Japheth in the Tents of Shem
Studies on Jewish Hellenism in Antiquity
by P.W. van der Horst
In rabbinic parlance, Japheth in the tents of Shem (Genesis 9:27) has become a proverbial expression for the interaction between Greek and Jewish cultures. The present volume contains 15 studies exploring a wide variety of aspects of the meeting of these cultures in antiquity. In the past 30 years the manifold manifestations of ‘Jewish Hellenism’ have become the focus of intensive research. The author of this book has played an active part in this field and the essays presented here are the fruits of his most recent research. He investigates, among other things, the extent to which Greek had become the daily language of the Jews (and the Samaritans) in Hellenistic and Roman Palestine; the knowledge of Greek medical lore and science among the rabbis; the development of Greek forms of the synagogal Eighteen Benedictions; the Jewish participation in the Hellenistic-Roman debate about antediluvian knowledge (‘wisdom from before the flood’); the background of the surprising phenomenon of voluntary celibacy among ancient Jews; the role of the veneration of the tombs of biblical prophets in Jewish popular religion; the work of the Judaeo-Greek alchemist Maria, who happens to be the first female Jewish author we know of; the life and works of the most notorious anti-Semite from pagan antiquity, Apion, and Josephus’ response to him; the Samaritan diaspora in Rome; the attractiveness of Judaism for Christians; et multa cetera. Pieter W. van der Horst (1946) is professor of New Testament and of the Jewish and Hellenistic world of early Christianity at the Faculty of Theology of Utrecht University. He published some 250 articles and books in the fields of early Judaism, ancient Christianity, and Graeco-Roman culture, with a special emphasis on their interactions. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- By (author) PW van der Horst
Other Titles in this Series
Like Nails Firmly Fixed (Qoh 12:11)
Essays on the Text and Language of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures Presented to Peter J. Gentry on the Occasion of His Retirement
Volume 115
Heilige oder Hure?
Die Rezeptionsgeschichte von Juda und Tamar (Genesis 38) von der Antike bis zur Reformationszeit
Volume 48
Texts and Contexts of Jeremiah
The Exegesis of Jeremiah 1 and 10 in Light of Text and Reception History
Volume 82
Transformations in the Septuagint
Towards an Interaction of Septuagint Studies and Translation Studies
Volume 47
The Akedah Servant Complex
The Soteriological Linkage of Genesis 22 and Isaiah 53 in Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Writings
Volume 69
In Spirit and Truth
An Exegetical Study of John 4:19-26 and a Theological Investigation of the Replacement Theme in the Fourth Gospel
Volume 46
“With All Your Soul Fear the Lord” (Sir. 7:27)
Collected Essays on the Book of Ben Sira II
Volume 87
Prophecy after the Prophets?
The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Understanding of Biblical and Extra-Biblical Prophecy
Volume 52
Beyond the Breach
An Exegetical Study of John 4:1-42 as a Text of Jewish-Samaritan Reconciliation
Volume 92
Studies on Jewish and Christian Historical Summaries from the Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods
Volume 95
Re-thinking the Death of Jesus
An Exegetical and Theological Study of Hilasmos and Agape in 1 John 2:1-2 and 4:7-10
Volume 73
Wachstumsgesetz oder Kurzungstendenz?
Gedachtnispsychologische Erkenntnisse zu den inhaltlichen Uberhangen in den synoptischen Paralleltraditionen
Volume 104
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