Jewish Abstention from Pork

Josephus

Quaestiones Convivales 4

Mid-1st–Early 2nd Century

Question 5

Whether the Jews abstain from pork because of reverence or aversion for the pig

Speakers: Callistratus, Polycrates, Lamprias

1. When he had finished, and some of those present would have made an extended reply to his arguments, Callistratus headed them off by saying, “What do you think of the assertion that it is precisely the most…

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Plutarch (ca. 46–120 CE) records a discussion on the reasoning for the Jewish prohibition of eating pork. Is it because the Jewish people revere the animals or because they revile them?

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Creator Bio

Josephus

37–100

Flavius Josephus was born into a prominent Jewish priestly family and served as a general stationed in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). He was captured by the Romans and eventually integrated into the Flavian imperial aristocracy, who commissioned him to compose chronicles of the Jewish–Roman war and the history of the Jews. Josephus’ works, all written in Greek, include The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion, and his autobiography, Life of Josephus. These writings provide important insights into the Judaisms of the Second Temple period and include one of the few surviving accounts of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

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