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descnbes a woman's uncleanness in connection with menstruation From this he concludes, "women have full access to the sacrificial cult" (p 89) It seems doubtful that the evidence he cites from Leviticus is sufficient to demonstrate that the book assumes full female par ticipation at ceremonial offerings Perhaps a similar example of exceeding the information supplied in the text occurs on 116 "Indeed, the successful performance of the sacrificial offerings involved in their inauguration is intended to reassure the reader that the priests are fully instructed, prepared, and committed to the sensitive task at hand " finds the ordi nation of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 8-9 to be proof of their fundamental competence in chap 10, they know what to do, and they do it In chap 5, offers several more minor disappointments For example, on 139 he says that the term "holiness" means a distinct divine-human relationship But then the pro grammatic statement in Lev 19 2 rather awkwardly insists that Israel is to be distinctly related to Yhwh because Yhwh is distinctly related to Israel Or again, it is slightly con trived to concede that the taking of animal life is a serious matter while alleging that sacri fices do not really take the animal's life because the blood is returned to Yhwh (p 159) All in all, however, the book fairly well achieves its goal of exploring "the ritual dynamics of power relationships, the ritualized negotiation of meaning and participation, and the way in which narrowly cultic ritual ideas can be expanded and democratized to cover the social life of the community" (p 164) These concerns are worthy of serious con sideration in the modern synagogue and church Edwin C Hostetter, Coppin State University Baltimore, MD 21216 JOSEPH BLENKINSOPP, Judaism, the First Phase The Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism (Grand Rapids/Cambndge Eerdmans, 2009) Pp xiv + 262 Paper $30 Blenkmsopp has been involved for decades in the study of Ezra-Nehemiah, a field that has undergone profound development over those years The relative consensus gained m the 1960s is gone Today, studies of the Persian period are legion, and the debates are fer vent In the midst of this, sets forth his views concerning the importance of EzraNehemiah and the Persian period in the development of modern Judaism The book composes an introduction, six chapters (Ongins, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezra-Nehemiah The Roots of Ideology, Ezra and Nehemiah History and Ideology, and The Sectarian Element m Early Judaism), and a "provisional conclusion " also includes a bibliography and both a subject index (incomplete) and a textual citation index (complete) He states that he can offer only provisional conclusions, despite his lengthy argument, because "[n]o one work ing m this period with the few texts which have come down to us should have any doubt about the fragility of our knowledge" (p 228) This statement also reveals something about 's method It is based solidly in the biblical sources of Ezra-Nehemiah and 1 Esdras, although other biblical and extrabiblical materials are certainly used m the argument Even though chides earlier and later Ger man source, form, and traditio-histoncal critics (pp 1-8) for their "religious evolutionism" (p 2) (a point with which most of us agree), he is heavily dependent on the traditiohistoncal method, very much in line with the Alt-Noth school, rather than on either com-

BOOK REVIEWS

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parative historical or archaeological methods. B. devotes considerable pages, especially in the introduction and the first chapter, to nineteenth- and early-twentieth-ccntury scholarship on Jewish origins. Some will not appreciate this; others will find it valuable. It does, however, help to situate B. among other traditio-historical critics. Blenkinsopp argues four major points in this volume. First, he maintains that Jewish origins are to be found in the Persian period, not the Hellenistic period. He suggests that the older view was shaped primarily by the absence of early nonclassical historical sources and possibly by the boundaries of academic disciplines. He suggests that we should recognize that the Neo-Babylonian invasion destroyed the Judean infrastructure, which caused a multiplicity of centers, groups, and parties, all of which claimed legitimacy based on continuity with past traditions. Such groups also attempted to deny legitimacy to other such claimants. Second, this conflict over who had or did not have continuity with the past emanated primarily from the community in the Babylonian Diaspora. This group maintained the view that the Babylonian exile was the climactic event in divine retribution for long-standing Israelite religious infidelity. Part of the group's ideology was a fervor to ritualize social interaction, based fundamentally on Ezekiel 40-48 and a strict interpretation of Deuteronomy. This ritualization process is best represented by Ezra's and Nehemiah's (both of whom are historical figures for B.) efforts to transpose this religious ideology into the social and political realms. Third, the postexilic period does not represent a return to Zion so much as a "diaspora in reverse" from southern Mesopotamia (p. 85; cf. p. 229). B. understands the return as a religious colonization with a clear religious agenda, much like that of the Puritans who came to America. The returnees/colonizers wanted to create a self-segregated and ritually pure society, which was inspired by the new temple and Ezekiel's vision. This demanded resolution of the question of identitywho was inside and outside the community. The returnees/colonizers held a hard line concerning ethnic identity and thus rejected foreign spouses (a "maximalist" view per B. [p. 230]). Nonetheless, other communitiessuch as those who remained in the Diaspora (e.g., Mesopotamia, Elephantine), those in Samaria, and the Judean nonexilesprobably held different views, as might be represented, for instance, by the priestly Abraham traditions. Hence, the larger Judean community faced sectarian issues in this period much as in the Hellenistic period. Fourth and finally, Ezra, as a priest and scribe, and Nehemiah, as a politician, had different spheres of influence but shared the same religious agenda, that is, to keep foreign influences at bay, to maintain the ethnic purity of the community, and to protect the ritual integrity of the new temple. Nehemiah's sworn agreement (Heb 9:38-10:39) was, however, written in the early Hellenistic period and retrojected into Nehemiah. Thus, it constitutes a critical link between the Deuteronomic covenant and the Damascus sectarians. Furthermore, the Hasmonean leadership imitated Nehemiah's political model and goals, achieving successful independenceif for just a brief periodwhere Nehemiah could not. This volume continues the tradition of B. in that it carries on and springs from his prior work, interacts with the current scholarship, argues soundly from the biblical text, and is well written. I would recommend this book readily to those interested in the Books of Ezra-Nehemiah, Second Temple Judaism, and the postexilic period, whether students or scholars. E Rachel Magdalene, University of Leipzig, DE 04109 Leipzig, Germany

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