Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism: The Development of a Religious Institution (review)

Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 357 Reviews cautiously presented as being "perhaps legendary" (p. 166), rabbinic tradition is taken at face value regarding Hillel's Babylonian origin (p. 206), R. Johanan ben Zakkai's founding of the rabbinic school at Jamnia (p. 210), and the use by the latter and his successors of the title of nasi (p. 214). As Neusner and Kalmin have taught us, such "historical" traditions may tell us much more about the agendas and attitudes of the redactors of the rabbinic documents than they do about the specific historical events themselves. Yet Hayes and Mandell are to be commended for their overall decision not to rely on rabbinic literature as a source for the period. The last of the three broad issues treated by Hayes and Mandell in the introduction is that of definitions. They note inter alia the difficulty in defIning "Jew" and "Jewish" and stress that "this appellation must be scrutinized whenever it is used" (p. 12), an important corollary to the need for a history of the Jews in classical antiquity that is free of theological bias. As they stress, not all Jews were circumcised, nor did all Jews adhere to the scriptures now designated as "canonical" according to the Masoretic tradition . Nor did the "laws of their country" necessarily imply the Mosaic law (p.41). Throughout the book, Hayes and Mandell demonstrate a deep understanding of the strengths and biases of their sources, especially the Roman historians, and of how Rome ruled the peoples under its dominion. Their presentation is replete with useful charts and maps, as well as selected primary sources in translation. The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander 10 Bar Kochba fulfills its authors' goal of producing a readable and impeccably scholarly textbook for the study of the Judean community in that period and is a welcome addition to the scholarship in the field. Alyssa M. Gray Jewish Theological Seminary New York, NY 10027 algray@jtsa.edu PENITENTIAL PRAYER IN SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION. By Rodney Alan Werline. SBL Early Judaism and Its Literature. pp. xi + 238. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1998. Cloth, $39.95. In Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism, a revision of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Iowa, Rodney Alan Werline's goal is the "systematic analysis of penitential prayers from the period of the exile through the Second Temple period" (p. 1). Werline understands penitential Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 358 Reviews prayer as a religious institution designed to respond to sin. He argues that the theological model for Second Temple penitential prayer is located in Deuteronomy and that later authors reinterpret earlier texts and paradigms to meet their particular needs. Werline employs a linguistic and literary approach to the texts he studies. Though his primary focus involves literary and linguistic analysis, Werline assumes that penitential prayer arises as a response to historical circumstances. He argues that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile ignite a religious crisis to which penitential prayer is one mode of response. Furthennore, just as historical events led to the rise of penitential prayer in Judaism, so too did new circumstances during the period lead Second Temple authors and groups to rework penitential prayers to suit their own needs. Chapter one focuses on penitential prayers in the Bible. Arguing that these prayers contain deuteronomic themes, Werline explores the idea of repentance in Deuteronomy and links these themes to penitential prayers in a number of biblical texts including Ezra-Nehemiah. The fact that such prayers are seen as nonnative by the authors of Ezra-Nehemiah leads Werline to conclude that penitential prayer is "an established religious institution in the exilic and post-exilic period" (p. 12). Chapter two analyzes prayers in Dan 9:1-27 and Bar 1:15-3:8. Werline uses these second century B.C.E. prayers, written at different stages of the persecutions of Antiochus IV and the Hasmonean revolt, to support his claim that changes in the language of penitential prayer reflect changes in the social and political circumstances of the Jews. While both prayers borrow heavily from earlier texts, particularly Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, they suggest that penitential prayer...