The question of the historical Talmud

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: The Historical Talmud (Simcha Gross).

Curiously, however, modern scholarship has largely proceeded as though the Talmud lies beyond the reach of historical inquiry. Even as contextual approaches to the Talmud – especially attention to its religious and cultural milieux – have attracted a growing community of scholars and incorporated an expanding range of comparanda, the historical study of the Talmud continues to be treated as a topic of interest rather than as an essential methodological orientation. It occupies a position not unlike that of studies of rabbinic conceptions of the afterlife or angelology: a legitimate subject of inquiry, yet not a foundational point of departure. Historical analysis is thus rarely regarded as indispensable to Talmudic study in the way that philology is; instead, it remains a specialized line of investigation within the broader field. ...

The historical study of the Bavli can therefore no longer be treated as a secondary pursuit. Like any other literary work, the Talmud must also be read within its political, social, and cultural ambit. Such an approach corrects for latent – and ultimately unsubstantiated – historical assumptions that continue to shape many aspects of the field. At the same time, it offers new lines of approach to familiar questions and opens novel avenues of inquiry. I will conclude by sketching four such directions:

I noted the first three essays in this series here and links.

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On Israeli archaeology in the West Bank

ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: Israel digs up the West Bank – and reignites a battle over history. As Israel expands excavations in the West Bank, ancient ruins become entangled in a modern political struggle over land, history, and identity (RUTH MARKS EGLASH, The Jerusalem Report).

While such dramatic ancient archaeological sites are located across this region, which Israelis call by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, Alexandrion/Sartaba is now one of a handful of places where active excavations are taking place – for the first time in 40 years.

However, the renewed excavation here is not unfolding in isolation from modern events. It comes amid a sweeping Israeli government initiative to expand archaeological activity across the West Bank – territory Palestinians seek for a future state; territory which much of the international community considers “occupied.”

For more on the political situation with archaeology on the West Bank, and more on the Sartaba-Alexandrium excavation, see here and links. And for a post on the site of Archelais, see here.

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Review of Faust & Farber, The Bible's First Kings

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY:

The Bible’s First Kings

A fresh look at the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon

The Bible’s First Kings: Uncovering the Story of Saul, David, and Solomon
By Avraham Faust and Zev I. Farber
(Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2025), 464 pp., 30 figs. (photos, plans, and maps); $49.99 (hardback & digital)

Reviewed by Michael G. Hasel

... This period of ancient Israel’s history, and its first kings, has become the most contested area of research over the past 40 years. It is into this quagmire of history, archaeology, and faith that archaeologist Avraham Faust and biblical scholar Zev Farber offer a new synthesis titled The Bible’s First Kings, which offers a dense but engaging discussion of the various biblical and archaeological issues.

Cross-file under New Book.

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Why was the Elephantine Judean temple really destroyed?

HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION: What Caused History's 'First Pogrom'? New Study Points to a Lurid Personal Rivalry. The destruction of the temple of Yahweh at Elephantine 2,400 years ago may have been the first anti-Semitic act in history, but new research suggests a more mundane motive was behind the devastation (Ariel David, Haaretz).

The destruction of the Jewish temple on the Egyptian island of Elephantine some 2,400 years ago is considered by some scholars to be the first recorded manifestation in history of religious and ethnic hatred toward Jews in the diaspora. But a recently published study claims that the true motive behind this 'proto-pogrom' was a personal rivalry between powerful local officials, on the background of a broader struggle for control over Egypt under Persian occupation.

The research sheds new light on the complex cultural and political dynamics that affected the life of early Jews in the Persian Empire, which may have had significant influence on the development of later Judaism as we know it, says Dr. Gad Barnea, a lecturer in Jewish history and biblical studies at Haifa University.

[...]

This article summarizes Dr. Barnea's interesting, if rather complicated and speculative, reconstruction of the events surrounding the destruction of the Elephantine Temple.

For the full technical and philological reconstruction, his open-access peer-review JAOS article is available here:

Khnum Is Against Us”: The Rise and Fall of Ḥananiah and the Persecution of the Yahwists in Egypt (ca. 419–404 BCE).

December 2025Journal of the American Oriental Society 145(4)
DOI:10.7817/jaos.145.4.2025.ar029

Authors:
Gad Barnea
University of Haifa

Abstract and Figures

According to the Elephantine Yahwists’ own dramatic portrayal, the figure of a certain Ḥananiah played a key role in the misfortunes they experienced following his arrival in Egypt in or around 419 bce. Therefore, understanding who this person was and how he might have helped cause these calamities can provide important context to the analysis of the final decades of this community. This article looks at all available evidence—textual, linguistic, and archeological data, both internal and external to Egypt—and comes to the conclusion that Ḥananiah was, in all probability, a scion of the Sanballat dynasty, an aristocrat and future governor of Samaria, who is known from various mid-fourth-century BCE documents discovered in Palestine. The identification of this eminently unique and dramatic character in Egypt at an exceptionally critical time in the satrapy has important implications, regarding which some speculative options are offered. The article also provides a new perspective on the overarching context of the events endured by the Yahwists in Elephantine, as well as on the general state of Yahwism in the Achaemenid period. Specifically, it offers a new hypothesis regarding the reasons for the persecution of the Yahwists and the destruction of their temple.

Other articles on the ancient Judean community at Elephantine by Dr. Barnea are noted here and here.

For many, many PaleoJudaica posts on the Elephantine Papyri and the site of Elephantine, see here and links, plus here, here, here, here, and here. Perhaps also here. Cross-file under Aramaic Watch.

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Shipwreck evidence for Iron Age II smithing and smelting

MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY: Iron from a 2,600-year-old shipwreck off Israeli coast may rewrite the history of war. The first evidence that iron was traded as a semifinished product has been found off the coast of nor (Rosella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

It was against the backdrop of this upheaval that a ship sank just meters from the ancient harbor of Dor, on the Carmel Coast in northern Israel (also known as Tantura Lagoon). Over two and a half millennia later, as maritime archaeologists retrieved some of its cargo, they made an unprecedented discovery, which changes the understanding of ancient metal production, trade routes, and possibly war supplies in the Iron Age (1200-586 BCE), a crucial time in the region’s history when most of the biblical narratives took place.

These "iron blooms" were found in the remains of Dor L2, one of the cargoes excavated at three shipwreck sites in Dor Lagoon. They have been in the news recently. See here.

The underlying open-access peer-review article in Heritage Science:

Article Open access Published: 13 March 2026

Earliest iron blooms discovered off the Carmel coast revise Mediterranean trade in raw metal ca. 600 BCE

Tzilla Eshel, Andrei Ioffe, Dafna Langgut, Yoav Bornstein, Zachary C. Dunseth, Marko Runjajić, Shmuel Ariely, Thomas E. Levy & Assaf Yasur-Landau
npj Heritage Science volume 14, Article number: 155 (2026)

Abstract

The discovery of exceptionally well-preserved iron blooms during underwater excavations in the Dor Lagoon provides a rare and transformative window into southern Levantine Iron Age metallurgy and trade. For the first time, unworked iron blooms, still encased in protective slag, have been recovered, representing the earliest securely dated industrial iron products identified to date. Radiocarbon modeling of an embedded charred oak twig, together with additional short-lived carbon samples, dates the blooms to the late 7th–early 6th centuries BCE. These findings challenge assumptions that iron blooms were typically forged immediately after smelting. Instead, the Dor blooms demonstrate that raw iron was transported in its as-smelted state, with adhering slag protecting the metal from corrosion during shipment. Results suggest that Iron Age urban centers focused on smithing rather than smelting activities, while raw iron circulated as a traded commodity, possibly under Saitic-Egyptian rule following the Neo-Assyrian withdrawal from the region.

Cross-file under Maritime (Underwater) Archaeology.

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Did the Armenian alphabet come from the Ethiopic alphabet?

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Ancient alphabets, new insights: Researchers uncover hidden links among the letters. SDSU researchers used AI to compare writing systems across distant regions (San Diego State University).

With artificial intelligence (AI) as an essential tool, San Diego State University researchers have discovered surprising similarities among ancient writing systems from Africa and the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Their study suggests the Armenian alphabet may be more closely related in structure to the ancient Ethiopic writing system than linguists and historians previously thought.

For many years, historians noticed some Armenian, Georgian and Caucasian Albanian letters look similar to letters from Ethiopic, also known as Ge’ez, a writing system developed in the Horn of Africa more than 1,600 years ago. ...

One of the most surprising findings was that the Armenian alphabet appeared almost as similar to Ethiopic as Ethiopic is to its own earlier version. That suggests the resemblance may not be accidental.

That is an interesting discovery. It raises the question whether any cultural influences accompanied the script influence. Not my area, though.

This press release gives a brief, accessible summary of the underlying open-access peer-review article just published in Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. If you're feeling ambitious, you can read the whole, rather technical, article:

Machine learning techniques for exploring influence, commonalities, and shared origin of scripts: cases of Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, and Caucasian Albanian scripts

Daniel Zemene, Esatu Zemene, Atharv Sankpal, Eskinder Sahle, Vyshak Athreya Bellur Keshavamurthy, Samuel Kinde Kassegne
Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, fqag029, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqag029
Published: 25 March 2026

Abstract

The morphological similarities between the Armenian, Georgian, and Caucasian Albanian scripts and the Ethiopic script have long intrigued both casual observers and scholars. However, prior studies have relied primarily on qualitative or historical analysis, often lacking objective or computational rigor. This study addresses that gap by applying machine learning and deep learning methods to explore potential structural relationships among these scripts. Using over 28,000 images of Ethiopic characters, we trained a deep convolutional neural network and augmented the dataset to enhance generalization. The resulting model, FeedelLigence, analyzes cross-script similarities through transformation-invariant distance measures, cosine distance (CD), and mutual information (MI). Our findings indicate notable structural and symbolic proximity between Ethiopic and the three comparison scripts. Armenian showed the strongest similarity, with the highest MI (0.7428 bits) and the lowest CD (0.0774). Georgian and Caucasian Albanian followed, with MI scores of 0.6843 and 0.6561 bits, and CDs of 0.1558 and 0.2498, respectively. These results provide computational evidence of significant structural overlap, suggesting possible historical connections or shared influences. In a broader cultural context, such affinities align with historical patterns of script evolution and cross-civilizational exchange. By combining artificial intelligence with comparative script analysis, this study offers a novel, quantitative perspective on the relationships among ancient writing systems—advancing our understanding beyond traditional human-centered approaches.

Cross-file under Paleography, Ethiopic Watch and Armenian Watch.

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Large late-antique Coptic monastic complex excavated in Egypt

COPTIC WATCH: Archaeological discovery from the 5th century in the Nile Delta: the second-largest monastic complex in the history of Egyptian Christianity (Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).

The excavation campaign carried out by the Egyptian archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in the area of Al-Qalaya, located in the center of Hosh Issa, in the Beheira governorate, has culminated in the discovery of a monumental structure that specialists link to the earliest manifestations of Coptic monasticism.

[...]

Lots of architectual and artifactual discoveries at this site. The latter include a grave stone and fragmentary ceramic vessels inscribed in Coptic.

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Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology Volume 12 • 2025

NOW OUT, OPEN ACCESS: Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology Volume 12 • 2025

Contents

Dudi Mevorah, Ruth E. Jackson-Tal 4 In Memoriam Yael Israeli, 1933–2025

Arlette David 8 Amenhotep IV’s Large ‘Commemorative’ Scarabs

Eran Arie 24 Five Statuette Heads from the Warschaw Collection at the Israel Museum: Tracing Gaza’s Role in the Distribution of Cypriot Statuary in the Persian-Period Southern Levant

Shimon Gibson, Rafael Y. Lewis, Yarden Pagelson, Dudi Mevorah, Hadas Seri 44 A Roman Spatha Sword and Scabbard from Excavations on Mount Zion in Jerusalem

Ofer Pogorelsky 66 “An Epitaph upon Husband and Wife” A Greek Funerary Inscription in the Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Ohad Abudraham, Ofer Pogorelsky 74 A Forgotten Nabataean Inscription from the Moshe Dayan Collection at the Israel Museum

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Abracadabra yet again

ARAMAIC WATCH? Word of the Day: ‘Abracadabra’; Check its Meaning, Origin, Phonetic, IPA & More. Abracadabra is a historic magical word linked to ancient healing beliefs, now widely used by magicians to symbolize mystery and transformation (Shubhi Kumar, The Sunday Guardian).

The origin of “Abracadabra” dates back nearly 2,000 years. It first appeared in the writings of a Roman physician named Serenus Sammonicus in the 2nd century. People believed that writing the word in a triangular pattern and wearing it as an amulet could cure diseases, especially fever. Some scholars think it comes from the Aramaic phrase meaning “I create as I speak,” while others link it to ancient Hebrew expressions.

Abracadabra comes up now and then in the media, and it's fun to review it when it does. It does have connections with both Aramaic and Hebrew, although the specifics are indeed debated.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the word and its possible etymology, start here and follow the links. I discuss the philological problems in detail here.

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Ancient coins seized at West Bank checkpoint

APPREHENDED NUMISMATICS: Ancient coins from Hasmonean kingdoms, Jewish revolts seized after suspected smuggling. Police say they found the artifacts last month as they inspected a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian doctor as he crossed the Hizma checkpoint north of Jerusalem into Israel (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

A collection of dozens of ancient coins was seized after a suspected smuggling attempt from the West Bank into Israel last month, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday.

Most of the coins date back approximately 2,000 years. Some were minted by Hasmonean kings (in the second or first centuries BCE), others by Jewish rebels during the Great Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE) or the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-136 CE). The collection also includes many Roman coins.

[...]

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When did the Bavli become authoritative - especially in the Land of Israel?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Historical Bavli Questions (Yitz Landes).

Thus, from the vantage point of the History of the Jewish Book, the study of the Talmud’s reception can focus on many things, but there are two main questions that it must deal with: One, which I just alluded to, is a question for the historian of the modern era, or perhaps even for the ethnographer, and this is the question of how the Talmud became a popular text after many centuries of it being a text of the elite.

The book historical question that I will focus on here is the question of the Talmud’s initial reception, of what we may call its canonization. And I mean this not in the sense of its coalescing as a work, though that is still profoundly unclear, but in the sense of how the Talmud became the most central work for defining what Judaism is and should be—well before, even a millennium before, it became a popular book and a part of popular piety.

I noted the first two essays in this series here and here.

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Is the Ark of the Covenant in the Solomon Islands?

WELL THAT'S A NEW ONE: Local religious movement claims the Ark of the Covenant is in the Solomon Islands. Among the To’abaita people in the north of Malaita, a deeply rooted belief holds that they descend from the “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel” (Jerusalem Post Staff/AI).

A new theory is drawing attention to Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands as a potential hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant. Local accounts point to a lost temple deep in the jungle that was modeled on King Solomon’s Temple to safeguard the sacred chest. ...

No, I don't take this seriously, but it's fun to keep track of all the places where the Ark is supposed to be. Once someone even visited my office to tell where it was buried in Scotland.

To the Solomon Islanders and anyone else who proports to know where the Ark of the Covenant is, I say, I am fully prepared to be convinced when you produce the Ark and it is properly authenticated by professional archaeologists and specialists.

For a great many posts on the Ark of the Covenant and the many places where it's claimed to be, start here and just follow those links. For some background links, see here.

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The ANE Myth of the Servant

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: The Myth of the Servant: A New Tale of Kingship from the Ancient Near East (Christopher Metcalf).

This is where the mythical element becomes relevant: the central claim of the “Myth of the Servant,” I argue, is that the newcomer originally served as a servant of the existing king. This claim is embedded in a longer story-pattern, which in its fullest version extends all the way back to birth. To summarise in abstract terms: the future ruler is born in a situation of tension, and is separated from his natural parents; he is then rescued and adopted by a palace servant, and begins a career at court that eventually introduces him to the immediate entourage of the existing king; in the end, the new man takes the throne himself, typically with divine support. One notable feature is that the incumbent king (the future ruler’s master) is usually an invented figure, in the sense that we rarely possess independent historical evidence for his existence.

Cross-file under New Book:

Christopher Metcalf, Three Myths of Kingship in Early Greece and the Ancient Near East: The Servant, the Lover, and the Fool (CUP, 2026)

The book title sounds Jungian.

Our first surviving exemplar of the ANE Myth of the Servant is for the third-millennium BCE founder of the Old Akkadian empire, Sargon of Agade (Akkad). But the myth applies to a greater or lesser degree for many other ancient figures, including biblical figures, among them Jesus.

This myth has some similarities to Lord Raglan's old typology of the Myth of the Hero. On that, see here. Unfortunately, the original article is no longer up, but for more on his typology, see here and for a post on other hero typologies, see here.

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When was the Book of Daniel written?

THE IS THAT IN THE BIBLE? BLOG: Why Scholars Date the Book of Daniel to the Second Century BCE (Paul D.).

Is That in the Bible? is back with a comprehensive post on the arguments for a late dating of the Book of Daniel. Long, but well worth a read.

I have commented myself on key reasons for the late dating of the book in the links collected here.

Also, some years ago, Phil Long posted a series on the Book of Daniel at Reading Acts. I noted it as it came out and I commented on many of the issues covered in Paul D.'s new esssay. See here and here and follow the links back.

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Römer Festschrift (De Gruyter)

NEW OPEN-ACCESS VOLUME BY DE GRUYTER:

The Ancestors of Genesis and the Exodus Traditions

A Festschrift for Thomas Römer

Published by De Gruyter

Book 568 in the Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft series

Christophe Nihan, Jean-Daniel Macchi (eds.)

The volume comprises various studies about Israel’s origins in Genesis and Exodus by a broad range of international scholars. The volume is divided into five parts of similar length. Parts One and Two are devoted to the stories about Abraham, Jacob and Joseph in Genesis from a literary and historical perspective. Part Three deals with the connection between Genesis and Exodus. Part Four is devoted to the Book of Exodus and includes contributions dealing with the origins of the Exodus traditions as well as various key themes and figures found in this book. The final section addresses the early reception of Genesis and Exodus outside of these books, in the Prophets, the Psalms, Chronicles and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Overall, the volume opens several new perspectives for the discussion on Genesis and Exodus and their significance for the construction of Israel’s origins. Combining archaeological, historical and textual perspectives, it provides in-depth discussion of a wide range of key topics, including the composition of these books, their social, historical and religious background, as well as their overall role in the shaping of the Hebrew Bible.

HT the AWOL Blog.

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Ulmer, ... Studies in Pesiqta Rabbati (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Sing and Rejoice, O daughter of Zion (Zechariah 2:14)

Studies in Pesiqta Rabbati

Series:
The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 80

Author: Rivka Ulmer

Pesiqta Rabbati is a midrashic collection of homilies derived from the Hebrew bible related to Jewish observance of festivals, fast days, and special Sabbaths. The book underscores the importance and purpose of Pesiqta Rabbati: to explain the centrality of midrash in the life, culture, and ethnicity of Jewish belief and practice, as well as the importance of practice sustaining the continuity of Jews and their identity. Textual details are drawn from contemporary events (5th- 11th century) and Jewish ethics. Topics include apocalyptic thought, the suffering Messiah ben Ephraim, the Jerusalem Temple, and reactions to Christianity and Islam. Methods applied are text linguistics, borderland theories, halachic discourse analysis, semiotics, and literary criticism.

Copyright Year: 2026

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74830-9
Publication: 26 Jan 2026
EUR €199.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74829-3
Publication: 26 Feb 2026
EUR €199.00

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Grabbe, When Israel Was Young (T&T Clark)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

When Israel Was Young

A History of the Jewish People from the Beginnings to the Roman Conquest of Jerusalem

Lester L. Grabbe (Author)

Paperback
$34.95 $31.45
Hardback
$100.00 $90.00
Ebook (PDF)
$31.45 $25.16
Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$31.45 $25.16

Product details

Published Oct 30 2025
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 432
ISBN 9780567714329
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 10 x 7 inches
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

The traumatic history of Israel in the past 2000 years is widely known, but the Jews of ancient Israel and the Mediterranean world also have an exciting history that is less well known. It includes the first references to Israelites in an early Egyptian inscription, the kings of Israel, the Persian province of Yehud, the Greek and Roman rule of Judah, the kingdom of the Maccabees, and the Jewish diaspora in Babylonia and the Greco-Roman world.

Lester Grabbe brings together all the historical information and synthesizes it in an understandable way for those with an interest in the early history, culture, and religion of the Jews. Grabbe also explains what has been discovered by archaeologists, Egyptologists, and Assyriologists that is important for understanding the history of ancient Israel. This is not a brief survey, rather an in-depth overview of the history of Israel from one of the most significant scholars of his generation. Serious readers and history and students alike will find this a helpful pathfinder through the history of one of the most fascinating and influential regions in the world.

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BIAJS Book Prize 2026

BRITISH AND IRISH ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH STUDIES:

BIAJS Book Prize 2026

We are pleased to announce that the 2026 BIAJS Book Prize competition is now open. The book prize initiative was launched in 2018 to recognise and promote outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish Studies.
Each year BIAJS awards a prize of £1000 for the best monograph submitted, with the focus alternating between books on the ancient to medieval period and early modern to modern period. For the 2026 prize, we invite submissions focused on topics relating to the ancient and medieval periods. The winner will be announced at the annual BIAJS conference in July 2026. ...

Follow the link for eligibility criteria and submission instructions. The deadline is Friday, 27 March, so don't dawdle.

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Did the British Museum change a display due to UKLFI objections?

ONOMASTIC POLITICS, CONTINUED: British Museum did not remove Palestine from labels due to pressure campaign, museum sources say—as backlash continues. Some scholars however have questioned the wording used in the new labels in the Ancient Levant and Egyptian galleries (Melissa Gronlund, The Art Newspaper).

The Art Newspaper understands that the Ancient Levant wall labels were amended in early 2025, following staff changes in the Middle Eastern department. According to interviews with multiple former curators and individuals affiliated with the museum, the labels were updated according to the most recent scholarship, such as the move to use the terms for ancient people by which they were known at the time, and to refresh a display that had grown tired.

The letter that was sent to the British Museum from UKLFI came a year after these changes. ...

Of couse, not all scholars are happy with the changes. This article has a good discussion of the details of the debate.

For an earlier post on this story, see here. There I discuss the complexities of the terminology used to refer to this region, with special attention to emic usages in the Second Temple Period.

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Stanley, A Ram for Mars: A Slave's Story, Book 3

RECENT NOVEL FROM NFB PUBLISHING:

A Ram for Mars: A Slave's Story, Book 3

by Christopher D. Stanley (Author)

What would you do if you were pressured to support a rebellion that you believed was misguided and doomed to failure? What if the safety of your family and business depended on your answer?

Marcus and Miriam, recently freed slaves from Asia Minor, arrive in Israel buoyed by hopes of finding Marcus’s long-lost mother and starting a new life together. They discover that the land is seething with social and political unrest, with anti-Roman parties in the ascendancy.

Marcus, who grew up in a Roman colony and owes his present prosperity to a Roman master, finds these anti-Roman sentiments perplexing. His uncertainty increases when war breaks out and he’s asked to ship supplies to the rebel army, including a newfound cousin who protects the northern front.

As his entanglement with the rebellion deepens, Marcus is torn between loyalty to the world in which he was nurtured and the need to secure his family’s safety. Then his adopted son runs off to join the rebels. What is he to do?

Fans of Conn Iggulden, Ken Follett, and Robert Graves will be captivated by this richly detailed and compelling exploration of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 AD/CE) through the lens of a pro-Roman Jew in the rural district of Galilee.

This is the third book in an historical-novel trilogy by a biblical scholar. For notices and reviews of the first two, see here and links. The author's website is here.

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On the formation and reception of the Babylonian Talmud

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: A Dual Agenda for Bavli Studies: Formation and Reception (Alyssa Gray).

The common thread running through all these projects on the Bavli’s adaptation of other sources is the scholarly realization that as creative as the Bavli is, that creativity is at least partly (a big part) expressed through the incorporation and reworking of other sources, whether texts or motifs. There are methodological variations within these various studies, and these variations exhibit both tension and complementarity. If we focus (again, non-exhaustively) on studies of the Bavli in relation to the Yerushalmi, there are methodological variations worth noting.

I noted the introductory essay in this series here.

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Debating diachronic diversity dating for biblical Hebrew

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

“A Relationship Worth Fighting For”: A Response to “Isn’t It Time to Break Up with Linguistic Dating?”

Linguistic dating in Biblical Hebrew research remains a valid scholarly tool despite complications arising from composition, redaction, transmission, and methodological challenges. Although weaker or overly circular approaches deserve criticism, careful, data-driven analysis of Masoretic, non-Masoretic, and extrabiblical Hebrew still reveals meaningful diachronic patterns and can thus contribute to historical periodization.

See also Diachronic Diversity in Classical Biblical Hebrew (Cambridge, 2024).

By Aaron D. Hornkohl
Associate Professor of Hebrew
University of Cambridge, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
March 2026

This essay responds to an earlier Bible and Interpretation essay, noted here. And see also here.

The discussion is somewhat technical and has been going on for a long time. I have comments myself here and here. I think further progress will be difficult unless (hopefully, until) we find a cache of Iron Age II (i.e., pre-exilic) Hebrew Dead Sea Scrolls.

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Lots more ghost wheels?

PREHISTORIC MEGALITHIC ARCHITECTURE: Mystery widens: Researchers find Israel’s ‘Stonehenge’ in the Golan is not unique. Remote sensing and AI helped identify 28 sites similar to Rujm el-Hiri, challenging theories about the ancient stone circle’s purpose and pointing to a wider regional phenomenon (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

Rujm el-Hiri is, of course, a very well-known site, and it was always considered to be a very unique site in the area,” [archaeologist Michal] Birkenfeld said. “Most [of the sites we discovered] were not as elaborate and were of different sizes and levels of preservation, but they still have the same type of logic.”

“If this is the case, it also impacts the way we can interpret these sites,” Birkenfeld explained, adding that they have also found that there are similar sites further away, including in the Galilee and in Lebanon.

The question is connected to how to understand the original one at Rujm el-Hiri, which remains surrounded by enigmas.

Last year I mentioned the site of Rujm el-Hiri as one of those pre-Israelite megascale constructions which may have given the Israelites the idea that giants lived in the land long ago. This site is especially fun because its traditional nickname is Gilgal Refa'im, "wheel of ghosts" or, in biblical context, possibly "wheel of giants." The purpose of the site remains debated.

Now it appears that Rujm el-Hiri is far from unique. The new research indicates there were dozens of such prehistoric circular megalitic monuments in the region. No wonder the Israelites thought there used to be giants in the land!

The underlying article is open access at Plos One:

Reassessing Rujm el-Hiri: Aerial imagery and stone circles in the proto-historic Southern Levant

Michal Birkenfeld , Olga Khabarova, Lev V. Eppelbaum, Uri Berger
Published: March 18, 2026
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339952

Abstract

Rujm el-Hiri has long been considered one of the most enigmatic archaeological monuments in the Southern Levant. Variously interpreted as a funerary, ceremonial, or astronomical locale, it has been the centre of multiple studies spanning over more than 50 years. While traditionally viewed as an isolated protohistoric monument, our study reveals it as the most elaborate example of a widespread regional tradition of large, circular basalt stone structures. This study presents a comprehensive regional reassessment of these large circular stone structures in the basalt highlands surrounding Rujm el-Hiri, revealing over 30 previously undocumented examples within a 25 km radius. Utilizing high-resolution satellite imagery, geophysical modelling, and spatial analysis, we document a consistent architectural tradition characterized by concentric and radial basalt walls, often associated with dolmens, tumuli, and field systems. These structures exhibit similarities in design and landscape placement, frequently located near seasonal water sources and integrated within broader agro-pastoral land-use networks. Our findings challenge the view of Rujm el-Hiri as an isolated monument, instead situating it within a wider phenomenon of protohistoric monumental architecture in this region. This expanded dataset provides new perspectives on landscape organization and monumentality in the protohistoric southern Levant. The application of remote sensing techniques proves crucial in overcoming previous survey limitations, revealing a complex and interconnected archaeological landscape hitherto underappreciated.

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Was the Second Temple ANE or Greek inspired?

DR. LISBETH S. FRIED: Did YHWH Reside in the Temple? (TheTorah.com).

The biblical accounts of the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple reflect ancient Near Eastern ideas of divine residence. Ezra’s account of the Second Temple, however—where the altar is built first—reflects a theology closer to the Greek world, also echoed in the patriarchal stories of Genesis.

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More on the Athribis ostraca and what's on them

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Treasure Trove of Ancient Astrology Unearthed in Egypt. Thousands of ostraca found at Atreps (Lauren K. McCormick).

Atreps is the same site as Athribis/Atribis. I have noted this most recent discovery of thousands more inscribed ostraca here. Follow the links for background and earlier discoveries at the site.

This BHD essay does a good job of answering the questions What do they say? and Why should we care? Excerpt:

Of special interest are more than 100 mainly Demotic-Hieratic horoscopes, which complement earlier discoveries of about 130 ostraca documenting celestial observations and possible astrological charts. Generally speaking, in ancient Egypt, astronomy involved observing and measuring celestial bodies, while astrology interpreted their significance. Horoscopes recorded the positions of stars and planets at specific moments so their meaning could be interpreted. It seems clear that Atreps served as a hub of astrological and astronomical activity.

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Maaloula latest

MODERN ARAMAIC WATCH: This war-torn village is fighting to keep Christ’s language alive. Home to some of the last speakers of Aramaic, Maaloula was attacked in Syria’s civil war. Its residents are determined to rebuild–and preserve their mother tongue from extinction (Ryan Biller, National Geographic).

Poor Maaloula (Ma'aloula, Malula, Maalula - etc!) has been through a lot. PaleoJudaica has been following the fate of this Syrian city, where Aramaic is still spoken, for more than 20 years. Its situation is already delicate with the fall of Assad and the new al-Sharaa-led transitional government. I hope it and its people stay safe during the current war. They are not in the midst of the action, but they are not all that far away from it.

Background here and many links.

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Mosaic-floor church excavated at Nitzana in the Negev

ARCHAEOLOGY: On the trail of Lawrence of Arabia: 1,400-year-old church found in the Negev. Mosaic-decorated church uncovered at Nitzana National Park sheds light on the scene among pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land to Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt (Rossella Tercating, Times of Israel).

The mosaic-floor church was discovered during the latest excavation season conducted by BGU archaeologists in February.

“It is the most beautiful of all six churches, because it is the only one featuring colorful mosaic floors as opposed to simple stone floors, like the others,” Tchekhanovets said.

The mosaics present intricate geometric and floral patterns.

The archaeologists could date the completion of the church precisely thanks to an inscription dedicating the building to the benefactor who funded it in 601 CE.

You have to read pretty far into the article to get to Lawrence of Arabia, and he is not very important to the story. Cross-file under Decorative Art.

PaleoJudaica posts about discoveries in the Nitzana National Park are here, here, and here, and, under the name Nessana, here, here and (a good overview through late 2024) here.

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"What is the Talmud?" - upcoming roundtable papers

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: What is the Talmud? (Christine Hayes).

In anticipation of the publication of the conference proceedings, the volume editors convened a roundtable discussion at the 2025 Association for Jewish Studies annual conference. At the roundtable, several scholars discussed the question "What is the Talmud?" and considered how diverse answers to that question have shaped and will continue to shape the field of Bavli Studies.

Further details are at the link. The papers are forthcoming.

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Unauthorized West Bank antiquity confiscation?

DETAINED DECORATIVE ARCHITECTURE: High-ranking Israeli Police Officer Entered West Bank Village With IDF Troops to Seize Ancient Stone. Meir Rotter, head of the police's ultra-Orthodox community department, confiscated a carved lintel from a home in Kafr Dhaba without Civil Administration archaeologists present and in an area under Palestinian Authority control; police say the incident will be investigated (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

There is a video of the stone fragment, which an excerpted photo describes as a "carved lintel." You can see the mentioned menorah design and some floral/vine decoration. The second fragment to the left is harder to see, but it looks like it has more floral/vine decoration. I don't know how old they are.

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Did an ancient sling stone teach someone a lesson?

ANCIENT MARTIAL ARTIFACT: ‘Learn your lesson’: Inscribed 2,100-year-old sling bullet found in the Galilee, Artifact was possibly used by the Greek defenders of the city of Hippos against the Hasmonean army of King Alexander Jannaeus in 101 BCE (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

Its discovery marks the first time that this specific inscription has been found on a sling bullet, according to Haifa University’s Michael Eisenberg, co-director of excavation at the site and one of the authors of the study.

The underlying article just published (open access) in Palestine Exploration Quarterly:

Learn! – A New Type of Inscription on a Sling Bullet from Hippos of the Decapolis

Michael Eisenber, Arleta Kowalewska & Gregor Staab
Published online: 10 Mar 2026
Cite this article https://doi.org/10.1080/00310328.2026.2641294

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces a unique inscribed lead sling bullet (slingshot) found at Hippos of the Decapolis in 2025. The item was recovered with a metal detector within the Southern Necropolis, close to the bed of the Sussita Stream, where an ancient road passed. The bullet, most probably launched by the city defenders at attackers coming up the road, carries Greek letters ΜΑΘΟΥ. This previously unattested inscription can be interpreted as a sarcastic imperative addressed to the enemy: ‘Learn your lesson!’ The find joins the group of 69 lead sling bullets encountered at Hippos. Although some are decorated with a scorpion or a thunderbolt, the bullet described in this paper is the first one with an inscription.

For other discoveries of ancient inscribed and uninscribed sling bullets in Israel, see the links collected here. And for many PaleoJudaica posts on artifacts and architecture recovered in and around the site of Hippos-Sussita, start here and follow the links

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More on the Achaemenid Zoroastrian elements in the Elephantine papyri etc.

IRANIAN-INFLUENCED ARAMAIC: Researcher uncovers Zoroastrian 'ripples' in Jewish documents from ancient Egypt (Sandee Oster, Phys.org).

In a study published in the journal Iran, researcher Gad Barnea has uncovered new evidence suggesting that Zoroastrian religious practices were more prevalent and left a deeper imprint on surrounding communities than previously recognized. The study complements the current body of knowledge on Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism (AZ) with data gathered from Jewish sources outside Iran. These include documents referencing the building of a Zoroastrian-style temple, Zoroastrian magi priests, and a fire altar located in a Jewish temple.

[...]

Many of the Achaemenid Zoroastrian elements that appear in the fifth-century BCE Aramaic Judean papyri from Elephantine Island in Egypt are well known to Aramaists and specialists in ancient Judaism. But apparently less so to specialists in ancient Zoroastrianism, at least until recently. This article covers them and explores the evidence more fully.

I already noted open-access underling article in Iran Volume 63, 2025 - Issue 2 here. But here it is again:

Some Achaemenid Zoroastrian Echoes in Early Yahwistic Sources

Gad Barnea
Pages 234-243 | Published online: 02 Sep 2025
Cite this article https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2025.2494602

ABSTRACT

In her magnum opus, A History of Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce perceptively noted that often, in the history of this Iranian religion, “developments within Iran itself have to be deduced from the ripples which they caused abroad”. This is certainly true of the history of Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism, the characteristics (and in some circles even the existence) of which, continue to be a matter of debate even as more and more information regarding its possible features continues to emerge. This article aims to complement the current body of knowledge with data gathered from Yahwistic sources outside of Iran to enhance and solidify our understanding of Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism and its contours. It reviews the current state of scholarship and the significant progress that has been made in the recent decades and studies some Zoroastrian/Avestan echoes preserved in Yahwistic sources in Upper Egypt, mostly at Elephantine, which provide first-hand documentation of Zoroastrian devotion.

For a related article by Gad Barnea, see here.

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Scaling back the Mandean Creation Festival due to the war

MANDEAN (MANDAEAN) WATCH: Security concerns scale back Mandaean Parwanaya festival (Shafaq News- Baghdad).

War and unrest across the Middle East have overshadowed the Parwanaya, or Creation Festival, one of Iraq’s most important religious celebrations for the Mandaean Sabaeans. This year, the community has restricted observance to core rituals, skipping public gatherings and festive events.

Also called the “Five White Days,” the festival coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for the third year in a row. During this time, Mandaean Sabaeans fast strictly, avoiding meat, bread, eggs, and other foods, many of which must be prepared at home.

The Sabaean faith, among the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, traces its spiritual roots to the prophet John the Baptist (Yahya ibn Zakariya). Rituals are conducted in Aramaic, a language dating to the tenth century BC, preserved in the community’s sacred text, Ginza Rabba.

[...]

That's too bad.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Sabaean (Sabean) Mandeans, see here and links. A couple of more recent posts on the Mandeans are here and here. For still more, see the archives.

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

Virnelson, Fruit of Her Hands (OUP)

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Fruit of Her Hands

Women, Work, and Society in the Hebrew Bible

Leslie G. Virnelson

£64.00

Hardback
Published: 11 December 2025
248 Pages | 9 b&w halftones
235x156mm
ISBN: 9780197810811

Also Available As:
E-book

Description

Fruit of Her Hands considers how specialized roles for women are reflected in the texts of the Hebrew Bible, with a focus on four—midwives, diviners, weavers, and sex workers. Virnelson investigates the practice of each role in the ancient world and its corresponding portrayal in biblical texts, incorporating linguistics, material culture, comparative literature, and ethnography. Feminist theories situate the investigation of individual roles in a broader discussion of gendered roles in ancient texts.

The study of weavers considers paradigms of skill and craft for the manual expertise that women weavers developed. The study of midwives considers recognition in the absence of centralized credentialing and training as well as the latitude afforded to midwives as ritual and medical experts. The study of diviners considers how intersecting factors might create gendered opportunities and obstacles for women in divinatory roles. The study of sex workers reveals the ambivalent place of sex workers in society and the patrimonial household, and how sex work reveals broader paradigms of women's sexuality and work.

Fruit of Her Hands sheds light on the nature of specialized work in ancient society and the social roles of women in the Hebrew Bible and the ancient world. Virnelson offers feminist historiographical approaches to the study of the Hebrew Bible and considers how modern ideas and debates about “women's work” influence our understanding of the past. Fruit of Her Hands ultimately emphasizes the need to explore gaps in biblical texts and scholarly knowledge, the paradoxes of women's inclusion and exclusion, and the need to disambiguate the category of “women” in biblical texts and historical reconstructions.

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Athas & Davage (eds.), T&T Clark Handbook to the Masoretic Text

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

T&T Clark Handbook to the Masoretic Text

George Athas (Anthology Editor) , David Davage (Anthology Editor)

Hardback $190.00 $171.00
Ebook (PDF)
$171.00 $136.80
Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$171.00 $136.80

Product details

Published Jan 22 2026
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 640
ISBN 9781350082632
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 10 x 7 inches
Series T&T Clark Handbooks
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

An extensive, all in one guide to the key features of the most important text type of the Hebrew Bible, the Masoretic Text. The contributors examine all aspects of the Masoretic Text: its origins, transmission, history and textual forms.

The handbook traces the development of the text type from ancient manuscripts found in the Judean Desert, through to the pointed medieval codices and the Second Rabbinic Bible. It outlines the main aspects of ancient and medieval scribal practice, including a brief history of the Tiberian School of scribes, the development of the vowel and cantillation system, introduction to the marginal Masorah notes, and provides descriptions of the major codices. The contributors examine the features of the Masoretic Text in the books of the bible. The volume also includes an extensive bibliography to enable further detailed study.

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Thousands more inscribed ostraca from Athribis (Sohag), Egypt

COPTIC (AND DEMOTIC ETC.) WATCH: Archaeologists Discover 3,000 New Ostraca at Ancient Athribis Site in Egypt. Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered 3,000 new ostraca at the ancient site of Athribis in Sohag, bringing the total number of inscribed pottery fragments found there to about 43,000 (Bill Giannopoulos, Greek City Times).

Multiple Languages and Scripts

Researchers found that the inscriptions include several ancient writing systems:

60–75% written in Demotic script
15–30% written in Greek
Smaller portions written in Hieratic, Hieroglyphic, Coptic, and Arabic

The oldest texts identified so far include tax receipts written in Demotic script dating to the 3rd century BC, while the most recent inscriptions consist of Arabic labels and notes from the 9th to 11th centuries AD.

Bold font in the original. Last we heard, in 2022, 18,000 inscribed ostraca had been excavated at Athribis. That's about 25,000 found since then.

The ostraca seem to consist mostly of documentary texts. But there are also scribal exercises and texts from temple-related religious activities etc. Quite a haul.

For more on the region of Sohag, where Athribis (Atribis) is located, start here and follow the links.

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Henderson: Defeat and Deliverance: Prefigurements of the Jewish Revolt ... (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Defeat and Deliverance: Prefigurements of the Jewish Revolt Against Rome in Josephus’ Depictions of Past Invasions of Jerusalem

Series:
Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 220

Author: Jordan Henderson

This monograph examines Josephus’ depictions of foreign invasions of Jerusalem in his Antiquitates Judaicae. These include the invasions of Shishak, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and Pompey the Great. In examining these narratives, the book approaches the Antiquitates Judaicae as an extended “prequel” or backstory to his earlier Bellum Judaicum, examining the ways in which these narratives foreshadow and invite comparisons with his prior account of the war with Rome. The book also explores these narratives within the literary context of the Antiquitates Judaicae as a whole and the ways Josephus’ perceived audience expectations may have influenced his depictions of these events.

Copyright Year: 2026

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74579-7
Publication: 29 Sep 2025
EUR €121.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74578-0
Publication: 02 Oct 2025
EUR €121.00

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Shibboleth

LOANWORD: Word of the day: Shibboleth (The Economic Times, India).

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

Loan closings in antiquity

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN LAW: “Sealed According to Law”: The First Loan Closings in Antiquity, Part I

In this two-part article, the author presents an overview of what various ancient textual artifacts “remember” about the earliest loan closings known to history and their participants, exploring the commercial lending practices of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, a region often designated by scholars as the “Ancient Near East.” In the first part, published in the February 2026 issue of The Banking Law Journal, the author introduced the topic. Here, the author explores ancient loan documents in depth.

“Sealed According to Law”: The First Loan Closings in Antiquity – Part II

In this two-part article, the author presents an overview of what various ancient textual artifacts “remember” about the earliest loan closings known to history and their participants, exploring the commercial lending practices of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, a region often designated by scholars as the “Ancient Near East.” In the first part, published in the February 2026 issue of The Banking Law Journal, the author introduced the topic. Here, the author explores ancient loan documents in depth.

Reprinted by JDSUPRA. The author, Ed Snow, is "a partner in the Atlanta office of Burr & Forman LLP."

Not mentioned in the summaries, but there is also coverage of evidence from Canaan, ancient Israel, and ancient Judaism.

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Dueling Zadokites and Levites?

DR. LENNY PRADO: Ezekiel Demotes the Levites for Idolatry—The Golden Calf Story Ordains Them (TheTorah.com).

Ezekiel portrays the Levites as guilty of leading Israel into idolatry, stripping them of priestly status and reserving the priesthood in the future Temple for the sons of Zadok, בְּנֵי צָדוֹק. In response, Levitical groups preserved alternative traditions, most notably a counter-narrative in the Golden Calf story, where the Levites alone answer Moses’ call to execute the worshippers of the golden calf, and through this act of loyalty to YHWH, receive ordination.

Ah, the Zadokites (and Aaronids) and Levites (and Mushites?). The biblical texts clearly preserve narratives by competing priestly groups, but who exactly was doing what, where, and when remains debated. This essay has good coverage of some of the main issues.

For some PaleoJudaica posts on the mystery of the Zadokite and Levite priestly lines, see here (summarizing the hypothesis of my doctoral supervisor, the late Frank Moore Cross), as well as the links collected here, plus here.

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Jack Russell Lundbom, 1939-2026

SAD NEWS: Jack Russell Lundbom: July 10, 1939 - February 17, 2026.

Kennebunk, Maine - Jack R. Lundbom, a biblical scholar, professor and minister, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2026, at the age of 86. He was surrounded by his wife and children at Southern Maine Medical Center. ...

Between 1988 and 2017, Jack and Linda resided at various universities and institutes around the world while Jack worked on his research and writing. A two-time Fulbright grant recipient, Jack was a strong believer in cultural exchange. He is best known for his three-volume Jeremiah for the Anchor Bible commentary series, and Deuteronomy: A Commentary for the Eerdmans Commentary Collection. The man who told his wife-to-be on their first date that he would someday love to write a book ultimately authored 30, and became known as one of the world’s foremost experts on Jeremiah and the Hebrew Prophets.

Requiescat in pace.

HT reader David Lincicum.

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Another review of Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Volume 5

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae, Volume V: Galilaea and Northern Regions (D. Clint Burnett).

Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae, Volume V: Galilaea and Northern Regions. 2 Parts. Edited by Walter Amerling, Hannah M. Cotton, Werner Eck, Avner Ecker, Johannes Heinrichs, Benjamin Isaac, Alla Kushnir-Stein, Jonathan Price, Peter Weiß, Ohad Abudraham, and Ada Yardeni. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.

... In short, this new volume, like all the others in the series, is indispensable for those who want to know more about the culture, cultic devotion, and ancient communities that once lived in this part of the Mediterranean World from the time of Alexander the Great to the Arab conquests.

I noted an earlier review of the book here.

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Tohubohu?

SURPRISE LOANWORD: Word of the Day: Tohubohu (The Economic Times, India).

I have never encountered Tohubohu as an English word before, but it is in the OED. It's an archaism. Looks like it was used in the seventeeth through nineteenth centuries.

The word, of course, comes from Hebrew tohu va-bohu (תהו ובהו), translated as "without form and void" in the King James Version of Genesis 1:2. For more on the biblical phrase, see here and here.

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Lendering on that new Syriac (Arabic) world chronicle

MAINZER BEOBACHTER: De Maronitische Wereldkroniek (1) Inleiding.

Jona Lendering has a ten-post blog series on that recently-discovered Arabic translation of a Syriac world chronicle, whose Syriac original seems to have been composed around 700 CE. Jona's introductory post collects a lot of interesting information. The posts are in Dutch, but if you don't know Dutch, Google Translate is your friend.

Background here and here.

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Review of Weitzman, Disasters of Biblical Proportions

H-NET REVIEWS:

Steven Weitzman. Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World. Princeton University Press, 2026. 344 p. $29.95, cloth, ISBN 978-0-691-27046-3.

Reviewed by David Armstrong (Independent Scholar)

Published on H-Judaic (March, 2026)

Commissioned by Vadim Putzu (Missouri State University)

Steven Weitzman’s Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World is both an authoritative reception history of the Ten Plagues narrative (Exod 7-11) as well as a demonstration of the ongoing relevance of biblical studies and comparative religious studies for the modern world. In an age where humanities programs, especially those that center on the study of religion and religious texts, are in jeopardy around the United States, Weitzman shows that the narrative of the Ten Plagues has a colorful history of influence not just across the last two millennia but also contemporaneously, within the living memory of its readers.

[...]

This review includes an insightful discussion of the importance of biblical reception history.

I noted the publication of the book here.

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Some palimpsest news

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Oldest known star map attributed to Hipparchus discovered beneath Syriac Manuscript (Syriac Press).

In 2022 I noted the discovery of Hipparchus' Star Catalogue in the underlying text of the palimpsest Codex Climaci Rescriptus The manuscript is owned by the Green Collection and normally housed in the Museum of the Bible. This article reports that (some of?) it has been transferred to California for further efforts to recover the Hipparchus text.

Now, several pages of the manuscript are undergoing advanced scanning using a particle accelerator known as a synchrotron at Stanford University’s National Accelerator Laboratory in California. This technology produces ultra-precise X-rays by accelerating electrons to near-light speeds, allowing scientists to detect the chemical composition of different inks without causing any damage to the fragile pages. ...

Moving the manuscript required meticulous procedures. The pages were placed in custom frames within climate-controlled containers and handled manually to prevent damage. Even the lighting in the examination room was carefully adjusted to help preserve the ink.

Despite these efforts, reconstructing the complete star map remains a monumental task. Only eleven pages have been scanned so far, while the full manuscript spans approximately 200 pages scattered across collections and libraries around the world. International collaboration will be essential to gather and study the entire set.

Bit by bit, a letter at a time, whatever it takes. Until we're done.

Cross file under Syriac Watch, Palimpsests, and Lost Books.

On a related note, another page of the Archimedes Palimpsest has been recovered in France:

Lost page of the Archimedes Palimpsest identified in Blois, central France

PaleoJudaica posts on this manuscript are collected here.

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More on the Leeds Carthaginian bus fare

PUNIC WATCH AND NUMISMATICS: 2,000-year-old Phoenician coin was used as bus fare in England, but 'how it got there will always be a mystery' (Kristina Killgrove, Live Science).

But one particular coin intrigued Peter, whose research into the designs on the coin revealed that it was minted more than 2,000 years ago in a Phoenician settlement called Gadir (now known as the city of Cádiz) in Spain's Andalusia region.

This article has some addition historical background on the coin. Technically it is Punic, from a Carthaginian colony in Spain, not Phoenician. Carthage was founded as a colony in North Africa by the Phoenicians, who lived in Lebanon.

I first noted the story here.

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Redacting Moses' "radiant" face?

PROF. RABBI DAVID FRANKEL: Moses’ Radiant Face: Holiness Unveiled (TheTorah.com).

Why does Moses’ face radiate only after receiving the second tablets of the Decalogue? Did Moses really cover his face before speaking to the people? And why does the story of the veil describe a Tent of Meeting that hasn’t even been constructed? A closer look at the story reveals that some biblical authors found Moses’ radiant face problematic.

Redaction criticism is always fun. But this essay starts with the assumption that Moses' face becoming "radiant" is the correct interpretation of the passage in Exodus 34. It is a possible interpretation, but there are others. There are many PaleoJudaica posts on the topic, generally under the rubric "Moses' horns," which is perhaps the best known and most discussed interpretation. For an overview and links to previous posts, start here.

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

Punic bus fare?

NUMISMATICS, PUNIC WATCH, AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Coin used as bus fare was 2,000‑year‑old currency (Alex Moss, BBC News).

A coin once used to pay a bus fare in Leeds was created by an ancient civilisation more than 2,000 years ago, researchers have confirmed.

The rare currency came into the hands of James Edwards in the 1950s, when during his job as a chief cashier for Leeds Transport Company, he would gather fares from bus and tram drivers.

Putting aside any fake or foreign coins he came across, he would pass them on to his young grandson Peter, who for more than 70 years kept them safe.

Curious about its origin, Peter traced the coin's history and discovered it was made by the Carthaginians - an ancient Mediterranean civilisation with Phoenician roots - in the Spanish city of Cádiz during the 1st Century BC.

[...]

UPDATE (10 March): More here.

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A reused ancient menorah relief in Rome

VARIANT READINGS: The Reuse of a Sarcophagus with a Menorah (Brent Nongbri).

Another very interesting item in the epigraphic collection at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome is a portion of a sarcophagus that contains a nice depiction of a menorah. It is typically assigned to the third or fourth century CE, and it is often used as an illustration in books.

[...]

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Weitzman, Disasters of Biblical Proportions (Princeton)

NEW BOOK FROM PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World

Steven Weitzman

How people have reimagined the story of the ten plagues of Egypt, from antiquity to our own era of relentless catastrophe

Hardcover

Price: $29.95/£25.00
ISBN: 9780691270463
Published (US): Feb 3, 2026
Published (UK): Mar 31, 2026
Pages: 352
Size: 6.13 x 9.25 in.
Illus: 16 color + 23 b/w illus.

ebook (EPUB via app)
ebook (PDF via app)

People have been telling and retelling stories about disasters for as long as they have been telling stories. One of the oldest of such stories is the ten plagues in the book of Exodus, the series of disasters that forced the Egyptians to liberate the Israelites. These plagues packed enough catastrophe to fill a series of summer blockbusters—rivers of blood, invasions of frogs and insects, mass disease, fiery hail, smothering darkness, and a midnight massacre of the firstborn.

The story of the ten plagues resonates today, as we try to make sense of such calamities of modern life as pandemics, climate change, and war. In Disasters of Biblical Proportions, Steven Weitzman explores how people of later ages—artists, writers, activists, philosophers, believers and unbelievers alike—have reshaped the story of the ten plagues to give expression to their own trauma, outrage, guilt, humor, and hope.

Tracing the interpretation and retelling of each plague across time and space, Weitzman uncovers how this ancient tale found new meaning among Jews, Christians, and Muslims and continues to shape how people today understand the present and envision the future. Even as it recounts the history of how the ten plagues have been reimagined, Disasters of Biblical Proportions is also a history of people’s search for shelter from the calamities of their own times—and of humanity’s striving for justice, freedom, and redemption.

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

Cielontko, The Visions of Enoch the Prophet (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

The Visions of Enoch the Prophet
On the Function of the Book of Parables

David Cielontko

Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2026

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111411835
eBook ISBN: 9783111411835
Hardcover ISBN: 9783111405568

About this book

This book examines the function of the Book of Parables (1 Enoch 37-71) in its ancient context. The fi rst part of the volume addresses essential introductory issues, including the textual and redactional history of the Book of Parables, its historical setting, literary features, and the communicative strategies employed by its author. The second part argues that the Book of Parables constructs a symbolic universe that functions as a complex form of legitimation for an audience whose shared social reality is destabilized by experiences of oppression. At the center of this crisis lies a theological problem of justice, as the persecution of the righteous contradicts deeply held expectations of divine protection and blessing. The study interprets the Book of Parables as a body of revealed knowledge that seeks to re-establish the credibility of this threatened social reality. Through a sequence of visionary revelations, the text presents an eschatological reversal of fates as part of God’s eternal plan, while cosmological, messianological, and mythic traditions are integrated as essential strategies of legitimation. Together, these elements lend authority to the message and its messenger, enabling the audience to reconcile their lived experience with the conviction that God remains just and decisively on the side of the righteous.

Follow the link for pricing information.

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New book on Queen Julia Berenice

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

The Troubled Memory of Rome’s Jewish Queen

Berenice—Herod the Great’s great-granddaughter—was far more than the silent royal cameo in Acts: she was a devout Jewish political actor who took a Nazirite vow, publicly confronted the Roman governor Gessius Florus to defend Jerusalem and the Temple, and later rose to extraordinary influence through her relationship with Titus. Both Jewish and Roman male sources distorted her memory through misogyny, political bias, and slander, so recovering her story sheds new light on Judaism, early Christianity, and the nature of female power in the first-century Roman world.

See also Berenice: Queen in Roman Judea (Yale University Press, 2026).

By Bruce Chilton
Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion
Bard College
March 2026

Cross-file under New Book.

For more on Julia Berenice (Berenike), see here and links, plus here. In the recent ancient-Rome Prime series Those About to Die, her troubled relationship with Titus was a major plot element.

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

Report on the Amman Citadel excavation

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: Excavating the Royal Capital of Ammon: A New Research Project on the Amman Citadel (Katharina Schmidt).

Today, the Citadel of Amman is one of the few Iron Age royal capitals in the southern Levant that remains accessible for archaeological excavation; Jerusalem and Damascus, for example, lie buried beneath their modern counterparts. Its exploration provides important insights into the archaeology, history, and social dynamics of the region during the Iron Age. Ammon was not an isolated kingdom, but part of a complex network of political alliances and trade connections. Through the renewed excavations we hope to gain further perspectives on power, representation, daily life, and cultural interaction in the Iron Age southern Levant. The results of the Amman Archaeological Project already show: the southern Levant is on the one hand diverse but on the other highly interconnected. Amman, the modern center of Jordan, proves to be a central place in the depth of its history, a hub between antiquity and the present.

Cross-file under Archaeology and Norwest Semitic Epigraphy.

For more on the ancient kingdom of Ammon see here and here. And for more on the ancient Ammonite language, see here.

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

Experiencing Ancient Synagogues

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Experiencing Ancient Synagogues. How everyday objects reveal the sights and smells of Jewish sanctuaries (Marek Dospěl).

Focusing on what archaeology and written sources can tell us about the use of lighting and incense, [Prof. Karen B. Stern's] BAR article explores how ancient people experienced synagogues through their senses of sight and smell. To address these questions, Stern turns to smaller artifacts from ancient synagogues that were used for lighting and burning of incense or other aromatics. These include various types of lamps, incense burners, and ritual shovels.

The BAR article is behind the subscription wall, but this BHD essay summarizes it.

For more on Professor Stern's work, notably on ancient Jewish graffiti, see here and links.

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

Jodi Magness: autobiographical retrospective

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Jodi Magness: Retrospective for The Ancient Jew Review.

I am honored by the invitation to write this retrospective, despite initially being taken aback by the realization that I am old enough to be asked to write one. I am also in awe of Adele Reinhartz’s piece, which was recommended to me as a model. My retrospective is less thematic and more personal than hers, as I cannot think of a better way to document my academic trajectory and research interests.

[...]

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Professor Magness and her wide-ranging work, including the remarkable Huqoq excavation, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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

The Hannibal movie starts filming in 2026

CINEMA MEETS PUNIC WATCH: Denzel Washington’s Yet-Untitled Hannibal Movie Starts Filming in Rome in June (Shubhabrata Dutta, The Cinemaholic).

After years of being pushed back, two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington and acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua are moving ahead with their highly anticipated feature, based on the life of the Carthaginian Warrior Hannibal. The filming of the yet-untitled Netflix historical epic will take place in Rome, Italy, between June 29 and October 9 this year. John Logan wrote the script.

[...]

More than twenty years ago Vin Diesel announced his plan to make a movie about Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War. The plan then was for Diesel to play Hannibal and for the script to be in the relevant ancient languages, Mel Gibson style, including "Maltese," by which I think he meant Punic. He continued to bring up the film idea off and on for many years, noted by PaleoJudaica. In 2010 (cf. in 2012), Denzel Washington was mentioned as possibly playing Hannibal's father Hamilcar.

Now Diesel seems no longer to be involved. At least he is not mentioned. Instead, Washington,with Fuqua and Logan, are getting ready to film a Hannibal movie, with Washington apparently playing the role of Hannibal. I am baffled by this casting. Hannibal was in his late 20s to mid-40s during the war and he died in his mid-60s. Washington is 71.

In 2010, Washington in the role of Hamilcar (who died in his mid-40s ten years before the Second Punic War) made some sense. Him as Hannibal in 2026, less so. It would be nice to have some explanation, but meanwhile I will keep an open mind.

No word on whether this script uses any ancient languages.

I noted the announcement of the Washington production back in late 2023, with comments on the age discrepancy. Follow the links from there for posts on Diesel's planned movie.

I'm glad to hear that filming is finally scheduled. I look forward to the movie.

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

Was John the Baptist as popular as the Beatles?

RELIGION PROF: John The Baptist Was Once More Famous Than Jesus (James F. McGrath).

Candida Moss has a new article out in National Geographic titled “Why John the Baptist Was Once More Famous Than Jesus.” She quotes me in the article, and since I answered some brief questions with very long answers as she was writing it, most of which wasn’t included in the article, I thought I would share my full responses here, in case they are of interest.

For more on Professor McGrath's research on John the Baptist, see here and links.

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

A Crusader-era Judeo-Arabic apocalypse fragment from the Cairo Geniza

GENIZA FRAGMENT OF THE MONTH (FEBRUARY 2026): National Library of Israel, Ms. Heb. 577.2/6 (Sebastiano Crestani, Friederike S. Schmidt).

A manuscript written in Judeo-Arabic sheds light on Jewish messianic and eschatological expectations in the late Middle Ages and connects them to the phenomenon of the Crusades. This manuscript, although fragmentary, must be understood within a body of messianic and eschatological literary texts that flourished from the 7th century onwards and reached one of its peaks between the 12th and the 13th centuries, i.e. during the period of the Crusades.

[...]

This is a Crusader-era text, but it develops a tradition going back to the end of late antiquity. Some of the ideas in it are very old. Compare its battle on the Euphrates to Revelation 8:8-9; 9:13-19. And it's interesting enough on its own terms to merit mention.

For many PaleoJudaica posts noting Cairo Geniza Fragments of the Month in the Cambridge University Library's Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, start here and follow the links.

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

More on that new Syriac (Arabic) world chronicle

SYRIAC WATCH (SORT OF): Alex Hourani’s translation of the latter half of the new “Maronite Chronicle of 713” now online! (Roger Pearse).

The discovery of a new Syriac Chronicle (in Arabic translation) and publication in Medieval Worlds 23 (2025), pp.155-167 by Adrian Pirtea caused Alex Hourani to upload a transcription, as I reported in my last post here.

The Chronicle is a new source for the early history of Islam, found in a manscript on Mount Sinai. The discovery highlights the importance of Christian Arabic literature, and the real need to fund more work on it.

[...]

The post includes an extended excerpt of Hourani's new and improved translation. Hourani also wants to date the chronicle a little earlier than the previous dating.

Background here.

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

Verrijssen, The Liturgical Targum (Brill, open access)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Liturgical Targum

The Aramaic Translation of the Torah in Mahzorim

Series: Supplement to Aramaic Studies, Volume: 21

Author: Jeroen Verrijssen

What happens when a community continues to recite and transmit sacred texts it no longer understands? The Targum, or Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, found its origins in the first centuries CE, and yet Jewish communities continued to transmit its contents well into the Middle Ages, when knowledge of Aramaic was considered to be scarce. This book explores the Liturgical Targum as it appears in festival prayerbooks (mahzorim). Drawing on previously unpublished manuscript fragments, it traces how different Jewish communities adopted and adapted the Aramaic translation in their liturgies. Readers of this book will discover how layers of copying, reinterpretation, and scribal creativity shaped the textual history of the Targum.

Copyright Year: 2026

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51745-5
Publication: 12 Jan 2026

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-74882-8
Publication: 12 Feb 2026
EUR €99.00

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