The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine

507 Pages·2010·8.35 MB·English

by  Catherine Hezser

Contents
Labour and Trade
The Household Economy
Alexei Sivertsev
Agriculture and Fanning
~evSafrai
Arts and Crafts, Manufacture and Production
Uzi Leibner
Trade, Commerce, and Consumption
Jack Pastor
Poverty and Charity
Gildas Hamel
Family Life
The Different Life Stages: From Childhood to Old Age
Jonathan Schafer
Marriage and Divorce
Michael L. Satlow
Clothing
Dafna Shlezinger-Katsman
Jewellery: The Literary Evidence
Tziona Grossmark
Jewellery: The Archaeological Evidence
Katharina Galer
Food, Eating, and Meals
Da\1d Kraemer
Domestic Architecture
Katharina Galer
Death, Burial, and Afterlife
Steven Fine
Education and Literacy
Private and Public Education
Catherine Hezser
Orality and Writing
Carol Bakhos
Religion and Magic
The Impact of Paganism and Christianity
Gunter Sternberger
The Synagogue
Lee I. Le'Jine
Prayer and Liturgy
Stefan C. Reif
Sabbath and Festivals
Lutz Doering
Magic and Healing
Giuseppe Veltri
Entertainment and Leisure-Time Activities
Bathhouses As Places of Social and Cultural Interaction
Yaron Z. Eliav
Theatres, Hippodromes, Amphitheatres, and Performances
ZeevWeiss
Play and Games
Joshua Schwartz
End Matter
Index of Subjects, Names, and Places
Index of References
[UNTITLED]
Oxford Handbooks Online
[UNTITLED]
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine
Edited by Catherine Hezser
Print Publication Date: Aug Subject: Classical Studies
2010
Online Publication Date: Sep
2012
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
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Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
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Preface
Oxford Handbooks Online
Preface
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine
Edited by Catherine Hezser
Print Publication Date: Aug Subject: Classical Studies
2010
Online Publication Date: Sep
2012
Preface
THE idea for this Handbook was born during my conversations with Yaron Eliav and Zeev Weiss
during the last five years, when we considered the creation of a new version of Samuel Krauss'
multi‐volume Talmudische Archäologie. Such a new version remains a task of gargantuan
proportions that will perhaps be accomplished by scholars in the future. In the meantime, this
Handbook is meant to fill the gap, and to provide scholars and students with up‐to‐date
surveys and tools for the study of the various areas of ancient Jewish daily life.
A Handbook is always a joint undertaking, and a collaboration of the contributors, the editor,
and the publisher. Since so many different people are involved, the production of such
volumes usually takes longer than anticipated, as was also the case with this work. I would like
to take this opportunity to especially thank all those who submitted their chapters in time.
Yitzhar Hirschfeld, who had agreed to write the chapter on domestic architecture, died shortly
after he had signed the contract. May his memory be for a blessing. Special praise is due to
those who stepped in at short notice to fill the gaps left by those who could not deliver, or
whose submissions did not fit the Handbook's programme.
I would like to express my gratitude to all those colleagues who submitted images and
copyright declarations with their texts. I owe special thanks to David Milson who was able to
draw a map of Roman Palestine in the shortest of time, and to Uzi Leibner who provided the
cover image for this volume from one of his recent excavations.
I am grateful to the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture whose grant allowed me to dedicate
time to the planning of the Handbook and to do research in Israel. Special thanks are also due
to the staff of the Classics and Ancient History Department of Oxford University Press who
accompanied this volume.
Catherine Hezser
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List of Figures and Maps
Oxford Handbooks Online
List of Figures and Maps
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine
Edited by Catherine Hezser
Print Publication Date: Aug Subject: Classical Studies
2010
Online Publication Date: Sep
2012
List of Figures and Maps
Map of Roman Palestine xvii
2.1 Relief with theatre masks, Katzrin 34
2.2 Floor mosaic with Dionysiac procession in the triclinium of a villa in Sepphoris 37
2.3 Byzantine pillar with medusa, Caesareu 43
14.1 The so‐called ‘Gaza Jar’ from the Ramat Hanadiv excavations (southern Carmel
area) 269
14.2 and 14.3 Byzantine period oil lamps from the Ein Gedi excavations 272
14.4 Stone vessels from the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, 1st century ce 273
14.5 Glass vessels from a burial cave at Hurfeish, Upper Galilee—an example of the
third–fourth century Galilean group 276
14.6 Reconstruction of a warp‐weighted loom using weights found in excavations 278
14.7 Reconstruction of lever‐and‐weight oil press, lever‐and‐screw oil press, and direct‐
pressure‐screw oil press 283
14.8 Reconstruction of a wine press from Ramat Hanadiv 286
19.1 Notched line pattern 369
19.2 Notched gamma pattern 369
19.3 and 19.4 Ancient Jewish men's clothing 371
19.5 and 19.6 Ancient Jewish women's clothing 372
21.1 Gold assemblage found in a late Roman tomb in Jerusalem drawn by de Ridder 396
21.2 Byzantine period glass pendant with the depiction of a cross and a menorah 398
23.1 Reconstruction of a house at Qatzrin, fourth–fifth centuries ce 421
23.2 Yussuf Qahadi, owner of a house at ed‐Dhahiriya, interviewed by Yizhar Hirschfeld,
standing in front of his house 422
(p. xi)
23.3 Reconstruction of a courtyard house at Capernaum, first–second centuries ce 425
23.4 Reconstruction of a house at Horvat Susiya, sixth–eighth centuries ce 426
23.5 Reconstruction of the main entrance to the house at Horvat Susiya 426
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List of Figures and Maps
23.6 Plan of Building XII at Mampsis, second–third centuries ce 427
23.7 Plan and sections of Building III at Umm el‐Jimal, second–third centuries ce 428
23.8 Reconstruction of a house excavated at Horvat Shema', fourth–fifth centuries ce
434
24.1 The Tomb of Jason, Jerusalem 444
24.2 The Tomb of Zechariah, Jerusalem 444
24.3 The Tomb of Absalom, Jerusalem 445
24.4 Decorated limestone ossuary of the Nicanor family 449
24.5 Tomb of Nicanor and Menachem Ussishkin, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 453
24.6 Façade of Bet She'arim, Catacomb 20 454
24.7 Lion sarcophagus, Catacomb 20, Bet She'arim 455
28.1 (a) Galilean‐type synagogue, Capernaum; (b) basilical‐type synagogue, Bet Alpha;
(c) transitional‐type synagogue, Eshtemoa 527
28.2 Panel in Hammat Tiberias synagogue mosaic floor, with Temple facade, menorot,
shofar, lulav, etrog, and incense shovel 530
28.3 Central panel in Hammat Tiberias synagogue mosaic floor, with the Zodiac and the
sun god Helios 531
28.4 Western wall of Dura Europos synagogue 533
28.5 The three panels of the Hammat Tiberias synagogue mosaic floor. Top: Torah
shrine and cluster of Jewish symbols; middle: zodiac with Helios in the centre; bottom:
dedicatory inscriptions 535
28.6 Reconstructed drawing of the seven registers of the Sepphoris synagogue mosaic
floor 537
28.7 Location of mosaic floor in the Bet Alpha synagogue 538
(p. xii)
30.1 Oil lamp with attached reservoir (Sabbath lamp?) from Hebron, 3rd–4th c. ce 572
30.2 The ‘four species’ of Sukkot—closed palm frond, myrtle, and two willow branches,
as well as the etrog—on a coin from the second year of the Bar Kokhba revolt (133/4 ce)
579
33.1 Sepphoris, the theatre built on the northern slope of the acropolis 627
33.2 Gerasa, southern view of the hippodrome 631
33.3 Scythopolis, general view of the amphitheatre 633
Page 2 of 3
List of Abbreviations
Oxford Handbooks Online
List of Abbreviations
The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Daily Life in Roman Palestine
Edited by Catherine Hezser
Print Publication Date: Aug Subject: Classical Studies
2010
Online Publication Date: Sep
2012
List of Abbreviations
Abbreviations of Qumran texts follow the SBL Handbook of Style
Abbreviations of rabbinic literature follow the list of abbreviations in H. L. Strack/G. Stemberger
(1991), Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash, Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 401–3.
M. = Mishnah
T. = Tosefta
y. = Talmud Yerushalmi/Palestinian Talmud
b. = Talmud Bavli/Babylonian Talmud
followed by the tractates and chapters.
Josephus' works are abbreviated as follows:
Ant. = Antiquitates
Bell. = Bellum Judaicum
C.Ap. = Contra Apionem
Roman Legal Compendia:
Dig. = Justinian's Digest
C.Th. = Codex Theodosianus
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