“Hannukah”—the celebration of the (re-)dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem—goes back to the very first dedication—that of Solomon in the 10th century BCE. But the holiday Jews have long called Hannukah commemorates just one of the Temple’s re-dedications—that at the hand of the Maccabees in 164 BCE. This holiday has sometimes been called a “minor” […]
Shaye J.D. Cohen. “Judaism to the Mishnah: 135-220 C.E.” Part II Greco-Roman Period Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism- a Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development. Ed. Hershal Shanks. Washington D.C.- Biblical Archaeology Society, 1993. The organization of the Mishnah The Mishnah is a large work, some 800 to 1,000 pages in English translation. 68 […]
Being a Diaspora people, Jews create art using the same material culture of their surroundings. Prof. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, Produced by Down Low Pictures for COJS
As Rome conquered Judea, the laissez-faire attitude toward art which depicted idolatry began to disappear. Prof. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, Produced by Down Low Pictures for COJS
For Zionism, archaeology became a connection to the Land of Israel and proof of the existence of Jewish life in the area in ancient times. Prof. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, Produced by Down Low Pictures for COJS
Every once in a while, you can find one artifact which summarizes a whole lot of information and gives you a new or better vision of what existed before. Prof. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, Produced by Down Low Pictures for COJS
Jewish archaeology is a way of studying the Jewish past through objects that were found in the ground and can be read within the context of Jewish history, literature and art. Prof. Steven Fine, Yeshiva University, Produced by Down Low Pictures for COJS
The Temple Scroll and its contents have already been described at some length for BAR readers by the scroll’s editor, the late Yigael Yadin. Until his untimely death in 1984, Professor Yadin was Israel’s most famous archaeologist.a The Temple Scroll is the longest of all the Dead Sea Scrolls (27 feet), and it may well be […]
The Significance of the Scrolls The second generation of scholars—or is it the third?—offers a new perspective on the texts from the Qumran caves By Lawrence H. Schiffman Dead Sea Scroll scholarship is undergoing a virtual revolution. New ideas and perspectives are percolating among the small group of scholars who dedicate themselves to primary research […]
On August 1, 1960, I received a letter from a man who identified himself as a Virginia clergyman. The letter stated that the writer was in a position to negotiate the sale of “important, authentic discoveries of Dead Sea Scrolls.” Obviously, he contacted me because of my intimate involvement in Israel’s acquisition of the original […]