Lo Sardo, P Conclusion and Post-P Rearrangements in Exodus 25-31 and Leviticus 8-9 (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Domenico Lo Sardo

P Conclusion and Post-P Rearrangements in Exodus 25-31 and Leviticus 8-9
A Textual and Literary Criticism Study on the Pentateuch Formation

2026. 371 pages.
Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe (FAT II) 166

€109.00
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sewn paper
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978-3-16-164684-3

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Summary

In this study, Domenico Lo Sardo examines the textual and literary development of Exodus 25-31 and Leviticus 8-9, expanding on prior research on the Tabernacle's second account (Exodus 35-40). He argues that Exodus 25-31 was later composed to legitimize the Temple's construction and was shaped alongside Leviticus 8. Challenging the idea of an early, fully developed Priestly Writing (Pg), his analysis of the texts studied in terms of textual and literary criticism presents it as an evolving tradition with a multistage production history. He further demonstrates that Priestly Writing (P) concludes at Leviticus 8 and does not extend beyond this point. Highlighting themes of divine presence, worship, and sacred space, the author ultimately situates the Temple-cult project within the broader theological framework of creation and covenant fulfillment.

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Online course: GEORGIAN JEWS AND THEIR CULTURAL TREASURES

LIFELONG LEARNING: Georgian Jews and Their Cultural Treasures (Dr. Thea Gomelauri, Times of Israel Blogs).

The [six-week] course [at the Siegal Lifelong Program at Case Western Reserve University] covers the Georgian Jewish history from the sixth century BCE, when fleeing the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, they arrived in Mtskheta (the ancient capital of Georgia) to the modern era. The program will focus on the Georgian Jewish material culture, archaeological treasures, and literary corpus of Georgian Jewry, including extant Armazic Aramaic inscriptions, bilingual stelae, golden amulets, the Bret Bibles, the Lailashi Codex, and the Chianurashvili Tehillim (Psalter).

For more on Dr. Gomelauri's work on the Lailashi Codex, see here and here. And for an important Georgian/Aramaic palimpsest, the Codex Sinaiticus Rescriptus, see here and links.

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Real and fake Greco-Roman-era coins seized in East Jerusalem

APPREHENDED NUMISMATICS: Ancient Coins Linked to Alexander the Great’s Hellenistic World Seized in Israel (Nisha Zahid, Greek Reporter).

Inspectors in Israel have seized hundreds of ancient and forged coins hidden inside a balcony planter at a private home in East Jerusalem, authorities said this week.

The raid uncovered about 450 coins, including authentic ancient pieces and modern counterfeits. Authorities carried out the operation at the home of a resident suspected of involvement in the unlawful possession and trafficking of antiquities.

Coins span the Hasmonean, Herodian, and Roman periods

Experts examining the seized items said the cache included Hasmonean, Herodian, and Roman-era coins, spanning several centuries of ancient history in the region. Some of the coins were confirmed to be authentic antiquities, while others were identified as forgeries.

[...]

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

Nebuchadnezzar II - restorer or destroyer?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Babylonian Texts Complicate Bible’s Image of Nebuchadnezzar. Was he both destroyer and restorer? (Lauren K. McCormick).

Allowing this new archaeological evidence to complicate Nebuchadnezzar’s character invites us to move beyond the idea of history as a straightforward moral tale, toward a more nuanced understanding of how power, memory, and identity are shaped by competing narratives. The biblical authors, writing in the aftermath of exile, understandably portray Nebuchadnezzar as a destroyer because he literally did destroy their temple. Babylonian inscriptions, on the other hand, depict the same ruler as a restorer of temples—a deeply pious and reverential figure. ...

For more on King Nebuchadnezzar, including on the Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder(s) and other cuneiform material, see here and links.

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

Review of Belief and unbelief in the ancient world

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Belief and unbelief in the ancient world.

Taylor O. Gray, Ethan R. Johnson, Martina Vercesi, Belief and unbelief in the ancient world. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2025. Pp. 288. ISBN 9780802878977.

Review by
Justin M. Rogers, Freed-Hardeman University. jrogers@fhu.edu

The current volume represents the proceedings of a conference hosted by the University of St. Andrews in 2021 entitled, “Aspects of Belief in Ancient West Asia and the Mediterranean Basin: 1000 BCE–100 CE.” ...

I noted (as upcoming) the conference at my home institution here (but I was unable to attend) and the publication of the book here.

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Review of Schmidt, Josephus and Jesus

BOOK REVIEW: Rethinking Josephus and His Claims about Jesus. New book affirms Christ from a non-believing Jewish scholar’s own words (John Stonestreet and Timothy D Padgett, Breakpoint).

AI may have helped solve an ancient puzzle. For his new book Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ, Dr. T. C. Schmidt used AI to test something long in dispute: what the first century historian actually said.

[...]

I noted the publication of the book, with some thoughts of my own, here.

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

Review of McGrath, The Quest for John the Baptist

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Quest for John the Baptist. New book examines the historical and biblical evidence (Zeba Crook).

John of History, Baptist of Faith: The Quest for the Historical Baptizer
By James F. McGrath
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2024), 486 pp., $59.99 (hardcover and eBook)

Reviewed by Zeba Crook

In a style that is easy to read, James F. McGrath has undertaken this study into the historical John the Baptist in the true spirit of scientific inquiry: It is daring, creative, and exploratory. As with all novel scientific experiments, however, value is not always measured in terms of success but rather learning, for one can learn as much from a failed experiment as from a successful one.

[...]

That's a bit ouchy.

I noted the publication of the book here.

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Still more on those 3rd-millennium alphabetic (?) inscriptions

NORTHWEST SEMITIC (?) EPIGRAPHY: Is this the world's oldest alphabet? While excavating clay cylinders in Syria, archaeologists discovered a rare find: an early writing system. The script has given scholars the new challenge of reinvestigating the timeline of alphabetic symbols (Anna Thorpe, National Geographic).

The discovery at Umm el-Marra now suggests that alphabetical writing may have not only emerged 500 years earlier than the Sinai script but also done so in a different location.

“Paradigm-shifting discoveries gain acceptance gradually, not rapidly,” [epigrapher Christopher] Rollston said. He is confident that if more inscriptions are found, preferably longer texts, a solid consensus on the new script will develop.

See here and links for earlier coverage. This article has a good account, perhaps more confident than earlier ones. There seems to be agreement that the markings are writing. Whether they are alphabetic writing seems less certain. I hope they find more samples.

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Thousands of antiquities missing in Gaza

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR AFTERMATH: Allegations of antiquities theft in Gaza: 17,000 artefacts missing ( Sophie Constantin, Jordan Times). HT Rogue Classicism.

AMMAN – More than 17,000 archaeological artefacts have disappeared from museums and heritage sites in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza’s cultural authorities and international human rights organisations, raising serious concerns about looting and the unlawful removal of cultural property during Israel’s war on Gaza. ...

Israel has not specifically addressed allegations of antiquities theft, and UNESCO has not yet announced an investigation into the fate of the missing artefacts. Euro-Med Monitor has called on the organisation to send an investigation committee to Gaza to examine damaged heritage sites and determine the fate of thousands of artefacts reported missing.

For more on the Saint Hilarion Monastery, see here and links.

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"Passover" in Latin

LOANWORD ADAPTATION: How do we decline the Latin word “pascha”? (Roger Pearse).

Short answer:

The answer seems to be that “pascha” is actually a Greek word, and basically indeclinable, and therefore weird stuff can happen.

For the long answer, follow the link. For hardcore philologists.

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A Carthaginian elephant bone at Cordoba? Plus C-14 dating reflections.

PUNIC WATCH: Remains of a war elephant and catapult ammunition from the Second Punic War found in Córdoba, a unique discovery in Europe (Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).

An international team of archaeologists and paleontologists has announced the discovery of physical evidence unique in Europe: an elephant bone dated to the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). The find, a small but revealing bone fragment, was made during an emergency excavation at the Colina de los Quemados site in Córdoba (Spain), identified with the ancient Iberian city of Corduba.

[...]

The artifacts in the same stratum confirm the likelihood that the elephant was one of those used by the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War.

On an unrelated note, this is perhaps of interest:

Given the exceptional nature of the find, an attempt was made to obtain an absolute date through radiocarbon analysis. Although the collagen in the bone had not been sufficiently preserved, scientists dated the mineral fraction (bioapatite). The result placed the sample between the late 4th century and the 3rd century BC, a range that, although slightly broader and earlier than expected, is consistent with the period of the Second Punic War.

Compare this range with the new C-14 dating range for 4QDan^c of 230-160 BCE, with a composition date for the Book of Daniel of c. 165. The fighting in Spain in the Second Punic War occurred between 219 BCE (the siege of Saguntum) and 206 BCE (the Battle of Ilipa), so the early end of the C14 date range is about a century too early. The early end of the new C-14 date range for 4QDan^c is only about 60-70 years too early.

So it is fair to say that this dating has "a range that, although slightly broader and earlier than expected, is consistent with the period of the" composition of Daniel. If we accept this range as pretty firm (2-sigma = 95%), 4QDan^c is quite an early copy of Daniel. But the book easily could have been circulating widely in Palestine within a few years or less of its composition.

More on the redating of 4QDan^c, and the associated Enoch AI dating tool, is here and links.

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

Review of Zarghamee, Myth and history in ancient Persia

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Myth and history in ancient Persia: the Achaemenids in the Iranian tradition.

Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee, Myth and history in ancient Persia: the Achaemenids in the Iranian tradition. Edinburgh studies in ancient Persia. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2025. Pp. 376. ISBN 9781399530989.

Review by
Rhyne King, University of Toronto. rhyne.king@utoronto.ca

This ambitious book aims to bring the field of Achaemenid history into conversation with Zoroastrian studies and the study of early Islamic literature. As Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee notes, Achaemenid historians have rarely engaged with sources in Avestan, Middle Persian (also known as “Pahlavi”), and New Persian, and the author seeks to rectify that. ...

I noted the publication of the book here.

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

Another blogger visits Cartagena

PUNIC WATCH: Toerist in Cartagena (Mainzer Beobachter Blog).

Jona Lendering has visited Cartagena, Spain, too, and he has posted a report here in Dutch. Google Translate can easily produce an English version if you want one.

Jona has photos and commentary that nicely complement my posts on my own recent visit to Cartagena.

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

More on the (proposed) drawing of Hezekiah in Sennacherib's palace

DEBATING A DESTROYED DRAWING: Smashed by ISIS, a 2,700-year-old carving may have been the earliest-known depiction of Jerusalem. New research suggests a long-overlooked bas-relief in King Sennacherib’s palace in modern-day Mosul, Iraq, destroyed with other priceless artifacts, showed the Temple Mount and Bible’s King Hezekiah (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

Among the treasures broken in the terror group’s campaign of destruction was a slab of stone that had adorned Sennacherib’s opulent throne room, which scholars long ago concluded depicts the Assyrian siege of the Philistine city of Eltekeh.

But new research analyzing photographs and drawings of the largely overlooked bas-relief before its destruction suggests that it actually shows Jerusalem, making it the oldest-known depiction of the city.

Current scholarship holds that the Madaba map, a mosaic found in a sixth-century CE Byzantine church in modern-day Jordan, is the oldest rendering of Jerusalem to survive to modern times. But the study, published in October in the prestigious Journal of Near Eastern Studies by University of South Africa researcher Stephen Compton, suggests that the southwest palace in Nineveh was home to a depiction 1,200 years older than the one in Madaba.

I have already noted this story here. For more on Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem, its archaeology, and what may have happened there, follow the links from there.

This ToI article includes an interview with the researcher, responses from other specialists, and an update on the ongoing reconstruction of Nineveh's antiquities after the desecration by ISIS.

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

Review of Baden, Lost in Translation

BOOK REVIEW: Review: Scary Cherubs and the “Hebrew” Nickname, Lost in Translation: Recovering the Origins of Familiar Biblical Words, by Joel S. Baden (Patrick T. Reardon, Third Coast Review).

The people of the past were human beings as we are, but they lived much different lives and saw the world much differently than we do. We would seem very strange to them, and, if we really want to understand the past, we need to recognize their strangeness for us.

That recognition is at the heart of Lost in Translation: Recovering the Origins of Familiar Biblical Words by Yale Divinity School professor Joel S. Baden. The book, published by the Minneapolis-based Fortress Press, is a nuanced look at more than three dozen words and phrases that appear often in the Hebrew Bible of Judaism, called the Old Testament in Christianity.

Cross-file under New Book: Joel S. Baden Lost in Translation: Recovering the Origins of Familiar Biblical Words (Fortress Press, 2025).

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

Still more on the AI redating of 4QDanielc

ALGORITHM WATCH: AI meets the Dead Sea Scrolls. Can modern computer technology back up the Biblical timeline? (Elizabeth Shenk, World [wng.com]). HT the Bible Places Blog.

When an academic study earlier this year applied artificial intelligence to the science of Biblical manuscript dating, mainstream media reported it as a curious development. But what many missed at the time was how the new AI technique might lend unexpected credence to Biblical apologetics.

When I first noted the reports of the redating of some Dead Sea Scrolls, notably 4QDaniel^c (4Q114), by the "Enoch" AI, I commented, "I can't wait to see how this will be deployed by the early daters of the Book of Daniel." And so we have it deployed in this article.

I have further discussion of the AI redating here and here [link corrected].

For more detailed comments defending the late dating of the Book of Daniel, see here, here, and here.

UPDATE (27 January): My comments above needs correction. There is new dating of some Dead Sea Scrolls by the Enoch AI, but the redating of 4QDaniel^c involves C-14 dating. More on that here.

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

Clines, Hebrew Philology, Hebrew Lexicography (Sheffield Phoenix/SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Hebrew Philology, Hebrew Lexicography
David J. A. Clines

ISBN 9781914490903
Status Available
Publication Date October 2025
Hardback $95.00

This edited collection, from world-leading philologist and lexicographer of Classical Hebrew, David J. A. Clines (1938–2022), demonstrates how his motivations for philological and lexicographical work sat in contrast to each other. These articles and papers, published and unpublished, show Clines’s efforts in each direction.

As Clines explains a “philologian is a ‘lover of words’ […] a hunter, imbued with the spirit of the chase […]. A lexicographer is by contrast a shepherd, gathering a flock together […], big words and little words, common words and rare words […]. To the lexicographer, all words are equally deserving of respect and nurture; a lexicographer cannot afford favourite love objects. […] A philologian can polish off an article in 50 or 100 hours—or less–but a lexicographer must be long-lived, immune to boredom, and possessed of an addictive personality.”

In the first section, Philology, there are eight chapters, mostly on individual words. In the second section, Lexicography, there are eighteen chapters, dealing first with Clines’s Dictionary of Classical Hebrew in general (Chapters 9-14), then with features of the Dictionary that call for exposition and justification (Chapters 15-21), and finally with some individual studies arising from the lexicographical work (Chapters 22-26).

Via these articles and papers, Clines seeks to counter the lack from editors of earlier Hebrew dictionaries, which left scholars with little explanation of their methods and procedures. By explaining himself Clines wishes that present and future users of the dictionary would know the conception of his intentions for the project. This Clinesian imperative means his views are explained, in general, about byforms, synonyms, semantic fields, definitions and suchlike, so readers are not left with only his conclusions.

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