The Rebirth of the Phoenix: A Study of Hellenistic Jewish Literature

Author: Liang Gong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Hellenistic period began in 334 BC with Alexander the Great's eastern campaign and ended in 30 BC when Rome annexed Egypt. The author adopts a broad definition, narrating Jewish literature from the 4th century BC to the medieval period, nearly a thousand years of history. This era was a time of collision and fusion between the two major sources of Western culture—Classical Greek culture and Hebrew culture—and also the period when the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament) was finalized and the Christian Bible (also known as the New Testament) took shape. With a fair and objective attitude, the author traces the basic development and evolution of Jewish literature during this period, analyzing and introducing its mainstream literature—the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the apocryphal works, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Talmudic literature, and early Christian literature. The content is rich, the language is vivid and fluent, and the book is highly readable.