At the intersection of texts and material finds

Description

Stuart Miller examines the hermeneutical challenges posed by the material and literary evidence pertaining to ritual purity practices in Graeco-Roman Palestine and, especially, the Galilee. He contends that "stepped pools," which we now know were in use well beyond the Destruction of the Temple, and, as indicated by the large collection on the western acropolis of Sepphoris and elsewhere, into the Middle and Late Roman/Byzantine eras, must be understood in light of biblical and popular perspectives on ritual purity. The interpretation of the finds is too frequently forced to conform to rabbinic prescriptions, which oftentimes were the result of the sages' unique and creative, nominalist approach to ritual purity. Special attention is given to the role ritual purity continued to play in the lives of ordinary Jews despite (or because of) the loss of the Temple.

Subjects

Series Statement

• Journal of ancient Judaism. Supplements -- volume 16
• V & R academic
• Journal of ancient Judaism -- v. 16.

Links

• Table of contents

Other Editions

• At the intersection of texts and material finds: stepped pools, stone vessels, and ritual purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee : with a postscript, From Roman Galilee to nineteenth century Chesterfield, ConnecticutVandenhoeck & Ruprecht2015-01-01
• At the Intersection of Texts and Material FindsVandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Company KG2019-01-01