Carol Newsom - The Spirit Within Me

Episode: Carol Newsom returns to OnScript to discuss her wide-ranging interests in anthropology, cognitive science, early Judaism, and the Old Testament. The discussion focuses on her recent research on developing conceptions of the person, including self and moral agency, in ancient Israel and early Judaism. We also go off script to discuss recent books of interest, the inferiority complex in academia, and much more. Our conversation relates to her recent book The Spirit Within Me (Yale University Press).

Guest:  Dr. Carol Newsom is Charles Howard Candler Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology. She’s written quite a few books, including Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations, the OTL commentary on Daniel, and the book we’re discussing today called The Spirit Within Me: Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism (Yale UP). She edited several books, including the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 3rd ed., 2012), now in its third edition. She has translated and published some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including The Hodayot and the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. She was president of the Society of Biblical Literature, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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If you enjoyed this episode ... listen to our earlier episode with Carol Newsom, and our episode with Brent Strawn where he called her "the smartest person in the room."