∞ The Vanishing Jews of Antiquity – By Adele Reinhartz (MRB)
Over at the Marginalia Review of Books Adele Reinhartz has written an excellent article on explaining the complexities of translating the term ioudaios/ioudaioi. She concludes,
“Those who propose to turn all ioudaioi into Judeans claim that Judeans is both a more precise and a more ethical translation. I argue the opposite. The term Jew is more precise because it signals the complex type of identity that the ancient sources associate with the Greek term ioudaios and also because it allows Judean to retain its primary meaning as a geographical designation, so useful when discussing, say, the inhabitants or topography of Judea. The term is more ethical because it acknowledges the Jewish connection to this period of history and these ancient texts, and also because it opens up the possibility, indeed the necessity, of confronting the role of the New Testament in the history of anti-Semitism.”
Read the whole thing here