A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period (vol. 1)

A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period (vol. 1)
Author: Lester L. Grabbe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2006-07-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567216179

In the first of four volumes on A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period, Lester Grabbe presents a comprehensive history of Yehud - the Aramaic name for Judah - during the Persian Period. Among the many crucial questions he addresses are: What are the sources for this period and how do we evaluate them? And how do we make them 'speak' to us through the fog of centuries? This first volume, Yehud: A History of the Persian Province of Judah offers the most up to date and comprehensive examination of the political and administrative structures; the society and economy; the religion, temple and cult; the developments in thought and literature; and the major political events of Judah at the time.

Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period

Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period
Author: Lester L. Grabbe
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2002-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134615620

The developments in Judaism during the Second Temple period remain important to contemporary Jewish religion. This volume provides a much needed encyclopedic study of the period. Includes bibliographies, cross-references and summaries.

Judaism in Late Antiquity

Judaism in Late Antiquity
Author: Jacob Neusner
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 898
Release: 2001
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780391041530

Jacob Neusner (vols. 1, 2, and 3) and his colleagues Alan Avery-Peck (vol. 2) and Bruce Chilton (vol. 3) have assembled a stellar team of scholars in producing what has already become an essential reference work for the study of Judaism in Late Antiquity. Originally written in nine separate volumes, Judaism in Late Antiquity now appears, unabridged, in three. The entire work seeks to offer readers both a broad perspective on the shape of Judaism while also opening the way to understanding unique issues. Editors Neusner, Avery-Peck, and Chilton must be commended for this generous gift both to the scholarly guild and to the general reader looking for a thought-provoking overview of the central academic conversations. "Judaism in Late Antiquity, I, II, III" is also available in hardback

Etrog

Etrog
Author: David Z. Moster
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 157
Release: 2018-04-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3319737368

Every year before the holiday of Sukkot, Jews all around the world purchase an etrog—a lemon-like fruit—to participate in the holiday ritual. In this book, David Z. Moster tracks the etrog from its evolutionary home in Yunnan, China, to the lands of India, Iran, and finally Israel, where it became integral to the Jewish celebration of Sukkot during the Second Temple period. Moster explains what Sukkot was like before and after the arrival of the etrog, and why the etrog’s identification as the “choice tree fruit” of Leviticus 23:40 was by no means predetermined. He also demonstrates that once the fruit became associated with the holiday of Sukkot, it began to appear everywhere in Jewish art during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and eventually became a symbol for all the fruits of the land, and perhaps even the Jewish people as a whole.

Food and Identity in Early Rabbinic Judaism

Food and Identity in Early Rabbinic Judaism
Author: Jordan Rosenblum
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2010-05-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0521195985

Food often defines societies and even civilizations. Through particular commensality restrictions, groups form distinct identities. This identity is enacted daily, turning the biological need to eat into a culturally significant activity. In this book, Jordan D. Rosenblum explores how food regulations and practices helped to construct the identity of early rabbinic Judaism. Bringing together the scholarship of rabbinics with that of food studies, this volume first examines the historical reality of food production and consumption in Roman-era Palestine. It then explores how early rabbinic food regulations created a distinct Jewish, male, and rabbinic identity.

Judaism and Hellenism in Antiquity

Judaism and Hellenism in Antiquity
Author: Lee I. Levine
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2012-03-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0295803827

Generations of scholars have debated the influence of Greco-Roman culture on Jewish society and the degree of its impact on Jewish material culture and religious practice in Palestine and the Diaspora of antiquity. Judaism and Hellenism in Antiquity examines this phenomenon from the aftermath of Alexander’s conquest to the Byzantine era, offering a balanced view of the literary, epigraphical, and archeological evidence attesting to the process of Hellenization in Jewish life and its impact on several aspects of Judaism as we know it today. Lee Levine approaches this broad subject in three essays, each focusing on diverse issues in Jewish culture: Jerusalem at the end of the Second Temple period, rabbinic tradition, and the ancient synagogue. With his comprehensive and thorough knowledge of the intricate dynamics of the Jewish and Greco-Roman societies, the author demonstrates the complexities of Hellenization and its role in shaping many aspects of Jewish life—economic, social, political, cultural, and religious. He argues against oversimplification and encourages a more nuanced view, whereby the Jews of antiquity survived and prospered, despite the social and political upheavals of this era, emerging as perpetuators of their own Jewish traditions while open to change from the outside world.

Writing the Wayward Wife

Writing the Wayward Wife
Author: Lisa Grushcow
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2019-01-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 904741781X

Writing the Wayward Wife is a study of rabbinic interpretations of sotah, the law concerning the woman suspected of adultery (Numbers 5:11-31). The focus of the book is on interpretations of sotah in tannaitic and amoraic texts: the Mishnah, Tosefta, Midrash Halakhah, Midrash Aggadah, and the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds. The body of the work is in-depth analysis of the legal and ritual proceedings. Jewish Greek interpretations (Josephus, Philo, and LXX) also are addressed, along with the Protevangelium of James, and fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Cairo Geniza. Finally, the disappearance of the ritual is discussed, with implications for the development of rabbinic authority. In previous secondary literature, the law of sotah has been understood as either proto-feminist or misogynist. This book argues that neither of these are appropriate paradigms. Rather, this book identifies the emergence of two major interpretive themes: the emphasis on legal procedures, and the condemnation of adultery.

Traditions at Odds

Traditions at Odds
Author: John H. Choi
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2010-09-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567202992

Traditions at Odds explores the Pentateuch's literary influence on other biblical texts. There exist a number of content discrepancies between pentateuchal and non-pentateuchal texts that treat the same subject. Through a detailed analysis, the author argues that the discrepancies are not alterations of pentateuchal material, as is generally argued, but rather indications of independent traditions. Thus, much of biblical literature was written outside of the Pentateuch's purview. Corroborating evidence is found in literature from the Second Temple Period, which also exhibits a lack of conformity to the Pentateuch. After demonstrating this independence, this study explores its implications on the composition of biblical texts and the process of canonization. Marked by an interdisciplinary approach, the study incorporates recent theoretical developments in literary and ideological criticism, as well as ritual, historiography and textual citation. It not only provides a broader base of study, but serves to address a deficiency in biblical studies: most studies of intertextuality operate with little theoretical grounding, while studies in ritual or historiography are based on models from the late 19th/early 20th centuries.