Remains of the Jews studies the rise of Christian Empire in late antiquity (300-550 C.E.) through the dense and complex manner in which Christian authors wrote about Jews in the charged space of the "holy land." The book employs contemporary cultural studies, particularly postcolonial criticism, to read Christian writings about holy land Jews as colonial writings. These writings created a cultural context in which Christians viewed themselves as powerful—and in which, perhaps, Jews were able to construct a posture of resistance to this new Christian Empire. Remains of the Jews reexamines familiar types of literature—biblical interpretation, histories, sermons, letters—from a new perspective in order to understand how power and resistance shaped religious identities in the later Roman Empire.

Andrew S. Jacobs

Divinations, Stanford, Calif, California, 2004

United States, United States of America

1 edition, December 11, 2003

1, PS, 2003

Includes bibliographical references (p. [211]-244) and index.

xiv, 249 pages ; 24 cm
"Remains of the Jews studies the rise of Christian Empire in late antiquity (300-550 C.E.) through the dense and complex manner in which Christian authors wrote about Jews in the charged space of the "holy land." The book employs contemporary cultural studies, particularly postcolonial criticism, to read Christian writings about holy land Jews as colonial writings. These writings created a cultural context in which Christians viewed themselves as powerful - and in which, perhaps, Jews were able to construct a posture of resistance to this new Christian Empire. Remains of the Jews reexamines familiar types of literature - biblical interpretation, histories, sermons, letters - from a new perspective in order to understand how power and resistance shaped religious identities in the later Roman Empire."--Jacket
Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-244) and index
Introduction : holy land, empire, and Jews -- pt. I. Knowledge. "Full knowledge" : Jews and the totality of Christian empire -- "Captive Judaea" : the production of Jewish knowledge -- pt. II. Power. "A province like paradise" : Jews in Christian travel writing -- "This exalted city" : Christian Jerusalem and its Jews -- Conclusions : reconsidering Jewish-Christian relations

Discusses Christian literature (mostly Latin) from the 4th-6th centuries as a colonialist discourse of erasure and appropriation, i.e. as expressing an imperialist vision, in which Jews are dominated by Christians but are always a threat. The Land of the Jews is transformed into the (Christian) Holy Land, where traces of Jews are erased and replaced by Christian ones. The Jews are seen as eternally conquered; they are mere "natives". Christian theologians, pilgrims, cults of relics, the establishment of monasteries in Palestine, and especially writings in which the image of Christians is highlighted by diminishing that of Jews were the means of such "colonization". Jerome's attitude, described as "academic imperialism", combined a willingness to rely on Jewish informants about biblical interpretation with a hatred for Jews. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism)

2023-06-28