The Origins of Judaism (book)

The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal
Author	Yonatan Adler
Subject	Origins of Judaism
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Yale University Press
Publication date	15 November 2022
Media type	Print
Pages	384
ISBN	978-0-300-26837-9
Website	Yale University Press listing

Last updated November 11, 2024

The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal is a 2022 book by Israeli professor of archaeology and ordained rabbi ^[1] Yonatan Adler of Ariel University. The book examines the archaeological and historiographical record of Jewish religious practice, concluding that widespread adoption of the Torah as a binding law code probably originated in the time of the Hasmonean dynasty, in the 2nd–1st centuries BCE. Adler's work challenges a traditional scholarly dating of the emergence of Jewish religion to the periods of major Hebrew Bible composition, such as the late Iron Age, Babylonian exile, and early Second Temple periods, centuries before the Hasmoneans.^[2]^[3]

In the book's introduction, Adler writes: "The aim of the present book is to investigate when and how the ancestors of today's Jews first came to know about the regulations of the Torah, to regard these rules as authoritative law, and to put these laws into actual practice in their daily lives."^[4]^: 3 The establishment of Torah law as ordinary religious practice forms the basis for Adler's definition of Judaism.^[4]^: 5 Adler then conducts a review of scholarship from the 18th century onwards on the question of the emergence of Judaism and the composition of the Hebrew Bible.^[4]^: 8–17 Finally, Adler introduces his method: a data-driven search for the terminus ante quem of Judaism—the date by which Judaism must have begun. He anchors his initial study in the first century CE—a time during which ample historical evidence exists for widespread observance of Torah laws—and works backwards in time until such evidence disappears.^[4]^: 17 Adler organizes his study of Jewish practices by chapter.

Dietary laws (kashrut)

Adler finds abundant literary evidence of Jewish and Roman awareness of many Torah-based dietary restrictions—such as taboos against consuming pork, animal blood, and scaleless fish—in the first century CE. The archaeological record shows negligible remains of pig bones at first-century Judean sites, while contemporaneous non-Judean sites have considerable presence of pig bones. Similarly, almost all fish bones at Judean sites from this period belonged to fish with fins and scales. Additional literary evidence from the Dead Sea scrolls, Roman authors, and biblical apocrypha suggests some observance of these rules in the first and second centuries BCE.^[4]^: 27–40

In contrast, Adler finds that texts before the second century BCE show "no indications that Judeans might have possessed any set of restrictions on their diet". Though the Bible does contain condemnations of the consumption of blood and pigs, Adler argues that these condemnations apply to cultic practices of Yahweh worship, rather than everyday regulations for the general public. Iron Age Israelite assemblages contained low proportions of pig bones, though this was common of other Levantine cultures, aside from the Philistines. A substantial finding of catfish bones from the Persian period in the Givati Parking Lot dig site indicates consumption of non-kosher fish.^[4]^: 40–48

Ritual purity laws (tumah and taharah)

Adler finds first century CE literary evidence of Jewish adherence to ritual purity laws (tumah and taharah) in the works of Philo, Josephus, and in New Testament references to handwashing before meals. He also finds extensive archaeological evidence in the form of ritual immersian pools and chalk vessels—two features unique to Judean culture of the period that served to preserve Jews' ritual purity. The Dead Sea scrolls and (to a lesser extent) biblical apocrypha also note concern for ritual purity, showing its prominence in the 2nd–1st centuries BCE.^[4]^: 53–79

In reviewing pre-Hasmonean Hebrew biblical texts, Adler finds that most discussions of purity reference moral purity, rather than ritual purity, and that there does not appear to be a system for removing ritual impurities. He states that no stepped ritual immersion pools in Judea have been dated earlier than the late second century BCE, and that chalk vessels appear beginning in the first century BCE.^[4]^: 79–85

Prohibition of figural art

Deuteronomy 4 contains a prohibition on creating depictions of any living creature, which would violate the commandment against creating graven images. Adler finds that Philo and Josephus wrote of creating figural art as a taboo unto itself, often related to but distinct from idolatry (avodah zarah). Some first-century CE Greek and Roman writers appear to have known about a Jewish taboo against making statues. Herodian coins minted in Jerusalem omitted figural art, whereas some coins minted in the Roman city of Caesarea featured royal portraits. Architectural decorations, funerary art (such as on ossuaries), and pottery of the Hasmonean and Herodian periods Judea also omit figural art almost completely.^[4]^: 87–106

Adler finds very limited evidence to evaluate in the early Hellenistic period. In the Persian period, however, Yehud coins routinely featured depictions of both humans and animals, including individuals with theophoric names. Stamp impressions on storage jars found in Judea, dating to either the sixth or fifth century BCE, bear depictions of lions. Persian-era human and animal figurines have been found in Judea, though less frequently than at contemporary sites elsewhere in the Levant. Fifth-century BCE seals from the Jewish community in Babylonia depict humans, animals, and mythical figures.^[4]^{: 106–110}

Tefillin and mezuzot

Adler finds first-century literary evidence for the use of tefillin and mezuzot "admittedly sparse and rather vague". Additionally, archaeological evidence for mezuzot is extremely limited. However, a small number of objects remarkably similar to modern tefillin were discovered during 20th-century excavations at Qumran, providing "incontrovertible evidence" of their use by early Roman times. Adler cites Józef Milik's work at Qumran to acknowledge that these tefillin could date as early as—but not earlier than—the Hasmonean era, based on the Hebrew script of the Torah verses contained in the tefillin. The Nash Papyrus, dating to the late second century BCE, may also have been used in tefillin.^[4]^{: 115–130}

Outside of the Torah, Adler finds no evidence in biblical texts that ancient Israelites or Judahites practiced rituals involving tefillin or mezuzot. Similarly, he finds no archaeological remains dating before the second century BCE "reasonably associated with tefillin or mezuzah practices". He cites the closest possible piece of evidence as being the Ketef Hinnom scrolls from c. 600 BCE, though the purpose of the scrolls is not known; nor is there evidence of widespread usage of such scrolls for ritual purposes.^[4]^: 130

Other Jewish practices

Adler uses this chapter to review six additional Jewish practices, including: circumcision, observance of Shabbat, Passover traditions, fasting on Yom Kippur, rituals related to Sukkot, and having a seven-branch menorah in the Jerusalem temple. Adler finds that circumcision was probably practiced traditionally by Israelites, but that it is only recorded as a matter of law starting in the second century BCE. Sabbath prohibitions were widely followed in Hasmonean, Herodian, and Roman times, though the precise contours of these prohibitions were a matter of substantial legal debate. Passover was widely celebrated as a seven-day feast of unleavened bread in the first century CE; this may have combined two separate occasions in antiquity—a festival of unleavened bread and a sacrificial Passover offering. Adler finds first-centuries CE and BCE evidence of Yom Kippur observance, but apparent ignorance of this observance in Persian-era biblical texts. Specific Sukkot rituals, such as the four species, were "extremely well known" in the first century but spoken of only once in the bible outside the Torah. The earliest depiction of a seven-branch menorah dates to the first century BCE.^[4]^{: 132–167}

Adler concludes this review by noting, "All these elements of first-century-CE Judaism are attested in the first century BCE, and some also in the second century BCE, but none are clearly attested prior to this."^[4]^: 167

Emergence of the synagogue

Unlike the previous chapters devoted to covering specific laws, this chapter concerns the emergence of the synagogue, an institution used primarily in ancient times to teach Torah law observances to ordinary Judeans—"without which Judaism itself may never have taken root and spread". Adler finds from numerous literary sources that first-century Judeans used to gather weekly at the synagogue for recitations of the Torah followed by verbal explanations and commentary. Archaeological finds like the Theodotos inscription and the synagogue ruins at Masada affirm their existence in the first century. Contrastingly, there is no evidence in the Bible or apocrypha for a synagogue-like institution. Some inscriptions for "houses of prayer" date from the late third to first centuries BCE both inside and outside of Judea, but it is unknown what specific rituals Judeans performed there (such as Torah reading). The synagogue at Umm el-Umdan appears to be the only synagogue found dating to the Hasmonean period, with none predating it.^[4]^{: 170–188}

Conclusion

In the concluding chapter, Adler reviews the prior evidence to assess the most likely time period for widespread adoption of Torah law. He reviews the probability for three time periods:

Persian period (539–332 BCE). Adler finds the historicity of Torah-related narratives in Ezra–Nehemiah to be dubious and probably ideological constructions of later writers. He also argues that few scholars subscribe to the theory of "Persian imperial authorization" that argued the Cyrus edict formed the basis of formal adoption of the Torah as law in Judea. Adler acknowledges that archaeological evidence substantiates Yahwistic practice in Judea and in the diaspora (such as in Babylonia and Elephantine) during the period, but not Torah-based Judaism. Thus he concludes there is "little reason" to believe that Torah-based Jewish practice was adopted in the Persian period.^[4]^{: 190–207}
Early Hellenistic period (332–167 BCE). There is ambiguous literary evidence in the 3rd century BCE that the Torah was considered Jewish law, and it is around this time that the Torah was translated into Greek for the first time. The late-3rd century BCE writer Demetrius the Chronographer showed familiarity with patriarchal narratives from the Torah, but surviving texts do not mention Mosaic law. Ben Sira's Book of Sirach extolls the Torah's commandments as a whole but elaborates little on any specific laws. Greek intellectual innovations—such as the creation of binding legislative codes for ordinary individuals (rather than divine or royal legal proclamations, like the Code of Hammurabi)—may have created the proper conditions for the adoption of Torah as binding law at this time. Adler concludes that the proposition of mass adoption of Torah law in this period "lack[s] any direct evidence" but "presents some intriguing possibilities".^[4]^{: 208–223}
Late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) period (167–63 BCE). Adler suggests that literary evidence from the Book of Daniel and biblical apocrypha about Antiochus's abolition of an already-established system of Torah law is "political propaganda meant to legitimate the Hasmonean regime". Adler cites scholarship that has proposed that the Hasmoneans aggressively promoted Torah Judaism as a unifying ideology against external forces, like Hellenism. Literary evidence suggests the Hasmoneans imposed Torah law on conquered subjects—such as the Idumeans, Samaritans, and Itureans—as their kingdom expanded. Additional support for the Hasmonean period is lent by the contemporary rise of sectarianism within Judaism, with competing factions such as the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes offering competing interpretations of Torah practice at this time.^[4]^{: 223–233}

Adler concludes that, compared with the Persian and early Hellenistic periods, the Hasmonean period is "a far more conducive epoch in which to seek the origins of Judaism".^[4]^: 234

Reception

Though The Origins of Judaism received praise for its methodological clarity and rigor,^[2]^[3]^[5] its conclusions divided scholars of ancient Judaism. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly called the book a "bravura study" and praised "Adler's facility with a wide range of historical evidence".^[5] Archaeologist Israel Finkelstein agreed with Adler's hypothesis of Hasmonean origin for widespread adoption of halakha, saying: "Judaism, as we understand today—Jewish law—comes, in my opinion ... from the time of the Hasmoneans in the second century BC."^[6]

Professor Malka Simkovich of the Catholic Theological Union published a review in the Jewish Review of Books arguing that Adler paid insufficient attention to literary evidence in the Persian and Hellenistic periods suggesting common Jewish practice and regard for the Torah. Simkovich also contended that Adler's approach of starting his studies in the first century CE and working backwards created a bias toward viewing Judaism through a lens of later practices, rather than earlier versions of Jewish practice.^[3] Adler responded to Simkovich's critique, arguing that he intentionally placed priority on archaeological evidence as "a corrective to the general tendency within scholarship on Second Temple period Judaism to privilege the study of ideas ... over concrete practices found among the ancient Jewish masses."^[7]

Professor Chad Spigel of Trinity University published a review for the Jewish Book Council critiquing Adler's Torah-centered definition of Judaism, "to the exclusion of cultural and ethnic components of Judaism", as too narrow. However, Spigel applauded the book's examination of early evidence for adoption of specific Torah laws.^[8]

Professor Benjamin Gordon of the University of Pittsburgh reviewed the book in AJS Review , calling the book "essential reading for scholars of Second Temple Judaism", but cautioning that Adler's conclusions about Jewish life in pre-Hasmonean periods "may simply reflect the limitations of our source material".^[9]

Related Research Articles

The Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In Christianity, the Torah is also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. In Rabbinical Jewish tradition it is also known as the Written Torah. If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll. If in bound book form, it is called Chumash, and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries.

The Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group consisting of tribes that inhabited much of Canaan during the Iron Age.

The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred in multiple waves: After the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BCE, around 7,000 individuals were deported to Mesopotamia. Further deportations followed the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple in 587 BCE.

The Pharisees were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became the foundational, liturgical, and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism. Although the group does not exist anymore, their traditions are considered important among all various Jewish religious movements.

The Maccabees, also spelled Machabees, were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 167 BCE to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from 104 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest, and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism.

The Hasmonean dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period, from c. 140 BCE to 37 BCE. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, and from roughly 110 BCE, with the empire disintegrating, Judea gained further autonomy and expanded into the neighboring regions of Perea, Samaria, Idumea, Galilee, and Iturea. The Hasmonean rulers took the Greek title basileus ("king") as the kingdom became a regional power for several decades. Forces of the Roman Republic intervened in the Hasmonean Civil War in 63 BCE and made it into a client state, marking the decline of Hasmonean dynasty; Herod the Great displaced the last reigning Hasmonean client-ruler in 37 BCE.

The Sadducees were a sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Sadducees are described in contemporary literary sources in contrast to the two other major sects at the time, the Pharisees and the Essenes.

Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah, and which are regarded by Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and given at the same time. This holistic Jewish code of conduct encompasses a wide swathe of rituals, worship practices, God–man and interpersonal relationships, from dietary laws to Sabbath and festival observance to marital relations, agricultural practices, and civil claims and damages.

Rabbinic Judaism, also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Rabbanite Judaism, has been an orthodox form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbinic Judaism has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism, and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from God. The Oral Torah, transmitted orally, explains the Written Torah. At first, it was forbidden to write down the Oral Torah, but after the destruction of the Second Temple, it was decided to write it down in the form of the Talmud and other rabbinic texts for the sake of preservation.

Generically, a Galilean is a term that was used in classical sources to describe the inhabitants of Galilee, an area of northern Israel and southern Lebanon that extends from the northern coastal plain in the west to the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Rift Valley to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4QMMT</span>

4QMMT, also known as MMT, or the Halakhic Letter, is a reconstructed text from manuscripts that were part of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran in the Judean desert. The manuscript fragments used to reconstruct 4QMMT were found in Cave 4 at Qumran in 1953-1959, and kept at the Palestinian Archaeological Museum, now known as the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem.

The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Roman siege of Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origins of Judaism</span> Overview of the early history of Judaism

The most widespread belief among archeological and historical scholars is that the origins of Judaism lie in Bronze Age polytheistic Canaanite religion. Judaism also syncretized elements of other Semitic religions such as Babylonian religion, which is reflected in the early prophetic books of the Tanakh.

Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from Yehudah, a Hebrew name. Yehudah was a son of Jacob, who was later given the name "Israel" and whose sons collectively headed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Yehudah's progeny among the Israelites formed the Tribe of Judah, with whom the Kingdom of Judah is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than Judea of earlier periods. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with Galilee to form the enlarged province of Syria Palaestina.

Edom was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomites appear in several written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the Iron Age in the Levant, including the list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I from c. 1215 BC as well as in the chronicle of a campaign by Ramesses III, and the Tanakh.

Yehud Medinata, also called Yehud Medinta or simply Yehud, was an autonomous province of the Achaemenid Empire. Located in Judea, the territory was distinctly Jewish, with the High Priest of Israel emerging as a central religious and political leader. It lasted for just over two centuries before being incorporated into the Hellenistic empires, which emerged following the Greek conquest of the Persian Empire.

ʽAm haʼaretz is a term found in the Hebrew Bible and in rabbinic literature.

Second Temple Judaism is the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone vessels in ancient Judaea</span> Containers used by Jews during the Second Temple Period

The use of stone vessels made from soft limestone/chalkstone among Jews during the Second Temple period and beyond was widespread across Judea, Galilee and the Golan Heights. Initially appearing in the early 1st century BCE, these vessels continued to be utilized in each region for differing lengths of time.

References

↑ Borschel-Dan, Amanda (5 April 2023). "What Matters Now to archaeologist Prof. Yonatan Adler: The origins of Judaism". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
1 2 Lawler, Andrew (15 November 2022). "Is Judaism a Younger Religion Than Previously Thought?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
1 2 3 Simkovich, Malka Z. (23 January 2024). "Origin Stories". Jewish Review of Books. No. 56. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Adler, Yonatan (15 November 2022). The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-26837-9 . Retrieved 27 October 2024.
1 2 "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal by Yonatan Adler". Publishers Weekly. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
↑ Archaeology and Biblical History at Megiddo. Getty Museum. 9 January 2023. Event occurs at 1:07:33. Retrieved 26 October 2024– via YouTube.
↑ Adler, Yonatan (24 May 2024). "A Torah Exchange: Yonatan Adler Responds to Malka Simkovich". Jewish Review of Books. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
↑ Spigel, Chad (27 February 2023). "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal | Jewish Book Council". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
↑ Gordon, Benjamin D. (2024). "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal by Yonatan Adler (review)". AJS Review. 48 (1): 204–207. doi:10.1353/ajs.2024.a926065. ISSN 1475-4541.

External links

Borschel-Dan, Amanda (5 April 2023). "What Matters Now to archaeologist Prof. Yonatan Adler: The origins of Judaism". Times of Israel.
Fiske, Gavriel (24 September 2023). "First recorded evidence of Yom Kippur depicts day of affliction as sectarian struggle". Times of Israel.
Zeldovich, Lina (25 May 2021). "What Archaeology Tells Us About the Ancient History of Eating Kosher". Smithsonian Magazine.

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[1] Borschel-Dan, Amanda (5 April 2023). "What Matters Now to archaeologist Prof. Yonatan Adler: The origins of Judaism". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 November 2024.

[Lawler-2] 1 2 Lawler, Andrew (15 November 2022). "Is Judaism a Younger Religion Than Previously Thought?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 26 October 2024.

[Simkovich-3] 1 2 3 Simkovich, Malka Z. (23 January 2024). "Origin Stories". Jewish Review of Books. No. 56. Retrieved 26 October 2024.

[Origins-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Adler, Yonatan (15 November 2022). The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-26837-9 . Retrieved 27 October 2024.

[pw-5] 1 2 "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal by Yonatan Adler". Publishers Weekly. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2024.

[6] Archaeology and Biblical History at Megiddo. Getty Museum. 9 January 2023. Event occurs at 1:07:33. Retrieved 26 October 2024– via YouTube.

[Adler-7] Adler, Yonatan (24 May 2024). "A Torah Exchange: Yonatan Adler Responds to Malka Simkovich". Jewish Review of Books. Retrieved 27 October 2024.

[Spigel-8] Spigel, Chad (27 February 2023). "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal | Jewish Book Council". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 9 November 2024.

[9] Gordon, Benjamin D. (2024). "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal by Yonatan Adler (review)". AJS Review. 48 (1): 204–207. doi:10.1353/ajs.2024.a926065. ISSN 1475-4541.

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