Studies in the Cult of Yahweh: Studies in the New Testament, Early Christianity, MagicaBRILL, 1996 - 334 pages These two volumes collect some of the most influential and important scholarly essays by the late Morton Smith (1915-1991), for many years Professor of Ancient History at Columbia University in New York City. Smith was admired and feared for his extraordinary ability to look at familiar texts in unfamiliar ways, to re-open old questions, to pose new questions, and to demolish received truths. He practiced the "hermeneutics of suspicion" to devastating effect. His answers are not always convincing but his questions cannot be ignored. The essays of Volume I center on the Hebrew Bible ("Old Testament"), Ancient Israel and Ancient Judaism, of Volume II on the Christian Bible ("New Testament"), Early Christianity and Ancient Magic. Volume II also contains an assessment of Smith's scholarly achievement and a complete list of his publications. |
Contents
The Common Theology of the Ancient Near East 15 | 15 |
On the Differences Between the Culture of Israel and | 28 |
The Present State of Old Testament Studies | 37 |
Pseudepigraphy in the Israelite Literary Tradition | 55 |
East Mediterranean Law Codes of the Early Iron Age | 84 |
Terminological Boobytraps and Real Problems in SecondTemple | 95 |
Palestinian Judaism in the First Century | 104 |
Notes on the Hellenization of Judaism | 116 |
Goodenoughs Jewish Symbols in Retrospect | 184 |
The Work of George Foot Moore | 201 |
Zealots and Sicarii Their Origins and Relation | 211 |
On the Wine God in Palestine | 227 |
Helios in Palestine | 238 |
The Gentiles in Judaism 125 BCE AD 66 | 263 |
Were the Maccabees Priests? | 320 |
326 | |
What is Implied by the Variety of Messianic Figures? | 161 |
The Dead Sea Sect in Relation to Ancient Judaism | 168 |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient angels Aristobulus attributed biblical Bickerman century Christian circumcision cited common concern conquest Consequently cult culture Cyrus deity Deut Deuteronomic diaspora Dionysus divine documents Egypt Essenes evidence explained fact Galileans Galilee gentiles gods Goodenough Greco-Roman Greek groups Hasmonean Hebrew hellenistic hellenized Herod High Priest holy Hyrcanus Idumeans important influence instance interpretation Ioudaioi Isaiah Israel Israelite Itureans Janneus Jerusalem Jervell Jesus Jewish Jews Josephus Judaism Judas Judeans king later literary Macc Maccabees magical Marduk material means menorah Mesopotamia Moses mystical Nabatean Nock notion Old Testament pagan Palestine Palestinian parallels party passages period Persian Pharisees Philo prayers preserved priesthood priestly probably prophets pseudepigrapha pseudorthodoxy question Qumran Rabbah rabbinic literature reference religion religious reports revolt Roman Samaria says Scroll sect Shamash Sicarii Smith story suppose symbols synagogues Tannaïm Telepinus temple thought tradition Transjordan tree Ugaritic worship Yahweh Zealots