Dever, My Nine Lives

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

My Nine Lives: Sixty Years in Israeli and Biblical Archaeology William G. Dever

ISBN 9781628372953
Status Available
Price: $35.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date December 2020

Experience a lifetime of adventure This autobiography of prominent American archaeologist William G. Dever is unabashedly his story, in which he offers candid, often brutally honest, reflections on his life and sixty-five-year career. Dever places himself in the midst of a remarkable generation of giants in archaeology in Israel during a period when the fields of biblical and Israeli archaeology were evolving. With technical expertise developed over a lifetime of working alongside four generations of Israeli and foreign excavators, he recalls their exploits and shares numerous personal stories that few others would know. His memoir concludes with a postscript on the likely future of biblical archaeology and an annotated bibliography for serious readers who wish to explore some of the scholarly literature to flesh out Dever’s narrative.

William G. Dever is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Professor Emeritus at the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona. Dever is the author of more than four hundred publications, including What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? What Archeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel (2001), Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (2003), The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: Where Archaeology and the Bible Intersect (2012), and Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah (2017).

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deSilva, Fourth Maccabees and the Promotion of the Jewish Philosophy

NEW BOOK FROM WIPF AND STOCK:

Fourth Maccabees and the Promotion of the Jewish Philosophy
Rhetoric, Intertexture, and Reception

BY David A. deSilva

Imprint: Cascade Books
Category: Biblical Studies

PAPERBACK
ISBN: 9781725270688
Pages: 268
Publication Date: 11/2/2020
Retail Price: $32.00
Web Price: $25.60

eBOOK
ISBN: 9781725270688
Format: epub
Publication Date: 11/2/2020
Retail Price: $32.00
Web Price: $25.60

About

Fourth Maccabees is a superbly crafted oration that presents a case for the Jewish way of life couched almost entirely in terms of Greek ethical ideals. Its author delights in the Torah, the Law of Moses, as the divinely given path to becoming our best selves now. In this collection of essays spanning two decades of study, David deSilva examines the formative training that produced such an author, the rhetorical crafting and effect of his work, the author’s creative use of both Jewish and Greek literary resources, and the book’s enduring message and legacy in the Christian church.

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McManigal, ... John’s Eschatological Proclamation in Matthew 3

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

A Baptism of Judgment in the Fire of the Holy Spirit
John’s Eschatological Proclamation in Matthew 3

By: Daniel W. McManigal

Published: 12-24-2020
Format: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 224
ISBN: 9780567699923
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: The Library of New Testament Studies
Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
List price: $39.95
Online price: $35.96
Save $4.00 (10%)

About A Baptism of Judgment in the Fire of the Holy Spirit

Daniel W. McManigal provides a fresh analysis of the meaning of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, and John's baptism as a prophetic sign-act. Expanding upon the sources, grammar and meaning of the Logion, analysing Old Testament and Second Temple texts, and discussing the prevalent theme of judgment in baptism, McManigal offers the first extended treatment of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in Matthew's gospel.

As a backdrop for the prevalence of judgment in baptism, McManigal locates Matthew's eschatological judgment within the broader Old Testament and apocalyptic literature of the Second Temple, drawing upon texts such as Isaiah 11 and the Isaiah Targum, Malachi 3, Daniel 7, 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra. This volume's analysis aids deeper understanding of how the themes of the Old Testament are woven throughout Matthew's narrative, capitalizing on John's role as the last of the prophets sent to Israel; McManigal focuses in particular on Matthew's foretelling the coming of the Messiah, and his call for repentance in order to prepare people for the arrival of the kingdom of God. Drawing out the unique Matthean meaning of the baptism of the “coming one,” McManigal's study offers readers a new insight into the nature of repenting and prophetic baptism, whether through water, fire or Spirit.

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Now out: Penner, Isaiah (Septuagint Commentary Series)

NEW 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 (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42723-5
Publication Date: 30 Nov 2020

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42677-1
Publication Date: 03 Dec 2020

I noted this book as forthcoming here.

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"Was Sefer Yetzirah Written by a Woman?"

FEMINISM AND RELIGION: Was Sefer Yetzirah Written by a Woman? Jill Hammer. It is quite possible that the community behind the mystical tractate Sefer Yetzirah included women.

There were women magicians in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages (see the Aramaic Babylonian incantation bowls etc.) and there was a famous late-antique female alchemist called Maria the Jewess. I would be surprised if there weren't also practicing female mystics, although I don't know offhand of decisive evidence for one. If any readers do, please drop me a note. (I touched on the question here some time ago.) Back in first-century Egypt, the mystical Therapeutae included women.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Sefer Yetzira (Sefer Yetsira, Sepher Yetsira, Sefer Yesira) see here and links (cf. here).

Cross-file under New Book: Jill Hammer Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah (Ben Yehuda Press, 2020). For more on Rabbi Dr. (and Kohenet) Jill Hammer, see here.

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Jacob and Esau: twin tension

PROF. GEORGE SAVRAN: Did Jacob and Esau Reconcile? (TheTorah.com).

Upon meeting again after twenty years, Esau approaches his brother with a buoyant spirit and a warm embrace. Jacob, however, is formal and submissive. Why doesn’t he reciprocate Esau’s overtures?

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New Coptic Museum coming in Alexandria

COPTIC WATCH: Alexandria Patriarchate to house new Coptic museum in 2021 (Al Masry Al Youm/Copts United).

[General Undersecretary of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, Abram] Emil told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Thursday the museum will include important collections of the cathedral s ancient holdings, most notably a number of historical Bibles, old books and some vessels used in church prayers.

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Did Josephus know Hebrew?

MICHAEL SATLOW THINKS HE DIDN'T KNOW HEBREW WELL: Josephus’s Knowledge of Scripture. Sounds like an interesting article.

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Rollston on forging DSS etc.

IT'S EASIER THAN YOU'D THINK: How to Fake a Fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls. And other things you wanted to ask an expert in forged biblical antiquities (INTERVIEW [with Prof. Christopher Rollston] BY DANIEL SILLIMAN, Christianity Today).

Basically what is required is a good knowledge of the ancient language, whether that’s Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, or Coptic; a very good knowledge of the script; and a really good knowledge of the medium as well. A forger has to know how a piece was produced, like the chemical composition of the ink and other technical aspects. But if someone knows the language quite well and knows the script and has access to a scanning electron microscope with extended depth-of-field determinations of the chemical composition of the patina and the inks, it’s not all that difficult.

Fortunately most people who go to the effort to learn all that don't want to make forgeries. But all it takes is one.

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Gaming die excavated near Beit El

ANCIENT ENTERTAINMENT: Game die from Second Temple period uncovered in Beit El. Another find uncovered by Civil Administration during archaeological excavations in Beit El: Game cube from Second Temple period (Arutz Sheva). Another artifact excavated in Khirbet Kfar Mor (Khirbet Kafr Murr, Khirbet Kafr Mer). It looks remarkably modern. (HT Joseph Lauer.)

Is this die one of those unspecified "complete clay objects" (cf. here) found at the site? I guess the ancient inhabitants could have sat at a decorated stone table while they drank from those clay vessels and played dice. Good times.

An ancient entertainment center containing game boards was excavated near Gedera in 2018.

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Online exhibition: Living in Ancient Judah

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Living in Ancient Judah. A new virtual exhibition from the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology (Jonathan Laden).

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

Middlemas, Lamentations: An Introduction and Study Guide

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Lamentations
An Introduction and Study Guide

By: Jill Middlemas

Published: 12-10-2020
Format: EPUB/MOBI eBook (Watermarked)
Edition: 1st
Extent: 160
ISBN: 9780567696939
Imprint: T&T Clarkv Series: T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the Old Testament
List price: $22.45
Online price: $17.96
Save $4.49 (20%)

About Lamentations

In this guide, Jill Middlemas introduces students to the Book of Lamentations by examining the book's structure and characteristics, covering the latest in biblical scholarship on Lamentations, including historical and interpretive issues, and considering a range of scholarly approaches. In particular, the guide provides students with an introduction to Hebrew poetry as it relates to Lamentations and includes insights from the field of trauma and postcolonial studies.

With suggestions of further reading at the end of each chapter, this guide will be an essential accompaniment to study of Lamentations.

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

Re-measuring Goliath?

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE AND STATURE: Biblical Goliath may not have been a giant (Owen Jarus, Live Science). This is a fun story, which Mr. Jarus explains in a clear and simple manner. A few points of interest.

The archaeologists have measured ruins in biblical Gath and revised estimates of biblical measures. A "span" is about 22 centimeters, which is about what I would have expected. But a "cubit" is now 54 centimeters, which is larger than once thought. My RSV Oxford Annotated Bible gives a span as 8.745 inches (22.2 cm) and a cubit as 17.49 inches (44.4 cm).

The new measurements in turn have an effect on the reputed size of the giant Goliath. The Hebrew of the Masoretic Text gives him a height of six cubits and a span (1 Samuel 17:4). The Greek of the Septuagint says four cubits and a span. Everybody takes the Greek reading as the more original. Giants did not lose stature in the telling.

By the previous measure, four cubits and a span would be just under 79 inches – 6'7" or about 200 cm. This is very tall indeed, even for today, but maybe just believable. But with the new measurement four cubits and a span is 238 cm or just under 94 inches (7'10"), which is considerably harder to believe.

Six cubits and a span by the new measure (346 cm or 11'4") would be much taller than any human being on record.

But wait, we're not done. It turns out that the thickness of the city wall of Gath in Goliath's time was – you guessed it – four cubits and a span. Does that mean that Goliath's reputation made him as tall as the city wall was wide? And maybe he was actually not quite so huge?

Maybe. Such things happen. It's a notable coincidence anyway.

All this, of course, depends on the accuracy of the various new measurements. They should be published soon.

UPDATE: Reader Andy Harrington reminds me that 4QSamuel^a and Josephus (J.A. 6.171) also read "four cubits and a span." I know that some manuscripts of the Septuagint read "five" or "six" for the cubits. That doesn't matter for my comments above.

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Inscribed altar to Pan in ancient church wall

GREEK EPIGRAPHY: Altar to Greek god found in wall of Byzantine church raises questions. This excavation is now focusing on figuring out how this pagan altar came to be part of the church wall and what the inscription on it means (Hannah Brown, Jerusalem Post).

I noted here the recent discovery in the Golan Heights of the Byzantine-era church built over a Pan sanctuary. This is the first I have heard of the inscribed altar.

Derelict stone buildings have typically been dismantled and the stones reused in antiquity and even more recently. Here in St. Andrews, the ruins of the cathedral were scavenged for stones after it was ransacked by John Knox and his friends. The stones are scattered around the town in other stone buildings.

Cathedral of St. Andrews
By e6La3BaNo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12350992

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Philistine craft beer?

WE NEED A REASON? Why Archaeologists Are Brewing Ancient Beers. Scientists are partnering with brewers to taste test ancient recipes and sip a long-lost past (Sara Toth Stub, Atlas Obscura). Resurrecting ancient Philistine, Egyptian, and Phrygian beer.

For many past posts on ancient beer and modern efforts to recreate it, see here and links.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 177

THE LIBRARY MUSINGS: Biblical Studies Carnival 177 (Bobby Howell).

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Ross's LXX research

WILLIAM ROSS is keeping us up to date on his own Septuagint research:

MY (ONLINE) 2020 CONFERENCE ACTIVITY

WHAT IS THE SEPTUAGINT? A TWO-PART INTERVIEW (WITH ME)
For notice of his interviews with other Septuagint scholars, see here and links.

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Woolstenhulme, The Matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

The Matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah

By: Katie J. Woolstenhulme

Published: 12-10-2020
Format: EPUB/MOBI eBook (Watermarked)
Edition: 1st
Extent: 240
ISBN: 9780567695765
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: The Library of Second Temple Studies
List price: $103.50
Online price: $82.80
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About The Matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah

Katie J. Woolstenhulme considers the pertinent questions: Who were 'the matriarchs', and what did the rabbis think about them? Whilst scholarship on the role of women in the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism has increased, the authoritative group of women known as 'the matriarchs' has been neglected. This volume consequently focuses on the role and status of the biblical matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah, the fifth century CE rabbinic commentary on Genesis.

Woolstenhulme begins by discussing the nature of midrash and introducing Genesis Rabbah; before exploring the term 'the matriarchs' and its development through early exegetical literature, culminating in the emergence of two definitions of the term in Genesis Rabbah – 'the matriarchs' as the legitimate wives of Israel's patriarchs, and 'the matriarchs' as a reference to Jacob's four wives, who bore Israel's tribal ancestors. She then moves to discuss 'the matriarchal cycle' in Genesis Rabbah with its three stages of barrenness; motherhood; and succession. Finally, Woolstenhulme considers Genesis Rabbah's portrayal of the matriarchs as representatives of the female sex, exploring positive and negative rabbinic attitudes towards women with a focus on piety, prayer, praise, beauty and sexuality, and the matriarchs' exemplification of stereotypical, negative female traits. This volume concludes that for the ancient rabbis, the matriarchs were the historical mothers of Israel, bearing covenant sons, but also the present mothers of Israel, continuing to influence Jewish identity.

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Havukainen, The Quest for the Memory of Jesus

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS:

The Quest for the Memory of Jesus: a Viable Path or a Dead End?

SERIES:
Contributions to Biblical Exegesis & Theology, 99

AUTHOR:
Havukainen T.

YEAR: 2020
ISBN: 9789042941250
E-ISBN: 9789042941267
PAGES: X-336 p.
PRICE: 67 euro

SUMMARY:
This study is focused on the active international field of study in which various theories of memory (e.g. social/collective memory and individual memory) and ancient media studies (e.g. study of oral tradition and history) are applied to historical Jesus research. The main purpose of the monograph is to study whether the memory approach constitutes a coherent methodological school of thought. The dissertation discusses in what ways the memory approach distinguishes itself from earlier research and whether one can speak of a new beginning in historical Jesus research. A central focus of the study is the research-historical discussion on the nature and processes of the transmission of the Jesus traditions in early Christianity, which is a significant research problem for both earlier historical Jesus research and the memory approach.

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Beuken, From Servant of YHWH to Being Considerate of the Wretched

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS:

From Servant of YHWH to Being Considerate of the Wretched
The Figure David in the Reading Perspective of Psalms 35-41 MT

SERIES:
Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 305

AUTHOR:
Beuken W.A.M.

YEAR: 2020
ISBN: 9789042941144
E-ISBN: 9789042941151
PAGES: XIV-173 p.
PRICE: 69 euro

SUMMARY:
This study attempts an investigation of Psalms 35–41 in the Masoretic tradition from two viewpoints and in the wake of current research on the Psalter. Firstly, the common opinion that they form a sub-unit of their own within the structure of the first ‘book’ of the Psalter (Psalms 3–41) is verified on the basis of their concatenation and pragmatics. The deepened insight leads to the conclusion that the bundle consists of two clusters, Psalms 35–37 and Psalms 38–41, each of which deals with the question of how to understand God’s tolerance towards the wicked, and how readers, following in the psalmist’s footsteps, might live on with that knowledge. The two clusters also provide evidence of an advancing argument in two parallel moves that are covered by the book’s main title: ‘From Servant of YHWH to Being Considerate of the Wretched’. Secondly, the Davidisation of the psalmist throughout the whole bundle is examined, not insofar as it is limited to explicit references to the historical David (especially in psalm headings), but also by feasible, lexical (Hebrew) analogies with the vita David in 1-2 Samuel (with 1 Kings 2). In this way, intertextuality is envisaged as a literary process that is initiated by the author and can be continued by well-informed readers. The monograph’s subtitle renders this as ‘The Figure David in the Reading Perspective of Psalms 35–41 MT’.

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Where does Jacob leave home from?

DR. DAVID BEN-GAD HACOHEN: Where Do Isaac and Rebecca Live When Jacob Leaves Home? (TheTorah.com).

Isaac and Rebecca live in Beersheba (Gen 26:23), Beer-lahai-roi (Gen 25:11) and Kiryat-arba (Gen 35:27). When Jacob sets off to Laban’s house, where is he leaving from?

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Beyond Canon: Early Christianity and the Ethiopic Textual Tradition (ed. Gebreananaye, Watson, Williams)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Beyond Canon
Early Christianity and the Ethiopic Textual Tradition

Editor(s): Meron Gebreananaye, Francis Watson, Logan Williams

Published: 12-24-2020
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 192
ISBN: 9780567695857
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: The Library of New Testament Studies
Volume: 643
Illustrations: 4 bw illus
Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
List price: $115.00
Online price: $103.50v Save $11.50 (10%)

About Beyond Canon

This book seeks to highlight the significance of a group of five texts excluded from the standard Christian Bible and preserved only in Ge'ez, the classical language of Ethiopia. These texts are crucial for modern scholars due to their significance for a wide range of early readers, as extant fragments of other early translations confirm in most cases; yet they are also noted for their eventual marginalization and abandonment as a more restrictive understanding of the biblical canon prevailed – everywhere except in Ethiopia, with its distinctive Christian tradition in which the concept of a “closed canon” is alien.

In focusing upon 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the Ascension of Isaiah, the Epistula Apostolorum, and the Apocalypse of Peter, the contributors to this volume group them together as representatives of a time in early Christian history when sacred texts were not limited by a sharply defined canonical boundary. In doing so, this book also highlights the unique and under-appreciated contribution of the Ethiopic Christian Tradition to the study of early Christianity.

Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch and Christian Apocrypha Watch.

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Hempel, The Community Rules from Qumran. A Commentary

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Charlotte Hempel. The Community Rules from Qumran. A Commentary. 2020. XXV, 346 pages. Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 183. 144,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-157026-1.

Published in English.
In this volume, Charlotte Hempel offers the first comprehensive commentary on all twelve ancient manuscripts of the Rules of the Community, works which contain the most important descriptions of the organisation and values ascribed to the movement associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls. The best preserved copy of this work (1QS) was one of the first scrolls to be published and has long dominated the scholarly assessment of the Rules. The approach adopted in this commentary is to capture the distinctive nature of each of the manuscripts based on a synoptic translation that presents all the manuscripts at a glance. Textual notes and Commentary deal with the picture derived from all preserved manuscripts. The publication of the Cave 4 manuscripts in 1998 can be likened to a volcanic eruption that challenged prevalent notions of the Community Rules that were founded on the quasi-archetypal status of the Cave 1 copy published in 1951. Since then the smoke has lifted and, as the pieces have begun to settle, we see green shoots emerging in the scholarly debate.. This commentary embraces the post-volcanic landscape of the Community Rules, which is carefully sifted for clues to establish a fresh reading of the material in conversation with the latest research on the Scrolls. The evidence suggests that some of the practices described as the beating heart of the movement's organization reflect the aspirations of a privileged sub-elite from the late Second Temple Period.

For another recent book by this author on the same texts, see here.

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Oerter & Vitkova (eds.), Coptica, Gnostica und Mandaica

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Coptica, Gnostica und Mandaica
Coptica, Gnostica, and Mandaica: Language, Literature, and Art as Media for Interreligious Encounters
Sprache, Literatur und Kunst als Medien interreligiöser Begegnung(en)

Series: Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 185

Edited by: Wolf B. Oerter and Zuzana Vitkova
De Gruyter | 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619904

OVERVIEW

The book presents the proceedings of the conference Coptica - Gnostica - Mandaica III held in Prague 2017. The volume consists of 14 articles on the specific themes of Coptic, Gnostic, early Christian, Manichean and Mandean literature as well as on Coptic language and iconography. Most of the articles are devoted to the 'meetings' of different kinds, including Pagan, Christian, Jewish, and Gnostic myths and translators.

FORMATS

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-11-061812-9
Published: 06 Jul 2020

PDF
ISBN: 978-3-11-061990-4
Published: 06 Jul 2020

EPUB
ISBN: 978-3-11-061912-6
Published: 06 Jul 2020

The essays are in German and English. Cross-file under Coptic Watch and Mandean (Madaean) Watch.

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The names of the Magi

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The names of the Magi: A historical-religious investigation. Notice of a New Book: Panaino, Antonio. 2020. I nomi dei magi evangelici. Un’indagine storico-religiosa. Con contributi di Andrea Gariboldi, Jeffrey Kotyk, Paolo Ognibene e Alessia Zubani. Milano: Mimesis.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Matthew's Magi etc., see here and links. Cross-file under 'Tis the Season.

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Rachel's barrenness and bride-price

DR. KRISTINE HENRIKSEN GARROWAY: Bride-Price: The Story of Jacob’s Marriage to Rachel and Leah (TheTorah.com).

To marry a woman, a man had to first pay her father a מֹהַר (mohar), “bride-price.” Although Laban allows Jacob to marry Rachel before working off his debt, she only has her first child at the end of the seven-year period.

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Krasovec, The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names

RECENT BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names

By: Joze Krasovec

Published: 05-30-2019
Format: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 176
ISBN: 9780567688927
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: $27.96
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About The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names

In the transmission we encounter various transformations of biblical proper names. The basic phonetic relationship between Semitic languages on the one hand and non-Semitic languages, like Greek and Latin, on the other hand, is so complex that it was hardly possible to establish a unified tradition in writing biblical proper names within the Greek and Latin cultures. Since the Greek and Latin alphabets are inadequate for transliteration of Semitic languages, authors of Greek and Latin Bibles were utter grammatical and cultural innovators. In Greek and Latin Bibles we note an almost embarrassing number of phonetic variants of proper names. A survey of ancient Greek and Latin Bible translations allows one to trace the boundary between the phonetic transliterations that are justified within Semitic, Greek, and Latin linguistic rules, and those forms that transgress linguistic rules.

The forms of biblical proper names are much more stable and consistent in the Hebrew Bible than in Greek, Latin and other ancient Bible translations. The inexhaustible wealth of variant pronunciations of the same proper names in Greek and Latin translations indicate that Greek and Latin translators and copyists were in general not fluent in Hebrew and did therefore not have sufficient support in a living Hebrew phonetic context. This state affects personal names of rare use to a far greater extent than the geographical names, whose forms are expressed in the oral tradition by a larger circle of the population.

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