Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society? (2010 Schwartz), book

Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society? Reciprocity and Solidarity in Ancient Judaism (2010) is a book by Seth Schwartz.

Abstract

"How well integrated were Jews in the Mediterranean society controlled by ancient Rome? The Torah's laws seem to constitute a rejection of the reciprocity-based social dependency and emphasis on honor that were customary in the ancient Mediterranean world. But were Jews really a people apart, and outside of this broadly shared culture? Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society? argues that Jewish social relations in antiquity were animated by a core tension between biblical solidarity and exchange-based social values such as patronage, vassalage, formal friendship, and debt slavery."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.

Contents

• Reciprocity and Solidarity
• The Problem with Mediterraneanism
• A God of Reciprocity: Torah and Social Relations in the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira
• Josephus: Honor, Memory, Benefaction
• Roman Values and the Palestinian Rabbis
• Conclusion: Were the Ancient Jews a Mediterranean Society?
• Appendix One - Ben Sira on the Social Hierarchy
• Appendix Two - Josephus on Memory and Benefaction

External links

• [ Google Books]