Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus.

Matthews, Victor H.

Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. By JODI MAGNESS. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 2011. Pp. xv + 335, illus. $25 (paper).

While a great deal of attention has been given to the various aspects of the social world of the New Testament period in Bible dictionaries, other reference works, and articles, few of these sources have successfully or systematically pulled together the data from Josephus, rabbinic and biblical texts, and Qumran materials. Jodi Magness' work, which focuses on the mid-first century B.C.E., attempts to fill that gap. It provides short, carefully written explanations of how ritual purity laws helped to shape behavior, especially with regard to food choices, dining customs, the observance of religious rituals, clothing, the various uses for olive oil, toilet protocol, and burial customs. As she says, the book is intended to "identify and correlate evidence of Jewish 'footprints' in the archaeological record and literary sources" (p. 2).

After pointing out the major sources she will draw on, Magness begins with a brief discussion of the forces that will influence the culture of New Testament times: ritual purity and holiness, sectarianism including the Essene community at Qumran, as well as the basic character of the rural agrarian society. The pattern of presentation thereafter is comprised of short sections in each chapter dealing with specific items or practices such as the miqvah, the purposes of hand washing, evidence for the consumption or banning of certain foods, and types of pottery, oil lamps, and glass and their uses. In many cases, she draws specific contrasts between standard practices in Hellenistic and first-century Judaism and the more restrictive character of the Qumran community. For example, in discussing pottery vessels, Magness points to the need for multiple sets of dishes at Qumran to deal with purity concerns (pp. 62-64) and the practice of communal dining at that site (pp. 79-81).

In fact, it is the emphasis on documenting the differences between standard rabbinic and Qumran practices that is at the heart of Magness' presentation of these materials. For instance, she points out Josephus' observations about such things as the Essene's refusal to eat food on the Sabbath that had not been prepared in advance or to kindle a light on the Sabbath (pp. 85-86) and then goes into a discourse detailing the contrasting rabbinic views on these practices (pp. 86-88). While it is helpful to marshal these sources together and thus indicate that Judaism was not monolithic in that period, it is also possible that non-specialists will become lost or lose interest amidst the wealth of sources presented here.

Particularly helpful is Magness' chapter on clothing, which also discusses nudity and the use of the tzitzit. In this case, there is a longer treatment that provides a clear picture of standard costume in various settings and the restrictions or requirements when in sacred space. Similarly, the section on spitting, while not one ordinarily treated in standard works, is also interesting with its attention to the opinions expressed in the sources and the expected restriction of this practice on the Temple Mount or in the temple.

Since purity concerns are of such importance to the rabbis and the Qumran community, it is not surprising to find a chapter on toilet habits. While biblical readers seldom concern themselves with issues of the elimination of waste, the reality of human biology and the associated social characteristics and architectural accommodations for it are an important topic. What is somewhat frustrating here and elsewhere in this volume is that the presentation is too succinct and too often interrupted by quoted material from the ancient sources. This raises the question of who is the audience for this volume--a purely scholarly one or a more general readership?

The chapter on tombs and burial customs is the longest in this volume (pp. 145-80), reflecting the author's personal interest in the subject and allowing her to more thoroughly discuss the archaeological record, including a long discourse on rock-cut tombs and the use of ossuaries. There is a helpful section on burial customs for the lower classes, who could not afford the more ostentatious monuments to their households, as well as on the purity concerns for contact with a corpse. That leads into a balanced discussion of crucifixion, the burial of Jesus in the Gospel accounts, and the association of the Talpiyot tomb and the "James ossuary." Magness' very useful interaction with the sources and current scholarly opinion is followed by a set of reasonable conclusions that help to set aside what she considers "widespread misconceptions" (p. 180).

There is a large segment (22 pages) in the middle of the volume displaying black and white pictures illustrating items discussed. While it is understandable that this is a cost-cutting measure, it would have been more helpful to place the images in the chapters instead. What is also curious about this volume is the fact that almost half of the text is taken up with appended endnotes, bibliography, and indices (148 of the 335 total pages). Usually, in a work intended for the general public more space is reserved for information on the various topics. However, because the explanations here are so replete with references from the original sources from that time period, it is not entirely surprising that these appended sections comprise such a large portion of the book. It is easy to recommend this volume to scholars and those with an educated interest in the early New Testament period. A person without an elementary background on the rabbinic and Qumran materials will find this book heavier going.

VICTOR H. MATTHEWS

MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY