Early Jewish Prayers in Greek »

In this volume a series of 12 Jewish prayers, composed by Greek speaking communities, have been collected, translated, and provided with an extensive historical and philological commentary. These prayers, ranging in time from the second century BCE to the fourth century CE, offer unique insights into a wide variety of forms of Jewish spirituality, both in the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora. They have been preserved on papyrus, on stone, and as part of Christian church orders into which some of them have been incorporated.

Preface VII

Abbreviations XIII

I The Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers in the Apostolic Constitutions 1

II A Communal Prayer (Pap. Egerton 5) 95

III A Prayer for Protection against Unclean Spirits (Pap. Fouad 203) 123

IV A Prayer for Vengeance from Rheneia 135

V The Prayer of Manasseh 145

VI The Prayer of Azariah 181

VII The Prayer of Jacob 215

VIII Appendix: The Prayer of Joseph 247

Indices 259

Index of References 261

Index of Names and Subjects 287

Index of Modern Names 293