Mazza on papyrological ethics in Barcelona

NOW RUNNING: Papyrology and Ethics: Next Week in Barcelona. At the Faces and Voices Blog, Roberta Mazza shares her conference paper for the 28th International Conference of Papyrology.

Also, at What's New in Papyrology: Barcelona Congress, Day one.

The crumbling (traditional) Tomb of Nahum

HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE: Kurdistan official launches appeal to save Jewish tomb. The ancient tomb of the Prophet Nahum will crumble if preservation efforts are not made soon (Tamara Zieve, Jerusalem Post).

The tomb lies inside a synagogue in the Christian town of Al Qosh, whose doors are guarded by a Christian family who reportedly promised the town’s long-departed rabbi to safeguard it.

Mamsani warns that it could be just a matter of days before the ancient tomb crumbles to its ruin. He says he has been holding urgent meetings with the ministries of tourism, culture and religious affairs to ask for help in preserving the historical site.

He has also appealed to UNESCO and told The Jerusalem Post he has a meeting scheduled with a representative in Erbil in the coming days.

[...]

Past posts on the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum in Al Qosh are here, here, here, here, here, and here. It doesn't sound as though the earlier reported plans to renovate the building came to anything. I hope that this appeal is more successful.

Halakha and Aggadah in the Talmud

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Law v. Lore. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ competing strands of legal wrangling and storytelling in the ancient compendium of Jewish thought.

Perhaps the ideal, however, is to value both strands of the Talmud equally. If aggadah exercises the right brain, home of intuition and imagination, halakha makes heavy demands on the left brain, home of calculation and reasoning; and just as the brain requires both hemispheres to function, so the Talmud requires aggadah and halakha to communicate its truths. This was the message of a striking story in this week’s Daf Yomi reading, which comprised Chapter Six of Tractate Bava Kamma. It once happened that Rav Ami and Rav Asi sat before Rabbi Yitzhak Nappacha: “One Sage said, Let the Master say words of halakha, and the other Sage said, Let the Master say words of aggada.” Whichever Yitzhak tried to say, one of his pupils would protest.

Finally he said: “I will relate a parable. ...

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links. Some past PaleoJudaica posts dealing with halakhah and aggadah are here, here, and here. And there's more on warriors as scholars in the Talmud here.

July Biblical Studies Carnival

READING ACTS: Biblical Studies Carnival July 2016. Phillip Long mentions that in his ongoing series on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (now covering the Sibylline Oracles and to which PaleoJudaica has been linking) he hopes to get through 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra before summer's end.

Coptic Dictionary Online

AWOL: Coptic Dictionary Online.

The Coptic Dictionary Online aims to make it easy to look up Coptic words in all dialects and supply freely accessible translations in English, French and German, via human and machine readable interfac

Looks useful. Cross-file under Coptic Watch.

The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi. Notice of a new book: Barthel, Peter & George van Kooten (eds.). 2015. The star of Bethlehem and the Magi. Interdisciplinary perspectives from experts on the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, and modern astronomy (Themes in Biblical Narrative 19). Leiden: Brill.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi are collected here.

Charges pressed in Temple Mount attack

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Waqf guards to stand trial after attack on Temple Mount. Following violent attack on group of archaeologists on Temple Mount by Waqf guards, police gather enough evidence to bring them to trial; victim: 'It was almost a lynch. They started punching and kicking. We are still shaken up' (Roi Yanovsky, Ynet News). One of the archaeologists has posted an eyewitness account of the incident, with photographs: Violence on the Temple Mount. HT Joseph Lauer for both links.

Meanwhile, from the mainstream media, crickets chirping: The BBC Ignores Another Story on the Temple Mount (Hadar Sela, The Algemeiner).

Background here.

Ambrose and the burning of the synagogue

THIS DAY IN JEWISH HISTORY: 388 CE: Christians Burn Down Synagogue, Emperor Seethes. The appalled Emperor ordered the early Christians to compensate the Jews, but Bishop Ambrose would have none of that (David B. Green, Haaretz).

On August 1, 388, C.E., an angry mob of Christians in the town of Callinicum, in the Roman province of Osrhoene, burned a synagogue to the ground.

It was not the first time that a Jewish place of worship had been destroyed by Christians in the early decades after the adoption of Christianity by Emperor Constantine. But the responses elicited by the fire, first a condemnation by the current emperor, Theodosius, and then in reaction to that by a leading bishop, have gone down in history for the insight they give to the ambivalent attitudes held toward Jews in the ancient Christian world.

[...]

Sibylline Oracles 2

READING ACTS: An Extract from Pseudo-Phocylides – Sibylline Oracles, Book 2.56-148. Past posts in the series on the Sibylline literature are noted here and links. Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

Incidentally, William Brown recently had a post on Pseudo-Phocylides in his Pseudepigrapha Saturday series at The Biblical Review Blog. (I shall doubtless have occasion to mention this series again.) I am unconvinced that Pseudo-Phocylides is of Jewish provenance. It could be, but the content is pretty generically biblical and it could be Christian or something else.

2017-18 Fellowship on Jews and the Material in Antiquity

THE FRANKEL INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED JUDAIC STUDIES (UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN): Fellowship Opportunity, Theme 2017-18: Jews and the Material in Antiquity.

The Frankel Institute’s 2017-2018 theme year will ask how Jews in the ancient world related both to matter itself and to issues of materiality. How did ancient Jews sense, understand, and even construct material entities such as artifacts, bodies, environments, and so on? How did those who were not Jewish perceive or represent the relationships between Jews and matter? Finally, how has the history of Jews and matter been reconstructed in modern scholarship and how might scholars approach the nexus of Jews and the material more productively?

[...]

Follow the link for additional details. Application information is here.

HT The Talmud Blog on Facebook.

Dabir 1.2

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: DABIR – Vol. 1, Issue 2. Dabir is a new, open-access, peer-reviewed journal of brief notes and reviews pertaining to pre-modern Iran. It was noted previously here and here. There's nothing directly relevant to ancient Judaism in this issue, but there are articles and reviews pertaining to Achaemenid and Sassanian Iran, plus a review by Vahé S. Boyajian of the following:

Asatrian, Garnik S. & Viktoria Arakelova. 2014. The religion of the Peacock Angel: the Yezidis and their spirit world.

Cross-file under Yazidi Watch.

Frank L. Benz, 1930-2016

PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC WATCH: Rev. Dr. Frank L. Benz (Dunn County Herald).

Rev. Dr. Frank L. Benz, 86, of Loveland, Colo., formerly of Dubuque, Iowa, passed away on Monday, July 25 in Loveland, Colorado. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, July 30 at 4 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Loveland.

Frank was born on March 14, 1930 and raised on his parents’ ranch homestead in Dunn Center, North Dakota along with three sisters and eight brothers. He graduated from Wartburg College in 1954 with majors in German and New Testament Greek. During his years of study for ministry at Wartburg Theological Seminary (1954-1958) he was asked by the faculty to forego his year of internship to teach Beginning Greek and Hebrew for two years while completing his senior courses.

In 1958 he enrolled for graduate studies in the Department of Near Eastern Studies of The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. He and Joyce Schumann, an executive secretary in the home offices of the Kimberly-Clark Corp. in Neenah, WI, were married in 1959. In Baltimore she took a job at the McCormick Spice and Tea Co. as secretary to the treasurer.

Frank was called back to Wartburg Seminary in 1960, but given leave to complete his degree studies. His doctoral dissertation, Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions, was published by the Pontifical Biblical Institute Press in Rome. It continues to be a valuable resource for scholars in the Semitic field of study.

[...]

Yes, it does. It has even been cited by PaleoJudaica. Requiescat in pace.

Plastic Numidian cavalry

PUNIC WATCH: Numidian Cavalry in 28mm... (Robin Buckland, Miltary Modeling).

VXA022 Numidian Cavalry are now on general release. - 12 highly detailed models at £19.95.

Victrix are really pleased to announce the release of the 28mm hard plastic Numidian cavalry. This is a 12 miniature set packed with pose options and fantastic detail. The Numidians were from North Africa, around modern day Tunisia and Morocco. They were superb light cavalry and supplied large quantities of horsemen to their... close neighbours the Carthaginians. Numidian cavalry excelled in skirmishing, hit and run tactics. They would shower their enemy with javelin fire and run away to avoid contact and then wheel around again to pelt the enemy with yet more missiles. They were often used as scouts and in pitched battles would outflank the enemy and wait in ambush. They fought brilliantly for Hannibal during the second Punic wars, being major factors in his defeats of the Romans at the Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae and they were also responsible for beating the Romans in Spain at the battles of Castulo and Ilorici under their charismatic and brilliant chieftan Masinissa.

[...]

Some past PaleoJudaica posts that deal with the Second Punic War and some of the battles named above are here, here, here, here, here, and here. And this post is related in more ways than one.

Short History of Ancient Egypt

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Ancient Egypt: A Brief History (Owen Jarus, Live Science). It's worth mentioning that ancient Egypt, notably Alexandria, but also other places such Elephantine, had a substantial Jewish population in the Persian and Hellenistic periods.

News on Targum Ruth

TARGUMAN (Professor Christopher Brady) has two new notes on his forthcoming book, The Proselyte and the Prophet: Character Development in Targum Ruth (Brill).

Transcription of TgRuth from Valmadonna No. 1 on Targuman

Targum Ruth Book Cover Proof!

There's more on the book here and links.

Humbert (ed.), Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha

NEW BOOK FROM VANDENHOECK AND RUPRECHT:

Jean-Baptiste Humbert OP (Hg.)
Khirbet Qumrân et Aïn Feshkha
Fouilles du P. Roland de Vaux

1. Auflage 2016
536 Seiten with 179 figures and 113 planches gebunden
ISBN 9783525540541
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus, Series Archaeologica (NTOA.SA) - Band 05A

400,00 €

HT Jim West.

Sibylline Oracles 1, continued

READING ACTS: The Christian Interpolation – Sibylline Oracle, Book 1.324-400. Past posts in the series on the Sibylline literature are noted here and links.

UPDATE: I should be cross-filing these under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

The Carthaginian Trihemistater

NUMISMATICS: Ancient Coin Profiles: Carthaginian Gold & Silver 1 1/2 Shekel. I didn't know that coins could come in a 1.5 shekel unit or that it was called a Trihemistater. Cross-file under Punic Watch.

YU PhD student awarded AJS fellowship

CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. LANDMAN WERMUTH: Revel Student Awarded Prestigious Fellowship. Yael Landman Wermuth Receives Association for Jewish Studies Dissertation Completion Fellowship (YU News).

Landman Wermuth’s advisor, Dr. Barry Eichler, professor of Bible and cuneiform studies at Revel and Yeshiva College, described his student’s work as multifaceted, methodologically rigorous, and creative in addressing “significant legal issues both in biblical and cuneiform law.”

Landman Wermuth’s dissertation studies the biblical law of bailment (Exodus 22:6-14) in its ancient Near Eastern (ANE) contexts. Her methods include exegesis, legal theory, and socio-economic analysis. “I bring together previously unconnected texts (including Mesopotamian legal documents and biblical narrative and prophecy) to reconstruct the institution as it functioned and was perceived in ancient Israel and Judah,” she explained. “The law in Exodus is not just about bailment, but is also a law of fact-finding driven by an epistemological concern: How can the wronged party know that the accused is innocent?”

Bons and Joosten (eds.), Die Sprache der Septuaginta

NEW BOOK FROM GUETERSLOHER VERLAGSHAUS:

Die Sprache der Septuaginta : Handbuch zur Septuaginta.
Hardback German
Edited by Eberhard Bons , Edited by Jan Joosten
Share
Die vielfältigen Aspekte der Sprache der Septugainta§§Das Handbuch zur Septuaginta bietet einen zusammenfassenden Überblick über die zentralen Felder der Septuaginta-Forschung. Das Werk ermöglicht Historikern, Literatur- und Sprachwissenschaftlern, Theologen, Philosophen und allen an den jüdisch-christlichen Quellen europäischer Kulturgeschichte Interessierten einen kompakten und zugleich umfassenden Zugang zum Wissen über eines der einflussreichsten Werke der Weltliteratur.§§Der vorliegende Band beschäftigt sich mit der Sprache der Septuaginta und nimmt dabei Aspekte wie die Forschungsgeschichte, Vokabular und Syntax, Übersetzungstechnik, Hebraismen, innovative Elemente im Vokabular in den Blick, bietet Untersuchungen zu ausgewählten Wortfeldern und vergleicht das Griechisch der Septuaginta mit dem des Neuen Testaments.

Product details
Format Hardback | 506 pages
Dimensions 172 x 249 x 35mm | 989g
Publication date 25 May 2016
Publisher Guetersloher Verlagshaus
Language German
ISBN10 3579081047
ISBN13 9783579081045

HT the IOSCS Facebook page.

Coptology job in Cairo

COPTIC WATCH: Coptologist Position at the American University in Cairo (Christian Askeland, ETC).

Aristophil restitution

ALLEGED DSS PONZI SCHEME UPDATE: Thousands of ‘frozen’ manuscripts from bankrupt Aristophil fund to return to market. Historical documents and manuscripts from the scandal-hit Aristophil investment scheme could soon return to the market as the slow process of restitution promises to quicken in the coming weeks (Roland Arkell, Antiquities Trade Gazette).

On July 28 a judge in Paris will rule on whether the receivers can begin the process of returning around 20,000 valuable items to investors as early as September.

An estimated 135,000 works from the world’s largest private collection of historic manuscripts were placed under seal by the French judiciary in 2014 as an investigation into a ‘pyramid’ scheme began.

For more than a decade, Aristophil, run by dealer Gérard Lhéritier, was the biggest buyer in a booming manuscript market.

Acquiring spectacular works at auction and through dealers, the company encouraged investors to speculate on historical letters and manuscripts with the promise of an annual return of 8% or more.

[...]

This story is very complicated. It first came to my attention in 2015 and I posted on it here (because unidentified Dead Sea Scrolls fragments are included in the collection). Later that year the decision was made to put the collection up for sale as a unit, but it did't sell. Now it appears that — if I am reading the technical legal language correctly — the current proposal before the judge is that, as far as it is possible, the individual items should being returned to investors who paid for them:

Only a relatively small percentage of the total Aristophil holdings could be restituted in the coming months – those from so-called Amadeus contracts where documents were fully owned by an individual.

These 20,000 items are owned by around 5000 investors.

ATG understands that the receivers have asked the judge to declare all of the Aristophil contracts void so that the Amadeus restitutions can begin.

Dealing with the rest of the collection is more complicated and will take more time:

Items that were offered by Aristophil in shares, and are now the property of multiple owners (known as Coralys contracts), are legally more complicated. Their redistribution could take several years.

These include extraordinary and important items such as the will of the doomed Louis XVI, the original 39ft-long manuscript of the Marquis de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom written while imprisoned in the Bastille, two Surrealist manifestos written by André Breton and fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It will only be through the resale of these manuscripts that Aristophil’s investors will recoup any of their outlay.

However, it is estimated that their sale will not recover the full amount invested as the authorities say many items were given over-inflated price tags.

So that seems to be where the situation stands at present. Still no hint about the contents of those mysterious Dead Sea Scrolls fragments.

Yes, the Phoenicians existed.

PHOENICIAN WATCH: Did the Phoenicians Even Exist? Everybody in the Mediterranean around 3,000 years ago hated and envied these masters of seafaring, but who exactly were these Phoenicians? (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz). As phrased, the first question in the headline is idiotic, but the article is a good and wide-ranging survey of what we know about the Phoenicians. I assume the headline was provided by an unhelpful, clickbait-seeking editor.

The Phoenicians are famed for being master seaman who traded with the peoples around the Mediterranean, spreading their alphabet as they sailed. Yet although they established trade centers as far as Spain and North Africa and founded the city of Byblos, which gave its name to the most influential book ever published, surprisingly little is known about them. Even their name comes from Homer, who dubbed them "Phoenicians", meaning "purple men", a reference to the murex dye for which they were famed.

The Old Testament never actually mentions Phoenicians. The only reference to that name is in ancient Greek writings, and they were referring to merchants living in cities along the coast of modern-day Lebanon.

In other words, the "Phoenicians" mentioned by the ancient Greeks were part of what the biblical authors called "Canaanites", in terms of archaeology, religion and language. There was not much setting them apart from other Semitic cultures.

[...]

Beyond this, it's hard to excerpt the article, so read it all. There are many, many past PaleoJudaica posts on the ancient Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Just run "Phoenician Watch" and "Punic Watch" through the blog's search engine to find them. And also, see here for why the subject matters to PaleoJudaica.

Sibylline Oracles 1

READING ACTS: Seven Generations of the World – Sibylline Oracles 1.1-323. Past posts in the series on the Sibylline literature are noted here and links.

Byzantine-era pottery workshop found in the Galilee

ARCHAEOLOGY: Rare Pottery Workshop Discovered in Galilee (Megan Gannon, Live Science).

An ancient potters' workshop dating back to Roman times has been discovered in Galilee, in northern Israel.

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced that excavations in Shlomi, a town near the Lebanon border, have revealed a ceramic factory where storage jars and vessels for wine and oil would have been made 1,600 years ago. Archaeologists working at the site said this workshop is notable for its carefully constructed rock-cut kiln.

[...]

As the article notes, ancient glass kilns were also discovered recently in Israel.

Launch of the Embodied Religion research theme

SHEFFIELD INSTITUTE FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY BIBLICAL STUDIES (SIIBS):

The Embodied Religion launch event

On 16 June 2016, SIIBS welcomed visiting scholar Dr Shayna Sheinfeld (Centre College, Kentucky) to speak at the launch of Embodied Religion. The Embodied Religion research theme is led by Dr Meredith J C Warren and supports inquiry into how religion is experienced through and advertised on the body.

Dr Sheinfeld spoke to a sold-out crowd. Her talk, entitled "Seeking Salvation: What the Bible and the Hunger Games Have in Common," explored the theme of self-sacrifice in Young Adult literature and ancient Jewish apocalypses, the texts that at the root of western society's preoccupation with the end of the world.

This sounds like an exciting project. Both Dr. Warren and Dr. Sheinfeld were present at the recent Enoch Seminar in Camaldoli. More of Dr. Warren's work was also noted here and more of Dr. Sheinfeld's work was noted here and here.

Talmud post at the Hebrew University

JOB OPENING: Talmud and Halakha.

Open call to candidates for a tenure-track position in the Department of Talmud and Halakha at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (open rank).

No deadline is given for applications, but applicants should have the PhD in hand by 26 September 2016 and the preferred area of specialization is the Tannaitic literature. Follow the link for further particulars and contact information.

HT the Talmud Blog on Facebook.

Archaeologist reportedly attacked on Temple Mount

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Israeli archaeologist says he was attacked on Temple Mount. Two Jerusalem Islamic Waqf members arrested after clash with group visiting Jerusalem holy site (Stuart Wine and Ilan Ben Zion, Times of Israel).

Two members of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf were arrested Wednesday after allegedly attacking Israeli archaeologist Zachi Dvira on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

A group of six Israeli archaeologists were attacked by eight Waqf members as the they toured the holy site, the Hebrew language Ynet website reported. The clash began after the Israeli group refused to leave the compound when ordered to do so by the Waqf personnel.

Dvira, who is in involved in the Temple Mount sifting project, told Ynet “it looked like the start of a lynching.” He was not injured in the assault.

[...]

That doesn't sound good.

Past posts on the Temple Mount Sifting Project are here and here and many, many links.

More on the Cardo mosaics

DECORATIVE ART: In pictures: The art of mosaics returns to Jerusalem's Old City. Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze'ev Elkin has unveiled a new art and tourism project featuring 10 original and reproduced mosaics in the ancient Roman section in the Jewish Quarter (Michael Zeff/TPS, YNet News).

A new art and tourism project featuring 10 original and reproduced mosaics was unveiled on Monday by Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze'ev Elkin at the Cardo in the Jewish Quarter.

"The project, 'Jerusalem of Mosaics,' is another step in branding the Jewish Quarter as a location that tells a story," said Itay Bezalel, CEO of the Jewish Quarter Restoration and Development Company. "The mosaic stones represent an ancient form of art and therefore blend admirably with the Byzantine paintings along the ancient street."

[...]

The ten mosaic art pieces unveiled on Monday consist of a reproduction of the Madaba Map while the original is located in the early Byzantine church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. The other nine mosaics in the project, reproduced by the Eilon Mosaic Company at Kibbutz Eilon, depict the various shops that used to occupy the historic street. Examples include a mosaic of a fabric shop inspired by the famous mosaics of Ravenna, Italy, and a mosaic of a glassware shop, reproduced from an actual Roman mosaic discovered in Caesarea.

[...]

There are photographs of many of the mosaics.

Background here.

Review of Mackie, Expanding Ezekiel

THE BIBLICAL REVIEW BLOG: “Expanding Ezekiel” by Timothy P. Mackie (William Brown).

Timothy P. Mackie. Expanding Ezekiel: The Hermeneutics of Scribal Addition in the Ancient Text Witnesses of the Book of Ezekiel. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 339, 100 €.

In this high-level study and analysis of the scribal additions in the book of Ezekiel, Timothy P. Mackie (Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Western Seminary, Portland Oregon) explores the variety of textual additions. Through his methodology and large grouping of what he considers to be scribal additions, Mackie contributes the broader discussion regarding early Jewish textual transmission practices.

[...]

Interesting and prolific blog, which has just come to my attention. William Brown is an MA student at the University of Chicago.

HT James McGrath on Facebook.

Was Hebrew almost the official language of America?

BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS: How Hebrew Almost Became the Official Language of America (Tsivya Fox).

It is noted that a vote was taken on the Mayflower as to which language the new settlers would speak in the New World. Hebrew apparently lost by only one vote.

In 1780, Hebrew was once again proposed as the official American language as the pioneers had an extreme dislike of anything British, including the English language. Marquis de Chastellux, a companion to George Washington, recorded that Americans “have seriously proposed to introduce a new language; and some, for the public convenience, would have the Hebrew substituted to the English, taught in the schools, and used in all public acts.”

Marquis de Chastellux writes that at the time of the American Revolution, “certain members of Congress proposed that the use of English be formally prohibited in the United States, and Hebrew substituted for it.”

I'm skeptical, but cross-file under "Too Good to Fact Check." The information about the Hebrew on the seals of the three Ivy League Universities is correct.

BAGL

AWOL: Open Access Journal: Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics (BAGL).

Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics (BAGL) is an international journal that exists to further the application of modern linguistics to the study of Ancient and Biblical Greek, with a particular focus on the analysis of texts, including but not restricted to the Greek New Testament.

[...]

Reminder: new "Ben-Hur" movie opens 19 August

CINEMA: Ben-Hur trailer: Meet the 2016 version of the iconic Biblical-era hero (Nina Terrero, EW). Background here and links. The "brand-new" trailer at the first link is new only in the sense that it is a condensed version of the one released back in March, which you can find at the background link. The longer trailer is the better of the two.

Pagan angels

LARRY HURTADO: “Angels”: Pagan, Jewish, Christian.

Over the past few days, I’ve been slowly digesting a recent large article surveying Greek inscriptions referring to “angels” in Roman Asia Minor: G. H. R. Horsley and Jean M. Luxford, “Pagan Angels in Roman Asia Minor: Revisiting the Epigraphic Evidence,” Anatolian Studies 66 (2016): 141-83. (The online link to the article is here.)

[...]

Yep, the pagans had angels too.

Orion Newsletter 21 (2015)

THE ORION CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND ASSOCIATED LITERATURE in Jerusalem has published Orion Newsletter 21 (2015). It was actually circulated by e-mail at the end of 2015, but it has recently also been put up as a pdf file on the website. You can read it at the link.

Review of Galinsky (ed.), Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Karl Galinsky (ed.), Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. xiv, 406. ISBN 9780198744764. $135.00.

Reviewed by Douglas Boin, Saint Louis University (boindr@slu.edu)

Excerpt:

This book succeeds in telling a powerful story. In the course of thirteen chapters, as the set changes from the Rome of Sulla’s dictatorship to the period when power was consolidated in the hands of a single family and, later, to the seemingly polarizing world of Late Antiquity, readers are introduced to a repeating theme. At every stage of their history, many Romans were intensely working through their past. That observation might be taken as banal in books on Caesar, Cicero, and Octavian. But in a volume that engages with the story of early Christianity, it makes a provocative opening move. For what it suggests is that “Babylon” was much more than the evil empire many Christians have remembered it to be. Rome was always a work-in-progress, and the memory of where the empire had come from, where it was going, and what it might still be was an important part of the wider political conversation.

The book deals with matters indirectly or directly pertinent to ancient Judaism as well, such as the "false Nero" episodes, the "cityscape of Jerusalem" in the late first century CE, and the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba Revolt.

Burden of proof in the Talmud

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Burden of Proof. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ the rabbis spin out all the hypotheticals—and then some—from a few simple verses from Exodus about open pits and a goring ox to see who might be at fault when things go wrong.

Most legal systems are drawn up in the form of elaborate codes, with sections covering every technicality and eventuality that might occur. Biblical law, however, is very different: It usually takes the form of brief, concrete examples, miniature narratives. Take the case of the goring ox from Exodus, which has been at the foundation of Tractate Bava Kamma. It implies a basic principle of fairness, which is that the owner of livestock is obligated to take reasonable precautions to prevent them from causing damage or injury. But the principle is only implied, not stated. It is up to the rabbis of the Talmud to make the implication explicit, and in the process to supply halakhah with the abstract principles needed to give the law flexibility and consistency.

One such principle familiar from American law is “burden of proof.” Nothing like this expression can be found in the Bible, but it is bound to come up in many kinds of civil disputes. ...

I find it striking that the Talmudic standard of burden of proof is not far from the modern standard of innocent until proven guilty.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

Review of Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination, 3rd ed.

READING ACTS: Book Review: John J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination. Third Edition.

Collins, John J. The Apocalyptic Imagination. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2016. 456 pp. Pb; $38.

I'm planning on using this book as a textbook for my Second Temple Jewish literature class next year, so it's good to have this review of the new edition.

Restoration of a replica of the Madaba map

CARDO PROJECT: Byzantine-era mosaic to be restored in Jewish Quarter’s Cardo section. Old City beautification project initiated to celebrate 50-year anniversary of reunification of Jerusalem (Daniel K. Eisenbud, Jerusalem Post).

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, several government agencies have joined forces to restore a Byzantine-era mosaic in the Cardo section of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, and add nine new colorful mosaics.

The beautification project was recently initiated by the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter and the Tourism Ministry, with aid from Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

According to Pini Refael, manager of the company’s education and tour guide department, Jerusalem’s Cardo dates back to the 6th century CE, and is depicted on the Madaba Map, part of a floor mosaic discovered in 1884 in a Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan.

To mark the capital’s half-century milestone, Refael said it was decided to focus on the Jewish Quarter’s rich historic culture and art. Apart from the replica of the Madaba Map, he said the nine other mosaics will illustrate the stories of people who lived and worked there during Byzantine times.

[...]

This is a bit confusing. The Madaba Map is an ancient mosaic in a church in the town of Madaba in Jordan. Among other things, it depicts sixth century CE Jerusalem, including the Cardo thoroughfare. There are (at least) two replicas of the Madaba Map in Jerusalem, one in the lobby of the YMCA Hotel and the other in the Cardo. Apparently the latter is being restored and nine other mosaics are being added to go with it. Some of the information in the article could be presented more clearly. I think that's what it is is saying, although it took me a while to sort it out.

Past posts involving the Madaba Map in Jordan are here, here, here, and here.

Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten. Band 3

NEW BOOK FROM KOHLHAMMER:

Aus der Reihe
Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten

Heinz-Josef Fabry / Ulrich Dahmen (Hrsg.)

Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten. Band 3

Preis: EUR 349,00

Serienpreis: Eur (D) 299,- / SFr 344,- / Eur (A) 307,- (bei Abnahme aller Bände dieser Reihe)

Bibliografische Daten

ISBN / Artikel-Nr: 978-3-17-020431-7
Auflage: 1. Auflage
Seiten: 602
Erschienen: 2016
Maße: 255mm x 180mm x 37mm

Produktbeschreibung

Nach einer Phase der Rekonstruktion, Entzifferung und Edition aller Qumrantexte gilt es nun, ihre Inhalte gründlich zu erschließen. Die Beschäftigung mit der Semantik der Wörter in den Texten von Qumran will in erster Linie die theologische Aussage dieser Schriften erheben und die Theologie- und Literaturgeschichte der sogenannten "zwischentestamentlichen Zeit" darstellen. Dazu nimmt das ThWQ, das mit Band 3 vollständig vorliegt, das Vokabular der Qumrantexte, seine semantischen Valenzen und Verschiebungen weitgehend vollständig auf. Es analysiert die Fortentwicklung der hebräischen Sprache in der zwischentestamentlichen Zeit, stellt das Nachleben und die Rezeption alttestamentlicher Vorgaben im damaligen Judentum dar, macht den solcherart bereiteten Wurzelboden für das Urchristentum und bedeutende andere apokalyptische Strömungen deutlich und erhebt eine "Theologie von Qumran" im Spannungsfeld von Hebräischer Bibel und Neuem Testament. Durch Qumran werden vor allem neue theologische Vorstellungsfelder erschlossen, die im Tanahk erst in Frühstadien sichtbar werden (z. B. Auferstehung; Messianismus; Apokalyptik; Ekklesiologie u. a.). Immer deutlicher wird die große Vielfalt und Differenziertheit des damaligen Judentums, dessen Profile und interne Verhältnisse besser konturiert werden können. Hier werfen die Funde von Qumran neues Licht auf die Entwicklung innerhalb der Großgruppen des antiken Judentums, besonders des alttestamentlich/jüdischen Priestertums bis hin zu den Sadduzäern des Neuen Testaments. Da ein bedeutender Teil der Qumrantexte eine Alternative zur Liturgie des Jerusalemer Tempels entwickelt hat, bietet die Semantik des qumranischen Vokabulars auch für den Bereich der Liturgiewissenschaften neue Einblicke. Die textgeschichtliche Nähe der biblischen Qumrantexte zur Septuaginta und zum Samaritanus verspricht neue Erkenntnisse zur Rezeption und Interpretation der Hebräischen Bibel in den unterschiedlichen Strömungen des Frühjudentums. Insgesamt dient das Theologische Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten der präziseren Erfassung der Geisteswelt in der zwischentestamentlichen Zeit im Blick auf das ausgehende Alte Testament, auf die frühjüdische Literatur, auf die Auseinandersetzung des Frühjudentums mit dem Hellenismus und auf die neutestamentliche Urgemeinde.

I have not previously noted volumes 1 and 2, but the German description above refers to all three volumes.

HT the IOQS Facebook page.

Gnosis, vol. 1 (2016)

NOW OUT - GNOSIS: JOURNAL OF GNOSTIC STUDIES: Volume 1, Gnostic Countercultures, 2016. Follow the link for the TOC. Requires a paid personal or institutional subscription to access the full texts of the articles.

Background here and here.

Journal for Semitics

AWOL: Open Access Journal: Journal for Semitics - Tyjdskrif vir Semitistiek.

Yahrzeit of Ha'ARI

KABBALAH WATCH: This Day In Jewish History 1572: Father of Lurian Kabbala and Confidant of Elijah Dies. Rabbi Isaac Luria thought evil had been created commensurately with everything else, but could be reversed by 'tikkun olam' (David B. Green, Haaretz).

On July 25, 1572 (5 Av 5332), the mystic-scholar Rabbi Isaac Luria died, in Safed, in the Galilee. Although Luria himself left behind almost no writings of his own, he had followers – in particular Rabbi Hayyim Vital – who collected his teachings, and these served as the basis for the Lurianic school of Kabbala, which remains an influential mystical trend in Judaism.

Isaac ben Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi was born in Jerusalem, in 1534. His father, Solomon Ashkenazi, is believed, as suggested by his name, to have come to Eretz Israel from either Germany or Poland. His mother, whose name is not known, was of Sephardi background, from the community of Jews expelled just decades before from Spain.

Prophet Elijah's first appearance

Much of what is known about Luria is derived from hagiographical texts about him, so it’s hard to point to established facts. Here are some of the stories.

[...]

Past posts on the Zohar, which served as a major inspiration for Lurianic Kabbalah, are here and many links. Past posts on Shabbetai Zvi and Sabbateanism, which were in turn inspired by Lurianic theology, are here and many links. For some background on the Lurianic concept of Tikkun Olam, see here. A couple of old posts involving Lurianic Kabbalah and Isaac Luria himself are at the links.

Dating the Sibylline Oracles

READING ACTS:
Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 1-3;
Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 4-7;
Dating the Sibylline Oracles, Books 8-14.

The first post in the series on the Sibylline literature was noted here, with links.

Mugridge, Copying Early Christian Texts

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

ALAN MUGRIDGE

Copying Early Christian Texts
A Study of Scribal Practice

[Die Vervielfältigung frühchristlicher Texte. Eine Untersuchung der Praxis des Abschreibens.]
2016. XX, 558 pages.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 362

159,00 €
cloth
ISBN 978-3-16-154688-4

Published in English.
It is widely believed that the early Christians copied their texts themselves without a great deal of expertise, and that some copyists introduced changes to support their theological beliefs. In this volume, however, Alan Mugridge examines all of the extant Greek papyri bearing Christian literature up to the end of the 4th century, as well as several comparative groups of papyri, and concludes that, on the whole, Christian texts, like most literary texts in the Roman world, were copied by trained scribes. Professional Christian scribes probably became more common after the time of Constantine, but this study suggests that in the early centuries the copyists of Christian texts in Greek were normally trained scribes, Christian or not, who reproduced those texts as part of their trade and, while they made mistakes, copied them as accurately as any other texts they were called upon to copy.

Review of Stebnicka, Identity of the Diaspora

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Krystyna Stebnicka, Identity of the Diaspora: Jews in Asia Minor in the Imperial Period. JJP Supplement, 26. Warszawa: Journal of Juristic Papyrology, 2015. Pp. xi, 380. ISBN 9788393842568. €60.00.

Reviewed by Søren Lund​ Sørensen​, Freie Universität Berlin​ (josephus70@zedat.fu-berlin.de)
Table of Contents

The book under review is a translation of Krystyna Stebnicka’s work published in Polish in 2011.

In the introduction (3-13) Stebnicka concisely addresses the issue of sources. No preserved literary texts can with certainty be said to have been written by Jews of Asia Minor, and the scholar is thus heavily reliant on non-literary texts, i.e. the many inscriptions collected in IJO II.1 Ameling’s corpus, Paul Trebilco’s monograph on Jews in Asia Minor 2 and more recent studies have shown how different the Jewish communities were in the various diasporas. This, then, serves to justify the present study, which seeks to ask questions concerning Jewish identity in the diaspora of Asia Minor.

[...]

The Bible in the Syropalestinian version

AWOL: GOSHEN-GOTTSTEIN, The Bible in the Syropalestinian version. Cross-file under Aramaic Watch.

The Davka Talmud

THERES AN APP FOR THAT: Ancient Jewish Texts Now Accessible in English Talmud App.

[prMac.com] Chicago, Illinois - Davka Corporation today is proud to announce the release of the Soncino Hebrew-English Talmud for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The Soncino Talmud presents the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, in Hebrew and English, together with a speedy search engine that allows users to search the text in both languages, quickly locate relevant results, and view full texts instantly.

According to Rabbi Alan Rosenbaum, Vice-President of Davka Corporation, "The Soncino Hebrew-English Talmud makes Talmud study practical for on-the-go usage. It is affordable and easy to use."

In addition to the app's search capabilities, users can browse and study the texts, and mark, copy and email selections for future reference. The Soncino Talmud includes a number of useful features that make it versatile and powerful ...

Past posts on other Talmud apps are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The Sibylline Oracles

READING ACTS, having concluded its series on the ancient Books of Enoch, has begun a new series on ancient Old Testament pseudepigrapha, this one dealing with the Sibylline Oracles. The first post is: Introduction to the Sibylline Literature.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Sibylline Oracles are here and links, here, here, here, here, and here.

Review of Gardner, Alcock, and Funk, Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis, Vol. 2

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Iain Gardner, Anthony Alcock, Wolf-Peter Funk, Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis, Volume 2: P. Kellis VII (P. Kellis Copt. 57–131). Dakhleh Oasis project Monograph 16. Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2014. Pp. 366 p.; 18 p. of plates, 1 CD-ROM. ISBN 9781782976516. $130.00.

Reviewed by Malcolm Choat, Macquarie University (malcolm.choat@mq.edu.au)

When Mani’s disciple Koustaios looked into the future soon after the apostle’s death, he foresaw a great war, after which a new generation would arise, and find the scriptures and books of Mani (Homilies 7.8–42.8, see esp. 28–29). Even though Koustaios’s hope that this would herald the final triumph of the Manichaean Church has not come to pass, his vision was partly fulfilled by the rediscovery of original Manichaean texts over the past century. In Egypt, in addition to the Medinet Madi codices in Berlin and Dublin and the ‘Cologne Mani Codex’, the last 25 years have witnessed the unearthing of the papers of a Manichaean community in the village of Kellis, modern Ismant el-Kharab in the Dakhleh Oasis, deep in the Western Desert.

This volume, which publishes 75 Coptic documentary texts, brings to a close the publication of Coptic texts from the site. It forms a companion to the first volume of Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis (P.Kell. V, 1999, by the same editors), and should also be read alongside the two volumes of Kellis Literary Texts (P.Kell. II & VI, ed. Gardner 1996, 2007), and the Greek papyri from the site (especially P.Kell. I., ed. K.A. Worp, 1995). This long-awaited volume sheds light on (among other matters) the textile trade, Coptic epistolography, women’s literacy, book copying, travel between valley and the Oasis, religion, and above all, the life of an extended family over several decades. It provides both a new perspective on previously published material and a major addition to the dossier of fourth-century Coptic documentary material.

[...]

Cross-file under Coptic Watch and Manichean (Manichaean) Watch.

Dandamaev, A political history of the Achaemenid Empire, rev. ed.

BIBLIOGRAPHICA IRANICA: A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, new edition. Notice of a new edition of book that I have not noted before: Dandamaev, M. A. 2015. A political history of the Achaemenid Empire (Historical Library). Saint Petersburg: Academy of Cultural Studies. 3rd (2nd Russian) Edition. The revised edition, like the first edition, is in Russian, but the first edition has also been published in an English translation. Follow the link for details.

Cosmic secrets in 3 Enoch

READING ACTS: 3 Enoch and the Cosmic Secrets. Past posts in the series on the ancient books of Enoch, plus on related matters, are noted here and links. The series concludes with this post, but stay tuned!

Jerusalem Museum of Tolerance set for 2018 completion

Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem Moves Forward. Long embroiled in controversy, the troubled project now has 2018 as its completion date (Esther Hecht, Architectural Record).

Despite its tortuous history, the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem is “rapidly progressing,” according to its backer, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. “All of the building's concrete walls and floors are in place,” the Center announced this month.

The news followed a long media silence regarding the controversial project, located at a prime site in central Jerusalem. Originally designed by Frank Gehry the museum was tied up in court for years and then abandoned by the architect. It was designed again, on a smaller scale, by the Israel-based Chyutin Architects, who also walked away from the project. The project is now in the hands of the Los Angeles office of Aedas and its Jerusalem-based project affiliate, Yigal Levi Architects.

According to the Center, the museum is set to be completed in time for the celebration of Israel’s 70th Independence Day, in the spring of 2018. But the statement’s optimistic tenor belied the project’s troubled gestation and lack of clarity about its function.

[...]

The long story of the controversy is summarized briefly. The construction was begun in 2006 but halted after it became clear that it involved excavating from the Muslim Mamilla cemetery and objections were lodged. Decades ago a parking lot had already been built over the cemetery without objection, which did not make the situation less complicated. The go-ahead to resume construction was given in 2009, but other complications had arisen by then. My last post on the subject, in November of 2011, is here, with links leading back to 2006 when the controversy erupted. In 2011 construction had begun again. Things seem to have been pretty quiet since then, although I may have missed some coverage.

More on claymation "Golem"

GOLEM WATCH: In ‘Golem,’ the Troupe 1927 Shares a Stage With a Claymation Co-Star (ERIC GRODE, NYT).

The company’s dependence on useful but risky technology fits perfectly with the subject matter of “Golem,” a fanciful adaptation of the ancient Jewish legend about a clay figure that eventually turns on its creator. In this telling, updated to confront the anxieties of our smartphone era, Golem is a lovable (at first) companion with a penchant for helpful tips that happen to favor certain brand names.

“Although we are very reliant on the technology, we also dictate the technology and are constantly dirtying it up,” said Suzanne Andrade, the author and director of “Golem,” who created 1927 with Mr. Barritt. (The company takes its name from the year “The Jazz Singer,” often described as the first full-length talking picture, had its premiere.) “But we are aware that this is a story that looks in on itself.”

About to be performed in the Sottile Theater at the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. PaleoJudaica mentioned this Golem production last month here. Follow the links there for many, many other past posts on the Golem legend.

The Vossen Collection

ALIN SUCIU: The Vossen Collection of Coptic Manuscripts. Cross-file under Coptic Watch and New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

JSQ 23.1 (2016)

JEWISH STUDIES QUARTERLY has published a new issue (23.1):

Jewish Studies Quarterly (JSQ)

Editors: Leora Batnitzky (Princeton) and Ra'anan Boustan (University of California, Los Angeles)

Advisory Board: Steven Aschheim (Jerusalem), Elisheva Carlebach (New York), Michael Fishbane (Chicago), Christine Hayes (New Haven), Jeffrey Shandler (New Brunswick), Israel Yuval (Jerusalem)

Managing Editor: Sally Freedman (Princeton)


ISSN 0944-5706 (Print Edition)
ISSN 1868-6788 (Online Edition)

Founded by Peter Schäfer and Joseph Dan and established in 1993, Jewish Studies Quarterly (JSQ) offers studies of Jewish history, religion and culture.

Current Issue

Jewish Studies Quarterly (JSQ) Volume 23, Number 1, 2016

Articles
Matthew Goldstone, Rebuke and the Self-Acknowledged Limits of Rabbinic Authority; pp. 1-21(21)
Jonathan A. Pomeranz, "Seven Pits for the Good Man": Torah and Popular Wisdom in Rabbinic Babylonia; pp. 22-46(25)
Doron Forte, Back to the Sources: Alternative Versions of Maimonides' Letter to Samuel Ibn Tibbon and Their Neglected Significance; pp. 47-90(44)

Review of Masterson, Rabinowitz, and Robson (eds.), Sex in Antiquity

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Mark Masterson, Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, James Robson (ed.), Sex in Antiquity: Exploring Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World. Rewriting antiquity. London; New York: Routledge, 2015. Pp. xx, 567. ISBN 9780415519410. $205.00.

Reviewed by F. Mira Green, University of Washington (mirag@uw.edu)

Preview

[Before I begin, I would like to apologize for the lateness of this review.]

The topic of sex has been recently getting a lot of action (ahem) in scholarship about the ancient world. Since the 1990s, many have turned their attention to questions about sex and sexuality in antiquity; this year alone has had a least three studies (including the one under review) on sex or sexual labor.1 In the introduction to their edited volume, Mark Masterson, Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, and James Robson observe that the study of gender and sex in the ancient world has entered a retrospective stage. They outline three major movements that mark the development of scholarship on the study of gender and sexuality in the past decades: the first movement (roughly 1978-1984) was a period when scholars began to recover historical women and engaged in feminist critique of male authors; the second phase (1990-1993) saw a joining of scholarship on gender and sexuality; and finally, the third (or current) one is often marked by the compiling, summarizing, and reflecting on past efforts of gender studies (4-6). The editors offer some caution about this trend and point to one of the main objectives of their volume: “Taking stock is always a good idea, but there is also a need for new work...We must always revisit and renegotiate our relationship with the past” (6-7). With this aim, the editors of and contributors to this volume offer insightful and sometimes unexpected conversations that take place between current and past scholarship, and provide opportunities to explore the trajectories that scholarship on sex, sexuality, and gender in antiquity might now take.

[...]

Angels in 3 Enoch

READING ACTS: Angelic Beings in 3 Enoch. Past posts in the series on the ancient books of Enoch, plus on related matters, are noted here and links.

Bauckham Festschrift

FORTHCOMING BOOK FROM EERDMANS:

In the Fullness of Time
Essays on Christology, Creation, and Eschatology in Honor of Richard Bauckham
Daniel M Gurtner
Grant Macaskill
Jonathan T Pennington
HARDCOVER; Coming Soon: 9/5/2016
ISBN: 978-0-8028-7337-8
286 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 6 x 9

DESCRIPTION

Cutting-edge reflections on a variety of biblical and theological subjects

Over the course of his distinguished career Richard Bauckham has made pioneering contributions to diverse areas of scholarship ranging from ethics and contemporary issues to hermeneutical problems and theology, often drawing together disciplines and fields of research all too commonly kept separate from one another.

In this volume some of the most eminent figures in modern biblical and theological scholarship present essays honoring Bauckham. Addressing a variety of subjects related to Christology, creation, and eschatology, the contributors develop elements of Bauckham's biblical and theological work further, present fresh research of their own to complement his work, and raise critical questions.

I am delighted to see that the Festschrift for my retired St. Andrews colleague Richard Bauckham is about to be released. The volume includes my essay, "The Book of Revelation and the Hekhalot Literature." You can find an earlier draft that I presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the SBL here and here.

Congratulations to Richard Bauckham on this well-deserved recognition of his massive contribution to many fields, not least the study of early Christianity and ancient Judaism.

Hebrew Ben Sira conference

ANNIVERSARY:

“Discovering, Deciphering and Dissenting:
Ben Sira's Hebrew Text, 1896-2016”

12-14 September 2016

St John's College, Cambridge

A conference on the 120th Anniversary of the Cairo Genizah Discoveries.

Sponsored by the Polonsky Co-Exist Fund, University of Cambridge and the ISDCL.

On the 120th anniversary of the discovery of the Genizah manuscripts of Ben Sira, this conference will consider the particular contributions of the Hebrew manuscripts of Ben Sira, in connection with the language and transmission of the book. Despite the existence of six versions in the Genizah as well as the scroll from Masada and two tiny fragments from Qumran, the characteristics of each Hebrew witness have been neglected and their palaeography is due for serious consideration.

In this light the conference will examine the features of individual manuscripts, the synoptic problems of the witnesses, their text-critical value and the history of the discoveries. It will also consider the place of the manuscripts in Jewish literary history, the Hebrew language of Ben Sira, and the interpretative character of the Hebrew.

Follow the link for further particulars. Bookings close on 10 August 2016. This is another one I wish I were able to attend.

Septuagint Studies Prize 2016

IOSCS: The John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies.

The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) offers an annual prize of $350 to be awarded to an outstanding paper in the field of Septuagint studies. The prize has been named in memory of John William Wevers to honor his many contributions to Septuagint studies.

The field of Septuagint studies is construed broadly, and a paper may focus on any aspect of the study of the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures. The IOSCS wants to encourage the study of these translations by younger scholars, and eligibility is thus limited to advanced graduate students or recent Ph.D. recipients (4 years or less after receiving the degree).

[...]

The deadline for submission is 15 August 2016. Follow the link for further particulars.

Metatron

READING ACTS: Who is the Angel Metatron?. Past posts in the series on the ancient books of Enoch, plus on related matters, are noted here and links.

Incidentally, the OTP translator of 3 Enoch is Philip Alexander, not Anderson. I have a couple of old essays that deals with the archangel Metatron here (introductory) and here. They were published in revised form as a single article here. And for much, much more on Metatron in popular culture, run "Archangel Metatron Watch" through the PaleoJudaica search engine.

Payis

YONA SABAR: Hebrew word of the week: Payis (lot/lottery). Not specified in the column, but the word goes back to the Aramaic Targumim and the early Rabbinic literature.

Update on that auctioned shekel

JOSEPH I. LAUER has circulated an e-mail update concerning yesterday's auction of that shekel coin from the fourth year of the Great Revolt against Rome (66-70 CE) ("Results of the July 19 auction for the two Jewish War coins"):

The July 19 auction for the two Jewish War coins has ended.
The silver shekel from the fourth year of the Jewish War against Rome, with an opening price of $23,000 and an “Estimation” of $28,000 - $32,000, was not sold. See
https://winners-auctions.com/en/content/silver-shekel-fourth-year-jewish-war-against-rome
The silver shekel from the second year of the Jewish War against Rome, with an opening price of $2,000 and an “Estimation” of $5,000 - $6,000, was sold for $5,280. See
https://winners-auctions.com/en/content/silver-shekel-second-year-jewish-war-against-rome-1

So, unlike the Great Revolt silver shekel auctioned several years ago, neither of these was a million dollar shekel.

For more on the coins auctioned yesterday and in 2012, see here and links.

Humbach and Faiss, Avestica

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Avestica. Notice of a new book: Humbach, Helmut & Klaus Faiss. 2016. Avestica. (Münchener Studien Zur Sprachwissenschaft. Beiheft NF 25). Dettelbach: Verlag J.H. Röll.

How many books in the Bible?

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

How Many Books are in the Bible? Qualitative Numbers, or Math for Biblical Scholars

Josephus, the Jewish historian writing in Greek after the Jewish revolt in 70, tells us that the Jews have 22 sacred books—although he doesn’t say precisely which ones. And the apocalypse Fourth Ezra mentions a revelation of 24 books. The numbers 22 and 24 also appear in later patristic Christian lists, and 24 is indeed the number of books in the rabbinic Bible…. Did Josephus have 22 specific titles in mind? Maybe. We cannot know. Either way, he, like the later writers, is working with an iconic number that exists prior to a particular catalog. To ask what exactly the 22 books were may not be the most interesting question. It’s the number itself, not any specific list, that tells us more about the scriptural imagination of some Jews in antiquity.

See Also: The Literary Imagination in Jewish Antiquity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

By Eva Mroczek
University of California, Davis
July 2016

Indeed. And then there are those 70 books books given to Ezra to share only with the wise of his people (4 Ezra 14:46). Hmmm ... 70. Do you think that could be a symbolic number too?

Review of Dillery, Clio's Other Sons

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

John Dillery, Clio's Other Sons: Berossus and Manetho, with an afterword on Demetrius. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2015. Pp. xxxviii, 494. ISBN 9780472052271. $50.00 (pb).

Reviewed by David Branscome, Florida State University (dbranscome@fsu.edu)

Publisher's preview

It is a good time for Berossus of Babylon and for the Egyptian Manetho of Sebennytus. Both of these early Hellenistic native priests—who wrote (now fragmentary) histories of their respective homelands in Greek—have received a lot of scholarly attention recently.1 In the last decade and a half, Dillery himself has written a series of articles on Berossus and Manetho, which culminates in the book under review. The first monographic study that seeks to elucidate Berossus’ historiographical context, aims, and methods by comparing them with those of Manetho (and vice versa), Clio’s Other Sons represents a major contribution to several fields at once: Greek historiography in general, Hellenistic historiography in particular, and even Babylonian and Egyptian history.

[...]

Ancient Roman ports project

CONGRATULATIONS TO PROFESSOR KEAY: Honour for expert on Roman ports (Southern Daily Echo).

HE IS the man at the forefront of unearthing Europe’s Roman ports.

Professor Simon Keay, of the University of Southampton, was awarded €2.49 million of European Research Council funding to study a large network of Roman ports in the Mediterranean – stretching from Turkey in the east, to Spain in the west.

Now Prof Keay has has been elected a fellow of the British Academy in recognition of his groundbreaking research.

In total, the Roman Mediterranean Ports project is examining 31 ports in nine different countries including Ephesus, Pitane and Kane in Turkey, Gades and Tarraco in Spain and Portus and Putroli in Italy.

The project will use satellite imagery and archaeological data to study the remaining 23 ports in France, Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Libya, Israel and Greece.

Prof Keay is leading the project in very close collaboration with ancient historian professor Pascal Arnaud from the Université de Lyon La Lumière, France, and will analyse key Greek and Latin texts to find out more about the ports. His 15 years of re-search into Roman ports has culminated in this project.

Research will last until 2018 and will concentrate on the first two centuries AD, considering the layout, activities, hierarchies and commercial and social connections made between Roman ports.

[...]

3 Enoch

READING ACTS: What is 3 Enoch? Past posts in the series on the ancient books of Enoch, plus on related matters, are noted here and links.

I would not advise using 3 Enoch as background to the New Testament. For some more or less relevant reflections, see my 2008 SBL paper The Book of Revelation and the Hekhalot Literature (also here) and my recent comments on Catrin Williams's Enoch Seminar paper here.

Abgar family tomb in Urfa necropolis?

SYRIAC WATCH: World’s largest necropolis in Turkey's southeast (ŞANLIURFA – Doğan News Agency/ Hürriyet Daily News).

A large number of expansive rock tombs which could constitute part of the world’s largest necropolis have been discovered during work carried out by the Şanlıurfa Municipality around the historic Urfa Castle in southeastern Turkey.

[...]

"Urfa" is the modern name for ancient Edessa, the city whose Aramaic dialect (Syriac) became the language of Eastern Christianity.

Among the newly found tombs, one was situated on the highest part of the castle’s hill and was bigger than the other tombs. It was estimated to have belonged to the nobles of Edessa King Abgar’s family. The tomb had rooms for 10 people. Also, floor mosaics were found in one of the tombs.

The Abgar dynasty is best known from the apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and King Abgar V, preserved by Eusebius in Greek and in other manuscripts in Syriac. The article does not explain why the tombs are connected with the Abgar dynasty.

Syriac inscriptions and fine engravings can also be seen in another tomb in the area.

[...]

Back in 2009 I noted the report of another Syriac inscription discovered in Urfa. Most of the links have rotted, but follow the Hygoye link to see a photo of the inscription.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

More on the goring ox in the Talmud

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Tied Up in Knots Over a Goring Ox. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ the Talmud tries to make sense of an incoherent Biblical law about awarding damages.

In this week’s Daf Yomi reading, the Talmud continued to elaborate the laws about how to deal with a goring ox. The original biblical statement of this law, in the Book of Exodus, is the origin of the concepts of negligence and due care in halakhah. The owner of an ox that goes wild and kills another ox or a person is not held responsible for its actions; the ox itself is to be killed, but its owner does not have to pay damages. If, on the other hand, that ox has a history of goring, and the owner does not take any precautions for restraining it, then he becomes liable for the damage or death it may cause. It is a simple and fair principle, but as often happens, the rabbis of Talmud find that it does not cover all the many complications that may arise in real life, or in the curious minds of the commentators.

[...]

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

Rare coin from the Great Revolt being auctioned

NUMISMATICS: Rare Bar Kochba [sic!] shekel offered for sale. Winner's prepares to auction off rare coin from fourth year of Bar Kochva [sic!] revolt, expected to fetch $28,000 to $32,000 (Eliran Aharon, Arutz Sheva).

Winner's auction house is offering a unique item for sale: a rare shekel decorated with a cup containing nine dots.

The early Hebrew inscription "Israel shekel" surrounds the cup, above which is an abbreviation for "Year Four," showing that the coin was minted in the fourth year of the Bar Kochba rebellion.

The reverse side shows a branch with three stylized pomegranates surrounded by the inscription "Holy Jerusalem." The coin weighs 13.55 grams and is 22 millimeters in diameter.

The Bar Kochba rebellion (66-70 CE) holds a significant place in Jewish history for its tragic results, included the country's complete destruction, the murder of numerous Jews and the destruction of the second Temple.

[...]

Joseph Lauer has circulated corrections to this story, which has been misreported in a number of places. The revolt in 66-70 CE was the First Jewish Revolt or the Great Revolt. The Bar Kokhba Revolt was in 132-135 CE. An earlier version of this post, covering a different article, went up briefly before I saw his correction. Sorry for the error.

For the sale several years ago of an even rarer shekel coin from year one of the Great Revolt, see here and links.

As always with the sale of rare artifacts, I encourage the buyer to make the object available to scholars for study and to a museum for display (or even to donate it to a museum!).

UPDATE (20 July): more here.

On that "unprecedented" Philistine cemetery

ARCHAEOLOGY: First Ever? Discovery of Philistine Cemetery Draws Criticism (Owen Jarus, LiveScience).

A 3,000-year-old graveyard with the bones of about 200 individuals discovered in Ashkelon, Israel, is being hailed as the first (and only) Philistine cemetery ever found.

[...]

However, experts not affiliated with the excavations are not yet convinced of the claim, saying that the identity of the people buried at the Ashkelon cemetery is not clear-cut and the finding itself has not been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Further muddying the waters, other burials found in known Philistine cities, though never confirmed, also have dibs on the title of "first-discovered Philistine cemetery."

[...]

Follow the link for details. Background here.

2 Enoch 64-73

READING ACTS: Enoch and the Birth of Melchizedek – 2 Enoch 64-73. Past posts in the series on the ancient books of Enoch, plus on related matters, are noted here and links.

The Roman Jewish catacombs

NOW WITH OPEN DAYS: Inside the catacombs, buried history ties Jews to ancient Rome. Rich with symbolism, the mysterious underground chambers tell an unfinished tale of communal Jewish life 1,800 years ago (ROSSELLA TERCATIN, Times of Israel).

But the Catacombe di Vigna Randanini is unique compared to the dozens of Christian catacombs in the city: only a few meters into the site, in a cramped, painted chamber, a large brick-red menorah is silhouetted against the upper part of the wall in stark contrast to the stone and earth surroundings.

To reach the menorah’s chamber, visitors must descend into the ground. With flashlights as the only source of illumination, the small staircase that separates the bright summer day from the dark, cold gallery is like a time machine to Ancient Rome.

Over the centuries, robbers and explorers have stripped this catacomb of most its content — the bones of those who were buried here, the decorations, the objects left by the mourners. But the hundreds of loculi (burial niches) excavated in the walls are still in situ, together with dozens of inscriptions, fragments of artifacts, and evocative frescoes which bear witness to how Roman Jews lived and died 1,800 years ago.

“The chamber with the painted menorah was the private chapel of a prominent family. There used to be a sarcophagus for the head of the family,” caretaker Alberto Marcocci tells The Times of Israel.

[...]

Not a new story, but this article has lots of interesting discussion of the site and some good photos. Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Jewish catacombs in Rome are here, here, and here.

Secunda goes to Bard

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHAI SECUNDA: Distinguished Scholar of Religion Shai Secunda To Join Bard College Faculty.

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College announces the appointment of Shai Secunda as the Jacob Neusner Professor in the History and Theology of Judaism. Secunda, who joins the faculty in fall 2016, is a specialist in Talmudic and Judaic studies and will teach courses in Jewish Studies and other topics through the Religion Program at Bard. An endowed chair, the Jacob Neusner Professor in the History and Theology of Judaism was established in recognition of Neusner’s distinguished contributions to the field and to Bard College.

“I am thrilled to join the Bard faculty, and I am deeply honored to accept the Neusner chair,” says Secunda. “Half a century ago, Jacob Neusner, one of the 20th century’s most influential scholars, invested immense efforts toward taking Jewish studies out of its parochial past and putting it in dialogue with religious studies. I hope I can build on Neusner’s legacy and work to further integrate the study of classical Judaism and Jewish literature within the contemporary humanities, as exemplified by Bard’s invigorating liberal arts setting.”

[...]

Professor Secunda is well known to PaleoJudaica readers for his posts at the Talmud Blog and for his book, The Iranian Talmud. He was here in St. Andrews a couple of years ago for the Iranian Kingship Workshop. Congratulations both to him and to Bard College.

Ethnocentric law in the Talmud

LAST WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: One Law for Jews, Another Law for Gentiles. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ non-Jews are denied equal protection under the rules of the Talmud.

This is all clear enough, so long as both ox-owners are Jews. But what if a Jew’s ox kills a gentile’s ox, or vice versa? I imagine this situation couldn’t have arisen very often in ancient times, since Jews would usually have lived among Jews. Even if it did arise, I don’t know whether the gentile involved would have been judged by Jewish law. Presumably a Roman or Persian involved in a dispute with a Jew would have gone to a government official, not a Jewish judge. But still the question remains: Does Talmudic law treat Jew and gentile the same, or is there a legal difference in their status, even when it comes to non-ritual matters like this one?

In this case, there is no avoiding the fact that the Talmud is heavily biased in favor of the Jew against the gentile. The mishna in Bava Kamma 37b says, “With regard to an ox of a Jew that gored the ox of a gentile, the owner of the belligerent ox is exempt from liability. But with regard to an ox of a gentile that gored the ox of a Jew, regardless of whether the goring ox was innocuous or forewarned, the owner of the ox pays the full cost of the damage.” In other words, a gentile doesn’t even benefit from the rule about an innocuous ox costing only half the damages; his ox is automatically considered forewarned and so responsible for full damages. But a Jew’s ox can hurt a gentile’s ox with impunity.

The inequity here is blatant—so much so that the rabbis of the Gemara are made distinctly uncomfortable by it. ...

Ethnocentrism was the norm in antiquity. The ancients lived in a very different world from ours.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

News on the Mt. Zion excavation

EXCAVATION: Archaeologists Uncover Second Temple-era Priestly Quarter of Jerusalem. Luxuries, like a bathtub, signal that the 2000-year old house being dug up in Mt. Zion, near Caiaphas' home, belonged to a member of the ruling class (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz).

Archaeologists excavating in the heart of ancient Jerusalem have begun to uncover the neighborhood that housed the elite 2,000 years ago – most probably the priestly ruling class.

One of the houses had its own cistern, a mikveh (a Jewish ritual bathing pool), a barrel-vaulted ceiling and a chamber with three bread ovens.

Inside a room found with its ceiling intact was a bathtub – an extremely rare luxury that commoners of the time could not afford.

Bathtubs, as opposed to ritual dipping pools, have so far only been found at King Herod's palaces in Masada and Jericho, and in the so-called "Priestly Mansion" in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

“It's clear from the finds that the people living here were wealthy, aristocrats or perhaps even priests,” Prof. Shimon Gibson, co-director of the excavations, told Haaretz.

A ritual stone cup with a priestly inscription, used for purification rituals, also found there supports the archaeologist's theory that this area was the Priestly Quarter of ancient Jerusalem.

“Caiaphas' house has been located. It's up on the hill not far from our site," Gibson points out in additional support of the thesis.

[...]

Long article. Read it all. Past posts on the Mt. Zion excavation, with special attention to the inscribed cup, are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Back to posting

I'M BACK IN THE OFFICE. It may take me a while to catch up with recent stories, but I'll try to make a good start today.

Gregerman, Building on the Ruins of the Temple

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

ADAM GREGERMAN

Building on the Ruins of the Temple
Apologetics and Polemics in Early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism

[Auf den Ruinen des Tempels bauen. Apologetik und Polemik im frühen Christentum und im rabbinischen Judentum.]
2016. XIV, 266 pages.
Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 165
119,00 €
cloth
ISBN 978-3-16-154322-7

Published in English.
In the immediate centuries after the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE, Jews and Christians offered contrasting religious explanations for the razing of the locus of God’s presence on earth. Adam Gregerman analyzes the views found in three early Christian texts (Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, Origen’s Contra Celsum, and Eusebius’ Proof of the Gospel) and one rabbinic text (the Midrash on Lamentations), all of which emerged in the same place – the land of Israel – and around the same time -the first few centuries after 70. The author explores the ways they interpret the destruction in order to prove (in the case of Christians), or make it impossible to disprove (in the case of the Jews) that their community is the people of God. He demonstrates the apologetic and polemical functions of selected explanations, for claims to the covenant made by one community excluded those made by the other.

Website on ancient synagogues

NEWS YOU CAN USE: The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website.

The main goal of the The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues website is to display the world of synagogues from the Land of Israel for the scholar, student and layperson. This website provides information such as bibliographical references, geographical location, photos, plans and brief descriptions of ancient synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine periods in the Land of Israel. It also presents information on selected historically significant synagogues from the Middle Ages through the beginning of the 20th century. This site will be constantly updated including the latest relevant research news and scholarly works. A search of bibliographical references is currently in preparation.

HT Sarah E. Bond (via AJR).

Nag Hammadi Bibliography Online

NOW ONLINE FROM BRILL:

Nag Hammadi Bibliography Online

The Nag Hammadi Bibliography Online (NHBO) is a cross-searchable database of books and articles which contribute to the study of Gnosticism and early Christianity. The main objective of the NHBO is facilitating the work and international collaboration of all scholars working in this field.

It includes the three Nag Hammadi Bibliography volumes by the late David Scholer, of which the first volume covered 1948–1969 and the second volume covered 1970–1994, each published in the Nag Hammadi Studies series. The third volume covered 1995-2006. Nag Hammadi and Gnostic studies continue to be of critical importance for the study of ancient religions in the Graeco-Roman world and for the study of the world of early Christianity, and the present bibliography provides an indispensable reference tool for work in these fields.

Follow the link for Features and Benefits and purchase info.

Segal, Dreams, Riddles, and Visions

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Segal, Michael

Dreams, Riddles, and Visions
Textual, Contextual, and Intertextual Approaches to the Book of Daniel

Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 455

Aims and Scope
The volume contains eight original studies, each of which focuses on a different chapter or central passage in Daniel and offers a new interpretation or reading of the passage in question. The studies span the Danielic tales and apocalypses, offering innovative analyses that often challenge the scholarly consensus regarding the exegesis of this book. The eight chapters relate to Daniel 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, Susanna, and the conception of angelology in Daniel.
The studies are all based on careful textual analysis, including comparison between the Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek versions (especially regarding Daniel 4–6), and, in each case, the larger arguments are built upon solid philological foundations. Many of the insights proposed in this volume are based upon the realization that the authors of Daniel were frequently interpreters of earlier biblical books, and that the identification of these intertextual clues can be the key to unlocking the meaning of these texts. In this sense, Daniel is similar to other contemporaneous works, such as Jubilees and Qumran literature, but the extent of this phenomenon has not been fully appreciated by scholars of the book. This volume therefore contributes to the appreciation of Daniel as both the latest book in the Hebrew Bible, and a significant work in the landscape of Second Temple Judaism.

Jewish Bible Quarterly

AWOL: Open Access Journal: Jewish Bible Quarterly.