Building Jewish in the Roman East
By Peter Richardson
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Subjects: All Biblical Studies, Ancient History & Archaeology |
Archaeology has unearthed the glories of ancient Jewish buildings throughout the Mediterranean. But what has remained shrouded is what these buildings meant. Building Jewish first surveys the architecture of small rural villages in the Galilee in the early Roman period before examining the development of synagogues as “Jewish associations.” Finally, Building Jewish explores Jerusalem’s flurry of building activity under Herod the Great in the first century BCE. Richardson’s careful work not only documents the culture that forms the background to any study of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, but he also succeeds in demonstrating how architecture itself, like a text, conveys meaning and thus directly illuminates daily life and religious thought and practice in the ancient world.
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
List of Tables and Illustrations
Preface
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Religion and Architecture in the Eastern Mediterranean
PART TWO: TOWNS AND VILLAGES
2. Jesus and Palestinian Social Protest in Archaeological and Literary Perspective
3. 3-D Visualizations of a First-Century Galilean Town
4. Khirbet Qana (and Other Villages) as a Context for Jesus
5. First-Century Houses and Q's Setting
6. What has Cana to do with Capernaum?
PART THREE: SYNAGOGUES AND CHURCHES
7. Pre-70 Synagogues as Collegia in Rome, the Diaspora, and Judea
8. Architectural Transitions from Synagogues and House Churches to Purpose-Built Churches
9. Philo and Eusebius on Monasteries and Monasticism: The Therapeutae and Kellia
10. Jewish Voluntary Associations in Egypt and the Roles of Women
11. Building a "Synodos . . . and a Place of their Own"
12. An Architectural Case for Synagogues as Associations
PART FOUR: JUDEA AND JERUSALEM
13. Law and Piety in Herod's Architecture
14. Why Turn the Tables? Jesus' Protest in the Temple Precincts
15. Josephus, Nicolas of Damascus, and Herod's Building Program
16. Origins, Innovations, and Significance of Herod's Temple
17. Herod's Temple Architecture and Jerusalem's Tombs
18. The James Ossuary's Decoration and Social Setting
PART FOUR: CONCLUSION
19. Building Jewish in the Roman East
Notes
Glossary
Further Reading
Indexes
Ancient Sources
Modern Authors
Sites and Places
Building Jewish is clearly and authoritatively written and is richly illustrated, making it ideal for classroom use as well as a basic scholarly resource.
—Jodi Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A must read for anyone interested in the matrix from which Christianity arose.
—Jonathan L. Reed, Professor of Religion, University of La Verne
Richardson accomplishes a remarkable task by creating a synthesis of form and function in this study of religious architecture within the context of Second Temple Judaism and early Christian literature.
—Victor H. Matthews, Professor of Religious Studies, Southwest Missouri State University
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