The purpose of this work is to provide a scholarly but also readable account of the economic activities of the Jews – as well as their attitudes to labor in general during the Biblical and Talmudic periods. As far as possible, the entire source material, scattered as it is in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Talmud and Midrash, has been utilized to present a comprehensive picture of this important but relatively neglected subject. The book comprises chapters in the occupational structure of the Talmudic rabbis and their views on physical labor as well as descriptions of Jewish commercial and industrial activities and vocational training in ancient times.
