Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine is a study of the economic crises throughout the Second Temple Period. It establishes that the single factor of the economy which united all aspects of life in ancient society was land. Through study of a wide variety of sources, including the New Testament and classical authors, Jack Pastor looks at who owned land, and how they came to possess it. He examines the various ramifications of landownership in ancient society to ascertain its effect on livelihoods, government policies and revenues. A special emphasis is placed on debt and famine as social and economic problems with ties to the landholding structure.

In The Second Jewish Revolt: The Bar Kokhba War, 132-136 C.E., Menahem Mor offers a detailed account on the Bar Kokhba Revolt in an attempt to understand the second revolt against the Romans. Since the Bar Kokhba Revolt did not have a historian who devoted a comprehensive book to the event, Mor used a variety of historical materials including literary sources (Jewish, Christian, Greek and Latin) and archaeological sources (inscriptions, coins, military diplomas, hideouts, and refuge complexes). The book reviews the causes for the outbreak while explaining the complexity of the territorial expansion of the Revolt. Mor portrays the participants and opponents as well as the attitudes of the non-Jewish population in Palestine. He exposes the Roman Army’s part in Judaea, the Jewish leadership and the implications of the Revolt.

Two major Jewish risings against Rome took place in the years following the destruction of Jerusalem - the first during Trajan's Parthian war, and the second, led by Bar Kokhba, under Hadrian's principate. The impact of these risings not only on Judaea, but also on Cyrene, Egypt, Cyprus and Mesopotamia, is shown by accounts in both ancient Jewish and non-Jewish literature. More recently discovered sources include letters and documents from fighters and refugees, and inscriptions attesting war and restoration. Historical evaluation has veered between regret for a pointless bloodbath and admiration for sustained resistance. William Horbury offers a new history of these risings, presenting a fresh review of sources and interpretations. He explores the period of Jewish war under Trajan and Hadrian not just as the end of an era, but also as a time of continuity in Jewish life and development in Jewish and Christian origins.

What lies between the authoritative preeminence of the Mother Church of Jerusalem and the virtual extinction both of its life and apparently of all its local records? Dr. Brandon finds that the full significance of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 has been strangely neglected amongst scholars. In this original and exhaustive study he shows that this catastrophic event was of profound importance not only for the development of early Christianity but possibly also for its very survival. Besides an ordered survey of other ancient historians, this book demonstrates an extensive study of New Testament origins, and many will find special interest in the light it throws upon the origin and purpose of canonical works. This book faces serious problems of New Testament study that have generally been too easily dismissed, and it makes a definite and original contribution towards their solution.

This book explores the puzzling phenomenon of new veiling practices among lower middle class women in Cairo, Egypt. Although these women are part of a modernizing middle class, they also voluntarily adopt a traditional symbol of female subordination. How can this paradox be explained? An explanation emerges which reconceptualizes what appears to be reactionary behavior as a new style of political struggle--as accommodating protest. These women, most of them clerical workers in the large government bureaucracy, are ambivalent about working outside the home, considering it a change which brings new burdens as well as some important benefits. At the same time they realize that leaving home and family is creating an intolerable situation of the erosion of their social status and the loss of their traditional identity. The new veiling expresses women's protest against this. MacLeod argues that the symbolism of the new veiling emerges from this tense subcultural dilemma, involving elements of both resistance and acquiescence.

The studies in this collection deal with a variety of subjects. Their focus is the Roman Empire in the East, the Roman army, Judaea in the Roman period, and Jewish history. Inscriptions are published in them and literary sources discussed. First, Judaea in the period before the arrival of the Romans as well as under Roman rule forms the centre of attention. Here, articles on specific documents are presented and historical problems discussed ranging from the Seleucid period to the Later Roman Empire. The second part of the book contains studies of the wider area and the third part is concerned with the Roman army, its organisation and aims in the Frontier areas. Many of these papers are hard to find and it is particularly valuable to have all of them together and logically arranged in one volume. Moreover extensive discussions of recent publications and newly published material have been added here.