St. Felix
"Living in a Martyrial World" demonstrates the necessity of recognizing that, in Christian traditions, martyrdom does not always require death.
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Diane Fruchtman
St. Felix
Cultural Heritage at Risk in Libya
Philip Kenrick, author of the Libya Archaeological Guides to Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, describes the threatened antiquities in Libya.
Read MoreShikhin Excavations with James R. Strange
Oil lamp, photo courtesy James R. Strange.
Oil lamp, photo courtesy James R. Strange.
Brian Leport interviews Dr. James R. Strange about the excavations at Shikhin.
Read MoreLeftovers: Understanding Culinary History
Leftovers is a blog that explores historical cookbooks as a way of understanding culinary history.
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | Rebecca Falcasantos
Constantine the Great presents the city (Constantinople) and Justinian the Great presents Hagia Sophia to the Virgin, mosaic
Constantine the Great presents the city (Constantinople) and Justinian the Great presents Hagia Sophia to the Virgin, mosaic
Falcasantos, Rebecca. “A Land Cleansed of Heretics”: Cult Practice and Contestation in the Christianization of Late Antique Constantinople. Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, 2015.
Read MoreDissertation Spotlight | John Mandsager
Moan Synagogue
Moan Synagogue
Mandsager, John. To Stake a Claim: The Making of Rabbinic Agricultural Spaces in the Roman Countryside. Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 2014.
Read MoreStudents Think Better with Thinking Pieces: Why You Should Consider Using Low- Stakes Writing Assignments in Your Class
Relief in Neumagen near Trier, a teacher with three discipuli (180-185 CE)
Relief in Neumagen near Trier, a teacher with three discipuli (180-185 CE)
As you prepare your syllabi for the upcoming academic year, consider using low-stakes writing assignments as an assessment option.
Read MoreElegy for Hatra: The City of the Sun God
I began writing this post after the Islamicists' rampage through the Mosul Museum, but now news reports are coming in that ISIL bulldozers are also on their way to destroy the ancient city of Hatra some 80 km away
Read More"Unexpected Influences" with Adele Reinhartz and Andrew Jacobs
Olympians in D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
Olympians in D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
Find out which non-field related books Dr. Adele Reinhartz and Dr. Andrew Jacobs found influential.
Read MoreAJR receives American Academy for Jewish Research Grant
We are pleased to announced that the Ancient Jew Review is an American Academy of Jewish Research grant recipient.
Read MoreRe-Enacting Nicaea
"Unexpected Influences" with Seth Schwartz and Steven Weitzman
Vincent van Gogh | Stilleven
Vincent van Gogh | Stilleven
Find out which non-field related books Dr. Seth Schwartz and Dr. Steve Weitzman found influential.
Read MoreDavid’s Kingdom and the Province of Academic and Popular Discussion
David and Goliath by Caravaggio
David and Goliath by Caravaggio
Stories about new biblical discoveries appear yearly in major newspapers around the world. But do all of these announcements give an accurate picture of what scholars – of archaeology, epigraphy, or the Bible – actually do?
Read MoreThe Understudied and Marginal Josephus: Bringing Him into the Conversation
The Bust of Flavius Josephus (but not actually Josephus).
The Bust of Flavius Josephus (but not actually Josephus).
There is good news and bad news for the state of Josephan studies.
Read MoreWho is Carpocrates?
A Saturnalia celebration.
A Saturnalia celebration.
At first glance, Carpocrates looks like an unremarkable character in the history of ancient Judaism and early Christianity.
Read MoreThe Jewishness of Josephus: an Interview with Sören Swoboda
Woodcut illustration of the story of Paulina and Decius Mundus from Josephus's Jewish Antiquities from aGerman translation by Heinrich Steinhöwel of Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, printed by Johannes Zainer at Ulm ca. 1474.
Woodcut illustration of the story of Paulina and Decius Mundus from Josephus's Jewish Antiquities from aGerman translation by Heinrich Steinhöwel of Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, printed by Johannes Zainer at Ulm ca. 1474.
My book compares Josephus’ Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities with the work of other historians in antiquity.
Read MorePatterns and Theory: the Evolution of a Category
A brief review of the original aims of the unit prompted several questions for me: how much have the sessions addressed these questions? what has not been addressed? what else has been addressed? and with what results?
Read MoreAn Introduction to Toledot Yeshu
Marc Chagall's Mystical Crucifixion
Marc Chagall's Mystical Crucifixion
The Toledot Yeshu, which ridicules Jesus’ birth, miracles, and death, sheds light on another Jewish response to the threat and allure of Christianity.
Read MoreAlterity in Late Antiquity: Disrupting Binaries
Jewish Dance" by Alexandr Onishenko, 1999
Jewish Dance" by Alexandr Onishenko, 1999
What are the "relations" in early Jewish Christian relations? The term "relations" is neutral enough to encompass a variety of relationships, from enemy to friend to anywhere in between.
Read MoreJews and Christians: Embracing the Wide Spectrum
In my comments today, I would like to offer my reflections on three trends I perceive in the study of early Jewish/Christian relations, both here at the SBL and more broadly.
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