"The Book of Judith and Greek Education in Seleucid Judaea"
By Professor Emeritus Stanley Burstein, California State University, Los Angeles
Respondent: Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Scolnic, Southern Connecticut State University
SLS 9.1 (15 January 2025)
Abstract
Scholars have increasingly recognized that Greek, both spoken and written, was more common in Hellenistic Judaea than was once believed. The focus of most of this scholarship has been on Greek translations and adaptations of texts written originally in Hebrew or Aramaic such as, for example, Esther or the Wisdom of Ben Sira. Less studied has been the education available to the translators because the texts they read cannot be identified. An exception is the Book of Judith. This talk will consider the knowledge and use made of Greek historical texts by the author of the Book of Judith.