Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism

by Malka Z Simkovich

For those unfamiliar with the many divisions within Judaism at that time or with Jewish life in other parts of the Roman Empire, this book offers an excellent introduction to a little-studied time period. Readers of Jewish history will definitely want to add this work to their shelves. —Rabbi Rachel Esserman, Reporter Exploring the world of the Second Temple period (539 BCE–70 CE), in particular the vastly diverse stories, commentaries, and other documents written by Jews during the last three centuries of this period, Malka Z. Simkovich takes us to Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, to the Jewish sectarians and the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus, to the Cairo genizah , and to the ancient caves that kept the secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As she recounts Jewish history during this vibrant, formative era, Simkovich analyzes some of the period’s most important works for both familiar and possible meanings.

This volume interweaves past and present in four parts. Part 1 tells modern stories of discovery of Second Temple literature. Part 2 describes the Jewish communities that flourished both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora. Part 3 explores the lives, worldviews, and significant writings of Second Temple authors. Part 4 examines how authors of the time introduced novel, rewritten, and expanded versions of Bible stories in hopes of imparting messages to the people.

Simkovich’s popular style will engage readers in understanding the sometimes surprisingly creative ways Jews at this time chose to practice their religion and interpret its scriptures in light of a cultural setting so unlike that of their Israelite forefathers. Like many modern Jews today, they made an ancient religion meaningful in an ever-changing world.

Genres: History, Judaism, Jewish, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2018

Reviews

[Tamar Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a medievalist, I occasionally dip into antiquity (the undiscovered country), so I picked up this book to better understand Second Temple literature. I read it in the shadow of Masada during our trip to the Dead Sea, which made it a virtual page-turner. I also enjoyed seeing the way the author conceptualized a broad survey of the period.

The organization of the book is somewhat novel; it doesn't go chronologically or even topically, but is divided into four thematic units: (1) the modern rediscovery of this body of literature; (2) major centers of Jewish life during the period; (3) different Jewish communities (plus one chapter devoted specifically to Josephus); and (4) the texts themselves. I was mostly interested in part 4, having familiarity with the contents of parts 1-3, and almost skipped straight there. In the end, I'm glad I didn't, because I enjoyed the read and learned some new-to-me things. One consequence of the book's novel structure, though, is that things gets introduced and then re-introduced, sometimes several times. For instance, a text might be discussed first in the context of its rediscovery, then in the context of the city in which it was composed; maybe even again in the context of the community /sect that wrote it, and then again in the text section. It really should be read in order, because a lot of what I was waiting for in part 4 actually comes out in earlier sections.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find second temple literature really fascinating. There’s so much to say about Josephus and 2 maccabees and jubilees etc.

This book is too shallow. It starts with a history and exploration of how modern readers have access to these texts (big section on Cairo Geniza, medium on Qumran and monasteries, smaller on transmission inside of canons other than the Jewish and Catholic bibles). This section is ok, though I would have liked an inversion (ie more time spent on how it was preserved in non-Jewish bibles, less time on Solomon Schechter.) Transmission history is totally missing from the discussion.

Section on the history of the time is perfunctory as it must be. I think it serves as a good primer. There are some sentences that are clearly responding to an academic literature (ie “while some of John Malass claims can’t be taken at face value…”) but don’t actually add anything to the discussion. The rest is strong

The next sections on Philo and Josephus and Antioch and Alexandria are all pretty good.

And then parts of the end section that actually analyzes texts are good, but here it’s way too short and very late.

Overall I think this gives great “chapter headings” for a course in second temple Judaism through the literature of the time. But I just wish there had been more.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a time when writing appeared in scrolls rather than in book format. Each of these scrolls contained one book. That meant that if one wanted to read Jewish religious writings, one had to decide which scrolls were holy and worth reading. During Second Temple times, there was still a debate about which books would be entered into the canon, especially since there was a wide variety of material circulating. In “Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism” (The Jewish Publication Society), Malka Z. Simkovich, the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and director of Catholic-Jewish Studies at the Catholic Theological Union, discusses works from this time period that didn’t make it into the traditional Jewish canon, but which give insights into the lives of Jews from the period.
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...

[Koen Crolla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid and accessible introduction to and overview of the most important period in Hebrew literature and the formative stage of the common Jewish identity. It's pretty obvious at times Simkovich doesn't speak Greek and believes weird things about Hellenistic literature (which is, of course, the single biggest "external" influence on Second Temple literature), but it doesn't interfere with the points made at the level they're being made.

[Joe Q. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the author is a leading authority on second-Temple Judaism, I had a really hard time with this book -- it has a lot of useful information, but the book itself is disjointed, arranged in an non-intuitive way, and somewhat repetitive (historical figures and concepts are introduced "for the first time" on several occasions). It seems like it was rushed through the editing process. All that said, it still makes for a good introduction to second-Temple literature.

[ThWalk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got interested in this book from an onscript.study podcast episode. The dynamism and excitement of the author as conveyed on the podcast did not come through in the book, which read suspiciously like a set of cobbled-together lecture notes rather than a coherent exposition. I did learn some cool stuff, but it ultimately disappointed.

[Steve Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, clear overview of second temple literature and history.

[Matthew Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous read! I esp appreciated the mix of lit intro, historical contextualization, and adventure stories about the finding/archiving/preservation of 2nd Temple lit.

[Omri Flicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very high level overview of selections of second temple a pre-mishnaic Jewish history and related literature.

[Scott Broberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very accessible! She does a fantastic job of walking you through the literature from the 2nd Temple period.