BECOMING DIASPORA JEWS: Behind the Story of Elephantine

This work tells the story of the earliest Jewish diaspora in Egypt in a way it has never been told before. In the 5th century BCE there was a Jewish community on Elephantine Island. Why they spoke Aramaic, venerated Aramean gods besides Yaho, and identified as Arameans is a mystery, but a previously little explored papyrus from Egypt sheds new light on their history.