In her paper “Boundaries and orthodoxy in Hellenistic Judaism” Tessa Rajak (University of Reading, UK) treated both the internal character of Jewish communities in the Greek cities and the relationship between Jews and others. She defined Diaspora Judaism in terms of text-centredness, i.e. self-definition in terms of scripture. This allowed considerable flexibility and variety, but at the same time, in a situation where there was as yet no prevailing orthodoxy, it provided a core set of reference points.
EAJS Treasurer 2002-6