Butts and Gross, The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

THE HISTORY OF THE ‘SLAVE OF CHRIST’
From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr

Edited and Translated by Aaron Michael Butts & Simcha Gross

Publication Status: Forthcoming

Series: Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Text and Translation 6
Publication Date: Nov 29,2016
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 269
Languages: English, Syriac
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0573-7

The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’: From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr offers the first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of this fascinating text, which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher, who after converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’) is martyred by his father Levi in a scene reminiscent of Abraham’s offering of Isaac in Genesis 22. In a detailed introduction, the authors argue that the text is a fictional story composed during the early Islamic period (ca. 650–850) probably in Shigar (modern Sinjār). Building upon methodology from the study of western Christian and Jewish texts, they further contend that the story’s author constructs an imagined Jew based on the Hebrew Bible, thereby challenging the way that previous scholars have used this text as straightforward evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians in Babylonia at this time. This ultimately allows the authors to reevaluate the purpose of the text and to situate it in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

December 25?

'TIS THE SEASON: Why is Christmas on December 25? (Anthony Le Donne, The Jesus Blog).

From the modern historian’s perspective, we must conclude that we haven’t the first clue of Jesus’ birthdate. Rather, December 25 is a theological guess that was not widely commemorated until the 6th century. What I find most interesting, however, is that commemorating the life of Jesus restructured how Christians thought about their annual calendar. Conversely, once a commemorative calendar had been established, these traditions eventually restructured how Christians thought about Jesus.

Cross-file under Asking the Important Questions.

Christmas carols and NT textual criticism

'TIS THE SEASON: Variants affecting carols (P.J. Williams, ETC Blog). Which variant readings in Greek New Testament manuscripts influenced the wording of Christmas Carols in English? There are a few, but watch out also for apocryphal readings in the comments.

The Magi and the OTP

'TIS THE SEASON: The Magi and the Cave of Treasures (Philip Jenkins, The Anxious Bench).

As any Bible reader knows, the infant Jesus was visited by Magi, who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and a cold coming they had of it. But where did they actually get these gifts from? However arcane and speculative such a question may seem, the resulting curiosity generated a vast body of Christian literature. Although not mentioned in canonical scripture, the resulting tales became an integral part of faith for countless believers.

[...]

Past posts on The Cave of Treasures are here and here. You can read an old translation at the second link. As noted, this text has recently been translated for the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Magi in history and legend are here and here and links.

Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch and New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

Toledot Yeshu

'TIS THE SEASON (POLEMICAL COUNTER-HISTORY EDITION): The Jewish Jesus Story. In the mysterious and controversial ancient Hebrew text ‘Toledot Yeshu,’ a counterlife of the Nazarene ‘bastard, son of a menstruant’ that criticizes Jews as much as Christians (Eli Yassif, Tablet Magazine).

Toledot Yeshu (The Life Story of Jesus) is almost certainly one of the most mysterious and controversial, yet exceedingly popular, books in the history of Hebrew literature. The book lays out for the reader the New Testament stories about the life of Jesus of Nazareth from a Jewish point of view. The Virgin Birth, the divinity and messiahship of Jesus, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, the sentencing of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, his death, and his resurrection as Son of God are all replaced by a newly shaped narrative, what the late historian Amos Funkenstein termed “counterhistory,” that crudely derides the deepest principles of the Christian faith.

[...]

But it is remarkably sympathetic to the figure of Jesus himself.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on Toledot Yeshu (Toledoth Yeshu) are here and here. The latter notes a new edition of the text, published two years ago.

Interview with Steven Fine

MENORAHS GALORE: Everything You Wanted To Know About Menorahs But Were Afraid To Ask (Benjamin Ivry, The Forward).

Hanukkah does not begin until December 24, but the historian Steven Fine has already captured the holiday mood in “The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel.” Among other things, Fine’s book explains the distinction between the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple and the hanukiah, or nine-branched candelabrum lit during Hanukkah. A professor at Yeshiva University, and head of the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project, Fine spoke to the Forward’s Benjamin Ivry about menorah history and lore.

Past posts on Professor Fine's new book are here and links. Past posts on ancient menorahs in general are here (cf. here) and many links. Past posts on why the Temple menorah is not in the Vatican are here, here, here, here, and here. I have posted some photos of the Arch of Titus here. Cross-file under 'Tis the Season (Hanukkah Edition).

Fredriksen on Hayes, What’s Divine About Divine Law?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Paul and the Mosaic Law (Paula Fredriksen). I take it that this too is from the recent SBL session on Professor Hayes's book, although that is not stated explicitly. For the earlier SBL reviews posted at AJR, see here and here. The first of those two post also collects earlier PaleoJudaica posts on the book.

Amihay, Theory and Practice in Essene Law

ARYEH AMIHAY: Theory and Practice in Essene Law (Academia.edu). This file includes the front and back matter and the introduction to his new (2016) OUP book with this title.

Hyrcanus was here

EPIGRAPHY: Hasmonean Period Stone Bowl Engraved with Rare Hebrew Inscription ‘Hyrcanus’ Discovered (JNi.Media).

A stone bowl engraved with a rare Hebrew inscription – “Hyrcanus” – dating to the Hasmonean period was discovered in the archaeological excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Givʽati Parking Lot at the City of David at the Jerusalem Walls National Park. “Hyrcanus” was a common name of the time, as well as the name of two kings of the Hasmonean dynasty.

According to researchers, “This is one of the earliest examples of the appearance of chalk vessels in Jerusalem. In the past, these vessels were widely used mainly by Jews because they ensured ritual purity (stone vessels never receive tumah).”

[...]

("Tumah" means "ritual impurity.")

Postdoc on the ideology of writing in the ancient Mediterranean

FROM MICHAEL SATLOW:

Brown University: DOF: Religious Studies
Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Culture and Ideology of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean
Location: Providence, RI

The Departments of Religious Studies, Classics, and History, and the Programs in Judaic Studies and Early Cultures, invite applications for an International Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the area of the culture and ideology of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. Specialization is open, but preference will be given to candidates who employ the digital humanities in their research; applicants from outside North America are especially encouraged to apply. The fellow’s administrative home will be in the Department of Religious Studies, but applications are invited in any of the fields represented by the sponsoring programs, and the successful candidate is expected to be able to work across disciplines.

Fellows participate in a weekly, multi-disciplinary seminar at the Cogut Humanities Center and teach one course each term. S/he will join a strong intellectual community of scholars from across the university who work on issues involving the role of writing in the pre-modern world.

This is a two year position beginning July 1, 2017, with stipends of $61,500 and $63,907 in their 1st and 2nd years, respectively, plus standard fellows’ benefits and a $2,000 per year research budget. Applicants must have received their Ph.D. within the last five years from an institution other than Brown.

Applicants should submit a CV; letter of interest; and writing sample (of about 20 pages) online through https://apply.interfolio.com/39903, and arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 1, 2017.

For further information, write to either of the Search Committee Chairs, John Bodel (john_bodel@brown.edu) or Michael Satlow (michael_satlow@brown.edu).

Application Instructions
Applicants must have received their Ph.D. from an institution other than Brown within the last five years. The appointment will begin July 1, 2017. Applicant should submit a CV; letter of interest; and writing sample (of about 20 pages) online through https://apply.interfolio.com/39903, and arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 1, 2017.

Schiffman on the Jerusalem papyrus and forgeries

PROFESSOR LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: JERUSALEM PAYPYRUS “PROVES” JEWISH CONNECTION TO TEMPLE MOUNT. BUT IS IT A FORGERY?. A thoughtful new article by Professor Schiffman in Ami Magazine. Background on the Jerusalem papyrus is here and links.

In that article Professor Schiffman also tells an instructive little tangentially-related anecdote which is worth quoting:

Hearing these accusations reminded me of an experience I had last summer when I was in Yerushalayim. I had gotten an email from a woman who was an investigative reporter for a Canadian French-language news program; she had attached scans of a supposedly antique Jewish magical amulet. The reporter asked me to call her in Beirut. Sitting in my hotel room in Israel, I was soon speaking with her.

She had already been told by another scholar, an expert in Jewish magical texts, that what she had scanned was a forgery. Strangely, the amulet was a mixture of our standard Hebrew script, ksav Ashuri—Assyrian or square script—and ksav Ivri—the old Hebrew script (paleo- Hebrew), which went out of general use in the time of Ezra and Nechemiah, around 450 BCE. Ksav Ivri was only used later for nationalistic reasons on Jewish coins and in the writing of some Biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Kusim (Samaritans) continue to use the old script for their Torah scrolls and mezuzos today.

The combination of the scripts in one sloppily written, nonsensical text showed clearly that it was forged. The reporter explained that she was actually investigating an influx of forged Judaica currently being marketed as having been smuggled into Beirut from Syria and Iraq, where antiquities thieves have been having a field day. So I was in no way surprised when questions about the authenticity of the Jerusalem papyrus were raised.

Mixed scripts with sloppily-written, nonsensical text are features characteristic of forgeries. That doesn't necessarily mean every text with those features is a forgery, but the combination should make us consider the possibility carefully.

Toledo and Ángel, The Zoroastrian Law to Expel the Demons

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The Zoroastrian Law to Expel the Demons. Notice of a new book: Andrés Toledo, Miguel Ángel. 2016. The Zoroastrian law to expel the demons: Wīdēwdād 10-15. Critical edition, translation and glossary of the Avestan and Pahlavi texts (Iranica 23). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

Hanukkah and the Maccabean war

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): The Maccabees Were on the Wrong Side of History — So Why Do We Still Celebrate Hanukkah? (Barbara Brotman, The Forward). The author consulted with many scholars about the question. I don't think we can simplify the Maccabean war to either a rebellion against an oppressive outsider or a civil war. The situation was complicated and both were involved.

New DSS from the Cave of the Skulls

EPIGRAPHY: New Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments Found in Judean Desert. Documents from Iron Age and Roman times surfacing in the black market helped convince archaeologists there was more to be found (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz).

New fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Cave of the Skulls by the Dead Sea in Israel, in a salvage excavation by Israeli authorities. The pieces are small and the writing on them is too faded to make out without advanced analysis. At this stage the archaeologists aren't even sure if they're written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or another language.

“The most important thing that can come out of these fragments is if we can connect them with other documents that were looted from the Judean Desert, and that have no known provenance," says Dr. Uri Davidovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, among the scientists investigating the caves.

[...]

The latest finds, two papyri fragments about two by two centimeters with writing and several fragments without discernible letters, were made during a three-week salvage excavation in the Cave of the Skulls this May and June by a joint expedition of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The excavations were led by Uri Davidovich and Roi Porat of the Hebrew University, together with Amir Ganor and Eitan Klein from the IAA.

[...]

Nothing exciting or even particularly interesting here yet, but hopefully this is a harbinger of better things to come as the IAA's new comprehensive survey of the Judean Desert caves proceeds. The article also discusses many other non-epigraphic finds in the Cave of the Skulls. Past posts on the exploration of the Cave of the Skulls last spring and on the IAA's cave-survey initiative in general are collected at the end of this post.

More ancient Jewish coins up for auction

NUMISMATICS: Goldbergs: Extraordinary Collection of Ancient Jewish Coins at Auction January 10 (Coin Week).

One of the most extensive collections of extraordinary high quality ancient Jewish coins, assembled by a Long Island Doctor over two decades, will be auctioned at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on January 10. Included are a remarkable number (45) of extremely rare silver coins picturing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, minted just 60 years after the Temple had been destroyed in 70 CE. Each of these museum-quality, approximately quarter-dollar-size silver coins pictures the interior of the Temple, including the Ark of the Covenant surrounded by columns, usually with a star above--thought to refer to the Jewish leader Simon Bar Kochba (Simon Son of the Star), who was proclaimed the Messiah by Rabbi Akiva, and whose name, in ancient Hebrew, surrounds the Temple. The other side of the Temple coins features lulav and etrog, along with Hebrew inscriptions like “For the Freedom of Israel.” The auction company estimates that most of the Holy Temple coins will sell for $5,000 USD and up.

There are coins that have the indicated inscriptions, but the pictured coin reads somewhat differently. On it, the side with the Ark and the Temple reads ירושלם, "Jerusalem," and the side with the lulav and etrog reads שבלחר ישראל, "y(ear) 2 of the free(dom) of Israel." I am not a numismatist, but that's what I see.

The auction of the Brody Family Collection also includes some coins from the first revolt, a late Hasmonean menorah coin, other Hasmonean-era coins, and a gold Judea Capta coin.

As always, I hope that any collector who buys the coins will make them available for scholars to study and will perhaps exhibit some of the more interesting and rare ones in a museum.

Ancient menorahs

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): Oldest-known Images of Hanukkah Menorahs: Not What We Know Today. Ancient images of Hanukkah menorahs usually had seven arms, per the divine dictate, but alternatives may have arisen due to bitter mourning, and a rabbinical ban (Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The menorah today has nine branches: one for each of the eight days of the Hanukkah miracle, and the central stem holding the shamash. The oldest known depictions of menorahs were different. They usually had six arms plus the central stem, and some rare ones have only four.

There is no consensus on how today's nine-armed candelabrum used in commemorating Hannukkah emerged, especially given the divine directive to make menorahs with seven branches for other purposes entirely, but there are some intriguing ideas.

Hanukkah itself commemorates the purported miracle of one day's oil lasting eight days, at the height of the Maccabean revolution against Greek oppressors in the 2nd century B.C.E. Nowhere do Jewish sources dictate that a menorah be lit in commemoration, but that is the practice nowadays. As for menorahs themselves, one of the earliest-known depictions is from some 200 years later, and it's in Rome.

However, the oldest reference to a menorah is from a much earlier time, a time from which we have no archaeological evidence at all: the wandering of the Jews in the desert.

[...]

A long article that surveys the uses and forms of the menorah through late antiquity, with a brief stop in the present.

Many past posts on ancient menorahs are here and here and links.

Greeks on the Temple Mount

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Evidence of Greeks on the Temple Mount (Jennifer Greene, Temple Mount Sifting Project Blog).

It’s all Greek to Me
There are donuts EVERYWHERE and we are getting in the holiday season! As Channukkah approaches, we wanted to share with you one of our important finds relating to the Greeks on the Temple Mount. At the beginning of the project, we found a handle from an amphora that was stamped by an official from the Greek Island of Rhodes. This unique find from our sifting dates to the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV and constitutes a direct link to the Greco-Seleucid regime.

[...]

Cross-file under 'Tis the Season (Hanukkah Edition). Past posts on the Temple Mount Sifting Project are here and oh so many links. Past posts relating to the Acra/Akra are here and here and links.

Lifta

CONSERVATION CONTROVERSY: Paved paradise? The secrets of an ancient Jerusalem-area village revealed. Ahead of plans to a luxury neighborhood, architects and archaeologists find a treasure of ancient remains in the onetime Palestinian village of Lifta on Jerusalem's outskirts (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

The Antiquities Authority has just completed a first-of-its-kind survey in the abandoned village of Lifta, on the western approaches to Jerusalem, ahead of plans to build a neighborhood of private homes on the site.

The survey, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, includes an archaeological, historical and geographic study, including measurements and digital reconstruction of each of the village’s structures, and how the entire village looked in various periods. Israel has never reconstructed any former village in this manner.

The study led to new insights regarding Lifta’s history and development, its function and architecture. Artifacts from the Hellenistic period were discovered, as well as subterranean spaces never known about before.

All this may not help conserve the village in face of a plan to build an upscale neighborhood on the site.

[...]

Review of Fine, The Menorah

ANOTHER ONE: Book Review: The Menorah, by Dr. Steven Fine (Ari Abrahams, YU Commentator). Excerpt:

The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel by YU’s very own Dr. Steven Fine gives a very rich and detailed history of this majestic religious artifact from the seemingly unfinished description given in p’sukim of the Torah, to the Menorah of the Arch of Titus, emerging as national emblem of the state of Israel and the Jewish people. It was recently published by Harvard University Press in November.

By exploring many artifacts and a vast body of texts, The Menorah, captures the extensive history of the Menorah that was once lit in the Beit Ha’Mikdash and its exile to Rome. Also explored are the intriguing discoveries that a Menorah figure served a lamp that illuminated synagogues for a thousand years after the destruction of the second Beit Ha’Mikdash, and the evolution of the Menorah as a symbol for the return of the Jews to Israel and establishment of the state of Israel after a long and painful exile.

And there's this:

For Steven Fine, The Menorah began as a 12th grade AP Art History Essay in San Diego California, yet it took a career as a historian to cultivate the language skills and understanding of artifacts to complete the work. This book is the life of a scholar. Perhaps the audience for this book is more appropriate for museum-goers than people looking for a page turner to take on their tropical excursion from the New York winter. Yet, any educated and curious person can surely appreciate this book that is filled with plenty of important and intriguing content and stunning pictures.

Good for him. One of my high school projects in San Diego turned into an undergraduate paper at UCLA and then only recently into an actual publication. San Diego seems to be a good place to start these things.

A Maccabean-era coin for Hanukkah

NUMISMATICS: 2,000-year-old coin from Maccabean revolt found in Jerusalem (Yori Yalon, Israel HaYom).

Bronze prutah bears image of King Antiochus IV, who declared death sentence on Jews • Tower of David Museum Director Eilat Lieber: It's exciting to find Antiochus himself thrown down here between the stones and tell him: We're still celebrating Hanukkah.

So there! Cross-file under 'Tis the Season (Hanukkah Edition).

From a Syriac hymn to a modern Christmas carol

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Origins of “The Cherry Tree Carol.” How a Christmas carol links the modern Middle East and medieval England (Mary Joan Winn Leith). An English version of a fifth-century Syriac dialogue-hymn came to us via the Crusaders and Mystery Plays, and it survives as a Christmas carol today.

Via John Burger at Aleteia. Cross-file under Syriac Watch and 'Tis the Season.

A manger

'TIS THE SEASON: Away in a Manger (feeding trough!) (HolyLandPhotos' Blog). Just in case you wanted to see what one looks like. But see also the immediately preceding post.

Carlson on the Nativity scene

'TIS THE SEASON: Stephen Carlson on the "Inn" in Luke's Infancy Account (Brice C. Jones). No inn, no innkeeper, and no stable. Oh oh.

Academic posts involving ancient Judaism

H-JUDIAC has a bounty of advertisments for jobs and fellowships in Jewish studies. The ones below all encompass a wider range that just ancient Jewish studies, but the ancient period is included in all of them.

Visiting Fellowships in Jewish Studies – 2017/2018 Academic Year

In an effort to enhance the quality of courses, instruction, and research in Jewish Studies at universities throughout the world, a Visiting Fellowship program has been created by Yad Hanadiv and the Beracha Foundation, together with the National Library of Israel.

For not-tenured or not-yet-tenured scholars.

POSTDOC: Perilman Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Duke Center for Jewish Studies

The Duke Center for Jewish Studies is proud to offer a Post-Doctoral Fellowship that honors the memory of Rabbi Nathan Perilman, who, after serving at Temple Emmanu-El in New York City, joined the Triangle-area Jewish in his retirement. The Fellowship may be used for post-doctoral studies (Ph.D. received within last three years) in any field of Jewish Studies. Preference may be given to candidates whose presence on the Duke campus promises the greatest contribution to faculty, student and regional seminar interaction; for example, those whose research interests correspond to those of faculty and graduate students at Duke, or to those for whom the use of the Duke library and special collections would be most beneficial. Candidates must agree to be in residence at Duke University for the tenure of their fellowship. ...

Research Fellowships in Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Bible at Duke University

Research Fellowships in Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Bible
The Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the Center for Jewish Studies are pleased to announce the availability of new fellowships, with awards of $1500, to support scholars, students and independent researchers whose work would benefit from access to the Judaica materials held by the Rubenstein Library, the Duke Divinity School Library and/or Perkins Library.

Who is eligible?

Faculty members, graduate or undergraduate students and independent scholars
All applicants must reside beyond a 100-mile radius of Durham, N.C., and may not be current Duke University students or employees.

The Rabin-Shvidler Joint Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Jewish Studies at Fordham and Columbia

The Rabin-Shvidler Joint Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Jewish Studies at Fordham and Columbia

Fordham University’s Jewish Studies Program and Columbia University’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies announce a joint post-doctoral fellowship in Jewish Studies for the 2017-2018 academic year. The fellowship will consist of a stipend of $50,000, with an additional subsidy for travel and relocation. Fellows will be affiliated with both institutions.

This fellowship is open to scholars in all fields of Jewish Studies, preference will be given to scholars who strengthen and/or complement the intellectual interests of the faculty at both institutions.

Requirements are a Ph.D. granted between June 1, 2013, and June 30, 2017, and an excellent command of Hebrew. Fellows will be expected to be in residence between September 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017, teach one undergraduate course per semester, and give one lecture and a faculty seminar during their fellowship period.

JOB: Lecturer in Hebrew at Fordham University

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Fordham University announces a lecturer position in Hebrew. Candidates who have experience teaching modern and biblical Hebrew are particularly encouraged to apply. The candidate will direct and develop a new Hebrew program following the same sequence as the other language courses taught in the department. He or she will also teach content courses in the Jewish Studies Program and Modern Language and Literatures. Other responsibilities will include among others: language placement, advising, assessment, tutoring, and event planning. Initial 1-year with the potential for renewal. Rose Hill Campus.

In all cases follow the link for further particulars.

Urim ve-tummim

YONA SABAR: Hebrew Word of the Week: urim ve-tummim “Urim and Thummim.”

Apparently, two objects used by the High Priest (ha-Kohen ha-Gadol) for casting lots, to know “guilty” or “innocent, “yes” or “no” questions (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Ezra 2:63). But also by individuals, as when “Saul inquired of the Lord … either by dreams or by an oracle (Urim) or by prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6).

[...]

The nine-branched Hanukkah menorah

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): Why Does the Hanukkah Menorah Have Nine Branches? The more familiar seven-branched menorah has symbolized Judaism since biblical times (Steven Fine, Wall Street Journal).

The menorah—“lamp stand” in Hebrew—has been the pre-eminent symbol of Jews and Judaism for millennia. It is the oldest continuously used religious symbol in Western civilization. Yet at this time of year, many people—Jews and non-Jews alike—find themselves puzzled about it. Why is there a nine-branched menorah for Hanukkah (which begins this year on the evening of Dec. 24) rather than the more familiar seven-branched one, as in the seal of the State of Israel?

Since biblical times, the seven-branched menorah has symbolized Judaism. It first appears in Exodus, as a lighting fixture within the Tabernacle, a sort of portable temple used by the Israelites during their desert wanderings. The menorah is described in Exodus in minute detail, based on a heavenly prototype.

[...]

For the answer to the question in the headline, click on the link and read on. But most readers familiar with the story behind the holiday will probably have already figured it out. For Professor Fine's new book on the menorah, see here and links. Some other past posts involving ancient menorahs are collected here.

Carthaginian battles

PUNIC WATCH: Today in History: Dec. 18 (manninglive).

218 BC – Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia – Hannibal’s Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic.

Okay, that was yesterday, but I was busy then and only noticed this morning. For more on the Battle of the Trebia, see here and here.

And on a closely related topic: Hannibal vs. Rome: Why the Battle of Cannae Is One of the Most Important in History (Akhilesh Pillalamarri, The National Interest).

One of the most pivotal battles in Western history, the Battle of Cannae, was fought some 2,200 years ago to the year. The Battle of Cannae occurred on August 2, 216 BCE in southeast Italy between Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal Barca and Roman forces led by Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Both forces also included various allied soldiers. The battle, which ended in a major Roman defeat, is considered to be of great importance because of its tactical lessons for posterity, as well as the fact that it was the closest the Roman state had come to destruction in its history up to that point.

[...]

Past posts on the Battle of Cannae are here and links, and here and here.

And occasionally I like to link to a reminder of why PaleoJudaica is interested in ancient Phoenician and Carthaginian (Punic) matters.

Jesus son of ...?

'TIS THE SEASON: Virgin Mary, Career-Killer. Questioning the birth story central to Christianity has been taking down scholars and skeptics for just about 2,016 years (Candida Moss, The Daily Beast).

Of all of the miracles recorded in the New Testament, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ garners the most cynical attention. Upon learning that I teach at the University of Notre Dame, almost every atheist I meet will make a crack about Mary’s sexual history. It’s an interesting phenomenon: People rarely tell me that they think the disciples lied about the Resurrection. But when it comes to the doctrine that Mary conceived the Son of God without having sex , no teaching is as closely protected or as broadly scorned.

The idea that Jesus’ mother was named Mary is uncontroversial in scholarly circles. But whether or not she was a virgin has been questioned since the second century. The pagan writer Celsus, a well-known critic of Christianity, wrote that Jesus’ biological father was a Roman soldier named Pantera. He wasn’t alone in his opinion; writing in the Talmud, rabbinic authors describe Jesus as “Yeshu ben Pantera”—meaning Jesus son of Panther, which was a relatively common name for Roman soldiers. The implication here is that Mary was a collaborator who got knocked up by a hated occupier and decided to concoct a story in which Jesus was the product of a sexless encounter with God.

[...]

Interesting article. One point that could have been added is that "Pantera" also looks suspiciously like a mispronunciation of the the Greek word parthenos, "virgin." So the origin of the idea that Jesus' real father was named Pantera could be an (accidental or deliberate) corruption of the phrase "Jesus son of the virgin" in Greek.

18 December: Arabic Language Day

ARABIC WATCH: Examining the origins of Arabic ahead of Arabic Language Day (Rym Ghazal, The National).

To understand Arabs and their culture, one must first understand their language, but with many conflicting theories about its origins, this is no easy task.

To celebrate a language used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, ­December 18 is the designated UN Arabic Language Day. The day was established by the UN ­ Educational, Scientific and ­Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2010 to "celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the ­organisation."

This date was chosen because it was the day in 1973 when ­Arabic became the sixth official working language of the General ­Assembly of the United Nations and its main commissions – the others being Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

[...]

The article has some information about Arabic linguistics and its place in the development of the Semitic languages, but the part of main interest for PaleoJudaica is on the influence of Nabatean on Arabic script:

"Some say Arabic script originated from Al Hirah (fourth-to-­seventh-century Mesopotamia) in the north, while others say it originated from the south of ­Arabia, from Himyar (110 BC to AD 525)," Al Naboodah. "The origin of Arabic is a highly debated topic, with new discoveries still happening."

A discovery in 2014 by a French-Saudi expedition team hailed "the oldest known inscription in the Arabic alphabet" at a site located near Najran in ­Saudi Arabia. The script, which was found on stelae (stone slabs) that has been preliminarily dated to AD 470, corresponds to a period in which there was a missing link between Nabataean and Arabic writing.

"The first thing that makes this find significant is that it is a mixed text, known as ­Nabataean Arabic, the first stage of ­Arabic writing," says epigrapher Frédéric ­Imbert, a professor at Aix-Marseille ­University.

The Nabataean script was developed from Aramaic writing during the second century BC and continued to be used until around the fourth or fifth century. Nabataean is therefore considered the direct precursor of the Arabic script. Nabataean script is a close ancestor, and the Najran style is the "missing link" between Nabataean and the first "Kufi" inscriptions.

Until this discovery, one of the earliest inscriptions in the ­Arabic language was written in the ­Nabataean alphabet, found in Namara (modern Syria) and dated to AD 328, on display at the Louvre in Paris.

At the beginning of the article there is also a nice photograph of a Nabatean inscription dated to 10 CE. The caption reports: "The stone is on display at The Sharjah Archaeology Museum under the Exhibition: Petra, Desert Wonder until March 16, 2017." The Sharjah Museum is in the UAE.

Some related posts are collected here and links. Cross-file under Nabatean (Nabataean) Watch and Aramaic Watch. There is a lot more on the Nabatean language and script here and links. More on ancient Aramaic in the UAE is here and links.

Punic Death Metal track "The Rise of Hannibal" released

PUNIC WATCH: KATAKLYSM Frontman's EX DEO Project: Listen To New Song 'The Rise Of Hannibal' (Blabbermouth.net).

EX DEO, the reactivated Ancient Roman-themed arsenal fronted by KATAKLYSM singer Maurizio Iacono, will release its third album, "The Immortal Wars", on February 24, 2017 via Napalm Records. The cover artwork was created by renowned artist Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, SOULFLY and KATAKLYSM.

The song "The Rise Of Hannibal", taken from "The Immortal Wars", can be streamed below.

[...]

The sound fits the subject matter nicely.

Past posts on the forthcoming album are here and here.

"Canon" comes to Sheffield

JAMES MCGRATH: Canon in the UK.

Thanks to Meredith Warren for introducing students in Sheffield, England to Canon: The Card Game! Here are some photos from the class, which I understand enjoyed the experience immensely – as well as having interesting conversations relevant to the course.

[...]

Background here. I look forward to the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha deck.

Aliquot and Bonnet (eds.), Phénicie hellénistique

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Julien Aliquot, Corinne Bonnet (ed.), La Phénicie hellénistique: Actes du colloque international de Toulouse (18-20 février 2013). Topoi Supplément, 13. Lyon: Société des Amis de la Bibliothèque Salomon-Reinach, 2015. Pp. 396. ISBN 17640733. €30.00.

Reviewed by Paul Keen, University of Massachusetts Lowell (paul_keen@uml.edu)

[The Table of Contents is listed below.]

As noted by Aliquot and Bonnet in the introduction to this volume, scholarship has often been inclined to treat Hellenistic Phoenicia either obliquely as (to borrow Sartre’s phrase from the conclusion, p. 367) a “somewhat banal Hellenistic province” or as a unique example of Hellenization in which Greek culture found a ready footing among Phoenicians participating in the Hellenistic koine while simultaneously retaining their own language and certain cultural and religious habits.1 In recent years, scholarship on the Hellenistic and Roman Levant, as well as the Punic west, has done much to increase the sophistication and breadth of our understanding of continuities and change in terms of cultural and religious identity beyond the binaries encapsulated in the increasingly out-of-favor concept of Hellenization.2 Nonetheless, outside of Bonnet’s Les enfants de Cadmos, published only shortly before this volume, Hellenistic Phoenicia as a region and chronological period in its own right had eluded monograph- length treatment since Grainger’s 1991 survey.3 Here, Aliquot and Bonnet, two of the principal protagonists of scholarly advances in the region, have sought to remedy this gap and to broaden our understanding of the region and period through the publication of fifteen papers and a concluding analysis by Maurice Sartre, each focused on our understanding of, and the evidence for, the shifting political, economic, and cultural dynamics of the period.

[...]

Cross-file under Phoenician Watch.

Oldest languages "being used"

WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT LISTS? List Of Oldest Languages In The World. These languages have been there since years and we bet you did not know since how long they were being used. Read to find out more (Syeda Farah Noor, Boldsky).

History speaks volumes, new discoveries or finding out about the missing villages, everything gets interesting when we get to know the facts. Little things like learning about the oldest languages in the world can add on some bit of knowledge.

Here, in this article, we are about to share the list of some of the oldest languages that are being used in the world.

These are the languages that have been followed for decades and there are hardly any changes in the way they are being used in today's generation!

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

The phrase "being used in the world" is pretty vague. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are listed, naturally, as ancient languages still being spoken. But liturgical languages appear to count too, since Egyptian (i.e. Coptic) and Latin are included too.

Please ignore whatever is said about any individual language. Scarcely anything said about any language I know about is correct.

Bar Kokhba coin is overstruck "Judea" denarius

NUMISMATICS: NGC Ancients: Rare Overstruck “Judaea Capta” Bar Kokhba Coin Discovered (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, Coin Week).

From an historical standpoint, this coin tells a tremendous tale. The host denarius of Vespasian was originally issued in 69 or 70 CE as part of the ‘Judaea Capta’ series that celebrated Rome’s victory in the Jewish War of 66 to 70, which culminated in the sack of Jerusalem and the razing of the Holy Temple. That victory had been led by none other than Vespasian and his eldest son Titus, both of whom were destined to be emperors.

Somehow the host denarius made its way to Judaea, perhaps with a soldier or a merchant. But it most likely would not have circulated there as its design would have been offensive to the local population. Eventually, in 133 CE, the coin found its way to the minting facility then being used by the rebel forces of Bar Kokhba. While there it was restruck and transformed into a new currency, the patriotic designs of which trumpeted the cause of the Jewish rebels.

It has long been suggested that the overstriking process was symbolic as a way for the rebels to ‘erase’ a potent symbol of Roman authority by virtue of creating their own emblems. However, in this case, it would have had even greater meaning since it was also a chance to erase a coin type that celebrated an earlier Roman victory in Judaea.

The coin is to be auctioned in January of 2017.

The Scroll of the Hasmoneans

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): A misunderstood holiday with a dark side (Rick Sirvint, Monadnock Ledger-Transcript).

Superficially, Hanukkah is a delightful holiday that coincides with and is influenced by the Christmas season. The second most popular Jewish holiday, it is marked by giving presents, especially to children, lighting of candles, music, joy, eating fried foods, particularly potato pancakes. Many young Jews today marry Christians and, consequently, many households observe both Christmas and Hanukkah.

However, Hanukkah is not a major holiday like Christmas. It is not based on biblical sources, and there are no limitations on work that other Jewish holidays have. It is also a very misunderstood holiday, one with a dark side.

This essay is based on a 1,400-year-old source called the Scroll of the Hasmoneans or the Scroll of Antiochus. It was originally written in Aramaic, which suggests an earlier date for its original composition.

One 10th-century rabbinical source dates its origin to the second century BCE, when events of Hanukkah occurred.

[...]

The Scroll of the Hasmoneans is an interesting text that we considered for inclusion in the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project. But we found ourselves unconvinced that it was composed within our target time-frame, i.e., before the rise of Islam in the early seventh century CE. It certainly is not from the second century BCE, and even 1400 years old (i.e., c. 600 CE) sounds generous. If we could be persuaded that it is that old, we would include it in volume 2.

400+ Mar Behnam Monastery manuscripts saved

SYRIAC WATCH, ARAMAIC WATCH, ARABIC WATCH: Hundreds of Historic Texts Hidden in ISIS-Occupied Monastery (Own Jarus, Live Science).

More than 400 texts, dating between the middle ages and modern times, have been saved at the Mar Behnam monastery, a place that the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) had occupied for more than two years, until November.

The texts, which were written between the 13th and 20th centuries, were hidden behind a wall that was constructed just a few weeks before ISIS occupied and partly destroyed the Christian monastery, according to Amir Harrak, a professor at the University of Toronto who studied the texts before they were hidden away.

Some of the texts are "beautifully illustrated" by the scribes who copied them, Harrak said. "Each one contains lengthy colophons [notes] written by the scribes, telling historical and social, and religious events of their times — a fact that makes them precious sources," Harrak told Live Science.

The texts are written in a variety of languages, including Syriac (widely used in Iraq in ancient and medieval times), Arabic, Turkish and Neo-Aramaic, said Harrak, who is an expert in Syriac.

[...]

Also this photo essay, from the same writer in the same publication:

In Photos: Historic Texts Hidden in Christian Monastery in Iraq

I've known about this for a while, but have been waiting for Owen Jarus to finish his research and publish these articles before I mentioned it. This is truly good news in a place where good news has been scarce lately. As regular readers know, I had given these manuscripts up as almost certainly destroyed. I have never been happier to have been wrong. All commendation and respect to Father Yousif Sakat, whose foresight led to them being hidden (in metal barrels and walled up in a building) before ISIS arrived. Now let's hope that the manuscripts stay safe.

Background on the Mar Behnam Monastery, its occupation by ISIS, and its recent liberation during the Mosul campaign, is here and links. For additional background on the history of the monastery, see this post by Christopher Jones at the Gate of Nineveh Blog from May of 2015: What We’ve Lost: Mar Behnam Monastery.

Lecture series at Florida Atlanta University

BOCA NEWS: FAU Announces Spring 2017 Distinguished Lecture Series.

BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Source: FAU) — Florida Atlantic University has announced the schedule for its Spring 2017 Distinguished Lectures Series in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. ...

Three of the lectures are of interest to PaleoJudaica readers:

• “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity” – Thursday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s and their complete publication in the 1990s have led scholars to reevaluate the history of Judaism and Christianity. This lecture by FAU’s world-renowned biblical scholar Fred Greenspahn, Ph.D., will describe the contents of the more than 900 scrolls that were found in the Judean desert and what we have learned about each of these religions, their relationship to one another, and the creation of the Hebrew Bible.
• “Torah, Tradition and Change: The Ancient Synagogue at Horvat Kur” – Thursday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. Byron McCane, Ph.D., professor of history and religion, presents a report and reflection on five seasons of excavation, including the discovery of three artifacts that are now in preparation for the synagogue exhibit at the Israel Museum. The discoveries shed new light on the practice of Jewish religion at the local level in a small village as the Roman Empire came to its end.
• “Globalization in Antiquity: Augustus, Herod, and the Second Temple” – Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. A prominent historian has remarked that Augustus didn’t create the Empire, but he did see it coming, so he got out front and led the parade. Herod, another astute reader of the signs of the times, quickly fell in step right behind Augustus. Byron McCane, Ph.D., argues that the Second Temple was a prominent part of Herod’s multi-faceted effort to draw the Jews of Palestine willingly into Roman orbit.

Archaeology top 10, 2016

Top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2016 (Heritage Daily). This is the first I have seen of what will presumably be many such lists, some at better venues. The main item of interest is "3 – Spectacular cargo of ancient shipwreck found in Caesarea," on which I posted here. The one on ancient shoes from Vindolanda (#9) is of some interest too, since the epigraphic discoveries from that British site also have come up (cf. here, here, and here and links) from time to time.

Non-deceptive pseudepigraphy?

THE EUANGELION BLOG: Pseudepigraphy as a Non-Deceptive Fiction (Michael F. Bird). Let me introduce a couple of notes of caution here. First, Salvian's justification of the forged writing as "a completely transparent and therefore non-deceptive fiction" could also be taken as an after-the-fact justification once the forgery was detected. I am not at all sure that we should take this as a good example of pseudepigraphy done in good faith with no intention to deceive.

Second, contrary to the impression given by the quotation from Baum, Salvian does not actually confess to the forgery. He presents his justifications as speculations about what the forger might have been thinking and always refers to the forger in the third person. You can read an old translation of the full text of his Letter 9 here, posted by Roger Pearse. Pearse also has additional comments here on Bart Ehrman's use of the text.

The broader issue, of course, is whether such impersonations were constructed in such a way as to be obviously fictional, in which case there would have been no intent to deceive. It is not at all obvious to me that biblical pseudepigrapha such as the Pastoral Epistles or the Book of Daniel, or other pseudepigrapha such as the books in 1 Enoch, would come under this category. Some of the other Old Testament pseudepigrapha might.

That is not to say that all ancient biblical pseudepigrapha were exactly forgeries intended to deceive. I have explored some of the psychological complexities of this issue in my 2006 SBL paper, especially toward the end: Scripture as Prophetically Revealed Writings. And my 2012 SBL paper also deals with some similar issues: The 94 Books of Ezra and the Angelic Revelations of John Dee.

JHS special issue on SF and the Bible

THE JOURNAL OF HEBREW SCRIPTURES (SPECIAL ISSUE): Frauke UHLENBRUCH (ed.), " 'Not in the Spaces We Know': An Exploration of Science Fiction and the Bible."

Abstract: The present issue is a collection of essays which were originally presented as conference papers at the “Science Fiction and the Bible” unit of the European Association of Biblical Studies in Leipzig (2013) and Vienna (2014). It includes an introduction by the editor, Frauke Uhlenbruch, as well as a response by James F. McGrath.

With contributions by Frauke Uhlenbruch, Francis Landy, Ian Wilson, Harold Torger Vedeler, Ryan Higgins and James F.McGrath.

I was going to call this to the attention of James McGrath but I see now, as I should have expected, that he is one of the contributors.

SBL 2016 report on Philo, Wisdom and Apocalypticism

PHILONICAL ET NEOTESTAMENTICA BLOG: Philo, Wisdom and Apocalypticism (Torrey Seland).

The SBL Annual Meeting is already an event of the past, some weeks have, in fact, gone by since I left San Antonio, heading back to Norway.

Nevertheless, as some other duties have kept me away from blog writing, I will post two pages here about two events I enjoyed very much. Hence this is not going to be about everything I enjoyed or experienced, but two selected events.

This post concerns the papers delivered at a seminar session on Wisdom and Apocalypticism, and focusing especially on Philo of Alexandria.

[...]

Palmyra as the rubble of pluralism

PALMYRA WATCH: The Rubble of Palmyra. ISIS did not merely blast apart old stones—it attacked the very foundations of pluralistic society (Leon Wieseltier, The Atlantic). A rambling and didactic, but sometimes interesting article. Two excerpts:

We call this the Ozymandian feeling, after Shelley’s stinging sonnet of 1818; but we might also call it the Palmyrene feeling, because it was articulated at greater length, and in inferior verse, by Shelley’s friend Thomas Love Peacock 12 years earlier, in a long poem called “Palmyra.” “Time asserts his empire over the ruins. ... This pomp of ruin presses on the heart…” Yet as the world contemplates the destruction of Palmyra—I mean its destruction in our day, on our watch—we must resist the customary romanticism. It induces an aesthetic passivity, which would go too nicely with the West’s political passivity.

You can read the full text of Thomas Love Peacock's poem "Palmyra" here.

A recent study describes the extraordinary variety of the “deities of the Palmyrene pantheon”: “Bel, Belti, Nebu, Nergal, and Nanai are of Babylonian origin; Balshammin and Belhammon seem to be from Phoenicia; Ishtar and Atargatis are Aramaean; Shadrafa and Elqonera are probably Canaanite; and Arab deities include Shamash, Allat, Abgal, Manawat, and a host of others.” The oasis was an oasis of differences. When one reads this catalog of coexisting divinities, one is reminded of the old Enlightenment argument, made against the exclusivist and bellicose tendencies of the monotheistic faiths, about the innate tolerance of a polytheistic universe. Where there is one God, there is one way. Where there are many gods, there are many ways. In Palmyra there were many gods and many ways. The Palmyrene spirit is precisely what theocrats seek to extirpate. In the West, we are all, perfectly or imperfectly, Palmyrenes.

Background on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic recent fate in the hands of ISIS is here with many, many links.

Interview with José Manuel Cañas Reíllo

WILLIAM ROSS: LXX SCHOLAR INTERVIEW: JOSÉ MANUEL CAÑAS REÍLLO (Septuaginta &C. Blog). He is working on the Göttingen Septuagint edition of the Book of Judges.

HT Jim West. Some past interviews of LXX scholars by William Ross are noted here and links.

Dr. Madhavi Nevader

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. MADHAVI NEVADER, who has just accepted a permanent position at the Divinity School of the University of St. Andrews as Lecturer in Hebrew Bible. Dr. Nevader has been in a temporary post here for nearly three years. She is an excellent colleague and we are delighted to have her fully on board.

You can read about one of her recent papers in this post.

Another SBL review of Hayes, What’s Divine About Divine Law?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Divine Law: Nominalist/Realist or Rational/Irrational? (Jonathan Klawans, ).

“In 2016, the History of Rabbinic Literature SBL section hosted a review panel of Dr. Christine Hayes’ book, What’s Divine About Divine Law? Dr. Jonathan Klawans continues the forum in its new home at AJR.”

Chris Hayes’s book is a path-breaking, wide-ranging, exhaustive study of a topic of crucial importance for Jewish studies in particular, and for legal/philosophical studies in a broader sense. The reader of the volume is enriched by learning a great deal about legal philosophy, as well as biblical, Greek, and rabbinic understandings of law. The greatest strength of the book is its clever and convincing trace of certain threads from the Greeks, through Philo and Paul, with rabbis then charting their own course in reaction: the distinctiveness of which in the ancient world has been heretofore under-appreciated. Hayes convincingly establishes that the rabbinic discourse on law is self-consciously distinct, moving in the opposite direction from a great deal of prior Jewish literature (to say nothing of Greco-Roman). It does this by denying that divine law is rational, true, fixed, natural and/or unchanging—all the things that properly characterize a divine/natural law from a Greco-Roman perspective.

I could go on saying nice things… but what’s the point of that? Let me proceed from here by highlighting two distinctions used in the book, one of which may be over-used and the other under-used. The over-used dichotomy is between nominalist and realist approaches to law; the under-used dichotomy is between rational and irrational laws. After discussing these two matters a bit, I’d like to think more about those efforts to reduce “the Law” to one or two principles—usually rational ones.

[...]

Another review in the same session by Beth Berkowitz was published by AJR and was noted here. And follow the links there for earlier posts on Hayes's book.

Ancient wine press at Ashkelon

ARCHAEOLOGY: 2,100-year-old wine press unearthed at Ashkelon construction site (Yori Yalon, Israel HaYom).

Wine press was discovered during an archaeological survey of a site slated for a new elementary school • Excavation director Ilan Peretz: We now know farming existed here much earlier than we thought • Press to be preserved as part of schoolyard.

Looting arrests in the Galilee

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: Three looters busted plundering ancient tomb in Galilee. Suspects caught in the act robbing graves, disturbing interred remains near Roman-era Jewish site mentioned in Talmud (Ilan Ben Zion, Times of Israel).

The Israel Antiquities Authority busted a gang of thieves in the act of plundering an ancient tomb in northern Israel over the weekend, the organization said in a statement Wednesday.

The illegal excavation caused “serious damage to the archaeological layers and the interred.” Human remains buried in the cave, believed dating to the Roman period, were disturbed, an IAA spokeswoman said.

It was unclear whether the tomb was Jewish, but the cave is associated with Horbat Mishkena, a Jewish village during the Roman period known to archaeologists from surveys and rabbinic literature.

[...]

Rabbi Steinsaltz recovering from a stroke

HOSPITALIZED: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Noted Torah Scholar, Recovering from Stroke (Marcy Oster, The Forward).

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Talmudist and Torah scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is recovering after suffering a stroke a week ago.

[...]

Best wishes to him for a speedy and full recovery. Rabbi Steinsaltz has been mentioned often in PaleoJudaica, mostly regarding his Hebrew and English translations of the Talmud, on which more here and many links.

On King Herod the Great

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: How King Herod Transformed the Holy Land. In the New Testament King Herod I is a villain, but the Herod of history was more complex, a consummate politician, ambitious builder, and master organizer who was able to balance the needs of the Judaean populace and the rulers of Rome (Antonio Piñero).

Few figures in history have had such a controversial reputation as King Herod I of Judaea. In the Christian tradition, Herod is the villain in the Christmas story. The Gospel of Matthew recounts how the king orders the death of all baby boys following the birth of Jesus, an event called the Massacre of the Innocents. Calling this king “great” hardly seems fitting, given that atrocity.

To many scholars, however, Herod’s honorific is deserved. The king of the Judaeans for the last part of the first century B.C. was a skilled administrator. He created magnificent public building works across Judaea, most notably the colossal reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Herod saved his people from famine in the mid-20s B.C. Although his reign was largely a time of peace and prosperity for Judaea, he was often treated with deep suspicion by his subjects.

[...]

He did develop the habit of killing people impulsively, especially those close to him. As the article later observes, this lends a certain plausibility to the story in Matthew, even though there is no historical evidence for it. But Herod also sponsored a prolific building program, with the result that a strikingly disproportionate number of ancient ruins surviving in Israel today are "Herodian."

Some past PaleoJudaica posts on Herod the Great and Herodium are here, here, here, here, here, and links. Cross-file under 'Tis the Season.

Sartre and Sartre, Palmyre

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Annie Sartre, Maurice Sartre, Palmyre. Vérités et légendes. Paris: Perrin, 2016. Pp. 259. ISBN 9782262066154. €14.00 (pb).

Reviewed by Rubina Raja, Aarhus University (Rubina.Raja@cas.au.dk)

Preview

Palmyra has become a renewed focus of research in recent years due to interest in subjects outside the core regions of Rome and the Roman Empire; the massive destruction of Syria’s rich cultural heritage has also spurred a renewed interest in the site. Palmyra has also been in the spotlight due to the use of the site in Syrian state propaganda, and because it was a stronghold of the rebels and ISIS from May 2015 until spring 2016, when the city was recaptured by the Syrian state forces. The public beheading of the Director of Antiquities in Palmyra, Khaled al-As’ad, shook the world and the colleagues, who had known and worked with him for several decades. In the wake of this event several conferences and publications were dedicated to his memory and the book by Annie and Maurice Sartre is also to be seen as a product of the growing public and political attention given to the site. Much attention has been given to discussions about the potential reconstruction of the damaged and looted monuments. Since Palmyra is a World Heritage site, UNESCO has taken a particular interest in developing plans for the restoration of the unique oasis city, and scholars have begun to discuss the future of the site should the situation in Syria at some point allow for further work at the site.

Annie and Maurice Sartre's Palmyre is one of these studies, which on the one hand aims at giving the general public an insight and understanding of this unique site and on the other hand presents the potential pitfalls of massive reconstruction without detailed planning and involvement of the scholarly community. ...

Background on Palmyra is here (immediately preceding post) and links. Cross-file under Palmyra Watch.

Paris exhibition "Eternal Sites" (including Palmyra)

PALMYRA WATCH: As Palmyra falls, Paris heritage show looks to the future. Inaugurating an exhibit on endangered Middle Eastern heritage sites Tuesday, French President François Hollande called the show “a militant act”. But the curators are looking ahead to peace and reconstruction. (Leela JACINTO, France24).

These days, the city is being seized, liberated and seized again at such a dizzying pace, it’s hard to know what’s going on in the eastern Syrian desert city.

But now, in a museum thousands of miles away from the Syrian desert and a world apart from the ravages of war, the stones of this ancient city are telling a different story.

It’s a story that tends to get lost in the speed of modern life, with news cycles spinning out jihadist propaganda and politicians vowing to annihilate terrorists from the face of the earth.

A new show, "Eternal Sites: From Bamiyan to Palmyra," at the Grand Palais in Paris aims to highlight the indestructible legacy of endangered heritage sites. Inaugurated by Hollande and the UNESCO chief, Irina Bokova, on Tuesday, the free exhibition runs from December 14 to January 9.

Opening the show before a select audience Tuesday night, Hollande said the exhibit was dedicated to protecting world heritage. "This exhibition is a militant act for visitors who will come not because it’s free, but because they want to be actors, not just spectators, in protecting heritage," Hollande said.

[...]

Images of giant, sun-washed stone walls and crumbling mud bricks greet visitors as they enter three cavernous rooms at the Grand Palais. "Eternal Sites" offers viewers an immersive exploration of four inaccessible sites: Palmyra, the Crac de Chevaliers crusader castle, the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, and Khorsabad, the ancient city in northern Iraq that was the capital of Assyrian King Sargon II, who ruled from 722 to 705 BC.

Meanwhile, I can find no certain news on the current situation in Palmyra, although there is a report that a counter-offensive by the Syrian Army is planned. And here's a statement from the Russian Government: Moscow: Fall of Palmyra is “Blow to the Entire Civilised Humankind” (Taha Abed alWahed, ASHARQ AL-AWSAT).

Background on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic recent fate in the hands of ISIS is here with many, many links.

SBL Pseudepigrapha Section 2017

LIV INGEBORG LIED: SBL Annual Meeting 2017 Pseudepigrapha CfP. The official call for papers opens on 19 December 2016. See the SBL website for more information. Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

Whose holy sites are the Western Wall tunnels?

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Court Petition: Western Wall Tunnels a Holy Site for Christians, Muslims Too. Group of Israeli archaeologists say the tunnels run through, under, over and alongside religious sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

The High Court of Justice has agreed to hear a petition asking why the Western Wall Tunnels have been declared a holy site for Jews and not for Muslims and Christians as well.

The petition was filed by Emek Shaveh, a group of archaeologists seeking to prevent the politicization of archaeology. It came after the Religious Services Ministry’s legal adviser, Hagay Avrahami, said in a letter the tunnels were governed by the regulations preserving Jewish holy sites because the entrance to them leads from the Western Wall Plaza.

This means that all the rules governing the Western Wall apply in the tunnels, as well as in the large spaces that have been discovered in recent years under homes in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The decision was made after a consultation with Israel’s chief rabbis, Avrahami said.

The petition states that these underground spaces, which have been excavated continuously since the early 1980s, also include structures holy to Christianity and Islam.

[...]

The point that the area has elements holy to Christianity and Islam is certainly correct, but it isn't clear to me what the practical issue is. Is there a process through the Religious Services Ministry that can declare sites holy to Christianity and Islam and was this neglected? What are the practical implications of the current declaration and what does Emek Shaveh want done about them? The answers to these questions may be obvious to those more familiar with these political structures in Israel, but they aren't obvious to me, and I wish the article had spelled them out more clearly.

Past posts on Emeq Shaveh's activities and its political perspective (which is not as objective as implied above) are here, here, here, here, and links. Some past PaleoJudaica posts on the tunnel excavations in Jerusalem are collected here.

Cross-file under Politics.

The Talmud on charging interest

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Why the Talmud Allows Jews to Profit Off Gentiles. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ Talmud study, focusing on religious duty over secular egalitarianism.

Tractate Bava Metzia centers on the concept of ownership: What does it mean, under Jewish law, to own a piece of property? And what happens when there is a dispute over ownership, or when one person takes possession of property that belongs to another? This kind of abuse can take several forms, ranging from straightforward theft to what the Talmud calls “exploitation”—a transaction in which one party takes illegal advantage of the other. But over the last two weeks, in Chapter Six of Bava Metzia, Daf Yomi readers have explored a different kind of crime against property—one that in our capitalist economy is not a crime at all. If it were, anyone who takes out a mortgage or a car loan, or who uses a credit card, would be guilty of it. This is the crime of lending or borrowing at interest, which is forbidden to Jews in Leviticus 25: “Do not take from him interest or increase, but fear your God, in order that your brother may live with you. You shall not give him money with interest, nor give him your food for increase.”

[...]

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

The first pictures of the ruins of Palmyra

PALMYRA WATCH: THE MYSTERY OF THE FIRST DRAWINGS OF PALMYRA: Part I: Who drew the first pictures of the ruins of Palmyra? AND Who drew this 'Curious Prospect' of Palmyra? (Zenobia Empress of the East Blog).

The current state of the site of Palmyra does not seem to be good. It appears that it has been fully recaptured by ISIS jihadists (see here for the story and follow the many links for background). There are many rumors about what is happening and what is to happen next, but I have not yet found solid information to which I think it is worth linking. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, Judith Weingarten takes us back to better times at Palmyra to solve a mystery from the early modern period.

Still another review of Fine, The Menorah

BOOK REVIEW: Scholar explores significance of menorah to Jews, Christians, Muslims (Eugene J. Fisher, Catholic News Service).

“The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Times”
by Steven Fine.
Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2016).
273 pp., $29.95.

Steven Fine, a professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University in New York City, explores biblical, cultural and religious history through the lens of what he rightly calls in his conclusion “the oldest religious symbol in all of Western culture.”

[...]

Earlier reviews of the book are here and here.

Is El-Araj Bethsaida?

BIBLE PLACES BLOG: New Excavations at el-Araj, Possible Bethsaida (Todd Bolen). Todd thinks the identification would be premature.

War crimes prosecutions for captured jihadists?

ISIS WATCH: ISIS May Face War-Crime Charges for Destruction of Historic Sites (Owen Jarus, Live Science). This with reference to some suspected ISIS fighters who have surrendered during the Mosul campaign:

Because international law forbids the destruction of heritage sites, those who surrendered could face charges for war crimes, experts say. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists areas as World Heritage Sites for having special cultural or physical significance.

"These destructions may amount to a war crime, and UNESCO will do everything in its power to document the damage so that these attacks do not go unpunished," said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement released on Nov 25, after Nimrud was recaptured.

That would be all to the good, but it would not surprise me if there were worse war crimes that captured jihadists could be prosecuted for.

Coin of the second year of the Great Revolt

NUMISMATICS: Minister Regev Presents 67 CE ‘Great Rebellion’ Coin at Cabinet Meeting (JNi.Media).

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev on Sunday presented at the start of the cabinet meeting a coin discovered by a team of her office about a month ago, as part of the preparation for the public revelation of the Pilgrims’ Road which was recently unearthed at the City of David. The presentation and the planned public event mark the coming jubilee of the liberation and unification of Jerusalem.

The coin bears on one side a vine leaf and the statement “Freedom of Zion.” On the opposite side it bears a standing cup and the statement “Second year of the great rebellion” – the year 67 CE.

[...]

Not quite. The coin reads "second year of" (שנת שתים) on one side and "the freedom of Zion" (חרת ציון) on the other. The word order seems a little odd, but I think that the two sides are intended to be read consecutively as a single phrase: "The second year of the freedom of Zion." It was indeed the second year of the so-called Great Rebellion or Great Revolt against Rome, but the coin itself does not use this term. (Follow the link above for a photo.)

This article is a little vague about the origin of the coin, but the Jerusalem Post has clearer coverage on that issue: ‘Free Zion’ coin minted 1,967 years ago unveiled (Herb Keinon).

The coin was uncovered during an excavation about a month ago of a recently uncovered road in Jerusalem. The excavation site will be opened to the public during Hanukka.

The recent UNESCO resolutions that play down the ancient Jewish connection with Jerusalem come in for some not-undeserved ridicule on the basis of this coin. As with the use of the Arch of Titus, at least this time the ancient origin of the artifact is not in question, unlike the case of the Jerusalem Papyrus. Cross-file under Politics.

Modern Ethiopic and Second Temple Judaism

PARALLELS: Ethiopian Judaism nearly identical to that practiced during Second Temple Period. Researcher Dr. Yossi Ziv has researched Ethiopian Judaism and found an amazing discovery: Ethiopian Jews' customs and traditions extremely similar to those described in Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple Era texts (Yael Freidson, Ynet News).

Dr. Yossi Ziv has been researching the religious rituals of the Ethiopian Jewish population still in Ethiopia and discovered that they maintained the same customs and traditions as the Jews of the Second Temple period for the past two thousand years.

"It’s knowledge which hasn't been written anywhere, and has been preserved in their traditions," the researcher said.

"They have been curating ancient customs that have disappeared from the world. They provide examples of how the leaders of the nation of Israel would have behaved during the time of the Second Temple."

Israeli-Ethiopian elders performing the Sigid ritual in Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters)

The professor released his findings at a seminar which was held at the Kfar Etzion Field School right before the Jewish-Ethiopian holiday of Sigid.

Ziv said that many Jewish-Ethiopian customs go against modern Jewish practice, but perfectly align with customs and rituals described on scrolls found in the Qumran caves and in books dating back to the Second Temple Period. The Qumran Caves are where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, which include the third oldest Hebrew Bible ever found.

[...]

Interesting, but two notes of caution are in order. The first is that comparisons like this one involve a lot of interpretive latitude. It is often far from clear how a Qumran text on halakhic matters should be interpreted and to what degree it demonstrates a particular practice in Second Temple Judaism. So any parallels with a later Jewish community have to be sifted exceedingly carefully and the implications of such parallels should be advanced with great caution.

Second, this research is being filtered through the media, which almost inevitably involves an added layer of distortion and misunderstanding which makes the claims even harder to evaluate. Note the last sentence quoted above. I don't doubt that it reflects a reporter's misunderstanding of something a researcher said, but as it stands, it's nonsense. No complete Hebrew Bible was found at Qumran, and the Qumran manuscripts include the oldest fragments of many books of the Hebrew Bible. Perhaps the researcher said the three oldest fragmentary manuscripts of books of the Hebrew Bible were found at Qumran? That would be about right. So who knows what else in the article is garbled?

As always, the sort of claims being advanced in this story should be published in a peer-review venue if scholars are to take it seriously.

Mandaean Book of John TOC

JAMES MCGRATH: The Mandaean Book of John: Table of Contents.

The entire draft of the English translation of the Mandaean Book of John is still not available online. But I thought I would nevertheless provide a table of contents linking to the chapters that are there, for those who may be interested in perusing them.

This sounds like it will be an important publication.

Past posts on the Mandaean Book of John Project are here, here, here, and here. Cross-file under Mandean Watch (Mandaean Watch).

Again, Canaanite, not Hebrew

CHRISTOPHER ROLLSTON: The Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions 2.0: Canaanite Language and Canaanite Script, Not Hebrew. Excerpt:

I’m sure that Grimme and van den Branden were well intentioned, and I believe that Petrovich is as well. But the evidence is weighty, and the evidence demonstrates the following: the inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem and Wadi el-Hol (and various other second millennium sites, etc.) are written in a Northwest Semitic dialect of the early Second Millennium BCE. In terms of the name for this language, the most apt term is “Canaanite.” After all, there is nothing distinctively Phoenician, or Hebrew, or Aramaic, or Moabite, or Ammonite, or Edomite about the words in these inscriptions that would reasonably allow someone to call the language of these inscriptions by one of those terms. Indeed, the words in the inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem and Wadi el-Hol are found in lots of Semitic languages, not just one. Thus, the best term of the language of these inscriptions is “Canaanite.”

And as for the script of these inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem and Wadi el-Hol, the best terms are “Early Alphabetic,” or “Canaanite.” Some prefer the term “Proto-Sinaitic Script.” Any of these terms is acceptable. But it is absolutely and empirically wrong to suggest that the script of the inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadem and Wadi el-Hol is the Hebrew script, or the Phoenician script, or the Aramaic script, or the Moabite script, or the Ammonite script, or the Edomite script. ...

This post responds to Petrovich's reply to Rollston's first post.

Background here and here.

ISIS retakes Palmyra?

PALMYRA WATCH: ISIS recaptures Palmyra. The Islamic State recaptures the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra, hours after being pushed out by Russian forces (Arutz Sheva).

The Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group on Sunday recaptured the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra, after Syrian armed forces pulled out of the desert city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, according to AFP.

"Despite the ongoing air raids, ISIS retook all of Palmyra after the Syrian army withdrew south of the city," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The jihadists made a lightning-fast advance across the city after overrunning a northern neighborhood and capturing the famed citadel to Palmyra's west.

The ISIS-linked Amaq news agency also reported that the jihadist group regained "full control" of the city on Sunday after taking the citadel, which overlooks Palmyra from a strategic hilltop.

[...]

There were back-and-forth reports over the weekend, but as near as I can tell, this is where matters stand at the moment. If so, I will be surprised if they stay that way for long. The recapture of Palmyra by ISIS is a significant blow to Russian prestige and I don't expect the Russians to let it go unanswered. Of course, that is presumably the purpose of ISIS retargeting Palmyra. They want to distract the Russians and the Syrian army and ease the pressure on Aleppo. Watch this space.

Background on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic recent fate in the hands of ISIS is here with many, many links.

Geniza Fragments 72

GENIZA FRAGMENTS 72. The October 2016 issue of the Newsletter of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library is just out. It includes notice of an upcoming conference on the Cairo Geniza at Cambridge University in April of 2017, a report on a conference on the Hebrew text of Ben Sira, and a brief article on an alchemical fragment.

Review of Jerome, Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 1

READING ACTS: Book Review: Jerome, Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, Volume 1.

Scheck, Thomas, ed. Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets: Volume 1, Ancient Christian Texts by Jerome. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2016. Link to IVP

This new contribution to the Ancient Christian Texts series is the first of three volumes collecting Jerome’s commentaries on the twelve Minor Prophets. Jerome (c. 347-419/20) is primarily known for his Latin translation of the Bible (The Vulgate), but he was also a prolific commentator on biblical books. He was thoroughly familiar with Jewish traditions and brought them to bear on his understanding of the Old Testament. Beginning in 379, Jerome used his considerable linguistic skills to translate Origen’s commentaries and, eventually, to translate and comment on Scripture himself.

[...]

And unlike pretty much all ancient Christian commentators except his nemesis Origen, Jerome studied the Hebrew Bible with a good knowledge of Hebrew.

Lundhaug on Shenoute and Nag Hammadi Codex II

HUGO LUNDHAUG: Shenoute of Atripe and Nag Hammadi Codex II (Academia.edu). An offprint from Zugänge zur Gnosis. Akten zur Tagung der Patristischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft vom 02.-05.01.2011in Berlin-Spandau, herausgegeben von Christoph Markschies und Johannes van Oort, Peeters, 2013.

Shenoute and his White Monastery were of crucial importance for the transmission of ancient manuscripts in Egypt. Some past posts on Shenoute are here, here, here, here, here, and here. And some additional posts on the manuscripts of the White Monastery are collected here.

Seen on Facebook.

Operation Mummy's Curse

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Stolen Mummy Hand Makes Its Way Home (Meg Gannon, Live Science/Yahoo).

The blackened, cloth-wrapped hand arrived in a parcel at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2013. It was listed as a sci-fi movie prop, valued at $66. But as officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection learned, the hand was from a real Egyptian mummy, nearly 3,000 years old.

The hand was apparently voluntarily forfeited by the importer, and this week, U.S. authorities repatriated it and four other illegally smuggled artifacts to Egypt as part of an ongoing investigation known as "Operation Mummy's Curse."

[...]

This is a perfect setup for a horror movie, so I imagine the people of Los Angeles will be happy for it to be sent home so that Egypt can keep an eye on it.

Review of Brotzman and Tully, Old Testament Textual Criticism

ETC BLOG: Review of Brotzman and Tully’s Old Testament Textual Criticism (Meade) (Peter Gurry). The review is by John Meade at Books at a Glance and the page includes a response by Tully.