A History of Death in the Hebrew Bible
Matthew Suriano
Reviews and Awards
"Suriano has produced a nuanced, yet accessible study of the history of death in the Hebrew Bible that astutely intertwines insights from material culture of Iron Age Judah and from relevant bibli-cal texts. It will help scholars, theologians, and pastors reflect on the role of rituals that relate to death, the significant place that the body occupies in mortuary practices, and the relational layers that surround death in which the family and the individual, the dead and the living, relate to one another and to the Deity." -- Safwat Marzouk, Bible and Theology
"This is a well-written, erudite book that explores a subject of great interest to most of humanity..." -- Philip S. Johnston , University of Cambridge, Review of Biblical Literature
"I recommend the book to biblical scholars, archeologists, as well as those interested in various ancient understandings of death." -- Tyler Mayfield, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Religious Studies Review
"Anyone acquainted with the problem of death in the HB will know how formidable and tortuous a task it is to write about it. In this recent contribution to the subject, S. provides a fresh and detailed look at Judahite mortuary practices with special emphasis on the Iron Age bench tomb...S. has proffered some interesting ideas in a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on this topic, and one that will likely generate further research." -- Seth Cole, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
"Suriano is to be commended for this effort to bring social and archaeological questions to bear on the meaning of the Hebrew text. He has made an impressive contribution to the study of death in ancient Israel." -- Matthew McAffee, Welch College, Bulletin for Biblical Research