Video Description

Welcome back to KEDEM Channel, we are happy to come back, and not only to come back, but to bring you a fresh new episode with Professor Yonatan Adler! This time, we sit down with Professor Yonatan Adler to explore a pivotal question: what was Judean religious life like before Judaism as we know it emerged? Prof. Adler discusses his new book, "Between Yahwism and Judaism: Judean Cult and Culture During the Early Hellenistic Period," examining the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BCE—the era between Alexander the Great's conquests and the Hasmonean revolt. *About Prof. Yonatan Adler:* Yonatan Adler is Professor of Archaeology at Ariel University. He specializes in the archaeology and history of Second Temple period Judaism. His first book, "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal," challenged conventional understandings of when Judaism began by examining material evidence for Torah observance. His research combines archaeological findings with textual sources to understand the religious practices of ordinary ancient Judeans. Prof. Adler's book is now free to download for two weeks only! https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/between-yahwism-and-judaism/DF4B36DC1118F3DDAF3A060C7B4878CC *Timestamps:* 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - What was before Judaism? Jews without Judaism 3:45 - The early Hellenistic period: Historical context 7:20 - What is Yahwism? Defining the term 11:30 - Evidence and sources for the period 16:45 - The cult of Yahwism: What did Judeans believe? 21:00 - Polytheism and Athena on Jerusalem coins 27:15 - The Jerusalem Temple and other Yahwistic temples 32:40 - Greek cultural influence on Judeans 35:20 - Language: Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek 38:45 - Naming conventions and cultural identity 42:10 - The Septuagint translation: Why and for whom? 45:30 - Material culture and pottery evidence 50:15 - Conclusions: Continuity from Persian to Hellenistic period 56:40 - The Hasmonean watershed moment 1:00:20 - Closing remarks Support our work: https://patreon.com/Kedem?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink *Video editing by:* Guy Schutzman Subscribe for more scholarly discussions on Ancient Near Eastern history and the Hebrew Bible! #AncientHistory #Judaism #HebrewBible #Yahwism #HellenisticPeriod #BiblicalArchaeology #AncientJudea #Yahwism