Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the Mishnah: A Historical and Literary Introduction

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Summary: New Vistas for Many Readers
Review: In this book, Nickelsburg places a number of non-canonical books into their historical setting. He begins with a brief history of the Return and the Dispersion then goes on to explain how nu-merous books came about as a response to the Dispersion, the wake of Alexander the Great, the Romans and Herod the Great, and on through the Second Revolt. Consider that the Book of Judith may tell the story of the time of Nebuchanezzar but its many parallels describe the times of Judas Maccabeus. Or the DSS commentary on Habakkuk probably shows that when the Mac-cabeans tampered with the priesthood not all of Israel was solidly behind them.

For many readers Nickelsburg's _Jewish Literature_ will open up new ways to read and understand ancient Jewish writings.