Katell Berthelot

An expansive history of Jerusalem as a cultural crossroads, and a fresh look at the urban development of one of the world's most mythologized cities. Jerusalem is often seen as an eternal battlefield in the "clash of civilizations" and in endless, inevitable wars of religion. But if we abandon this limiting image when reviewing the entirety of its concrete urban history—from its beginnings to today—we discover a global city at the world's crossroads. Jerusalem is the common cradle of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose long and intertwined pasts include as much exchange and reciprocal influence as conflict and confrontation. This synthetic account is the first to make available to the general public Jerusalem's whole history, informed by the latest archaeological finds, unexplored archives, and ongoing research and offering a completely renewed understanding of the city's past and geography. This book is an indispensable guide to understanding why the world converges on Jerusalem.

How encounters with the Roman Empire compelled the Jews of antiquity to rethink their conceptions of Israel and the TorahThroughout their history, Jews have lived under a succession of imperial powers, from Assyria and Babylonia to Persia and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Jews and Their Roman Rivals shows how the Roman Empire posed a unique challenge to Jewish thinkers such as Philo, Josephus, and the Palestinian rabbis, who both resisted and internalized Roman standards and imperial ideology. Katell Berthelot traces how, long before the empire became Christian, Jews came to perceive Israel and Rome as rivals competing for supremacy. Both considered their laws to be the most perfect ever written, and both believed they were a most pious people who had been entrusted with a divine mission to bring order and peace to the world. Berthelot argues that the rabbinic identification of Rome with Esau, Israel's twin brother, reflected this sense of rivalry. She discusses how this challenge transformed ancient Jewish ideas about military power and the use of force, law and jurisdiction, and membership in the people of Israel. Berthelot argues that Jewish thinkers imitated the Romans in some cases and proposed competing models in others. Shedding new light on Jewish thought in antiquity, Jews and Their Roman Rivals reveals how Jewish encounters with pagan Rome gave rise to crucial evolutions in the ways Jews conceptualized the Torah and conversion to Judaism.

How encounters with the Roman Empire compelled the Jews of antiquity to rethink their conceptions of Israel and the TorahThroughout their history, Jews have lived under a succession of imperial powers, from Assyria and Babylonia to Persia and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Jews and Their Roman Rivals shows how the Roman Empire posed a unique challenge to Jewish thinkers such as Philo, Josephus, and the Palestinian rabbis, who both resisted and internalized Roman standards and imperial ideology. Katell Berthelot traces how, long before the empire became Christian, Jews came to perceive Israel and Rome as rivals competing for supremacy. Both considered their laws to be the most perfect ever written, and both believed they were a most pious people who had been entrusted with a divine mission to bring order and peace to the world. Berthelot argues that the rabbinic identification of Rome with Esau, Israel's twin brother, reflected this sense of rivalry. She discusses how this challenge transformed ancient Jewish ideas about military power and the use of force, law and jurisdiction, and membership in the people of Israel. Berthelot argues that Jewish thinkers imitated the Romans in some cases and proposed competing models in others. Shedding new light on Jewish thought in antiquity, Jews and Their Roman Rivals reveals how Jewish encounters with pagan Rome gave rise to crucial evolutions in the ways Jews conceptualized the Torah and conversion to Judaism.

Katell Berthelot challenges the widespread historiographical consensus that the Hasmoneans embarked on wars of conquest in order to reconquer the Promised Land, the Biblical Land of Israel. She shows that the sources used in support of this consensus - such as 1 Maccabees 15:33-35 - have been over-interpreted. She suggests a different approach to this question. In particular, she argues that in 1 Maccabees, the Hasmoneans deliberately imitate the language ascribed to the Seleucid kings, and that the discourse on the Land found in 1 Maccabees, is congruent with the language of property rights over a given territory in the rhetoric of Hellenistic diplomacy. Berthelot's close examination of accounts by Josephus and other writers, as well as of archaeological and numismatic data, allows her to reconstruct the different factors that led to the Hasmonean wars of conquest. Although Hasmonean leaders were clearly motivated by politico-religious objectives (e.g. getting rid of competing temples in areas under their control), the Deuteronomic commandment to wipe out the inhabitants of the Land and abolish idolatry does not necessarily account for their acts of destruction and the so-called 'forced conversion' of the Idumeans, the Itureans and other groups. Instead, Berthelot's analysis of the sources leads her to reach a different conclusion. Finally, Berthelot investigates the echoes of the Hasmonean wars of conquest in the Dead Sea Scrolls and their memory in rabbinic literature. This allows her to show that, contrary to expectation, there is little evidence that the Hasmonean dynasty was perceived as having reconquered the Promised Land or restored the people of Israel within the borders of the Land of Israel.

This volume of essays presents a compelling and comprehensive analysis of the intriguing issue of the gift of the land of Israel and the fate of the Canaanites as presented in diverse biblical sources. Jewish thought has long grappled with the moral and theological implications and challenges of this issue. Innovative interpretive strategies and philosophical reflections were offered, modified, and sometimes rejected over the centuries. Leading contemporary scholars follow these threads of interpretation offered by Jewish thinkers from antiquity to modern times.

This volume of essays presents a compelling and comprehensive analysis of the intriguing issue of the gift of the land of Israel and the fate of the Canaanites as presented in diverse biblical sources. Jewish thought has long grappled with the moral and theological implications and challenges of this issue. Innovative interpretive strategies and philosophical reflections were offered, modified, and sometimes rejected over the centuries. Leading contemporary scholars follow these threads of interpretation offered by Jewish thinkers from antiquity to modern times.