Four new books from the SBL

FOUR NEW BOOKS from the Society of Biblical Literature:

The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change, Second Revised Edition
Bezalel Porten

This important volume contains 175 documents from the Egyptian border fortresses of Elephantine and Syene (Aswan), which yielded hundreds of papyri in hieratic, Demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Coptic, spanning a period of 3000 years. The documents include letters and legal contracts from family and other archives, and are thus an invaluable source of knowledge for scholars of varied disciplines, such as epistolography, law, society, religion, language, and onomastics. The volume includes seven sections, each containing carefully translated and extensively annotated documents of one language group. Excellent cross-referencing allows the user to trace forerunners and successors. Each section is preceded by an introduction; the Aramaic, Demotic, and Greek sections are concluded with a prosopography. The book closes with a select topical index.

Paper $79.95 • 656 pages • ISBN 9781589836280 • Hardback edition

Interpreting Exile: Displacement and Deportation in Biblical and Modern Contexts
Brad E. Kelle, Frank Ritchel Ames, Jacob L. Wright, editors

Interpreting Exile considers forced displacement and deportation in ancient Israel and comparable modern contexts in order to offer insight into the realities of war and exile in ancient Israel and their representations in the Hebrew Bible. Introductory essays describe the interdisciplinary and comparative approach and explain how it overcomes methodological dead ends and advances the study of war in ancient and modern contexts. Following essays, written by scholars from various disciplines, explore specific cases drawn from a wide variety of ancient and modern settings and consider archaeological, anthropological, physical, and psychological realities, as well as biblical, literary, artistic, and iconographic representations of displacement and exile. The volume as a whole places Israel’s experiences and expressions of forced displacement into the broader context of similar war-related phenomena from multiple contexts.

Paper $57.95 • 480 pages • ISBN 9781589836044 • Ancient Israel and Its Literature 10

Pentateuch, Hexateuch, or Enneateuch? Identifying Literary Works in Genesis through Kings
Thomas B. Dozeman, Konrad Schmid, Thomas Römer, editors

The identification of literary works in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets is a hallmark of the modern historical-critical interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. The theories of a Tetrateuch, a Hexateuch, or a Deuteronomistic History have played a central role in recovering the literary history of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. The breakdown of these methodologies in recent research has forced scholars to reevaluate the criteria for identifying literary works in the formation of the Hebrew Bible. The present volume explores anew, without presupposition or exclusion, the criteria by which interpreters identify literary works in these books as a resource for recovering the composition history of the literature. It also brings North American and European approaches to the topic into a common discussion.

Paper $39.95 • 324 pages • ISBN 9781589835429 • Ancient Israel and Its Literature 8

Rome and Religion: A Cross-Disciplinary Dialogue on the Imperial Cult
Jeffrey Brodd and Jonathan L. Reed, editors

This book presents an up-to-date discussion of the Roman imperial cult (the divinization of the emperor) and its general importance in early Christianity and ancient Mediterranean religions. It features opening and closing essays by Karl Galinsky, a foremost authority on Roman history and culture. Thirteen other essays explore related aspects and draw on a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives, including theory, method, archaeology, epigraphy, and art. The authors are classicists, biblical and religious scholars, historians, and archaeologists, with expertise in various cultural milieus. Reflecting this spectrum of backgrounds and interests, the book addresses issues and phenomena covering a broad expanse of subjects, locations, and methodological concerns.

Paper $37.95 • 276 pages • ISBN 9781589836129 • Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplements 5

Obituary for Ben Zion Wacholder

AN OBITUARY FOR BEN ZION WACHOLDER, which I only came across recently on the Agade list:

Ben Zion Wacholder, 1924-2011 (AAJR)

A long-time Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research, Ben Zion Wacholder passed away in Roslyn Heights, New York, on March 29, 2011, at the age of 86. He had been the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Cincinnati and a major figure in the study of ancient Jewish history, especially of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

[...]

More here.

2012 Enoch Graduate Seminar

2012 ENOCH GRADUATE SEMINAR: This just in from Gabriele Boccaccini.

The fourth meeting of the Enoch Graduate Seminar will be held June 18-20, 2012 on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, chaired by Prof. James C. VanderKam. The sessions will begin at noon on Monday, June 18 and will conclude at noon on Wednesday, June 20. Graduate or Post-Doc students working in the general area of Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins who wish to present a paper at the seminar should submit an abstract (no more than one page) clearly stating the shape of the argument and the conclusion. The abstract should be sent to the secretary of the Conference, Isaac Oliver , no later than December 15, 2011.

Around 15 papers will be selected and presented at the Seminar. Papers in their final form must be completed by May 15, 2012. They will circulate in advance among the participants and will be only briefly introduced (5 minutes) by the author at the conference, where one hour will be devoted to the discussion of each paper, with all participants acting as respondents. The best papers will be selected for publication in the journal Henoch.

Previous meetings of the Enoch Graduate Seminar were held at the University of Michigan (2006), Princeton Theological Seminary / Princeton University (2008), and the Catholic University of Budapest (2010).

The Enoch Seminar website is here.

Iranian influence on Judaism

BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION ESSAY:

Iranian influence on Judaism

The question of Iranian influence is of some importance for understanding the development of the Hebrew Bible, the history of Second Temple Judaism, and the emergence of the genre known today as the apocalypse. Understanding the origins of ideas is of interest on its own; however, the ability to pinpoint influence more specifically offers evidence for dating changes in religious thought, as well as enabling a better understanding of the ways imported ideas were adapted by Judaism. Thus, understanding how ideas parallel other systems, were borrowed from them, and adapted for a new religion improves the contextual understanding of a religion and its texts, in our case Second Temple Judaism, the Hebrew Bible, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.


See Also: Persepolis and Jerusalem (T&T Clark Int’l, 2012)


By Jason M Silverman
Trinity College Dublin
October 2011

This essay lays out a sophisticated and promising new approach to the problem.

(Via Robert Cargill at XKV8R.)

Canada 'reconsidering' UNESCO funding after Palestine's admission

UNESCO POLITICS: Canada 'reconsidering' UNESCO funding after Palestine's admission.

Egyptian blogger's plight taken up by LA Times

EGYPTIAN BLOGGER'S PLIGHT taken up by the Los Angeles Times:

Egyptians protest blogger's detention, call for end to military trials

November 1, 2011 | 12:08 pm

REPORTING FROM CAIRO -- Egyptian activists are demanding the release of Alaa Abdel Fattah, a popular blogger who criticized the army for the death of protesters during a recent demonstration.

[...]

Background here.

Knesset declines to declassify Temple-Mount Comptroller's report

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH:

Knesset Refuses to Declassify Temple Mount Report
The Knesset has refused to declassify a State Comptroller report slamming officials for pervasive failures at the Temple Mount

By Gavriel Queenann (Arutz Sheva)
First Publish: 11/1/2011, 4:58 PM

A joint session of Knesset sub-committees discussed on Tuesday a confidential report from the State Comptroller citing serious failures by authorities to safeguard and maintain the Temple Mount.

During the meeting MK Uri Ariel (National Union) again requested the report be released for public consumption on the grounds that the public had a right to appreciate the seriousness of authorities' failure to maintain law and order on the Temple Mount.

[...]

Ariel's request was rejected by the committee.

[...]

Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

Background here and links.

From the Paleoblogosphere

FROM THE PALEOBLOGOSPHERE:

Evangelical Textual Criticism: New Second Century Text of John? Not. See the comment by Wieland Willker.

Larry Hurtado's Blog: Another New Book on Jesus and the Early Church. Lots on ancient Judaism too.

NT Blog: The Matthew Effect. Sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum novel.

Antiquitopia: Ancient Zombies. Seasonal.

The Talmud Blog: In a Name: Some Late Night Ruminations on T. Ilan’s Lexicon of Jewish Names 4. The Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls figure prominently in the discussion.

Remnant of Giants: “Close Friend” of Kim Kardashian Reveals Reason for Divorce from Kris Humphries after only 72 days. “It was the Goliath thing.”

UPDATE: This just in from the Agade list.
Ancient Hebrew Grammar: Pedagogy and the Lesser-Taught (Ancient) Northwest Semitic Languages. The results of a survey, which unfortunately I seem to have missed.

The origins of Jewish creativity

THE ORIGINS OF JEWISH CREATIVITY is the subject of a collection of interviewlets in Moment Magazine. Among many thoughtful and varied ones, these two stood out to me:

Daniel Matt

The Zohar, the foundational text of kabbalah, is a celebration of creativity—it shows how the Torah endlessly unfolds in meaning. Jacob ben-Sheshet Gerondi, a 13th century kabbalist, said it’s a mitzvah for every wise person to innovate in Torah according to his capacity. That’s refreshing because you often hear the traditional notion, to accept what’s been handed down or to learn from the master because you’re not able to create on your own. But ben-Sheshet says (after conveying one of his innovations), “If I hadn’t invented it in my mind I would say that this was transmitted to Moses at Mt. Sinai.” He’s aware that his interpretation is new, but he thinks it harmonizes with the ultimate source of tradition—the creative work itself is somehow deeply connected to an ancient mainstream. An essential component of all creativity is tapping into something deeper than your normal state of mind.

The basic approach of the rabbis is to apply midrash to reading the Torah—the rabbis are willing to be very bold in their interpretation. It’s natural for a Jew to be bold and innovative—that’s the secret to keeping the tradition alive. The Zohar reads the very opening words of the Torah radically. Instead of “In the beginning God created,” it’s “In the beginning the Infinite created God.” It sounds bizarre to say that God is the object of creation, but I think the meaning is that what we think of as God doesn’t do justice to the true nature of God, which they call ein sof, “without end.” Going beyond traditional midrash, the Zohar employs radical creativity to make us question our current assumptions about life, about the nature of the human being, about God and spirituality. It moves through the Torah verse by verse asking probing, challenging questions. As the Zohar says, “God is known and grasped to the degree that one opens the gates of imagination,” so it’s up to our imaginative faculty to understand reality, or the reality of God.

Daniel Matt served for 20 years as a professor of Jewish spirituality at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He is currently composing a multi-volume annotated translation of the Zohar, entitled The Zohar: Pritzker Edition.

Daniel Boyarin

The Babylonian Talmud is the most extraordinary creation of the Jewish people—it speaks a kind of manic energy and records that extraordinary energy and vitality from the areas where it was produced in the Babylonian Diaspora. Jews were imbued with creative energy through the intense study of this one peculiar vibrant work through the centuries. Sholom Aleichem, for example, records how the world of talmudic learning was diffused from the yeshiva throughout Jewish communities across class and gender. While the making of the Talmud was a creative act, so was the Jewish openness to many cultures: The cross-fertilization between ancient Jewish tradition and the outside world led to the taking in of new ideas and energy. Since the 19th century, much of Jewish creativity has stemmed from being in two cultures at the same time. Being in a position to observe a culture that you are also a part of is very conducive to creativity.

Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture at the University of California Berkeley, has written extensively on the Talmud and gender studies.

Much more on the Zohar and the Pritzker edition here and links. A couple of fairly recent posts on the work of Daniel Boyarin are here and here. Professor Boyarin also has a new book soon to be released: The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ.

Palestine given UNESCO membership

POLITICS:

Palestine given UNESCO membership

AM Middle East correspondent Anne Barker (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Updated November 01, 2011 11:06:22

The United Nations' top cultural body UNESCO has voted to grant full membership to the Palestinians.

The move could boost the chances of recognition for a Palestinian state at the wider UN and will give Palestinians the right to nominate ancient cultural sites for inclusion on the world heritage register.

But the vote in Paris has angered Israel and the United States and both countries consider the peace process is now more in danger than ever.

The motion, which specifically used the name 'Palestine', was passed by a substantial majority.

[...]

But the US has vowed to veto the bid for full UN membership and has announced it will stop financial contributions to UNESCO.

"We were to have made a $US60 million payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

The US funding makes up 22 per cent of UNESCO's budget.

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, says the UNESCO vote will severely damage the prospects of Middle East peace negotiations resuming.

[...]

This decision will doubtless have an impact both on the archaeology of the region and on UNESCO itself, but exactly how remains to be seen.

More blogger arrests in Egypt

MORE BLOGGER ARRESTS IN EGYPT:

Egyptian activist bloggers Alaa and Bahaa face military prosecution
Two prominent activists and bloggers are questioned by the military prosecution over their alleged incitement of the Maspero clashes earlier this month

Hatem Maher, Sunday 30 Oct 2011 (Al-Ahram)

Activists Alaa Seif Abd El-Fattah and Bahaa Saber arrived at the offices of the military prosecution Sunday morning to face questioning over their alleged role in instigating the deadly Maspero clashes which left scores dead and injured earlier this month.

Both activists were due to be questioned last week but a hearing was delayed because Seif was in the US, where he spoke to American protesters taking part in the occupy wall street movement.

According to lawyer Nesma Zahran, a member in El Nadim Center for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, Seif and Saber are facing charges of inciting the downtown Cairo clashes between Coptic Christians protesting the torching of a church in upper Egypt and their Muslim supporters on one side, and the army and the police on the other.

At least 26 people were killed and dozens wounded in the army/police clampdown on the protesters on 9 October in front of the state TV headquarters (Maspero).

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) later expressed "regret" for the incident, but continued to try and put the blame for the violence on Coptic and secularist incitement.

[...]

Veteran political activists, both Seif and Saber were arrested in 2006 for criticising the former regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Abd El-Fattah, along with his wife Manal Hassan, runs the well-known political blog ‘Manalaa.’ Possibly Egypt's most famous blogger, his Twitter account has over 45,000 followers.

According to Egyptian human rights activist Mona Seif, military prosecutors claim to possess video footage proving that Seif and Saber had incited protesters to commit violent attacks against army personnel at the height of the Maspero clashes.

[...]

I have been following the career of Alaa and Manal since 2005 (see here, here, here, and here; also a couple of the links in this recent post). I have not heard of Bahaa before this.

The incitement accusations seem not to be directly related to blogging, but the two arrestees are known to a large degree because of their blogging. Much additional information about the case and the issues involved (such as video evidence of army atrocities at the protest, plus the problem of trying civilians in military tribunals) is covered in the Christian Science Monitor (Egypt's military rulers detain prominent activist. Is he a scapegoat?) and a NYT blog by Robert Mackey (Egyptian Activists Summoned by Military Prosecutor). And Al-Ahram has more on Alaa here.

I can find no public record of the supposed video showing the incitement (in contrast to the ample public video record of army atrocities during the Maspero protests). Alaa and Bahaa are (or at least should be) innocent until proven guilty and any case against them should be tried in a civilian court.

As someone who has criticised the new Egyptian Government, I should feel very unsafe traveling to Egypt right now, just as I did back in 2006 during the Mubarak regime.

I posted this in the morning and then withdrew the post a little later when I decided I needed to look at the details more closely. Having done so, I repost it here in revised form.

UPDATE (1 November):

Egypt's blogger/activist @Alaa’s detention triggers mass protest against military trials

Thousands take the streets to demand freedom for renowned Egyptian blogger and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, imprisoned for refusing - on principle - to answer questions by the military prosecution

Salma Shukrallah , Tuesday 1 Nov 2011 (ahramonline)

Thousands gathered on Monday in downtown Cairo's Talaat Harb Square demanding the release of Alaa Abd El-Fatah, one of Egypt's most well-known bloggers and political activists , and expressing support for his decision to refuse to be questioned by the military prosecution on the grounds that it had no business interrogating civilians. Abd El-Fattah, who was brought before the military prosecution on Monday, also argued that in this particular case - the 9 October violent clashes between the army and Coptic protesters - the army stands accused of the crime, and hence it would be absurd for a criminal suspect to be allowed to question another presumed suspect.

Activists have long been campaigning against the military trials of civilians, demanding that they are tried in civilian courts instead. They also believe that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was trying to lay blame for the Bloody Sunday massacre, in which 26 people were killed and hundreds injured, on the victims. They have bundles of evidence, in the form of eyewitness testimony, videos and photos to support their contention that on that night the army and the anti-riot police had, suddenly, erupted into a paroxysm of extreme violence against a fundamentally peaceful protest, leading to the large number of deaths and injuries.

The protest of mostly young activists, many of whom only knew Abd El-Fattah through his @Alaa Twitter account, chanted “Alaa’s detention is liberating a country”. Abd El-Fatah’s stand was considered by the demonstrating crowd as a courageous sacrifice, which should be built upon, so as to bring an end to the military trials of civilians.

[...]

IAA press release on ancient Christian prayer box

THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER BOX recently discovered in Jerusalem is the subject of an IAA press release: An Ancient Christian Prayer Box was Discovered in Excavations in Jerusalem (October 2011).

Via Joseph I. Lauer. Background here.

Mark Glickman interviewed about "Sacred Treasure"

RABBI MARK GLICKMAN, author of Sacred Treasure--The Cairo Genizah, is interviewed in a San Diego Union-Tribune blog about his upcoming presentation on the subject matter of his book:

Mark Glickman: The Cairo Genizah

Written by
Joe Nalven
10:06 a.m., Oct 30, 2011

Mark Glickman will be giving a presentation at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair about the Ben Ezra Cairo Synagogue's Genizah, based on his new book, *Sacred Treasure--The Cairo Genizah: The Amazing Discoveries of Forgotten Jewish History in an Egyptian Synagogue Attic.

[...]

Excerpt:

How is it important to us?

MG: It may not be important at all, but it should be! My book explains why, but here are a few brief synopses:

• The Genizah provides a window to a vastly significant and otherwise mostly unknown Jewish world – Judeo-Arabic culture and society.

• The Genizah provides a powerful connection between modern Jews and Judaism and our ancient predecessors.

• The Genizah documents portray a time and place in which Jews and Arabs lived among one another and got along very well – a hopeful vision of the future as well as a fascinating portrayal of the past.

• The Genizah shows us that Jewish religion and tradition is far from the static, unmoving monolith we often think it to be, but that it’s dynamic, always adjusting and adapting to contemporary needs.

• The Genizah story is fascinating and exciting – why wouldn’t you want to know it?

Background here and links. The presentation is in San Diego on 8 November, neatly falling between my previous trip there and my upcoming post-SBL visit. I am sorry to miss it.

More on the Cairo Geniza here and here and links.

Forum: Israeli Academics at Sydney University

FORUM:

Israeli Academics at Sydney University

October 28, 2011 by J-Wire Staff
Read on for article

Academics from Israel will join Australian counterparts on Monday at an international forum at the University of Sydney to discuss key thematic areas including medicine, energy, IT, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the pedagogy of teaching second languages.

“Shared Challenges, Future Solutions” will highlight research developments and foster new collaborative partnerships.

[...]

Professors Ian Young and Emanuel Tov are slated for the session on the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Media on NYC DSS exhibition

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK, which opened Friday, has received a lot of media attention. Some of the major treatments:

Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times World Premiere Opening Today at Discovery Times Square
Exhibition to Feature Largest Collection of Holy Land Artifacts Ever Organized in North America including 20 Dead Sea Scrolls on Display, Over 500 Rare Biblical Era Artifacts and an Authentic Three-Ton Stone from Jerusalem's Western Wall

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times, a new exhibition featuring the most comprehensive collection of ancient artifacts from Israel ever organized, including one of the largest collections of the priceless 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls displayed in North America along with an actual three-ton stone from Jerusalem's Western Wall, is making its world premiere at Discovery Times Square (226 West 44th Street) from October 28, 2011 through April 15, 2012.

[...]


The Scrolls as a Start, Not an End

By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN (NYT)
Published: October 28, 2011

Don’t expect to see the glittering marvels of King Tut’s tomb. Few artifacts at the provocative new exhibition at Discovery Times Square —“The Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times” — will inspire aesthetic wonder. Pottery, silver coins, iron arrowheads, limestone pitchers, scraps of parchment — such are the seemingly mundane yields of many archaeological excavations, and they are prevalent here as well.
Multimedia

The understated result is almost jarring. ...

The narrative treats the scrolls not as the beginning of a history, but as its culmination. This is almost the reverse of their usual treatment. Since the first scrolls were found by Bedouins in 1947 in caves near the Dead Sea, they have inspired extraordinary drama and debate.

[...]


Dead Sea Scrolls in Times Square: Slide Show (NYT)


Dead Sea Scrolls, 'Jesus Tomb Ossuaries' on Display in New York

By John R. Quain

Published October 28, 2011 | FoxNews.com

NEW YORK – For the first time ever, some of the most priceless -- and delicate -- writings from biblical times went on public display Friday.

It's part of "Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times," an exhibition at the Discovery Times Square in New York City. Comprising roughly 500 artifacts, some dating back more than 3,000 years, it is one of the most comprehensive displays of artifacts from ancient Israel ever assembled.

[...]

Among the scrolls are remarkable, non-biblical documents, such as the Book of War, which details an apocalyptic battle between angels representing good and evil. Also on public display for the first time are pieces of Aramaic Levi, in which a father explains priestly duties to his son, and Apocryphal Lamentations, ancient poetry concerning the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC.

[...]

New book: Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature

NEW BOOK:

Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices

Studies for Einar Thomassen at Sixty
Edited by Christian H. Bull, Liv Ingeborg Lied and John D. Turner

Mystery and secrecy were central concepts in the ritual, rhetoric, and sociological stratification of antique Mediterranean religions. That the ultimate nature and workings of the divine were secret, and either could not or should not be revealed except as a mystery for the initiated, was widely accepted among Pagans, Jews, and then Christians, both Gnostic and otherwise. The similarities and differences in the language of mystery and secrecy across religious and cultural borders are thus crucial for understanding this important period of the history of religions.
The present anthology aims to present and analyze a wide selection of sources elucidating this theme, reflecting the correspondingly wide scholarly interests of Professor Einar Thomassen in honor of his 60th birthday.

UPDATE: And, of course, congratulations to Professor Thomassen!

Tom Verenna: November Biblical Studies Carnival: The Undead Edition

TOM VERENNA: November Biblical Studies Carnival: The Undead Edition.

From the Biblioblogosphere

FROM THE BIBLIOBLOGOSPHERE:

Mystical Politics: Jewish Annotated New Testament just published.

Alin Suciu: Coptic Bible Resources.

Apocryphicity: Thoughts on Ehrman and Pleše’s Apocryphal Gospels.

Byzantine prayer box excavated in Jerusalem

DISCOVERY:

Byzantine Prayer Box Found in Jerusalem Dig
Miniature box adorned with cross dates from 6-7 century CE. Contained two icons surrounded by gold leaf.

By Gil Ronen (Arutz Sheva)
First Publish: 10/27/2011, 9:07 PM

Archaeologists in Jerusalem discovered a miniature Christian prayer box that dates back to the sixth or seventh century CE.

The box was found at the "Givati parking lot" dig in Ir David. Dig supervisors noted that illustrated Byzantine holy objects are very rarely found in the Holy Land.

The box contained two icon paintings surrounded by gold leaf and was probably a personal prayer object. It is 2.2 cm. (about 0.9 inch) long by 1.6 cm. wide and is made from the bone of a large animal – cattle, a camel or a horse.

[...]

Follow the link for photos.

NYC DSS exhibit opens today

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK opens today:

Dead Sea Scroll Objects On Display

Analysis by Rossella Lorenzi (Discovery News)
Thu Oct 27, 2011 03:50 PM ET
(0) Comments | Leave a Comment

A three-ton stone from Jerusalem's Western Wall, hundreds of biblical era artifacts, and a collection of 20 Dead Sea Scrolls will make their debut tomorrow in New York's Discovery Times Square Exposition.

The largest collection of biblical artifacts ever displayed outside Israel, the exhibition "Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times," aims to take visitors on a "fascinating archaeological journey through the Holy Land."

[...]

Background here and links.

KJB@400 Watch: Ambivalencies: Jews and the King James Version

KJB@400 WATCH:

Ambivalencies: Jews and the King James Version

By Alan T. Levenson
Schusterman/Josey Professor of Jewish Intellectual History
Judaic Studies, University of Oklahoma
October 2011 (Bible and Interpretation)

The 400th birthday of the King James Version (KJV) has prompted widespread celebration in academic and popular venues.1 While Jews have usually read the Bible from a scroll in Hebrew for liturgical purposes, the history of Jewish Bible translation is a long one and includes many languages, including Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, and Yiddish. Modernity sparked a renewed interest in the Bible among Jews and a new wave of translations, particularly into German and English.2 Surveying the relationship of Jews and the KJV, I cannot help but employ that overused word in the scholarly lexicon: ambivalence.

[...]

From the Paleo-Blogosphere

FROM THE PALEO-BLOGOSPHERE:

Ralph the Sacred River: Swarming in Hebrew.

Mystical Politics: Why did Yasser Arafat deny the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem?

The Talmud Blog: Medicine and the Redaction of the Talmud- Guest Post by Michael Satlow. Better stock up on those century-old reed tubes before the EPA bans them.

Bible Places Blog: InscriptiFact: A Better Way To Read Inscriptions.

Thomas Verenna: FINAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! And a Request. Submissions for the Biblical Studies Carnival for November, that is.

Apocryphicity: Conference on Erasure History. Erasure History would be a fine name for a band.

Alin Suciu: A Hitherto Unnoticed Coptic Fragment from the Apocalypse of John.

Four new books from the SBL

NEW BOOKS:

FOUR NEW TITLES FROM THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

Celebrating the Dead Sea Scrolls
Peter W. Flint, Jean Duhaime, and Kyung S. Baek, editors

This volume celebrates the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, their contents, the movement that produced many of them, the community that preserved them all, and new questions and scientific issues that arise from Scrolls studies. The twenty-five essays, in four sections, explore the origins and text of scripture, the interpretation of scripture in Second Temple Judaism, the identity and practices of the movement associated with Qumran and the Scrolls, and the extensive contributions of Canadian projects and scholarship. Four color and four black and white plates are included in the volume.

Paper $76.95 • 674 pages • ISBN 9781589836037 • Early Judaism and Its Literature 30

Israel in the Persian Period: The Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C.E.
Erhard S. Gerstenberger. Translated by Siegfried S. Schatzmann

Although the Persians are seldom mentioned explicitly in the Hebrew Bible, the Persian period (539–331 B.C.E.) gave new shape to ancient Israel, as the biblical text evolved and the foundations of the Judeo-Christian tradition were laid. Therefore, contrary to earlier views, Persian politics, culture, and religion were the setting within which the nascent Jewish community lived and took shape. Against the backdrop of the history and intellectual world of Persia, Gerstenberger describes this exciting 200-year period in the history of Israel, which saw both the creation of biblical literature (historical, prophetic, and poetic writings, especially the Psalms) and important theological developments (e.g., the shape and characteristics of the Jewish community, monotheism, and new means of shaping one’s world).

Paper $65.95 • 596 pages • ISBN 9781589832657 • Biblical Encyclopedia 8

Sculpting Idolatry in Flavian Rome: (An)Iconic Rhetoric in the Writings of Flavius Josephus
Jason von Ehrenkrook

This book investigates the discourse on idolatry and images, especially statues, in the writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, with a particular focus on his numerous accounts of a contentious and at times iconoclastic relationship between Jews and images. Placing this narrative material within a wider comparative context, both Jewish and non-Jewish, demonstrates that the impression of strict aniconism—uniform and categorical opposition to all figurative art—emerging from Josephus is in part a rhetorical construct, an effort to reframe Jewish iconoclastic behavior not as a resistance to Roman domination but as an expression of certain cultural values shared by Jews and Romans alike. Josephus thus articulates in this discourse on images an idea of Jewish identity that functioned to mitigate an increasingly tense relationship between Romans and Jews in the wake of the Jewish revolt against Rome.

Paper $29.95 • 240 pages • ISBN 9781589836228 • Early Judaism and Its Literature 33

Constructs of Prophecy in the Former and Latter Prophets and Other Texts
Lester L. Grabbe and Martti Nissinen, editors

This collection of essays, arising from the meetings of the SBL’s Prophetic Texts and Their Ancient Contexts Group, examines how prophecy has been constructed in biblical literature such as the Former Prophets, the Latter Prophets, Chronicles, and Daniel, and even in the Qur’an. Recognizing that these texts do not simply describe the prophetic phenomena but rather depict prophets according to various conventional categories or their own individual points of view, the essays analyze the way prophecy or prophets are portrayed in these writings to better understand how they were structured by their respective authors.

Paper $31.95 • To access free online click here • 266 pages • ISBN 9781589836006 • Ancient Near East Monographs 4

Reviews of Fishman, "Becoming the People of the Talmud"

BOOK REVIEWS:

Talya Fishman. Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 413 pp. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8122-4313-0.

Reviewed by Joseph Shatzmiller (Duke University)
Published on H-Judaic (October, 2011)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

The Transformation of Oral Law into Written Law

“Oral matters may not be inscribed,” decrees a Jewish principle formulated in late antiquity. The subject of this prohibition was “the oral Torah” (the Mishnah and the Gemarah, i.e., the Talmud that tradition maintained was handed to Moses on the Sinai together with the Holy Scriptures, the only ones to be kept inscribed). This prohibition notwithstanding, Jews have possessed since the High Middle Ages innumerable copies of the Talmud, either handwritten or, mostly, printed, which continue to be “oral law.” How did this happen? When and where did the transition take place?

While anthropologists and literary scholars assure us that some persons have the ability to memorize very long and complicated scriptures, the abandonment of this way of learning in favor of the use of the written word met at times with discontent by members of their societies. But our forefathers, who were not strangers to controversy and confrontation, did not leave us any trace of any strife that may have surrounded this transition to the written, as noticed by Jacob Sussman, the illustrious Talmudic scholar of Jerusalem. This prevents us from formulating exact answers to the questions of when and where.

Talya Fishman, who obviously spent many years and much effort trying to untangle these complexities, does not suggest solutions to these problems, but strives to point rather to documents and situations which may help to alleviate the difficulties. ...


How Jews Became the People of the Talmud
Thinkers Have Long Puzzled Over Oral and Written Traditions
By Lawrence Grossman
Published October 28, 2011, issue of November 04, 2011. (The Forward)

Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures
By Talya Fishman
University of Pennsylvania Press, 424 pages, $65

[...]

Fishman, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, seeks to pinpoint when and how the Babylonian Talmud as a physical book turned into the very essence of Jewish learning, or, put conversely, how the People of the Book — the Jews who brought the Bible to the world — became, as her title puts it, the “People of the Talmud.” She also addresses the social and religious impact of the change.

[...]

Lectures on the Gospel of Thomas

LECTURES ON THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS in Fort Wayne, Texas:

Conference examines Gospel of Thomas

Rosa Salter Rodriguez | The Journal Gazette

In a time when the Christian message seems split among members of different cultures, denominations, generations, genders and sexual orientations, it might behoove Christians to look back at the first couple of centuries after Jesus.

That’s the view of Milton C. Moreland, Rhodes College biblical scholar and archeologist, who will be in the city Friday and Saturday as part of a conference sponsored by The Jesus Seminar, a contentious group that revisits Christian ideas about Jesus.

Moreland will speak during “The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas and the Wisdom of Jesus,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Fort Wayne.

The event, which also features co-presenter Rubén René Dupertuis, assistant professor of religion at Trinity University in San Antonio, continues from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

[...]

Mughrabi Gate Bridge may be closed soon

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: The Mugrahbi (Mugrabi) Gate Bridge may be closed soon:

Mughrabi Gate bridge
Photo by: Marc Israel Sellem
J'lem again vows to demolish temporary Mughrabi Gate bridge
By MELANIE LIDMAN (Jerusalem Post)
10/26/2011 02:16

Structure leading to the Temple Mount is dangerous, says the Jerusalem city engineer.

For the second time in six months, Jerusalem’s city engineer has threatened to destroy the temporary bridge connecting the Western Wall Plaza to the Temple Mount in an effort to force the Western Wall Heritage Fund to replace the aging structure.

City Engineer Shlomo Eshkol said the bridge, used by non-Muslims, was in danger of collapse and gave the Western Wall Heritage Fund 30 days to work on a replacement plan.

RELATED:
City: Destroy Mughrabi Gate within two weeks
Mughrabi Bridge renovation gets municipal nod

Eshkol made similar threats in May, when he said the Fund had two weeks to remove the bridge or the city would destroy it. The Fund said that the decision depended on the Prime Minister’s Office, and since then no plans were made to demolish the bridge.

The covered ramp has been used since 2004, when a small earthquake and winter storm caused part of the original bridge to collapse. The Mughrabi Bridge is the main entry point for non-Muslim tourists to access the Temple Mount from the Western Wall plaza, as well as for security forces entering the area in times of unrest.

[...]


Complex disputes may close Mughrabi Bridge walkway giving Jews access to Temple Mount
posted by Rob Kerby, Senior Editor | 4:51pm Tuesday October 25, 2011 (Beliefnet)

Jewish access to their most holy site, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, may be cut off after the city’s engineer, Shlomo Eshkol, ruled the temporary Mughrabi Bridge has become unsafe — and the Muslim fraternity that oversees the sensitive area forbade any repairs.

The covered ramp leads from the base of the Mount at the Western Wall — the “Wailing Wall” — and provides non-Muslims with access to the area where Solomon’s Temple stood. A temporary structure, the walkway was built in 2004 after an earthquake destroyed a stone ramp built by soldiers at the end of the 1967 Six-Day War that gave Israel control of the holy area.

[...]


The Mughrabi Bridge must be built

By NADAV SHRAGAI
10/25/2011 22:28 (Jerusalem Post)

It is time to put an end to this sad affair, which has been blown beyond all proportion. The temporary bridge leading to the Temple Mount must be replaced with a permanent one.

[...]

Needless to say, there has never been any basis to the venomous claim that Israel is endangering the Temple Mount mosques or seeks to cause their collapse. Radical elements such as Raed Salah have utilized the events at the Mughrabi Ascent to increase their own status, to incite against Israel and to attempt to destabilize Israeli sovereignty in a unified Jerusalem.

It is time to put an end to the Mughrabi Gate affair, which has been blown beyond all proportion, and to speedily replace the temporary bridge with a permanent one. There is no need for stealth or covert action. It should be done openly and with full transparency, just as Israel has acted so far, while displaying consideration and sensitivity for the ties of various Islamic and Arab bodies to the site.

However, a clear line should be drawn, one that distinguishes between consideration, sensitivity and respect, and the conduct befitting a sovereign nation that is obligated to manage crises, but also to reach decisions and execute them, even in the highly sensitive area of the Temple Mount.

Background here with endless links. The story of the ramp collapse that led to the building of the temporary bridge was noted here and here back in 2004.

Hannibal and Kocaeli, part 2

PUNIC WATCH: Part two of Elsie Alan's survey of the life of Hannibal has been published in Today's Zaman: [THE OUTSIDER] Kocaeli dead celebrities: Hannibal, menace of Rome (2). Excerpt:

Back to Spain, 218 B.C., New Carthage (Cartagena): Little Hannibal has grown up, and is finally in a position to avenge his now-dead daddy, Hamilcar, by managing to pick a fight with Rome. Rome has demanded that Hannibal and his very talented brothers all come to Rome in chains, or it is war. This was very stupid of Rome; that was just what Hannibal wanted them to say. Oh boy, a war with Rome! Like a kid with a new toy, Gen. Hannibal put together a very diverse, scary army, consisting of Spaniards, Celts and Africans. The Africans consisted of Northern Berber tribes, as well as the formidable and feisty Numidians, crazy-fierce horsemen who were renowned for their savagery and skill. He also had elephants, probably shipped down the Med from Syria. So in May, 218 B.C., the all-grown-up Hannibal left Cartagena with 90,000 foot, 12,000 cavalry and 32 elephants to surprise Rome by attacking it FROM THE NORTH; 102,000 people are five times the population of my home town; Hannibal was 29 years old.

The only way he could approach Rome by land, of course, was to go up the Iberian Peninsula, into France, across the Rhone with his elephants, over the Swiss Alps and down into Italy, pursued in Keystone Kops hilarity by the Roman army, who had got the word that Hannibal was up to something no good. He also had to secure Roman and Greek settlements along the way and fight Gallic tribes throughout the Alps, which was where the Victor Mature scenes come in and deal with bad directions from his “friendly” Gallic turncoat guides; never mind the snow and ice past the tree line. Easy, right? In the less than six months it took for him to succeed, for succeed he did, he lost or left behind to secure his back 79,000 men and 31 elephants and many, many horses and mules. At least half the men died, and all of the elephants except the one. But he did it.

Latest on Jerusalem Museum of Tolerance

THE LATEST on the Jerusalem Museum of Tolerance and the Mamilla Cemetery:

Grave concerns
International archaeologists are calling for work to stop at the Museum of Tolerance.

By Noam Dvir (Haaretz)

Eighty-four senior archaeologists from leading research institutions around the world have called on the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Jerusalem municipality and the Israel Antiquities Authority to put an end to construction of the Museum of Tolerance in the center of the city. In a letter sent to the three bodies over the weekend, the archaeologists argue that the establishment of the museum on the site of the Mamilla Muslim cemetery contradicts ethical standards in the archaeological world, as well as Israeli law. In May 2010, Haaretz published a comprehensive report on the secret removal of remains from the cemetery.

"The bulldozing of historic cemeteries is the ultimate act of territorial aggrandizement: the erasure of prior residents," says Prof. Harvey Weiss of Yale University, a leading expert on the beginning of urbanization in the world. "Desecration of Jerusalem's Mamilla cemetery is a continuing cultural and historical tragedy," he said.

[...]

Background here with many links.

Not looking good for bloggers in Egypt

EGYPTIAN BLOGGERS seem to be faring no better under the new government:

Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil sent to mental hospital, “unacceptable” says health official

Sarah Sheffer | 24 October 2011 | 0 Comments (Bikyamasr)

CAIRO: The Egyptian government’s referral of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad to the Abbaseyya Mental Hospitral is “a dangerous and unacceptable affair,” according to a statement from Basma Abdel Aziz, Director of Media Department of Egypt’s General Secretariat of Mental Health.

Nabil, who has been on a prison hunger strike since August 23, was referred to the Abbaseyya Mental Hospital by Egyptian authorities.

[...]

Nabil was sentenced to a three-year jail term for insulting the Egyptian military on his blog “Son of Ra,” in a blog post published last March entitled, “The people and the military were never one hand.”

Nabil, a Coptic Christian, holds controversial political views. As such, he has received little attention from the activist and pro-rights community in Egypt.

[...]

For similar atrocities under Mubarak, see here (a different Nabil), here, and here, and follow the links.

Qur'anic manuscript exhibit at INL

QUR'ANIC MANUSCRIPT EXHIBITION AT THE ISRAEL NATIONAL LIBRARY:

Rare Muslim manuscripts go on display at Israel's National Library
Among the texts to be displayed as part of a special series on the history of Islam, are two Korans from the ninth century, just 200 years or so after the writing of the first Koran.

By Nir Hasson Tags: Islam Israel culture (Haaretz)

The National Library in Jerusalem is to begin displaying old Muslim religious texts from its collections, including some that are quite rare. Among the texts to be displayed as part of a special series on the history of Islam, are also two Korans from the ninth century, just 200 years or so after the writing of the first Koran.

[...]

More on early Qur'anic manuscripts here, here, here, and here.

Google Time Travel?

GOOGLE TIME TRAVEL?

Visualizing Egypt’s Elephantine with Vienna University of Technology’s gePublish

Posted on 2008/03/16 by Stefan Geens (Ogle Earth)

In the run-up to the talk about Google Earth and Egypt, Peter Ferschin at the Institute of Architectural Sciences, Digital Architecture and Planning at the Vienna University of Technology got in touch to show what he and his colleagues have been working on in association with the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in Cairo: A KML and COLLADA content management system called gePublish that really pushes the envelope in helping archaeologists visualize how ancient settlements evolved over time.

[...]

Cool graphics.

For much more on ancient Elephantine and its Aramaic papyri, see here and links.

Back in St. Andrews

BACK IN ST. ANDREWS. More tomorrow.

More on "The Dovekeepers"

MORE ON THE DOVEKEEPERS: Alice Hoffman presents her new novel at 2 South Florida book fairs.

More reviews noted here.

"Footnote" reviewed by M&C

FOOTNOTE is reviewed by Monsters and Critics.

More reviews here and links.

Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah

SHEMINI ATZERET AND SIMHAT TORAH (more here) came and went while I was out of circulation. Best wishes to all those who celebrated.

I'm in the San Diego Airport, taking advantage of the free wireless while I wait for my flight. Looks like things have been quiet for the last few days, but I'll do a little posting before I grab an early lunch.

Back to St. Andrews

HEADING BACK TO ST. ANDREWS later this morning. I expect to be there Sunday evening.

Cairo Geniza digitization at TAU

CAIRO GENIZA DIGITIZATION AT TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: Piecing Together the Priceless 'Cairo Genizah' (Science Daily).

Now researchers at Tel Aviv University are working to piece together this illuminating collection, bringing the pages of the texts back together for the first time in centuries. The results are being made available to scholars around the world through a website. Profs. Lior Wolf and Nachum Dershowitz of TAU's Blavatnik School of Computer Science have developed sophisticated software, based on facial recognition technology, that can identify digitized Genizah fragments thought to be a part of the same work and make editorial "joins."

Their technology was developed in close collaboration with the Friedberg Genizah Project, a non-profit organization that seeks to facilitate Genizah research by tracking, cataloguing, and digitizing all the fragments of this collection. The research was presented at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision.

More on the Friedberg Geniza Project here. More on manuscript digitization projects here and here.

AP: Ancient stone to be part of scroll exhibit in NYC

AP: Ancient stone to be part of scroll exhibit in NYC. A stone from the Western Wall, no less.

Background on the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at Discovery Times Square here.

More on the rescued Bible manuscripts from Syria

MORE ON THE RESCUED BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS FROM SYRIA:

Carr helped get ancient Bible out of Damascus

By VIVA SARAH PRESS, CJN Israel Bureau
Wednesday, 19 October 2011

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Toronto’s Judy Feld Carr – who rescued Syrian Jewry – told a packed audience at Israel’s national library about how she got a 700-year-old Bible out of Damascus and eventually brought it to Jerusalem.

[...]

Background here.

ALex Joffe: Diversity at Dura-Europos

ALEX JOFFE: Diversity at Dura-Europos (Jewish Ideas Daily).

A new exhibit at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World brings to life the ancient city of Dura-Europos, which stands high above the Euphrates River on the eastern border of modern Syria, a monument to vanished eras. The exhibition celebrates both the peoples who lived there—Jews, Christians, and pagans—and, more quietly, the scholars who unearthed the city during the 20th century's golden age of Near East archaeology

Background on the exhibition and on Dura Europos here and many links.

Ancient Sukkot iconongraphy

FOR SUKKOT: An Ancient 'Obsession' with Sukkot Iconography.

But although Sukkot emphasizes the present-and a recently created annual design competition called Sukkah City has lent the ritual a postmodern thrust-there is something primordial about its symbols. The lulav and etrog, whether alongside each other or appearing separately, are some of the most prominent symbols in early Jewish art.

Has some nice photos of mosaics etc.

Syriac symposium at Artuklu University

ARAMAIC WATCH: An International Syriac Symposium is planned at Mardin Artuklu University:

SYRIAC IN ITS MULTI-CULTURAL CONTEXT
20-22 April 2012, Mardin

We cordially invite you to contribute to the first Syriac Studies Symposium of Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey. With great pleasure, we organize this symposium in Mardin, a city integral to Syriac culture, history, archaeology and architecture.

[...]

Follow the link for details, registration information, etc.

(Via Elif Keser on the Hugoye list.)

More on the Syriac program at Artuklu University here and links.

Hannibal and Kocaeli

PUNIC WATCH: At Today's Zaman, Elsie Alan opens a two-part series on Hannibal, inspired by her residency in Kocaeli where he spent the end of his life: [THE OUTSIDER] Kocaeli dead celebrities: Hannibal, menace of Rome.

Fake metal codices in U.S. News & World Report

FAKE METAL CODICES WATCH: That article in U.S. News and World Report has come out in the print edition. It doesn't seem to be online, at least yet, but Joel Watts summarizes and quotes from it: Jordan Codices *featured in U.S. News and World Report. The reporter is the one who contacted me in early August. If Mr. Elkington showed Dr. Thonemann the copper codex because it was one "he (Elkington) thought seemed dubious," he did not say so in his introductory note to Thonemann which I have posted here. On the contrary, he made it clear that he thought it was ancient and suggested an Alexandrian provenance. He said he contacted Thonemann for help with deciphering the Greek. (By the way, what is a "putative investigation"?)

More background here and here.

James McGrath: AAR & SBL "Together Again"

TOGETHER AGAIN: Over at the Bible and Interpretation website James McGrath has some reflections on the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) split and reconciliation.

Background here.

In San Diego

I'M IN SAN DIEGO. More later.

Reviewlet of "Footnote"

A REVIEWLET OF FOOTNOTE at NY1.com: Movie About Talmudic Scholars Is No "Footnote" At NY Film Festival.

More reviews are noted here.

Off to San Diego

I'M OFF TO SAN DIEGO, unexpectedly, for a family emergency. I may be able to keep up blogging pretty well, since jet lag will have me up in the wee hours of the morning anyway. But posting may be light and sporadic for the next ten or twelve days. For the moment, I've preposted one more thing, to go up in a few minutes.

I'll let you know when I'm in California.

More archaeology and politics

MORE ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS: I don't have time to comment on either of these articles right now, but I do want to note them:

PA rewriting Jewish history

Special: Palestinian archeological revisionism aims to nullify Jewish connection to land

Giulio Meotti (Ynet News)
Published: 10.11.11, 15:22 / Israel News

Palestinians are using archeology to advance their statehood bid. Prominent archaeologist Gabriel Barkai called it "cultural Intifada."

The PA will seek World Heritage status for the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem, once the UN’s cultural agency (UNESCO) admits them as a full member. Hamdan Taha, the Palestinian Authority minister who deals with antiquities and culture, also listed Nablus and Hebron among 20 cultural heritage sites which he said could be nominated as World Heritage Sites.

Professor Taha is a pioneer of the new Palestinian revisionism. Last January National Geographic magazine ran a “Travel Palestine” ad that appeared to blot out the State of Israel’s existence. Published by Taha’s Ministry of Antiquities, the ad said that “Palestine lies between the Mediterranean coast and Jordan River.” This is just one example of Taha’s propaganda successes around the world.

[...]

More on Hamdan Taha here. More on Rachel's Tomb here and links.

Top archaeologist decries Jerusalem dig as unscientific 'tourist gimmick'
Dr. Eilat Mazar, who worked in close cooperation with the group - which promotes the 'Judaization' of East Jerusalem - says excavations carried out in violation of accepted procedures.

By Nir Hasson (Haaretz)

An archaeologist who worked with the Elad association in Jerusalem's City of David claims that the association and the Antiquities Authority are carrying out excavations "without any commitment to scientific archaeological work."

[...]

More on the Elad controversy here and links.

Samaritan Sukkot

SAMARITAN SUKKOT has already started:

Gallery: Samaritans celebrate Succot atop Mount Gerizim

By BEN HARTMAN AND REUTERS (Jerusalem Post
10/11/2011 16:04

Members of the Samaritan community took part in a traditional pilgrimage marking the holiday of Succot near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Members of the Samaritan community took part on Tuesday in a traditional pilgrimage marking the holiday of Succot atop Mount Gerizim near the West Bank city of Nablus.

[...]

The article includes a photo gallery. Another photo gallery is a the MSNBC Photo Blog: Ancient Samaritan community marks the Feast of the Tabernacles with sunrise pilgrimage. And there's one more picture (scroll down) at the National Post's Photos of the Day, Oct. 11, 2011.

Sukkot

SUKKOT, the seven-day festival of Booths or Tabernacles, begins this evening at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating it.

Wayne Stiles has a relevant Jerusalem Post column: Sights and Insights: Succot and the waters of Siloam.

Second-Temple era mikve discovered

A SECOND-TEMPLE-ERA MIKVE has been discovered near Kibbutz Tzora (which is near Beit Shemesh and thirteen or so kilometers west of Jerusalem):

Mikve Discovery Tangible Proof of Jewish Civilization in Tzora
It comes down to water. The upgrading of a water supply system paves the way for the discovery of a mikve.

By Aryeh ben Hayim (Arutz Sheva)
First Publish: 10/11/2011, 6:14 PM

Samson was moved by the divine spirit between Tzora and Eshtaol.

Now the Israel Antiquities Authority has discovered the remains of a mikve( a ritual bath) from the Second Temple period (first century BCE-first century CE) as part of an archeological rescue dig prior to the installation of a water line by the Mekorot Company at an antiquities site, c. 2 kilometers north of Kibbutz Tzora.

[...]

Maarav: new issue and supplementary data

AWOL: Maarav Supplementary data online. Plus there's a new issue out.

The pseudepigrapha in the paleoblogosphere

OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA WATCH—Some recent blog posts of interest:

Duane Smith has an abnormally interesting post on Aḥiqar: The Wolf And The Snake.

At Rogue Classicism, David Meadows links to Barbara Zaragoza's Delphi, Greece: In Search of Sibyls. She's looking for the Greek Sibyls rather than the later Jewish and Christian versions in the Sibylline Oracles, but still. More on the Sibylline Oracles here, here, here, here, and here.

Slactivist Fred Clark: The Nephilim fossil of upstate New York. (Via Remnant of Giants.) The story of the Nephilim is told more fully in the Book of Giants.

And sort of relevant (on the PGM, and Old Testament material is involved too): Roger Pearse: Jesus in the Greek Magical Papyri and More on Jesus in the Greek Magical Papyri.

Tommy Wasserman on Larry Hurtado Day

TOMMY WASSERMAN: A WONDERFUL DAY IN EDINBURGH. Indeed it was. Tommy reports on Friday's day-conference in honor of Larry Hurtado.

Who owns Maimonides?

WHO OWNS MAIMONIDES? Joshua Halberstam has a rambling (in a good and interesting way) review of Herbert A. Davidson's new book, Maimonides the Rationalist, in Jewish Ideas Daily.

Reviewlet of Ehrman & Plese, "The Apocryphal Gospels"

REVIEWLET by Nick Owchar in the LA Times:

Bookmarks: 'The Apocryphal Gospels' by Bart D. Ehrman, Zlatko Plese
The volume includes the gospels of Thomas and Judas, 'The Vengeance of the Savior' and more.

An army of Scrolls scholars?

AN ARMY OF SCROLLS SCHOLARS? That's Melissa Bell's take in the Washington Post:

Google’s Dead Sea Scrolls is latest crowdsourcing project

[...]

For the religious scholar, seeing the fragile animal skin written on between the third and first centuries BCE now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, would have required a trip to Jerusalem until the scrolls went online last month as a project between Google and the Israel Museum.

While Google touts these projects as part of its mission to make all the world’s information available online, the scrolls’ existence in digital form serves a secondary purpose: allowing amateur detectives to seek clues that elude scholarly academics.

The posting of the scrolls for the masses is the latest example of academic crowdsourcing, inviting the usually anonymous community of people online to contribute know-how, money or work to a given project. And scientists, journalists and academics have begun to recognize the value in that crowdsourced knowledge, turning to the community to unlock some of the most persistent mysteries of the world.

[...]

And what will the masses contribute to unlocking the secrets of the nearly 1,000 Dead Sea Scrolls? That may just be a question for the ages.

Maybe. Original work on the Scrolls requires some very specialized training, and I'm not aware of any initiatives that have broken down Scrolls-related problems into easily crowdsourced formats (as with the AIDS and NASA projects mentioned in the article). But we'll see what happens with Google's Digital Dead Sea Scrolls project (background here) and also the recent Ancient Lives project on the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.

Nathan MacDonald interviewed

MY COLLEAGUE, DR. NATHAN MACDONALD, is interviewed by David A. Burnett at the The Time Has Been Shortened blog: Monotheism and the Bible: Origins, Issues, and the Status Quaestionis – Hebrew Bible/OT Part 1.

ISAW Research Scholar Fellowships

ISAW FELLOWSHIP:

ISAW Now Accepting Visiting Research Scholar Applications for Fall 2012

Each year the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, makes about 7-10 appointments of visiting research scholars. We are now accepting applications for fellowships beginning in fall 2012. ISAW's scope embraces the history, archaeology, and culture of the entire Old World from late prehistoric times to the eighth century AD, including Asia and Africa. Projects of a theoretical or comparative nature relevant to this domain are also welcome. Academic visitors at ISAW should be individuals of scholarly distinction or promise in any relevant field of ancient studies who will benefit from the stimulation of working in an environment with colleagues in other disciplines. Applicants with a history of interdisciplinary exchange are particularly welcome. They are expected to be in residence at the Institute during the academic terms for which they are appointed and to take part in the intellectual life of the community.

For details about the categories of fellows, financial support, and the application, please visit http://isaw.nyu.edu/academics/visiting-scholars. The deadline for applications is December 10, 2011. New York University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Job in Coptic Studies

JOB at The American University in Cairo:

Coptic Studies

Category: Coptic Studies
Department: Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology
Locations: Cairo, Egypt
Posted: Sep 29, '11
Type: Full-time
Ref. No.: SAPE-1-2012

Job Description:

The Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology Department (SAPE) is seeking a specialist in Coptic Studies (Coptology). Candidates must be able to teach the Coptic language — in particular, the Sahidic and Bohairic dialects. Candidates must also offer at least one other specialty from among the following: Coptic monasticism, Coptic archaeology, and Coptic art and architecture. The successful candidate will be required to take the lead in working on the foundations of AUC’s new M.A. in Egyptology and Coptology, for which reason she/he will receive one course release in her/his first semester. The candidate will teach courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Requirements:

Rank is open. Candidates must have completed the Ph.D. degree at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have a commitment to teaching and to an active program of research and scholarship. Priority will be given to applications received by October 20th, 2011.


Additional Information:

The appointment is tenure-track effective September 1, 2012, with renewal dependent upon institutional needs and the appointee’s performance.

Follow the link for application instructions.

(HT Alin Suciu.)

Yom Kippur

YOM KIPPUR (THE DAY OF ATONEMENT) begins this evening at sundown. A healthy fast to all observing it. The biblical precepts for Yom Kippur appear in Leviticus 16 and 23:26-32.

BAR website: "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Why They Matter"

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW has a new website on the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Why They Matter.

In Edinburgh at Hurtado event

I'M IN EDINBURGH TODAY at the New College seminar honoring the work of Larry Hurtado. I have pre-posted this and a couple of other things, but otherwise I don't expect to be blogging today.

Rescued Hebrew Bible manuscripts from Damascus

RESCUED HEBREW BIBLE MANUSCRIPTS:

Bibles rescued from Syria in secret op
Holy books dating back 1,000 years, meticulously guarded by Jewish community, travel from Damascus to Israel in continent-wide, James Bond-style operation

Uri Misgav
Published: 10.05.11, 14:56 / Israel Jewish Scene (YnetNews)

It was a James Bond-style, continent-wide operation with many participants. It began in Syria, continued in the United States and ended in Israel. And yet, not a single word has been published about it – until now.

Yedioth Ahronoth has revealed the amazing rescue of some of the world's most ancient Bibles from Damascus.

The 11 holy books, some dating back 1,000 years, were written by copyist of the Scriptures around the world and arrived in the Syrian capital in different periods. The Jewish community took pride in them and guarded them meticulously, helping them survive the political upheavals that took place in the city over the years.

The Damascus books are considered the world's most ancient Bibles after the Aleppo Codex, which compared to them is torn and shabby.

[...]

That is, they may be among the oldest complete manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls and many Greek Septuagint manuscripts are, of course, much older.

The Associated Press also has an article on the story: Bible Manuscripts From Damascus Go on Rare Display.

Report on CSUF's DSS event

A REPORT on the CSUF Dead Sea Scrolls event from the Daily Titan:

Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit alive at CSUF

By Sean Viele
Published: October 05, 2011

An exhibit at Cal State Fullerton Tuesday featuring a series of lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls covered topics from the historical context to the politics behind the scrolls.

The lectures and a detailed replica of the Great Isaiah Scroll attracted students and visitors from the Fullerton community.

The Comparative Religion Department began planning for the exhibit last year but were unable to secure funding until this semester, said Paul Levesque, department chair and associate professor of the Comparative Religion Department.

Levesque said the long-awaited exhibit was a success.

“We’ve had a lot of alumni here today, a lot of people from the community, so we’ve been thrilled about that,” Levesque said.

[...]

By the way, there were a lot more than seven Dead Sea Scrolls. I think the number seven must refer to the relatively complete scrolls found in Cave One.

Background to the story is here.

Another review of Hoffman, "The Dovekeepers"

ANOTHER REVIEW OF HOFFMAN, THE DOVEKEEPERS:

Book review: Alice Hoffman’s ‘Dovekeepers’ builds on lives of Jewish heroines

By Ron Charles, Published: October 5 (Washington Post)

Alice Hoffman may be the most uneven writer in America. A trip through her enormous body of work — for adults and young people — is a jarring ride, from the loveliness of “Illumination Night” to the schlockiness of “The River King.” Hang on tight and you’ll swerve from the quiet power of her short stories in “Local Girls” to the groaning hokiness of “The Ice Queen.” In bestseller after bestseller, she explores women’s subjects and feminist themes, especially ancient and modern expressions of witchcraft. Sometimes, the results are practically magic; sometimes, they’re practically laughable.

But nothing she’s written would prepare you for the gravitas of her new book, an immersive historical novel about Masada during the Roman siege in the 1st century. “The Dovekeepers” is an enormously ambitious, multi-part story, richly decorated with the details of life 2,000 years ago. What’s more, as Anita Diamant showed so popularly with “The Red Tent,” the world of ancient Judaism provides fertile ground for exploring the challenges of women’s lives, and, fortunately, this time Hoffman treats her favorite issues without throwing up much of the fairy dust that too often clogs her work.

[...]

More on that archaeology-privatization bill

MORE ON THAT ARCHAEOLOGY BILL:

Israeli archaeologists oppose privatisation bill
Proposed amendment related to disputed excavation

By Lauren Gelfond Feldinger | Web only (The Art Newspaper)
Published online 6 Oct 11 (News)

JERUSALEM. More than 150 Israeli archaeologists and historians have petitioned the Israeli parliament to vote down an amendment to a bill that would privatise national parks, including archaeological and historic sites. The petition, delivered to the culture and environment ministers, charges that the changes to law, if passed, would fuel political interests, hurt minority communities and undermine unbiased scientific research. “We demand that the government not change the laws... and instead strengthens academic freedom and heritage without sectarian preference,” it says. The Union for Environmental Defence and The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel have also opposed the amendment.

The bill, to be voted on in October, was proposed following protests against the management of City of David, one of Israel’s most popular, albeit politically charged, archaeological parks, sponsored and managed by a private foundation.

I'm not sure that there's anything new in this article, but it sums up the state of play thoroughly.

Background here and links.

Copts as Egyptian citizens

COPTIC SOLIDARITY: "Are Christian Copts 'Dhimmis' or 'Infidels'?" That's the Question in Post-Revolutionary Egypt. The question should be, "Are they citizens with all the same rights and responsibilities as all other Egyptian citizens?" And the answer should be "Yes." Just saying.

Review of Lindbeck, "Elijah and the Rabbis"

H-NET REVIEW:

Kristen H. Lindbeck. Elijah and the Rabbis: Story and Theology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. 272 pp. $82.50 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-231-13080-6; $26.50 (paper), ISBN 978-0-231-13081-3.

Reviewed by Eliezer Segal (University of Calgary)
Published on H-Judaic (October, 2011)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

A (Deathless?) Prophet among the Talmudic Scholars

There is an understandable appeal in the image of Elijah the prophet as a figure who was exempted from the limits of mortality and continues to make appearances in the human world. The Bible provided a complex set of themes related to Elijah that could be drawn upon by later storytellers. The scriptural Elijah was at once a zealous warrior against idolatry, a wonder-worker who performed supernatural miracles for the benefit of common folk, and an eschatological herald who, according to Malachi, would be sent by God "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (4:5). Medieval Jews developed their own legends and customs through which Elijah could participate in their lives, the most familiar of these being his appearances at circumcisions and at the Passover seder, or as a poor wayfarer who might test the hospitality of his hosts.

The present volume focuses on the tales about Elijah that appear in the Babylonian Talmud--the work in the rabbinic corpus that preserves the largest number of such stories. The image of Elijah that emerges from this corpus differs in some significant respects from those of earlier and later eras; e.g., little importance is attached to his role as a messianic harbinger, and much of his activity is tightly enmeshed in the values of rabbinic scholarship. Lindbeck's treatment of the topic is thorough and thoughtful. She subjects the texts to incisive questions, classifications, and analyses, and she succeeds in eliciting interpretations that are true to the texts and their cultural contexts. As befits the topic, there are points when it is best to let the sources speak on their own terms, while it is also instructive to learn from comparisons with related phenomena in Jewish and neighboring cultures.

[...]

How To Discover Boundary Inscriptions

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How To Discover Boundary Inscriptions (BiblePlaces).

Replica of Great Isaiah Scroll at CSUF

A REPLICA OF THE GREAT ISAIAH SCROLL is going on display at Cal State Fullerton: Religious scroll replica to be shown at CSUF (Daily Titan). There's a little information on the replica itself:

The facsimile scroll is owned by Legacy Church Orange County and is on loan from the Museum of Biblical and Sacred Writings in Irvine, where Giacumakis is director. The replica is approximately 24 feet long.

The same replica was noted here and, I suspect (unless there's a second replica) here and here as well. For other links on the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa^a) itself, see here and here.

DSS website gets a million+ hits in a week

I'M NOT SURPRISED:

Virtual Dead Sea scrolls get more than a million hits in just one week
400,000 Americans visit new website launched by Israel Museum and Google.
By Nir Hasson Tags: Dead Sea scrolls Jerusalem (Haaretz)


More than a million people have visited a new website featuring high-resolution photographs of several Dead Sea Scrolls since the site was launched less than a week ago by the Israel Museum and Google Israel.

[...]

While the museum had anticipated wide interest in the website, interest has exceeded expectations. Between last Monday, when the website was launched, and Sunday morning, Google logged 1,042,104 visitors to the site, which not only provides an opportunity to see detailed images of the five scrolls, but also features an English translation.

[...]

It is the norm for Dead Sea Scrolls museum exhibitions to exceed attendance expectations. It seems the same is true for virtual exhibitions.

I noted the website here and here last week.

No BBC ban on BC and AD

NO BBC BAN ON BC AND AD:

BBC head of religion hits back at BC/AD ban claims
Aaqil Ahmed: story by "people seeking to make mischief" is "simply wrong"

Written By
Jack Seale (Radio Times)
9:30 AM, 02 October 2011

Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's head of religion and ethics, has responded strongly to reports that the Corporation has banned the terms BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini). Last weekend it was claimed that BC and AD had been replaced across the BBC's output by the modern, secular terms BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era).

"The story was quite simply wrong," Ahmed wrote on the About the BBC blog. "We have issued no editorial guidelines or instructions to suggest that anyone in the BBC should change the terms they use."

[...]

This is the first I've heard of this controversy. In my technical work I always use BCE and CE as the more neutral terms, but in popular presentations, such as the radio interview a week ago, I usually say BC and AD, since a lot of people don't know what BCE and CE mean. The BBC policy as explained by Mr. Ahmed seems reasonable to me.

UPDATE (4 October): Here is the Daily Mail article that seems to have started up (or at least intensified) the controversy: BBC turns its back on year of Our Lord: 2,000 years of Christianity jettisoned for politically correct 'Common Era'.

Another review of Hoffman, "The Dovekeepers" (Masada novel)

BOOK REVIEW:

'The Dovekeepers:' A book review

Published: Sunday, October 02, 2011, 10:39 AM
Star-Ledger Entertainment Desk By Star-Ledger Entertainment Desk

The Dovekeepers
Alice Hoffman
Scribner, 504 pp., $27.99

Reviewed by Sherryl Connelly

The ancient historian Josephus wrote that he learned the story of Masada from two women who had escaped as the Romans breached the walls of the desert stronghold in 73 CE to declare victory over the corpses of 900 Jewish men, women and children. They had committed suicide rather than submit. Recent archaeological findings appear to contradict what Josephus recorded, but Alice Hoffman embraces the account and the woman who gave it in what may be her master work, “The Dovekeepers.”

[...]

Earlier review noted here.

Syriac Referenc Portal at the University of Alabama

A SYRIAC REFERENCE PORTAL is being created at the University of Alabama. (Via AINA.)

September 2011 Biblical Studies Carnival

THE SEPTEMBER 2011 BIBLICAL STUDIES CARNIVAL has been posted at ths Scotteriology blog. Or maybe it's the October one. I'm confused.

"The Phoenicians" wins another award

THE DOCUMENTARY THE PHOENICIANS has won another award:

The Phoenicians wins bronze award in Austria

Article published on 29 September 2011 (Malta Independent)

The documentary The Phoenicians, produced by Chris and Maurice Micallef, was awarded the Bronze Award in the Golden Diana International Film Festival held in Austria last month.

[...]

The article says it has won thirteen international awards, some of which have already been noted here.

A new novel on the fall of Masada

A NEW NOVEL on the fall of Masada:

Alice Hoffman weaves ancient history into mesmerizing tale

by AMANDA ST. AMAND • astamand@post-dispatch.com | Posted: Sunday, October 2, 2011 12:00 am | No Comments Posted (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

'The Dovekeepers'

A novel by Alice Hoffman

Published by Scribner, 504 pages, $27

On sale Tuesday

If a world of strong women and their complex relationships with one another doesn't draw you into Alice Hoffman's brilliant new novel, "The Dovekeepers," read it for Hoffman's fine sense of narrative, history and detail as she shares the story of four women who come by various paths to Masada.

[...]

Earliest Christian inscription?

EARLIEST CHRISTIAN INSCRIPTION?

World's earliest surviving Christian inscription identified

By Owen Jarus (CBS News)

Researchers have identified what is believed to be the world's earliest surviving Christian inscription, shedding light on an ancient sect that followed the teachings of a second-century philosopher named Valentinus.

Officially called NCE 156, the inscription is written in Greek and is dated to the latter half of the second century, a time when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power.

An inscription is an artifact containing writing that is carved on stone. The only other written Christian remains that survive from that time period are fragments of papyri that quote part of the gospels and are written in ink. Stone inscriptions are more durable than papyri and are easier to display. NCE 156 also doesn't quote the gospels directly, instead its inscription alludes to Christian beliefs.

"If it is in fact a second-century inscription, as I think it probably is, it is about the earliest Christian material object that we possess," study researcher Gregory Snyder, of Davidson College in North Carolina, told LiveScience. (See Images of Early Christian Inscriptions and Artifacts)

Snyder, who detailed the finding in the most recent issue of the Journal of Early Christian Studies, believes it to be a funeral epigram, incorporating both Christian and pagan elements. His work caps 50 years of research done by multiple scholars, much of it in Italian. The inscription is in the collection of the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

"Assuming that Professor Snyder is right, it's clearly the earliest identifiable Christian inscription," said Paul McKechnie, a professor of ancient history at Macquarie University in Australia, who has also studied the inscription.

As translated by Snyder, the inscription reads:

To my bath, the brothers of the bridal chamber carry the torches,
[here] in our halls, they hunger for the [true] banquets,
even while praising the Father and glorifying the Son.
There [with the Father and the Son] is the only spring and source of truth.

Details on the provenance of the inscription are sketchy. It was first published in 1953 by Luigi Moretti in the "Bullettino della commissione archeologica comunale di Roma," an Italian archaeological journal published annually.

The only reference to where it was found is a note scribbled on a squeeze (a paper impression) of the inscription, Snyder said. According to that note, it was found in the suburbs of Rome near Tor Fiscale, a medieval tower. In ancient times, the location of the tower would have been near mile four of a roadway called the Via Latina.

[...]

The argument for the date is primarily paleographic (that is, based on the shapes of the letters) and I defer to the judgment of those who specialize in Greek paleography of the period. I would be happier if there were clearer data about the provenance. Was the inscription excavated or found by someone and turned in? But for now it seems to be regarded as genuine and quite possibly of an early date. As it notes at the beginning, the article points out parallels with contemporary Valentinian Gnostic literature, so the earliest (or at least a very early) Christian inscription may be of the Gnostic variety rather than the orthodox.

Read it all.

(HT Annette Yoshiko Reed.)