Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World
eBook - PDF

Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World

Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian

  1. 696 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World

Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian

About this book

Relations between Jews and non-Jews in the Hellenistic-Roman period were marked by suspicion and hate, maintain most studies of that topic. But if such conjectures are true, asks Louis Feldman, how did Jews succeed in winning so many adherents, whether full-fledged proselytes or "sympathizers" who adopted one or more Jewish practices? Systematically evaluating attitudes toward Jews from the time of Alexander the Great to the fifth century A.D., Feldman finds that Judaism elicited strongly positive and not merely unfavorable responses from the non-Jewish population. Jews were a vigorous presence in the ancient world, and Judaism was strengthened substantially by the development of the Talmud. Although Jews in the Diaspora were deeply Hellenized, those who remained in Israel were able to resist the cultural inroads of Hellenism and even to initiate intellectual counterattacks.


Feldman draws on a wide variety of material, from Philo, Josephus, and other Graeco-Jewish writers through the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Church Councils, Church Fathers, and imperial decrees to Talmudic and Midrashic writings and inscriptions and papyri. What emerges is a rich description of a long era to which conceptions of Jewish history as uninterrupted weakness and suffering do not apply.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World by Louis H. Feldman in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & History of Religion. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Chapter 1: Contacts between Jews and Non-Jews in the Land of Israel
  8. Chapter 2: The Strength of Judaism In The Diaspora
  9. Chapter 3: Official Anti-Jewish Bigotry: The Responses of Governments to the Jews
  10. Chapter 4: Popular Prejudice against Jews 107
  11. Chapter 5: Prejudice against Jews among Ancient Intellectuals
  12. Chapter 6: The Attractions of the Jews: Their Antiquity
  13. Chapter 7: The Attractions of the Jews: The Cardinal Virtues
  14. Chapter 8: The Attractions of the Jews: The Ideal Leader, Moses
  15. Chapter 9: The Success of Proselytism by Jews in the Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods
  16. Chapter 10: The Success of Jews in Winning “Sympathizers”
  17. Chapter 11: Proselytism by Jews in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Centuries
  18. Chapter 12: Conclusion
  19. Abbreviations
  20. Notes
  21. Bibliography
  22. Indexes