This edition of rabbinic parables (meshalim) in the two Mekhiltot, the tannaitic Midrashim to the book of Exodus (3rd century CE), has a double scholarly purpose. It offers a critical synoptic presentation and study of the textual witnesses of the parables, and a commentary on their meaning and function in their literary and historical context. Moreover, a new English translation of every parable will make the edition a useful tool for interested readers with less knowledge of Hebrew, or those merely looking for a quick reference. This edition, which intends to be the first in a series of editions of parables in all the tannaitic works, is an indispensable tool not only for scholars of Jewish texts, but also for students of the New Testament and early Christian literature, historians of religion in late Antiquity, and those interested in similar literary genres, such as fables.

The Power of Parables documents the surprising ways in which Jewish and Christian parables bridge religion with daily life. This 2019 conference volume rediscovers the original power of parables to shock and affect their audience, which has since been reduced by centuries of preaching and repetition. Not only do parables enhance the perspective on Scripture or the kingdom of heaven, they also change the sensory regime of the audience in perceiving the outer world. The theological differences in their applications appear secondary in view of their powerful rhetoric and suggest a shared genre.

This book explores the way that the Torah was appreciated and interpreted as a text and symbol in Christian and Jewish sources from the Second Temple period through the Middle Ages. It tracks the development and complex interactions of three images of Torah— “God-like,” “Angelic,” and “Messianic”— which are found in late-antique Jewish and Christian materials as well as in medieval kabbalistic and Jewish philosophic sources. It provides a unique template for tracing the development of theological ideas related to the images of Torah and offers a sophisticated and innovative analysis of the relationship between mystical experience, theology, and phenomenology.

This volume abandons the document-based approach of standard introductions and investigates aggregates of classical rabbinic texts through three broad perspectives – intertextuality, east and west, halakhah and aggadah – generating fresh insights that will reset the scholarly agenda.

This volume focuses on the major issues and debates in the study of Jews and Judaism in late antiquity (third to seventh century C.E.), providing cutting-edge surveys of the state of scholarship, main topics and research questions, methodological approaches, and avenues for future research. Based on both Jewish and non-Jewish literary and material sources, this volume takes an interdisciplinary approach involving historians of ancient Judaism, scholars of rabbinic literature, archaeologists, epigraphers, art historians, and Byzantinists. Developments within Jewish society and culture are viewed within the respective regional, political, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts in which they took place. Special focus is given to the impact of the Christianization of the Roman Empire on Jews, from administrative, legal, social, and cultural points of view. The contributors examine how the confrontation with Christianity changed Jewish practices, perceptions, and organizational structures, such as, for example, the emergence of local Jewish communities around synagogues as central religious spaces. Special chapters are devoted to the eastern and western Jewish Diaspora in Late Antiquity, especially Sasanian Persia but also Roman Italy, Egypt, Syria and Arabia, North Africa, and Asia Minor, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the situation and life experiences of Jews and Judaism during this period. The Routledge Handbook of Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity is a critical and methodologically sophisticated survey of current scholarship aimed primarily at students and scholars of Jewish Studies, Study of Religions, Patristics, Classics, Roman and Byzantine Studies, Iranology, History of Art, and Archaeology. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Judaism and Jewish history.

In Parables in Changing Contexts, new venues in the comparative study of parables are addressed by scholars of Judaism, New Testament, Buddhism and Islam. Essays cover parables in the synoptic Gospels, Rabbinic midrash, and parabolic tales and fables in the Babylonian Talmud.

The volume contains the edited papers presented at the 10th international conference of the Société d’Études Samaritaines held in Budapest in 2022. It is dedicated to the famous Hungarian rabbi and scholar Samuel Kohn (1841–1920) whose relevance in Samaritan studies was commemorated by Abraham Tal. The articles discuss the most recent questions of Samaritan research in five different fields. Historical topics and Samaritan synagogue mosaics are investigated by Ingrid Hjelm, Innocent Himbaza and Reinhard Pummer. Greek inscriptions and Aramaic documents are studied by Magnar Kartveit, Andreas Lehnardt, and József Zsengellér. Arabic Torah interpretations, and historical documents are delt with by Jasper Bernhofer, Leonhard Becker and Daniel Boušek. Analyses of Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic linguistic issues and of Samaritan translation techniques are presented by Moshe Florentin, Christian Stadel, Nehemia Gordon, David Hammidovič, Patrick Pouchelle and Phil Reid. Studies on Samaritan manuscript writings and collections are presented by Evelyn Burkhardt, Stefan Schorch, Mariia Boichun and Golda Akhiezer. Leading scholars and young new colleagues enrich the various fields of Samaritan studies with new findings, insights ad implications.

Biblical monotheism imagines God as a slave master who owns and has total control over humans as his slaves, who are expected to show obedience to him. The theological use of slavery metaphors has a limited value, however, and is deeply problematic from the perspective of real-life slave practices. Ancient authors already supplemented the metaphor of God as a slave master with other images and emphasized God's difference from human slave owners. Ancient and modern experiences of and attitudes toward slavery determined the understanding and applicability of the slavery metaphors. This Element examines the use of slavery metaphors in ancient Judaism and Christianity in the context of the social reality of slavery, modern abolitionism, and historical-critical approaches to the ancient texts.

"A one-volume, single-authored reference book featuring scholarly essays on key terms that appear in the Qur'an"--

Hebrew Texts in Jewish, Christian and Muslim Surroundings offers a new perspective on Judaism, Christianity and Islam as religions of the book. Their problematic relation seems to indicate that there is more that divides than unites these religions. The present volume will show that there is an intricate web of relations between the texts of these three religious traditions. On many levels readings and interpretations intermingle and influence each other. Studying the multifaceted history of the way Hebrew texts were read and interpreted in so many different contexts may contribute to a better understanding of the complicated relation between Jews, Christians and Muslims. These studies are dedicated to Dineke Houtman honouring her work as professor of Jewish-Christian relations.