Description
Book SynopsisUntil very recently, the idea of ancient Jewish sciences would have been considered unacceptable. Since the 1990s, Early Modern and Medieval Science in Jewish sources has been actively studied, but the consensus was that no real scientific themes could be found in earlier Judaism. This work points them out in detail and posits a new field of research: the scientific activity evident in the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Jewish pseudepigrapha. The publication of new texts and new analyses of older ones reveals crucial elements that are best illuminated by the history of science, and may have interesting consequences for it. The contributors evaluate these texts in relation to astronomy, astrology, and physiognomy, marking the first comprehensive attempt to account
for scientific themes in Second Temple Judaism. They investigate the meaning and purpose of scientific explorations in an apocalyptic setting. An appreciation of these topics paves the way to a renewed understanding of the
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It will open doors to new areas of importance for the study of ancient Judaism and its culture as well as for the study of ancient sciences. -- Professor Francesca Rochberg, UC Berkeley
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 1. IntroductionJonathan Ben-Dov and Seth L. Sanders2. Enoch and the Beginnings of Jewish Interest in Natural SciencePhilip Alexander 3. Enoch's ScienceJames VanderKam 4. "I Was Shown Another Calculation" (.????? ???? ?????i): The Language of Knowledge in Aramaic Enoch and Priestly HebrewSeth L. Sanders 5. Philological and Epistemological Remarks on Enoch's Science: Response to Papers by Seth L. Sanders and James VanderKamLoren Stuckenbruck 6. Ideals of Science: The Infrastructure of Scientific Activity in Apocalyptic Literature and in the YahadJonathan Ben-Dov 7. Networks of Scholars: The Transmission of Astronomical and Astrological Learning between Babylonians, Greeks and JewsMladen Popovic8. "Ancient Jewish Sciences" and the Historiography of Judaism Annette Yoshiko Reed A Bibliography for Ancient Jewish Sciences Index
