"Most of my contributions to Mandaean studies engage topics in Mandaean texts for these topics’ own sake. That means trying to take the literature on its own terms, in accordance with its own religious logic, and avoiding flights into the hallowed sanctuaries of comparisons."
Read MorePaul is Dead. Long Live Paulinism! : Imagining a Future for Pauline Studies
"When I think of what it would take to make Pauline studies fun, I am drawn to one simple idea: we have to kill Paul.”
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Travis Proctor
Despite their general agreement regarding demonic pervasiveness, Christian writers often disagree concerning the nature of the demonic, particularly vis-à-vis the demons’ physical appearance and substance.
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Phillip Webster
Psukhai that Matter: The Psukhē in and behind Clement of Alexandria’s Paedagogus aims to investigate the ideology and mechanics of the ancient soul’s materiality.
Read MoreAJR Charity Forum: a Response
Dr. Michael Satlow responds to the AJR Charity forum, concluding "we can no more speak of 'the' rabbinic view of charity than we can of “the” rabbinic view of anything else."
Read MoreCharity in Ancient Judaism: Problems and Prospects
Dr. Gregg Gardner describes the tannaitic attention to the dignity of the poor, while insisting "The earliest rabbis were simply not as altruistic as many people today would like them to be."
Read MoreModels of Rabbinic Charity
Dr. Yael Wilfand surveys models of rabbinic charity and suggests that "at least some of the notions and practices mentioned in this corpus seem to have been accepted and engaged beyond rabbinic circles."
Read MoreReading Charity Texts: On Intertextuality and Social History
Dr. Alyssa Gray reflects on her contributions to the field of rabbinic charity and urges scholars to "take rabbinic intertextuality and the creation of texts out of other texts very seriously."
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Noah Bickart
"This project investigates the meaning and usage of a particular set of linguistically related Talmudic terms in order to show how and in what cultural context the Talmud began to take shape in the emerging scholastic centers of rabbinic learning in late Sassanian Babylonia."
Read MoreIdentity, a Way Forward (Perhaps)
Dr. Todd Berzon tackles the ambiguity of identity and suggests "the use of identity operates to conceal analysis rather than illuminate it. The term is not simply under-explained (and under-theorized), but its imprecision hints at a more fundamental problem: identity usually means something else entirely."
Read More“The Most Daring Blasphemy”: Getting Students to Think Critically About Extra-Canonical Texts
Dr. Sarah Rollens turned a final paper assignment into a rhetorical exercise in canon formation.
Read MoreCreation and Creativity: Teaching Critical Thinking Beyond the Term Paper
Embracing Change in the Search for Canon
Dissertation Spotlight | James Walters
James Walters argues that "Aphrahat articulates an uncompromising vision of Christian identity, dependent upon yet distinct from its Jewish roots."
Read MoreCoins of the Jewish War
David Hendin from the American Nusimatic Society describes the coins minted during the Jewish War.
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Jonathan Pomeranz
"The dissertation argues that rabbis in Babylonia developed closer relationships with ordinary Jews over the course of the rabbinic period."
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Carmen Palmer
Carmen Palmer argues that the Qumran movement includes Gentile converts to Judaism by means of mutable ethnicity.
Read MoreTraveling for the Summer? Contribute to AJR!
Archaeology, Museums, Conferences! Find out how to contribute to AJR.
Read MoreUnexpected Influences | Elizabeth A. Clark and Tal Ilan
Dr. Elizabeth Clark and Dr. Tal Ilan share a book that was an "unexpected influence" upon their academic work.
Read MoreDavid as Warrior at Dura-Europos
Dr. Michael Peppard describes the memory of David as anointed victor in the church at Dura-Europos.
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