Josephus (A.D. 37-?100), a pro-Roman Jew closely associated with the emperor Titus, is the earliest systematic commentator on the Bible, as well as one of the foremost historians of the beginning of the Christian era. Politically, Josephus was pro-Roman, and although he had no sympathy for extreme Jewish nationalism, he was a zealous defender of Jewish religion and culture. Louis H. Feldman examines the principles that guided Josephus in his understanding of the Bible, investigating his creative contribution in the rewriting of biblical accounts. This comprehensive study evaluates Josephus as a historian and demonstrates the originality and consistency of his work as an author. The first part of Feldman's work attempts to understand Josephus's purposes and techniques in retelling the Bible. The second part reviews Josephus's treatment of twelve key biblical figures. In addition to its reevaluation of an important early historian, this unique compendium provides a mine of information on the reassessment of the most important biblical figures.

From the Preface: "The principal thrust of this book is to challenge the compartmentalization to which we seem all too easily resigned, to discover whether, and to what extent, the methods of modern scholarship can become part and parcel of the study of Torah, conceived as a religious-intellectual way of life. Not 'Modern Scholarship and the Study of Torah,' but 'Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah."

This volume consists of 23 essays that have appeared in 19 different journals and other publications during a period of over 40 years, together with an introduction. The essays deal primarily with the relations between Jews and non-Jews during the period from Alexander the Great to the end of the Roman Empire, in five areas: Josephus; Judaism and Christianity; Latin literature and the Jews; the Romans in Rabbinic literature; and other studies in Hellenistic Judaism. The topics include a programmatic essay comparing Hebraism and Hellenism, pro-Jewish intimations in Apion and in Tacitus, the influence of Josephus on Cotton Mather, Philo's view on music, the relationship between pagan and Christian anti-Semitism, observations on rabbinic reaction to Roman rule, and new light from inscriptions and papyri on Diaspora synagogues.

This volume is concerned with exploring sectarian attitudes toward wealth and the economic practices that gave rise to and issued from those attitudes. An introductory chapter establishes the state of the question. Three subsequent chapters focus on major sectarian texts: the Damascus Document, the Rule of the Community, and 4QInstruction A. Other sectarian and non-sectarian texts that mention wealth are discussed in a fifth chapter, while archaeological evidence from the Qumran region and contemporary documentary texts are introduced in chapters seven and eight. Finally, ancient secondary testimony on Essene economic practices is discussed. The book breaks new ground in arguing for several biblical rationales for the practice of shared wealth. Its integration of archaeological and documentary evidence sheds surprising new light on the economic organization of the Qumran community.