The True Israel - Uses of the Names Jew, Hebrew and Israel in Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Literature (Paperback)

This book takes into account written as well as oral works that circulated during this 500-year period. Taking neither an etymological nor an archeological approach, Harvey instead uses the theory of associative fields to explore the full range of associations of the names in their actual context to better understand how the words were actually used. Divided into three parts, Jew, Hebrew, and Israel respectively, the volume especially examines Israel. Within each section, individual chapters are dedicated to specific literature. This book makes a significant contribution to Jewish self-definition, then and now.