On the Diadochoi, the successors of Alexander the Great

THE WORLD IS FULL OF HISTORY: Who Are the Diadochi of Alexander the Great? (The Collector).

This is a good, brief article on the Diadochoi, the generals who succeeded Alexander after his death. Nice coin photos too.

Some of them are mentioned (glancingly or using secret code names) in the Bible in the Book of Daniel.

Ptolemy I is "the king of the south" (a title reused later in the chapter for other Ptolemids) and Seleucus I is "one of his princes" in Daniel 11:5. Verse 4 also says more generally that Alexander's kingdom will be "broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven" to others besided his posterity. This apparently refers to Ptolemy I, Seleucis I, Cassander, and Lysymachus. Cf. Daniel 8:8, 22 and, more generally 1 Maccabees 1:8-9.

I am unaware of any biblical references to Antigonus I.

For more on the Ptolemaic dynasty, including biblical references and the coins of the rulers, see here and links. For more on Seleucus I Nicator, see here and links. For more on the Seleucid dynasty and their coins, see here and links.

What appears to be a lost history of the Diadochoi has recently been partially recovered in a carbonized scroll from Herculaneum.

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Review of Jim, Saviour gods and soteria in ancient Greece

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Saviour gods and soteria in ancient Greece.

Theodora Suk Fong Jim, Saviour gods and soteria in ancient Greece. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp. xii, 319. ISBN 9780192894113

Review by
Tony Keddie, The University of Texas at Austin. tony.keddie@austin.utexas.edu

[...]

This book is in many ways a groundbreaking investigation of a significant religious concept. It should be widely read by scholars of religion in the ancient Mediterranean. Unfortunately, its reduction of “Christian monotheism” to an orientation toward otherworldly soteria is a well-intentioned strawman that nonetheless reproduces a longstanding metanarrative of Christian exceptionalism. Researchers building on this study would do well to recast Jim’s division between this-worldly “protection” and other-worldly “salvation” along the lines of the fluidity Jim has so effectively illustrated elsewhere.

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Oldest Hebrew Bible up for auction

BY SOTHEBY'S: World's oldest Hebrew Bible could fetch up to $50 million at auction. If the 1,000-year-old holy book sells for near its estimated value, the Codex Sassoon would become the most valuable printed text or historical document ever sold at auction (Reuters via Jerusalem Post).

The world's oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible will go on display in London next week before an auction in May where it could sell for up to $50 million, Sotheby's said on Wednesday.

If the 1,000-year-old holy book sells for near its estimated value, the Codex Sassoon would become the most valuable printed text or historical document ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said.

[...]

Good. Then I hope the new owner donates it to a museum in Israel.

Nadia Khomami has additional details in the Guardian: Oldest complete Hebrew Bible expected to break auction records. Ninth-century Codex Sassoon, critical link between Dead Sea scrolls and today’s Bible, will have estimate of $30m-$50m.

Cross-file under It Belongs In A Museum.

UPDATE (3 March): For more on the Sassoon family and their antiquarian collections, see here.

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Coins and the date Judaism emerged

NUMISMATICS: Coins Provide Key Evidence in Historic Origins of Judaism (David Hendin, American Numismatic Society via CoinWeek).

The bulk of this article summarizes Professor Yonatan Adler's case for the late origin of Torah-observant Judaism. See also here and here. But keep reading and it does get to the coin evidence in some detail.

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Old Esther scrolls recovered in Turkey

NOW SAFE: Ancient Book of Esther scrolls survive Turkey earthquake, brought to Israel. Local elder salvages centuries-old documents from rubble of collapsed Antakya synagogue and hands them to Israeli rescuers; 'this is one of the most moving moments of my life,' says rescue mission chief (Korin Elbaz Alush, YNet News).

As Israeli rescue teams were rummaging through the rubble in the Turkish city of Antakya after last week's devastating earthquake in hopes of finding survivors trapped underneath, a local elderly Jewish man approached them holding something unique in his hands — two centuries-old Book of Esther scrolls that were kept in the local synagogue before the shock.

[...]

Unlike many of the manuscript "discoveries" that have been coming out of Turkey, this looks real. From the photos, they do look like Esther scrolls and they do look old, perhaps centuries old.

They aren't exactly ancient, but right now we'll take any good news coming from Turkey.

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Rocca, In the Shadow of the Caesars (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

In the Shadow of the Caesars: Jewish Life in Roman Italy

Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 74

Author: Samuele Rocca

The main contribution of this book is that it tries to determine how the Jews answered the challenges of Roman society. Thus, the book presents a refreshing approach to the nature of the Roman attitude toward Judaism and the Jews. In addition, it provides the first detailed examination of the demography and geography of the Jewish communities in Roman Italy. The book also offers a new look at the legal standing of the Jewish communitarian organization. Last but not least, this study also addresses the various facets of the culture of the Jews living in Roman Italy.

Prices from (excl. shipping): €145.00

Copyright Year: 2023
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52562-7 Publication date: 19 Sep 2022

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51704-2
Publication date: 08 Sep 2022

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"Legends of Destruction" film dubbed in English

CINEMA: Award-winning animated feature about Second Temple destruction now in English. Gidi Dar says ‘Legend of Destruction’ film is ‘warning sign to Israelis’ at a time of renewed national discord (Jessica Steinberg, Times of Israel).

Director Gidi Dar’s award-winning film “Legend of Destruction” about the Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 CE has been dubbed into English, with voices by Oscar Isaac, Evangeline Lilly, Elliot Gould, Billy Zane and others.

The 2021 film, made entirely of still drawings, was written by Dar and actor Shuli Rand, and drawn by Michael Faust and David Polonsky of the Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning 2008 animated film, “Waltz with Bashir.”

[...]

I noted the release of the film here.

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Did curse tablets influence the Book of Revelation?

IMPRECATORY APOCALYPSE? New Testament's Book of Revelation Was Influenced by Curse Tablets, Scholar Deduces. The style of John’s Revelation, the apocalyptic final book of the New Testament, smacks of formally cursing one’s enemies in true Middle Eastern tradition, proposes scholar at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

John’s Revelation includes wording and phrases that smack of curse tablets such as: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.” (Revelation 18:21)

This is the stuff of curse-ritual material, Hölscher feels (albeit talking about the fallen Babylon, not the neighbor), and the text goes on: “The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again” – (Revelation 18:22) and it goes on and on and on.

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Lead sarcophagus excavated in Gaza

ARCHAEOLOGY: Roman-era sarcophagus uncovered in Gaza. 90 individual and mass graves have been found at the site (Reuters via Jerusalem Post).

A Roman-era sarcophagus, likely to have belonged to a prominent individual, was uncovered at the site of a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery discovered last year in the northern Gaza Strip, the territory's antiquities ministry said on Tuesday.

[...]

For more on the Roman-era cemetery found last year in Gaza, see here and here.

Another, evidently smaller, cemetery from the same period was found in a Gaza resident's back yard in 2018.

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Were the Ten Commandments an afterthought?

DR. CYNTHIA EDENBURG: The Origins of the Decalogue (TheTorah.com).

The Decalogue was not originally part of the Sinai theophany but was added later, both in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Its origins lie in wisdom literature.

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Saqqara still holds secrets

WHAT I SAID: Egypt’s pharaonic treasure trove of Saqqara still holds secrets waiting to be unlocked (NADA SHAKER, Arab News).

For background and implications, see here and here links.

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A 50-year career retrospective by Leen Ritmeyer

LEEN RITMEYER: 50 years of visualising the Bible.

So – if this turning of the year makes you feel like hearing the story of Ritmeyer Archaeological Design, gather round and I will try my best to tell it. And for those of you who on occasion have asked: “How can we learn to do what you do?”, you may pick up some hints or feel that you have had your fill already.

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A Nietzschean Avestan manifesto

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Towards a Manifesto for Middle Iranian Philology. A programmatic essay by Arash Zeni.

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