Ast et al. (eds.) Observing the Scribe at Work (Peeters)

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS:

Observing the Scribe at Work
Scribal Practice in the Ancient World

SERIES:
Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 301

EDITORS:
Ast R., Choat M., Cromwell J., Lougovaya J., Yuen-Collingridge R.

SUMMARY:
Scribes are paradoxically both central and invisible in most societies before the typographic revolution of the 15th century, witnessed by every manuscript, but often elusive as historical figures. The act of writing is a quotidian and vernacular practice as well as a literary one, and must be observed not only in the outputs of literary copyists or reports of their activities, but in the documents of everyday life. This volume collects contributions on scribal practice as it features on diverse media (including papyri, tablets, and inscriptions) in a range of ancient societies, from the Ancient Near East and Dynastic Egypt through the Graeco-Roman world to Byzantium. These discussions of the role and place of scribes and scribal activity in pre-typographic cultures both contribute to a better understanding of one of the key drivers of these cultures, and illuminate the transmission of knowledge and traditions within and between them.

YEAR: 2021
ISBN: 9789042942868
E-ISBN: 9789042942875
PAGES: XIV-346 p.
PRICE: 110 euro

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Labovitz, Massekhet Mo'ed Qatan (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Gail Labovitz. Massekhet Mo'ed Qatan. Volume II/10. [Mo'ed Quatan. Text, Übersetzung und Kommentar.] 2021. XIII, 532 pages. 149,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-158282-0.

Published in English.
Tractate Mo'ed Qatan, in addition to discussing the mid-festivals of Passover and Sukkot, is the primary source on rabbinic mourning laws and rituals. In her commentary Gail Labovitz thus considers such questions as: when considering whether particular forms of labour should or should not take place during the mid-festival or when one is in mourning, which gender's labour is considered significant, which is overlooked or taken for granted? How are practices that are meant to engender certain emotional states – joy in the festival, grief over a death – impacted by gender? How does gender guide who is mourned, and in what ways? She also explores women's unusually conspicuous and public role in funerals and mourning procedures as lamenters. Although Mo'ed Qatan is a short tractate, women, female characters both biblical and rabbinic, and issues of gender feature prominently throughout.

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Amos's earthquake found in Jerusalem?

SEISMIC ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeologists unearth 1st Jerusalem evidence of quake from Bible’s Book of Amos. 8th century BCE tremblors recorded by biblical prophet get new proof from current excavations in the City of David; scholars hope it will help them crack the city’s timeline (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

For more on the archaeology of Amos' earthquake, see here and here.

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LMLK seal impression sifted from Temple Mount

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: FIND AND FINDER OF THE MONTH: ‘LMLK’ SEAL IMPRESSION, FOUND BY ELIYA DANIELI. The project found another such clay seal impression (bulla) ten years ago.

For PaleoJudaica posts on other LMLK bullae, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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Recruitment brochures for the DSS community?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Travel Brochures (Catherine Bonesho).

In my upper-division undergraduate course, “Early Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls” I wanted to emphasize the Dead Sea Scrolls’ larger Second Temple context, their diverse traditions, and the prerogatives of the Dead Sea Scroll community. As part of this endeavor, I created an assignment called the “Dead Sea Scrolls Brochure” that asked students to compose a sort of imaginary travel brochure meant to recruit people to join the community. ...

Cross-file under Pedagogy.

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Schiffman & Gross, The Temple Scroll (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Temple Scroll

11Q19, 11Q20, 11Q21, 4Q524, 5Q21 with 4Q365a

Series: Dead Sea Scrolls Editions, Volume: 1

Authors: Lawrence H. Schiffman and Andrew Gross

In this volume, Schiffman and Gross present a new edition of all of the manuscript evidence for the Temple Scroll from Qumran. It includes innumerable new readings and restorations of all of the manuscripts as well as a detailed critical apparatus comparing the manuscripts of the Temple Scroll as well as Qumran biblical manuscripts and the ancient versions. Each manuscript is provided with a new translation, and a commentary is presented for the main text. Also included are a general introduction, bibliography of published works on the text, catalog of photographic evidence, and concordance including all vocables in all the manuscripts and their restorations. This work promises to move research on the Temple Scroll to a new level.

Copyright Year: 2021

Prices from (excl. VAT): €189.00 / $227.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45950-2
Publication Date: 15 Jul 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43737-1
Publication Date: 18 Aug 2021

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Cole, Isaiah's Servant in Paul (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Daniel M. I. Cole. Isaiah's Servant in Paul. The Hermeneutics and Ethics of Paul's Use of Isaiah 49–54. 2021. XII, 361 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 553. 89,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-159340-6.

Published in English.
Several early Christians identify Isaiah's Servant of the Lord as Jesus; yet Paul appears to connect the Servant with himself. In this study, Daniel Cole examines the hermeneutical warrants and ethical implications of Paul's use of texts within Isa. 49–54, arguing that this section constitutes a coherent prophetic narrative in which God saves a new people from sin by the Servant's death and subsequent work in his followers, the servants. While several Second Temple works interpret elements of this prophecy with differing conceptions of history, Paul sees Isaiah's Servant fulfilled in Jesus' death and subsequent spiritual union with the apostle. The author thus demonstrates that the coherent salvation history of the Servant prophecy provides both the interpretive framework for Paul's reading of Isaiah and the relational definitions for the imperatives that Paul places on himself and others.

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Athas et al. (eds.), Theodicy and Hope in the Book of the Twelve (T&T Clark)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY (T&T CLARK):

Theodicy and Hope in the Book of the Twelve

George Athas (Anthology Editor), Beth M. Stovell (Anthology Editor), Daniel Timmer (Anthology Editor),

Hardback
$115.00 $103.50

Ebook (PDF)
$103.50 $82.80

Product details

Published Jul 01 2021
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 304
ISBN 9780567695352
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

This volume explores the themes of theodicy and hope in both individual portions of the Twelve (books and sub-sections) and in the Book of the Twelve as a whole, as the contributors use a diversity of approaches to the text(s) with a particular interest in synchronic perspectives. While these essays regularly engage the mostly redactional scholarship surrounding the Book of Twelve, there is also an examination of various forms of literary analysis of final text forms, and engagement in descriptions of the thematic and theological perspectives of the individual books and of the collection as a whole.

The synchronic work in these essays is thus in regular conversation with diachronic research, and as a general rule they take various conclusions of redactional research as a point of departure. The specific themes, theodicy and hope, are key ideas that have provided the opportunity for contributors to explore individual books or sub-sections within the Twelve, and the overarching development (in both historical and literary terms) and deployment of these themes in the collection.

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Festive revision in Deuteronomy?

PROF. REINHARD G. KRATZ: Deuteronomy’s Festival Calendar (TheTorah.com).

The festival calendar in Deuteronomy 16 began as a short revision of the calendar in Exodus 23. As it was expanded to clarify and adjust its details, it merged its springtime Matzot festival with the Pesach offering, which was originally connected to the consecration of firstborn animals.

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The Cyril and Methodius pilgrimage route

OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC WATCH: Follow Cyril and Methodius on Europe’s new cultural route. The route was certified by the Council of Europe before the summer (The Slovak Spectator).

Cyril and Methodius invented the Slavonic alphabet in the ninth century, thus not only converting the Slavs, but also translating much ancient literature, some of which otherwise would have been lost. That literature includes some intriguing Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.

In various countries and churches their saint's day is celebrated annually on three different dates. For more on them, their day, and Old Church Slavonic literature, start here and follow the many links.

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Which is the real Bethsaida?

ARCHAEOLOGY: Has the ‘Lost City’ of the Gospels Finally Been Found? Two sites are competing for the title of the real Bethsaida. Only one can be right, one would think, and el-Araj does have a layer from the time of Jesus and the apostles – but there’s a twist to this Galilean tale (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

THe two contenders for the first-century site of Bethsaida are el-Araj and e-Tell. This article doesn't resolve the debate, but it does give you an idea of what has been going on at both sites. Background here and links.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 185

VIVIENDO PARA SU GLORIA: Biblical Carnival 185 (July 2021).

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New book on the Herods

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Herod, His Progeny, and the Cutting Edge of Power

Typically, these Herodian rulers have been treated as part of the “background” of the New Testament. From the point of view of power, however, they were in the foreground. Unless their policies are taken into account, many aspects of Judaism and Christianity will not be appreciated.

See Also: The Herods. Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021).

By Bruce Chilton
Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Philosophy and Religion
Bard College
Annandale, New York
August 2021

This essay gives a nice capsule history of the Herodian rulers.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Herod the Great, see here and links, here, and here. For a coin of Herod Archelaus reused in a creative context, see here. For Herod Antipas, see here and links. For Herod Agrippa I, see here and links. For Agrippa II, see see here and links. For the latter's influential sister, Julia Berenice (Berenike), see here and links. For another overview of the Herods, see here.

Cross-file under New Book.

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Postdoc on early Jewish and Christian Magic at University of Venice

SEEN ON FACEBOOK: Job Announcement: Junior Researcher on the ERC Project, Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions in Comparison and Contact

A 1-to-3-year position at Ca' Foscari University of Venice on the ERC funded project, Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions in Comparison and Contact (EJCM - 851466 [project duration: 2020–2015]). Upon approval, the fellowship can be renewed for a total of 36 months. The research fellow will focus on notions of licit and illicit ritual in late antique Jewish and Christian magical traditions. ...

The application deadline is noon on 3 September 2021.

The Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions (EJCM) website is at the link.

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Addey, Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Edited By Crystal Addey
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£96.00

eBook
£29.59

ISBN 9781138212992
Published July 16, 2021 by Routledge
320 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

Addressing the close connections between ancient divination and knowledge, this volume offers an interlinked and detailed set of case studies which examine the epistemic value and significance of divination in ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

Focusing on diverse types of divination, including oracles, astrology, and the reading of omens and signs in the entrails of sacrificial animals, chance utterances and other earthly and celestial phenomena, this volume reveals that divination was conceived of as a significant path to the attainment of insight and understanding by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It also explores the connections between divination and other branches of knowledge in Greco-Roman antiquity, such as medicine and ethnographic discourse. Drawing on anthropological studies of contemporary divination and exploring a wide range of ancient philosophical, historical, technical and literary evidence, chapters focus on the interconnections and close relationship between divine and human modes of knowledge, in relation to nuanced and subtle formulations of the blending of divine, cosmic and human agency; philosophical approaches towards and uses of divination (particularly within Platonism), including links between divination and time, ethics, and cosmology; and the relationship between divination and cultural discourses focusing on gender. The volume aims to catalyse new questions and approaches relating to these under-investigated areas of ancient Greek and Roman life. which have significant implications for the ways in which we understand and assess ancient Greek and Roman conceptions of epistemic value and variant ways of knowing, ancient philosophy and intellectual culture, lived, daily experience in the ancient world, and religious and ritual traditions.

Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity will be of particular relevance to researchers and students in classics, ancient history, ancient philosophy, religious studies and anthropology who are working on divination, lived religion and intellectual culture, but will also appeal to general readers who are interested in the widespread practice and significance of divination in the ancient world.

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Battle of Cannae anniversary

PUNIC WATCH: On 2 August 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca led the Carthaginian army to a major victory over the Romans at the Battle of Cannae in southeast Italy. PaleoJudaica posts on the battle are collected here.

Here is something I have been saving up for today: The Death Of Lucius Aemilius Paullus At The Battle Of Cannae, Painted By John Trumbull (c. 1756–1843) (thehistorianshut). (HT Rogue Classicism).

Hannibal's victory, however, was not decisive. Around 19 October 202 BCE the young Roman general Scipio Africanus took the war to Carthage and defeated Hannibal and his Carthaginian forces in the Battle of Zama. Some of the soliders in Scripio's army were among the disgraced survivors of Cannae. They had something to prove. Carthage surrendered. The Second Punic War was over.

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Munnich & Morlet (eds.), Les études philoniennes (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Les études philoniennes

Regards sur cinquante ans de recherche (1967-2017)

Series: Studies in Philo of Alexandria, Volume: 13

Volume Editors: Olivier Munnich and Sébastien Morlet

This volume gathers the proceedings of the Paris conference in Philonic studies (2017), consisting of 23 papers by contributors from 8 countries. Fifty years after the Lyon conference, it aimed at taking a retrospective look at the intellectual contexts and the academic fields in which Philonic studies have penetrated, as well as the ways in which they evolved.
The work of the Alexandrian became of major importance in the history of philosophy. It has been studied as a source of cultured Christianity, in connection with Second Temple Judaism and the Alexandrian Jewish community, but also in the context of research on rabbinic Judaism, New Testament and philosophy of the imperial era.

Ce volume rassemble les actes du colloque de Paris (2017), qui réunit 23 intervenants de 8 nationalités. Cinquante ans après le colloque de Lyon, il s’agissait de réfléchir aux milieux intellectuels et aux disciplines universitaires dans lesquels les études philoniennes avaient pénétré le monde de la recherche, les bases sur lesquelles elles avaient évolué.
L’œuvre de l’Alexandrin a pris une importance majeure dans l’histoire de la philosophie ; elle a été explorée comme source du christianisme lettré, en lien avec le judaïsme de l’Époque du Second Temple et la communauté juive d’Alexandrie, mais aussi dans le cadre des études sur le judaïsme rabbinique, dans le développement des études sur le Nouveau Testament et sur la philosophie de l’époque impériale. See Less

Copyright Year: 2021

Prices from (excl. VAT): €154.00 / $185.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46272-4
Publication Date: 19 Jul 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46273-1
Publication Date: 22 Jul 2021

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Kim, The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas
The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition

By David W. Kim
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£96.00

eBook
£29.59

ISBN 9780367629229
Published July 2, 2021 by Routledge
312 Pages

Book Description

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the twentieth century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to relocate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore, be useful for Religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism and early Christianity.

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Open-access volume on late-antique Ostia

THE AWOL BLOG: LIFE AND DEATH IN A MULTICULTURAL HARBOUR CITY: OSTIA ANTICA FROM THE REPUBLIC THROUGH LATE ANTIQUITY (Chuck Jones). An open-access volume published by Institutum Romanum Finlandiae (Rome 2020) and edited by Arja Karivieri.

The volume gives some attention to the Jewish population in this late antique Italian port city.

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