Last year's Hanukkah post is here. It links to past Hanukkah posts with additional historical background. For PaleoJudaica posts in the last year that relate to Hanukkah, see here, here, here, and here.
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First, this is a remarkable object. To be clear, it is a seal impression in clay (a bulla), not a stone seal. It turned up in a Bedouin market in Beer Sheva about half a century ago.
Second, it is therefore unprovenanced, which should make us cautious. But the article assures us that the seal has been carefully authenticated. I accept it as geniune, pending evaluation by iconographers and epigraphers when the speciaist articles come out.
But, third, 2300 years ago was around 300 BCE. This was in the Hellenistic period, not long after the time of Alexander the Great. The Iron Age had been over for centuries. I see a number of articles giving this date, so presumably it was in a press release that I haven't seen.
Obviously, there is a mistake somewhere. If it is really the earliest Iron Age seal or seal impression, it must be pretty old. Some clay bullae from the tenth century BCE were excavated in Israel a few years ago. And a stone seal also dated to the tenth century was found by the Temple Mount Sifting Project in 2015.
But perhaps the article means that it is the earliest inscribed seal (impression). The earliest inscribed Northwest Semitic seals I know of are from the late ninth to eighth centuries BCE. So perhaps the correct date for the seal is 2800 years old? That's my speculation. Don't repeat it as correct without confirmation. And check with an epigrapher like Christopher Rollston about the date of the brief inscription.
There is confusion somewhere. Can any readers shed light on the actual date of this object?
Fourth, the JP article oddly translates the inscription (and the corresponding reading on a seal from Megiddo) as "to hear." No. It means "Belonging to Shema" (לשמע). The word Shema is a name (cf. 1 Chronicles 2:43-44, 5:8, 11:44 etc.). Perhaps a misunderstanding of a Hebrew press release?
I look forward to the forthcoming articles in Eretz Israel and the Israel Exporation Journal, which doubtless will clear these matters up.
I have spent too much time on this post. I have to do other things now.
But I should also mention that I am giving my SBL paper today: "Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman and Ancient Jewish Worlds." It is in the Mysticism, Esotericism, and Gnosticism in Antiquity session (S10-105) which begins at 10:00 am U.S. Eastern Standard Time.
If you are registered for the SBL conference, please come join us at the Zoom session.
I will also be posting the paper on PaleoJudaica after I present it. So come back later today if you want to read it.
UPDATE: Amanda Borschel-Dan e-mails to alert me to her Times of Israel article: 2,700 years ago, tiny clay piece sealed deal for Bible’s King Jeroboam II. Bought for a pittance at a market in 1980, 8th century BCE paleo-Hebrew inscription is the earliest writing found on a clay seal impression in the Land of Israel, study shows. For some reason it didn't come up in my searches this morning. It gives much more detail and background. The bulla reportedly dates to the first half of the eighth century BCE (the reign of Jeroboam II). So pretty much what I thought. That makes it a very early inscribed bulla, at least among the earliest.
Assuming it's genuine. Let's see what the epigraphers and iconographers say.
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Metrical Discourses on Faith by the Blessed Mar EphremCross-file under Syriac Watch.
Translated, with Introduction and NotesSERIES:
Eastern Christian Texts in Translation, 4AUTHOR:
Hayes A.YEAR: 2020
ISBN: 9789042939349
E-ISBN: 9789042939356
PAGES: LII-102 p.
PRICE: 38 euroSUMMARY:v Ephrem the Syrian’s six Metrical Discourses on Faith reflect on issues central to or arising from the Arian controversy as it manifested in the Syriac-speaking churches: the unique status of the Son of God, the distinction between creator and creation, and especially the problem of human audacity in the quest for knowledge of God. Like Ephrem’s other works, these discourses are replete with biblical language and brimming with creative symbolism. However, being less terse and allusive in style than many of his other poems, they also serve as a crucial exposition of some of his most fundamental ideas and a relatively accessible introduction to his thought as a whole. This is the first complete English translation of the whole collection, accompanied by a detailed introduction and copious explanatory notes.
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Stanley, Christopher D. A Rooster for Asklepios. Buffalo, NY: NFB Publishing, 2020. 520 pp. Pb. $25.00; Kindle $9.99An historical novel by a biblical scholar. For another, see here (immediately preceding post).
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Paul of Arabia
The Hidden Years of the Apostle to the Gentiles
BY Ben Witherington, III, Jason A. MyersImprint: Cascade Books
Category: Biblical StudiesPAPERBACK
ISBN: 9781532698224
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 11/19/2020
Retail Price: $27.00
Web Price: $21.60eBOOK
ISBN: 9781532698224
Format: epubv Publication Date: 11/19/2020v Retail Price: $27.00
Web Price: $21.60About
What does a person do when his life has just taken a complete U-turn? This was the question Paul faced after his conversion on Damascus Road. In the end, he decided to go to Petran Arabia, where he stayed for more than two years. In this exercise in reconstructing what Paul's time in Petra would have been like, Ben Witherington recreates the scene of various interesting possible episodes in Paul's life, about which the New Testament says little, filling in the gaps of "the hidden years." Who would he have met in Petra? Would he have practiced his leather working trade? Might he have gotten married? What did he do to raise the ire of King Aretas IV, and cause him to be chased all the way back to Damascus and out again? Why did he wait so long to go up to Jerusalem and visit with Peter? This and much more is addressed in this fast-paced novella, with sidebars explaining the context of the events in the story.
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I nored Professor Burrell's 2020 book on the same subject here. For more on Taharqo, "king of Ethiopia," and the siege of Jerusalem when Hezekiah was king, see here and links.
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Samson also meets a woman of questionable status in Timnah. What is it about Timnah that makes it an appropriate choice for such stories?
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Two new points. First, the menorah engraving itself has not been relocated. The articles and reports are based on photographs. The engraving may be gone now.
Second is the mention of another quite important rediscovery:
This newly rediscovered menorah and mysterious letter join another 1980s find of a hideaway cave, in the nearby el-’Aliliyat region. There, archaeologists discovered a mikveh (ritual bath), a cistern, and two menorahs drawn with a charcoaled stick, one crowned by an Aramaic/Hebrew inscription.Dr. Dvir Raviv and an archaeological team have revisited the cave. There are two photographs.
Cross-file under Aramaic Watch and Hanukkah is Coming. Background here.
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Sarah Emanuel. Humor, Resistance, and Jewish Cultural Persistence in the Book of Revelation: Roasting Rome. Cambridge University Press, 2020.... The Book of Revelation, Emanuel concludes, employs humor as a tool of Jewish persistence and aims to counteract oppression by satirizing central Roman figures, while simultaneously becoming a sort of mirror of Rome's own violent methods and mimicking the oppressor's "imperial gaze." In the midst of its often grotesque catachresis — “humiliating Rome via Rome’s own tactics” (16) — Emanuel maintains the view that the Apocalypse was composed as a response to trauma under imperialistic tyranny and encourages readers to recognize the potential of its reparative work. ...
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One of the original announcements, with some instructions, is here. The Twitter hashtag is #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay.
Past posts on the day and related are here (first post) and here and links.
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I noted the recent discovery of this die, with commentary and links, here.
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A rare graffito of a seven-branched menorah found many years ago at the entrance to a tomb on the outskirts of the Arab village of Mukhmas, northeast of Jerusalem, has been highlighted by Dr. Dvir Raviv of Bar-Ilan University's Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, in a paper published in the archaeology and history journal In the Highland's Depth, released just in time for Hanukkah.For other discoveries of ancient menorah graffiti see here and links.[...]
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For many past posts on the Judeans of Elephanitine Island, Egypt, see here and links and, arguably, here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
We cordially invite you to join us for the live launch of a brand new website, created through industrious research and splendid illustrations by several fine students (with guidance from some foolhardy instructors), titled:Follow the link for registration information.
_________________________
MANUSCRIPT HUNTERS
_________________________
During the course of the 17th-19th centuries, European scholars and adventurers set off for the Middle East in search of precious manuscripts in Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Syriac, and other languages. Through much intrigue and sometimes at great personal cost, they obtained (with or without permission) the treasures that become the cornerstone of many grand archives. At stake were the pride of empires and nations, the personal reputations of the scholars, and the reliability of sacred texts.Tune in for an hour of indulging in the scandals of manuscript acquisition and seeing the illustrations drawn especially to illustrate these bizarre scenes. Hear the journeys our research has taken, but be warned: we've discovered many more questions than answers. And most importantly, be there when we reveal the web address of the new site ...
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Published in English.
In this book, Andrei A. Orlov examines the imagery of »inclination« or yetzer found in the Apocalypse of Abraham. He argues that the text operates with several yetzer anthropologies, some of which are reminiscent of early biblical models, while others are similar to later rabbinic notions. Although the author focuses on the traditions found in the Apocalypse of Abraham, he also treats the evolution of the yetzer symbolism in its full historical and interpretive complexity through a broad variety of Jewish and Christian sources, from the creational narratives of the Hebrew Bible to later rabbinic testimonies. He further argues that a close analysis of the yetzer anthropologies found in the Apocalypse of Abraham challenges previous scholarly hypotheses that yetzer was only sexualized and gendered for the first time in post-Amoraic sources.
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The Israel's underground project won international recognition at the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association (ITA) Awards, specifically taking hope top prize in the Oddities of the Underground category, due to its creativity and innovation in archaeology.[...]
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ANE-3 launched this week at https://groups.io/The post is by Chuck Jones, who was the founder of ANE 1. I was one of the first members.
For more on the original ANE list see here, here, and here. I am glad to see the new one starting up.
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Demons of Change
Antagonism and Apotheosis in Jewish and Christian ApocalypticismAndrei A. Orlov - Author
Price: $95.00
Hardcover - 278 pages
Release Date: December 2020
ISBN10: N/A
ISBN13: 978-1-4384-8089-3Summary
Demonstrates how conflict between a human adept as the divine warrior and an otherworldly antagonist plays a key role in early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic accounts.
Antagonistic imagery has a striking presence in apocalyptic writings of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. In these visionary accounts, the role of the divine warrior fighting against demonic forces is often taken by a human adept, who becomes exalted and glorified as a result of his encounter with otherworldly antagonists, serving as a prerequisite for his final apotheosis. Demons of Change examines the meaning of these interactions for the transformations of the hero and antihero of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic accounts. Andrei A. Orlov traces the roots of this trope to ancient Near Eastern traditions, paying special attention to the significance of conflict in the adept’s ascent and apotheosis and to the formative value of these developments for Jewish and Christian martyrological accounts. This antagonistic tension plays a critical role both for the exaltation of the protagonist and for the demotion of his opponent. Orlov treats the motif of the hero’s apotheosis in the midst of conflict in its full historical and interpretive complexity using a broad variety of Jewish sources, from the creational narratives of the Hebrew Bible to later Jewish mystical testimonies.
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Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance Davidic Messianism and Paul’s Worldwide Interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in GalatiansBy: Esau McCaulley
Published: 12-24-2020 Format: Paperback Edition: 1st Extent: 240 ISBN: 9780567700292 Imprint: T&T Clark Series: The Library of New Testament Studies Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4" List price:
$39.95Online price: $35.96 Save $4.00 (10%)About Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance
This book explores the link between Paul's belief that Jesus is Israel's Messiah, and his interpretation of the Abrahamic Land Promise in Galatians. Countering claims that Paul replaces the Promised Land with the gift of the Spirit or salvation, Esau McCaulley argues that Paul expands this inheritance to include the whole earth; believing that, as the seed of Abraham and David, Jesus is entitled to the entire world as his inheritance and kingdom.
McCaulley argues that scholars have neglected Paul's expanded interpretation of the inheritance of the earth, rarely appreciate the role that messianism plays in Galatians, and fail to acknowledge that Second Temple authors often portrayed royal and messianic figures as God's means of fulfilling the promises made to Abraham and Israel, via the establishment of kingdoms. Through a comparison of texts from the Pseudepigrapha, apocrypha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls with Galatians 3:1–4:7, 5:21, McCaulley argues Paul's interpretation of Jesus's death is a manifestation of Second Temple messianism because it ends the covenant curses outlined in Deuteronomy and begins the restoration of the inheritance to Abraham's offspring through the establishment of Jesus's worldwide kingdom; he concludes that Paul's interpretation of the Abrahamic inheritance is inseparable from his belief that Jesus is Israel's Messiah.
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My Nine Lives: Sixty Years in Israeli and Biblical Archaeology William G. DeverISBN 9781628372953
Status Available
Price: $35.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date December 2020Experience a lifetime of adventure This autobiography of prominent American archaeologist William G. Dever is unabashedly his story, in which he offers candid, often brutally honest, reflections on his life and sixty-five-year career. Dever places himself in the midst of a remarkable generation of giants in archaeology in Israel during a period when the fields of biblical and Israeli archaeology were evolving. With technical expertise developed over a lifetime of working alongside four generations of Israeli and foreign excavators, he recalls their exploits and shares numerous personal stories that few others would know. His memoir concludes with a postscript on the likely future of biblical archaeology and an annotated bibliography for serious readers who wish to explore some of the scholarly literature to flesh out Dever’s narrative.
William G. Dever is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Professor Emeritus at the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona. Dever is the author of more than four hundred publications, including What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It? What Archeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel (2001), Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (2003), The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: Where Archaeology and the Bible Intersect (2012), and Beyond the Texts: An Archaeological Portrait of Ancient Israel and Judah (2017).
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