From Israelite to Jew

From Israelite to Jew episodes:

• 02.23.2011

  Who is a Jew? No, Really.

  The traditional legal definition of a Jew is well-known: the child of a Jewish mother or a convert. Sure, there is a little fuzziness around the edges as Orthodox Jews in Israel in particular debate what makes a kosher conversion,...

  
• 01.21.2010

  From Israelite to Jew: 22: After the Destruction: A Beginning or and End?

  The Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, a moment that typically is said to mark in Jewish historiography the end of the "second temple period" and beginning of the "rabbinic period." But to what extent did things really change?...

  
• 01.14.2010

  From Israelite to Jew: 21: Destruction

  The Jewish revolt in Judea that began in 66 CE ended with the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70. Why, though, did the Jews in Judea and the Galilee revolt? And why did the Romans destroy the Temple?...

  
• 11.23.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 20: The First Century

  This episode focuses on the years 6 CE - 66 CE, and the events leading up to the Jewish revolt. This episode includes discussions of Roman administration and the Sanhedrin. The episode can be heard here or on the player...

  
• 11.03.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 19: Josephus

  Without the works of the historian Josephus (36/37 CE - ca. 95) we would know little about the history of the Jews in antiquity. Yet Josephus, as a historian and a man, was a complex figure: was he a Jewish...

  
• 10.13.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 18: Jesus and Other Strange Jews

  In the first century CE the area around Jerusalem teemed with small Jewish religious groups, or sects. This episode focuses on three of the most well-known of these groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, and the early followers of Jesus. The episode is...

  
• 09.29.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 17: The Dead Sea Scrolls

  What are the Dead Sea scrolls? This episode discusses their discovery, contents, and meaning. The episode can be heard here or on the player below. More download options are here. The podcast can also be heard on iTunes.

  
• 08.03.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 16: Philo

  Philo Judaeus is the most well-known Jewish philosopher from antiquity. Living in Alexandria from ca. 20 BCE - 50 CE, Philo produced an astonishing corpus that has often been held up as a signal example of "Hellenistic Judaism." Who was...

  
• 07.21.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 15: Herod the Great

  Was Herod the Great a brilliant ruler or a savage brute? This episode traces Herod's rise to power and his reign, 40 - 4 BCE. The episode can be heard here, or on the player below. More download options are...

  
• 07.08.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 14: Hellenistic Judaism

  The religion of the Jews who lived in the Greek speaking areas of the Mediterranean is commonly called "Hellenistic Judaism". This episode explains why scholars use this term; why it is less useful than it might seem; and how it...

  
• 06.25.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 13: Origins of Jewish Sectarianism

  On the origins of Jewish sectarianism in the second to first centuries, BCE, with a focus on Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and (if different) the first inhabitants of Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls would be found. The episode can be...

  
• 06.17.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 12: The Hasmonean Kings

  A discussion of Judah's consolidation of power around 162 BCE to the last of the Hasmonean kings, in 30 BCE. The episode can be heard here, or on the player below. More download options are here. The podcast is also...

  
• 05.27.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 11: The Revolt of the Maccabees

  Why did the Maccabees revolt around 165 BCE? This episode explores both the revolt of the Maccabees and the origins of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The episode can be heard here or on the player below; more download options...

  
• 05.11.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 10: Jubilees and 1 Enoch

  A discussion of two books dating from the third or second centuries, BCE, Jubilees and 1 Enoch. Both books, part of a collection traditionally known as "the Pseudepigrapha," testify to a Jewish understanding of continuing direct divine revelation in the...

  
• 04.12.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 9: Hellenism Arrives

  A discussion of Alexander's conquest of west Asia and its aftermath (323 - 200 BCE). What is "Hellenism," and how did the Jews react to it? Particular attention is paid to the Septuagint, Ecclesiastes, and Ecclesiasticus. The podcast can be...

  
• 04.01.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 8: Jews of the Persian Empire

  This episode discusses two Jewish communities outside of Jerusalem, that represented by the biblical book of Esther, and that of Elephantine, Egypt. It takes place in the fifth to fourth centuries, BCE. The podcast can be heard here; more downloading...

  
• 03.12.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 7: Nehemiah

  The seventh episode of the podcast, "From Israelite to Jew." This episode deals primarily with the career and reforms of Nehemiah, which lasted from 445 BCE to around 432 BCE. The podcast can be heard here; more downloading options are...

  
• 02.27.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 6: The Torah

  In this episode I discuss the historical formation of the Torah, or Pentateuch, and provide an introduction to the documentary hypothesis. I am now receiving technical support from Brown University, and the quality of the audio is improved. The episode...

  
• 02.13.2009

  The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Talmud

  This is not an installment of "From Israelite to Jew," but is instead a reading of an essay recently published on Zeek, an online journal. The written version is here. This is a meditation on the Talmud as read through...

  
• 02.03.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 5: Ezra

  The fifth episode of the podcast, "From Israelite to Jew." This episode deals primarily with the career of Ezra, in 458 BCE. I discuss intermarriage in the Bible and the emergence of the Torah as a source of authority in...

  
• 01.26.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 4: Return

  The fourth episode of the podcast, "From Israelite to Jew." This episode traces the first two returns from Babylonia to Jerusalem, first under Sheshbazzar and then under the dual leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and the building of the Second...

  
• 01.15.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 3: Exile

  The third episode of the podcast, "From Israelite to Jew." This episode discusses the events leading up to the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and the resulting exile. The podcast can be heard here, or...

  
• 01.07.2009

  From Israelite to Jew: 2: Religion of Israel

  This is the second episode of the podcast, "From Israelite to Jew." It focuses on the religion of ancient Israel, as reflected in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and archaeological finds. The podcast can be heard here, or click on...

  
• 12.30.2008

  From Israelite to Jew: 1: Between Faith and Reason

  This episode introduces my podcast series, "From Israelite to Jew." In it I examine the relationship between religion and its academic study, suggesting that the two ways of understanding religion are not diametrically opposed. The first episode can be heard...