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Saturday, September 01, 2018

Ancient coin motifs on modern coins

NUMISMATICS: Ancient Coins on Modern Coins (Mike Markowitz, CoinWeek).
Coin engravers inherit a rich legacy of classical art. Ancient Greek and Roman images permeate modern numismatic design. Often, an ancient design is reinterpreted in modern style, but sometimes an ancient coin is simply reproduced on a modern piece.
The article gives lots of examples from ancient and modern Israel, as well as the Greco-Roman world and modern Europe. And even a couple from the U.S.A. and modern Britain.

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

Review of the MOTB Jerusalem and Rome exhibition

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: A Review of Jerusalem and Rome: Cultures in Context in the First Century CE (Cavan Concannon).
“What was life like over 2,000 years ago? Discover the dynamic story of the First Century, from the daily lives of ordinary people to the greatest struggle for autonomy in the history of the Roman Empire in the museum’s largest temporary exhibit!”

So reads a tweet sent out by the Museum of the Bible (MOTB) on August 4, 2018, announcing the opening of Jerusalem and Rome: Cultures in Context in the First Century CE—a temporary exhibit highlighting archaeological objects on loan from and curated by the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that aspires to tell a complicated story of Jewish life in Palestine in the first century CE.

[...]
The problems with the information provided by the MOTB tour guides are disquieting. That said, my general experience with tour guides is that their information is muddled - except in the rare cases when the guide is an expert specialist.

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

Boda, Meek, Osborne (eds.), Riddles and Revelations

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY:
Riddles and Revelations
Explorations into the Relationship between Wisdom and Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible


Editor(s): Mark J. Boda, Russell L. Meek, William R. Osborne

Published: 07-12-2018
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 320
ISBN: 9780567671646
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Volume: 634
Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
List price: $114.00
Online price: $102.60
Save $11.40 (10%)

About Riddles and Revelations
A comprehensive examination of the links between wisdom literature and prophecy. The book is divided into four sections. The first addresses methodological concerns such as identifying “wisdom,” identifying potential sociological spheres for wisdom and prophecy in the ancient Near East, and recognizing potential textual relationships. The second examines the role of wisdom in the prophetic corpus more broadly in a book-by-book analysis of biblical texts, first examining the role of wisdom in the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew Bible.

The third section looks at elements of prophecy within the traditional wisdom books such as Job, Proverbs and Qoheleth. Finally, the book continues the conversation by providing two concluding chapters that evaluate, critique, engage, and raise new questions that Hebrew Bible scholars will need to wrestle with as the search for the relationship between wisdom and prophecy moves forward.

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

The Syriac Digital Library

THE AWOL BLOG: eBethArké: The Syriac Digital Library.
Beth Mardutho seeks to promote the study and preservation of the Syriac heritage and language. The eBethArké digital library, a collaboration of Beth Mardutho and the Rutgers University Libraries, provides digital resources and tools for people to pursue the study of this ancient legacy globally. We aim to serve the academic community and the heirs of the heritage.

If you want to understand the roots of three of the world's major religions, read excerpts from classical literature in its earliest known translation, or just explore the literary heritage of the Fertile Crescent, a part of the world steeped in a rich and ancient tradition, eBethArké will make the treasures of this culture accessible to everyone.
This digital library has been around for quite a while, but it is only now starting to go online. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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

Friday, August 31, 2018

Review of Reeves and Reed, Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages

BOOK REVIEW: Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Sources from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Volume 1. John C. Reeves, Annette Yoshiko Reed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press , May 2018. 416 pages. $150.00. Hardcover. ISBN 9780198718413. Reviewed by Sarah S. Eckert in Reading Religion. Excerpt:
Reed and Reeves recognize that one barrier to the study of Enochic literature is the lack of availability of these texts, which span diverse times, languages, and customs. This volume lowers that barrier while raising scholarly awareness that the Enochic corpus contains a richer legacy than previously thought. The authors propose that Second Temple Judaism scholars could apply these texts to search for “Enochic motifs and mythemes within Jewish literary circles from late antiquity to the Middle Ages” (4). Early Christian scholars can also benefit from this volume as they tackle the question of Enoch’s legacy after these works fell out of the favor in the West.

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

More on Andriace

THE HOLY LAND PHOTOS' BLOG: Jewish Presence in Asia Minor — Andriace Part 2 (Carl Rasmussen). More on that apparent synagogue in Andriace and its inscribed plaques.

Background here.

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

Maps as pedagogy

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Charting the Course: Using Maps for Pedagogical Progress (Christy Cobb).
As these four examples hopefully show, using maps in the classroom is a constructive addition to both undergraduate and graduate level classes. Maps provide opportunities for active learning and also situate ancient texts in a global context. Students examine ancient maps and discover that many of these places still exist and, in fact, are very important to our political and geographic context today. Borders change, today and throughout history. Incorporating maps into the classroom encourages the students to view this for themselves and to begin to understand the myriad of ways that politics shapes geographical borders. Moreover, mapwork fosters co-learning in the classroom environment. Students learn from one another and frequently, professors learn from students as well. Finally, these exercises can also be incorporated into an online or hybrid class, enabling students to participate with these websites and contribute to the course through their own exploration.
Another essay in AJR's current pedagogy series.

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

Deuteronomy on cross-dressing

SOCIAL SEMANTICS: The Prohibition of Cross-Dressing (Dr. Hilary Lipka, TheTorah.com).
What does Deuteronomy 22:5 prohibit and why?

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Thursday, August 30, 2018

Western Wall conservation plan still waiting for funding

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Still no budget for conservation at Western Wall section where boulder fell. Antiquities Authority says it's 'ready to get to work' shoring up wall adjacent to egalitarian prayer area, but government isn't transferring necessary funds (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel). The wording is not entirely clear, but it sounds as though a budget has been agreed in principle, but the money has not yet been produced. I hope it is forthcoming soon.

And there's also this:
Meanwhile, at the main Western Wall prayer pavilion, on Tuesday the Israel Antiquities Authority carried out regular twice-yearly maintenance checks. The IAA reported the survey found no indication of significant change in its condition.
Good.

And this:
{Geoscientist Prof. Simon) Emmanuel suggested the implementation of a high-tech early warning system using relatively cheap and non-intrusive high-resolution cameras and computer algorithms to analyze visual input in real time to sense the slightest movement.


“If you look at the footage, there was a bulge before the fall. Had there been a proper warning system, it could have picked it up in time,” he said.
That sounds like a good idea.

The article covers the whole situation thoroughly and is worth a read.

Background on the close-call rockfall is here and links.

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

Cleopatra

THE WORLD IS FULL OF HISTORY: Queen Cleopatra: Did You Know These Things About Her? (NJIDEKA AGBO, The Guardian, Nigeria). I've been reading a lot of Plutarch recently, so this story caught my eye. The list of things about Cleopatra is basically accurate. The one of greatest interest to PaleoJudaica readers is:
4. She was quick to learn languages and had in her vocabulary Ethiopian, Troglodyte, Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, Median, Parthian, Latin and Koine Greek. She is credited as the first ruler with a different heritage to learn the Egyptian language.
That's right, Cleopatra was of the Ptolemaic dynasty and does not herself seem to have had any Egyptian blood.

"Troglodyte" should be "Trogodyte," a coastal Egyptian language. And Syriac is anachronistic. She spoke "Syrian" according to Plutarch, which would have been Aramaic. But Syriac was not yet a thing in her time.

I covered all this in a post from a decade ago, but no harm repeating it now.

There was doubt in antiquity whether Caesarion was actually Caesar's son. Such things were very hard to verify in the days before genetic testing.

Also, this article seems to imply that Cleopatra's death day is today, 30 August. It is usually understood that she died on the 10th or the 12th of August (in 30 B.C.E.). But these are inferences. No ancient author actually gives a date.

Plutarch repeats the story of her asp-suicide. But he is skeptical of it. And there were other explanations of how she did it. All we really know is that after Mark Antony's death, while she was Octavian's prisoner, she managed to kill herself. But the asp story is vivid and is what people remember.

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

A pupil's Syriac liturgical exercise

GENIZA FRAGMENT OF THE MONTH (AUGUST 2018): A Young Syriac Pupil in the Cairo Genizah (George A. Kiraz). Regular readers will be familiar with George Kiraz's extensive contribution to Syriac studies. Here he shares a Geniza fragment with us which contains a school-exercise copy of liturgical material. And George and his son recite it for us in a YouTube video.

Past posts noting Cairo Geniza Fragments of the Month in the Cambridge University Library's Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit are here links. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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

The Tel Shimron excavation

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: New Excavations at Tel Shimron. Uncovering the largest archaeological site in Israel’s Jezreel Valley (Megan Sauter).
Led by Daniel M. Master of Wheaton College and Mario Martin of Tel Aviv University, the Tel Shimron Excavation is the first expedition to explore the ancient mound. Although the site has appeared in significant ancient documents—from Egyptian execration texts (c. 2000 B.C.E.) to the Talmud (fourth century C.E.)—this marks the first time we have extensive archaeological evidence to flesh out its story.

Daniel M. Master explores this significant site in his article “Launching Excavations at Tel Shimron,” published in the September/October 2018 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review. He explains that part of what drew him and Mario Martin to Tel Shimron was its historical breadth: “It was never far from the forefront of events in Galilee during the Amarna period of the Late Bronze Age, during the times of the Hebrew Bible, and even during the time of the First Jewish Revolt when the Jewish historian Josephus was defending Galilee.”
This a summary of the BAR article. The full article is behind the subscription wall.

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

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Visiting the Samaritans

SAMARITAN WATCH: The Last of the Good Samaritans. You may well be aware of the New Testament parable of the good Samaritan. But you probably don’t know that there are around 800 ancient Israelite Samaritans still living today (Judith Fein, BBC Travel). PaleoJudaica Readers, Ms. Fein does not mean you! But this is an informative and entertaining account of her several visits to the Samaritan community on the West Bank. And I learned something about Samaritan food customs from it too.
The gate swung open and I was cordially ushered inside to an ornate living room. Within minutes, the white-bearded High Priest entered, wearing a grey robe and red turban. A dignified man in his early 80s, he was accompanied by his deputy High Priest and members of his family. He motioned for me to sit next to him on a sofa. The audience had begun. "What can I do for you?" he asked with genteel formality.

The meeting was very friendly, until I mentioned that I had once eaten camel. The High Priest grew ashen and his family looked away, as though embarrassed.

"Eating camel is worse than eating pig!" he bellowed.

He said I had to atone and do penance. I swore I’d never eat camel again. The meeting was clearly over. Completely deflated, I began skulking out of the room in shame. The High Priest burst out laughing. "It's been enjoyable meeting… a camel-eater,” he said.

[Ms. Fein's contact Benjamin] Tsedaka later told me that after I left, the High Priest asked if the camel-eater had got home safely.
PaleoJudaica has mentioned Mr. Tsedaka off and on over many years, most recently here. For more on Samaritan Passover, see here and links. And for many other past posts on the Samaritans, run "Samaritan Watch" through the PaleoJudaica search engine.

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

The Talmud on how much is a handful

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: On the One Hand. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ Talmud study, the rabbis search the mists of time to try to recover which hand is to be used in the rituals of sacrifice and offering.
... Presumably, the priests who actually served in the Temple would have known the answers to such questions. But they are lost in the mist of time, and it is up to the rabbis to try to reconstruct the ceremonies as best they can. After all, Jewish priests would need some guide for how to proceed when the Temple was rebuilt—as the rabbis were certain it would be, someday.
Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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Satlow's Mishnah Syllabus

MICHAEL SATLOW: That Time of Year: My Mishnah Syllabus.
This semester I will be teaching a graduate-level course on “Mishnah and Tosefta.” I have taught versions of this course before (and have posted them) but have made a few changes. Should anyone be interested, I am posting the revised syllabus here.
This looks like a terrific class. I wish I could sit in on it.

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

Lester, Daniel Evokes Isaiah

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY:
Daniel Evokes Isaiah
Allusive Characterization of Foreign Rule in the Hebrew-Aramaic Book of Daniel


By: G. Brooke Lester

Published: 07-26-2018
Format: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 248
ISBN: 9780567683694
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
List price: $39.95
Online price: $35.96
Save $4.00 (10%)

About Daniel Evokes Isaiah
Lester argues here that the book of Daniel contains a complex but poetically unified narrative. This can be identified through certain narrative qualities, including the allusion to Isaiah throughout, which uniquely contributes to the narrative arc. The narrative begins with the inauguration of foreign rule over Israel, and concludes with that rule's end. Each stage of the book's composition casts that foreign rule in terms ever-more-reminiscent of Isaiah's depiction of Assyria. That enemy is first conscripted by God to punish Israel, but then arrogates punitive authority to itself until ultimately punished in its turn and destroyed. Each apocalypse in the book of Daniel carries forward, in its own way, that allusive characterization.

Lester thus argues that an allusive poetics can be investigated as an intentional rhetorical trope in a work for which the concept of “author” is complex; that a narrative criticism can incorporate a critical understanding of composition history. The “Daniel” resulting from this inquiry depicts Daniel's 2nd-century Jewish reader not as suffering punishment for breaking covenant with God, but as enduring in covenant faithfulness the last days of the “Assyrian” arrogator's violent excesses. This narrative problematizes any simplistic narrative conceptions of biblical Israel as ceaselessly rebellious, lending a unique note to conversations about suffering and theodicy in the Hebrew Bible, and about anti-Judaic habits in Christian reading of the Hebrew Bible.

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

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Veria (Berea)

HISTORY AND LEGEND: Mystery, Nazis and Paul the Apostle The Secret History of One of Greece’s Oldest Jewish Communities. Veria’s Jews are said to have heard the gospel directly from Paul himself, documenting his visit, says one legend, on a long-lost Torah scroll. But by the time the Nazis were defeated, this 2,000-year-old community was extinct (David B. Green, Haaretz). We have the Book of Act to believe that the Apostle Paul visited Berea. Probably he did, but there is no independent verification. There's no telling whether the city's modern synagogue is on the same site as the one visited by Paul. It may be.

The story about the lost ancient Torah scroll that had a note of Paul's visit in its margin is entertaining. But, as the article shows (and as we might have guessed anyway), it is not credible.

Alas, the destruction of the Jewish community in Veria by the Nazis is all too historical.

This is a premium Haaretz article, so you need a (free) registration to read it.

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

Divorce in the Bible etc.

FAMILY LAW: When is a Man Allowed to Divorce his Wife? (Dr. Eve Levavi Feinstein, TheTorah.com).
Deuteronomy’s description of the circumstances of divorce is ambiguous. Thus, the Mishnah (m. Gittin 9:10) records three different opinions on when a man is allowed to divorce his wife. What can we infer from the biblical text?
This essay gives a good historical overview of the subject. Two comments.

First, there is a printing glitch (at least when I accessed it) and the quotation of Jesus in Matthew 5:31-32 is left out. You can read it here.

Second, it may have "been the norm throughout the ancient Near East" for men to be able to divorce their wives, but not vice versa. But that norm was not without exception. Judean women at the garrison at Elephantine (Egypt) in the fifth century B.C.E. could and did divorce their husbands. See here and links.

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

Review of Engels, Benefactors, Kings, Rulers

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: David Engels, Benefactors, Kings, Rulers: Studies on the Seleukid Empire between East and West. Studia Hellenistica, 57. Leuven; Paris; Bristol, CT: Peeters, 2017. Pp. xiii, 603. ISBN 9789042933279. €110,00 (pb). Reviewed by Reinhard Pirngruber, Austrian Academy of Sciences (reinhard.pirngruber@univie.ac.at).
The volume under review collects fourteen essays, nine of which have previously been published (partly in German) between 2010 and 2017 in different journals and conference volumes. 1 Engels’ ambitious aim is to locate the “morphological place” (p. 9) occupied by the Seleucid Empire in the longue durée of the history of the Ancient Near East, as successor to the Achaemenids and precursor of the Parthian Empire; his focus is on the “Seleukid Empire as a historical phenomenon per se” (p.11). The book is divided into four sections containing three chapters each, which are framed by a brief introduction (Chapter One) outlining the scope of the book and providing summaries of all essays, and as an epilogue (Chapter Fourteen) an attempt at comparison between the construction of the Seleucid Empire and 19th-century CE colonialism organized around quotes from R. Kipling’s story The Man who would be King.

[...]
I noted the publication of the book here. I like to keep track of work on the Seleucid Empire, because of its background importance for understanding Judaism of the Second Temple Era. Other relevant recent posts are here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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

Lamps in the Getty Museum

THE AWOL BLOG: Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum. This database has descriptions and excellent photos of more than six hundred ancient lamps. But you will find the site easier to navigate if you know your lamps. (I do not.)

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

Monday, August 27, 2018

The Centre for the Study of the Bible in the Humanities

NEW AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY: The Centre for the Study of the Bible in the Humanities.
The Centre for the Study of the Bible in the Humanities (CBH) revitalizes engagement with biblical texts and traditions across the Arts and Humanities. Based in Oriel College, CBH hosts research projects, postgraduate research seminars, workshops, and conferences that study the ongoing vitality of scripture. CBH also facilitates collaborative relationships with leading academic institutions across the globe. With these activities, CBH encourages cutting-edge research, trains graduate students, and builds an international and interdisciplinary network of scholarship reintegrating Biblical Studies into the Humanities based in Oxford.

The vision for CBH grows out of the work of Hindy Najman, the founder and director, who is the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford. She is joined by a Program Coordinator, Dr Arjen Bakker, and a Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Olivia Stewart Lester. An advisory board of scholars from numerous academic disciplines in Oxford is in the developmental stages. For more information about the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament program at Oxford, see the Oxford Theology and Religion Faculty Website.
Some past PaleoJudaica posts on the work of Professor Najman are here, here, here, and here.

The Centre has two events coming soon:

CBH Launch: The Bible and the Humanities (17 October 2018)
The field of Biblical Studies was created in conjunction with and in conversation with the emerging disciplines of philology, classics and literature.
CBH Lament, Reading and Therapy Workshop (5 November, 2018)
Co-organized with King's College London, this workshop considers the composition, performance, and repetition of texts of lament, loss and healing.

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

Birthright laws can be complicated

FAMILY POLITICS AND EXEGESIS: Does the Birthright Law Apply to Reuben? What about Ishmael? (Dr. Kristine Garroway, TheTorah.com).
Deuteronomy 21:15-17 requires a man with two wives to recognize the birthright of his firstborn son, even if his mother is the less favored wife. This law is intertextually linked to Jacob’s giving Reuben’s firstborn rights to Joseph in Genesis, but it can also be read as a response to Abraham’s disinheriting Ishmael in favor of his younger son, Isaac.
Inheritance is a very complicated matter in blended families. Still all too true in the twenty-first century.

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Secunda on Elman

OBITUARY FOR YAAKOV ELMAN: Perpetual Motion (Shai Secunda, Jewish Review of Books).
Back in Washington Heights, Yaakov’s Yeshiva University classes expanded with students who had come to hear a talmudic genius talk about Zoroastrianism and its significance for understanding the Talmud. And regular, nonacademic devotees of Jewish texts caught wind of what was happening and began to follow Yaakov’s work from beyond the ivory tower. It is difficult to capture the exhilaration of that time, when one could feel the vibrations of a major shift taking place at the traditional, talmudic core of Jewish studies. One can now legitimately divide Talmud scholarship into two periods—BE, before Elman, when Talmud research focused on the text and its development, and AE, after Elman rewrote the curriculum of talmudists to include the languages and literatures of communities neighboring Babylonian Jewry, especially the Persian-speaking Zoroastrians, who ruled the powerful Sassanian Iranian Empire.
Dr. Secunda posted a brief notice of the passing of Professor Elman, noted here. And for other memorials, start here and follow the links.

Incidentally, Professor (now Emeritus) Oktor Skjærvø, who comes up in this essay, is also a contributor to the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project. I have been working with him this summer on his new translation of the Iranian Manichean versions of the Book of Giants, slated for Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, volume 2 (MOTP2). As noted earlier here.

I know it's been a long time in the making, but MOTP2 is coming along nicely. It will be worth the wait!

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

Farnes, “Scribal Habits in Selected New Testament Manuscripts"

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Dissertation Spotlight | Scribal Habits in Selected New Testament Manuscripts, Including those with Surviving Exemplars.
Alan Taylor Farnes, “Scribal Habits in Selected New Testament Manuscripts, Including those with Surviving Exemplars,” (PhD dissertation; University of Birmingham, 2017).
Although this thesis involves New Testament manuscript, its results are potentially applicable to the textual criticism of other kinds of texts. Notably:
With respect to the scribes in this study, therefore, we can reject the older canon lectio brevior potior "the shorter reading is preferred"]. We are unable, however, to confirm Royse’s new canon of lectio longior potior ["the longer reading is preferred"]. Instead,I argue that length should not be used in any way to determine which reading is more original.

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Sunday, August 26, 2018

Happy blogiversary to Reading Acts!

READING ACTS: New Fall Series: The Sermon on the Mount. Phil Long is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Reading Acts Blog with this new series. Congratulations to Phil on ten years of blogging!

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

Gleanings and justice

DR. GREGG E. GARDNER: Gleanings for the Poor – Justice, Not Charity (TheTorah.com).
The agricultural allocations for the poor outlined in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are a series of negative commandments, in which God forbids Israelite householders from gathering some of their produce and requires them to leave it for the poor. The rabbis took these laws a step further, granting the poor property rights over the allocations even before they are gathered.

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No biblical Hebrew word for "spirituality"

PHILOLOGOS: Why There's No Word in the Hebrew Bible for "Spirituality." For Judaism, the outward life of religious behavior comes first (Mosaic Magazine).
But there is no word in the Hebrew Bible corresponding to “spiritual” or “spirituality.” Neither is there one in the Talmud, in which, however, the word n’shamah takes on a meaning like that of our English “soul”—a divine substance or presence that inhabits and animates our body while becoming endowed by us with a character uniquely its own. This is an idea that the Judaism of the first centuries of the Common Era shared with Christianity and various Gnostic and Neoplatonic groups; whether we believe in a soul or not, our contemporary notion of spirituality goes back to it.

And yet whereas Christianity had a term for “spiritual” from its inception—Paul, in his New Testament epistles, uses the Greek word pneumatikos, which the Latin church fathers translated as spiritalis—rabbinic Judaism, precisely because it resisted stressing the inwardly “spiritual” life at the expense of the outward life of God-given commandments and their observance, did not develop its equivalent term of ruḥani until the Middle Ages.
Reminder: Mosaic now only allows you to read three of its articles online for free monthly. Choose wisely!

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

Review of Nongbri, God's Library

CANDIDA MOSS: Almost Everything We Know About The Earliest Copies of the New Testament Is Wrong. For years, scholars thought they'd found a radically early version of the Gospels hidden inside an old book. But the "facts" about the find could be fake news (The Daily Beast).
It might seem like a small thing, but the dating of the pages of the Gospel of Luke was based on the idea that they were used to construct the leather cover of the buried book of Philo. Then things then got even stranger. Looking at some of Scheil’s correspondence, Nongbri realized that Scheil did not discover the book himself. He had actually bought it in Luxor in 1891. The story of the book’s discovery came from the book dealer who sold it to him. The fragments that Roberts identified at Oxford had also been purchased in Luxor.

All of which means that no one actually knows where the fragments come from. Because of the significance of ‘find stories’ to scholars, book dealers often produce narratives about where the books were unearthed. When you actually look into the facts about important ancient manuscripts, it turns out that the just-unearthed-after-centuries or discovered-by-a-goatherd stories are second- or even third-hand stories.
I noted the imminent publication of Brent Nongbri's book, God's Library: The Archaeology of the Earliest Christian Manuscripts (Yale University Press) here. It is now out.

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