Harris, Religious Experience and Divinization in the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Religious Experience and Divinization in the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls

Living in the Liminal

Series:
Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism

Author: Rebecca L. Harris For members of the sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls movement, participation in the group would have granted an individual special privileges, including present, unmediated access to otherworldly realities. This understanding of the present as a type of liminal space is rooted in the group’s constructions of time and space. Drawing on theories of liminality and anthropological research on religious consciousness, this study seeks to demonstrate how sectarian identity and ritual and liturgical practice might have cultivated an experience of present communion with divine beings that was also aspirational and aimed to achieve the human worshiper’s permanent incorporation into the heavenly realm.

Copyright Year: 2026

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74804-0
Publication: 24 Nov 2025 EUR €121.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74803-3
Publication: 20 Nov 2025
EUR €121.00

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Assyrian inscriptions that mention Israelite kings

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Kurkh Monolith and Black Obelisk. References to Ancient Israel in Assyrian Texts (Nathan Steinmeyer).

This is the first part of an exclusive Bible History Daily series on historical texts that are important for understanding the history and world of the Bible.

When discussing historical references to ancient Israel outside of the Bible, many note the famous Tel Dan Inscription or the Mesha Stele, but there are two important Assyrian texts that are often forgotten: the Kurkh Monolith and the Black Obelisk.1 These inscriptions contain not only two of the oldest mentions of ancient Israel, but also describe events not mentioned in the Bible.

[...]

The Kurkh Monolith recounts the Battle of Qarqar, on which a bit more is here.

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Excavating Jerusalem's Hasmonean-era city wall

ANCIENT FORTIFICATION: Huge Section of Jerusalem's 'First' City Wall Found Beneath Prison. Hasmonean Jerusalem had a bristling stone city wall five meters thick to protect the people against the bitter enemy, but that apparently isn't who brought the wall down 2,000 years ago (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The Roman-Jewish historian of dubious reputation, Yosef ben Matityahu or Josephus, who would be captured by the Romans in the battle over Yodfat, wrote in detail about the mighty Jerusalem wall and its gates, calling it "impregnable" with no less than 60 guard towers along its length.

Maybe it was impregnable. "It is clear that it was systematically destroyed and razed to the ground. This is predetermined destruction – not the result of the ravages of time, nor of enemy attack," says [excavation director Dr. Amit] Re'em. "This raises questions about who was responsible for the wall's destruction."

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Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day 2025

IT'S THAT DAY AGAIN: Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day (Days of the Year).

Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day was created in 2007 by Senna Diaz, author of the webcomic Dresden Codak, but the dream of the human race one day being able to travel through time is much older than that. The first known mention of such a concept is in ancient Hindu mythology.

Now an established annual tradition that I have egregiously neglected for some years.

One of the original announcements is here. The original Facebook page is long gone, but the X hashtage is #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay.

Have fun, but behave yourself.

Past posts on the day are here and links.

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Ancient glass ring found by Sifting Project volunteer

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT: FINDER AND FIND OF THE MONTH: IRÈNE POLLAK-REIN AND THE GLASS RING.

Glass rings were popular in the Roman and Byzantine periods, roughly between the 1st and 7th centuries CE. They were often made by winding molten glass around a rod or using a mold, then smoothing the surface. These rings served as affordable decorative items compared to precious metal jewelry and were widely worn by different social classes.

Finding such an artifact at the Temple Mount Sifting Project reflects the everyday life and craftsmanship of people who lived in Jerusalem during these eras. For Irène, sifting through the soil of the Temple Mount is not just an archaeological act, it is a spiritual privilege touching the very center of Jewish and world heritage.

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3-4 Maccabees and the Apocalypse of Baruch According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation (Gorgias)

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

3-4 Maccabees and the Apocalypse of Baruch According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation

English Translation by Philip Forness & J. Edward Walters; Text Prepared by George Anton Kiraz & Joseph Bali

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0588-1

Formats *
Cloth (In Print) ISBN 978-1-4632-0588-1

Publication Status: In Print
Series: Surath Kthob 15
Publication Date: Sep 15,2025
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Page Count: 0 [Sic!]
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0588-1
Price: $150.00 (USD)
Your price: $120.00 (USD)

Overview

This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars. Forness and Walters have translated the text, while Kiraz has prepared the Syriac text in the west Syriac script, fully vocalized and pointed. The translation and the Syriac text are presented on facing pages so that both can be studied together. All readers are catered for: those wanting to read the text in English, those wanting to improve their grasp of Syriac by reading the original language along with a translation, and those wanting to focus on a fully vocalized Syriac text.

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