Jesus Creed
Access to Jewish sources is one problem, and the other problem is awareness of scholarship. A recent Oxford Handbook edited by Catherine Hezser does something I’ve not seen reference tools do: it is a brilliant sketch of the state of scholarship on all things Jewish when it comes to daily life.
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine (Oxford Handbooks)
34 chapters. Full bibliographies. Good discussions. The first place to stop on the major topics about Jewish daily life. If you are studying Judaism, make sure you check this book. Expensive enough that most will simply want to make sure the local library has the book — and all schools have to acquire a copy.
Here you go:
I. Methodological Issues
1. Correlating Literary, Epigraphic, and Archaeological Sources, Catherine Hezser
2. The Graeco-Roman Context of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine, Catherine Hezser
3. Gender Issues and Daily Life, Tal Ilan
II. Life in a Roman Province
4. The Roman Provincial Administration, Rudolf Haensch
5. Courts and the Judicial System, Jill Harries
6. Population Structure and Jewish Identity, David Goodblatt
7. The Languages of Roman Palestine, Willem Smelik
III. City and Countryside
8. Infrastructure, Benjamin Isaac
9. Urbanization, Dianne van de Zande and Jurgen Zangenberg
10. Village and Countryside, Ann Killebrew
11. Travel and Mobility, Catherine Hezser
IV. Labour and Trade
12. The Household Economy, Alexei Sivertsev
13. Agriculture and Farming, Zeev Safrai
14. Arts and Crafts, Manufacture and Production, Uzi Leibner
15. Trade, Commerce, and Consumption, Jack Pastor
16. Poverty and Charity, Gildas Hamel
V. Family Life
17. The Different Life-Stages: From Childhood to Old Age, Jonathan Schofer
18. Marriage and Divorce, Michael Satlow
19. Clothing, Dafna Shlezinger-Katsman
20. Jewellery: The Literary Evidence, Tziona Grossmark
21. Jewellery: The Archaeological Evidence, Katharina Galor
22. Food, Eating, and Meals, David Kraemer
23. Domestic Architecture, Katharina Galor
24. Death, Burial, and Afterlife, Steven Fine
VI. Education and Literacy
25. Private and Public Education, Catherine Hezser
26. Orality and Writing, Carol Bakhos
VII. Religion and Magic
27. The Impact of Paganism and Christianity, Gunter Stemberger
28. The Synagogue, Lee I. Levine
29. Prayer and Liturgy, Stefan Reif
30. Sabbath and Festivals, Lutz Doering
31. Magic and Healing, Giuseppe Veltri
VIII. Entertainment and Leisure Time Activities
32. Bathhouses as Places of Social and Cultural Interaction, Yaron Z. Eliav
33. Theatres, Hippodromes, Amphitheatres and Performances, Zeev Weiss
34. Play and Games, Joshua Schwartz
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