Starting from a careful definition of mysticism, this volume argues that there is clear evidence for the practice of mysticism in the Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It offers a close reading of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, the Self-Glorification Hymn, and related texts, which constitute the Qumran mystical corpus. It discusses the nature of the mystical experience at Qumran, which was centred on union with the angels in offering praise to God in the celestial temple, and the means by which this union was achieved, through the communal chanting of highly-charged numinous...
Starting from a careful definition of mysticism, this volume argues that there is clear evidence for the practice of mysticism in the Community of ...
Apocalyptic themes have formed a significant part of the Jewish and Christian religions. This is becoming more widely recognized, but it is the pervasiveness of such themes in art, literature and history which contributes most to this collection of essays, moving from the study of biblical apocalyptic to its role in wider culture. The interest in apocalypticism which was prompted by the turn of the millennium should not be a temporary phase in intellectual life since, as these essays indicate, the wide influence of apocalypticism deserves a central place in theological and historical...
Apocalyptic themes have formed a significant part of the Jewish and Christian religions. This is becoming more widely recognized, but it is the per...
2 Baruch is one of the more important apocalyptic writings among the Jewish Pseudepigrapha (written at the end of the 1st century AD and so contemporary with the New Testament). The Epistle is a message to the Jews of the Dispersion. Whitters is arguing that the document was once an authoritative text for a specific community, and gives us clues about the important era between the two Jewish wars of 70 and 132 AD, when Judaism was assuming radical new forms. This Epistle tells Diapora Jews how to live in a world without the Jerusalem Temple.
2 Baruch is one of the more important apocalyptic writings among the Jewish Pseudepigrapha (written at the end of the 1st century AD and so contempora...
This volume of essays by Magen Broshi, formerly Curator of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem and a veteran archaeologist, covers various aspects of both the material and spiritual life of ancient Palestine in the biblical and post-biblical periods. Among the topics addressed in this entertaining and illuminating book are wine and food consumption, studies of population, the ancient city of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the use and abuse of archaeology in historical and biblical research. This volume is designed for scholars and for any...
This volume of essays by Magen Broshi, formerly Curator of the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem and a veteran ar...
The Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, a 'rewritten Bible' that follows the broad contours of Genesis to Samuel, includes numerous secondary, or out-of-sequence, episodes, and frequently juxtaposes unrelated biblical characters. The subtlety and significance of these inner-biblical linkages has up to now not been fully appreciated. Building on recent studies in intertextuality, Fisk shows how Pseudo-Philo is often guided by intertextual links and themes present within the canonical precursor, that he is heavily indebted to post-biblical midrashic traditions, and that 'secondary scripture' is a...
The Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, a 'rewritten Bible' that follows the broad contours of Genesis to Samuel, includes numerous secondary, or out-of...
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Palestine, recovered in Jordan, and largely edited by an international Christian team who prevented public access to unpublished manuscripts. Subsquently, the state of Israel, which had already purchased many of the Scrolls, has assumed responsibility for all of them. Most recently, one scroll editor has claimed copyright on his reconstruction, instigating a lawsuit and introducing serious implications for future Scrolls scholarship. This volume looks at international copyright and property rights as they affect archaeologists, editors and curators, but...
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Palestine, recovered in Jordan, and largely edited by an international Christian team who prevented public acces...
This comprehensive bibliography of research on the Pseudepigrapha and cognate literature covers the period from 1850 to the present day - thus encompassing almost all the secondary literature on this topic. A reference work designed for both institutions and individual scholars, it systematically presents a structured bibliography for each ancient text, highlighting elements such as 'Texts and Textual Issues', 'Translations', 'General Studies', and 'Specific Studies'. In addition, this book covers a host of topics related to the context and content of the classic pseudepigrapha, providing...
This comprehensive bibliography of research on the Pseudepigrapha and cognate literature covers the period from 1850 to the present day - thus enco...
How do you contend with Josephus's interpretation of events when undertaking historical inquiry? Taking as a test case the presentation of Judaea in the first century CE, McLaren argues that existing scholarship fails to achieve conceptual independence from Josephus. It simply repeats Josephus's presentation of a society engulfed in an escalating turmoil that allegedly culminated in the revolt of 66-70 CE. A new strategy is offered here by applying a case-study approach and formulating open-ended questions. In so doing, McLaren calls for an entirely fresh appraisal of the situation in...
How do you contend with Josephus's interpretation of events when undertaking historical inquiry? Taking as a test case the presentation of Judaea i...
4Q Pesher Nahum has long been considered one of the most important Qumran texts for understanding the historical context of the Scrolls. Doudna's comprehensive critical edition presents new readings and undertakes extensive analysis and reconstruction of broken text. Areas of focus include text-critical implications, scribal practices, and formal and composition patterns common throughout the Qumran pesharim. An outcome of this work sure to attract attention is its demonstration that the mysterious 'Lion of Wrath' figure of the text is not the Hasmonaean king Alexander Jannaeus, as almost...
4Q Pesher Nahum has long been considered one of the most important Qumran texts for understanding the historical context of the Scrolls. Doudna's c...
Andrew Angel briefly reviews the work of Old Testament scholars on the mythological motif of God's battle with the dragon and the chaos waters. He also reviews works that touch on the existence of the motif in the period 515 BCE to 200 CE, noting the need for thorough survey of the motif in Hebrew literature of this period.
There follows a study of forty-two Jewish and Christian texts (in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin), which establishes the fact that this mythological motif was well known in this period. Angel makes suggestions as to how this might offer fresh insights into the...
Andrew Angel briefly reviews the work of Old Testament scholars on the mythological motif of God's battle with the dragon and the chaos waters. He als...
