New Perspectives on Ancient Judaism: Society and Literature in Analysis

The studies in this volume address the issue of what a text reveals about its context. Chapter one, a study by Harold Van Broekhoven, focuses on two wisdom texts, Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon, with the goal of discovering a fuller and more accurate portrayal of the writers behind them. Chapter two, by Vernon K. Robbins, analyzes the gospel of Mark to discover the extent to which its forms derive from both Jewish and Greek forms of rhetoric. In Chapter three, Jacob Neusner discusses text and context with respect to the Mishnah. In these chapters and in those that follow, the changing nature of the study of ancient Judaism is revealed. Co-published with Studies in Judaism.