Mardin Artuklu University (MAU) on Tuesday announced the launch of a doctoral program within the Syriac Language and Culture Department, part of the Institute of Living Languages.This is good news! For more on the founding and development of the Syriac program at Mardin Artuklu University, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.[...]
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Anne Boud'hors, David Brakke, Andrew Crislip, Samuel Moawad, The rediscovery of Shenoute: studies in honor of Stephen Emmel. Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta, 310. Leuven; Paris; Bristol: Peeters, 2022. Pp. xxii, 546. ISBN 9789042948303Some PaleoJudaica posts on Shenoute and the White Monastery are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.Review by
Ellen Muehlberger, University of Michigan. emuehlbe@umich.edu[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.]
Shenoute of Atripe was many things: leader of the White Monastery in Upper Egypt from about 385 C.E. until his death some time in the first part of the fifth century; the organizer of an extended group of Christian monastic communities for both men and women; a defender of orthodoxy who was not afraid to break a window or throw a punch; a preacher who indicted everyone from liars, adulterers, and demon worshippers to wage thieves and the merely half-hearted. What Shenoute has not been, though, is well-known to most modern scholars of the ancient world. He wrote in Coptic, a language that has not benefitted from being labeled one of the “classics”; instead of being transmitted and studied in an established discipline, Shenoute’s works, collected and edited at his own monastery, remained there for the most part until the great extractive force of the colonial antiquities market gave those pages value, and thus wings. ...
Cross-file under Coptic Watch.
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Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings collects forty-two essays on topics related to how early Christian writers used the Jewish scripture they inherited. As Henze and Lincicum explain in their introduction, the Scriptures of Israel “forms the cultural encyclopedia necessary to understand what Jesus and his earliest followers did and thought” (1). Not only did the writers of the New Testament interact extensively with Israel Scriptures, they “inherited strategies of scriptural interpretation from their Jewish predecessors” (1). This volume, therefore, expresses the state of the question and presses the field forward into new avenues of scholarship. In doing so, they stand on the shoulders of Krister Stendahl (School of Matthew, 1968) and Richard Hays (Echoes of Scripture in Paul, 1989). However, even though the authors of the New Testament are either “Jews or Judaphiles,” not all New Testament scriptural interpretations are easily illustrated in Jewish literature, nor can all types of scriptural interpretation in contemporary Judaism be illustrated in the New Testament.I noted the publication of the book here.[...]
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For the Megiddo mosaics, including the one that refers to "the God Jesus Christ," see here and links. For more on the Museum of the Bible, follow the links from here, notably here.
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Archaeologists excavating the tophet [at the site of Carthage] uncovered a collection of offerings, Tunisia’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs said in an Aug. 11 news release. They found five gold coins from 2,300 years ago, tombstones and several urns with the remains of animals, infants and premature babies.For many PaleoJudaica posts on ancient Carthage, its history, and its archaeology, start here and follow the links. For a brief history, see here. Also see "Carthage" in the archive. For the gold coinage of Carthage, see here. For ancient Tunisian coinage more generally, see here and links. For the Punic (and Phoenician?) goddess Tanit (Tannit), the "Snake Lady," see here and links. For the issue of child sacrifice at Carthage, see here and links.The rare gold coins are about an inch in size and have a design showing the face of Tanit, an ancient goddess of fertility and motherhood, the Tunisian outlet Shems FM reported. Photos show a few of the still-shiny golden treasures.
Cross-file unde Numismatics.
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Archaeologists say they have discovered one of the world's earliest synagogues at the site of an ancient city.Reportedly, two inscriptions identifying the building as a "house of worship" and "synagogue" date to the first century C.E.A team of experts made the find during excavations at the archaeological site of Phanagoria, which is on the Taman Peninsula in southwestern Russia. The ancient settlement was founded by Greek settlers around the middle of the 6th century B.C. on the peninsula, which borders the Sea of Azov to the north and the Black Sea to the south.
[...]
For additional background, see Ruth Schuster's article in Haaretz: Synagogue From Late Second Temple Period Found by Black Sea in Russia. Identity of the house of worship from about 2,000 years ago confirmed by menorah engravings and inscriptions calling it a ‘synagogue’, Phanagoria excavation director Vladimir Kuznetsov explains.
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The Syriac WorldThis is a translation of their 2017 French book.
In Search of a Forgotten Christianityby Francoise Briquel Chatonnet and Muriel Debie
Translated by Jeffrey Haines304 Pages, 6.12 x 9.25 in, 68 b-w illus.
Hardcover
9780300253535
Published: Tuesday, 20 Jun 2023
$35.00Description
A comprehensive survey of Syriac Christianity over three thousand years
Syriac is often referred to as the third main language of Christianity, along with Latin and Greek, and it remains a foundational classical, literary, and religious language throughout the world. Originating in Mesopotamia along the Roman and Parthian frontiers, it was never the language of a powerful state or ethnic group, but with the coming of Christianity it developed into a rich religious and cultural tradition. At the same time that Christianity was making its way through Europe, Syriac missionaries were founding churches from the Mediterranean coast to Persia, converting the Turkic tribes of Central Asia, and building communities in India and China.
This comprehensive work tells the underexplored story of the Syriac world over three thousand years, from its pre-Christian roots in the Aramaic tribes and the ancient Near East to its vibrant expressions in modern diaspora churches. Enhanced with images, songs, poems, and important primary texts, this book shows the importance of Syriac history, theology, and literature in the twenty-first century.
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I noted the 2009 discovery of the mosaic here. Another post on the site is here.
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The most recent excavation revealed more information about the early Christian layout of the Edicule, parts of which date to the 4th century. Under one of the floor slabs, archaeologists discovered a coin hoard that included coins minted up until the time of Roman Emperor Valens (364-378).For some PaleoJudaica posts on the recent renovations and excavations in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holy Sepulcher), see here, here, here, here, here, and here. And follow the many links for much more on the Church.Other interesting discoveries include a fragment of wall cladding, or the exterior of the wall, from the main Edicule, covered with graffiti from the 18th century in various languages, including Greek, Latin and Armenian.
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Mikvehs have been discovered in the desert, in the Galilee, under new houses in Jerusalem, at construction sites, and in partially restored ancient towns. The vast majority date back to the Second Temple period, with at least 50 ritual baths found adjacent to the Temple Mount.A Travel survey of many of the Second Temple-era mikvehs uncovered in Israel.
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Published in English.
The Psalms of Solomon, a collection of 18 Jewish psalms from the Second Temple period, have long been a fascinating topic for scholarship. In this volume, leading scholars from a range of disciplines offer new insights into the cultural background, literary form, theological themes, and reception history of the Psalms of Solomon. The essays address a range of topics, including the origin of the text in Palestinian Judaism, the temple in the Psalms of Solomon, and the question of its canonical status.
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Purity in the Gospel of JohnEarly Jewish Tradition, Christology, and Ethics
Wil Rogan (Author)
Hardback
$115.00 $103.50Ebook (PDF)
$103.50 $82.80Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$103.50 $82.80Product details
Published Jul 13 2023
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 224
ISBN 9780567708663
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of New Testament Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury PublishingDescription
Wil Rogan argues that, contrary to twentieth-century interpretation, the Fourth Gospel did not replace purity with faith in Jesus. Instead, as with other early Jewish writings, its discourse about purity functions as a way to make sense of life before God in the world. He suggests that John's Gospel employs biblical and early Jewish traditions of purity associated with divine revelation and Israel's restoration to narrate how God's people are prepared for the coming of Jesus and enabled by him to have life with God characterized by love.
After evaluating different theories of purity for the interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, Rogan explores John the Baptist as an agent of ritual purification, Jesus as the agent of moral purification, and the disciples of Jesus as ones who are (or are not) made morally pure by Jesus. While purity is not one of the Fourth Gospel's primary focuses, Rogan stresses that the concept figures into some of its most significant claims about Christology, the doctrine of salvation, and ethics. Through purity, the Fourth Gospel guards continuity with the past while placing surprising conditions on participation in Israel's future.
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Israel's Scriptures in Early Christian Writings
The Use of the Old Testament in the NewMatthias Henze and David Lincicum, eds.
HARDCOVER; Published: 7/20/2023
ISBN: 978-0-8028-7444-3
Price: $ 79.99
1166 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 6.125 x 9.25DESCRIPTION
How did New Testament authors use Israel’s Scriptures?
Use, misuse, appropriation, citation, allusion, inspiration—how do we characterize the manifold images, paraphrases, and quotations of the Jewish Scriptures that pervade the New Testament? Over the past few decades, scholars have tackled the question with a variety of methodologies. New Testament authors were part of a broader landscape of Jewish readers interpreting Scripture. Recent studies have sought to understand the various compositional techniques of the early Christians who composed the New Testament in this context and on the authors’ own terms.
In this landmark collection of essays, Matthias Henze and David Lincicum marshal an international group of renowned scholars to analyze the New Testament, text-by-text, aiming to better understand what roles Israel’s Scriptures play therein. In addition to explicating each book, the essayists also cut across texts to chart the most important central concepts, such as the messiah, covenants, and the end times. Carefully constructed reception history of both testaments rounds out the volume.
Comprehensive and foundational, Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings will serve as an essential resource for biblical scholars for years to come.
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The Israel Antiquities Authority announced from social media on July 18 that the object the lifeguard turned over was a 2,500-year-old, eye-shaped marble disc that was attached to ships to ward off the evil eye.The Facebook announcement is here.Experts say the relic, found during a dive by lifeguard David Shalom at the Yavne-Yam archaeological site near Palmachim Beach, dates back to the 5th to 4th centuries BC.
The object was found underwater. So much for ship protection.
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Jewish Greek philosophy, the New Testament, Christian theology, Samaritan law, Rabbinic Judaism, the Church Fathers—all shaped and interpreted the Decalogue to meet the needs of their community.
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The mirror itself is missing, but archaeologists believe that what emerged from the Israel Antiquities Authority dig may be a 1,500-year-old “mirror plaque” demon repellent dating to the late Roman or Byzantine period (from the fourth to the sixth century), the IAA announced on Thursday.Theoretically, it could alternatively have served in catoptromancy – the Roman art of divination using mirrors – or had some other use. But use of mirrors to ward off demonic spirits was a practice in more than one religious circle in antiquity.
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Tu B'Av (which just means the 15th day of the month of Av) is an ancient matchmaking festival. Its first mention is in the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4). It has been revived in recent years as a kind of Jewish Valentine's Day. For past posts on it, see here and links.
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