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BOOK LIST 9. Apocrypha and Postbiblical Studies 197N E U S N E R , J A C O B , The idea of History in Rabbinic Judaism (Brill R eferenceLibrary of Judaism, 12; Leiden: Brill, 2nd edn, 2004), pp. xvii + 340. 89.00/$109.00. ISBN 90-04-13 583-9; ISSN 1571-5000.

This is a revised and augmented edition of the author's The Presence of the Past,the Pastness of the Present: H istory, Time and Paradigm in Rabbinic Judaism(Bethesda: C DL P ress, 1996). Its eight characteristically discursive and uneq uivocalsections, reproduced h ere, present N eu sn er's thesis that rabbinic literature from 200to 600 CE totally rejects the H B 's historical w ay of thinking and replaces it with aparadigmatic approach to time and events. ( 'The past takes place in the present. Thepresent embodies the past.' p. 3.) The contrast between rabbinic and biblical thoughtis spelt out and there are discussions of narrative, biography and liturgy. There isalso a challenge to Yosef Hayyim Yerushalmi's view (shared by many) that the'absence of historical writing among the rabbis may itself have been due in goodmeasure to their total and unqualified absorption of the biblical interpretation ofhistory' (quoted on p. 193). Five new chapters ('documentary characterisation') areadded to this edition. The Mishnah is interested in holiness, not history. For theYerushalmi, moral regeneration and Torah observance, not historical action, willbring the Messiah. Genesis Rabbah sees Genesis as a typology for Israel's history,leading to salvation, while for Pesiqta deRab Kahana the natural world, the calen-dar and liturgy define Israel's life and link it directly with the heavenly bodies.

S .C . R E I F

N E W S O M , C A R O L A . . The Self as Symbolic Space: Constructing Identity and Com-munity at Qumran (STDJ, 52; Leiden: Brill , 2004), pp. x + 376. 115.00/$155.00.ISBN 90-04-13803-X.

This rich volume offers a detailed analysis of selected Qum ran texts. C hapter 1,'C omm unities of Discou rse' , outlines the methodology. In a nutshell N . 's stand-point is summ ed u p on p. 11: 'On ly A dam had fresh w ords to use. The rest of ushave to make do with used ones'. This book deals with the sophisticated, subtle,and effective ways in which the authors of the Community Rule and the Hodayot'ma ke d o ' and re-accentuate familiar language. C hapter 2 maps out a broaderSecond Temple context and is of considerable interest beyond the 'community ofdiscourse' of Qumranologists. The remainder of the volume consists of two chapterson the Community Rule and the Hodayot respectively, a conclusion, a bibliographyand inde xes. C hapter 4 is effectively a comm entary on the Community Rule fromC ave 1, although the other ma nuscripts are dealt with en passant. My only mis-giving here is the way in which the restoration of the words 'for the Maskil' at thebeginning of lQS 1 ends up being treated as a reading (e.g. pp. 103, 108). Muchmore could have been made, not least to bolster the supposed restoration in lQS 1,of the presence of a reference to the Maskil in the opening words of 4QS' ' , a crucial

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198 Journal for the Study of the O ld Testament 29.5 (2005)a goldmine of insights and the analyses of the larger issues of identity and commu-nity open up new paths across some very well-trodden territory.

C. HEMPELNICKELSBURG, GEORGE W.E. and JAMES C. V A N D E R K A M , / Enoch: A NewTranslation Based on the Hermeneia Commentary (Minneapolis, MN: FortressPress, 2004), pp. ix + 170. 9.99. ISBN 0-8006-3694-5.

This new translation of 1 Enoch is based on years of work with the sources.Chapters 1-36 and 83-103 were prepared by Nickelsburg and are mainly the sameas in the first volume of his commentary {B.L. 2003, pp. 179-80). Chapters 3 7 - 7 1 ,also by Nickelsburg, will appear in the second volume of his commentary togetherwith V ande rKam 's translation of 1 Enoch 72-82. The translation is offered withsome brief footnotes which always cite in English translation variants in the originalsources. This is a very handy volu me for class use.

G . J . B R O O K E

PATTERSON, STEPHEN J., Beyond the Passion: R ethinking the Death a nd Life ofJesus (Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Fortress, 2004), pp. x + 161. 11.99. ISBN 0-800-6367-40.

In this book P. argues persuasively that the death and resurrection of Jesus cannotbe properly understood apart from his life. He considers that life under threeheadingsvictim, martyr and sacrificeand in the course of the discussion providesa great deal of material about the nature of life in the Roman empire together withsome consideration of contemporary Greek and Jewish views on martyrdom andsacrifice.

J . T . W I L L I A M S

RAKEL, CLAUDIA, Judit-uber Schonheit, Macht und Widerstand im Krieg: E inefeministisch-intertextuelle LektUre (BZAW, 334; Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 2004), pp.X -t- 326. 688.00. ISBN 3-11-01792 6-1.

This monograph, a doctoral study under the direction of Irmtraud Fischer, putsJudith 16.1-17 (the hymn of praise to God in the last chapter) at the centre of itsstudy. According to R., this hymn recapitulates and interprets the events of theprevious chapters and also introduces three themes of importance to her study:beauty, force and resistance. As the subtitle suggests, the methods used are feministand intertextual exegesis. The book of Judith is particularly rich in intertextualreferences, and an appendix contains a translation of 6.1-17 with an intertextualapparatus. Judith herself comes out as an ambivalent figure who exercises force andcontradicts the female gender stereotype. She fits the social figure of a powerless

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