Sources and Interpretations
Studies in Ancient Jewish History, Literature, and Religion
Published on 26. June 2025
Book
Hardback
1006 pages
978-90-04-71571-4 (ISBN)
Description
This volume brings together over fifty of Schiffman's Studies on Ancient Judaism that have helped to shape this emerging field. Throughout, these studies display a wide-ranging perspective, bringing together all kinds of sources, written or archaeological, to illuminate ancient Judaism and its complex history. Topics explored include the history of the Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity, the Bible in Jewish tradition, ancient Jewish thought, law, and liturgy, magic and mysticism, relation of the Dead Sea Scrolls to Rabbinic Literature, Judean Desert texts, and Judaism and Christianity. The volume concludes with studies of the work of several modern rabbis and academic scholars.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 56 mm
Weight
2041 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-71571-4 (9789004715714)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Lawrence H. Schiffman is Global Distinguished Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He is author of numerous books and articles on ancient Judaism including, most recently, The Temple Scroll (with A.D. Gross, Brill, 2021).
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part1 Ancient Jewish History
1 The Conversion of the Royal House of Adiabene in Josephus and Rabbinic Sources
2 Politics and Religion: Do They Mix? The Patriarch and His Court in Roman Palestine
3 Historical Perspectives on Dissent and Disobedience: Jews against Jews in Late Antiquity
4 Models of Community in the Ancient Jewish World
Part2 The Bible in Jewish Tradition
5 What Is a Jewish Biblical Text?
6 The Term and Concept of Torah
7 The Rabbinic View of Prophecy and Prophets
8 "A Fence around the Torah": Rabbinic Strategies for Policing the Canon
9 Translation as Commentary: Targum, Midrash, and Talmud
10 The Reception of the Bible in Ancient Judaism
Part3 Jewish Thought
11 The Rabbinic Understanding of Covenant
12 Second Temple Period Rationales for the Torah's Commandments
13 Commandment or Emotion? Love of God, Family, and Humanity in Classical Judaism
14 War in Jewish Apocalyptic Thought
15 Messianism and Apocalypticism in Rabbinic Texts
16 Exegesis and Polemic: Rabbinic Responses to Antisemitism
17 Monarchy and Polity: Systems of Government in Jewish Tradition
Part4 Jewish Law
18 Was There a Galilean Halakhah?
19 The Samaritans in Tannaitic Halakhah
20 The Samaritans in Amoraic Halakhah
21 Conversion to Judaism in Tannaitic Halakhah
22 Talmudic Monetary Theory: Currency in Rabbinic Halakhah
Part5 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Halakhah
23 Jewish Law in the Hasmonean Period
24 The Temple Scroll and the Systems of Jewish Law of the Second Temple Period
25 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Halakhah
26 Disputes in Tannaitic Literature in Light of the Judean Desert Scrolls
27 "Of the Making of Books": Rabbinic Scribal Arts in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Part6 Judean Desert Texts
28 On the Edge of the Diaspora: Jews in the Dead Sea Region in the First Two Centuries CE
29 Witnesses and Signatures in the Hebrew and Aramaic Documents from the Bar Kokhba Caves
30 Reflections on the Deeds of Sale from the Judean Desert in Light of Rabbinic Literature
Part7 Judaism and Early Christianity
31 Biblical Exegesis in the Passion Narratives and the Dead Sea Scrolls
32 Jewish Law in the Gospels in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
33 The New Testament as a Source for the History of Jewish Law
34 The Bleeding Woman in Mark, Matthew, and Luke: Perspectives from Qumran and Rabbinic Literature
35 The Halakhic Response of the Rabbis to the Rise of Christianity
Part8 Faith, Worship, and Liturgy
36 Jewish Spirituality in the Bible and Second Temple Literature
37 The Importance of the Temple for Ancient Jews
38 The Early History of Public Torah Reading
39 The Haf?arah: A Historical Introduction
40 Additions to Birkat Yo?er for Sabbath
41 Min?ah: A Halakhic and Historical Analysis
42 From Observation to Calculation: The Development of the Rabbinic Lunar Calendar
43 History and Liturgy: The Evolution of Multiple Prayer Rites
Part9 Apocalypticism, Magic, and Mysticism
44 2?Enoch and Halakhah
45 3?Enoch and the Enoch Tradition
46 A Forty-two-letter Divine Name in the Aramaic Magic Bowls
47 The Recall of Rabbi Ne?uniah ben Ha-Qanah from Ecstasy in the Hekhalot Rabbati
Part10 Rabbis and Scholars
48 The Vilna Gaon's Methods for the Textual Criticism of Rabbinic Literature
49 The Rebbe as a Torah Scholar: Synthesis and Unity
50 Viktor Aptowitzer: Tradition, Haskalah, and Wissenschaft
51 The Pharisees Revisited: Louis Finkelstein on the Second Temple Period
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Part1 Ancient Jewish History
1 The Conversion of the Royal House of Adiabene in Josephus and Rabbinic Sources
2 Politics and Religion: Do They Mix? The Patriarch and His Court in Roman Palestine
3 Historical Perspectives on Dissent and Disobedience: Jews against Jews in Late Antiquity
4 Models of Community in the Ancient Jewish World
Part2 The Bible in Jewish Tradition
5 What Is a Jewish Biblical Text?
6 The Term and Concept of Torah
7 The Rabbinic View of Prophecy and Prophets
8 "A Fence around the Torah": Rabbinic Strategies for Policing the Canon
9 Translation as Commentary: Targum, Midrash, and Talmud
10 The Reception of the Bible in Ancient Judaism
Part3 Jewish Thought
11 The Rabbinic Understanding of Covenant
12 Second Temple Period Rationales for the Torah's Commandments
13 Commandment or Emotion? Love of God, Family, and Humanity in Classical Judaism
14 War in Jewish Apocalyptic Thought
15 Messianism and Apocalypticism in Rabbinic Texts
16 Exegesis and Polemic: Rabbinic Responses to Antisemitism
17 Monarchy and Polity: Systems of Government in Jewish Tradition
Part4 Jewish Law
18 Was There a Galilean Halakhah?
19 The Samaritans in Tannaitic Halakhah
20 The Samaritans in Amoraic Halakhah
21 Conversion to Judaism in Tannaitic Halakhah
22 Talmudic Monetary Theory: Currency in Rabbinic Halakhah
Part5 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Halakhah
23 Jewish Law in the Hasmonean Period
24 The Temple Scroll and the Systems of Jewish Law of the Second Temple Period
25 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Halakhah
26 Disputes in Tannaitic Literature in Light of the Judean Desert Scrolls
27 "Of the Making of Books": Rabbinic Scribal Arts in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Part6 Judean Desert Texts
28 On the Edge of the Diaspora: Jews in the Dead Sea Region in the First Two Centuries CE
29 Witnesses and Signatures in the Hebrew and Aramaic Documents from the Bar Kokhba Caves
30 Reflections on the Deeds of Sale from the Judean Desert in Light of Rabbinic Literature
Part7 Judaism and Early Christianity
31 Biblical Exegesis in the Passion Narratives and the Dead Sea Scrolls
32 Jewish Law in the Gospels in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls
33 The New Testament as a Source for the History of Jewish Law
34 The Bleeding Woman in Mark, Matthew, and Luke: Perspectives from Qumran and Rabbinic Literature
35 The Halakhic Response of the Rabbis to the Rise of Christianity
Part8 Faith, Worship, and Liturgy
36 Jewish Spirituality in the Bible and Second Temple Literature
37 The Importance of the Temple for Ancient Jews
38 The Early History of Public Torah Reading
39 The Haf?arah: A Historical Introduction
40 Additions to Birkat Yo?er for Sabbath
41 Min?ah: A Halakhic and Historical Analysis
42 From Observation to Calculation: The Development of the Rabbinic Lunar Calendar
43 History and Liturgy: The Evolution of Multiple Prayer Rites
Part9 Apocalypticism, Magic, and Mysticism
44 2?Enoch and Halakhah
45 3?Enoch and the Enoch Tradition
46 A Forty-two-letter Divine Name in the Aramaic Magic Bowls
47 The Recall of Rabbi Ne?uniah ben Ha-Qanah from Ecstasy in the Hekhalot Rabbati
Part10 Rabbis and Scholars
48 The Vilna Gaon's Methods for the Textual Criticism of Rabbinic Literature
49 The Rebbe as a Torah Scholar: Synthesis and Unity
50 Viktor Aptowitzer: Tradition, Haskalah, and Wissenschaft
51 The Pharisees Revisited: Louis Finkelstein on the Second Temple Period
Bibliography
Index