The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism
Pages: 348
Reason Book was Chosen:
Dr. Jason Staples is my podcast co-host and I've been looking forward to reading this for a long time. It comes out late June 2021.My Thoughts
What did the terms Israel and Jew mean during the Second Temple period (500 BCE – 70 CE)? Were they interchangeable or did they have different meanings? Modern scholarship has assumed an equal use of these terms distinguished by an insider/outsider paradigm. In this book, Dr. Staples argues that the insider/outsider paradigm is incorrect. He scours the ancient texts of this time period to see how the Biblical writers, Josephus, Philo, and many other writers used these terms. His findings not only have significant ramifications for how we understand the terms Hebrews, Jews, Israelites, and Samaritans during the Second Temple period, but how they inform our understanding of these ideas today. A fascinating book.
