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“Any Outsider Who Encroaches Will Be Put to Death”: Numbers 18:7 and its Interpretation in Second Temple Literature Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2024-01-18 Hanan Birenboim
In its biblical context, the injunction stipulating that “the outsider who encroaches shall be put to death” seems to apply to any non-priest or non-Levite who tries to participate in the tabernacle services. This interpretation seems to have been adopted during the Second Temple period, as attested to by the Temple Scroll (11QTa). There is no source that states that an unauthorized entrant to the
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Divine Abstract Qualities and God’s Middot in Second Temple and Rabbinic Literature Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-12-27 Menahem Kister
The starting point of the article is a much-studied rabbinic tradition concerning ten abstract qualities by which the world was created. I contend that other rabbinic passages, concerning seven abstract qualities that minister before God’s throne, and seven—or ten—abstract qualities by which the world was created, are all variants of the same tradition. Each of these texts is scrutinized. The tradition
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Exempla in 1 Maccabees and Josephus’ Bellum Judaicum: Doing Jewish Exemplarity in the Greco-Roman World Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Carson Bay, Jan Willem van Henten
The study of exempla and exemplarity in Mediterranean antiquity touches the methodological borderlines and interest areas of several distinct academic disciplines. Earlier studies focused on semantics and the development from the Greek παράδειγμα to the Roman exemplum. More recently, the field of Classics has tended to examine exemplarity as a phenomenon with a distinctively Roman edge. At the same
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The Need for Rabbinic Nomikoi: A Response to Yair Furstenberg Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-12-11 Kimberley Czajkowski
Yair Furstenberg, in his article “The Rabbinic Movement from Pharisees to Provincial Jurists” (DOI: 10.1163/15700631-bja10070), draws parallels between the rise of the rabbinic movement and jurists in other Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. This response considers how far we may push the comparison, especially with regard to the stimuli behind the changes in rabbinic activities that Furstenberg
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Additional Evidence of Semantic and Syntactic Sensitivity in the Septuagint Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-10-24 Tyler Horton, Andrew Keenan, Timothy Lee, Robert Walker, Travis Wright, Marieke Dhont
In this article, a tribute to James Aitken by his students and postdoctoral collaborator, several case studies are presented that demonstrate how situating the Septuagint within its Post-classical Greek context can add significantly to our understanding of the textual-linguistic character of the Septuagint translations. They include a new approach to understanding parataxis with καί in the Greek Pentateuch
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Roman Civil Jurisdiction, Nezikin, and Rabbinic Professionalization in the Second Century: A Response to Yair Furstenberg Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Natalie B. Dohrmann
Yair Furstenberg’s article in this issue, “The Rabbinic Movement from Pharisees to Provincial Jurists” (DOI: 10.1163/15700631-bja10070), ties what he sees as the changing boundaries of torah law at the hands of the Tannaim to changes in the legal landscape of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire in the second century. This brief essay is a response to the article, musing on its implications and
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Loanwords in the Fiery Furnace Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-09-14 Amit Gvaryahu
This article is a discussion of two Greek loanwords found in the Rabbinic text Song of Songs Rabbah. It shows that these words are best identified and explained through a comparison with a Stoic theory of fire, described and refuted by Philo of Alexandria. That these words, both hapax legomena in Rabbinic literature, are used in the Midrash show that at least some rabbis were conversant in Greek scientific
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Rabbis as Nomikoi? Questioning a New Paradigm: A Response to Yair Furstenberg Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-09-14 Ishay Rosen-Zvi
In recent years, a new generation of Talmud scholars rediscovered Roman law as a valuable comparative tool. In addition to localized comparisons, several broad syntheses have been offered by scholars regarding Roman law and rabbinic halakhic thinking. In his article in this issue, “The Rabbinic Movement from Pharisees to Provincial Jurists” (doi: 10.1163/15700631-bja10070), Yair Furstenberg offers
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The Septuagint within the History of Greek: An Introduction Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-09-14 James K. Aitken†, Marieke Dhont
The language of the Septuagint is not only a linguistic question: evaluations of the language have been intertwined with presuppositions on the social context of Jews in antiquity, in particular their linguistic competency, educational background, and position within the Graeco-Roman society. Recent work has rehabilitated the position of Jews in ancient society and with it came a renewed quest for
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Numbers 4:20 and Non-Priestly Viewing of the Holy Vessels in the Second Temple Period Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-09-13 Matan Orian
In discussing the dismantling and transport of the tabernacle and its furnishings, Numbers 4:20 prohibits any viewing of the “holy,” except by Aaron, the priest, and his sons. Philo of Alexandria, as well as several modern scholars, read this as a prohibition on any non-priestly viewing of the sacred, Jewish cultic vessels, including the menorah, the shewbread table and the incense altar. Accordingly
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Intertextuality and Ideology in Pseudo-Hecataeus Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-06-29 Ekaterina Matusova
The article discusses the fragments of Pseudo-Hecataeus’ work “On the Jews” (Josephus, C. Ap. 1.183–205) from a new, literary perspective that highlights the author’s relationship to Hecataeus of Abdera, Clearchus of Soli, and Aristeas, and describes his position within contemporary Jewish culture in the Egyptian diaspora. Pseudo-Hecataeus demonstrates a strong anti-hellenization tendency in the questions
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The Aramaic Inscription from a Cave Complex at Abraham’s House, Mount of Olives and the Hasmonean Calendar—A New Reading and Interpretation Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-06-21 Matthew Morgenstern, Chanan Ariel
This article presents a new reading and interpretation of the Aramaic burial inscription from the “Abraham’s House” complex. Rather than representing a curse, we propose that the inscription records the year in which the loculus was completed. Moreover, we suggested that year 99 is counted not from Hyrcanus’ death but rather from the time of his accession to high public office, either as king or as
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Syntax and Pronominal Competence in Post-Classical Greek and the Septuagint Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-04-27 Marieke Dhont
Scholars are often struck by the frequent use of pronouns in the Septuagint, particularly placed in postposition, linking both these aspects to the translation technique or the competency of the translators. In this article, I argue that pronominal usage in the Septuagint can be linked to developments in post-classical Greek more so than to interference from the source text. I focus particularly on
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The Rabbinic Movement from Pharisees to Provincial Jurists Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-02-08 Yair Furstenberg
In this article I argue that the rabbinic movement reinvented itself during the second century by expanding the boundaries of Jewish law to include all spheres of private law, and thereby claiming juristic expertise in these matters. A variety of sources from the Second Temple period indicate that Jewish law at this stage included primarily ritual laws, while private law was not considered unique to
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Environmental Determinism and Mountain Identities in Judith Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-01-19 Michael Economou
This article argues that the book of Judith seeks to define the Jews as a “mountain people.” It suggests that Judith advances this idea through numerous direct statements by prominent characters, particularly Achior during his speech at Jdt 5:5–21, and by redrawing the boundaries of Judea to correspond with the Judean and Samarian hill country. The article further argues, following a consideration
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Israel and the Nations: Proselytes and Apostates in 2 Baruch Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-01-18 John Dik
In this article I explore how God’s people is constituted in 2 Baruch and in which relation it stands to the nations, an issue which has not yet been dealt with in detail in recent research. It will be shown that the author, writing after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, stresses the role of torah and true worship to encourage his addresses as Israel. In doing so, he creates a clear dichotomy
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The Impious and Their Impiety in Wisdom of Solomon Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-01-16 Grayden McCashen
Scholars often suggest that Wisdom of Solomon contains disparate approaches to impiety in chs. 1–9 and chs. 10–19. The earlier chapters approach impiety and impious individuals from an ethical perspective, but the latter chapters approach impiety with an ethnocentric and/or nationalistic perspective. In chs. 10–19, Wisdom presents righteousness as characteristic of the Jewish people and impiety as
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The Case for Judith’s Imitation of “Nobody” (among Others) Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2023-01-12 Michael Kochenash
In this article, I argue that Judith can be read as imitating book 9 of Homer’s Odyssey, the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus the Cyclops, in a way that compliments its use of other literary models (e.g., Genesis 34; Judges 4–5; 1 Kingdoms 17; and Homer, Iliad 14). Such an imitation can be read as reinforcing the narrative’s explicit themes, especially that of violent opposition to foreign invaders
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A Visual Depiction of Jewish Circumcision at Dura-Europos Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-12-26 Isaac Tsun-Yeung Soon
This short note argues that the Ezekiel cycle on the frescoes of the Dura-Europos synagogue displays the only known ancient image of circumcision on a Jewish body. The cycle, modelled after the vision of dry bones episode in Ezek 37, depicts a body that is circumcised. Although there is only one body that displays circumcision, it is intelligible in the wider visual context of bodily reconfiguration
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What Is Hellenistic Judaism? An Introduction Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-11-08 René Bloch, Sarah Pearce
The special issue of JSJ brings together four contributions that were originally presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2020 in a panel dedicated to the question “What is Hellenistic Judaism?” The panel was organized by the steering committee of the SBL Hellenistic Judaism section. In the introduction, the editors compare early approaches to Hellenism (Droysen) with
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What Is Hellenistic Judaism? Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-10-28 John J. Collins
Martin Hengel argued effectively that all Judaism in the Hellenistic period was Hellenistic Judaism, but Judaism in the land of Israel remained very different from its counterpart in the Diaspora. Recent study of globalization and “glocalization” has shown that local cultures are not obliterated by globalization but react to it in various ways. There is also a new and growing appreciation of the differences
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How Egyptian is the Greek of Septuagint?: Some Lexical Notes Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-09-28 Sofía Torallas Tovar
This article explores the linguistic background of the Septuagint translation into Greek of the Old Testament, produced in Alexandria in the third century BCE, and thus likely to present some Egyptian traits. The main purpose is to examine the vocabulary of Egyptian origin, i.e., terms adopted by the Greek language. Since this is not an easy task, a number of methodologies of analysis and comparison
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The LXX and Historical Greek Phonology: Orthography, Phonology, and Transcriptions Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-09-28 Benjamin Kantor
The growing trend to see the language of the LXX as an authentic example of post-Classical Greek may be extended to phonology and orthography. We can situate the phonology of the LXX within its historical Greek phonological context by implementing a restrictive methodology that focuses on transcribed names, the clusters of certain spelling conventions in relation to “early” and “late” books in the
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Josephus’s Lamentations in the Judean War: Body, Emotional Resistance, and Gender Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Françoise Mirguet
In the Judean War’s proem, Josephus professes his need to lament, an atypical statement in Hellenistic and Roman historiography. This article explores his lamentations, in the proem and the work, as they engage body, emotion, gender, and power. It examines the constructions that laments receive in Josephus’s diverse literary and cultural backgrounds—biblical and early Jewish literature as well as ancient
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In Search of a New Paradigm: Judean Literature as a Crucible of Appropriations from Multiple Imperial and Native Temple Cultures in Hellenistic Times Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-30 Sylvie Honigman
In Judaism and Hellenism, Hengel described Judean society and literature as torn between absorption and rejection of Hellenism. Following the publication of that work the idea of a clear-cut dichotomy between several social circles and their assorted literary productions remained hugely popular, although the identification of the sides in conflict varied between scholars, with “hellenization” being
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Globalization and the “Hellenization” of Jews in the Second Temple Period Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-23 Benjamin G. Wright
The phrase “Hellenistic Judaism” often assumes an underlying picture of the relationship between “Judaism” and “Hellenism” as self-contained cultural containers. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Philip Alexander, Gregory Sterling, and Erich Gruen argued against such an assumption, and their work moved towards developing theories of globalization, which regard cultures as porous and dynamic. Beginning
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“For 2300 Evenings and Mornings” (Dan 8:14): Recalculating the Cessation of the Daily Offering Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-22 Michael Segal, Shlomo Wadler
A previous study (M. Segal, “Calculating the End: Inner-Danielic Chronological Developments,” VT 68 [2018] 272–96), analyzed chronological aspects in Daniel 7–12, and suggested that they offer a key for tracing the literary development of this section. This article offers a new interpretation of the expression “2300 evenings and mornings” (8:14), generally understood as a period of time shorter than
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Demonology and Terminology in Jubilees: Spirits or Demons? Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-18 Hector M. Patmore
This paper examines the terminology related to demons in Jubilees. It argues that important nuances have been lost in the process of translation. Specifically, it argues that the original Hebrew of Jubilees always used רוחות to refer to demons. It reexamines cases in which the Ethiopic and/or Latin translations would appear to contradict this conclusion (i.e., Jub. 7:27; 10:1–2) in light of textual
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The Grammarian Cannot Wait: Thackeray, Muraoka, and the Analysis of Septuagint Syntax Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-16 Trevor Evans
This article deals with the question of the nature of and scholarly approaches to studying Greek syntax in the Septuagint. The concrete point of departure is the publication of A Syntax of Septuagint Greek by T. Muraoka (Leuven: Peeters, 2016). The author discusses Muraoka’s work, while touching upon general trends in Septuagint scholarship, and reviews the book in a detailed manner. The author’s theoretical
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Some Thoughts on Judaism and Hellenism by Martin Hengel Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-12 Shaye J.D. Cohen
This short note offers some thoughts on Martin Hengel’s construct of the struggle between the “reformers” or Hellenists and those faithful to the law in Jerusalem of the 160s BCE.
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Some Problems with Talking about ‘Septuagint Greek’ Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-12 William A. Ross
While all agree that the language of the Septuagint does not represent a Jewish dialect, scholarship has nevertheless struggled to find ways of discussing the language of the Septuagint without implying a similar idea. Just as the notions of “biblical Greek” and “Jewish Greek” have rightly come under scrutiny, so also must scholars carefully reconsider “Septuagint Greek” and similar sobriquets. While
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Wealth and Wisdom in Yannai’s Palace: Was there a Persian Connection? Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-08-05 Aaron Amit
This article examines a dramatic story describing a conflict between King Yannai and Shimon ben Shetaḥ involving Nazarites, wealth and wisdom. The most original version of the story in rabbinic literature is preserved in Genesis Rabbah parashah 91. Previously, scholars argued for connections between this narrative and Second Temple realia. However, careful philological examination of all the parallel
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A Historical-Comparative Study of the Authorization of παρρησία in Philo’s Quis rerum divinarum heres sit and Quod omnis probus liber sit Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-07-29 Thomas Tops
The article studies and compares how Philo authorizes παρρησία in Quis rerum divinarum heres sit and Quod omnis probus liber sit. After critically evaluating the scholarly literature on παρρησία in Philo, I go beyond the limitations of this literature by situating Philo’s views on παρρησία within the context of the ancient conventions of παρρησία, as well as in the changing socio-historical context
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Pork Consumption as an Identity Marker in Ancient Israel: The Textual Evidence Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-07-29 Guy Darshan
While a finding of pig remains has often been regarded in Iron Age archaeological studies as an indication of the inhabitants’ identity, several recent zooarchaeological studies have shown that the archaeological record is more complex, and that pig remains cannot serve as an identity marker. The textual evidence analyzed in this paper supports this direction and suggests a multistage development process
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The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint, edited by Salvesen, Alison G., and Timothy Michael Law Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-21 Martin Rösel
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Rabbis and Classical Rhetoric: Sophistic Education and Oratory in the Talmud and Midrash, written by Hidary, Richard Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-11 Eric Ottenheijm
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Matthew within Sectarian Judaism, written by John Kampen Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-11 Eric Ottenheijm
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Going West: Migrating Personae and Construction of the Self in Rabbinic Culture, written by Kiperwasser, Reuven Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-07 Catherine Hezser
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When Judaism Lost the Temple: Crisis and Response in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, written by Lydia Gore-Jones Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-07 Matthias Henze
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Cosmos and Creation: Second Temple Perspectives, edited by Michael W. Duggan, Renate Egger-Wenzel, and Stefan C. Reif Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-02 Ari Mermelstein
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Angels Associated with Israel in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Angelology and Sectarian Identity at Qumran, written by Matthew L. Walsh Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-03-02 Alexander McCarron
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The Parable of the Disappearing Gladiators: Interpreting a Late Antique Cultural Reference in Genesis Rabba’s Exposition of the Cain and Abel Narrative Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-02-17 Benjamin Williams
According to the mashal (parable) attributed to Shimʿon ben Yoḥai in Gen. Rab. 22:9, the murder of Abel (Gen 4:8–10) may be likened to a gladiator’s death in the arena. This article argues that the parable assumes the audience’s familiarity with gladiatorial shows, which came to an end in the early fifth century CE. Tracing the transmission of the mashal in Tanḥuma ha-Nidpas (Bereshit 9) and the earliest
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What Did It Feel Like to Be a Jew? The Kosher Food Laws and Emotional Norms among Ancient Jews Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-02-17 Ari Mermelstein
Jewish observance of a set of legal practices constituted the most obvious distinction between Jew and gentile in antiquity. Yet Jewish ritual practice did not only affect the ways in which Jews acted but also how they felt about their Jewishness and their connection to the wider culture. Law and emotion play mutually reinforcing roles in both shaping and reflecting a society’s values, an observation
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One God, Two Powers, and the Rabbinic Rejection of Subordinationism Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-01-18 David Michael Grossberg
This article furthers our understanding of rabbinic theology through an examination of its characteristic modes of expression. I demonstrate that although the rabbinic literature frequently polemicizes against perceived deviant theologies, it refrains from explicit expressions of God’s unity. This disinclination derives from the target and intent of rabbinic theological polemic. The rabbis’ opponents
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Competition with Egyptian Religious Ideas in the Letter of Aristeas Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-01-13 Sylvie Honigman
The article examines afresh statements defining the divine persona of the god of the Judeans in Let. Aris. 9–34 and 128–171. They are interpreted not simply as instances of positive competition with Greek literature and philosophy, but as the product of a triangulated cultural dynamic that also included Egyptian and Greco-Egyptian religious tenets about major Egyptian deities, first and foremost Isis
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Keepers of the Vineyard and the Fence around the Torah: The Vineyard Metaphor in Rabbinic Literature Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-01-13 Lieve M. Teugels
Rabbinic texts apply the metaphor of the vineyard to the Torah as well as to Israel. Conceptual Metaphor Theory allows us to explain the parallel use of the vineyard metaphor for the two target domains, Israel and the Torah. The conceptual metaphor of the vineyard includes such aspects as the fence, the vines and the wine. The generic metaphor something precious is a cultivated piece of land enables
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A Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments of Job 22–42, written by John D. Meade Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2022-01-05 Michaël N. van der Meer
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Language Contact, Cognition, and Cross-Linguistic Influence in the Greek Pentateuch Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-28 Jean Maurais
This study engages recent discussions concerning the description of the Greek of the LXX Pentateuch and the nature of source text interference. Research in contact linguistics and cognition provides a framework to describe the various phenomena observed, ranging from borrowing of linguistic material to the more widespread structural transfer. Processes such as pivot-matching and the cognitive aspects
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“The Voice of Your Wife”: Why an Ancient Interpreter Chose to Voice Eve with a Testament Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-28 Cynthia R. Chapman
Eve’s Testament (Greek Life of Adam and Eve 15–30) contains an expansive first-person retelling of the Eden narrative in which an elder Eve remembers her younger self calling to Adam “with a loud voice” and saying, “listen to me!” She then admits that when she opened her mouth, “the Devil was speaking,” and she was able to quickly persuade her husband to eat of the forbidden fruit. The unparalleled
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Priests in Exile: The History of the Temple of Onias and Its Community in the Hellenistic Period, written by Meron M. Piotrkowski Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-23 Karel van der Toorn
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Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium, edited by Aaron Michael Butts, and Simcha Gross Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-23 Karin Hedner Zetterholm
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The Tree of Life, edited by Douglas Estes Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-23 Robin B. ten Hoopen
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Judah and Samaria in Postmonarchic Times. Essays on Their Histories and Literatures, written by Gary N. Knoppers Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-23 Matthew Chalmers
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Common and Uncommon Jewish Purity Concerns in City and Village in Early Roman Palestine and the Flourishing of the Stone Vessel Industry: A Summary and Discussion Journal for the Study of Judaism Pub Date : 2021-12-02 Shimon Gibson
A stone vessel industry existed in early Roman Palestine (first century CE), and many of these utensils were either hand-carved or made on a lathe. The stone vessels were part of the tableware within Jewish households from different socio-economic levels of society in cities and villages. This research indicates that stone vessels were not as “common” in Jewish settlements of that time as has previously