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Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora
One of the most creative and consequential collisions in Western culture involved the encounter of Judaism with Hellenism. In this widely acclaimed study of the Jews who lived in Hellenistic Egypt, “between Athens and Jerusalem,” John J. Collins examines the literature of Hellenistic Judaism, treating not only the introductory questions of date, authorship, and provenance but also the larger question of Jewish identity in the Greco-Roman world.First published in 1984, this landmark study by one of the world's leading experts in Hellinistic Judaism is now fully revised and updated to take into account the best of recent scholarship.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 1983
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About the author
John J. Collins
108 books47 followersJohn J. Collins is Holmes Professor of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School. A native of Ireland, he has a doctorate from Harvard University, and earlier taught at the University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame. He has published widely on the subjects of apocalypticism, wisdom, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls and served as president of both the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 22, 2019
This book evaluates the relationship of the Jewish diaspora, primarily in Egypt, with the dominant Hellenistic culture surrounding it, using extant literature as primary sources. Issues with this approach include:
• Some of these works are in fragmentary form, preserved as quotes in surviving works such as Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.
• There is some uncertainty regarding the provenance of a work because of alleged Christian elements. So, was the work written by a Christian, or was it written by a Jew and subsequently redacted by Christians?
• There is also some uncertainty regarding when and where something was written.
As different works are introduced in the book, these issues are discussed both in the text and in the endnotes. While seemingly academic, this is highly appropriate because Dr. Collins uses the answer to such questions as the starting point in his discussion of how a certain work describes the diaspora. For example, how Jews in Egypt under Ptolemy Philometor saw themselves and their Hellenistic neighbors might be different from Jews under a different Ptolemy or in a different part of the Mediterranean basin, such as Cyrenaica.
The one thing that really stood out for me was the diversity of approaches in how the Jews retained their identity as minorities and engaged the surrounding culture. Certain of the works were apologetics, some defensive, asserting the superiority of Jewish moral laws to encourage Jews to preserve their Jewish identity, and others offensive, downplaying unusual aspects of Jewish law such as the Sabbath or dietary restrictions to make it more palatable to Hellenists. Many of the works, though Jewish, used Hellenistic styles, categories, etc. For example, to my surprise, there were Jewish Sibylene oracles, a very pagan application of Jewish culture and religion. These works were Jewish, but they were written in a very non-Jewish environment.
In a way, this reminds me of Richard Neibuhr’s categories of how the church interacts with the surrounding culture:
• Christ against culture – a rejection of any claim by culture on the loyalty of the Christian. Christ is the sole authority figure.
• The Christ of culture – maintenance of community both with believers and the surrounding culture, more likely to try to disentangle Christ from “outmoded” views less palatable to culture.
• Christ above culture – synthesis of Christ with culture holding that Christ is as sovereign over culture as over the church but failing to acknowledge the evil inherent in human work
• Christ and culture in paradox – a dualism contrasting God’s righteousness with human (Christian as much as non-Christian) unrighteousness
• Christ the transformer of culture – a view that the church can and should transform the culture around it.
The interaction of the Jewish diaspora with the prevailing Hellenistic culture reminds me of several of Niebuhr’s categories. Truly there is nothing new under the sun.
• Some of these works are in fragmentary form, preserved as quotes in surviving works such as Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.
• There is some uncertainty regarding the provenance of a work because of alleged Christian elements. So, was the work written by a Christian, or was it written by a Jew and subsequently redacted by Christians?
• There is also some uncertainty regarding when and where something was written.
As different works are introduced in the book, these issues are discussed both in the text and in the endnotes. While seemingly academic, this is highly appropriate because Dr. Collins uses the answer to such questions as the starting point in his discussion of how a certain work describes the diaspora. For example, how Jews in Egypt under Ptolemy Philometor saw themselves and their Hellenistic neighbors might be different from Jews under a different Ptolemy or in a different part of the Mediterranean basin, such as Cyrenaica.
The one thing that really stood out for me was the diversity of approaches in how the Jews retained their identity as minorities and engaged the surrounding culture. Certain of the works were apologetics, some defensive, asserting the superiority of Jewish moral laws to encourage Jews to preserve their Jewish identity, and others offensive, downplaying unusual aspects of Jewish law such as the Sabbath or dietary restrictions to make it more palatable to Hellenists. Many of the works, though Jewish, used Hellenistic styles, categories, etc. For example, to my surprise, there were Jewish Sibylene oracles, a very pagan application of Jewish culture and religion. These works were Jewish, but they were written in a very non-Jewish environment.
In a way, this reminds me of Richard Neibuhr’s categories of how the church interacts with the surrounding culture:
• Christ against culture – a rejection of any claim by culture on the loyalty of the Christian. Christ is the sole authority figure.
• The Christ of culture – maintenance of community both with believers and the surrounding culture, more likely to try to disentangle Christ from “outmoded” views less palatable to culture.
• Christ above culture – synthesis of Christ with culture holding that Christ is as sovereign over culture as over the church but failing to acknowledge the evil inherent in human work
• Christ and culture in paradox – a dualism contrasting God’s righteousness with human (Christian as much as non-Christian) unrighteousness
• Christ the transformer of culture – a view that the church can and should transform the culture around it.
The interaction of the Jewish diaspora with the prevailing Hellenistic culture reminds me of several of Niebuhr’s categories. Truly there is nothing new under the sun.
May 31, 2019
This book describes how Jewish people and Greek people interacted with one another during the second temple period, especially from 200 BC to 200 AD. Collins does this primarily through looking at apocryphal Jewish writings from this period, but also by looking at historical and social elements.
Gentiles, to some extent, took on Jewish customs during this period--many began to take off one of the days of the week. Some went to synagogue. Many were impressed by Judaism as a kind of philosophic religion or by the fact that it was monotheistic. But the focus isn't as much on those who took on Jewish customs as on the ways that Jews reacted to Gentiles.
In that respect, Jews wrote with various strategies to show that they were in fact every bit as intelligent their Greek conquerors. One strategy included playing up the philosophical angle of the religion. Another strategy included claiming that Greek ideas actually originated with the Jews. With many diaspora Jews, the law, while important, was not the overwhelming concern that we think of it being in rabbinical Judaism. Greeks might have as much affinity and promise of a good life as a Jew if they generally stuck to moral laws of God--dietary laws, circumcision, these things didn't matter so much in much of the diaspora literature.
Collins provides some great summaries and analysis of Alexandrian thought and history, more than I can sum up here, as he does of various specific texts, most of which I have never read.
Gentiles, to some extent, took on Jewish customs during this period--many began to take off one of the days of the week. Some went to synagogue. Many were impressed by Judaism as a kind of philosophic religion or by the fact that it was monotheistic. But the focus isn't as much on those who took on Jewish customs as on the ways that Jews reacted to Gentiles.
In that respect, Jews wrote with various strategies to show that they were in fact every bit as intelligent their Greek conquerors. One strategy included playing up the philosophical angle of the religion. Another strategy included claiming that Greek ideas actually originated with the Jews. With many diaspora Jews, the law, while important, was not the overwhelming concern that we think of it being in rabbinical Judaism. Greeks might have as much affinity and promise of a good life as a Jew if they generally stuck to moral laws of God--dietary laws, circumcision, these things didn't matter so much in much of the diaspora literature.
Collins provides some great summaries and analysis of Alexandrian thought and history, more than I can sum up here, as he does of various specific texts, most of which I have never read.
August 1, 2017
I'm glad for the reflection on Jewish identity in the Greek and Roman empires through the writings that were produced during this time (Collins does largely exclude Philo for another volume in the series this is a part of). Collins makes it clear that the fundamental unifying factor in Diaspora Judaism is the allegiance to Jewish prophetic and written tradition (rather than over specific interpretation of biblical texts).
One struggle for me: In surveys of collections of whichever documents have come down to us some 2,000 years later, there is a tendency these days to give each document an equal voice, when the reality is often that some of these documents represent narrow, sectarian interpretations of Judaism (the corollary here is how some of the Gnostic documents are used to define early "Christianity"). Collins' book seems to draw upon this method at a foundational level, leaving more traditional or mainstream Diaspora Judaism under-examined in favor of making sure every document, no matter how strange, informs our understanding of "Diaspora Judaism." While there certainly is a place for hearing the diverse ways people made use of Jewish tradition, it also seems worth our time to focus in on the dominant Diaspora Jewish tradition(s), which in turn might lead us toward a more defined picture of this kind of Judaism in the ancient world.
One struggle for me: In surveys of collections of whichever documents have come down to us some 2,000 years later, there is a tendency these days to give each document an equal voice, when the reality is often that some of these documents represent narrow, sectarian interpretations of Judaism (the corollary here is how some of the Gnostic documents are used to define early "Christianity"). Collins' book seems to draw upon this method at a foundational level, leaving more traditional or mainstream Diaspora Judaism under-examined in favor of making sure every document, no matter how strange, informs our understanding of "Diaspora Judaism." While there certainly is a place for hearing the diverse ways people made use of Jewish tradition, it also seems worth our time to focus in on the dominant Diaspora Jewish tradition(s), which in turn might lead us toward a more defined picture of this kind of Judaism in the ancient world.
January 6, 2020
When Jews discuss the intellectual history of Judaism, they tend to focus on sacred texts produced in the Land of Israel- first the Bible, then the Mishnah (produced several hundred years after the last Biblical book, and about a century after the Second Temple's destruction). But during the late Second Temple period, Greek-speaking Jews throughout the Middle East produced a lot of Jewish literature; the purpose of Collins's book is to review this literature.
Some of this literature, like Zionist literature today, was primarily nationalistic, focusing on attempts to combat anti-Semitism. But the surviving religious literature is more interesting. Unlike the Mishnah, it tends not to go beyond the Bible in explaining the details of Jewish law. Instead, much of this Jewish literature focuses on the virtues of monotheism and the evils of idolatry. For example, the Letter of Aristeas wrote that both Jews and enlightened non-Jews worship "the only God omnipotent over all creation" and that non-Jews who worship Zeus as their only deity worship the same God as Jews do.
In addition, Greek-speaking authors focused heavily on social and sexual morality; for some reason, many of them sharply criticized homoseuxality. However, Greek-speaking authors were certainly not proto-Reform Jews; for example, the Letter of Aristeas defended Jewish dietary laws.
Some of this literature, like Zionist literature today, was primarily nationalistic, focusing on attempts to combat anti-Semitism. But the surviving religious literature is more interesting. Unlike the Mishnah, it tends not to go beyond the Bible in explaining the details of Jewish law. Instead, much of this Jewish literature focuses on the virtues of monotheism and the evils of idolatry. For example, the Letter of Aristeas wrote that both Jews and enlightened non-Jews worship "the only God omnipotent over all creation" and that non-Jews who worship Zeus as their only deity worship the same God as Jews do.
In addition, Greek-speaking authors focused heavily on social and sexual morality; for some reason, many of them sharply criticized homoseuxality. However, Greek-speaking authors were certainly not proto-Reform Jews; for example, the Letter of Aristeas defended Jewish dietary laws.
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September 23, 2010Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora (The Biblical Resource Series) by John Joseph Collins (1999)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews