Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism

Klawans, Jonathan

doi:10.1017/s0364009400006954

Cited by 59 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The source of the impurity they were required to shed, however, may be related to a rejection of Hellenism. Other evidence shows that in the early Hasmonean period Jews, and probably also the Hasmoneans themselves, regarded gentiles as defiling, as attested in 1 Maccabees 1: 37;4:36, 41, 43;13:47-48, 50;14:7, 36 (Schwartz, 1991;Klawans, 1995). If the Hasmoneans purified themselves from Gentile impurity, which probably resulted from idolatry, this means that their Hellenization had strict constraints.…”

Section: Non-hellenistic Features: Ritual Baths and Common Local Potmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hellenization of the Hasmoneans Revisited: The Archaeological Evidence

Regev¹

2017

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The archaeological excavations of the Hasmonean palaces in Jericho and the numismatic evidence on the Hasmoneans are examined in order to understand the Hasmonean rulers' approach to Hellenistic culture. They enable us to see not only the extent of Hellenistic influence, but also how and why Hellenistic markers were used. Hellenistic art, swimming pools, bathhouses, and symbols on the coins that represent victory, success, government and power, shaped Hasmonean cultural and political identity. At the same time, however, their scope, meaning, and use were limited by the observance of ritual purity and the maintenance of local ethnic identity. Certain Greek symbols were altered to reflect Jewish religious messages. Thus, the Hasmoneans' adoption of Hellenistic culture, while balanced, mainly served political ends.

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Section: Non-hellenistic Features: Ritual Baths and Common Local Potmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hellenization of the Hasmoneans Revisited: The Archaeological Evidence

Regev¹

2017

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“…Bauckham (2005: 91-102), who leans on the study of Klawans (1995), suggests that, in the late Second Temple period, the Jews of Palestine did not consider Gentiles ritually impure, because the ritual laws did not apply to Gentiles, but considered them morally impure. The Gentiles' moral impurity, richly documented by , was based on their idolatry, sexual immorality, and shedding of innocent blood; however, they could become pure by repenting and changing their way of life.…”

Section: Conclusion: James Among the Apostlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

James the Just in History and Tradition: Perspectives of Past and Present Scholarship (Part II)

Myllykoski

2007

Currents in Biblical Research

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Part I of this article, published in CBR 5.1 (pp. 73-122), includes a general introduction to the scholarship on James the Just, discussion on James and the family of Jesus in the Gospels, Jesus' resurrection and the leadership of James, and a detailed survey on scholarly opinions concerning the so-called apostolic council and the conflict at Antioch (Acts 15 and Gal. 2). Part II of the article focuses on the study of traditions concerning James's ritual purity, his martyrdom, and succession, as well as his role in the Gnostic writings and later Christian evidence. The article concludes with reflections on the role of James the Just in present scholarship.

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“…Besides, association with the Greeks could also be a reason behind this custom: making themselves clean and pure from any perceived defilement caused by association with non-Judeans who were believed to be religiously defiled (cf. Klawans 1995). Here in this narration, there is no evidence for Jesus' association with non-Judeans.…”

Section: Eating With a Pharisee (Lk 11:37-54)mentioning

confidence: 70%

An Investigation of Lucan Meals with relevance to Food Justice in India

Paulraj¹

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This dissertation is concerned with interpreting the Lucan meal narrations to elucidate what Luke was saying about human needs, especially in relation to food, in order to bring that message to bear on the question of food justice in India. The issue of hunger in post-independent India, culminating in the National Food Security Act of 2013, has evoked the following questions: (a) Was Luke concerned about the destitute?; (b) If the Lucan Jesus’ “Good news to the πτωχοί” represents Luke’s concern for the destitute, how do the Lucan meal scenes serve his purpose in connecting faith and food in society in reaching across the margins and partnering with the destitute; and (c) How can Luke’s insights be articulated into a theology to address food insecurity in today’s India? The comparative models, theories and research of the social sciences (especially sociology and anthropology) have been deployed to investigate the socio-economic and religious context of the first-century Mediterranean world where the Lucan audience were located. The investigation conducted in Chapter Two and Three has concluded that the first-century Mediterranean world was an advanced agrarian society which was socially stratified and characterised by a distinctive set of values. With the help of a historical-exegetical and redactional approach to the Lucan meals enriched with social-scientific insights, Chapter Three has exposed the values, social structures and conventions of the Lucan audience and the dimensions of destitution present in Luke-Acts. Chapter Four employs social-scientific tools to assist in exegeting selected Lucan meal scenes and discovers radical reforms introduced by the Lucan Jesus at the table in terms of relationships and reciprocity in relation to food. In Chapter Five, these exegetical results have been deployed in the manner of Practical Theology to articulate a Lucan theology of hunger and hospitality. Chapter Six is occupied with an analysis of the question of food insecurity in India and suggestions for how the Church might apply the Lucan theology of hunger and hospitality to help remedy that problem. Finally, Chapter Seven is a brief conclusion. This thesis makes at least three significant contributions to academic scholarship. Firstly, the historical-exegetical and redactional approach enhanced with social-scientific perspectives, models and offers new insight into how Luke crafted Jesus’ meal scenes to confront and challenge the values, social structures and conventions of the Lucan audience. Thus, this research bridges a long-standing gap in Lucan scholarship on the text in its social milieu. Secondly, Lucan scholarship on table-fellowship has been enriched by the concentrated focus on the plight of the destitute. Thirdly, this dissertation has applied the methods of Practical Theology to generate a Lucan theology of hunger and hospitality that erects a bridge between the exegesis and the issue of food insecurity in today’s India in such a way as to foster ecclesial transformation and action to help to rectify the situation.

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Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism

Cited by 59 publications

References 6 publications

The Hellenization of the Hasmoneans Revisited: The Archaeological Evidence

The Hellenization of the Hasmoneans Revisited: The Archaeological Evidence

James the Just in History and Tradition: Perspectives of Past and Present Scholarship (Part II)

An Investigation of Lucan Meals with relevance to Food Justice in India

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