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ANCIENT JEW REVIEW

December 14, 2016

Divine Law: Nominalist/Realist or Rational/Irrational?

by Jonathan Klawans in Articles


"There is, in short, a an important but small subset of the Law that many ancient Jews, in the second temple and rabbinic periods, believed to be self-evidentially rational."

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December 7, 2016

Divine Law in the Container Store

by Beth Berkowitz in Articles


Row of Amphorae (Ad Meskens, Bodrum Castle Turkey)

Row of Amphorae (Ad Meskens, Bodrum Castle Turkey)

Row of Amphorae (Ad Meskens, Bodrum Castle Turkey)

Row of Amphorae (Ad Meskens, Bodrum Castle Turkey)

Dr. Beth Berkowitz reviews Hayes' What's Divine About Divine Law with a "Container Store" worthy synopsis and explores the modern relevance of Hayes' work in the recent Supreme Court ruling on Same-Sex Marriage. 

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November 16, 2016

Book Note | Late Ancient Knowing

by Taylor Ross in Book Notes


"What these essays offer instead are provocative and stimulating inroads into the task of recognizing just how different the late ancient world may have actually been."

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November 9, 2016

Retrospective | Jorunn J. Buckley

by Jorunn Buckley in Articles


Mandaean Incantation Bowl By Daderot (Daderot) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Mandaean Incantation Bowl By Daderot (Daderot) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Mandaean Incantation Bowl By Daderot (Daderot) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Mandaean Incantation Bowl By Daderot (Daderot) [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

"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."

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TAGS: retrospective


November 1, 2016

Paul is Dead. Long Live Paulinism! : Imagining a Future for Pauline Studies

by Cavan Concannon in Articles


Hendrik Goltzius - Saint Paul's Martyrdom

Hendrik Goltzius - Saint Paul's Martyrdom

Hendrik Goltzius - Saint Paul's Martyrdom

Hendrik Goltzius - Saint Paul's Martyrdom

"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.”

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TAGS: state of the field, essays


October 26, 2016

Book Note | The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity

by Jillian Stinchcomb in Book Notes


Jillian Stinchcomb booknotes Eva Mroczek's The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity, developing how Mroczek "presents a convincing native theory of text production." 

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October 19, 2016

Book Note | Power, Ethics, and Ecology in Jewish Late Antiquity

by Catherine Bonesho in Book Notes


California drought, 4th year via Bluesbby via Flickr CC 2.0.

California drought, 4th year via Bluesbby via Flickr CC 2.0.

California drought, 4th year via Bluesbby via Flickr CC 2.0.

California drought, 4th year via Bluesbby via Flickr CC 2.0.

"By destabilizing the observer’s gaze, the Babylonian Talmud provides a means to counter outsider perceptions of the relationship between the Jews and their God." 

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October 12, 2016

Dissertation Spotlight | Travis Proctor

by Travis Proctor in Articles


Michelangelo - The Torment of Saint Anthony

Michelangelo - The Torment of Saint Anthony

Michelangelo - The Torment of Saint Anthony

Michelangelo - The Torment of Saint Anthony

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.

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TAGS: dissertation


October 5, 2016

Dissertation Spotlight | Phillip Webster

by Phillip Webster in Articles


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.

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TAGS: dissertation


October 5, 2016

Charity in Rabbinic Literature

by Ancient Jew Review


A reflection on the contribution of scholars working on rabbinic charity and some of the methodological problems they have faced. 

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TAGS: forum


September 28, 2016

AJR Charity Forum: a Response

by Michael Satlow in Articles


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."

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September 21, 2016

Charity in Ancient Judaism: Problems and Prospects

by Gregg Gardner in Articles


2nd century CE. from a villa at Tor Marancia via Wikimedia Commons. 

2nd century CE. from a villa at Tor Marancia via Wikimedia Commons. 

2nd century CE. from a villa at Tor Marancia via Wikimedia Commons. 

2nd century CE. from a villa at Tor Marancia via Wikimedia Commons. 

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."

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September 14, 2016

Models of Rabbinic Charity

by Yael Wilfand in Articles


Mosaic from the Great Palace in Constantinople by Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

Mosaic from the Great Palace in Constantinople by Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

Mosaic from the Great Palace in Constantinople by Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

Mosaic from the Great Palace in Constantinople by Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

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."

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September 7, 2016

Reading Charity Texts: On Intertextuality and Social History

by Alyssa Gray in Articles


"Memento Mori" Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Wheel of Fortune in Naples National Archaeological Museum, Italy. CC

"Memento Mori" Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Wheel of Fortune in Naples National Archaeological Museum, Italy. CC

"Memento Mori" Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Wheel of Fortune in Naples National Archaeological Museum, Italy. CC

"Memento Mori" Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Wheel of Fortune in Naples National Archaeological Museum, Italy. CC

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." 

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August 30, 2016

Hylen - A Modest Apostle: Thecla and the History of Women in the Early Church

by Julia Kelto Lillis in Book Notes


Saint Thecla and the Wild Beasts (ca. 5th century, Egypt)

Saint Thecla and the Wild Beasts (ca. 5th century, Egypt)

Saint Thecla and the Wild Beasts (ca. 5th century, Egypt)

Saint Thecla and the Wild Beasts (ca. 5th century, Egypt)

Since the 1980s, the story and figure of Thecla have featured in vibrant currents in scholarship. This new publication brings a fresh perspective to Thecla’s depiction in light of social expectations for women in the Greco-Roman world.

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August 24, 2016

Dissertation Spotlight | Noah Bickart

by Noah Bickart in Articles


"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."

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TAGS: dissertation


August 17, 2016

Identity, a Way Forward (Perhaps)

by Todd Berzon in Articles


Friedrich Adolf Hornemann Lesender, Mönch, public domain.

Friedrich Adolf Hornemann Lesender, Mönch, public domain.

Friedrich Adolf Hornemann Lesender, Mönch, public domain.

Friedrich Adolf Hornemann Lesender, Mönch, public domain.

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." 

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TAGS: essays


August 10, 2016

“The Most Daring Blasphemy”: Getting Students to Think Critically About Extra-Canonical Texts

by Sarah E. Rollens in Articles


Dr. Sarah Rollens turned a final paper assignment into a rhetorical exercise in canon formation. 

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TAGS: pedagogy


August 3, 2016

Creation and Creativity: Teaching Critical Thinking Beyond the Term Paper

by Sarit Kattan Gribetz in Articles


Bailey Fryer, 2015. 

Bailey Fryer, 2015. 

Bailey Fryer, 2015. 

Bailey Fryer, 2015. 

Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz turned a course on creation into a creative pedagogy experience. 

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TAGS: pedagogy


June 29, 2016

Embracing Change in the Search for Canon

by Francis Borchardt in Articles


Workshop of Jörg Breu the Younger, via Wiki Commons

Workshop of Jörg Breu the Younger, via Wiki Commons

Workshop of Jörg Breu the Younger, via Wiki Commons

Workshop of Jörg Breu the Younger, via Wiki Commons

How does one recognize a canon? Francis Borchardt responds to the 2015 AJR Canon Forum. 

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TAGS: essays


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