Comment of the
Michael L. Satlow , Jewish matrimony into the antiquity. Princeton: Princeton College Force, 2001. xii, 431 pages ; 25 cm. ISBN 069100255X $.
Tawny Holm , Indiana College regarding Pennsylvania.
So it illuminating and you can complete publication by the Satlow goes far to demonstrate one talk about ong Jews, and you may amongst their Religious, Roman, and you may Greek natives, since it is today inside the progressive American and you may progressive Jewish community. Satlow, who observes relationships as a socially constructed, culturally based facilities, brings a good refreshingly historical angle on alarmist discourse today. “The very fact your discourse away from personal relationship ‘crisis’ is so old at minimum will be alert me to new options that individuals are speaing frankly about an issue of rhetoric far more than simply facts. xvi-xvii). As for the researching optimistic belief one progressive relationships try alternatively an improvement towards crappy days of the past of one’s patriarchal previous, Satlow suggests that ancient Judaism is much more difficult than of a lot imagine, and it has “a minumum of one rabbinic articulation away from marital ideals . . . so you can rival our very own egalitarian notions” (p. xvii).
Whether or not the “one to rabbinic articulation” regarding near-egalitarianism impresses the audience, Satlow’s instance to Naziv vaЕЎe domene have high variety within various other Jewish groups try well-generated (new Palestinian rabbis continuously come in a better light compared to the Babylonian), along with his publication often therefore end up being appealing not just to scholars away from Near East antiquity and you can Judaism, however, toward learned social. The research requires a plastic material way of Jewish matrimony on the Mediterranean Levant (particularly Palestine) and you may Babylonia from the Persian months towards the rabbinic several months (ca. five-hundred B.C.Age. in order to five-hundred C.Age.). Discover three very first arguments: (1) private Jewish sets of antiquity differed out-of one another within knowledge of relationship, usually not constantly conceiving relationships with regards to the historical and you can geographical context; (2) nothing is generally Jewish on Jewish relationships up until Jews adjusted lifestyle and traditions distributed to their host societies in their very own idiom in order to erican marriages now, old Jewish beliefs on marriage probably diverged considerably regarding fact, as well as other ancient legal medications from the rabbis shouldn’t be removed due to the fact descriptive.
Satlow rightly cautions the person concerning character of top sources; specific periods have little or skewed facts, particularly the Persian period (which we have only Ezra-Nehemiah from the Bible and you can Aramaic judge data files regarding Egypt) additionally the Babylonian Amoraic months two hundred-five-hundred C.Age. (which we do have the Babylonian Talmud, a big source but the one that shows a sealed rabbinic society and never Babylonian Jews as a whole). Or even the new sources and additionally add this new Palestinian Talmud and you may midrashim, Jewish blog site inside the Greek (including the Septuagint translation of Hebrew Bible and also the The brand new Testament), this new Dry Sea Scrolls, scattered archaeological stays and you will inscriptions, and lots of records so you can Jews by non-Jewish Greek and you will Latin writers.
Pursuing the introduction, where Satlow contours his arguments, contributions, means, provide, and you may methods, the ebook is divided into about three pieces. Region We, “Thinking about matrimony,” considers brand new ideology, theology, and court underpinnings of relationships. Area II, “Marrying,” moves regarding beliefs from ancient relationships towards reality, up to which is you’ll: dating, whom y), betrothal, the wedding, and even unpredictable marriage ceremonies (age.grams. next marriages, polygynous marriage ceremonies, concubinage, and you will levirate marriage ceremonies). Area III, “Becoming Married,” talks about the business economics from wedding and also the articulation off Jewish ideals during the ancient books and you will inscriptions. Once a final part from results, in which Satlow reorganizes their conclusions diachronically by the period and you will part, the ebook closes having comprehensive end cards, an extensive bibliography, and you will about three spiders: topic, premodern sources, and you will modern writers.