Ancient Judaism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

"This book is the first-ever monograph on the family of royal converts from Adiabene including the broader perspective of the cultural and political environment of Hellenistic and Parthian Adiabene. It collects, arranges and discusses all... more

"This book is the first-ever monograph on the family of royal converts from Adiabene including the broader perspective of the cultural and political environment of Hellenistic and Parthian Adiabene. It collects, arranges and discusses all available sources on the topic.
The study consists of three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1-5) is devoted to the longest ancient account on the Adiabene royalty from all ancient literature – Josephus, Ant. 20:17-96 (“the Adiabene Narrative”). It examines the Adiabene narrative as Josephus’ conscious literary product with all its rhetorical features and ideological agendas.
Part 2 (chapters 6-7) deals with other sources about the family of royal converts from Adiabene. Chapter 6 is devoted to Rabbinic traditions about Queen Helena and King Munbaz. Chapter 7 discusses all Jewish and non-Jewish literary sources which refer to the resting place of Queen Helena and to the palaces of the Adiabene royalty in Jerusalem, what is more, it also provides an updated discussion of relevant archaeological sites in Jerusalem (Le Tombeau des Rois and the Givati Parking Lot).
Part 3 (chapters 8-13) presents the material and political environment of Adiabene from the third century BCE to the third century CE. It discusses all available kinds of sources: geographical and ethnographical texts (chapter 8), archaeological sites (chapter 9), epigraphic and numismatic material (chapter 10), as well as onomastic evidence (chapter 11). Furthermore, chapter 12 provides a basic chronology of the Adiabene royalty in the Hellenistic and Parthian periods, and chapter 13 presents the political environment of Adiabene and Judea in the context of the international relations between Rome and Parthia."
P.S.
So far reviewed by K. Atkinson, Biblica 96 (2015) 635-638; D.M. Jacobson, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 147 (2015) 169-170; E. Kettenhofen, Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia 6 (2015) 297-307; E. Lipiński, Polish Journal of Biblical Research 14 (2015) 201-207; D.M. Downing, Journal of American Oriental Studies 137 (2017) 428-430; E. Nodet, Revue Biblique 122-124 (2015) 634-635; K. Berthelot, Syria 94 (2017) 415-416; J.-S. Caillou, L’Antiquité Classique 86 (2017) 517-519.

A historical survey of the regions of Judaea and surrounding territories in the Graeco-Roman period.

Jusqu’à la destruction du temple de Jérusalem en 70 par les troupes de Titus, le judaïsme est la religion nationale d’un peuple, les habitants de la Judée. C’est aussi la religion d’importantes communautés judéennes établies, souvent... more

Jusqu’à la destruction du temple de Jérusalem en 70 par les troupes de Titus, le judaïsme est la religion nationale d’un peuple, les habitants de la Judée. C’est aussi la religion d’importantes communautés judéennes établies, souvent depuis plusieurs siècles, dans différentes cités du monde méditerranéen et proche-oriental. Cette religion qui n’admet qu’un dieu unique est alors tout entière organisée autour des sacrifices accomplis par ses prêtres au sein du temple, également unique, de Jérusalem.

PREVIEW ONLY - READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://doi.org/10.33929/sherm.2020.vol2.no1.10 While the Torah instructs Jews not to practice soothsaying or divination, the Talmud includes several discussions about the power of astrology with... more

PREVIEW ONLY - READ FULL ARTICLE HERE:
https://doi.org/10.33929/sherm.2020.vol2.no1.10
While the Torah instructs Jews not to practice soothsaying or divination, the Talmud includes several discussions about the power of astrology with many Rabbis even arguing that the use of astrology is both permitted and meaningful. Add to this discrepancy the numerous astrological mosaics on the floors of ancient synagogues, as well as certain Kabbalistic practices, and it becomes clear why there is confusion within the Jewish community. This article examines Jewish perspectives on evolutionary astrology throughout Jewish history and its link to current mystical applications.

Jesus the Magician by Morton Smith is his attempt to produce a portrait of Jesus based on the traditions among Jesus’ detractors who opposed or did not follow him. He asserts “Jesus the Son of God” is pictured in the gospels; the works... more

Jesus the Magician by Morton Smith is his attempt to produce a portrait of Jesus based on the traditions among Jesus’ detractors who opposed or did not follow him. He asserts “Jesus the Son of God” is pictured in the gospels; the works that pictured “Jesus the magician” were destroyed in antiquity after Christians got control of the Roman Empire” (Smith 1978, ix). For Smith these two pictures are initially contradictory1 and both “legends”. This is an outline and summary of his important work.

Eight endorsements for Reading Revelation After Supersessionism written by Elaine Pagels (Princeton University), Paul Trebilco (U of Otago), Richard Ascough (Queens University), Anders Runesson (U of Oslo), Greg Carey (Lancaster... more

Eight endorsements for Reading Revelation After Supersessionism written by Elaine Pagels (Princeton University), Paul Trebilco (U of Otago), Richard Ascough (Queens University), Anders Runesson (U of Oslo), Greg Carey (Lancaster Theological Seminary), Paul Rainbow (Sioux Falls Seminary), Gerald Borchert (Carson Newman University), and Henri Goulet (Messianic Studies Institute)

Introduction to Messianic Judaism provides a description of what the Messianic Jewish community looks like today at its center and on its margins. The first section of the book traces the ecclesial contours of the community, providing a... more

Introduction to Messianic Judaism provides a description of what the Messianic Jewish community looks like today at its center and on its margins. The first section of the book traces the ecclesial contours of the community, providing a socio-historical and theological snapshot of the community's origins, where it is presently and where it is heading. Alongside these chapters, the book also includes a number of essays on biblical and theological issues central to the identity of Messianic Judaism. The twelve contributors to the first part of the book are recognized leaders in the Messianic Jewish community. They work with various organizations, including the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, Tikkun International, Chosen People Ministries, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, Israel College of the Bible and the New School for Jewish Studies. Fourteen scholars from a wide spectrum of Christian backgrounds have written essays for the second part of the book. Their participation signals a growing academic and ecclesial interest in Messianic Judaism. Since the 1970s, a sea change has taken place in New Testament studies that has far-reaching implications for how the church evaluates Messianic Judaism. A broad reassessment of the New Testament writers’ view of Judaism has occurred since the publication of E. P. Sanders’s seminal work Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), and this reevaluation continues unabated. The contributors to the second part of Introduction to Messianic Judaism draw from this recent scholarship and demonstrate how post-supersessionist interpretation of the New Testament results in readings of the biblical text that are consistent with Messianic Judaism. The final section of the book is written by Joel Willitts who provides a summary and synthesis of the essays, explaining how they shed light on the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of Messianic Judaism.

Cult-restoration is an element of imperial rhetoric attested in the Ancient Near East since the time of the neo-Assyrian Empire, employed by Cyrus of Anshan (" the Great ") and, according to Steve Weitzman, utilized in the Hasmonean... more

Cult-restoration is an element of imperial rhetoric attested in the Ancient Near East since the time of the neo-Assyrian Empire, employed by Cyrus of Anshan (" the Great ") and, according to Steve Weitzman, utilized in the Hasmonean account of the Maccabean revolt, enshrined in the story of Hanukkah. Cult-restoration is the prerogative of a powerful human agent, usually a conqueror or usurper, who acts as the humble servant of the gods whose altars are said to have been neglected or desecrated by the kings or empires he or she displaced. Cult-restoration is a form of communicative action that invokes the good graces of local deities and populations for the sake of public order and peaceful subjugation. Acting on behalf of the gods may serve to mask violent conquest or removal of a competing elite but it is not necessarily or in and of itself constituted by violence but it represents divinely sanctioned human sovereignty. A related non-violent practice attested in the history of Jerusalem and other temple cities is the repair and rebuilding of existing sanctuaries on a grander scale that allow a ruler to display the Hellenistic virtue of benevolence (euergetism). The most eminent example of euergetic cult-rebuilding (cult-restoration without the rhetoric of rectification) is the reconstruction of the Hasmonean temple by King Herod (" the Great "). In my presentation, I will consider some of the eminent royal and imperial moments of sanctuary purification (Hezekiah, Josiah) and monumental building (Constantine's martyrium and anastasis; the Umayyad Dome of the Rock and Friday mosque on the Noble Sanctuary) as acts of cult restoration. I will then fast-forward to the modern era and examine the rhetoric of " status quo " preservation and recent attempts, on the part of the national-religious Jewish fringe, at status quo rectification, using the liberal rhetoric of religious rights. What does the mainstreaming of Third Temple rhetoric tell us about Zionism as an ideology of status quo rectification and to what extent is the ancient and late-antique rhetoric of cult-restoration and euergetism alive in modern Jewish and Muslim attitudes toward the sanctuary in Jerusalem?

In his most recent book, Matthew Thiessen elegantly and efficiently closes the yawning gap between decades of Jewish Studies scholarship on ritual impurity and the attempt by New Testament scholars to characterize Jesus’s relationship to... more

In his most recent book, Matthew Thiessen elegantly and efficiently closes the yawning gap between decades of Jewish Studies scholarship on ritual impurity and the attempt by New Testament scholars to characterize Jesus’s relationship to the purity beliefs and practices of his day. The result is a Jesus who makes both narrative and historical sense as a first century Jew for whom the ritual and cultic norms of the community are unquestioned axioms. Thiessen's work adds to a growing body of scholarship that aligns Jesus with Jewish groups known to have adopted a posture of metaphysical realism (or ontological “essentialism”) on a range of hotly debated topics in late Second Temple and early post-destruction Jewish society. Online version: http://enochseminar.org/review/20395

The Books of Joshua and Judges give what can be seen as contrasting views of the conquest of the Land of Canaan by the Hebrews. Joshua portrays a quick and decisive conquest of the Land whereas Judges portrays a more gradual conquest of... more

The Books of Joshua and Judges give what can be seen as contrasting views of the conquest of the Land of Canaan by the Hebrews. Joshua portrays a quick and decisive conquest of the Land whereas Judges portrays a more gradual conquest of the Land over time until the tribes took ownership of their territorial homelands. The question remains why the two seemingly contradictory accounts and also what is the intent of the authors of these two books in their writing and can that answer the above questions? The following will also include a look at the practical application of intent of these two books in my life and lessons that I take away from them.

דרך עולי הרגל לירושלים בימי הבית השני:
מבט תרבותי-ארכיאולוגי

Ein Klassiker der jüdischen Literatur: Die Sprüche der Väter (hebräisch: Pirke Avot), eine spätantike Sammlung jüdischer Weisheitssprüche, gehören zu den wichtigsten frühen Dokumenten des rabbinischen Judentums und sind bis heute der... more

Ein Klassiker der jüdischen Literatur: Die Sprüche der Väter (hebräisch: Pirke Avot), eine spätantike Sammlung jüdischer Weisheitssprüche, gehören zu den wichtigsten frühen Dokumenten des rabbinischen Judentums und sind bis heute der bekannteste und meistgelesene Abschnitt des Talmuds, vielfach rezipiert bis hin zu Primo Levi und Bob Dylan. Die Ausgabe bietet erstmals eine genaue und vollständige moderne Übersetzung aus dem Hebräischen sowie einen sorgfältigen Kommentar zu jedem Spruch. Das Nachwort führt in Entstehung, Funktion und Wirkungsgeschichte der Vätersprüche ein.

Manuscript of a paper published in Revue Biblique 113 (2006), 5-17. In the Septuagint, the expression "to sin before" is used several times when the sin is directed toward God. Similar expressions are found rather less frequently... more

Manuscript of a paper published in Revue Biblique 113 (2006), 5-17.
In the Septuagint, the expression "to sin before" is used several times when the sin is directed toward God. Similar expressions are found rather less frequently with some other verbs : to speak, to approach, to see, etc., "before God". These turns of phrase are reminiscent of the Targum. In the present article it will be argued that the said expressions reflect influence of the style used at the royal court in the Persian period. The occurrences in the Septuagint witness to the Aramaic background of the translators. The link between the Septuagint and the Targum would appear to be indirect.

This paper challenges a popular translation of Tob.8:7, arguing that Tobiah is not referring to a lack of passion in taking Sarah but is instead insisting that their union is legitimate, in line with how the term porneia is used in Tob.... more

This paper challenges a popular translation of Tob.8:7, arguing that Tobiah is not referring to a lack of passion in taking Sarah but is instead insisting that their union is legitimate, in line with how the term porneia is used in
Tob. 4:12 and other evidence.

De rabbijnen wisten er niet goed raad mee, zelfs Salomo zou niet weten wat dit ritueel betekende. Dankzij Hebrew Roots teachers, Rico Cortes en Jim Staley, krijgen we nu meer zicht op dit wonderlijke mysterie. Vooral ook waarom die rode... more

De rabbijnen wisten er niet goed raad mee, zelfs Salomo zou niet weten wat dit ritueel betekende. Dankzij Hebrew Roots teachers, Rico Cortes en Jim Staley, krijgen we nu meer zicht op dit wonderlijke mysterie. Vooral ook waarom die rode vaars buiten het kamp volledig verbrand moest worden, samen met cederhout, hysop en scharlaken en wel op nieuwe stenen altaar.

The article debate the Judaism in the context of the vital movements of the period of Persian predominance in the ancient Near East; of this period the Psalm 120 record in close-up the peculiar life of Jews among Arab social greatness in... more

The article debate the Judaism in the context of the vital movements of the period of Persian predominance in the ancient Near East; of this period the Psalm 120 record in close-up the peculiar life of Jews among Arab social greatness in cultural opposition. Methodological estimated of the historical research introduce to Psalm as canonical ethnography, that gains sense when situated as social voice in conflict with a cultural diversity that is incapable to process. The research proposed an interdisciplinary reconstruction work for the knowledge search that has for way the texts of the Hebrew Bible.

Festschrift edited by T. M. Lemos, Jordan Rosenblum, Karen Stern, and Debra Ballentine. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2021.

This article presents some new material on the Greek text of Melito. Nongbri describes the rediscovery of the first leaf of the Greek copy of Melito’s Peri Pascha in the Bodmer collection and discusses its place in the codex of which it... more

This article presents some new material on the Greek text of Melito. Nongbri describes the rediscovery of the first leaf of the Greek copy of Melito’s Peri Pascha in the Bodmer collection and discusses its place in the codex of which it is a part. Nongbri and Hall then jointly present a transcript of the text, supplemented where it is damaged with material from other sources and the published critical text. A new critical text follows, with notes in explanation. Finally we offer a new translation of the sections concerned.