Jewish Literature Between The Bible And The Mishnah, with CD-ROM,

473 Pages·2005·3.62 MB·English

by  George W. E. Nickelsburg

Jewish Literature
between the
Bible and the Mishnah

º ewish ¬iterature
between the
and
×i ble ‚ishnah
the
± ¹i storical and ¬ it e r ary ¼ntroduction
Second Edition
μe orge §. } . ¯ ickelsburg
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah
A Historical and Literary Introduction
Copyright © 2005 Augsburg Fortress.All rights reserved.Except for brief quotations in
critical articles or reviews,no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without
prior written permission from the publisher.Write:Permissions,Augsburg Fortress,Box
1209,Minneapolis,MN 55440.
Scripture is from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible,copyright © 1946,1952,
1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA.Used by permission.
Cover image: Extant fragment of columns 2–4 of 4QEng,containing the Aramaic of
1 Enoch 91:10—94:1. Photo reproduced by permission of the Israel Antiquities
Authority.
Cover design:James Korsmo
Book design and typesetting:H.K.Scriptorium
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials,ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
09 08 07 06 05 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
For Miles and Spencer
Sam and Max

ontents
Preface xi
Abbreviations xv
Maps xxv
Introduction 1
Approach and Method 3
Problems and Perspective 3
Corpus 4
Bibliography 5
Prologue:Exile—Return—Dispersion 8
Destruction and Exile 8
Return and Restoration 11
Dispersion 13
Summary 15
1. Tales of the Dispersion 17
Daniel 1–6 17
Additions to the Book of Daniel 22
Susanna 23
Bel and the Serpent 24
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 26
The Story of Darius’s Bodyguards (1 Esdras 3–4) 27
Tobit 29
The Epistle of Jeremiah 35
2. Palestine in the Wake of Alexander the Great 41
The Overlords of Palestine 41
Early Hellenization in Palestine 43
vii
viii CONTENTS
Literature Attributed to Enoch 43
The Book of the Luminaries (1 Enoch 72–82) 44
The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36) 46
The Apocalyptic Worldview of 1 Enoch 52
The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Sirach or Ecclesiasticus) 53
3. Reform—Repression—Revolt 67
The Events 67
A Response in Apocalyptic Literature 69
The Book of Jubilees 69
The Testament of Moses 74
Daniel 7–12 77
The Composition of Daniel 1–12 83
The Animal Vision (1 Enoch 83–90) 83
Summary 86
4. The Hasmoneans and Their Opponents 91
From Judas to Alexandra 91
Baruch 94
Judith 97
1 Maccabees 102
2 Maccabees 106
The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 92–105) 110
Possible Stages in the Literary Development of 1 Enoch 114
5. The People at Qumran and Their Predecessors 119
Scrolls from the Dead Sea Caves 119
The Damascus Document 122
Pesharim 127
Continuous Commentaries 128
The Habakkuk Commentary 129
A Commentary on Psalms 130
The Nahum Commentary 131
A Commentary on Isaiah 131
Florilegium (1Q174),Melchizedek (11Q13),
Testimonia (4Q175):Three Thematic Exegetical Texts 132
The Thanksgiving Hymns 132
Hymns of the Teacher 133
Hymns of the Community 136
The Rule of the Community 137
The War Scroll 143
A Halakic Letter (4QMMT) 147
The Rule of the Congregation (1QSa) 150
Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (The Angelic Liturgy) 151
CONTENTS ix
The Temple Scroll 154
The Aramaic Levi Document 159
An Unusual Psalms Scroll (11QPsa) 165
A Davidic Psalter 165
Psalm 151 166
Psalms of the Pious 167
Instruction for a Student (4QInstruction) 169
The Genesis Apocryphon 172
The New Jerusalem 177
Summary 179
6. Israel in Egypt 191
The Greek Jewish Scriptures—the So-called Septuagint 192
The Sibylline Oracles,Book 3 193
Aristeas to Philocrates 196
3 Maccabees 199
Additions to the Book of Esther 202
The Wisdom of Solomon 205
Philo of Alexandria 212
2 Enoch 221
7. The Romans and the House of Herod 231
The Hasmoneans Give Way to Rome 231
Herod the Great 233
The House of Herod 235
The Roman Governors of Judea 236
Agrippa I 236
Domination—Opposition—Expectation 237
The Psalms of Solomon 238
Psalms of the Nation 238
Psalms of the Righteous and the Pious 244
Date and Provenance 246
The Testament of Moses—Revised 247
The Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) 248
The Unfolding Drama 250
Date and Provenance 254
4 Maccabees 256
8. Revolt—Destruction—Reconstruction 263
The Events 263
The Book of Biblical Antiquities (Pseudo-Philo) 265
Three Apocalyptic Responses to the Fall of Jerusalem 270
4 Ezra 270
2 Baruch 277
x CONTENTS
The Relationship between 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch 283
The Apocalypse of Abraham 285
Flavius Josephus 288
Josephus’s Life and Career 289
Josephus’s Writings 290
The History ofthe Jewish War 290
The Jewish Antiquities 291
The Life 293
Against Apion 294
9. Texts of Disputed Provenance 301
The Problem 301
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 302
The Testament of Reuben concerning Thoughts 303
The Testament of Simeon concerning Envy 305
The Testament of Levi concerning Priesthood and Arrogance 306
The Testament of Judah concerning Courage,the Love of
Money,and Fornication 308
The Testament of Issachar concerning Simplicity 310
The Testament of Asher concerning the Two Faces
of Vice and Virtue 311
The Testament of Joseph concerning Self-Control 312
Summary 313
Christian Provenance 314
The Testament of Job 315
The Testament of Abraham 322
The Life of Adam and Eve 327
The Greek Life of Adam and Eve 327
The Latin Life of Adam and Eve 329
Joseph and Aseneth 332
The Prayer of Manasseh 338
Summary 341
Notes 345
Charts 425
Major Figures in the Seleucid Dynasty 425
The Hasmonean House 426
The House of Herod 427
Index of Subjects 429
Index of Modern Authors 000