Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism
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Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Editor John J. Collins The Divinity School, Yale University Associate Editor Florentino García Martínez Qumran Institute, University of Groningen Advisory Board j. duhaime – a. hilhorst – p.w. van der horst a. klostergaard petersen – m.a. knibb – h. najman j.t.a.g.m. van ruiten – j. sievers – g. stemberger e.j.c. tigchelaar – j. tromp VOLUME 107 Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered by Louis H. Feldman BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2006 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Feldman, Louis H. Judaism and Hellenism reconsidered / by Louis H. Feldman. p. cm. — (Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism, ISSN 1384-2161 ; v. 107) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-14906-6 (alk. paper) 1. Judaism—History—Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D. 2. Jews—Civilization—Greek influences. 3. Greek literature, Hellenistic—Jewish authors—History and criticism. 4. Hellenism. 5. Josephus, Flavius. I. Title. II. Series. BM176.F45 2006 296.09’014—dc22 2005058133 ISSN 1384–2161 ISBN 90 04 14906 6 © Copyright 2006 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands contents v This book is dedicated to the sacred memory of my wife’s parents, Moshe Yaakov and Rivkah Blum, who remained steadfast in the tradition of their ,ז”ל .in Auschwitz על ׁקדוש השׁם ancestors and died דבר אל-כל-עדת בני-ישׂראל ואמרת אלהם קדשׁים תהיו. “Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: ‘You shall be holy.’” (Leviticus 19:2) feldman_JSJS107_1.indd v 5/10/2006 10:28:17 AM vi contents feldman_JSJS107_1.indd vi 5/10/2006 10:28:19 AM contents vii CONTENTS Preface . xi Introduction: The Influence of Hellenism on Jews in Palestine in the Hellenistic Period . 1 PART ONE JUDAISM AND HELLENISM 1. Homer and the Near East: The Rise of the Greek Genius 37 2. The Septuagint: The First Translation of the Torah and Its Effects. 53 3. How Much Hellenism in the Land of Israel? . 71 4. The Reshaping of Biblical Narrative in the Hellenistic Period . 103 5. Did Jews Reshape the Tale of the Exodus? . 129 6. Studies in the Ancient Jewish Mediterranean Diaspora. 135 PART TWO ANTI-SEMITISM, PHILO-SEMITISM, CONVERSION TO JUDAISM 7. Hatred for and Attraction to the Jews in Classical Antiquity 157 8. Reflections on Rutgers’ Attitudes to Judaism in the Greco-Roman Period . 183 9. Conversion to Judaism in Classical Antiquity . 205 PART THREE STUDIES IN PHILO 10. Philo’s Version of the ‘Aqedah. 255 11. Philo, Pseudo-Philo, Josephus, and Theodotus on the Rape of Dinah . 281 feldman_JSJS107_1.indd vii 5/10/2006 10:28:19 AM viii contents PART FOUR JOSEPHUS 12. Josephus . 313 13. Josephus’ Liberties in Interpreting the Bible in the Jewish War and in the Antiquities . 343 14. Rearrangement of Pentateuchal Material in Josephus’ Antiquities, Books 1-4 . 361 15. The Influence of the Greek Tragedians on Josephus . 413 16. Josephus’ Biblical Paraphrase as a Commentary on Contemporary Issues . 445 17. Parallel Lives of Two Lawgivers: Josephus’ Moses and Plutarch’s Lycurgus . 523 18. Josephus on the Spies (Numbers 13-14) . 557 19. The Rehabilitation of Non-Jewish Leaders in Josephus’ Antiquities . 579 20. On Professor Mark Roncace’s Portraits of Deborah and Gideon in Josephus . 607 21. Josephus’ Portrayal (Ant. 5.136-74) of the Benjaminite Affair of the Concubine and Its Repercussions (Judg. 19-21) . 637 22. The Importance of Jerusalem as Viewed by Josephus . 677 23. The Concept of Exile in Josephus . 695 24. Restoration in Josephus . 723 PART FIVE RABBINIC INSIGHTS 25. Rabbinic Sources for Historical Study . 763 26. Rabbinic Insights on the Decline and Forthcoming Fall of the Roman Empire . 783 Abbreviations . 805 Bibliography. 813 Index of Passages from Ancient Texts . 845 Jewish Scriptures. 845 Apocrypha . 859 feldman_JSJS107_1.indd viii 5/10/2006 10:28:19 AM contents ix Pseudepigrapha. 860 Dead Sea Scrolls . 860 New Testament. 860 Christian Church Fathers . 861 Hellenistic Jewish Literature: Philo, Pseudo-Philo, Josephus . 862 Other (Alleged) Graeco-Jewish Writers . 888 Rabbinic and Allied Literature. 889 Classical Greek Authors . 896 Classical Latin Authors. 905 Near Eastern Languages. 908 Index of Names and Subjects. 911 Index of Greek, Linear B, Phoenician, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Punic and Royal Aramaic, Hittite, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic Words . 929 Index of Modern Scholars . 943 feldman_JSJS107_1.indd ix 5/11/2006 9:54:41 AM x contents feldman_JSJS107_1.indd x 5/10/2006 10:28:19 AM preface xi PREFACE This book is a collection of previously published articles, together with a new introduction. I am grateful to the journals and publishers as noted here for permission to reprint them. I have made a number of additions and corrections. I have adopted a uniform method in citations and have added comprehensive indices. I am grateful to Professor John Collins for helpful advice in preparing this volume. I am deeply appreciative of the tremendous technical assistance that I have received from my devoted student, Shlomo Schwartzbard, in preparing these articles for publication in this volume. The articles originally appeared in the following settings: “Homer and the Near East: The Rise of the Greek Genius,” Biblical Archae- ologist 59.1 (1996) 13-21 (permission: Near Eastern Archaeology ; “The Septuagint: The First Translation of the Torah and Its Effects,” in From Strength to Strength: Lectures from Shearith Israel, ed. Marc D. Angel (New York: Sepher-Hermon, 1998) 147-61 (permission: Rabbi Marc D. Angel); “How Much Hellenism in the Land of Israel?” Journal for the Study of Judaism 33 (2002) 290-313 (permission: E. J. Brill); “The Reshaping of Biblical Narrative in the Hellenistic Period: A Review Essay,” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 8 (2001-2002) 60-79 (permission: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University); “Did Jews Reshape the Tale of the Exodus?” Jewish History 12 (1998) 123-27 (permission: Haifa University Press); “Studies in the Ancient Jewish Mediterranen Diaspora,” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 7 (2000) 244-56 (permission: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers Univer- sity); “Hatred for and Attraction to the Jews in Classical Antiquity,” in Reinterpreting Revelation and Tradition: Jews and Christians in Conversation, ed. John J. Pawlikowski and Hayim G. Perelmuter (Franklin, Wisc.: Sheed and Ward, 2000) 167-90 (permission: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group); “Reflections on Rutgers’ #Attitudes to Judaism in the Greco-Roman Period,’” Jewish Quarterly Review 86 (1995-96) 153-70 (permission: University of Pennsylvania Press); “Conversion to Judaism in Classical Antiquity,” Hebrew Union College Annual 74 (2003) 115-56 (permission: Hebrew Union College Press); “Philo’s Version of the ‘Aqedah,” Studia Philonica Annual 14 (2002) 66-86 (permission: feldman_JSJS107_1.indd xi 5/10/2006 10:28:19 AM xii preface Brown University); “Philo, Pseudo-Philo, Josephus, and Theodotus on the Rape of Dinah,” Jewish Quarterly Review 94 (2004) 253-77 (permis- sion: University of Pennsylvania Press); “Josephus (c.e. 37-c.100),” in The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol. 3: The Early Roman Period, ed. William Horbury, W. D. Davies, and John Sturdy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999) 901-21, 1189-97 (permission: Cambridge University Press); “Josephus’ Liberties in Interpreting the Bible in the Jewish War and in the Antiquities,” Jewish Studies Quarterly 8 (2001) 309-25; “Rearrangement of Pentateuchal Narrative Material in Josephus’ Antiquities, Books 1-4,” Hebrew Union College Annual 70-71 (1999-2000) 129-51 (permission: Hebrew Union College Press); “The Influence of the Greek Tragedians on Josephus,” in The Howard Gil- man International Conferences,I; Hellenic and Jewish Arts: Interaction, Tradi- tion and Renewal, ed. Asher Ovadiah (Tel Aviv: Ramot, 1998) 51-80 (permission: Tel Aviv University); “Josephus’ Biblical Paraphrase as a Commentary on Contemporary Issues,” in The Interpretation of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity: Studies in Language and Tradition, ed. Craig A. Evans (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000) 124-201 (permission: Continuum International Publishing Group); “Parallel Lives of Two Lawgivers: Josephus’ Moses and Plutarch’s Lycurgus,” in Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome, ed. Jonathan Edmonson, Steve Mason, and James Rives (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) 209-42 (permission: Oxford University Press); “Josephus on the Spies (Num. 13-14),” Internationales Josephus-Kolloquium Paris 2001, Muensteraner Judaistische Studien 12 (2001) 22-41 (permission: Institutum Judai- cum Delitzschianum, Universitaet Muenster); “The Rehabilitation of Non-Jewish Leaders in Josephus’ Antiquities, “ in The Howard Gilman International Conferences, II: Mediterranean Cultural Interaction (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 2000) 81-104 (permission: Tel Aviv University); “On Professor Mark Roncace’s Portrait of Deborah and Gideon in Josephus,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 32 (2001) 193-220 (permission: E. J. Brill); “Josephus’ Portrayal (Ant. 5.136-74) of the Benjaminite Affair of the Concubine and Its Repercussions (Judg. 19-21),” Jew- ish Quarterly Review 90 (1999-2000) 255-92 (permission: University of Pennsylvania Press); “The Importance of Jerusalem as Viewed by Josephus,” Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University (International Rennert Guest Lecture Series, 2 [1998])(permission: Bar-Ilan University); “The Concept of Exile in Josephus,” in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (Leiden: Brill, 1997) 145-72 (permission: E.J.