US returns smuggled rare coins to Israel

REPATRIATED NUMISMATICS: Early Persian silver coin smuggled from Israel to Big Apple also regained after being offered for sale (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

Antiquities detectives in New York have recovered two rare ancient coins smuggled out of Israel, which will be returned home, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday. They aren't on a plane yet but will be at some point thanks to a massive joint effort by the Israel Antiquities Authority with the Antiquities Trafficking Unit at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Homeland Security. ...

One of the recovered coins is a bronze prutah, the lowest known denomination of Judean currency. Its purchasing power was weak: a loaf of bread cost about 10 of these. However, this one had been minted during the reign of the last Hasmonean king, Mattathias Antigonus, who ruled in Jerusalem from 40 to 37 B.C.E. It shows nothing less than the seven-branched menorah that stood in the Second Temple in Jerusalem on one side and the Temple's showbread table on the flip side. ...

The second coin wouldn't have been allowed out of the country either. It was a lovely early silver tetradrachm from the Persian period, minted in Ascalon over 2,500 years ago, only a couple of centuries after the invention of coinage itself. Only one other of its type is known, and that one sits in the Israel Museum. Its design emulates the famous Athenian tetradrachm, which was the standard coin throughout the Eastern Mediterranean at the time.

For more on the prutah, see here and links. And for posts on the tetradrachm, see here and links.

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Controversial nomination for IAA director

POLITICS AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Esther Shreiber for next IAA director, first woman in role. Her appointment will soon be submitted for approval by the IAA’s council and the government (Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post).

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu tapped Esther Shreiber, CEO of the INEXTG Group, to be the next director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which would make her the first woman to ever serve in the position.

Her appointment will soon be submitted for approval by the IAA’s council and the government. ...

She holds a bachelor’s degree in the History of the Jewish People from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a master’s degree with honors in Public Administration and Policy from the University of Haifa, and is a Stern Prize recipient for studies of the Second Temple period.

The Jerusalem Post notes and discusses the controversy over the nomination, but doesn't seem to take a position on it. Othe media are less neutral:

Head of NGO Promoting 'Jewish Values' Tapped to Lead Israel's Antiquities Authority. Esther Schreiber was nominated under pressure from far-right minister Amichai Eliyahu, sources said. A senior archaeologist warned the authority could face 'a process of decline' (Nir Hasson, Haaretz)

Archaeologists within and outside the authority reacted with shock to the appointment, calling it unprofessional. According to them, Schreiber lacks the qualifications to lead the authority, and her work has no connection to archaeology or managing large organizations such as the authority, whose annual budget exceeds 400 million shekels (about $138 million).

Heritage Minister taps new Antiquities Authority head with no archaeological experience (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel)

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, taps Esther Shreiber, a Jewish professional with no archaeological experience, as the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

[...]

The Times of Israel does concede the following (also mentioned by the Jerusalem Post).

The current IAA head Eli Escozido also does not have a background in archaeology, nor did his predecessor, former Shin Bet deputy director Israel Hasson, who served in the position between 2014 and 2021.

Haaretz hints at the point, but doesn't state it directly.

There are conflicting claims about Ms. Schreiber's current position and its responsibilities. There are also reports of insider claims from various anonymous sources, which I discount on principle. It is not always easy to distiguish the latter from official statements.

That's the information I can find. I take no position on the nomination. I blog, you decide.

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Mystery tunnel found in Jerusalem

SPELUNKIC ARCHAEOLOGY: Ancient tunnel with unknown age, purpose found near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel ahead of Jerusalem Day. After descending a set of ancient stairs from the surface, archaeologists found themselves standing at the hewn opening of the tunnel, found to be filled with hundreds of years of ancient sewage (Miriam Sela-Eitam, Jerusalem Post).

A mysterious and ancient stone tunnel was recently discovered near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in southern Jerusalem during preventative excavations ahead of the construction of the new neighborhood promoted by the Israel Land Authority (ILA).

The find, announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on Thursday morning, is expected to measure approximately 50 meters long, 5 meters high, and 3 meters wide.

[...]

As the headline indicates, the tunnel's date and purpose are unclear. The archaeologists have guesses, though.

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Turin Egyptian-papyri restoration project funded

PAPYROLOGY: Egyptian Museum of Turin, ME-Scripta, a laboratory for the study of artefacts, is born. Fondazione Crt guarantees 3 million euro for 10-year project combining restoration and philological study (Filomena Greco, Il Sole 24 ore).

The Laboratory of the Egyptian Museum will be called ME-Script and will be directed by Susanne Töpfer, curator in charge of the Egyptian Museum's papyrological collection, with the ambition of uniting the work of restorers with that of philologists, to enable the recovery of artefacts and the study of texts belonging to different types of ancient codices, up to Coptic bindings. It employs two curators, three collaborators, an apprentice and a data manager.

Great news! Cross-file under Philology and Coptic Watch.

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On the Ptolemaic Era in Egypt

THE WORLD IS FULL OF HISTORY: Alexander’s Legacy: The Ptolemaic Era of Greek Rule in Egypt (Nick Kampouris, Greek Reporter).

When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE, he signaled the beginning of the era of Ptolemaic rule.

His general Ptolemy established the Ptolemaic dynasty that would govern the vast lands of Egypt for the next 300 years. The Ptolemies became the rulers over a complex fusion of Greek and Egyptian cultures.

[...]

A nice, brief overview of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

There are many PaleoJudaica posts on the Ptolemies, who are important for understanding various aspects of Second Temple Judaism, not least the Book of Daniel. Some notable posts are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, and follow the many links!

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Boy finds late-antique god figurine-fragment in Negev

MATERIAL CULTURE IN THE ROUND: Eight-year-old boy finds 1,700-year-old statuette fragment while hiking in Negev. Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist says the artifact might depict Roman god Jupiter (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

[IAA Theft Prevention Unit supervisor Akiva] Goldenhersh acknowledged it was difficult to precisely identify who the statuette portrays.

“Stylistically, it might be of the god Jupiter, or Zeus-Dushara, a Nabatean god who was identified and merged with Zeus in the context of the encounter between the Nabatean culture that was widespread in the Negev region, and the Hellenistic-Roman world,” he said. “This tiny find thus reflects the combination of local traditions with influences from the classical world.”

Cross-file under Nabatean (Nabataean) Watch.

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Expansive cultural and material range in the new Posen Library volume

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Jewish Cultures and Material Artifacts (Karen Stern).

Jewish Cultures and Material Artifacts: Comments on The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Vol.2, Emerging Judaism, 332 BCE–600 CE, ed. Carol Bakhos

... In this grand volume, everything is an artifact and everything (appropriately) requires guided interpretation. Indeed, Carol Bakhos and her entire editorial team have gathered into this work one of the richest and most diverse collections of artifacts, both in forms of redacted texts and archaeologically attested objects, amassed to this point in English translation and prose, inclusive of hundreds of pages of analysis and annotation. Through editors’ careful introductions, contextualization, and connections, this volume invites readers to explore and interpret textual and archaeological artifacts anew, demonstrating how it is always possible to tell new stories (or histories) about old things. The results are exciting, generating opportunities for academics and lay readers to reexamine known evidence and develop novel insights into Jewish cultures from 332 BCE to 600 CE. ...

For the first essay in this review series, see here.

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Revised bill for new West Bank antiquity authority passes first Knesset reading

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: Knesset advances controversial West Bank antiquity bill in first reading. Legislation’s critics maintain it amounts to de facto annexation, while supporters say it is necessary to preserve territory’s unique heritage (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

A controversial bill creating a new civilian authority in charge of antiquities in the West Bank was approved by the Knesset plenum in the first reading overnight between Monday and Tuesday. ...

If passed into law, which will require two additional readings by the plenum, the bill will create a “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority,” using the biblical name for the West Bank.

The authority is set to assume the responsibilities currently held by the Defense Ministry.

The person responsible for the file now is a staff officer of the Archaeology Unit of the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is in charge of civilian affairs in the territory.

An earlier version sought to transfer this authority to the Israel Antiquities Authority, but it was widely opposed, including by the IAA. Detailed background is here, here, and (most recent summary) here. This current bill is the revised result.

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Review of Van Maaren, The Gospel of Mark’s Judaism ....

BOOK REVIEW: The Gospel of Mark’s Judaism and the Death of Christ as a Ransom for Many (R. B. JAMIESON, Themelios).

Many monographs proclaim their ambition to shift a paradigm; few do. In my opinion, this volume stands a better chance than most. This monograph is the second to develop from the author’s doctoral dissertation at McMaster University; the first was published as The Boundaries of Jewishness in the Southern Levant: 200 BCE–132 CE (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2022). The present work applies a nuanced, textured set of conceptualities for discerning and situating the “Jewishness” of an ancient religious text such as the Gospel of Mark, which it employs to undermine the reigning scholarly paradigm, which the author calls “Gentile Mark.”

[...]

For more on the book, see here and here.

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Josephus' effeminizing propaganda?

THE CLASSICAL QUARTERLY:

SELF-MADE ‘MEN’: THE PROGRESSIVE EMASCULATION OF THE BROTHERS ASINAEUS AND ANILAEUS IN JOSEPHUS, ANTIQUITIES 18

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2026

The Classical Quarterly , First View , pp. 1 - 15
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838826101190
Open Access

Joseph Scales and Isaac T. Soon

Abstract

This article analyses how Flavius Josephus presents the conquests of Asinaeus and Anilaeus, two robber-bandits who established a fiefdom in first-century Babylonia. In dialogue with common Roman tropes about gender and his previous writings on the notable physical features of men in times of war, this article focusses on how Josephus progressively effeminizes Asinaeus and Anilaeus. Although their military feats abound, their increasingly risky behaviour and their growing neglect of Jewish ways of life jeopardize their own character and the safety of their Jewish kin. With this strategy of emasculation, Josephus undermines those who self-interestedly seek power and influence.

Follow the link for the full text of this open-access article.

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Narsai: The Homilies. Volume 2 (Peeters)

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS PUBLISHERS:

Narsai: The Homilies. Volume 2

Series:
Eastern Christian Texts in Translation, 7

Author:
Becker A.H.

Price: 65 euro
Year: 2026
ISBN: 9789042954250
Pages: XIV-203 p.

Summary:

Narsai, who is variously called “the tongue of the East” and “the harp of the Spirit”, is among the most important and influential Syriac authors. His life spanned the fifth century, which was a tumultuous time for Christians following the controversies surrounding the First Council of Ephesus, the Second Council of Ephesus, and the Council of Chalcedon. Playing a crucial role at this critical juncture, Narsai would ultimately be remembered as one of the foundational figures of the Church of the East. This volume, the second in the series Narsai: The Homilies, offers translations of several of Narsai’s homilies that focus on Lent and moral reform. The homilies translated in this volume are “On Lent I” (20), “On Lent III” (23), “On Lent IV” (24), “On Lent V” (26), “On Reproof” (25), “On Reproof of the Clergy” (78), and “On Reproof” (79).

I noted the publication of volume one here. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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History, Prophecy, Identity and Language in the Hebrew Bible (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

History, Prophecy, Identity and Language in the Hebrew Bible

Proceedings of the 18th Joint Meeting of the Society for Old ‎Testament Study (SOTS) and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap in Nederland en België (OTW), Nottingham, 2022

Series:
Oudtestamentische Studiën, Old Testament Studies, Volume: 84

Volume Editors: Hans Ausloos and Charlotte Hempel

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 18th Joint Meeting of the Society ‎for Old ‎Testament Study (SOTS) and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap ‎in Nederland en België (OTW) in the summer ‎of 2022 in Nottingham. The ten ‎contributions are prefaced by an editorial Introduction (Hempel, Ausloos) followed by studies on ‎Hebrew Semantics (Raymond de Hoop, Paul Sanders, Ellen van Wolde), the Pentateuch (Gert Kwakkel, Jan-Wim Wesselius‎, Philip Yoo), exilic and post-exilic historiography (Carly Crouch, Michaël van der Meer) and two chapters that draw on Sumerian poetry and gender-based violence ‎in contemporary South Africa, respectively, to illuminate biblical narratives in Judges and 1-2 Samuel (Ekaterina E. Kozlova, Nozipho Princess S. Dlodlo).

Copyright Year: 2025

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74065-5
Publication: 19 Jan 2026
EUR €119.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74064-8
Publication: 19 Feb 2026
EUR €119.00

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New proposals about the Copper Scroll

THAT DARNED TREASURE AGAIN: The Mysterious Copper Scroll and the End of Days. One stood among the Dead Sea Scrolls: made of metal, and seemingly never meant to be read. Who made it, when and why, and how was Bar-Kokhba involved? Shimon Gibson presents a new theory (Ruth Schuster).

"The Copper Scroll has always been an enigma, already from when it was first discovered and published. None of the explanations that have been proposed until now have been especially convincing," commented ancient Judaism expert Yonatan Adler of Ariel University. "Enigmatic finds of this kind absolutely invite thinking outside of the box, and I congratulate Prof. Gibson for his intriguing hypothesis. Even if we still lack a 'smoking gun,' novel and well-argued hypotheses of this kind are what move the inquiry forward."

Agreed. Gibson has valid criticisms of the current most popular understanding of the Copper Scroll, that it listes the Temple treasures:

He also points out that if it was a list of Temple valuables removed and secreted by Jews ahead of a howling Roman advance, surely they would have taken the menorah too; yet we see the Romans took that. "Some of the looted funds were even used to help build the landmark Colosseum in that same city which is admired by tourists to this very day," Gibson adds.

True. But there's no guarantee that all of the treasure would have been successfully smuggled out of Jerusalem and into hiding. The menorah would have been more difficult than most of the treasures to move quietly.

Gibson's hypothesis that the treasures are actually contributions to the Bar Kokhba revolt is interesting, but the amounts seem too large to me. Likewise with Joan Taylor's proposal that they are a list of post-Temple Temple tithes from the Bar Kokhba era. Even if we go with Lefkovits'z karsh (rather than talent) intepretation of the amount listings, which we may or may not do.

But I haven't seen either article. If I saw the full arguments I might change my mind.

For a BAR article by Taylor on the subject, see here. If she is proposing there that the CS treasure includes some Temple paraphrenalia and later tithes, which the summary seems to indicate, that makes more sense to me.

For many other PaleoJudaica posts on the Copper Scroll, start here and follow the links.

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Collins on the limits of Jewish identity

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: The Limits of Jewish Identity (John J. Collins).

The Limits of Jewish Identity: Comments on The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Vol.2, Emerging Judaism, 332 BCE–600 CE, ed. Carol Bakhos

As one might imagine, given the author, this is an excellent review of textual data and methodological issues for the question of what constituted Jewish literature, and therefore Judaism, in antiquity.

I fully agree with his conclusions regarding the Similitudes of Enoch. I have argued much the same about it in my book The Provenance of the Pseudepigrapha: Jewish, Christian, or other? (Brill, 2005), pp. 132-37. Incidentally, Professor Collins was the editor.

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Cyprus and the Diaspora Revolt of 115-117 CE

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: When Cypriot Jews Revolted Against Rome. Archaeology shines light on little-known revolt (Marek Dospěl).

To explore the historical evidence for the Diaspora Revolt—including the New Testament and Roman historians—read Thomas Davis’s article “The Diaspora Revolt: Cyprus’s Forgotten Jewish Uprising,” published in the Spring 2026 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

The article is behind the subscription wall, but this BHD essay gives an informative summary of it.

The Diaspora Revolt took place in Cyprus, Cyrene (the Kitos War), Egypt, and Mesopotamia. PaleoJudaica has touched on this revolt here and there, but this is first detailed account I have found of its Cypriot component.

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