Becoming Diaspora Jews: Behind the Story of Elephantine

Karel van der Toorn

Published by Yale University Press 2019

Becoming Diaspora Jews

Behind the Story of Elephantine

Karel van der Toorn

In the series The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library

https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300249491

Overview
Contents

About this book

Based on a previously unexplored source, this book transforms the way we think about the formation of Jewish identity

This book tells the story of the earliest Jewish diaspora in Egypt in a way it has never been told before. In the fifth century BCE there was a Jewish community on Elephantine Island. Why they spoke Aramaic, venerated Aramean gods besides Yaho, and identified as Arameans is a mystery, but a previously little explored papyrus from Egypt sheds new light on their history.

The papyrus shows that the ancestors of the Elephantine Jews came originally from Samaria. Due to political circumstances, they left Israel and lived for a century in an Aramean environment. Around 600 BCE, they moved to Egypt. These migrants to Egypt did not claim a Jewish identity when they arrived, but after the destruction of their temple on the island they chose to deploy their Jewish identity to raise sympathy for their cause. Their story—a typical diaspora tale—is not about remaining Jews in the diaspora, but rather about becoming Jews through the diaspora.

Author / Editor information

Toorn Karel van der :

Karel van der Toorn is professor of religion and society at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of the prizewinning Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible, among other publications.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Elephantine Revisited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Aramean Heritage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
3. The Aramean Diaspora in Egypt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
4. The Origins of the Elephantine Jews Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
5. A Military Colony and Its Religion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
6. Becoming Diaspora Jews Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Appendix: Translation of Papyrus Amherst 63, Adapted from AOAT 448 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
General Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Index of Ancient Sources Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	261

Language: English
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages
- Main content: 304

eBook

Published: October 8, 2019
ISBN: 9780300249491