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Masada: An Epic Story

Masada: An Epic Story Review of Books / Journal for the Study of Judaism 42 (2011) 375-440 395 Masada: An Epic Story . By Hanan Eshel. Translated from Hebrew by Paul King. Edited by Barbara Ball. (A Carta Field Guide). Jerusalem: Carta, 2009. Pp. 146. Hardback. $25.00. ISBN 978-965-220-760-9. In this book, published just a year before his untimely death at April 8, 2010 at the age of 51, Eshel relates about the history and the archaeological remains at Masada. The introduction argues that the remains at Masada stem from three distinct historical peri- ods: the time of King Herod when a small contingent of soldiers was stationed there, the time of King Herod when Herod resided there, and the time of the First Jewish Revolt. The next section provides a brief historical outline of Masada. The events related to Masada in the Hasmonean period, the period of the Parthian invasion, the Herodian period, the Post-Herodian period, the period of the First Jewish Revolt, the period after the Roman conquest, and the Byzantine period are described. The buildings at Masada and archaeological discoveries are mentioned and passages from Josephus’ writings cited. The second section describes the remains at Masada: the Roman siege appara- tus, the eastern cistern, the Snake Path Gate, the room in the eastern casemate wall in which a Ben Sira scroll was found, the swimming pool, the Western Palace, the point of the Roman breach, the casemate of the scrolls, the synagogue, the Water Gate, the northern complex, and room 113 in which the excavation of eleven ostraca’s with names written on them led to a suggested connection with Josephus’ story of the mass suicide at Masada. The description in the second section is set up as a guide for a visit to Masada, although this aim comes somewhat out of the blue when this section starts with “Taking the cable car from the east or climbing the Snake Path” (37). The reader is instructed to walk to certain buildings and is informed about their function, the events related to them, the discoveries of certain objects, documents, wall paintings and the like, and about passages from Josephus and other authors which illuminate the function and events. The conclusion provides some additional options to continue one’s visit to Masada after the tour described in the book. It makes one wonder why Eshel did not describe all the buildings and events, but chose the ones he did. A select bib- liography and an index are also included. In sum, Eshel gives a nice impression of the history and the archaeological remains at Masada. He clearly aims at a more general readership. The site, its remains and its history are not fully analyzed nor all the scholarly discussions fully described. Nevertheless, Eshel’s descriptions provide the visitor to Masada with the necessary information for understanding the remains. The many pictures in the book are helpful for visualizing the textual descriptions, whereas its small for- mat is convenient for taking the book with you on your visit to Masada. Albertina Oegema University of Groningen © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/157006311X586403 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal for the Study of Judaism Brill

Masada: An Epic Story

Journal for the Study of Judaism , Volume 42 (3): 395 – Jan 1, 2011

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0047-2212
eISSN
1570-0631
DOI
10.1163/157006311X586403
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Review of Books / Journal for the Study of Judaism 42 (2011) 375-440 395 Masada: An Epic Story . By Hanan Eshel. Translated from Hebrew by Paul King. Edited by Barbara Ball. (A Carta Field Guide). Jerusalem: Carta, 2009. Pp. 146. Hardback. $25.00. ISBN 978-965-220-760-9. In this book, published just a year before his untimely death at April 8, 2010 at the age of 51, Eshel relates about the history and the archaeological remains at Masada. The introduction argues that the remains at Masada stem from three distinct historical peri- ods: the time of King Herod when a small contingent of soldiers was stationed there, the time of King Herod when Herod resided there, and the time of the First Jewish Revolt. The next section provides a brief historical outline of Masada. The events related to Masada in the Hasmonean period, the period of the Parthian invasion, the Herodian period, the Post-Herodian period, the period of the First Jewish Revolt, the period after the Roman conquest, and the Byzantine period are described. The buildings at Masada and archaeological discoveries are mentioned and passages from Josephus’ writings cited. The second section describes the remains at Masada: the Roman siege appara- tus, the eastern cistern, the Snake Path Gate, the room in the eastern casemate wall in which a Ben Sira scroll was found, the swimming pool, the Western Palace, the point of the Roman breach, the casemate of the scrolls, the synagogue, the Water Gate, the northern complex, and room 113 in which the excavation of eleven ostraca’s with names written on them led to a suggested connection with Josephus’ story of the mass suicide at Masada. The description in the second section is set up as a guide for a visit to Masada, although this aim comes somewhat out of the blue when this section starts with “Taking the cable car from the east or climbing the Snake Path” (37). The reader is instructed to walk to certain buildings and is informed about their function, the events related to them, the discoveries of certain objects, documents, wall paintings and the like, and about passages from Josephus and other authors which illuminate the function and events. The conclusion provides some additional options to continue one’s visit to Masada after the tour described in the book. It makes one wonder why Eshel did not describe all the buildings and events, but chose the ones he did. A select bib- liography and an index are also included. In sum, Eshel gives a nice impression of the history and the archaeological remains at Masada. He clearly aims at a more general readership. The site, its remains and its history are not fully analyzed nor all the scholarly discussions fully described. Nevertheless, Eshel’s descriptions provide the visitor to Masada with the necessary information for understanding the remains. The many pictures in the book are helpful for visualizing the textual descriptions, whereas its small for- mat is convenient for taking the book with you on your visit to Masada. Albertina Oegema University of Groningen © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011 DOI: 10.1163/157006311X586403

Journal

Journal for the Study of JudaismBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2011

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