Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Abrahamic Legends And Lore, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

As a central figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are many extrabiblical traditions about the life of the patriarch Abraham. These sources are important to study because they may contain distant memories of real events in Abraham’s life. It is also interesting to compare the Book of Abraham with these sources because the Book of Abraham might help us understand these extrabiblical sources better and vice versa.

Mezuzah On My Doorpost, Heather Thomson

BYU Studies Quarterly

When my husband and I moved across the city into a Jewish community in Montreal four years ago, we discovered the previous owners of our newly purchased home had left their mezuzah on the front doorpost. I don’t remember now if I’d noticed it when we first stepped through the doorframe of the mid-century, red-brick bungalow on a Friday evening—so unused to the rhythms of Jewish religious observance were we then that we’d unwittingly requested a showing that fell just before sunset, the beginning of Shabbat. But we did see the mezuzah when we moved in a month later, on …

The Children Of Lehi And The Jews Of Sepharad, Shon D. Hopkins, D. Chad Richardson

BYU Studies Quarterly

The Book of Mormon strongly asserts a gathering, not only of Lehi's scattered seed but also of the "Jews." Both Lehi (quoting Joseph of Egypt) and the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel prophesied of a running together of the children of Joseph and the children of Judah. This paper proposes one way in which this prophesied unification of Joseph and Judah into "one nation" may have been in part fulfilled, namely in a joining of the Jews of Sepharad (Sephardic Jews) with the children of Lehi. This occurred when the Sephardic Jews (coming primarily from Spain and Portugal) intermarried with the …

Dark Mirrors: Azazel And Satanael In Early Jewish Demonology, Andrei A. Orlov, David J. Larsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Andrei A. Orlov, professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University, is a highly prolific author and world-renowned scholar who specializes in Christian origins, Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism, and Old Testament pseudepigrapha, including texts such as 2 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham. Among Orlov's many writings are the books The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (TSAJ, 107; Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), From Apocalypticism to Merkabah Mysticism (SJSJ, 114; Leiden: Brill, 2007), Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (OJC, 2; Piscataway: Gorgias, 2009), and Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (Flaviana; Moscow: Gesharim, 2011).

The present book under review, …

Tree Of Souls: The Mythology Of Judaism. By Howard Schwartz, Roger G. Baker

BYU Studies Quarterly

Howard Schwartz. Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

A Prologue To Genesis: Moses 1 In Light Of Jewish Traditions, E. Douglas Clark

BYU Studies Quarterly

Referring to ancient and long-lost scripture that Joseph Smith restored, Wilford Woodruff declared it to be part of “the rich treasures that are revealed unto us in the last days.” One such treasure is Moses chapter 1, a scriptural jewel we have hardly begun to appreciate but whose luster has become more apparent in light of various ancient texts and traditions that have emerged since Joseph Smith’s day. So striking are the parallels as to recall Joseph’s own prophecy that “the world will prove Joseph Smith a true prophet by circumstantial evidence.”

Jews And Mormons: Two Houses Of Israel Frank J. Johnson And Rabbi William J. Leffler, David E. Bokovoy

BYU Studies Quarterly

Frank J. Johnson and Rabbi William J. Leffler. Jews and Mormons: Two Houses of Israel. Hoboken, New York: Ktav Publishing, 2000.

Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths Karen Armstrong; Jerusalem: The Eternal City David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden And Andrew C. Skinner, Gordon A. Madsen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Karen Armstrong. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. xxi; 471 pp. Index, illustrations, maps, bibliography. $17.50.

David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner. Jerusalem: The Eternal City. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996. xi; 493 pp. Index, illustrations, maps, appendices, bibliography. $24.95.

Miquaot: Ritual Immersion Baths In Second Temple (Intertestamental) Jewish History, Stephen D. Ricks

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the most intriguing developments in the archaeology of the Second Temple (intertestamental) period of Judaism occurred during excavations supervised by Yigael Yadin and other archaeologists at Masada, the residence built for King Herod the Great. While excavating the south casemate wall at Masada, these archaeologists came upon three structures that looked like a Jewish ritual bath complex—a small pool, a medium-sized pool, and a large pool. During a routine press conference, it was announced that a possible Jewish ritual bath—a miqveh—had been uncovered. News of this discovery spread quickly throughout Israel, particularly in the very orthodox Hasidic …

The Reliability Of Josephus: Can He Be Trusted?, Eric D. Huntsman

BYU Studies Quarterly

The author Joseph ben Matthias ha-Cohen, like most members of the Judean upper class, lived in several worlds at once. Born in A.D. 37 to an aristocratic family of priestly lineage, Josephus was ostensibly connected with the Hasmonean family that had ruled Judea between 165 B.C. and 38 B.C. His native language was Aramaic, although the was well versed in Hebrew, which by his time was largely a liturgical language. He was an observant Jew whose religious interests led him to affiliate with the three major schools of Judaism—the Sadducees, Essenes, and the Pharisees.

Legal And Social Perspectives On Robbers In First-Century Judea, John W. Welch

BYU Studies Quarterly

Robbers, bandits, zealots, Sicarii, and other groups operating outside of normal legal channels were prominent features on the political landscape in and around the Roman province of Judea in the first century. To an extent, the Jewish insurgents who died at Masada can be viewed as robbers or bandits within the ancient meaning of those terms. Knowing something about the prevailing laws concerning robbery and the typical characteristics of social banditry helps modern people to understand these "outlaws" and to imagine how typical Roman rulers or average Jewish citizens in that day probably viewed both the group of dissidents who …

Alexander The Great Comes To Jerusalem: The Jewish Response To Hellenism, Cecilia M. Peek

BYU Studies Quarterly

When Alexander the Great defeated the forces of Darius III near Gaugamela in 331 B.C., he became heir to the Persian empire. Palestine was among those territories acquired after his victory over the last Achaemenid ruler. For the first twenty years after Alexander's death, this region was hotly contested. The territory was assigned to Laomedon in the initial division of responsibilities in 323 B.C.; he held it until Ptolemy Soter acquired it in 320. In 315, Antigonos One-Eye seized all of Palestine; Ptolemy retrieved it from Antigonos's son Demetrius in 312. Antigonos recaptured the area in 311, but he was …

Three Views On Latter-Day Saints And Jews, John W. Welch

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Jews And Their Future In Early Lds Doctrine, Grant Underwood

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Jews In Lds Thought, Arnold H. Green

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Jewish People, Jewish Thought: The Jewish Experience In History Robert M. Seltzer, Dennis Rasmussen

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Mormonism: Judaeo-Christian Parallels Truman G. Madsen, Ed., Scott Kenney

BYU Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.