Magdala of Galilee: A Jewish City in the Hellenistic and Roman Period - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1481302930 ISBN 13: 9781481302937

Publisher: Baylor University Press, 2018

Synopsis

Magdala of Galilee for the first time unifies the results of various excavations of the Galilean city. Here, archaeologists and historians of the Second Temple Period work together to understand the site and its significance to profile Galilee and the region around the lake in the Early Roman period.

After a comprehensive overview of the history and character of the city, the volume details the harbor, the domestic and mercantile sectors, the Jewish ritual baths, and the synagogue, with its unique and remarkable engraved stone. There is also a full study of Magdala’s fishing industry, which dominated fishing on the lake, and the production of salted fish. The rabbinic traditions about Magdala are fully investigated for the first time, and a study of Josephus’ account of the city’s role in the Jewish revolt is also included. The in-depth archaeological, historical, and literary analyses are enriched by a wealth of on-site photographs, regional maps, and excavation plans.

Edited by Richard Bauckham, this cutting-edge synthesis of international field work and scholarly study brings the City of Fish and its place in Jewish history and culture into sharp relief, providing both specialists and general readers with a richer understanding of the background of early Judaism and Christianity.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Bauckham was, until 2007, Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor in the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and is now Professor Emeritus at St Andrews. A fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is the author of many books, including The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation and Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology.

Review

Magdala of Galilee is a welcome and timely addition to the emergent and significant corpus of reports on recent excavations in Galilee. But it is much more than a collection of reports due to the enormous efforts of the editor and chief contributor, Richard Bauckham. His summaries of major aspects of the excavation and important historical and literary interpretations make this volume essential reading for anyone seriously interested in Galilean studies. Of special note are the numerous comments on the synagogue and the decorated stone found in it, as well as the noteworthy discussion on the fishing industry in Taricheae and the ritual baths in the domestic areas.

(Eric M. Meyers, Bernice & Morton Lerner Emeritus Professor of Jewish Studies, Duke University)

Recently excavated Magdala has a model site for studying village life in the ancient Galilee, a region central to the history of early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. This thorough volume presents the results of research by leading scholars on its archaeology, history, and economic life.

(Lawrence H. Schiffman, Judge Abraham Lieberman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and Director of the Global Network for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies, New York University)

For research in the archaeology and history of Galilee in the time of Jesus nothing has been more exciting than the recent rediscovery of a major part of first-century Magdala on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Richard Bauckham and a team of archaeologists and historians provide readers with the latest insights into Magdala’s synagogue, the ritual immersion pools, the wharf, and several streets and buildings. Our understanding of what a small Galilean city would have looked like in the days of Jesus has taken a big step forward.

(Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University)

Such a thorough report on Magdala has been needed for some time, and now that the excavations have progressed so far, it can be produced. I am confident that archaeologists, New Testament scholars, and scholars of early Judaism will find this volume attractive and informative.

(David Fiensy, Professor of New Testament, Kentucky Christian University)

Edition details

• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1481302930
• ISBN 13: 9781481302937
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 460
• Editor: Bauckham Richard