Representations of Samaritans in Late Antique Jewish and Christian Texts Matthew .J Chalmers University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 Representations Of Samaritans In Late Antique Jewish And Christian Texts Matthew .J Chalmers University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Jewish Studies Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Chalmers, Matthew J., "Representations Of Samaritans In Late Antique Jewish And Christian Texts" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3362. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3362 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3362 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Representations Of Samaritans In Late Antique Jewish And Christian Texts Abstract ABSTRACT REPRESENTATIONS OF SAMARITANS IN LATE ANTIQUE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TEXTS Matthew Chalmers Dr. Annette Yoshiko Reed Samaritans, like Jews and Christians, trace their identity to ancient Israel. Today, they are a minority in Israel- Palestine. In antiquity, however, they appear frequently in our sources from the late antique eastern Mediterranean, from scripture, to midrash, to Roman law, to heresiology, to rabbinic literature, and beyond. Therefore, one would expect to see Samaritans heavily represented in scholarship, both within Religious Studies and in cognate disciplines, which has over several decades developed a toolkit using attention to representations of identity and alterity to both reconstruct the past and interrogate our own categorization and classification of difference. Nevertheless, the group receives little tta ention, often reduced to their few biblical appearances and to debates about the moment at which the group divorced from Judaism. In this dissertation, I decouple Samaritans from Biblical Studies in my first chapter, arguing the racialized construction of the Samaritan in New Testament scholarship has compressed and delineated the intellectual architecture of scholars. I then expand discussion of Samaritan difference into a sample of sources from the fourth- through to sixth-century East, both within the Roman Empire (Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius of Cyprus, John Chrysostom, and Amphilochius of Iconium) and in Sasanian Babylonia (the Babylonian Talmud). I articulate how representations of Samaritans work in Jewish and Christian texts, providing a series of studies of how and in which ways ancient Samaritan others mattered in the late antique machinery generating religious identity. In the process, I model an approach to ancient religious identity and alterity more sensitive to the array of difference in our sources than existing scholarship. I thereby provide a case study of one way to decompress habits of scholarly selectivity towards our sources. By looking at the mismatch between the historical presence of Samaritans and their historiographical neglect, I make visible for critique the binary logic of ancient religious difference that still shapes the field in terms of adjacency to the difference between a polarity of Jewish and Christian identity. Samaritans thus serve as a catalyst for binary-resistant scholarly narratives of religious identity and classification, and a case-study for non-reductive approaches to underworked or minoritized groups. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Religious Studies This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3362 First Advisor Annette Y. Reed Keywords Christian, Identity, Jewish, Late Antiquity, Representation, Samaritan Subject Categories Jewish Studies | Religion This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3362 REPRESENTATIONS OF SAMARITANS IN LATE ANTIQUE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TEXTS Matthew Chalmers A DISSERTATION in Religious Studies Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 Supervisor of Dissertation ______________ Annette Yoshiko Reed, Associate Professor (NYU) Graduate Group Chairperson ________________ Jamal Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Religious Studies Dissertation Committee Jamal Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Religious Studies Steven Weitzman, Abraham M. Ellis Professor of Hebrew Semitic Languages and Literatures, Ella Darivoff Director of the Katz Center of Advanced Judaic Studies Andrew S. Jacobs, Professor of Religious Studies, Mary W. and J. Stanley Johnson Professor of Humanities (Scripps) REPRESENTATIONS OF SAMARITANS IN LATE ANTIQUE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TEXTS COPYRIGHT 2019 Matthew James Chalmers To Grandpa iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgements are a strange inclusion in academic writing. They seem like a hangover, at least to me, from a time when the kinship or sociable network of the gentleman scholar meant dedicating a section, noblesse oblige, to those who were indispensable to the project – but at the same time, whose labor would never be counted as really significant. Fortunately, they no longer serve this purpose – and just as fortunately, this short section gives me an opportunity to thank the raft of colleagues, friends, and correspondents who acted as accomplices in finishing this project. First, a confession: when I applied for graduate school in America I had no idea who Annette Yoshiko Reed was, but I thought her work, especially on Enoch, looked pretty great. Since then, I have come to realize she is a force of intellectual nature, and more than that, models how to juggle curiosity and a willingness to dig into the weeds of any topic with getting stuff done. This dissertation, and my scholarly life so far, would not exist without her. The other members of my committee, Steven Weitzman and Andrew Jacobs have been instrumental to completing the dissertation and will be instrumental to writing the book that hopefully lies ahead. Steve’s level-headed willingness to help at a moment’s notice and thoroughness have been a stabilizing presence. Andrew’s razor- sharp editor’s eye and theorist’s mind have left their imprints on how I have communicated my argument at every stage of this dissertation. I expect they will continue to do so. Natalie Dohrmann, Peter Struck, Cam Grey, Rita Copeland, Julia Wilker, Donovan Schaefer, David Stern, Larry Schiffman, Steven Fine, Christine Hayes, and before that Mark Edwards, Peter Groves, and Nicholas King at Oxford, have, each in their own ways, made meaning for me in material which, before, I did not grasp. Finally, iv Susan Gillingham, who oversaw my first years at Oxford, and with whom I have been delighted to keep contacts since, provided a strong example, which I am only coming to realize now, of scholarship done with humanity. This is not a small thing. Second, a complaint: the academic market, at present, is a disaster, and will probably get worse before it gets better. I feel extraordinarily fortunate, therefore, to have found support rather than competition from my colleagues. Thanks must go to the inventors and conveners, in particular, of the Ancient Judaism Regional Seminar (or Regional Seminar in Ancient Judaism), a yearly meet for graduate students and early-career researchers in the north-east instrumental, for me, in finding my feet in Jewish Studies. Social media, likewise, has provided a network of exchange and encouragement often from academics who I have yet to meet in real life, and of shared intellectual project with Krista Dalton, Simcha Gross, Erin Walsh, and Daniel Picus in the continued flourishing of Ancient Jew Review. I also extend thanks to those friends and colleagues who read my work or with whom rigorous conference time was had; Todd Berzon, Jae Hee Han, Ryan Pilipow, Jane Sancinito, James Shackelford, M Tong are just those which I have scribbled down on a note besides me to remind me not to forget – there are many more, and more to come. A special thanks to Jillian Stinchcomb, who was my companion in first encountering rabbinics, reads more of my work than almost anyone else, and who remains, in spite of both these misadventures, a fierce friend. Third and finally, a reflection: I remain thankful for the friends I made in America when I came to graduate school, though tinged with regret for the friendships each dislocation and relocation leave behind. Credit goes to Rosanne Liebermann, who made the jump to America at the same time as me, and much more elegantly. It is not easy to work on a v different continent from one’s family, or then to move away from a new life started to a different job, and I count my blessings to have found myself with support and love from my parents, Rachel and Andrew, my two sisters, Kathryn and Anna, my cousins, and my grandparents regardless. Finally, this dissertation presided over the growth and flourishing of my relationship with Kameliya Atanasova – an intellectual interlocutor, a best friend, and a devoted love, whose grumbling in the mornings is one of the best things about getting up. A final note: this dissertation is dedicated to all, but in particular to my grandpa, Colin. After studying at Kings College London, Colin taught for many years in the University of London collegiate system. His intellectual compassion and kindness to his students, especially international students, are two of the things I talk about most often when reflecting on what type of professor it is important