Researching Judaisms		click to return home
	(references to my publications can be followed up by clicking here).
	Research for my PhD was concerned with the discourse of Jewish self-identity in the Second Temple period (c. 200 BCE to c. 185 CE.)
	I am grateful to Prof John F.A. Sawyer for his guidance and supervision while I was researching for my PhD and revising it for publication. His influence on my approach to the use of words will be clear in various parts of this website and in many of my publications. I am, of course, enormously grateful that he told Molly (who later married me) that I could help her with some Hebrew... I suspect this was a cunning ploy to get me to work harder at learning the language properly myself.
	The revised thesis (or "dissertation" for those who read American English) was published by E.J. Brill as The True Israel (1996, 2001).
	Largely, this is an examination of the semantic fields of the terms "Hebrews", "Jews" and "Israel". It argues that a careful examination of these terms shows that they were not entirely synonymous. "Hebrews" was associated with being traditional and was most often used by people who were innovating. "Jews" was associated with "belonging to the land of Judah and especially Jerusalem" — even when it was used by people who did not live there. And "Israel" is the name people used when considering a sacred or godly view of the people. I discuss these associations, contrasts and polemics in relation to a wide range of Jewish literature — and also note what the early Christians did with these words.		Just to be clear: this book is not about contemporary Judaism or the State of Israel or much else beyond the discourse of Jewish diversity two thousand years ago.
	Since then I've written very little about Judaism — or, rather, I've published very little. I have published a couple of articles that just about extend the argument of The True Israel. I've also published some discussions of other words, especially as they occur in the Bible and in the diatribes of people who read it, e.g., I've argued that "witches" in the Bible is never explicit and was always available for people to use against others.
	More recently, I've co-edited a book with Charles Thompson (Duke University, USA) about indigenous diasporas. Although this is entirely about indigenous peoples and religious traditions, it notes that the word "diaspora" is most often used in relation to Jews. Again, the term has a wide range of connotations: from "unwilling departure from a loved homeland" to "fruitful dwelling in new places". And more.
	If I've not published a lot about Judaism, I have written a lot more!! A large proportion of my teaching has always been about Judaism. Most recently, I have written the Judaism component for an Open University Religious Studies course (A217 Introducing Religions) that is now available as a distance learning course (commenced Feb 2006).
	In case anyone is wondering whether there are connections between Judaism and Paganism and indigenous religions ... I think there are. I think that Judaism is a pagan (note the lowercase "p") indigenous religion. It is rooted in the experience and practice of a people (which can be joined in a process that is more like "adoption" among indigenous people than it is like "conversion" among Christians). It is rooted in a particular land, with seasonal and communal celebrations that honour ancestors and sacred historical events. One of the things that makes Judaism most interesting and most difficult to teach in Britain is that students seem determined to confuse it for a kind of Christianity. The two religions seem to use some of the same sacred texts and share some common words and history, but the two religions are distinct in almost every way. However, this is meant to be about my research and not a mini-lecture on how Judaism is like some religions and unlike others. My research is certainly not seeking to make connections between Judaism and other religions ... I just thought I'd suggest that I can see some common ground between the religions I'm interested in.