Archaeological data have shown a notable decline of the population from the end of the monarchy to the time of E-N. And there is no evidence of many outsiders swarming into Judah. Therefore the returnees constitute only a minority in Persian Yehud. A study on biblical and other sources implies that the Persian regime shaped and formulated their policy on Yehud for the Empire's own interest. With the support of the central government, the Second Temple as well as its priests and Levites have been elevated, while the remainers are marginalized, discriminated against and accused by the returnees. / Both Jewish and Christian traditions as well as modern scholarship on the Hebrew Bible have shown great interest in the issue of identity with special focus on the situation of the Restoration period. However, many of the contributions tend to lay their emphasis on the negative side about how the marginalization takes place in the texts of Ezra-Nehemiah (E-N hereafter) and Chronicles, but there is little attention paid to comparing and measuring the complexities of both phenomenon: marginalizing and acceptance, and no previous study has yet dealt with the different groups in E-N and Chronicles so far. This study attempts to bring the focus on the different groups during that period. Based on the archaeological and extra-biblical data, which may help us to reconstruct the social fabric of Persian Yehud, it then zeros in to appreciate how the texts have portrayed different groups and analyzes how the biblical authors establish the identity and identification of selves and others. / Meanwhile, three groups emerge for the first time. The Nethinim, who have a foreign origin are considered Israelites and assigned the role of assistants to the priests and Levites to take part in the service of the Temple. Gatekeepers become a sub-military force in Yehud and are responsible for local administration and management of temple property. As for the singers, they substitute the pre-exilic prophets and became messengers bearing the ideology of the ruling class to the people. The latter two groups therefore earn high status and are portrayed by the Chronicler as descendants of the Levites despite their doubtful origin. This enables them to claim the identity of Israelites in the canon. / This study demonstrates that in the unique historical background of the Persian Period, the biblical authors of post-exilic historiography to a great extent determine the identity of "foreigners", "Israelites" and "Levites" according to the social reality of animosity between groups, rather than to the often assumed categories of ethnicity such as strict adherence to blood ties and faith. / This study is divided into two parts. Section I works on the historical background of the Persian Period, followed by Section II, which traces the marginalization of those who remained and the elevation of gatekeepers, singers, and the Nethinim. / 孟振華. / Adviser: Chi Chung Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3182. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-148). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Meng Zhenhua.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-173). Also available via the World Wide Web.

No description available.

This research was conducted to determine the extent to which Jewish adults perceive themselves ethnically and/or religiously Jewish and how a range of personal characteristics, attitudes and practices related to the importance of ethnic and religious identity. A random sample of 540 individuals was taken from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver's mailing list comprised of Jewish individuals in the Lower Mainland that identify with the Jewish community This sample completed a survey on the importance of Jewish ethnic and religious identity. There were significantly more people who felt it was very important or somewhat important to be ethnically Jewish than felt it was very important or somewhat important to be religiously Jewish: 92.1% versus 59.8%. Three hypotheses were tested to examine the relationship between the importance of ethnic and religious identity (dependent variables) and the importance of ethnic and religious identity and certain personal characteristics, attitudes and practices. Cross-tabulations and analysis of variance were done to test these hypotheses. A fourth hypothesis was tested with logistic regression which was used to build a model to predict whether a subject would rate "ethnic" Jewishness as "very important" vs. "not very important" and "religious" Jewishness as "important" or "unimportant" based on a set of predictor variables. The findings indicate a significant relationship between the two dependent variables, very few personal characteristics were related to the dependent variables, and a significant relationship was found between all the attitudes and the majority of the practices and the two dependent variables. The most important predictor of whether a subject would rate "ethnic" Jewishness as "very important" or "not very important" was the global attitude score. The most important predictors of whether a subject would rate "religious" Jewishness as "important" or "unimportant" were global attitude and attitudes and practices reported as important because they are divinely ordained. When global attitudes were taken out of the logistic regression model due to their high degree of overlap with the global practices, the most important predictor of whether a subject would rate "ethnic" Jewishness as "very important" or "not very important" were the global practices, proportion of Jewish friends, and attitudes and practices reported as important because they provide a connection to the Jewish people. The most important predictors for whether a subject would rate" religious" Jewishness as "important" or "unimportant" were marital status, global practice, denominational affiliation and attitudes and practices reported as important because they are divinely ordained. The individual's sense of identity and the factors that contribute to that identity are important aspects in the psychological functioning of members of ethnic, racial and religious minority groups. The information gathered from this study aids those in the helping profession in understanding the important and unique role religion and ethnicity plays in individual lives as well as identifying ethnic and religious priorities for community services.

Techn. Univ., Diss/2004--Darmstadt, 2003.

Techn. Univ., Diss.-2004 u.d.T.: Schäbitz, Michael: Die Judengesetzgebung und die Akkulturation und Integration der Juden im Kurfürstentum/Königreich Sachsen 1700 - 1914--Berlin, 2003.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität, Berlin, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-420) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universität, Berlin, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 397-420) and index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brandeis University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on August 9, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 286-297). Also available on the Internet.