In pursuit of meaning

In a career spanning almost five decades, Baruch Levine s numerous publications reflect his wide-ranging interests and areas of expertise in the study of the Hebrew Bible, the ancient Near East, and early Judaism. In Search of Meaning brings together fifty-one of the most important articles that Professor Levine produced during his years at Brandeis University (1962 69) and New York University (1969 2000, emeritus 2000). The first volume, containing twenty-seven articles, focuses on the study of religion in the biblical and ancient Near Eastern worlds from a number of perspectives, ranging from close philological analysis of written sources to anthropological studies of ancient cultic practices. In the twenty-four articles of the second volume, Levine engages broader aspects of ancient Near Eastern society, from legal institutions of various types to larger societal forms of organization. This latter volume also contains some of his more incisive lexicographical and philological contributions to the study of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages.