Gradel & Pedersen, The Lost Novel of King Solomon and the Demons (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Ittai Gradel, Nils Arne Pedersen

The Lost Novel of King Solomon and the Demons

New Evidence on the Testament of Solomon in Antiquity

2025. 344 pages.
Parabiblica (PBib) 5

€99.00
including VAT

cloth
available
978-3-16-200066-8

Also Available As:
eBook PDF
€99.00

Summary

In this study, Ittai Gradel and Nils Arne Pedersen develop a new approach to the apocryphal Testament of Solomon by combining archaeology and textual analysis. The starting point is a group of ten 3rd-century rings, each inscribed in Greek: »Solomon says: 'Watch out!'« The phrase, puzzling as an apotropaic formula, makes sense only in light of the Testament of Solomon, where the king, empowered by a divine ring, subjugates demons. In a climactic episode, Solomon orders two demons to support a massive column until the Day of Judgment - precisely with the words »Watch out!« This unique command, permanently binding the demons, explains its adoption in everyday magical practice.
The rings, securely dated, establish a 2nd-century date for the original version of the text and invite new reflections on its literary shape and development. While the preserved Testament alternates between first-person and third-person narration, the inscriptions suggest that the original form was a longer third-person narrative later abbreviated and reworked. From this basis, the authors develop a theory of its redactional history. The evidence points toward popular Christianity distinct from the patristic mainstream. Several rings display Christian iconography, one was linked to the pilgrimage site of Abu Mena, and parallels to Jewish Solomonic traditions are also apparent. Alexandria emerges as a plausible place of origin. The interdisciplinary synthesis - archaeology, history of religions, apocryphal studies, and folklore - generates fresh perspectives. The appendices enrich this contribution with translations of previously inaccessible versions of the Testament of Solomon, including one that contains a newly attested agraphon ascribed to Jesus, as well as a new edition and translation of a Syriac narrative. In this way, the authors significantly reposition the Testament of Solomon within the history of ancient religion and literature.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Testament of Solomon and related artifactual material, see here and links. This is the first I've heard of any Solomonic ring artifacts, aside from the fictional one in the 2010 children's novel by Jonathan Stroud.

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Dawson, Woman Zion, Out of Hand (OUP)

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Woman Zion, Out of Hand

A New Materialist Investigation of Zion's Movement

Cindy Dawson

£64.00
Hardback
Published: 18 November 2025
262 Pages
235x156mm
ISBN: 9780197817223

Also Available As:
E-book

Description

In this groundbreaking work, Cindy Dawson maps and investigates Woman Zion through texts and time as a premiere example of a body's agency. The personification of the city of Jerusalem in biblical and Early Jewish texts, Woman Zion appears in 30 texts over 800 years, during which time her body undergoes remarkable change. Dawson begins in the preexilic years of Isaiah, Micah, Hosea, and Jeremiah, descends with Woman Zion to her exilic nadir in Ezekiel and Lamentations, then watches her remarkable rise in Isaiah and the texts of Early Judaism, including 1 Baruch, 4 Ezra, Galatians, and Revelation. Building upon the insight of New Materialism, this study defines agency as the ability to intra-act, to act upon and be acted upon by the world around it. Agency is not limited by something (i.e., "intention" or "will") that someone (i.e., a human) possesses but simply by some ability to enact change, an ability possessed by humans and nonhumans alike.

Woman Zion is therefore more than a way for authors to think, more than a mere tool by which those authors assert their agenda and their agency — her body is in fact an art object, and at that, one with agency. This agency is ontological and furthermore demonstrable, evident in how her body gets out of hand, outlasts her creators, and does things they would never intend her to do. This study therefore provides a new way to track a tradition, without succumbing to the limitations of form criticism and, by definition, its tie to forms that face eventual extinction. Here, Cindy Dawson reformulates a long-time interest of biblical studies, to show how Woman Zion's body becomes the new form.

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Hutzli & Davis (ed.), The Historical Location of P (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

The Historical Location of P
Reconsidering the Priestly Texts in Light of Material Culture and Geographical Indications
Edited by Jürg Hutzli and Jordan Davis

2026. 260 pages.
Archaeology and Bible (ArchB) 10

€89.00
including VAT

sewn paper
available
978-3-16-164623-2

Also Available As:
eBook PDF
€89.00

Summary

Although there is an enduring, general consensus regarding the identification of the Priestly Writings (P), there are nonetheless several open questions related to this important literary stratum in the Pentateuch. One of these crucial and debated questions is the dating and location of the Priestly texts. The contributors of this collected volume seek to better situate the Priestly Writings both temporally and geographically. In doing so they pay attention to the choice of pertinent criteria for this task and recall those that have been neglected in the recent past, such as geographical indications and references to material culture provided by the Priestly texts.

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St Demiana, Sahidic Coptic Leviticus (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Sahidic Coptic Leviticus

Its Manuscript Witnesses and Its Text

Series:
Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity, Volume: 30

Author: Antonia St Demiana

Until recently, the Sahidic Old Testament has received little attention. In Sahidic Coptic Leviticus, Antonia St Demiana fully documents, for the first time, the manuscript evidence of Sahidic Coptic Leviticus and offers a full codicological investigation and reconstruction of its codices and fragments. By surveying the dispersed Sahidic Leviticus fragments and folios, codices formerly considered to be independent of one another are reconstructed and unified, and new Leviticus fragments are identified and virtually assigned to their original codices. A semi-diplomatic edition of the most complete witness of Sahidic Leviticus, MLM M566, with the variae lectiones from the other Sahidic Leviticus witnesses is provided with a critical apparatus and English translation. A commentary including an introductory textual study and translation analysis of the text is also presented. In addition, this volume offers new and conclusive observations on the nature of the Sahidic version of Leviticus, and the relationship between the text of Sahidic Leviticus and its Greek Vorlage.

Copyright Year: 2025

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54589-2
Publication: 25 Nov 2024
EUR €250.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54588-5
Publication: 05 Dec 2024
EUR €250.00

Cross-file under Coptic Watch.

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On Ashurbanipal's library in Nineveh

BIBLIOTHECAL ARCHAEOLOGY: The greatest library in the world was built by this ruthless king. The 1850 discovery of King Ashurbanipal's vast library of cuneiform tablets at Nineveh illuminated fascinating records and complex links with neighbors (Michela Piccin, National Geographic).

Ashurbanipal, the most powerful king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the mid-seventh century B.C., was known for his ruthless military prowess, his incredible lion-hunting skills—and for being a librarian.

“Palace of Ashurbanipal, King of the Universe, King of Assyria” reads an inscription denoting his ownership on one of over 30,000 clay tablets and fragments from the magnificent library he maintained at his capital, Nineveh, today in northern Iraq.

[...]

This is a long, informative article on Ashurbanipal's library. It focuses on its discovery and excavation, but gives some attention to its contents; notably the first-discovered fragments of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

I was wondering if it would interact with Irving Finkelman's proposal, covered in a recent interview with Lex Fridman, that the 30,000 recovered tablets are just duplicates and discarded broken pieces, while the Babylonians and their allies carried off the bulk of the library.

The article does not mention Dr. Finkel's idea, but it does make an intriguing comment that could be relevant:

Recent analysis of the corpus of Nineveh tablets by a German-British team is producing interesting insights. For example, it was initially thought that reconstructing the tablets would be just a matter of time and effort. Now, even with all the pieces digitally cataloged, it has only been possible to reconstruct about 200 tablets, and even these are missing large sections. It has also been established that many tablets were marked with colophons (notes placed at the end of text) of different types. These identified the kind of text they contained or the period in which they were made. Some were even signed by individual scribes. The conclusion is that the rest of the fragments have been lost or have yet to be found in Nineveh.

Are these indeed just the broken pieces left by the Babylonians when they looted the library?

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Justiss, Scribal Change and Strategic Sequencing in the Hebrew Source of G Proverbs (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Joseph L. Justiss

Scribal Change and Strategic Sequencing in the Hebrew Source of G Proverbs

2026. 276 pages.
Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe (FAT II) 168

€99.00
including VAT
sewn paper
available
978-3-16-164864-9

Also Available As:
eBook PDF
€99.00

Summary

Joseph L. Justiss examines the variant sequences of large text-blocks as found in the ancient Greek version of Proverbs (G Proverbs) and the Masoretic version of Proverbs (M Proverbs) to determine whether G's translator or G's source is the cause of the variant orders. Additionally, he examines how the different sequencing impacts the interpretation of the juxtaposed units. The author proceeds from a diachronic to a synchronic analysis of these units. Diachronically, textual and editorial criticism shed light on scribal changes at the edges and sometimes within juxtaposed units. Synchronically, topic analysis, dialogic analysis, and literary analysis reveal scribal motivations and compositional strategies inspiring the sequencing of units. Drawing on the main results of his study, Joseph L. Justiss argues that a variant Hebrew recension caused G's variant sequences and that the scribe of G's source expanded texts to emphasize wise speech and reverence in the presence of high authorities.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Late-antique monastery excavated in Egypt

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Byzantine Monastery Unearthed in Egypt. How early Christians answered the biblical call to the desert (Lauren K. McCormick).

Now, excavations in southern Egypt have revealed how some of Christianity’s earliest monastic communities pursued religious practice in the desert. At the site of Al-Qariya bi-Duwayr in the Sohag region, Egyptian archaeologists with the Supreme Council of Antiquities have uncovered one of the most complete ancient monastic complexes yet discovered in the country.

The discoveries reportedly include Coptic inscriptions.

For more on Egypt's Sohag region and its archaeology and history, some of which is of interest to PaleoJudaica, see here and links. For posts on Akhmim, see here and links. For posts on Shenoute and the White Monastery, here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Angels in Coptic magic, part one

THE COPTIC MAGICAL PAPYRI BLOG: Angels in Coptic Magic I: Introduction.

For this year’s first blog post, we start a new series looking at angels in Coptic Magic. As an introduction, this first post provides a brief discussion of the concept of angels and their importance in various ritual and literary traditions, as well as an overview of the main groups of angels found in Coptic magical texts. The following posts in this series will focus on specific groups of angels and individual angels, discussing their roles, names, and descriptions. ...

While Coptic magical texts are witnesses to some new and original traditions about angels, they also drew upon, and evolved together with, older and contemporary traditions, including the Greco-Egyptian magical papyri, Jewish private ritual, orthodox Christian liturgical practice, and Christian literature. It is therefore important to mention these briefly before moving on to the Coptic magical material.

For more on the Talmudic-era Hebrew magical tractate Sefer Ha-Razim (Sefer HaRazim), see here and here and various other mentions in the archives.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The Nimrud archives

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Nimrud Letters. The royal archives of the Assyrian Empire (Marek Dospěl).

A nice overview of this important archive.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

On Abgar V's correspondence with Jesus

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: Did Jesus Write Letters? The Legend of King Abgar V. The New Testament never says that Jesus wrote anything. But a Christian legend claimed that he once penned a letter to an Anatolian king named Abgar (Eljoh Hartzer, The Collector).

A nice overview of Abgar V and his apocryphal correspondence with Jesus. Eusebius preserves the letters in a Greek translation, but they also survive in the original Syriac, notably in the Doctrine of Addai.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Agbarid dynasty and the Abgar letters, as well as on ancient Edessa, start here and follow the links. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Looting arrests near Sea of Galilee

APPREHENDED: 4 suspected antiquities robbers caught digging in ancient Sea of Galilee burial cave. Authorities arrest four suspects caught in the act at a Roman‑era tomb near the Sea of Galilee, causing severe damage to a historically significant site tied to Jewish life and Talmudic sages (Ynet News).

Four suspected antiquities robbers were caught “in the act” Sunday afternoon digging inside an ancient Roman‑era burial cave near the Nabi Shu’aib/Chitin archaeological site in the Arbel Ridge area, on the outskirts of the Jordan Valley near the Sea of Galilee.

[...]

For more on the Talmudic gladiator-sage Reish Lakish (Resh Lakish), who lived in the region, see here, here, here, here, and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

On "The Beginnings of Christianity as an Integral Part of Early Judaism"

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

The Beginnings of Christianity as an Integral Part of Early Judaism

Jesus and his first followers were Jews who never intended to form a new religion apart from Judaism. The so-called “parting of the ways” between Jews and Christians was long and by no means monolinear. Rather, it was a complex process that stretched over five hundred years, occurring in different places at different speeds and under a variety of circumstances. What we today call the “beginnings of Christianity” was in fact an integral part of multifaceted Judaism.

See also Early Judaism and the Beginnings of Christianity: Common Roots and the Parting of the Ways (Kohlhammer, 2026; open access).

By Markus Tiwald
Professor of New Testament
Faculty of Catholic Theology
University of Vienna
January 2026

Cross-file under New Book. You can download it for free at the link.

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Did Simeon and Levi do a bad thing or the right thing?

PROF. SHAUL BAR: Jacob Rebukes Simeon and Levi for the Shechem Massacre—but Post-Biblical Interpreters Disagree

... and instead praise them!

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Still more Barkay obituaries

THREE MORE MEMORIALS to the late Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay:

Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, pioneer of Temple Mount research, dies at 81. Discoverer of the Ketef Hinnom scrolls and founder of Temple Mount Sifting Project was a larger-than-life figure who stirred controversy, loved Jerusalem and made the city his mission (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel; long and detailed)

Jerusalem University College's post (Jerusalem University College on Facebook)

Gabriel Barkay, 81, Dies; His Discoveries Revised Biblical History. One of Israel’s leading archaeologists, he found evidence that the writing of the Old Testament likely began much earlier than historians had thought. (Clay Risen, New York Times; behind the subscription wall)

Background here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Review of Hornblower, Hannibal and Scipio: parallel lives

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Hannibal and Scipio: parallel lives

Simon Hornblower, Hannibal and Scipio: parallel lives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024. Pp. 528. ISBN 9781009453356.

Review by
Jeff Tatum, Victoria University of Wellingon. jeff.tatum@vuw.ac.nz

Its subjects—Hannibal and Scipio, Rome and Carthage—are big. Its learning is deep. Its keen, focused curiosity is an inspiration. And its style, conversational and lucid, is a pleasure to read. This, in sum, is a delightful and instructive book. There can be only a very few readers who will not learn something, or even quite a lot, from it. By putting in parallel the lives of Hannibal and Scipio, Simon Hornblower endeavours to furnish a fuller picture both of their twinned yet distinctive careers and personalities but also of Carthaginian and Roman ambitions, local as well as geo-political, during the late third and early second centuries bce. And he succeeds admirably.

[...]

For PaleoJudaica posts on Hannibal Barca and Scipio Africanus, start here, here, and here, and follow the links.

Cross-file under New Book and Punic Watch.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Adam, Time and Tradition: Temporal Thinking in Ecclesiastes ... (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Moritz F. Adam

Time and Tradition

Temporal Thinking in Ecclesiastes in the Context of Emerging Apocalypticism and the History of Ideas in the Hellenistic Period

2025. 335 pages.
Forschungen zum Alten Testament (FAT) 191

€139.00
including VAT

cloth
available
978-3-16-164797-0

Also Available As:
eBook PDF
Open Access
CC BY-SA 4.0

Summary

Moritz F. Adam explores conceptions of time in the book of Ecclesiastes and its place in the history of thought in Hellenistic Judaism. He situates Ecclesiastes before a wider panorama of emerging apocalyptic thought and investigates how the text reflects, resists, and reworks prevailing ideas about time, history, knowledge, and meaning. Adam shows how Ecclesiastes stands at an important moment of conceptual transformation to the manner in which time was thought about in ancient Judaism, and how the book reflects new, broader, totalising, and abstract concerns in conversation with contemporary interlocutors. Through textual studies, comparative discussions and theoretical engagements with the fields of Classics and Literature, Adam challenges scholarly boundaries between wisdom, apocalypticism, and other genres, and highlights Ecclesiastes' pluralistic, open-ended discourse as a vital part of ancient Jewish thought.

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