What do you think?
Rate this book
The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity
In this book, Jason Staples proposes a new paradigm regarding the biblical concept of Israel and how it was shaped by Jewish apocalyptic hopes for restoration after the Babylonian Exile. Challenging conventional assumptions about Israelite identity in antiquity, his argument is based on a close analysis of a vast corpus of biblical and other early Jewish literature and material evidence. Staples demonstrates that continued aspirations for Israel's restoration in the context of diaspora and imperial domination remained central to Jewish conceptions of Israelite identity throughout the final centuries before Christianity and even into the early part of the Common Era. He also shows that Israelite identity was more diverse in antiquity than is typically appreciated in modern scholarship. His book lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the so-called 'parting of the ways' between Judaism and Christianity and how earliest Christianity itself grew out of hopes for Israel's restoration.
450 pages, Hardcover
Published July 8, 2021
25 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 24, 2021
In 350 pages that feel simultaneously overwhelming and too brief, Staples argues that "throughout the period covered by the book, one constant is that 'Israel' is the name either for the tribes of the biblical northern kingdom or for the twelve-tribe covenantal people of YHWH" (339)--but Israel was not, as most scholars have assumed for the past 80 years, an 'insider' term for the Jewish people; rather, "'Jew' continues to refer to the subset of Israel specifically derived from the kingdom of Judah either by descent, marriage, or (eventually) proselytism/conversion" (340).
This semantic distinction is woven into the Hebrew Bible's exile-and-return narrative to the point that it is impossible to discuss one without the other; thus "Jews in this period did not anticipate merely a 'Jewish' restoration but a full restoration of 'all Israel'" (341). In his introduction, Staples notes that any worthwhile investigation of "Israel" should not limited only to semantic uses of the Hebrew and Greek words themselves, but must include a survey of all the key restoration texts. Staples first forayed this thesis with his 2011 JBL article on "all Israel" in Rom 11:26. It was a radical assertion, and more than one fellow scholar balked at such a revolutionary step that would shift the landscape in any number of adjacent disciplines. But a historian's first job is to place texts within their original contexts, and the attempt to do that for the Apostle Paul was, according to Staples, the raison d'etre for this study.
The legacy view postulates that "Israel" was used as an insider term, whereas "Jew" was used as an outsider term (often with a disparaging connotation), but that both essentially meant the same thing. In this, the first of two books written to further refine and support his conclusions from that original JBL paper, Staples not only proves his thesis; he obliterates this legacy view. And for good reason--Staples clearly shows how it was Nazi "theology' developed and utilized to justify Hitler's "final solution."
In the first chapter, Staples takes the legacy view to task, writing what reads more like a historical mystery novel than a philological reception history. The primary villain: Karl Kuhn (and his mentor Gerhard Kittel), one of the first of Hitler's "brownshirts" who proudly wore his Nazi uniform while lecturing on theology. Staples demonstrates that Kuhn's model of Israel=insider term and Jew=outsider term was really just Nazi anti-Semitism, and not reflective of any early Jewish lit--and especially not of Josephus, who features heavily in this chapter.
In the second chapter, Staples makes his historical case that the Samaritans (1) claimed to be Israelites, (2) the Jews understood why, as purported descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel, they made this claim, even if they disagreed; and (3) that no one in either group considered Samaritans to be "Jews." The final section of this chapter provides evidence for how the term "Hebrew" functions frequently as a linguistic marker pointing to Hebrew/Aramaic language proficiency or heritage, and thus overlaps (but is distinct from) both "Israel" and "Jews."
In the third chapter, Staples builds upon the latest research as he discusses how strange it is that "the Hebrew Bible is scripture collected and edited by Jews, for Jews, about Israel [not Judah alone]," (89) and how "at the root of exilic and post-exilic Judaism we find not a redefinition of Israel limited to Jews/Judahites but restoration eschatology--a theology looking backward to biblical Israel and forward to a divinely orchestrated future restoration of Israel far exceeding the small return of Yehudim in the Persian period" (94). The discussion here is some of the most important material in the entire book, spanning the Torah, Deuteronomic history, and 1/2 Chronicles. Staples concludes: "The 'better alternative reality' envisioned throughout this literature consistently involves a restored Israel including all twelve tribes and featuring perfect covenantal obedience and cultic practice" (119).
Staples then wades into the prophetical literature of the Hebrew Bible in the fourth chapter, illustrating how seemingly odd it is that prophets who hailed from Judah were continually concerned with the covenantal status, exile, and promised return of the northern tribes. Isaiah, the minor prophets, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all closely distinguish between Israel/Ephraim, Judah, and the combination "Jacob"/[all] Israel, as Staples aptly demonstrates. And, even more importantly, this distinction happens centrally within the restorationist texts, which in turn helped establish a Jewish eschatological hope that was centered on a complete twelve-tribe restoration.
The fifth chapter covers Ezra-Nehemiah, Daniel, 1 Enoch, and 1/2 Maccabees. Staples makes two important contributions to the discussion here: first, he correctly asserts that Ezra-Nehemiah was not understood within 2TJ to be representative of a *concluded* return from exile, but rather the (disappointing) *beginning* of a return. Second, he again demolishes Kuhn's insider/outsider paradigm (vis-a-vis its reliance on 1 Maccabees) by noting how the author of 1 Macc was using Israel language precisely to invoke the restoration-eschatological promises of the prophets; thus in 1 Macc, "the use of these terms is rhetorically powerful, identifying the Hasmonean house as the rightful rulers of Israel-being-restored..." (172).
In chs. 7-11 Staples turns to the wider corpus of 2TJ lit, but only after spending ch. 6 pushing back on the notion that success outside Palestine meant that diaspora Jews had abandoned the biblical framework. Instead, "the traditional perspective of restoration eschatology mediated through the Jewish scriptures remained influential, though everyday diaspora life was often prosperous and pleasant" (209).
Chs. 7 and 8 cover Josephus and Philo, respectively. Having already reviewed Josephus' semantic use of both "Israel" and "Jews" in ch. 1, Staples reads him as viewing the fall of Jerusalem through the same lens as the book of Daniel--that is, the dispersion is both God's punishment and mercy on his people, but Rome, like Babylon, will eventually fall and Israel will rise up in line with Balaam's oracles. Philo, who is well-known for philosophical and metaphorical approaches to the Torah, is shown to be surprisingly literal when discussing the dispersion and promised restoration. Furthermore, his use of "Israel" as the simultaneously historical-and-future 12-tribe nation and "Jews" as the contemporary people, respectively, closely mirrors Josephus (and, in some ways, anticipates Paul).
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discussed in ch. 9, provide further insight into 2TJ restoration expectations. Staples argues that the sect sees the exile as ongoing, and they have therefore "withdrawn from the wicked in the land to rejoin the larger body of Israel that has remained in exile for centuries ... their community has thus become the necessary atonement in exile to bring about the final eschatological restoration of all Israel; their existence and obedience are the final necessary steps for Israel's restoration in Deuteronomy" (287-288). The sect's usage of Israel is subtle and complex, but their semantic usage--and even their self-given name 'The Yahad'--indicate that full, twelve-tribe restoration is in view.
Chs. 10-11 cover the rest of the extant 2TJ literature, divided into narrative and eschatological/apocalyptic/wisdom categories. It is difficult to summarize such a large corpus, but with both groups of literature, Staples clearly demonstrates that (1) the authors retained an emphasis on tribal distinctiveness with an eye towards reunification of the twelve tribes and tribal allotments; and (2) "Israel terminology ... is highly correlated with a setting in the biblical past, an eschatological/restoration context, or in ritual and prayer contexts that often imply one or both of the biblical/eschatological contexts" (314).
Overall, this work is both challenging and rewarding. Staples writes to his fellow scholars, and the text is littered with footnotes, but his prose is fluid and his arguments coherent and concise and readily understandable to laypeople. He presents a revolutionary new approach to Judaism (and the religions that flowed out of Judaism, including Christianity) that will surely incite some antipathy in the field, but from my perspective, it will be difficult to supply a more coherent picture of theses texts than what Staples provides.
David Schroder
Oct 2021
This semantic distinction is woven into the Hebrew Bible's exile-and-return narrative to the point that it is impossible to discuss one without the other; thus "Jews in this period did not anticipate merely a 'Jewish' restoration but a full restoration of 'all Israel'" (341). In his introduction, Staples notes that any worthwhile investigation of "Israel" should not limited only to semantic uses of the Hebrew and Greek words themselves, but must include a survey of all the key restoration texts. Staples first forayed this thesis with his 2011 JBL article on "all Israel" in Rom 11:26. It was a radical assertion, and more than one fellow scholar balked at such a revolutionary step that would shift the landscape in any number of adjacent disciplines. But a historian's first job is to place texts within their original contexts, and the attempt to do that for the Apostle Paul was, according to Staples, the raison d'etre for this study.
The legacy view postulates that "Israel" was used as an insider term, whereas "Jew" was used as an outsider term (often with a disparaging connotation), but that both essentially meant the same thing. In this, the first of two books written to further refine and support his conclusions from that original JBL paper, Staples not only proves his thesis; he obliterates this legacy view. And for good reason--Staples clearly shows how it was Nazi "theology' developed and utilized to justify Hitler's "final solution."
In the first chapter, Staples takes the legacy view to task, writing what reads more like a historical mystery novel than a philological reception history. The primary villain: Karl Kuhn (and his mentor Gerhard Kittel), one of the first of Hitler's "brownshirts" who proudly wore his Nazi uniform while lecturing on theology. Staples demonstrates that Kuhn's model of Israel=insider term and Jew=outsider term was really just Nazi anti-Semitism, and not reflective of any early Jewish lit--and especially not of Josephus, who features heavily in this chapter.
In the second chapter, Staples makes his historical case that the Samaritans (1) claimed to be Israelites, (2) the Jews understood why, as purported descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel, they made this claim, even if they disagreed; and (3) that no one in either group considered Samaritans to be "Jews." The final section of this chapter provides evidence for how the term "Hebrew" functions frequently as a linguistic marker pointing to Hebrew/Aramaic language proficiency or heritage, and thus overlaps (but is distinct from) both "Israel" and "Jews."
In the third chapter, Staples builds upon the latest research as he discusses how strange it is that "the Hebrew Bible is scripture collected and edited by Jews, for Jews, about Israel [not Judah alone]," (89) and how "at the root of exilic and post-exilic Judaism we find not a redefinition of Israel limited to Jews/Judahites but restoration eschatology--a theology looking backward to biblical Israel and forward to a divinely orchestrated future restoration of Israel far exceeding the small return of Yehudim in the Persian period" (94). The discussion here is some of the most important material in the entire book, spanning the Torah, Deuteronomic history, and 1/2 Chronicles. Staples concludes: "The 'better alternative reality' envisioned throughout this literature consistently involves a restored Israel including all twelve tribes and featuring perfect covenantal obedience and cultic practice" (119).
Staples then wades into the prophetical literature of the Hebrew Bible in the fourth chapter, illustrating how seemingly odd it is that prophets who hailed from Judah were continually concerned with the covenantal status, exile, and promised return of the northern tribes. Isaiah, the minor prophets, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all closely distinguish between Israel/Ephraim, Judah, and the combination "Jacob"/[all] Israel, as Staples aptly demonstrates. And, even more importantly, this distinction happens centrally within the restorationist texts, which in turn helped establish a Jewish eschatological hope that was centered on a complete twelve-tribe restoration.
The fifth chapter covers Ezra-Nehemiah, Daniel, 1 Enoch, and 1/2 Maccabees. Staples makes two important contributions to the discussion here: first, he correctly asserts that Ezra-Nehemiah was not understood within 2TJ to be representative of a *concluded* return from exile, but rather the (disappointing) *beginning* of a return. Second, he again demolishes Kuhn's insider/outsider paradigm (vis-a-vis its reliance on 1 Maccabees) by noting how the author of 1 Macc was using Israel language precisely to invoke the restoration-eschatological promises of the prophets; thus in 1 Macc, "the use of these terms is rhetorically powerful, identifying the Hasmonean house as the rightful rulers of Israel-being-restored..." (172).
In chs. 7-11 Staples turns to the wider corpus of 2TJ lit, but only after spending ch. 6 pushing back on the notion that success outside Palestine meant that diaspora Jews had abandoned the biblical framework. Instead, "the traditional perspective of restoration eschatology mediated through the Jewish scriptures remained influential, though everyday diaspora life was often prosperous and pleasant" (209).
Chs. 7 and 8 cover Josephus and Philo, respectively. Having already reviewed Josephus' semantic use of both "Israel" and "Jews" in ch. 1, Staples reads him as viewing the fall of Jerusalem through the same lens as the book of Daniel--that is, the dispersion is both God's punishment and mercy on his people, but Rome, like Babylon, will eventually fall and Israel will rise up in line with Balaam's oracles. Philo, who is well-known for philosophical and metaphorical approaches to the Torah, is shown to be surprisingly literal when discussing the dispersion and promised restoration. Furthermore, his use of "Israel" as the simultaneously historical-and-future 12-tribe nation and "Jews" as the contemporary people, respectively, closely mirrors Josephus (and, in some ways, anticipates Paul).
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discussed in ch. 9, provide further insight into 2TJ restoration expectations. Staples argues that the sect sees the exile as ongoing, and they have therefore "withdrawn from the wicked in the land to rejoin the larger body of Israel that has remained in exile for centuries ... their community has thus become the necessary atonement in exile to bring about the final eschatological restoration of all Israel; their existence and obedience are the final necessary steps for Israel's restoration in Deuteronomy" (287-288). The sect's usage of Israel is subtle and complex, but their semantic usage--and even their self-given name 'The Yahad'--indicate that full, twelve-tribe restoration is in view.
Chs. 10-11 cover the rest of the extant 2TJ literature, divided into narrative and eschatological/apocalyptic/wisdom categories. It is difficult to summarize such a large corpus, but with both groups of literature, Staples clearly demonstrates that (1) the authors retained an emphasis on tribal distinctiveness with an eye towards reunification of the twelve tribes and tribal allotments; and (2) "Israel terminology ... is highly correlated with a setting in the biblical past, an eschatological/restoration context, or in ritual and prayer contexts that often imply one or both of the biblical/eschatological contexts" (314).
Overall, this work is both challenging and rewarding. Staples writes to his fellow scholars, and the text is littered with footnotes, but his prose is fluid and his arguments coherent and concise and readily understandable to laypeople. He presents a revolutionary new approach to Judaism (and the religions that flowed out of Judaism, including Christianity) that will surely incite some antipathy in the field, but from my perspective, it will be difficult to supply a more coherent picture of theses texts than what Staples provides.
David Schroder
Oct 2021
April 19, 2024
Great as a literature review and a fine example of what a literature review should accomplish. The amount of work that has went into this is very impressive. I’m not sure I’ve grasped the significance of the (weakly supported according to the author) insider/outsider paradigm. I suspect, for me at least, the real payoff will be in the author’s next book “Paul and the Resurrection of Israel”. I also suspect the author’s 2011 JBL paper “What Do the Gentiles Have to Do with “All Israel”: A Fresh Look at Romans 11:25-27” would have served me at least as well as this book (20 pages compared to over 300 pages). However, it’s good to be humbled by realizing how much you don’t know through reading the works of someone so deeply informed about a subject area.
What Do the Gentiles Have to Do with “All Israel”: A Fresh Look at Romans 11:25-27 - https://static1.squarespace.com/stati...
What Do the Gentiles Have to Do with “All Israel”: A Fresh Look at Romans 11:25-27 - https://static1.squarespace.com/stati...
September 3, 2024
This is some of the best, most important biblical scholarship out there. I first read Paul and the Resurrection of Israel and it was so paradigm-shifting that I had to pick this book up as well. Understanding both restoration eschatology and how the terms Jews, Israelites and Hebrews functioned in Second Temple Judaism opens up the scriptures in unimaginable ways. I'm not trying to be overly bombastic with my language, but working through these concepts has helped synthesize so many elements in both the Old Testament and New Testament that I didn't even realize were fractured before I picked these two books up. Even if you disagree with his main conclusions (though his evidence for his main thesis is overwhelming), Dr. Staples is worth reading to learn from a top-notch exegete. The way that he engages with both the original sources and the perspectives of other scholars was excellent. This book will not resonate with everyone, but I'm incredibly grateful that Dr. Staples has devoted the time and attention that he has to this critical topic that provides so much more clarity to the overall metanarrative of scripture.
January 21, 2025
3.5/5
An impressively thorough analysis of how Israel was understood by people living in the region some 2000+ years ago. Staples’ analysis of the literature in that period is more than exhaustive. It’s impressive how much research went into this book.
Some of these ideas are rehashed in Staples’ second book in a much more concise way, so coming back to this book after reading that one first added the effect of some ideas being redundant. But I did it backwards, reading this first book, second. (Which if you haven’t read that book, it is an absolute must read)
Overall, I learned a ton, but I think this book is best suited for someone who has some familiarity with currently scholarly debates around Israel, the Diaspora, Jewish/Israelite self identification, etc. I don’t think I could recommend this to many people outside of that world.
An impressively thorough analysis of how Israel was understood by people living in the region some 2000+ years ago. Staples’ analysis of the literature in that period is more than exhaustive. It’s impressive how much research went into this book.
Some of these ideas are rehashed in Staples’ second book in a much more concise way, so coming back to this book after reading that one first added the effect of some ideas being redundant. But I did it backwards, reading this first book, second. (Which if you haven’t read that book, it is an absolute must read)
Overall, I learned a ton, but I think this book is best suited for someone who has some familiarity with currently scholarly debates around Israel, the Diaspora, Jewish/Israelite self identification, etc. I don’t think I could recommend this to many people outside of that world.
June 1, 2023
A rather excellent read. He stated his case stated well, the evidence was well provided and commented upon, the conclusion is perfectly cogent.
I was not expecting a book so centralised on Jewish restoration eschatology, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, particularly the analysis of Josephus' and Philo's theology.
The book is begging for its follow-up work on Paul's use of Israel, as there are so many questions that result from the thesis about 'Israel' in the NT.
Being an academic work it carries the usual tedious repetition - once the case has been made in the first couple of chapters, every piece of evidence is analysed in a 'see, this one says it too' manner. Of course, this is the nature of the beast with a work of this variety.
I was not expecting a book so centralised on Jewish restoration eschatology, but I was pleasantly surprised by it, particularly the analysis of Josephus' and Philo's theology.
The book is begging for its follow-up work on Paul's use of Israel, as there are so many questions that result from the thesis about 'Israel' in the NT.
Being an academic work it carries the usual tedious repetition - once the case has been made in the first couple of chapters, every piece of evidence is analysed in a 'see, this one says it too' manner. Of course, this is the nature of the beast with a work of this variety.
October 7, 2022
This research is excellent. It clears up a lot of confusion surrounding Second Temple usage of the term ‘Israel’ as distinct from ‘Jews’ and ‘Hebrews’. It’s significance is very profound, although it does not seem obvious unless one looks into it in detail. That’s what this study accomplishes: a detailed and chronological overview of an easily overlooked term, ‘Israel,’ and its usage in context, which is compared alongside the pinpointed focus of ‘Jews’ and its usage by Second Temple authors. The eschatological import of this distinction alone makes more sense of the NT than the multiplicity of anachronistic ‘arguments’ to this day.
November 26, 2023
By the time you are finished reading this book, you will be thoroughly convinced by Staples that the terms used for Israel and Judah in the post-exile throughout the second temple period and beyond do not morph into one. Israel remains distinct from Judah. The return from the exile is not seen as the fulfillment of restoration prophecy, and the eschatological hope of a regathered Israel under a future Davidic king remains, even in the diaspora. Staples doesn't broach the topic of the implications for present-day Jewish and Christian theology. I look forward to his next book, which covers Paul's view of Israel in the New Testament. Perhaps more "so what" will be built into that discussion.
July 26, 2022
Staples wrote an amazing and detailed book on the significance of Jewish/Israelite/Hebraic words, throughout the Old Testament, and all the 2nd temple writings. Stunning and fresh perspective to understand passages in the bible, as Jesus or Paul (with his famous Rom 11).
I quotes the book four stars because of any reliability on the New Testament, such as an Staples article on Romans 11. I expected too much on this book.
Sting book to understand the context of these words as historical past to eschatological restorative future of Israel.
I quotes the book four stars because of any reliability on the New Testament, such as an Staples article on Romans 11. I expected too much on this book.
Sting book to understand the context of these words as historical past to eschatological restorative future of Israel.
February 6, 2025
Comprehensive. Technical. Highly attuned to details. This work provides a definitive assessment of the difference between “Israel” and “Judah/Jew” and demonstrates the ubiquity of restoration theologies in the Second Temple period. The book lays the groundwork for Staple’s compelling sequel, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel.
October 17, 2023
Really helpful book exploring uses of the titles, Jew, Israel, Hebrew, in second temple and first century writings. The difference between diaspora Jewish theologies of restoration versus Palestinian Jewish theologies of the same is so helpful.
October 24, 2024
Absolute must read.
Read
July 25, 2025I skipped most of part 3
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews