Jews in a Graeco-Roman World

Jews in a Graeco-Roman World
Author: Martin Goodman
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 306
Release: 1998-12-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191518360

This book contains studies of the social, cultural, and religious history of the Jews in the Graeco-Roman world. Some of the sixteen contributors are specialists in Jewish history, others in classics. They tackle from different angles the extent to which Jews in this period differed from other peoples in the Mediterranean region, and how much Jewish evidence can be used for the history of the wider classical world. The authors make extensive use not only of types of evidence familiar to classicists, such as inscriptions and the writing of Josephus, but also Jewish religious literature, including rabbinic texts. The various studies demonstrate that, although Jews lived to some extent apart from others and with distinctive customs, in many ways this showed the cultural presuppositions and preoccupations of their gentile contemporaries. The book aims to encourage wider use of the Jewish evidence by classicists and will be important for all students of the classical world.

The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World

The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World
Author: Peter Schäfer
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780415305853

Examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's conquest in 334 BC to its capture by the Arabs in AD 636.

Jewish Identity in the Greco-Roman World

Jewish Identity in the Greco-Roman World
Author: Jörg Frey
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2007-09-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047421558

The articles discuss various aspects of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman period. Was there a common ‘Jewish’ identity, and how could it be defined? How could different groups develop and maintain their identity within the challenge of Hellenistic and early Roman culture? What about the images of ‘others’? How could some of those ‘others’ adopt a Jewish lifestyle or identity, whereas others, abandoned their inherited identity? Among the questions discussed are the translation of Ioudaios, Jewish and universal identity in Philo, the status of women and their conversion to Judaism, the participation of non-Jews in the temple cult, the practice of Emperor worship in Judaea, and the image of Egypt and the Nile as ‘others’ in Philo. Two articles enter the debate whether Jewish identity had an ongoing influence within early Christianity, in Paul and in the rules known as the Apostolic Decree.

Jews and Christians: Volume 6

Jews and Christians: Volume 6
Author: Molly Whittaker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1984-11-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780521242516

The aim of this book is to give access to sources which illustrate Graeco-Roman views on Jews and Christians from 200 BC to AD 200. Passages range from longer extracts written by historians to short incidental references by disparate authors which throw light on attitudes towards beliefs and social customs. The pagan religious background, especially the Mystery religions, is also described and illustrated by selected passages, so that the reader may have some idea of the general religious climate during this period. Every quotation is prefixed by a brief biography of the author and all passages have been translated into English, with explanatory comment when necessary. Connecting essays act as summaries and focus the attention on essential issues. These, together with a chronological chart and maps should enable a student coming fresh to the subject, without previous specialized knowledge, to see the period in historical perspective.

Environment of the New Testament. Jesus and Judaism, the Greco-Roman Society and Insights from Archaeology

Environment of the New Testament. Jesus and Judaism, the Greco-Roman Society and Insights from Archaeology
Author: Sixbert Sangwa
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 27
Release: 2021-06-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3346418413

Academic Paper from the year 2021 in the subject Theology - Biblical Theology, grade: 90, Nations University, course: The New Testament Environment, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of Jesus teachings and the Judaism practices at the time. It also seeks to understand the contribution of Greco-Roman society to the application of the Gospel in modern contexts and to draw lessons from Ephesus to find the limits and contributions of the science of archaeology. Since the Bible was written to people familiar with the world order, its writers had only occasional reason to include "background" notations. However, for those of us who live centuries later, the need for in-depth study is obvious. It is believed that in-depth studies can lead to a better understanding of the biblical text, but studying the environment of the New Testament is not an end in itself. They can broaden one's perspective, allow for more rigorous study of the biblical text, and excite one who is driven by curiosity. All societies have their predecessors and all build on the foundations of earlier laws, customs, and inventions. This is also relevant for the world of the New Testament, which emerged from an integrated, firm, and complex world. The Gospel witnessed in the New Testament was presented to a monotheistic and polytheistic, rich, and poor, Hellenistic, and traditional Jewish world. However, the Gospel was so universal in scope that it offered a message of redemption for all and yet enabled the redeemed to function as responsible citizens in a pagan society.

The Jews Among the Greeks and Romans

The Jews Among the Greeks and Romans
Author: Margaret H. Williams
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Total Pages: 260
Release: 1998
Genre: History
ISBN:

This collection of freshly translated texts is designed to introduce those interested in Graeco-Roman and Jewish culture to the realities of Jewish life outside Israel between 323 BC and the middle of the 5th century AD.

Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman Cities

Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman Cities
Author: John R. Bartlett
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2003-05-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134663994

A comprehensive study of Jews in the classical world. Articles examine Jerusalem and other Jewish communities on the Mediterranean, as found in the writings of Luke, Josephus and Philo.