Based on the best archaeological research, this volume explores the history of Judaism during the Second Temple period (516 BCE–70 CE), describing the body of Jewish literature written during these centuries and the most important groups, institutions, and practices of the time. Particularly interesting are VanderKam’s depiction of events associated with Masada and, more briefly, the Bar Kokhba revolt—as well as his commentary on texts unearthed in places like Elephantine and Qumran. Now in its second edition, with additional material and updated throughout, this book remains the preeminent guide to early Judaism for anyone looking for a text that is concise and accessible while still comprehensive—and written by one of the foremost experts in the field.
These essays honor James C. VanderKam on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday and twentieth year on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame. Essays from an international group of scholars address various topics in Second Temple Judaism and biblical studies.
This perennially bestselling book on the Dead Sea Scrolls by one of the fields most respected scholars has now been revised and updated to reflect scholarship and debates since the book was first published in 1994.
The Book of Jubilees, a Jewish retelling of Genesis and the first half of Exodus, was an important work for the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This Guide, following the format of this successful series, gives an introduction to Jubilees that covers its dating, its textual history and its purpose; a survey of its theological teachings and themes; and a section-by-section commentary that includes a comparison of its divergences from Genesis and the meaning and emphasis of each section. This volume, by the leading authority on Jubilees, provides the very best introduction for the student and scholar to one of the most important texts of Early Judaism.
Beginning late in the Old Testament period and continuing for the next six hundred years, the Jewish high priests were often the most important members of Jewish society. They not only possessed religious authority but also exercised political control. This book gathers and assesses the surviving evidence about each of the fifty-one men who served as high priest from about 515 BCE until approximately 70 CE when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
In this book, two of the world's leading experts on the scrolls reveal the complete and fascinating story in all its detail: the amazing discovery, the intense controversies, and the significant revelations. This comprehensive, up-to-date guide is the def
R.H. Charles: A Biography first situates Charles's work in the history of biblical scholarship. The remainder of the book is divided into three parts that draw on material stored in several archives and other sources. The first provides an account of his early life and education in Ireland. Part two is devoted to his Oxford years (1890-1913). Within a chronological framework, the chapters regarding the Oxford period focus on his pioneering work with Jewish apocalypses as evident in his many textual editions, translations, and commentaries. For all of his major publications an attempt is made to assess how his work was received at the time and how it continues to affect the field of early Judaism. The third part furnishes a biographical overview of his work as a canon of Westminster (1913-31). At the Abbey, he carried out pastoral duties but also published books that made contributions to publicly debated issues such as divorce, while at the same time continuing his scholarly endeavours. The volume includes bibliographies of Charles's many publications and of works cited.
Six of the seven chapters in The Dead Sea scrolls and the Bible began as the Speaker's Lectures at Oxford University, delivered during the first two weeks of May 2009"--Introd.
From Revelation to Canon is a collection of essays that offers studies of texts, traditions, and themes from the Hebrew Bible and from the extra-biblical literature of the second-temple period. Included in it are studies of apocalypticism, the high priesthood, calendars and festivals, and a series of essays on aspects of 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees. There is also a previously unpublished essay on the development of a canon of scripture in Judaism. The volume gathers in one place, papers that were originally published in several journals, volumes of essays, and Festschriften. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
The book of Jubilees was written by a Jewish author in the second century BCE. Although no original copies of the manuscript remain, the fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed the general accuracy of later copies and suggested important amendments. The text retraces the book of Genesis and parts of Exodus and thus is one of the earliest sustained commentaries on the narratives presented in those texts. The translation in this volume is drawn from the author's monumental two-volume work in the Hermeneia commentary series and takes into account all of the textual data now available. The translation is accompanied by carefully selected notes that illuminate the text and is ideal for classroom use.
VanderKam carries further an investigation of the relation between wisdom and apocalypse. He shows that not simply wisdom, but mantic wisdom has informed the authors of 1 Enoch 1-36, 73-107. VanderKam affirms the basic correctness of each researcher but sees in their work shortcomings which his own study seeks to rectify.
1997 was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls explores the evidence about calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Jewish texts. James C. VanderKam examines the pertinent texts, their sources and the different uses to which people put calendrical information in the Christian world. Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls provides a valuable addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls Series and contributes to the elucidation of the scroll texts themselves and their relation to other Biblical texts.
The question of apocalyptic influence on Jesus and early Christianity is again strongly contested. The issues connected with this question include terminology, genre, historical reconstruction, sectarian self-definition, and many others. This book provides a fresh assessment of the nature and significance of early Christian appropriation of Jewish apocalyptic material.
Jubilees--so called because of its concern with marking forty-nine-year periods (or "jubilees") in Israel's history--is an ancient rewriting of Genesis and the first part of Exodus from the point of view of an anonymous second-century BCE Jewish author. Its distinctive perspective--as well as its apparent popularity at Qumran--make it particularly important for any reconstruction of early Judaism. James C. VanderKam, the world's foremost authority on Jubilees, offers a new translation based on his own critical editions of all the available textual evidence, including the Hebrew fragments preserved at Qumran (which he first published in Discoveries in the Judean Desert, vol. 13), as well as the first full running commentary on the book in the English language. Jubilees approaches the book as a rewriting of scripture but also as a literary work in its own right. The commentary explains the text and the teachings of the author with comprehensive coverage of the modern scholarship devoted to them. The introduction sets the book in its second-century BCE context, traces its sources in the Bible and in other early Jewish texts, and describes its influence on Jewish and Christian writers.--Publisher description.
Created in conjunction with an exhaustive critical commentary, this is an English translation of '1 Enoch' taking into consideration all of the textual data now available the Ethiopic version, the Greek texts and the Dead Sea Aramaic fragments.
Rife with incest, adultery, rape, and murder, the biblical story of Jacob and his children must have troubled ancient readers. By any standard, this was a family with problems. Jacob's oldest son Reuben is said to have slept with his father's concubine Bilhah. The next two sons, Simeon and Levi, tricked the men of a nearby city into undergoing circumcision, and then murdered all of them as revenge for the rape of their sister. Judah, the fourth son, had sexual relations with his own daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, jealous of their younger sibling Joseph, the brothers conspired to kill him; they later relented and merely sold him into slavery. These stories presented a particular challenge for ancient biblical interpreters. After all, Jacob's sons were the founders of the nation of Israel and ought to have been models of virtue. In The Ladder of Jacob, renowned biblical scholar James Kugel retraces the steps of ancient biblical interpreters as they struggled with such problems. Kugel reveals how they often fixed on a little detail in the Bible's wording to "deduce" something not openly stated in the narrative. They concluded that Simeon and Levi were justified in killing all the men in a town to avenge the rape of their sister, and that Judah, who slept with his daughter-in-law, was the unfortunate victim of alcoholism. These are among the earliest examples of ancient biblical interpretation (midrash). They are found in retellings of biblical stories that appeared in the closing centuries BCE--in the Book of Jubilees, the Aramaic Levi Document, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and other noncanonical works. Through careful analysis of these retellings, Kugel is able to reconstruct how ancient interpreters worked. The Ladder of Jacob is an artful, compelling account of the very beginnings of biblical interpretation.
1 Enoch presents complex puzzles concerning wisdom, apocalyptic, and astronomical traditions in early Judaism, as well as the bewildering history of the book's composition and transmission in different languages. Offering masterful judgments in lucid and accessible style, 1 Enoch 2 will be the definitive resource for decades to come.
This volume in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series is composed of two sections. The first is Aramaic papyri from Wadi Daliyeh written in Official Aramaic. The second contains Miscellanea, part 2, from Cave 4 at Qumran.
This definitive scholarly edition contains compositions from Cave 4 at Qumran written during the Second Temple period, which are linked to the Hebrew Bible through text, characters, themes or genre. Among the texts published here, Tobit was previously known from the Apocrypha while the remaining fourteen texts were hitherto unknown. They enhance our understanding of biblical interpretation during the period.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.