Was there such a thing as ancient “Judaism”?
This article, in my mind, has put this question to rest. It is time to speak of “Judeans”, “Judean practices”, and “Judean culture” in the same way that we would speak of the identity and practices of the many other ethnic groups or peoples that existed in antiquity. The Judeans of antiquity are not a special case.
Philip Harland has some interesting comments on ancient ethnicity which will prove contentious in the current climate. I think if you’re genuinely interested in the peoples of the Levant around two thousand years ago, their history and their experiences then this is necessary. To be fair, as far as I can tell there are a good many scholars who have been doing that for years. Still there are also others who are looking to the past to confirm modern issues in ways that, anywhere else in the world, would be dismissed as anachronistic.
Comments