Chaos Uncreated

This monograph presents a challenge to the view that the Hebrew Bible contains allusions to Yahweh’s battle with chaos, showing how the term has been inappropriately applied in a range of contexts where far more diverse spheres of imagery should instead be recognised. Through the construction of a careful diachronic model (developed with particular reference to the Psalter), the author presents a persuasive case for reversing common assumptions about the development of Israelite religion, finding instead that the combat motif was absent in the earliest period, whilst the slaying of a dragon was attributed to Yahweh only in a distinctive monotheistic adaptation, which arose from around 587 B.C.

Revised doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Dr Paul M. Joyce at the University of Oxford, 2001. Rebecca S. Watson was Lecturer in Biblical Studies at St Martin’s College Lancaster and Senior Tutor for the Carlisle and Blackburn Diocesan Training Institute, Carlisle, UK before returning to Oxford in 2003.

"Studie [...] mit Intensität und auf hohem Niveau. Die von Watson geführte Auseinandersetzung geschieht materialreich und profund. Die Studie von Watson bildet eine Vorgabe, um die [...] künftige Exegese und Theologie des Alten Testaments nicht herumkommen werden."
Beat Weber in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 4/2007

"This book is recommended for scholars and advanced students interested in the topic of chaos and creation:"
John L. Mclaughlin in: Religious Studies Review 4/2006