List of Abbreviations
Note on Translations and Editions
Chapter 1: Theology, Josephus, and Understandings of Ancient
Judaism
Chapter 2: Fate, Free Will and Ancient Jewish Types of
Compatibilism
Chapter 3: Afterlives and Noble Deaths
Chapter 4: Torah, Tradition, and Innovation
Chapter 5: Josephus and Judaism after 70 CE
Conclusion
Appendix: Essenes and Resurrection according to Hippolytus
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Jonathan Klawans is Professor of Religion at Boston University. He is the author of Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism and Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism.
"As a work that 'is primarily addressed to those who engage in the
work of reconstructing the history of ancient Judaism', it provides
plenty of food for thought. The book includes very substantial
endnotes, a fairly full bibliography, and helpful indices."
--Journal of Semitic Studies
"As in his previous books, Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism and
Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple, Professor Klawans displays his
enviable skill in absorbing, digesting, and presenting with clarity
a vast amount of material on a complicated subject: the theologies
of ancient Judaism. Perhaps only a scholar who has already
demonstrated his expertise in the area of Jewish law and observance
could treat with complete credibility the tricky
and touchy topic of 'theology' in ancient Judaism. His achievement
is all the more admirable because he focuses upon that protean
Talleyrand of first-century Judaism, Josephus."--John P. Meier,
William K. Warren
Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame
"Erudite, deeply thoughtful, and engagingly written... an important
and largely persuasive book that should be read by anyone
interested in the theological and religious landscape of first
century Palestine." --Religious Studies Review
"This learned and engaging volume provides an expertly executed
corrective to several common misconceptions about ancient Judaism
and replaces them with a nuanced and convincing picture. It offers
a much-needed defense of the importance of theology, clarifies our
understanding of sectarian division, and counters the notion that
after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, Judaism went into
eclipse, and the Jews into despondency. It illuminates ancient
Judaism
and Christian origins alike."--Jon D. Levenson, author of
Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam
"Over the past couple of decades there has been an understandable
move to put special emphasis on legal interpretation of second
temple Jewish documents. But as Klawans shows in his latest book,
this has come at the cost of taking seriously the theological
commitments of the various Jewish groups themselves. This volume is
a very sophisticated re-appraisal of the role such commitments
played in the shaping of Jewish identity in this crucial period. As
we
have come to expect from the work of Klawans, he provides a
necessary corrective to long held assumptions."--Gary A. Anderson,
Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre
Dame
"A well-written work... Klawans's arguments are worth reading,
whether they bring us to give up long-held opinons or only to
re-examine their foundations." --Journal of Jewish Studies
"This volume will be a valuable addition to libraries with
collections on the Roman world, Judaism, the New Testament, and
early Christianity. Summing Up: Highly recommended." --CHOICE
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