The Song of Moses or the Song of Miriam?

PROF. CAROL MEYERS: Miriam’s Song of the Sea: A Women’s Victory Performance (TheTorah.com).

Miriam and the Israelite women echo briefly the famous Song of the Sea sung earlier in Exodus 15… or do they? A closer examination reveals a more prominent role for Miriam and provides information about women as musical performers using song, dance, and drums in ancient Israel.

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

Review of Mylona & Nicholson (eds.), The Bountiful Sea

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: D. Mylona, R. Nicholson (ed.), The Bountiful Sea: Fish Processing and Consumption in Mediterranean Antiquity. Proceedings of the International Conference Held at Oxford, 6-8 September 2017. Journal of Maritime Archaeology Special Issue, 13.3. New York: Springer, 2018. Pp. 290. ISBN 1557-2293. Reviewed by Christy Constantakopoulou, Birkbeck College, London (c.constantakopoulou@bbk.ac.uk).

Recent years have shown that fish and fishing in the ancient Mediterranean are an exciting new research field,1 to which the present volume is a splendid contribution. Originating from a conference in Oxford in September 2017, the volume brings together a diverse range of scholars, ancient historians and archaeologists, including ichthyoarchaeologists, but also marine biologists and historians of food, to address a number of important questions. It is impossible in a short review to discuss each contribution individually, so I shall focus on themes and approaches.

The editors identify three themes in their introduction (p. 210): fish and fish products in their cultural context; archaeological evidence in the western and eastern Mediterranean; and the logistical and social organization of production of processed fish and associated materials, particularly salt. Most contributions address one or more of these themes, although other threads also run throughout the volume.

[...]

The article by Susan Weingarten deals with fish and fish products in the Talmudic literature.

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

Review of Sherwood (ed.), with Fisk, The Bible and Feminism

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field (Kathleen Gallagher Elkins).

Yvonne Sherwood, editor, with Anna Fisk. The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field. New York: Oxford, 2017.

Excerpt:

Overall, this book combines tightly focused contributions with essays that apply a wide-angle lens to the field. By offering readers insights from multiple perspectives, this volume gestures toward under-explored territory in biblical studies. It is a relatively expensive and expansive work, however, so will likely be encountered in a piecemeal way by most readers. For those with the time, energy, and access, I recommend engaging with the whole work. ...

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

Videos on the Aramaic DSS

AT BIBLE HISTORY DAILY, Dr. Andrew Perrin introduces two of his videos on the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls:

Lost Books, Scribal Authority, and Abraham against the Egyptians in Genesis Apocryphon. Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Shorts, Episode 4

The Timely and Timeless Message of Hope. Four Kingdoms Motifs in Ancient Jewish Apocalypses. Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Shorts, Episode 5

At both, scroll down for links to earlier episodes.

For some past posts on Dr. Perrin's research, see here and links.

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

Schiffman lecture series on DSS in Baltimore in March

PROF. LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: LECTURE SERIES: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND SECOND TEMPLE HISTORY.

Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore is hosting a three-part lecture series with Prof. Lawrence Schiffman on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple History:

Follow the link for details. The first lecture is on 4 March. If you are in Baltimore, these are well worth attending.

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

Ancient mikvehs still filling

DURABLE ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Ancient Judean ritual baths fill with water following intense winter rains. The baths are located south of Jerusalem in the West Bank, near the settlement of Neveh Daniel (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

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

Review of Ulrike Steinert (ed.), Assyrian and Babylonian Scholarly Text Catalogues: Medicine, Magic and Divination

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Ulrike Steinert (ed.), Assyrian and Babylonian Scholarly Text Catalogues: Medicine, Magic and Divination. Die babylonisch- assyrische Medizin in Texten und Untersuchungen, Band 9. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2018. Pp. 384. ISBN 9781501513633. $183.99. Reviewed by Elyze Zomer, Philipps-Universität Marburg (elyze.zomer@staff.uni-marburg.de).

The present volume is the result of the collaborative and individual efforts of the BabMed Project in Berlin.1 It comprises two parts: the first “Studies on Mesopotamian Text Catalogues” (pp. 8–200) contains seven contributions (discussed below) providing a valuable analysis of Mesopotamian text catalogues and tablet inventories of first millennium BCE focusing on medicine (asūtu), exorcism (āšipūtu), and divination; whereas the second “Text Sources” (pp. 203–333) presents critical philological editions of three distinctive corresponding text catalogues being the so-called Assur Medical Catalogue (AMC), the Exorcist’s Manual, and the joint catalogue of the diagnostic and physiognomic omen series Sakikkûand Alamdimmû.

[...]

This is a very technical volume. But its subject matter is of some interest for Second Temple Judaism. The area of āšipūtu, "exorcism," was the specialty of the (Assyro-)Babylonian medico-religious practitioner called the āshipu. These practitioners appear in the Book of Daniel as opponents of Daniel and his three friends. More on them here and here. Daniel's version of them is another feature of Aramaic Fantasy Babylon. The book under review tells us more about the work of the actual practitioners as well as about the work of their counterpart, the asū or "physician."

For earlier posts about religious and cultural aspects of late ancient Babylonia, see here and links.

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

ANE beers meet certified standards

RESURRECTING ANCIENT BEER: Beer in Israel, old and new. “This is the first time we succeeded in producing ancient alcohol from ancient yeast. In other words, from the original substances from which alcohol was produced. This has never been done before” (DOUG GREENER, Jerusalem Post).

At that event [at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem], [Dr. Michael] Klutstein revealed that his laboratory, along with Hebrew University’s Yissum Research Development Co., plan to bring three of these ancient beverages to the commercial market: The Egyptian beer (tentatively to be called “Narmer,” the first pharaoh), the Philistine beer (“Goliath”) and the Persian mead (“Ishtar”). Yissum is now seeking investors for this project.

The beers have been approved by "a panel of certified Israeli beer judges."

I noted the original story of the resurrected beers here. This effort is not the first. Follow the links from there for others. A tangentially related post is here. Cross-file under Technology Watch.

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

Syriac cataloging job at HMML

THE NSEA BLOG: JOB: SYRIAC CATALOGUING AT THE HILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY. I don't see a deadline in the announcement. But if you want to apply, I wouldn't dawdle.

There are many PaleoJudaica posts on the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library. Just run "HMML" through the search engine to find them.

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

A sifted Byzantine bulla?

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: FIND & FINDER OF THE MONTH: A BULLA OF AN UNKNOWN TYPE, DISCOVERED BY THE SCHWARTZES.

UPDATE: for many other posts on the project, start here and here and follow the links.

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

Bronze coinage of the Ptolemaic kings

NUMISMATICS: NGC Ancients – Bronze Coinage of the Greek Kings of Ptolemaic Egypt (CoinWeek).

There are lots of biblical and related links, especially in the Book of Daniel, to the kings who produced the coins covered in this article. The title "the king of the south" is used, confusingly, for several of them.

Alexander the Great is the he-goat from the west who strikes down the ram with two horns (the Medo-Persian Empire) in Daniel 8:5-8, 21. He is also the mighty king of 11:3-4.

Ptolemy I is one of Alexander's generals who vied for his kingdom after the death of the latter (Daniel 8:8, 22; 11:4). He is also the king of the south in 11:5.

Ptolemy II Philadephus is the king of the south whose daughter (Berenice Syra) is mentioned in Daniel 11:6. And according to the legend in the Letter of Aristeas, he commissioned the Greek translation of the Pentateuch.

Ptolemy III is the branch from the roots of the daughter of the king of the south mentioned in Daniel 11:7-9.

Ptolemy IV Philopater is the king of the south mentioned in Daniel 11:11.

CoinWeek had an earlier three-part series on the Ptolemaic coins, which I noted here, here, and here. I discussed their biblical and ancient Jewish connections in those posts. And for still more on the Ptolemaic coinage, see here.

NOTE: I have updated this post in May of 2024 to correct some information about Berenice Syra.

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

Empirical models for the Song of Deborah?

PROF. AARON KOLLER: Composing the Song of Deborah: Empirical Models (TheTorah.com).

The Song of Deborah in Judges 5 is similar to both Arabic qaṣīdā poetry and ancient Egyptian epic poetry. How should we categorize it? Is it like the former, and composed orally by a bard, or like the latter, and composed by a royal scribe?

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

Major grant for exploring Israel's coastline

MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY: Ancient harbors, sunken ships: Supporting marine archaeology off Israel’s coast. “The world’s oceans and seas are the last great frontier of archaeological exploration, and the Mediterranean Sea holds the oldest and most densely traversed maritime network in the world,” said Professor Thomas Levy in the Department of Anthropology at UC San Diego (University of Haifa via Jewish News Syndicate). This article announces a Koret Foundation grant of over $1 million for the archaeological exploration of the coastline of Israel. Congratulations to both Universities on this collaboration.

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

Bible Places Blog moves

THE BIBLE PLACES BLOG has moved. The new URL is https://www.bibleplaces.com/blog/. I have updated the link in PaleoJudaica's blogroll. The old address is still good for now, but you may want to update your own list.

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

A Canaanite temple at Lachish

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Rare ‘smiting gods’ among artifacts found at 12th century BCE Canaanite temple. Once-in-a-career Bronze Age findings from Lachish described as ‘breathtaking’ by archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel, who published a comprehensive report on 2013-2017 excavations (Amanda Borschel-Dan).

“This excavation has been breathtaking,” said lead archaeologist Professor Yosef Garfinkel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology in a press release on Monday. The excavation report, “The Level VI North-East Temple at Tel Lachish,” was recently published in the academic journal Levant: The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant.

The inscribed ostracon fragment was published in 2015. I noted it here.

In 2017 there was a report of the discovery of a 2,200-year-old Idumean temple or palace at Lachish.

Also, 2020 has seen reports of a substantial Iron Age temple at a site called Tel Moza (Tel Motza, Tel Moẓa, Tel Moẓah).

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

Geljon & Runia, Philo of Alexandria On Planting

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Philo of Alexandria On Planting

Introduction, Translation, and Commentary

Series: Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series, Volume: 5

Authors: Albert Geljon and David Runia

The Jewish exegete and philosopher Philo of Alexandria has long been famous for his complex and spiritually rich allegorical treatises on the Greek Bible. The present volume presents first translation and commentary in English on his treatise De plantatione (On planting), following on the volume devoted to On cultivation published previously by the same two authors. Philo gives a virtuoso performance as allegorist, interpreting Noah’s planting of a vineyard in Genesis 9.20 first in theological and cosmological terms, then moving to the spiritual quest of both of advanced souls and those beginning their journey. The translation renders Philo’s baroque Greek into readable modern English. The commentary pays particular attention to the treatise’s structure, its biblical basis and its exegetical and philosophical contents.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €149.00 / $179.00

E-Book
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-41751-9
Publication Date: 04 Nov 2019

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-41685-7
Publication Date: 11 Dec 2019

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

Carlson, “Possession and Other Spirit Phenomena in Biblical Literature”

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Dissertation Spotlight | Possession and Other Spirit Phenomena in Biblical Literature.

Reed Carlson, “Possession and Other Spirit Phenomena in Biblical Literature.”
Th.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 2019.

In this project, I map spirit language, rituals, and myths in select texts from the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish literature using conceptual categories and frameworks incubated in the fields of ethnography and cultural anthropology. While spirit possession is more commonly associated with late Second Temple Jewish literature and the New Testament, I argue that possession is also depicted in this earlier literature, though rarely according to the typical western paradigm.

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

Belatedly for 8 February: International LXX Day

WILLIAM ROSS: INTERNATIONAL SEPTUAGINT DAY 2020: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITORS OF THE LEXHAM ENGLISH SEPTUAGINT.

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

How forgers win

CANDIDA MOSS: How Forgers Get True Believers to Buy Their Fake Artifacts. History is full of examples of knockoffs that exploited religious or political agendas (The Daily Beast). Effective swindles tell victims what they want to hear.

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

Tilly & Mell (eds.), Gegenspieler

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Gegenspieler. Zur Auseinandersetzung mit dem Gegner in frühjüdischer und urchristlicher Literatur. Hrsg. v. Michael Tilly u. Ulrich Mell [Antagonists. Dealing with Opponents in Ancient Jewish and Early Christian Literature.] 2019. VIII, 439 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 428. 149,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-156096-5.

Published in German.
The authors of this volume examine the perception, depiction, and evaluation of the antagonist in ancient Jewish and early Christian literature. Most of the contributions were presented at an international symposium on the topic of »Gegenspieler« in Tübingen in October 2015.

The essays are in German and English.

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

Noll, The Semantics of Silence in Biblical Hebrew

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Semantics of Silence in Biblical Hebrew

Series:
Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, Volume: 100

Author: Sonja Noll

In The Semantics of Silence in Biblical Hebrew, Sonja Noll explores the many words in biblical Hebrew that refer to being silent, investigating how they are used in biblical texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Ben Sira. She also examines the tradition of interpretation for these words in the early versions (Septuagint, Vulgate, Targum, Peshitta), modern translations, and standard dictionaries, revealing that meanings are not always straightforward and that additional work is needed in biblical semantics and lexicography. The traditional approach to comparative Semitics, with its over-simplistic assumption of semantic equivalence in cognates, is also challenged. The surprising conclusion of the work is that there is no single concept of silence in the biblical world; rather, it spans multiple semantic fields.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €105.00/ $126.00

E-Book
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-41464-8
Publication Date: 03 Feb 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-41417-4
Publication Date: 21 Nov 2019

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