The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's conquest in 334BC to its capture by the Arabs in AD 636. Under the Greek, Roman and finally Christian supremacy which Hellenism brought, Judaism developed far beyond its biblical origins into a form which was to influence European history from the Middle Ages to the present day. The book focuses particularly on the social, economic and religious concerns of this period, and the political status of the Jews as both active agents and passive...
The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's ...
This volume examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's conquest in 334BC to its capture by the Arabs in AD 636. Under the Greek, Roman and finally Christian supremacy which Hellenism brought, Judaism developed far beyond its biblical origins into a form which was to influence European history from the Middle Ages to the present day. The book focuses particularly on the social, economic and religious concerns of this period, and the political status of the Jews as both active agents and passive victims of history.
This volume examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's conquest in 334BC to its capture by the Arabs ...
Taking a fresh look at what the Greeks and Romans thought about Jews and Judaism, Peter SchAfer locates the origin of anti-Semitism in the ancient world. Judeophobia firmly establishes Hellenistic Egypt as the generating source of anti-Semitism, with roots extending back into Egypt's pre-Hellenistic history.
A pattern of ingrained hostility toward an alien culture emerges when SchAfer surveys an illuminating spectrum of comments on Jews and their religion in Greek and Roman writings, focusing on the topics that most interested the pagan classical world: the exodus or, as it...
Taking a fresh look at what the Greeks and Romans thought about Jews and Judaism, Peter SchAfer locates the origin of anti-Semitism in the ancient ...
In this beautifully realized study, Peter Schafer investigates the origins of a female manifestation of God in Jewish mysticism. The search itself is a fascinating exploration of the idea of a feminine divinity. And Schafer's surprising but persuasive conclusions yield deeper understanding of the complex but frequently intimate relationship between Christianity and Judaism--and of the development of religious concepts more generally.
Toward the end of the twelfth century, a small book titled the Bahir (Light) appeared in Provence. The first document of Judaism's emerging...
In this beautifully realized study, Peter Schafer investigates the origins of a female manifestation of God in Jewish mysticism. The search itself ...
This book represents the first wide-scale presentation and interpretation of pre-kabbalistic, Jewish mysticism. This is the Hekhalot or Merkavah mysticism. The emphasis is on the conceptions of God, the angels, and man that the texts provide and that are the framework of the Judaic world view in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. This interpretation is based on the major works of this early Jewish mysticism: Hekhalot Rabbati ("The Greater Palaces"), Hekhalot Zutarti ("The Lesser Palaces"), Ma'aseh Merkavah ("The Working of the Chariot"), Merkavah Rabbah ("The Great Chariot)" and...
This book represents the first wide-scale presentation and interpretation of pre-kabbalistic, Jewish mysticism. This is the Hekhalot or Merkavah mysti...
This collection of twelve articles presents a selection of papers delivered in the course of a seminar 1994-95 and its concluding international symposium at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. The common theme is the interrelation between magic and religion, focussing particularly on the Mediterranean world in Antiquity - Egyptian, Graeco-Roman and Jewish beliefs and customs - but also treating the early modern period in Northern Europe (the Netherlands and Germany) as well as offering more general reflections on elements of magic in language and Jewish mysticism. The volume is...
This collection of twelve articles presents a selection of papers delivered in the course of a seminar 1994-95 and its concluding international sympos...
This collection of 16 articles represents a selection of the papers delivered in the course of a seminar (1995-1996) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and its concluding joint symposium held at the Institute and Princeton University. Wide-ranging in scope, the volume covers messianic expectations from biblical times up to modern and contemporaneous adaptations, whereby the focus lies on the messianic concept within Judaism: diversity and variety of messianic expectations in antiquity; messianic movements at the time of the Crusades and around the fifth millennium (1240); the...
This collection of 16 articles represents a selection of the papers delivered in the course of a seminar (1995-1996) at the Institute for Advanced Stu...
Peter Schäfer gibt einen umfassen Überblick über die politische und ökonomische Lage Palästinas zwischen 333 v. Chr. und 638 n. Chr. Dabei bezieht er andere Meinungen in seine Untersuchung mit ein und setzt sich kritisch mit den vorhandenen Quellen auseinander.
Peter Schäfer gibt einen umfassen Überblick über die politische und ökonomische Lage Palästinas zwischen 333 v. Chr. und 638 n. Chr. Dabei bezieh...
Antisemitismus in seinem breiten Spektrum von diskreditierenden Unterstellungen bis hin zu dem Willen, die Juden physisch zu vernichten, ist bereits ein Phänomen der griechisch-römischen Antike. Im Jahr 38 n. Chr. wurde im ägyptischen Alexandria das älteste jüdische Getto errichtet; in einem Gewaltexzeß wurden zahllose Juden von ihren eigenen Mitbürgern niedergemetzelt. Gibt es eine Erklärung für ein solches Geschehen? Ist der antike Antisemitismus die Folge konkreter Konflikte, die zur religiösen und politisch-sozialen Diffamierung des jüdischen Gegners führten? Oder entzündete...
Antisemitismus in seinem breiten Spektrum von diskreditierenden Unterstellungen bis hin zu dem Willen, die Juden physisch zu vernichten, ist bereits e...
Gegen Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts erschien in Südfrankreich ein kleiner Traktat mit dem Titel Bahir (Licht). Dieser Traktat, das erste Dokument der Kabbala, verkündete wie mit einem Paukenschlag eine unerhört neue Sicht der Gottheit: Gottes Wesen besteht danach nicht nur aus zehn Potenzen, sondern eine von diesen Potenzen ist auch dezidiert weiblich.§Peter Schäfer zeichnet zunächst die Vorgeschichte dieser Vorstellung von der biblischen Weisheitstradition bis zum Mittelalter nach und fragt dann gezielt nach den Gründen, warum sie ausgerechnet im mittelalterlichen Frankreich ihren ersten...
Gegen Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts erschien in Südfrankreich ein kleiner Traktat mit dem Titel Bahir (Licht). Dieser Traktat, das erste Dokument der Kab...
