Jacqueline Vayntrub, *Body Language: Voice, Embodiment and Textuality in the Hebrew Bible*. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2026.

Jacqueline Vayntrub, *Body Language: Voice, Embodiment and Textuality in the Hebrew Bible*. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2026.

Performance, transmission, and corporeality were crucial to ancient understandings of textuality. Written text was far more than a mere memory aid; it served as a formidable tool for encapsulating and conveying the essence of embodied vocal presence. In this audacious and perceptive book, Jacqueline Vayntrub elucidates how the core concepts of embodied speechmaking shaped a tradition of aesthetics and interpretation in the Hebrew Bible. For both authors and readers, biblical texts functioned as vessels that preserved voices for future generations, capturing transient moments of performance and transporting audiences to an idealized or stylized past. Through in-depth analyses of various passages and examinations of the social and material dimensions of speech in the ancient Near East, Vayntrub presents a compelling reimagining of the biblical authors’ perspective on literary creation.

Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen and Sehoon Jang, eds., *The Function of the Reader in the Formation and the Reception of the Book of Isaiah*. Leiden: Brill, 2024.

What new insights from readers were vital for the creation of both the Book of Isaiah and external texts such as the Gospel of Luke? In this meticulously curated volume, a team of esteemed international scholars who specialize in Isaiah explores, for the first time, the intricate roles that readers have in shaping and interpreting the Book of Isaiah. Traditionally, since the rise of exegesis as a critical field, considerable attention has been directed towards the author's impact on the development of biblical texts. However, with the recent progress in literary studies regarding the role of the reader, it becomes crucial to also examine the exegetical question of how readers influence the text. As a text progresses, it inherently reflects a shift in its audience. Therefore, the evolution and reception of the Isaian text can be understood as a result of this continuous transformation.

Lindsey Davidson, *Scribal Culture in Ben Sira*. Leiden: Brill, 2018.

This monograph explores the concept of scribal culture as a lens for analyzing the characteristics of textual referencing in the Book of Ben Sira (c.198-175 BCE), offering fresh perspectives on how Ben Sira crafted his wisdom literature. While the term "scribe" is frequently attributed to Ben Sira, this label brings with it certain interpretive difficulties. By employing comparative analysis, this study situates the sage’s writing style within various historical, literary, and socio-cultural contexts. It illuminates aspects of Ben Sira’s text and the early Jewish practice of textual reuse. Utilizing both physical and material evidence related to reading and writing, this book uncovers the skill and intricacy involved in Ben Sira’s ongoing textual reuse. Consequently, Ben Sira’s work exemplifies outstanding writing that resonates with an appreciative audience.

Ari Ackerman, *Hasdai Crescas on Codification, Cosmology and Creation: The Infinite God and the Expanding Torah*. Leiden: Brill, 2022.

This study investigates the understanding of God as presented by the medieval Jewish philosopher and legal scholar, Hasdai Crescas (1340-1410/11). It illustrates that Crescas perceives God as infinitely creative and benevolent, while also examining the implicit comparison he makes between God as both creator and legislator. This comparison is based on his belief in the Deity's ongoing engagement in generative processes, characterized by the continuous flow of goodness and love, which is expressed through multiple, simultaneous, and successive worlds, as well as an ever-expanding Torah. Additionally, the work considers the Maimonidean context for Crescas' views and posits that Crescas is responding to Maimonides' assertion that creation occurs only at a single moment, along with Maimonides' idea of the Torah as perfect and unchanging.

Aubrey Buster, *Remembering the Story of Israel: Historical Summaries and Memory Formation in Second Temple Judaism*. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022.

In this book, Aubrey Buster reveals how techniques taken from cultural and social memory studies, along with the new formalism, can illuminate the communal importance of biblical and extra-biblical historical summaries during the Second Temple period. By refining models inspired by memory studies, Buster applies them to ancient texts, showcasing the development of Judah's narrative about their history throughout the Second Temple era. Buster's thorough research uncovers how and where the historical summary plays a role in the book of Psalms, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as in the Qumran Psalms Scrolls, Words of the Luminaries, Paraphrase of Genesis and Exodus, and Pseudo-Daniel. Buster demonstrates that the historical summary functions as a generative, replicable, and ultimately fruitful form of memory. By transcending genre boundaries and time frames, liturgical performances, and literary works, these historical summaries created a highly selective yet broadly applicable means of commemorating significant events from Israel's history.