DESCRIPTION
In
Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit Jodi Magness unearths "footprints" buried in both archaeological and literary evidence to shed new light on Jewish daily life in Palestine from the mid-first century
B.C.E. to 70
C.E. -- the time and place of Jesus' life and ministry.
Magness analyzes recent archaeological discoveries from such sites as Qumran and Masada together with a host of period texts, including the New Testament, the works of Josephus, and rabbinic teachings. Layering all these sources together, she reconstructs in detail a fascinating variety of everyday activities -- dining customs, Sabbath observance, fasting, toilet habits, burial customs, and more.
Read a
review of the book by our own Rachel Bomberger and a
guest blog post by Magness about the book on EerdWord.
REVIEWS
Fergus Millar
— Oriental Institute, Oxford University
"Jodi Magness brings the literary evidence from both Jewish and New Testament writings together with the extensive archaeological material to produce a literally 'down to earth' picture of the conditions and customs of daily life in the late Second Temple period which will be essential reading for all who are interested in the period."
Sidnie White Crawford
— University of Nebraska-Lincoln
"Magness's latest work is a superb handbook on Jewish daily life in the late Second Temple period. She demonstrates how texts and archaeology, with careful scholarship, can mutually illuminate each other. This book will be valuable for undergraduates, graduate students, and all scholars of the period for a long time to come."
Lawrence H. Schiffman
— New York University
"Bringing together archaeological evidence, Second Temple period sources including the Dead Sea Scrolls, and early Christian literature, Jodi Magness illuminates numerous aspects of the daily life of Second Temple Jews. Her originality and mastery of the sources makes this a major contribution to our field."