More from the AJR series on Jensen, "The Cross" and Fine, "The Menorah"

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW has concluded the series with two more essays:

SBL 2018 Book Review Panel | Menorah and Cross, Signs and Things (Pamela Eisenbaum).

SBL 2018 Book Review Panel | Response from Robin Jensen (Robin Jensen).

I noted the earlier essays in the series here.

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Barlaam and Josaphat

THE BRITISH LIBRARY: The Buddha’s long ‘journey’ to Europe and Africa. Yes, I know the Buddha is not usually a subject for PaleoJudaica. But the Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat is of some interest because of its wide transmission in relevant languages, including Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, Armenian, Georgian Arabic, Uigur, Syriac, and Judeo-Persian. There is a connection with Turfan (cf. here) as well. It went on to be transmitted in many European languages.

I have never posted on this remarkable text before, so have a look at this post at the British Library's Asian and African studies blog, with reference to their upcoming exhibition, Buddhism.

HT Steve Dodson at the Language Hat Blog.

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Eating fish in ancient Jerusalem

NEWS YOU CAN USE: What Kinds of Fish Were Eaten in Ancient Jerusalem? (Prof. Omri Lernau, M.D., TheTorah.com).

Fishbone remains discovered in eight different excavations in Jerusalem, from the Iron age to the early Islamic period, give us a sense of what fish the locals ate, and from where they were imported.

With implications for biblical studies and the history of food purity rules.

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Newsom, Rhetoric and Hermeneutics

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Carol A. Newsom. Rhetoric and Hermeneutics. Approaches to Text, Tradition and Social Construction in Biblical and Second Temple Literature. 2019. XX, 382 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 130. 149,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-157723-9.

Published in English.
This collection of essays by Carol A. Newsom explores the indispensable role that rhetoric and hermeneutics play in the production and reception of biblical and Second Temple literature. Some of the essays are methodological and programmatic, while others provide extended case studies. Because rhetoric is, as Kenneth Burke put it, »a strategy for encompassing a situation,« the analysis of rhetoric illumines the ways in which texts engage particular historical moments, shape and reshape communities, and even construct new models of self and agency. The essays in this book not only explore how ancient texts hermeneutically engage existing traditions but also how they themselves have become the objects of hermeneutical transformation in contexts ranging from ancient sectarian Judaism to the politics of post-World War I and II Germany and America to modern film criticism and feminist re-reading.

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Review of Andrade, Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra

BYRN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Nathanael J. Andrade, Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra. Women in Antiquity. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. xvii, 284. ISBN 9780190638818. $35.00. Reviewed by Gustavo A. Vivas García​, Universidad de La Laguna (gusgarvi@gmail.com).

Neither Odainath, nor of course Zenobia or her son, intended to separate from the Empire nor to break with Rome or usurp the Imperial throne. Nathanael Andrade’s book is clear in this respect. Zenobia behaved like a Hellenistic queen who surrounded herself with men of letters like Callinicos, and who had Cassius Longinus as her chief philosopher, who was rapidly eliminated by Aurelian after the Queen’s defeat. An Empress who conquered Egypt and in passing subdued Arabia, inserting her name onto all the milestones along the kingdom’s roads. A woman who was interested in religious questions and who built a contact with the Christian bishop, Paul of Samosata. A monarch whose objective was to try to obtain a place in the Empire, even on equal terms with Aurelian in the West. In 272, however, Zenobia’s Imperial and dynastic dream met an abrupt end. Aurelian proved himself to be her match and made-to-measure rival.

Past PaleoJudaica post on the Empress Zenobia are here and links.

Cross-file under Palmyra Watch. Many other past posts on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now trending for the better, are here and links.

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AJR series on Jensen, "The Cross" and Fine, "The Menorah"

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: SBL 2018 Book Review Panel | Art and Religion in Antiquity. Felicity Harley-McGowan introduces the series at the link.

At the 2018 meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Denver, two program units collaborated in reviewing two books published by Harvard University Press: Robin Jensen’s The Cross: History, Art and Controversy (2018) and Steven Fine’s The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel (2016).

The first essay is by David Frankfurter:
JEWISH (AND CHRISTIAN) SYMBOLS IN THE LATE MODERN PERIOD: JENSEN’S CROSS AND FINE’S MENORAH

There are two themes that I do think could bring these symbols together, and in their material rather than abstract manifestations. First, both authors alert us in various ways to the vitality and importance of the symbol in motion – in procession – rather than emblazoned on a coin or a door lintel. And from this processional vitality comes the second theme that struck me as key in the discussion of these symbols: their intrinsic agency as material things – that is, not just what they convey in terms of “memory” or “tradition” but their capacity to work in the world.

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Trotter, The Jerusalem Temple in Diaspora

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Jerusalem Temple in Diaspora: Jewish Practice and Thought during the Second Temple Period

Series:
Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 192

Author: Jonathan Trotter

In The Jerusalem Temple in Diaspora, Jonathan Trotter shows how different diaspora Jews’ perspectives on the distant city of Jerusalem and the temple took shape while living in the diaspora, an experience which often is characterized by complicated senses of alienation from and belonging to an ancestral homeland and one’s current home. This book investigates not only the perspectives of the individual diaspora Jews whose writings mention the Jerusalem temple (Letter of Aristeas, Philo of Alexandria, 2 Maccabees, and 3 Maccabees) but also the customs of diaspora Jewish communities linking them to the temple, such as their financial contributions and pilgrimages there.

Publication Date: 24 June 2019
ISBN: 978-90-04-40985-9

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Postdocs for LXX project

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI: 2–3 POSTDOC­TORAL RE­SEARCH­ERS IN THE PRO­JECT THE SEP­TUAGINT AND ITS AN­CIENT VER­SIONS.

HT William Ross, who also gives some interesting background on the texts that the project is studying.

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Septuagint Song of Songs in French

WILLIAM ROSS: NEW VOLUME IN LA BIBLE D’ALEXANDRIE: SONG OF SONGS. It's good to have another volume in this series out.

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Jason’s Tomb

THE HOLY LAND PHOTOS' BLOG: Jason’s Tomb (2nd Temple Period) (Carl Rasmussen).

Jason’s tomb is a beautiful funeral monument from the late Hellenistic – early Roman period. It was the tomb of a high priestly family that was forced out of Jerusalem in 172 B.C. (2 Maccabees 5:5-10) by their rival, Menelaus....

It is in West Jerusalem. Follow the link for photos.

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On digressions in the Talmud

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Neither Less Than X nor More Than Y. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ minima and maxima decorate the memory palaces Talmudic rabbis built to sustain the oral tradition of Babylonian learning.

The reason why digressions are so common in the Talmud is that it began as an oral tradition, not a written text—a vast memorized accumulation of the debates held in the Babylonian academies. What look like digressions on the page usually served some mnemonic purpose. The appearance of a certain sage’s name, for instance, might trigger the recollection of his opinions on different subjects. Often, the common principle is grammatical: When a teaching that takes a certain verbal form arises in the Gemara, the sages will recount other, unrelated laws that happen to follow the same pattern.

This is a deployment of the catchword principle, which was also a major feature of ancient Jewish exegesis of scripture. It is also used often in the New Testament.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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Larry Hurtado

LARRY HURTADO: Health Issues and Blogging. Larry shares sad news. The leukemia for which he was treated last year has returned. There is little that can be done in the way of treatment. He has signed off indefinitely from further blogging.

We wish Larry and his family all the best. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.

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Ezekiel's Merkavah anniversary 2019

TODAY IS THE 5TH OF TAMUZ: This Day in History – 5 Tamuz/July 8 (Harmodia).

In 3333, Yechezkel Hanavi received a nevuah at the river of Chebar about Maaseh Merkavah. That perek is read as the haftarah on Shavuos.

To unpack that, this is the anniversary of the prophecy of the prophet Ezekiel concerning Maaseh Merkavah, "the working of the chariot." This was a vision of the heavenly realm, some of its frightening denizens, and the throne of God and its occupant. It took place by the river Chebar in Babylonia in 593 BCE. The relevant biblical passage, Ezekiel chapter 1, is the prophetic synagogue reading on Shavuot. There are further details in the links below.

Past posts on this anniversary and on Ezekiel 1 and its mystical and cultural afterlife, are here and here. And this year's post from Shavuot is also relevant.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 161

ZWINGLIUS REDIVIVUS: The Incredibly Hot June Biblical Studies Carnival, Including Lots of Scandal Because of an Unprovenanced Manuscript…

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Babylon named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

HISTORICAL LANDMARK: Iraq celebrates naming Babylon a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was from the 4,300-year-old city that Nebuchadnezzar sent his vast army to Jerusalem to put down an uprising and bring the Jews back as slaves. (QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Times of Israel). This is a good development. I am sometimes hard on UNESCO, but they got this one right.

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Belated happy Cyril and Methodius Day 2019!

OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC WATCH: CZECHS MARK LEGACY OF GREEK MISSIONARIES CYRIL AND METHODIUS (Daniela Lazarová, Czech Radio). The work of Saints Cyril and Methodius, whose invention of the first Slavonic alphabet led to the preservation of much ancient literature that would otherwise have been lost, is celebrated by various traditions on 14 February, 24 May, and 5 July. Details here. Some of that ancient literature includes important Old Testament Pseudepgrapha. Details here and links.

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Mapfeka, Esther in Diaspora

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Esther in Diaspora
Toward an Alternative Interpretive Framework

Series:
Biblical Interpretation Series, Volume: 178

Author: Tsaurayi Kudakwashe Mapfeka

In Esther in Diaspora, Tsaurayi Kudakwashe Mapfeka presents a new approach to the book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He argues that, whereas previous interpretations have emphasised an association with the Jewish festival of Purim, a theory-nuanced concept of diaspora offers the key for reading Esther. Alongside the relatively new approach of Diaspora Studies, the author makes use of the more traditional analogical reasoning, seeing parallels between the community behind Esther and the Zimbabwean diaspora community in the United Kingdom, of which he is a member. The two-fold methodological application results in an innovative and stimulating reading of the book. Overall, the book reflects a deep awareness not only of issues surrounding Esther but of the broader fields of the study of the Bible and of the ancient Near East.

Publication Date: 17 June 2019
ISBN: 978-90-04-40656-8

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More on the Huqoq mosaics

DECORATIVE ART: Teeming With Riddles, Israel's Most Beautiful Mosaic Reveals Ancient Liberal Judaism. The artwork covers the entire floor of a synagogue’s sanctuary, and every year, as each new section is unearthed, new figures and biblical scenes are being discovered (Nir Hasson, Haaretz premium).

For seven years now, archaeologists have been gradually exposing the mosaic floor of a synagogue in Huqoq in the lower Galilee. Each new excavation season reveals another bit of Israel’s richest and most beautiful floor.

Still, questions remain about the identity of the community that built this synagogue. And this year, the riddle has gotten even more puzzling. The latest dig reveals scenes from the mysterious prophecies of the prophet Daniel and a little-known episode from the Book of Exodus.

[...]

A nice overview of the discoveries at the ancient synagogue at Huqoq, especially its remarkable mosaics. Background here and follow the many links.

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The Talmud on valuation of a human life

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: How Much Is a Jewish Life Worth? In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ Talmudic sages make ‘valuations’ and ‘assessments’ of living people, in ancient actuarial tables with premiums paid at the Temple.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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The Philistines were Europeans?

GENETIC ANALYSIS: ARCHAEOLOGY SHOWS PHILISTINES, ENEMY OF ISRAELITES, CAME FROM EUROPE. "We found infants that were too young to travel... so they were born on site. And their DNA revealed [that] their parents’ heritage was not from the local population" (Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman, Jerusalem Post).

“When we found the infants – infants that were too young to travel... these infants couldn’t march or sail to get to the land around Ashkelon, so they were born on site. And their DNA revealed [that] their parents’ heritage was not from the local population,” Aja explained, referring to the new genetic input from the direction of Southern Europe that was found in bone samples taken from infants buried under the floors of Philistine homes, as was the custom during that period.

More on the Ashkelon cemetery is here.

For various reasons, some scholars have argued that the Philistines had an Aegean origin. These new results seem to be compatible with that hypothesis.

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