Overview

The question of why the cooperation of Jews with the Persian and Ptolemaic empires achieved some success and why it failed with regard to the Seleucids and the Romans, even turning into military hostility against them, has not been sufficiently answered. The present volume intends to show, from the perspectives of Hebrew Bible, Judaic, and Ancient History Studies, that the contrasting Jewish attitudes towards foreign powers were not only dependent on specific political circumstances. They were also interrelated with the emergence of multiple early Jewish identities, which all found a basis in the Torah, the prophets, or the psalms. The question of why the cooperation of Jews with the Persian and Ptolemaic empires achieved some success and why it failed with regard to the Seleucids and the Romans, even turning into military hostility against them, has not been sufficiently answered. The present volume intends to show, from the perspectives of Hebrew Bible, Judaic, and Ancient History Studies, that the contrasting Jewish attitudes towards foreign powers were not only dependent on specific political circumstances. They were also interrelated with the emergence of multiple early Jewish identities, which all found a basis in the Torah, the prophets, or the psalms.

Full Product Details

9783525550519

Table of Contents

Reviews

[This volume] joins a lively and growing scholarly discussion that invites us to consider more deeply and seriously the role that power played in Israelite and Jewish life in antiquity. -- Michael L. Satlow, Review of Biblical Literature, 02/2014

Author Information

Rainer Albertz is em. Professor for Old Testament at the University of Münster.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available