discount. For you, special deal!