Antikythera mechanism latest

(ANCIENT) TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Antikythera mechanism: Ancient celestial calculator. The device tracked the motions of the sun, moon and five planets (Owen Jarus, Live Science). HT Rogue Classicism.

The Antikythera mechanism is not directly related to ancient Judaism. But some Second Temple-era Jews, such as the Enochians and the Qumran sect, were quite interested in astronomy, so I like to keep track of news on the mechanism.

Mr. Jarus has a good, readable summary of what we know about it. He also report on the latest discoveries in the shipwreck where it was found over a century ago.

I continue to wonder if the Enochian astronomers would have approved or disapproved of the Antikythera mechanism.

PaleoJudaica posts on the mechanism are here and links.

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Paradigm Change in Pentateuchal Research (Harrassowitz)

RECENT BOOK FROM HARRASSOWITZ:

Paradigm Change in Pentateuchal Research

editor(s): Armgardt, Matthias / Kilchör, Benjamin / Zehnder, Markus
series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte
volume: 22
pages/dimensions: XXIV, 366 pages, 1 diagram, 15 tables
language: English
binding: Book (Hardback)
dimensions: 17.00 × 24.00 cm
weight: 853g
publishing date: 20.03.2019
prices: 86,00 Eur[D] / 88,50 Eur[A]
ISBN: 978-3-447-11170-6

978-3-447-11170-6 Printed Version 86,00 Eur

978-3-447-19837-0 E-Book (pdf) 86,00 Eur

This volume collects papers originally presented at an international meeting held in March 2017. They compellingly demonstrate the necessity for a “Paradigm Change in Pentateuchal Research” from various angles. It is by now generally recognised that the old paradigm, classically formulated in Wellhausens “Prolegomena zu einer Geschichte Israels”, can no longer command a dominant position in the reconstruction of the genesis and structure of the Pentateuch. While the studies collected in this volume do not suggest that there is only one specific direction for the search of a new paradigm, they make clear that an important element for the furthering of the discussion is the use of empirical methods, in contradistinction to a dominance of subjective criteria and approaches developed in circumstances that are foreign to the cultural world of the ancient Near East.
The authors of the studies represent diverse backgrounds not only in terms of geography, but especially in terms of professional specialization: Besides Biblical Studies, also the fields of Assyriology, Legal History, and Linguistics are represented. Some of the studies address methodological questions in an explicit and detailed way, while others are more focused on the analysis of specific texts. A majority of the studies convincingly demonstrate that most of the Pentateuch can be solidly rooted in the pre-exilic period.

I wasn't expecting that last sentence. How interesting.

For more on Pentateuchal source criticism, see here and links.

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Using bones & shells to date a destruction layer

OSTEOLOGY AND CONCHOLOGY: Chicken bones and snail shells help archaeologists to date ancient town's destruction (Phys.Org).

"The destruction of the Greek town Tell Iẓṭabba in present-day Israel by a military campaign waged by the Hasmoneans, a Judean ruling dynasty in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has so far been dated to between 111 and 107 BC," say Lichtenberger and Tal. "More recent research dates it to 108/107 BC, based on coin finds and the siege of the city of Samaria at the same time. Now, using our multi-proxy approach that makes use of several analytical methods, we can for the first time date the events with certainty to the spring of 107 BC."

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The Emperor Ashoka - forgotten and rediscovered

THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY NERD BLOG: The Mystery of the Pillars of Ashoka (Barbara O’Brien).

The pillars and the boulder inscriptions were the work of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, called Ashoka the Great, who ruled from about 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka was a convert to Buddhism, and many of the inscriptions were edicts given to his people to live according to the dharma, the teachings of the Budda. “What is dharma?” asked one edict. “Little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity.” Other inscriptions told the story of Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism. And some called for harmony among all people and religions in his empire.

Ashoka’s influence spread Buddhism far beyond the borders of India. In time archeologists recognized that Ashoka’s edicts had been left in many parts of central Asia, in other languages. For example, edicts engraved in the western part of his empire were in Greek. An inscription discovered near Kandahar in 1958 was written in Greek and Aramaic.

Cross-file under Aramaic Watch

I have posted on the Buddhist edict inscriptions of the Emperor Ashoka here, here, and here. But this article also gives the back story of how Ashoka was forgotten in India and how his Pali edicts were deciphered and his story rediscovered in the nineteenth century.

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Review of The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: The Oxford handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean.

Carolina López-Ruiz, Brian R. Doak, The Oxford handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean. Oxford handbooks. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. Pp. xvi, 768. ISBN 9780190499341 $150.00.

Review by
Russell Clark. russelljclark@wustl.edu

The publication of The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean, edited by Carolina López-Ruiz and Brian R. Doak, marks a significant advancement in the growing discipline of Phoenician (and Punic) Studies. ...

Cross-file under Phoenician Watch and Punic Watch.

Now and then I link to this post, which explains why PaleoJudaica pays attention to the Phoenicians, the Phoenician language, the Carthaginians, and Punic and Neo-Punic.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

BNTC 2022

THE BRITISH NEW TESTAMENT CONFERENCE is being held this year at the University of St. Andrews over the next three days. I am grateful to my colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Shively, for her hard work in organizing it.

I am presenting a paper in the New Testament and Second Temple Judaism Seminar. Here is the abstract:

The Psychology of Persuasion in the Book of Revelation and 4 Ezra

Modern psychology has identified three stages of persuasion: getting and holding attention, persuasive presentation, and making the message memorable. In two books, Robert Cialdini has published some of the most important work on the psychology of persuasion. He has articulated key “pre-suasion” factors which draw the listeners attention, sex, fear, the self-relevant, the unfinished, and the mysterious. He has also identified seven “pathways” to persuade the listener: reciprocation, liking, social proof, authority, scarcity, consistency, and unity. Carmen Simon has identified factors which makes new information memorable. These include surprise, anticipation, repeatability, distinction, and story. This paper evaluates the use of persuasive techniques in the Book of Revelation and in 4 Ezra. Revelation has been evaluated in the light of ancient rhetoric manuals, but not in terms of modern psychology, while there has been minimal attention to persuasion in 4 Ezra. The evidence indicates that John is a highly skilled persuader. By comparison, the writer of 4 Ezra is a less effective persuader who sometimes gives the reader conflicting persuasive messages.

This abstract is a longer version than the one on the website. I originally wasn't sure if I would have enough presentation time to include Simon's work. But it turns out that I do.

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Magic and miracles in the classroom?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: It’s Magic! (Or is it?): Two Classroom Activities (Elena Dugan).

I have noted earlier posts in this series here and here.

Cross-file under Pedagogy.

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A pulsa de-nura against Putin

RITUAL PSYOPS? Ukrainian oligarch says he performed Jewish death curse against Putin. The "Pulsa Denura" curse has been directed against at least three Israeli politicians in the past (Tzvi Joffre, Jerusalem Post).

Ukrainian Jewish oligarch Hennadiy Korban stated that he performed the Pulsa Denura "death curse" against Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with the Ukrainian Radio NV on Friday. ...

"By the way, maybe this is irrational logic, very often dictators - such as Putin, Hitler, Stalin - are very irrational in this regard and believe in many magical, mystical things. After all, we know from various chronicles that there were some shamans, astrologers and non-traditional healers under these people. Therefore, these people are very inclined to believe and are afraid of some mystical things."

Korban called what he did a "warning."

As the article notes, although there are sometimes claims that the pulsa de-nura cursing rite is ancient, it is only about a century old. For PaleoJudiaca posts on it, including its use against the abovementioned politicians, see here and links and here.

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More on the Maresha astragali

LUDIC AND MANTIC ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATE: The Maresha astragali are getting plenty of media attention. These three articles have background information, additional details about the discovery, and more photographs.

Huge Number of Knucklebones for Prophecy and Games Discovered in Biblical Maresha. Dating to the Hellenistic period in central Israel, some of the small herbivore bones invoked specific gods, some were dice, while another says ‘thief’ (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz)

In the context of the perennial unease and hostilities in the Middle East, “all the materials from the domestic areas above-ground were tossed into the underground areas. They became a time capsule,” Perry-Gal explains. So we cannot say whether the astragali of Maresha were used in the glare of sunshine or dank inner sanctums, only a small proportion of which have been excavated.

Note that last detail. It sounds like there is ample scope for more discoveries in the Maresha caves.

Hera help us! Rare knucklebone dice with names of gods show gaming in ancient Israel. 530 so-called ‘astragali,’ dating to Hellenistic period 2,300 years ago, found in southern Israel; inscribed in Greek with names of deities Aphrodite, Eros, Hermes, Hera, and Nike (Times of Israel)

How did Hellenists gamble, divine or play with these rare ancient bones found in Israel? Records show that one of the games played with bone dice was "five stones" in which children threw five bones in the air and tried to catch them (Ariella Marsden, Jerusalem Post)

Background here.

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Judean intermarriage in ancient Babylonia

DR. LAURIE PEARCE: Jews Intermarried Not Only in Judea but Also in Babylonia (TheTorah.com).

The Bible describes the shock that Ezra and Nehemiah experience upon learning that the Judean locals had married non-Judeans. And yet, from Babylonian marriage documents uncovered in cities near Babylon, we learn that intermarriage was occurring back in Babylonia as well.

Judeans also intermarried with Egyptians in the Elephantine community in the fifth century BCE. See here, here, and here.

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$350K NEH award to Bard prof's Dura-Europos project

BARD COLLEGE NEWS: Bard Professor Anne Hunnell Chen Receives $350,000 NEH Award to Support Her Project, the International (Digital) Dura-Europos Archive.

Ultimately, one of IDEA’s long-term aims is to help democratize processes of knowledge-creation relevant to Dura-Europos. With a great number of Dura-Europos artifacts housed in Western collections and historically only searchable in English (or, less often, French), the number of Middle Eastern scholars that have been able to engage in scholarship related to this important site has been unsurprisingly limited. Establishing multilingual (especially Arabic) accessibility for the site’s archaeological data via the IDEA web application is intended to serve as a steppingstone to the creation of international data-shaping collaborations in the post-grant period.

Congratulations to Professor Chen and her IDEA team!

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the site of Dura-Europos, its late antique synagogue, and that synogogue's remarkable murals, start here and follow the links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Hundreds of gaming/divination bones found in Maresha caves

LUDIC AND MANTIC ARCHAEOLOGY: 530 Divination Bones Discovered in Ancient Maresha (David Israel, The Jewish Press).

A rare assemblage of “astragali” – animal knuckle bones used for gaming and divination, dating from the Hellenistic period (2300 years ago), was uncovered by Dr. Ian Stern in the Maresha-Bet Guvrin National Park in southern Israel. ...

Tens of the dice bore Greek inscriptions: some were engraved with the names of gods associated in ancient times with human wishes and desires: Aphrodite, the goddess of fertility, love, and beauty; Eros, the god of love; Hermes, the herald of the gods; Hera, goddess of marriage, women, the sky and the stars of heaven; and Nike, the goddess of victory. On other knuckle bones, game instructions and various game roles are engraved, such as “Robber,” “Stop!” and “You are burnt.”

The Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park has produced an impressive corpus of ancient Greek and Aramaic inscriptions, especially in the caves. Alas, a large underground archive of papyri had disintegrated long before the archaeologists arrived. For background, see here (cf. here) and links. And for more on archaeological discoveries there, see here and links.

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McGrath in the footsteps of John the Baptist (6)

RELIGION PROF: In the Footsteps of John the Baptist 6: Ein Kerem and the Birthplace and Wilderness of John (James McGrath).

I have noted the first five installments here and links.

Some PaleoJudaica posts on Ein Kerem (Ein Karem) are here and here and links.

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Ancient artifacts recovered in West Bank

APPREHENDED: Israel recovers rare findings from alleged antiquities traffickers in West Bank. Three Palestinian suspects arrested, illegal weapons seized, in operation that followed arrest of prominent dealer in northern West Bank several months ago (Times of Israel).

Among the items recovered Monday were coins, titles and stone doors from the Roman and Byzantine periods, along with ancient tools from the Iron Age and the 7th Century.

There's a photo of what looks like an olive press too. Cf. the article below.

For additional coverage and more photos, see the article in the Jerusalem Post: Weapons, historic artifacts seized by Border Police in West Bank. Three Palestinian suspects were arrested and transferred for further questioning.

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Amin

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: Unique Sites of Israel: Biblical Anim (Nosson Shulman, The Jewish Press).

Amin is mentioned in the Book of Joshua. The site also preserves the ruins of a late-antique synagogue.

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Hayes (ed.), The Literature of the Sages (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Literature of the Sages

A Re-Visioning

Series: Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum, Volume: 16

Volume Editor: Christine Hayes

This volume presents the major works of classical rabbinic Judaism as inter-related aggregates analyzed through three central themes. Part 1, “Intertextuality,” investigates the multi-directional relationships among and between rabbinic texts and nonrabbinic Jewish sources. Part 2, “East and West” explores the impact on rabbinic texts of the cultures of the Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian West and the Sasanian East. Part 3, “Halakha and Aggada,” interrogates the relationship of law and narrative in rabbinic sources. This bold volume uncovers alliances and ruptures -- textual, cultural, and generic -- obscured by document-based approaches to rabbinic literature.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €199.00 / $239.00

Copyright Year: 2022
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51569-7
Publication date: 11 Jul 2022

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51542-0
Publication date: 14 Jul 2022

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Review of Star, Apocalypse and Golden Age

LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS: This is the end (Robert Cioffi).

Apocalypse and Golden Age: The End of the World in Greek and Roman Thought
by Christopher Star.
Johns Hopkins, 320 pp., £40.50, December 2021, 978 1 4214 4163 4

Excerpt:

Greek and Roman literature has sometimes been thought immune from apocalypse, or outright opposed to it: Rome was after all known as the eternal city. But in Apocalypse and Golden Age, Christopher Star argues that Greeks and Romans were, in fact, pioneering and often deeply pessimistic thinkers about the long-term future of humanity. In contrast to Jewish and Christian apocalyptic texts, they do not often imagine the survival of humanity, much less a new transcendent world and an eternal reward for the righteous. ...

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Review of Wee, Knowledge and Rhetoric in Medical Commentary

THE BIBLICAL REVIEW BLOG: Review: “Knowledge and Rhetoric in Medical Commentary: Ancient Mesopotamian Commentaries on a Handbook of Medical Diagnosis (Sa-gig)” by John Z. Wee (William Brown).

John Z. Wee. Knowledge and Rhetoric in Medical Commentary: Ancient Mesopotamian Commentaries on a Handbook of Medical Diagnosis (Sa-gig). Cuneiform Monographs 49/1. Leiden: Brill, 2019.

[...]

In short, John Wee’s Knowledge and Rhetorical in Medical Commentary in an erudite and refreshing analysis of Sa-gig and its commentaries. Although a highly specialized subject, some of his broader observations about serialization, canonization, textual sources of authority, and embedded variants may be helpful for folks in religious studies thinking about so-called canon, interpretive practices and textual sources of authority, and the boundaries in the ancient world of what we often designate science and literature.

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Contention over the "Joshua's tomb"-site excavation

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: 'First Deny Access, Then Call It State Land' | Israeli University Holds Archaeological Dig in West Bank Area Claimed to Be Palestinian. While Bar-Ilan University insists that the dig follows guidelines by the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, activist Bassem Tamimi says he has Jordanian documents proving his ownership over the land (Hagar Shezaf and Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

The Jerusalem Post had an article about this excavation a couple of weeks ago: First archaeological dig begins at site believed to be Joshua's tomb. Khirbet Tibnah is located on a hill in the southwest of the Samaria region, east of Shoham near Halamish. The site was populated from the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Ottoman period.

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