Introduction
Who belonged to associations?
Scenarios of success, survival and decline
Starting an association : collective and individual agency
Counting the costs of communal life
Acquiring resources
Communal collections, part 1 : fund-raising and group values
Communal collections, part 2 : associations devoted to the Israelite God
Mutual assistance and group cohesion
Conclusion
Appendix : Women participating in associations, 1st century BCE-2nd century CE.