Studies in Early Jewish Epigraphy

This volume contains the papers of a workshop on Jewish epigraphy in antiquity organized at Utrecht University in 1992. Among the participants were collaborators of the Cambridge Jewish Inscriptions Project and of the Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients project. Important aspects of ancient Jewish inscriptions are highlighted in the papers, like the connection between documentary and literary texts. Several papers focus on aspects of the history of Jewish communities in the diaspora. Specialists in Jewish epigraphy will find surveys of parts of the corpus of Jewish inscriptions (curse inscriptions, metrical epitaphs, alphabet-inscriptions) and discussions of some fixed opinions, and Jewish inscriptions are discussed in a wider literary and historical contexts as well. CONTENTS: William Horbury, `Jewish Inscriptions and Jewish Literature in Egypt, with Special Reference to Ecclesiasticus'. Jan Willem van Henten, `A Jewish Epitaph in a Literary Text: 4 Macc 17:8-10'. Johan H.M. Strubbe, 'Curses Against Violation of the Grave in Jewish Epitaphs from Asia Minor'. Pieter W. van der Horst, `Jewish Poetical Tomb Inscriptions'. Alice J. Bij de Vaate, `Alphabet-Inscriptions from Jewish Graves'. David Noy, `The Jewish Communities of Leontopolis and Venosa'. Gert Luderitz, `What is the Politeuma?' Tessa Rajak, `Inscription and Context: Reading the Jewish Catacombs of Rome'. Gerard Mussies, `Jewish Personal Names in Some Non-Literary Sources'. Hanswulf Bloedhorn, `Zur Architektur der Synagogen in der Diaspora'.