Jonathan Klawans
Biographic Data
| ID | 1459698 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jonathan Klawans |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jonathan |
| FAMILY NAME | Klawans |
| SIGNATURE | KLAWANS J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Boston University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7389-1719 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Secret Gospel of Mark
The No-State Solution
New Perspectives on Ritual in the Biblical World
The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism
The volume under review is ambitious in both scope and purpose.Surveying a wide swath of biblical and Second Temple Jewish literature, Staples gathers evidence testifying to ancient Jews' expansive understanding of the term "Israel."The goal is to reframe fraught questions concerning ancient Jewish identity in light of widespread hopes for a restored and enlarged Israel.After a brief preface (xi-xvi), the introduction (1-21) efficiently covers so…
Shapira’s Deuteronomy, Its Decalogue, and Dead Sea Scrolls Authentic and Forged
This essay engages Idan Dershowitz’s recent attempt to rehabilitate the Deuteronomy fragments Moses Wilhelm Shapira offered for sale in 1883. After summarizing the contents of Dershowitz’s volume, this paper evaluates Shapira’s fragments in relation to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Moabitica and other forgeries connected to Shapira. It considers the implications of Shapira’s transcription of the text, which Dershowitz uses to demonstrate Shapira’s in…
Analogies, Possibilities and Probabilities
This essay dialogues with Joel Marcus’s volume on John the Baptist. After praising Marcus’s penchant for introducing helpful analogies, questions are raised regarding two of Marcus’s hypotheses. First, it is difficult to accept that the Baptist was ever associated with the Qumran sectarians; second, it is equally doubtful that the Baptist was a nuanced legal reformer. A third section probes additional matters regarding the Baptist and purity in a…
Heresy, Forgery, Novelty
Historians of heresy typically understand the phenomenon as a Christian invention, a notion that emerges in late antiquity as Christianity distinguishes itself from Judaism. Operating with simpler, straightforward definitions of key terms, this book demonstrates that Christianity’s heresiological impulse is indebted to Jewish precedents. Briefly put, the dynamic this book explores can be summarized as follows: Heresy involves the condemnation of …
Deceptive Intentions
This essay probes and problematizes purported distinctions between religious pseudepigraphy and literary deceit. When we attend to what ancient religious pseudepigraphs say about lying, we may be more inclined to recognize the intention to deceive. Apologies for ancient religious pseudepigraphs sometimes resemble defenses for alleged modern forgeries, raising the possibility that academics may not be sufficiently alert to the extent of dishonesty…
Judaism was a civilization
Contemporary scholars of ancient Judaism struggle to describe Jewishness, recognizing that ancient Jewish concepts of social collectivity do not fully correspond with modern understandings of ethnicity, nationality, race, or even religion. But despite current efforts, categorical anachronism may be inherently inescapable. Scholars should therefore evaluate modern descriptive terms based on their analytic utility. By this standard, scholars would …
Flavius Josephus
Sacrifice, Jewish
The central importance of sacrificial ritual for ancient Judaism can be seen in Judaism's canonical texts.
Purification, Jewish
A prodigious amount of evidence testifies to the significance of purity for ancient Jews.
The Sicarii in Josephus’s Judean War
Josephus, the Rabbis, and Responses to Catastrophes Ancient and Modern
In order to explain the impact the destruction of the second temple had on Jewish history, a number of scholars maintain that a helpful analogy can be drawn between the catastrophic defeat in 70 CE and calamities that befell the Jewish people in 1933-1945. Following from this, it is suggested that the Jewish responses to these catastrophes can also be helpfully compared: the Jews were at first shocked into silence, and only gradually able to come…
Josephus on Fate, Free Will, and Ancient Jewish Types of Compatibilism
Recent scholarship on fate and free will in ancient Judaism is characterized by a lack of precision with regard to the nature of these disputes. There is also some disagreement concerning the degree to which the disparate positions can be constructively compared with either Hellenistic philosophical approaches or later rabbinic theological ones. It is argued here that Josephus's brief typology of ancient Jewish disputes on this topic finds confir…
The Prohibition of Oaths and Contra-scriptural Halakhot
The following response to John Meier's article begins by raising initial questions concerning the relationship between oaths and vows, and the criterion of double dissimilarity. The focus then turns to the complicated relationship between the Pentateuch and Jewish legal sources of the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods. It will be suggested that demonstrating Jesus' legal disagreement with either the plain meaning of scripture or other first-cent…
Rethinking Leviticus and Rereading Purity and Danger
Mary Douglas. Leviticus as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. xv, 280 pp; Hyam Maccoby. Ritual and Morality: The Ritual Purity System and Its Place in Judaism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999. xii, 231 pp.These are good times for those who are fascinated by the book of Leviticus. While denigrations of the Israelite purity system and priestly traditions are still to be found, there seems to be an increasing wil…
Interpreting the Last Supper
Some scholars view the Last Supper as a symbolic action, one that articulates a rejection of the Jewish temple. This essay presents an alternative approach. The Last Supper traditions are more subtle than is generally recognized. Also, a good deal of evidence demonstrates that the temple remained an important institution in early Christian practice and thought. Therefore it is necessary to drop the problematic practice of describing sacrificial m…
Pure Violence
The goal of this investigation may be stated simply. We present here some preliminary reflections on the dynamic between two setsI use the word “sets” here advisedly. Much of my own work has argued that the Hebrew Bible presents us with two purity systems: the “ritual” one, which is concerned with natural and unavoidable defilements, and the “moral” one, which is concerned with the defiling force of sexual transgression, idolatry, and murder. See…
The Flourishing of Jewish Sects in the Maccabean Era
Idolatry, Incest, and Impurity
L'article est consacre a la notion d'impurete dans la Bible hebraique et la litterature intertestamentaire. Dans la premiere partie de son travail, l'A. clarifie la distinction entre impurete morale et impurete rituelle et montre que l'impurete morale ne peut pas simplement etre comprise comme une metaphore dans la Torah. Il analyse ensuite des textes ulterieurs, bibliques et intertestamentaires, exprimant ce theme de la souillure non metaphoriqu…
The Impurity of Immorality in Ancient Judaism
Dans la Bible, les peches salissent d'une maniere differente mais non moins reelle que les impuretes rituelles. La distinction est importante pour une bonne comprehension du texte biblique, mais egalement pour l'ensemble de la litterature juive ancienne. Cette idee d'impurete morale continue de posseder une force non metaphorique dans le judaisme ancien. Plusieurs approches sont adoptees au sujet du pouvoir avilissant du peche: quels peches? que …
Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism
This study investigates the history and nature of Gentile impurity in ancient Judaism. It is deceptively simple to assume that Gentiles, who did not observe purity laws, would have been considered ritually impure as a matter of course. Indeed, a number of scholars maintain this position. In fact, however, the situation is a bit more complex. Ancient Jewish sources reflect two conflicting tensions. On the one hand, both biblical and rabbinic law(c…
Josephus on Fate, Free Will, and Ancient Jewish Types of Compatibilism
Recent scholarship on fate and free will in ancient Judaism is characterized by a lack of precision with regard to the nature of these disputes. There is also some disagreement concerning the degree to which the disparate positions can be constructively compared with either Hellenistic philosophical approaches or later rabbinic theological ones. It is argued here that Josephus's brief typology of ancient Jewish disputes on this topic finds confir…
Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism
This study investigates the history and nature of Gentile impurity in ancient Judaism. It is deceptively simple to assume that Gentiles, who did not observe purity laws, would have been considered ritually impure as a matter of course. Indeed, a number of scholars maintain this position. In fact, however, the situation is a bit more complex. Ancient Jewish sources reflect two conflicting tensions. On the one hand, both biblical and rabbinic law(c…
Rethinking Leviticus and Rereading Purity and Danger
Mary Douglas. Leviticus as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. xv, 280 pp; Hyam Maccoby. Ritual and Morality: The Ritual Purity System and Its Place in Judaism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999. xii, 231 pp.These are good times for those who are fascinated by the book of Leviticus. While denigrations of the Israelite purity system and priestly traditions are still to be found, there seems to be an increasing wil…
Idolatry, Incest, and Impurity
L'article est consacre a la notion d'impurete dans la Bible hebraique et la litterature intertestamentaire. Dans la premiere partie de son travail, l'A. clarifie la distinction entre impurete morale et impurete rituelle et montre que l'impurete morale ne peut pas simplement etre comprise comme une metaphore dans la Torah. Il analyse ensuite des textes ulterieurs, bibliques et intertestamentaires, exprimant ce theme de la souillure non metaphoriqu…
The Impurity of Immorality in Ancient Judaism
Dans la Bible, les peches salissent d'une maniere differente mais non moins reelle que les impuretes rituelles. La distinction est importante pour une bonne comprehension du texte biblique, mais egalement pour l'ensemble de la litterature juive ancienne. Cette idee d'impurete morale continue de posseder une force non metaphorique dans le judaisme ancien. Plusieurs approches sont adoptees au sujet du pouvoir avilissant du peche: quels peches? que …
Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism
This study investigates the history and nature of Gentile impurity in ancient Judaism. It is deceptively simple to assume that Gentiles, who did not observe purity laws, would have been considered ritually impure as a matter of course. Indeed, a number of scholars maintain this position. In fact, however, the situation is a bit more complex. Ancient Jewish sources reflect two conflicting tensions. On the one hand, both biblical and rabbinic law(c…
The Impurity of Immorality in Ancient Judaism
Dans la Bible, les peches salissent d'une maniere differente mais non moins reelle que les impuretes rituelles. La distinction est importante pour une bonne comprehension du texte biblique, mais egalement pour l'ensemble de la litterature juive ancienne. Cette idee d'impurete morale continue de posseder une force non metaphorique dans le judaisme ancien. Plusieurs approches sont adoptees au sujet du pouvoir avilissant du peche: quels peches? que …
Idolatry, Incest, and Impurity
L'article est consacre a la notion d'impurete dans la Bible hebraique et la litterature intertestamentaire. Dans la premiere partie de son travail, l'A. clarifie la distinction entre impurete morale et impurete rituelle et montre que l'impurete morale ne peut pas simplement etre comprise comme une metaphore dans la Torah. Il analyse ensuite des textes ulterieurs, bibliques et intertestamentaires, exprimant ce theme de la souillure non metaphoriqu…
The Flourishing of Jewish Sects in the Maccabean Era
Pure Violence
The goal of this investigation may be stated simply. We present here some preliminary reflections on the dynamic between two setsI use the word “sets” here advisedly. Much of my own work has argued that the Hebrew Bible presents us with two purity systems: the “ritual” one, which is concerned with natural and unavoidable defilements, and the “moral” one, which is concerned with the defiling force of sexual transgression, idolatry, and murder. See…
Interpreting the Last Supper
Some scholars view the Last Supper as a symbolic action, one that articulates a rejection of the Jewish temple. This essay presents an alternative approach. The Last Supper traditions are more subtle than is generally recognized. Also, a good deal of evidence demonstrates that the temple remained an important institution in early Christian practice and thought. Therefore it is necessary to drop the problematic practice of describing sacrificial m…
Rethinking Leviticus and Rereading Purity and Danger
Mary Douglas. Leviticus as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. xv, 280 pp; Hyam Maccoby. Ritual and Morality: The Ritual Purity System and Its Place in Judaism. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1999. xii, 231 pp.These are good times for those who are fascinated by the book of Leviticus. While denigrations of the Israelite purity system and priestly traditions are still to be found, there seems to be an increasing wil…
The Prohibition of Oaths and Contra-scriptural Halakhot
The following response to John Meier's article begins by raising initial questions concerning the relationship between oaths and vows, and the criterion of double dissimilarity. The focus then turns to the complicated relationship between the Pentateuch and Jewish legal sources of the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods. It will be suggested that demonstrating Jesus' legal disagreement with either the plain meaning of scripture or other first-cent…
Josephus on Fate, Free Will, and Ancient Jewish Types of Compatibilism
Recent scholarship on fate and free will in ancient Judaism is characterized by a lack of precision with regard to the nature of these disputes. There is also some disagreement concerning the degree to which the disparate positions can be constructively compared with either Hellenistic philosophical approaches or later rabbinic theological ones. It is argued here that Josephus's brief typology of ancient Jewish disputes on this topic finds confir…
Josephus, the Rabbis, and Responses to Catastrophes Ancient and Modern
In order to explain the impact the destruction of the second temple had on Jewish history, a number of scholars maintain that a helpful analogy can be drawn between the catastrophic defeat in 70 CE and calamities that befell the Jewish people in 1933-1945. Following from this, it is suggested that the Jewish responses to these catastrophes can also be helpfully compared: the Jews were at first shocked into silence, and only gradually able to come…
The Sicarii in Josephus’s Judean War
Sacrifice, Jewish
The central importance of sacrificial ritual for ancient Judaism can be seen in Judaism's canonical texts.
Purification, Jewish
A prodigious amount of evidence testifies to the significance of purity for ancient Jews.
Flavius Josephus
Deceptive Intentions
This essay probes and problematizes purported distinctions between religious pseudepigraphy and literary deceit. When we attend to what ancient religious pseudepigraphs say about lying, we may be more inclined to recognize the intention to deceive. Apologies for ancient religious pseudepigraphs sometimes resemble defenses for alleged modern forgeries, raising the possibility that academics may not be sufficiently alert to the extent of dishonesty…
Judaism was a civilization
Contemporary scholars of ancient Judaism struggle to describe Jewishness, recognizing that ancient Jewish concepts of social collectivity do not fully correspond with modern understandings of ethnicity, nationality, race, or even religion. But despite current efforts, categorical anachronism may be inherently inescapable. Scholars should therefore evaluate modern descriptive terms based on their analytic utility. By this standard, scholars would …
Heresy, Forgery, Novelty
Historians of heresy typically understand the phenomenon as a Christian invention, a notion that emerges in late antiquity as Christianity distinguishes itself from Judaism. Operating with simpler, straightforward definitions of key terms, this book demonstrates that Christianity’s heresiological impulse is indebted to Jewish precedents. Briefly put, the dynamic this book explores can be summarized as follows: Heresy involves the condemnation of …
Analogies, Possibilities and Probabilities
This essay dialogues with Joel Marcus’s volume on John the Baptist. After praising Marcus’s penchant for introducing helpful analogies, questions are raised regarding two of Marcus’s hypotheses. First, it is difficult to accept that the Baptist was ever associated with the Qumran sectarians; second, it is equally doubtful that the Baptist was a nuanced legal reformer. A third section probes additional matters regarding the Baptist and purity in a…
Shapira’s Deuteronomy, Its Decalogue, and Dead Sea Scrolls Authentic and Forged
This essay engages Idan Dershowitz’s recent attempt to rehabilitate the Deuteronomy fragments Moses Wilhelm Shapira offered for sale in 1883. After summarizing the contents of Dershowitz’s volume, this paper evaluates Shapira’s fragments in relation to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Moabitica and other forgeries connected to Shapira. It considers the implications of Shapira’s transcription of the text, which Dershowitz uses to demonstrate Shapira’s in…
The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism
The volume under review is ambitious in both scope and purpose.Surveying a wide swath of biblical and Second Temple Jewish literature, Staples gathers evidence testifying to ancient Jews' expansive understanding of the term "Israel."The goal is to reframe fraught questions concerning ancient Jewish identity in light of widespread hopes for a restored and enlarged Israel.After a brief preface (xi-xvi), the introduction (1-21) efficiently covers so…
The No-State Solution
New Perspectives on Ritual in the Biblical World
The Secret Gospel of Mark
Biblical Studies and Interpretation (20 works) · Judaism (20 works) · Philosophy (18 works) · Theology (16 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (14 works) · History (13 works) · Art (9 works) · Epistemology (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Biblical studies (7 works)