Description
Book SynopsisThis book explores two kinds of universalist thought that circulated among Jews in the Greco-Roman world. The first, which is founded on the idea that all people may worship the One True God in an engaged and sustained manner, originates in biblical prophetic literature. The second, which underscores a common ethic that all people share, arose in the second century bce. This study offers one definition of Jewish universalism that applies to both of these types of universalist thought: universalist literature presumes that all people, regardless of religion and ethnicity, have access to a relationship with the Israelite God and the benefits promised to those loyal to this God, without demanding that they participate in the Israelite community as a Jew. This book opens with an exploration of four types of relationships between Israelites and non-Israelites in biblical prophetic literature: Israel as Subjugators, Israel as Standard-Bearers, Naturalized Nations, and Universalized Worship.
Trade ReviewThis thoughtful and well-crafted book is a must-read for anyone seeking a roadmap through the much-vexed questions surrounding Biblical and late Second Temple conceptions of Jewish universalism. Simkovich first defines universalism and then systematically works through several distinct but often intertwined manifestations of it. With clarity and erudition, the author illuminates the complexity of key Biblical and post-Biblical texts and demonstrates that the same text could have both universalistic and particularistic reflexes. -- Joel S. Kaminsky, Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies, Smith College
This is a fascinating study, in which the author connects the dots between late Biblical and Prophetic and Jewish-Hellenistic writings in order to draw a picture of an emerging Jewish universalism in antiquity. -- Gerbern S. Oegema, McGill University
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Problem of Jewish Universalism Part I: Biblical Prophetic Literature: Four Eschatological Relationships Between Israelites and Non-Israelites Chapter One: Three Models of Particularist Relationships in Prophetic Literature Chapter Two: Nation Alongside Nation in the Universal Worship of God Part II: Relationships Between Israelites and Gentiles Built on Biblical Models in the Greco-Roman Period, 334 bce–118 ce Chapter Three: Particularist Relationships in the Late Second Temple Period Chapter Four: The Universalized Worship Model in the Second Temple Period Part III: A Life in Common: The Rise of Ethical Universalist Literature in the First Century bce Chapter Five: Philo’s “Radical Allegorizers” Chapter Six: Ethical Universalism in the Late Second Temple Period Part IV: Summary and Implications of the Argument Bibliography
