Aksu, Collecting Practices and Opisthographic Collections in Qumran and Herculaneum (Brill, open access)

NEW OPEN-ACCESS BOOK FROM BRILL:

Collecting Practices and Opisthographic Collections in Qumran and Herculaneum

Series:
Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, Volume: 149

Author: Ayhan Aksu

In Collecting Practices and Opisthographic Collections in Qumran and Herculaneum, Ayhan Aksu offers a new perspective on practices of collection in both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Herculaneum papyri. This study focuses on the intriguing question how ancient scribes and scholars used manuscripts to bring different texts in conversation with each other. Central to Aksu’s approach are opisthographic manuscripts – scrolls that contain text on both the front and back side. Comparative research of the rich papyrus collection from Herculaneum reveals that scribes across various regions of the Mediterranean developed dynamic approaches to engage with their texts.

Copyright Year: 2025

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-71624-7
Publication: 16 Dec 2024

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-71623-0
Publication: 19 Dec 2024
EUR €120.00

HT the AWOL Blog.

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Online book-launch for Heszer, The Development of the Talmud Yerushalmi

H-JUDAIC: The Development of the Talmud Yerushalmi (Sara Ben-Isaac).

Lecture
Date: March 5, 2025
Subject Fields: Jewish History / Studies, Religious Studies and Theology

Lecture and book launch by Catherine Heszer

Based on an understanding of scholasticism as a cross-cultural phenomenon, undertaken by rabbinic, Graeco-Roman, and Christian scholars in late antiquity, this book examines the development of Palestinian rabbinic compilations from social-historical and literary-historical perspectives. ...

Follow the link for ticket information. Tickets are free, with optional donation.

The full title of the book is Rabbinic Scholarship in the Context of Late Antique Scholasticism: The Development of the Talmud Yerushalmi (Bloomsbury 2024). For more on it see here.

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Tourist finds Hasmonean coin at Shiloh

NUMISMATICS: American tourist discovers rare ancient Jewish coin from Hasmonean period in Shiloh, Samaria (All Israel News).

Visitors to the vicinity of Shiloh found another Hasmonean coin and a coin of Herod Agrippa I in 2019.

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

Glass Lazarus update

VESUVIUS WATCH: Mystery of how man's brain turned to glass after Vesuvius eruption possibly solved. The new study on the "glass brain" from Herculaneum is the latest episode in a long-running academic dispute (Tom Metcalfe, Live Science).

In A.D. 79, a man who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption near Pompeii had a rare transformation: His brain seemingly turned into glass. But scientists have long debated how it happened, because the pyroclastic flows of rock fragments, ash and gas that buried him would not have been hot enough, nor cooled quickly enough, to "glassify" or vitrify the man's brain.

Now, researchers have proposed a new explanation: the pyroclastic flows must have been immediately preceded by a superheated cloud of ash that first rapidly heated and then rapidly cooled the man's brain as it dissipated, turning it to glass.

[...]

The new study also adds more evidence that the glass blob was originally a brain. Naturally, not everyone is convinced.

I noted the story in 2020 here and here, with some science-fictiony thoughts of my own about its implications.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and its destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and, notably, on the efforts to reconstruct and decipher the carbonized library at Herculaneum, start here and follow the links. For posts that are more archaeology and history related, see here and links.

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Sennacherib’s Invasion of Hezekiah’s Judah and the War of 1812

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY:

Sennacherib’s Invasion of Hezekiah’s Judah: Disputed Victory in Light of Military History

How is it that both Judah and Assyria remember the War of 701 BCE when Sennacherib invaded Judah as their respective victories? Some have explained this by concluding that either Assyria or Judah is deceptive in their written accounts of the war. In this essay, by comparing this disputed victory with the much more recent War of 1812—where both sides say they won—I argue that neither Assyrian nor biblical texts were principally deceptive in their presentation of the war as their own victory. Similar to the War of 1812, both sides had reasons to see themselves as the victor in the conflict.

See also Sennacherib and the War of 1812: Disputed Victory in the Assyrian Campaign of 701 BCE in Light of Military History (T&T Clark, 2023).

By Paul S. Evan
McMaster Divinity College
February 2025

What an interesting comparison. Cross-file under New Book.

Two thoughts:

First. We can't even agree on what's happening in the news today. Do we really think we can declare winners of ancient wars? Or as the internet proverb goes, If the news is fake, what about history?

Second, one of the best ways to end a war, or any conflict really, is to reach an arrangement where both sides can declare victory.

For some PaleoJudaica posts on Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem and what may have happened there, see the links collected at the end of this post. For more on the archaeological evidence for the siege, see here and here.

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

Prof. Bezalel Porten (1931-2025)

SAD NEWS FROM H-JUDAIC: The passing of Prof Bezalel Porten (1931-2025) (Elena Beletckaia).

H-Judaic is greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Prof. Bezalel Porten (1931-2025), Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University, and the world's foremost expert on the Elephantine Jewish community and its inscriptions.

[...]

May his memory be for a blessing.

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New scrolls at the Reagan Library

SCROLL ROTATION: Reagan Library adds a rare group of Dead Sea Scrolls to their exhibit. At a media day at Reagan Library, experts focused on the famed 4Q57 Isaiah Scroll (Los Angeles Daily News).

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library held a media day on Wednesday, February 26, to watch the installation of a new group of Dead Sea Scrolls, including the famed 4Q57 Isaiah Scroll, a fragment of the Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

[...]

4Q57 (a.k.a. 4QIsaiah^c) is a very fragmentary copy of the book of Isaiah, in many fragments, but with quite a bit of text preserved. You can have a look here. It was published in DJD XV.

I have not found any information on the other newly added scrolls.

For background on the Reagan Library DSS exhibition, see here, here, and here.

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

Almost out: Lorber, Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, Part 2 (ANS)

NUMISMATICS: Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire Part 2 Available Soon From ANS (American Numismatic Society).

The American Numismatic Society (ANS) is pleased to report that the much-anticipated Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire, Part 2, by Catharine C. Lorber, is now at the printer. ...

For more on this book, and for PaleoJudaica posts on Ptolemaic coinage, with my commentary on biblical and Second Temple Jewish connections, see here and links.

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

Mroczek on biblical forgeries

INTERVIEW: The deep history of deepfakes: Q&A with Spatz Chair Eva Mroczek (Genevieve MacIntyre, Dalhousie University News).

This week, Dr. Eva Mroczek, the Simon and Riva Spatz Chair in Jewish Studies at Dalhousie, will trace the winding history of authenticity and forgery in how we discover, study and talk about biblical texts in her lecture titled “Holy Fakes: Jews, Christian, and Biblical Forgeries.”

In advance of her lecture, taking place on Wednesday, February 26 in room 104 of the Weldon Law Building, we asked Dr. Mroczek about what we should expect from her lecture and why it’s timely to learn about today.

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

Review of archaeology display at Ben-Gurion Airport

EXHIBITION REVIEW: The Eternity of Israel Exhibition at Ben-Gurion Airport Unveils Ancient Heritage and Powerful Historical Discoveries in Terminal 3 The Eternity of Israel Exhibition Captivates Visitors at Ben-Gurion Airport, Showcasing Ancient Heritage and Remarkable Archaeological Discoveries (Travel and Tour World).

Background here.

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

Reviewlet of The Sinai Palimpsests

THE ETC BLOG: An Excellent (Relatively) New Book on Palimpsests (Peter Malik).

Also via the ETC Blog, I noted the publication of the open-access book The Sinai Palimpsests here, with links.

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

Review of Bonnet, The names of the gods in ancient Mediterranean religions

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: The names of the gods in ancient Mediterranean religions.

Corinne Bonnet, The names of the gods in ancient Mediterranean religions. Trans. R. Häussler. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024. Pp. xxiv, 282 ISBN 9781009394826.

Review by
Dominic Dalglish, The Open University. dominic.dalglish@open.ac.uk

... Readers should appreciate that the volume’s particular focus on constructs of gods is just one means of studying forms of religious communication, the justification for which may be judged from the strength of its contributions. It is a fitting advertisement for the MAP database, and as such the contributors—and translator Ralph Häussler, who has done an excellent job of retaining the authors’ voices—should be proud of their achievement. If questions remain, it is perhaps because like a good workshop, you should leave with more of them than you arrived with.

The names include Phoenician Baal Oz (Lord of Power) in Cyprus, Mar ‘Olam (Lord of the World/Eternity) at Palmyra, Phoenician Melqart of Tyre, ancient Israel's YHWH, and many others, mostly from the Classical world.

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

BHD video: Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries of 2024

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries of 2024 (Nathan Steinmeyer).

The past year witnessed some incredible discoveries in the world of biblical archaeology. Bible History Daily readers have already been treated to some of our favorites, but now we hear what some real archaeologists have to say! In this Bible History Daily video exclusive, join Biblical Archaeology Review Editor-in-Chief Glenn Corbett as he reviews the year’s top finds with two exciting archaeologists and public scholars, Chris McKinny of Gesher Media and Erika Brown of Just So You Know.

Follow the link for a link to the video.

PaleoJudaica's top-ten list (with bonuses) for 2024 is here. And I noted other top(-ten) archaeology lists for 2024 here, here, here, here, here (BHD again), here, here, here, and here.

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

JQR 115.1 (2025)

H-JUDAIC: ToC for Jewish Quarterly Review (Paul Chase).

The first article, on the Aramaic incantation bowls, looks particularly interesting.

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

Matching colors in Byzantine mosaics and Herodian frescoes at Hyrcania

ANCIENT, POLYCHROMATIC, MATERIAL-CULTURE SYNCHRONICITY: Mikvehs and monks: Vivid hues link rare Jewish and Christian finds in Judean Desert. Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem just concluded their second season of excavations at Hyrcania, where they found colorful Byzantine mosaics and Herodian frescoes (ROSSELLA TERCATIN, Times of Israel).

When a community of Christian monks decided to erect their monastery on a hilltop in the Judean Desert in the 5th century CE, adorning it with mosaics and polychromatic decorations, they knew they weren’t the location’s first residents. What they were not aware of was that some 600 years earlier, their predecessors had chosen similar shades to decorate a different religious structure — a Jewish ritual bath — whose walls and ceilings were also painted in dazzling reds, greens, and yellows.

The remains from both the Byzantine and the Second Temple periods were uncovered during the second season of excavations at Hyrcania, about 17 kilometers southeast of Jerusalem, in today’s West Bank.

[...]

Cross-file under Decorative Art.

I noted the discovery of that Greek paraphrased Psalm inscription in 2023.

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

Did the Apostle Paul visit Petra?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Apostle Paul in Arabia. Reconstructing Paul’s hidden years in the desert (Megan Sauter).

This essay summarizes a 2021 article by Ben Witherington III in BAR. The article itself is behind the subscription wall.

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

Wills, The Feminized Hero in Second Temple Judaism (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Feminized Hero in Second Temple Judaism

AUTHOR: Lawrence M. Wills, Boston University School of Theology
PUBLICATION PLANNED FOR: January 2025
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009487160

Other available formats:
Adobe eBook Reader

Description

The turbulent Second Temple period produced searching biblical texts whose protagonists, unlike heroes like Noah, Abraham, and Moses, were more everyday figures who expressed their moral uncertainties more vocally. Reflecting on a new type of Jewish moral agent, these tales depict men who are feminized, and women who are masculinized. In this volume, Lawrence M. Wills offers a deep interrogation of these stories, uncovering the psychological aspects of Jewish identity, moral life, and decisions that they explore. Often written as novellas, the stories investigate emotions, psychological interiorizing, the self, agency, and character. Recent insights from gender and postcolonial theory inform Wills' study, as he shows how one can study and compare modern and ancient gender constructs. Wills also reconstructs the social fabric of the Second Temple period and demonstrates how a focus on emotions, the self, and moral psychology, often associated with both ancient Greek and modern literature, are present in biblical texts, albeit in a subtle, unassuming manner.

• In a period of great changes in Jewish governance and culture, examines the depiction of the more 'ordinary' heroes and heroines of Second Temple texts
• Uncovers the social fabric of a six-hundred-year period that is wrongly still considered 'secondary to the texts that come before (First Temple) and the texts that come after (New Testament and rabbinic Judaism)
• Brings to the surface psychological aspects that are often considered either 'Greek' or 'modern' (emotions, self, moral psychology, etc.) and demonstrates that they are likely present as well in often unassuming Jewish texts

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