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Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 349 Reviews shows, she means that hereditary hierarchy is less palatable in a sectarian framework, where people choose to belong, and that is indeed a reasonable statement, a priori, one that makes sense of why one group would tend to one position and another group to another position. But when we look at the sources, we find that while the Rule of the Community contains the famous passage in cols. 3–4 about Sons of Light and Sons of Darkness, which indeed ignores pedigree, it also contains, at 8:5–9 and 9:3–6, some equally famous and strident statements about the priests being “most holy” while Israel is only “holy,” of which the practical implication is that “Only the sons of Aaron shall rule in mattes of justice and property, and on their word the decision shall be taken with regard to every rule of the men of the community ” (9:7). Although Himmelfarb emphasizes that 8:5–9 does not specify functional differences between the two classes (p. 122) and that 9:7 refers only to matters of property (p. 127), one may doubt whether these observations really support the general statement about priests being relatively unimportant and hereditary hierarchy being relatively unpalatable for this text. Be that as it may, this is a highly interesting volume, well researched, well thought-out and well written, dealing with a fundamental issue of ancient Judaism. If now and then it attempts to be more systematic, or conclusive , than the sources allow, this merely goes with the territory. It is obvious that ancient Jews had to deal with the basic issue that Himmelfarb addresses, and so such an erudite and clear study as this one that focuses upon the issue, which is so important for the subsequent history of Judaism and Christianity, assembles the material and sets out the views they bespeak or assume, is certainly welcome and productive. Daniel R. Schwartz The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel dschwartz@mscc.huji.ac.il TEMPLES, TITHES, AND TAXES: THE TEMPLE AND THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF ANCIENT ISRAEL. By Marty E. Stevens. Pp. xi + 209. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006. Paper, $24.95. As the subtitle suggests the concern of this study is the place of the temple in the economic life of ancient Israel. Since proper economic studies of ancient Israel are rather rare, this promises to fill a gap. Also, the author has been a Certificated Public Accountant and a financial management executive , which has its advantages but also its disadvantages. When a number of ancient practices are discussed in terms of modern accounting and financial Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 350 Reviews arrangements, I cannot help wondering at times whether this correctly describes the ancient data. The first chapter attempts to address a number of preliminary issues for a non-specialist reader, such as a discussion of sources of information, a historical survey, and even a guide explaining how cuneiform was written. This is commendable, though I am not sure that some of the discussion would in fact be easily understandable to a person without a fair amount of background already. Chapter 2 is on temple construction, which discusses the “wilderness tabernacle,” the first and second Jerusalem temples, and temples to Yahweh outside Jerusalem (in such places as Leontopolis and Arad). The purpose of this chapter is unclear, and it seems to assume in naive fashion that Israel had really wandered in the wilderness carrying a movable “wilderness tabernacle” and that this is accurately described in the text. Chapter 3 is on temple personnel: priests, gatekeepers, scribes, craftsmen, and administrators . Chapter 4 (on temple income) deals with land ownership, tithes, taxes, gifts, and trade. Temple expenses (chap. 5) discusses personnel, taxes, royal provisioning, appropriations, and community welfare. Chapter 6 is an important chapter on “the temple as a bank,” with sections on sacred space, deposits, loans, and vows, with an excursus on the birth narrative of Samuel. A concluding chapter gives “an economic model of the temple in the ancient Near East” and specific findings with regard to the temple in Jerusalem. The problem is that not a lot of economic information has...

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