Exogamy and Divorce in Ezra and Nehemiah

Author(s):  
Herbert R. Marbury

This article focuses on the divorce rhetoric of Ezra-Nehemiah within the context of Persian imperial dominion. After outlining the scholarly history of inquiry into the divorces and admonitions against exogamy—stemming from challenges to historicity, the dating of the reforms, and the debate about Ezra’s or Nehemiah’s priority—this work examines the framing devices of return and restoration with regard to the Second Temple. The article takes up Persian engagement with temple communities in Egypt and Babylon and turns to analyze the multivalent character of the divorce rhetoric to show that it is a response to similar Persian engagement in Yehud. Finally, this work shows how the rhetoric evidences the negotiation of Persian power by the Second Temple priesthood and plays a role in Yehudite identity formation.

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-207
Author(s):  
Beth A. Berkowitz

This article addresses recent arguments that question whether “Judaism,” as such, existed in antiquity or whether the Jewishness of the Second Temple period should be characterized in primarily ethnic terms. At stake is the question of whether it is appropriate to speak of Judaism as an abstract system or religion in this early period. An appeal to the under-used collections of Midrash Aggadah provides the context for new insights, focused around a pericope in Leviticus Rabbah that is preoccupied with this very question. This parashah goes well beyond the ethnicity/ religion binary, producing instead a rich variety of paradigms of Jewish identity that include moral probity, physical appearance, relationship to God, ritual life, political status, economics, demographics, and sexual practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 742-762
Author(s):  
Michael Ryan Skolnik ◽  
Steven Conway

Alongside their material dimensions, video game arcades were simultaneously metaphysical spaces where participants negotiated social and cultural convention, thus contributing to identity formation and performance within game culture. While physical arcade spaces have receded in number, the metaphysical elements of the arcades persist. We examine the historical conditions around the establishment of so-called arcade culture, taking into account the history of public entertainment spaces, such as pool halls, coin-operated entertainment technologies, video games, and the demographic and economic conditions during the arcade’s peak popularity, which are historically connected to the advent of bachelor subculture. Drawing on these complementary histories, we examine the social and historical movement of arcades and arcade culture, focusing upon the Street Fighter series and the fighting game community (FGC). Through this case study, we argue that moral panics concerning arcades, processes of cultural norm selection, technological shifts, and the demographic peculiarities of arcade culture all contributed to its current decline and discuss how they affect the contemporary FGC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-133
Author(s):  
Joel Marcus

Abstract The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion that early Christians competed with people who believed that John the Baptist was the principal figure in the history of salvation, its assertion that early in his career the Baptist was a member of the Qumran community, and the way in which the book situates the Baptist in relation to Second Temple Judaism in general. The article addresses these concerns, rebutting certain objections but acknowledging areas in which the book could have been more nuanced or further developed.


Author(s):  
Michael Tuval

The works of first century CE Jewish historian Flavius Josephus constitute our main source for the study of Jewish history of the Second Temple period. In this chapter, we briefly discuss Josephus’ career and his four compositions, as well as the condition of the Greek manuscript tradition of his works. The chapter also deals with the Latin translations of Josephus, a late antique Christian adaptation of mainly Judean War in Latin, known as Hegesippus, and the remnants of Judean War in Syriac. Next comes Josippon, a medieval Hebrew adaptation of Josephus and some other sources, and finally the much-discussed Slavonic, or Old Russian, version of the Judean War.


2020 ◽  
pp. 008124632095404
Author(s):  
Simangele Dlamini ◽  
Solomon G Tesfamichael ◽  
Tholang Mokhele

Place identity studies have attracted considerable interest in South Africa because of its history of separate racial development. However, there is a paucity of studies that have reviewed such studies in the country. This article, therefore, aims to present a selective review of place identity studies in post-apartheid South Africa. A literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Studies published in English between 1994 and 2020, relating to changing place identities as a result of apartheid in South Africa, were included in our search. The search yielded studies from which four key themes were identified – these being identity and belonging, social identity and discursive practice, cultural symbolism and group identity, and social inclusion and exclusion. These themes attest to the social construction of place identity, with people forming cognitive and affective bonds within groups. In addition, these themes show that mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion are crucial for identity formation in which the self is contrasted with ‘the other’. The studies collectively point to the intricacies surrounding attempts at desegregation and building social cohesion in post-apartheid South Africa.


Author(s):  
Thembani Dube

The Kalanga are one of the ethnic groups found mostly in the Bulilima and Mangwe districts, in the southwestern parts of Zimbabwe. Although the origins of the Kalanga date back to a thousand years, it is important to note that Kalanga ethnic identity is a socially constructed phenomenon, which continues to be negotiated. Therefore, it is vital to note that dynamism, flexibility, and malleable are some of the attributes of this identity. As such, Kalanga history and identity, which has been a product of various processes, such as precolonial political and social organization, colonial rule and the postcolonial Zimbabwean state, will be sought after. Central to these processes are actors such as Kalanga chiefs, missionaries, colonial administrators, Kalanga elites, women, and the ordinary people, who played a significant role in shaping and articulating Kalanga identity at different historical epochs. Moreover, markers of Kalanga identity such as language, Ngwali/Mwali religion, chieftaincy, and histories of origin have been used to (re)construct Kalanga identity. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of Kalanga people and the complexity involved in the intricate processes of identity formation will be acknowledged. In postcolonial Zimbabwe there has been rising interest from Kalanga elites who have lobbied the government to recognize the Kalanga. This activism is inspired by perceived marginalization of the Kalanga and other minority groups, which has been enforced through monolithic linguistic policies, orchestrated through government favoritism toward the so-called majority languages, such as Shona and IsiNdebele. However, the interaction and cordial relations among the Kalanga and other ethnic groups found in Zimbabwe will also be acknowledged. Nonetheless, there is no exhaustive account of this group as scholars continue to engage with them, hence contributing to always expand the different interpretations on these people. It is therefore hoped that the history of this particular group will be chronicled and perhaps directions for future research on the Kalanga pointed out. In order to fully explore this historical account, various sources that have been used in the study of Kalanga history will be critically engaged.


1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Blake

The aim of this paper is to locate in the emergence and elaboration of Sardinia's Nuragic society, a narrative of cultural identity formation. The Nuragic period is typically defined in terms of economic, social, and demographic characteristics, and a Nuragic identity is implicitly taken to be a passive byproduct of these material circumstances. Such an account overlooks the role of identity in enabling and characterizing human action. The disjointed and contradictory Nuragic period transition preceded the formation of a coherent cultural identity. This identity, it will be argued, underwent a retrospective rearticulation to establish a distinct boundary between the Nuragic society and its antecedents. The material record illustrates clearly that the history of the Nuragic identity is implicated in social development on Sardinia in the second millennium BC.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  

This article reviews the historiographical elements of the professional identity of nursing, focusing on what historians have denoted as the “history of the present.” Professional identity interacts with elements of power, gender, politics, philosophy, and history, and its value is tied to the importance it assumes at any given time in any given society. The collective identity of the profession is elucidated by the construction of nursing history, linked to the history of women and gender relationships in professional care and educational, organizational, and class practice, and also by the biographies of individuals who have shaped this identity through their reputations and life stories. In this light, it is argued that biographies could help illuminate the elements of identity formation of interest to nursing scholars and further the development of the profession; they could also bring discussions of the past and present into the teaching – learning process for nursing students. The authority and significance of these identities will also be discussed.


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