Review of The origins of Judaism : an archaeological historical reappraisal, by Yonatan Adler

Abstract

This book presents a bold and provocative thesis: Judaism, defined as the observance of Jewish rites, ceremonies, and practices that are informed or inspired by the Torah—broadly defined as “the entire system of the law that had developed surrounding the Pentateuch” (6)—emerged not in the Persian period but in the second half of the second century BCE, as a result of a Hasmonaean policy aimed to promote the Torah as the law of the land and thereby create a distinctive Judaean identity as a counterpart to Hellenism. The argument is not new and aligns with similar conclusions reached by Philip Davies, John Collins, and Reinhard Kratz, among others. What is novel, however, is the methodological approach and the focus of the inquiry.