Customer Reviews

Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism

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I first became interested in Leviticus after listening to Christine Hayes's lectures on the book (Open Yale Courses). I started reading Grabbe, Levine, Milgrom and other scholars on Leviticus, and I have found them all very helpful, but this is simply the best book that I have found on the Temple cult. Everyone who is interested in the Temple cult or Leviticus more broadly should read this book. Many people think of the Temple cult as largely confined to Leviticus, Numbers, and Ezekiel, but the truth is that the Temple cult is one of the most important and fundamental parts of the whole Bible - both Old Testament and New. One simply cannot understand the Old or New Testament without a thorough understanding of the Temple cult. Unfortunately, as Klawans himself explains, scholarship on the Temple cult has long suffered from various prejudices and biases. Klawans' book is a vital corrective to these prejudices, and it contributes greatly to our understanding of the Temple cult in the OT, the Second Temple period, and the NT. I wish that every believing Jew and Christian would read this book, and that all rabbis and pastors and priests would do so as well. I am a believing Christian, fairly conservative in my theology, and Klawans' book has enriched my understanding of the Bible and Christianity perhaps more than any other book. If I ever have the fortune to meet the author, I hope to buy him lunch. Seriously. Scholarship like this is incredibly value, and the scholars who produce it deserve a tremendous amount of thanks. Scholars like Klawans should be as well known as professional athletes. Buy this book!!