Don’t Call Me Joseph – Josephus Flavius

Scion of an aristocratic, priestly family in Jerusalem, Josephus Flavius explored various sects in search of his identity. As a rebel commander in the Great Revolt, he defected to the Romans, becoming one of the most controversial figures in Jewish history

Temple to Talmud – Post-Temple Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism is often described as having developed in reaction to the loss of the Temple and its sacrificial ritual. Certainly, the sages of the period were responding to some kind of crisis. But was it the physical destruction of Jerusalem or something more subtle?

Echoes of Sorrow – Mesopotamian Laments 

Mesopotamian kingdoms rose and fell, but cultic laments of doom remained a constant ritual. What was their purpose, and what can we learn from their echoes in the biblical book of Lamentations?