Education in Ancient Israel (Anchor Bible) Book

James L. Crenshaw's Education in Ancient Israel, a book about how knowledge was transmitted from generation to generation in biblical times, may also shed light on some of the more contentious issues in education today. Crenshaw reads biblical books such as Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, as well as Sumerian and Egyptian texts to find clues about how students learned to read and memorize their lessons in biblical times. He also describes the frightening forms of corporal punishment that sometimes took place when students failed. Crenshaw's central thesis is that in biblical times, "education originated with the desire for order and community." To realize that desire, educators embarked on ambitious programs of "moral formation, the building of character," which was always strengthened by instruction in religious devotion. Crenshaw's project is historical, so his book stays neutral in contemporary education wars. Still, it's interesting to imagine him head-to-head with someone like William Bennett, considering the question of why so many people of faith today have ideas about education that closely resemble the standards of biblical times. --Michael Joseph Gross Read More