Review of Weitzman, Disasters of Biblical Proportions

H-NET REVIEWS:

Steven Weitzman. Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World. Princeton University Press, 2026. 344 p. $29.95, cloth, ISBN 978-0-691-27046-3.

Reviewed by David Armstrong (Independent Scholar)

Published on H-Judaic (March, 2026)

Commissioned by Vadim Putzu (Missouri State University)

Steven Weitzman’s Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World is both an authoritative reception history of the Ten Plagues narrative (Exod 7-11) as well as a demonstration of the ongoing relevance of biblical studies and comparative religious studies for the modern world. In an age where humanities programs, especially those that center on the study of religion and religious texts, are in jeopardy around the United States, Weitzman shows that the narrative of the Ten Plagues has a colorful history of influence not just across the last two millennia but also contemporaneously, within the living memory of its readers.

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This review includes an insightful discussion of the importance of biblical reception history.

I noted the publication of the book here.

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Some palimpsest news

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Oldest known star map attributed to Hipparchus discovered beneath Syriac Manuscript (Syriac Press).

In 2022 I noted the discovery of Hipparchus' Star Catalogue in the underlying text of the palimpsest Codex Climaci Rescriptus The manuscript is owned by the Green Collection and normally housed in the Museum of the Bible. This article reports that (some of?) it has been transferred to California for further efforts to recover the Hipparchus text.

Now, several pages of the manuscript are undergoing advanced scanning using a particle accelerator known as a synchrotron at Stanford University’s National Accelerator Laboratory in California. This technology produces ultra-precise X-rays by accelerating electrons to near-light speeds, allowing scientists to detect the chemical composition of different inks without causing any damage to the fragile pages. ...

Moving the manuscript required meticulous procedures. The pages were placed in custom frames within climate-controlled containers and handled manually to prevent damage. Even the lighting in the examination room was carefully adjusted to help preserve the ink.

Despite these efforts, reconstructing the complete star map remains a monumental task. Only eleven pages have been scanned so far, while the full manuscript spans approximately 200 pages scattered across collections and libraries around the world. International collaboration will be essential to gather and study the entire set.

Bit by bit, a letter at a time, whatever it takes. Until we're done.

Cross file under Syriac Watch, Palimpsests, and Lost Books.

On a related note, another page of the Archimedes Palimpsest has been recovered in France:

Lost page of the Archimedes Palimpsest identified in Blois, central France

PaleoJudaica posts on this manuscript are collected here.

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

More on the Leeds Carthaginian bus fare

PUNIC WATCH AND NUMISMATICS: 2,000-year-old Phoenician coin was used as bus fare in England, but 'how it got there will always be a mystery' (Kristina Killgrove, Live Science).

But one particular coin intrigued Peter, whose research into the designs on the coin revealed that it was minted more than 2,000 years ago in a Phoenician settlement called Gadir (now known as the city of Cádiz) in Spain's Andalusia region.

This article has some addition historical background on the coin. Technically it is Punic, from a Carthaginian colony in Spain, not Phoenician. Carthage was founded as a colony in North Africa by the Phoenicians, who lived in Lebanon.

I first noted the story here.

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

Redacting Moses' "radiant" face?

PROF. RABBI DAVID FRANKEL: Moses’ Radiant Face: Holiness Unveiled (TheTorah.com).

Why does Moses’ face radiate only after receiving the second tablets of the Decalogue? Did Moses really cover his face before speaking to the people? And why does the story of the veil describe a Tent of Meeting that hasn’t even been constructed? A closer look at the story reveals that some biblical authors found Moses’ radiant face problematic.

Redaction criticism is always fun. But this essay starts with the assumption that Moses' face becoming "radiant" is the correct interpretation of the passage in Exodus 34. It is a possible interpretation, but there are others. There are many PaleoJudaica posts on the topic, generally under the rubric "Moses' horns," which is perhaps the best known and most discussed interpretation. For an overview and links to previous posts, start here.

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

Punic bus fare?

NUMISMATICS, PUNIC WATCH, AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Coin used as bus fare was 2,000‑year‑old currency (Alex Moss, BBC News).

A coin once used to pay a bus fare in Leeds was created by an ancient civilisation more than 2,000 years ago, researchers have confirmed.

The rare currency came into the hands of James Edwards in the 1950s, when during his job as a chief cashier for Leeds Transport Company, he would gather fares from bus and tram drivers.

Putting aside any fake or foreign coins he came across, he would pass them on to his young grandson Peter, who for more than 70 years kept them safe.

Curious about its origin, Peter traced the coin's history and discovered it was made by the Carthaginians - an ancient Mediterranean civilisation with Phoenician roots - in the Spanish city of Cádiz during the 1st Century BC.

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UPDATE (10 March): More here.

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A reused ancient menorah relief in Rome

VARIANT READINGS: The Reuse of a Sarcophagus with a Menorah (Brent Nongbri).

Another very interesting item in the epigraphic collection at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome is a portion of a sarcophagus that contains a nice depiction of a menorah. It is typically assigned to the third or fourth century CE, and it is often used as an illustration in books.

[...]

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

Weitzman, Disasters of Biblical Proportions (Princeton)

NEW BOOK FROM PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World

Steven Weitzman

How people have reimagined the story of the ten plagues of Egypt, from antiquity to our own era of relentless catastrophe

Hardcover

Price: $29.95/£25.00
ISBN: 9780691270463
Published (US): Feb 3, 2026
Published (UK): Mar 31, 2026
Pages: 352
Size: 6.13 x 9.25 in.
Illus: 16 color + 23 b/w illus.

ebook (EPUB via app)
ebook (PDF via app)

People have been telling and retelling stories about disasters for as long as they have been telling stories. One of the oldest of such stories is the ten plagues in the book of Exodus, the series of disasters that forced the Egyptians to liberate the Israelites. These plagues packed enough catastrophe to fill a series of summer blockbusters—rivers of blood, invasions of frogs and insects, mass disease, fiery hail, smothering darkness, and a midnight massacre of the firstborn.

The story of the ten plagues resonates today, as we try to make sense of such calamities of modern life as pandemics, climate change, and war. In Disasters of Biblical Proportions, Steven Weitzman explores how people of later ages—artists, writers, activists, philosophers, believers and unbelievers alike—have reshaped the story of the ten plagues to give expression to their own trauma, outrage, guilt, humor, and hope.

Tracing the interpretation and retelling of each plague across time and space, Weitzman uncovers how this ancient tale found new meaning among Jews, Christians, and Muslims and continues to shape how people today understand the present and envision the future. Even as it recounts the history of how the ten plagues have been reimagined, Disasters of Biblical Proportions is also a history of people’s search for shelter from the calamities of their own times—and of humanity’s striving for justice, freedom, and redemption.

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

Cielontko, The Visions of Enoch the Prophet (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

The Visions of Enoch the Prophet
On the Function of the Book of Parables

David Cielontko

Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2026

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111411835
eBook ISBN: 9783111411835
Hardcover ISBN: 9783111405568

About this book

This book examines the function of the Book of Parables (1 Enoch 37-71) in its ancient context. The fi rst part of the volume addresses essential introductory issues, including the textual and redactional history of the Book of Parables, its historical setting, literary features, and the communicative strategies employed by its author. The second part argues that the Book of Parables constructs a symbolic universe that functions as a complex form of legitimation for an audience whose shared social reality is destabilized by experiences of oppression. At the center of this crisis lies a theological problem of justice, as the persecution of the righteous contradicts deeply held expectations of divine protection and blessing. The study interprets the Book of Parables as a body of revealed knowledge that seeks to re-establish the credibility of this threatened social reality. Through a sequence of visionary revelations, the text presents an eschatological reversal of fates as part of God’s eternal plan, while cosmological, messianological, and mythic traditions are integrated as essential strategies of legitimation. Together, these elements lend authority to the message and its messenger, enabling the audience to reconcile their lived experience with the conviction that God remains just and decisively on the side of the righteous.

Follow the link for pricing information.

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New book on Queen Julia Berenice

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

The Troubled Memory of Rome’s Jewish Queen

Berenice—Herod the Great’s great-granddaughter—was far more than the silent royal cameo in Acts: she was a devout Jewish political actor who took a Nazirite vow, publicly confronted the Roman governor Gessius Florus to defend Jerusalem and the Temple, and later rose to extraordinary influence through her relationship with Titus. Both Jewish and Roman male sources distorted her memory through misogyny, political bias, and slander, so recovering her story sheds new light on Judaism, early Christianity, and the nature of female power in the first-century Roman world.

See also Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea (Yale University Press, 2026).

By Bruce Chilton
Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion
Bard College
March 2026

Cross-file under New Book.

For more on Julia Berenice (Berenike), see here and links, plus here. In the recent ancient-Rome Prime series Those About to Die, her troubled relationship with Titus was a major plot element.

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

Report on the Amman Citadel excavation

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: Excavating the Royal Capital of Ammon: A New Research Project on the Amman Citadel (Katharina Schmidt).

Today, the Citadel of Amman is one of the few Iron Age royal capitals in the southern Levant that remains accessible for archaeological excavation; Jerusalem and Damascus, for example, lie buried beneath their modern counterparts. Its exploration provides important insights into the archaeology, history, and social dynamics of the region during the Iron Age. Ammon was not an isolated kingdom, but part of a complex network of political alliances and trade connections. Through the renewed excavations we hope to gain further perspectives on power, representation, daily life, and cultural interaction in the Iron Age southern Levant. The results of the Amman Archaeological Project already show: the southern Levant is on the one hand diverse but on the other highly interconnected. Amman, the modern center of Jordan, proves to be a central place in the depth of its history, a hub between antiquity and the present.

Cross-file under Archaeology and Norwest Semitic Epigraphy.

For more on the ancient kingdom of Ammon see here and here. And for more on the ancient Ammonite language, see here.

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

Experiencing Ancient Synagogues

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Experiencing Ancient Synagogues. How everyday objects reveal the sights and smells of Jewish sanctuaries (Marek Dospěl).

Focusing on what archaeology and written sources can tell us about the use of lighting and incense, [Prof. Karen B. Stern's] BAR article explores how ancient people experienced synagogues through their senses of sight and smell. To address these questions, Stern turns to smaller artifacts from ancient synagogues that were used for lighting and burning of incense or other aromatics. These include various types of lamps, incense burners, and ritual shovels.

The BAR article is behind the subscription wall, but this BHD essay summarizes it.

For more on Professor Stern's work, notably on ancient Jewish graffiti, see here and links.

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

Jodi Magness: autobiographical retrospective

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Jodi Magness: Retrospective for The Ancient Jew Review.

I am honored by the invitation to write this retrospective, despite initially being taken aback by the realization that I am old enough to be asked to write one. I am also in awe of Adele Reinhartz’s piece, which was recommended to me as a model. My retrospective is less thematic and more personal than hers, as I cannot think of a better way to document my academic trajectory and research interests.

[...]

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Professor Magness and her wide-ranging work, including the remarkable Huqoq excavation, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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

The Hannibal movie starts filming in 2026

CINEMA MEETS PUNIC WATCH: Denzel Washington’s Yet-Untitled Hannibal Movie Starts Filming in Rome in June (Shubhabrata Dutta, The Cinemaholic).

After years of being pushed back, two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington and acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua are moving ahead with their highly anticipated feature, based on the life of the Carthaginian Warrior Hannibal. The filming of the yet-untitled Netflix historical epic will take place in Rome, Italy, between June 29 and October 9 this year. John Logan wrote the script.

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More than twenty years ago Vin Diesel announced his plan to make a movie about Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War. The plan then was for Diesel to play Hannibal and for the script to be in the relevant ancient languages, Mel Gibson style, including "Maltese," by which I think he meant Punic. He continued to bring up the film idea off and on for many years, noted by PaleoJudaica. In 2010 (cf. in 2012), Denzel Washington was mentioned as possibly playing Hannibal's father Hamilcar.

Now Diesel seems no longer to be involved. At least he is not mentioned. Instead, Washington,with Fuqua and Logan, are getting ready to film a Hannibal movie, with Washington apparently playing the role of Hannibal. I am baffled by this casting. Hannibal was in his late 20s to mid-40s during the war and he died in his mid-60s. Washington is 71.

In 2010, Washington in the role of Hamilcar (who died in his mid-40s ten years before the Second Punic War) made some sense. Him as Hannibal in 2026, less so. It would be nice to have some explanation, but meanwhile I will keep an open mind.

No word on whether this script uses any ancient languages.

I noted the announcement of the Washington production back in late 2023, with comments on the age discrepancy. Follow the links from there for posts on Diesel's planned movie.

I'm glad to hear that filming is finally scheduled. I look forward to the movie.

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

Was John the Baptist as popular as the Beatles?

RELIGION PROF: John The Baptist Was Once More Famous Than Jesus (James F. McGrath).

Candida Moss has a new article out in National Geographic titled “Why John the Baptist Was Once More Famous Than Jesus.” She quotes me in the article, and since I answered some brief questions with very long answers as she was writing it, most of which wasn’t included in the article, I thought I would share my full responses here, in case they are of interest.

For more on Professor McGrath's research on John the Baptist, see here and links.

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

A Crusader-era Judeo-Arabic apocalypse fragment from the Cairo Geniza

GENIZA FRAGMENT OF THE MONTH (FEBRUARY 2026): National Library of Israel, Ms. Heb. 577.2/6 (Sebastiano Crestani, Friederike S. Schmidt).

A manuscript written in Judeo-Arabic sheds light on Jewish messianic and eschatological expectations in the late Middle Ages and connects them to the phenomenon of the Crusades. This manuscript, although fragmentary, must be understood within a body of messianic and eschatological literary texts that flourished from the 7th century onwards and reached one of its peaks between the 12th and the 13th centuries, i.e. during the period of the Crusades.

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This is a Crusader-era text, but it develops a tradition going back to the end of late antiquity. Some of the ideas in it are very old. Compare its battle on the Euphrates to Revelation 8:8-9; 9:13-19. And it's interesting enough on its own terms to merit mention.

For many PaleoJudaica posts noting Cairo Geniza Fragments of the Month in the Cambridge University Library's Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, start here and follow the links.

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

More on that new Syriac (Arabic) world chronicle

SYRIAC WATCH (SORT OF): Alex Hourani’s translation of the latter half of the new “Maronite Chronicle of 713” now online! (Roger Pearse).

The discovery of a new Syriac Chronicle (in Arabic translation) and publication in Medieval Worlds 23 (2025), pp.155-167 by Adrian Pirtea caused Alex Hourani to upload a transcription, as I reported in my last post here.

The Chronicle is a new source for the early history of Islam, found in a manscript on Mount Sinai. The discovery highlights the importance of Christian Arabic literature, and the real need to fund more work on it.

[...]

The post includes an extended excerpt of Hourani's new and improved translation. Hourani also wants to date the chronicle a little earlier than the previous dating.

Background here.

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

Verrijssen, The Liturgical Targum (Brill, open access)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Liturgical Targum

The Aramaic Translation of the Torah in Mahzorim

Series: Supplement to Aramaic Studies, Volume: 21

Author: Jeroen Verrijssen

What happens when a community continues to recite and transmit sacred texts it no longer understands? The Targum, or Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, found its origins in the first centuries CE, and yet Jewish communities continued to transmit its contents well into the Middle Ages, when knowledge of Aramaic was considered to be scarce. This book explores the Liturgical Targum as it appears in festival prayerbooks (mahzorim). Drawing on previously unpublished manuscript fragments, it traces how different Jewish communities adopted and adapted the Aramaic translation in their liturgies. Readers of this book will discover how layers of copying, reinterpretation, and scribal creativity shaped the textual history of the Targum.

Copyright Year: 2026

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51745-5
Publication: 12 Jan 2026

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74882-8
Publication: 12 Feb 2026
EUR €99.00

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