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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

[...]

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

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.