What lies beneath the surface is a treasure trove of archeological finds that shed light on Jewish life in Jerusalem from as far back as the time of the First Temple (10th century BCE-586 BCE) that continues to the time of the Second Temple as well.The Iron-Age four-room house and its epigraphic contents are new to me.
For more on the Western Wall tunnel complex, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.
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Since 2017, the IAA has spearheaded an ambitious survey of some 500 caves in the Judean Desert — in part to look for more Dead Sea Scrolls, in part to beat antiquities looters to priceless archaeological artifacts. The pristine wooden box was discovered in one of the four Muraba’at Caves where, some 70 years after the first scientific excavations took place in the 100-meter cave near the Dead Sea, exciting new objects are still coming to light, including glimpses of scroll fragments and amazingly preserved textiles.The inference that the box was left by someone fleeing home during the Maccabean Revolt is speculative, but plausible.[...]
The newly discovered round wooden box looks almost fresh from the ancient lathe that would have made it. Inside were the 15 silver coins, as well as a piece of purple-dyed cloth and some wool stuffing. The dry desert climate, combined with the cave’s protected atmosphere, preserved these organic materials in excellent condition, the IAA’s Naama Sukenik, director of the Laboratory of Organic Materials, told The Times of Israel.
In any case, Operation Scroll has produced another discovery that is exciting in itself. The coins are great, but I am especially intrigued by the wooden box and the textiles inside. That box could just as well have held scrolls. Maybe next time.
For PaleoJudaica posts on tetradrachm (tetradrachma) coins, see here, here, and here.
Cross-file under Speluncic Archaeology.
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Gerhard Von Rad and the Study of Wisdom Literature
Timothy J. Sandoval, Bernd U. Schipper, editorsISBN 9781628374483
Volume AIL 46
Status Available
Publication Date November 2022
Paperback $72.00
Hardback $92.00
eBook $72.00Gerhard von Rad’s study of biblical wisdom literature in Weisheit in Israel (1970) is widely regarded as one of the most important studies in the field of ancient Israelite wisdom literature. More than fifty years later, contributors to Gerhard von Rad and the Study of Wisdom Literature reevaluate the significance and shortcomings of the late scholar’s work and engage new methods and directions for wisdom studies today. Contributors include George J. Brooke, Ariel Feldman, Edward L. Greenstein, Arthur Jan Keefer, Jennifer L. Koosed, Will Kynes, Christl M. Maier, Timothy J. Sandoval, Bernd U. Schipper, Mark Sneed, Hermann Spieckermann, Anne W. Stewart, Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, Stuart Weeks, and Benjamin G. Wright III. This collection of essays is essential reading not only for specialists in wisdom studies but also for scholars and advanced students of the Hebrew Bible in general.
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THE STORIES THEY TELLThe online price as of this posting is $44 USD.
Halakhic Anecdotes in the Babylonian TalmudBy Judith Hauptman
In this engaging book of commentary on the Talmud, the author upends the long-held theory of the immutability of halakhah, Jewish law. In her detailed analysis of over 80 short halakhic anecdotes in the Babylonian Talmud, the author shows that the Talmud itself promotes halakhic change. She leads the reader through one sugya (discussion unit) after another, accumulating evidence for her rather radical thesis. Along the way, she teases out details of what life was like 1500 years ago for women in their relationships with men and for students in their relationships with mentors. An eye-opening read by one of today’s leading Talmud scholars.
Formats Harback
Publication Status: In Print
Series: Judaism in Context 32
Publication Date: Sep 7,2022
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 326
Languages: English, Hebrew
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4456-9
Cross-file under Talmud Watch.
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Farewell to the Priestly Writing? The Current State of the Debate
Friedhelm Hartenstein, Konrad Schmid, editorsISBN 9781628372656
Volume AIL 38
Status Available
Publication Date November 2022
Paperback $43.00
Hardback $63.00
eBook $43.00Now available in English
In discussions of the origin of the Pentateuch, the Priestly source traditionally constitutes an undisputed reference point for different source-critical models, and it is the only literary layer with concise terminology and a theological conception that can be extracted from a non-Priestly context. This English translation of Abschied von der Priesterschrift? Zum Stand der Pentateuchdebatte revisits the scholarly debate surrounding the Documentary Hypothesis and the so-called Priestly material’s position either as an independent written source or as a redaction within the books of Genesis through Deuteronomy. Contributors include Christoph Berner, Erhard Blum, Jan Christian Gertz, Christoph Levin, Eckart Otto, Christophe Nihan, and Thomas Römer.
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Ancient Greece and Rome are well represented in museums across the world, but the contemporaneous civilizations of Yemen — including a mysterious Jewish community — have received far less recognition. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, seeks to correct this historical prejudice.For the late-antique Jewish kingdom of Himyar, see here and links.[...]
For Matthew's Magi and their gifts, including frankincense, currently seasonally of interest, see here and links.
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Hellenism, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity
Transmission and Transformation of IdeasEdited by: Radka Fialová , Jiří Hoblík and Petr Kitzler
Volume 155 in the series Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110796285PDF & EPUB £100.50
Hardcover £100.50eBook
Published: November 7, 2022
ISBN: 9783110796285Hardcover
Published: November 7, 2022
ISBN: 9783110795073About this book
Papers collected in this volume try to illuminate various aspects of philosophical theology dealt with by different Jewish and early Christian authors and texts (e.g. the Acts of the Apostles, Philo, Origen, Gregory of Nazianzus), rooted in and influenced by the Hellenistic religious, cultural, and philosophical context, and they also focus on the literary and cultural traditions of Hellenized Judaism and its reception (e.g. Sibylline Oracles, Prayer of Manasseh), including material culture ("Elephant Mosaic Panel" from Huqoq synagogue). By studying the Hellenistic influences on early Christianity, both in response to and in reaction against early Hellenized Judaism, the volume intends not only to better understand Christianity, as a religious and historical phenomenon with a profound impact on the development of European civilization, but also to better comprehend Hellenism and its consequences which have often been relegated to the realm of political history.
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Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Konstruktion sozialer Identität: Studien zum Reinheitsverständnis im antiken Judentum und im Neuen TestamentStudien zum Reinheitsverständnis im antiken Judentum und im Neuen Testament
Series: Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, Volume: 115
Author: Milena Hasselman
Why do questions of purity play a minor role in the New Testament when the majority of the texts are of Jewish origin and character? To answer this question, the present study analyses the forming of identity as a central function to purity in ancient Jewish sources. Using the theory of social identity according to Henri Taijfel and John Turner, Milena Hasselmann examined the importance of purity texts in the New Testament and in other ancient Jewish sources for the construction of social identity. On a broad basis of sources and with the help of Hebrew-language literature, which is little received in the German and English-language scientific context, it becomes a meaningful picture that places the purity texts of the New Testament in its wider environment. In doing so, she shows that the New Testament's handling of questions of purity is to be seen in continuity rather than discontinuity with other ancient traditions.
Warum nehmen Reinheitsfragen einen verhältnismäßig geringen Stellenwert im Neuen Testament ein, wenn die Texte mehrheitlich jüdischen Ursprungs und jüdischer Prägung sind? Dieser Frage geht die vorliegende Studie nach und setzt zu ihrer Beantwortung bei einer zentralen Funktion, die Reinheit in anderen antiken jüdischen Quellen zukommt, ein: Reinheitsbestimmungen sind identitätsstiftend. Mit der Theorie der Sozialen Identität nach Henri Tajfel und John Turner untersucht Milena Hasselmann, welche Bedeutung Reinheitstexte im Neuen Testament und in anderen antikjüdischen Quellen für die Konstruktion sozialer Identität haben. Auf einer breiten Quellenbasis und unter Hinzuziehung hebräischsprachiger Literatur, die im deutsch- und englischsprachigem Wissenschaftskontext wenig rezipiert wird, entwirft sie ein aussagekräftiges Bild, das die Reinheitstexte des Neuen Testament in dessen weitere Umwelt einordnet. Sie zeigt damit, dass der neutestamentliche Umgang mit Reinheitsfragen in Kontinuität zu anderen antiken Traditionen zu sehen ist.
Copyright Year: 2023
Prices from (excl. shipping): €145.00
E-Book (PDF)
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ISBN: 978-90-04-52465-1
Publication date: 19 Sep 2022Hardback
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ISBN: 978-90-04-52464-4
Publication date: 15 Sep 2022
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Pedar W. Foss, Pliny and the eruption of Vesuvius. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2022. Pp. 352. ISBN 9780415705462 $160.00.For many PaleoJudaica posts on the eruption of Vesuvius and its destruction of Pompeii and Heculaneum, as well as the younger Pliny's two letters about the eruption and the Elder Pliny's rescue mission into the conflagration, start here and follow the links.Review by
Margot Neger, University of Cyprus. neger.margot@ucy.ac.cy... One would expect that by now everything important has already been said about these letters, but Foss succeeds in showing that there are still several aspects which deserve further discussion and analysis. An archaeologist, he examines the two Vesuvius letters from an interdisciplinary perspective, choosing a “multifaceted” approach, “from volcanology to verb forms; from chiasmus references to retracing coastlines”, as the preface announces (xv). ...
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The Bible contains numerous references to ceramic pots, bowls, jugs, and other types of dishes. What do we know about these vessels?A comprehensive overview. Cross-file under Material Culture.
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"It's not impossible" is not exactly conclusive, but the object is an important find whether or not it has any connection with the Maccabean Revolt (or, perhaps not coincidentally, Hanukkah).
For the Tryphon sling stone from Tel Zif, see here.
The site of Yavne (Yavneh, Yavneh Yam) had produced many notable archaeological discoveries dating from the Iron Age to late antiquity and beyond. Some PaleoJudaica posts are here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, and follow the many links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
For PaleoJudaica posts on Psalm 91, some interacting with earlier posts by Professor Jenkins, see here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
The director-general of the ministry, Jamal Abu Rida, pointed out that details about funerals during the Roman era have been discovered through the initial excavations. He said that the way that the remains of the bodies are arranged suggest that the people buried in the cemetery were high-ranking Romans. Abu Rida explained previously that "several discoveries" have been made in the past, but this is the "most important" archaeological discovery in the past ten years.HT Rogue Classicism.
I noted the discovery of the cemetery by a construction crew earlier this year. Originally twenty graves were located, but they were expecting to find many more. The number is now estimated at "up to 100."
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The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic JudeaI noted the CFP for the conference here.Proceedings of the Tenth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies (Aberdeen, 5–8 August, 2019)
Series: Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, Volume: 142
Volume Editors: Pieter B. Hartog and Andrew Perrin
Approaching the Qumran scrolls as an intrinsic part of Hellenistic and Roman antiquity, this volume shows how the authors and collectors of the Scrolls shared the interests of other inhabitants of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East and engaged in the same debates and dialogues as others in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Thus, this volume offers an invitation to both Scrolls scholars and academics working on other disciplines to create opportunities for interdisciplinary research and exchange.
Prices from (excl. shipping): €121.00
Copyright Year: 2023
E-Book (PDF)
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ISBN: 978-90-04-52244-2
Publication date: 17 Oct 2022Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52245-9
Publication date: 15 Nov 2022
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About once a year, the soil stored on-site at our Mitzpe HaMassuot sifting facility runs out, and we must bring more from the Temple Mount soil reserves which are still stored in the Emek Tzurim National Park. This time we chose a storage area which we had always preferred to postpone for the future. Namely, a large quantity of Temple Mount soil that had been placed in landscaping terraces within the National Park.Also, they still need contributions for the work.
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For many PaleoJudaica posts on Alexander and his connection with ancient Jewish traditions, notably in the Alexander Romance, start here and follow the links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Remembering E.P. Sanders, a New Testament scholar who offered a new look at Judaism. Sanders forcefully called on fellow New Testament scholars to reject caricatures of Judaism (Mark Chancey, RNS).Requiescat in pace.... From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Sanders turned out a series of massive tomes, including “Paul and Palestinian Judaism,” “Jesus and Judaism” and “Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 BCE–66 A.D.,” exploring the relationship between early Judaism and early Christianity. In his work and personally he forcefully called on fellow scholars to reject caricatures of Judaism and to immerse themselves more deeply in ancient Jewish sources. ...
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For more on the late antique, Anatolian, historical St. Nicholas, who hasn't much in common with Santa Claus, see here and links.
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For more on the Sanhedrin Trail, start here and follow the links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Jeff Wickes, associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, focuses on the interplay between Syriac literature, theology, and liturgy in the context of late antique Christianity. Building projects that work from close readings of Syriac texts, he gravitates in his work towards larger questions of genre (especially poetry), religion, and theology as they play out within the historical horizons of late antique Christianity, and as those horizons meet our own in the contemporary world. ...
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Cartagena, Spain, was a Punic town (Carthago Nova - New Carthage) founded in the third century B.C.E. It was important in the history of the Second Punic War. It is best known today for its annual Carthagianians and Romans Festival in September. For more, see here and links.
It is good to see that citizens of Cartagena are investing in the important archaeological heritage of their town.
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Die griechische Bibel in AlexandrienIhre Legende und die exegetische Praxis im hellenistischen Judentum
Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism
Author: Maria Sokolskaya
The translation of the Torah into Greek in Alexandria is an intriguing puzzle. Why was it undertaken at all? Was it a need of the Alexandrian Jews? Or did the Jewish wisdom intrigue the Egyptian ruler? Is the legend of the miraculous creation of the Septuagint a manifesto of cultural assimilation into the Hellenic culture? Does the Alexandrian Greek biblical exegesis, especially that of Philo, aim to break with the Hebrew tradition? According to this book, Philo, although not fluent in Hebrew himself, moves in the same shared Hebrew-Greek Torah universe that a closer look on the Septuagint legend reveals as well.
Die Übersetzung der Tora ins Griechische in Alexandrien ist ein intrigierendes Rätsel. Warum wurde sie überhaupt unternommen? War sie ein Bedürfnis der alexandrinischen Juden? Oder machte die jüdische Weisheit den ägyptischen Herrscher neugierig? Ist die Legende über die wundersame Entstehung der Septuaginta ein Manifest der kulturellen Assimilation an die hellenische Kultur? Bezweckt die alexandrinische griechische Bibelexegese, vor allem diejenige Philons, den Bruch mit der hebräischen Tradition und die Anpassung an die hellenistische Philosophie? Nach Ansicht dieses Buches bewegt sich Philon, obwohl selbst des Hebräischen nicht mächtig, in demselben gemeinsamen hebräisch-griechischen Tora-Universum, welches die Septuaginta-Legende bei näherer Betrachtung beschreibt.
Prices from (excl. shipping): €129.00
Copyright Year: 2023
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52316-6
Publication date: 19 Sep 2022Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52317-3
Publication date: 21 Oct 2022
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TEHRAN– Apart from matchless royal arts and architecture, the UNESCO-designated Persepolis, which was once the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550– 330 BC), holds treasured clues to the Persian writing and script as well.This article has a good brief overview of the evidence, especially from Persepolis, for the Persian language, from Old Persian in cuneiform to the late-antique Middle Persian form called Pahlavi, written in a version of an Aramaic script.[...]
For a recent post on a probably-Jewish graffiti inscription in the Aramaic language but written in the Pahlavi script, see here. I know; it gets complicated.
For many PaleoJudaica posts on Persepolis and its inscriptions, start here and follow the links.
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THE SCHOLASTIC CULTURE OF THE BABYLONIAN TALMUDThe online price as of this posting is $69 USD.
By Professor Noah Benjamin BickartThe Scholastic Culture of the Babylonian Talmud studies how and in what cultural context the Talmud began to take shape in the scholastic centers of rabbinic Babylonia. Bickart tracks the use of the term tistayem ("let it be promulgated") and its analogs, in contexts ranging from Amoraic disciple circles to Geonic texts, and in comparison with literatures of Syriac-speaking Christians. The study demonstrates increasing academization during the talmudic period, and supports a gradual model of the Talmud's redaction.
Formats Hardback
Publication Status: In Print
Series: Judaism in Context 31
Publication Date: Oct 4,2022
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 263
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0657-4
Cross-file under Talmud Watch.
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Beyond what the Bible says, mentions of Judean life during the Babylonian exile have generally been scarce throughout history. All of that changed in 2014, when archaeologists discovered about two hundred tablets written in cuneiform script that reveal aspects of the life of Jews who lived in Babylon at the time of the exile.The article gives a good summary of what the tablets do and do not tell us.On November 16, at the 2022 Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, United States, Assyriologist and expert in Mesopotamic archaeology George Heath-Whyte discussed what the ongoing translation of the tablets reveals, what it doesn’t say, and what conclusions we can and cannot derive from those findings.
[...]
For many posts on the Babylonian-Jewish cuneiform archive of Al-Yahudu, start here and follow the links.
The tablets are unprovenanced. For most inscriptions, that should make us dubious whether they are genuine. I have taken cuneiform tablets to be an exception to this rule, since they seem prohibitively hard to forge. But that may no longer be true.
In any case, cuneiform specialists take this archive to be unambiguously genuine. The question is outside my expertise.
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Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Sara Parks, Shayna Sheinfeld, and Meredith J.C. Warren. Jewish and Christian Women in the Ancient Mediterranean. New York: Routledge, 2022.I noted the publication of the book here.... If it hasn’t already been said before, Parks, Sheinfeld, and Warren make it easy to use this book as a full-fledged textbook for courses. Not only is the information within the book well formed, so too, are the many activities and discussion questions that are found within it for both pedagogical and even devotional purposes. ...
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Published in German.The articles are in German and English.
Rituals and magical practices were a central aspect of the everyday life in the Ancient Near East and played a decisive role in all areas of life. They also influenced the history and culture of the Bronze-Age Ugarit, which can be seen through the textual and material evidence. The volume takes the diversity of these phenomena into account and surveys their social and cultural historical contexts.
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Khirbet Midras (Arabic) or Horvat Midras (Hebrew) is one of several antiquities sites located within the Adullam Grove National Park, an Israel Nature Reserve south of Beit Shemesh. Khirbet Midras dates from the 10th century BC to the 4th century AD.For more on the pyramid, caves, church, and mosaic at Khirbet Midras (Horvat Midras, Hirbet Madras), see here and follow the linksExcavation at the site has uncovered a Byzantine-era church, burial caves and tunnels used by rebels during the Bar Kochba revolt, a columbarium cave, and a burial pyramid.
[...]
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The inscription is a grafitto. The article says it was probably left by a Jewish pilgrim. It is written mostly in the Middle Persian Pahlavi script, but its language is Aramaic.
There is lots of Judeo-Persian literature — written in the Hebrew alphabet but in the Persian language. This is the first Pahlavi-Aramaic text I recall encountering, where it goes the other way around. But I don't doubt that there are others. The Pahlavi script is itself based on the Aramaic (Hebrew) alphabet.
UPDATE: For more on Pahlavi, see here.
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Published in English.
To date, scholarly study of the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4:21–31 has not paid adequate attention to the way Paul's use of the story – chiefly in relation to the figure of Hagar – can be located within streams of ancient Jewish tradition. In this study, Ryan Heinsch fills this scholarly gap by considering Paul's allegorical portrayal of the figure of Hagar in Galatians 4:21–31 within the context of ancient Judaism. The author argues that Paul stands in continuity with – rather than against – ancient Judaism in that he, like other Jews in antiquity, portrays Hagar and her descendants as non-Jews. As a result, the author demonstrates further that Galatians 4:21–31 is not to be read as a polemic against Jews, Jewish Christ-followers, or the continuing validity of the Jewish law (as is common among interpreters), but rather, that Galatians 4:21–31 is an allegory Paul develops about the experience of gentiles in general and the once pagan Galatian gentiles in particular.
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The Department of Antiquities, of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the completion of the 2022 archaeological excavations of the French Archaeological Mission at ancient Kition (Larnaka-Pampoula).For more on the excavation at Kition-Pampoula and the Phoenician ostraca recovered there, see here. It appears that the social context of the large collection of Phoenician administrative ostraca from the site remains to be clarified. Kition-Pamboula seems also to be known as Kition-Bamboula.The French archaeological mission conducted a four-week campaign at Kition-Pamboula in October 2022. The objectives were two-fold: firstly, to complete the excavation of a possible pit, which had been identified in 2021 and which, although partially excavated, had yielded a series of Phoenician ostraca of the Classical period; secondly, to enlarge the excavation of the corresponding Classical floors, in order to better understand the context of the supposed pit.
... The supposed pit containing ostraca was a constitutive part of this layer, characterized by a more greyish and sandy soil matrix: additional pieces were found, the total amounting to 99 by the end of the campaign (fig. 3). The new ostraca are similar to the ostraca found during the 2021 campaign: short texts written in black ink on pottery sherds and, more rarely, on stone fragments; they present the same word sequence and contain many numerals that point to accounting operations. They all date to the Classical period, more precisely the 4th century BC.
A cople of older posts also involving the Phoenicians of Kition are here and here.
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Turmoil, Trauma and Tenacity in Early Jewish LiteratureEdited by: Nicholas P. L. Allen and Jacob J. T. Doedens
Volume 50 in the series Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110784978PDF & EPUB £94.00
Hardcover £94.00
eBook
Published: August 1, 2022
ISBN: 9783110784978Hardcover
Published: August 1, 2022
ISBN: 9783110784893About this book
This volume is written in the context of trauma hermeneutics of ancient Jewish communities and their tenacity in the face of adversity (i.e. as recorded in the MT, LXX, Pseudepigrapha, the Deuterocanonical books and even Cognate literature. In this regard, its thirteen chapters, are concerned with the most recent outputs of trauma studies. They are written by a selection of leading scholars, associated to some degree with the Hungaro-South African Study Group. Here, trauma is employed as a useful hermeneutical lens, not only for interpreting biblical texts and the contexts in which they were originally produced and functioned but also for providing a useful frame of reference. As a consequence, these various research outputs, each in their own way, confirm that an historical and theological appreciation of these early accounts and interpretations of collective trauma and its implications, (perceived or otherwise), is critical for understanding the essential substance of Jewish cultural identity. As such, these essays are ideal for scholars in the fields of Biblical Studies—particularly those interested in the Pseudepigrapha, the Deuterocanonical books and Cognate literature.
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Apparently Jack Sasson's e-mail Agade List has been archived for some years. This is first I recall hearing about it. I am glad that this invaluable resource is preserved in a somewhat more permanent format.
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Demons in Early Judaism and ChristianityCharacters and Characteristics
Series: Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, Volume: 113
Volume Editors: Hector M. Patmore and Josef Lössl
For Jews and Christians in Antiquity beliefs about demons were integral to their reflections on fundamental theological questions, but what kind of ‘being’ did they consider demons to be? To what extent were they thought to be embodied? Were demons thought of as physical entities or merely as metaphors for social and psychological realities? What is the relation between demons and the hypostatization of abstract concepts (fear, impurity, etc) and baleful phenomenon such as disease? These are some of the questions that this volume addresses by focussing on the nature and characteristics of demons — what one might call ‘demonic ontology’.
Prices from (excl. shipping): €138.00
Copyright Year: 2022
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ISBN: 978-90-04-51814-8
Publication date: 19 Sep 2022Hardback
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ISBN: 978-90-04-51714-1
Publication date: 15 Sep 2022
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I noted another review of the book here. Cross-file unde Phoenician Watch.
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A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near EastTed Kaizer (Editor)
ISBN: 978-1-444-33982-6 | January 2022 | Wiley-Blackwell | 576 PagesE-BOOK From £140.00
PRINT From £159.00DESCRIPTION
Discover a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary handbook exploring several sub-regions and key themes perfect for a new generation of students
A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East delivers the first complete handbook in the area of Hellenistic and Roman Near Eastern history. The book is divided into sections dealing with interdisciplinary source material, each with a great deal of regional variety and engaging with several key themes. It integrates discussions of the classical Near East with the typical undergraduate teaching syllabus in the Anglo-Saxon world.
All contributors in this edited volume are leading scholars in their field, with a combination of established researchers and academics, and emerging voices. Contributors hail from countries across several continents, and work in various disciplines, including Ancient History, Archaeology, Art History, Epigraphy, Numismatics, and Oriental Studies.
In addition to furthering the integration of the Levantine lands in the classical periods into the teaching canon, the book offers readers:
Perfect for undergraduate history and classics students studying the Near East, A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East will also earn a place in the libraries of graduate students and scholars working within Near Eastern studies, as well as interested members of the public with a passion for history.
- The first comprehensively structured Companion and edited handbook on the Hellenistic and Roman Near East
- Extensive regional and sub-regional variety in the cross-disciplinary source material
- A way to compensate for the recent destruction of monuments in the region and the new generation of researchers’ inability to examine these historical stages in person
- An integration of the study of the Hellenistic and Roman Near East with traditional undergraduate teaching syllabi in the Anglo-Saxon world
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Raúl González-Salinero, Military service and the integration of Jews into the Roman empire. The Brill reference library of Judaism, 72. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2022. ISBN 9789004506756 $127.00.I noted the publication of the book here.Review by
Jonathan Roth, San Jose State University. jonathan.roth@sjsu.edu... Anyone interested in ancient Jewish history, the Roman army, or indeed the question of the intersection of ethnicity and military service will benefit from reading this book. ...
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He preferred to be known as Antiochus Epiphanes ("Antiochus the manifest (god)"). This was not an unusual level of arrogance for rulers of that era.
For more on the coins of Antiochus IV Epiphanes see here and here. Cross-file under Numismatics.
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The Story of TobitA Comparative Literary Analysis
Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 204
Author: Giancarlo Toloni
The story of Tobit builds on various themes derived from myth, legend and folktale. Tobiah’s journey recalls Homer’s Odyssey, the suffering of the righteous brings to mind the legend of Job, and the narrative around a disgraced and then rehabilitated official evokes the story of Ahiqar. The author of Tobit seeks to exploit his readers’ knowledge of these stories in order to convey his message more effectively: he encourages them to trust in divine providence that intervenes on behalf of the faithful.
This volume, based on essays previously published in Italian, charts Tobit’s narrative sources through comparative literary analysis, firmly placing the story in the genre of the didactic and edifying religious novel.Prices from (excl. shipping): €129.00
Copyright Year: 2022
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51945-9
Publication date: 26 Sep 2022Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-51944-2
Publication date: 14 Nov 2022
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Passing of Prof. Bilhah NitzanHer English curriculm vita is also available on the Tel Aviv University website.H-Judaic is greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Bilhah Nitzan (1933-2022), Associate Professor emeritus in the Bible Department of Tel Aviv University. Born in pre-state Palestine, Prof. Nitzan was a high school teacher until she became a lecturer at Tel Aviv University at the age of fifty. She received her doctorate seven years later and remained on the faculty there long past retirement, leaving only in 2010. Her well-regarded books, two of which were expansions of her MA and Ph.D., were an edition of Pesher Habakkuk from the original Dead Sea Scrolls, and an influential volume entitled Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry, which appeared in several languages. A volume of her collected articles appeared from Yad Ben Zvi in 2014. For additional information, see the article on Bilhah Nitzan in Hebrew Wikipedia, https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%94_%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%9F.
We extend deepest condolences to her family, colleagues and legions of students.
Jonathan D. Sarna
Chair, H-Judaic
Prof. Nitzan's book, Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry (Brill, 1994), and many of her other publications on the Qumran liturgical texts were highly influential on my own research.
May her memory be for a blessing.
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Carol A. Newsom. The Spirit within Me: Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism. Yale University Press, 2021.... In this innovative and deeply engaging study, Newsom sparks new ways of thinking about models of moral agency in biblical and early Jewish literature and paves the way for a broader application of the analysis that considers Jewish literature composed in Greek or the literature of other cultures.
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The PhariseesI noted the 2019 conference here. Ancient Jew Review published papers from an SBL forum on the book, noted here, here, and here.Edited by Joseph Sievers and Amy-Jill Levine
482 pages; Eerdmans
$54.95
... The conference that produced this volume was notable for its ecumenical and interreligious inclusivity. The contributing scholars were Jews and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, women and men, priests and laity. This diversity of affiliation and expertise models the kind of collaboration needed not only to advance knowledge but also to bring that knowledge to bear on an ongoing problem: the (often unintentional) perpetuation of misinformation about Jews by Christians at the pulpit, in the classroom and in cultural discourse generally. ...
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People of yore were deeply religious, it seems – including in Hippos (Sussita) of the Decapolis, a Greco-Roman city perched high above the Sea of Galilee.Just to be clear, it is the Greek that's bad, not the epigraphy.No less than seven churches have been found in the city from the early Christian era. Now, four inscriptions newly discovered in one of its ancient churches – the Martyrion of Theodoros, or “Burnt Church” – during the summer 2022 excavation season shed rare personal light on actual people. So say excavation directors Dr. Arleta Kowalewska and Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, and epigraphist Prof. Gregor Staab of the Institute of Classical Studies at University of Cologne.
[...]
UPDATE: I forgot add that there are many PaleoJudaica posts on the excavations at Hippos-Sussita. See here and links, plus here.
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One such exquisite [Byzantine-era] floor was discovered in 1894; a family digging foundations for a house near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate was astounded to discover a glorious mosaic floor beneath the rubble. It turned out to be part of a fifth- or sixth-century Armenian church, and further excavations revealed that below one corner of the mosaic lay the remains of an Armenian unit attached to the Roman army (or, perhaps, martyrs who died for their faith).For some PaleoJudaiac posts on ancient Armenian literature and archaeology see here and links, plus here, here, and here. Some ancient Jewish literature, notably some of the works of Philo of Alexandria, survive only in Armenian translation.[...]
This year, the mosaic was meticulously transferred into the Armenian Convent, located in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, and is now the focus of the convent’s brand-new Edward and Helen Mardigian Armenian Museum, which opened this past week. The mosaic covers almost the entire first floor of the magnificent building, constructed in 1853 as Jerusalem’s Armenian Theological Seminary. Its creator was Turkish-Armenian artist Sarkis Balyan, a member of a distinguished family of artists and architects. In fact his father, Garabet Balyan, designed the sumptuous Dolmabahçe Palace, the largest of its kind in Turkey.
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Ackerman, Susan. Gods, Goddesses, and the Women Who Serve Them. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2022. xiii+296 pp. Hb; $59.99Susan Ackerman is Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth. This new book collects ten essays Ackerman has written over the course of her career. Rather than simply reprint the essays, Ackerman has occasionally polished the writing, refined her arguments, and added some additional bibliography. In addition, for most chapters, Ackerman introduces the essay by giving a context for the article and reflecting on the article some years after it was originally published. These introductions are extremely valuable. I wish more authors would add these kinds of updates and personal recollections of the origin of previously published essays.
[...]
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This project is inwardly facing toward the academic world, but it's fun and informative for us.
I missed this survey, so I am not on any of the charts. But if you are interested, I belong in the generation of Frank Moore Cross's students.
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At its peak, Nabataean influence stretched from modern Yemen to Damascus and from western Iraq into the Sinai Desert—at least according to some historians. It is difficult to say how large the area of Nabataean influence really was, as their caravans traveled widely. It is challenging to ascertain the borders of their dominion. Written records left by the Nabataeans are rare and difficult to find, but much has been found—including links to Greco-Roman history and culture.This is impressively comprehensive for a popular article. It surveys the whole history of the Nabatean Kingdom, as far as we know it, with special attention to connections with the Greek world. It looks substantially accurate, but I have not fact checked it comprehensively.
The Greek Reporter has been doing some good work on ancient history.
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hroughout the gallery are items that range in size and age and purpose, including gems, jewelry, coins, tools, ceramics, figurines of gods, as well as architectural elements such as tops of stone columns, sections of ancient doorways, and portions of a mosaic tile floor. The oldest object dates to 2100 BCE and the most recent to 1800 CE.[Penn Museum Williams Director Christopher] Woods says that most of the artifacts in the new gallery were excavated by Penn archaeologists, many from the Beth Shean site in Israel in the 1920s and 1930s, which resulted in about 8,000 objects. The Museum has more than a million objects, with a very small percentage on display. “Whenever we can bring those objects out of the storerooms, that's always an exciting endeavor,” Woods says.
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During archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Amastris in the Amasra district of northern Turkey’s Bartın, an enchanted amulet stamp seal thought to belong to the ancient Egyptians was discovered.I don't know Demotic, so take my view with caution, but the inscription sure looks like Phoenician to me. The Egyptian god Bes was widely known outside of Egypt, so his iconographic presence is not an obstacle to a Phoenician origin. The city is Roman-era and this is the sort of object that could easily travel around.[...]
“We see that there is a figure depicting the god Bes, whom we know from the Egyptian religion, depicted with incised lines at the base of the work. On the upper part of the work, we see that there are letter characters and talismanic words from the ancient Egyptian religion called demotic. The letter characters on the work probably represent this meaning of protection. As a kind of talismanic object, we can define it as an object that a person wears to be protected from evil and diseases or in whatever sense he wants to be protected. We can say that it is the only example of its kind found from the Roman layer in Anatolia during excavations,” Fatma Bağdatlı Çam said.
The object is broken and the inscription is incomplete, but I see גתני. (.gtny) on the front face and .מ (m.) on the left side. (The dots are unreadable bits of broken letter. The letter after the mem could be an ’aleph.) There is not enough text to make any sense of it.
I have looked briefly at Demotic scripts and this looks more like Phoenician to me. It is a formal script. It looks early, certainly long before the Common Era. Again, such objects often became heirlooms and traveled around, so it isn't surprising to have it turn up in a Roman-era stratum.
That's my preliminary assessment, but I await the judgment of specialist epigraphers and am happy to be corrected. Christopher Rollston, call your office?
Cross-file under Phoenician Watch (?).
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AUSTIN, Texas — A credit-card-size fragment is all that survives of a manuscript scroll of the Gospel of John that was written in Greek circa A.D. 250-350. Once listed on eBay, it is now in the collection of the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. It is on view to the public this fall.For background on the Willoughby Papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John, see here and here. I'm glad to hear that it is now in a museum, where it belongs. Now it needs formal publication.Geoffrey S. Smith, an associate professor and director of UT’s Institute for the Study of Antiquity and Christian Origins in the Department of Religious Studies, first saw the eBay listing for the ancient fragment in 2015.
[...]
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Todd M. Hickey, James G. Keenan, Edgar J. Goodspeed: America's first papyrologist. California classical studies, 8. Berkeley: California Classical Studies, 2021. Pp. 178. ISBN 9781939926142 $34.95.For the Goodspeed Manuscript Collection at the University of Chicago, see here.Review by
Mills McArthur, Southern Adventist University. millsmcarthur@southern.eduEdgar Johnson Goodspeed is perhaps best remembered as a pioneering Biblical scholar, a man whose “American translation” of the New Testament provoked lively controversy at the time of its 1923 release. Less widely known—but no less important when assessing his legacy—are Goodspeed’s forays into papyrology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ...
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Recent years have witnessed significant advances in the research of Rabbinic literature. From the preparation of new critical scientific editions and commentaries of the texts; to the incorporation of methodology from the realm of literary analysis, a greater degree of sophistication is evident in the interpretation of these texts. Significant developments include a closer commitment to exploring the contexts of the rabbinic sources, both within the rabbinic corpus and beyond, the hermeneutic structures of the various compositions; and to probing the interconnectedness between halakhic and aggadic elements in rabbinic sources. Of particular note is the close study of literary phenomena, narratology, topoi, and diverse rhetorical features. This session invites papers that offer innovative readings of rabbinic sources.Follow the link for submission information. The deadline is 5 January 2023.
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The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) seeks a scholar and teacher for a tenure-track, open rank faculty appointment in the department of Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures. While the area of specialization within rabbinics is open, the successful candidate will display familiarity with Midrash, Talmud, Halakhah, and Ancient Jewish History. The successful candidate will have an active research agenda and a passion for teaching the varied student body at JTS, which includes undergraduate, graduate, education, rabbinical, and cantorial students. The successful candidate will be supportive of the academic, religious, and communal mission of JTS and willing to participate in the life of the institution. JTS welcomes applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, age, sex, national origin, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other factors as prohibited by law. Scholars from underrepresented populations are especially encouraged to apply as JTS strives to increase the diversity of its faculty to achieve its ethical and religious goals.Follow the link for additional details and application information. The deadline for first consideration is 5 December.This appointment, with an initial term of three years, begins July 1, 2023. Candidates must have their PhD in hand by May 2023.
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A broad review finds no historical or archaeological evidence that the ancient Judeans, whether in the Holy Land or in the diaspora, observed or were even aware of the laws of the Torah until the second century B.C.E., says Yonatan Adler, a professor of archaeology at Ariel University and author of the new book “The Origins of Judaism,” published Tuesday by Yale University Press.I noted a recent essay by Professor Adler on the same topic here. And this post is also relevant (but cf. here too).
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Conversations on Canaanite and Biblical Themes
Creation, Chaos and Monotheism
Edited by: Rebecca S. Watson and Adrian H. W. Curtis
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110606294About this book
Arguments over the relationship between Canaanite and Israelite religion often derive from fundamental differences in presupposition, methodology and definition, yet debate typically focuses in on details and encourages polarization between opposing views, inhibiting progress. This volume seeks to initiate a cultural change in scholarly practice by setting up dialogues between pairs of experts in the field who hold contrasting views.
Each pair discusses a clearly defined issue through the lens of a particular biblical passage, responding to each other’s arguments and offering their reflections on the process. Topics range from the apparent application of ‘chaos’ and ‘divine warrior’ symbolism to Yahweh in Habakkuk 3, the evidence for ‘monotheism’ in pre-Exilic Judah in 2 Kings 22–23, and the possible presence of ‘chaos’ or creatio ex nihilo in Genesis 1 and Psalm 74. This approach encourages the recognition of points of agreement as well as differences and exposes some of the underlying issues that inhibit consensus. In doing so, it consolidates much that has been achieved in the past, offers fresh ideas and perspective and, through intense debate, subjects new ideas to thorough critique and suggests avenues for further research.
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Philip Jenkins addresses this question (the answer is probably yes) with a guided tour of the online resources you can access to explore this and related sorts of original-language questions. Many of those resources do require a knowledge of the Greek alphabet, but not much else.
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Antonio E. Felle, Bryan Ward-Perkins, Cultic graffiti in the late antique Mediterranean and beyond. Contextualizing the sacred, 11. Turnhout: Brepols, 2021. Pp. xx, 190. ISBN 9782503593111 €95,00.Chapter 3, by Leah Di Segni, deals with Jewish devotional graffiti in the Holy Land.Review by
Peter Keegan, Macquarie University. peter.keegan@mq.edu.au... While attention is briefly paid to Jewish and Islamic devotional texts, the volume focuses in the main on Christian graffiti practices over the period 300-1000 CE across the Mediterranean world, Arabia, and Nubia. ...
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Once again, the spectacular preservation of organic remains in the Timna Valley provides archaeologists with valuable information.
For much more on the Timna Valley excavation and the possible implications of its organic remains, see here and links.
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From the Passion to the Church of the Holy SepulchreMemories of Jesus in Place, Pilgrimage, and Early Holy Sites Over the First Three Centuries
Jordan J. Ryan (Author)
Paperback
$39.95$35.95Hardback
$115.00$103.50Ebook (PDF)
$35.95$28.76Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$35.95$28.76Product details
Published Sep 22 2022
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 296
ISBN 9780567697745
Imprint T&T Clark
Illustrations 25 bw illus
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries
Publisher Bloomsbury PublishingDescription
Since the early 4th century, Christian pilgrims and visitors to Judea and Galilee have worshipped at and been inspired by monumental churches erected at sites traditionally connected with the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. This book examines the history and archaeology of early Christian holy sites and traditions connected with specific places in order to understand them as interpretations of Jesus and to explore them as instantiations of memories of him.
Ryan's overarching aim is to construe these places as instantiations of what historian Pierre Nora has called “lieux de mémoires,” sites where memory crystallizes and, where possible, to track the course and development of the traditions underlying them from their genesis in the Gospel narratives to their eventual solidification in the form of pilgrimage sites. So doing will bring rarely considered evidence to the study of early Christian memory, which in turn helps to illuminate the person of Jesus himself in both history and reception.
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This is a good list. You will find PaleoJudaica posts on most of the sites (see the search engine).
I didn't know about the "Finger of Og" (the giant). Cool. For posts on Og, see here and links, plus here, here, and here.
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It appears to be open access: The Past Decade in Septuagint Research (2012–2021) (William A. Ross, Currents in Biblical Research 21 [2022]).
Abstract
This article overviews the very active past decade in the discipline of Septuagint scholarship, including publications dating from the beginning of 2012 through the end of 2021. It organizes and discusses this activity within numerous categories, beginning with a brief overview of previous disciplinary surveys before moving on to the many new publications that have appeared, including primary texts, commentaries, general introductions, handbooks and companions, and reference works. Further sections give attention to important trends and publications in the main disciplinary journal, as well as in the major conference volumes and series. The second half of the article gives attention to several important areas of development and debate in the discipline, with attention to how it has developed globally over the last ten years. In the course of this discussion, this article, while not exhaustive in scope or coverage, also contributes to the tradition within modern Septuagint scholarship of compiling a bibliography of scholarly publications in the discipline.
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Of course, if the question is “could these restorations be correct?,” the answer is yes. But there is a vast difference between suggesting something is “possible” and suggesting it is “probable,” “compelling,” or “certain.” Someone might say, “well, is it plausible?” The answer to that may be yes as well. But there is also a lot of distance between something being “plausible” and something being probable, compelling, or certain.Background here.
And while we're on the subject, Bible History Daily has republished a 2009 BAR article on the fragment by Hershel Shanks, originally published when it was first announced: Hezekiah’s Monumental Inscription? Revisiting an inscription from the pages of BAR.
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Memory in a Time of Prose: Studies in Epistemology, Hebrew Scribalism, and the Biblical Past by Daniel D. Pioske. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.... In this tight, readable book, Pioske weaves together related but distinct studies of scribalism and memory with newly discovered material evidence to give a useful insight into the study of early biblical narratives. ...
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The Cave of Letters is quite literally a cave of secrets. Rediscovered by archaeologists in the 1960s, its contents told of uprisings as well as everyday life in ancient Israel.This essay ably demonstrates the importance of the Cave of Letters for ancient Jewish history. But I am still going with Qumran Cave 4 as the most important.What at first appeared to be an unassuming cave located in a cliff face in the Judean desert actually turned out to be a perfectly preserved time capsule, full of letters and documents from the 1st and 2nd centuries. Archaeologists have worked hard to pick apart these letters and the other items found in the cave in order to understand who used the cave and why.
[...]
For PaleoJudaica posts on Richard Freund's work on the Cave of Letters, see here, here, here, and here. For some posts on the Babatha archive, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And for more on the Cave of Letters, see here and links.
For additional posts on the Bar Kokhba Revolt and the texts and artifacts (mostly coins) associated with it, follow the links collected here, and see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and links.
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A new multi-faceted project by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies introduces the Samaritans to a wide and varied audience, and explores how they have managed to survive for millennia despite efforts by conquering powers to erase them. Crucially, the project asks how the Samaritans plan to continue to survive into the future when today they number a mere 862. ...For more on the project and its various elements, see here and links.The Samaritans Project features a book of academic essays, a full-length documentary film, and an exhibition at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. All three share the same title: “The Samaritans: A Biblical People.” A Samaritan cookbook and artworks created through a collaboration with the Jewish Art Salon are also part of the project.
Cross-file under Cinema.
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Found in 2017 in the biblical city of Lachish, the artifact joins the pantheon of ancient combs assumed to be for lice that have been found up and down the Holy Land. But this one is different.The object was found in a scientific excavation. And epigrapher Christopher Rollston says the inscription is real. It looks like this is the real deal.This one bears the earliest sentence ever found in Israel, seven words in the world’s first alphabet, archaic proto-Canaanite: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”
This is an important discovery. Also, Eww.
UPDATE: Amanda Borschel-Dan has a characteristically thorough article on the comb and inscription: Ivory lice comb – a dating head-scratcher – may hold earliest Canaanite sentence. With a paucity of contemporary Bronze Age examples for comparison, scholars believe relatable 7-word inscription is first recorded complete proto-Canaanite sentence in Holy Land (Times of Israel).
Among the extras in the article is the story of how "the world has a camera thief to thank for this discovery" (of the inscription).
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Archeologists in Egypt have uncovered a vast underground tunnel near the city of Alexandria, and hope it may lead them to the long-lost tomb of Egypt’s last pharaoh and possibly its most famous ruler, Queen Cleopatra VII.This sounds like the logline for a new Mummy movie.
Be that as it may, I hope something interesting comes of the the discovery. Presumably the tunnel was built to lead to something.
For PaleoJudaica posts on Queen Cleopatra VII (the Cleopatra) and on the excavation at Taposiris Magna, start here and follow the links.
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Rodney A. Whitacre, A grammar of New Testament Greek. Eerdmans language resources. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021. Pp. 522. ISBN 9780802879271 $49.99.Review by
Erich Merkel, University of Virginia. em7ec@virginia.eduIt is worth emphasizing at the beginning what this book is not. It is not, on the one hand, an exhaustive reference grammar of Koine Greek. Nor, on the other, is it an introductory textbook. It rather occupies a somewhat ambiguous middle position, that of a “pedagogical grammar” aimed at beginning and intermediate students, and intended both for “occasional reference” as well as “reading through” from cover to cover (ix). Its stated purpose is to help beginner-intermediate students to read the Greek of the New Testament (ix-x). To a lesser degree it also covers Koine Greek generally; but its aim and its focus are narrowly tailored to reading and interpreting the NT. ...
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Horizons of Ancestral InheritanceCommentary on the Levi, Qahat, and Amram Qumran Aramaic Traditions
Andrew B. Perrin (Author)
Hardback
$115.00$103.50Ebook (PDF)
$103.50$82.80Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$103.50$82.80Product details
Published Jul 14 2022
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 272
ISBN 9780567705433
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of Second Temple Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury PublishingDescription
In this study of the Aramaic materials at Qumran, Andrew B. Perrin examines the Aramaic Levi Document, Words of Qahat, and Visions of Amram, showing how they exhibit a concentration of priestly concerns/knowledge and exploring new models for evaluating their potential textual or traditional connections. The Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most understudied items in the Qumran collection, and with open questions posed around their origins, transmission, and reception in and beyond the Second Temple period, these writings provide both new materials and fresh insight into the thought, identity, and practice of ancient Judaism.
Perrin's analysis includes a new transcription, critical notes, and translation of the Aramaic Levi, Qahat, and Amram fragments based upon the latest digital images. He pairs them with a comprehensive commentary on the conceptual elements, codicological features, and cultural contexts of the materials, and he concludes with a fresh synthesis regarding the textual formation of these Aramaic, priestly pseudepigrapha as a “constellation” of texts within a larger world or scribal-priestly activity and traditions.
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Author’s MusingsCross-file under Talmud Watch.
Bringing Down the Temple House: Engendering Tractate Yoma (Brandeis University Press)
Marjorie Lehman
Professor and Chair of Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
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