Review of Adler, The Origins of Judaism

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Origins of Judaism': Finding how far back rabbinic tradition goes - review. Prof. Yonatan Adler’s book provides proofs both for and against how far back ‘rabbinic Judaism’ goes (ARI ZIVOTOFSKY, Jerusalem Post).

Adler presents a treasure trove of ancient texts (e.g., Josephus, Philo, Letter of Aristeas, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, assorted papyri) and archaeological findings related to a variety of commandments. The sources are enlightening, intriguing, sometimes surprising and, as he explains, prove without a shadow of a doubt that by 2,100 years ago, Jews in the Land of Israel practiced Judaism in a manner similar to today.

But what about a few hundred years earlier? Adler’s thesis is that it all started only about 2,100 to 2,200 years ago. Overall, he tackles about a dozen religious practices and tries to show that they only emerged in the first/second centuries BCE. His data are impressive, his conclusions less so.

This review is worth a read. The author has some thoughtful criticisms of Adler's case.

That said, he does not seem to understand, or at least does not make clear, that the problem with the Elephantine "Passover Papyrus" is that the word "Passover" does not actually survive on the document. It has to be reconstructed. The reconstruction seems plausible to me, but that's not the same as having the word on the leather.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Adler's work, especially his book The Origins of Judaism, along with some of my own criticisms, see here and links.

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