This book stems from a 2021 conference in Tübingen and adds to the prestigious COMES series (Civitatum Orbis Mediterranei Studia). Tanja Forderer and Daniel Schumann, the editors, capitalize on the scholarly momentum surrounding the study of Antioch and draw on a host of new studies and ongoing research projects that are greatly advancing our understanding of a city that transformed the ancient world in fundamental ways. To be sure, the book captures this intellectual ebullience; yet the title, appealing though it may be, can be misleading, for it places an excess of emphasis on the Christian/Jewish dialectic. Granted, the discourse of monotheism - both as it shaped and was shaped by the city of the Orontes - is central to the unfolding of the essays, but throughout there is such insight and knowledge of the broader field and its historical, political, and material ramifications that any reader will go away the wiser.

Overall, the scaffolding of the book is congenial, with four sections unpacking a vast array of topics, as discussed by the editors in the introduction. Aptly, Section I sets the stage and offers a substantial presentation (it is indeed the longest of the four sections) of Antioch as a key-political and military milieu in the early imperial period (Werner Eck). What comes vividly across is the decisive tilting of the imperial pendulum towards the East, with the province of Syria rising to unprecedented heights. Such prominence went, of course, hand-in-hand with urban growth and the heightening of monumental décor. Gunnar Brands thus guides the reader amidst the intricacies of Antioch's archaeological record, zeroing in on topography and building programs, while offering compelling vistas on how the city grew from modest Seleucid enclave to provincial metropolis. Antioch's social conglomerate then takes center-stage in the following chapter, with Jody Magness' essay addressing the materiality and visibility of the local Jewish community. It should be stressed that Antioch's Jews were key to the founding and growth of the city, yet they remain conspicuously elusive in the archaeological record. Through the analysis of the sources and limited archaeological data from Beth Shearim and Apamea, Magness sheds light on the Antiochene Jews, conjuring up actors and daily practices. Section II segues into a comprehensive panorama of Jewish literature, ranging from 1 Maccabees in the Seleucid epoch (Michael Tilly; Karl-Wilhem Niebuhr) to Josephus (Steve Mason) and the Palestinian Targumim (Hallel Baitner). What emerges is a vast and complicated body of literature that informs the realities, conflicts, and general outlook of Antioch's Jewish community, while also providing key information about the city, its natural setting, and constantly evolving political frameworks.

The New Testament is central in Section III. Furthering the topic of the negotiation of Christian identity, Ulrich Mell explores the well-known text of Thess 2,14-16. He zooms in on the uncanny presence of Antioch's synagogue, a topographically and architecturally unknown building, as the background for a nascent, and vibrant, Christian community. Tanja Forderer's following chapter, too, proves particularly insightful, as it veers the discussion of early Christian adherence vis à vis Jewish customs as debate central in Gal 2, 1-14. In the following essay, Matthias Konradt harnesses the Gospel of Matthew as a prism, and indeed physical setting, to understand the evolution of Antioch's Christian community, while Anna Maria Schwemer engages the discourse of the actors, drivers, and semantics of Antioch's first community of Christians. What is more, she conveys a sense of the spatial breadth within which these momentous events unfolded, as she toggles between the city on the Orontes and Jerusalem.

Lastly, Section IV offers a broad discussion of Antioch's early Christianity, reprising, with Markus Öhler's chapter, Gal 2.11-14. In it, the author addresses once again the great divide and its ripple effects, as they resonate in the textual sources of the later first century AD and late antiquity. Lutz Doering then tackles the Didache, a complicated collection of norms and community stipulations, focusing on Did. 6.2-3 and its imperatives concerning routines and observances. Ignatius' corpus of letters is then the subject of Daniel Schumann's chapter. Not only is this collection of text instrumental in recognizing Ignatius' apostolic mission and embrace of Paul's message, but also it enables an exploration of the parting of ways between Christianity and Judaism in the context of the formation of Christian identity. In closing, Volker Henning Drecoll's rich essay offers a survey of the Christology of Antioch, from Ignatius to Paul of Samosata and Eustathius.

Bald, erudite, and ambitious, the book is intended for a readership that is steeped in the history, textual records, and religious traditions of Antioch, Syria, and Judea. Casual readers and general history enthusiasts may find some of the chapters challenging, yet the authors deserve credit for consistently providing narratives that point to the wider context and the key-questions. This much coherence, in an edited volume, is frankly rare. In conclusion, we owe it to the authors that another compelling collection of studies casts new light on Antioch and its unique community.

Andrea U. De Giorgi