Ancient Judaism and Modern Category-Formation: Judaism, Midrash, Messianism, and Canon in the Past Quarter Century

by Jacob Neusner

Argues that the sole useful categories for the analysis of the Torah derive from the Torah, the canon of the religion under study in this book. The author investigates the categories that commonly serve for the description, analysis and interpretation of ancient Judaism and the principles that form those categories. He asserts that none of those categories constitute social constructs, thus violating the inner composition of the data they are employed to classify. The book concludes with a proposed principle of category Judaism's canon. Co-published with Studies in Judaism.

138 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 1986

About the author

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (where he received rabbinic ordination), the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.

Neusner is often celebrated as one of the most published authors in history (he has written or edited more than 950 books.)Since 1994, he taught at Bard College. He also taught at Columbia University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and the University of South Florida.

Neusner was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. He is the only scholar to have served on both the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. He also received scores of academic awards, honorific and otherwise.