{"product_id":"a-kingdom-of-priests-ancestry-and-merit-in-ancient-judaism-hardback-9780812239508","title":"A Kingdom of Priests; Ancestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism (Hardback) 9780812239508","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eA Kingdom of Priests\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eAncestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eMartha Himmelfarb (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812239508\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 10 October 2006\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e280 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to the account in the Book of Exodus, God addresses the children of Israel as they stand before Mt. Sinai with the words, \"You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation\" (19:6). The sentence, Martha Himmelfarb observes, is paradoxical, for priests are by definition a minority, yet the meaning in context is clear: the entire people is holy. The words also point to some significant tensions in the biblical understanding of the people of Israel. If the entire people is holy, why does it need priests? If membership in both people and priesthood is a matter not of merit but of birth, how can either the people or its priests hope to be holy? How can one reconcile the distance between the honor due the priest and the actual behavior of some who filled the role? What can the people do to make itself truly a kingdom of priests?\u003cbr\u003e Himmelfarb argues that these questions become central in Second Temple Judaism. She considers a range of texts from this period, including the \u003ci\u003eBook of Watchers\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eBook of Jubilees\u003c\/i\u003e, legal documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the writings of Philo of Alexandria, and the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and goes on to explore rabbinic Judaism's emphasis on descent as the primary criterion for inclusion among the chosen people of Israel-a position, she contends, that took on new force in reaction to early Christian disparagement of the idea that mere descent from Abraham was sufficient for salvation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e 1. Priest and Scribe: Ancestry and Professional Skill in the \u003ci\u003eBook of the Watchers\u003c\/i\u003e, the Wisdom of Ben Sira, and \u003ci\u003eAramaic Levi\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 2. \u003ci\u003eJubilees\u003c\/i\u003e' Kingdom of Priests\u003cbr\u003e 3. Priesthood and Purity Laws: \u003ci\u003eThe Temple Scroll\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eDamascus Document\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 4. Priesthood and Sectarianism: The \u003ci\u003eRule of the Community\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eDamascus Document\u003c\/i\u003e, and the Book of Revelation\u003cbr\u003e 5. Priesthood and Allegory: Philo and Alexandrian Judaism\u003cbr\u003e 6. \"The Children of Abraham Your Friend\": The End of Priesthood, the Rise of Christianity, and the Neutralization of Jewish Sectarianism\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52555709612312,"sku":"9780812239508","price":47.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/a-kingdom-of-priests-ancestry-and-merit-in-ancient-judaism-hardback-9780812239508","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}