Judah Between East and West ─ The Transition from Persian to Greek Rule (ca. 400-200 BCE)

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Judah Between East And West

This collection of essays by leading scholars in the field examines the period of transition between Persian and Greek rule of Judah, ca. 400-200 BCE.

Individually, each contribution has its own interests and concerns, yet all together they sketch an age in which the Jewish community and religion developed in important ways. The essays form five thematic groups. Eveline van der Steen, Lester L. Grabbe and Aryeh Kasher discuss Judah in the transition period. Hellenism and Hellenization form another group: Sylvie Honigman examines the question of the terms loudaismos and Hellenismos, whereas Oren Tal explores the Hellenistic foundations in Palestine and its complexity. Amos Kloner, John Ray and Loren Stuckenbruck offer a debate on the language and literature of the transition period - touching upon the relevance of Aramaic, Greek and the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet, as well as on Jewish literature from the late-Persian and early-Hellenistic period. Questions of Jewish identity are discussed by James Aitken and Loren Stuckenbruck. Oded Lipschits and Israel Finkelstein discuss the importance of text and archaeology. Both ponder the lack of archaeological evidence and its relevance to our understanding of this period. Finally, the significance of Josephus and his accounts are deliberated by Menachem Mor and Aryeh Kasher, who discuss various events under Alexander.

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull, UK. He is founder and convenor of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology.
Oded Lipschits is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University, Israel.