The Calendar of Sabbath Years During the Second Temple Era: A Response
In his paper "The Sabbath Year Cycle in Josephus" (HUCA LII, 1981), D. Blosser argues that the Jewish historian mistakenly refers to famines as having occurred in the year of shemittah when he means the post-sabbatical year, i.e., the first year of the next cycle. This was necessarily so b...
| Published in: | Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1983
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Iran (Antiquity)
/ History 539 BC-330 BC
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| IxTheo Classification: | HD Early Judaism |
| Further subjects: | B
Calendar
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| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | In his paper "The Sabbath Year Cycle in Josephus" (HUCA LII, 1981), D. Blosser argues that the Jewish historian mistakenly refers to famines as having occurred in the year of shemittah when he means the post-sabbatical year, i.e., the first year of the next cycle. This was necessarily so because the effects of the observance of the shemittah could only be felt in the eighth year. But Blosser's argument is not convincing. Josephus certainly knew the difference between the year of shemittah and the post-sabbatical year. Furthermore it is not correct to assume, as Blosser does, that famines occurred routinely during sabbatical cycles. After all, disasters are unpredictable events whereas the observance of shemittah was routine and therefore planned. Contemporary documents from Murabaʿat show that the references to the seventh year in Josephus are correct. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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