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...
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 Ye...
This is a study of the interrelationships between the formulary traditions of the legal documents of the Jewish colony of Elephantine and the legal formulary traditions of their Egyptian counterparts. The legal documents of Elephantine have been approached in three different ways thus far: first, comparing them to the later Aramaic legal tradition; second, as part of a self-contained system, and more recently from the point of view of the Assyriological legal tradition. However, there is still a fourth possible approach, which has long been neglected by scholars in this field, and that is to...
This is a study of the interrelationships between the formulary traditions of the legal documents of the Jewish colony of Elephantine and the legal fo...
This volume includes ten new studies, most of which were originally presented at the 14th World Congress of Jewish Studies, held in Jerusalem in 2005.
The studies all deal with the changes that occurred in the Land of Israel during the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, from the 6th through the 4th centuries BCE.
For convenience, the studies are divided into three categories: archaeological, epigraphic and historical, though many of them are actually more interdisciplinary. Most of them deal with either the province of Judah, Idumea or the interaction between the two,...
This volume includes ten new studies, most of which were originally presented at the 14th World Congress of Jewish Studies, held in Jerusalem in 20...
The ten studies in this book explore the phenomenon of public memory in societies of the Graeco-Roman period. Mendels begins with a concise discussion of the historical canon that emerged in Late Antiquity and brought with it the (distorted) memory of ancient history in Western culture. The following nine chapters each focus on a different source of collective memory in order to demonstrate the patchy and incomplete associations ancient societies had with their past, including discussions of Plato's Politeia, a "site of memory" of the early church, and the dichotomy existing between the...
The ten studies in this book explore the phenomenon of public memory in societies of the Graeco-Roman period. Mendels begins with a concise discuss...
From the Books of Enoch, Jackson identifies a paradigm of order as opposed to deviation, which defined orthodoxy and elect identity in a manner which was absolutely exclusive. Over 300 years "Enochic Judaism" developed three working models within this paradigm to explain their worldview and its implications. These three models concerned 1) the fall of the angels under Shemikhazah (ethnic purity); 2) the revealing of secrets under the leadership of 'Aza'el (cultural purity); and 3) the going astray of the cosmos through the sin of the angels who govern its phenomena (liturgical...
From the Books of Enoch, Jackson identifies a paradigm of order as opposed to deviation, which defined orthodoxy and elect identity in a manner which ...
What are the antecedents of the "Antichrist" figure and its associated themes in Jewish literature prior to the New Testament? Here, Lorein offers the texts and translations of all the relevant passages, together with a discussion of their meaning and significance. He concludes that the "Antichrist" theme arises in different currents within this literature, but has its sources in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
In its scope and detail, as well as in many of its conclusions and its general synthesis, this book surpasses previous scholarship on a very important aspect of New Testament...
What are the antecedents of the "Antichrist" figure and its associated themes in Jewish literature prior to the New Testament? Here, Lorein offers ...
A collection of essays offering an overview of Dead Sea Scrolls research, ranging from an examination of 'The Essenes in History' to a study of 'Biblical Proof-Texts in Qumran Literature'.
A collection of essays offering an overview of Dead Sea Scrolls research, ranging from an examination of 'The Essenes in History' to a study of 'Bi...
Tukasi explores the theme of the determinism as articulated in the Rule of the Community and the Fourth Gospel with the aim of uncovering the relevance of petitionary prayer within the framework of the determinism of each book.
Chapter one sets out the background against which the themes of determinism and petition in 1QS and John should be understood. Chapter two explores the nature of the determinism in the 1QS. The determinism is cosmological, soteriological, and eschatological. Chapter three demonstrates that the contents of the petitions are in harmony with the...
Tukasi explores the theme of the determinism as articulated in the Rule of the Community and the Fourth Gospel with the aim of uncovering th...
This is the second volume of the projected four-volume history of the Second Temple period. It is axiomatic that there are large gaps in the history of the Persian period, but the early Greek period is possibly even less known. This volume brings together all we know about the Jews during the period from Alexander's conquest to the eve of the Maccabaean revolt, including the Jews in Egypt as well as the situation in Judah. Based directly on the primary sources, which are surveyed, the study addresses questions such as administration, society, religion, economy, jurisprudence, Hellenism...
This is the second volume of the projected four-volume history of the Second Temple period. It is axiomatic that there are large gaps in the his...
This book introduces the reader to a fascinating genre of writings that retell biblical narratives in various ways. They reflect the concerns and methods of early Jewish interpreters of Scripture. Daniel Falk surveys the content and major scholarly issues of three key examples: Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen), Reworked Pentateuch (4Q158, 364-5), and Commentary to Genesis (4Q252-4). Particular attention is paid to exploring why and how the authors interpret the Scriptural text in their distinctive ways. The book traces continuity and discontinuity with other Jewish and Christian traditions,...
This book introduces the reader to a fascinating genre of writings that retell biblical narratives in various ways. They reflect the concerns and m...