From Death to Life: Conversion in Joseph and Aseneth (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement)

Randall D. Chesnutt

ISBN 10: 1850755167 / ISBN 13: 9781850755166

Published by Continuum International Publishing Group - Sheffie, 1995

About this Item

16 edition. 312 pages. 8.50x5.67x0.87 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-1850755167

Bibliographic Details

• Title: From Death to Life: Conversion in Joseph and Aseneth (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement)
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group - Sheffie
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1850755167
• ISBN 13: 9781850755166
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.56 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

This monograph, the first in English on any aspect of Joseph and Aseneth, examines Aseneth's conversion as narrated in this important but neglected apocryphal Jewish romance. An extensive history of research on Joseph and Aseneth and an analysis of key issues such as text, original language, character, provenance, date, and genre, precede and inform the study of conversion. The story of Aseneth's conversion has too often been understood on the basis of premature and superficial comparisons with other paradigms of conversion and initiation in the Hellenistic world. As a corrective, Chesnutt assigns priority to descriptive over comparative analysis. He draws comparisons and contrasts with other models of conversion and initiation only after he has carefully examined Aseneth's conversion in its own right within the literary context of Joseph and Aseneth and the social context which the document itself reflects. The attention not only to conversion but also to much broader social and religious dimensions of Judaism in antiquity makes this book important for specialists in Christian origins, Greco-Roman religions, women's studies, and patristics, as well as the history of Judaism

About the Author

Lester L. Grabbe is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull. He is founder and convenor of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology. A recent book is Ancient Israel:What Do We Know and How Do We Know it?