USD $229.00
Jews and Christians in the Roman World
From Historical Method to Cases
Series: - Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, Volume: 116
Author:
Roman Judaea, Christian origins, and Roman-Judaean-Christian relations are flourishing fields of endless fascination. Amid the flurry of new research, however, which uses ever new methods in the humanities and social sciences, basic questions about what happened and how people then understood events are easily obscured. This book argues that a simple but consistent historical method can throw new light – and challenge entrenched views – on such familiar topics as Roman provincial governance, the Jewish War, Flavian politics, Judaea after King Herod, Jewish and Christian historiography, Pharisees and Essenes, John the Baptist, the apostle Paul, and Luke-Acts.
Steve Mason, Ph.D. (1986), University of St. Michael’s College (Toronto), is Emeritus Professor in the University of Groningen. He edits the series Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary (2000–) and has published widely in the subjects covered by this volume.
“The last five chapters feature deft intellectual footwork as Mason spars with colleagues over points of interpretation and method. They valuably place Mason’s own work within his historiographical context. Mason’s commitment to his view of historical method gives the whole a coherence that its bulk might belie. And throughout, the book is peppered with astringent observations and adroit phrasing… In sum: this volume of collected essays offers much to think about and to think with. And as much as it shines light on ancient historiography, particularly that of Josephus, it also offers… much for the modern to ponder. If the past, as he notes at several points, is indeed a foreign country, then Mason offers a guided tour.” - Paula Fredriksen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, BMCR 2024.09.40
Potential readers include academic specialists and post-graduate students but also undergraduates, professionals in related areas (including clergy), and the general public.