jewish culture and laws

[Lyndie]

I am looking for a few good sources on Jewish culture/law back in the biblical days. I know I can get some info from the bible, but I am also looking for other resources for a project I am working on.

[Nobunaga]

Any specific aspect you want to focus on ?

[Lyndie]

Not really, just trying to get a sense of how things worked in the Jewish community back then.

[Nobunaga]

Its a very broad scope..but heres a video by a Jewish Professor Lawrence Schiffman on the Dead Sea Scrolls that gives a picture of the early history of Judaism and of the Jewish background of early Christianity. Dunno if this is the type of stuff your looking for though. This is Jewish source so it should give a pretty fair description of the Jewish culture.

[Lyndie]

Thanks, I'll check it out. Going to ask Fenris too. I don't know why I didn't think of that first.

[Fenris]

Going to ask Fenris too.

When you say "biblical days", you mean like during the first temple era, ~1300BC to 586BC? I don't know how much is known about that time period. The only record we have is the bible itself.

Even the early second temple era has sparse records. From the first century we know more, especially as the Talmud's oral record dates to this period.

[Lyndie]

Thanks Fenris, I sent you a pm with some details.

[Fenris]

answered..........

[Lyndie]

Thank you very much!

[Lyndie]

I have been looking through Josephus' stuff and its helpful. Something else I am trying to find though is...I guess it would fall under Jewish or Hebrew sayings? I recently found out that in Psalm 23 that the verse that says 'prepare a table before me' actually means that the shepherds used to go before the sheep and clear the rocks and things out of the way. I may not have it exact. I am wondering where I can find things like that.

[Fenris]

That's from the first temple era. It's a tough question to answer because we have no writings that survive from that period, outside of the bible.

In answer to your original question: There's a contemporary author worth reading. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin has written several books on Judaism and Jewish history. His stuff is very clear and generally quite a compelling read. Worth checking out.

[Lyndie]

That's sad that the Jewish people have no writings left. I will look into the Rabbi. Thanks Fenris. Shalom.

[Fenris]

That's sad that the Jewish people have no writings left.

I don't think any peoples have writings left from the period. None of them (aside from the Chinese and the Indians?) have even survived to the modern day as a people. Judaism is an exception in that regard.

Anyway we have the bible, that's very extensive. We just don't know what the culture was like.