Jewish Martyrs in the Pagan and Christian Worlds

ISBN-13: 9780521842815 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 428 str.

Shmuel Shepkaru

Opis

Spanning the Hellenistic period to the high Middle Ages, this history of Jewish martyrdom challenges the general consensus that martyrdom was an original Hellenisitic Jewish idea. Instead, Jews like Philo and Josephus internalized the idealized Roman concept of voluntary death and presented it as an old Jewish practice. While martyrs and martyrologies intended to show how Judaisim differed from Christianity, they, in fact, reveal a common mindset. Although the medieval martyrological option was played down during the Holocaust, medieval martyrologies are still featured in contemporary Ashkenazic prayers.

Recenzje

Review of the hardback: '… it is a solid book: the author has read and digested a great deal of literature, and has clearly reflected long and hard on the subject … thought-provoking …' Journal of Ecclesiastical History

Spis treści

Preface; Introduction; 1. Mythic martyrs; 2. Between God and Caesar; 3. 'It is written in the law'; 4. Byzantine burnt offerings; 5. Zarfat; 6. Ve Ashkenaz: traditional manifestations; 7. Ve Ashkenaz: manifestations of a milieu; 8. Singing in the fire; 9. Fire from heaven; 10. Shifting paradigms; Notes; Bibliography; Index.