Drones and looting

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Drones for research: DePaul University archaeologist to explain UAV use at Fifa (DePaul University press release).

CHICAGO --- The use of unmanned aerial vehicles -- drones -- to document and monitor a ravaged landscape on the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan for the past three years reveals that looting continues at the site, though at a measurably reduced pace, according to a DePaul University archaeologist.

"Drones are proving to be powerful new tools to archaeologists for documenting excavation, mapping landscapes and identifying buried features. They also can be applied to monitor site destruction and looting in the present," said Morag M. Kersel, an assistant professor of anthropology at DePaul.

Kersel, whose research focus is on trade and antiquities, will discuss how drones are an emerging tool for archeology during a presentation Feb. 14, 2016 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Kersel's presentation, "UAVs for Site Documentation and Monitoring," is part of a session that examines the protection of cultural heritage sites and artifacts.

"Three seasons of monitoring at Fifa have demonstrated that UAVs can provide quantifiable evidence for the rate of ongoing site damage, even in contexts where other remote sensing systems would provide insufficient data," said Kersel.

[...]

As I believe I have suggested before, if such drones were equipped with liquid putrescine aerosol dispensers, that could do a good bit to discourage looting of archaeological sites. But maybe that's just the way I think.

Dochhorn et al. (eds.), Das Böse, der Teufel und Dämonen

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Das Böse, der Teufel und Dämonen – Evil, the Devil, and Demons
Hrsg. v./Ed. by Jan Dochhorn, Susanne Rudnig-Zelt u./and Benjamin Wold

[Evil, the Devil, and Demons. Dualistic Characteristics in the Religion of Israel, Ancient Judaism and Christianity.]
2016. XIV, 297 pages.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 412
84,00 €
sewn paper
ISBN 978-3-16-152672-5

Published in German.
This collection of essays focuses on the question of “evil” in religious traditions that may be described as “monotheistic” or for which at least the rule of one main god over all other deities and powers is a key concern. The emphasis of this volume moves from the Hebrew scriptures to nascent Judaism and Christianity, and concludes with attention to the reception of traditions in Targumic literature and medieval legends. The articles in this volume demonstrate the wide variety of ways in which “evil” manifested itself in the literature of ancient Judaism and Christianity. Authors address continuities, innovations, and divergences within these different but related traditions, with questions about the location of evil externally, as a demon or a devil, or internally, as the human capacity for evil. Additionally, when dualism is formative for constructions of evil in Jewish and Christian literature, care is taken to develop forms in which evil is ultimately subordinated to God and the good.

Follow the link for the TOC. The essays are in German and English.

Solomonic Valentine's Day cards

ROMANTIC? For Valentine’s Day (James McGrath, Exploring Our Matrix). All of these verses were apparently compliments back in the time of the Song of Solomon, but perhaps not so much today. Other verses from the same book would go over better in the present, but many of these should be used only if the couple is well acquainted.

The Egerton Gospel

THE BRITISH LIBRARY MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS BLOG: On the Hunt for Further Pieces of the Unknown Gospel from the Egerton Papyrus (Peter Toth). I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this hunt to produce any actual new pieces of the Egerton papyrus, but the background information on the acquisition of the fragments now in British Library is quite interesting.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

Thomas on YHWH's asherah

RYAN THOMAS: A New Analysis of YHWH’s asherah (updated). The abstract of the now finished paper is as follows:

The meaning of asherah in the inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom has been a focus of persistent discussion and debate, and still today the divergence in scholarly views is wide-ranging. The present paper aims to critically assess previous scholarship by examining each of the major proposals that have been made for elucidating the term and in the process advance a new understanding that is not only less problematic than current alternatives but historically more plausible given our present knowledge of the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel-Judah. Because asherah likely refers to a female deity and yet the designation is declined with a pronominal suffix, I propose that the term is a hitherto unattested common noun denoting YHWH’s female partner and that the goddess is to be distinguished from the goddess Asherah.

A few past posts pertaining to YHWH's asherah are here, here, and here (cf. here).

Avery-Peck et al. (eds.), Earliest Christianity within the Boundaries of Judaism

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Earliest Christianity within the Boundaries of Judaism
Essays in Honor of Bruce Chilton

Alan J. Avery-Peck, College of the Holy Cross, Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University and Jacob Neusner, Bard College
Twenty-two essays, written by top scholars in the fields of early Christianity and Judaism, focus on methodological issues, earliest Christianity in its Judaic setting, Gospel studies, and history and meaning in later Christianity. These essays honor Bruce Chilton, recognizing his seminal contribution to the study of earliest Christianity in its Judaic setting. Chilton’s scholarship has established innovative approaches to reconstructing the life of Jesus, a Jew whose religious ideology developed and therefore must be understood within the Judaism of the first centuries. Following upon Chilton’s approaches and insights, the essays collected here illustrate the centrality of the literatures of early Judaism to the critical exegesis of the New Testament and other writings of early Christianity.

Follow the link for TOC and order information.

The Gospel of Timothy?

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: The Gospel of Timothy (Steven Clifford). Not because this is a particularly well written or entertaining one, but just to show that people are still writing them even today.

Magical gems

AWOL: The Campbell Bonner Magical Gems Database. A very cool collection. These look to be mostly Greco-Egyptian, so much of what you see comes from Egyptian and Greek iconography and mythology. But there's some (probably indirect) Jewish influence as well. It wouldn't surprise me to see Christian material too, although I didn't happen to notice any in quickly skimming through the database.

The vellum market is narrowing

TIMES HAVE CHANGED: Vellum: UK's last producer of calf-skin parchment fights on after losing Parliament's business. As of next month, archive copies of Acts of Parliament will cease to be printed on vellum, saving £80,000 in costs (Adam Lusher, The Independent).

In the company’s original office, with its 1855 safe, overlooked by a photograph of the firm’s founding father, the general manager of parchment and vellum makers William Cowley receives a steady stream of phone calls from sympathisers and customers.

Paul Wright tells them how parchment and vellum are “the earliest writing materials, in use since man stepped out of a cave, wrapped some skins round a few sticks to make a tepee, and started scribbling on his tent walls”. He added: “All of humankind’s history is on parchment and vellum. Magna Carta was written on parchment. The Dead Sea Scrolls: parchment, in 435BC.”

Today, he says, William Cowley, based in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, may be the only company in the world making “proper” vellum in the proper way – “without any harsh chemicals, by hand and hard, pigging work”.

[...]

The dating of 435 BCE for the Dead Sea Scrolls is, of course, centuries too early, but the point does remain. I do not assume that Mr. Wright actually made the error. He may have been misquoted or misunderstood.

The company disputes that Parliament will actually save as much as £80,000 with this cost-cutting measure.

Yazidi Sun Ladies are coming for you, ISIS.

WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Former ISIS sex slaves now army of ‘Sun Ladies’ ready to defeat terror group (Hollie McKay, Fox News).

They call themselves the “Force of the Sun Ladies,” a name that reflects the culture’s solar reverence. Monotheistic and embracing elements of several religions, Yazidi once numbered 650,000 in Iraq, nearly all on the northern Nineveh Plain. ISIS’ genocidal campaign to “purify” Iraq of non-Muslims led to the slaughter of thousands and displaced at least 200,000.

[...]

“Our elite force is a model for other women in the region,” she said. “We want to thank all the other countries who help us in this difficult time, we want everyone to take up weapons and know how to protect themselves from the evil.”

The women willfully stepped into the line of fire as a support force to the Peshmerga on Nov. 13, the day the Kurdish forces took back their hometowns and villages from ISIS occupation. The newly formed unit engaged in direct combat and later helped clear streets and buildings rigged with explosives.

As with the Christians, Kurds and Iraqi military, they know the imminent battle to retake Mosul will be the real test. Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul is the terrorist group’s regional base. Most of the Yazidi women who escaped ISIS were held in Mosul and can help provide valuable intelligence, as well as boots on the ground. And fighting to free those left behind provides added motivation.

PaleoJudaica has been following the fate of the Yazidis, whose unique religion has interesting and yet-to-be-clarified parallels with ancient Gnosticism, for many years. Generally the news has not been good and it has only gotten worse since the rise of ISIS.

Now the survivors are fighting back. More power to them.

Related (AWOL): Monuments of Mosul in Danger. Mosul fell to ISIS in June of 2014.

Grabbe et al. (eds.), The Seleucid and Hasmonean Periods and the Apocalyptic Worldview

FORTHCOMING BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

The Seleucid and Hasmonean Periods and the Apocalyptic Worldview (The Library of Second Temple Studies)

by Lester L. Grabbe (Editor, Series Editor), Gabriele Boccaccini (Editor), Jason M. Zurawski (Editor)

This tightly focused collection of essays, from an invited seminar of international specialists, centres on the question of the apocalyptic worldview around the time of the Maccabean revolt. What was the nature of apocalyptic at this time? Did the Maccabees themselves have a distinct apocalyptic worldview? These questions lead to other, more specific queries: who of the various groups held such a view? Certain of the essays analyse the characteristics of the apocalypses and related literature in this period, and whether the apocalyptic worldview itself gave rise to historical events or, at least, influenced them.

The collection begins with two introductory essays. Both the main and short papers have individual responses, and two considered responses by well-known experts address the entire collection. The volume finishes with a concluding chapter by the lead editor that gives a perspective on the main themes and conclusions arising from the papers and discussion.

To be released on 25 February 2016. This is the proceedings volume of the First Enoch Seminar Nangeroni Meeting.

The cast of "Kings and Prophets"

TELEVISION: Meet the "Of Kings and Prophets" Cast featuring Ray Winstone (Aaron Welsh, ABC).

The cast of of Kings and Prophets contains a group of seasoned actors and that deliver suspenseful performances that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't miss the "Of Kings and Prophets" series premiere TUESDAY MARCH 8 10|9c on ABC!

There is a video trailer too. With a giant! Or at least a very big guy. Background here and here.

Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies

GNOSIS: JOURNAL OF GNOSTIC STUDIES is now taking subscription orders on the Brill website.

Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies

Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies is a peer-reviewed publication devoted to the study of Gnostic religious currents from the ancient world to the modern, where ‘Gnostic’ is broadly conceived as a reference to special direct knowledge of the divine, which either transcends or transgresses conventional religious knowledge. It aims to publish academic papers on: the emergence of the Gnostic, in its many different historical and local cultural contexts; the Gnostic strands that persisted in the middle ages; and modern interpretations of Gnosticism – with the goal of establishing cross-cultural and trans-historical conversations, together with more localized historical analyses. The corpus of Gnostic materials includes (but is not restricted to) testimonies from outsiders as well as insider literature such as the Nag Hammadi collection, the Hermetica, Neoplatonic texts, the Pistis Sophia, the books of Jeu, the Berlin and Tchacos codices, Manichaean documents, Mandaean scriptures, and contemporary Gnostic fiction/film and ‘revealed’ literature. The journal will publish the best of traditional historical and comparative scholarship while also featuring newer approaches that have received less attention in the established literature, such as cognitive science, cognitive linguistics, social memory, psychology, ethnography, sociology, and literary theory.

The journal was announced back in October of 2015.

Vampires in Jewish tradition?

THE UNDEAD: Did Jews Once Believe in Vampires? Secure in their monotheism, Jews may scoff, but some of the earliest texts on vampires were written in Hebrew by their coreligionists. (Elon Gilad, Haaretz).

The vampires that abound in popular culture today are for the most part a literary embellishment of the old Slavic belief that under certain circumstances, the dead can rise from their graves at night and kill their neighbors, friends and family.

Modern Jews might scoff at vampire culture, secure in their monotheism ruling out belief in such nonsense. But they should hold their tongues. Some of the earliest texts on vampires were written in Hebrew by their coreligionists, albeit after learning about the plague of the undead from their neighbors.

[...]

This article really deals with a period later than PaleoJudaica's main focus, but it raises an interesting question that has never been dealt with here. Lilith, of course, comes ultimately from the Bible and before, and in later traditions she was beautiful, seductive, murderous, and even a drinker of the blood of her infant victims. But Gilad correctly says that she was a demon rather than a vampire. The terafim are also biblical, but any identification of them with vampires is probably medieval. Likewise with the other apparent early Jewish mentions of vampires.

Kristianpoller, Traum und Traumdeutung im Talmud — Hebrew translation

NEW FROM MAGNES PRESS:

Traum und Traumdeutung im Talmud

(Dreams and their interpretations in the Babylonian Talmud)

By Alexander Kristianpoller

Publisher: The Hebrew University Magnes Press
Categories:
Jewish Thought, Talmud
Publish date: January 2016
Language: Hebrew
Danacode: 45-131132
ISBN: 978-965-493-850-1
Cover: Hardcover
Pages: 196
Weight: 650 gr.

The present comprehensive and orderly collection of texts from the Babylonian Talmud allows a deep insight into the knowledge of the rabbis about the importance and decryption of dream experiences and dream messages.
It covers, inter alia, the emergence of dreams and their healing power, mysterious Atonement and possibilities of influencing the content of a dream, nightmares, dream and prophecy, sexual dreams, rules and techniques of dream interpretation.
The Talmudic texts are added through detailed explanations and contemporary Jewish and non-Jewish parallels.

This book was first published in Vienna in 1923. It is Kristianpollers' thesis, written in his 20s. The thesis was finished as a book in 1914 but publication was delayed due to the first world war.

The Hebrew translation was initiated by the authors' son, Professor Nahum Kristianpoller, in memory of his parents who perished in the Holocaust.

On the Karaites

THE KARAITES ARE ALIVE AND WELL: Karaite Jews: The readers of Hebrew scriptures (EKREM BUĞRA EKINCI, Daily Sabah).

The Karaim are a Jewish community that completely reject the Talmud oral law and only recognize the Torah. They continue their existence in different regions, including Lithuania and Turkey, and it is rumored that Istanbul's Karaköy neighborhood is named after them

The article has lots of interesting historical background. I am not a specialist on the Karaites and I can't vouch for the specifics, but overall it looks accurate to me.

Past posts on the Karaites are collected here and links.

CORRECTION: Reader Eric Cohen writes in response:

Without being an expert, I wouldn't trust the Daily Sabah column on the Karaites, based on its identification of Saadia Gaon as a Karaite. He was, as described, a pioneer in the scientific study of Hebrew. He was also one of the most vehement opponents of Karaism,and would likely be horrified by this identification.

Quite right. How did I miss that one? Comes of trying to do too many things at once this morning. For more on Saadia Gaon, see, for example, here. Very grateful for the correction.

Yadin's last night in America

THE ASOR BLOG: Yigael Yadin’s Last Night in America: ASOR and the Biblical Archaeology Movement (Eric M. Meyers).

Whatever inspired Yadin, be it the Dorot program or the simple fear that in the greater and ever-changing Middle East Israel’s place in it and its archaeology might ultimately be slighted or diminished, he convened a high-powered ASOR group to meet at Leon and Shelby White Levy’s apartment in Manhattan on June 27th, 1984. In attendance were the Levys, Joy, Dick Scheuer, Ernie Frerichs, Jim Sauer, ASOR President, myself, ASOR First Vice President, and possibly Phil King, past ASOR President, whose participation I cannot recall. Yadin was so concerned about the future of the field of biblical archaeology, he said, that he intended to devote his final days — he was 67 when he died—to ensure the future of the field in the United States and he offered to lecture anywhere and turn over all of his lecture fees, which were very high even in those days, to a central fund except for his personal expenses. ...

He died the next day. His untimely death was a great loss to the field in many ways.

The ASOR Blog requires free registration to read the whole post.

Jost on the THEOT Project at SBL 2015

BELATEDLY, ON LAST NOVEMBER'S SBL MEETINGS: Garry Jost Presents at National Conference (Marylhurst University).

Dr. Jost presided over the Ethiopic Bible and Literature session with the theme: The THEOT Project (Textual History of the Ethiopic Old Testament Project). In the same session, Jost gave two presentations. The first, A Preliminary Report on the Families of Manuscripts for the Ethiopic Book of Ruth, was presented jointly with Dr. Daniel Assefa of the Capuchin Franciscan Institute of Philosophy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The second, Orthographic Variation in Ethiopic Obadiah: A Test Case in Methodology, featured Dr. Jarod Jacobs of Warner Pacific University as co-presenter.

Past posts on the Textual History of the Ethiopic Old Testament Project are here and here.

Damage to Aleppo synagogue

SYRIA AT WAR: 9th-century synagogue in Aleppo sustains minor damage in Syria fighting.

(JTA) — An ancient synagogue in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, sustained minor damage in fighting, according to photos provided by locals to an Israeli-American peace activist in the war-torn country.

The damage to a corner of the building was probably caused by shelling, according to Moti Kahana, the founder of the Amaliah not-for-profit group, which aims to relieve the suffering of refugees from Syria and empower women there. Debris covered the corner area, making it difficult to ascertain the extent of the damage to the synagogue, which is believed to have been built in the ninth century.

[...]

Background on the now-destroyed Jobar Synagogue, mentioned later in this article, is here and links. Let's hope that the Aleppo Synagogue does not come to share its fate.

Video on buried treasures of the Temple Mount

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: VIDEO: Revealing the Buried Treasures of the Temple Mount (Israel Today). The title might make you think this was more speculation about those lost Temple treasures, but it is actually about the important work of the Temple Mount Sifting Project and is worth watching. Background here and many, many links.

Jefferson and Judaism

SURPRISINGLY, MAYBE. SORT OF: Thomas Jefferson: Jewish Student Of Talmud? (Saul Jay Singer, The Jewish Press). Excerpt:

Jefferson was not a particular friend of the Jews, and he certainly wasn’t an admirer of Judaism, but his passionate and influential advocacy of equal rights for all, including specifically freedom of religion, had an enormously positive impact upon Jewish rights in America. He almost certainly studied Talmud and, though by no means determinative, some genetic evidence does exist to support the proposition that he was descended from Sephardic Jews.

Rubenstein on Talmudic stories

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Talmudic Stories, Then and Now: A Retrospective by Jeffrey Rubenstein.

The editors of the “Ancient Jew Review” Website asked me to reflect on my scholarship on the stories of the Bavli and my “trilogy” of books, Talmudic Stories, Narrative Art, Composition, and Culture (1999), The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud (2003), and Stories of the Babylonian Talmud (2010), and I am grateful for this opportunity.

St Maron's day and the Maronites

ARAMAIC WATCH: 15 things you probably didn’t know about Maronites (Jason Lemon, StepFeed).

Maronites throughout the region celebrate the feast of Saint Maroun on Tuesday. Annually, on Feb. 9, adherents to the sect remember their founder. As the largest Christian group in Lebanon, the Maronite community has long had a significant influence on Lebanese society as well as within the broader Levant region. So, in honor of the holiday, we thought we’d share some facts about the sect that you might not know.

Regular readers of PaleoJudaica know at least some of these things, notably '2. Syriac or “Christian Aramaic' remains the liturgical language of the church." For many past posts on the Maronites and their efforts to preserve and even revive their Aramaic liturgical language, see here and here and links.

The Lod Mosaic is in Miami

THE EXHIBITION OPENS TODAY: Ancient Roman mosaic unveiled at Frost Museum of Art (Phillip Valys, southflorida.com).

Mysteries surround the enormous, ancient and well-preserved Roman mosaic that will debut Wednesday at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Art in Miami.

Measuring 50 feet long and 27 feet wide, the 1,700-year-old stone floor depicts a menagerie of wild birds, domestic mammals and mythical sea creatures, all grouped around an octagonal centerpiece of lions, tigers, elephants and giraffes. The mosaic, on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority, comes to Miami through an international museum tour.

[...]

Background to this exhibition is here. For much more on the Lod Mosaic, which has been traveling to exhibitions worldwide for some time, follow the links there. See also here and links for a second mosaic discovered at Lod.

Aleppo Codex registered by UNESCO

MANUSCRIPT: Oldest surviving copy of the Hebrew Bible recognized in International Memory of the World Register (i24 News).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Monday officially added the Aleppo Codex, believed to be the world’s oldest surviving copy of the Hebrew Bible, to its International Memory of the World Register.

According to Dr. Adolfo Roitman, the head curator of the Shrine of the Book Museum in Jerusalem, where the Codex now resides, all current versions of the Old Testament stem, “in one way or another, from this ancient manuscript.”

It was written in the town of Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, in or around 930 CE, and then moved to Jerusalem, from where it was stolen when the Crusaders sacked the city in 1099.

It was later ransomed by the Jews of Cairo, and brought to that city.

But the Codex is significant not only for what it contains, but also for what it doesn’t. Some 190 pages of priceless text – around 40% of the total - are missing. These include four out of five books of the Pentateuch - the first section of books in the Bible also called the Five Books of Moses - as well as five books from the last section - Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel and Ezra.

[...]

The oldest complete Hebrew Bible is the Leningrad Codex (on which see here and here). The oldest fragmentary manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible are among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Aleppo Codex is the oldest more-complete-than-not Hebrew Bible. For many, many past posts on the Aleppo Codex, see here and links or run the term through the search engine. This recognition by UNESCO is good news.

More archaeologists object to Western Wall compromise

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Archaeologists: New Western Wall prayer site will damage antiquities. Signatories to letter of protest warn of harm to ‘diamond in Jerusalem’s archaeological crown’ due to planned site for mixed-gender worship (Times of Israel).

Creating a new plaza at the Western Wall will damage “the most important archaeological site for the Jewish people,” nine senior Israeli archaeologists warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, days after plans for a multi-denominational site were announced.

The “diamond in Jerusalem’s archaeological crown” must not be harmed accommodate the needs of various Jewish religious streams, they wrote, Israel Radio reported.

The protest drives another spoke into the wheel of the plan to expand an existing area south of the main Western Wall prayer site by creating a plaza over ruins from the Temple in an area known as Robinson’s Arch.

Signatories to the protest letter include Dan Bahat, who excavated the Western Wall tunnels; Ronny Reich, head of the Archaeological Council of Israel, who exposed part of the paved road beneath Robinson’s Arch; Jerusalem Prize winner Gabriel Barkay, who directs the Temple Mount Sifting Project; and Israel Prize laureate Amihai Mazar.

[...]

Eilat Mazar has also objected to the plan on archaeological grounds. The article does not say whether she was one of the nine signatories.

Background here and here.

Postdoc on pre-modern Eurasian manuscripts

THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA:

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR
REQUISITION # 2507
POSITION BASICS

Advertising Ends on: Extended Until Position is Filled
Advertising Started on: Wednesday, December 16th, 2015
College: Graduate College
Department: Interdisciplinary Programs

SALARY

Salary: $42,840.00 - $46,344.00

POSITION DETAILS

Full/Part Time Status: Full Time
Percent Time: 100%

Position Description:
The Obermann Center at the University of Iowa welcomes applications for a full-time, twelve-month Postdoctoral Scholar. The one-year residency will begin on August 10, 2016. The position is funded through the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is part of the 2016-2017 Mellon-Sawyer Seminar, “Cultural and Textual Exchanges: The Manuscript Across Pre-Modern Eurasia,” led by co-PIs Timothy Barrett (Center for the Book), Paul Dilley (Religious Studies and Classics), and Katherine Tachau (History).

Our seminar is an interdisciplinary collaboration dedicated to mapping cultural exchanges across Eurasia from roughly 400 CE - ca. 1450 CE, by focusing on the development, distribution and sharing of manuscript technologies. We will convene approximately fifteen times over the course of the 2016-2017 academic year, in dialogue with a series of invited speakers who are internationally recognized experts in the various manuscript cultures of pre-modern Eurasia. Four of the seminar meetings will be followed the next day by hands-on workshops at the University of Iowa’s Center for the Book, in which participants will reproduce historically significant book structures, with their associated materials, under the guidance of conservators. The seminar will also develop an innovative website tracking the development of Eurasian manuscript formats and materials chronologically and geographically.

Candidates in any related field, including Archaeology, Art History, Classics, History, East or South Asian Studies, and Near Eastern Studies, Religious Studies, are encouraged to apply.

Follow the link for further particulars. This is a very open-ended position that could involve Jewish manuscripts or Jewish texts transmitted in a pre-modern Eurasian context. Go for it!

Davies on The Hebrew Canon and Politics

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

The Hebrew Canon and Politics

This paper was prepared for a seminar held at the Centre for Advanced Research in Oslo on April 29th 2015, convened by Prof. Terje Stordalen. I am grateful to the scholars present for their comments. The arguments should be seen as a development of those formulated in my Scribes and Schools. The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.

By Philip R Davies
Chair, Palestine Exploration Fund
Emeritus, University of Sheffield, England
February 2016

CFP: Dating Early Christian Papyri

ROBERTA MAZZA: Dating early Christian papyri: old and new methods. A call for papers for the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Antonio this November.

The Talmud, the fall of Jerusalem, and Kamtza and bar Kamtza

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Finders Keepers, Inferior Land for Wedded Bliss, and Other Property Matters. ‘Daf Yomi’ zig-zags from impure wine to the Talmud’s apocryphal reasoning for the destruction of the Temple.

This week’s Daf Yomi reading could have been designed to demonstrate the Talmud’s extremes of halakha and aggada. In the space of a few pages in Tractate Gittin, the sages moved from highly technical debates about property law to extravagant legends about the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Roman general Titus. One of the things that makes reading Daf Yomi consistently interesting is that you never know when this kind of shift is going to happen: The Talmudic discussion, like a river, follows its own course, paying no attention to the boundaries of logic or subject matter. Indeed, all of this week’s reading, in chapter 5 of Gittin, is unrelated to the ostensible subject of the tractate, which is divorce.

The aggada comes in here:

It was toward the end of this week’s reading that we came to some of the most famous aggadic stories in the whole Talmud. These stories deal with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, at the end of the ruinous Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire. Josephus, the Jewish priest and general who wrote the only surviving history of the rebellion, offers a variety of explanations for the catastrophe—political, religious, and economic. The Talmud, however, reduces the complex event to a moral homily: “Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and bar Kamtza.”

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

Second Temple precedents

J-WIRE: ASK THE RABBI. Rabbi Raymond Apple answers readers' questions. In one answer he cites two Second Temple-era Jewish sources as precedents for modern practice:

FATHER & SON SHARING A NAME

Q. Is it wrong for a father and son to have the same first name?

A. It was certainly done in ancient times. The Apocrypha records that Tobit called his son Tobias: “When I came of age I took a wife from our kindred, and had a son by her whom I named Tobias” (Tobit 1:9).

Josephus had a brother whose name was Matityahu ben Matityahu: “I was born to Matityahu… I was brought up with my brother, whose name was Matityahu” (Life of Flavius Josephus 1, 2). Elsewhere Josephus refers to Chananiah ben Chananiah and Yochanan ben Yochanan (Antiquities 20:9:2, 10:1:2). Talmudic literature refers to Chanina ben Chanina, Bonias ben Bonias, Leizer ben Leizer, Yosef ben Yosef, Chiyya ben Chiyya, Ba bar Ba, etc.

Cross-file under Old Testament Apocrypha Watch.

CFP: The Other Within

H-JUDAIC: Extended Deadline - Call for Papers: "‘The Other Within’ – The Hebrew and Jewish Collections of The John Rylands Library".

The aim of this conference is to convene scholars, curators and students researching areas represented in the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish collections, including (but not limited to): the Cairo Genizah; medieval Hebrew manuscript codices; early printed Hebrew books; Samaritan manuscripts; and, the collections of Moses Gaster. It will take place as part of a programme of activities at the John Rylands Research Institute that aim to facilitate the study of the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish holdings. This includes the 2015-2018 externally-funded project to catalogue the Hebrew manuscripts and two ongoing projects on the Gaster collections.

Somehow I missed the original call for papers, but there's still time: "Due to significant interest, the submission deadline for paper proposals has been extended to 17:00 GMT on 26 February 2016."

International Septuagint Day 2016

WILLIAM ROSS: HAPPY SEPTUAGINT DAY 2016.

Today is the 10th annual International Septuagint Day! So don’t forget to read some Greek Old Testament, browse some early editions of Liddell Scott, and brush up on your accentuation rules in celebration.

This is also the first anniversary of the launch of the International Organization of Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSC) Facebook page.

Review of Laneri (ed.), Defining the Sacred

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Nicola Laneri (ed.), Defining the Sacred: Approaches to the Archaeology of Religion in the Near East. Oxford: Oxbow, 2015. Pp. ix, 186. ISBN 9781782976790. $50.00 (pb).

Reviewed by Aren M. Maeir, Bar-Ilan University (arenmaeir@gmail.com)

The volume under review is an excellent collection of studies on the archaeology of religion in the ancient Near East, dealing with various cultures, finds, issues and periods, ranging from the early Neolithic period until the Iron Age, and while mostly within the realm of the “classical” ancient Near East, includes a study on ancient Turkmenistan. Most of the papers were originally presented at a session on the archaeology of the ancient Near East at the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East which was held in Warsaw in 2012. To this several papers were added to broaden the topics and periods covered in the volume.

The first chapter (“Introduction: Investigating archaeological approaches to the study of religious practices and beliefs,” pp. 1-10), by the volume’s editor, Nicola Laneri, provides an overview and introduction to the volume. In the chapter, Laneri very discusses and summarizes issues such as: what is religion?; an overview of the archaeology of religion; previous studies on the archaeology of religion in the ancient Near East; and a general overview of the papers in the volume. One thing that would have improved this introduction, and in particular the discussion of the definition of religion and the archaeology of religion, would have been some reference to those who question the very definitions of religion as used in modern research as formulations based on modern western perceptions of the topic that are perhaps not always relevant for the study of ancient, non-western cultures (e.g. C. Martin, “Delimiting Religion”, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 21/2 [2009], 157-176).

Most of the essays are about the pre-biblical period, but this one is of interest:

In “Where to Worship? Religion in Iron II Israel and Judah” (pp. 90-101), Beth Alpert Nakhai, discusses the types (national, community, personal) and locations of worship in Iron Age II (10th-6th cent. BCE) Israel and Judah. Differentiating between the various contexts, she attempts to place these within the context of the political and societal developments of this period, such as the formation of two distinct kingdoms, religious reformations, etc. While the overall scheme that she provides seems very likely, the newly published Iron IIA-B temple found at Moza (see S. Kisilevitz. 2015. The Iron IIA Judahite Temple at Tel Moza. Tel Aviv 42: 147-164), just outside of Jerusalem, may call into question some of her (and other scholars’) suggestions regarding the lack of temples in non-urban contexts in Iron Age Judah.

Meghillot XI-XII

NOW OUT: MEGHILLOT Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls XI-XII 2014-2015 (ed. Jonathan Ben-Dov and Menaham Kister). The link leads to a pdf of the English front matter. Purchasing information is here.

HT the IOQS Facebook page and the Orion Center.

Talmudic synopses on demand

THE TALMUD BLOG: A SYNOPSIS OF THE ENTIRE TALMUD (Yitz Landes).

Enter Shamma Friedman. For decades, Friedman has been at the forefront of both talmudic philology qua philology (think dusty book filled offices, but also trips to pastoral European monasteries which are home to ancient Talmudic manuscripts) and digital research in the humanities. Since the eighties, Friedman has headed the Saul Lieberman Institute of Talmudic Research of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Friedman and his staff have poured thousands of hours into transcribing almost every single partial and complete manuscript of the Bavli. After years of being available on CD-ROM, the institute’s databank of Talmudic manuscripts went online in 2011 and has become one of the most relied upon tools for scholars of the Bavli. Now, in what will surely be remembered as a watershed moment in the history of talmudic philology, the institute has developed software that can automatically create synopsi. Using the software, synopses of a chapter of the Talmud can be created within the span of just a few minutes, and the day on which scholars will have synopses to the entire Bavli at their fingertips does not seem too far off.

Cross-file under Technology Watch.

Ancient terraces in the Judean Hills?

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Are Jerusalem’s Historic Terraces Really That Ancient? A new study says that most of the agricultural terraces surrounding Jerusalem were built during the Ottoman era. But critics are taking steps to counter the findings (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

The man-made terraces in the Judean Hills surrounding Jerusalem are at the center of a fierce debate after a new study claimed the agricultural features were mainly built by Arab workers in the past 400 years. Critics dismiss the study and say it merely reflects the most recent building work.

The UNESCO-protected village of Battir, south of Jerusalem, features one of the most famous terraces and became the subject of lengthy legal arguments when the Defense Ministry’s plan to place the West Bank separation barrier through it threatened to ruin postcard sales. The terraces around Ein Karem, the neighborhood of Ramot and other locations were also used as examples arguing against urban development. In several locations in the Jerusalem Forest and Nahal Refa’im, the Jewish National Fund and Jerusalem Development Authority have embarked on projects designed to refurbish old terraces, as well as building new ones.

The power of a man-made terrace lies in its simplicity: It is a series of steps, with the earth held back by a wall of stones to enable tilling the mountainside. Its simplicity actually makes it difficult to date a terrace. In contrast to ancient structures, terraces are not usually part of a wider complex, which might include other artifacts that could be dated.

To add a further level of complexity, the terraces we see nowadays are the result of a never-ending project of building, reconstruction and repairing – a process that has continued for many generations. Thus, even if artifacts are found nearby, it’s difficult to ascertain whether they belong to the time the terrace was originally constructed or to a later time when it was repaired.

[...]

Clearly, the study has raised questions regarding the ability of scientific tools to solve archaeological questions. In recent years, archaeology in Israel has been relying heavily on analyses being conducted in laboratories. Some critics claim there is an excessive reliance on these methods, and that even numerical results require interpretation and juxtaposition with archaeological and historical sources, in order to place them in the right context.

[...]

More on the legal controversy over Battir (Betar) is here and links.

e-Clavis

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: New Bibliographical Resource: “e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha.” NASSCAL is crowdsourcing the Christian Apocrypha.

DSS Master's scholarship

UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN: Florentino García Martínez Research Master Scholarship, established by Jan Overmeer.

The Qumran Institute of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies (University of Groningen) is delighted to present the Florentino García Martínez Research Master Scholarship for excellent students. The scholarship is specifically for students in the fields of Hebrew Bible, early Judaism and Dead Sea Scrolls.

The scholarship is € 1,000 and is meant to cover some of the expenses connected with the two-year Research Master programme at the Faculty’s Graduate School.

Follow the link for further particulars. Past recipients of the scholar are noted here and here.

Interview with Zahi Hawass

ASOR BLOG: Interview with Zahi Hawass (Alex Joffe).

Few individuals are so closely identified with Egypt – and ancient Egypt – as Zahi Hawass. Formerly Minister of State for Antiquities, Hawass has been Chief Inspector and Director of the Giza Plateau, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and has excavated at numerous sites throughout Egypt. He is also the face of Egyptian archaeology, having appeared in countless TV programs that have spread the story of ancient Egypt worldwide. In January Ancient Near East Today editor Alex Joffe had the pleasure of interviewing Hawass in New York City at the opening of the new Discovery of King Tut exhibit.

A recent story involving Zahi Hawass and King Tutankhamun's tomb is here and links.

Still more on saving Iraqi manuscripts

SYRIAC WATCH? Iraqi Jesuit saved 1,000 manuscripts (Catholic Culture).

An Iraqi Jesuit estimates that he saved 1,000 ancient manuscripts, including biblical and liturgical books, from the advance of the Islamic State.

“If Daesh burns down a church we can rebuild it, but the manuscripts are our history,” Father Gabriel Tooma told an international news channel. “If they get destroyed, then we are lost, and our culture will be forgotten.”

[...]

The brief article does not specify the language(s) of the saved manuscript, but since Father Tooma is reportedly now running an orphanage and a school in the Aramaic-speaking town of Alqosh in Iraq, it seems likely that Syriac manuscripts were involved.

For a similar recent story about a priest saving manuscripts from the depredations of ISIS in Iraq, see here and here.

Time Scanning Jerusalem

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Time Scanners series provides high-tech look at ancient sites (Jennifer Nixon, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette).

What is it? Time Scanners, one hour-long episode per set from PBS

How much? $24.99 each

When? Now

They're scanning time? No. They're scanning buildings as a way of taking people back in time. Sort of. Basically, the series uses modern technology to explore ancient sites, trying to solve mysteries and make the structures and people who built them more relatable for the people of today.

Using a mobile laser scanner, which bounces pulses of light off objects to map them, host Dallas Campbell, structural engineer Steve Burrows and their team use their fancy gadgets and meet with local archaeological and history experts to do some high-tech, in-depth exploring:

Along with the Colosseum and Machu Picchu, there is:

Jerusalem: The Temple Mount is examined to see how King Herod's builders managed to create a structure that survived centuries of war and earthquakes. Then the team goes to Herodium, a palace and man-made mountain south of Jerusalem, to find out how it was built and what happened to the palace structures within it.

There's more on the series here.

Third Punic War anniversary

PUNIC WATCH: Lessons from history: the end of the Third Punic War (1985). After 2,131 years of living on a razor's edge, a 1985 'treaty of friendship' marked the end of the Third Punic War. Simran Uppal explains the significance of this long-awaited signing. (Simran Uppal, Cherwell).

The Third Punic War between Rome and Carthage started in 149 BC and ended on this very day, February 5th – but that is, rather bizarrely, 5th February 1985. The Romans took Carthage in 146 BC, but caught up in the general hubbub of razing a city to the ground and sowing its fields with salt, and quite understandably forgot the proceedings for an official end to the war.

This detail passed the world by until the 1960s, when some historian – presumably with too much time on their hands – picked up on it. Eventually, then, the mayors of Rome and Carthage got involved (Ugo Vetere and Chedly Klibi, also leader of the Arab League at the time) and arranged to sign a treaty, 2,134 years after war began, in the Tunisian president’s villa looking out over the Mediterranean.

[...]

This actually happened, but cross-file under Can't Make It Up.

The Dead Sea Squirrels

THAT WOULD BE A GOOD NAME FOR A BAND. OH, WAIT. Meet Delaware County's Dead Sea Squirrels (Brian Bingaman, Delaware County News Network).

Where did that name — a zany spin on the name for a set of ancient Jewish historical and religious parchment/papyrus texts — come from?

“I used to work for a small, independent label in Miami. We’d be stumbling around in a parking lot at 5 in the morning throwing around silly band names. I threw it out there as a joke,” [guitarist/vocalist Bob] Succio said.

Stroumsa, Hidden Wisdom, now online for free

ACADEMIA.EDU: Guy G Stroumsa, Hidden Wisdom: Esoteric Traditions and the Roots of Christian Mysticism (Studies in the History of Religions 70; Leiden: Brill, 1996). This is actually the 2005 revised and enlarged edition. The Amazon book blurb reads:

This book investigates the problem of esoteric traditions in early Christianity, their origin and their transformation in Patristic hermeneutics, in the West as well as in the East. It argues that these traditions eventually formed the basis of nascent Christian mysticism in Late Antiquity. These esoteric traditions do not reflect the influence of Greek Mystery religions, as has often been claimed, but rather seem to stem from the Jewish background of Christianity. They were adopted by various Gnostic teachings, a fact which helps explaining their eventual disappearance from Patristic literature. The eleven chapters study each a different aspect of the problem, including the questions of Gnostic and Manichaean esotericism. This book will be of interest to all students of religious history in Late Antiquity.

The whole book is downloadable for free as a pdf file. For you, special deal!

Horn and Griffith (eds.), Biblical & Qur'anic Traditions in the Middle East

NEW BOOK FROM ABELIAN ACADEMIC PRESS:

Biblical & Qur'anic Traditions in the Middle East
Authored by Cornelia B. Horn, editor, Sidney H. Griffith, editor
Edition: First Edition

As the threat to the existence and continuation of the diversity of peoples and cultures in the Middle East steadily increases, despair is not the answer. Instead, the contributors to and editors of this volume respond positively with their work to the ever more important and urgent task of intensifying efforts in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere to study with rigor, dedication, and intellectual acumen the profound and foundational heritage of Middle Eastern origins in order to render it fruitful, productive, and enriching for the development of modern life and thought in all its dimensions.

With discussions of Satan's role in Adam's Fall in Islamic and Syriac Christian traditions, stories about Aaron's death, Jewish and Christian stories concerning the matriarch Sarah or interpretations in poetry and prose of the role of the Psalms, with reflections on the spiritual memories of paradise in the Odes of Solomon, or Manichaean magic, only to mention a few of the topics, this book will take your imagination and insights into new depths and to new heights. Scholars from the Middle East, South Africa, North America, and Europe--Tammie Wanta, Herrie van Rooy, Jason Scully, Ben Rosenfeld, Ilaria Ramelli, Robert Phenix, Rebekka Nieten, Giulio Maspero, Aryeh Levene, Cornelia Horn, Angela Harkins, Sidney Griffith, Craig Blaising, and Gaby Abousamra--contribute new evidence and foundational reflections to understanding the diverse relationships between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The seeds for this volume's articles were laid at the gatherings of scholars of Syriac Studies at the SBL conferences in New Orleans, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Chicago between 2009 and 2012 and in the context of subsequent international, collaborative projects.

As Sacred Scriptures for the believers, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an guide and inspire billions of faithful women and men across the globe. One of the exceptionally fruitful contexts in which the reception, interpretation, transmission of, and engagement with these holy texts flourished was in the Syriac- and Arabic-speaking milieux. The articles in this volume illuminate once more the critical contribution of Syriac Studies more specifically, and Christian Oriental Studies more generally, to understanding important aspects of reading and hearing Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sacred texts in historical contexts. They open the reader's imagination to the contribution of the Middle East for the cross-fertilization of these sacred texts and their interpretation and reception.

This book is the second volume of Abelian Academic's new series: Eastern Mediterranean Texts and Contexts (EMTC). This series takes its readers on journeys through Eastern Mediterranean time and space. Its cutting-edge research illuminates foundational aspects of this formative region of the modern world. Geoffrey Greatrex, Sidney H. Griffith, Cornelia Horn, Guita G. Hourani, Basil Lourie, Robert R. Phenix, Hagith Sivan, and Cynthia Villagomez serve on the series' editorial board.

Upcoming volumes, to be published in 2016 and 2017, will include chapters by Predrag Bukovec, Vicente Dobroruka, Mats Eskhult, Carl Griffin, Blake Hartung, Cornelia Horn, Stanley F. Jones, Robert Kitchen, Tuomo Lankila, Basil Lourie, Robert Phenix, Ilaria Ramelli, Erga Shnerson, Herrie van Rooy, Cynthia Villagomez, and Helen Younansardaroud, among others.

Publication Date: Jan 09 2016
ISBN/EAN13: 069260975X / 9780692609750
Page Count: 320
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 6" x 9"
Language: English
Color: Black and White
Related Categories: Religion / Christianity / General

The first volume in the series was noted here.

ASMEA Conference 2016 CFP

JAMES MCGRATH: Jewish Christianity and the Origins of Islam #CFP.

Sifting Project photos

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Sifting for Ancient Treasures (The Jewish Express). Actually there are several nice photos. It's always good to see the Temple Mount Sifting Project getting some attention. Background here (cf. here, here, and here) with oh so many links.

Kulik et al., The Bible in Slavic Tradition

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Bible in Slavic Tradition

Edited by Alexander Kulik, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Catherine Mary MacRobert, University of Oxford, Svetlina Nikolova, Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre , Moshe Taube, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Cynthia M. Vakareliyska, University of Oregon
This volume contains selected papers from an international conference held in 2009 in Varna, Bulgaria. The papers represent major trends and developments in current research on the medieval Slavonic biblical tradition, primarily in comparison with Greek and Hebrew texts. The volume covers the translation of the canonical, apocryphal and pseudepigraphical books of the Old and New Testaments and its development over the ninth to sixteenth centuries. Another focus is on issues relating to Cyril and Methodius, the creators of the first Slavonic alphabet in the ninth century and the first translators of biblical books into Slavonic. The analytical approach in the volume is interdisciplinary, applying methodologies from textual criticism, philology, cultural and political history, and theology. It should be of value to Slavists, Hebraists and Byzantinists.

For past posts on Old Church Slavonic, especially in relation to the Old Testament pseudepigrapha, see here and here and many links

Literal creation stories?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Should We Take Creation Stories in Genesis Literally? (Robin Ngo). No. Next question?

This BHD post summarizes a a BAR column by Shawna Dolansky which is behind the subscription wall. But I'm pleased to see that it does not neglect that other creation account, the one not found in Genesis. Because dragons!

"Realia" and teaching the NT (etc.)

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Realia and the Teacher’s Toolbox in the Postmodern New Testament Classroom (Richard Newton). The examples in this article could also be readily applied to the postmodern (or whatever) ancient Judaism classroom.

Jehoash inscription R.I.P.?

THE ASOR BLOG: The So-Called Jehoash Inscription: A Post Mortem (Ed Greenstein). Requires free registration to read in full. Excerpt:

Several months after the publication of the tablet and after several scholars had declared the text a fake, the State of Israel put the owner, Oded Golan, and other individuals on trial in Jerusalem district court, for this fraud and for other infractions. After seven and a half years of periodically hearing testimony from 130 witnesses, in March 2012, the judge delivered a 500-page opinion explaining the complexity of the case, in which experts contradicted experts. The judge did not find the Jehoash inscription to be authentic but felt there was enough doubt to acquit the defendant of the major criminal charges. In October 2013 the court ordered the Israel Antiquities Authority to return the tablet to its owner. The tablet was returned the following May.

The judge, overwhelmed by the diverse testimony, was inconclusive. However, the judgment of scholars who read ancient texts and analyze their language and writing is clear: no textbook of ancient Hebrew inscriptions will ever include the so-called Jehoash text; no historian of ancient Israel will ever count the inscription as a source; no grammarian or lexicographer of ancient Hebrew will ever include words, phrases, or forms found in the inscription as genuine data.

Geologists seem to be divided on whether the Jehoash (Joash) inscription could have been faked. Most philologists (myself included) think it is a forgery, but at least one has declined to declare it so, although even he makes no positive case for it being genuine. As usual, if a Semitic philologist ever wishes to publish a peer-review article making such a case, I will have a look at it. Meanwhile, I agree with Ed Greenstein. It's a fake.

Background on the inscription is here and here and many links.

P-s-e-u-d-e-p-i-g-r-a-p-h-a

WHICH PROVES YOU SHOULD KNOW THESE THINGS: Chaunte Conquers - Ardenne High Student Is 2016 Spelling Bee Champion (Jamaica Gleaner).

P-s-e-u-d-e-p-i-g-r-a-p-h-a was the word that gave Chaunte the edge over Assana, who was unable to spell it correctly.

Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

Archaeological discoveries preserved by nature

ACTUALLY, ALL ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES WERE PRESERVED BY NATURE, BUT THESE ARE INDEED IMPRESSIVE: 5 amazing archaeological discoveries preserved by nature: From Oetzi the Iceman to frozen woolly mammoths (Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather.com). The first item on the list is the Dead Sea Scrolls:

The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan, Israel and the West Bank. It is fed by several tributaries including the Jordan River.

Due to its high salinity and low elevation inside a deep basin, the climate of the Dead Sea region is unique. Atmospheric humidity in the area is relatively low and nearby regions are arid, which provided a very conducive environment for the preservation of the scrolls over the course of thousands of years.

"The fact that they survived for twenty centuries, that they were found accidentally by Bedouin shepherds, that they are the largest and oldest body of manuscripts relating to the Bible and to the time of Jesus of Nazareth make them a truly remarkable archaeological find," according to the U.S. Library of Congress.

The mummies of Pompeii are also on the list. More on them and on the destruction of Pompeii here and links.

2016 Israel Prize winner

CONGRATULATIONS TO PROFESSOR EDITH DORON: (Dov Smith, J-Wire).

Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett has announced that Prof. Edit Doron a professor in the Department of Linguistics and at the Language, Logic and Cognition Center in the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.will be awarded the Israel Prize for her work in the study of Linguistics.

[...]

In its recommendation of Prof. Doron, the Israel Prize Committee said: “Prof. Edit Doron is a researcher at the forefront of linguistics research in Israel and the world, both in general and in formal linguistics, as well as in Hebrew and Semitic languages. Her research deals with a wide range of linguistic phenomena in a variety of languages. In her groundbreaking research she discovered new phenomena in spoken Hebrew today, and in classical Hebrew. Insights from these studies comprise a basis for research in numerous languages studied by the international scientific community. In recent years she turned to understanding the processes that influenced the formation of Modern Hebrew, and in this field she shows how it has evolved a natural evolution of the previous language combined with the great effect of the linguistics of its speakers.”

[...]

Some past winners of the Israel Prize have been noted here, here, here, here, here, here (sort of), here, and here.

In Idaho: lecture on Jewish magic

THE COLLEGE OF IDAHO: C OF I CONTINUES JUDAIC STUDIES LECTURESHIP.

he College of Idaho’s distinctive Craig Neilsen Foundation Lectureship in Judaic Studies is set to host Professor J.H. Chajes from the University of Haifa on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Professor Chajes will present two seminars for C of I students as well as the public lecture “Jewish Magic, Magical Judaism,” which is set for 7 p.m. in Lecture Hall 106 of the Kathryn Albertson International Center on the C of I campus in Caldwell. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Feb. 16 public lecture will take a fascinating look at the place of magic in Judaism from ancient to modern times. Chajes will begin with an exploration of magic in the Bible and classical rabbinic sources, and then turn to medieval Jewish approaches to magic, examining techniques, critiques and legends. He will conclude with a look at the relationship between Jewish magic and contemporary Jewish culture. The lecture will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.

[...]

Ancient canal system near Dead Sea

ARCHAEOLOGY: Roman-era canal system unearthed near Dead Sea.

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An ancient canal system used 2,000 years ago to irrigate terraced agricultural plots has been unearthed in an excavation near the Roman-era fortress of Metzad Bokek in southern Israel. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority jointly conducted the excavation.

[...]

Regarding the reference to "persimmon" later in the article, Joseph Lauer commented as follows (inter alia) in his e-mail circulating the article:

We’ve been through this before regarding articles that confuse the afarsemon plant of antiquity, balsam or balm, with the modern Hebrew word for persimmon, also afarsemon. See, e.g., TB Berachot 43a, and Jastrow, Dictionary 109a.

The English article does note, in a translated quote, that the trees “were different from the persimmon trees we know today”.

Shenaton Hamishpat Haivri 28

H-JUDAIC: TOC: Shenaton Hamishpat Haivri 28. Some of the articles deal with ancient Judaic matters.

The Aristophil collection isn't selling

Albert Einstein's notebook and Dead Sea Scrolls fragments among historic manuscripts struggling to find buyer. The value of the collection amassed by the Aristophil group has been estimated at hundreds of millions of euros (Nick Clark, John Lichfield, The Independent).

It is believed that close to 600 institutions and potential private investors have now been sounded out about a bid. Although the collection would enrich the home of any billionaire, it is hoped that a museum, foundation or gallery will come forward.

But it appears that interest has not been overwhelming. The original deadline for bids, ends on Wednesday but a French court hearing is expected to extend that date.

Sources in the art world suggest the collection may be overvalued, and that a top asking price of €100m might be more realistic.

“Yes, 5 per cent of the collection is extraordinary, but the remaining 95 per cent is insignificant,” one antiquarian bookseller told the Financial Times.

I'm curious to know more about the Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the collection. Not that I'm planning to submit a bid.

Background here and here.

JTS rabbinical grads honored

AWARDS: Jewish Theological Seminary to honor 3 prolific, longtime rabbinical grads. Rabbi David Geffen, along with Professors Lee Israel Levine and Aaron Demsky will receive the Louis Finkelstein Award at the JTS-Schocken Institute for Jewish Research in Jerusalem (Jeremy Sharon, Jerusalem Post).

The Jewish Theological Seminary will on Tuesday honor three rabbinical graduates from 50 years ago who made aliya and went on to excel in their fields of expertise.

Rabbi David Geffen, along with Professors Lee Israel Levine and Aaron Demsky will receive the Louis Finkelstein Award at the JTS-Schocken Institute for Jewish Research in Jerusalem.

Dr Beverly Gribetz, another JTS alumnus, will receive the Solomon Schechter Award for Jewish Education in recognition of her contributions to The State of Israel on Tuesday night as well.

Geffen, Levine and Demsky, were ordained by the JTS rabbinical school in New York in 1965.

Congratulations to all four, but the one of special interest to PaleoJudaica is Lee Levine:

Levine’s work focused on Jewish history and archaeology. He earned a PhD from Columbia University in New York, and was invited in the 1970s to teach at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem by the late archaeologist, politician and IDF Chief of Staff, Yigal Yadin.

Levine taught at the Institute for Archaeology at The Hebrew University and became a professor in 1985.

He wrote 13 books, edited another 12 works, and published about 200 academic papers.

He also founded the Tali network of schools and helped establish the Schechter Institute where he served as its first president.

Some past posts on Professor Levine's work are here, here, here, and here.

YU student research presentations

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY NEWS: Sharing Exceptional Research in Judaic Studies.
Yeshiva College Students Selected to Present at Princeton Jewish Studies Conference.

Two Yeshiva College students have been invited to present 15-minute lectures on their research at Princeton University’s inaugural Undergraduate Jewish Studies Conference on February 14, 2016. Yeshiva University is the only institution besides Princeton to be represented twice at the conference, which draws together outstanding students from universities across the country to share ideas and connect with other highly-motivated undergraduates.

Yakov Ellenbogen, a junior majoring in history from Sharon, Massachusetts, will present his work on the demonology of the Ramban, in which Ellenbogen closely examines Ramban’s attitudes on the classification and abilities of demons and how they interact with humanity, comparing those attitudes to those held by Ramban’s non-Jewish contemporaries.

[...]

Samuel Berkovitz, a senior at Yeshiva College majoring in Jewish studies from Far Rockaway, New York, will share his research on the prohibition against carrying objects on Shabbat as recorded in Second Temple-era literature, such as the Book of Jubilees or the Dead Seas Scrolls. ...

Congratulations to both.

The IAA responds to Mazar

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Prominent archaeologist claims Western Wall construction will cause irreparable damage. Less than 48 hours after cabinet approved historic overhaul for a gender-neutral prayer space, Hebrew University professor says construction will “absolutely ruin the site” (DANIEL K. EISENBUD, Jerusalem Post).

The significant upgrade to the Western Wall’s controversial egalitarian prayer section at Robinson’s Gate will ruin Judaism’s “jewel of archeology,” an internationally recognized archeologist from the Hebrew University contended Tuesday.

Less than 48 hours after the cabinet approved a historic overhaul for the gender-neutral prayer space, Dr. Eilat Mazar, of HU’s Institute of Archeology, said the construction will “absolutely ruin the site” by turning an irreplaceable archeological landmark into a religious site.

[...]

Her objections were covered in yesterday's post, but this article goes into somewhat more detail. And it includes this new information:

Despite Mazar’s scathing rebuke of the project, the Israel Antiquities Authority, which approved and will oversee the expansion, issued a brief statement saying it stands by its position, claiming the construction and resulting changes will be “minor.”

“In reaching the agreement, the IAA demanded measures to continue to maintain the character of the archeological surroundings,” it said.

Meanwhile, the left-wing NGO Emek Shaveh echoed Mazar’s concerns and further condemned the construction as an egregious violation of the Old City’s delicate status quo.

[...]

We'll see what happens.

€500K grant for DSS research

CONGRATULATIONS TO MLADEN POPOVIĆ AND EIBERT TIGCHELAAR:

Half a million euro NWO/FWO grant for Dead Sea Scrolls research
Were different communities involved in the production and interpretation of these manuscripts more than 2000 years ago?

February 02, 2016

Analysis of the content of the Dead Sea Scrolls has revealed that the different texts present a religiously diverse picture. The development of early Judaism over time is a possible explanation for this – or could there have been different religious communities, to which the scribes of the manuscripts belonged? NWO-FWO has awarded a EUR 500,000 grant for research to Professor Mladen Popović of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Groningen and Professor Eibert Tigchelaar of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven.

Generous grant
It has just been announced that Cooperation Flanders, a joint initiative of FWO (the Research Foundation - Flanders ) and NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), has awarded a EUR 500,000 grant for research into this. The research project, entitled Models of Textual Communities and Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls, will be led by Professor Mladen Popović from the Qumran Institute of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Groningen and Professor Eibert Tigchelaar from the Biblical Studies research unit of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven. The support of NWO/FWO will make it possible for the universities of Groningen and Leuven, with two leading international research centres in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, to further intensify their collaboration both now and in the future. Popović and Tigchelaar’s research team will be aided by two PhD students. The research is expected to take four years, and a conference and workshops will also be held.

[...]

The Western Wall compromise and archaeology

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Reform prayer section to erase last signs of Temple destruction. Archaeologist warns government compromise to expand non-Orthodox Kotel prayer section will destroy priceless Jewish heritage. (Shimon Cohen, Arutz Sheva).

Dr. Eilat Mazar of Hebrew University's archaeology institute spoke to Arutz Sheva about the government's new decision to expand the non-Orthodox mixed prayer section of the Western Wall (Kotel), in the southern part of the Kotel.

Mazar warned that the decision to construct yet another prayer section for Reform Jews, in an expansion of a similar space built in 2013, could prove disastrous for the last remaining area where signs of the destruction of the Second Temple just under 2,000 years ago can be witnessed.

"In the archaeological park at the feet of the Western Wall there is only one section that is exposed and can be viewed. All the rest is underground. This is the southernmost section where the Herodian Quarter from the days of the Second Temple are preserved the way they were," she said.

Mazar added that "in the excavations of my grandfather Professor (Binyamin) Mazar a giant rockslide of the walls that the Romans destroyed on the Temple Mount was discovered."

She noted that the rockslide from the Temple's walls was excavated over the years, and "when they expanded the archaeological park - they moved the southern portion of Herodian road. What remains from all this impressive massive rockslide of these great stones is just a pile of a few dozen meters in a very narrow portion in this section."

The site of the remaining ruins of the Temple walls is exactly the point where the new Reform and Conservative prayer section is planned.

[...]

One David Newman has an Opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post which refers to IAA objections to the plan. : Borderline views: The Antiquities Authority’s campaign against pluralism at the Western Wall. Just as the environmentalists may not like turning to the defense establishment for assistance, so we would assume the archaeologists do not like serving the interests of the Orthodox establishment.I cannot find any other references to these objections of the IAA, but Mr. Newman summarizes them as follows:

However, the opposition of the Antiquities Authority to the preparation of a separate space further along the wall for non-Orthodox and mixed-gender prayer on the basis that this will prevent further excavations of one of the most important ancient Jewish sites in Israel, as well as limiting access to those who came to see the archaeology rather than for prayer, serves the interests of the Orthodox community, who are strongly opposed to such forms of alternative prayer.

.He summarizes his own view as follows:

Strange coalitions often emerge when interests are threatened. It is unlikely that in the most recent case of the prayer sites at the Western Wall, such a coalition was planned in advance. But the opposition of the Antiquities Authority to this week’s government decision serves the interests of other lobbyists – in this case the Orthodox community – who must be rubbing their hands with glee at this unexpected intervention against religious pluralism.

I can't say I find the essay particular illuminating. It attempts to explain the political motivations of the various parties involved, which is fine, but it does not respond the archaeological objections to the plan, nor does it refer to Dr. Mazar's objections, which sound more urgent.

To make matters more complicated, the Grant Mufti of Jerusalem, for his own reasons, finds himself significantly in agreement with Dr. Mazar and the Orthodox: Grand Mufti condemns new Jewish egalitarian prayer section at Western Wall. In a press statement he released on Monday, Hussien claimed that the prayer space adjacent to the Western Wall is “the property of the Islamic waqf that was taken by the Israeli occupation in 1967.” (KHALED ABU TOAMEH, Jerusalem Post).

If you are having trouble visualizing the proposed changes, have a look at this article: 3 Maps That Explain The Western Wall Compromise (Ben Sales, JTA).

To be clear, Dr. Mazar does not object to the concept in principle. Rather, because of the archaeological problems with this plan she says "Find another plan." For my part, I am not an expert on the details of the geography of the Temple Mount and its vicinity, but I am very concerned by the objections raised by Dr. Mazar and I would like to see them addressed by someone who is. Perhaps Leen Ritmeyer will weigh in on this one?

UPDATE (3 February): More here.

Jewish Law Annual 21 (2015)

H-JUDAIC: TOC: The Jewish Law Annual 21. Some of the articles deal with ancient Jewish law.

More on the new Lod Mosaic

ARCHAEOLOGY: ‘This is the best of the Roman tradition': A new mosaic unveiled in Israel (Apollo Magazine).

A second Roman floor was found at the site of the Lod mosaic in 2009. Archaeologist Amir Gorzalczany, of the Israel Antiquities Authority, tells Imelda Barnard what this recently unveiled discovery reveals about the villa that housed them 1,700 years ago

Excerpt:

What does the new mosaic depict?
It’s a very rich, late Roman work, composed of rectangular concentric frames. Inside are nine medallions, octagonal in shape: five of these depict animals fighting or hunting; two depict fish, showing species from the Mediterranean Sea; and two others reveal birds – doves and partridges beside objects, including an amphora and a basket of flowers. Based on the ceramic shards found during the excavation, and on numismatic – as well as artistic – grounds, we have dated it to the 3rd century. This mosaic is the best of the Roman tradition.

Background here. And there are many posts on the first Lod Mosaic and its recent international peregrinations here and links.

Action adventure tales in the Talmud

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Talmud: We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists. This week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ features captives, kidnappers, and extortionists; ransom, escape, and stonings—and black magic.

If you were to make a movie about the Talmud, the hero would have to be Reish Lakish. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, usually referred to as Reish Lakish, had a biography more typical of an action hero than a sage. His first career was as a gladiator in the Roman circus, before Rabbi Yochanan convinced him to devote his life to Torah. In this week’s Daf Yomi reading, in Gittin 47a, there was a story about Reish Lakish that testified to his combination of strength and cunning. Apparently, there was a tradition among gladiators that before one was put to death, he was granted any wish he asked for. When Reish Lakish was about to be killed, then, he asked he asked his captors, “I want to tie you up and have you sit, and I will strike each of you one and a half times.”

Probably they should have smelled a rat ...

Probably. Good story though.

As Mr. Kirsch notes, the attention to the subject of hostage-taking for ransom indicates that it was not an infrequent occurrence. We have seen many stories, not least in these columns, which have shown how difficult it is for us moderns to imagine the brutal and degrading world the ancients took for granted.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

Biblical Studies Carnival CXX

BIBLICAL STUDIES CARNIVAL CXX has been published by Tim Bulkeley at Sansblogue.

SBL MEGA (etc.) 2016 CFP

THE SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE AND AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION ANNUAL MEETINGS are in San Antonio, Texas on 19-22 November 2016. The Call for Papers for both is open. (The link leads to the SBL one.) Here is the CFP for the SBL's MEGA Section:

MYSTICISM, ESOTERICISM, AND GNOSTICISM IN ANTIQUITY

Program Unit Type: Section
Accepting Papers? Yes
Call For Papers: For its open session, the Mysticism, Esotericism and Gnosticism in Antiquity (MEGA) Section invites papers on any theme or text related to direct knowledge of the divine or God. Papers on the subject of amulets and inscribed religious objects are especially welcome for a special session on this topic. An invited book review session is also planned with the following books featured: April D. DeConick. 2016. The Gnostic New Age: How a Countercultural Spirituality Revolutionized Religion From Antiquity to Today (Columbia University Press); Frances L. Flannery. 2015. Understanding Apocalyptic Terrorism: Countering the Radical Mindset (Routledge); Andrei Orlov. 2015. Divine Scapegoats: Demonic Mimesis in Early Jewish Mysticism (SUNY).

Follow the link for details regarding submitting a paper.

Other bloggers have been noting the CFPs for other program units. Here are a couple I have come across recently:

James McGrath: 2016 AAR Call for Papers: Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity;

Liv Ingeborg Lied: SBL Book History and Biblical Literatures CFP.

Philological excavation of the Web

CAROLINE T. SCHROEDER IS LOOKING FOR: Coptic and Syriac on the early WWW.

HT AJR.

The Virtual Bible Project

ASOR BLOG: Virtual Bible Project [PODCAST]. Cross-file under Technology Watch.

Jesus dissed the apostles?

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: What Jesus Thought of the Apostles (James McGrath). The quotation is amusing, although taken out of context. But it's a good way to get people to notice the text.

Jewish Studies Professorship at Case Western

H-JUDAIC: JOB: Case Western University, Abba Hillel Silver Professorship in Jewish Studies

The Department of Religious Studies at Case Western Reserve University invites applications and nominations for a senior position (professor or associate professor) for the Abba Hillel Silver Professorship in Jewish Studies. Associate professors must demonstrate a record of publications, including monograph, as well as other evidence of scholarly accomplishments. Professors must have national or international recognition for their scholarship, an expansive record of publications, and the promise of on-going productivity. The successful applicant must also demonstrate a commitment to teaching. Area of research specialization is open.

[...]

Follow the link for further particulars. The review of applications begins on 25 February 2016.

Tahtonim

YONA SABAR: Hebrew word of the week: Tahtonim “underwear, panties.”

In Rabbinic Hebrew, taHtonim means “worldly, as the human body” versus elyonim, “celestial; as the human soul” (Rashi on Genesis 2:7).

That's quite a semantic shift.

Talk Gnosis: McGrath on the Mandaeans

JAMES MCGRATH is featured a Talk Gnosis Interview about the Mandaeans. This links to video of the first 20 minutes of the interview. The full video is only available to subscribers, but you can listen to the full audio file at the link given in this post.

Some past PaleoJudaica posts on the Mandaeans (Mandeans) are collected here.

Gorgias Press

SYRIAC WATCH: Why Gorgias Matters (Philip Jenkins, The Anxious Bench).

Writings from the eastern churches, above all in Syriac, survive in large quantities, although they are not easily accessible to most Western scholars. Hence the enormous significance of the Gorgias Press, based in Piscataway, NJ, which tries to make these materials readily available. Gorgias was founded in 2001, by George Kiraz. The Press “is an independent academic publisher of books and journals covering several areas related to religious studies, the world of ancient western Asia, classics, and Middle Eastern studies. Specific areas of our current specializations are studies in Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islam, Archaeology, Bible, Classics, Early Christianity, Judaism, Linguistics, Syriac, and Ugaritic.”

[...]

To give some idea of what I am talking about, just imagine an alternate world where Christianity had boomed in Asia but not in Western Europe, and where Latin writings were largely lost to scholarship. Then imagine the experience of a historian suddenly discovering the forgotten texts of these obscure characters called Augustine, Gregory the Great, Benedict, Thomas Aquinas …. Then felt I like some watcher of the skies when a new planet swims into his ken.

Some ancient Jewish writings whose originals are now lost still survive in Syriac, notably 4 Ezra (also in Latin) and 2 Baruch.

Jewish Law postdoc at the Hebrew University

H-JUDAIC: POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN THE FIELD OF JEWISH LAW, THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF LAW.

Eligible candidates from Israel or overseas must have completed their doctorate, from 2011 onward. Candidates who research Jewish law will be considered from a variety of academic disciplines (including Jewish philosophy, history, religious studies, social sciences, and other relevant fields).

The bold emphasis is in the original. Follow the link for further particulars. The application deadline is 15 February 2016.

The scribe of the Leningrad Codex

DREW LONGACRE: Samuel ben Jacob and the Leningrad Codex. The scribe who wrote the Leningrad Codex (the text basis for the widely used Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia etc.) appears in the January 2016 Taylor-Schecter Cairo Geniza fragment of the month.