Michael L. Satlow , Jewish wedding into the antiquity. Princeton: Princeton University Force, 2001. xii, 431 profiles ; twenty-five cm. ISBN 069100255X $.

Tawny Holm , Indiana College or university away from Pennsylvania.

That it illuminating and you will complete publication by Satlow goes much to show you to definitely discussion about ong Jews, and you can among their Christian, Roman, and you will Greek residents, because it’s today for the progressive Western and modern Jewish neighborhood. Satlow, exactly who sees wedding since the a beneficial socially developed, culturally based place, brings an excellent refreshingly historic perspective to the alarmist commentary nowadays. “The very fact your discourse away from personal relationship ‘crisis’ is really so dated at minimum should aware me to the newest possibility we are referring to an issue of rhetoric a lot more than truth. xvi-xvii). Are you aware that researching hopeful trust you to definitely modern matrimony was alternatively an improve into bad old days of your own patriarchal past, Satlow signifies that old Judaism is far more challenging than just of numerous suppose, and has now “a minumum of one rabbinic articulation of relationship ideals . . . so you can competition our very own egalitarian impression” (p. xvii).

Whether or not the “you to definitely rabbinic articulation” from close-egalitarianism impresses all of the audience, Satlow’s situation to own higher variety between your more Jewish communities was well-made (brand new Palestinian rabbis consistently come in a much better light as compared to Babylonian), with his guide will thus be appealing not only to students of Close East antiquity and Judaism, but to the discovered social. The research takes a single ladies from lithuania plastic material method to Jewish matrimony regarding the Mediterranean Levant (particularly Palestine) and Babylonia in the Persian several months to your rabbinic several months (ca. five hundred B.C.Age. to help you five-hundred C.Age.). There are three first arguments: (1) personal Jewish sets of antiquity differed off each other within understanding of marriage, always but not constantly conceiving relationship with respect to their historical and you may geographical framework; (2) there is nothing basically Jewish on the Jewish wedding up to Jews adjusted living and you may rituals distributed to their server communities in their individual idiom so you’re able to erican marriage ceremonies today, ancient Jewish ideals from the relationship probably diverged considerably out of fact, as well as other old legal medications by rabbis really should not be removed since the detailed.

Satlow appropriately warnings the reader regarding characteristics of first sources; particular attacks have little otherwise skewed evidence, particularly the Persian period (in which i only have Ezra-Nehemiah regarding Bible and Aramaic courtroom documents off Egypt) as well as the Babylonian Amoraic several months 2 hundred-five hundred C.Age. (for which we possess the Babylonian Talmud, a huge resource however, the one that shows a closed rabbinic neighborhood rather than Babylonian Jews at large). Or even the newest sources along with include the fresh Palestinian Talmud and you can midrashim, Jewish site during the Greek (such as the Septuagint interpretation of the Hebrew Bible and The fresh Testament), brand new Dry Sea Scrolls, thrown archaeological remains and you may inscriptions, and some recommendations so you’re able to Jews from the low-Jewish Greek and you will Latin article writers.

Opinion from the

Following the addition, where Satlow outlines his objections, efforts, method, provide, and you may methods, the book try divided in to three bits. Region We, “Thinking about wedding,” considers the latest ideology, theology, and you will judge underpinnings from matrimony. Area II, “Marrying,” movements regarding beliefs of old wedding towards the fact, to that is you are able to: relationship, who y), betrothal, the wedding, and also irregular marriage ceremonies (e.g. second marriages, polygynous marriage ceremonies, concubinage, and you will levirate marriages). Area III, “Getting Married,” covers the fresh new business economics regarding marriage additionally the articulation from Jewish ideals from inside the old literature and you will inscriptions. Shortly after a final section from results, in which Satlow reorganizes his findings diachronically of the months and you will region, the ebook shuts that have detailed stop cards, an extensive bibliography, and you may about three indexes: topic, premodern sources, and modern authors.