The DSS and 21st-century Judaism

TAKING THE LONG VIEW: The Not-So-Dead Sea Scrolls. How the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered by many to be the most significant archaeological discovery of the 20th century, speak to Jews in the 21st century (Rabbi Mordechai Becher, Aish.com).

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Arnold (ed), The Cambridge Companion to Genesis

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Cambridge Companion to Genesis

Part of Cambridge Companions to Religion

EDITOR: Bill T. Arnold, Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
DATE PUBLISHED: May 2022
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Paperback
ISBN: 9781108438322

£ 28.99 Paperback
Other available formats: Hardback

The Cambridge Companion to Genesis explores the first book of the Bible, the book that serves as the foundation for the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. Recognizing its unique position in world history, the history of religions, as well as biblical and theological studies, the volume summarizes key developments in Biblical scholarship since the Enlightenment, while offering an overview of the diverse methods and reading strategies that are currently applied to the reading of Genesis. It also explores questions that, in some cases, have been explored for centuries. Written by an international team of scholars whose essays were specially commissioned, the Companion provides a multi-disciplinary update of all relevant issues related to the interpretation of Genesis. Whether the reader is taking the first step on the path or continuing a research journey, this volume will illuminate the role of Genesis in world religions, theology, philosophy, and critical biblical scholarship.

• Provides an inter-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary update of all relevant issues related to the interpretation of the Book of Genesis
• Includes summaries by leading experts noted for their work on each topic, and allows them to make innovative proposals and conclusions
• Introduces the most important developments of each topic since, while also explaining the most recent developments without assuming prior reader knowledge

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Did the Jewish Kingdom of Himyar succumb to drought?

STALAGMITE STUDY: Megadrought Contributed to Fall of Jewish Kingdom in Arabia, Rise of Islam, Study Suggests (Ariel David, Haaretz).

Around 1,500 years ago, southern Arabia was hit by a multi-decade megadrought, a new study of ancient climate data has found. This likely contributed to the downfall of a once powerful Jewish kingdom that ruled over large swaths of what is today Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The demise of the ancient kingdom of Himyar in the sixth century and the ensuing power vacuum in Arabia may have then favored the rise and expansion of Islam throughout the region less than a hundred years later, suggests the paper published Thursday in Science.

[...]

The underlying Science article by Dominik Fleitman et al. is behind a subscription wall: Droughts and societal change: The environmental context for the emergence of Islam in late Antique Arabia.

Abstract

In Arabia, the first half of the sixth century CE was marked by the demise of Himyar, the dominant power in Arabia until 525 CE. Important social and political changes followed, which promoted the disintegration of the major Arabian polities. Here, we present hydroclimate records from around Southern Arabia, including a new high-resolution stalagmite record from northern Oman. These records clearly indicate unprecedented droughts during the sixth century CE, with the most severe aridity persisting between ~500 and 530 CE. We suggest that such droughts undermined the resilience of Himyar and thereby contributed to the societal changes from which Islam emerged.

For more on the late-antique Kingdom of Himyar, see here and links and here.

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On Sassanian coinage

NUMISMATICS: Sassanian Silver Drachms (Michael Shutterly, CoinWeek).

This article has some nice images of Sassanian coins etc. and it indirectly provides a brief history of the empire. The prophet Mani shows up too.

There are many connections between ancient Judaism and the late-antique Sassanian (Sasanian) Empire in Iran. For many PaleoJudaica posts, see here and links and here. And cross-file under Manichean (Manichaean) Watch.

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About that camel and that needle

CANDIDA MOSS: Your Understanding of Eye of the Needle is Probably Wrong (The Daily Beast). Any attempt to soften Jesus' logion about the camel and the eye of the needle misses its point. It is supposed to be shocking.

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Is the new Oxford Mishnah "accessible?"

EXPENSIVE ACCESS: They set out to produce an ‘accessible’ Mishnah. The price tag: $645 (Jackie Hajdenberg, JTA).

Yes, this is a problem. This article gives a fair account of all sides. It is expensive to compose, copyedit, and produce such an ambitious three-volume work. And OUP reasonably wants to recover its costs.

They hint that a less expensive version could be in the works. I hope it is. I don't know what that would involve. Certainly something in paperback/electronic format. I think there would also be a market for an inexpensive nonspecialist edition with limited or no notes.

Meanwhile, if you have enough interest in rabbinics to want this annotated translation, here are some suggestions. If you are an academic, make sure your institution's library buys it. If you are not an academic, get a membership with your local university or seminary library and press them to buy it. You might try your local public library too, but I imagine it would have to be a large branch for them to be interested.

Background here.

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This Week in the Ancient Near East Podcast

THE AWOL BLOG: This Week in the Ancient Near East Podcast.

The podcast that takes archaeology exactly as seriously as it deserves.

Two real professors of archaeology and one guy from a fake institution discuss cutting edge archaeological discoveries at a high professional level using technical knowledge and stuff. A scholarly podcast for the discerning listener, it’s handmade, artisanal, and bespoke!

[...]

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Upcoming ToI archaeology event in Jerusalem

LIVE EVENT: Hi-tech archaeology reveals secrets of ancient Jerusalem’s destructions. Join us for the 2nd in the ToI@10 series July 6: Archaeologists Jodi Magness and Joe Uziel in conversation with ToI’s Amanda Borschel-Dan at the Begin Center — plus live music! (Times of Israel).

Looks like this is an in-person event only. There's nothing about any online video feed. But if you're in Jerusalem next month, it sounds great. Requires advance ticket purchase.

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Deyrul Zafaran Monastery in Turkey

SYRIAC WATCH: The Early Christian Monastery Built on a Sun God Temple in Turkey. Deyrul Zafaran, or the Saffron Monastery, of Mardin arose in the fifth century – and what lies beneath indicates the site in southeastern Turkey had been sacred before (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

A few kilometers southeast of the city of Mardin is Deyrul Zafaran Monastery, the first incarnation of which was built on the mountain slope about 1,600 years ago. Deyr means monastery and zafaran means saffron in Arabic, so yes its name is technically the Saffron Monastery Monastery, and it was built smack on top of a temple to Shams, Shamash, Shamsum or call him what you will: the sun god.

The article mentions the recently discovered Neo-Assyrian panel that depicts Aramean gods, also in southeastern Turkey. Shamash is one of those gods.

PaleoJudaica has not had occasion to mention the remarkable twelve-thousand-year-old ruins discovered at Göbekli Tepe, in that same region. But if you are interested, Ms. Schuster recently published a long article on that site: Visiting Göbekli Tepe: The World’s ‘Earliest Temple,’ Built in a Paradise That Is No More. Around 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers made a vast social leap and built monumental public sites. What was different in prehistoric southeast Turkey? And what did they actually create? Reducing these stone circles to ‘temples’ is to underrate them, says head archaeologist Necmi Karul (Haaretz).

Some Syriac mosaics were also recently found in Mardin province. And the Syriac Mor Gabriel Monastery is in Mardin.

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Who was Palmyra's anonymous god?

PALMYRA WATCH: Warsaw archaeologist solves 100-year-old mystery surrounding identity of anonymous god (Jo Harper, THEfirstNEWS)).

Around 200 [Aramaic epigraphic] texts dated mainly to the 2nd and 3rd centuries contained mysterious references to a deity: "Blessed is his name forever, Lord of the World and Merciful.”

Ever since scientists have been trying to work out which god the specific phrase was directed to and used the stopgap term “Palmyrene Anonymous God.”

Now [Dr. Aleksandra] Kubiak-Schneider says she thinks she has cracked it.

Her answer may surprise you. Hint: it's a trick question.

For many posts on the ancient metropolis of Palmyra, its history and archaeology, the Aramaic dialect once spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now trending for the better, start here and follow the links.

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What's with that Nazirite hair?

DR. RICHARD LEDERMAN: What Is a Nazir, and Why the Wild Hair? (TheTorah.com).

Like many prophets, a nazirite once characterized holy people living on the periphery of society, with wild flowing hair to mark their separate status. Some were divine messengers, like the prophets Elijah and Samuel. Others were warriors, like Samson, a wild-man warrior reminiscent of the Sumerian hero Enkidu. The priestly legislation neutralizes the nazir, making the hair itself the focus.

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An Achaemenid Aramaic grammar at the Arshama Project

ARAMAIC WATCH: Aramaic lessons and reading classes. These are useful class materials posted for an Aramaic course run by David Taylor at Oxford University in 2010 as part of the Arshama Project.

I noted the Arshama Project here and here. I just became aware of the Aramaic class materials thanks to Drew Longacre.

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On the Jerusalem aqueduct

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Excavating the Jerusalem Aqueduct. New sections of city’s ancient water system found (Nathan Steinmeyer).

For much of the past 2,000 years, the Jerusalem aqueduct has provided water to the ancient city, with portions still used well into the 20th century. Now, excavations by the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) are uncovering this ancient water system. The IAA has uncovered a large section of the lower aqueduct in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatsiv, south of the Old City. The IAA intends to carry out conservation work on a portion of the aqueduct, which they will eventually interpret and display for the public.

[...]

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Jerusalem aqueduct, see here and here and links. The dating of the "Bier/Biar aqueduct" section to as early as Pontius Pilate is not as secure as the essay implies.

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Buster, Remembering the Story of Israel (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Remembering the Story of Israel Historical Summaries and Memory Formation in Second Temple Judaism

AUTHOR: Aubrey E. Buster, Wheaton College, Illinois
DATE PUBLISHED: May 2022
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009150682

£ 90.00 Hardback
Other available formats: eBook

Description

In this book, Aubrey Buster demonstrates how methods adapted from cultural and social memory studies and the new formalism can illuminate the communal function of biblical and extra-biblical historical summaries in Second Temple Judaism. Refining models drawn from memory studies, she applies them to ancient texts and demonstrates the development of Judah's speech about their past across the Second Temple period. Buster's wide-ranging study demonstrates how and where the historical summary functions in the book of Psalms, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as the Qumran Psalms Scrolls, Words of the Luminaries, Paraphrase of Genesis and Exodus, and Pseudo-Daniel. She shows how the historical summary proves to be a generative, replicable, and ultimately productive form of memory. Crossing the boundaries of genre categories and time periods, liturgical performances, and literary works, historical summaries crafted a highly selective but broadly useful mode of commemoration of key events from Israel's past.

• Includes models from cultural and memory studies that inform our reading of texts from the Hebrew Bible
• Provides the first book-length treatment of the historical summaries in the Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls
• Explores a more precise distinction between genre and form, and shows how such a distinction benefits the analysis of texts, and the literary analyses of the Bible

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The Oxford Annotated Mishnah

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Oxford Annotated Mishnah

Edited by Shaye J.D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin

• An accessible version of the Mishnah in three volumes
• Assembled by an expert group of translators and annotators
• Includes explanations of technical terms and impressions, and reference to the New Testament and ancient Jewish works

£495.00

Published: 09 June 2022

1256 Pages

246x171mm

ISBN: 9780192846143

Description

The Mishnah is the foundational document of rabbinic law and, one could say, of rabbinic Judaism itself. It is overwhelmingly technical and focused on matters of practice, custom, and law. The Oxford Annotated Mishnah is the first annotated translation of this work, making the text accessible to all.

With explanations of all technical terms and expressions, The Oxford Annotated Mishnah brings together an expert group of translators and annotators to assemble a version of the Mishnah that requires no specialist knowledge.

This seems like a big deal. I am surprised I have not heard more about it.

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Volunteering at the Ein Gedi dig in 1972

MEMORIES: Roots Amid the Rubble (Claudia Chotzen, Hadassah Magazine).

Like so many others at the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns, I escaped isolation by turning to television. When I watched The Dig, a movie on Netflix about amateur archaeologist Basil Brown’s discovery of a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ship buried at Sutton Hoo on Edith Pretty’s estate in Suffolk, England in 1939, I was reminded of my own life-changing archaeology experience in Israel half a century ago.

[...]

This is a lovely story.

HT the Bible Places Blog.

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Review of Phoenicians and the making of the Mediterranean

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Phoenicians and the making of the Mediterranean.

Carolina López-Ruiz, Phoenicians and the making of the Mediterranean. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021. $45.00. ISBN 9780674988187 $45.00.

Review by
Hélène Sader, American University of Beirut. hsader@aub.edu.lb

... López-Ruiz’ s work does justice to the Phoenicians’ role in shaping Mediterranean culture by providing rational and factual argumentation and by setting the record straight. It also speaks volumes about the author’s mastery of both Classics and Phoenicio-Punic studies which enables her to deconstruct false interpretations and long-lived biases. The long-debated issue of Orientalizing culture finds in the book a clear definition, a meticulous study of its various elements, and a convincing presentation of how Phoenicians and locals interacted in each different context. ...

Cross-file under Phoenician Watch.

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The treasures in the Cairo Geniza

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Text Treasures: Cairo Geniza. 300,000 documents found in an attic storeroom (Marek Dospěl). A nice, brief introduction.

For many, many PaleoJudaica posts on the Cairo Geniza and its wondrous trove of manuscript fragments, start here (cf. here and here) and follow the links

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Ilan et al. (eds.), Rabbinic Literature (SBL Bible and Women series)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Rabbinic Literature

Tal Ilan, Lorena Miralles-Macia, Ronit Nikolsky, editors

ISBN 9781589835719
Volume BW 4.1
Status Available
Price $65.00
Publication Date April 2022
Paperback $65.00
Hardback $85.00
eBook $65.00

This volume in the Bible and Women series is devoted to rabbinic literature from late Jewish antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Fifteen contributions feature different approaches to the question of biblical women and gender and encompass a wide variety of rabbinic corpora, including the Mishnah-Tosefta, halakhic and aggadic midrashim, Talmud, and late midrash. Some essays analyze biblical law and gender relations as they are reflected in the rabbinic sages’ argumentation, while others examine either the rabbinic portrayal of a certain woman or a group of women or the role of biblical women in a specific rabbinic context. Contributors include Judith R. Baskin, Yuval Blankovsky, Alexander A. Dubrau, Cecilia Haendler, Tal Ilan, Gail Labovitz, Moshe Lavee, Lorena Miralles-Maciá, Ronit Nikolsky, Susanne Plietzsch, Natalie C. Polzer, Olga I. Ruiz-Morell, Devora Steinmetz, Christiane Hannah Tzuberi, and Dvora Weisberg.

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