Roberta Berardi, Nicoletta Bruno, Luisa Fizzarotti, On the track of the books: scribes, libraries and textual transmission. Beiträge Zur Altertumskunde, 375. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2019. Pp. viii, 359. ISBN 9783110622881 $114.99.For PaleoJudaica posts on ancient libraries, start here and follow the links.Review by
Alison John, All Souls College, Oxford. alison.john@all-souls.ox.ac.uk
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Goldingay, John. The Book of Lamentations. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2022. 228 pp. Hb; $40.00 Link to EerdmansI found this intriguing:
Following the commentary on each poem, he offers a brief “Readers Response.” What would someone worshiping in Bethel or Mizpah think about the poem? These are short imaginary responses are creative and moving. They are not the sort of thing one usually finds an accidental commentary. This is not a basic pastoral application, nor is it an attempt to create canonical connections with the New Testament is is all the rage in some commentary series. Goldingay invites us into the post-exilic world and asks us to think and feel along with the original worshipers who used these poems to cope with the catastrophe in which they were currently living.I'm not sure what "an accidental commentary" is. Perhaps a a derailed autocorrect for "in a critical commentary?" But in any case, I like the idea of the imaginary ancient reader's response.
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Twenty Roman graves have been located so far and the team expect to unearth 80 in total within the 50-square-meter cemetery. Only two graves have been opened, one contained skeletal remains and some clay jars.Because of the shape of the graves and the relatively ornate decorations, they likely belonged to "senior ranking people" in the Roman empire during the first century, said Jamal Abu Rida, director-general of Gaza's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
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Northern Israel worshipped El/YHWH in the form of a golden bull. The Bible mocks this graven representation of the divinity by describing it as a calf.It's clear that the Northern Israelites used the Bull as some kind of divine symbol. What the symbol represented is less clear. Frank Cross thought that it was iconographic. I don't have an opinion myself.
For more on the Bull hymn in Papyrus Amherst 63, see here. And for other posts on that remarkable papyrus, see here and links. It is written in Aramaic and Canaanite, but in Demotic script.
For other PaleoJudaica posts on the Golden Calf tradition, its reception, and other metal bulls/calves in antiquity and more recently, see here and here and follow the links.
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Some PaleoJudaica posts on cedar of Lebanon are here, here, here, and here.
Cross-file under Material Culture.
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... To describe the process that takes place in the late priestly texts of the Pentateuch, other concepts than the concept of “theocracy” may be more accurate and may therefore serve us better. Borrowing a concept already used in other areas of religious studies, one could speak here of a process of “priestification,” in which the priestly revisions of the Pentateuch—and possibly of other collections of scriptures as well—somehow go hand in hand with a conception conferring increased agency to the priests. ...Background here and links.
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Adaptation to the Story World: a Response to Nathan MacDonald (Liane Feldman)
... In the end it makes little difference to me if Leviticus 8, 9, and 10 were written by one or ten authors, as long as we recognize the interdependence of ritual and narrative in these texts and take seriously the idea that textualized ritual must react to its narrative environment.
A Pair of Pyromaniacs (Meike J. Röhrig)
The first invitation for this workshop settled both the topic: “theocracy”, and the text under discussion: Lev 10 with an emphasis on the first part of the chapter, the death of Nadab and Abihu. This suggests that there is a connection between Nadab’s and Abihu’s mishap with the incense offering and a concept or concepts of theocracy.
Background here.
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Cyril and Methodius invented the Slavonic alphabet in the ninth century, thus not only converting the Slavs, but also preserving much ancient literature that otherwise would have been lost. That literature includes some intriguing Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
Today the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and (sometimes) the Lutheran Church commemorate them. Other traditions do so on 24 May or 5 July. Follow the links for details.
Oh yes, and happy belated Valentine's Day. Some relevant PaleoJudaica posts are here, here, here, here, and here.
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Frank L. Holt, When money talks: a history of coins and numismatics. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. Pp. 272. ISBN 9780197517659 £25.99.Also, I like the sound of "cognitive numismatics," even though I'm not sure what it means.Review by
David Hendin, American Numismatic Society. dhendin@numismatics.org... Some readers will say that Holt’s tour de force is his anecdotal history of coins and money. However, this reader sees his most valuable contribution to be his discussion of the evolution of “Renaissance antiquarianism” (which was generally recognized as a symbol of connoisseurs and culture) to the coin collector/dealer of today, who has been portrayed by some as a pillager of cultural heritage. ...
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Ecclesiastes 5-12The entry for his commentary on Ecclessiastes 1-5 is here.A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
Stuart Weeks (Author)
Hardback
$100.00$90.00Ebook (PDF)
$90.00$72.00Product details
Published Dec 16 2021
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 752
ISBN 9780567666543
Imprint T&T Clarkv Dimensions 9 x 5 inches
Series International Critical Commentary
Publisher Bloomsbury PublishingDescription
This volume completes Stuart Weeks' commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes, also known as Qoheleth. Weeks draws together all the relevant tools for understanding this complex wisdom book in the Old Testament. As is the hallmark of the ICC no stone is left unturned as Weeks considers the full range of linguistic, textual, archaeological, literary and theological interpretations of the text.
Week incorporates recent interpretation alongside the history of research to examine the text of Ecclesiastes 6-12 in the closest possible, offering a reading of what may have be the original writer's linguistic and theological intent.
The volume is a companion to Weeks' previous commentary on chapters 1-5 of Ecclesiastes, which also contains his exhaustive bibliography of works relevant to the study of the text.
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Religious Identities in Antiquity and the Early Middle AgesWalking Together & Parting Ways
Series: Studies on the Children of Abraham, Volume: 9
Volume Editors: Ilkka Lindstedt, Nina Nikki, and Riikka Tuori
Religious Identities in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages contains eight thought-provoking articles that discuss the formation of antique and early medieval religious identities and ideas in rabbinic Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, and Greco-Roman culture. The articles question the artificial disciplinary and conceptual boundaries between traditions. Instead, they stress their shared nature. The collection is a result of discussions at the international symposium “Ideas and Identities in Late Antiquity: Jews, Christians, and Muslims” at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies on March 12–13, 2018.
Copyright Year: 2022
Prices from (excl. VAT): €145.00 / $175.00
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-47116-0
Publication Date: 08 Nov 2021Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-47115-3
Publication Date: 11 Nov 2021
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The volume inculdes text-related articles on Persepolis, late Babylonia, and Idumea.
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