Torah Centers and Rabbinic Activity in Palestine, 70-400 CE

Torah Centers and Rabbinic Activity in Palestine, 70-400 CE
Author: Ben Tsiyon Rozenfeld
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004178384

This book contains pioneering research on aspects of society, culture and geography of rabbinic Torah centers in Palestine 70 400 CE. It surveys the history of the centers in their geographic and social context in chronological order.

Social Stratification of the Jewish Population of Roman Palestine in the Period of the Mishnah, 70–250 CE

Social Stratification of the Jewish Population of Roman Palestine in the Period of the Mishnah, 70–250 CE
Author: Ben Zion Rosenfeld
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-05-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004418938

This book analyzes Jewish society in Roman Palestine in the time of the Mishnah (70–250 CE) in a systematic way, carefully delineating the various economic groups living therein, from the destitute, to the poor, to the middling, to the rich, and to the superrich. It gleans the various socioeconomic strata from the terminology employed by contemporary literary sources via contextual, philological, and historical-critical analysis. It also takes a multidisciplinary approach to analyze and interpret relevant archeological and inscriptional evidence as well as numerous legal sources. The research presented herein shows that various expressions in the sources have latent meanings that indicate socioeconomic status. “Rich,” for example, does not necessarily refer to the elite, and “poor” does not necessarily refer to the destitute. Jewish society consisted of groups on a continuum from extremely poor to extremely rich, and the various middling groups played a more important role in the economy than has hitherto been thought.

Early Christian Encounters with Town and Countryside

Early Christian Encounters with Town and Countryside
Author: Markus Tiwald
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2021-04-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 364756494X

Ever since Jesus walked the hills of Galilee and Paul travelled the roads of Asia Minor and Greece, Christianity has shown a remarkable ability to adapt itself to various social and cultural environments. Recent research has demonstrated that these environments can only be very insufficiently termed as "rural" or "urban". Neither was Jesus' Galilee only rural, nor Paul's Asia only "urban". On the background of ongoing research on the diversity of social environments in the Early Empire, this volume will focus on various early Christian "worlds" as witnessed in canonical and non-canonical texts. How did Early Christians experience and react to "rural" and "urban" life? What were the mechanisms behind this adaptability? Papers will analyze the relation between urban Christian beginnings and the role of the rural Jesus-tradition. In what sense did the image of Jesus, the "Galilean village Jew", change when his message was carried into the cities of the Mediterranean world from Jerusalem to Athens or Rome? Papers will not only deal with various personalities or literary works whose various attitudes towards urban life became formative for future Christianity. They will also explore the different local milieus that demonstrate the wide range of Christian cultural perspectives.

Jews and Christians in the First and Second Centuries: The Interbellum 70‒132 CE

Jews and Christians in the First and Second Centuries: The Interbellum 70‒132 CE
Author: Joshua J. Schwartz
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2017-10-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 900435297X

This volume discusses crucial aspects of the period between the two revolts against Rome in Judaea that saw the rise of rabbinic Judaism and of the separation between Judaism and Christianity. Most contributors no longer support the ‘maximalist’ claim that around 100 CE, a powerful rabbinic regime was already in place. Rather, the evidence points to the appearance of the rabbinic movement as a group with a regional power base and with limited influence. The period is best seen as one of transition from the multiform Judaism revolving around the Second Temple in Jerusalem to a Judaism that was organized around synagogue, Tora, and sages and that parted ways with Christianity.

Talmudic Transgressions

Talmudic Transgressions
Author: Charlotte Fonrobert
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 596
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004345337

Talmudic Transgressions is a collection of essays on rabbinic literature and related fields in response to the boundary-pushing scholarship of Daniel Boyarin. This work is an attempt to transgress boundaries in various ways, since boundaries differentiate social identities, literary genres, legal practices, or diasporas and homelands. These essays locate the transgressive not outside the classical traditions but in these traditions themselves, having learned from Boyarin that it is often within the tradition and in its terms that we can find challenges to accepted notions of knowledge, text, and ethnic or gender identity. The sections of this volume attempt to mirror this diverse set of topics. Contributors include Julia Watts Belser, Jonathan Boyarin, Shamma Boyarin, Virginia Burrus, Sergey Dolgopolski, Charlotte E. Fonrobert, Simon Goldhill, Erich S. Gruen, Galit Hasan-Rokem, Christine Hayes, Adi Ophir, James Redfield, Elchanan Reiner, Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Lena Salaymeh, Zvi Septimus, Aharon Shemesh, Dina Stein, Eliyahu Stern, Moulie Vidas, Barry Scott Wimpfheimer, Elliot R. Wolfson, Azzan Yadin-Israel, Israel Yuval, and Froma Zeitlin.

Second Temple Jewish “Paideia” in Context

Second Temple Jewish “Paideia” in Context
Author: Jason M. Zurawski
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2017-07-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3110546116

Despite the impressive strides made in the past century in the understanding of Second Temple Jewish history and the strong scholarly interest in paideia within ancient Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and late antique Christian cultures, the nature of Jewish paideia during the period has, until recently, received surprisingly little attention. The essays collected here were first offered for discussion at the Fifth Enoch Seminar Nangeroni Meeting, held in Naples, Italy, from June 30 – July 4, 2015, the purpose of which was to gain greater insight into the diversity of views of Jewish education during the period, both in Judea and Diaspora communities, by viewing them in light of their contemporary Greco-Roman backgrounds and Ancient Near Eastern influences. Together, they represent the broad array of approaches and specialties required to comprehend this complex and multi-faceted subject, and they demonstrate the fundamental importance of the topic for a fuller understanding of the period. The volume will be of particular interest to students and scholars of the history and culture of the Jewish people during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, ancient education, and Greek and Roman history.

Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1

Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1
Author: James Riley Strange
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2015-07-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1451489587

Drawing on the expertise of archaeologists, historians, biblical scholars, and social-science interpreters who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy in the research of ancient Galilee, this accessible volume includes modern general studies of Galilee and of Galilean history, as well as specialized studies on taxation, ethnicity, religious practices, road systems, trade and markets, education, health, village life, houses, and the urban-rural divide. This resource includes a rich selection of images, figures, charts, and maps.

For Out of Babylonia Shall Come Torah and the Word of the Lord from Nehar Peqod

For Out of Babylonia Shall Come Torah and the Word of the Lord from Nehar Peqod
Author: Barak S. Cohen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2017-05-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 900434702X

In For Out of Babylonia Shall Come Torah and the Word of the Lord from Nehar Peqod, Barak S. Cohen reevaluates the evidence in Tannaitic and Amoraic literature of an independent “Babylonian Mishnah” which originated in the proto-talmudic period. The book focuses on an analysis of the most notable halakhic corpora that have been identified by scholars as originating in the Tannaitic period or at the outset of the amoraic. If indeed such an early corpus did exist, what are its characteristics and what, if any, connection does it have with the parallel Palestinian collections? Was this Babylonian Mishnah created in order to harmonize the Palestinian Mishnah with a corpus of rabbinic teachings already existent in Babylonia? Was this corpus one of the main contributors to the forced interpretations and resolutions found so frequently in the Bavli?

Jewish Childhood in the Roman World

Jewish Childhood in the Roman World
Author: Hagith Sivan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2018-05-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107090172

The first full treatment of Jewish childhood in the Roman world. Explores the lives of minors both inside and outside the home.

Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity

Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity
Author: Julia Watts Belser
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2015-08-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1107113350

This book analyzes rabbinic responses to drought and disaster, revealing how the Talmudi grapples with problems of power, ethics, and ecology in Jewish late antiquity.