Jones, Priesthood, Cult, and Temple in the Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Priesthood, Cult, and Temple in the Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran

Analyzing a Pre-Hasmonean Jewish Literary Tradition

Series: Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, Volume: 145

Author: Robert E. Jones

The Hellenistic period was a pivotal moment in the history of the Jewish priesthood. The waning days of the Persian empire coincided with the continued ascendance of the high priest and Jerusalem temple as powerful political, cultural, and religious institutions in Judea. The Aramaic Scrolls from Qumran, only recently published in full, testify to the existence of a flourishing but previously unknown Jewish literary tradition dating from the end of Persian rule to the rise of the Hasmoneans. Throughout this book, Robert Jones analyzes how Israel’s priestly institutions are represented in these writings, and he demonstrates that they are essential for understanding the Jewish priesthood at this crucial stage in its history.

Prices from (excl. shipping): €139.00

Copyright Year: 2023

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54616-5
Released online: 05 Jun 2023

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54287-7
Publication date: 06 Jun 2023

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On the Epic of Gilgamesh

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Epic of Gilgamesh. A Mesopotamian story of longing and loss (Marek Dospěl).

A good overview of the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, its Sumerian antecedents and Mesopotamian transmission, its importance for biblical studies, and modern translations of it.

For more on the later survival of the figure Gilgamesh, notably in the Book of Giants, and also in modern popular culture, see here and links. And for many other PaleoJudaica posts on Gilgamesh and his epic, see here and links, plus here.

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Edwards, In the Court of the Gentiles (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

In the Court of the Gentiles: Narrative, Exemplarity, and Scriptural Adaptation in the Court-Tales of Flavius Josephus

Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 209

Author: David Edwards

Edwards explores how Josephus in Antiquities adapts the scriptural stories of Joseph and Esther in unexpected ways as models for accounts of more recent Jewish figures. Terming this practice “subversive adaptation,” Edwards contextualizes it within Greco-Roman literary culture and employs the concept of “discourses of exemplarity” to show how Josephus used narratives about past figures to engage Roman elites in moral reflection and pragmatic decision-making. This book supplies analysis of frequently overlooked accounts as well as Josephus’ broader literary strategies, and shows how ancient Jews appropriated imperial historiographical conventions and forms of discourse while countering Greco-Roman claims of cultural superiority.

Prices from (excl. shipping): €110.00

Copyright Year: 2023
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54906-7
Released online: 05 Jun 2023

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-54905-0
Publication date: 31 May 2023

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Review of Augé, Field Manual for the Archaeology of Ritual, Religion, and Magic

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY BOOK REVIEW: Field Manual for the Archaeology of Ritual, Religion, and Magic, by C. Riley Augé (Thomas E. Emerson). HT Rogue Classicism.

Field Manual for the Archaeology of Ritual, Religion, and Magic
C. Riley Augé. New York: Berghahn 2022. Pp. 188. ISBN 978-1-80073-504-0 (ebook) $27.95.

... While Augé addresses her volume to archaeologists, it seems to me that it has value also for those involved more tangentially, such as researchers in material culture studies, epigraphers, historic site inter-preters, and members of the general public with interests in the spiritual side of the material world.

The review is open access.

This book would be of interest for a number of ancient sites in Israel, including Arad and, recently, the Te’omim Cave.

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The Jerusalem Pilgrimage Road excavation

ARCHAEOLOGY: A new excavation of an ancient Jerusalem road expected to draw modern-day pilgrims. Inside City of David’s excavation of the ancient Pilgrimage Road, which once led directly to the Second Temple (Gabby Deutch, JewishInsider).

Known as the “stepped street,” or the “Pilgrimage Road,” the wide stone slabs that make up this pedestrian street were believed to be built by the Romans. The road was rediscovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2004, after a sewage pipe burst. Archaeologists expect visitors to be able to walk the length of the road in two years, following the completion of an intricate excavation process.

For more than a decade now, archaeologists have overseen an underground excavation of the road, using heavy iron beams to prop up the above-ground infrastructure while they hollow out everything that has accumulated on top of the road over the past two millennia. Historians and archaeologists assert that the road connected the Pool of Siloam, a Roman-era pool used by Jewish pilgrims as a ritual bath, to the Second Temple.

PaleoJudaica posts on the Pilgrimage Road excavation and its discoveries are here (and links), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and links.

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

On the influence of Indy

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Indiana Jones and Archaeology. The good and bad of the Indiana Jones franchise (Nathan Steinmeyer). A timely and thoughtful essay.

No, digging up a 4,000-year-old lamp is not the same as finding the Holy Grail, but at that moment, you would not be able to tell the difference. The rush of your trowel hitting the earth, knowing that soon you will be uncovering clues to the daily life and activities of ancient people, is very much the same emotion of watching Indy unravel one of his ancient mysteries, discovering the lost object, and thwarting the villain.

Indy was a career inspiration for many of this generation's archaeologists and even biblical scholars. For me, somewhat earlier, it was Erich Von Däniken, for similar reasons.

Related recent post here.

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Why so many stories in the Talmud?

TALMUD WATCH: Why Does the Talmud Include So Many Stories? The stories in the Talmud demonstrate the important difference between the law and the application of the law (Paul Socken, Jewish Journal).

The subtitle answers the question in the headline. But the article illustrates the point with — of course! — a story.

Why would volumes of intricate discussions of law include stories that are anything but legal? Stories that tell of demons, recount interpersonal relations, and often delve into the realm of the mystical are seemingly out of place in such a context. A fascinating example is found in Kiddushin 29b. The rabbis are discussing who should be sent to study at the yeshiva, the father or the son. The rabbis decide, surprisingly to the modern mind, that it should be the father unless the son is unusually gifted.

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Be careful with fasting!

PROF. RABBI HERBERT BASSER: Ascetic Fasting and the Dangers of Piety (TheTorah.com).

To meet Yofiel, the angel of Torah, to ward off the devil, or to pronounce God's name are some reasons for ascetic fasting. But beware: Publicizing your fast not only negates your act of piety but can bring down divine wrath. Just ask Miriam daughter of Onion Leaf.

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Donor list and more Samson mosaic excavated at Huqoq

NORTHWEST SEMITIC EPIGRAPHY AND DECORATIVE ART: UNC-Chapel Hill-led archaeological dig in Galilee uncovers mosaics of Samson and commemorative inscription. The 11th season of excavations in the 1,600-year-old synagogue at Huqoq reveals a panel with an inscription commemorating the donors who funded the mosaic or the artists who made it (UNC-CH press release).

The newly discovered mosaic consists of a large panel, in the center of which is an enigmatic Hebrew inscription framed within a wreath. To the sides and below the wreath, an Aramaic inscription lists the names either of the donors who provided funding for the synagogue’s mosaics or the artists who made them, asking that they be remembered for good. The wreath is flanked on either side by lions resting their forepaws on bulls’ heads. The entire panel is surrounded by a decorated border showing animals of prey pursuing other animals.

This summer’s excavations also exposed additional sections of mosaic panels that were discovered in 2012 and 2013, which depict the episodes of Samson and the foxes as mentioned in Judges 15:4 and Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders referenced in Judges 16:3.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the archaeological discoveries at Huqoq, including the synagogue and the mosaics, see here and links plus here and here. For the Samson mosaic, see here and links.

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

Late-antique underworld portal excavated near Jerusalem?

SPELUNCIC, CHTHONIC, NECROMANTIC ARCHAEOLOGY? ‘Oracle of the dead’ cave was used for rituals in Israel — likely by witches, study says (Irene Wright, Miami Herald).

The combination of the deep pit in the cave, the skulls for necromancy, the lamps for divination and the weapons for protection suggest to the researchers that the Te’omim Cave was used as a portal to the underworld.

The underlying article in the Harvard Theological Review is open access:

Oil Lamps, Spearheads and Skulls: Possible Evidence of Necromancy during Late Antiquity in the Te’omim Cave, Judean Hills

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2023

Eitan Klein andBoaz Zissu

Abstract

The Te’omim Cave is a large karst cave located in the Jerusalem Hills. Since 2009, the cave has been explored by our team as a joint project of the Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Over 120 intact oil lamps were collected in the 2010–2016 survey seasons from all sections of the cave; most of them were dated to the second to fourth centuries CE. All of these lamps had been deliberately inserted in narrow, deep crevices in the main chamber walls or beneath the rubble. Some crevices contained groups of oil lamps mixed with weapons and pottery vessels from earlier periods or placed with human skulls. This article discusses the possibility that the oil lamps, weapons, human skulls, and other artifacts were used as part of necromancy ceremonies that took place in the cave during the Late Roman period, and that the cave may have served as a local oracle (nekyomanteion).

For another ancient underworld portal active at the same time (the Plutonium at Hierapolis in Turkey), see Carl Rasmussen's recent post at the Holy Land Photos' Blog: The Gate to Hades is Now Open!

Yet another underworld portal — a Zapotec one now under a church in Mitla, Oxaxa, Mexico — appears to have been rediscovered recently using non-invasive ground-penetrating technology: Archaeologists may have found ruins of fabled entrance to Zapotec underworld. Spanish missionaries deemed Lyobaa to be a "back door to hell" and sealed all entrances (JENNIFER OUELLETTE, Ars Technica).

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Moses' broken tables and the Temple Mount potsherds

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: EVEN THE SHATTERED FRAGMENTS OF THE TABLETS CONTAIN MEANING. With reference to the minor fast of 17 Tammuz, which took place on 6 July this year.

Usually, the emphasis on this day is on the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, an event that ultimately led to the destruction of the Temple. But the words of the Sages, who attribute this day to breaking of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments imply a substantial connection between them. ...

For years now we too have been engaged on a daily basis in collecting fragments from the site of the holy Temple. Dr. Gabriel Barkay likens the soil that was removed from the Temple Mount to a corpse. That is, even though it no longer has the value it had when it was alive (and life is sacred), it must still be treated with the proper respect and dignity.

For this reason, we not only collect the pottery shards and various other artifacts that come up in the sifting, but also meticulously sort, document and conduct in-depth research on them. This, despite the fact that they were found out of their stratified context and exact location. If found in any other location, they would have likely be considered as having little archaeological significance and no efforts would have been put forward to salvage them. In our case however, since these are fragments of artifacts originating from the Temple Mount, they indeed have meaning. And moreover, with the proper effort, these small fragments we uncover can reveal a more comprehensive archaeological and historical meaning that wouldn’t have been revealed had we conducted a traditional archeological excavation upon the Mount.

The essay also reports a new discovery about the Temple Mount in the First Temple Period. A scientific article is in preparation.

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

How did we get variant David and Goliath stories?

PROF. JEREMY M. HUTTON: Why Is David and Goliath’s Story 40% Longer in the MT Than in the LXX? (TheTorah.com).

The version of the story of David’s triumph over Goliath (1 Samuel 17–18) in the Septuagint (LXX) is missing many details present in the Masoretic Text (MT). The explanations provided by the Addition and Omission Hypotheses do not fully account for the differences. Taking into account how ancient scrolls were written and repaired offers a new approach.

For PaleoJudaica posts on this fascinating textual problem, see here and here.

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

Review of Tourraix, L'empire perse, les Grecs et le politique

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: L’empire perse, les Grecs et le politique.

Alexandre Tourraix, L'empire perse, les Grecs et le politique. Institut des sciences et techniques de l'Antiquité, 1544. Besançon: Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté, 2021. Pp. 436. ISBN 9782848678610

Review by
Steven W. Hirsch, Tufts University. steven.hirsch@tufts.edu

... In the end, this is a book for those who already have considerable background regarding Persians, Greeks, and other peoples of the Near East. Whether looking at Tourraix’s treatment of a specific problem or evaluating his more general theses, they will find his discussions stimulating and, at times, provocative.

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War in Yemen and (maybe) the Queen of Sheba's capital

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Sheba on the Front Lines. Protecting Yemen's Ancient Capital (Glenn J. Corbett).

Marib, the capital of the ancient South Arabian kingdom of Saba and home to the legendary Queen of Sheba, now finds itself on the front lines of one of today’s most protracted and devastating conflicts, the Yemeni civil war. ...

Marib is one possible site for the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba. The other main possibility is Axum/Aksum in Ethiopia. In any case, Marib is an important ancient South Arabian site.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Queen of Sheba and the possible sites of her kingdom, start here and follow the links. A couple of posts on Marib are here and here.

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

Interview: Aren Maier on Indiana Jones and everything else

CINEMA AND ARCHAEOLOGY: What Matters Now to archaeologist Aren Maeir: Indiana Jones’s new adventure. Working as a real archaeologist under the shadow of a Hollywood icon has been a mixed blessing for this actual prof, who explains how the field has evolved over the past 4 decades (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

“I think this has nothing to do with archaeology, and if anything, I would say it’s almost anti-archaeology in many ways, but it has brought archaeology to the public’s interest in a very, very significant manner and numerous archaeologists in the field for the last several decades have come to the field of archaeology because of the Indiana Jones movies,” said Maeir, the head of Bar-Ilan University’s Institute of Archaeology and the longtime director of The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

After watching the new Indiana Jones film, “Dial of Destiny,” we ask Prof. Aren Maier, what matters now.

You can listen to this interview as a podcast or read the full transcription. Prof. Maier discusses Indiana Jones, but also many important current issues in Israeli archaeology and more broadly. A long read, but well worth your time.

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

The case for a Davidic bureaucratic state?

ARCHAEOLOGY: Israeli Archaeologist Claims He Has Found David’s Kingdom, but Fellow Researchers Cry Foul. Prof. Yossi Garfinkel thinks a ring of fortified towns around Jerusalem proves David ruled over a substantial kingdom, but colleagues say those settlements may have nothing to do with ancient Judah (Ariel David, Haaretz).

Garfinkel’s study, published in June in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology, was greeted with reams of skepticism by many fellow archaeologists, who claim that his conclusions are based on assumptions and poorly interpreted data.

He does not aspire to fully validate the biblical account, which describes the United Monarchy of the Israelites as ranging from Egypt to the Euphrates River (2 Samuel 8). Garfinkel maintains that the territory David and Solomon ruled over was small, with borders lying maximum a day’s walk from Jerusalem. But a kingdom it was nonetheless, marked by a bureaucracy and standardized urban planning, the archaeologist concludes.

[...]

I have been watching this story for a while. This article has a good presentation of the thesis, the implications, and reactions by other archaeologists.

It would be nice to find some informative lapidary royal inscriptions of David or Solomon to go with the archaeology. One can hope. But in any case, as the article points out, the range of possibilities being discussed by archaeologists for the reality of the United Monarch has narrowed considerably.

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Review of Teague, New Testament Greek

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: New Testament Greek: a reading course, level 1.

Sally Teague, New Testament Greek: a reading course, level 1. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2022. Pp. xvii, 347. ISBN 9780865168657

Review by
Jerry Green, University of Central Oklahoma. jgreen67@uco.edu

... What sets New Testament Greek apart from other comparable introductory Greek textbooks is its attention to the experience of learning Greek from the student’s perspective. One sometimes gets the impression that the true audience of many Greek textbooks are other Greek instructors and scholars. But it is clear from the first page that Teague has written a book with the needs of the learner first and foremost in her mind. ...

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New head of UC's Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

NEW APPOINTMENT: Timothy P. Harrison appointed director of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (uchicago news). (ISAC was formerly known as the Oriental Institute.)

Congratulations to Professor Harrison and to ISAC and the University of Chicago.

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On Paul, Plato, Philo, and the Talmud

PHILOLOGOS (at Mosaic Magazine) has two essays about the possible influence of Plato, via Philo of Alexandria, on Paul of Tarsus and perhaps even on the Talmud. He promises a third essay as well. He opens with a reader's question about a passage in the Babylonian Talmud that could be taken to allude to a phrase used by Paul.

Were the Rabbis Riffing on Corinthians? Why is a phrase from a tractate in the Talmud so similar to one in Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians?

How Much Plato Did Paul or the Rabbis Know? A reader’s question prompts Philologos to turn up a crucial link between the three.

Mosaic is behind a subscription wall, but with free registration you can read two essays per month.

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

Were There Jewish Gladiators?

THOSE DEADLY GAMES: Evidence ancient Jews watched but didn’t participate in gladiatorial games. If a Jews did occasionally fight, they would’ve probably opted to take on animals rather than people, according to a new scholarly article (Menachem Wecker, JNS).

A new scholarly paper finds “inconclusive” evidence that Jews participated in the ancient Roman gladiatorial games. But it is clear that they defied rabbinic admonitions and attended the games as spectators, wrote Haggai Olshanetsky, a University of Basel postdoctoral fellow in ancient civilizations.

[...]

The underlying article is in the open-access journal ‛Atiqot, vol. 111 (2023):

Were There Jewish Gladiators? A Re-Evaluation of the Available Archaeological and Textual Evidence
(pp. 119-147)
Haggai Olshanetsky
Keywords: Jews, gladiators, Judaism, arena, Colosseum, Roman Games

The participation of Jews in the arena, especially as gladiators, has received relatively little attention. The few articles written on this matter suggest that Jews were both spectators and participants. The present paper relates to all previously suggested indications for the existence of Jewish gladiators and also introduces new ones. Although the possibility that Jewish gladiators were active in the first–fourth centuries CE cannot be ruled out entirely, the evidence remains inconclusive, suggesting that their number was very limited at best. It is also suggested that if Jews had participated in the games, they probably preferred to fight beasts rather than men.

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