Early Judaism: New Insights and Scholarship

Published by New York University Press 2018

Early Judaism

New Insights and Scholarship

Edited by: Frederick E. Greenspahn

Volume 1 in the series Jewish Studies in the Twenty-First Century

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479896950.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

An exploration of the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism drawing on primary sources and new methods

Over the past generation, several major findings and methodological innovations have led scholars to reevaluate the foundation of Judaism. The Dead Sea Scrolls were the most famous, but other materials have further altered our understanding of Judaism’s development after the Biblical era.

This volume explores some of the latest clues into how early Judaism took shape, from the invention of rabbis to the parting of Judaism and Christianity, to whether ancient Jews considered themselves a nation. Rather than having simply evolved, “normative” Judaism is now understood to be the result of one approach having achieved prominence over many others, competing for acceptance in the wake of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in the year 70 CE. This new understanding has implications for how we think about Judaism today, as the collapse of rabbinic authority is leading to the return of the kind of diversity that prevailed during late antiquity. This volume puts familiar aspects of Judaism in a new light, exposing readers to the most current understanding of the origins of normative Judaism.

This book is a must for anyone interested in the study of Judaism and its formation. It is the most current review of the scholarship surrounding this rich history and what is next for the field at large.

Author / Editor information

Greenspahn Frederick E. :

Frederick E. Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar in Judaic Studies emeritus at Florida Atlantic University. He has written/edited 16 books, including When Brothers Dwell Together: The Preeminence of Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible (OUP '94) and Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East (NYU Press, '00) . He is a former President of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew and was, for 5 years, editor of its journal, Hebrew Studies.Frederick E. Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar in Judaic Studies emeritus at Florida Atlantic University. He has written/edited 16 books, including When Brothers Dwell Together: The Preeminence of Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible (OUP '94) and Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East (NYU Press, '00) . He is a former President of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew and was, for 5 years, editor of its journal, Hebrew Studies.

Reviews

Judith R. Baskin,Philip H. Knight Professor of Humanities, University of Oregon:
Outstanding scholars of early Judaism share cutting edge research and new insights in this highly readable anthology. The succinct and accessible essays foreground the varieties of Judaisms and Jewish writings in late ancient times, the separation of Christianity from its Jewish origins, evolving constructions of gender, the development of the synagogue and its liturgy, and the consolidation of rabbinic Judaism in clear and compelling ways. This volume is sure to be welcomed by teachers of formative Judaism and Christianity, their students, and interested general readers.

Dr. Lawrence A. Hoffman,Barbara and Stephen Friedman Professor of Liturgy, Worship and Ritual, Hebrew Union College:
A spectacular round-up of superb authors, all of them expert in fields relating to the transition centuries between the Hebrew Bible and the emergence of Judaism -- and Christianity too. One after another, the essays provide the state of the question: what scholars are saying now, and why. If there is such a thing as a scholarly page-turner, this is it, a rewarding synopsis of scholarship on pretty much every page

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Frederick E. Greenspahn Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Early Diversity
1. The Dead Sea Scrolls James VanderKam Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. Second Temple Literature outside the Canon Martha Himmelfarb Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
3. Diaspora and the “Assimilated” Jew Erich S. Gruen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	52
4. Were the Ancient Jews a Nation? Seth Schwartz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
5. How Christianity Parted from Judaism Adele Reinhartz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
Part II. Emerging Normativity
6. The Emergence of the Synagogue Steven Fine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
7. New Directions in Understanding Jewish Liturgy Ruth Langer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
8. Ancient Jewish Gender Elizabeth Shanks Alexander Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	174
9. Inventing Rabbis Christine Hayes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Conclusion “In My Beginning Is My End” Robert Goldenberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
About the Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Illustrations
- Other: 1 black and white illustrations

eBook

Published: July 17, 2018
ISBN: 9781479825707