2020 History and Religion of Second Temple Judaism (Boccaccini), graduate course

History and Religion of Second Temple Judaism is a graduate course offered in the year 2020-2021 by Gabriele Boccaccini (University of Michigan) at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.

Description

The seminar covers the history and religion of Second Temple Judaism, from the Babylonian exile (6th cent. BCE to the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism (3rd cent CE). It was an age of great conflicts, in which the Jews had to face powerful neighbors and rulers: The Egyptians and the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. It was also an age of great creativeness, in which different varieties of Judaism (including the early Christin movement) developed sophisticated and lasting theologies and restlessly struggled for supremacy or survival.

The focus is on reading of primary sources in the original text (or English translation), within a methodological approach that frees the documents from the cages of their denominational corpora and restores their original links, as representatives of competing forms of Judaism.

Grading is based on weekly reading assignment, participation to discussion, and a final research paper.

Textbooks and Essential Bibliography

Source-texts:

The New Revised Standard Version Bible with the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, Press, 1989) F. Garcia Martinez, and E.J.C Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1997). J.H. Charlesworth (ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (New York: Doubleday, 1983-85) L.H. Schiffman, Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Studyof Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Hoboken: Ktav, 1998)

Textbooks:

G. Boccaccini, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, from Ezekiel to Daniel (Eerdmans: Gran Rapids, 2002)
G. Boccaccini, Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1998)
S.J.D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987)
G. Boccaccini, Paul's Three Paths to Salvation (Eerdmans: Gran Rapids, 2020)

Additional Readings:

G. Boccaccini, Middle Judaism, Jewish Thought, 300 BCE to 200 CE (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991)
G. Boccaccini, Portraits of Middle Judaism in Scholarship and Arts (Turin: Zamorani, 1992)
J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998)
S.J.D. Cohen, The Beginnings of Jewishness: Boundaries, Varieties, Uncertainties (Berkeley: University of California, 1999)
L.L. Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian, 2 vols. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992)
L.L. Grabbe, An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism: Jewish Religion and History in the Second Temple Period (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996).
L.L. Grabbe, Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period (London: Routledge, 2000)
M. S. Jaffee, Early Judaism (Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1997)
J. Neusner, The Four Stages of Rabbinic Judaism (London: Routledge, 1999)
P. Sacchi, The History of the Second Temple Period (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2000)
E.P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE – 66 CE (Philadelphia: Trinity, 1992)
L.H. Schiffman, From Text and Traditions: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Hoboken, Ktav, 1991)

Schedule

(1) October 7

Introduction to the study of Second Temple Judaism:

(a) From Judaism to Judaisms: The History of Research, from Josephus to the present
(b) Four Contemporary Approaches (Sanders, Schiffman, Cohen, Grabbe). The "traditional" historical-philological approach and the "new" methodologies (intellectual history, gender studies, colonial studies, etc.). Interdisciplinarity and archaeology. Inclusion vs. exclusion.

(2) October 14

The origins of Israel.

Pre-exilic Judaism, Kings, with special emphasis on the Neo-Assyrian Period, Kingdom of Josiah, and the Neo-Egyptian Period.

< House of David : Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim >

The legacy of polytheism. See <Ancient Israelite Religion>

(3) October 21

<2020 Aramaic Enoch Conference>

(4) October 28

The Babylonian Exile:

The Torah of the House of David

(5) November 11

(6) November 18

See Boccaccini, Roots, 43-60 & 82-89.
- 1.1. The Struggle for Priestly Supremacy
- 1.2. The Return from the Babylonian Exile
- 2.2. Early Opponents: Samaritans, Tobiads, Prophets

The Restoration and the Samaritan Schism.

(a) Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel and the End of the House of David
(b) Nehemia and Ezra: Their Mission and Their Opponents (Prophets, Tobiads, Samaritans)

(7) Dec 2

See Boccaccini, Roots, 61-82.
- 1.3. Sons of Levi, Sons of Aaron, Sons of Phineas
- 2.1. The Zadokite Worldview

The Persian Period: Zadokite Judaism

Sons of Levi, Sons of Aaron, Sons of Phineas: The New Structure of the Jerusalem Priesthood

From Chaos to Order: The Zadokite Worldview

(8) Dec 9

See Boccaccini, Roots, 89-111.

2.3. The Priestly Opposition: Enochic Judaism
2.4. The Lay Opposition: Sapiential Judaism

The Opponents of Zadokite Judaism:

Sapiential Judaism & Enochic Judaism

(9) Dec 16

See Boccaccini, Roots, 113-150.
- 3. The Rapprochement between Zadokite and Sapiential Judaism

The Ptolemaic Period

The Early Ptolemaic Period and the Clash between Zadokite and Sapiential Judaism. The Tobiads and the Book of Qohelet.

The Late Ptolemaic Period: The Rapprochement between Sapiental Judaism and Zadokite Judaism (Septuagint, Artapanus, Tobit).

(10) Jan 6

(11) Jan 13

(12) Jan 20

The Seleucid period

The golden age of Zadokite Judaism (Sirach)

The Maccabean Revolt and the end of the Zadokite priesthood.

(13) Jan 27

Book of Dream Visions and Book of Daniel

(14) Feb 3

The Hasmonaens and their Opponents

1 & 2 Maccabees. Letter of Aristeas and the Sirach Prologue.

(15) Feb 10

The Birth of the Essene Movements. Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

(16) Feb 17

Salome Alexandra: the Parthian invasion and the book of Judith

The Beginning of Roman Rule. The Nabateans and the Parthian invasion (40 BCE)

The Kingdom of Herod the Great (63-4 BCE)

(17) Feb 24

Hellenistic Judaism. Judaism as the Religion of the World (Philo of Alexandria)

(18) Mar 3

The rise of messianism: the royal Messiah Son of David (Psalms of Solomon), the heavenly Messiah Son of Man (Parables of Enoch), the priestly messiah Melchizedek (2 Enoch).

The First Roman Procurators and the Herods (4 BCE to 40 CE)

John the Baptist and the Ministry of Jesus

(19) Mar 10

The Death of Jesus and the Beginnings of the Jesus movement as a Jewish messianic movement.

(20) Mar 17

The mission toward Hellenistic Jews (Stephen, Barnabas) and God-fearers (the Ethiopic Eunuch, Cornelius). The council of Jerusalem.

From King Herod Agrippa I to the Jewish War (41-66)

The incident of Antioch and the emergence of Pauline Christianity.

Paul of Tarsus.

(21) Apr 7

The Jewish War: Pro-Romans vs. anti-Romans

The Romans and their Jewish Allies: Vespasian, Titus, Agrippa II and Berenice, Tiberius Alexander

The experience of Josephus. From a national revolt to a Zealot revolt.

The fall of Jerusalem and the Fall of Masada.

(22) Apr 14

The Aftermath of the Jewish War

Proto-Christian Traditions: The Development of the Logos Christology and the Separation from Jerusalem (Matthew, Luke, John, Revelation)

Proto-Rabbinic Responses: The Centrality of the Torah and of the Mosaic Covenant against the Heresy of the “Two Powers in Heaven” (Pseudo-Philo, 2 Baruch) The development of the idea of the yetzer hara (4 Ezra)

(23) Apr 21

The Bar Kokhba Revolt & the Partings of the Ways

Justyn's Dialogue with Trypho. The Rise of Orthodox Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism (Neophiti, Mishnah, Aboth, Tosefta)

(24) May 5

Conclusion: Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity as Fraternal Twins

-- May 12

-- May 19

Paper

The students will be offered the possibility to submit a paper at the Enoch Graduate Seminar.