Ancient audible animals

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: When ‘Dumb’ Beasts Raise Their Voices: Speaking Animals in Ancient Graeco-Roman and Near Eastern Literature (Hedwig Schmalzgruber).

Among many other talking animals, the serpent of the Garden and Balaam's donkey make appearances.

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James, An Invitation to Biblical Poetry (OUP)

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

An Invitation to Biblical Poetry

Elaine T. James

Essentials of Biblical Studies

• Foregrounds voice and addresses as principal dimensions of biblical poetry
• Offers a sensitive and evocative account of the aesthetics of biblical poems
• Includes both formal analysis and historical contextualization

£16.99
Paperback
Published: 28 March 2022
216 Pages
210x140mm
ISBN: 9780190664930

Description

An Invitation to Biblical Poetry is an accessibly written introduction to biblical poetry that emphasizes the aesthetic dimensions of poems and their openness to varieties of context. It demonstrates the irreducible complexity of poetry as a verbal art and considers the intellectual work poems accomplish as they offer aesthetic experiences to people who read or hear them. Chapters walk the reader through some of the diverse ways biblical poems are organized through techniques of voicing, lineation, and form, and describe how the poems' figures are both culturally and historically bound and always dependent on later reception. The discussions consider examples from different texts of the Bible, including poems inset in prose narratives, prophecies, psalms, and wisdom literature. Each chapter ends with a reading of a psalm that offers an acute example of the dimension under discussion. Students and general readers are invited to richer and deeper readings of ancient poems and the subjects, problems, and convictions that occupy their imagination.

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Passover 2022

HAPPY PASSOVER (PESACH) to all those celebrating! The festival begins this evening at sundown.

Last year's Passover post is here. It has many Passover links. Subsequent Passover-related posts are here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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Slaves or sojourners?

ONE MORE PASSOVER ESSAY AT THETORAH.COM:

Israelites in Egypt: Slaves or Sojourners? (Prof. Rabbi David Frankel).

The earliest biblical traditions describe Israel as sojourners who dwelt in the land of Egypt, and focused on YHWH bringing them up to the land of Canaan. The depiction of Israel as slaves in Egypt, whom YHWH brought out with a strong hand, only developed later.

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Happy hieroglyphic-decipherment bicentennial!

TIME TO PARTY! The BNF celebrates the decryption of hieroglyphs.

From April 12 to July 24, the Bibliothèque nationale de France invites its visitors to discover hieroglyphics. Two hundred years after the deciphering of this ancient Egyptian language, Paris celebrates the year Champollion, from his first name Jean-François, father of this dictionary of the pharaonic language to French.

For more on the Rosetta Stone, Champollion, and his decipherment of hieroglyphic Egyptian, see here, here, and here.

UPDATE (18 April): Note also the The Digital Rosetta Stone Project (AWOL).

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Where did Passover charoset come from?

PASSOVER IS COMING: Jesus, Demons and Flatulence: A Brief History of Passover Charoset. On Passover night, Jews around the world dip a bitter vegetable into a sticky paste called charoset. But why? The Bible speaks of nothing of the sort, so where does this odd tradition come from? (Elon Gilad, Haaretz).

For a different understanding of Jesus' Last Supper, see here.

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Cunningham on ancient Judean identity

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Dissertation Spotlight | Marshall Cunningham.

In other words, what it meant to be a Judean after the fall of Judah depended a great deal on which of the Judean communities you found yourself belonging to — including those in “exile,” those in the “homeland,” and those who found themselves in any number of other circumstances. This means that there is no single definition of Judean identity during this period, but rather a series of answers to the question of what it meant to be a Judean during this period.

This sounds like a useful approach. I have made some similar general observations about applying a polythetic approach to the definition of Judaism.

By the way, it would have been helpful to include the title of this dissertation in the essay.

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The Egyptians in the Passover tradition

PASSOVER-RELATED ESSAYS AT THETORAH.COM:

YHWH Battles the Egyptians with a Fiery Cloud (Dr.David Ben-Gad HaCohen)

When the Egyptians pursue Israel into the wilderness, Moses tells the Israelites to “stand by and witness the deliverance which YHWH will work for you today” (Exodus 14:13). YHWH brings panic upon the enemy, as he does in the battle of Gibeon and the war against Sisera. This is J’s story of Israel’s escape, hidden in the biblical accounts of the escape by the sea.

Punishing Egypt Measure-for-Measure (Prof.Ishay Rosen-Zvi)

The plagues and the drowning of the Egyptians were designed to showcase YHWH’s power throughout the world (Exodus 9:16). Both the Wisdom of Solomon (1st cent. C.E.) and Mekhilta (2nd cent. C.E.) develop systematic interpretations of the plagues, showing how the details were measure-for-measure punishments, they differ on the meaning of the lesson when it comes to non-Jews.

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A new Byzantine-period mosaic

DECORATIVE ART: Family out for a hike stumbles across Byzantine-era mosaic. Israel Antiquities Authority experts excavate the colorful floor, which was sent out for conservation work. The IAA plans to open the site to visitors (Israel HaYom).

The multi-colored mosaic features geometric motifs. According to IAA archaeologist Ilan Peretz, it dates from the Byzantine Era.

They found it in the Harovit forest. There is a photo at the link.

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Did the Sanhedrin meet in this hall?

HOLY LAND PHOTOS' BLOG: A Monumental Herodian (Hasmonean?) Hall in Jerusalem — Is this where the Sanhedrin Met? (Carl Rasmussen).

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Shaked et al., Aramaic Bowl Spells (vol. 2; Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Aramaic Bowl Spells

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls Volume Two

Series: Magical and Religious Literature of Late Antiquity, Volume: 10

Authors: Shaul Shaked, James Nathan Ford, and Siam Bhayro

The corpus of Aramaic magic bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia is perhaps the most important source we have for studying the everyday beliefs and practices of the Jewish, Christian, Mandaean, Manichaean, Zoroastrian and Pagan communities on the eve of the Islamic conquests. The bowls published in this volume are from the Schøyen Collection, which has over 650 texts in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Mandaic and Syriac, and forms the largest collection of its kind in the world. This volume presents editions of fifty-five Jewish Babylonian Aramaic texts, with accompanying introductions, translations, philological notes, photographs and indices. The themes covered are magical seals and signet-rings. It is the second in a multi-volume project that aims to publish the Schøyen Collection of magic bowls.

Copyright Year: 2022

Prices from (excl. VAT): €127.00 / $153.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-47171-9
Publication Date: 28 Mar 2022

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-47170-2
Publication Date: 23 Mar 2022

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the ancient Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls, start here and follow the links.

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Tibetan bowl: a circumcised Alexander at the Tree of Life?

ICONOGRAPHY: Ancient Bowl From Tibet Shows Alexander the Great – the Jewish Version. That’s not Homer: Jews on the Silk Road came up with their own ‘Alexander Romance’ in which the boy king reached Paradise, which required a certain surgical procedure (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

And there you have it. A beautiful young man with classic artistic hallmarks of the young conqueror plus a very clearly circumcised penis, among incense trees, attended by servants. If Dan and Grenet are right about the identification of the iconic man on the bowl and about its origin, then this bowl – a “unique visual representation” of Alexander’s legend in the Jewish context – is also the earliest attestation of the Alexander Romance in the Indo-Iranian world, Grenet says.

The bowl was manufactured at the time of the Sassanian (aka Neo-Persian) Empire, which ruled from the year 224 to 651 C.E, in its eastern regions, which were already dominated by the Huns called “Hephtalites” who occupied Central Asia between 457 and 565 C.E.

The earliest manuscript of the Alexander Romance does date to the third century CE, but its composition may have been much earlier. Richard Stoneman, the foremost expert on the work, thinks the original, rather pedestrian, historical version was composed before 300 BCE, within a few decades of Alexander's death. The second and then third recensions evolved over many centuries and are progressively more entertaining and outlandish.

PaleoJudaica has many posts on the Alexander Romance. Start here and follow the links. If you like entertaining ancient literature, it is worth a read:

Richard Stoneman, The Greek Alexander Romance (Penguin, 1991)

For additional PaleoJudaica posts on the historical and legendary Alexander the Great, see here and many links.

The connections between the Tibetan bowl and the Alexander Romance are indirect. The direct connections appear in the Babylonian Talmud and in the Sefer Toldot Alexandros ha-Makdoni (according to the Haaretz article - I haven't checked them). But in the Alexander Romance you can read the accounts of his visit to the Land of the Blessed, where he found the spring of immortality but failed to drink from it, in II.39, and of his visit to the oracle in the Indian city of the Sun in II.44.

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The medieval history of the Shroud of Turin

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Shroud of Turin: Anything Left to Say? The history of Christianity’s most controversial relic (Andrea Nicolotti). This essay deals with the early medieval history of the Shroud.

Note 1 warns: "This article discusses how the Shroud of Turin has been viewed, studied, and interpreted throughout history and does not present arguments for or against its authenticity."

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Shroud of Turin, some of which do deal with "arguments for or against its authenticity," start here and follow the links. The vast majority of scholarship views it as a medieval forgery.

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The Sifting Project is seeking donations

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: GIVING OUR HALF-SHEKEL.

It's that time of year for giving the traditional charity reminiscent of the half-shekel donation to the Temple. Here's a little calculation of how serious that seemingly simple donation actually was! And some ideas for how to make your own half-shekel donation meaningful.

For many posts on the valuable work of the project, run "Temple Mount Sifting Project" through the PaleoJudaica search engine. And for background on the project, see, for example, here and here.

For more on the half-shekel Temple tax, see here and links.

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Late-antique mosaic restored in Nahariya

DECORATIVE ART: Impressive Byzantine mosaic restored 30 years after its discovery, made available for the public. Mosaic part of church complex destroyed and burned in the Persian-Sassanid invasion of 614 CE (Judith Sudilovsky, Jerusalem Post).

Restoration of a spectacular mosaic floor from a Byzantine-period Christian basilica was recently completed in a residential neighborhood of Nahariya, and the site will now be open to the public some 30 years after it was first uncovered in a salvage excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

[...]

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Attia & Perrot (eds.), The Hebrew Bible Manuscripts: A Millennium (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Hebrew Bible Manuscripts: A Millennium

Series: Supplements to the Textual History of the Bible, Volume: 6

Volume Editors: Élodie Attia and Antony Perrot

In The Hebrew Bible: A Millennium, scholars from different fields and dealing with different material sources are trying to consider the Hebrew Bible as a whole. The development of new databases and other technological tools have an increasing impact on research practices. By inviting doctoral students, young researchers, and established scholars to contribute, this interdisciplinary book showcases methods and perspectives which can support future scientific collaborations in the field of the Hebrew Bible. This edited volume gathers relevant research from Dead Sea Scrolls Studies, Cairo Genizah Studies, European Genizah Studies, and from Late Medieval Biblical Manuscript Studies.

Copyright Year: 2022

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

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-49933-1
Publication Date: 22 Feb 2022

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-49872-3
Publication Date: 15 Mar 2022

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Review of Eisenberg & Ovadiah (eds.), Cornucopia (Segal Festschrift)

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Cornucopia: studies in honor of Arthur Segal.

Michael Eisenberg, Asher Ovadiah, Cornucopia: studies in honor of Arthur Segal. Archaeologica, 180. Roma: Editore G. Bretschneider, 2019. Pp. xviii, 326. ISBN 9788876893155 €80,00.

Review by
Leonardo Gregoratti, Durham University/Università di Udine. DerGrego@googlemail.com

[Authors and titles are listed below.]

The volume gathers a series of contributions to honour Arthur Segal, who spent most of his career at Haifa University teaching classical archaeology and working on Roman Judea and the Decapolis, focusing his field activity on the city of Hippos-Sussita. As often happens in this genre of publications, the eighteen contributions offered by friends and colleagues deal with different topics, from those directly continuing Segal’s research to those not related at all with his research interests.

[...]

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Wiesehöfer, ... Studien zur Geschichte der Achaimeniden (Harrassowitz)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Studies on the History of the Achaimenids. Notice of a New Book: Wiesehöfer, Josef. 2022. Iran – Zentralasien – Mittelmeer Gesammelte Schriften, Teil I: Studien zur Geschichte der Achaimeniden. (Philippika – Altertumswissenschaftliche Abhandlungen). (Ed.) Robert Rollinger & Kai Ruffing. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

Follow the link for description and TOC. The articles are in English and German. The volume includes articles of direct and indirect interest for matters PaleoJudaic.

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Hagemeyer (ed.), Jerusalem and the Coastal Plain in the Iron Age and Persian Periods (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Jerusalem and the Coastal Plain in the Iron Age and Persian Periods. New Studies on Jerusalem's Relations with the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel/Palestine (c. 1200–300 BCE). Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times IV. Edited by Felix Hagemeyer. 2022. XII, 247 pages. Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 46. 119,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-160692-2.

Published in English.
This volume contains the proceedings of an international interdisciplinary workshop held in December 2019 by the Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times at Leipzig University. The authors present a variety of studies from the fields of archaeology, history, and biblical studies that focus on the multifaceted relations between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast of Israel/Palestine in the period from c. 1200 to 300 BCE. It becomes clear that both regions were connected by a constantly changing economic, cultural, and social exchange.

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