Greek Genres and Jewish Authors - by Sean A Adams (Hardcover)

About the Book

Greek Genres and Jewish Authors provides a rich resource for Jewish, New Testament, and classical scholars, particularly those who study cultural engagement, development of genres, and ancient education.

Book Synopsis

The ancient world, much like our own, thrived on cultural diversity and exchange. The riches of this social reality are evident in the writings of Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman eras. Jewish authors drew on the wide range of Greek literary conventions and gave fresh expressions to the proud traditions of their faith and ethnic identity. They did not hesitate to modify and adapt the forms they received from the surrounding culture, but their works stand as legitimate participants in Greco-Roman literary tradition.

In Greek Genres and Jewish Authors, Sean Adams argues that a robust understanding of ancient genre facilitates proper textual interpretation. This perspective is vital for insight on the author, the work's original purpose, and how the original readers would have received it. Adopting a cognitive-prototype theory of genre, Adams provides a detailed discussion of Jewish authors writing in Greek from ca. 300 BCE to ca. 135 CE--including New Testament authors--and their participation in Greek genres. The nine chapters focus on broad genre divisions (e.g., poetry, didactic, philosophy) to provide studies on each author's engagement with Greek genres, identifying both representative and atypical expressions and features.

The book's most prominent contribution lies in its data synthesis to provide a macroperspective on the ways in which Jewish authors participated in and adapted Greek genres--in other words, how members of a minority culture intentionally engaged with the dominant culture's literary practices alongside traditional Jewish features, resulting in unique text expressions. Greek Genres and Jewish Authors provides a rich resource for Jewish, New Testament, and classical scholars, particularly those who study cultural engagement, development of genres, and ancient education.

Review Quotes

This is an important contribution to the field and essential reading for scholars working in this material.

--Daniel M. Gurtner "Religious Studies Review"

This is a book well worth reading, not just putting on the shelf to adorn a library. Scholars of Second Temple literature will profit significantly from the wide-ranging and regularly insightful probing of texts that span the literary landscape from epic and tragedy to the gospels of the New Testament.

--Erich S. Gruen "Review of Biblical Literature"

Adams's monograph is a tremendous piece of scholarship. All students of the first century should read it and consider its implications. He convincingly argues that much of the discourse on Judaism and Hellenism should be rethought in light of the literary culture that developed between these two. New Testament scholars will find this work helpful as well, as the conclusions he draws here should cause us to rethink some aspects of the origins and development of the literature that became the New Testament canon.

--J. Brittain Brewer "Calvin Theological Journal"

This monograph is to be recommended for its many insights into the concept of genre and its relation to the literary practice of a distinctive group of writers within the Greco-Roman context.

--David Runia "Vigilae Christianae"

This volume is a treasure trove of information and a model for how to build an argument. Throughout, Adams offers insightful textual analysis to support his thesis that writers use texts in social contexts to form cultural identity.

--Elizabeth E. Shively "Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society"

No certain answer is available on a number of these topics, but Adams has a helpful discussion with extensive literature.

--Lester L. Grabbe "Journal for the Study of the Old Testament"

Readers will be well served by dipping into the detailed commentary offered in each of the chapters of this impressive book. Adams deserves our thanks for his efforts.

--Robert Kugler "Byran Mawr"

About the Author

Sean A. Adams is Professor of New Testament and Ancient Culture in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Glasgow.