This is a study of an anonymous ancient work, originally composed in Greek, titled Joseph and Aseneth. Although relatively unknown outside of scholarly circles, the story is remarkable because of its focus on a female character and its absence of overt misogyny. It has traditionally been viewed as an early 2nd-century C.E. conversion story of Jewish provenance. Kraemer, through her detailed examination of the texts, arrives at conclusions that disagree with previous findings with respect not only to questions of date, provenance, identity, geographic origin and textual relationships, but also to many matters of interpretation.

The volume reflects the recent debate on intermarriage and its implications for group identity in the formative phase of Judaism. Intermarriage and group identity in the Second Temple Period will be investigated from different points of view with regard to methodology and analyzed texts. With an introduction to the history of research and a summarizing final section, the individual contributions will be associated with the larger context of the recent debate. Thus not only the diversity of texts on mixed marriage within the Hebrew Bible and related scripture will be shown and emphasized but the question of continuity and discontinuity as well as the socio-historical background of marriage restrictions will be dealt with, too. Covering a wide range of texts from almost every part of the "Hebrew Bible" as well as from "Elephantine", "Qumran" and several pseudepigrapha, like "Jubilees", its focus is on possible counter texts with a more positive notion of foreign wives, in addition to restrictive and prohibitive texts. These different approaches will illuminate the dynamics of the construction of group identity, culminating in conflicts concerning separation and integration which can be found in the debate on the topic of the "correct" marriage. Over the last 30 years this pioneering series has established an unrivaled reputation for cutting-edge international scholarship in Biblical Studies and has attracted leading authors and editors in the field. The series takes many original and creative approaches to its subjects, including innovative work from historical and theological perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and more recent developments in cultural studies and reception history.

The status of Russian Jewry has long been a subject of intense international interest. The collapse of the Soviet empire resulted in unprecedented access to historical records and has shed new light on the history of the Jewish people within Russia. Central to this history are the early years of the twentieth century, leading up to the Revolution of 1917.
At the turn of the century, Jewish liberals in Russia were pursuing traditional strategies aimed at bolstering the position of their people. Among these were the dissemination of propaganda aimed at enlightening Russian society about the plight of its Jews and the establishment of a legal defense bureau. During the Revolution of 1905, these same liberals stepped up their efforts, aggressively mobilizing and politicizing Russian Jewry and lobbying for legal emancipation in Parliament.
After Stolypin's coup d'tat in 1907 and in the years preceding Bolshevik victory, Jewish forces radically changed their focus, opting not just to lobby non-Jewish institutions on the behalf of Jewish interests but to modernize the Jewish community itself. This shift to an inward-looking, organic activism had as its goal the integration of Jews into a modernizing Russian society and economy. As this revisionist history convincingly argues, Jewish political activists, contrary to general perceptions of the era, were therefore significant players in transforming and modernizing Jewish society during the Tsarist era.

In this second volume of his long-anticipated five-volume collection of parashat hashavua commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny.

Chief Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy, and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under Gods sovereignty.

Erudite and eloquent, Covenant & Conversation allows us to experience Chief Rabbi Sacks sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah.

The Ma'ase-Ester, "Esther's affairs", is a 14th-century Judeo-Provencal poem on the story of Esther, intended for a recital during the banquet for Purim. The short poem - recently discovered in the single manuscript that preserves it - is a new precious document that enriches a small corpus of medieval Judeo-Provencal texts. This book offers the first critical edition of the complete text accompanied by a detailed study of the sources and the language. It guides us in understanding why the story of Esther became such a popular theme in 14th-century Provence, and in what way the Avignon Papacy and the studies on Moses Maimonides influenced this literary novelty.

In The Verbal System of the Dead Sea Scrolls Ken M. Penner determines whether Qumran Hebrew finite verbs are primarily temporal, aspectual, or modal. Standard grammars claim Hebrew was aspect-prominent in the Bible, and tense-prominent in the Mishnah. But the semantic value of the verb forms in the intervening period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were written has remained controversial. Penner answers the question of Qumran Hebrew verb form semantics using an empirical method: a database calculating the correlation between each form and each function, establishing that the ancient author's selection of verb form is determined not by aspect, but by tense or modality. Penner then applies these findings to controversial interpretations of three Qumran texts.

Scepticism has been the driving force in the development of Greco-Roman culture in the past, and the impetus for far-reaching scientific achievements and philosophical investigation. Early Jewish culture, in contrast, avoided creating consistent representations of its philosophical doctrines. Sceptical notions can nevertheless be found in some early Jewish literature such as the Book of Ecclesiastes. One encounters there expressions of doubt with respect to Divine justice or even Divine involvement in earthly affairs. During the first centuries of the common era, however, Jewish thought, as reflected in rabbinic works, was engaged in persistent intellectual activity devoted to the laws, norms, regulations, exegesis and other traditional areas of Jewish religious knowledge. An effort to detect sceptical ideas in ancient Judaism, therefore, requires a closer analysis of this literary heritage and its cultural context. This volume of collected essays seeks to tackle the question of scepticism in an Early Jewish context, including Ecclesiastes and other Jewish Second Temple works, rabbinic midrashic and talmudic literature, and reflections of Jewish thought in early Christian and patristic writings. Contributors are: Tali Artman, Geoffrey Herman, Reuven Kiperwasser, Serge Ruzer, Cana Werman, and Carsten Wilke.

In this ground-breaking work on the Ottoman town of Manastir (Bitola), Robert Mihajlovski, provides a detailed account of the development of Islamic, Christian and Sephardic religious architecture and culture as it manifested in the town and precincts. Originally a town on the edge of the Via Egnatia, this small provincial town gradually developed into a significant administrative, military, religious, cultural and intellectual centre for the Balkans; a vibrant place, nurturing progressive multi-cultural and multi-confessional values with considerable influence on the formation of modern Balkan identities. The present work is the culmination of thirty years of research using primary source material from archives and chronicles and the monuments themselves for the purpose of both preserving and extending the boundaries of current knowledge. It offers a comprehensive biography of a great cultural knot in the Balkans and offers a rich source for further use by scholars, students and non-technical readership alike.

This book addresses the ongoing close relations between ordinary Christians and Jews on a daily basis at a time when church leaders were increasingly trying to establish boundaries between Christians and other religious groupings, especially Jews. Until recently, most historical studies of late antique Christian-Jewish relations had been primarily based on the writings of the church fathers.This new study makes use of a new type of source material: fourth to late sixth century council documents in which clear indications are given of the daily relationships between Christians and Jews. The texts from the eastern and western Mediterranean describe contacts between Christianity and Judaism at the level of ordinary people. These contacts remained close for a much longer period than the church leaders would have liked.

Self-restraint or self-mastery may appear to be the opposite of erotic desire. But in this nuanced, literary analysis, Diane Lipsett traces the intriguing interplay of desire and self-restraint in three ancient tales of conversion: The Shepherd of Hermas, the Acts of Paul and Thecla, and Joseph and Aseneth. Lipsett treats "conversion"--marked change in a protagonist's piety and identity--as in part an effect of story, a function of narrative textures, coherence, and closure. Her approach is theoretically versatile, drawing on Foucault, psychoanalytic theorists, and the ancient literary critic Longinus. Well grounded in scholarship on Hermas, Thecla, and Aseneth, the closely paced readings sharpen attention to each story, while advancing discussions of ancient views of the self; of desire, masculinity, and virginity; of the cultural codes around marriage and continence; and of the textual energetics of conversion tales.

Converso and Morisco are the terms applied to those Jews and Muslims who converted to Christianity in large numbers and usually under duress in late Medieval Spain. The Converso and Morisco Studies series examines the implications of these mass conversions for the converts themselves, for their heirs (also referred to as Conversos and Moriscos) and for Medieval and Modern Spanish culture. As the essays in this collection attest, the study of the Converso and Morisco phenomena is not only important for those scholars focusing on Spanish society and culture, but for all academics interested in questions of identity, Otherness, nationalism, religious intolerance and the challenges of modernity. Contributors: Luis F. Bernabe Pons, Michel Boeglin, Stephanie M. Cavanaugh, William P. Childers, Carlos Gilly, Kevin Ingram, Nicola Jennings, Patrick J. O'Banion, Francisco Javier Perea Siller, Mohamed Saadan, and Enrique Soria Mesa.

Designing public policies to meet the needs of a diverse society is challenging, and the variety of necessary perspectives are often clouded by competing ideas about social responsibility, personal freedom, religious beliefs, and governmental intervention. Here, prominent Jewish scholars and commentators address various social issues and public policies from a Jewish perspective, using Jewish sources and documents to elucidate responses and propose solutions that are in keeping with Jewish law as set out by the major documents of the Jewish faith. Abortion, stem cell research, welfare reform, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and other hot-button issues are topics of primary concern to politicians, lawmakers, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens alike. Designing public policies to meet the needs of a diverse society is challenging, and the variety of necessary perspectives are often clouded by competing ideas about social responsibility, personal freedom, religious beliefs, and governmental intervention. Here, prominent Jewish scholars and commentators address various social issues and public policies from a Jewish perspective, using Jewish sources and documents to elucidate responses and propose solutions that are in keeping with Jewish law as set out by the major documents of the Jewish faith. Their conclusions about ways to consider issues of public concern and private consideration, and their adherence to conservative politics, may surprise readers. What emerges is the notion that Jewish thought can contribute to the American political discourse and is available to anyone looking for answers to today's toughest questions. Creating a public policy to address social issues that is both responsible and morally guided can be a difficult proposition for lawmakers. Making personal decisions about these same issues can be even more difficult as people struggle for guidance. Addressing many of the issues that are hotly debated in the media and in the corridors of our government, conservative, reform, and orthodox commentators carefully outline an approach for lawmakers and individuals. This approach incorporates Jewish law into a public policy philosophy that is both conservative-leaning and politically available. Taken as a whole, the essays underscore that Jewish tradition mostly (albeit not invariably) leads one to the politically conservative side of the aisle.

This is the full four-volume set of the Laws and Customs of Israel published in 1915-1916, bound in two volumes. Based on the codes Chayye Adam and Kizzur Shulchan 'Arukh, this Hebrew-English compendium is an invaluable source for Judaic traditions and customs.

This anthology of addresses and essays by former Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Gerson D. Cohen is written in a popular style and is intended for a wide audience. The pieces offer an overview of Gerson D. Cohen's thoughts on such topics as the centrality of religion to Judaism, eschatology, Jewish history in its cultural context, Jewish scholarship and Zionism. In the book's Foreword, Rabbi Gillman writes: "I envy the readers who will encounter Gerson Cohen for the first time through the pages of this book."

This is the third volume of the hard-copy edition of a journal that has been published online (www.macdiv.ca/jgrchj) since 2000. Volume 1 was for 2000, Volume 2 was for 2001-2005, and Volume 3 is for 2006. As they appear, the hardcopy editions will replace the online materials.The scope of JGRChJ is the texts, language and cultures of the Graeco-Roman world of early Christianity and Judaism.The papers published in JGRChJ are designed to pay special attention to the 'larger picture' of politics, culture, religion and language, engaging as well with modern theoretical approaches. Craig A. Evans Messianic Hopes and Messianic Figures in Late Antiquity Richard van Egmond The Messianic 'Son of David' in Matthew Ronald Weed Aristotle on Justice (dikaiosuvnh): Character, Action and Some Pauline Counterparts Michael Wojciechowski Paul and Plutarch on Boasting Barry F. Parker Romans 7 and the Split between Judaism and Christianity Craig S. Keener Paul's 'Friends' the Asiarchs (Acts 19.31) Lois K. Fuller The 'Genitive Absolute' in New Testament/Hellenistic Greek: A Proposal for Clearer Understanding Jonathan M. Watt Contextual Disconnection in Bart Ehrman's Lost Christianities Sean A. Adams Luke's Preface and its Relationship to Greek Historiography: A Response to Loveday Alexander Robert Stephen Reid Ad Herennium Argument Strategies in 1 Corinthians

"Genizat Germania" is a project at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz focused on the search for and analysis of Hebrew and Aramaic binding fragments found in the books and files of archives and libraries. In recent years this systematic search has revealed several hundred new fragments, including some rare Talmudic, Midrashic and liturgical fragments. The new discoveries both in Germany and elsewhere in Europe have broadened the knowledge of Jewish literature in the Middle Ages and Early Modern periods. This volume collects the papers of international scholars which cover recent discoveries in Germany, the "European Genizah" or fragments found in Italy, Poland, Great Britain and Austria, the approaches of similar projects in Austria and the Czech Republic, as well as an extensive bibliography.

Jeremiah's Scriptures focuses on the composition of the biblical book of Jeremiah and its dynamic afterlife in ancient Jewish traditions. Jeremiah is an interpretive text that grew over centuries by means of extensive redactional activities on the part of its tradents. In addition to the books within the book of Jeremiah, other books associated with Jeremiah or Baruch were also generated. All the aforementioned texts constitute what we call "Jeremiah's Scriptures." The papers and responses collected here approach Jeremiah's scriptures from a variety of perspectives in biblical and ancient Jewish sub-fields. One of the authors' goals is to challenge the current fragmentation of the fields of theology, biblical studies, ancient Judaism. This volume focuses on Jeremiah and his legacy.

Early Christology must focus not simply on historical but also on theological ideas found in contemporary Jewish thought and practice. In this book, a range of distinguished contributors considers the context and formation of early Jewish and Christian devotion to God aloneGCothe emergence of GCGBPmonotheismGC[yen]. The idea of monotheism is critically examined from various perspectives, including the history of ideas, Graeco-Roman religions, early Jewish mediator figures, scripture exegesis, and the history of its use as a theological category. The studies explore different ways of conceiving of early Christian monotheism today, asking whether monotheism is a conceptually useful category, whether it may be applied cautiously and with qualifications, or whether it is to be questioned in favor of different approaches to understanding the origins of Jewish and Christian beliefs and worship. This is volume 1 in the Early Christianity in Context series and volume 263 in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

This innovative study shows how the imaginary constructions of self and Other are shaping identification with Jewishness in the twenty-first century. The texts and artworks discussed in this book test a diverse range of ways of identifying as Jews and with the Jewish people, while engaging with postmodern and postcolonial discourses of hybridity and multiculturalism. This book selects six key areas in which the boundaries of Jewish identities have been interrogated and renegotiated: nation, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and the Holocaust. In each of these areas Sicher explores how major and emerging contemporary writers and artists re-envision the meaning of their identities. Such re-envisioning may be literally visual or metaphorical in the search for expression of artistic self between the conventional paradigms of the past and new ways of thinking.