18. Judaism

This volume provides exactly what its title promises, a list of all the scriptural quotations and allusions present in the writings of the Second Temple period (520 bce–70 ce) excluding Philo and the NT (for which detailed lists of scriptural references already exist). The quotations and allusions are, very helpfully, set out in two sections, firstly according to the sequence of the Hebrew Bible, and secondly in alphabetical order of the Second Temple texts, sub-divided into three groups: the later books of the Hebrew Bible, the Qumran material and all other literature. This layout highlights interesting patterns, such as the distribution of citations, and the extent of the re-use of scripture in particular writings—the entries for the War Rule and the Damascus Document, for example, run to six pages each. A substantial introduction sets out the authors’ methodology, in particular their approach to distinguishing between citations and allusions.

The importance of the citations of the Hebrew Bible in the Second Temple literature cannot be overstated, since they provide evidence for the dating and textual history of the biblical books, and attest to some of the very earliest interpretations of them. The massive and complex task of compiling this first fully comprehensive list of them has been made possible now partly through developments in computer software such as Accordance. The authors have done a great service to their fellow-scholars in producing this volume, which will surely prove to be a central and enduring tool in research on the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Judaism.

Susan E. Docherty