Issues of Impurity in Early Judaism

While Jesus and Purity (2002 corrected reprint 2010 2021) aimed to present an unfolding argument this volume does not aspire at such coherence. It consists of articles and papers on various issues of impurity in early Judaism. A few of these have been previously published the rest not. Some chapters develop and further expand on topics discussed in Jesus and Purity and much focus lies on questions of the impurity of discharges and the practice of hand-washing before meals. Both literary and historical methods are used as well as approaches based on cognitive science. The analysis covers texts from the Pentateuch Qumran the New Testament and some Jewish Hellenistic authors. By bringing these articles together they are made available and can be easily found by potential readers. Together with the recently published collection Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (SBL Press 2021) Issues of Impurity represents Kazen's continuous work on purity issues through two decades. The reader of both volumes will see how the author's views have gradually evolved through the years.