Books by Aryeh Amihay
This book offers a novel approach for the study of law in the Judean Desert Scrolls, using the pr... more This book offers a novel approach for the study of law in the Judean Desert Scrolls, using the prism of legal theory. Following a couple of decades of scholarly consensus withdrawing from the "Essene hypothesis," it proposes to revive the term, and suggests employing it for the sectarian movement as a whole, while considering the group that lived in Qumran as the Yahad. It further proposes a new suggestion for the emergence of the Yahad, based on the roles of the Examiner and the Instructor in the two major legal codes, the Damascus Document and the Community Rule.
The understanding of Essene law is divided into concepts and practices, in order to emphasize the discrepancy between creed, rhetoric, and practices. The abstract exploration of notions such as time, space, obligation, intention, and retribution, is then compared against the realities of social practices, including admission, initiation, covenant, leadership, reproof, and punishment.
The legal analysis yields several new suggestions for the study of the scrolls: first, Amihay proposes to rename the two strands of thought of Jewish law, formerly referred to as "nominalism" and "realism," with the terms "legal essentialism" and "legal formalism." The two laws of admission in the Community Rule are distinguished as two different laws, one of an association for a group as a whole, the other as an admission of an individual. The law of reproof is proven to be an independent legal procedure, rather than a preliminary stage of prosecution. The methodological division in this study of thought and practice provides a nuanced approach for the study of law in general, and religious law in particular.
Download file to see Introduction to the volume. Click link to see cover art, table of contents, ... more Download file to see Introduction to the volume. Click link to see cover art, table of contents, and a list of reviews.
Articles by Aryeh Amihay
Journal of Daoist Studies, 2024
本文是作者日感兴趣的中国古代和犹太文本比较研究的一部分，仔细考察了两个相同主题的故事。这两个故事里的主人公都是根据他们丑陋的外表而命名的。《庄子》中的道教故事描述了一个叫哀骀它的人，他丑陋的外表... more 本文是作者日感兴趣的中国古代和犹太文本比较研究的一部分，仔细考察了两个相同主题的故事。这两个故事里的主人公都是根据他们丑陋的外表而命名的。《庄子》中的道教故事描述了一个叫哀骀它的人，他丑陋的外表非但没有吓退女性的青睐，就连统治者也钦佩他的行政才能。巴比伦塔木德中的一个拉比故事则讲述了一个相貌平平的女人的丈夫强迫她向拉比证明她的美丽之处。庄子的故事打破了人们对外表与内在实体之间相关性的预设，而文中主人公的名字进一步暗示着标签和内容之间的另一种相关性，而不是单一的相关性。在道教传统中，特别是在庄子的思想中，反对认识论的确定性也是重点内容之一。在塔木德叙事中，情况则相反，那个女人有一个好听的名字，但她却没有什么引人瞩目的外貌。她的名字与外表之间的相关性跟庄子故事里显示的相关性极为一致。正是这种一致性成为了这两个故事解析的关键：她恰当的名字拥有恢复世界秩序的力量，而她的丑陋似乎威胁着这种秩序。这两个故事之间的比较可以增强他们之间相互冲突的训诲。本文最后强调了在两个遥远的区域之间进行跨文化研究的成效。
Citation: Amihay, Aryeh, and Lupeng Li. “By Name and by Nature: Two Stories of People Named Unattractive in Daoist and Rabbinic Literature.” Journal of Daoist Studies 17 (2014): 117-32.
Journal of Daoist Studies, 2024
Citation: Amihay, Aryeh, and Lupeng Li. “By Name and by Nature: Two Stories of People Named Unatt... more Citation: Amihay, Aryeh, and Lupeng Li. “By Name and by Nature: Two Stories of People Named Unattractive in Daoist and Rabbinic Literature.” Journal of Daoist Studies 17 (2014): 117-32.
As part of a growing interest in comparing ancient Chinese and Jewish texts, this article examines two stories that share a theme of an unattractive person who is named according to their appearance. The Daoist story in the Zhuangzi describes Uglyface Tuo whose hideous looks did not deter women from adoring him and rulers admiring him for his administrative skill. A rabbinic story from the Babylonian Talmud recounts the story of a homely wife whose husband compelled her to show something pretty about her to a rabbi. Zhuangzi’s story thwarts any expectations for correlation between external appearances and internal substance, while the name continues to suggest a correlation between a label and content, defying a single approach. Within the Daoist tradition, and especially in Zhuangzi’s thought, this seems to be the point, arguing against epistemic certainty. In the strikingly different Talmudic story, the aptly named person is a woman whose features do not elicit attraction. The correlation of her name and her appearance remains the defining similarity between the narratives. It is this consistency that holds the key to the narrative’s resolution: her apposite name holds the power to restore order in the world, an order which her ugliness seems to threaten. The comparison between the two stories allows to enhance their contradictory lessons. The essay concludes by highlighting the benefits of cross-cultural research between these distant fields of study.
Above, Below, Before, and After: Studies in Judaism and Christianity in Conversation with Martha Himmelfarb, 2023
This study begins by assessing the contribution of Martha Himmelfarb's analysis of the Book of Ju... more This study begins by assessing the contribution of Martha Himmelfarb's analysis of the Book of Jubilees as an anti-sectarian work, highlighting the ways Himmelfarb's work shaped and changed scholarly discourse over Jubilees. It then proposes to reconsider Jubilees as sectarian by discussing the scholarly definitions of the term, particularly as used by scholars of the Judean Desert Scrolls, as well as examining three aspects of the sectarian experience: the construction of a sect as a so-called cult, or a New Religious Movement; an analogy of sectarianism and political partisanship; and finally, the possibility of nationalist sentiments within a sect. The inherent ambivalence of the sectarians toward their surrounding society, suggests an ideological alignment between the sectarian texts found in Qumran and Jubilees, despite their obvious differences.
Philosophy East and West, 2023
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857645
This study explores the relationship between beauty and inte... more https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857645
This study explores the relationship between beauty and intellect, often represented as diametrical opposites, in Chinese and Jewish texts, particularly with reference to Confucian and rabbinic texts. Four discourses concerning the nexus of beauty and intellect are presented: antagonistic, complementary, authentic, and epistemic. In both traditions, although more so in Confucianism, intellect is sometimes elided with moral virtue, adding another element to the discussion. The comparison of this theme in distant traditions seeks to highlight their shared resistance to a single interpretation or a consistent outlook: while Confucian texts tend to embrace a complementary discourse, along the lines of a physiognomic tradition, competing views can be detected. Likewise, the rabbinic tradition inherits the biblical standpoint that "beauty is vain" but still manifests some cases of a complementary discourse.
Philosophy East and West, 2023
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857645
在中国文学和犹太文学文本中，美和智慧常常表现出两个截然不同的对立面，在儒家文本和拉比文本中尤为如此。有关美和智慧关系的论... more https://muse.jhu.edu/article/857645
在中国文学和犹太文学文本中，美和智慧常常表现出两个截然不同的对立面，在儒家文本和拉比文本中尤为如此。有关美和智慧关系的论说有四种：1）二者相互矛盾；2）二者相互补充；3）美独立于智慧；4）二者存在认识论上的关系。在这两种文化中，尤其是在儒家文化中，对道德德行的强调常常使智慧被忽略。这是美与智慧的另一种关系。在这两种遥远的文化传统中对比美与智慧时，我们可以看到这两种文化一致地反对对美做出单一的解释——儒家文本（与相术学一道）表现出美和智慧的互补关系，也表现出二者的竞争关系；同时，拉比文学既继承了“美容是虚浮的”的圣经观，又显示了美和智慧的互补关系。
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2022
This paper examines a single chapter of the Vitae Prophetarum (Lives of the Prophets) to explore ... more This paper examines a single chapter of the Vitae Prophetarum (Lives of the Prophets) to explore elements that could be classified as Jewish or Christian. Setting aside the overt Christian glosses, this study explores two major themes: one is the report that Jeremiah was stoned to death by his people, the other that Jeremiah concealed the ark and the law in a rock for future times. Each of these traditions can be presented as either Jewish or Christian, through context of biblical literature as well as later patristic or rabbinic texts. This study concludes that the ambiguous nature of the text is due to a deliberate effort to appeal to a dual audience, providing insight on the purpose of the author, as well as reorienting the debate over the date of the Vitae Prophetarum.
Religions, Dec 1, 2020
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/644
This study offers a new approach for studying biblica... more https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/644
This study offers a new approach for studying biblical myth in two directions: first, by expanding the scope of investigation beyond the clearly mythological elements to other areas of biblical literature, and second, by drawing comparisons to classical Chinese literature. This article thus reconsiders the relationship between myth and history in both biblical and Chinese literature, while seeking to broaden the endeavor of the comparative method in biblical studies. Two examples are offered: (1) the story of Moses's call narrative and his relationship with Aaron in Exodus in light of the story of Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji in the Shiji; (2) the story of Saul and David in 1 Samuel compared with the story of Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Both comparisons demonstrate the operation of Claude Lévi-Strauss's inversion principle. Conclusions regarding each of these literatures are presented separately, followed by cross-cultural insights and shared aspects in the study of myth, historiography, and religion.
Religions, 2020
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/644
該項研究通過兩項比較為研究聖經神話提供了新的方向：第一，將研究範圍從單純的神話元素擴展到聖經文學的其他領域... more https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/644
該項研究通過兩項比較為研究聖經神話提供了新的方向：第一，將研究範圍從單純的神話元素擴展到聖經文學的其他領域。其次，將聖經神話與中國古典文學作比較。因此，本文重新考慮了聖經和中國文學中神話與歷史之間的關係，同時力求擴大比較方法在聖經研究中的應用。本文提供了兩個例子：（1）根據《史記》中的“項梁”和“項籍”的故事，比較了與之對應的摩西的敘事故事和他與出埃及記中亞倫的關係； （2）《撒母耳記》中掃羅和大衛的故事與《三國演義》中的董卓和呂布的故事相比較。兩種比較都證明了克勞德·列維·斯特勞斯的反演原理。作者分別從漢希兩方文獻的角度出發，進一步延申到跨文化理解，最後在神話、歷史學和宗教的共同特徵方面做出了結論。
Oxford Handbook of Biblical Law, 2019
Amihay, Aryeh. "Ritual Law: Sacrifice and Holy Days." In The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Law, edi... more Amihay, Aryeh. "Ritual Law: Sacrifice and Holy Days." In The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Law, edited by Pamela Barmash, 79-99. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2018
JBL 137.3 (2018): 555-79.
The postmodern turn in the humanities is now at a point that requires ... more JBL 137.3 (2018): 555-79.
The postmodern turn in the humanities is now at a point that requires response and revision to some deconstructionist trends. As a case study, this article examines the inversion principle formulated by Claude Lévi-Strauss against Yair Zakovitch’s analysis of mirror narratives through three examples. In the first example, the mirror narratives of two destructions in Genesis are shown to be better explained by the inversion principle. The second example considers aspects of the Mesopotamian flood hero Utnapishtim that have been divided in subsequent Jewish traditions between Enoch and Noah. The third example considers the transformation of the myth of the sacrificial son in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three examples lead to the following conclusions: (1) that other myths, particularly in Genesis, should be reconsidered in light of the inversion principle; (2) that this principle is crucial for the reception history of biblical narratives, as seen in the development of the figure of the flood hero in Second Temple Judaism; and (3) that intentional adaptations are equally susceptible to the subconscious structural changes that occur in the intercultural journeys of myth, as described by Lévi-Strauss.
A summary of the finds from my dissertation and its main arguments, in favor of studying the lega... more A summary of the finds from my dissertation and its main arguments, in favor of studying the legal material of the DSS on their own terms, applying contemporayr legal theory and relieving their examinaiton from the burden of the later rabbinic framework.
Note: after publication I changed my mind regarding terminology of "Natural Law" and "Legal Positivism." A more updated discussion is found in my dissertation, and a corrigendum will eventually appear in a later issue of Diné Israel.
The term "high hand" (ביד רמה) is used in the Dead Sea Scrolls (primarily in the Community Rule, ... more The term "high hand" (ביד רמה) is used in the Dead Sea Scrolls (primarily in the Community Rule, 1QS) to denote intentionality. This use is borrowed from Numbers 15, but is reconceptualized to present a stricter view of intent, based on the determinist view of the sect.
Rabbinic expansions and interpretations of the flood narrative are examined. Hermeneutic, linguis... more Rabbinic expansions and interpretations of the flood narrative are examined. Hermeneutic, linguistic, and theological motivations for the rabbis suggestions are surveyed. An anti-noachic polemic is over-ruled. Click the link for file preview (in PDF).
in Noah and his Book(s) (SBLEJL 28; ed. M. E. Stone, A. Amihay and V. Hillel. Atlanta: SBL, 2010), 53-69, 2010
The story of Noah's birth in 1 Enoch 106-108 is examined against parallels in the Dead Sea Scroll... more The story of Noah's birth in 1 Enoch 106-108 is examined against parallels in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other miraculous births in Second Temple literature. Click link for preview (in PDF).
Book Reviews by Aryeh Amihay
Hebrew Studies, 2020
A review of Identity and Territory: Jewish Perceptions of Space in Antiquity. By Eyal Ben-Eliyahu... more A review of Identity and Territory: Jewish Perceptions of Space in Antiquity. By Eyal Ben-Eliyahu. Pp. xii + 195. Oakland: University of California Press, 2019.
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2020
This marvelous volume offers a broad range that opens with a specific terminological problem in t... more This marvelous volume offers a broad range that opens with a specific terminological problem in the scrolls, then answers it by suggesting a new way to classify the scrolls and by simultaneously highlighting implications of this research for the ancient Mediterranean broadly conceived.
Amihay, Aryeh. "Review of: Carmen Palmer, Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Gēr and Mutable Ethnicity, STDJ 126. Leiden: Brill, 2018." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 82.1 (2020): 124-27.
Matthew V. Novenson, The Grammar of Messianism, Syndicate Symposium, 2019
A Syndicate Symposium devoted to Matthew Novenson's recent book, The Grammar of Messianism: An An... more A Syndicate Symposium devoted to Matthew Novenson's recent book, The Grammar of Messianism: An Ancient Jewish Political Idiom and Its Users (Oxford: 2017), curated by Heidi Wendt and featuring the reflections of James Carleton Paget, Esau McCaulley, Aryeh Amihay, Paula Fredriksen, and John Gager, with responses from Novenson.
Review of Gideon Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic: A History (Cambridge UP, 2008); and Michael D. Swar... more Review of Gideon Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic: A History (Cambridge UP, 2008); and Michael D. Swartz, The Signifying Creator: Nontextual Sources of Meaning in Ancient Judaism (NYU Press, 2012)
Uploads
Books by Aryeh Amihay
The understanding of Essene law is divided into concepts and practices, in order to emphasize the discrepancy between creed, rhetoric, and practices. The abstract exploration of notions such as time, space, obligation, intention, and retribution, is then compared against the realities of social practices, including admission, initiation, covenant, leadership, reproof, and punishment.
The legal analysis yields several new suggestions for the study of the scrolls: first, Amihay proposes to rename the two strands of thought of Jewish law, formerly referred to as "nominalism" and "realism," with the terms "legal essentialism" and "legal formalism." The two laws of admission in the Community Rule are distinguished as two different laws, one of an association for a group as a whole, the other as an admission of an individual. The law of reproof is proven to be an independent legal procedure, rather than a preliminary stage of prosecution. The methodological division in this study of thought and practice provides a nuanced approach for the study of law in general, and religious law in particular.
Articles by Aryeh Amihay
Citation: Amihay, Aryeh, and Lupeng Li. “By Name and by Nature: Two Stories of People Named Unattractive in Daoist and Rabbinic Literature.” Journal of Daoist Studies 17 (2014): 117-32.
As part of a growing interest in comparing ancient Chinese and Jewish texts, this article examines two stories that share a theme of an unattractive person who is named according to their appearance. The Daoist story in the Zhuangzi describes Uglyface Tuo whose hideous looks did not deter women from adoring him and rulers admiring him for his administrative skill. A rabbinic story from the Babylonian Talmud recounts the story of a homely wife whose husband compelled her to show something pretty about her to a rabbi. Zhuangzi’s story thwarts any expectations for correlation between external appearances and internal substance, while the name continues to suggest a correlation between a label and content, defying a single approach. Within the Daoist tradition, and especially in Zhuangzi’s thought, this seems to be the point, arguing against epistemic certainty. In the strikingly different Talmudic story, the aptly named person is a woman whose features do not elicit attraction. The correlation of her name and her appearance remains the defining similarity between the narratives. It is this consistency that holds the key to the narrative’s resolution: her apposite name holds the power to restore order in the world, an order which her ugliness seems to threaten. The comparison between the two stories allows to enhance their contradictory lessons. The essay concludes by highlighting the benefits of cross-cultural research between these distant fields of study.
This study explores the relationship between beauty and intellect, often represented as diametrical opposites, in Chinese and Jewish texts, particularly with reference to Confucian and rabbinic texts. Four discourses concerning the nexus of beauty and intellect are presented: antagonistic, complementary, authentic, and epistemic. In both traditions, although more so in Confucianism, intellect is sometimes elided with moral virtue, adding another element to the discussion. The comparison of this theme in distant traditions seeks to highlight their shared resistance to a single interpretation or a consistent outlook: while Confucian texts tend to embrace a complementary discourse, along the lines of a physiognomic tradition, competing views can be detected. Likewise, the rabbinic tradition inherits the biblical standpoint that "beauty is vain" but still manifests some cases of a complementary discourse.
在中国文学和犹太文学文本中，美和智慧常常表现出两个截然不同的对立面，在儒家文本和拉比文本中尤为如此。有关美和智慧关系的论说有四种：1）二者相互矛盾；2）二者相互补充；3）美独立于智慧；4）二者存在认识论上的关系。在这两种文化中，尤其是在儒家文化中，对道德德行的强调常常使智慧被忽略。这是美与智慧的另一种关系。在这两种遥远的文化传统中对比美与智慧时，我们可以看到这两种文化一致地反对对美做出单一的解释——儒家文本（与相术学一道）表现出美和智慧的互补关系，也表现出二者的竞争关系；同时，拉比文学既继承了“美容是虚浮的”的圣经观，又显示了美和智慧的互补关系。
This study offers a new approach for studying biblical myth in two directions: first, by expanding the scope of investigation beyond the clearly mythological elements to other areas of biblical literature, and second, by drawing comparisons to classical Chinese literature. This article thus reconsiders the relationship between myth and history in both biblical and Chinese literature, while seeking to broaden the endeavor of the comparative method in biblical studies. Two examples are offered: (1) the story of Moses's call narrative and his relationship with Aaron in Exodus in light of the story of Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji in the Shiji; (2) the story of Saul and David in 1 Samuel compared with the story of Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Both comparisons demonstrate the operation of Claude Lévi-Strauss's inversion principle. Conclusions regarding each of these literatures are presented separately, followed by cross-cultural insights and shared aspects in the study of myth, historiography, and religion.
該項研究通過兩項比較為研究聖經神話提供了新的方向：第一，將研究範圍從單純的神話元素擴展到聖經文學的其他領域。其次，將聖經神話與中國古典文學作比較。因此，本文重新考慮了聖經和中國文學中神話與歷史之間的關係，同時力求擴大比較方法在聖經研究中的應用。本文提供了兩個例子：（1）根據《史記》中的“項梁”和“項籍”的故事，比較了與之對應的摩西的敘事故事和他與出埃及記中亞倫的關係； （2）《撒母耳記》中掃羅和大衛的故事與《三國演義》中的董卓和呂布的故事相比較。兩種比較都證明了克勞德·列維·斯特勞斯的反演原理。作者分別從漢希兩方文獻的角度出發，進一步延申到跨文化理解，最後在神話、歷史學和宗教的共同特徵方面做出了結論。
The postmodern turn in the humanities is now at a point that requires response and revision to some deconstructionist trends. As a case study, this article examines the inversion principle formulated by Claude Lévi-Strauss against Yair Zakovitch’s analysis of mirror narratives through three examples. In the first example, the mirror narratives of two destructions in Genesis are shown to be better explained by the inversion principle. The second example considers aspects of the Mesopotamian flood hero Utnapishtim that have been divided in subsequent Jewish traditions between Enoch and Noah. The third example considers the transformation of the myth of the sacrificial son in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three examples lead to the following conclusions: (1) that other myths, particularly in Genesis, should be reconsidered in light of the inversion principle; (2) that this principle is crucial for the reception history of biblical narratives, as seen in the development of the figure of the flood hero in Second Temple Judaism; and (3) that intentional adaptations are equally susceptible to the subconscious structural changes that occur in the intercultural journeys of myth, as described by Lévi-Strauss.
Note: after publication I changed my mind regarding terminology of "Natural Law" and "Legal Positivism." A more updated discussion is found in my dissertation, and a corrigendum will eventually appear in a later issue of Diné Israel.
Book Reviews by Aryeh Amihay
Amihay, Aryeh. "Review of: Carmen Palmer, Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Gēr and Mutable Ethnicity, STDJ 126. Leiden: Brill, 2018." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 82.1 (2020): 124-27.
The understanding of Essene law is divided into concepts and practices, in order to emphasize the discrepancy between creed, rhetoric, and practices. The abstract exploration of notions such as time, space, obligation, intention, and retribution, is then compared against the realities of social practices, including admission, initiation, covenant, leadership, reproof, and punishment.
The legal analysis yields several new suggestions for the study of the scrolls: first, Amihay proposes to rename the two strands of thought of Jewish law, formerly referred to as "nominalism" and "realism," with the terms "legal essentialism" and "legal formalism." The two laws of admission in the Community Rule are distinguished as two different laws, one of an association for a group as a whole, the other as an admission of an individual. The law of reproof is proven to be an independent legal procedure, rather than a preliminary stage of prosecution. The methodological division in this study of thought and practice provides a nuanced approach for the study of law in general, and religious law in particular.
Citation: Amihay, Aryeh, and Lupeng Li. “By Name and by Nature: Two Stories of People Named Unattractive in Daoist and Rabbinic Literature.” Journal of Daoist Studies 17 (2014): 117-32.
As part of a growing interest in comparing ancient Chinese and Jewish texts, this article examines two stories that share a theme of an unattractive person who is named according to their appearance. The Daoist story in the Zhuangzi describes Uglyface Tuo whose hideous looks did not deter women from adoring him and rulers admiring him for his administrative skill. A rabbinic story from the Babylonian Talmud recounts the story of a homely wife whose husband compelled her to show something pretty about her to a rabbi. Zhuangzi’s story thwarts any expectations for correlation between external appearances and internal substance, while the name continues to suggest a correlation between a label and content, defying a single approach. Within the Daoist tradition, and especially in Zhuangzi’s thought, this seems to be the point, arguing against epistemic certainty. In the strikingly different Talmudic story, the aptly named person is a woman whose features do not elicit attraction. The correlation of her name and her appearance remains the defining similarity between the narratives. It is this consistency that holds the key to the narrative’s resolution: her apposite name holds the power to restore order in the world, an order which her ugliness seems to threaten. The comparison between the two stories allows to enhance their contradictory lessons. The essay concludes by highlighting the benefits of cross-cultural research between these distant fields of study.
This study explores the relationship between beauty and intellect, often represented as diametrical opposites, in Chinese and Jewish texts, particularly with reference to Confucian and rabbinic texts. Four discourses concerning the nexus of beauty and intellect are presented: antagonistic, complementary, authentic, and epistemic. In both traditions, although more so in Confucianism, intellect is sometimes elided with moral virtue, adding another element to the discussion. The comparison of this theme in distant traditions seeks to highlight their shared resistance to a single interpretation or a consistent outlook: while Confucian texts tend to embrace a complementary discourse, along the lines of a physiognomic tradition, competing views can be detected. Likewise, the rabbinic tradition inherits the biblical standpoint that "beauty is vain" but still manifests some cases of a complementary discourse.
在中国文学和犹太文学文本中，美和智慧常常表现出两个截然不同的对立面，在儒家文本和拉比文本中尤为如此。有关美和智慧关系的论说有四种：1）二者相互矛盾；2）二者相互补充；3）美独立于智慧；4）二者存在认识论上的关系。在这两种文化中，尤其是在儒家文化中，对道德德行的强调常常使智慧被忽略。这是美与智慧的另一种关系。在这两种遥远的文化传统中对比美与智慧时，我们可以看到这两种文化一致地反对对美做出单一的解释——儒家文本（与相术学一道）表现出美和智慧的互补关系，也表现出二者的竞争关系；同时，拉比文学既继承了“美容是虚浮的”的圣经观，又显示了美和智慧的互补关系。
This study offers a new approach for studying biblical myth in two directions: first, by expanding the scope of investigation beyond the clearly mythological elements to other areas of biblical literature, and second, by drawing comparisons to classical Chinese literature. This article thus reconsiders the relationship between myth and history in both biblical and Chinese literature, while seeking to broaden the endeavor of the comparative method in biblical studies. Two examples are offered: (1) the story of Moses's call narrative and his relationship with Aaron in Exodus in light of the story of Xiang Liang and Xiang Ji in the Shiji; (2) the story of Saul and David in 1 Samuel compared with the story of Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Both comparisons demonstrate the operation of Claude Lévi-Strauss's inversion principle. Conclusions regarding each of these literatures are presented separately, followed by cross-cultural insights and shared aspects in the study of myth, historiography, and religion.
該項研究通過兩項比較為研究聖經神話提供了新的方向：第一，將研究範圍從單純的神話元素擴展到聖經文學的其他領域。其次，將聖經神話與中國古典文學作比較。因此，本文重新考慮了聖經和中國文學中神話與歷史之間的關係，同時力求擴大比較方法在聖經研究中的應用。本文提供了兩個例子：（1）根據《史記》中的“項梁”和“項籍”的故事，比較了與之對應的摩西的敘事故事和他與出埃及記中亞倫的關係； （2）《撒母耳記》中掃羅和大衛的故事與《三國演義》中的董卓和呂布的故事相比較。兩種比較都證明了克勞德·列維·斯特勞斯的反演原理。作者分別從漢希兩方文獻的角度出發，進一步延申到跨文化理解，最後在神話、歷史學和宗教的共同特徵方面做出了結論。
The postmodern turn in the humanities is now at a point that requires response and revision to some deconstructionist trends. As a case study, this article examines the inversion principle formulated by Claude Lévi-Strauss against Yair Zakovitch’s analysis of mirror narratives through three examples. In the first example, the mirror narratives of two destructions in Genesis are shown to be better explained by the inversion principle. The second example considers aspects of the Mesopotamian flood hero Utnapishtim that have been divided in subsequent Jewish traditions between Enoch and Noah. The third example considers the transformation of the myth of the sacrificial son in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three examples lead to the following conclusions: (1) that other myths, particularly in Genesis, should be reconsidered in light of the inversion principle; (2) that this principle is crucial for the reception history of biblical narratives, as seen in the development of the figure of the flood hero in Second Temple Judaism; and (3) that intentional adaptations are equally susceptible to the subconscious structural changes that occur in the intercultural journeys of myth, as described by Lévi-Strauss.
Note: after publication I changed my mind regarding terminology of "Natural Law" and "Legal Positivism." A more updated discussion is found in my dissertation, and a corrigendum will eventually appear in a later issue of Diné Israel.
Amihay, Aryeh. "Review of: Carmen Palmer, Converts in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Gēr and Mutable Ethnicity, STDJ 126. Leiden: Brill, 2018." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 82.1 (2020): 124-27.
My qualms as a legal historian aside, Lundbom’s commentary is dense in breadth and depth. He covers an impressive ground of scholarship and traditions, ranging from the Ancient Near East to classical Greco-Roman sources, Christian interpretation, and modern scholarship. The introduction alone is a valuable guide, and his rhetorical and structural analysis of each passage of the book is a tremendous resource for any scholar of Deuteronomy. In his survey of previous research and his presentation of theology, Lundbom offers a new path for twenty-first century scholarship. I did not always agree with his theological interpretations, but his choice to focus on theological issues such as love and justice serves as an important reminder of the brilliant cohesion of Deuteronomy, for all its complexities, that made its impact longstanding on many generations to come
This book articulates a Jewish vision of ethics, law, and politics that is grounded in Jewish sources while in dialogue with current trends in conservative thought. As such, it presents an interesting dialectic between adherence to tradition and updating that very tradition to contemporary concerns. Readers will find clear stances on abortion, marriage, human rights, relations of church and state, and other debated topics. A close and careful reading of it reveals that the dialogue it seeks, whether among believers or with nonbelievers, is better served and indeed enabled by the persistence of values it rejects.
Amihay, Aryeh. "Guilt. III. Judaism. B. Rabbinic Judaism." In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, edited by Hans-Josef Klauck, 1003-05. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2015.
The first half of the course was entitled “components of religion” and the second half “critique of religion.” The first half focused on abstract ideas, with each class starting with a list of words related to that theme, each student contributing a word and explaining how it relates to the topic. The second half was accompanied with Pals’ excellent Eight Theories, and with selections from the actual scholars Pals introduces. Markham and Lohr’s reader was used for some primary texts and some basic facts on religions, providing a peephole to how a World Religions class may have looked. It is slightly more theological than critical with an undertone of a Christian bias. These defects in the reader were discussed in class, but it was nevertheless chosen for its affordability and accessibility. In addition to many classic readings, the course included two selections from the faculty at Lawrence University, as a way of introducing students to research conducted in their home institution, and to familiarize majors in the department with the work of their teachers. Such selections will change from institution to institution.
The final assignment of the course is appended to this syllabus and requires the students to combine the two sections of the course, choosing one component, and analyzing it in a single tradition using at least one critique.
Click link above to view file.
The rationale of the course was twofold: first, to ensure that the students who complete the course have read most of the Hebrew Bible, and that anything that was not read for class is similar to sections read, and thus the students have tools to deal with it; second, to familiarize students with basic analytical terms for studying the Hebrew Bible, by dividing it into its seven genres of writing: narrative, law, historiography, prophecy, poetry, wisdom, and apocalypse.
For these purposes the students read the primary texts with the Jewish Study Bible edition, and consulted Collins’s introduction. The final two classes introduced students to major questions of scholarship concerning material outside the Hebrew Bible: archaeology and postbiblical literature.
Click link above to view file.
The course follows a historical paradigm, dividing the history of Judaism into three major periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages and Modern. Each period is characterized by major figures, texts, regions and languages used. The paradigm is appended at the end of the syllabus.
Students are expected to know basic terms of Judaism, and can observe their progress through a check-off sheet that is distributed in the first class, and is used throughout the course. The final exam consists of providing definitions to terms from this sheet, choosing three from each period, and additional two terms related to Jewish practice. The check-off sheet is also appended to this document.
Jewish practice is not taught in a critical-scholarly mode as the rest of the course. It is presented to students through a series of presentations, so that students are familiar with holidays, rituals and artifacts. In short, it was my intention to avoid a common result of academic study, in which students can talk about Franz Rosenzweig’s philosophy, but have no idea what a shofar looks like, and what it is used for. The presentations on Jewish practice are divided into three categories: daily life, Jewish calendar, cycle of life.
The four books of the course are not read in full, and are intended to provide students with stepping stones to topics that cannot be covered in class. Back to the Sources serves as the backbone of the course, but since it follows canonical/orthodox Judaism it omits reference to Second Temple Judaism and modern advances; Schiffman’s Texts and Traditions includes more rabbinic texts than can be covered in a brief introduction, and provides students with a handy guide to further learn of rabbinic literature; Scheindlin’s Short History includes an episode on the Holocaust that is not studied, since it is part of Jewish history but not part of Jewish religion (I explain this point more elaborately on my blog); and Batnitzky’s chapter on the revival of Hebrew literature is a significant contribution that is not studied in the course, for similar reasons. My conclusion with Zionism and Kaplan in the final week suggests the modern secularization of Judaism, and its transformation into something that is more than a religion. Students are able to question my own hypothesis through Batnitzky’s opposite view – that it is only modernity that saw its transformation into a religion.
Optional readings provide advanced students who are interested in learning more some suggestions from the classic studies of the field. They are purposefully not uploaded to Moodle but kept on the library reserves shelf. Students who are interested in the title therefore need to go to the library and acquaint themselves with the volume of the suggested optional reading. It is my expectation that most students will not consult the optional reading, and thus the Introduction is planned as a multi-layer course: a brief survey for the educated layperson who wishes to know more about Judaism; an introduction to department majors who will use this course as an initial building block in their study of Judaism, and an important stepping stone to someone who wishes to turn Judaism into his major focus of study.
Click link above to view file.
In addition to developing an historical understanding of Judaism (in contrast to an essentialist dogmatic understanding of it), students will also reflect on the construction of gender identities as a social-political product. The diversity of readings will suggest that both Judaism and gender are not stable unified essences, found in a person by virtue of their birth, but rather a complex set of performative choices, resulting in the identity including what a person chooses to make of it. Students will be invited to question the validity of any specific example or claim found in a text, and to consider its relevance to present-day discourse in their own lives.
The course was intentionally designed to avoid a chronological order or any bias of “canonic” vs. “non-canonic” or “religious” vs. “ethnic” definitions of Judaism. A chronological order might have given the wrong impression of an essentialized development, as well as become a repetition of the Introduction to Judaism course, designed by an historical paradigm. Instead, we organized the course according to three themes: Body, Gender, and Sexuality. While these topics overlapped throughout the entirety of the course, there is an appropriate sense of progression. We began with the ungendered body, dealing more abstractly with the tension between matter and spirit, then proceeded to various aspects of gender constructions, Jewish patriarchy, misogyny, and the thwarted masculinity of the Jewish body. We concluded with several issues pertaining to sex, some of which mirrored topics from the earlier selections, as in the issue of the relationship between sex and worship that evoked once more questions raised in the second class on God’s body.
In addition to the syllabus, I attach here the timeline and three bibliographies we gave to the students. The timeline is intended to provide the historical framework that the course’s plan refuses to follow. The List of Sources for the syllabus provides full details of all materials used, for those who wish to seek them. Finally, the two bibliographies on the topic, provide further reading, as well as remind us all that the course barely scratched the surface of this fascinating issue.
Click link above to view file.
Chapter 2 examines the role of intention in the law as an important prism to understand the tensions created by and solutions found for the sectarians’ legal essentialism. Using the work of Anscombe and Audi, the dissertation defines the concept of intention and separates it from desire and action. A special section examines the idiom “high hand” and distinguishes its biblical usage (primarily in Num 15), and its usage in the sectarian writings, primarily in 1QS.
The concept of exclusion is the focus of chapter 3, primarily through 4QMMT, and with many comparisons to 1QS. Through the work of legal scholars Dan-Cohen and Minow the role of exclusion in constituting the community and reflecting their legal essentialist stance is clarified. The role of emotions and rhetoric of emotions in exclusion is also explored in relation to contemporary theories of law and emotion. Finally, the dissertation distinguishes between permanent-static exclusions based on deformities and temporary-dynamic exclusions based on moral conduct. This distinction demonstrates the previously discussed roles of legal essentialism and intention in the law.
Chapter 4 examines obligation and commitment, borrowing the terms “transcendence” and “renunciation” from Rosabeth Moss Kanter. The tension between obligation to God and obligation to community is described using Kierkegaard, suggesting that this tension is mediated through interpretative authority in the sect.
The final chapter examines the laws of premarital sex in the Pentateuch and in 4Q159, 4QD and 11Q19 to examine the previous issues in a specific case study of legal interpretation and innovation, highlighting different motivations between a sectarian text (4QD) and a non-sectarian text (the Temple Scroll).
The conclusion highlights the benefits of applying contemporary theory in general and legal theory in particular to the study of ancient texts, and especially to the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
teaching as it is found in Tractate Avot. He gives up the material advantages of the power of the court in this world for fear of the moment when he will face the ultimate court, the only real court, the court of heaven. He calls on his son not to show too much loyalty to his father, the one who contributed the putrid drop to his formation, so that he will follow the majority and thus fulfill God’s will. He refuses to help his son through nepotism, because his son has no reason to be proud of his pedigree, if he will truly recall where he came from, and the only way for him to achieve success is through his own deeds.