Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period (1953-1968 Goodenough), book
Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period (1953-1968) is a book by Erwin R. Goodenough.
Abstract
A work of monumental importance to the field. For the first time all of the material needed to understand Jewish art in antiquity was collected in one place. While many of the individual details or proofs of Goodenough’s work have subsequently come under criticism, the legacy of this work is in the methodology set forth and the cumulative consequences of the vast amount of evidence. Arguing against the majority of previous scholarship which tended to dismiss pagan artwork in a Jewish setting as purely decorative, Goodenough stressed the importance of understanding the symbols within their contemporary setting in the Greco-Roman world. Just as Jews used the same language to worship their God as the pagans used to worship theirs, so too did they utilize pagan symbols in order to more fully delve into the depths of their mystical notions of the divine. The cumulative evidence reveals an extremely varied Judaism, often much closer to mystical Hellenistic Judaism than the Talmudic Judaism of the rabbis. The majority of Jews were not under the hegemony of the rabbis of the Talmud. These conclusions led the way to other groundbreaking works on the development of rabbinic Judaism and have transformed our modern understanding of Judaism in late antiquity. --Jason Zurawski, University of Michigan
Editions and translations
Published in New York, NY: Pantheon Books, <13 vols.> 1953-1968. An abridged edition was reissued in 1988.
Table of contents
- Vol.1: The archeological evidence from Palestine.
- Vol.2: The archeological evidence from the Diaspora.
- Vol.3: Illustrations. (1209 illustrations)
- Vol.4: The problem of method. Symbols from Jewish cult. (117 illustrations)
- Vols.5-6: Fish, bread, and wine. (455 illustrations)
- Vols.7-8: Pagan symbols in Judaism. (459 illustrations)
- Vols.9-11. Symbolism in the Dura Synagogue. (354 illustrations, 21 color plates)
- Vol.12: Summary and conclusions. (5 text figures)
- Vol.13: Indexes and maps, with the author's corrigenda and comments for the preceding volumes.