Septuagint, targum and beyond : comparing Aramaic and Greek versions from Jewish antiquity /
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In Septuagint, Targum and Beyond leading experts in the fields of biblical textual criticism and reception history explore the relationship between the two major Jewish translation traditions of the Hebrew Bible. In comparing these Greek and Aramaic versions from Jewish antiquity the essays collected here not only tackle the questions of mutual influence and common exegetical traditions, but also move beyond questions of direct dependence, applying insights from modern translation studies and comparing corpora beyond the Old Greek and Targum, including, for instance, Greek and Aramaic translations found at Qumran, the Samareitikon, and later Greek versions.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004416727
The Story of Tobit : A Comparative Literary Analysis /
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This volume charts Tobit's narrative sources in myth, legend and folktale through comparative literary analysis, firmly placing the story in the genre of the didactic and edifying religious novel.
The story of Tobit builds on various themes derived from myth, legend and folktale. Tobiah's journey recalls Homer's Odyssey, the suffering of the righteous brings to mind the legend of Job, and the narrative around a disgraced and then rehabilitated official evokes the story of Ahiqar. The author of Tobit seeks to exploit his readers' knowledge of these stories in order to convey his message more effectively: he encourages them to trust in divine providence that intervenes on behalf of the faithful. This volume, based on essays previously published in Italian, charts Tobit's narrative sources through comparative literary analysis, firmly placing the story in the genre of the didactic and edifying religious novel.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004519459
9789004519442
Characterizing Old Greek Deuteronomy as an Ancient Translation /
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Much can be learned about a translation's linguistic and cultural context by studying it as a text, a literary artifact of the culture that produced it. However, its nature as a translation warrants a careful approach, one that pays attention to the process by which its various features came about. In Characterizing Old Greek Deuteronomy as an Ancient Translation, Jean Maurais develops a framework derived from Descriptive Translation Studies to bring both these aspects in conversation. He then outlines how the Deuteronomy translator went about his task and provides a characterization of the work as a literary product.
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In this monograph, Jean Maurais applies recent developments in Translation Studies to the study of Septuagint translations in order to develop a framework appropriate to the characterization of Old Greek Deuteronomy as a translation and as a literary artifact. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004516588
9789004516571
Textual Criticism and the Ontology of Literature in Early Judaism : An Analysis of the Serekh ha-Yaḥad /
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The Dead Sea Scrolls have demonstrated the fluidity of biblical and early Jewish texts in antiquity. How did early Jewish scribes understand the nature of their pluriform literature? How should modern textual critics deal with these fluid texts? Centered on the Serekh ha-Yaḥad - or Community Rule - from Qumran as a test case, this volume tracks the development of its textual tradition in multiple trajectories, and suggests that it was not understood as a single, unified composition even in antiquity. Attending to material, textual, and literary factors, the book argues that ancient claims for textual identity ought to be given priority in discussions among textual critics about the ontology of biblical books.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004472181
9789004471948
The book of Jubilees : rewritten Bible, redaction, ideology and theology /
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Almost all scholars have viewed the book of Jubilees as the work of a single author, applying to the book methods of analysis determined primarily by its literary genre, Rewritten Bible. This study suggests a new approach, in light of numerous contradictions between the rewritten stories on the one hand, and the juxtaposed legal passages and chronological framework on the other. It is suggested here that the editor of Jubilees adopted extant reworked sources, and added his own legal and chronological framework. This proposed literary-critical method is highly significant for the study of the book's worldview, as is demonstrated by the analysis of passages in Jubilees that relate to the origins of evil and of law in the world.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2004.
Translated from the Hebrew. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [325]-344) and indexes. :
9789047419488 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The early Enoch literature /
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In recent years there has been a lively debate about the early Enoch literature and its place in Judaism. This volume is intended to represent that debate, by juxtaposing pairs of articles on several key issues: the textual evidence, the relationship to the Torah, the calendar, the relation to wisdom, the relation to the temple, the sociological setting and the relation to the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is not the intention of the editors to impose a consensus, but rather to stimulate discussion by bringing together divergent viewpoints. The book should be a useful textbook not only on the Enoch literature and apocalypticism, but more generally on Second Temple Judaism.
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"At the Venice meeting in 2003, a group of participants ... decided to plan an additional collection of essays on 'The Early Enoch Literature.' The intent was to summarize and intensify the results of the first two Enoch Seminars." :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047421764 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Provenance of the Pseudepigrapha : Jewish, Christian, or Other? /
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The Old Testament pseudepigrapha are ancient quasi-biblical texts inspired by the Hebrew Bible. Although frequently mined as Jewish background by New Testament specialists, they were transmitted almost entirely in Christian circles, often only in translation. Christian authors wrote some pseudepigrapha and did not necessarily always mention explicitly Christian topics. This book challenges the assumption that pseudepigrapha are Jewish compositions until proven otherwise. It proposes a methodology for understanding them first in the social context of their earliest manuscripts, inferring still earlier origins only as required by positive evidence while considering the full range of possible authors (Jews, Christians, "God-fearers," Samaritans, etc.). It analyzes a substantial corpus of pseudepigrapha, distinguishing those that are probably Jewish from those of more doubtful origins.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047416609
9789004137523
The Book of Tobit: Text, Tradition, Theology : Papers of the First International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, Pápa, Hungary, 20-21 May, 2004 /
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This volume contains the proceedings of the first of an international series of conferences on the deuterocanonical literature organised by the Shime'on Centre in Pápa, Hungary. Renowned international scholars of the field treat questions of text in the Book of Tobit, the underlying traditions and theological questions. The importance of the deuterocanonical corpus is widely recognised in contemporary scholarship. This is marked by the growing number of related publications. Yet it remains important to create an opportunity to work through the entire deuterocanonical material as such. These conferences aim to provide a yearly forum for discussion of this literature. The next conferences planned are on Maccabees (2005), Sirach (2006), Wisdom (2007), Additions (2008) and Judith (2009), and as a result, the organisers plan to publish five more volumes. Together with the present volume these will cover the entire deuterocanonical corpus.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047415329
9789004143760
Primaeval History Interpreted : The Rewriting of Genesis 1-11 in the Book of Jubilees /
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This volume deals with the primaeval history in the Book of Jubilees, an interpretative rewriting of the biblical narratives of Genesis through Exodus 19, written in the second century BCE. It contains a close comparison of Genesis 1-11 and Jubilees 2-10, in order to get a clear picture of the specific way the biblical story was rewritten. Each chapter offers an overall comparison of the parallel pericopes in Genesis and Jubilees, with special attention to the structure of the passages. It then gives a synoptic overview of the text of the parallel passages, along with a classification (e.g., addition, omission, variation, rearrangement), and analysis of the dissimilarities. The work is important for those interested in the history of biblical interpretation, in post-biblical Jewish literature and in intertexuality.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004498068
9789004116580
Written for Us: Paul's Interpretation of Scripture and the History of Midrash /
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This volume re-introduces Paul into the study of midrash. Though Paul writes and interprets scripture in Greek and the Tannaim in Hebrew, and despite grave methodological difficulties in claiming direct and substantial cultural contact between these literary traditions, this book argues that Paul is a crucial source for the study of rabbinic midrash and vice versa. Fisch offers fresh perspectives on reading practices that Paul and the Tannaim uniquely share; on Paul's concept of nomos , and its implications on the reconstructed history of the Tannaitic twofold-Torah, Oral and Written; on the relationship between allegory and midrash as hermeneutical systems; and on competing conceptualizations of ideal readers.
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004505629
9789004511590
Written for Us: Paul's Interpretation of Scripture and the History of Midrash /
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This volume re-introduces Paul into the study of midrash. Though Paul writes and interprets scripture in Greek and the Tannaim in Hebrew, and despite grave methodological difficulties in claiming direct and substantial cultural contact between these literary traditions, this book argues that Paul is a crucial source for the study of rabbinic midrash and vice versa. Fisch offers fresh perspectives on reading practices that Paul and the Tannaim uniquely share; on Paul's concept of nomos , and its implications on the reconstructed history of the Tannaitic twofold-Torah, Oral and Written; on the relationship between allegory and midrash as hermeneutical systems; and on competing conceptualizations of ideal readers.
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004505629
9789004511590
Tracing Sapiential traditions in ancient Judaism /
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This volume is intended to problematize and challenge current conceptions of the category of "Wisdom" and to reconsider the scope, breadth and Nachleben of ancient Jewish sapiential traditions. It considers the formal features and conceptual underpinnings of wisdom throughout the corpus of the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Hellenistic Jewish texts, Rabbinic texts, and the Cairo Geniza. It also situates ancient Jewish Wisdom in its Near Eastern context, as well as in the context of Hellenistic conceptions of the Sage.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004324688 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Le Temps et les Temps : dans les littératures juives et chrétiennes au tournant de notre ère /
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This volume deals with calendar and liturgical times on the one hand. It discusses questions related to the establishment of the calendar and the observance of traditional and new feasts in Palestine and in the diaspora. On the other hand this book deals with the predetermined organization of the times. It considers the periodization of times and the idea of a revelation being carried out from one period to another; the irruption of the fixed Time and the concomitant representation of a recovery of the times; and the expectation of the last times. In particular, the texts from Qumran, the New Testament, and hellenistic Jewish literature are investigated, but older and more recent texts are taken into account as well.
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Papers presented at a colloquium. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 256-257) and indexes. :
9789047409267 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Wisdom in transition : act and consequence in Second Temple instructions /
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This volume considers a major shift among Jewish sages during the Second Temple period, as certain authors moved from an earthly focus to a belief in individual immortality. Egyptian instructions and the book of Proverbs are examined for necessary background. The colorful responses of Qoheleth and Ben Sira to an emergent belief in the afterlife are also discussed. 4QInstruction, the largest Wisdom text from the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus, demonstrates this shift to an eschatological understanding. This book considers the diverse reasons for the changes that one finds in 4QInstruction, especially the issue of social context. It will prove useful to those interested in Wisdom literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocalypticism, and the development of beliefs in the afterlife.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-293) and indexes. :
9789047433149 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The texts and versions of the Book of Ben Sira : transmission and interpretation /
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The Book of Ben Sira comes to us in a bewildering variety of ancient textual forms. Each version shows how the book was received and interpreted in a new situation and by another community of readers. The present volume contains studies by some of the best specialists in this field of research. Each of the ancient text forms of Ben Sira-Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, and Latin-is studied in its proper context and analysed in regard to what explains the typical changes it contains.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004207189 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
"Go out and study the land" (Judges 18:2) : archaeological, historical and textual studies in honor of Hanan Eshel /
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Hanan Eshel (z\'l) was a prolific scholar in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls, Classical Archaeology of the Near East and many other topics. During his terminal illness, friends and colleagues got together to present him with a collection of studies on topics that were close to his fields of interest, as an expression of deep friendship and admiration. The volume contains the 22 papers presented to Hanan before his death, covering topics in archaeology, history, and textual studies, with a particular emphasis on aspects relating to the Dead Sea Scrolls, spanning the late Iron Age through late Antiquity.
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1 online resource (xxxv, 455 pages) : illustrations (some color), map, color portrait. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004214132 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Creation, covenant, and the beginnings of Judaism : reconceiving historical time in the Second Temple period /
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This study examines the relationship between time and history in Second Temple literature. Numerous sources from that period express a belief that Jewish history began with an act of covenant formation and proceeded in linear fashion until the exile, an unprecedented event which severed the present from the past. The authors of Ben Sira, Jubilees , the Animal Apocalypse , and 4 Ezra responded to this theological challenge by claiming instead that Jewish history began at creation. Between creation and redemption, history unfolds as a series of static, repeating patterns that simultaneously account for the disappointments of the Second Temple period and confirm the eternal nature of the covenant. As iterations of timeless, cyclical patterns, the difficult post-exilic present and the glorious redemption of the future emerge as familiar, unremarkable, and inevitable historical developments.
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1 online resource (xii, 216 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-208) and index. :
9789004281653 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Revealed wisdom and inaugurated eschatology in ancient Judaism and early Christianity /
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This book examines four texts: 1 Enoch, 4QInstruction, Matthew and 2 Enoch. A common idea in these texts, which blend sapiential and apocalyptic elements, is that the revealing of wisdom to an elect group inaugurates the eschatological period. The emphasis on "revealed wisdom" is essentially apocalyptic, but facilitates the uptake of motifs, forms and language from the sapiential tradition and is important in explaining the fusion of the two traditions. In addition, revealed wisdom often has creational associations and this has significance for the notion of ethics in these texts. The book will interest anyone concerned with the development of Jewish and Christian eschatology and ethics. It also challenges the simplistic redactional assumptions of certain New Testament scholars.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [259]-283) and indexes. :
9789047419242 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Danielic discourse on empire in Second Temple literature /
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In The Danielic Discourse on Empire in Second Temple Literature , Alexandria Frisch asks: how did Jews in the Second Temple period understand the phenomenon of foreign empire? In answering this question, a remarkable trend reveals itself-the book of Daniel, which situates its narrative in an imperial context and apocalyptically envisions empires, was overwhelmingly used by Jewish writers when they wanted to say something about empires. This study examines Daniel, as well as antecedents to and interpretations of Daniel, in order to identify the diachronic changes in perceptions of empire during this period. Oftentimes, this Danielic discourse directly reacted to imperial ideologies, either copying, subverting, or adapting those ideologies. Throughout this study, postcolonial criticism, therefore, provides a hermeneutical lens through which to ask a second question: in an imperial context, is the Jewish conception of empire actually Jewish?
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004331310 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.