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336 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 72,2010

descnbes a woman's uncleanness in connection with menstruation From this he concludes,

"women have full access to the sacrificial cult" (p 89) It seemsdoubtful that the evidence

he cites from Leviticus is sufficient to demonstrate that the book assumes full female par

ticipation at ceremonial offerings Perhaps a similar example ofexceeding the informationsupplied in the text occurs on 116 "Indeed, the successful performance of the sacrificial

offerings involved in their inauguration is intended to reassure the reader that the priests are

fully instructed, prepared, and committed to the sensitive task at hand " finds the ordi

nation ofNadab and Abihu in Leviticus 8-9 to be proof of their fundamental competence

in chap 10, they know what to do, and they do it

In chap 5, offers several more minor disappointments For example, on 139 he

says that the term "holiness" means a distinct divine-human relationship But then the pro

grammatic statement in Lev 19 2 rather awkwardly insists that Israel is to be distinctly

related to Yhwh because Yhwh is distinctly related to Israel Or again, it is slightly contrived to concede that the taking ofanimal life is a serious matter while alleging that sacri

fices do not really take the animal's life because the blood is returned toYhwh (p 159)

All in all, however, the book fairly well achieves its goal of exploring "the ritual

dynamics of power relationships, the ritualized negotiation of meaning and participation,

and the way in which narrowly cultic ritual ideas can be expanded and democratized to

cover the social life of the community" (p 164) These concerns are worthyofserious con

sideration in the modern synagogue and church

Edwin C Hostetter, Coppin State University Baltimore, MD 21216

JOSEPHBLENKINSOPP, Judaism, the FirstPhase The Place ofEzra andNehemiah in the

Origins of Judaism (Grand Rapids/Cambndge Eerdmans, 2009) Pp xiv+ 262 Paper

$30

Blenkmsopp has been involved for decades in the study of Ezra-Nehemiah, a field

that has undergone profound development over those years The relative consensus gained

m the 1960s is gone Today, studies of the Persian period are legion, and the debates are fer vent In the midst ofthis, sets forth his views concerning the importance of Ezra-

Nehemiah and the Persian period in the development of modern Judaism The book

composes an introduction, six chapters (Ongins, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezra-Nehemiah The

Roots ofIdeology, Ezra and Nehemiah History and Ideology, and The Sectarian Element

m Early Judaism), and a "provisional conclusion " also includes abibliographyand both

a subject index (incomplete) and a textual citation index (complete) He states that he can

offer only provisional conclusions, despite his lengthy argument, because "[n]o one work

ing m this period with the few texts which have come down to us should have anydoubt

about the fragilityofour knowledge" (p 228)This statement also reveals something about 's method It is based solidly in the

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BOOK REVIEWS 337

parative historical or archaeological methods. B. devotes considerable pages, especially in

the introduction and the first chapter, to nineteenth- and early-twentieth-ccntury scholar

ship on Jewish origins. Some will not appreciate this; others will find it valuable. It does,however, help to situate B. among other traditio-historical critics.

Blenkinsopp argues four major points in this volume. First, he maintains that Jewish

origins are to be found in the Persian period, not the Hellenistic period. He suggests that the

older view was shaped primarily by the absence of early nonclassical historical sources and

possibly by the boundaries of academic disciplines. He suggests that we should recognize

that the Neo-Babylonian invasion destroyed the Judean infrastructure, which caused a multi

plicity of centers, groups, and parties, all of which claimed legitimacy based on continuity

with past traditions. Such groups also attempted to deny legitimacy to other such claimants.

Second, this conflict over who had or did not have continuity with the past emanatedprimarily from the community in the Babylonian Diaspora. This group maintained the view

that the Babylonian exile was the climactic event in divine retribution for long-standing

Israelite religious infidelity. Part of the group's ideology was a fervor to ritualize social

interaction, based fundamentally on Ezekiel 40-48 and a strict interpretation of Deuteron

omy. This ritualization process is best represented by Ezra's and Nehemiah's (both of whom

are historical figures for B.) efforts to transpose this religious ideology into the social and

political realms.

Third, the postexilic period does not represent a return to Zion so much as a "diaspora

in reverse" from southern Mesopotamia (p. 85; cf. p. 229). B. understands the return as areligious colonization with a clear religious agenda, much like that of the Puritans who

came to America. The returnees/colonizers wanted to create a self-segregated and ritually

pure society, which was inspired by the new temple and Ezekiel's vision. This demanded

resolution of the question of identitywho was inside and outside the community. The

returnees/colonizers held a hard line concerning ethnic identity and thus rejected foreign

spouses (a "maximalist" view per B. [p. 230]). Nonetheless, other communitiessuch as

those who remained in the Diaspora (e.g., Mesopotamia, Elephantine), those in Samaria, and

the Judean nonexilesprobably held different views, as might be represented, for instance,

by the priestly Abraham traditions. Hence, the larger Judean community faced sectarianissues in this period much as in the Hellenistic period.

Fourth and finally, Ezra, as a priest and scribe, and Nehemiah, as a politician, had dif

ferent spheres of influence but shared the same religious agenda, that is, to keep foreign

influences at bay, to maintain the ethnic purity of the community, and to protect the ritual

integrity of the new temple. Nehemiah's sworn agreement (Heb 9:38-10:39)was, however,

written in the early Hellenistic period and retrojected into Nehemiah. Thus, it constitutes a

critical link between the Deuteronomic covenant and the Damascus sectarians. Further

more, the Hasmonean leadership imitated Nehemiah's political model and goals, achieving

successful independenceif for just a brief periodwhere Nehemiah could not.

This volume continues the tradition ofB. in that it carries on and springs from his

prior work interacts with the current scholarship argues soundly from the biblical text and

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