How did Early Judaism Understand the Concept of ʿAvodah?
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Stefan C. Reif
Abstract
The Hebrew word ʿavodah has an intriguing semantic history. Early Rabbinic texts presuppose meanings that include “work,” “study,” “Temple worship” and “prayer.” Do these nuances have a respectable linguistic pedigree, or did the Rabbis invent them? In order to respond to this question, an assessment will be offered of how the word is defined in Classical Hebrew and in the Hebrew texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These findings will then be compared with how the word was rendered by those who translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek for the Septuagint, and by the grandson of Ben Sira. It will then be possible to offer a tentative analysis of how theology appears to have influenced language in the treatment of this word by the Jews of the Second Temple period.
Abstract
The Hebrew word ʿavodah has an intriguing semantic history. Early Rabbinic texts presuppose meanings that include “work,” “study,” “Temple worship” and “prayer.” Do these nuances have a respectable linguistic pedigree, or did the Rabbis invent them? In order to respond to this question, an assessment will be offered of how the word is defined in Classical Hebrew and in the Hebrew texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These findings will then be compared with how the word was rendered by those who translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek for the Septuagint, and by the grandson of Ben Sira. It will then be possible to offer a tentative analysis of how theology appears to have influenced language in the treatment of this word by the Jews of the Second Temple period.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface of the Editorial Board of Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook vii
- Preface ix
- Contents xi
- How did Early Judaism Understand the Concept of ʿAvodah? 1
- The Garland: A Sign of Worship and Acknowledgement 17
- Temples and Sanctuaries within Their Apocalyptic Setting 41
- Solomon’s Temple and Israel’s Earlier Cultic Traditions in 2 Chronicles 1−8 63
- Sirach Chapter 2 and the Temple 77
- Ben Sira on the Piety of Men and the Piety of Women 107
- Word and Prayer in the Book of Ben Sira 117
- Worship in the Restored Second Temple in Sirach 50 141
- The Temple as a Place of Worship and the God of Heaven in 2 Maccabees 167
- A Narrative-Therapeutic Reading of the Martyr Narrative in 2 Maccabees 6 and 7 181
- Bodily Signs of Penitence in the Book of Baruch 197
- Piety without the Temple according to the Book of Baruch 215
- Babylonian Priests in the Description of the Epistle of Jeremiah 225
- No Place for Worship 247
- Gestures and Locations of Worship in the Book of Tobit 261
- Charity and Cult in the Book of Tobit 277
- Worship and Holy Places in the Wisdom of Solomon 289
- Aspects of Worship in the Letter of Aristeas 305
- Die kosmische Bedeutung des jüdischen Hohenpriesters im Denken Philos von Alexandrien 319
- Temple and Synagogue in Late Antiquity 341
- Worship in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 365
- Worship and Creation 389
- Contributors 421
- Index of References 423
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface of the Editorial Board of Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook vii
- Preface ix
- Contents xi
- How did Early Judaism Understand the Concept of ʿAvodah? 1
- The Garland: A Sign of Worship and Acknowledgement 17
- Temples and Sanctuaries within Their Apocalyptic Setting 41
- Solomon’s Temple and Israel’s Earlier Cultic Traditions in 2 Chronicles 1−8 63
- Sirach Chapter 2 and the Temple 77
- Ben Sira on the Piety of Men and the Piety of Women 107
- Word and Prayer in the Book of Ben Sira 117
- Worship in the Restored Second Temple in Sirach 50 141
- The Temple as a Place of Worship and the God of Heaven in 2 Maccabees 167
- A Narrative-Therapeutic Reading of the Martyr Narrative in 2 Maccabees 6 and 7 181
- Bodily Signs of Penitence in the Book of Baruch 197
- Piety without the Temple according to the Book of Baruch 215
- Babylonian Priests in the Description of the Epistle of Jeremiah 225
- No Place for Worship 247
- Gestures and Locations of Worship in the Book of Tobit 261
- Charity and Cult in the Book of Tobit 277
- Worship and Holy Places in the Wisdom of Solomon 289
- Aspects of Worship in the Letter of Aristeas 305
- Die kosmische Bedeutung des jüdischen Hohenpriesters im Denken Philos von Alexandrien 319
- Temple and Synagogue in Late Antiquity 341
- Worship in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 365
- Worship and Creation 389
- Contributors 421
- Index of References 423
