Verus Israel: A Study of the Relations Between Christians and Jews in the Roman Empire (AD 135-425) (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)

'A masterly survey . . . the sheer range of Simon's control of the Christian writers, and the sensitivity of his reading of the historical and theological elements in the process, will continue to make his study indispensable for anyone working in the field.' Judith Lieu, Journal of Religious History 'Masterly . . . The abiding value of the book rests not only in its particular scope and insights and in its closeness to primary sources, but also in its balanced and judicious tone . . . This is one of those historical works which cannot be neglected by those concerned with the position of the Jews in the contemporary world, and with Christian attitudes to Judaism.' William Horbury, Theology 'He succeeds in weaving a thread through a labyrinth of confusing claims and reports . . . a detailed picture of the nuances in the conflict of orthodoxies, underpinned by felicitous quotations . . . splendid book . . . will give the reader a feast.' Ulrich Simon, The Tablet Marcel Simon's classic study examines Jewish-Christian relations in the Roman empire from the Second Jewish War (132-5 CE) to the end of the Jewish Patriarchate in 425 CE{. First published in French in 1948, the book overturns the then commonly held view that the Jewish and Christian communities gradually ceased to interact and that the Jews gave up proselytizing among the gentiles. On the contrary, Simon maintains that Judaism continued to make its influence felt on the world at large and to be influenced by it in turn. He analyses both the antagonisms and the attractions between the two faiths, and concludes with a discussion of the eventual disappearance of Judaism as a missionary religion. The rival community triumphed with the help of a Christian imperial authority and a doctrine well adapted to the Graeco-Roman mentality.