This study contributes to the new approach to the problem of the authority of the Bible and religious authority in general known as canon criticism, and will at the same time promote better understanding and cooperation between Christian and Jewish biblical scholars. The author considers the Hebrew canon, and especially the juxtaposition of law and prophecy within it, not as a component of Christian canon, as is usually done, but as a historical and theological problem focusing on the issue of religious and sociological implications of the claims that underlie the formation of the tripartite canon, particularly the claims staked by the authority of the Bible and how this bears on the self-understanding of Judaism—and Christianity. Joseph Blekinsopp has traveled and studied extensively in the Middle East and Europe. Among his many books are A Sketchbook of Biblical Theology, Sexuality and the Christian tradition, Gibeon and Israel, and Scripture Discussion Commentary: Pentateuch. He is presently professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Prophecy and Canon is the third publication based on research sponsored by the University of Notre Dame Center for the Study of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity.
