Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora

by John J. Collins

Overview

One of the most creative and consequential collisions in Western culture involved the encounter of Judaism with Hellenism. In this widely acclaimed study of the Jews who lived in Hellenistic Egypt, “between Athens and Jerusalem,” John J. Collins examines the literature of Hellenistic Judaism, treating not only the introductory questions of date, authorship, and provenance but also the larger question of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman world.

First published in 1984, this landmark study by one of the world's leading experts in Hellinistic Judaism is now fully revised and updated to take into account the best of recent scholarship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802843722
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/06/2006
Series:	Biblical Resource Series
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

John J. Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School and a recognized expert in early Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls. His many other works include The Apocalyptic Imagination, Beyond the Qumran Community, The Scepter and the Star, and (with Daniel C. Harlow) The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xii
	Preface to the Second Edition	xiii
	Abbreviations	xiv
	Introduction	1
	The Diaspora Setting	3
	Gentile Perceptions of Judaism	6
	Jewish Apologetics	14
	Hellenistic Judaism and Judea	16
	The Constraints of the Tradition	19
	Relations with the Gentile Environment	24
	Prospect	25
Part 1	National and Political Identity
1.	The Uses of the Past	29
	The Faithful Chroniclers	33
	Demetrius	33
	The Followers of Demetrius	35
	History and Romance	37
	Artapanus	37
	Eupolemus	46
	Pseudo-Eupolemus?	47
	Thallus and Cleodemus	51
	Pseudo-Hecataeus	52
	The Epic Poets	54
	Philo	54
	Theodotus	57
	Jewish Historiography in the First Century C.E.	60
	Conclusion	62
2.	Religion and Politics: The Ptolemaic Era	64
	The History of the Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt	64
	Onias and Leontopolis	69
	The Background of Onias	73
	The Tale of the Tobiads	74
	2 Maccabees and the Oniads	77
	2 Maccabees and the Diaspora	78
	The Third Sibyl	83
	The Content of Sibylline Oracle 3	87
	The Seventh King	88
	The Analogy with the Persian Period	91
	The King from the Sun	92
	Jerusalem and the Gentile Kings	95
	A Ptolemaic Messiah	95
	The Provenance of Sibylline Oracle 3	96
	The Letter of Aristeas	97
	Joseph and Aseneth	103
	Greek Esther	110
3.	Religion and Politics: The Roman Period	113
	The Status of the Jews in Roman Egypt	113
	The Third Book of Maccabees	122
	Philo's Politics	131
	The Events of 66-73 C.E.	138
	The Background of the Great Revolt	140
	The Fifth Sibyl	143
	The Later Sibyllines	150
	Conclusion	151
Part 2	Identity Through Ethics and Piety
4.	The Common Ethic	155
	Judaism according to Hecataeus	155
	The Basis for a Common Ethic	157
	The Sibylline Oracles	160
	The Third Sibyl	160
	Sibylline Oracle 5	165
	Sibylline Oracle 4	166
	The Sibylline Fragments	167
	Pseudo-Phocylides	168
	The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs	174
	The Testaments and the Covenant Form	177
	The Content of the Exhortations	179
	Homiletic Material in the Testaments	179
	The Ethic of the Testaments	183
	The Role of the Synagogue	184
5.	Philosophical Judaism	186
	Aristobulus	186
	Poetic Forgeries	190
	Pseudo-Aristeas	191
	The Wisdom of Solomon	195
	Fourth Maccabees	202
6.	The Mysteries of God	210
	Mystic Judaism	210
	A Mystic Ritual?	211
	Mystic Philosophy	214
	Esotericism	217
	Heavenly Revelations	219
	The Pseudo-Orphic Fragments	219
	Ezekiel the Tragedian	224
	Joseph and Aseneth	230
	Ritual Elements in Joseph and Aseneth?	232
	Group Membership	234
	The Episode of the Honeycomb	235
	The Representative Roles of Joseph and Aseneth	236
	A Corpus Permixtum	237
	Lack of Sectarian Character	238
	The Prayer of Joseph	239
	The Testament of Job	240
	The Struggle with Satan	242
	The Confrontation with the Friends	243
	The Role of the Women	244
	The Religion of the Testament of Job	245
	The Books of Adam and Eve	246
	The Testament of Abraham	248
	The Perspective on Death	250
	The View of Judaism	251
	2 Enoch	252
	The Hortatory Message	253
	3 Baruch	255
	The Attitude toward Jerusalem	257
	A System of Individual Rewards	258
	Conclusion	259
7.	Jews and Gentiles	261
	A Jewish Mission?	262
	The "God-fearers"	264
	The Function of the Literature	270
	Conclusion	273
	Bibliography	276
	Indexes
	Subjects	303
	Modern Authors	307
	Ancient Literature	315

Editorial Reviews

David E. Aune in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
"A remarkable book. . . Collins has provided us with an exceptionally well-crafted discussion of the variety of religious self-definitions that characterized Egyptian diaspora Judaism."
 
Journal of Biblical Literature
"This important work is fresh and suggestive. . . An impressive display of insight and careful scholarship. . . Exemplary in both its design and its execution."
 
Religious Studies Review
"As an introduction and an exegetical tool, this book is indispensable for study of the ancient literature and especially of the fragmentary material. It provides us with an innovative perspective on Jewish religion, theology, and culture in the Greco-Roman period."
 
Choice
"This book should be in libraries of all colleges and universities where the Bible, ancient Israel, Christian origins, formative Judaism, or classical culture are taught to upper-level undergraduates."
 
Society for Old Testament Study Booklist
"This is a very useful and reliable introduction to those Second Temple Jewish writings in Greek. . . All students of Second Temple Judaism and related areas will be pleased to have an updated edition in a handy and affordable form."
 
Martin Goodman in Journal of Jewish Studies
"Scholars and students who have benefited immensely from this work will. . . be delighted to see it re-emerge in a second edition. . . Collins's mastery of the range of material treated in this book is awesome, and his close engagement with these Diaspora texts and their cultural meaning is a model for all. Minor Diaspora authors who have long been neglected, or even generally unknown, are here again brought to the attention of the scholarly world in a way that should ensure their recognition in future debates about Second Temple Judaism. . . Students and scholars will be immensely grateful for this guide, which will play a central role in future discussion of the Diaspora."

From the Publisher

This important work is fresh and suggestive. . . . An impressive display of insight and careful scholarship. . . . Exemplary in both its design and its execution.

Journal of Biblical Literature

"As an introduction and an exegetical tool, this book is indispensable for study of the ancient literature and especially of the fragmentary material. It provides us with an innovative perspective on Jewish religion, theology, and culture in the Greco-Roman period."

Religious Studies Review

"A remarkable book. . . . Collins has provided us with an exceptionally well-crafted discussion of the variety of religious self-definitions that characterized Egyptian diaspora Judaism."

Catholic David E. Aune in Biblical Quarterly