At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds
Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity Among the Jews of Roman Galilee
by Stuart S. Miller
Hardback (Out of print)
(June 2015)
ISBN: 9783525550694
Price: $161.00
On back order
Stuart Miller examines the hermeneutical challenges posed by the material and literary evidence pertaining to ritual purity practices in Graeco-Roman Palestine and, especially, the Galilee. He contends that “stepped pools,” which we now know were in use well beyond the Destruction of the Temple, and, as indicated by the large collection on the western acropolis of Sepphoris and elsewhere, into the Middle and Late Roman/Byzantine eras,must be understood in light of biblical and popular perspectives on ritual purity. The interpretation of the finds is too frequently forced to conform to rabbinic prescriptions, which oftentimes were the result of the sages’ unique and creative, nominalist approach to ritual purity. Special attention is given to the role ritual purity continued to play in the lives of ordinary Jews despite (or because of) the loss of the Temple. Miller argues against the prevailing tendency to type material finds-and Jewish society–according to known groups (pre-70 C.E.: Pharisaic, Sadducaic, Essenic; post 70 C.E.: rabbinic, priestly, etc.). He further counters the perception that ritual purity practices were largely the interest of priests and argues against the recent suggestion that the kohanim resurfaced as an influential group in Late Antiquity. Building upon his earlier work on “sages and commoners,” Miller claims that the rabbis emerged out of a context in which a biblically derived “complex common Judaism” thrived. Stepped pools, stone vessels, and other material finds are realia belonging to this “complex common Judaism.” A careful reading of the rabbis indicates that they were acutely aware of the extent to which ritual purity rites pertaining to home and family life had “spread,” which undoubtedly contributed to their intense interest in regulating them.
Stuart S. Miller, PhD, is Professor of Hebrew, History, and Judaic Studies at the University of Connecticut.
- By (author) Stuart S Miller
"...Miller's book provides important insights and valuable contributions to the ongoing discussions of ritual purity, material culture, and the nature of Jewish society in the Roman period. [...] Overall, its helpful reminders of methodological caution and social complexity make it a welcome resource for scholars of early Judaism and archaeology in Roman Palestine." --Matthew J. Grey, Brigham Young University, Review of Biblical Literature 10.26.17
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Light Against Darkness
Dualism in Ancient Mediterranean Religion and the Contemporary World
Volume 2
Social Inequality in the World of the Text
The Significance of Ritual and Social Distinctions in the Hebrew Bible
Volume 4
Between Cooperation and Hostility
Multiple Identities in Ancient Judaism and the Interaction with Foreign Powers
Volume 11
Gender and Social Norms in Ancient Israel, Early Judaism and Early Christianity
Texts and Material Culture
Volume 28
Evil Within and Without
The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature
Volume 9
At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds
Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity Among the Jews of Roman Galilee
Volume 16
Between Text and Text
International Symposium on Intertextuality in Ancient Near Eastern, Ancient Mediterranean, and Early Medieval Literatures
Volume 6
Between Symbolism and Realism
The Use of Symbolic and Non-Symbolic Language in Ancient Jewish Apocalypses 333-63 B.C.E.
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The Faces of Torah
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‘See, I will bring a scroll recounting what befell me’ (Ps 40-8)
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