Jesus and His Jewish Influences
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Jesus and His Jewish Influences
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Narrated by:
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Jodi Magness
About this listen
Jesus - a Jewish man from first-century Judea - was perhaps the most influential person in world history. His life and beliefs sparked a movement that influenced the course of global civilization, and his teachings gave rise to a faith currently practiced by over two billion people around the world. And yet, as revolutionary and lasting as his ideas are, few of us think to ask: Where did they come from?
It's important to realize that Jesus' actions and teachings didn't emerge from a vacuum. Rather, they were the products of a fascinating dialogue with - and reaction to - the traditions, cultures, and historical developments of ancient Jewish beliefs. In search of a more complete comprehension of Jesus' legacy, this course explores fundamental questions such as: How was early Judaism different from the Rabbinic Judaism practiced today? What kind of world did early Jewish sects envision, and how does Jesus' worldview relate to theirs? How did events like the Babylonian exile and the reign of Herod the Great affect the development of Judaism up to Jesus' time?
Follow an acclaimed archaeologist to unearth the roots of Jesus' actions and teachings within the traditions and beliefs of ancient Judaism. These fascinating 24 lectures approach the subject of Jesus from a historical rather than scriptural perspective - one rooted in ancient texts and archaeological discoveries. This investigation reveals hidden insights into how the tumultuous events of early Jewish history shaped an individual - and a movement - whose legacy endures to this day.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
it would be nice to have a further work around the place that the Jewish people had in the Greco-Roman world generally as this is very concentrated on Judea, but that's the inevitable wish for more having read something so important.
fascinating
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Quite Outstanding
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just a voice crying from the internetness
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Seemed at points to me to have dogmatic atheistic presumptions applied where more nuance would have been more welcome to me. For example I found the frequent repetition of the preface "According to the biblical writer" in a tone implying "This is what was written but of course we can't rely on it" off-putting - especially when this preface didn't seem to be consistently applied to other ancient material.
The Course title gave me the impression that the material on Jesus & his Jewish Influences would be a bigger focus, whereas I found it a minor part of the course. I found some of the conclusions re Jesus weak, but others very helpful - I especially liked her take on the purpose of the miracles of Jesus & some of the Qumran insights.
Her bible knowledge seemed very strong but not as if she was immersed in it, it felt at times as if she was coming at it from a distance. I found some assertions unnecessarily dogmatic - eg Dating of book of Daniel, Esther was fiction , Dating of book of Matthew, reasons for the Jesus birth narratives in Matthew & Luke, & the presumed Evolution of the Jewish religion from Polytheism to Monotheism.
Overall though despite my quibbles it gives a great general background to Jesus (oh yes & the Jewish revolt against the Romans was very interesting) & recommend the book for anyone interested in general Jewish history
Very good, but found Title a little misleading
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What did you like most about Jesus and His Jewish Influences?
The structure is rather satisfying in that individual chapters cover seperate topics that are interesting enough to standalone, but when stacked one after another - like lego - fit together to build a more and more '3D' model of the Jewish world and culture that shaped Jesus. It's quite an objective portrait that is neither Christian or Jewish in slant, but rather historical - insofar as that is possible for such a far-removed time.Who was your favorite character and why?
It's too obvious to say Jesus, so I'll give a special mention to Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, because he is such an important source for first century Jewish history, which was particulary violent and traumatic for the Jews and culminated in their sacred temple being destroyed. Interestingly, Jews themselves were not much interested in Josephus, being somewhat of a traitor, and as his writings were historical in nature rather than religiously inclined. Thus, it was Christians who preserved his writings.Which character – as performed by Professor Jodi Magness – was your favourite?
The audiobook is historical in nature, so the characters are not 'performed' as such, but there are many important historical figures featured relevant to the Jewish story. And what a tumultuous story it is! Uprisings, conquests, schisms, exiles. Biblical Patriarchs, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Assenes, Pharisees, Maccabees, Samaritans, Galileeans. Whilst it's historical and academic, it still manages to be dramatic and fascinating with many colourful characters and villains.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Emotional is probably not the right word, but I was certainly intrigued. Everyone will draw something different from this course based on their perspective, but I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in Jewish history from early Biblical times leading up to the destruction of the Second Temple and/or anyone interested in finally getting to the bottom of what the enigma wrapped inside a riddle that is Jesus Christ was like. Or even just ancient history or religion in general. Some key questions you might have about him will be answered outright. Some other ones will probably spring to mind, but that's part of the fun of it.Any additional comments?
I found the narration irritatingly slow at first - almost patronisingly so. However, I came to appreciate the delivery and structure after a few chapters. There's a lot of info. packed into each chapter, and you need to concentrate to a certain extent to join up the dots. Long periods pass where Christ is not mentioned at all. Cultural and historical context is key. If you chopped Christ and Christian sources such as the New Testament out of this book, most of the audiobook would still be intact as a fascinating insight into Jewish history and culture - Torah, ritual purity, prophets, apocalyptic and messianic fervour, foreign rulers and persecution, exile, different sects such as the austere Essenes, ordinary peoples' lives etc. It's terrific.Fascinating insights into ancient Jewish world
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Should be titled ‘Jesus in His Historical Context’
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