Goodman, Martin 1953- (Martin David Goodman)

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Goodman, Martin 1953- (Martin David Goodman)

PERSONAL:

Born August 1, 1953, in London, England; son of Cyril Joshua (a solicitor) and Ruth (a doctor) Goodman; married Sarah Jane Lock (a solicitor), October 19, 1976; children: Joshua, Alexander, Daisy, Charlotte. Education: Oxford University, Trinity College, M.A., D.Phil., 1980. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. Office—Oriental Institute, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, England.

CAREER:

Historian, educator, and writer. Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies, Kaye, Jr., research fellow, 1976-77; Birmingham University, lecturer in ancient history, 1977-86; Oxford University, St. Cross College, senior research fellow, 1986-91; Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, fellow, 1986-91; Oxford University, Christ Church, lecturer in Roman history, 1988—; Oxford University, Wolfson College, fellow, 1991—, university reader in Jewish studies and professorial fellow, 1991-96, professor of Jewish studies, 1996—. Institute for Advanced Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, fellow, 1993; Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, acting president, 1995-96, and 1999-2000.

MEMBER:

British Association for Jewish Studies (president, 1995).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Fellow, Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies, fellow, 1976-77; fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1993; fellow, British Academy, 1996.

WRITINGS:

State and Society in Roman Galilee, A.D. 132-212, Rowman and Allanheld (Totowas, NJ), 1983, Valentine Mitchell (Portland, OR), 2000.

The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66-70, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1987.

(Editor, with Geza Vermes) The Essenes: According to the Classical Sources, JSOT Press (Sheffield, England), 1989.

Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Jane Sherwood) The Roman World, 44 B.C.-A.D. 180, Routledge (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor) Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, Clarendon Press (New York, NY), 1998.

(Editor, with M.J. Edwards and S.R.F. Price) Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians, Clarendon Press (Oxford, England), 1999.

(Editor) The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2007.

Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays, Brill (Boston, MA), 2007.

Editorial reviewer for Journal of Roman Studies, 1993-98, and editor, 1999-2003; joint editor of the Journal of Jewish Studies, 1995-99.

SIDELIGHTS:

Oxford scholar Martin Goodman is a specialist in Jewish studies. Since his publication of his doctoral thesis in 1983, Goodman has produced a steady stream of studies on Jews in the ancient world. For his debut work, State and Society in Roman Galilee, A.D. 132-212, Goodman used archaeological and non-Jewish literature as well as traditional rabbinic sources to depict the lives of Jewish Galileans during the second century. He proposed that the society was largely composed of small self-ruling Jewish communities that gradually gave way to the rule of southern rabbis who moved into the area after the Jewish revolt of 132-135 C.E. Critical reactions to Goodman's reworked doctoral dissertation varied dramatically. Although a Choice reviewer found the work to be a difficult read, the critic nonetheless commented that Goodman provided a "wealth of data useful for scholars."

Goodman dealt with another revolt in his study The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66-70. In a new interpretation of why the Jews revolted against Roman rule in 66 C.E., Goodman proposed that rather than incompetent Roman rulers, power struggles among the Jewish elites were the root cause. Stuart S. Miller in Religious Studies Review predicted that Goodman's "well argued volume" would elicit further studies of the subject. Likewise, Douglas R. Edwards, writing in the Journal of Biblical Literature, stated: "Goodman seems more persuasive than those who cite regional differences, hostility between town and country, variant religious practices, class warfare, or opposing social programs." Edwards went on to write: "At times, however, Goodman comes close to reducing a complicated set of circumstances to a single element." Calling The Ruling Class of Judaea a "substantive and provocative book," Edwards also noted that Goodman "presented a plausible, well-argued, and significant contribution to the debate surrounding the reasons for the Jewish War."

Goodman's Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire deals with the proselytizing philosophies of pagan and Judaic cults before 100 C.E. "Goodman argues, persuasively I think, that the evidence does not support a universal proselytizing mission among Jews in the first century," remarked Church History contributor Everett Ferguson, who lauded the work as an "excellent study." Writing in Religious Studies Review, George W.E. Nickelsburg praised Goodman's effort to challenge traditional thinking on the topic. However, Nickelsburg suggested that Goodman minimized examples that did not fit his thesis. "Goodman's attempt to explain the origin of the Christian mission has the character of an epilogue and is too brief to be persuasive," complained John J. Collins in the Journal of Religion. "The main contribution of his book concerns the ongoing debate about Jewish mission and proselytizing. While his hypothesis of a watershed in the time of Nerva is less than convincing, he makes a strong case that there was no organized or widespread Jewish mission to the gentiles before the rise of Christianity." Collins went on to write: "It is primarily for this contribution that this is an important book."

The Roman World, 44 B.C.-A.D. 180 is a collaborative effort with Jane Sherwood for the "Routledge History of the Ancient World" series. Although A.P. Keaveney, writing in Greece & Rome, noted that trying "to synthesize the vast body of scholarship which deals with this period" led to some "rough edges," the reviewer asserted: "It is consistently lucid, readable, and informative and should be required reading for every student of the period."

Goodman is also editor of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, which presents sixteen short essays answering Goodman's question: "How different from other people in the Graeco-Roman world were the Jews?" "The result is a series of revealing images of the ways in which Hellenistic/Roman-era Jews interacted with dominant contemporary cultures," wrote Daniel B. Levine in the Historian. Levine noted: "This collection will stimulate students of every discipline. Its bibliography is a bonanza of up-to-date scholarship, and its dazzling array of ancient sources is a model for future investigation." Shofar contributor John J. Collins wrote that "there is much to be learned from all these essays, and if they are characterized more by diversity than by thematic unity, they suggest that the same may be true of Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods."

In 1999, Goodman served as coeditor with M.J. Edwards and S.R.F. Price of Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians. The volume features a series of essays by scholars about apologetic texts. Among the essay titles are "The Acts of the Apostles as an Apologetic Text," "Talking at Trypho: Christian Apologetic as Anti-Judaism in Justin's Dialogue with Trypho the Jew," "Latin Christian Apologetics: Minucius Felix, Tertullian and Cyprian," and "The Constantine Circle and the Oration to the Saints." "Taken individually the standard of these essays is high," wrote Jason Davies in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, published in 2007, focuses on the identities of these two cities and explores the complex interplay between the Jews and the Romans during the Roman rule of Judea. The author delves into the history of Jewish revolts, including the razing of the temple, which resulted in sixty years of rebellion beginning in 70 B.C. The author also writes of Constantine and his ultimate conversion to Christianity. The epilogue focuses on anti-Semitism. "For scholars of Roman and Jewish history as well as well-informed general readers, this work provides a definitive account," wrote Jay Freeman in Booklist. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Rome and Jerusalem "absorbing work by a strong, capable writer and teacher who imparts his vast knowledge with great style and clarity."

Also published in 2007, Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays presents nineteen essays about the enduring place of Judaism in the ancient Roman world even after the growth of Christianity. The essays focus on a wide range of topics and issues, from the new rabbinicism to the Jewish image of God. A Reference & Research Book News contributor called the final essay, on the diaspora in the late Roman period, "fascinating."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Goodman, Martin, editor, Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, Clarendon Press (New York, NY), 1998.

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, December, 1989, review of The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66-70, p. 1352; June, 2000, Louis H. Feldman, review of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, p. 982.

Booklist, October 15, 2007, Jay Freeman, review of Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations, p. 25.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review, July 7, 2000, Jason Davies, Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, July, 1991, James R. Mueller, review of The Essenes: According to the Classical Sources, p. 509.

Choice, May, 1984, review of State and Society in Roman Galilee, A.D. 132-212, p. 1360.

Church History, June, 1995, Everett Ferguson, review of Mission and Conversion: Proselytizing in the Religious History of the Roman Empire, p. 252.

Classical World, January, 1986, review of State and Society in Roman Galilee, A.D. 132-212, p. 202.

Contemporary Review, May, 1999, review of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, p. 279.

Economist, January 20, 2007, "Spiritual and Temporal; Judaism and the Rise of Christianity," review of Rome and Jerusalem, p. 91.

Greece & Rome, April, 1998, A.P. Keaveney, review of The Roman World, 44 B.C.-A.D. 180, p. 99.

Historian, winter, 2001, Daniel B. Levine, review of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, p. 449.

History Today, February, 2007, Stephen Batchelor, review of Rome and Jerusalem, p. 61.

Journal of Biblical Literature, winter, 1989, Douglas R. Edwards, review of The Ruling Class of Judaea, p. 702.

Journal of Religion, July, 1996, John J. Collins, review of Mission and Conversion p. 464.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, January-March, 1991, Adam Kamesar, review of The Essenes, p. 134.

Journal of Theological Studies, October, 1990, George J. Brooke, review of The Essenes, p. 582; October, 2000, Judith M. Lieu, review of Apologetics in the Roman Empire, p. 713; October, 2004, Stefen C. Reif, review of The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies, p. 693.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2007, review of Rome and Jerusalem.

Publishers Weekly, August 27, 2007, review of Rome and Jerusalem, p. 72.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 1998, review of The Roman World, 44 B.C.-A.D. 180, p. 28; February, 2007, Whitney Scott, review of Judaism in the Roman World: Collected Essays.

Religious Studies Review, January, 1989, Stuart S. Miller, review of The Ruling Class of Judaea, p. 81; January, 1996, George W.E. Nickelsburg, review of Mission and Conversion, p. 71.

Shofar, fall, 2000, John J. Collins, review of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World.

Times Higher Education Supplement, October 31, 2003, Lionel Kochan, "Rarefied Reflection Is Far from Orthodox," p. 31; March 30, 2007, Simon Goldhill, "Collisions of Faith and Might Still Echo," review of Rome and Jerusalem, p. 24.

Times Literary Supplement, August 21, 1998, "The Roman World, 44 B.C.-A.D. 180," p. 25; March 26, 1999, review of Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, p. 32; April 6, 2007, Clifford Ando, "Jewish Privilege," review of Rome and Jerusalem, p. 6.