The book brings together the essays on Second Temple Judaism by Moshe Weinfeld, one of the leading figures in comparative literature and the history of religion in ancient Near Eastern studies. This integrated collection centres on the religious debates within Second Temple Judaism between the sectarian Qumran community and the Pharisees. It examines topics such as liturgy, law, theology and ideology; issues that established Jewish religious forms for normative, Rabbinic Judaism. It also sets these debates in the broader context of texts and ideas from the Bible and ancient Near East texts on one hand and the New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism on the other. This is volume 54 in the Library of Second Temple Studies series (formerly the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement series).

Author Biography

Moshe Weinfeld is Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His recent publications include Social Justice in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East, The Promise of the Land and From Joshua to Josiah.