Cultural Hegemony, Ideological Conflicts, and Power in Second Temple Judaism

The literary texts of ancient Israel and early Judaism are infused with ideologies and reflect various social, economic, religious, and political agendas. On the one hand hegemonic and counter-hegemonic ideologies shaped the production of literary texts, on the other hand literary texts helped cement or at least spread such ideologies and worldviews. This volume explores the relationship between authoritative texts, ideologies, and social, religious, and political struggles in Second Temple Judaism by examining both the Hebrew Bible and other literary products of Second Temple Judaism, such as the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The volume focuses on a series of case studies and aims to shed light on how literary production in Second Temple Judaism is simultaneously the effect and medium of social struggles for hegemony. The first section of the volume focuses on the texts of the Hebrew Bible and the Samaritan Pentateuch, explicitly engaging with Antonio Gramsci's concept of cultural hegemony. The second section explores the broad themes of power dynamics, conflict, and different types of hegemonies.