Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Divinity School, Aug. 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

<p>Noting the disparities between the stipulations of rabbinic law and the behavior of the Herodian royal family, scholars have traditionally described the family's commitment to Judaism as lackluster. In particular, many examples from the Herodians' marriage and divorce practices have been engaged to support this view. In contrast, I argue that the royal Jews' behavior in general and their marital practices in particular were largely in accord with one of the formulations of Jewish law in circulation in the first centuries B.C.E. and C.E. Indeed, the extant Second Temple writings indicate that Judaism in Roman Palestine was highly diverse. The rabbis, whose views became normative from late antiquity and on, may well have formed only one of the many competing schools of interpretation in Herodian times. Consequently, the family's failure to comply with rabbinic views does not preclude their identification as pious Jews committed to fulfilling the Law. In fact, one can make an argument for the Herodians' piety based on close readings of biblical texts, Josephus' descriptions of the royal family, and even certain readings of rabbinic texts. Other Jewish texts that pre- and postdate Herodian rule, as well as those from the late Second Temple era itself, further support this view. Indeed, situating the Herodians within their proper setting in Roman Palestine suggests that they were committed Jews who formed one subgroup of the many pious Jewish parties that comprised the diverse world of late Second Temple Judaism.</p> / Dissertation

The present study examines the evolution of the definitions of 31 terms having to do with three prominent religions in Spain: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The definitions are analyzed for racism and religious bias in reference to the cultural and ideological periods of Spanish society throughout history. Each word is studied from the earliest date of appearance in a Spanish language dictionary. The database used is the Nuevo Tesoro Lexicográfico de la Lengua Española (NTLLE), published by the Real Academia Española (RAE) in 2001, which includes 70 dictionaries, 37 of which are written by authors not connected with the RAE. In an attempt to broaden the historical point of view, as many entries from dictionaries as possible are used in this analysis. Racist definitions are defined as containing abusive or pejorative language that insinuates that one race, or religion, is superior to another. Biased definitions use language that inhibits neutrality in the descriptions. It is shown that Christian terms are generally associated with positive concepts. Terms related to Judaism suffer much racism and religious bias through pejorative language and direct comparison to Christianity. Islamic terms reveal less racism in their entries and fall more often under neutral descriptions. That fewer biased entries exist for Islamic terms may be related to their status as a majority in Spain during large periods of history, whereas Jews suffered more racism because they were consistently the minority. The role of the Spanish Inquisition in the persecution of Jews will is shown to have heavy influence in the entries for several Jewish terms. While the item judío suffers the most extensive use of pejorative language, moro is the only term for which negative language endures to the present.

Thesis (D. Min.)--University of Chicago, The Divinity School, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, The Divnitiy School, Aug. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-134).

No description available.

In the Hebrew Bible, literary patterns of revelation and concealment are based on humanity's initial encounter with God in the Garden of Eden. God asks the question "Where are you?" Adam and Eve reveal themselves by articulating their concealment behind the fig leaf. This paradox effects their exile from Eden, and their progeny must henceforth mediate this paradox in their future verbal intercourse with God. / It is the intention of this work to suggest how in certain textual passages, this paradox is defined and structured according to a literary dichotomy of language and silence. After the exile, biblical characters proclaim their presence before God by uttering a password ("Here I am") which is, in effect, an existential utterance of dialogic reconstruction. Through various literary devices, I hope to show how this "vertical" dialogue is re-established by Adam and Eve's progeny, and how the biblical narrator(s) uses language to show silence as a "phenomenon" of the word.

This paper examines the exegetical history of the prohibition against kindling fire on the Sabbath day. Since its biblical inception Ex. 35:3, the prohibition against kindling fire on the Sabbath, has undergone a multiplicity of interpretations. The texts examined in this paper survey the treatment of this verse from its inception through to the twentieth century and the advent of electricity. Over generations exegetes have understood this biblical verse to be a prohibition against kindling, burning, and even cooking. The debates concerning the legal status and implications of the verse have additionally been outlined in this paper. Tracing the history of this verse, therefore, provides insight into the meaning of the verse and its halakhic implications.