Matan Orian

Biographic Data

ID1423553
NAMEMatan Orian
GIVEN NAMESMatan
FAMILY NAMEOrian
SIGNATUREORIAN M
AFFILIATIONS1 School of Jewish Studies, Tel Aviv University [email protected]
ORCID0000-0002-2543-6770
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS8
TOTAL CITATIONS0
AUTHOR COUNT8
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2015
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2025
H-INDEX0

  • Was the Possibility of Conversion to Judaism Denied in the Second Temple Period

    Matan OrianARTICLEThe Jewish Quarterly Review2025

    A scholarly view that relies heavily on 4Q174 and Jubilees maintains that during the Second Temple period, one Jewish school of thought denied non-Jews the option to become Jews. Other Qumran scrolls, however, acknowledge the existence of proselytes, while the Temple Scroll accords them Temple access. This essay suggests that rather than articulating contrasting views, these sources can be read as presenting a coherent view on the generations-lon…

  • Leviticus 22

    Matan OrianARTICLEJewish Studies Quarterly2024

    Lev 22:25a (»Neither from the hand of a foreigner shall you offer the bread of your God of any of these [blemished animals]«) appears to acknowledge the acceptance of sacrifices from foreigners, as long as the animals are not defective. Throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the Jerusalem temple accepted sacrifices from Gentiles, and rabbinic literature also reflects this practice, quoting Lev 22:25 in support of it. Furthermore, when in 6…

  • Spartans or Samaritans? Revealing the Creativity of the Author of 1 Maccabees

    Open AccessMatan OrianARTICLEHarvard Theological Review2023

    A majority of scholars view the Hasmonean-Spartan correspondence, reported in 1 Maccabees, as inauthentic, since it contains many improbabilities, including the assertion that the Jews and the Spartans are fraternal nations. However, its patent implausibility also renders it unimaginable that the correspondence was intended to be understood literally. Hence, the binary choice offered in research, whereby it is either a bizarre fabrication or an a…

  • Numbers 4

    Matan OrianARTICLEJournal for the Study of Judaism2023

    In discussing the dismantling and transport of the tabernacle and its furnishings, Numbers 4:20 prohibits any viewing of the “holy,” except by Aaron, the priest, and his sons. Philo of Alexandria, as well as several modern scholars, read this as a prohibition on any non-priestly viewing of the sacred, Jewish cultic vessels, including the menorah, the shewbread table and the incense altar. Accordingly, a dominant view in research holds that during…

  • The Purpose of the Balustrade in the Herodian Temple

    Matan OrianARTICLEJournal for the Study of Judaism2020

    Within the Herodian temenos in Jerusalem, a warning inscription prohibited non-Jews, under penalty of death, from proceeding any further inward. This was mounted on a low stone balustrade that encircled an area larger than the actual holy ground. As suggested in research, the underlying pentateuchal law for the inscription was הזר הקרב יומת , “the unauthorized encroacher shall be put to death.” The subjection of gentiles to this law, in particula…

  • The Temple Archive Used for the Fabrication of 1 Maccabees 10.25b-45

    Matan OrianARTICLEThe Jewish Quarterly Review2018

    Chapter 10 of I Maccabees tells of the competing efforts of Seleucid King Demetrius I Soter and his contender, Alexander I Balas, to win the support of the Jews in Judea. Verses 25b-45 quote a letter, allegedly sent by the king, containing numerous overwhelming promises. Following an accepted view in research, which regards the letter as a fake, this paper raises the possibility that it was written as an ironic text, the irony being at times evid…

  • Josephus’s Seven Purities and the Mishnah’s Ten Holinesses

    Matan OrianARTICLEJournal for the Study of Judaism2016

    This paper compares two descriptions of the Jewish hierarchy of holiness in relation to the Jerusalem temple: one from Josephus’s Jewish War , books 1 and 5, where the relevant hierarchy is referred to as the seven purities , and the other, in Mishnah Kelim 1:6-9, titled (the) ten holinesses . After analyzing the guiding principles behind the seven purities , this paper will examine the two hierarchies against the background of the biblical instr…

  • Hyrcanus II versus Aristobulus II and the Inviolability of Jerusalem

    Matan OrianARTICLEJewish Studies Quarterly2015

    »Vielmehr bietet [der Kommentar] auf höchstem Niveau eine substantielle Auseinandersetzung mit den Hintergründen, den Zusammenhängen, der Theorie und der Praxis des Grundgesetzes. Besseres lässt sich von einem Verfassungskommentar nicht sagen.“ Herbert Günther Staaatsanzeiger für das Land Hessen 2018 (50), 1494–1495