Bücher der Reihe Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies

Ben Sira lived in an era when Hellenistic influences continued to spread in Palestine. The supreme political power was in the hands of foreign rulers. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that Ben Sira discusses the position of foreign nations in several passages. The tone varies due to the given context. This study demonstrates that Ben Sira's relationship to foreign nations is best defined as "e;balanced"e;, as his attitude is neither thoroughly hostile nor that of uncritically embracing Gentiles. On the basis of certain passages, one can get the impression that even the foreigners could be recipients of the Torah. On the other hand, some nations were regarded by earlier biblical authors as archenemies of Israel, and these anti-elect people caused also Ben Sira's anger to be provoked. Ben Sira was deeply rooted in Judaism but this did not prevent him from being open toward foreign influences as far as they were compatible with his religious and cultural heritage.

The impact of earlier works to the literature of early Judaism is an intensively researched topic in contemporary scholarship. The contributors explore scriptural authority in early Jewish literature and the writings of nascent Christianity.

Jewish anthropological beliefs during the Hellenistic-Roman period are an important but previously neglected area of biblical exegesis and Jewish studies. Thus, the volume provides an exemplary foundation for further research on ancient Jewish anthropology.

Although in Second Temple literature we find a variety of songs concerned with the future of Jerusalem, little attempt has been made to analyse these comparatively as a generic group. In this study, three songshave been selected on the basis of their similarity in style, ideas and their apparent original composition in Hebrew.The texts have been subjected to a literary analysis both individually and then comparatively.

This volume addresses two pivotal questions surrounding the composition of 1Maccabees. It sets out to discern the place and function of the torah within the community described by the book. However, before addressing the main problem, the author must first determine the composition history of the text. Given that the former orthodoxy of a unitary authorship seems to be breaking down, and no consensus has taken its place, a literary critical investigation occupies a necessary and lengthy portion of the work. Once a recommendation for the book's composition history is reached, attitudes toward the inherited Judean tradition are described in each of the strata discovered. The resulting study reveals a wide variety of opinions on the Judean traditions and their function in society. This contributes to the current trend in scholarship of the Hellenistic period questioning the dichotomy between Judaism and Hellenism by demonstrating the different attitudes within even one text.

Features a collection of essays that offer an analysis of central texts in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic relating to emotions within literary prayers. This title contributes to a scientific understanding of early Rabbinic and Christian ideas.