Feasts and Festivals

This collection of essays, papers originally given at a colloquium in Oxford 2008 involving scholars from the universities of Oxford, Leiden and Bonn, focuses on the theme of Feasts and Festivals in Biblical and extra-Biblical traditions. The topics include studies of the festal gathering in Deuteronomy and funerary rites for children in the Hebrew Bible, feasts in some extra-biblical texts (including 2 and 3 Maccabees), through to treatments of a number of New Testament themes and topics in the gospels and Paul. The focus on the theme of 'feast' brings out new aspects of some well-known texts and sheds new light on a number of themes in ancient Judaism and in early Christianity. This volume will be of interest to all those engaged in Biblical studies and its ramifications in the study of Judaism and early Christianity.