Kelle & Strawn (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible

Edited by Brad E. Kelle and Brent A. Strawn

Oxford Handbooks

• Offers a wide range of interpretive perspectives and methodological approaches to key questions concerning the Historical Books
• Touches on all major interpretive issues for the Historical Books and incorporates newer approaches and concerns such as trauma theory, gender analysis, and economic studies
• Provides a particular window into the reception of the Historical Books and key elements within them.

Description

The Oxford Handbook of Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible is a collection of essays that provide resources for the interpretation of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The volume is not exhaustive in its coverage, but examines interpretive aspects of these books that are deemed essential for interpretation or that are representative of significant trends in present and future scholarship. The individual essays are united by their focus on two guiding questions: (1) What does this topic have to do with the Old Testament Historical Books? and (2) How does this topic help readers better interpret the Old Testament Historical Books? Each essay critically surveys prior scholarship before presenting current and prospective approaches.

Taking into account the ongoing debates concerning the relationship between the Old Testament texts and historical events in the ancient world, data from Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian culture and history are used to provide a larger context for the content of the Historical Books. Essays consider specific issues related to Israelite/Judean history (settlement, state formation, monarchy, forced migration, and return) as they relate to the interpretation of the Historical Books. This volume also explores the specific themes, concepts, and content that are most essential for interpreting these books. In light of the diverse material included in this section of the Old Testament, the Handbook further examines interpretive strategies that employ various redactional, synthetic, and theory-based approaches. Beyond the Old Testament proper, subsequent texts, traditions, and cultures often received and interpreted the material in the Historical Books, and so the volume concludes by investigating the literary, social, and theological aspects of that reception.

£97.00

Hardback
Published: 05 January 2021
616 Pages
248x171mm
ISBN: 9780190261160

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The Joel Roth Jubilee Volume (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Hakol Kol Yaakov

The Joel Roth Jubilee Volume

Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 61

Editors: Robert A. Harris and Jonathan S. Milgram

Hakol Kol Yaakov: The Joel Roth Jubilee Volume contains twenty articles dedicated to Rabbi Joel Roth, written by colleagues and students. Some are academic articles in the general area of Talmud and Rabbinics, while others are rabbinic responsa that treat an issue of contemporary Jewish law. In his career, Joel Roth has been known as a scholar and teacher of Talmud par excellence, and, without question, as the preeminent decisor of Jewish law for the Conservative movement of his generation. In the meticulous style and approach of the Talmud scholarship of his generation, Roth painstakingly and precisely assayed the vast array of rabbinic legal sources, and proceeded to apply these in pedagogy, in scholarship and particularly in the production of contemporary legal responsa. The articles in this volume reflect the unique and integrated voice and vision that Joel Roth has brought to the American Jewish community.

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42046-5
Publication Date: 08 Feb 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-42045-8
Publication Date: 11 Feb 2021

Open Access
Prices from (excl. VAT):
€125.00$150.00
Hardback

Note that the electronic version is open-access (free!).

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More on those bones in the tomb of James the Younger

RELICS REVISED: The Bones of Jesus’ Disciple Might Not Be His. The bones of two of Jesus’s close followers have turned out to have different origins than the faithful initially believed (Candida Moss, The Daily Beast). If the press release on the new tests is accurate, it looks like they aren't his. I haven't read the underlying article in Heritage Science. Nor do I think I would be qualified to evaluate it if I did.

Background here

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Mesopotamian Chronicles

THE AWOL BLOG: Online Prepublication: Mesopotamian Chronicles. The wonderful Livius website has a comprehensive collection of translations of Mesopotamian chronicles, ranging from the Sumerian King List to Seleucid- and Parthian-era chronicles. I hardly need to mention their importance for biblical studies and the study of Second Temple-era Judaism.

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

Hugoye 24.1 (2021)

A NEW ISSUE: Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 24.1 (2021). This is a high-quality, peer-review, open-access journal. Issue 23.1 (2020) was noted here. And for more, follow the links from there. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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Schröter et al. (eds.), Dreams, Visions, Imaginations (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Dreams, Visions, Imaginations
Jewish, Christian and Gnostic Views of the World to Come

In: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 247

Edited by: Jens Schröter, Tobias Nicklas and Armand Puig i Tàrrech
De Gruyter | 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110714746

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The contributions in this volume are focused on the historical origins, religious provenance, and social function of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, including so-called ‘Gnostic’ writings. Although it is disputed whether there was a genre of ‘apocalyptic literature,’ it is obvious that numerous texts from ancient Judaism, early Christianity, and other religious milieus share a specific view of history and the world to come. Many of these writings are presented in form of a heavenly (divine) revelation, mediated through an otherworldly figure (like an angel) to an elected human being who discloses this revelation to his recipients in written form. In different strands of early Judaism, ancient Christianity as well as in Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and Islam, apocalyptic writings played an important role from early on and were produced also in later centuries. One of the most characteristic features of these texts is their specific interpretation of history, based on the knowledge about the upper, divine realm and the world to come.

Against this background the volume deals with a wide range of apocalyptic texts from different periods and various religious backgrounds.

FROM £91.00

FORMATS

Electronic
Published: February 8, 2021
ISBN: 9783110714746

Hardcover
Published: February 8, 2021
ISBN: 9783110713527

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Neil, Dreams and Divination from Byzantium to Baghdad, 400-1000 CE (OUP)

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Dreams and Divination from Byzantium to Baghdad, 400-1000 CE

Bronwen Neil

Oxford Studies in the Abrahamic Religions

• Increases understanding of the continuities across the major religious traditions of Late Antiquity by comparing pagan, early Christian, Byzantine, Talmudic, and Islamic sources up to 1000 CE, with a focus on the prophetic role of women
• Traverses traditionally separate disciplines—Classical studies, biblical studies, Late Antiquity, Byzantine studies, and gender studies
• Cites examples from the major sources in translation and tackles complex philosophical and theological differences in an accessible style

Description

Why did dreams matter to Jews, Byzantine Christians, and Muslims in the first millennium? Dreams and Divination from Byzantium to Baghdad, 400 - 1000 CE shows how the ability to interpret dreams universally attracted power and influence in the first millennium. In a time when prophetic dreams were viewed as God's intervention in human history, male and female prophets wielded was unparalleled power in imperial courts, military camps, and religious gatherings. The three faiths drew on the ancient Near Eastern tradition of dream key manuals, which offer an insight into the hopes and fears of ordinary people. They melded pagan dream divination with their own scriptural traditions to produce a novel and rich culture of dream interpretation. Prophetic dreams enabled communities to understand their past and present circumstances as divinely ordained and helped to bolster the spiritual authority of dreamers and those who had the gift of interpreting their dreams. Bronwen Neil takes a gendered approach to the analysis of the common culture of dream interpretation across late antique Jewish, Byzantine, and Islamic sources to 1000 CE, in order to expose the ways in which dreams offered women a unique opportunity to exercise influence. The epilogue to the volume reveals why dreams still matter today to many men and women of the monotheist traditions.

£65.00

Hardback
Published: 14 January 2021
256 Pages
216x135mm
ISBN: 9780198871149

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Bible Lands E-Review (BLER)

THE AWOL BLOG: Open Access Journal: Bible Lands E-Review (BLER). The complete archive includes articles on Biblical Studies, the ancient Near East, and ancient Judaism.

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

Roman-era sarcophagi found in Ramat Gan's Safari Park

FUNERARY ARCHITECTURE: Two 1,800-Year-Old Sarcophagi Discovered in Ramat Gan Zoo (David Israel, The Jewish Press). They were actually rediscovered and re-excavated at the Zoo. Read the story for details.

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

Review of Kaufmann, 'Rebel Daughter'

BOOK REVIEW: Inspired by an ancient tomb, a Jewish love story puts the Roman in bildungsroman. Lori Kaufmann’s debut ‘Rebel Daughter’ brings serious research to a tale of family and survival, from Jerusalem to southern Italy (Jessica Steinberg, Times of Israel). Ancient inscription leads to a novel.

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

The Archangel Gabriel

ARCHANGEL WATCH: A Look at the Figure of Gabriel the Archangel. Gabriel, the archangel in charge of Heaven's heavy lifting (Chen Malul, The Librarians). Looks like a good review of the evidence.

For more on Gabriel and the other archangels, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and links.

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

Where is Bethsaida?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Where Is Biblical Bethsaida? Recent discovery reopens the debate about its location (Samuel DeWitt Pfister).

The ancient village of Bethsaida is believed to be located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, but where precisely the abandoned city lies remains a fiercely-debated question among scholars. Recent discoveries at the site of el-Araj have called into question the decades-old claim that et-Tell on the eastern shore of the Jordan River is this lost Biblical city.

[...]

PaleoJudaica has been following the debate for some years. Start here and follow the links. I take no position on the matter. To resolve it conclusively, we might need to dig up a first-century "Welcome to Bethsaida" sign at one of the sites.

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

On Herod Antipas

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Herod Antipas in the Bible and Beyond. The ruler of Galilee in Jesus’ time. A summary of a 2012 BAR article by Morten Hørning Jensen.

For PaleoJudaica posts involving Herod Antipas, see here and here and links.

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

"Disentangling Moses from Hammurabi"

DR. FELIX WIEDEMANN: Did the Discovery of Hammurabi’s Laws Undermine the Torah? (TheTorah.com).

In 1902, Friedrich Delitzsch argued in his Babel und Bibel (Babylon and the Bible) lecture series that the biblical texts are dependent upon and inferior to those of Babylonia. A key piece of evidence was the Hammurabi Stele, discovered only months before, but traditional scholars responded by maintaining the ethical superiority of Mosaic law.

Technically it's the Hammurapi Stele. Related post here.

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

Schiffman on the Timna Valley textiles

LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: THE PURPLE OF ROYALTY. Professor Schiffman shares his recent article in Ami Magazine.

For more on the recent discovery of "royal purple" textile fragments at the Timna Valley excavation and the implications of the discovery, see here. For background, follow the links there.

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

Dura-Europos dodgy dealings detected

NUMISMATICS: CNG Returns Ancient Coins From Upcoming Keystone 3 Auction to Yale University (CoinWeek).

Classical Numismatic Group (CNG) is canceling our feature auction Keystone 3, which was to take place this Wednesday, February 17. During the past week we have been in conversations with Yale University about select coins in this sale. It appears that six coins in Keystone 3 came from an excavation sponsored by Yale University at Dura-Europos between 1928 and 1937. We believe these coins are the property of Yale University.

[...]

The statement is by Mike Gasvoda, Managing Director of CGN. I'm glad somebody caught this problem before the coins went to auction. And I commend CGN for dealing with it promptly and properly. But how did coins in Yale's collection end up in an auction? There must be a story to this. I hope we get to hear it.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the site of Dura-Europos, its late antique synagogue, and that synogogue's remarkable murals, start here and follow the links.

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

The latest on Babylon

CONSERVATION: Beleagured Babylon: The battle to save a wonder of the ancient world. The ancient city of Babylon in modern-day Iraq is fighting for its survival, under siege from time, water and the perils of modern civilisation. Jane Arraf hears from the archaeologists trying to preserve it. I found this article in the Independent (HT Archaeologica News). But there is a credit to the New York Times, where it apparently appeared first.

Some PaleoJudaica posts on the current state of the site of Babylon are collected here (cf. here).

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

Welhausen, the Documentary Hypothesis, and antisemitism

PROF. ALAN T. LEVENSON: Was the Documentary Hypothesis Tainted by Wellhausen’s Antisemitism? (TheTorah.com).

Julius Wellhausen’s analysis of the Torah is perfused with the anti-Jewish sentiment prevalent in Bismarck’s Second German Reich. This adversely affected the use of the Documentary Hypothesis among Jewish scholars until Yehezkel’s Kaufmann’s introduction of a Jewish variation on the theory.

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Encyclopedia Iranica Online (Brill)

THE AWOL BLOG: Encyclopædia Iranica Online Now Freely Accessible at Brill. For you, special deal!

The last time I noted the Encyclopedia Iranica was in 2007. It was up to the letter "G." The Encyclopedia has come a long way.

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

Another Golb memorial

OBITUARY: Norman Golb, Dead Sea Scrolls Contrarian, Is Dead at 92. He challenged the conventional wisdom about a major archaeological discovery. He also led a successful effort to open it for study by a wide range of researchers (Joseph Berger, New York Times).

Background here and links.

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