Does the collective identity asserted by the Jews in antiquity fits contemporary definitions of nationalism?

David Goodblatt is Professor of History at the University of California, San Diego where he holds the Endowed Chair in Judaic Studies. Previously he taught for over a decade in the Jewish History Department of the University of Haifa and was the Louis L. Kaplan Professor of Jewish History at the University of Maryland. He is the author of Rabbinic Instruction in Sasanian Babylonia and The Monarchic Principle: Studies in Jewish Self-government in Antiquity.

1. Theoretical considerations: nationalism and ethnicity in antiquity; 2. Constructing Jewish nationalism: the role of scripture; 3. Constructing Jewish nationalism: the Hebrew language; 4. A kingdom of priests: the priestly component in ancient Jewish nationalism; 5. Israel nationalism; 6. Judah nationalism; 7. Zion nationalism; 8. Conclusions: Jewish nationalism - what rose and what fell?