The inscriptions probably date to the 9th-11th centuries CE.
Cross-file under Temple Mount Watch.
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The inscriptions probably date to the 9th-11th centuries CE.
Cross-file under Temple Mount Watch.
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Follow the link for description and link to publisher's page. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.
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Lecture Date: November 16, 2023Follow the link for the eventbrite link. The lecture is free or by donation.Subject Fields: Ancient History, Archaeology, Jewish History / Studies
Online lecture by David Jacobson
There were, in effect, two beginnings of Judaean coinage, the first towards the end of Achaemenid Persian rule in the Levant, in the late 5th century BCE. This run of coin production ended in the mid-3rd century BCE, during Ptolemaic rule. The second sequence of Judaean coins began more than a century later, under the Hasmonaeans, initially under the patronage to the Seleucid monarch, Antiochus VII Euergetes (Sidetes). The Hasmonaean coins end with the overthrow of Antigonus Mattathias in 37 BCE by Herod (the Great). These two phases of coin issues are widely different in character. These differences are examined and some of the historical insights that they provide are discussed.
For more on the work of David Jacobson, see here, here, here and links, and here.
Cross-file under Numismatics.
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LectureFollow the link for additional details and the eventbrite link. The lecture is free.
Date:
November 15, 2023
Subject Fields: Ancient History, Jewish History / Studies, Religious Studies and Theology
Online lecture from Uri Gabbay, Associate Professor of Assyriology at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near East, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The lecture will focus on hermeneutical techniques, and the terms used for these techniques, in Akkadian commentaries on cuneiform clay tablets from the first millennium BCE. The speaker will compare these techniques and terms to Rabbinic Midrash, and will raise the question whether we can assume a connection between the two corpora. Uri Gabbay deals with the religious and intellectual history of ancient Mesopotamia, especially in the first millennium BCE. He is the author of the book The Exetetical Terminology of Akkadian Commentaries (Brill, 2016).
For more on Uri Gabbay's work, see here, here, here and links.
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Joshua 13-24
A New Translation with Introduction and Commentaryby Thomas B. Dozeman
Series: The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
440 Pages, 6.12 x 9.25 in, 3 b-w illus.
Hardcover
9780300265408
Published: Tuesday, 10 Oct 2023
$75.00The second installment of Thomas B. Dozeman’s authoritative commentary on the book of Joshua
Following the Pentateuch in the traditional canon, the book of Joshua chronicles the conquest of the Canaanite nations, the distribution of the newly acquired land to the twelve tribes of Israel, and Joshua’s death at the conclusion of the covenant ceremony at Shechem. The second half of the book traces the development of a burgeoning pan-Israelite identity as the tribes receive territorial assignments, form a political league, and unite in the worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
In the second volume of his two-volume commentary on the book of Joshua, Thomas B. Dozeman provides an overview of critical debates surrounding the composition of the book, its function in relationship to the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets, and the role of geography in ancient literature. He shows how the book of Joshua originated as an independent Samarian myth of tribal conquest and land distribution, and outlines how it evolved into its role as an Israelite origin story. Complete with a thorough introduction and a new translation of these twelve chapters, this volume explores how the book of Joshua employs the twin themes of genealogy and geography to underscore both unity and difference among the tribes, conveying ancient Israelite beliefs about ownership, identity, and power.
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By the Sea of Galilee, smack beneath the apse of a Byzantine-period basilica in what may be the lost village of Bethsaida, archaeologists have found remnants of a wall that predates the church. The builders of the ancient church may have believed that the wall, which they seem to have venerated and carefully ensconced below the apse of their edifice, belonged to the home of Jesus' apostles: Peter and Andrew.This is a big development.It can't have, though. That wall is from the second or third century, aver the researchers directing the excavation at el-Araj, Prof. Mordechai Aviam of the Kinneret Academic College and Prof. R. Steven Notley of Kinneret Academic College and Yeshiva University.
But perpendicular to it, in a lower archaeological layer also beneath the apse floor, was another wall. This remnant actually is from the first century – the time of Jesus and his apostles. Whether it was actually part of Peter’s home we cannot know, but it’s from the right time.
[...]
There are two main contenders for the site of the city of Bethsaida in the time of Jesus. This one, el-Araj, is one. The other is et-Tell/e-Tell. Discoveries at el-Araj in the last couple of years have persuaded me that the weight of evidence is in favor of it. (Disclaimer: I am not an archaeologist.) For background and discussion, see here and here and links. I have been following this debate for years. If you are interested, just keep following those links.
The state of the question up to now is that this fifth-century church had a dedication to the Apostle Peter (mentioned by title but not by name), which seems to clinch its identification as the Church of the Apostles. This means that in the fifth century the site was identified with Bethsaida.
Now, below the church, archaeologists have excavated carefully preserved (venerated?) remains of a second/third century wall, which is in turn built over remnants of a wall dating to the first century CE. That implies, but does not prove, that this identification is very early and is likely correct.
This is not yet a first-century "Welcome to Bethsaida" sign. But it tips the weight of evidence further in the direction of el-Araj being Jesus' Bethsaida.
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While studios, actors and writers continue to wage their own epic battle, all parties would be wise to remember the rabbinic riffs on Og. Balancing consistency with creativity, ensuring a diverse set of influences, and emerging from the unexpendable fountain that is human feeling, his stories’ lessons remain timeless. Now if only there was a studio out there looking for a giant-sized pitch.This article is a fun recounting of the cycle of stories about Og the giant. The attempt to connect Og with the rapidly approaching demise of Hollywood acting in favor of ultra-realistic AI simulations seemes a little forced to me. But you can read it and decide for yourself.
Og is an old friend to PaleoJudaica. For many posts on him, start here and follow the links, notably here and here.
The suggestion that Og is found in an ancient Phoenician inscription was advanced by Wolfgang Rölling in the 1970s and retracted by him and rejected, as far as I know, by everyone who has commented on it. For discussion, see here and here.
Not mentioned in the article, but Og was also confused with the antediluvian giant Ohyah from the Book of Giants.
That gives me the opportunity again to promote Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, volume 2, edited by myself and Richard Bauckham, now in press with Eerdmans. It it includes translations of all surviving fragments of the Book of Giants. Og gets a mention or two as well.
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DescriptionFollow the link for further particulars.The Department of Jewish Studies seeks a Visiting Assistant Professor with expertise in Rabbinics and Classical Judaism. The successful candidate should be able to teach Introduction to Judaism and survey or thematic courses on post-Second Temple Judaism, Jewish law, or the Talmud. We are especially interested in scholars who bring interdisciplinary approaches to traditional texts, including but not limited to religious studies, gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, environmental studies, and legal studies.
This non-tenure-track position is for a two-year term with a 3-2 teaching load. Deadline for the applications is January 7, 2024.
[...]
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Sabine R. Huebner, David M. Ratzan, Missing mothers: maternal absence in antiquity. Interdisciplinary studies in ancient culture and religion, 22. Leuven: Peeters, 2021. Pp. viii, 347. ISBN 9789042943131Review by
Sophie Laribi Glaudel, Université de Lorraine. s.laribiglaudel@gmail.comMotherhood and maternity are at the intersection of gender studies, the history of childhood, and the history of the family, and have been the subject of much scholarship since the 2010s. This collection of essays explores the theme of maternal absence and its impact on both affected families and society as a whole. The scope is broad, spanning the history of the Mediterranean basin from Classical Greece to Late Antiquity, but with a special focus on Christian and Rabbinic documentation. ...
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“The Punic [section] reflects both the legacy of the native Tunisian Nubians and the Phoencians who came and established Carthage later. This laid the ground for what we call now the Punic civilisation,” Mr Khalloufi told The National.Cross-file under Decorative Art.After its reopening in September, the Bardo Museum introduced a number of new areas such as the Althiburos room, which used to be the music room for Moncef Bey.
The room showcases a series of mosaics, including two that document the daily lives of the Punic people, showing ships and fishing techniques from Althiburos in the 4th century and the complete representation of a banquet in Carthage, also from the 4th century.
The Bardo Museum was subjected to a terrorist attack in 2015, but it reopened shortly afterwards.
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Published in English.
Steven James Stiles examines Jesus' teaching about the Torah in the Gospel according to Matthew as a participant and contributor to the larger phenomenon of writing texts about the Torah in Second Temple Judaism. In this light, Matthew's presentation of Jesus and his teaching concerning the Torah align well with other interpretation strategies and patterns in Second Temple Judaism. Jesus' teaching on the Torah also addresses many of the same concerns other Jewish groups in antiquity had for following the Torah properly. This approach to examining Torah interpretation in Matthew's Gospel highlights the shared concerns and assumptions between Jesus followers and other Jewish groups in antiquity. It also provides significant insight into Matthew's depiction of Jesus as Israel's Davidic-Messianic and ultimate teacher of all things concerning the kingdom of heaven.
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Yes, both stories really are in the Talmud in b Berakhot 18b. Follow the link in the article to read the original.
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The Department of Theology will host a lecture by Dr. Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m. in Marquette Hall 105.Follow the link for more details and the Zoom link.The lecture is titled “How Many Grammars Does a Language Have? The Case of Syriac and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic,” and is open to the public with no registration required. Those interested can also join virtually via Zoom. ...
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The New Testament contains quotes from, and allusions to, other literature. Some sources identify as many as 132 such influences. A question sometimes raised is whether Deuterocanonical books have influenced the New Testament.Part 1, the list of Old Testament Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical books), is good, except that 7Q2 is written in Greek, not Hebrew. I would also add the chapters in Esther and Daniel not found in the Masoretic Text.[...]
Part 2 gives a few examples of supposed influences from the Book of Tobit on the New Testament. Only one looks interesting to me.
In Jesus' parable the woman marries seven brothers in succession. All die without fathering children. If one had fathered children with her, he would have fulfilled the Levirate obligation. Would that mean that he would be her husband in the afterlife? Or would that be the first husband, who now officially had children? I don't know. But then the woman herself dies, leaving the question open.
In Tobit, Sarah marries seven husbands who die without giving her children. But there is no indication they were brothers. The Levirate obligation does not enter the situation. Then she marries Tobias, the eighth husband, and they have sons together (14:3, 12). That would seem to confirm him as her husband in the afterlife, at least by the assumed rule in Jesus' story (which Jesus himself disputes).
I conclude, therefore, that Jesus was not alluding to the story in Tobit. The presence of the eighth husband who gave the woman children would have spoiled the point he wanted to make.
It sounds as though the idea of a woman who married seven husbands in a row who all died leaving her childless was some kind of motif or meme in this period and that Tobit and Jesus both used it for different purposes.
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Fraade, Steven D. The Damascus Document, Oxford Commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.For more on the book, see here and links.... Fraade’s balanced and succinct style of commentary is congruous with the mission of the Oxford Commentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls series— “to provide scholarship of the highest level that is accessible to non-specialists.” The commentary is a product of and testament to the author’s meticulous use of the comparative method and will surely contribute to conversations between scholars of Scrolls and specialists in cognate fields.
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Konstantin M. Klein, Johannes Wienand, City of Caesar, city of God: Constantinople and Jerusalem in late antiquity. Millennium studies, 97. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2022. Pp. xvi, 349. ISBN 9783110717204I noted the publication of the book here.Review by
Euan Croman, Queen's University Belfast. ecroman01@qub.ac.uk... For those interested in the ideology of imperial power and Christianity in late antiquity, this book is easy to recommend, even for a relative newcomer. This recommendation is helped by the fact that City of Caesar, City of God is Open Access, which will no doubt increase the volume’s impact. While there are missed opportunities and areas for expansion, as a whole this book presents a diverse, yet cohesive, look at the late antique world of Constantinople and Jerusalem.
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(RNS) — Studying the Bible from a historic and critical lens is a longstanding project dating back to the 18th century. As new archaeological evidence comes to light, that project of better understanding the ancient world and its most influential text keeps evolving.New Book: Jacob L. Wright, Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and its Origins (Cambridge University Press, 2023).Jacob L. Wright, a professor of Hebrew Bible at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, has now written a book that takes all the latest findings to help illustrate how the Hebrew Bible came together — and critically, why.
In “Why the Bible Began,” he concludes that successive expulsions and exiles — first the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, the Persians, and later the Greeks and Romans — forced the ancient scribes to forge from their defeats a new identity as a people.
[...]
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This looks like a promising site. I look forward to the addition of the Aramaic, Phoenician, etc. components.
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Moses among the Greek LawgiversReading Josephus’ Antiquities through Plutarch’s Lives
Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 210
Author: Ursula Westwood
Josephus’ Antiquities introduces Moses as the Jewish lawgiver, adapting the biblical account for a new audience. But who was that audience, and what did they understand by the term lawgiver (νομοθέτης)? This book uses Plutarch’s Lives as a proxy for an imagined audience, providing a historically grounded but flexible model of a lawgiver, against which some of the otherwise invisible forces shaping Josephus’ choices are thrown into sharp relief. This method reveals patterns of appeal and challenge in Josephus’ intriguing and lively account of Moses’ legislative activities.
Copyright Year: 2023
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-68193-4
Publication: 04 Sep 2023
EUR €116.00Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-68134-7
Publication: 28 Sep 2023
EUR €116.00
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