Customer Reviews

Roots of Rabbinic Judaism

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I discovered Boccaccini when he published his book, Beyond the Essene Hypothesis. Since then I've tried desperately to track down his first book, and pre-ordered this one before it was published. If you are into Biblical study that examines the different parties in the Old Testament, and which group wrote what books, I would strongly recommend both these books. Where other scholars support similar premises, Boccaccini gives you the data to back up his theories. He writes in a very smooth scholarly style, that may be slightly over the heads of a lay person, but right on for students into studying the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This book is a thought provoking look into the dominant Jewish powers during much of the Second Temple period of Jewish History (the Babylonian Exile to the Maccabean revolt). Boccaccini writes in a clear, readable fashion. Some newcomers to the study of the Second Temple might have some difficult following at first, but it shouldn't be too far out of reach. Boccaccini provides enough detail to support his conclusions. All said, this book provides an interesting challenge to the long accepted belief about the origins of Rabbinic Judaism. This a must for anyone with a passing interest in the political and religious history in this era of Judaism.