Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE

Download Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Brepols Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9782503555324
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (553 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE by : Rick Bonnie

Download or read book Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE written by Rick Bonnie and published by Brepols Publishers. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE' provides the first in-depth archaeological study of Galilee's Jewish society in the period of 100-200 CE. The period of 100-200 CE was a lively one in the history of Galilee, northern Israel - one leaving a considerable mark upon Jewish history in general. The destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE, as well as the failures of the two revolts, lead to Galilee becoming the heartland of Jewish settlement in Palestine. Our reconstruction of Galilee's Jewish society during this period has been primarily informed, however, by a single retrospective voice - the later rabbinic writings. This obviously brings with it certain limitations, not least of which is its reliability. A new source from which to understand the period in question is therefore desirable. 'Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE' provides an in-depth archaeological study of Galilee's Jewish community in the period concerned. It explores evidence of infrastructure, art and architecture, as well as ritual practices from this period in Galilee by drawing comparisons with the period before and by contextualizing this material within the broader cultural environment of the Roman East. Set within debates of cultural interaction in the Roman East in general, the book offers an archaeological understanding of what 'being Jewish' meant to the Jewish communities in Galilee during this period; and in what way these communities differed from their Phoenician, Syrian and Arab neighbors. Rick Bonnie is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Centre of Excellence in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions and the Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires, both situated within the University of Helsinki. He holds degrees in archaeology from Leiden University (MA) and the KU Leuven (PhD).

Galilean Spaces of Identity

Download Galilean Spaces of Identity PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 900469255X
Total Pages : 423 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (46 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Galilean Spaces of Identity by : Joseph Scales

Download or read book Galilean Spaces of Identity written by Joseph Scales and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-02-12 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We understand the world around us in terms of built spaces. Such spaces are shaped by human activity, and in turn, affect how people live. Through an analysis of archaeological and textual evidence from the beginnings of Hasmonean influence in Galilee, until the outbreak of the First Jewish War against Rome, this book explores how Judaism was socially expressed: bodily, communally, and regionally. Within each expression, certain aspects of Jewish identity operate, these being purity conceptions, communal gatherings, and Galilee's relationship with the Hasmoneans, Jerusalem, and the Temple in its final days.

A Vision of the Days: Studies in Early Jewish History and Historiography

Download A Vision of the Days: Studies in Early Jewish History and Historiography PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004685561
Total Pages : 796 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (46 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Vision of the Days: Studies in Early Jewish History and Historiography by :

Download or read book A Vision of the Days: Studies in Early Jewish History and Historiography written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-08-29 with total page 796 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays treats many aspects of ancient Jewish history and modern historiography in this area, with an emphasis on the history and literature of the Second Temple period and especially on the writings of Josephus. It is dedicated to Daniel R. Schwarz, and reflects his central academic interests. Additional essays deal with historical and ideological aspects of classical rabbinic literature, with archeological finds and with perceptions of the Jews and Judaism on the part of non-Jews in the Second Temple period and later.

The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends

Download The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
ISBN 13 : 3647522147
Total Pages : 420 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (475 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends by : Rick Bonnie

Download or read book The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends written by Rick Bonnie and published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together leading experts in the field of ancient synagogue studies to discuss the current issues and emerging trends in the study of synagogues in ancient Palestine. Divided into four thematic units, the different contributions apply archaeological, textual, historical and art historical methodologies to questions related to ancient synagogues. Part One addresses issues related to the origins and early development of synagogues up to 200 CE. The contributions provide different explanations to the alleged lack of evidence for synagogues built in the second and third centuries CE and ask how much continuity or change there is between the late Second Temple and late Roman/early Byzantine synagogues. Part Two deals with architecture and dating of ancient synagogues. It gives an overview of all synagogues found so far, approaches the dating of Galilean synagogues in the light of the recently-exposed synagogue at Huqoq, and provides a stylistic re-evaluation of the Capernaum synagogue decoration. Part three examines leadership, power and daily life in late antique synagogue contexts, illustrating non-monumental inscriptions, amulets and dining in synagogue contexts as well as the role of individual benefactors. Section four contextualizes synagogue art. An overview of synagogue mosaics in late antique Palestine is complemented with reinterpretations of the mosaics two synagogues. The section also offers a discussion of the appearance of the menorah.

A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse

Download A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691243441
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse by : Yaron Z. Eliav

Download or read book A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse written by Yaron Z. Eliav and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-05-16 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse reveals how Jews navigated this space with ease and confidence, engaging with Roman bath culture rather than avoiding it. In this landmark interdisciplinary work of cultural history, Yaron Eliav uses the Roman bathhouse as a social laboratory to reexamine how Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. He reconstructs their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the baths and the activities that took place there, documenting their pleasures as well as their anxieties and concerns. Archaeologists have excavated hundreds of bathhouse facilities across the Mediterranean. Graeco-Roman writers mention the bathhouse frequently, and rabbinic literature contains hundreds of references to the baths. Eliav draws on the archaeological and literary record to offer fresh perspectives on the Jews of antiquity, developing a new model for the ways smaller and often weaker groups interact with large, dominant cultures. A compelling and richly evocative work of scholarship, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.

Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1

Download Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Fortress Press
ISBN 13 : 1451489587
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (514 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1 by : James Riley Strange

Download or read book Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 1 written by James Riley Strange and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2015-07-10 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on the expertise of archaeologists, historians, biblical scholars, and social-science interpreters who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy in the research of ancient Galilee, this accessible volume includes modern general studies of Galilee and of Galilean history, as well as specialized studies on taxation, ethnicity, religious practices, road systems, trade and markets, education, health, village life, houses, and the urban-rural divide. This resource includes a rich selection of images, figures, charts, and maps.

The People of the Parables

Download The People of the Parables PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Presbyterian Publishing Corp
ISBN 13 : 1646983793
Total Pages : 357 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (469 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The People of the Parables by : R. Alan Culpepper

Download or read book The People of the Parables written by R. Alan Culpepper and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2024-03-26 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing from Greco-Roman history, Second-Temple Jewish studies, archaeology, the social world of the New Testament, parable studies, and the burgeoning literature on Galilee, The People of the Parables describes life in first-century Galilee as it was experienced by the characters in Jesus' parables. R. Alan Culpepper assesses both primary literature and recent research on Galilee--including important archaeological discoveries--and fashions a new and insightful social history of Galilee, the people of the parables, and the historical context of Jesus' ministry. Culpepper builds this history by elucidating the lives of first-century Galileans featured in Jesus' parables: children, women, daughters, mothers, widows, fathers, sons, landowners, tenants, day laborers, debtors, farmers, fishermen, shepherds, merchants, travelers, innkeepers, masters, slaves, tax collectors, judges, Pharisees, priests, Levites, Samaritans, bandits, and, finally, Jesus. Who these people were--their place in Galilean society, how they lived, socialized, worshiped, and conducted business; how they were educated--is described in straightforward, nontechnical language. Culpepper brings new meanings to the parables for today's readers by shedding light on the people of Galilee in the time of Jesus.

Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 2

Download Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 2 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Fortress Press
ISBN 13 : 1506401953
Total Pages : 502 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (64 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 2 by : David A Fiensy

Download or read book Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods, Volume 2 written by David A Fiensy and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2015-11-01 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second of two volumes on Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods focuses on the site excavations of towns and villages and what these excavations may tell us about the history of settlement in this important period. The important site at Sepphoris is treated with four short articles, while the rest of the articles focus on a single site and include site plans, diagrams, maps, photographs of artifacts and structures, and extensive bibliographic listings. The articles in the volume have been written by an international group of experts on Galilee in this period: Christians, Jews, and secular scholars, many of whom are also regular participants in the twenty site excavations featured in the volume. The volume also features detailed maps of Galilee, a gallery of color images, timelines related to the period, and helpful indices. Together with Volume 1: Life, Culture, and Society, this volume provides the latest word of these topics for the expert and nonexpert alike.

Galilaea and Northern Regions: 5876-6924

Download Galilaea and Northern Regions: 5876-6924 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110715775
Total Pages : 1092 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Galilaea and Northern Regions: 5876-6924 by : Walter Ameling

Download or read book Galilaea and Northern Regions: 5876-6924 written by Walter Ameling and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2023-03-20 with total page 1092 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume V of the CIIP contains inscriptions from Galilee during the time of Alexander the Great until the end of the Byzantian rule in the 7th century in all the languages used during that period, including Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Palmyrene Aramaic, and Christian Aramaic. The volume encompasses more than 2,000 texts grouped by their find-sites, from the Northwest to the Southeast.

Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions

Download Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : SBL Press
ISBN 13 : 1628375736
Total Pages : 609 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (283 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions by : Martti Nissinen

Download or read book Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions written by Martti Nissinen and published by SBL Press. This book was released on 2024-04-26 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents the work of the international, interdisciplinary research project Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions (CSTT), whose members focused on cultural, ideological, and material changes in the period when the sacred traditions of the Hebrew Bible were created, transmitted, and transformed. Specialists in the textual study of the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, archaeology, Assyriology, and history, working across their fields of expertise, trace how changes occurred in biblical and ancient Near Eastern texts and traditions. Contributors Tero Alstola, Anneli Aejmelaeus , Rick Bonnie, Francis Borchardt, George J. Brooke, Cynthia Edenburg, Sebastian Fink, Izaak J. deHulster , Patrik Jansson, Jutta Jokiranta, Tuukka Kauhanen, Gina Konstantopoulos, Lauri Laine, Michael C. Legaspi, Christoph Levin, Ville Mäkipelto, Reinhard Müller, Martti Nissinen, Jessi Orpana, Juha Pakkala, Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Christian Seppänen, Jason M. Silverman, Saana Svärd, Timo Tekoniemi, Hanna Tervanotko, Joanna Töyräänvuori, and Miika Tucker demonstrate that rigorous yet respectful debate results in a nuanced and complex understanding of how ancient texts developed.

Water in Ancient Mediterranean Households

Download Water in Ancient Mediterranean Households PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1003801730
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Water in Ancient Mediterranean Households by : Rick Bonnie

Download or read book Water in Ancient Mediterranean Households written by Rick Bonnie and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-11-30 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the first detailed study of the water supply of households in antiquity. Chapters explore settings from Classical Greece to the Late Roman Empire across a wide variety of environments, from dry deserts and moderate Mediterranean zones to wet and temperate climates further north. The different case studies presented in each chapter are united by three intimately interconnected aspects. The first, rainwater harvesting in cisterns, provides detailed techno-hydraulic investigations of the household water supply systems. The second aspect, households and water at the margins, stresses how domestic water supply systems were successfully adapted to unusually harsh environmental conditions. The third, other waters for houses, focuses on other types of water supply systems (rivers, water-bearers, stepped pools, wells) and their life biographies. As shown by the different chapters, a careful study of a household’s water supply is a rich source of evidence for understanding everyday decisions, anxieties, and changes in life. They also build towards a greater understanding of the social inequalities that are at play in the ancient Mediterranean and beyond, providing a wealth of new research to greatly augment our understanding of water as a resource in the ancient Mediterranean. Providing a new and important perspective on a central part of everyday life in the ancient world, this book is aimed at archaeologists and historians of the ancient Mediterranean, notably the Greek and Roman worlds, especially those with an interest in ancient households and water culture.

The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant 200 BCE–132 CE

Download The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant 200 BCE–132 CE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110787482
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant 200 BCE–132 CE by : John Van Maaren

Download or read book The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant 200 BCE–132 CE written by John Van Maaren and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2022-06-06 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent research has considered how changing imperial contexts influence conceptions of Jewishness among ruling elites (esp. Eckhardt, Ethnos und Herrschaft, 2013). This study integrates other, often marginal, conceptions with elite perspectives. It uses the ethnic boundary making model, an empirically based sociological model, to link macro-level characteristics of the social field with individual agency in ethnic construction. It uses a wide range of written sources as evidence for constructions of Jewishness and relates these to a local-specific understanding of demographic and institutional characteristics, informed by material culture. The result is a diachronic study of how institutional changes under Seleucid, Hasmonean, and Early Roman rule influenced the ways that members of the ruling elite, retainer class, and marginalized groups presented their preferred visions of Jewishness. These sometimes-competing visions advance different strategies to maintain, rework, or blur the boundaries between Jews and others. The study provides the next step toward a thick description of Jewishness in antiquity by introducing needed systematization for relating written sources from different social strata with their contexts.

The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East

Download The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000436470
Total Pages : 1034 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East by : Kiersten Neumann

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East written by Kiersten Neumann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 1034 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Handbook is a state-of-the-field volume containing diverse approaches to sensory experience, bringing to life in an innovative, remarkably vivid, and visceral way the lives of past humans through contributions that cover the chronological and geographical expanse of the ancient Near East. It comprises thirty-two chapters written by leading international contributors that look at the ways in which humans, through their senses, experienced their lives and the world around them in the ancient Near East, with coverage of Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Persia, from the Neolithic through the Roman period. It is organised into six parts related to sensory contexts: Practice, production, and taskscape; Dress and the body; Ritualised practice and ceremonial spaces; Death and burial; Science, medicine, and aesthetics; and Languages and semantic fields. In addition to exploring what makes each sensory context unique, this organisation facilitates cross-cultural and cross-chronological, as well as cross-sensory and multisensory comparisons and discussions of sensory experiences in the ancient world. In so doing, the volume also enables considerations of senses beyond the five-sense model of Western philosophy (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), including proprioception and interoception, and the phenomena of synaesthesia and kinaesthesia. The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East provides scholars and students within the field of ancient Near Eastern studies new perspectives on and conceptions of familiar spaces, places, and practices, as well as material culture and texts. It also allows scholars and students from adjacent fields such as Classics and Biblical Studies to engage with this material, and is a must-read for any scholar or student interested in or already engaged with the field of sensory studies in any period.

Capernaum

Download Capernaum PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ISBN 13 : 150647456X
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (64 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Capernaum by : Wally V. Cirafesi

Download or read book Capernaum written by Wally V. Cirafesi and published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers. This book was released on 2024 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The book meets the needs of scholars and students of New Testament Studies, Rabbinics, Patristics/Byzantine Studies, and Galilean Studies for information on the localized historical development of Jewish-Christian interaction in the town of Capernaum through the integration of archaeological and literary sources"--

Q in Context II

Download Q in Context II PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : V&R Unipress
ISBN 13 : 3847003232
Total Pages : 244 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Q in Context II by : Markus Tiwald

Download or read book Q in Context II written by Markus Tiwald and published by V&R Unipress. This book was released on 2015-10-28 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the right understanding of the Sayings Source Q not only the relation to early Judaism but also the social "landscape" in which the texts evolved is undeniably crucial. Here results of Galilean Archeology are brought into contact with sociological models how Jesus and the Q-community might have interacted with their contemporaries (cf. the thesis of social disruption by G. Theißen, attitudes in early Judaism towards the Temple by B. Ego, the role of women in early Judaism by T. Ilan, the situation in the Diaspora by P. Trebilco). The question is also extended to the social profile of the authorities behind the Sayings Source Q: Were they itinerant prophets or village scribes?

Global Humanities Reader

Download Global Humanities Reader PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 146966643X
Total Pages : 437 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (696 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Global Humanities Reader by : Renuka Gusain

Download or read book Global Humanities Reader written by Renuka Gusain and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Global Humanities Reader is a collaboratively edited collection of primary sources with student-centered support features. It serves as the core curriculum of the University of North Carolina Asheville's almost-sixty-year-old interdisciplinary Humanities Program. Its three volumes--Engaging Ancient Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 1), Engaging Premodern Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 2), and Engaging Modern Worlds and Perspectives (Volume 3)--offer accessible ways to explore facets of human subjectivity and interconnectedness across cultures, times, and places. In highlighting the struggles and resilient strategies for surviving and thriving from multiple perspectives and positionalities, and through diverse voices, these volumes course correct from humanities textbooks that remain Western-centric. One of the main features of the The Global Humanities Reader is a sustained and nuanced focus on cultivating the ability to ask questions--to inquire--while enhancing culturally aware, reflective, and interdisciplinary engagements with the materials. The editorial team created a thoroughly interactive text with the following unique features that work together to actualize student success: * Cross-cultural historical introductions to each volume * Comprehensive and source-specific timelines highlighting periods, events, and people around the world * An introduction for each source with bolded key terms and questions to facilitate active engagement * Primed and Ready questions (PARs)--questions just before and after a reading that activate students' own knowledge and skills * Inquiry Corner--questions consisting of four types: Content, Comparative, Critical, and Connection * Beyond the Classroom--explore how ideas discussed in sources can apply to broader social contexts, such as job, career, project teams or professional communities * Glossary of Tags--topical 'hubs' that point to exciting new connections across multiple sources These volumes reflect the central role of Humanities in deepening an empathic understanding of human experience and cultivating culturally appropriate and community-centered problem-solving skills that help us flourish as global and local citizens.

The Origins of Judaism

Download The Origins of Judaism PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300268378
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Origins of Judaism by : Yonatan Adler

Download or read book The Origins of Judaism written by Yonatan Adler and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-15 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking new study that utilizes archaeological discoveries and ancient texts to revolutionize our understanding of the beginnings of Judaism Throughout much of history, the Jewish way of life has been characterized by strict adherence to the practices and prohibitions legislated by the Torah: dietary laws, ritual purity, circumcision, Sabbath regulations, holidays, and more. But precisely when did this unique way of life first emerge, and why specifically at that time? In this revolutionary new study, Yonatan Adler methodically engages ancient texts and archaeological discoveries to reveal the earliest evidence of Torah observance among ordinary Judeans. He examines the species of animal bones in ancient rubbish heaps, the prevalence of purification pools and chalk vessels in Judean settlements, the dating of figural representations in decorative and functional arts, evidence of such practices as tefillin and mezuzot, and much more to reconstruct when ancient Judean society first adopted the Torah as authoritative law. Focusing on the lived experience of the earliest Torah observers, this investigative study transforms much of what we thought we knew about the genesis and early development of Judaism.