Title: Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, from Ezekiel to Daniel, by Gabriele Boccaccini
Abstract: Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002. 230 pp. $24.00. With present volume Gabriele Boccaccini presents a fascinating and creative narrative of evolution of Judaism during what is commonly called Second Temple Period. Indeed, this book is seductive its ambition since it offers a comprehensive narrative with few problems left unsolved. Josephus' historiography of Second Temple politics is combined with a reading of numerous Jewish texts from leading up to Maccabean revolt, and each and every texts fits neatly into trajectories as Boccaccini develops them his narrative. In its very comprehensiveness, however, book also arouses suspicions as to whether end such a narrative can hold, at least to this reviewer. Roots of Rabbinic Judaism is part of Boccaccini's ongoing project to write an intellectual history of ancient Jewish (p. 27). The author here builds upon ideas developed two previous monographs (Middle Judaism: Jewish Thought, 300 B.C.E. to 200 C.E., 1991, and Beyond Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of Ways between Qumran and Enochic 1998). He also promises a future study of more immediate of rabbinic Judaism, which he considers to be Pharisaism, while current volume is devoted only to of rabbinic Judaism, to be sought Jewish literature of Persian and pre-Maccabean Greek period. It therefore discusses texts with which we are already well familiar, ranging from Ezekiel, priestly source of Pentateuch, and Chronicles writings via 1 Enoch and Job, Qohelet, Ben Sirach to Daniel. But Boccaccini's innovativeness lies undoing traditional canonical boundaries, such as Hebrew Bible itself. Instead, he regroups texts into entirely different or rather ideological trajectories, for which he himself invents somewhat idiosyncratic designations, namely Zadokite, Enochic, and Sapiental Judaism. These three of (p. 31) form root-system of tree (p. 36) of Judaism. Before we turn to analyzing these three systems and their competitive struggles more closely we should take note of what is at stake for author and his larger project. He draws on scholarship (Jacob Neusner, Martin Jaffee and Shaye Cohen) that recognizes rabbinic Judaism as a post-destruction innovation or reform (p. xiv) and Christianity as a sibling religion. But he seeks for both Second Temple period. What he describes as Zadokite therefore, provides for what will eventually emerge as Rabbinism through mediation of Pharisaism, while earliest roots of Christianity are to be traced to Enochic with more immediate origins non-Qumran wing of Essene movement (p. xvi). Thus, two are not just siblings from first and second century C.E. onwards. Rather, kinship metaphor is transformed into that of a genealogical The entire Judaic tree (p. 37), of which Christianity in all variety of its species (p. 35) and rabbinic Judaism will eventually form strong and prolific branches, is the monotheistic religion of YHWH (p. 35). For Boccaccini, Christianity is a Judaism not simply because Jesus happened to be a Jew, but because it has much earlier that feed Judaic tree. Let us then turn briefly to tripartition of Jewish thought Persian period that Boccaccini describes this book. Each of systems of thought with their corresponding movements has a political history that is matched by a coherent ideology. All three of them are involved an ongoing straggle with each other which is product of power struggles on back stage, fought with great intensity. …
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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