Shemeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2020

SHEMINI ATZERET begins tonight at sundown. In Israel, this is also the holiday of Simchat Torah (Simhat Torah). Outside of Israel, the latter holiday begins tomorrow at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating!

Last year's Shemini Atzeret post is here. The 2017 post has biblical etc. links.

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

Biblical bookended blessings

DR. SHIRA GOLANI: The Two Blessings of the Twelve Tribes: Varying Perspectives, Similar Function (TheTorah.com).

The Torah frames two different poetic descriptions of the tribes as the deathbed blessings of Jacob and Moses, pivotal points in Israel's history. Nevertheless, these poems express varying perspectives on the relative importance of the tribes and were once likely independent collections

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

Violence in the Hebrew Bible (ed. van Ruiten & van Bekkum)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Violence in the Hebrew Bible

Between Text and Reception

Series: Oudtestamentische Studiën, Old Testament Studies, Volume: 79
Editors: Jacques van Ruiten and Koert van Bekkum

In Violence in the Hebrew Bible scholars reflect on texts of violence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as their often problematic reception history. Authoritative texts and traditions can be rewritten and adapted to new circumstances and insights. Texts are subject to a process of change. The study of the ways in which these (authoritative) biblical texts are produced and/or received in various socio-historical circumstances discloses a range of theological and ideological perspectives. In reflecting on these issues, the central question is how to allow for a given text’s plurality of possible and realised meanings while also retaining the ability to form critical judgments regarding biblical exegesis. This volume highlight that violence in particular is a fruitful area to explore this tension.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €138.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published)
ISBN: 978-90-04-43468-4)
Publication Date: 27 Jul 2020)

Hardback)
Availability: Published)
ISBN: 978-90-04-43467-7)
Publication Date: 30 Jul 2020

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Kletter, Archaeology, Heritage and Ethics in the Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem

THE AWOL BLOG: Archaeology, Heritage and Ethics in the Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem: Darkness at the End of the Tunnel by Raz Kletter (Routledge, 2020). Cross-file under New Book. The full content is available online by open access.

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Theology and Anthropology in the Book of Sirach (ed. Gesche et al.)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Theology and Anthropology in the Book of Sirach
Bonifatia Gesche (Editor), Christian Lustig (Editor), Gabriel Rabo (Editor)

ISBN 9781628372670
Status Available
Price: $49.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date October 2020

New research on Sirach for scholars and students

The present volume of English and German essays includes the proceedings of an international conference held in Eichstaett, Germany, in 2017. Themes of creation, emotions, life, death, wisdom, knowledge, the individual and society, family, gender, mercy, justice, and freedom are but a few of the topics that contributors explore in this new collection. Essays explore the rich intertextual connections between Sirach and other biblical texts.

Features:

• Attention to theological distinctions presented in the Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions of the book of Sirach
  
• Examination of the reception of Sirach in the New Testament and the early modern era
  
• English abstracts for German-language essays and German abstracts for English-language essays

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Celestial cheese?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: SBL 2019 Review Panel | Much Depends on Dinner (Elizabeth Castelli).

Meredith Warren’s new monograph invites us to revisit some well-read ancient texts with new questions about particular narrative details—specifically, to ask: what is happening when characters in these texts ingest food from another realm? What new affinities, ontologies, and knowledges are produced by the process of “eating divine food” (signified by a sort-of neologism: hierophagy)?

I noted the essay introducing this series on Dr. Warren's book, Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature here.

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

Klawans & Wills (eds.), The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

NEW BOOK FROM OUP:

The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

Edited by Jonathan Klawans and Lawrence M. Wills

• First edition of the Apocrypha addressed to a Jewish audience in the English language
• The first edition of the Apocrypha to include the book of Jubilees
• The first stand-alone Oxford Study Apocrypha to include an Introduction, essays, and sidebars

$45.00

Hardcover

Published: 01 October 2020

744 Pages

6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches

ISBN: 9780190262488

Also Available As: Ebook

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Bekins, Inscriptions from the World of the Bible

NEW BOOK FROM HENDRICKSON:

Inscriptions from the World of the Bible

By: Peter Bekins
HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS / 2020 / HARDCOVER

In Stock
Stock No: HN072096
$79.95

An indispensable resource highlighting significant Northwest Semitic inscriptions from the early first millennium B.C.E. Focusing on Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Moabite texts, this informative volume offers insight into the monarchical period and provides valuable historical and literary context for the Hebrew Bible. Grouped by language, texts are accompanied by commentary on significant lexical, grammatical, and literary features. Approx. 300 pages, hardcover from Hendrickson.

Cross-file under Northwest Semitic Epigraphy Watch.

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Brouwer & Vimercati (eds.), Fate, Providence and Free Will

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Fate, Providence and Free Will: Philosophy and Religion in Dialogue in the Early Imperial Age

Series: Ancient Philosophy & Religion, Volume: 4
Editors: René Brouwer and Emmanuele Vimercati

This volume, edited by René Brouwer and Emmanuele Vimercati, deals with the debate about fate, providence and free will in the early Imperial age. This debate is rekindled in the 1st century CE during emperor Augustus’ rule and ends in the 3rd century CE with Plotinus and Origen, when the different positions in the debate were more or less fully developed. The book aims to show how in this period the notions of fate, providence and freedom were developed and debated, not only within and between the main philosophical schools, that is Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Platonism, but also in the interaction with other, “religious” movements, here understood in the general sense of groups of people sharing beliefs in and worship of (a) superhuman controlling power(s), such as Gnosticism, Hermetism as well as Judaism and Christianity.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €134.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43638-1
Publication Date: 31 Aug 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43566-7
Publication Date: 03 Sep 2020

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Was the biblical city female?

THE BIBLE AND INTEPRETATION:

The City Concept in the Hebrew Bible

Some of the longstanding general assumptions about urban space in the Hebrew Bible should be reconsidered (Vermeulen 2020). The most important one is perhaps the idea that the biblical city is female.

See Also: Conceptualizing Biblical Cities: A Stylistic Study (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

By Karolien Vermeulen
FWO Postdoctoral Fellow
Institute of Jewish Studies
University of Antwerp
October 2020

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

Kanavou, Philostratus' Life of Apollonios of Tyana and Its Literary Context

OPEN ACCESS BOOK FROM C.H. BECK:

PHILOSTRATROS’ LIFE OF APOLLONIOS OF TYANA AND ITS LITERARY CONTEXT

Nikoletta Kanavou
Zetemata

Éditeur : C.H.Beck Collection : Zetemata | 153 Lieu d’édition : München Année d’édition : 2018 Publication sur OpenEdition Books : 02 octobre 2020 EAN (Édition imprimée) : 9783406715426 EAN électronique : 9791036555817 DOI : 10.4000/books.chbeck.1688 Nombre de pages : 296 p.

This book surveys a range of intersections between the fictitious biography of the sage Apollonios of Tyana by Philostratos and selected prose narratives of the imperial period. The survey considers both pagan and Christian literature and includes both parallels to the philosophical ideology of the Life of Apollonios and features that embellish and enhance the Life as a work of literature. The book’s various themes and topics are held together by a common thread: the hero’s virtue, in particular his sōphrosynē, which encapsulates not only his wise-man status but also his novelistic traits (sōphrosynē is of central importance in the Greek romance), and which contributes to the interpretation both of Apollonios as hero and of the work’s generic affinities. The characterisation of Apollonios and the contextualisation of his biography are equally served by the discussion of manifestations of erōs in the Life of Apollonios as echoes of a popular, indeed irresistible theme to the author; of travel as an intergeneric metaphor for spiritual progression; and, finally, of the sage’s relationship with the written word - a relationship that further reveals the narrative’s authenticatory interests and precarious realism.

HT The AWOL Blog.

For more on Apollonius of Tyana, especially in relation to Jesus, see here and links.

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

AJR: SBL panel on Food and Transformation

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: SBL 2019 Review Panel | Food and Transformation (Frederick S. Tappenden and Catherine Playoust). This opening essay is an introduction to the panel by the organizers. For more on the book by Meredith Warren under review, see here and here.

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

Holy Land tourism crisis

HARD TIMES: For the First Time in 1,600 Years: No Pilgrims in the Holy Land. More grim COVID-19 news: After a record-breaking year in 2019, the torrent of Christian visitors has all but stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Can online souvenir sales and prayers fill the void? (Moshe Gilad, Haaretz premium).

The Christian pilgrim tourism market was always considered the most stable here. These tourists would arrive during even the most difficult and violent periods, when others wouldn’t dare visit Israel. They ignored wars and epidemics, government upheavals and economic crises. Nothing stopped the faithful from coming to pray in the land of Jesus.

Until now. A long, informative article.

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Review of The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi

BOOK REVIEW: The vivid legend of Rabbi Ben Levi (Neville Teller, Jerusalem Post).

A forward to the book connects the Ben Levi legend to the perception of miracles in Jewish folk lore, and invites readers to marvel at the gorgeous art his story has inspired.

Excerpt:

Now, in a truly spectacular artistic endeavor, Katz’s mosaics are married to Longfellow’s poem to create a ravishingly beautiful volume. At the heart of The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi are 12 mosaics by Avi Katz, presented full page and in stunning color, illustrating Longfellow’s poetic narrative as it unfolds. Distinguished science fiction writer Lavie Tidhar provides a foreword in which he connects the Ben Levi legend to the perception of miracles in Jewish folk lore, and invites readers to marvel at the gorgeous art his story has inspired.

At the rear of the volume is a background article penned by Israeli writer Mitch Pilcer. ...

As regular readers will recall, the tomb and Aramaic epitaph of R. Joshua Ben Levi turned up in Mr. Pilcer's back yard.

The full reference for the book:

The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Avi Katz

Gefen Publishing House, 2020

$14.95; 32 pages (hardcover)

Background here and links. Cross-file under Epigraphy, Aramaic Watch, and Children's Book.

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Blankovsky, Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments

A New Interpretive Approach

Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 60
Author: Yuval Blankovsky

Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments: A New Interpretive Approach elucidates the unique characteristics of Talmudic discourse culture. Approaching Talmudic literature from a linguistic perspective, the book shows the extensive and hidden ways in which later rabbis used early formulations. Applying Quentin Skinner's interpretive question “What was the author doing in composing the text in this particular way?" to Talmudic literature reveals that Talmudic debate is not only about ideas, concepts and laws but also about the latter's connection to pre-existing formulations. These early traditions, rather than only being accepted or not, are used by later generations to build their own arguments. The book articulates the function of tradition at the time that Rabbinic Judaism was forged.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €149.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43004-4
Publication Date: 07 Sep 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43003-7
Publication Date: 10 Sep 2020

Cross-file under Talmud Watch.

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Budge, The History of Alexander the Great

CLASSIC REPRINT FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The History of Alexander the Great
Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes

EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR: Ernest A. Wallis Budge
DATE PUBLISHED: July 2013
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: PaperbackISBN: 9781107631175

Originally published in 1889, this book by the highly esteemed Orientalist Ernest Wallis Budge is an edition of the Syriac version of the text by Pseudo-Callisthenes on the life of Alexander the Great, one of the earliest histories of the great Macedonian general. Also included are a brief biography of Alexander, an assessment of the varying versions of the Alexander story, and a copy of the Syriac source text with scholarly footnotes and comparisons among the various manuscripts. This book will be of value to Syriac students, Classicists and anyone with an interest in the confluence of East and West in the ancient world.

I guess this has been out for a while, but it's the first time it popped up in my morning searches.

This version is a translation of a version of the Alexander Romance, on which more here (especially) and here and links. And for many other posts on Alexander and on his connection with ancient Jewish traditions, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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

Glass Lazarus? Brain cells from a Vesuvius victim

VESUVIUS WATCH: Brain Cells of Vesuvius Victim That Turned into Glass Found Intact 2,000 Years After Volcanic Eruption (News18/MSN).

Back in February I noted the story that archaeologists had recovered some vitrified brain material from one of the victions of the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii. At the time I commented:

Perhaps I watch too much SciFi (well, probably), but this story made me think of Dennis Potter's last series, Cold Lazarus. I realize that Daniel Feeld's brain was frozen, not vitrified. Vitrified brain is not going to have any structure left in it. But the article does say that the brain glass contains chemical traces. Who knows what information about first-century Roman brain composition the data-recovery technology of 2368 might recover from it?

It looks like I was too pessimistic. The current report is that actual brain cells are preserved in the brain glass of the unfortunate victim, as well as nerve cells from his spine. The report also holds out some hope that protein may be recovered from the glass.

We are still very far from Daniel Feeld's supercooled resurrection. But we are closer than I thought.

For past posts on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and related matters, start here and follow the many links.

Cross-file under Technology Watch and The Singularity is Near.

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

Eberhard Bons – HTLS interview

WILLIAM ROSS: HTLS VOLUME 1: AN INTERVIEW WITH EBERHARD BONS.

For more on the Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint see here and links. For notice of Dr. Ross's previous interviews with Septuagint scholars, see here and links.

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

Burke lecture on "Lost Gospels"

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: BAF/BASONOVA Lecture: ”Lost Gospels” and Other Christian Apocrypha.

Please reserve your BAF / BASONOVA Zoom Lecture spot

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 7:30 pm EST via Zoom

”Lost Gospels” and Other Christian Apocrypha: New Discoveries and New Perspectives

Tony Burke, York University

Follow the link for details. Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

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Isaiah and the Twelve (ed. Bautch et al.)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Isaiah and the Twelve / Jesaja und die Zwölf

Parallels, Similarities and Differences

Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 527
Edited by: Richard J. Bautch, Joachim Eck, and Burkard M. Zapff
De Gruyter | 2020

From £79.00

DETAILS
Language: English, German
Format: 23.0 x 15.5 cm
Pages Roman: VI
Pages Arabic: 281
Tables BW: 12
Publisher: De Gruyter
Year: 2020
Keywords: History of redaction; Motives in the Old Testament; Isaiah; Book of Twelve
Audience: Alttestamentler/-innen, Theolog/-innen, Wissenschaflter/-innen, die zum Jesaja- und Zwölfprophetenbuch arbeiten

FORMATS
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-11-070573-7
Published: 21 Sep 2020

PDF
ISBN: 978-3-11-070579-9
Published: 21 Sep 2020

EPUB
ISBN: 978-3-11-070588-1
Published: 21 Sep 2020

OVERVIEW
Die Frage der Beziehung zwischen dem Jesajabuch und dem Buch der Zwölf Propheten ist angesichts vielfältiger Berührungen sprachlicher und motivischer Art zentral, jedoch hinsichtlich der damit verbundenen möglichen Implikationen bislang nur ungenügend bearbeitet.

Im Rahmen eines internationalen Kongresses, der vom 31.Mai bis 3.Juni 2018 an der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt stattfand, suchten Fachleute des Zwölfprophetenbuches bzw. des Jesajabuches mit unterschiedlichen methodischen Ansätzen ein umfassenderes Bild der verschiedenen Arten von Beziehungen oder thematischen Berührungen zu erarbeiten, die entweder für die beiden Corpora als ganze oder für spezifische Teile beider charakteristisch sind, um daraus entsprechende Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Überblick zur Vielfalt der semantischen, intertextuellen, literarischen, redaktionellen, historischen und theologischen Aspekte der Beziehungen zwischen dem Jesajabuch und dem Zwölfprophetenbuch, die einlinigen Lösungsvorschlägen zur Erklärung des Zustandekommens dieser Bezüge widerstreiten.

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James Sanders, 1927-2020

SAD NEWS: Word has come in via Facebook and the Agade list that James A. Sanders passed away on 1 October 2020. He published widely in biblical studies and was well known for his editio princeps of the Great Psalm Scroll (11Q5) from Qumran.

Requiescat in pace.

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

The Gamla synagogue on video

THIS VISITING GAMLA YouTube video by John DeLancey has some excellent footage of the ruins of the first-century Gamla synagogue in the first six minutes or so. I don't endorse the commentary (see below), but the synagogue footage is good. HT the Bible Places Blog.



It is possible that Jesus preached at this synagogue, but we have no positive evidence that he did.

The site of Gamla is of interest for other reasons. Past posts on its synagogue are here, here, and here. Posts dealing with Josephus' account of the fall of Gamla during the Great Revolt are here and here. And other posts involving Gamla are here, here, here, here, and here.

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

Scripta Classica Israelica

THE AWOL BLOG: Open Access Journal: Scripta Classica Israelica. I have mentioned this journal before, but this AWOL post will give you the link to the whole thing.

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

Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Interpreting and Living God's Law at Qumran.Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT). Introduction, Text, Translation and Interpretative Essays by Jonathan Ben-Dov, John J. Collins, Lutz Doering, Jörg Frey, Charlotte Hempel, Reinhard G. Kratz, Noam Mizrahi, Vered Noam, Eibert Tigchelaar. 2020. XI, 249 pages. Scripta Antiquitatis Posterioris ad Ethicam REligionemque pertinentia XXXVII. 79,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-155305-9.

Published in English.
The text Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT), is one of the most interesting texts among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered near the settlement of Khirbet Qumran and its vicinity in the middle of the twentieth century and by now published in full. It is a writing in the form of a letter by an unknown author to an equally unknown addressee, written in second person singular and plural. This document is the earliest evidence of a proper interpretation of the Jewish Torah, the so-called Halakhah, from pre-Christian, Hellenistic times as it later became customary and widely attested in rabbinical Judaism. This volume – after a short introduction on the findings at the Dead Sea in general and the text Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah in particular – provides a new edition and translation as well as several contributions from renowned scholars on the manuscripts, the language and content plus literary and historical contexts of this writing.

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Versnel, Coping With the Gods (pbk)

NOW IN PAPERBACK FROM BRILL:

Coping With the Gods

Wayward Readings in Greek Theology

Series: Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, Volume: 173
Author: Henk Versnel

Inspired by a critical reconsideration of current monolithic approaches to the study of Greek religion, this book argues that ancient Greeks displayed a disquieting capacity to validate two (or more) dissonant, if not contradictory, representations of the divine world in a complementary rather than mutually exclusive manner. From this perspective the six chapters explore problems inherent in: order vs. variety/chaos in polytheism, arbitrariness vs. justice in theodicy, the peaceful co-existence of mono- and polytheistic theologies, human traits in divine imagery, divine omnipotence vs. limitation of power, and ruler cult. Based on an intimate knowledge of ancient realia and literary testimonia the book stands out for its extensive application of relevant perceptions drawn from cultural anthropology, theology, cognitive science, psychology, and linguistics.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €52.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-21090-5
Publication Date: 10 May 2011

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-20490-4
Publication Date: 10 May 2011

Paperback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43648-0
Publication Date: 27 Aug 2020

I didn't note this book when it was first published in 2011, so now is a good time.

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Bibliography for Dreams of Antiquity (2.0)

THE AWOL BLOG: Dreams of Antiquity 2.0: Bibliographische Online-Datenbank zu Träumen und Visionen in der Antike. Among many other things, this database includes lots of bibliography on dreams and ancient Judaism.

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

Notes on a Silk Road SBL session

RELIGION PROF: Silk Road at #AARSBL19 (James McGrath).

I took notes in the Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity session focused on the Silk Road. I apologize for not sharing them sooner, but once again hope they may come at a time when other academics are dismayed at so many conferences being cancelled or shifted to online, that you may take some small comfort from being afforded a glimpse of a session you perhaps missed in San Diego.

Cross-file under Manichean Watch (Manichaean Watch).

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

Armstrong & Mcosker, Philodemus, On Anger

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Philodemus, On Anger
David Armstrong, Michael Mcosker

ISBN 9781628372694
Status Available
Price: $44.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date September 2020
Pages 320

The first English translation of On Anger

This latest volume in the Writings from the Greco-Roman World series provides a translation of a newly edited Greek text of Philodemus’s On Anger, now supplemented with the help of multispectral imaging. As our sole evidence for the Epicurean view of what constitutes natural and praiseworthy anger as distinguished from unnatural pleasure in vengeance and cruelty for their own sake, this text is crucial to the study of ancient thought about the emotions. Its critique of contemporary Stoic and Peripatetic theories of anger offers crucial new information for the history of philosophy in the last two centuries BCE. The introduction and commentary also make use of newly revised texts and readings from several other ancient treatises on anger.

Features

• An apparatus representing work on the text since the papyrus was opened in 1805
  
• A full explication of the Epicurean theory of natural anger as an emotion without pleasure
  
• One of the Herculaneum papyri that survived the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE

The work of Philodemus is not of direct interest to PaleoJudaica. But I note it because it was recovered from the carbonized Herculaneum library, which was incinerated during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The text was recovered with the help of multispectral-imaging.

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