Writing and scribes in ancient Israel

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: From Texts to Scribes: Evidence for Writing in Ancient Israel (Philip Zhakevich).

But what about the act of writing and the scribal culture that produced written documents? Here we must glance at the occurrences of two words in the biblical text, the verb ‘write’ (katav) and the noun ‘scribe’ (sofer). How much information about writing from the biblical text can we extract while focusing on two words central to the act of writing?

PaleoJudaica has published many posts relevant to this essay.

For the Lachish inscribed ostraca, see here and here and links. For the inscribed Arad ostraca, see here and links. For the inscribed Samaria ostraca, see here.

For the Gezer Calendar, see here and links. For the Siloam Tunnel inscription, see here and links (cf. here). For the Aramaic Tel Dan inscription, see here and links.

For the Balaam inscription from Tel Deir 'Alla (Deir Alla), see here and links. For the Hebrew inscriptions found at Kuntillet Ajrud, see here and here and links.

For the LMLK stamps, see here and links.

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

Ritmeyer on Hellenistic Jerusalem & Temple Mount

LEEN RITMEYER: Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the Hellenistic period. Very informative.

Cross-file under Temple Mount Watch.

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

New PhD thesis on Targum Canticles

ARAMAIC WATCH: Paul Moore has recently completed a doctoral thesis at University College London: Studies in the Language of Targum Canticles, with Annotated Transcription of Geniza Fragments.

ABSTRACT

While the language of Targum Canticles—a species of Late Jewish Literary Aramaic—has attracted previous study, many of its peculiarities have been overlooked, or accorded but cursory treatment. The present work investigates a range of morphological, syntactic, and semantic anomalies that punctuate the text. These impinge on various domains, including predicate argument marking, verbal stems, the nominal dimensions of state and gender, and particle usage. Attending to these phenomena, with descriptive sensitivity and comparative perspective, yields insight into literary influences, the process of composition, and the conceptions of Aramaic—both grammatical and aesthetic—of the Jewish literati who adopted this dialectally eclectic idiom. This study also probes the still under-researched nexus between Late Jewish Literary Aramaic and the Aramaic of Zoharic literature. It concludes with an annotated transcription of the fragments of Targum Canticles from the Cairo Geniza: Cambridge, T-S B11.81, T-S NS 312—which are among the earliest, known, extant witnesses to the text—and Oxford Heb. f. 56, whose colophon bears the date 1416 CE. The latter features a Judaeo-Arabic translation of the Targum—possibly the earliest known example—which is included in the transcription. The alignments of the readings of these fragments with other witnesses are highlighted, accompanied by ad hoc textual and exegetical commentary.

It is available for open-access download at the link.

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The Sibyl's Cave in Cumae

OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA GEOGRAPHY?The Cave of the Sibyl. (Heritage Daily). HT Rogue Classicism.

The Cave of the Sibyl is a subterranean complex beneath the ancient city of Cumae, located on the outskirts of the present-day Metropolitan City of Naples in Campania, Italy.

The cave has been associated with the Cumaean Sibyl, a priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle, who according to legend, prophesied from the depths of the earth beneath the temple to Apollo, where she wrote her prophecies on leaves that were then displayed at the cave’s entrance.

[...]

For a PaleoJudaica post discussing the Cumaean Sibyl and another discovery at Cumae, see here. This is the first time I remember seeing her cave.

The Roman Sibylline oracles are virtually entirely lost, but ancient Jews and Christians adopted the Sibyl as their own prophetess and composed various oracles in her name. These are generally filed as Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. For more posts on the ancient Sibylline oracles, start in the links in the above post, plus here, here, and here.

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Porter (ed.), James Barr Assessed (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

James Barr Assessed

Evaluating His Legacy over the Last Sixty Years

Series: Biblical Interpretation Series, Volume: 192

Volume Editor: Stanley E. Porter

James Barr is a widely recognized name in biblical studies, even if he is still best known for his The Semantics of Biblical Language. Barr’s Semantics, although first published in 1961, still generates animated discussion of its claims. However, over his lengthy career Barr published significant scholarship on a wide variety of topics within Old Testament studies and beyond. This volume provides an assessment of Barr’s contribution to biblical studies sixty years after the publication of his first and still memorable volume on biblical semantics. As a result, this volume includes essays on major topics such as the Hebrew language, lexical semantics, lexicography, the Septuagint, and biblical theology.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €123.00 / $148.00

Copyright Year: 2021

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46566-4
Publication Date: 16 Aug 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46552-7
Publication Date: 19 Aug 2021

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A Syriac liturgy in Cairo and China?

THE GENIZA FRAGMENTS BLOG: Throwback Thursday: A surprise in Syriac script (Melonie Schmierer-Lee). The surprise is the discovery in the early 1980s of Nestorian Syriac liturgical fragments, some unparalleled. That is notable in itself, but what caught my eye is the following:

Very little is known of the dwindling “Nestorian” community in Cairo after the end of the twelfth century, and so these small fragments provide tangible evidence for its continuing existence into the thirteenth or even fourteenth century; perhaps the manuscript was sold as scrap when the community finally faded out of existence.

It is a remarkable coincidence that one of the fragments contains a text which overlaps with one that occurs in an even earlier Syriac liturgical fragment – found in Chinese Turkestan! These two identical liturgical fragments thus provide unexpected testimony to the far-flung geographical extension of the Church of the East in the Middle Ages.

I don't know which discovery in Turkestan is involved here. PaleoJudaica posts on Syriac discoveries in China are collected here (final paragraph).

A parallel Nestorian liturgical fragment from medieval Cairo and earlier Chinese Turkestan is intriguing. This is well outside my expertise, but was there regular communication between Egypt and China in the Middle Ages? Or was this liturgy disseminated independently to both countries in late antiquity?

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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Looted coins apprehended in Israel

NUMISMATICS APPREHENSION: Ancient gold coins looted from archaeological sites found in Bnei Brak home. Hundreds of artifacts from the Hasmonean, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic period were saved from an illegal antique dealer (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

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

Olyan & Rosenblum (eds.), Animals and the Law in Antiquity (SBL Press)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Animals and the Law in Antiquity

Saul M. Olyan, Jordan D. Rosenblum, editors

ISBN 9781951498825
Volume BJS 368
Status Available

Publication Date
August 2021

Paperback
$29.00

Hardback
$82.00

eBook
$29.00

Original studies at the intersection of animals and the law in antiquity

Animal law has become a topic of growing importance internationally, with animal welfare and animal rights often assuming center stage in contemporary debates about the legal status of animals. While nonspecialists routinely decontextualize ancient texts to support or deny rights to animals, experts in fields such as classics, biblical studies, Assyriology, Egyptology, rabbinics, and late antique Christianity have only just begun to engage the topic of animals and the law in their respective areas. This volume consists of studies by scholars from a range of Mediterranean and West Asian fields on animals and the law. Contributors include Rozenn Bailleul-LeSuer, Beth Berkowitz, Andrew McGowan, F. S. Naiden, Saul M. Olyan, Seth Richardson, Jordan D. Rosenblum, Andreas Schüle, Miira Tuominen, and Daniel Ullucci. The volume is essential reading for scholars and students of both the ancient world and contemporary law.

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MNTA 3 nearing completion

THE APOCRYPHYCITY BLOG: New Testament Apocrypha 3 Near Completion (Tony Burke). Good news!

For more on the More New Testament Apocrypha Project (MNTA), see here and here and links.

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Bauks & Olyan (eds.), Pain in Biblical Texts and Other Materials of the Ancient Mediterranean (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Pain in Biblical Texts and Other Materials of the Ancient Mediterranean. Edited by Michaela Bauks and Saul M. Olyan. 2021. VIII, 267 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe 130. 79,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-160641-0.

Published in English.
This volume includes a wide range of studies on pain and its representation in texts and non-literary remains of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, suggesting both the richness and complexity of the topic and the need for scholars to address it from a variety of perspectives. The essays engage the subject of pain and its representation in a multitude of ways, including consideration of the representation of physical pain, of psychological anguish, and the often complex relationship between the two. Several essays focus on the representation of pain in a particular genre of ancient literature such as Greek medical texts, narratives, prophetic texts, poetry, or legal texts. The volume also explores descriptions of concrete pain and the metaphorical use of pain imagery and idioms, as well as pain's relationship to shame, illness and torture. Finally, both communal and individual dimensions of pain are of interest to the contributors, as is the role pain might have had in ritual action and the part rites might play in the imposition of pain.

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Dell (ed.), The BIblical World, 2nd ed. (Routledge)

NEW (2ND EDITION) BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

2nd Edition
The Biblical World

Edited By Katharine J. Dell
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£152.00

eBook
£31.99

ISBN 9781138932920
Published July 30, 2021 by Routledge
1098 Pages 115 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

The Biblical World is a comprehensive guide to the contents, historical settings, and social context of the Bible. This new edition is updated with several new chapters as well as a new section on biblical interpretation.　

Contributions from leading scholars in the field present wide-ranging views not just of biblical materials and their literary and linguistic context, but also of the social institutions, history and archaeology, and religious concepts. New chapters cover topics such as the priesthood and festivals, creation and covenant, ethics, and family life, while a new section on biblical interpretation discusses Jewish and Christian bible translation and key thematic emphases, and modern reader-response and cultural approaches.　

This revised edition of The Biblical World offers an up-to-date and thorough survey of the Bible and its world, and will continue to be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and their history and interpretation, as well as anyone working on the societies, religions, and political and cultural institutions that created and influenced these texts.

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Rotasperti, Decoding the Language of Metaphor in the Book of Proverbs (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Metaphors in Proverbs

Decoding the Language of Metaphor in the Book of Proverbs

Series: Vetus Testamentum, Supplements, Volume: 188

Author: Sergio Rotasperti

Proverbs is a poetic book full of images and metaphors, many of which are often obscure and enigmatic. In this volume, Rotasperti offers a contribution to the understanding of figurative language in Proverbs by looking at the grammatical and social contexts in which many of the book’s metaphors appear. The brief introduction explains the process and methodological assumptions used for identifying metaphors. The study then continues with a lexical review of four semantic categories: the body, urban fabric, nature and animals. The result of this survey is a deep analysis of several key metaphors that looks at their composition, structure, and interpretation.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €109.00 / $131.00

Copyright Year: 2021

E-Book (PDF) Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46605-0
Publication Date: 29 Jun 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46410-0
Publication Date: 22 Jul 2021

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Review of Gitin's autobiography

NEW BOOK REVIEWED: Sy Gitin and the Albright (Deb Reich, Times of Israel Blogs).

Renowned biblical archaeologist Seymour (Sy) Gitin is a great storyteller. So naturally his new memoir, The Road Taken: An Archaeologist’s Journey to the Land of the Bible, is a fascinating read.

[...]

The book came out this month.

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Does the Vatican have Dead Sea Scrolls?

VARIANT READINGS: Dead Sea Scrolls at the Vatican. Brent Nongbri has been on a visit to the Vatican Museum. He has noticed something interesting.

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

The HMML has received a $5M grant

NICE PROFILE OF THE LIBRARY: Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at St. John's University works to preserve history (BECCA MOST, St. Cloud Times).

Earlier this month the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, housed at St. John's University, received a $5 million grant to continue their work digitizing, archiving and cataloguing endangered manuscripts outside Europe, like in South Asia, the Middle East and West Africa. The grant was the largest HMML had ever received in its 56 years of operation.

Congratulations and keep up the good work!

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, start here and follow the links.

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

Review of Allison, Saving one another

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Saving one another: Philodemus and Paul on moral formation in community.

Justin Allison, Saving one another: Philodemus and Paul on moral formation in community. Ancient philosophy and religion, volume 3. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2020. Pp. xii, 238. ISBN 9789004434004 €127,00.

Review by
David Douglas, McGill University. david.douglas2@mail.mcgill.ca

For more on the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, whose work has mainly been recovered from the carbonized Herculaneum scrolls, see here.

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Lederman-Daniely, Sarai: Is She the Goddess of Ancient Israel? (Wipf & Stock)

NEW BOOK FROM WIPF AND STOCK:

Sarai
Is She the Goddess of Ancient Israel?

by Dvora Lederman-Daniely
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
74 Pages, 5.50 x 8.50 x 0.15 in

Paperback
9781725298880
Published: June 2021
$12.00 / £9.00 / AU$17.00

Hardcover
9781725298897
Published: June 2021
$27.00 / £20.00 / AU$37.00

eBook
9781725298903
Published: June 2021
$12.00 / £9.00 / AU$17.00

DESCRIPTION

Who was the mother goddess of the ancient religion of Israel, the spouse of the god Yahweh? Archaeological and literary-biblical studies refer to her as "Asherah," yet, they cannot explain why this name is not mentioned in the book of Genesis, a book that portrays the formation of Israel's religion. In this groundbreaking book, Dvora Lederman-Daniely provides an answer to this enigmatic question. Based on meticulous research she argues the goddess's name does appear in the book of Genesis but it is concealed within the name of the first human matriarch of the people of Israel: Sarai. Deciphering and identifying the forgotten and censored name of the divine spouse of Yahweh opens the door to a revolutionary understanding of the relationship between Yahweh and the people of Israel, as perceived during the formation of the Hebrew people. Moreover, biblical images and metaphors are stripped back and their outrageous mythological content is laid bare. Through careful argument Lederman-Daniely excavates the very origins of Jewish customs and decrees exposing how they embody the ancient worship of a goddess who was Yahweh's spouse.

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Chilton on "The Herods"

INTERVIEW: New book plumbs the role of the Herods in forming early Jewish, Christian views. In his book “The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession,” Bruce Chilton, a professor of religion at Bard College, places the dynastic family that ruled Judea and Israel for the Romans front and center (Yonat Shimron, RNS).

I noted the book and an essay on it by Professor Chilton here.

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Long-form, literary, Levirate law

PROF. SARA MILSTEIN: The Levirate Law: A Marriage Contract Clause that became Legislation (TheTorah.com).

Upon a childless husband's death, Deuteronomy states "his wife shall not marry a strange man outside." This phrase originated as a contract clause, and the case was a practice exercise for scribes who were learning contract clauses.

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A Bar Kokhba coin is going into space

ASTRO-NUMISMATICS: Israeli astronaut to take 1,900-year-old Bar Kochba revolt coin to space. As part of next year’s Rakia mission to International Space Station, Eytan Stibbe says he’ll bring along ancient artifact as a ‘symbol of Jewish history’ (Michael Bachner, Times of Israel).

Israel’s second-ever astronaut, Eytan Stibbe, has chosen to take the 1,900-year-old coin with him on the Rakia mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for early next year. Stibbe said that he is taking the artifact with him as a symbol of his Jewish heritage.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in a statement on Thursday that Stibbe has recently visited the IAA’s Dead Sea Scrolls laboratory in Jerusalem, where he was shown various artifacts, including the coin, as well as 2,000-year-old fragments of the Book of Enoch.

That book tells the story of Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, who ascended to the heavens and was accompanied by angels who showed him the sun, the moon and the stars.

Stibbe ultimately elected to take the coin along, rather than the ancient fragments.

This is very cool, but I totally would have chosen the Enoch fragments.

The coin was discovered in the Cave of Horror in Nahal Hever, where archaeologists recently recovered new fragments of an ancient Greek scroll of the Minor Prophets.

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Interview with Khaled al-Asaad's son

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Return to Palmyra. An interview with heroic Khaled al-Asaad's son about his father's legacy, and the importance of the ruins and museum collection at Palmyra that al-Assad died protecting.

For more on Khaled al-Asaad and his heroic, fatal resistance to ISIS, see here and links.

More on the Getty's Palmyra exhibition is here and here.

For many posts on the ancient metropolis of Palmyra, its history and archaeology, the Aramaic dialect once spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now trending for the better, start here and follow the links. Cross-file under Palmyra Watch.

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

Night-shift archaeology

NOCTURNAL EXCAVATOR: Excavations by night. Initially, archaeology was only a passion, something Navot Rom studied to fulfill his interests, but he didn’t plan it as a career (BASIA MONKA, Jerusalem Post).

“There is something magical and Gothic about it,” he says.

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Nero's wife went to heaven on a chariot?

THE ANTIGONE BLOG: TO HEAVEN ON A CHARIOT: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF POPPAEA SABINA (Paul Schubert).

According to the Roman historian Tacitus, in AD 65 Poppaea Sabina was killed by her husband, Emperor Nero, who had lost his temper with her. She was heavily pregnant and a kick in the belly was enough to end her life. Is this true, or was Tacitus spreading evil slander about Nero? We may never know for sure, but evidence recently found on a frayed piece of papyrus indicates that there was another version of the story, where Poppaea Sabina made a loving farewell speech to Nero before darting off to heaven on a chariot driven by a goddess.

[...]

HT Rogue Classicism.

This fragmentary third-century papyrus from Oxyrhynchus may add some support for a revisionist view of Nero, which argues that the surviving records about him were written by his enemies and lack credibility. The current British Museum exhibition on Nero is sympathetic to ths view. If Paul Schubert's interpretation of the papyrus is correct (it mentions Nero by name, but not Poppaea), it gives us a glimpse outside the narrative.

This essay also deals more generally with the subject of apotheosis traditions in the Roman period. Jesus wasn't the only one to ascend to heaven and Elijah wasn't the only one to go theren in a chariot.

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Late-antique site salvaged near Tel Aviv

ARCHAEOLOGY: Building project unearths ancient history in Tel Aviv suburb. Construction of new residential neighborhood in Ramat Hasharon reveals human activity dating back 1,500 years, including a winepress and gold coin much prized by its owner (Stuart Winer, Times of Israel).

For more on Heraclius coins, see here. The IAA excavated a hoard of them in Jerusalem in 2008.

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Review of Burnett, Studying the New Testament through inscriptions

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Studying the New Testament through inscriptions: an introduction.

David Clint Burnett, Studying the New Testament through inscriptions: an introduction. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2020. Pp. 216. ISBN 9781683071372 $39.95.

Review by
W. Andrew Smith, Shepherds Theological Seminary.
w.andrew.smith@gmail.com

For more on the book and the author, see here and links.

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Arzhanov (ed.), Porphyry, ›On Principles and Matter‹ (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Porphyry, ›On Principles and Matter‹
A Syriac Version of a Lost Greek Text with an English Translation, Introduction, and Glossaries

Yury Arzhanov and Porphyry
Volume 34 in the series Scientia Graeco-Arabica
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110747027

About this book

The Syriac treatise published in the present volume is in many respects a unique text. Though it has been preserved anonymously, there remains little doubt that it belongs to Porphyry of Tyre. Accordingly, it enlarges our knowledge of the views of the most famous disciple of Plotinus. The text is an important witness to Platonist discussions on First Principles and on Plato’s concept of Prime Matter in the Timaeus. It contains extensive quotations from Atticus, Severus, and Boethus. This text thus provides us with new textual witnesses to these philosophers, whose legacy remains very poorly attested and little known. Additionally, the treatise is a rare example of a Platonist work preserved in the Syriac language. The Syriac reception of Plato and Platonic teachings has left rather sparse textual traces, and the question of what precisely Syriac Christians knew about Plato and his philosophy remains a debated issue. The treatise provides evidence for the close acquaintance of Syriac scholars with Platonic cosmology and with philosophical commentaries on Plato’s Timaeus.

eBook
Published: August 2, 2021
ISBN: 9783110747027

Hardcover
Published: August 2, 2021
ISBN: 9783110745771

For more on Porphyry and why he is of interest to PaleoJudaica, see here and links, here, and here.

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How were the Psalms originally performed?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: How Were Biblical Psalms Originally Performed? Ancient music and the Biblical psalms. This essay is based on a 2018 BAR article by Thomas Staubli. The article itself is behind the subscription wall, but the essay is of some interest on its own.

For much more on Papyrus Amherst 63, start here and follow the links.

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Looted sarcophagus returned to IAA

LARGE LOOTED ARTIFACT: 'Hand over that sarcophagus, citizen!' Roman-era artifact excavated illegally at an unidentified site in Israel returned to Israel Antiquities Authority (Israel HaYom). Actually, the citizen received the object from a deceased antiquities dealer and alerted the IAA so they could come and get it. Well done.

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Stamped jars showing cultural shift in late-Iron-Age Judah?

EPIGRAPHY AND ICONOGRAPHY: Pottery shows new culture in biblical Judah after Assyrian conquest. Analyzing stamped jars, Hebrew University archaeologists raised new questions on what happened in the land of Israel after the war with King Sennacherib (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

From the 7th century, the LMLK jars were not produced any more, while by the end of the century and the beginning of the 6th century the rosetta jars appeared in Jerusalem and its surroundings and were used until the Babylonian destruction in 586 BCE.

For more on the LMLK jars, see the links collected here.

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

Interview with Alison Salvesen

WILLIAM ROSS: ALISON SALVESEN & THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF THE SEPTUAGINT.

I noted the publication of the Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint (ed. Salvesen & Law) here. 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.

YHWH's conquering name in Deuteronomy?

PROF. SANDRA L. RICHTER: Does YHWH’s Name Dwell in the Temple? (TheTorah.com).

Deuteronomy refers to the central cult site as the place where YHWH chooses לְשַׁכֵּן שְׁמוֹ שָׁם, an unusual phrase often translated “to cause His name to dwell there,” and interpreted to mean that an abstracted aspect or hypostasis of YHWH takes up residence in the Temple. A parallel phrase found in many Akkadian inscriptions refutes this understanding, offering us a critically important correction to our reading of Deuteronomy.

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Niebuhr, Tora und Weisheit (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr. Tora und Weisheit. Studien zur frühjüdischen Literatur. [Torah and Wisdom. Studies on Early Jewish Literature.] 2021. XI, 717 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 466. 184,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-160799-8

Published in German.
This volume features essays by Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr on the Jewish Law and wisdom traditions in early Jewish literature. It is introduced by two comprehensive studies on the development and the reception of the concept of Torah in the Hebrew Bible and in early Jewish literature, including the Septuagint, and on the relationship between biblical wisdom and Greek philosophy in ancient Judaism.

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Blob of late-antique coins found on Israeli beach

NUMISMATICS: Ancient 1,700-year-old coins found on Israeli beach. Israel Antiquities Authority marine archeology department head Yaakov Sharvit noted the coins might have belonged to an ancient ship sailing the Mediterranean Sea (Jerusalem Post).

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Frey & Nägele Eds.) Der Nous bei Paulus (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Der Nous bei Paulus und in seiner Umwelt. Griechisch-römische, frühjüdische und frühchristliche Perspektiven. Herausgegeben von Jörg Frey und Manuel Nägele. [The Nous in Paul and his Environment. Greco-Roman, Early Jewish, and Early Christian Perspectives.] 2021. XII, 375 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 464. 139,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-160231-3.

Published in German.
What is it that characterizes the human being? Is it the composition of somatic and psychic parts? Is it the mutual interaction of both? Or is it the cognitive ability of humans, self-reflection and self-awareness? Are humans mainly reason-driven, or are their actions rather guided by instincts? The issue of the meaning of νοῦς (nous, gr. »mind"/"spirit«) in Antiquity and its anthropological implications leads straight to fundamental issues of contemporary anthropological discourses. In the present volume, philologists and theologians enter an interdisciplinary encounter. The central relevance of the term νοῦς, which has so far received little attention in Pauline exegesis, becomes evident in the various intellectual milieus around the New Testament.

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Maimonides on true and false prophets

PROF. JAMES A. DIAMOND: How Do We Know a True Prophet? Jeremiah vs. Hananiah (TheTorah.com).

Jeremiah urges Judah to submit to Babylon while Hananiah claims that Babylon will soon fall. Both use the same prophetic tropes to convince their listeners. Maimonides reads this story as a blueprint for distinguishing true prophets from false ones.

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The Van Kampen Collection

VARIANT READINGS: The Fate of the Van Kampen Collection (Brent Nongbri).

I know next to nothing about the Van Kampen Collection. I see that I have blogged a couple of times on the Holy Land Experience theme park (see final paragraph of this post). One of those posts from 2007 mentions the Scriptorium museum, which consisted of biblical manuscripts owned by the Van Kampen family.

In any case, Brent Nongbri tells us that the collection includes pages from a late-antique Coptic codex with Jeremianic biblical material. Cross-file under Coptic Watch

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Judaism in ancient Crete

Ancient Greek synagogue resurrected in Crete After decades in ruins, Nikos Stavroulakis set out to revitalize Jewish life on the Greek island of Crete (ALEXANDRA ARIOTTI/NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL, Jerusalem Post).

I don't see a clear indication that this synagogue is itself "ancient," at least in the way I use the term. But the Jewish community in Crete goes back to antiquity. For on the complicated question of an ancient synagogue at Delos, see here and here.

This article gives a brief history of the Jewish community in Crete from antiquity to the present.

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

Talmudic-era coin found at Korazim

NUMISMATICS: Talmudic-era coin found in the Galilee by family on a trip. A coin dating back to the Talmudic time was found by a family visiting the Korazim National Park in the Galilee, the Nature and Parks Authority announced Tuesday (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

For more on Korazim (New Testament Chorazin), see here.

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

Liverani, Historiography, Ideology and Politics in the Ancient Near East and Israel (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

Historiography, Ideology and Politics in the Ancient Near East and Israel
Changing Perspectives 5

By Mario Liverani, Niels Peter Lemche, Emanuel Pfoh
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£96.00

eBook
£29.59

ISBN 9780367742485
Published July 16, 2021 by Routledge
338 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

In this volume, Niels Peter Lemche and Emanuel Pfoh present an anthology of seminal studies by Mario Liverani, a foremost scholar of the Ancient Near East.

This collection contains 18 essays, 11 of which have originally been published in Italian and are now published in English for the first time. It represents an important contribution to Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies, exposing the innovative interpretations of Liverani on many historical and ideological aspects of ancient society. Topics range from the Amarna letters and the Ugaritic epic, to the ‘origins’ of Israel.

Historiography, Ideology and Politics in the Ancient Near East and Israel will be an invaluable resource for Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical scholars, as well as graduate and post-graduate students.

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

Toher, Nicolaus of Damascus (CUP)

NEWLY IN PAPERBACK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Nicolaus of Damascus: The Life of Augustus and The Autobiography

Edited with Introduction, Translations and Historical Commentary>

REAL AUTHOR: Nicolaus of Damascus
EDITOR AND TRANSLATOR: Mark Toher, Union College, New York
DATE PUBLISHED: July 2021
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Paperback
ISBN: 9781107428324

£ 39.99
Paperback

Description

Nicolaus of Damascus, the chief minister of Herod the Great, was an exact contemporary of the first Roman emperor Augustus; he spent considerable time in Roman society and knew Augustus. The extensive remains of his Bios Kaisaros contain the earliest and most detailed account of the conspiracy against Julius Caesar and his assassination. The Bios also presents the most extensive account of the boyhood and early development of Augustus. This edition presents the Greek text and translation of the Bios and Nicolaus' autobiography, along with a historical and historiographical commentary. The Introduction situates the text in relation to the considerable evidence for the life and career of Nicolaus preserved in the works of Josephus, addresses the problem of its date of composition, analyses the language and narrative technique of Nicolaus and discusses the Bios in relation to the evidence for Greek biographical encomium.

• The first critical text of the Life of Augustus in almost a century, based on a re-examination of the manuscript tradition and providing a full apparatus criticus
• Provides an edition and translation of the fragments of the author's autobiography, which is virtually unavailable in English
• The introduction and commentary provide an historiographical analysis of the text that is crucial to understanding its value as an historical document

This book was pubished in Hardback in 2016, but I didn't note it then and it is worth noting. For more on Nicolaus of Damascus, see here and here.

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

Gröger, Wellhausen's Forerunners (Mohr Siebeck - in German)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Martin Gröger. Wellhausens Wegbereiter. Studien zur alttestamentlichen Hermeneutik im 19. Jahrhundert. [Wellhausen's Forerunners. Studies on Old Testament Hermeneutics in the 19th Century.] 2021. XIII, 416 pages. Beiträge zur historischen Theologie 202. 119,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-160662-5.

Published in German.
Julius Wellhausen, probably the most famous representative of nineteenth century Old Testament scholarship, cannot be understood without those who blazed a trail before him. Martin Gröger examines the works of de Wette, George, Ewald, Graf, Vatke, Kuenen, and Geiger to show that Wellhausen's studies on the religious-historical development of the Old Testament takes further the findings of these researchers.

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

Schick, Intention in Talmudic Law (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Intention in Talmudic Law

Between Thought and Deed

Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Volume: 65

Author: Shana Strauch Schick

In Intention in Talmudic Law: Between Thought and Deed, Shana Strauch Schick offers the first comprehensive history of intention in classical Jewish law (1st-6th centuries CE). Through close readings of rabbinic texts and explorations of contemporaneous legal-religious traditions, Strauch Schick constructs an intellectual history that reveals remarkable consistency within the rulings of particular sages, locales, and schools of thought. The book carefully traces developments across generations and among groups of rabbis, uncovering competing lineages of evolving legal and religious thought, and demonstrating how intention gradually became a nuanced, differentially applied concept across a wide array of legal realms.

Copyright Year: 2021

Prices from (excl. VAT):€112.00 / $135.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43304-5
Publication Date: 29 Jun 2021

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43303-8
Publication Date: 01 Jul 2021

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Pouchelle et al. (eds.), The Psalms of Solomon: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts (SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

The Psalms of Solomon: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts
Patrick Pouchelle, G. Anthony Keddie, Kenneth Atkinson, editors

ISBN 9781628374049

Volume EJL 54

Status Available

Publication Date June 2021

Paperback $49.00

eBook $49.00

Hardback $69.00

Explore new approaches to the Psalms of Solomon

The Psalms of Solomon: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts explores a unique pseudepigraphal document that bears witness to the 63 BCE Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Essays address a variety of themes, notably their political, social, religious, and historical contexts, through the lens of anthropology of religion, cognitive science, socioeconomic theory, and more. Contributors include Kenneth Atkinson, Eberhard Bons, Johanna Erzberger, Angela Kim Harkins, G. Anthony Keddie, Patrick Pouchelle, Stefan Schreiber, Shani Tzoref, and Rodney A. Werline.

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

Röhrig, Innerbiblische Auslegung und priesterliche Fortschreibungen in Lev 8–10 (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Meike J. Röhrig. Innerbiblische Auslegung und priesterliche Fortschreibungen in Lev 8–10. [Inner-Biblical Interpretation and Priestly Additions in Lev 8–10.]2021. XII, 277 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe 128. 79,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-160686-1.

Published in German.
Meike J. Röhrig demonstrates in a redaction-critical study how several layers of priestly additions and »inner-biblical interpretation« have successively formed the stories about the investiture of the Aaronides (Lev 8–10). The results contribute to a clearer demarcation of the term »inner-biblical interpretation« among multiple forms of diachronic text-text-relationships.

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

Ast et al. (eds.) Observing the Scribe at Work (Peeters)

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS:

Observing the Scribe at Work
Scribal Practice in the Ancient World

SERIES:
Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 301

EDITORS:
Ast R., Choat M., Cromwell J., Lougovaya J., Yuen-Collingridge R.

SUMMARY:
Scribes are paradoxically both central and invisible in most societies before the typographic revolution of the 15th century, witnessed by every manuscript, but often elusive as historical figures. The act of writing is a quotidian and vernacular practice as well as a literary one, and must be observed not only in the outputs of literary copyists or reports of their activities, but in the documents of everyday life. This volume collects contributions on scribal practice as it features on diverse media (including papyri, tablets, and inscriptions) in a range of ancient societies, from the Ancient Near East and Dynastic Egypt through the Graeco-Roman world to Byzantium. These discussions of the role and place of scribes and scribal activity in pre-typographic cultures both contribute to a better understanding of one of the key drivers of these cultures, and illuminate the transmission of knowledge and traditions within and between them.

YEAR: 2021
ISBN: 9789042942868
E-ISBN: 9789042942875
PAGES: XIV-346 p.
PRICE: 110 euro

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

Labovitz, Massekhet Mo'ed Qatan (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Gail Labovitz. Massekhet Mo'ed Qatan. Volume II/10. [Mo'ed Quatan. Text, Übersetzung und Kommentar.] 2021. XIII, 532 pages. 149,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-158282-0.

Published in English.
Tractate Mo'ed Qatan, in addition to discussing the mid-festivals of Passover and Sukkot, is the primary source on rabbinic mourning laws and rituals. In her commentary Gail Labovitz thus considers such questions as: when considering whether particular forms of labour should or should not take place during the mid-festival or when one is in mourning, which gender's labour is considered significant, which is overlooked or taken for granted? How are practices that are meant to engender certain emotional states – joy in the festival, grief over a death – impacted by gender? How does gender guide who is mourned, and in what ways? She also explores women's unusually conspicuous and public role in funerals and mourning procedures as lamenters. Although Mo'ed Qatan is a short tractate, women, female characters both biblical and rabbinic, and issues of gender feature prominently throughout.

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

Amos's earthquake found in Jerusalem?

SEISMIC ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeologists unearth 1st Jerusalem evidence of quake from Bible’s Book of Amos. 8th century BCE tremblors recorded by biblical prophet get new proof from current excavations in the City of David; scholars hope it will help them crack the city’s timeline (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

For more on the archaeology of Amos' earthquake, see here and here.

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

LMLK seal impression sifted from Temple Mount

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: FIND AND FINDER OF THE MONTH: ‘LMLK’ SEAL IMPRESSION, FOUND BY ELIYA DANIELI. The project found another such clay seal impression (bulla) ten years ago.

For PaleoJudaica posts on other LMLK bullae, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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

Recruitment brochures for the DSS community?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Travel Brochures (Catherine Bonesho).

In my upper-division undergraduate course, “Early Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls” I wanted to emphasize the Dead Sea Scrolls’ larger Second Temple context, their diverse traditions, and the prerogatives of the Dead Sea Scroll community. As part of this endeavor, I created an assignment called the “Dead Sea Scrolls Brochure” that asked students to compose a sort of imaginary travel brochure meant to recruit people to join the community. ...

Cross-file under Pedagogy.

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

Schiffman & Gross, The Temple Scroll (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Temple Scroll

11Q19, 11Q20, 11Q21, 4Q524, 5Q21 with 4Q365a

Series: Dead Sea Scrolls Editions, Volume: 1

Authors: Lawrence H. Schiffman and Andrew Gross

In this volume, Schiffman and Gross present a new edition of all of the manuscript evidence for the Temple Scroll from Qumran. It includes innumerable new readings and restorations of all of the manuscripts as well as a detailed critical apparatus comparing the manuscripts of the Temple Scroll as well as Qumran biblical manuscripts and the ancient versions. Each manuscript is provided with a new translation, and a commentary is presented for the main text. Also included are a general introduction, bibliography of published works on the text, catalog of photographic evidence, and concordance including all vocables in all the manuscripts and their restorations. This work promises to move research on the Temple Scroll to a new level.

Copyright Year: 2021

Prices from (excl. VAT): €189.00 / $227.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45950-2
Publication Date: 15 Jul 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-43737-1
Publication Date: 18 Aug 2021

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

Cole, Isaiah's Servant in Paul (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Daniel M. I. Cole. Isaiah's Servant in Paul. The Hermeneutics and Ethics of Paul's Use of Isaiah 49–54. 2021. XII, 361 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 553. 89,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-159340-6.

Published in English.
Several early Christians identify Isaiah's Servant of the Lord as Jesus; yet Paul appears to connect the Servant with himself. In this study, Daniel Cole examines the hermeneutical warrants and ethical implications of Paul's use of texts within Isa. 49–54, arguing that this section constitutes a coherent prophetic narrative in which God saves a new people from sin by the Servant's death and subsequent work in his followers, the servants. While several Second Temple works interpret elements of this prophecy with differing conceptions of history, Paul sees Isaiah's Servant fulfilled in Jesus' death and subsequent spiritual union with the apostle. The author thus demonstrates that the coherent salvation history of the Servant prophecy provides both the interpretive framework for Paul's reading of Isaiah and the relational definitions for the imperatives that Paul places on himself and others.

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

Athas et al. (eds.), Theodicy and Hope in the Book of the Twelve (T&T Clark)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY (T&T CLARK):

Theodicy and Hope in the Book of the Twelve

George Athas (Anthology Editor), Beth M. Stovell (Anthology Editor), Daniel Timmer (Anthology Editor),

Hardback
$115.00 $103.50

Ebook (PDF)
$103.50 $82.80

Product details

Published Jul 01 2021
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 304
ISBN 9780567695352
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

This volume explores the themes of theodicy and hope in both individual portions of the Twelve (books and sub-sections) and in the Book of the Twelve as a whole, as the contributors use a diversity of approaches to the text(s) with a particular interest in synchronic perspectives. While these essays regularly engage the mostly redactional scholarship surrounding the Book of Twelve, there is also an examination of various forms of literary analysis of final text forms, and engagement in descriptions of the thematic and theological perspectives of the individual books and of the collection as a whole.

The synchronic work in these essays is thus in regular conversation with diachronic research, and as a general rule they take various conclusions of redactional research as a point of departure. The specific themes, theodicy and hope, are key ideas that have provided the opportunity for contributors to explore individual books or sub-sections within the Twelve, and the overarching development (in both historical and literary terms) and deployment of these themes in the collection.

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Festive revision in Deuteronomy?

PROF. REINHARD G. KRATZ: Deuteronomy’s Festival Calendar (TheTorah.com).

The festival calendar in Deuteronomy 16 began as a short revision of the calendar in Exodus 23. As it was expanded to clarify and adjust its details, it merged its springtime Matzot festival with the Pesach offering, which was originally connected to the consecration of firstborn animals.

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

The Cyril and Methodius pilgrimage route

OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC WATCH: Follow Cyril and Methodius on Europe’s new cultural route. The route was certified by the Council of Europe before the summer (The Slovak Spectator).

Cyril and Methodius invented the Slavonic alphabet in the ninth century, thus not only converting the Slavs, but also translating much ancient literature, some of which otherwise would have been lost. That literature includes some intriguing Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.

In various countries and churches their saint's day is celebrated annually on three different dates. For more on them, their day, and Old Church Slavonic literature, start here and follow the many links.

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Which is the real Bethsaida?

ARCHAEOLOGY: Has the ‘Lost City’ of the Gospels Finally Been Found? Two sites are competing for the title of the real Bethsaida. Only one can be right, one would think, and el-Araj does have a layer from the time of Jesus and the apostles – but there’s a twist to this Galilean tale (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

THe two contenders for the first-century site of Bethsaida are el-Araj and e-Tell. This article doesn't resolve the debate, but it does give you an idea of what has been going on at both sites. Background here and links.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 185

VIVIENDO PARA SU GLORIA: Biblical Carnival 185 (July 2021).

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

New book on the Herods

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Herod, His Progeny, and the Cutting Edge of Power

Typically, these Herodian rulers have been treated as part of the “background” of the New Testament. From the point of view of power, however, they were in the foreground. Unless their policies are taken into account, many aspects of Judaism and Christianity will not be appreciated.

See Also: The Herods. Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2021).

By Bruce Chilton
Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Philosophy and Religion
Bard College
Annandale, New York
August 2021

This essay gives a nice capsule history of the Herodian rulers.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Herod the Great, see here and links, here, and here. For a coin of Herod Archelaus reused in a creative context, see here. For Herod Antipas, see here and links. For Herod Agrippa I, see here and links. For Agrippa II, see see here and links. For the latter's influential sister, Julia Berenice (Berenike), see here and links. For another overview of the Herods, see here.

Cross-file under New Book.

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

Postdoc on early Jewish and Christian Magic at University of Venice

SEEN ON FACEBOOK: Job Announcement: Junior Researcher on the ERC Project, Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions in Comparison and Contact

A 1-to-3-year position at Ca' Foscari University of Venice on the ERC funded project, Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions in Comparison and Contact (EJCM - 851466 [project duration: 2020–2015]). Upon approval, the fellowship can be renewed for a total of 36 months. The research fellow will focus on notions of licit and illicit ritual in late antique Jewish and Christian magical traditions. ...

The application deadline is noon on 3 September 2021.

The Early Jewish and Christian Magical Traditions (EJCM) website is at the link.

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

Addey, Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Edited By Crystal Addey
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£96.00

eBook
£29.59

ISBN 9781138212992
Published July 16, 2021 by Routledge
320 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

Addressing the close connections between ancient divination and knowledge, this volume offers an interlinked and detailed set of case studies which examine the epistemic value and significance of divination in ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

Focusing on diverse types of divination, including oracles, astrology, and the reading of omens and signs in the entrails of sacrificial animals, chance utterances and other earthly and celestial phenomena, this volume reveals that divination was conceived of as a significant path to the attainment of insight and understanding by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It also explores the connections between divination and other branches of knowledge in Greco-Roman antiquity, such as medicine and ethnographic discourse. Drawing on anthropological studies of contemporary divination and exploring a wide range of ancient philosophical, historical, technical and literary evidence, chapters focus on the interconnections and close relationship between divine and human modes of knowledge, in relation to nuanced and subtle formulations of the blending of divine, cosmic and human agency; philosophical approaches towards and uses of divination (particularly within Platonism), including links between divination and time, ethics, and cosmology; and the relationship between divination and cultural discourses focusing on gender. The volume aims to catalyse new questions and approaches relating to these under-investigated areas of ancient Greek and Roman life. which have significant implications for the ways in which we understand and assess ancient Greek and Roman conceptions of epistemic value and variant ways of knowing, ancient philosophy and intellectual culture, lived, daily experience in the ancient world, and religious and ritual traditions.

Divination and Knowledge in Greco-Roman Antiquity will be of particular relevance to researchers and students in classics, ancient history, ancient philosophy, religious studies and anthropology who are working on divination, lived religion and intellectual culture, but will also appeal to general readers who are interested in the widespread practice and significance of divination in the ancient world.

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Battle of Cannae anniversary

PUNIC WATCH: On 2 August 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca led the Carthaginian army to a major victory over the Romans at the Battle of Cannae in southeast Italy. PaleoJudaica posts on the battle are collected here.

Here is something I have been saving up for today: The Death Of Lucius Aemilius Paullus At The Battle Of Cannae, Painted By John Trumbull (c. 1756–1843) (thehistorianshut). (HT Rogue Classicism).

Hannibal's victory, however, was not decisive. Around 19 October 202 BCE the young Roman general Scipio Africanus took the war to Carthage and defeated Hannibal and his Carthaginian forces in the Battle of Zama. Some of the soliders in Scripio's army were among the disgraced survivors of Cannae. They had something to prove. Carthage surrendered. The Second Punic War was over.

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

Munnich & Morlet (eds.), Les études philoniennes (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Les études philoniennes

Regards sur cinquante ans de recherche (1967-2017)

Series: Studies in Philo of Alexandria, Volume: 13

Volume Editors: Olivier Munnich and Sébastien Morlet

This volume gathers the proceedings of the Paris conference in Philonic studies (2017), consisting of 23 papers by contributors from 8 countries. Fifty years after the Lyon conference, it aimed at taking a retrospective look at the intellectual contexts and the academic fields in which Philonic studies have penetrated, as well as the ways in which they evolved.
The work of the Alexandrian became of major importance in the history of philosophy. It has been studied as a source of cultured Christianity, in connection with Second Temple Judaism and the Alexandrian Jewish community, but also in the context of research on rabbinic Judaism, New Testament and philosophy of the imperial era.

Ce volume rassemble les actes du colloque de Paris (2017), qui réunit 23 intervenants de 8 nationalités. Cinquante ans après le colloque de Lyon, il s’agissait de réfléchir aux milieux intellectuels et aux disciplines universitaires dans lesquels les études philoniennes avaient pénétré le monde de la recherche, les bases sur lesquelles elles avaient évolué.
L’œuvre de l’Alexandrin a pris une importance majeure dans l’histoire de la philosophie ; elle a été explorée comme source du christianisme lettré, en lien avec le judaïsme de l’Époque du Second Temple et la communauté juive d’Alexandrie, mais aussi dans le cadre des études sur le judaïsme rabbinique, dans le développement des études sur le Nouveau Testament et sur la philosophie de l’époque impériale. See Less

Copyright Year: 2021

Prices from (excl. VAT): €154.00 / $185.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46272-4
Publication Date: 19 Jul 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-46273-1
Publication Date: 22 Jul 2021

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Kim, The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas
The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition

By David W. Kim
Copyright Year 2021

Hardback
£96.00

eBook
£29.59

ISBN 9780367629229
Published July 2, 2021 by Routledge
312 Pages

Book Description

This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the twentieth century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to relocate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore, be useful for Religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism and early Christianity.

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Open-access volume on late-antique Ostia

THE AWOL BLOG: LIFE AND DEATH IN A MULTICULTURAL HARBOUR CITY: OSTIA ANTICA FROM THE REPUBLIC THROUGH LATE ANTIQUITY (Chuck Jones). An open-access volume published by Institutum Romanum Finlandiae (Rome 2020) and edited by Arja Karivieri.

The volume gives some attention to the Jewish population in this late antique Italian port city.

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Bezzel & Pfeiffer (eds.), Prophecy and Hellenism (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Prophecy and Hellenism. Edited by Hannes Bezzel and Stefan Pfeiffer. 2021. VIII, 201 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe 129. 74,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-156532-8.

Published in English.
This volume contains papers read at the seventh meeting of the Aberdeen Prophecy Network, an interdisciplinary symposium held in June 2018 in Jena. From the points of view of Classical and Old Testament/Hebrew Bible studies, the contributions ask how phenomena of divination and concepts of prophecy were understood in the Mediterranean oecumene after the conquests of Alexander the Great.

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Noah coins in pre-Christian Phrygia?

TWITTER-THREAD NUMISMATICS: What is the story of Noah doing on pre-Christian Phrygian coins? (Simcha Gross). HT AJR.

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

Literal enuchs in the Bible?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Eunuchs in the Bible. What is a eunuch in the Bible? (Megan Sauter). I'm going with the "hyperbole" interpretation in this case.

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Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd.ed.) (Eerdmans)

NEW BOOK (2ND EDITION) FROM EERDMANS:

The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Second Edition
Jodi Magness

PAPERBACK; Published: 7/22/2021
ISBN: 978-0-8028-7908-0
Price: $ 29.99
340 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 6.125 x 9.25v

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title and winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society’s Publication Award for Best Popular Book on Archaeology

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been described as the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. Deposited in caves surrounding Qumran by members of a Jewish sect who lived at the site in the first century BCE and first century CE, they provide invaluable information about Judaism in the last centuries BCE.

Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran site continues to be the object of intense scholarly debate. In a book meant to introduce general readers to this fascinating area of study, veteran archaeologist Jodi Magness provides an overview of the archaeology of Qumran that incorporates information from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other contemporary sources. Magness identifies Qumran as a sectarian settlement, rejecting other interpretations including claims that Qumran was a villa rustica or manor house. By carefully analyzing the published information on Qumran, she refines the site’s chronology, reinterprets the purpose of some of its rooms, and reexamines archaeological evidence for the presence of women and children in the settlement. Numerous photos and diagrams give readers a firsthand look at the site.

Considered a standard text in the field for nearly two decades, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls is revised and updated throughout in its second edition in light of the publication of all the Dead Sea Scrolls and additional data from Roland de Vaux’s excavations, as well as Yitzhak Magen and Yuval Peleg’s more recent excavations. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find here an overview of the Qumran site and the Dead Sea Scrolls that is both authoritative and accessible.

I had a couple posts on the first edition (here and here) shortly after it came out. A lot has happened since then. It is good to have the second edition now.

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There were Phoenician Roman emperors?

PUNIC WATCH: The 5 Roman Emperors You Didn’t Know Were Phoenicians (Hussein Yassine, The 961). Now you know.

Technically the Severan dynasty was of Punic descent (i.e. of colonial Phoenician descent from North Africa) rather than Phoenician. The article says that Severus's wife "Julia Dominia" (Julia Domna) was also Phoenician, but she was born in Emesa, Syria, to a local royal and priestly family.

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

"The Iron Age I—Mostly Bronze"?

DR. NAAMA YAHALOM-MACK: The History of Iron in Ancient Israel (TheTorah.com).

In the Bible, Tubal-cain is the inventor metallurgy, the Canaanites fight with iron chariots, and the Philistines control iron usage. What does archaeology tell us about when and how iron was introduced into the Levant?

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Mot is Death. Long live Mot!

MYTHOLOGY: Mot – The Canaanite God of Death (Dean Traylor, Owlcation). As with most popular articles, I could quibble about this or that detail in this one. But overall it is a very good introduction to the Ugaritic god Mot. It also provides a lot of background information on the god Baal and the possible influence of both on the Hebrew Bible.

For more on the neopagan revival of Canaanite religion, see here.

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Review of Patrich, A Walk to Caesarea

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Review: A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective.

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective By Joseph Patrich
(Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 2018), xii + 174 pp., 193 ill. (maps, plans, reconstructions, photos), $34 (hardcover)
Reviewed by Joseph L. Rife

... It is a marvelous accomplishment that Patrich has captured the complexity of Caesarea’s history and archaeology in such a lucid, authoritative, and compact book. A day of focused reading will suffice to finish it, and the traveler can easily pack it for the road. ...

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Farming in the Shema Prayer

PROF. GARY RENDSBURG: God’s Promise: Rain, Grain, and Grass (TheTorah.com).

The agrarian import of Deuteronomy 11:14‒15, found in what Jewish readers know as the second paragraph of the Shema prayer, may not be self-evident to modern readers, the majority of whom live in urban and suburban settings. The text speaks directly to both those who grew crops and those who engaged in animal husbandry.

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The Ashkelon dogs who didn't bark

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERY: The curious incident of 1,400 dogs buried in ancient graves. Mysterious graves of some 1,400 dogs buried in the times of the Persian Empire leave archeologists in Israel puzzled (Naama Barak, Israel21c).

Yes, yes, they didn't bark because they were dead and buried. You have to know your Sherlock Holmes to get the titles.

The mystery is - why did people at Ashkelon bury 1,400 street dogs who were not pets?

I have collected some other posts on dogs in antiquity here.

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Dr Crom on Vespasian's Jewish Revolt coins

TWITTER-THREAD NUMISMATICS: @DocCrom’s Ancient Coin of the Day thread looks at some of Vespasian’s ‘Jewish Revolt’ coinage. HT Rogue Classicism.

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How many roads to Edom?

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: Where did the biblical road from Judea to Edom pass? Experts find answers. Research led by Ben Gurion University archaeologist Dr. Eli Cohen-Sasson offers new insights on the ancient route through the Judean desert (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

Spoiler: the current archaeological research indicates there were two routes between Judea and Edom in the Iron Age. This would make better sense of the route reconstructed by earlier research.

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Court decision on Gilgamesh Dream Tablet

COURT RULING: US Obtains 'Gilgamesh Dream Tablet' After Court Orders Forfeiture From Hobby Lobby. (Cammy Pedroja, Newsweek).

Federal authorities had already seized the tablet back in 2019, so apparently the court's ruling is to ratify that seizure. Or something like that. I am not a lawyer and you should not trust my efforts to describe legal issues.

As usual, the article garbles the question of the language of the fragment. The sentence about it mentions both Sumerian and Akkadian in a way that makes no sense and isn't even grammatical. The tablet fragment is part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is written in Akkadian. There were also stories about Gilgamesh written in the very different Sumerian language, but this is not one of them.

Background here, here (underlying article no longer available), here and links.

For more on Gilgamesh and on his importance for ancient Judaism, see here and links and here.

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Elyonim veTachtonim expanded

DATABASE: The inventory of the supernatural entities in the Hebrew Bible, version 001.

Several years ago I noted the project by Wojciech Kosior at Jagiellonian University in Poland to catalogue the supernatural entities mentioned in the early rabbinic literature. The project is now expanded to include the Hebrew Bible.

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SOTS Booklist 2021

IN THE MAIL:

John Jarick (ed.), Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2021 (= JSOT 45.5) (London: Sage, 2021).

In all the havoc of the last couple of years, I missed noting the 2019 and 2020 issues. I'm pretty sure they did arrive. In any case, this is the current one.

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Was it really Jerubbaal's jug?

EPIGRAPHIC ONOMASTIC CONTROVERSY: Experts Spar Over What the 'Jerubbaal' Inscription Really Says. Interpreting a fragment of proto-Canaanite writing as connoting 'Jerubbaal' relies on identifying its first letter as Y. But one expert suggests it's a Z (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

Background here and links.

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Nabatean at Hima in Saudi Arabia

NABATEAN (NABATAEAN) WATCH: Ancient rock art complex Hima listed as Saudi Arabia's sixth Unesco World Heritage site. Global heritage body's decision boosts Saudi government's efforts to promote an open image of the country (Gareth Harris, The Art Newspaper).

Unesco says online that Hima is “located in an arid, mountainous area of southwest Saudi Arabia, on one of the Arabian Peninsula’s ancient caravan routes, Ḥimā Cultural Area contains a substantial collection of rock art images depicting hunting, fauna, flora and lifestyles in a cultural continuity of 7,000 years.” Inscriptions are in different scripts, including Musnad, Aramaic-Nabatean, South-Arabian, Thamudic, Greek and Arabic.

I have a couple of posts on the history and languages of this region (which is also known as Bir Hima) here and here. For some ancient rock art in Jordan with a similar linguistic profile, see here.

For more posts on Aramaic in Saudi Arabia, see here, here, here and links.

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Coptic job at Würzburg

COPTIC WATCH: 23-month position in the Study of Coptic Magic. Beginning 1 October 2021 (archaeology.wiki).

The project The Coptic Magical Papyri: Vernacular Religion in Roman and Early Islamic Egypt at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg is pleased to announce a vacancy within the Department of Egyptology. This will be a 23-month 65% position, paid at the level of TVL E-13, suitable for a scholar with a master’s degree, who may be presently working on a doctoral degree. The position will begin 1 October 2021 and continue until 31 August 2023.

[...]

HT Rogue Classicism.

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Review of Caputo & Lougovaya (eds.), Using ostraca in the ancient world

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Using ostraca in the ancient world. New discoveries and methodologies.

Clementina Caputo, Julia Lougovaya, Using ostraca in the ancient world. New discoveries and methodologies. Materiale Textkulturen, 32. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2021. Pp. vi, 245. ISBN 9783110712865 $91.99.

Review by
Sofia Torallas Tovar, University of Chicago. sofiat@uchicago.edu

The volume includes an article on the Aramaic ostraca from Elephantine. It is good that they are getting some attention. They tend to be ignored in favor of the Aramaic papyri. For more on Elephantine island and its ancient Aramaic and other inscribed objects, see here (arguably), here, here, here, and many links.

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The two revolts against Rome in modern Israeli politics

BELATEDLY FOR TISHA B'AV: Bar Kochba and Us: The Israeli Debate during Tisha Be’Av (Calev Ben-Dor, Fathom).

Calev Ben-Dor argues that the fight raging today between Israeli politicians about how to interpret the meaning of ancient Jewish texts reflects the political chasm currently separating the two national-religious parties. ‘One focuses on the dangers of zealotry, the other on the importance of principles come what may,’ he writes. Some Zionists have long heroised Bar Kochba, the leader of the doomed Jewish revolt of 132-135 CE against the Romans, while in recent decades others have warned of the suicidal consequences of contracting ‘Bar Kochba Syndrome’.

Cross-file under Talmud Watch.

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Geniza Fragments - the blog

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY'S TAYLOR-SCHECHTER GENIZA RESEARCH UNIT HAS A NEW BLOG: Geniza Fragments.

The introductory post by Melonie Schmierer-Lee: Introducing the Genizah Fragments Blog.

The Unit's Geniza Fragments Newsletter has been on hold during the pandemic. It's Geniza Fragment of the Month series is still active and I link to it from time to time. The addition of the blog is very welcome.

Cross-file under Cairo Geniza Watch.

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Biography of Honor Frost (open access)

THE AWOL BLOG: In the Footsteps of Honor Frost: The life and legacy of a pioneer in maritime archaeology. Edited by Lucy Blue | 2019 (Chuck Jones). For more on Honor Frost and her contribution to Phoenician, Punic marine archaeology, as well as to the archaeology of Jericho, see here.

Cross-file under marine (maritime, underwater) archaeology.

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Expressions of Sceptical Topoi in (Late) Antique Judaism (De Gruyter, open access)

NEW OPEN-ACCESS BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Expressions of Sceptical Topoi in (Late) Antique Judaism

Funded by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Edited by: Reuven Kiperwasser and Geoffrey Herman

Volume 12 in the series Studies and Texts in Scepticism
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110671483

About this book

Open Access

Scepticism has been the driving force in the development of Greco-Roman culture in the past, and the impetus for far-reaching scientific achievements and philosophical investigation. Early Jewish culture, in contrast, avoided creating consistent representations of its philosophical doctrines. Sceptical notions can nevertheless be found in some early Jewish literature such as the Book of Ecclesiastes. One encounters there expressions of doubt with respect to Divine justice or even Divine involvement in earthly affairs. During the first centuries of the common era, however, Jewish thought, as reflected in rabbinic works, was engaged in persistent intellectual activity devoted to the laws, norms, regulations, exegesis and other traditional areas of Jewish religious knowledge. An effort to detect sceptical ideas in ancient Judaism, therefore, requires a closer analysis of this literary heritage and its cultural context.
This volume of collected essays seeks to tackle the question of scepticism in an Early Jewish context, including Ecclesiastes and other Jewish Second Temple works, rabbinic midrashic and talmudic literature, and reflections of Jewish thought in early Christian and patristic writings. Contributors are: Tali Artman, Geoffrey Herman, Reuven Kiperwasser, Serge Ruzer, Cana Werman, and Carsten Wilke.

HT the AWOL Blog.

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Review of Routledge, Hosea (IVP)

READING ACTS: Robin L. Routledge, Hosea (Tyndale Old Testament Commentary) (Phil Long.

Routledge, Robin L. Hosea. Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2020. xxxiii+181 pp. Pb. $25.00 Link to IVP Academic

This new volume in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series replaces the 1989 volume by David Allan Hubbard. Routledge previously published Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach (IVP Academic 2012) as well as several articles on the prophets.

[...]

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Ancient medicine

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Medicine in the Ancient World (Sarah Yeomans). This is an old essay (2013), but I haven't linked to it before. I did note a 2014 lecture by the author on a related subject here.

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