Formative Judaism: Religious, Historical, and Literary Studies / Fourth Series - Problems of Classification and Composition [Brown Judaic Studies, 76]

Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1984. First edition. Softcover. vg. Quarto. [8], 214, [2]pp. Original printed wrappers. This fourth volume in Neusner's monumental series on formative Judaism, focuses on the problems of classification and composition. Upper front corner slightly bumped. Wrappers and interior in overall good+ to very good condition. About the author: Jacob Neusner (born 1932) is an American academic scholar of Judaism. He is often celebrated as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 950 books. Generally, Neusner's research centers around rabbinic Judaism of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras. He was a pioneer in the application of "form criticism" approach to Rabbinic texts. Much of Neusner's work has been to de-construct the prevailing approach viewing Rabbinic Judaism as a single religious movement within which the various Rabbinic texts were produced. In contrast, Neusner views each rabbinic document as an individual piece of evidence that can only shed light on the more local Judaisms of such specific document's place of origin and the specific Judaism of the author. His Judaism: "The Evidence of the Mishnah" (Chicago, 1981; translated into Hebrew and Italian) is the classic statement of his work and the first of many comparable volumes on the other documents of the rabbinic canon. Neusner's method of studying documents individually without contextualizing them with other Rabbinic documents of the same era or genre, led to a series of studies on the way Judaism creates categories of understanding,[clarification needed] and how those categories relate to one another, even as they emerge diversely in discrete rabbinic documents. Neusner has translated into English nearly the entire Rabbinic canon. This work has opened up many Rabbinic documents to scholars of other fields unfamiliar with Hebrew and Aramaic, within the academic study of religion, as well as in ancient history, culture and Near and Middle Eastern Studies. His translation technique utilizes a "Harvard-outline" format which attempts to make the argument flow of Rabbinic texts easier to understand for those unfamiliar with Talmudic reasoning. Neusner's enterprise has been aimed at a humanistic and academic reading of classics of Judaism. Neusner has been drawn from studying text to context. Treating a religion in its social setting, as something a group of people do together, rather than as a set of beliefs and opinions. Theological works In addition to his historical and textual works Neusner has also contributed to the area of Theology. He is the author of "Israel:" "Judaism and its Social Metaphors" and "The Incarnation of God: The Character of Divinity in Formative Judaism." (From Wikipedia).