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Saturday, August 13, 2022

Redating Codex Siniaticus?

VARIANT READINGS: (Brent Nongbri).
The October 2022 issue of Journal of Theological Studies will contain an article I wrote on the dating of Codex Sinaiticus. It’s out now in pre-print format, and thanks to my institution–MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society–the article is available open access.

[...]

The abstract:
Abstract

Codex Sinaiticus is generally described as one of ‘the great fourth century majuscule Bibles’, and its construction is often assigned to a more precise date in the middle of the fourth century. This essay surveys the evidence for the date of production of the codex and concludes that it could have been produced at any point from the early fourth century to the early fifth century. This time span may seem uncomfortably wide, but this particular range of dates makes Codex Sinaiticus an ideal candidate for AMS radiocarbon analysis. The shape of the radiocarbon calibration curve during this period means that a well-executed radiocarbon analysis of the codex should have the potential to shed further light on the date the codex was produced.

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Pardee Festschrift

THE AWOL BLOG: New from the Oriental Institute: SAOC 73. "Like 'Ilu Are You Wise": Studies in Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures in Honor of Dennis G. Pardee.

The volume is published both in print and by EPI open-access.

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Friday, August 12, 2022

Sarcophagi to be displayed at Ashkelon

EXHIBITION: Gorgeous 4th Century Roman Sarcophagi Go on Display in Ashkelon (David Israel, The Jewish Press). HT Rogue Classicism.
The Ashkelon Municipality and the Israel Antiquities Authority are upgrading the display of ancient Roman finds that have been stored for more than 50 years in the Sarcophagi Court at the Beit Ha’am compound in the Afridar neighborhood, and now they will be presented to the general public in a modern and inviting display.
For a comparatively recent (2015) discovery of an ancient sarcophagus at Ashkelon, see here.

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Creating a commentary in a Hebrew Bible seminar

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Creating a Commentary (Julia Rhyder).
In my graduate seminar “History of God: Evidence from the Psalms,” I wanted to explore alternative ways of engaging deeply with the Hebrew psalms without falling into the “circle translation” trap.
Cross-file under Pedagogy.

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Joseph Aviram (1915[?]-2022)

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Milestones: Joseph Aviram (1915–2022). Directed Israel’s leading biblical archaeology organization.
Joseph Aviram, long-time Director and President of the Israel Exploration Society (IES) and a key figure in the development and popularization of the field of biblical archaeology, passed away in Jerusalem on July 27. He was 107 years old.

[...]

Cross-file under Sad News.

I congratulated Dr. Aviram on his 100th birthday here in 2016. I do not know why there is a discrepancy concerning his date of birth.

May his memory be for a blessing.

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Thursday, August 11, 2022

A fifth-century inscription petitioning Peter

NEW EVIDENCE FOR BETHSAIDA: Archaeologists Find Entreaty to St. Peter in Early Church by Sea of Galilee. The mosaic more than 1,500 years old cites the church’s donor and a plea for intercession that shores up the case of el-Araj as Bethsaida and the basilica as the Church of the Apostles (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).
For years, since discovering an ancient church at el-Araj, the archaeologists had dearly hoped to find a dedicatory inscription, as was typical of Byzantine churches. Now they have.

The inscription starts with “Constantine, the servant of Christ.” This refers to the donor to the church, in keeping with Byzantine tradition of dedicatory mosaics. It isn’t a reference to Constantine, the first Holy Roman emperor to embrace Christianity, the archaeologists explain.

Then comes the exciting bit: The inscription goes on to petition the “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles” for intercession, according to Prof. Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Prof. Jacob Ashkenazi of Kinneret College in the north.

This inscription provides important new evidence for the debate on the original site of the New Testament city of Bethsaida. The main contenders are this site, el-Araj, and another site called et-Tell/e-Tell. I have summarized the recent state of the question here. For a balanced account of the case for both sides, see the article, also by Ms. Schuster, linked to here. The article linked to here defends the identification with e-Tell.

This new inscription does not mention Peter by name, but apparently the title it uses was only used for him. That seems to clinch a connection between Peter and the church, offering considerable support for its identification as the Church of the Apostles.

That in turn strengthens the case that in the fifth century el-Araj was identified with Bethsaida.

Does that prove that it was Bethsaida? No. There are several centuries, apparently including a period of flooding and rebuilding, in which confusion about the location of the city could have arisen.

That said, the evidence for el-Araj being Bethsaida has been piling up. The site of e-Tell has not (so far) been producing counter evidence to outweigh it.

I have said before that the debate is likely to continue until we find a first-century inscription at one of the sites that says "Welcome to Bethsaida." This isn't it. But it appears to me (a non-archaeologist) that el-Araj is now the front-runner for identification with Bethsaida.

For background on the debate, which I have been following for years, start here and follow the links.

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Tu B'Av 2022

THE FESTIVAL OF TU B'AV begins this evening at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating.

Tu B'Av (which just means the 15th day of the month of Av) is an ancient matchmaking festival. Its first mention is in the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4). It has been revived in recent years as a kind of Jewish Valentine's Day. For past posts on it, see here and links.

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Reports of archaeological destruction in the West Bank

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: 'State couldn't care less that Jewish heritage sites are being destroyed.' Jewish leaders and groups detail the heartbreaking damage Palestinian looters cause to Jewish historical sites across Judea and Samaria and lament the lack of action by the government they say has a moral responsibility to protect the site (Hanan Greenwood, Israel HaYom). The concerns flagged in this article sound serious. I would like to hear a response from the Civil Administration and the IAA.

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Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Where Titus breached Jerusalem?

ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeologists Pinpoint a Source of Roman Artillery Attack on Ancient Jerusalem. New research suggests that when Roman forces besieged Jerusalem in the year 70, they were firing barrages from what is now known as Cats Square (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).
[Archaeologist Kfir] Arbiv’s theory that Cats Square was one point from where the Romans fired on Jerusalem arose following some years of excavation at a site 200 meters away from that square: the Russian Compound, one of the most historic districts in the city.
I noted the discoveries at the Russian Compound here back in 2016.

Cross-file under Tisha B'Av (belatedly).

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The Sifting Project Blog on the Temple

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: THE DEEPER MEANING OF THE TEMPLE AND YOUR PART IN CONTINUING REVEALING IT.
The grinding task of researching small finds, a task many would view as tedious and fruitless labor, is likely to cause us to forget the bigger picture. But, when we occasionally arrive at new understandings as a result of an analysis of the finds, when we are asked to present the project to visitors at the sifting site or in public lectures, or when we witness every day the excitement of those participating in the sifting at the moment of a revelation of a special artifact, then we remember it anew and are invigorated to continue in our work with greater dedication.
Funding of the project remains a concern.

Cross-file under Tisha B'Av (belatedly).

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Conference on "The Medieval Afterlife of Hellenistic Judaism"

H-JUDAIC: CFP: Conference on "The Medieval Afterlife of Hellenistic Judaism."

Details at the link. The conference is organized by the Lege Josephum! Ways of Reading Josephus in the Latin Middle Ages project. It takes place on 15-17 March 2023 at the University of Bern.

The deadline for proposal abstracts is 15 September 2022.

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Tuesday, August 09, 2022

Who Was Ezra?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Who Was Ezra? Old Testament texts and the history of a priestly scribe (John Gregory Drummond).

Ezra is a mysterious biblical figure, exalted in some ancient traditions and oddly ignored in others.

This BHD essay introduces a BAR article by Charlotte Hempel which is behind the subscription wall. But the essay is informative in itself.

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Ciner & Nunez (eds.), The Discoveries of Manuscripts from Late Antiquity (Brepols)

NEW BOOK FROM BREPOLS PUBLISHER:
The Discoveries of Manuscripts from Late Antiquity
Their Impact on Patristic Studies and the Contemporary World (Conference Proceedings 2nd International Conference on Patristic Studies)

Patricia Ciner, Alyson Nunez (eds)

Pages: 424 p.
Size: 156 x 234 mm
Illustrations: 2 b/w
Language(s): English, Spanish
Publication Year: 2022

Buy print version
€ 100,00 EXCL. VATRETAIL PRICE
ISBN: 978-2-503-59149-0
Hardback
Available

Buy e-version
€ 100,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
ISBN: 978-2-503-59150-6
E-book
Available

Studies on the impact of discoveries of late antique manuscripts on early Christian studies and the contemporary world

SUMMARY

This book offers an anthology from the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Patristic Studies, “The Discoveries of Manuscripts from Late Antiquity: Their Impact on Patristic Studies and the Contemporary World”, which took place in San Juan, Argentina, in March 2017. The aim of this event was to analyze and assess 20th- and 21st-century discoveries of manuscripts from Late Antiquity. Indeed, complete libraries of manuscripts, as well as individual documents of great importance for our understanding of historical authors and situations, have come to light after having been buried for millennia. Just some examples are the incredible discoveries of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic library, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Origen of Alexandria’s homilies, and Augustine’s sermons, among others. Rather than being passive documents, these manuscripts pose numerous questions to specialists from a diverse array of fields, demanding new evaluations of a past that was already thought to be understood and judged.

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Remembering Dr. Norman K. Gottwald

OBITUARY: Remembering Dr. Norman K. Gottwald, preeminent scholar of the Old Testament. A longtime Berkeley resident, Gottwald was on the faculty of American Baptist Seminary of the West and Graduate Theological Union Gottwald family, Berkeleyside).
Dr. Norman Karol Gottwald, renowned pioneer in the use of the social scientific method in biblical studies, age 95, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on March 11, 2022.

[...]

I had heard about Professor Gottwald's passing on social media, but this is the first formal notice I have seen. Requiescat in pace.

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Monday, August 08, 2022

Coptic magical stories and Aramaic incantation bowls

THE COPTIC MAGICAL PAPYRI BLOG: Kyprianos Update (10 July 2022).
We’ve just posted our latest update to the Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects.

The update includes:

36 new manuscript entries, bringing the total to 1059. These contain new Greek, Coptic, Demotic, and Aramaic manuscripts from Egypt and elsewhere dating to the first millennium CE. ...

There are also new text entries, with some Christian-apocrypha-like narratives, and new archive entries pertaining to Aramaic incantation bowls.

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Review of Ganzel, Ezekiel’s Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context

THE BIBLICAL REVIEW BLOG: Review: “Ezekiel’s Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context” by Tova Ganzel (William Brown).
Tova Ganzel. Ezekiel’s Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context. BZAW 539. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2021.

Tova Ganzel’s Ezekiel’s Visionary temple in Babylonian Context is particularly refreshing as it incorporates key texts, history, and information about Neo-Babylonian temples as a means of articulating and clarifying aspects of Ezekiel’s Temple Vision. The monograph is replete with helpful introductions to those not familiar with Neo-Babylonian materials and a range of intriguing arguments that make sense of (or offer potential solutions to) religious aspects of the Temple Vision. ...

I noted the publication of the book here.

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Bratislava Conference on early reception of Paul

RELIGION PROF: Bratislava Conference 2022 – Receptions of Paul during the First Two Centuries: Exploration of the Jewish Matrix of Early Christianity (James McGrath).
I thought I should share this information about an upcoming online conference since there does not seem to be much info about it online and given the topic and presenters I know that my biblical studies colleagues who focus on Paul more than I do will want to attend.

[...]

Thanks James. Now I have shared it too.

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Sunday, August 07, 2022

More on the ghost amphitheater at Megiddo

UPDATE: First Roman military amphitheater discovered in Israel’s Armageddon. The excavation, led by USC Dornsife scholars, yielded clues about the lives of ancient Roman soldiers stationed outside the fabled city of Armageddon (Margaret Crable, USC Dornsife).
It wasn’t until 2013 that a team of researchers began the first official excavation of the army base that Schumacher hypothesized was in the vicinity. They uncovered both the walls and administrative center of the Roman 6th Legion’s base and hypothesized that the odd depression was a military amphitheater associated with the legion.

In July, scholars from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences finally proved this hypothesis to be correct. It’s the first Roman military amphitheater ever uncovered in the Southern Levant, which encompasses Israel, Jordan and Palestine.

Into the pit

Excavation of the amphitheater was led by historian and archaeologist Mark Letteney, a postdoctoral fellow at the USC Mellon Humanities in a Digital World Program, headquartered at USC Dornsife.

I noted the discovery of this amphitheatre depression (which I labeled "ghost architecture") here.

That Jerusalem Post article also referred to a gold coin found at the Legion excavation. This current article has more on its discovery.

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Edelman Festschrift

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The Hunt for Ancient Israel. Notice of a New Book: Shafer-Elliott, Cynthia, Kristin Joachimsen, Ehud Ben Zvi & Pauline A. Viviano (eds.). 2022. The Hunt for Ancient Israel: Essays in Honour of Diana V. Edelman. Sheffield: Equinox.

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