Reed, Demons, Angels, and Writing in Ancient Judaism

NEW BOOK IN CAMBRIDGE CORE:

Demons, Angels, and Writing in Ancient Judaism

Annette Yoshiko Reed, New York University

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Online publication date: January 2020
Print publication year: 2020
Online ISBN: 9781139030847
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139030847

Subjects: Judaism, Religion

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Daniel 4 and Aramaic Fantasy Babylon

AT READING ACTS, Phil Long continues his blog series on the book of Daniel:

Daniel 3:19-27 – Who is the Fourth Man in the Fiery Furnace?

Daniel 4 – Is Nebuchadnezzar’s Madness Historical?
Short answer: no. But, as Phil notes, there is a very good case that the story in Daniel four is a garbled account of an event in the reign of his successor, Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. We know from Nabonidus' own inscriptions that he was a devotee of the moon god "Sin." This was a point of conflict between him and the powerful priesthood of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.

Nabonidus was away from Babylon for ten years, residing in Teima in North Arabia, which was a center for the worship of the moon god. In later Babylonian tradition he was remembered as a madman.

Again, as Phil notes, among the Dead Sea Scrolls was discovered an Aramaic fragment of a work we call The Prayer of Nabonidus. It tells a tale that involves Nabonidus, not Nebuchadnezzar, and it reads like an intermediate version between the inscriptions of the historical Nabonidus and the tale in Daniel 4. You can read a translation of it in Phil's post

I think of both the Prayer of Nabonidus and Daniel 4 (and Daniel 2-6 in general) as examples of what I call "Aramaic Fantasy Babylon." Like Greek Fantasy Babylon, this is the imaginary Babylon described by, in this case, Aramaic writers in the Persian and Hellenistic eras. I infer that there must have been a substantial Aramaic Fantasy Babylon tradition, although less of it survives than the fantasy Babylon of the Greek writers.

One other example of Aramaic Fantasy Babylon is "The Revolt of Babylon," the story of the unsuccessful revolt of Babylon from Assyria in 651 BCE, which is found in the Demotic Papyrus Amherst 63. This remarkable manuscript is a collection of Canaanite and Aramaic texts written in Demotic (late Egyptian) script. The revolt in this story was an historical event, but this Aramaic text tells a slightly garbled version of it which it fills out with imaginary dramatic dialogue.

Ctesias gives a lurid account of the same story in which the king of Babylon (Shamash-Shum-Ukin) pulls a Denethor at the end. He locks himself, his concubines, and his eunuchs in his own palace. Then he sets fire to a pyre and burns the palace down.

I have noted past posts in Phil Long's series on the Book of Daniel here and links.

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Bar-Asher Siegal, Jewish-Christian Dialogues on Scripture in Late Antiquity

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Publications | Jewish-Christian Dialogues in Late Antiquity (Michal Bar-Asher Siegal).

What happened when a heretic walked into a rabbinic bet midrash? Or better put, how did the rabbis imagine conversing with this heretic? Would they even engage with what they considered heretical views? In my new book, Jewish-Christian Dialogues on Scripture in Late Antiquity: Heretic Narratives of the Babylonian Talmud, I set out to show that the Babylonian Talmud, in at least some of its minim stories, is doing just that: the Talmud engages with contemporaneous Christian readings of biblical verses in a satirical and polemical ways.

[...]

Cross-file under Talmud Watch and New Book.

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More on the Sappho fragments

AT VARIANT READINGS, Brent Nongbri has new information about the Sappho fragments and evidence for when and from where they were recovered:

Important Developments with the New Sappho Papyrus

Contextualizing the New Sappho Information

The question of the origin of the Sappho fragments is being tied at least indirectly to the Oxyrhynchus papyri scandal. THe scandal involves the disappearance of more than a hundred fragmentary papyri from the Oxyrhynchus collection of the Egyptian Exploration Society at Oxford University. For a recent overview of this increasingly convoluted story, see this post, especially the Guardian article linked to therein. There are lots of other links in that post and you can just keep following them back and back. Since then, there has been one more relevant post here.

I leave you to make up your mind about the detective work of Chalotte Higgins, Brent Nongbri, and their contacts, and what it all means in regard to the missing papyri. I blog and link. You decide.

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Daniel 3: the statue and the defiant friends

READING ACTS has two new posts in Phil Long's series on the Book of Daniel:

Daniel 3:1-7 – Worshiping the Statue
I am not persuaded by Phil's suggestion that the statue was an obelisk. First of all, there are not "many obelisks found in Babylon." There are a few stone monuments found in ancient Mespotamia that are called obelisks, but these are (large but) comparatively small stone monuments of an official nature. I know of no 90-foot obelisks in Babylon of the sort that Phil compares to the statue. All of those come from Egypt. Note that the example in his photo is from Karnak, Egypt.

Second, as far as I can tell the word "statue" (צלם) always means a worked image of something. It is the word used in chapter 2 for the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The same word appears in Hebrew with the same range of meaning. I can't find it applied to an abstract object like an obelisk. In Daniel 3 the normal usage of the word would lead us to picture an image of a human figure or, conceivable, an animal.

Third, the best parallel to the statue in chapter 3 comes from the Greek writers Herodotus (1.183) and Ctesias (F1b, Diodorus 2.9.5-7 ), who mention one or more golden statues of "Zeus" associated with temples in the city of Babylon. Herodotus says (the same, seated?) statue was 18 cubits high (= 27 feet) and Ctesias says the statue was 40 feet high. Daniel's version is even better, with a 60-cubit statue.

There was in fact a statue of Marduk in his temple, the Esagila. But it was made of stone, not gold. I don't think we know how big it was. It was taken out on parades and even plundered from city to city by Babylon's various conquerers. So I doubt it was as big as the statues of the Greek writers and Daniel.

This huge gold statue looks to me like another tradition Daniel shares with "Greek Fantasy Babylon."

Daniel 3:13-18 – Confession of the Three Exiles

I have noted previous posts in Phil's series on the Book of Daniel, sometimes with my own commentary, here and links.

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Archival newsreel footage of the DSS

VARIANT READINGS: Dead Sea Scrolls Archival Newsreel Footage (Brent Nongbri). Dr Nongbri continues to dig up interesting media tidbits.

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Review of Howe (ed.), Ptolemy I Soter: A Self-Made Man

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Timothy Howe (ed.), Ptolemy I Soter: A Self-Made Man. Oxford: Oxbow, 2018. Pp. x, 196. ISBN 9781789250428. £38.00 (pb). Reviewed by Leanna Boychenko, Loyola University Chicago (lboychenko@luc.edu).

The Ptolemaic dynasty was by far the most successful of the Hellenistic kingdoms that sprouted from Alexander the Great’s empire, prospering greatly and outlasting all others. Ptolemy I Soter, as founder and father of that dynasty, fashioned a new world and, as this volume argues, a meticulously self-crafted, self-aware image and legacy.

The rather unfortunate title1 belies the value of this volume. Although some are stronger than others, each of the chapters puts forth a bold case for a fresh look at an aspect of Ptolemy I’s reign, whether it is his relationship with high-ranking Egyptians, his marriage practices, or his political propaganda. There is no introduction, but a short forward is followed by seven chapters, each of which I will briefly comment on below. Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.

[...]

Ptolemy I appears in the Bible in Daniel 11:5 as "the king of the south." Ptolemy II, who also figures in this book, does not appear in the Bible. But according to the legend in the Letter of Aristeas, he was the Egyptian king who commissioned the translation of the Pentateuch from Hebrew into Greek (the first installment of the Septuagint).

For more on Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II, and the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, see the series of posts that begin here.

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Nebuchadnezzar's dream, continued

READING ACTS: Daniel 2:24-45 – Nebuchadnezzar’s Vision and Its Interpretation. The latest installment in Phil Long's blog series on the Book of Daniel.

I have noted earlier posts in the series, sometimes with my own commentary, here and links.

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Coptic Apocrypha fellowship at Oslo

COPTIC WATCH: Postdoctoral Position in Coptic Material Philology - ERC project APOCRYPHA.

Job description

Applicants are invited for a 3-year position as Postdoctoral Fellow in the ERC-funded research project Storyworlds in Transition: Coptic Apocrypha in Changing Contexts in the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods (APOCRYPHA), based at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo.

The APOCRYPHA project aims to provide the first systematic study of Coptic apocrypha covering the entire timespan of Coptic literary production. It will investigate the contents, development, and functions of apocrypha over time, as they were copied, adapted, and used in Egypt’s changing socio-religious contexts. The project will investigate how these changing contexts are reflected in the Coptic apocrypha, and what functions this literature had throughout the period under investigation.

The postdoc is expected to work in close collaboration with the PI of the APOCRYPHA project to locate and systematically analyze with regard to the material features all Coptic manuscripts containing apocryphal materials, and to study from the perspective of Material Philology the production and transmission of Coptic apocrypha. Material Philology is here understood on the one hand as an approach that takes the fluidity of textual transmission in a manuscript culture fully into consideration, studying its causes, mechanisms, and effects; and on the other it entails an in-depth focus on the material artifacts constituted by the extant manuscripts.

The position is funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (grant agreement no. 865971).

Follow the link for further particulars. The application deadline is 16 February 2020, so don't dwadle!

HT Christian Askeland at the ETC Blog. Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch and New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

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Penner, Isaiah (Brill Septuagint Commentary Series)

FORTHCOMING BOOK FROM BRILL:

Isaiah

Series: Septuagint Commentary Series
Author: Ken Penner

This work consists of an introduction, transcription, translation, and commentary to the Greek translation of Isaiah in the Codex Sinaiticus. It comments on the Greek language in its context, especially on how the Greek language is stretched beyond its normal range of function. It addresses the peculiarities of Codex Sinaiticus, including its history, scribes, divisions, and orthography. In line with the aims of the Brill Septuagint Commentary Series, it mainly discusses not how the text was produced, but how it was read.

Prices from (excl. VAT):

€199.00 / $239.00

E-Book
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42723-5
Publication Date: 18 Jun 2020

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42677-1
Publication Date: 18 Jun 2020

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Hundreds of ancient coins confiscated in Kfar Kana

APPREHENDED: Coins from 5th century BCE found in trove seized from home of antiquities thief. Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit inspector says there are a growing number of thieves using metal detectors who are destroying unexcavated archaeological sites (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

A cache of 232 ancient coins was recovered from the house of a known antiquities thief in Kfar Kana last week by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit.

The trove of coins includes samples from the 5th century BCE Persian period, to the later Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, and to the early Ottoman period in the circa 16th century. The coins will now undergo testing and study at the IAA.

[...]

Cross-file under Numismatics.

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Harvard conference on vernacular Jewish Bibles

H-JUDAIC: Conference at Harvard: "Beyond Translation: Vernacular Jewish Bibles from Antiquity to Modernity. The conference takes place on 24 February 2020. Panel I: The Ancient Period, has presentations by Paul Kosmin, Harvard University (Chair); Annette Yoshiko Reed, New York University; and Steven Fraade, Yale University.

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Two LXX-related CFPs

WILLIAM A. ROSS notes two Septuagint-related calls for papers, with deadlines, respectively, on 12 and 28 February 2020.

8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR SEPTUAGINT STUDIES (WUPPERTAL 2020)

CALL FOR PAPERS: LINGUISTICS AND THE BIBLICAL TEXT (IBR 2020)

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Zucconi on ANE and Mediterranean medicine

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean Medicine

Although the various cultures of the ancient world had different expressions for symbiotic anatomy, they all understood the body as a messaging system between the different communities of the anatomy, the supernatural realm, and humans. Whether it was an animal attacking a person, a curse from an angry neighbor, or an attack from a ghost after wandering into the wrong place, all derived from the supernatural world sending a message to the afflicted. It is important not to assume these were necessarily punishments but signs that a normal social order had broken down.

See Also: Ancient Medicine: From Mesopotamia to Rome (Eerdmans, 2019).

By Laura Zucconi
Professor of History
Stockton University
January 2020

Cross-file under New Book.

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More on Dirk Obbink

AT THE VARIANT READINGS BLOG, Brent Nongbri has a couple of posts involving Professor Dirk Obbink. Professor Obbink has reportedly been "suspended from duties" (first Guardian article) by Oxford University in relation to an investigation into the disappearance of more than a hundred papyri fragments from the Oxyrhynchus collection. Professor Obbink has denied any wrongdoing.

A New Edition of Sappho by Dirk Obbink

More on Dirk Obbink and the Marketing of Cultural Heritage Items

Background here and links.

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On Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

READING ACTS: Daniel 2:1-13 – Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Phil Long).

For more on the term "enchanter" (אשף, 'āshaph) in Daniel 2:10, see the comments here (the immediately preceding post) on the Babylonian cleric known as āshipu. The "enchanters" appear a little more often in Daniel than Phil says (1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:4; 5:7, 11, 15). I think that's a complete list. Both BHS and Lisowsky's Konkordanz miss one or more occurrence.

As Phil says, the term "Chaldean" is an ethnic designation for a Babylonian tribe. It is used sometimes in its original meaning in the Book of Daniel (1:4 [?], 5:30, 9:1; also Ezra 5:12).

Herodotus calls the Chaldeans "the priests of Bel." Later Greek writers continue to use the term to mean a type of magico-religious practitioner. That is the frequent usage also in the Book of Daniel (2:2, 5, 20; 3:8 [?]; 4:4 [Evv. 4:7]; 5:7, 11, 15). This is an example of a parallel in Daniel to what I like to call "Greek Fantasy Babylon," the imaginary Babylon described by Greek writers in the Persian and Hellenistic eras. It is another indication that the Book of Daniel was written much later than the sixth century BCE.

Elsewhere in the Bible, "Chaldeans" is used as an ethnic term, more or less synonymous with "Babylonians."

UPDATE: I have noted earlier posts in Phil's series here and links.

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Review of Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk (ed. Proust and Steele)

THE BIBLICAL REVIEW BLOG: Review: “Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk” edited by Christine Proust and John Steele (William Brown).

Christine Proust and John Steele. Eds. 2019. Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk. Cham: Springer Press.

Scholars and Scholarship in Late Babylonian Uruk is part of the Springer series Why the Sciences of the Ancient World Matter, which builds bridges between the history of science in the ancient world and other fields in the humanities. With a wide range of subject matter, including mathematics, astronomy, astrology, ritual, and more, this volume works well in this series. After providing an overview of each chapter, I will consider ways that the contributions to this volume can contribute to conversations in religious and biblical studies. I will also comment on a few of the volume’s shortfalls.

[...]

I like to keep track of research on late ancient Babylonia, because it provides important background for Second Temple era Judaism. William Brown notes some points of interest for that field.

I will mention another connection. The volume is full of information on the āshipu clergy in late Babylonian Uruk. They were medico-religious practitioners who treated people for physical and psychological disorders. In the Bible, the book of Daniel mentions them as among the Babylonian religious functionaries whom Daniel and his friends opposed. The NRSV translates the word as "enchanters."

For more on the economy, religion, scribes, religious practitioners, and muddled Greek reception of late ancient Babylonia, start here and follow the links.

UPDATE: See the next post for more on the "enchanters" in the Book of Daniel.

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Daniel, Joseph, and Tobit

READING ACTS: Faithful Diaspora Jews – Daniel, Joseph and Tobit. Another post in Phil Long's series on the Book of Daniel. For notice of previous posts, see here and links.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on Joseph and Aseneth are here and links. And for my reservations about accepting Joseph and Aseneth as an ancient Jewish compositions, see especially here.

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Women celebrating Daf Yomi

TALMUD WATCH: Women's group brings equality to Talmud study (Danny Zaken, Al-Monitor). Hadran celebrated the participation of women in the latest Daf Yomi cycle.

The Jan. 5 gathering in Jerusalem, attended by over 3,000 women, was a show of power and strength by religious women from almost every social sector, ranging from relatively liberal ultra-Orthodox women to women associated with the conservative movement. Some wore headscarves, while others walked around in jeans and t-shirts. The term “feminism” was conspicuously absent. On the contrary, the organizers wanted to send the message that Talmud study is not the result of a struggle but the natural continuation of a legacy of Torah study across Jewish history.

For more on Beruria, see this recent post.

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CFP: Conference on Cosmic Ascent in Theory and Practice

THE NSEA BLOG: CONFERENCE ON COSMIC ASCENT IN THEORY AND PRACTICE: CALL FOR PAPERS

A conference in June of this year at Trinity College, Dublin on all aspects of cosmic ascent narratives. Papers are very welcome from scholars working on any aspect of this subject (in antiquity or later), viewed phenomenologically, comparatively, cognitively, narratologically, ritually …

Here is the call for papers ...

The conference takes place on 19-20 June, 2020. The deadline for paper proposals is 13 March, 2020.

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