When Judaism lost the Temple : crisis and response in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch / Lydia Gore-Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gore-Jones, Lydia, author.

Series:

Studia antiqua australiensia ; v.10.

Studia Antiqua Australiensia (SAA) ; volume 10

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. Esdras, 2nd--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch.

Bible. Esdras, 2nd.

Covenants--Religious aspects--Judaism.

Covenants.

Judaism--History--Talmudic period, 10-425.

Judaism.

History.

Apocalyptic literature--History and criticism.

Apocalyptic literature.

Judaism--Talmudic period.

Bible. Nehemiah--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Academic theses.

Physical Description:

ix, 244 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2020]

Summary:

Responding to the religious identity crisis brought about by the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch seek the future of Judaism by reinterpreting the Mosaic Torah and the Deuteronomic Tradition within an apocalyptic setting. This book presents a study of religious thought in two Jewish apocalypses, 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, written as a response to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The true nature of the crisis is the perceived loss of covenantal relationship between God and Israel, and the Jewish identity that is under threat. Discussions of various aspects of thought, including those conventionally termed theodicy, particularism and universalism, anthropology and soteriology, are subordinated under and contextualized within the larger issue of how the ancient authors propose to mend the traditional Deuteronomic covenantal theology now under crisis. Both 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch advocate a two-pronged solution of Torah and eschatology at the centre of their scheme to restore that covenant relationship in the absence of the Temple. Both maintain the Mosaic tradition as the bulwark for Israel's future survival and revival. Whereas 4 Ezra aims to implant its eschatology into the Sinaitic tradition and make it part of the Mosaic Law, 2 Baruch extends the Deuteronomic scheme of reward and retribution into an eschatological context, making the rewards of the end-time a solution to the cycle of sins and punishments of this age. Considerable emphases are also placed on the significance of the portrayals of the pseudonymous protagonists, Ezra and Baruch, the use of symbolism in the two texts as scriptural exegesis, as well as their relationship with each other and links with the Hebrew Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings.

Contents:

1 Introduction: 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in Their Historical, Religious and Literary Contexts p. 3

1.1 The Crisis: The Destruction of the Second Temple-4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in Their Historical Context p. 3

1.1.1 The Significance of 70 CE for Jewish Religion p. 3

1.1.2 The Nature of the Crisis p. 9

1.2 Jewish Response: Judaism between the Two Temples-4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in Their Religious Context p. 11

1.2.1 Different Responses to the Destruction of the Two Temples p. 11

1.2.2 Judaism between the Two Temples p. 14

1.3 The Sister Texts: Origins, Relationships and Genre-4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in Their Literary Context p. 17

1.3.1 Origins and Relationship p. 17

1.3.2 Apocalypse as a Genre p. 20

1.4 Previous Studies on Jewish Response to the Destruction in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch p. 24

1.4.1 The Historical-Political Approach p. 24

1.4.2 The Sociological Approach p. 25

1.4.3 The Theological Approach p. 26

1.4.4 The Literary-Psychological Approach p. 30

1.5 Summary, Methodology and Plan for the Present Study p. 32

Part I 4 Ezra

2 Covenant in Crisis in 4 Ezra p. 39

2.1 A Book about Theodicy? p. 39

2.2 Israel's Covenantal Status as the Central Theme of 4 Ezra p. 43

2.2.1 Episode 1: The Desolations of Zion and the Wealth of Babylon p. 43

2.2.2 Episode 2: Israel and Nations: The One and the Many p. 45

2.2.3 Episode 3: The Righteous and the Wicked: The Few and the Many p. 46

2.2.4 Episode 4: The Transfigured Jerusalem and the Transformation of Ezra p. 53

2.2.5 Episode 5: The Eagle and the Lion p. 55

2.2.6 Episode 6: The Man from the Sea p. 56

2.3 The Ethnic Boundary of Israel's Covenant p. 59

3 Eschatology and Torah in 4 Ezra p. 65

3.1 The Eschatological Scheme p. 65

3.1.1 The Nature of the World/Age to Come p. 66

3.1.2 The Stages of the End p. 72

3.1.3 The Individual and the National Dimension of Redemption p. 77

3.2 The Meaning and Function of Torah in 4 Ezra p. 81

3.2.1 The Religious and Intellectual Background of 4 Ezra's Ideas about Torah p. 81

3.2.2 The Meaning of Torah in 4 Ezra p. 83

3.2.3 The Function of Torah in 4 Ezra p. 90

4 The Unity and Coherence of 4 Ezra and Its Authorial Intention p. 95

4.1 The Perceived Problem of "Disunity" or "Inconsistency" and Previously Proposed Solutions p. 95

4.2 Authorial Intention as Revealed in the Final Episode p. 99

4.3 The Characterization of Ezra and the Unity and Coherence of the Book p. 104

4.3.1 The Choice of Ezra as the Pseudonymous Voice p. 104

4.3.2 The Transformation of Ezra p. 106

4.3.3 The Role of Uriel in the Transformation of Ezra p. 110

Part II 2 Baruch

5 The Structure and Content of 2 Baruch in Relation to Its Authorial Intention p. 117

5.1 The Composition of 2 Baruch p. 117

5.1.3 Ambiguities in Structural Demarcations p. 117

5.1.2 A Proposed Structure of 2 Baruch Based on Prayer-Revelation-Address Cycles p. 121

5.1.3 The Progression of the Narrative p. 122

5.2 The Epistle of Baruch in Relation to the Structure and Content of 2 Baruch, and to Authorial Intention p. 124

5.2.1 The Epistle as an Integral Part of the Book p. 124

5.2.2 The Crucial Function of the Epistle in 2 Baruch and Authorial Intention p. 126

5.2.3 The Authority of the Epistle of Baruch p. 130

6 The Covenant in Crisis in 2 Baruch p. 135

6.1 The Catastrophe: The Destruction of Zion p. 137

6.1.1 Narrative on the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple p. 137

6.1.2 The Importance of the Temple in 2 Baruch p. 140

6.2 Overlapping Terms: Reference, Sense and Associated Idea p. 143

6.3 Geographical Locations: Symbols of Covenant p. 146

6.3.1 Jerusalem/Zion p. 148

6.3.2 Kidron Valley p. 150

6.3.3 Oak Tree p. 151

6.3.4 Hebron p. 153

7 Eschatology and Torah in 2 Baruch p. 157

7.1 Ezra's Questions and Baruch's Answers p. 157

7.2 Eschatology in 2 Baruch p. 160

7.2.1 2 Baruch's Eschatological Terminology and the Nature of the End p. 160

7.2.2 The Stages of the End in the Presentation of 2 Baruch p. 164

7.3 Torah and Adam's Sin in 2 Baruch p. 174

7.3.1 The Identity of Torah as Both Divine Wisdom and Mosaic Covenant p. 175

7.3.2 The Function of Torah as Life and Light p. 176

7.3.3 Torah and the Sin of Adam p. 180

7.4 A Deuteronomic and Eschatological Solution p. 182

7.4.1 2 Baruch's Adoption and Adaptation of the Deuteronomic Scheme p. 183

7.4.2 The Vision of Bright and Dark Waters as a Presentation of the Eschatological-Deuteronomic Solution p. 186

8 Baruch Ben Neriah p. 191

8.1 Baruch and the Biblical Prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah p. 193

8.1.1 The influence of Ezekiel p. 193

8.1.2 The Influence of Jeremiah p. 196

8.2 Baruch as Moses p. 199

8.2.1 Baruch, an Intercessor for Israel like Moses p. 200

8.2.2 Baruch, the Teacher of Israel like Moses p. 202

8.3 Baruch as Ezra of Ezra-Nehemiah? p. 205

Part III 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch

9 Conclusion: What Is in a Name? Covenant Tradition and Apocalyptic Revelation in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch p. 217.

Notes:

Revised version of author's PhD project of the same title, completed at Macquarie University in 2018.-- Page ix.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-235) and indexes.

ISBN:

9782503586960

2503586961

OCLC:

1137198551