Vered Noam | Tel Aviv University (original) (raw)

Papers by Vered Noam

Questions and answers on SBL controversy, 2023

What specific language in the SBL statements motivated you… "The Society of Biblical Literature's... more What specific language in the SBL statements motivated you… "The Society of Biblical Literature's Council is saddened and horrified by the ongoing humanitarian crisis and human rights violations unfolding in Israel and Gaza. Of particular concern are the ongoing violence, loss of innocent life, and deprivation of basic shelter, safety, food, water, electricity, medical supplies and other life essentials currently experienced by innocent victims in Gaza".

The SBL failed to distinguish between good and evil.

Leshonenu 84, in Hebrew, 21-36, 2022

The article reexamines a rule in 4QMMT. Josephus’s account demonstrates that, regarding this case... more The article reexamines a rule in 4QMMT. Josephus’s account demonstrates that, regarding this case, the stringent Qumran legislation reflects an early tradition practiced at the start of the second century BCE, whereas the lenient Pharisaic-rabbinic position must have been a novelty. The author suggests that this sectarian law presents a hitherto unidentified example of shared halakhic terminology used both in the Dead Sea Scrolls and rabbinic literature, providing further attestation to an ancient system of halakhah that preceded the sectarian schism

J. Sievers and A. J. Levine, eds., The Pharisees (Eerdmans Publishing, 2021), 55-79 , 2021

D. Boyarin, V. Noam and I. Rosen-Zvi, eds., To Be of the Disciples of Aharon – Studies in Tannaitic Literature and its sources, in Memory of Aharon Shemeshh, Te'uda 31 (2021): 67-90, 2021

The first rule in 4QMMT was restored and interpreted by the editors as a protest against the prac... more The first rule in 4QMMT was restored and interpreted by the editors as a
protest against the practice of eating and bringing heave offerings of gentiles’ grains into the temple. The present article suggests new readings of the relevant lines and, based on parallels in other scrolls, interprets the rule as accusing priests of letting unworthy women in their household touch the holy food and consume the consecrated heave offering. The article further shows that the problem of unfit women eating holy food was a major concern in rabbinic halakhah as well.

R. G. Kratz, ed., Interpreting and Living God’s Law at Qumran: Miqṣat Maʻaśe Ha-Torah: Some of the Works of the Torah, SAPERE vol. XXXIII (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck), 137-159 , 2020

Jonathan Price and Katell Berthelot, editors, The Future of Rome: Roman, Greek, Jewish and Christian Visions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 169-188, 2020

Introduction R. Nachman opened [his homily, with the verse]: "therefore fear not, O Jacob my serv... more Introduction R. Nachman opened [his homily, with the verse]: "therefore fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the Lord, neither be dismayed, O Israel; for I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. And Jacob shall again be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid" (Jer. 30:10). This speaks of Jacob himself, [for it is written:] "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it" (Gen. 28:12). R. Samuel b. Nachman said: do you think that these were angels? These were not angels, but rather the princes of the nations. He showed him the prince of Babylon ascend seventy rungs, and the prince of Medes ascend fiftytwo rungs, and the prince of Greece ascend a hundred and eighty rungs, and the prince of Edom ascend and ascend, and [Jacob] knew not how many rungs. He said before Him [the Lord]: Lord of all the worlds, will this one ever be brought down? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Jacob, even if you see him rise to the skies, I will bring him down. As it is said: "Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, and though you set it among the stars, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord" (Ob. 1:4). 1 The scene portrayed in this midrash from Leviticus Rabbah, whose components are attributed to two third-century sages, the Babylonian Rav Nachman and the Palestinian R. Samuel b. Nachman, is one of the rabbinic depictions of the paradigm of the four kingdoms in the Book of Daniel (Chapters 2 and 7, see also Chapter 8). According to this archetype, the entire history of the world, which is divinely predestined, is divided into four major periods in which each one of these kingdoms reigns in

T & T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls (George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel, eds., Great Britain, 2019), 395-404

Sectarian Halakhah: Halakhic works at Qumran; sectarian traditions; sectarian biblical exegesis; ... more Sectarian Halakhah: Halakhic works at Qumran; sectarian traditions; sectarian biblical exegesis; Qumran law and Rabbinic law

"Ben Sira: A Rabbinic Perspective," J.K. Aitken, R. Egger-Wenzel and S.C. Reif (eds.), Discovering, Deciphering, and Dissenting: Ben Sira Manuscripts after 120 Years (DCLY 2018-2019; Berlin: de Gruyter)., 2018

Ben Sira's Praise of the Fathers and panegyric of the high priest Simeon son of Yohanan exemplifi... more Ben Sira's Praise of the Fathers and panegyric of the high priest Simeon son of Yohanan exemplifies two distinct Jewish genres of priestly glorification. One genre is tales underscoring the twofold role of high priests as both religious agents of the people in the Temple and their leaders in political life. The second category is a short review of world history through a succession of biblical heroes, leading up to the priestly worship in the Jerusalem Temple. The rabbis astutely adopted, imitated and revised these two genres, in order to support the creation of the novel religious culture of the rabbinic era. They depicted the priestly pro tagonists as early rabbis and transformed the succession of past heroes begin ning with Genesis to lead from Sinai to the sages of the Mishnah.

In his famous essay “Halakhah and Aggadah,” written a century ago, Bialik sought to cast the hala... more In his famous essay “Halakhah and Aggadah,” written a century ago, Bialik sought to cast the halakhah in a positive light. Ostensibly harsh, cruel, and onerous, Bialik asserted that halakhah creates a framework into which the illustrious substance of the Jewish lifestyle (”aggadah”) can be poured, and he contended that rabbinic halakhic texts reflect the colorful realia of our ancestors’ lives in antiquity.
This essay seeks to underscore the intrinsic beauty of the halakhah, both
in its function as a normative system and as a constitutive element of the texts in which it is contained, not just as a means of shaping an exemplary lifestyle. Embodied in the halakhah itself is an abstract, meaningful spiritual foundation that shares elements with poetry and philosophy. Halakhic discourse reveals hidden dimensions of the world, heightens the ability of humans and language to shape reality, and articulates theological longing.

2018( ‫תשע"ח‬ ‫ירושלים‬ © ‫שמורות‬ ‫הזכויות‬ ‫כל‬ ‫או‬ ‫זה‬ ‫ספר‬ ‫להפיץ‬ ‫או‬ ‫מידע‬ ‫במאגר‬ ‫לא... more 2018( ‫תשע"ח‬ ‫ירושלים‬ © ‫שמורות‬ ‫הזכויות‬ ‫כל‬ ‫או‬ ‫זה‬ ‫ספר‬ ‫להפיץ‬ ‫או‬ ‫מידע‬ ‫במאגר‬ ‫לאחסן‬ ‫לתרגם,‬ ‫להקליט,‬ ‫לצלם,‬ ‫לשכפל,‬ ‫להעתיק,‬ ‫אין‬ ‫ההוצאה‬ ‫מבית‬ ‫אישור‬ ‫ללא‬ ‫מכני,‬ ‫או‬ ‫אופטי‬ ‫אלקטרוני,‬ ‫אמצעי‬ ‫ובשום‬ ‫צורה‬ ‫בשום‬ ‫ממנו‬ ‫קטעים‬ 978-965-217-420-8 ‫מסת"ב‬ Printed in Israel ‫העניינים‬ ‫תוכן‬ ‫חז"ל‬ ‫ספרות‬ ‫לחיבורי‬ ‫מבואות‬ ‫ראשון:‬ ‫כרך‬ ‫ז‬ ‫הספר‬ ‫עם‬ 1 ‫למשנה‬ ‫מבוא‬ ‫רוזן-צבי‬ ‫ישי‬ 65 ‫המשנה‬ ‫נוסח‬ ‫תולדות‬ ‫רוזנטל‬ ‫דוד‬ 109 ‫תוספתא‬ ‫מנדל‬ ‫פינחס‬ 137 ‫התנאים‬ ‫למדרשי‬ ‫מבוא‬ ‫כהנא‬ ‫מנחם‬ 179 ‫תענית‬ ‫מגילת‬ ‫נעם‬ ‫ורד‬ 211 ‫עולם‬ ‫סדר‬ ‫מיליקובסקי‬ ‫חיים‬ 225 ‫ירושלמי‬ ‫תלמוד‬ ‫עסיס‬ ‫משה‬ 261 ‫הבבלי‬ ‫בתלמוד‬ ‫ארץ-ישראל‬ ‫תורת‬ ‫רוזנטל‬ ‫דוד‬ 297 ‫האמוראיים‬ ‫האגדה‬ ‫מדרשי‬ ‫קדרי‬ ‫תמר‬ 351 ‫והתלמוד‬ ‫המשנה‬ ‫בתקופת‬ ‫בארץ-ישראל‬ ‫התפילה‬ ‫ארליך‬ ‫אורי‬ 379 ‫בארץ-ישראל‬ ‫הפסח‬ ‫הגדת‬ ‫לתולדות‬ ‫תבורי‬ ‫יוסף‬ 403 ‫הארמיים‬ ‫המקרא‬ ‫תרגומי‬ ‫טל‬ ‫אברהם‬ ‫והקשריה‬ ‫חז"ל‬ ‫ספרות‬ ‫של‬ ‫לעולמה‬ ‫שני:‬ ‫כרך‬ 453 ‫שני‬ ‫בית‬ ‫מימי‬ ‫ומסורות‬ ‫חז"ל‬ ‫מסורות‬ ‫קיסטר‬ ‫מנחם‬ ‫לוין‬ ‫דוד‬ 473 ‫חז"ל‬ ‫בספרות‬ ‫ההלכה‬ ‫פוקס‬ ‫ועוזיאל‬ ‫הירשמן‬ ‫מנחם‬ 511 ‫אגדה‬ ‫מדרש‬ ‫קדרי‬ ‫ותמר‬ ‫בארץ-ישראל‬ ‫היהודית‬ ‫בחברה‬ ‫החכמים‬ ‫של‬ ‫עולמם‬ ‫שרמר‬ ‫עדיאל‬ 553 ‫ציבורי‬ ‫ומעמד‬ ‫יוקרה‬ ‫תורה,‬ ‫המשנה:‬ ‫בתקופת‬ ‫העניינים‬ ‫תוכן‬ 583 ‫חז"ל‬ ‫בספרות‬ ‫העבר‬ ‫ודימויי‬ ‫היסטוריוגרפיה‬ ‫היסטוריה,‬ ‫גפני‬ ‫ישעיהו‬ ‫בר-אשר‬ ‫משה‬ 601 ‫חכמים‬ ‫לשון‬ ‫הנשקה‬ ‫ויהודית‬ 635 ‫בארץ-ישראל‬ ‫הארמית‬ ‫טל‬ ‫אברהם‬ 665 ‫ומילונאות‬ ‫מילונות‬ ‫חז"ל:‬ ‫ספרות‬ ‫של‬ ‫המילים‬ ‫אוצר‬ ‫פסברג‬ ‫שמואל‬ 681 ‫הנוצרית‬ ‫הכנסייה‬ ‫ספרות‬ ‫של‬ ‫באספקלריה‬ ‫חז"ל‬ ‫ספרות‬ ‫ניומן‬ ‫הלל‬ 705 ‫והתלמוד‬ ‫המשנה‬ ‫בתקופת‬ ‫בארץ-ישראל‬ ‫המאגיה‬ ‫בוהק‬ ‫גדעון‬ 729 ‫המחברים‬ ‫רשימת‬ 730 ‫האיורים‬ ‫מקורות‬ ‫תענית‬ ‫מגילת‬

The Faces of Torah. Studies in the Texts and Contexts of Ancient Judaism in Honor of Steven Fraade (Christine Hayes/ Tzvi Novick/ Michal Bar-Asher Siegal eds.), Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements, 2017

the Rabbis (forthcoming from Yad Ben-Zvi), which creates a complete corpus of the parallel histor... more the Rabbis (forthcoming from Yad Ben-Zvi), which creates a complete corpus of the parallel historical traditions found both in the writings of the historian Josephus and in rabbinic literature. 1 Steven D. Fraade, "Language Mix and Multilingualism in Ancient Palestine: Literary and Inscriptional Evidence, " Jewish Studies 48 (2012): 1-40, esp. 15-21. 2 Fraade, "Language Mix, " 19.

Tal Ilan and Vered Noam 2015. “Remnants of a Pharisaic Apologetic Source in Josephus and the Baby... more Tal Ilan and Vered Noam 2015. “Remnants of a Pharisaic Apologetic Source in Josephus and the Babylonian Talmud,” in Tradition, Transmission and Transformation from Second Temple Literature through Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity, ed. Menahem Kister, Hillel I. Newman, Michael Segal and Ruth Clements (Proceedings of the thirteenth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Leiden: Brill) 112-133.

Vered Noam, Gruss Lecture 14th at NYU Law School, April 2016

This article offers a fresh perspective on a stormy scholarly debate that has been ongoing for al... more This article offers a fresh perspective on a stormy scholarly debate that has been ongoing for almost two centuries surrounding the rabbinic attitude toward the Hasmonean dynasty. To date, the scholarship has not discriminated between geographically and historically distant sources, combining testimony from the Second Temple period with that from late rabbinic sources.
This article takes a different approach, making a clear distinction between traditions that most likely belong to the Second Temple period and their secondary reworking in rabbinic citations. By separating ancient embedded fragments from their deliberate reworking, it is possible to characterize both the attitude toward the Hasmoneans in temple times and the shifts that took place among the redactors
and transmitters of rabbinic literature.
This reconsideration demonstrates that the rabbis indeed sought to erase the memory of the individual Maccabean brothers, but that they did not display a negative attitude toward the Hasmonean dynasty as an institution. Their outlook on the generations of the Hasmonean leaders – whether positive or negative – was the outcome of their attempt to present history from the ‘rabbinic’ perspective, in which the Torah and its scholars took center stage.

“Lost Historical Traditions: between Josephus and the Rabbis,” Sybils, Scriptures, and Scrolls: John Collins at Seventy (Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, and Eibert Tigchelaar, eds.), JSJ Supplements, Leiden: Brill 2017, II, 991-1017

The article argues for the existence of a lost collection of Jewish oral historiographical tradit... more The article argues for the existence of a lost collection of Jewish oral historiographical traditions with which both Josephus and later authors and editors of rabbinic literature were familiar. This shared collection of sources underlies the parallel historical and pseudo-historical traditions concerning Second Temple figures and events in Josephus and rabbinic literature.

Material finds may shed light on the relationship between the different ethnic groups residing in... more Material finds may shed light on the relationship between the different ethnic groups residing in Maresha, particularly the Judeans and Idumeans. These discoveries lead us to look more closely at certain rituals that were previously seen as ethnic indicators. Circumcised phalluses, ritual immersion installations, ceramic vessels whose holes might reflect Mishnaic rules of purity and impurity, paucity of pig faunal remains, and an Aramaic marriage contract that bears similarities to later Judean contracts were discovered in excavations at Maresha. While the identification of these finds as ethnic markers or symbols connected to the Judeans is clear, their discovery at Maresha and in a Hellenistic context raises many questions. Do these finds reflect early rituals that were shared by the general population of Maresha that gradually coalesced, later in time, into normative Judean/proto Pharisaic behaviour? The convergence of these materials in this context is too overwhelming to be dismissed as coincidental.

The rabbinic halakhic system, with its many facets and the literary works that comprise it, refle... more The rabbinic halakhic system, with its many facets and the literary works that comprise it, reflects a new Jewish culture, almost completely distinct in its halakhic content and scope from the biblical and postbiblical culture that preceded it. The paper reviews the implications of Qumranic legislation, as a way station between the Bible and the Mishnah, for understanding how the "rabbinic revolution” was charted, its methods set up, and its principles established.

Questions and answers on SBL controversy, 2023

The SBL failed to distinguish between good and evil.

Leshonenu 84, in Hebrew, 21-36, 2022

J. Sievers and A. J. Levine, eds., The Pharisees (Eerdmans Publishing, 2021), 55-79 , 2021

D. Boyarin, V. Noam and I. Rosen-Zvi, eds., To Be of the Disciples of Aharon – Studies in Tannaitic Literature and its sources, in Memory of Aharon Shemeshh, Te'uda 31 (2021): 67-90, 2021

R. G. Kratz, ed., Interpreting and Living God’s Law at Qumran: Miqṣat Maʻaśe Ha-Torah: Some of the Works of the Torah, SAPERE vol. XXXIII (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck), 137-159 , 2020

Jonathan Price and Katell Berthelot, editors, The Future of Rome: Roman, Greek, Jewish and Christian Visions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 169-188, 2020

T & T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls (George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel, eds., Great Britain, 2019), 395-404

Vered Noam, Gruss Lecture 14th at NYU Law School, April 2016

Journal for the Study of Judaism, 2020

This book grew out of a larger collaborative project, headed by Noam together with Tal Ilan, that... more This book grew out of a larger collaborative project, headed by Noam together with Tal Ilan, that culminated in the two Hebrew volumes of Josephus and the Rabbis.1 Those hefty volumes, of which the first is dedicated to stories of the Second Temple period and the second to stories about the destruction of the Second Temple, trace the antecedents, and transformations along the way, of stories found in the writings of Josephus and in rabbinic literature. The six case-studies selected for the present volume bespeak and illustrate the same interest, but, given their common subject matter, also combine to enrich our understanding of ancient Jewish views of the Hasmoneans. The six studies, which are accompanied by a programmatic introduction and a new synthetizing concluding chapter on "The Image of the Hasmoneans: A New Perspective," deal, in chronological order, with six stories about the Hasmoneans that appear in Books 12-14 of Josephus's Antiquities and in rabbinic literature: the defeat of Nicanor; the heavenly voice heard by John Hyrcanus; the Hasmoneans' rupture with the Pharisees; the pelting of Alexander Yannai with citrons; Yannai's deathbed instructions to his wife; and the conflict between Yannai's sons and attendant death of Onias. Five of these six correspond to chapters by Noam in the Hebrew compendium and are, basically, revised translations of them; the one on Yannai's deathbed instructions to his wife was analyzed in the Hebrew compendium by Tal Ilan, and so Noam's study of it here is new. All of the studies are offered in support of the hypothesis that the rabbis did not use Antiquities, but, rather, that both Josephus and the rabbis made use of the same traditions, which-in all but one of the cases-are otherwise lost. The one exceptional case is the first, the defeat of Nicanor, for which an older version survives in 1 Maccabees 7, and Noam can therefore compare it separately to Josephus's version and to the rabbinic versions. In each case, the stories are presented in English translation and explained (including frequent reference to biblical allusions), and they are put in the historical context to which they refer. Noam's main objective is to show that the surviving witnesses depend on the same sources or traditions, and to analyze how the changes they underwent reflect the interests of the respective tradents. Most of the demonstration, that stories in Josephus and rabbinic literature depend on the same sources, is based on the application of two reasonable and venerable rules of thumb. First: the more a story in Josephus disrupts its context, or uses surprising or anomalous wording, the likelier it is that he did not create it himself but, rather, inserted it as a unit, from a source or tradition

Presents the Hasmoneans from the perspective of reception history. Examines six sets of parallel ... more Presents the Hasmoneans from the perspective of reception history.
Examines six sets of parallel stories on the Hasmonean dynasty appearing in Josephus' works and in rabbinic literature, in an attempt to reconstruct the putative original traditions and their attitude towards the Hasmonean dynasty.
Investigates the ways these legends were adapted within each corpus and the motivation behind these adaptations, and explores the nature of the relationship between the Josephan and the rabbinic versions.

Grateful for the selection of my book Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans as a finalist for the 20... more Grateful for the selection of my book Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans as a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Awards!

The American Academy of Religion’s online book review website, Reading Religion

Review of Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans, 2019

The ProsenPeople: Exploring the world of Jewish literature , 2018

Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary's review on "Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans"

A Literary-Historical Investigation of the Parallel Traditions in Josephus and in Rabbinic Liter... more A Literary-Historical Investigation of the Parallel Traditions in Josephus and in Rabbinic Literature

A Book Review by Adiel Schremer: Tal Ilan and Vered Noam, in collaboration with Meir Ben Shahar,... more A Book Review by Adiel Schremer:
Tal Ilan and Vered Noam, in collaboration with Meir Ben Shahar, Daphne Baratz and Yael Fisch, Josephus and the Rabbis

ספר זה פותח צוהר אל ספרות ההלכה, האגדה והפרשנות רחבת הידיים המכונה 'ספרות חז"ל', אשר נערכה בארץ-י... more ספר זה פותח צוהר אל ספרות ההלכה, האגדה והפרשנות רחבת הידיים המכונה 'ספרות חז"ל', אשר נערכה בארץ-ישראל. ספרות זו, ביחד עם התלמוד הבבלי שלא נסקר בספר, היא המורשת העיקרית של העם היהודי אחרי המקרא, אשר עיצבה את אורחות החיים, האמונות והדעות של ישראל לדורות.

השער הראשון של הספר מוקדש לתיאורם של החיבורים הנכללים בספרות חז"ל ויצירות משיקות להם מן המשנה, התוספתא ומדרשי ההלכה ועד הירושלמי ומדרשי האגדה, בתוספת טקסטים ליטורגיים, תרגומי מקרא וחיבורים היסטוריים למחצה.

השער השני בוחן נושאי חתך מרכזיים, ובהם: היחס בין מסורות בספרות חז"ל ומסורות בספרות בית שני; ההלכה – מקורותיה, תחומיה, צורותיה הספרותיות ותופעת המחלוקת; האגדה – זיקתה למקרא, דרכי מדרשה ולקחיה הרעיוניים; מעמד החכמים בחברה היהודית, והשאלה עד כמה משקפת ספרות חז"ל מציאות ריאלית; היסטוריה ודימויי עבר בספרות חז"ל; לשון חכמים וארמית בספרות חז"ל – אוצר המילים שלהן והמילונאות המתעדת אותן; המאגיה בת התקופה בארץ-ישראל; וספרות חז"ל באספקלריה של הספרות הנוצרית בת הזמן.

From Qumran to the Rabbinic Revolution: Conceptions of Impurity. By Vered Noam. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 2010. Hardcover. Pp. 408. NIS 99.00/ US $25.00. ISBN 9789652173072 (Hebrew)

Hannah K. Harrington's review on Noam, From Qumran to the rabbinic Revolution

"שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב יושבים אגודות אגודות בכבודם, ואני ידי מלוכלכות בדם ובשפיר ובשליה כדי לטהר אש... more "שכל מלכי מזרח ומערב יושבים אגודות אגודות בכבודם, ואני ידי מלוכלכות בדם ובשפיר ובשליה כדי לטהר אשה לבעלה" –
מדוע שינו חז"ל את דמותו של דוד ממלך וכאיש צבא לדמות של חכם ש"מלכלך את הידיים"?
האם יש אירוניה בקביעה שדוד עסק בטיהור אשה לבעלה?
ומי הפך את הכינור של דוד לשעון מעורר?
הרצאה זו נישאה במסגרת הכנס - "דברים שלא ידעתם על דוד המלך" של החוג ללימודי התרבות העברית באוניברסיטת תל אביב בשיתוף עם מיזם 929.

Jesus and the Pharisees - An Interdisciplinary Reappraisal - Pontifical Biblical Institute, May 2019, Rome