JNES 79.2

THE JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES has a new issue out: 79.2 (2020). Of particular interest for PaleoJudaica is this article:

The Literary Dynamic of Loyalty and Betrayal in the Aramaic Ahiqar Narrative

Saul M. Olyan
Brown University

and this review:

Between Greece and Babylonia: Hellenistic Intellectual History in Cross-Cultural Perspective. By Kathryn Stevens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. Pp. xx + 443. $135 (cloth).

John O. Hyland
Christopher Newport University

The JNES requires a personal or institutional subscription to access the full articles. Cross-file under Aramaic Watch.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Ehrensperger & Sheinfeld (eds.), Gender and Second-Temple Judaism

NEW BOOK FROM FORTRESS ACADEMIC PRESS:

Gender and Second-Temple Judaism Illustrated Edition

by Kathy Ehrensperger (Editor, Contributor), Shayna Sheinfeld (Editor, Contributor), Francis Borchardt (Contributor), Sarah E.G. Fein (Contributor), Gabriella Gelardini (Contributor), Tal Ilan (Contributor), & 7 more

Hardcover $105.00
Kindle $99.50

Ancient literature was generally written by and produced for elite men. That fact creates specific challenges to modern interpreters of gender roles in the ancient world, especially once contemporary understandings of gender as construction and performance are embraced. In Gender and Second-Temple Judaism, world-renowned scholars take on these challenges with regard to ancient Judaism (here including early Christianity and early rabbinic Judaism as well), at once examining the ancient evidence and quite consciously addressing difficult methodological questions regarding gender. Taken together, these chapters further complicate discussions of the construction of identity (e.g., “who is a Jew?”) by inflecting them with questions of gender construction as well. Scholars of ancient Judaism and of gender alike will find much to grapple with in these pages.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Shemeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2020

SHEMINI ATZERET begins tonight at sundown. In Israel, this is also the holiday of Simchat Torah (Simhat Torah). Outside of Israel, the latter holiday begins tomorrow at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating!

Last year's Shemini Atzeret post is here. The 2017 post has biblical etc. links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Biblical bookended blessings

DR. SHIRA GOLANI: The Two Blessings of the Twelve Tribes: Varying Perspectives, Similar Function (TheTorah.com).

The Torah frames two different poetic descriptions of the tribes as the deathbed blessings of Jacob and Moses, pivotal points in Israel's history. Nevertheless, these poems express varying perspectives on the relative importance of the tribes and were once likely independent collections

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Violence in the Hebrew Bible (ed. van Ruiten & van Bekkum)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Violence in the Hebrew Bible

Between Text and Reception

Series: Oudtestamentische Studiën, Old Testament Studies, Volume: 79
Editors: Jacques van Ruiten and Koert van Bekkum

In Violence in the Hebrew Bible scholars reflect on texts of violence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as their often problematic reception history. Authoritative texts and traditions can be rewritten and adapted to new circumstances and insights. Texts are subject to a process of change. The study of the ways in which these (authoritative) biblical texts are produced and/or received in various socio-historical circumstances discloses a range of theological and ideological perspectives. In reflecting on these issues, the central question is how to allow for a given text’s plurality of possible and realised meanings while also retaining the ability to form critical judgments regarding biblical exegesis. This volume highlight that violence in particular is a fruitful area to explore this tension.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €138.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published)
ISBN: 978-90-04-43468-4)
Publication Date: 27 Jul 2020)

Hardback)
Availability: Published)
ISBN: 978-90-04-43467-7)
Publication Date: 30 Jul 2020

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Kletter, Archaeology, Heritage and Ethics in the Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem

THE AWOL BLOG: Archaeology, Heritage and Ethics in the Western Wall Plaza, Jerusalem: Darkness at the End of the Tunnel by Raz Kletter (Routledge, 2020). Cross-file under New Book. The full content is available online by open access.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Theology and Anthropology in the Book of Sirach (ed. Gesche et al.)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Theology and Anthropology in the Book of Sirach
Bonifatia Gesche (Editor), Christian Lustig (Editor), Gabriel Rabo (Editor)

ISBN 9781628372670
Status Available
Price: $49.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date October 2020

New research on Sirach for scholars and students

The present volume of English and German essays includes the proceedings of an international conference held in Eichstaett, Germany, in 2017. Themes of creation, emotions, life, death, wisdom, knowledge, the individual and society, family, gender, mercy, justice, and freedom are but a few of the topics that contributors explore in this new collection. Essays explore the rich intertextual connections between Sirach and other biblical texts.

Features:

• Attention to theological distinctions presented in the Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions of the book of Sirach
  
• Examination of the reception of Sirach in the New Testament and the early modern era
  
• English abstracts for German-language essays and German abstracts for English-language essays

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Celestial cheese?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: SBL 2019 Review Panel | Much Depends on Dinner (Elizabeth Castelli).

Meredith Warren’s new monograph invites us to revisit some well-read ancient texts with new questions about particular narrative details—specifically, to ask: what is happening when characters in these texts ingest food from another realm? What new affinities, ontologies, and knowledges are produced by the process of “eating divine food” (signified by a sort-of neologism: hierophagy)?

I noted the essay introducing this series on Dr. Warren's book, Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Klawans & Wills (eds.), The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

NEW BOOK FROM OUP:

The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha

Edited by Jonathan Klawans and Lawrence M. Wills

• First edition of the Apocrypha addressed to a Jewish audience in the English language
• The first edition of the Apocrypha to include the book of Jubilees
• The first stand-alone Oxford Study Apocrypha to include an Introduction, essays, and sidebars

$45.00

Hardcover

Published: 01 October 2020

744 Pages

6 1/8 x 9 1/4 inches

ISBN: 9780190262488

Also Available As: Ebook

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Bekins, Inscriptions from the World of the Bible

NEW BOOK FROM HENDRICKSON:

Inscriptions from the World of the Bible

By: Peter Bekins
HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS / 2020 / HARDCOVER

In Stock
Stock No: HN072096
$79.95

An indispensable resource highlighting significant Northwest Semitic inscriptions from the early first millennium B.C.E. Focusing on Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Moabite texts, this informative volume offers insight into the monarchical period and provides valuable historical and literary context for the Hebrew Bible. Grouped by language, texts are accompanied by commentary on significant lexical, grammatical, and literary features. Approx. 300 pages, hardcover from Hendrickson.

Cross-file under Northwest Semitic Epigraphy Watch.

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Brouwer & Vimercati (eds.), Fate, Providence and Free Will

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Fate, Providence and Free Will: Philosophy and Religion in Dialogue in the Early Imperial Age

Series: Ancient Philosophy & Religion, Volume: 4
Editors: René Brouwer and Emmanuele Vimercati

This volume, edited by René Brouwer and Emmanuele Vimercati, deals with the debate about fate, providence and free will in the early Imperial age. This debate is rekindled in the 1st century CE during emperor Augustus’ rule and ends in the 3rd century CE with Plotinus and Origen, when the different positions in the debate were more or less fully developed. The book aims to show how in this period the notions of fate, providence and freedom were developed and debated, not only within and between the main philosophical schools, that is Stoicism, Aristotelianism, and Platonism, but also in the interaction with other, “religious” movements, here understood in the general sense of groups of people sharing beliefs in and worship of (a) superhuman controlling power(s), such as Gnosticism, Hermetism as well as Judaism and Christianity.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €134.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43638-1
Publication Date: 31 Aug 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43566-7
Publication Date: 03 Sep 2020

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Was the biblical city female?

THE BIBLE AND INTEPRETATION:

The City Concept in the Hebrew Bible

Some of the longstanding general assumptions about urban space in the Hebrew Bible should be reconsidered (Vermeulen 2020). The most important one is perhaps the idea that the biblical city is female.

See Also: Conceptualizing Biblical Cities: A Stylistic Study (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).

By Karolien Vermeulen
FWO Postdoctoral Fellow
Institute of Jewish Studies
University of Antwerp
October 2020

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Kanavou, Philostratus' Life of Apollonios of Tyana and Its Literary Context

OPEN ACCESS BOOK FROM C.H. BECK:

PHILOSTRATROS’ LIFE OF APOLLONIOS OF TYANA AND ITS LITERARY CONTEXT

Nikoletta Kanavou
Zetemata

Éditeur : C.H.Beck Collection : Zetemata | 153 Lieu d’édition : München Année d’édition : 2018 Publication sur OpenEdition Books : 02 octobre 2020 EAN (Édition imprimée) : 9783406715426 EAN électronique : 9791036555817 DOI : 10.4000/books.chbeck.1688 Nombre de pages : 296 p.

This book surveys a range of intersections between the fictitious biography of the sage Apollonios of Tyana by Philostratos and selected prose narratives of the imperial period. The survey considers both pagan and Christian literature and includes both parallels to the philosophical ideology of the Life of Apollonios and features that embellish and enhance the Life as a work of literature. The book’s various themes and topics are held together by a common thread: the hero’s virtue, in particular his sōphrosynē, which encapsulates not only his wise-man status but also his novelistic traits (sōphrosynē is of central importance in the Greek romance), and which contributes to the interpretation both of Apollonios as hero and of the work’s generic affinities. The characterisation of Apollonios and the contextualisation of his biography are equally served by the discussion of manifestations of erōs in the Life of Apollonios as echoes of a popular, indeed irresistible theme to the author; of travel as an intergeneric metaphor for spiritual progression; and, finally, of the sage’s relationship with the written word - a relationship that further reveals the narrative’s authenticatory interests and precarious realism.

HT The AWOL Blog.

For more on Apollonius of Tyana, especially in relation to Jesus, see here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

AJR: SBL panel on Food and Transformation

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: SBL 2019 Review Panel | Food and Transformation (Frederick S. Tappenden and Catherine Playoust). This opening essay is an introduction to the panel by the organizers. For more on the book by Meredith Warren under review, see here and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Holy Land tourism crisis

HARD TIMES: For the First Time in 1,600 Years: No Pilgrims in the Holy Land. More grim COVID-19 news: After a record-breaking year in 2019, the torrent of Christian visitors has all but stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Can online souvenir sales and prayers fill the void? (Moshe Gilad, Haaretz premium).

The Christian pilgrim tourism market was always considered the most stable here. These tourists would arrive during even the most difficult and violent periods, when others wouldn’t dare visit Israel. They ignored wars and epidemics, government upheavals and economic crises. Nothing stopped the faithful from coming to pray in the land of Jesus.

Until now. A long, informative article.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Review of The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi

BOOK REVIEW: The vivid legend of Rabbi Ben Levi (Neville Teller, Jerusalem Post).

A forward to the book connects the Ben Levi legend to the perception of miracles in Jewish folk lore, and invites readers to marvel at the gorgeous art his story has inspired.

Excerpt:

Now, in a truly spectacular artistic endeavor, Katz’s mosaics are married to Longfellow’s poem to create a ravishingly beautiful volume. At the heart of The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi are 12 mosaics by Avi Katz, presented full page and in stunning color, illustrating Longfellow’s poetic narrative as it unfolds. Distinguished science fiction writer Lavie Tidhar provides a foreword in which he connects the Ben Levi legend to the perception of miracles in Jewish folk lore, and invites readers to marvel at the gorgeous art his story has inspired.

At the rear of the volume is a background article penned by Israeli writer Mitch Pilcer. ...

As regular readers will recall, the tomb and Aramaic epitaph of R. Joshua Ben Levi turned up in Mr. Pilcer's back yard.

The full reference for the book:

The Legend of Rabbi Ben Levi

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Avi Katz

Gefen Publishing House, 2020

$14.95; 32 pages (hardcover)

Background here and links. Cross-file under Epigraphy, Aramaic Watch, and Children's Book.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Blankovsky, Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments

A New Interpretive Approach

Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 60
Author: Yuval Blankovsky

Reading Talmudic Sources as Arguments: A New Interpretive Approach elucidates the unique characteristics of Talmudic discourse culture. Approaching Talmudic literature from a linguistic perspective, the book shows the extensive and hidden ways in which later rabbis used early formulations. Applying Quentin Skinner's interpretive question “What was the author doing in composing the text in this particular way?" to Talmudic literature reveals that Talmudic debate is not only about ideas, concepts and laws but also about the latter's connection to pre-existing formulations. These early traditions, rather than only being accepted or not, are used by later generations to build their own arguments. The book articulates the function of tradition at the time that Rabbinic Judaism was forged.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €149.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43004-4
Publication Date: 07 Sep 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43003-7
Publication Date: 10 Sep 2020

Cross-file under Talmud Watch.

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Budge, The History of Alexander the Great

CLASSIC REPRINT FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The History of Alexander the Great
Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes

EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR: Ernest A. Wallis Budge
DATE PUBLISHED: July 2013
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: PaperbackISBN: 9781107631175

Originally published in 1889, this book by the highly esteemed Orientalist Ernest Wallis Budge is an edition of the Syriac version of the text by Pseudo-Callisthenes on the life of Alexander the Great, one of the earliest histories of the great Macedonian general. Also included are a brief biography of Alexander, an assessment of the varying versions of the Alexander story, and a copy of the Syriac source text with scholarly footnotes and comparisons among the various manuscripts. This book will be of value to Syriac students, Classicists and anyone with an interest in the confluence of East and West in the ancient world.

I guess this has been out for a while, but it's the first time it popped up in my morning searches.

This version is a translation of a version of the Alexander Romance, on which more here (especially) and here and links. And for many other posts on Alexander and on his connection with ancient Jewish traditions, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Glass Lazarus? Brain cells from a Vesuvius victim

VESUVIUS WATCH: Brain Cells of Vesuvius Victim That Turned into Glass Found Intact 2,000 Years After Volcanic Eruption (News18/MSN).

Back in February I noted the story that archaeologists had recovered some vitrified brain material from one of the victions of the eruption of Vesuvius in Pompeii. At the time I commented:

Perhaps I watch too much SciFi (well, probably), but this story made me think of Dennis Potter's last series, Cold Lazarus. I realize that Daniel Feeld's brain was frozen, not vitrified. Vitrified brain is not going to have any structure left in it. But the article does say that the brain glass contains chemical traces. Who knows what information about first-century Roman brain composition the data-recovery technology of 2368 might recover from it?

It looks like I was too pessimistic. The current report is that actual brain cells are preserved in the brain glass of the unfortunate victim, as well as nerve cells from his spine. The report also holds out some hope that protein may be recovered from the glass.

We are still very far from Daniel Feeld's supercooled resurrection. But we are closer than I thought.

For past posts on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and related matters, start here and follow the many links.

Cross-file under Technology Watch and The Singularity is Near.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Eberhard Bons – HTLS interview

WILLIAM ROSS: HTLS VOLUME 1: AN INTERVIEW WITH EBERHARD BONS.

For more on the Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint see here and links. For notice of Dr. Ross's previous interviews with Septuagint scholars, see here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Burke lecture on "Lost Gospels"

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: BAF/BASONOVA Lecture: ”Lost Gospels” and Other Christian Apocrypha.

Please reserve your BAF / BASONOVA Zoom Lecture spot

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 7:30 pm EST via Zoom

”Lost Gospels” and Other Christian Apocrypha: New Discoveries and New Perspectives

Tony Burke, York University

Follow the link for details. Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Isaiah and the Twelve (ed. Bautch et al.)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Isaiah and the Twelve / Jesaja und die Zwölf

Parallels, Similarities and Differences

Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 527
Edited by: Richard J. Bautch, Joachim Eck, and Burkard M. Zapff
De Gruyter | 2020

From £79.00

DETAILS
Language: English, German
Format: 23.0 x 15.5 cm
Pages Roman: VI
Pages Arabic: 281
Tables BW: 12
Publisher: De Gruyter
Year: 2020
Keywords: History of redaction; Motives in the Old Testament; Isaiah; Book of Twelve
Audience: Alttestamentler/-innen, Theolog/-innen, Wissenschaflter/-innen, die zum Jesaja- und Zwölfprophetenbuch arbeiten

FORMATS
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-11-070573-7
Published: 21 Sep 2020

PDF
ISBN: 978-3-11-070579-9
Published: 21 Sep 2020

EPUB
ISBN: 978-3-11-070588-1
Published: 21 Sep 2020

OVERVIEW
Die Frage der Beziehung zwischen dem Jesajabuch und dem Buch der Zwölf Propheten ist angesichts vielfältiger Berührungen sprachlicher und motivischer Art zentral, jedoch hinsichtlich der damit verbundenen möglichen Implikationen bislang nur ungenügend bearbeitet.

Im Rahmen eines internationalen Kongresses, der vom 31.Mai bis 3.Juni 2018 an der Katholischen Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt stattfand, suchten Fachleute des Zwölfprophetenbuches bzw. des Jesajabuches mit unterschiedlichen methodischen Ansätzen ein umfassenderes Bild der verschiedenen Arten von Beziehungen oder thematischen Berührungen zu erarbeiten, die entweder für die beiden Corpora als ganze oder für spezifische Teile beider charakteristisch sind, um daraus entsprechende Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Überblick zur Vielfalt der semantischen, intertextuellen, literarischen, redaktionellen, historischen und theologischen Aspekte der Beziehungen zwischen dem Jesajabuch und dem Zwölfprophetenbuch, die einlinigen Lösungsvorschlägen zur Erklärung des Zustandekommens dieser Bezüge widerstreiten.

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James Sanders, 1927-2020

SAD NEWS: Word has come in via Facebook and the Agade list that James A. Sanders passed away on 1 October 2020. He published widely in biblical studies and was well known for his editio princeps of the Great Psalm Scroll (11Q5) from Qumran.

Requiescat in pace.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The Gamla synagogue on video

THIS VISITING GAMLA YouTube video by John DeLancey has some excellent footage of the ruins of the first-century Gamla synagogue in the first six minutes or so. I don't endorse the commentary (see below), but the synagogue footage is good. HT the Bible Places Blog.



It is possible that Jesus preached at this synagogue, but we have no positive evidence that he did.

The site of Gamla is of interest for other reasons. Past posts on its synagogue are here, here, and here. Posts dealing with Josephus' account of the fall of Gamla during the Great Revolt are here and here. And other posts involving Gamla are here, here, here, here, and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Scripta Classica Israelica

THE AWOL BLOG: Open Access Journal: Scripta Classica Israelica. I have mentioned this journal before, but this AWOL post will give you the link to the whole thing.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Interpreting and Living God's Law at Qumran.Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT). Introduction, Text, Translation and Interpretative Essays by Jonathan Ben-Dov, John J. Collins, Lutz Doering, Jörg Frey, Charlotte Hempel, Reinhard G. Kratz, Noam Mizrahi, Vered Noam, Eibert Tigchelaar. 2020. XI, 249 pages. Scripta Antiquitatis Posterioris ad Ethicam REligionemque pertinentia XXXVII. 79,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-155305-9.

Published in English.
The text Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah, Some of the Works of the Torah (4QMMT), is one of the most interesting texts among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovered near the settlement of Khirbet Qumran and its vicinity in the middle of the twentieth century and by now published in full. It is a writing in the form of a letter by an unknown author to an equally unknown addressee, written in second person singular and plural. This document is the earliest evidence of a proper interpretation of the Jewish Torah, the so-called Halakhah, from pre-Christian, Hellenistic times as it later became customary and widely attested in rabbinical Judaism. This volume – after a short introduction on the findings at the Dead Sea in general and the text Miqṣat Ma῾aśe Ha-Torah in particular – provides a new edition and translation as well as several contributions from renowned scholars on the manuscripts, the language and content plus literary and historical contexts of this writing.

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Versnel, Coping With the Gods (pbk)

NOW IN PAPERBACK FROM BRILL:

Coping With the Gods

Wayward Readings in Greek Theology

Series: Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, Volume: 173
Author: Henk Versnel

Inspired by a critical reconsideration of current monolithic approaches to the study of Greek religion, this book argues that ancient Greeks displayed a disquieting capacity to validate two (or more) dissonant, if not contradictory, representations of the divine world in a complementary rather than mutually exclusive manner. From this perspective the six chapters explore problems inherent in: order vs. variety/chaos in polytheism, arbitrariness vs. justice in theodicy, the peaceful co-existence of mono- and polytheistic theologies, human traits in divine imagery, divine omnipotence vs. limitation of power, and ruler cult. Based on an intimate knowledge of ancient realia and literary testimonia the book stands out for its extensive application of relevant perceptions drawn from cultural anthropology, theology, cognitive science, psychology, and linguistics.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €52.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-21090-5
Publication Date: 10 May 2011

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-20490-4
Publication Date: 10 May 2011

Paperback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43648-0
Publication Date: 27 Aug 2020

I didn't note this book when it was first published in 2011, so now is a good time.

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Bibliography for Dreams of Antiquity (2.0)

THE AWOL BLOG: Dreams of Antiquity 2.0: Bibliographische Online-Datenbank zu Träumen und Visionen in der Antike. Among many other things, this database includes lots of bibliography on dreams and ancient Judaism.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Notes on a Silk Road SBL session

RELIGION PROF: Silk Road at #AARSBL19 (James McGrath).

I took notes in the Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity session focused on the Silk Road. I apologize for not sharing them sooner, but once again hope they may come at a time when other academics are dismayed at so many conferences being cancelled or shifted to online, that you may take some small comfort from being afforded a glimpse of a session you perhaps missed in San Diego.

Cross-file under Manichean Watch (Manichaean Watch).

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Armstrong & Mcosker, Philodemus, On Anger

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Philodemus, On Anger
David Armstrong, Michael Mcosker

ISBN 9781628372694
Status Available
Price: $44.00
Binding Paperback
Publication Date September 2020
Pages 320

The first English translation of On Anger

This latest volume in the Writings from the Greco-Roman World series provides a translation of a newly edited Greek text of Philodemus’s On Anger, now supplemented with the help of multispectral imaging. As our sole evidence for the Epicurean view of what constitutes natural and praiseworthy anger as distinguished from unnatural pleasure in vengeance and cruelty for their own sake, this text is crucial to the study of ancient thought about the emotions. Its critique of contemporary Stoic and Peripatetic theories of anger offers crucial new information for the history of philosophy in the last two centuries BCE. The introduction and commentary also make use of newly revised texts and readings from several other ancient treatises on anger.

Features

• An apparatus representing work on the text since the papyrus was opened in 1805
  
• A full explication of the Epicurean theory of natural anger as an emotion without pleasure
  
• One of the Herculaneum papyri that survived the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE

The work of Philodemus is not of direct interest to PaleoJudaica. But I note it because it was recovered from the carbonized Herculaneum library, which was incinerated during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. The text was recovered with the help of multispectral-imaging.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

BMCR review of Fournet, The rise of Coptic

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: The rise of Coptic: Egyptian versus Greek in late antiquity.

Jean-Luc Fournet, The rise of Coptic: Egyptian versus Greek in late antiquity. The Rostovtzeff lectures. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020. 224 p. ISBN9780691198347 $45.00.

Review by
Matthew Westermayer, Cornell University. mrw288@cornell.edu

... This study is sorely needed for Coptic studies, which many have bemoaned as lacking even the most rudimentary achievements of contemporary Greek, Latin, and Syriac papyrology and linguistics. ...

For another review, see here. Cross-file under Coptic Watch.

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Ehsani Chombeli, Moses and Garšāsp, Ardašīr and Herod

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Moses and Garšāsp. Notice of a New Book: Ehsani Chombeli, Azadeh. 2020. Moses and Garšāsp, Ardašīr and Herod: Narratives of the Babylonian Talmud in their Iranian context (Zoroastrian Studies Series 5). Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers. Follow the link for publisher's blurb and ordering information.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Proceedings volume: The Ancient Throne

THE AWOL BLOG: The Ancient Throne. The Mediterranean, Near East, and Beyond, from the 3rd Millennium BCE to the 14th Century CE: Proceedings of the Workshop held at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna, April 2016. New Book edited by Liat NAEH - Dana BROSTOWSKY GILBOA.

A couple of the articles look to be of interest for biblical and West Semitic royal ideologies.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Alouf-Aboody, Through the Prism of Wisdom

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

Hilla Alouf-Aboody

Through the Prism of Wisdom

Elijah the Prophet as a Bearer of Wisdom in Rabbinic Literature

Series: Judaism in Context, 23
Gorgias Press | 2020

£147.00 PDF

Language: English
Pages Arabic: 572
Publisher: Gorgias Press
Year: 2020
Audience: College/higher education;

FORMATS
PDF
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4131-5
Published: 07 Sep 2020

OVERVIEW
Elijah the prophet’s role in rabbinic literature is a variegated one that encompasses both his role in the messianic era as well as his non-messianic appearances in rabbinic legends. In this work these different roles are explored through the prism of the wisdom tradition. The three stands of wisdom—the Torah-Centered wisdom tradition, the Apocalyptic-Centered wisdom tradition, and the Spirit-Centered wisdom tradition, as enumerated by Cornelis Bennema—serve as a guide in understanding the complex nature of wisdom and its influence on the Elijah legends. The kaleidoscopic and often disparate Elijah traditions can be viewed as a result of complex developments in the study of wisdom and its evolution in Second Temple literature. The nexus of ideas which include the evolution of Torah as wisdom, the merging of wisdom and apocalyptic, and the role of ‘divine spirit’ in attaining wisdom, link Elijah’s messianic role with his depiction in different rabbinic legends. This study demonstrates that the role of Elijah in the messianic era as a teacher of wisdom is a direct result of the messianic expectations of the Second Temple era in which wisdom elements informed the eschatological expectations of a messianic teacher in the End of Days. Furthermore, Elijah’s messianic role as teacher impacted the development of Elijah in rabbinic legends as a bearer of wisdom, as well as a mediator of divine wisdom in an era grappling with the loss of Temple and prophecy. One of the mediums through which these ideas were carried into the rabbinic period was the pietists, ḥasidim, who resembled the holy men of Late Antiquity. These pietists were connected with the Spirit-Centered wisdom tradition in Second Temple texts as well as rabbinic literature. It will be demonstrated that their role was integral to the development of the Elijah traditions and the dissemination of wisdom and pietistic ideas in rabbinic literature. This work will illustrate that the Elijah traditions in rabbinic literature were an outgrowth of the numerous evolutions in wisdom and apocalyptic thought during the Second Temple era. These developments can explain the variegated nature of the Elijah traditions which reflect his role as a teacher of the Law, a mediator of divine secrets, and a conduit for divine inspiration.

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Sukkot 2020

THE FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT (BOOTHS, TABERNACLES) begins tonight at sundown. Best wishes to all those observing it.

Last year's Sukkot post was here (plus here). For the biblical background to Sukkot, see here and here.

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Estes on the Tree of Life

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: The Tree of Life (Douglas Estes).

Although the tree of life concept comfortably inhabits the world around us—from movies to coffee shops, scientific paradigms to tarot cards—the impact exceeds its scarce mention in the earliest ancient Near Eastern, Hebrew, and Christian texts.

I noted Professor Estes's new book with the same title here.

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Qoheleth as meditative chanting?

PROF. RABBI TZVEE ZAHAVY: Kohelet: An Israelite Form of Meditation (TheTorah.com).

Ecclesiastes is a cynical reflection on life’s futility. The constant sonorous repetition, visualizations, and references to breath serve as a sustained meditation to help free the reader’s soul from the agonizing struggle of life.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 175

BRENT NIEDERGALL: Biblical Studies Carnival 175 for September 2020. Written in Dr. Seuss poetry. That's a first.

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The rabbi's tomb, the court case, and the children's book

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE AND CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: A missing rabbi, an empty tomb and a caper with the Angel of Death, now for kids. The mysterious tale of 3rd century rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi is recounted in a new book from illustrator Avi Katz, with help from an American poet and a rogue dig in the Galilee (Jessica Steinberg, Times of Israel).

I followed the controvery and court case over R. Yehoshua Ben Levi's tomb at the time. See here, here, here, and here. I never heard the outcome of the case. I'm glad that it seems to have been resolved amicably.

For notice of a scholarly article on R. Yehoshua, see here. For commentary on some of the Talmudic stories about him, see here, here, and here. As noted in that last post, you can read a couple of versions of a story about him in Helen Spurling's excellent translation of "Hebrew Visions of Hell and Paradise" in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures volume 1 (MOTP1).

Cross-file under Epigraphy and Aramaic Watch.

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AI Nero Redivivus?

DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION: AI 'resurrects' 54 Roman emperors, in stunningly lifelike images (Mindy Weisberger, Live Science/MSN).

Ancient Roman emperors' faces have been brought to life in digital reconstructions; the unnervingly realistic image project includes the Emperors Caligula, Nero and Hadrian, among others.

The only images I looked at closely on Mr. Voshart's website were those of the Principate Emperors. I have to say they each look uncannily like what I would have expected.

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Bond on Mark's Gospel as a biography of Jesus

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Mark’s Gospel as the First Biography of Jesus – and 10 reasons why it matters

Although our author may have drawn on a variety of sources of varying historical accuracy, he would doubtless have been selective in what he included and would not have been slow to embellish an augment or an anecdote in the interests of his broader narrative and theological interests. The so-called “nature miracles” in particular – walking on water, stilling the storm, and feeding the multitudes – may well have been embellished and enhanced, not in the interests of historical reporting, but to say something profoundly “true” about Jesus’ identity as Son of God.

See Also: The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark's Gospel (Eerdmans, 2020).

By Helen K Bond
Professor of Christian Origins
Head of the School of Divinity
University of Edinburgh
September 2020

Cross-file under New Book.

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Marek, A Star from Jacob, a Sceptre from Israel

NEW BOOK FROM SHEFFIELD PHOENIX PRESS:

A Star from Jacob, a Sceptre from Israel
Balaam's Oracle as Rewritten Scripture in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Libor Marek

xii + 290 pp.

£35 / $48.75 / €40
Scholar's Price

£70 / $97.50 / €80
List Price
Hardback

The fourth Balaam oracle (Numbers 24.17-19) appears in four separate Dead Sea Scrolls. But how it is used and understood remains puzzling and challenging.

All four scrolls agree that the biblical text is a living artifact and endorse its authority. But they disagree on what it may mean to the audience of their own day. They adjust, rephrase and rework the biblical text according to their own needs and for the benefit of their audience.

Following the twists and turns in this process of interpretation and rewriting has two benefits: first, we become more sensitized to the complexity of the processes by which the scriptural text came into being and to the fact that this process did not have a clear-cut end in mind. Rather, it is thanks to a constant reworking of the scriptural text that it remains alive for its readers.

Second, in following closely the process of reinterpretation of this particular text we gain a better understanding of the world of Qumran, of the communication strategy of the Scrolls, and of some of their key theological concepts. In particular, Qumran beliefs about a messiah become more vividly tangible.

Series: Hebrew Bible Monographs, 88
978-1-910928-74-5 hardback
Publication September 2020

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Ancient mikveh removal service

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE RELOCATED: 2,000-Year-Old Mikvah in Jezreel Valley Hoisted to Safe Location (David Israel, The Jewish Press).

According to the two Israeli Arab scientists [Abd Elghani Ibrahim and Dr. Walid Atrash], “the discovery of the mikvah in the farmstead changes what we knew about the lifestyle of the Jews in the Second Temple period. Until now, we hadn’t discovered Jewish farms in the Galilee. It was considered that the Jews in the Roman period didn’t live in farms outside the villages or towns. The discovery of the farmstead at some distance from the village of the Shikhin and the large Jewish town of Sepphoris (Zippori), shows that Jews also settled in farmsteads that perhaps functioned as the rural hinterland of Sepphoris.”

With video. It is good news that the IAA and Kibbutz Hannaton were able to raise the funding for the transport. Background here and here.

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How wide was an ancient jar opening?

MATERIAL CULTURE: Hebrew U: Modern Scans of Archaeological Finds May Show Traces of Original Dimensions of Biblical ‘Tefach’ (David Israel, The Jewish Press).

It makes sense that jar openings should have a standard size of one handbreadth. Who wants a jar your hand can't fit into?

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Sponsor a sifted coin

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: ADOPT A COIN!

In response, we have inaugurated a special “Adopt a Coin” campaign on our website. The donor can choose to adopt either one or more coins, and will cover the cost of the cleaning, the restoration and the analysis of the coin/s by a specialist in numismatics (the study of ancient coins). The donor will be recognized as the sponsor of the coin/s and receive ongoing updates regarding the status of his coin/s cleaning, restoration and research.

Sounds like a good cause.

For many past posts on the Sifting Project, start here and follow the links.

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Allen, Coptic: A Grammar of Its Six Major Dialects

NEW BOOK FROM EISENBRAUNS:

Coptic

A Grammar of Its Six Major Dialects

James P. Allen

Was: $59.95 Now: $35.97 | Hardcover Edition
ISBN: 978-1-64602-064-5

144 pages
7" × 10"
1 map
2020

Description
Coptic is the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language, written in an alphabet derived primarily from Greek instead of hieroglyphs. It borrows some vocabulary from ancient Greek, and it was used primarily for writing Christian scriptures and treatises. There is no uniform Coptic language, but rather six major dialects.

Unlike previous grammars that focus on just two of the Coptic dialects, this volume, written by senior Egyptologist James P. Allen, describes the grammar of the language in each of the six major dialects. It also includes exercises with an answer key, a chrestomathy, and an accompanying dictionary, making it suitable for teaching or self-guided learning as well as general reference.

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New article on the Rylands fragment of John (P52)

VARIANT READINGS: A New Article on P52 in New Testament Studies. P52 is that famous fragment of the Gospel of John that traditionally (and perhaps wrongly) has been dated to as early as the first half of the second century. Brent Nongbri has shown that there is still something left to say about the fragment by publishing an article on it in New Testament Studies.

Incidentally, I was there at that conference on the John Rylands Library collection in Manchester in 2014. I blogged on Dr Nongbri's paper.

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On Michael the Archangel

IS THAT IN THE BIBLE? Michael the Great Prince and Saviour of Israel (Paul Davidson).

In the New Testament, Christ is mankind’s divine mediator and intercessor, their high priest in the heavenly temple, the Holy One who sits at God’s right hand, and the saviour who descends to earth at the end of the age to vanquish Satan. But this multifaceted, cosmic identity wasn’t introduced by an itinerant Galilean preacher, nor did it originate with the teachings of the early apostles, for the notion of a divine saviour described in these terms was already widespread in Judaism before Christianity was born. He went by many names, but the one he was known by most often was Michael. In this article, I want to explore his development and his importance to both Judaism and Christianity.

Today, incidentally, is the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel.

Cupar War Memorial by Henry Snell Gamley
By Stephencdickson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41392963

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The Aqedah as hieros logos

PROF. RAMI ARAV: The Binding of Isaac, a Sacred Legend for the Jerusalem Temple. (TheTorah.com).

The Akedah (binding of Isaac) takes place on a mountain in the obscure land of Moriah. When a Judahite scribe later revised the story to have the angel of YHWH stop Abraham from killing his son, he connected Moriah with the Jerusalem Temple, thereby giving it a new hieros logos—a sacred founding legend, to compete with the northern worship site Beth-El.

For more PaleoJudaica posts on the Aqedah, see here and here and follow the links. For additional evidence, not mentioned in the current essay, that the Aqedah was originally part of the Elohistic source, see here.

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Conference on ancient Israel

PROF. LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: “THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU”: RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDIES OF ANCIENT ISRAEL. An online public conference coming in late October. Details to follow, but follow the link for the current conference poster.

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A Yom Kippur poem by Yannai

PROF. RABBI LAURA LIEBER: Yom Kippur: Afflicted but Angelic (TheTorah.com).

Self-affliction and fasting heightens awareness of our bodies; at the same time, it helps us to transcend our immanent selves. This tension was embraced by the 6th century poet Yannai in his qerova, who beseaches God to forgive Israel both out of pity for their wretchedness and on account of their resemblance to angels.

Yom Kippur 2020 is today.

A qerova is a genre of piyyut poetry. For more on the poetry of Yannai, see here and here (also a brief mention here).

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Phoenician passion for purple

PHOENICIAN WATCH: Purple Reign: A passion for purple built the Phoenicians' vast trading empire. The seafaring Phoenicians controlled the Mediterranean market for a vibrant purple dye crafted from humble sea snails and craved by powerful kings (MARK WOOLMER, National Geographic).

A long, informative article. Murex shell dye was also used by the Israelites for the tekhelet dye. For more on the Phoenician and the Israelite uses of the dye, see here and links.

As I have noted in more detail here, I like to keep track of developments in Phoenician and Punic studies because the Phoenicians and Carthaginians shared a substrate of Canaanite language and culture with the Israelites. There shared use of the murex shell for cloth dye is one example of shared material culture.

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Upcoming Virtual Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: 23rd Annual Bible and Archaeology Fest: Virtual for 2020. October 24 - 25, 2020 on zoom.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

More on those Syriac mosaics

EPIGRAPHY AND DECORATIVE ART: Archaeologists unearth stunning mosaics in ancient church in Turkey. Excavation begins for mosaics belonging to 1600-year-old church located in southeastern Mardin province (YeniṢafak). I noted the announcement of this discovery here. I don't see any new information in this article, but it does have a photo of a different mosaic at the site. I have not yet seen photos of the inscriptions.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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Yom Kippur 2020

YOM KIPPUR, the Day of Atonement, begins this evening at sundown. An easy and healthy fast to all those observing it.

Last year's post on Yom Kippur is here. For background and previous posts, follow the links from there. More recent posts are here, here, here, and here. Biblical etc. background is here.

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Review of Papantoniou et al. (eds.), Unlocking sacred landscapes

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Unlocking sacred landscapes: spatial analysis of ritual and cult in the Mediterranean.

Giorgos Papantoniou, Christine Morris, Athanasios Vionis, Unlocking sacred landscapes: spatial analysis of ritual and cult in the Mediterranean. Studies in Mediterranean archaeology, 151. Nicosia: Astrom Editions, 2019. xviii, 279 p.. ISBN9789925745548 €68,00.

Review by
Jeremy McInerney, University of Pennsylvania. jmcinern@sas.upenn.edu

The experience of reading the volume edited by Papantoniou, Morris and Vionis is a little like being a carnivore at a vegan smorgasbord: the offerings are often excellent yet still leave one feeling vaguely unsatisfied. ...

This is a thoughful review, but the extended culinary metaphor is overdone.

There is a chapter on Idumean terracotta figurines and another on Phoenician and Punic funerary practices. Both receive detailed attention in the review.

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BRANE Collective PhD Showcase

THE AWOL BLOG: Bible and Religions of the Ancient Near East Collective: PhD Showcase.

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Spielman, Jews and Entertainment in the Ancient World

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Loren R. Spielman. Jews and Entertainment in the Ancient World. 2020. IX, 311 pages. Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 181. 134,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-155000-3.

Published in English.
Countering the traditional belief that Jews in antiquity were predominantly disinterested in the popular entertainments of the Greek and Roman world, Loren R. Spielman maps the varieties of Jewish engagement with theater, athletics, horse racing, gladiatorial, and beast shows in antiquity. The author argues that Jews from Hellenistic Alexandria to late antique Sepphoris enjoyed and exploited, or alternatively resisted and scorned, popular forms of public entertainment as they adapted to the political, social, and religious realities of imperial rule. Including references to ancient Jewish actors, athletes, promoters, and plays alongside analysis of rabbinic and other early Jewish critique of sport and spectacle, Loren R. Spielman describes the different ways that attitudes towards entertainment might have played a role in shaping ancient Jewish identity.

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Review of Weksler-Bdolah, Aelia Capitolina

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research.

Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, Aelia Capitolina - Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research. Mnemosyne, supplements, 432. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2019. xxv, 244 p.. ISBN9789004407336 €106,00.

Review by
Jan Willem Drijvers, University of Groningen. j.w.drijvers@rug.nl

Excerpt:

This volume offers a very useful overview of the development and transformation of the urban landscape of Roman Jerusalem between 70 CE and c. 400 CE based on its archaeological remains. Questions remain, such as the function of the Temple Mount in the cityscape, and the relative absence of archaeological data for urban dwellings and pagan sanctuaries. Nevertheless, the archaeological vestiges laid bare in the last decades have added significantly to our knowledge of Roman Jerusalem and it is to be expected that in the future that knowledge will increase with new finds.

I have collected past PaleoJudaica posts on or involving Aelia Capitolina here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The New Testament Gospels in Manichaean Tradition (ed. Larsen & Leurini)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The New Testament Gospels in Manichaean Tradition. Notice of a New Book: Pedersen, N. A. R. Falkenberg, J. M. Larsen & C. Leurini (eds.). 2020. The New Testament Gospels in Manichaean Tradition: The Sources in Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Bactrian, New Persian, and Arabic (Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum: Series Biblia Manichaica, 2). Turnhout :Brepols.

Cross-file under Manichean Watch (Manichaean Watch).

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The full Gospel of Thomas

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Gospel of Thomas’s 114 Sayings of Jesus. If you don't have a full translation of the Gospel of Thomas in your personal library, be sure to bookmark this link.

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Gruen, Ethnicity in the Ancient World

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Erich S. Gruen

Ethnicity in the Ancient World – Did it matter?

De Gruyter | 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110685657

FROM £59.00

DETAILS
Language: English
Format: 23.0 x 15.5 cm
Pages Roman: XI
Pages Arabic: 265
Publisher: De Gruyter
Year: 2020
Keywords: Ancient Near East; Greeks; Romans; Jews

FORMATS
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-11-068478-0
Published: 21 Sep 2020

PDF
ISBN: 978-3-11-068565-7
Published: 21 Sep 2020

EPUB
ISBN: 978-3-11-068580-0
Published: 21 Sep 2020

OVERVIEW
This study raises that difficult and complicated question on a broad front, taking into account the expressions and attitudes of a wide variety of Greek, Roman, Jewish, and early Christian sources, including Herodotus, Polybius, Cicero, Philo, and Paul. It approaches the topic of ethnicity through the lenses of the ancients themselves rather than through the imposition of modern categories, labels, and frameworks. A central issue guides the course of the work: did ancient writers reflect upon collective identity as determined by common origins and lineage or by shared traditions and culture?

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Jews under Byzantine rule

HISTORY: How did Jews get by under Byzantine rule? A look at surprising Jewish pastimes in past times (Alex Winston, Jerusalem Post). An interview with "Professor Oded Irshai of the Hebrew University’s Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry." Excerpt:

In 553 CE the Emperor Justinian forbade the use and study of the Mishna, known as the Oral Torah, leading to Jewish scholars to compose piyutim, the liturgical poems used in religious services and a major part of the High Holy Days’ services. As the focus of Byzantine Palestine moved toward Christianity from Judaism, the center of world Jewry gradually switched from Judea to Babylon, which had the largest Jewish community in the Diaspora and it was there the Babylonian Talmud was composed. The land of Israel would not return as Judaism’s major religious center (although it would always remain a central tenant in prayer) until the 20th century.

Jerusalem and the Holy Land also fell to the Persian Sassanians and then to the Muslims in the early 7th century, marking the end of Byzantine Palestine, leaving only a diaspora of communities dotted throughout the Eastern Mediterranean.

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The scapegoat and the crimson thread

YOM KIPPUR IS COMING: Scapegoat: The Origins of the Crimson Thread (Dr.Noga Ayali-Darshan, TheTorah.com).

During the Second Temple period, the scapegoat was tied with a crimson thread. While the Torah requires a crimson thread as part of the purification ritual for tzaraʿat (skin disease), it does not mention it by the scapegoat. Nevertheless, parallel practices found in 2nd millennium B.C.E. Hittite texts of Luwian origin imply that the use of a crimson thread is not a late innovation but an ancient part of the rite.

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The masthead from a late-antique shipwreck

MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY: Rare masthead from ancient shipwreck found in northern Israel. Each artifact yielded information which can help unravel mysteries of this era (Hannah Brown, Jerusalem Post).

A masthead found in a shipwreck off northern Israel sheds light on sailing and shipbuilding during the Late Antiquity period, according to a paper just published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology.

Maayan Cohen, a PhD candidate at the department of maritime civilizations at the University of Haifa, and Dr. Deborah Cvikel, a researcher at the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and a senior lecturer at the department of maritime civilizations – both at the University of Haifa – are the authors of the paper, titled, “Rigging of the Ma’agan Mikhael B shipwreck (7th–8th centuries AD): new finds.”

[...]

For more on the Ma’agan Mikhael B shipwreck see here. And follow the links from there for more posts on marine (maritime, underwater) archaeology and on the archaeology of ancient shipwrecks.

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HB/JS job at UBC

ACADEMIC POST: Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies (Assistant Professor, tenure-track).

The Department of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies to commence July 1, 2021. We seek a candidate who specializes in Hebrew Bible within its Iron Age or Persian Period contexts (i.e. pre-Hellenistic era), and demonstrates knowledge of the reception of the Hebrew Bible in later Jewish traditions. ...

Follow the link for further particulars and application information. "The deadline for the receipt of applications and reference letters is Oct 31st, 2020."

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More Syriac manuscripts recovered in Iraq

APPREHENDED: Iraq: dozens of Christian manuscripts stolen by ISIS recovered in Mosul. The historical artefacts were stolen from a church and hidden in the kitchen of a suspected ISIS member (Mina Aldroubi, The National).

Dozens of hidden Syriac manuscripts were recovered by Iraqi security forces late on Tuesday following the arrest of a suspected ISIS member in the northern Nineveh governorate.

The manuscripts were stolen from Assyrian churches in Mosul after the city became the extremist group's de facto capital in the country between 2014 and 2017.

[...]

No word on the contents of the manuscripts. The photo indicates that they are bound books and the bindings look recent. That doesn't necessarily tell us much about the manuscripts, though.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch. Some related stories are here and here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity (ed. Novenson)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Series: Novum Testamentum, Supplements, Volume: 180
Editor: Matthew V. Novenson

In Monotheism and Christology in Greco-Roman Antiquity, Matthew V. Novenson brings together thirteen state-of-the-art essays by leading scholars on the various ways ancient Jewish, Christian, and classical writers conceive of God, Christ, Wisdom, the demiurge, angels, foreign gods, and other divine beings. In particular, the book revisits the “early high Christology” debates of the 1990s, identifying the lasting contributions thereof as well as the lingering difficulties and new, emerging questions from the last thirty years of research. The essays in this book probe the much-touted but under-theorized distinctions between monotheism and polytheism, Judaism and Hellenism, Christianity and paganism. They show how what we call monotheism and Christology fit within the Greco-Roman world of which they are part.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €124.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43808-8
Publication Date: 25 Aug 2020
Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43797-5
Publication Date: 20 Aug 2020

Back in 1999 I co-edited a volume on much the same theme: The Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers from the St Andrews Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus (ed. Davila, Newman, Lewis. Brill). It was reprinted by Baylor University Press in 2017.

Many of the same contributors have essays in Professor Novenson's book. If you want to find out what's been happening in the subsequent couple of decades, it looks like the place to go.

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Aelia Capitolina

HERITAGE DAILY: Aelia Capitolina – Roman Jerusalem. A historical survey, with archaeological etc. photos.

Aelia Capitolina was the Roman city founded on the ruins of the Second Temp-era city by the emperor Hadrian. Its founding was probably a precipitating factor for the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Some past PaleoJudaica posts on or involving Aelia Capitolina are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

BAJS Annual Book Prize 2020 and 2021

THE BAJS Annual Book Prize has announced that it is opening soon.

BAJS is pleased to announce that the 2021 BAJS Book Prize competition will open shortly. The book prize initiative was launched by BAJS in 2018 to recognise and promote outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish Studies. We will be inviting submissions focused on topics relating to the early modern or modern period. Volumes with a copyright date of 2019 or after will be eligible. Details of the competition will be announced later in 2020.

The current topic range is not of interest to PaleoJudaica, but I include it for information.

You have to read pretty far into the announcement to get to the 2020 winners:

• Dr Lindsey Askin (University of Bristol), for Scribal Culture in Ben Sira published with Brill in 2018. Full details about the book are available here.
  
• Professor Sacha Stern (University College London), for The Jewish Calendar Controversy of 921/2 CE published with Brill in 2019. Full details about the book are available here.

Congratulations to both winners!

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Late-antique Syriac mosaics excavated in Turkey church

EPIGRAPHY AND DECORATIVE ART: Mosaics in ancient church in southeastern Turkey unearthed (Daily Sabah). The church was reportedly built at the end of the fourth century.

The base of the church is inscribed with nine lines of Estrangelo, or Ancient Syriac, script, Tarkan said. "The mosaics also show depictions of animals, geometric shapes and human figures, as well as scenes depicting people hunting," he said. "The months of April and June are also inscribed on the human figures.”

There is a photo at the link.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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The Masorah of the (printed ed.) Cairo Codex of the Prophets

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Introduction to the Masorah | The Masorah of the Cairo Codex of the Prophets in Perez-Castro's Printed Edition (David DeLauro).

This is part four in the series. I noted part one here, part two here, and part three here.

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Sogdian publications

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Publications on Sogdian. For the Sogdian language and why PaleoJudaica cares about it, see here. For past posts on Sogdian, see there and links and here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Dahlén (ed.), Achaemenid Anatolia (open-access book)

THE AWOL BLOG: Achaemenid Anatolia: Persian Presence and Impact in the Western Satrapies 546–330 BC. Proceedings of an International Symposium at the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 7–8 September 2017.

I recently noted a book on the Achaemenid Empire in Egypt here.

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Boccaccini, Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation

NEW BOOK FROM EERDMANS:

Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation

Gabriele Boccaccini
Foreword by David Bentley Hart

HARDCOVER; Coming Soon: 9/29/2020
ISBN: 978-0-8028-3921-3
Price: $ 30.00
200 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 6 x 9

DESCRIPTION
“We no longer need to separate Paul from Judaism in order to claim his Christianness,” writes Gabriele Boccaccini, adding, “nor do we need to separate him from the early Jesus movement in order to state his Jewishness.” With this guiding principle Boccaccini unpacks the implications of Paul’s “belonging” simultaneously to Judaism and Christianity to arrive at the surprising and provocative conclusion that there are in fact three means of salvation:

• For Jews, adherence to Torah.
  
• For gentiles, good works according to conscience and natural law.
  
• For all sinners, forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Three Paths to Salvation is an attempt to reconcile the many facets of Paul’s complex identity while reclaiming him from accusations of intolerance, and Boccaccini’s work in reestablishing the figure of Paul as a messenger of God’s Mercy to the sinners is an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about Paul’s place in the contemporary pluralistic world.

"I find much to admire in Gabriele Boccaccini's attempt to reconstruct Paul's own vision of salvation ... This is a splendid and necessary book." (David Bentley Hart, from the Foreword)

"Thanks in large part to the efforts of Gabriele Boccaccini, New Testament scholarship today is busy interpreting Paul within Second Temple Judaism. The interesting work is now in details: sorting out which features of traditional interpretations can stand and which need to be revised or jettisoned. In this fascinating book, Boccaccini threads this needle in his own inimitable way. Anyone interested in the Paul-within-Judaism debates really must read this book." (Matthew V. Novenson, University of Edinburgh)

"Gabriele Boccaccini's expertise in Second Temple Jewish apocalypticism, Enochic traditions in particular, combined with a commitment to read Paul within Judaism, warrants reconsideration of the potential relevance of 'salvation' in Paul's texts for both Christian and Jewish research." (Mark D. Nanos, University of Kansas)

"In this very accessible book, Boccaccini opens up a fresh angle for discussions on Paul. His wide knowledge of Second Temple Judaism and his focus on Enochic traditions helps to overcome the impasses of the current debate of 'Paul within Judaism.' He wisely avoids any ideological one-sidedness and helps to perceive the tensions in Paul's thought." (Jörg Frey, University of Zurich)

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Wizard battles and demon circles in MNTA2

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: Wizard battles and demon circles revealed in newly translated Christian texts (Owen Jarus, Live Science). Mr. Jarus summarizes three of the texts newly translated in More New Testament Apocrypha volume 2, edited by Tony Burke.

Reviews and background are here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

"Passion" sequel is still on

CINEMA FRANCHISE RESURRECTION: 'Passion of the Christ' sequel still in development as Jim Caviezel teases 'the biggest film in world history' (Tom Butler, Yahoo News). Caviezel is still on to play Jesus. This sequel has been in the works since 2016, so no one seems to be in a hurry.

Background here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Chicago Assyrian Dictionary online

THE AWOL BLOG: The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD).

The CAD was completed in 2011. For past posts on it, see here and links. Now the whole thing is available for free online. For you, special deal!

For other online Akkadian dictionaries, see here and here. And for why Akkadian still matters, see here and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Review of Thavapalan, The meaning of color in ancient Mesopotamia

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: The meaning of color in ancient Mesopotamia.

Shiyanthi Thavapalan, The meaning of color in ancient Mesopotamia. Culture and history of the ancient Near East, 104. Leiden: Brill, 2019. 524 p.. ISBN9789004415379 €163,00.

Review by
Ulrike Steinert, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz. usteiner@uni-mainz.de

[...]

In conclusion, The Meaning of Color in Ancient Mesopotamia is a ground-breaking, methodologically innovative, and insightful work. It makes an important contribution to the fields of color studies, historical semantics, and to the history of technologies, enriching our current understanding of Mesopotamian worldviews, languages and material culture. The book will be a valuable resource not only to Assyriologists, but, due to its comparative perspective, also to historians, linguists, and readers interested in the interrelations between language, thought, and culture.

For more on language and color perception in antiquity, see here and links. And for recovering the original color on an ancient monument, see here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

An old DSS documentary

VARIANT READINGS: Mr. Spock and Qumran. Brent Nongbri has come upon an old documentary on the Dead Sea Scrolls with you-know-who narrating.

Some sort of related posts are here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

The Masorah of MS BH MSS1

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Introduction to the Masorah | Editing the Masorah of the Manuscript BH MSS1 (Madrid, Complutensian Library) (Elvira Martín-Contreras).

This is part three in the series. I noted part one here and part two here.

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Abraham in Jewish and Early Christian Literature (ed. Adams & Domoney-Lyttle)

THE AWOL BLOG: Abraham in Jewish and Early Christian Literature. An open-access book from Bloomsbury/T&T Clark:

Abraham in Jewish and Early Christian Literature
Sean A. Adams and Zanne Domoney-Lyttle (eds)
T&T Clark 2019

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Archaeological gardens in Israel

EXHIBITIONS: Post-lockdown field trip? Visit some of Israel’s (320!) archaeological gardens. Free historical sites nationwide, open to the public at all hours, feature Roman-era marble artifacts, ancient sarcophagi, farming implements, Crusader ruins and more (AVIVA AND SHMUEL BAR-AM, Times of Israel).

It may be a while before "post-lockdown," but these sites are certainly worth keeping in mind.

Past posts on archaeological gardens in Israel, including Givat Yeshayahu are here and links. I also noted the Ashkelon exhibition here and the one in the Old City of Jerusalem here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Review of Goulet-Cazé, Cynicism and Christianity in antiquity

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Cynicism and Christianity in antiquity.

Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, Cynicism and Christianity in antiquity. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2019. xvii, 278 p.. ISBN9780802875556 $75.00.

Review by
Etienne Helmer, University of Puerto Rico. etiennehelmer@hotmail.fr

This English version of Dr. Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé’s French book[1] is a scholarly monument on the complex relationships between Cynicism and Christianity—and Judaism as well—in Antiquity. It aims at determining the possible impact of Cynicism on Christianity since the early Jesus movement, as one of its earliest literary artifacts known as the Q Gospel source—a hypothetical collection of alleged Jesus’s sayings assembled after his death—as well as apparent close similarities in their ways of life. ...

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Abusch, Essays on Babylonian and Biblical Literature and Religion

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Essays on Babylonian and Biblical Literature and Religion

Series: Harvard Semitic Studies, Volume: 65
Author: Tzvi Abusch

In this volume, I. Tzvi Abusch presents studies written over a span of forty years prior to his retirement from Brandeis University in 2019. They reflect several themes that he has pursued in addition to his work on witchcraft literature and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Part 1 includes general articles on Mesopotamian magic, religion, and mythology, followed by a set of articles on Akkadian prayers, especially šuillas, focusing on exegetical and linguistic (synchronic) studies and on diachronic analyses. Part 2 contains a series of literary studies of Mesopotamian and biblical classics. Part 3 is devoted to comparative studies of terms and phenomena. Part 4 examines legal texts.

The Harvard Semitic Studies series publishes volumes from the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. Other series offered by Brill that publish volumes from the Museum include Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant and Harvard Semitic Monographs, https://hmane.harvard.edu/publications.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €240.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43518-6
Publication Date: 31 Aug 2020

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43517-9
Publication Date: 03 Sep 2020

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Fakes and Forgeries of Written Artefacts

THE AWOL BLOG: Fakes and Forgeries of Written Artefacts from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern China. A forthcoming open-access book from De Gruyter, edited by Cécile Michel and Michael Friedrich. The topic is evergreen.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.