Review panel on Coogan, Eusebius the Evangelist

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Eusebius the Evangelist: Introduction (Robert Edwards).

AJR is pleased to host the #SBLAAR2022 review panel of Jeremiah Coogan's Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity (Oxford University Press, 2022). This book review panel took place at the annual meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature in Denver, Colorado, on November 19, 2022. ...

The first essay:

Five Initial Thoughts on Eusebius the Evangelist (Paul Dilley).

My subsequent comments, organized as five initial reflections, were prompted by Coogan’s many strong insights, and in response to the ongoing holes and ambiguities in our source material.

The second essay:

Echoes of Eusebius in Syriac (Marion Pragt)

Coogan presents his book as an “invitation to reexamine encounters between textual artifacts and their users” (p. 177). Inspired by Coogan’s work, I would like to explore some of the ways in which gospel authorship and the parallels and differences between individual gospels were imagined and encountered by Syriac-using Christians in late ancient and early medieval times.

The third:

Eusebius, the Evangelist, and the Rabbinic Mapping of Knowledge (Monika Amsler).

While Eusebius added a cosmic dimension to the four gospels by mapping them out based on an (astronomical) table, the Talmud seems to be the cosmos created by tables that linked the content of the Babylonian rabbinic library (as the sum of all books rather than one specific collection) associatively with each other and with the Mishnah.

The fourth:

Similar Things: Reflections On Eusebius The Evangelist (Jennifer Wright Knust)

Since I have no objections to Coogan’s analysis (everyone should just read this book already), I will structure my own response around two areas where I think Coogan and/or scholarship after Coogan could go next: (1) further analysis of what the “harmony of the Gospels” meant to the ancients who claimed it (or better, to follow Coogan: how a claim like “harmony of the Gospels” was used) and (2) a reconsideration of what an “evangelist” is or can be. ...

Jeremiah Coogan's response:

Poetic Geography: Reading Eusebius’ Fourfold Gospel

I am grateful to each of my interlocutors in this forum for their generous engagement with Eusebius the Evangelist.[3] In what follows, I structure my response around three themes: (1) technologies and practices, (2) readers, and (3) imagination. These three themes interweave with one another as we consider how Eusebius’s reconfigured Gospel “articulat[es] a second, poetic geography on top of the geography of the literal.”[4]

[...]

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The oldest known codex?

CODICOLOGY: Papyrus fragment found in Egypt could be from ‘oldest book ever discovered,’ experts believe. Scribbled calculations for beer, oil taxes date back almost 2,300 years (Arab News).

This article summarizes an article in the Times of London that is behind the subscription wall.

By "oldest book," the article means the oldest "codex" that is, a book with pages bound inside a more durable cover (as opposed to a scroll).

For more on early history of the codex, see here and links and here.

UPDATE (28 June): More here.

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Talattof (ed.), Routledge handbook of ancient, classical and late classical Persian literature

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Ancient, classical & late classical Persian literature. Notice of a New Book: Talattof, Kamran (ed.). 2023. Routledge handbook of ancient, classical and late classical Persian literature. London: Routledge.

With chapters on Avestan literature and pre-Islamic official documents.

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The Tree of Life

HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION: The tree of life has been a powerful image in Jewish tradition for thousands of years – signifying much more than immortality (Samuel L. Boyd, The Conversation).

In my research as a scholar of the Bible and ancient Judaism, I have been amazed at the potency of the symbol of the tree of life. Not only has the symbol itself transformed over time, but it has the power to transform communities along with it.

A brief survey of the Tree of Life theme in the Bible, the Ancient Near East, and the Kabbalah.

For a recent book on the Tree of Life tradition, see here and links.

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Review of Gmirkin, Plato's Timaeus and the Biblical creation accounts

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical creation accounts.

Russell E. Gmirkin, Plato's Timaeus and the Biblical creation accounts: cosmic monotheism and terrestrial polytheism in the primordial history. Copenhagen international seminar. Abingdon; New York: Routledge, 2022. Pp. xv, 344. ISBN 9781032020822

Review by
Nicholas Banner, Independent scholar. nicholasbanner@gmail.com

... Gmirkin’s arguments are welcome in that they remind the reader of this, and remind us of the shakiness of the edifice upon which the accepted scholarly certainties of the field are sometimes established. However, to this reviewer’s mind, Gmirkin’s take on his own Hellenistic composition hypothesis is itself rather too ‘maximalist’: much that is found in this book would be welcome as intriguing parallels suggesting the need for more research, but fails to convince as an open-and-shut case for widespread Platonic and other Greek borrowing in Genesis. ...

I noted the publication of the book here, with links to earlier posts on Gmirkin's work and some comments of my own.

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More evidence for the site of Bethsaida?

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: ‘The Real Bethsaida’: Scribal Mix-up Over Site of Jesus' Miracle May Help Identify Its Location. Our story starts with Jesus healing a lame man in a pool in Jerusalem, a journey to the Sea of Galilee and a missing segue. Prof. R. Steven Notley tracks down the strange etymology of el-Araj, putative site of the real Bethsaida (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

So what do we have, according to Notley? Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus healed a lame man in a pool in Jerusalem called Beth-zatha or Bethesda, and then went north to the Sea of Galilee, where there was a fishing village named Bethsaida. Both locations were lost to memory thanks to the violence of Man and Nature. Meanwhile, the New Testament was written in Greek, the name Bethesda in Jerusalem was “corrected” to read Bethsaida – and at some point in the Ottoman period, the fishing village of Bethsaida was mistakenly identified as the place where Jesus healed the lame man.

I can't say I find the argument compelling, at least as presented in this article. John 5:1-2 explicitly presents the healing at the pool as taking place in Jerusalem. Granted the phrase "to the other side of the sea of Galilee: in 6:1 is a bit confusing. It could seem to imply that Jerusalem was in Galilee on one side of the sea. But it would require some poor reader comprehension to mix up the site in Jerusalem with the site of Bethsaida in Galilee.

It's true that poor reader comprehension of the Bible is not unprecedented. But the argument is weakend by the need to assume it.

I don't have ready access to the IEJ article, which may present the case more persuasively.

I do think the current weight of evidence is in favor of el Araj as the site of New Testament Bethsaida rather than the rival site of et-Tell/e-Tell. But I am not an archaeologist. I have discussed the question here. Follow the links from there for many posts on both sides of the debate.

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Esther as a Source for Achaemenian History?

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: The Book of Esther as a Source for Achaemenian History (Morteza Arabzadeh Sarbanani).

In a recent article, I argue that a significant part of the historical material of the Book of Esther is in line with evidence that most of the classical sources are unaware of. This independence from the Greek sources makes the Book of Esther more important as a historical source for Achaemenian history than has traditionally been assumed. What follows is a brief discussion of some verses that contain historically relevant information, much of which is not found in the Classical sources.

There is a link to the underlying article in Persica Antiqua, but it is behind the subscription wall.

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Great Revolt coins found near Black Sea

NUMISMATICS: 1st-century coins from Jewish revolt against the Romans discovered near the Black Sea. Roman soldiers took coins minted by Jewish rebels in the Holy Land with them to a military camp in Georgia (Owen Jarus, Live Science).

Most of the coins used in the analysis were discovered between 2014 and 2022 by a Polish-Georgian team at the fort of Apsaros at Colchis, Piotr Jaworski, an archaeologist at the University of Warsaw who is a coin expert on the team, told Live Science in an email. The researchers found that a few of the coins were actually minted by Jewish rebels and that the Romans continued to use the currency. During the revolt, the Jewish rebels minted coins of their own that were inscribed with a variety of images, including pomegranates and chalices.

The legion would have brought the coins to the site around A.D. 115, when the Roman emperor Trajan (who reigned from 98 to 117) launched an initially successful invasion of the Parthian Empire — an action that pushed the Roman Empire's borders deep into the Middle East. Historical records and archaeological remains indicate that Legio X Fretensis was used in this invasion and spent time in Colchis. The site was "a good logistical base for military operations in the region," Jaworski said.

For more on the Legio X Fretensis, see here and links. It was involved in the suppression of both the Great Revolt in 66-70 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135.

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Who Is Balaam Son of Beor?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY has re-posted a series of essays on Balaam Son of Beor by Nathan Steinmeyer. Somehow I missed them the first time around, so here they are:

Who Is Balaam Son of Beor? Part One. Examining the figure of Balaam in the Bible

Who Is Balaam Son of Beor? Part Two. Examining the figure of Balaam in later traditions

Who Is Balaam Son of Beor? Part Three. Examining the figure of Balaam in archaeology

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Balaam and on the Balaam inscription from Tel Deir 'Alla (Deir Alla), see here and links, plus here.

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Gods at Dura-Europos

ANCIENT RELIGIOUS PLURALISM: The gods of Dura-Europos. From the worship of local Syrian protector gods to Christianity, many different religions flourished in the cosmopolitan crossroads city of Dura-Europos. Jen Baird brings us face to face with the diverse divine through the art of this ancient site (Minerva Magazine/The Past).

In the Roman period, the time that is best known from the archaeological evidence, we know of no fewer than 19 different religious buildings, many of which had been built under Arsacid (Parthian) rule in the centuries before. Some religious structures, like the Mithraeum, Synagogue, and Christian building, focused on single deities. Others were home to a range of gods. Together, the evidence for the many gods and goddesses of Dura-Europos, preserved through inscriptions, sculptures, and paintings, give us a sense of the complex cultural and religious interconnections of the Roman era in Syria.

PaleoJudaica has posted mostly, but not exculsively, on the synagogue. See here and many links. But many gods were worshipped at Dura-Europos.

Posts on Dr. Baird's book and her work on Dura-Europos are here and links. For Yale's Dura-Europos collection, see here and links.

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

Carthage: museum renovation and dye revival (with Shikmona bonus)

PUNIC WATCH: Tunisia's Carthage Museum Gives Preview Of Expanded Renovation (AFP via Barron's).

For more on the renovation of the site of ancient Carthage, including the Carthage Museum, see here and links.

Also from Carthage: Tunisian Man Revives Ancient Phoenician Craft. He takes on an incredible journey! (NATALIE KEBBE, About Her).

No, this is not another recreation of a Phoenician ship.

Mohamed Ghassen Nouira, a history-obsessed Tunisian, revives in his garden an antiquated craft that was once considered a sign of riches in the ancient world: making purple dye from sea snail shells.

A while back, while taking a leisurely walk along the beach in Carthage, a suburb of Tunis in northern Tunisia, Nouira stumbled upon a murex shell. This discovery evoked memories of his history classes and sparked a desire to recreate the ancient dye.

[...]

I have already mentioned Mr. Nouira's hobby here. But this is good excuse to mention it again. Follow the links from there for PaleoJudaica posts involving Tyrian purple dye and the Israelite telekhet dye, both made from the murex snail.

Coincidentally, here is newly announced research on the prodution of Tyrian purple dye in ancient Israel: Ancient Tel Shikmona factory probably supplied the First Temple with dye. A new study by the University of Haifa claims to completely change the story of the biblical Shikmona (Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, Jerusalem Post). Cross-file under Phoenician Watch.

I noted the discovery of the Phoenician dye factory at Shikmona here. The new research argues that the ancient Israelites took over the site and continued the dye production.

However, after several years of in-depth research into Elgavish’s findings and even after completing their new excavation in a limited area of the mound in recent weeks, Gilboa and Shalvi now present the full historical story of the mound during this period. The historical reconstruction suggests the Kingdom of Israel took over the Phoenician production site and turned it into the largest and most significant production site known in the Mediterranean basin.

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

On Philo of Alexandria

HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: The Strange Case of Philo of Alexandria. Rabbi [Richard] Baroff discusses the legacy of the first Jewish philosopher (Atlanta Jewish Times).

Students of Jewish philosophy tend to focus on the Middle Ages: Saadia Gaon, Judah HaLevi and Maimonides, among others. But the first Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, lived long before them. He was born perhaps 10 years or so after Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide and grew up during the time when Octavian became Caesar Augustus, and the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire. He was a contemporary with Hillel the Elder and with Jesus, living most of his life in the first century of the common era.

[...]

This is a nice, brief overview of the life and writings of Philo.

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Drob, Kabbalistic Visions: C. G. Jung and Jewish Mysticism (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

2nd Edition
Kabbalistic Visions
C. G. Jung and Jewish Mysticism

By Sanford L. Drob
Copyright 2023
Paperback £23.99
Hardback £96.00
eBook £20.99
ISBN 9780367461249
302 Pages
Published April 6, 2023 by Routledge

Description

In 1944, C. G. Jung experienced a series of visions which he later described as "the most tremendous things I have ever experienced." Central to these visions was the "mystic marriage as it appears in the Kabbalistic tradition", and Jung’s experience of himself as "Rabbi Simon ben Jochai," the presumed author of the sacred Kabbalistic text, the　Zohar. Kabbalistic Visions explores Jung’s 1944 Kabbalistic visions, the impact of Jewish mysticism on Jungian psychology, Jung’s archetypal interpretation of Kabbalistic symbolism, and his claim late in life that a Hasidic rabbi, the Maggid of Mezhirech, anticipated his entire psychology. This book places Jung’s encounter with the Kabbalah in the context of the earlier visions and meditations of his Red Book, his abiding interests in Gnosticism and alchemy, and what many regard to be his Anti-Semitism and flirtation with National Socialism. Kabbalistic Visions is the first full-length study of Jung and Jewish mysticism in any language and the first book to present a comprehensive Jungian/archetypal interpretation of Kabbalistic symbolism.

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Reviews of Van De Mieroop, Before and after Babel

FIRST, BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Before and after Babel: writing as resistance in ancient Near Eastern empires

Marc Van De Mieroop, Before and after Babel: writing as resistance in ancient Near Eastern empires. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp. 360. ISBN 9780197634660

Review by
Sophus Helle, Freie Universität Berlin. email@sophushelle.com

... The historical narrative of Before and After Babel is propelled by a simple claim: that the nature of writing in the ancient Near East changed radically during the “Dark Age” that separates the late second and the early first millennium BCE, yielding two epochs in the pre-Classical history of writing that are treated separately in each of the book’s two parts. The straightforwardness of this claim lends the book a clarity of structure and argument, but it is also balanced in each chapter by a wealth of details and nuance that prevent the claim from falling into oversimplicity. ...

Second, William Brown reviews the book at his Biblical Review Blog:

Review: “Before and after Babel: Writing as Resistance in Ancient Near Eastern Empires” by Marc Van De Mieroop

... Overall, Van De Mieroop synthesizes and compiles a range of topics, regions, and fields of study into a single, accessible monograph. In doing so, he has constructed a history of writing, scripts, vernaculars, and cosmopolitan languages in the ancient Near East. Undoubtedly, this volume can be a helpful starting point for a general audience and students. And, indeed, Assyriologists and biblical scholars may find small nuggets throughout his work. Even so, the monograph offer no particularly striking or ground-breaking analysis that will significantly impact Assyriology, biblical scholarship, or other adjacent fields. In fact, many will find themselves disagreeing with Van De Mieroop as they read this monograph. ...

NOTE: This book is not to be confused with the somewhat similarly-titled recent book by Steven Fraade: Multilingualism and Translation in Ancient Judaism. Before and After Babel.

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Williams, Early Classical Authors on Jesus (T&T Clark)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Early Classical Authors on Jesus

Margaret H. Williams (Author)

Hardback
$120.00 $108.00

Ebook (PDF)
$108.00 $86.40

Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$108.00 $86.40

Product details

Published Oct 20 2022
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 248
ISBN 9780567683151
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

Margaret H. Williams examines how classical writers saw and portrayed Jesus, engaging with the fact that as the originator of a new (and still existing) world religion, Jesus of Nazareth, otherwise known as Christus (Christ), is an individual of indisputable historical significance.

Williams shows how from the outset Jesus was a controversial figure. Contemporary Jews in the Roman province of Judaea tended either to adore or to abhor him. When indue course his fame spread throughout the wider Roman empire, reactions to him there among both Jews and non-Jews were no less divergent. Each of the early classical writers who makes mention of him, the historian Tacitus, the biographer Suetonius, the epistolographer Pliny and the satirist Lucian, takes a different view of him and presents him in a different way. Williams considers these different depictions and questions why these writers had such differing views of Jesus. To answer this question Williams examines not only to the different literary conventions by which each of these writers was bound but also to the social, cultural and religious contexts in which they operated.

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Ramazzotti (ed,) The Historical and Cultural Memory of the Babylonian World (Brepols)

RECENT BOOK FROM BREPOLS PUBLISHER:

The Historical and Cultural Memory of the Babylonian World
Collecting Fragments from the 'Centre of the World'

Marco Ramazzotti (ed)

Pages: viii + 193 p.
Size: 216 x 280 mm
Illustrations: 28 b/w, 5 col., 2 tables b/w., 2 maps b/w, 1 maps color
Language(s): English
Publication Year: 2022

Buy print version
€ 75,00 EXCL. VAT
RETAIL PRICE
ISBN: 978-2-503-59536-8
Paperback

SUMMARY

In the study of the ancient world, Babylon can be considered as the most impressive representation, historically, archaeologically, and in literature, of urbanism in the Near East. This first example of an urban centre and its cultural heritage — both tangible and intangible — provides a focal point for discussions of historical and cultural memory in the region. The eleven contributions gathered here draw together multidisciplinary research into Babylonian culture, exploring the epistemic foundations, contacts, resilience, and cultural transmission of the city and its milieu from ancient times up until the modern day. Through this approach, this volume is able to support conversations concerning the historical and cultural memory of Babylon and promote a dialogue that cuts across, and unites, both cultures and academic disciplines.

Note in particular the chapter: "Traces of Babylon in the Old Testament — ALESSANDRO CATASTINI."

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Ehrman, Journeys to Heaven and Hell (Yale)

NEW BOOK FROM YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Journeys to Heaven and Hell
Tours of the Afterlife in the Early Christian Tradition

by Bart D. Ehrman
Course Book
344 Pages, 6.12 x 9.25 in

Paperback
9780300271041
Published: Tuesday, 7 Mar 2023
$23.00

Hardcover
9780300257007
Published: Tuesday, 5 Apr 2022
$32.50
Out of Stock (as of this posting)

A New York Times bestselling scholar’s illuminating exploration of the earliest Christian narrated journeys to heaven and hell

“[An] illuminating deep dive . . . An edifying origin story for contemporary Christian conceptions of the afterlife.”—Publishers Weekly

From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged. He examines how fundamental social experiences of the early Christian communities molded the conceptions of the afterlife that eventuated into the accepted doctrines of heaven, hell, and purgatory.

Drawing on Greek and Roman epic poetry, early Jewish writings such as the Book of Watchers, and apocryphal Christian stories including the Acts of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, and the Apocalypse of Peter, Ehrman demonstrates that ancient tours of the afterlife promoted reflection on matters of ethics, faith, ambition, and life’s meaning, the fruit of which has been codified into Christian belief today.

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Codex Sassoon copycat in Turkey?

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Turkey recovers 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible in smuggling raids. The 28-page leather-bound collection of papyrus scriptures was seized during Turkey's latest smuggling crackdown in Istanbul (Ezgi Akin, Al-Monitor).

Once again, a story about the recovery of an improbably old Hebrew manuscript in Turkey. Obsevations:

As always, I commend the Turkish police for going hard on antiquities smuggling.

But the authorities need to consult with some actual experts before making these extraordinary claims about seized manuscripts. Repeatedly we read reports of one-thousand- or two-thousand-year-old Hebrew or Aramaic manuscripts being recovered. These reports, dubious to start with, mostly sink into oblivion without followup. The photographs that sometimes emerge are generally of obviously modern fakes, which seem to abound in Turkey.

The photo in the article is of an actual 1,100-year-old manuscript, the Codex Sassoon. It was recently sold to a private buyer who has commendably donated it to a museum in Israel. But the photo has nothing to do with the 28-page book seized in Turkey. The latter seems likely to be another modern fake, although I would have to see photographs to be sure.

In recent years I usually have been ignoring such stories coming out of Turkey, but occasionally once comes up that I think calls for a response. I have collected many such stories here (cf. here).

Turkey produces many geninue, fascinating stories about archaeology, antiquities, and history. I have noted a few in the last year or so here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. It is a pity that someone feels the need to dilute them with stories like the current one.

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

IAA antiquities amnesty update

A SUCCESS: New campaign to anonymously return illegally held antiquities nets thousands of items. 15% of public estimated to be holding antiquities in their homes that by law belong to the state; Israel Antiquities Authority’s collection drive extended another week (MELANIE LIDMAN, Times of Israel).

Thousands who were illegally holding antiquities in their homes returned the items during a two-week campaign this month, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ministry of Heritage reported on Thursday.

The campaign — “If it’s old – return it with a click!” — encourages private citizens who have artifacts to report them online and return them anonymously and without questions.

[...]

For the story of the returned late-antique anchor, see this Jerusalem Post article: Israeli returns 1,700-year-old anchor to Antiquities Authority after 26 years. This anchor, a rare find in the country, was recovered by a citizen named Moshe during a diving expedition off Palmahim Beach in 1996.

For background on the antiquities amnesty campaign, see here.

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"First Fragments" at the Chester Beatty

EXHIBITION: First Fragments Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt.

Explore some of the world’s earliest surviving biblical papyrus books.

The surviving remains of early biblical papyrus books are amazing artefacts of the past. The Chester Beatty’s current exhibition First Fragments: Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt focuses on the internationally important collection of manuscripts known as the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri. Dating from the 2nd to 4th century AD, these ancient pages reveal a world of book production and early Christian scholarship in Roman Egypt.

These papyrus fragments have much to tell us about the material histories of writing and bookbinding, textual histories of translation and transmission, and later object histories of ownership, publication and display. Explore their fragmented histories through the lens of scribes and bookbinders, authors and readers, scholars and collectors throughout the centuries. This exhibition offers a glimpse into the past through the histories of these ancient books.

Featuring some eighty objects from Roman Egypt, this exhibition includes pages from some of the earliest surviving biblical papyrus books alongside early Coptic bindings, ostraca (pieces of pottery used for writing), related papyrus fragments, illuminated Coptic manuscript pages and loans from the National Museum of Ireland.

The site has a 3D virtual exhibition page as well. It allows you to go through the exhibition and look at each of the scrolls.

Bible History Daily also has a notice of the exhibition, with some additional details: First Fragments: Biblical Papyrus from Roman Egypt.

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

Hyrcania is being excavated

ARCHAEOLOGY: Hyrcania fortress site in Judean Desert excavated for the first time in Israel (All Israel News).

For the first time, archaeologists are excavating a Hasmonean fortress from the second century B.C.E., known as “Hyrcania" after John Hyrcanus, who was a Maccabean leader and a Jewish high priest during that time.

[...]

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Journal issue on the ending of Mark

THE ETC BLOG: Ending of Mark Papers Published (Peter Gurry).

The papers from the Mark 16 conference around this time last year have now been published in the latest issue of Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin. I haven't had a chance to read them yet myself but look forward to.

The ToC follows.

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Jerusalem's Tower of David reopens

RENOVATION: Iconic Tower of David Reopens: Jerusalem Like You’ve Never Seen It Before. After a $50 million renovation, the revamped, expanded museum in East Jerusalem reopens this month (Naama Riba, Haaretz).

Although the current Tower of David was built in the 17th century, its architectual origins go back to the Herodian period:

“Parts of the fortress were built during the Herodian period, over 2,000 years ago. Other major sections were built during the Crusader and Mamluk periods and it was finished in the early Ottoman period. In many respects the Tower of David constitutes a kind of miniature of the entire city,” [geographer Prof. Yehoshua] Ben Arieh wrote.

The soubriquet “Tower of David” was attached to the site by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus about 1,000 years after the time of King David. In his book “Wars of the Jews,” Josephus wrote, “The city of Jerusalem was fortified with three walls, on such parts as were not encompassed with unpassable valleys; for in such places it had but one wall. The city was built upon two hills, which are opposite to one another, and have a valley to divide them asunder; at which valley the corresponding rows of houses on both hills end. Of these hills, that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in length more direct. Accordingly, it was called the ‘Citadel,’ by king David” – (Translated by William Whiston, A.M. Auburn and Buffalo, John E. Beardsley, 1895).

For PaleoJudaica posts on the renovation of the Tower of David, see here and here.

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

Neis on Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species (Rafael Rachel Neis).

Rafael Rachel Neis. When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species. University of California Press, 2023.

In my hot-off-the-press book, When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species, I start with the perhaps obvious, perhaps controversial, premise that we should take ancient worldmaking seriously and “literally.” ...

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IAA asks public to return antiquities

ANNOUNCEMENT: Antiquities Authority calls on Israeli public to return stolen artifacts Citizens can reach out to the IAA to determine if items are antiques and return items at one of four collection points throughout the country (Jerusalem Post).

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in May began a large-scale operation to encourage the public to return illegally acquired artifacts, to restore them to their original site where possible, gain historical knowledge and raise awareness around the issue.

[...]

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Weston Fields (1948-2023)

SAD NEWS:

Dr. Weston Fields, 1948 – 2023

On Thursday, May 25th, Dr. Weston Fields passed away on his beloved Bear Island in Alaska. ...

While working on his doctorate at Grace, Weston was increasingly drawn to the emerging scholarship on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Weston mastered speaking Hebrew and in 1985 he moved to Jerusalem, Israel, with his family in order to pursue a Ph.D. in Old Testament at Hebrew University. While in Jerusalem he studied with such internationally notable Old Testament scholars as Shemaryahu Talmon and Emanuel Tov. His thesis on biblical literary motifs was published under the name “Sodom and Gomorrah: History and Motif in Biblical Narrative.” While studying at the Hebrew University, Weston heard his professors decrying limited funding for Dead Sea Scrolls analysis and publication. In 1991, working with Emanuel Tov, Weston initiated and chartered the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation. Weston served as the Managing Director of the foundation to jumpstart funding Dead Sea Scrolls research and publication for scholars around the world to use. This project became Weston’s life work and legacy. Weston brought a unique combination of practical business skills and a qualified scholarly appreciation for the finer details of the research. As a public speaker, Weston was riveting to listen to, and he had the ability to combine just the right number of facts with just the right amount of story-telling and charm to hold his listeners captive.

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Hutzli, The Origins of P (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Jürg Hutzli. The Origins of P. Literary Profiles and Strata of the Priestly Texts in Genesis 1 – Exodus 40. 2023. XI, 447 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 164. 154,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-161545-0.

Published in English. In this study, Jürg Hutzli analyses all Priestly texts in Genesis-Exodus. He evaluates crucial questions concerning P, namely inner stratification, literary profile, historical setting, and relationship to the non-P »environment« separately for each Priestly unit or section. An important result of the author's study is the conclusion that the Priestly texts form a stratum that is more composite and less homogeneous than previously thought. Single units like Gen. 1, the Priestly flood story, and the Priestly Abraham narrative have their own distinct theologies that do not fit that of the comprehensive Priestly composition in every respect. Furthermore, as recent studies point out, the literary profile of P is not the same in every section (either a source or a redaction). The author evaluates these observations diachronically for an inner differentiation of the Priestly strand.

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The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri at Ninety (De Gruyter, open access)

NEW OPEN ACCESS BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri at Ninety
Literature, Papyrology, Ethics

Edited by: Garrick Vernon Allen , Usama Ali Mohamed Gad , Kelsie Gayle Rodenbiker , Anthony Philip Royle and Jill Unkel
Volume 10 in the series Manuscripta Biblica
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110781304

About this book

Open Access

Despite the significant work carried out on the text, transmission, materiality, and scribal habits preserved in the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri since their acquisition by Beatty ninety years ago in 1931, these early copies of Jewish scripture and the New Testament have, for the most part, belonged primarily to textual critics. The goal of this book is to resituate this important collection of manuscripts in broader contexts, examining their significance in conversation with papyrology as a discipline, in the context of other ancient literary traditions preserved on papyri, and in discussion with the intellectual and cultural history of collecting, colonialism, and scholarly rhetoric. The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, and other papyrological collection with which they are inextricably bound, remind us of the critical value of examining old manuscripts afresh in their historical, scholarly, and intellectual contexts. These studies are relevant for all scholars who work with manuscripts and ancient texts of any variety.

HT the AWOL Blog.

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Poirier (ed.), L’Hymne de la Perle des Actes de Thomas (Brepols)

NEW BOOK FROM BREPOLS:

L’Hymne de la Perle des Actes de Thomas
Introduction, texte, traduction, commentaire. Deuxième édition, revue et augmentée

Paul-Hubert Poirier (ed)

Pages: 471 p.
Size: 156 x 234 mm
Language(s): French
Publication Year: 2021

Buy print version
€ 140,00 EXCL. VAT
RETAIL PRICE
ISBN: 978-2-503-59121-6
Hardback

Le plus célèbre poème de la littérature syriaque, qui anticipe les récits de la quête du saint Graal.

SUMMARY v Les Actes apocryphes de Thomas, qui racontent l’activité missionnaire et le martyre de l’apôtre en Inde, figurent au nombre des cinq grands Actes apostoliques anciens, avec ceux de Jean, de Pierre, d’André et de Paul. Connus par une version syriaque et une version grecque, ainsi que par des formes dérivées en latin et dans plusieurs langues orientales, les Actes de Thomas sont les seuls à nous être parvenus en entier. Même s’ils appartiennent au genre du récit romanesque et se rapprochent à ce titre des romans de l’Antiquité gréco-latine, les Actes de Thomas intègrent des éléments que l’on ne retrouve guère dans cette littérature : des prières, des épiclèses ou invocations baptismales et eucharistiques, des discours où l’apôtre propose un message caractérisé par un idéal de renoncement sexuel, des descriptions de rites baptismaux et eucharistiques, et des hymnes, dont le plus fameux est sans contredit l’« Hymne de Judas Thomas l’apôtre, quand il était au pays des Indiens », mieux connu sous le titre d’« Hymne de la Perle » ou d’« Hymne de l’âme ». Transmis en syriaque et en grec, par un seul manuscrit dans chacun des cas, et par une paraphrase byzantine, l’Hymne de la Perle se présente sous la forme d’un récit qui raconte l’épopée d’un jeune prince oriental envoyé en Égypte pour en rapporter une perle, précieuse et unique, gardée par un serpent. On a volontiers vu dans ce poème, dont la composition est antérieure à celle des Actes de Thomas, une évocation de la destinée de l’âme, d’origine céleste, en exil dans le corps et la matière. Une lecture plus attentive de l’hymne permet cependant de le situer dans un contexte historique et doctrinal précis, celui de la réappropriation des Actes de Thomas par les manichéens, qui ont vu dans l’hymne une évocation poétique saisissante de la vocation et de la destinée de Mani. Cet ouvrage propose une édition, une traduction française et une synopse des trois versions de l’Hymne de la Perle, précédées d’une introduction et suivies d’un commentaire.

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Smith & Landau, The Secret Gospel of Mark (Yale)

NEW BOOK FROM YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Secret Gospel of Mark
A Controversial Scholar, a Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, and the Fierce Debate over Its Authenticity

by Geoffrey S. Smith and Brent C. Landau

240 Pages, 6.12 x 9.25 in, 8 b-w illus.
Hardcover
9780300254938
Published: Tuesday, 21 Mar 2023
$35.00

A groundbreaking account of the Secret Gospel of Mark, one of the most hotly debated documents in Christian history

In 1958, at the ancient Christian monastery of Mar Saba just outside Jerusalem, Columbia University scholar Morton Smith claimed to have unearthed a letter written by the Christian philosopher Clement of Alexandria and containing an excerpt from a previously unknown version of the canonical Gospel of Mark. This excerpt recounts a story of Jesus’s apparent sexual encounter with a young, resurrected disciple. In recent years, an influential group of researchers has alleged that no Secret Gospel or letter of Clement existed in antiquity, and that the manuscript that Morton Smith “found” was a modern forgery—created by none other than Smith himself.

In this book, Geoffrey S. Smith and Brent C. Landau enter into the controversy surrounding this document and argue that the Secret Gospel of Mark is neither a first-century alternative gospel nor a twentieth-century forgery by the scholar who announced its discovery. Instead, this account is intimately bound up with the history of Mar Saba, one of the oldest monasteries in the Christian world. In this fascinating work, Smith and Landau present the realities and misconceptions surrounding not only the now-lost manuscript but also its brilliant, enigmatic, and acerbic discoverer, Morton Smith.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Secret Gospel of Mark, see here and links (cf. here).

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... The Reception of Jewish Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity (SHARE Libri)

THE AWOL BLOG: Creative Fidelity, Faithful Creativity. The Reception of Jewish Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity. An open-access book edited by Michael A. Daise and Dorota Hartman and published by SHARE Libri.

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More on the "Pilate ring"

ONOMASTIC ARTIFACT REVISITED: One Pilate Ring to Confuse Them All. A copper ring that archaeologists found in King Herod's fortress, posited to have belonged to Pontius Pilate, may have had a completely unexpected owner, according to a new reading and interpretation (Viktoria Greenboim Rich, Haaretz).

The entire thesis that the ring belonged to, or was associated with, Pontius Pilate is based on reading the letters on either side of that krater as a single word.

But, say Eck and Ecker – they could also be two separate words, as they appear, and abbreviated.

I have already noted a BHD essay on this research (and have linked to the underlying article in ‛Atiqot). But this Haaretz article goes over the story in somewhat greater detail.

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Fraade on Priests, Scribes, and Sages in Second Temple Times

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: "They Shall Teach Your Statues to Jacob": Priests, Scribes, and Sages in Second Temple Times (Steven Fraade).

Dr. Steven D. Fraade wrote this article while on sabbatical in 1988. It was accepted for publication soon after, but the journal wanted substantial cuts due to the space constraints at the time. Since then the article has survived via personal correspondence and then later via Academia.edu.

AJR is pleased to give this article a permanent home and hope it will inspire future work on priests, scribes, and sages in the Second Temple period. All citations to this article should include the following dates: June 5th 2023 (1988).

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Review of Belayche & Pont (eds.), Participations civiques des juifs et des chrétiens dans l'Orient romain (Ier-IVe siècles)

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Participations civiques des juifs et des chrétiens dans l’Orient romain (Ier-IVe siècles)

Nicole Belayche, Anne-Valérie Pont, Participations civiques des juifs et des chrétiens dans l'Orient romain (Ier-IVe siècles). Hautes Etudes du monde gréco-romain, 62. Geneva: Librairie Droz, 2022. Pp. 456. ISBN 9782600057509

Review by
Cédric Brélaz, Université de Fribourg. cedric.brelaz@unifr.ch

This volume edited by N. Belayche and A.-V. Pont capitalises on their own areas of expertise on the Roman East, regarding religious interactions and civic institutions respectively. It focuses on the participation of Jews and Christians in local politics in the provinces of the Roman Empire, chiefly in Asia Minor, Egypt, and the Near East, from the first to the fourth centuries. ...

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More on Tunisian coinage

NUMISMATICS: Tunisian Coinage Part 2 (Bob Reis, Numismatic News).

This article gives an overview of the mytho-history of Carthage from Dido to the Vandals, and even to the Byzantines. It surveys the coinage in a general way up to the time of the latter. There are some nice photos of Carthaginian coinage.

For Part 1 of the series, see here. For some PaleoJudaica posts on the coinage of Carthage and Tunisia, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (cf. here and here) Cross-file unde Punic Watch.

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The Phoenician Rosetta Stones are reunited

PHOENICIAN/PUNIC WATCH: Pillars used to decipher Phoenician language reunited after 240-years. They were first mentioned in 1694 as part of the Ġan Franġisk Abela collection (Daniel Tihn, Times of Malta).

Two ancient Maltese pillars have been reunited for an exhibition in Abu Dhabi after being apart for 241 years.

Commemorating the anniversary of the 50-year diplomatic relationship between Malta and the United Arab Emirates, the pillars, also known as Cippi, carry great historical value as they were once used to decipher Phoenician script, Heritage Malta said on Friday. [...]

I noted the story of the Maltese cippi stones and the decipherment of Phoenician here.

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What did the Talmudic rabbis actually say about the Bible?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: How the Rabbis Taught the Jews (Not) to Read the Bible (Rebecca Scharbach Wollenberg).

The Closed Book:
How the Rabbis Taught the Jews (Not) to Read the Bible
Princeton University Press, 2023.

... But if we survey the sorts of things that the authors of the Mishnah, Talmuds and Midrash actually said about the Hebrew Bible, a very different vision of the rabbinic relationship to the Bible emerges. While the early rabbinic authorities theoretically established the newly canonized Hebrew Bible as a central pillar of Jewish life, many early rabbinic statements about the biblical text and its status were ambivalent at best. In other words, we find that many early rabbinic authorities liked the idea of the Bible but were less enthusiastic about the actual biblical text itself.

It is not that the early rabbinic authorities were critical of the Hebrew Bible the way that modern scholars are (text)critical of the Bible: as an amalgamated and historical text definitively shaped by human hands. Indeed, it isn’t clear that early rabbinic authorities saw anything wrong with the textual record of their written revelation at all. But The Closed Book argues that many early rabbis had a much more capacious and flexible vision of the Sinaitic revelation and its biblical products than modern descriptions of these late ancient thinkers might suggest. ...

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New witnesses to Origen's text of the Psalms

GÖTTINGER SEPTUAGINTA BLOG: The Origenic Recension of the Greek Psalter, Re(dis)covered from the Catena Tradition (Felix Albrecht).

My research, based on all the collations of the Greek Psalter that have been available in Göttingen and have now been completely digitised as part of the Academy project “Die Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters”, has led to an extremely important insight, the consequences of which are certainly of inestimable value for the constitution of the Greek Psalter text: A careful analysis of the collation results has shown that, contrary to previous assumptions, an Origenic recension (O-group) is detectable in the primary tradition of the Greek Psalter.

[...]

HT Drew Longacre at his OTTC Blog. He explains the discovery is somewhat less technical terms.

The Greek text of some of Origen's homilies on the Psalms was recovered in 2012, as noted here. See there for comments on Origen's importance for the study of ancient Judaism.

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Codex Sassoon meets its buyer for 1st time

THE BUYER: Alfred Moses sees the Codex Sassoon he bought for over $30 million for the 1st time. Surrounded by family, the 93-year-old former US ambassador views the 1,200-year-old Bible, which he donated to the ANU Museum in Tel Aviv ‘for the Jewish people (JACKIE HAJDENBERG, JTA via Times of Israel).

Part of the reason he decided to give the book to ANU — an institution he has supported for years, including as chair of its honorary board — is that he sees it as serving Jews worldwide. He feels other prestigious homes for historical artifacts in the country, such as the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, are meant to cater to Israelis specifically.

“It’s the museum of the Jewish people and I wanted the codex to go to the Jewish people,” he said. “The Israel Museum is wonderful. But that’s the museum for Israel. I wanted the codex to be for the Jewish people.”

For the story of the Codex Sassoon – roughly the oldest nearly complete copy of the Hebrew Bible – and its recent sale, see here and follow the links.

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Looted Legio X bricks recovered

APPREHENDED: POLICE SEIZE DOZENS OF CLAY PAVEMENT BRICKS WITH IMPRINTS OF THE LEGIO X EQUESTRIS. ISRAELI POLICE IN JERUSALEM HAVE SEIZED DOZENS OF CLAY PAVEMENT BRICKS WITH IMPRINTS OF THE LEGIO X EQUESTRIS DURING A RAID AGAINST ANTIQUITIES SMUGGLERS. (Markus Milligan, Heritage Daily).

An operation by police in the Beit Hanina neighbourhood in East Jerusalem has led to the discovery of several cartons in a car trunk containing the pavement bricks. The bricks were likely part of a public building such as a bath house, which has since been looted in modern times for sale in the illegal antiquities trade.

The bricks date from roughly 2,000-years-ago and show the stamp of the Legio X Fretensis from when the legion built a military camp after Jerusalem’s destruction.

This is not my area of expertise, but it looks to me as though the "Legio X Equestris" in the headline is an error. As the article itself indicates, the bricks were stamped by the Legio X Fretensis.

The Legio X Equestris was a legion founded by Julius Caesar which was disbanded in the 40s CE. The Legio X Fretensis was founded about twnety years after Equestris and was involved in putting down the Bar Kokhba Revolt in the 130s. For disambiguation, see here.

In 2014 I noted the discovery of a lapidary inscription set up by the Legio X Fretensis in Jerusalem.

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New Avenues in Biblical Exegesis in Light of the Septuagint (Brepols)

NEW BOOK FROM BREPOLS PUBLISHER:

New Avenues in Biblical Exegesis in Light of the Septuagint

Leonardo Pessoa da Silva Pinto, Daniela Scialabba (eds)

Pages: 346 p.
Size: 156 x 234 mm
Illustrations: 17 b/w, 19 tables b/w.
Language(s): English, Greek, Hebrew
Publication Year: 2022

€ 70,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
ISBN: 978-2-503-59806-2
Paperback

A collection of studies by renowned biblical and Septuagint scholars showing the potential of applying a variety of exegetical methods to the Septuagint text

SUMMARY

The detailed study of the Septuagint opens new avenues of interpretation of the biblical text and enables new advancements in exegetical studies. The Greek version can be studied through several different approaches and the application of exegetical methods, old and new, contributes to a better understanding of numerous literary, historical and theological aspects of the Bible. The present volume collects the contributions written by renowned scholars who address the issue of the role and impact of Septuagint studies on biblical exegesis and theology. The papers range from more methodological discussions to exegetical studies applying various approaches to the Septuagint text. The wide variety of methods applied reveals numerous aspects of the Septuagint and the biblical text in general, such as their composition, history, textual transmission, literary scope and shape, and theology. The diversity of methods and analyses of the Septuagint represented in this book have, nevertheless, a common denominator: Biblical exegesis would benefit greatly from a deeper knowledge of the Septuagint.

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Philistine craft beer and Canaanite wine

COMING SOON: Brew your own ancient beer: Yeast from 3,000-year-old Philistine beer jug now on sale. Israeli multi-disciplinary research team’s first yeast strain available on preorder for December shipping; Israel Museum and Shikma Brewery launch limited edition commercial batch (Melanie Lidman, Times of Israel).

An interdisciplinary team of researchers, archaeologists and brewmasters in Israel first isolated 5,000-year-old yeast in 2019, as published in the peer-reviewed mBio journal in 2019. But now, the fruits of that discovery are about to become available for hobby brewers and sourdough aficionados everywhere, when the first batch of commercially available ancient yeast ships in December. Pre-orders are open now.

I noted that this project was in the works back in 2020.

The important question is, of course, what does it taste like? I don't remember seeing this at the time, but the current article says:

A Times of Israel reporter who tried one of the first iterations of beer brewed with the ancient yeast in 2019 said at the time it was “slightly sweet, with a subtle tang… and tasted [of] banana and other fruits.”

That sounds interesting.

The researchers are also working on recreating ancient Roman wine. They might be interested in this Haaretz article by Ariel David: L'chaim! | Ancient Canaanites at Megiddo Raised a Glass to the Dead, Archaeologists Find. Analysis of 3,500-year-old pottery found in tombs at the site of Armageddon reveals the Canaanites made wine offerings for their dearly departed – even for newborns.

The newly published research, by archaeologist Ayala Amir and colleagues, focuses on the residue analysis of thirty jugs, jars and other vessels found in two spots of Megiddo, an elite monumental tomb near the city’s palace and burials dug under the floors of homes and workshops in a lower class neighborhood. Both areas date to the late Middle Bronze Age, from 1750 to 1550 B.C.E.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on ancient beer and modern efforts to recreate it, see the link above, plus here, and links. For the other impressive organic remains recovered at Megiddo from c. 1600 BCE, see here and here and links (cf. here). As for the wine, for other efforts at vintage resurrection, see the links that start here.

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Barber, The Historical Jesus and the Temple (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

The Historical Jesus and the Temple
Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew

AUTHOR: Michael Patrick Barber, Augustine Institute of Theology, Colorado
DATE PUBLISHED: April 2023
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009210850

Description

In this book, Michael Patrick Barber examines the role of the Jerusalem temple in the teaching of the historical Jesus. Drawing on recent discussions about methodology and memory research in Jesus studies, he advances a fresh approach to reconstructing Jesus' teaching. Barber argues that Jesus did not reject the temple's validity but that he likely participated in and endorsed its rites. Moreover, he locates Jesus' teaching within Jewish apocalyptic eschatology, showing that Jesus' message about the coming kingdom and his disciples' place in it likely involved important temple and priestly traditions that have been ignored by the quest. Barber also highlights new developments in scholarship on the Gospel of Matthew to show that its Jewish perspective offers valuable but overlooked clues about the kinds of concerns that would have likely shaped Jesus' outlook. A bold approach to a key topic in biblical studies, Barber's book is a pioneering contribution to Jesus scholarship.

• Offers an up-to-date and thorough engagement with recent critiques of the standard tools used in Jesus research and proposes a fresh approach that seeks to move the field forward methodologically
• Draws on new developments in Gospel of Matthew research that have important yet neglected implications for Jesus research
• Describes how Jesus envisioned the disciples' role in the eschatological age. More than mere students, this study shows that Jesus likely applied priestly and temple imagery for his followers

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Early coinage of Tunisa

PUNIC WATCH: Coinage of Tunisia: The Beginning (Bob Reis, Numismatic News).

Tunisia has had written history almost as long as there has been writing. People have been making coins there almost as long as we have been making coins.

This article is more a brief history of Tunisia than an account of its numismatics. It does get to the title subject eventually. And there is a photo of a billion tridracm coin, something you don't get to see very often.

Since new readers might wonder why PaleoJudaica is interested in Phoenician and Punic history and language, I like to link to this post now and then to explain.

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More on the renovation of Carthage

PUNIC WATCH: Carthage was Rome’s greatest rival. Go see its side of the story. Roman conquerors tried to erase the past of this ancient Tunisian port city—but these historic sites shed light on the true glories of Carthage (NICK HILDEN, National Geographic).

For a National Geographic article, this one is thin. It amounts to an infomercial for tourism to the renovated site of Carthage. But the information is accurate and it does have some new details about the renovation and some nice photos.

Given recent events, I would still be cautious about traveling to Tunisia, but you can do your own risk assessment.

Background here.

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Eliav, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse (Princeton)

NEW BOOK FROM PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS:

A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean

Yaron Z. Eliav
A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome

Hardcover

Price: $45.00/£38.00
ISBN: 9780691243436
Published: May 16, 2023
Copyright: 2023
Pages: 392
Size: 6.13 x 9.25 in.

Overview

Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse reveals how Jews navigated this space with ease and confidence, engaging with Roman bath culture rather than avoiding it.

In this landmark interdisciplinary work of cultural history, Yaron Eliav uses the Roman bathhouse as a social laboratory to reexamine how Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. He reconstructs their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the baths and the activities that took place there, documenting their pleasures as well as their anxieties and concerns. Archaeologists have excavated hundreds of bathhouse facilities across the Mediterranean. Graeco-Roman writers mention the bathhouse frequently, and rabbinic literature contains hundreds of references to the baths. Eliav draws on the archaeological and literary record to offer fresh perspectives on the Jews of antiquity, developing a new model for the ways smaller and often weaker groups interact with large, dominant cultures.

A compelling and richly evocative work of scholarship, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.

See also the related essay by the author on the PU Press website: Rabbis in the Roman public bathhouse: Ancient perspectives on modern sensibilities.

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Dysentary found in ancient Jerusalem toilets

ARCHAEOPARASITOLOGY: 2,500-year-old poop from Jerusalem toilets contain oldest evidence of dysentery parasite. A fecal analysis from two toilets dating to biblical times in Jerusalem has revealed the oldest evidence yet of the parasite that causes dysentery (Kristina Killgrove, Live Science).

The researchers discovered evidence of G. duodenalis under stone toilet seats previously found at two large sites that were likely elite residences dating to the seventh to sixth centuries B.C. The stone blocks had a curved surface for sitting, a large central hole for defecating, and a smaller hole that was possibly for urination, and were situated above a cesspit. Because the ancient toilets were still in their original locations, a unique opportunity arose for specialists to identify microorganisms in the old poop.

I was not familiar with the "house of Ahiel" toilet, but you can read more about it here. I noted the discovery of intestinal parasites in the fecal matter from the toilet excavated at Armon Hanatziv here. Follow the links from there, plus here for more ancient Latrine News.

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Seeking copyright owner of Margalioth, Sefer ha-Razim

A REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE:

Dear PaleoJudaica readers,

I am currently seeking to contact whoever has copyright ownership of Mordecai Margalioth's book, Sefer ha-Razim (ספר הרזים), which was published in Hebrew in 1966 in Israel. The author passed away in 1968. For more on the author, see https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/margaliot-margulies-mordecai.

The volume was funded by the American Academy of Jewish Research. The Academy does not own the copyright. The publication information is given as "'Yediot Achronot' Print" (מהדורת ’ידיעות אחרונות׳ תל–אביב). Yediot Aharonot is a longstanding Israeli newspaper. They do not seem to own the copyright, or at least have shown no interest so far in claiming it.

If no publisher claims the work, the copyright defaults to the author, or if the author is deceased, to the author's descendants. That appears to be the situation here.

If any reader can give me further information on the book's publisher, or can put me in touch with any of Dr. Margalioth's direct descendants, I would be very grateful.

The best way to contact me about this is my University e-mail address, jrd4@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Many thanks for your help!

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Manguel, Maimonides (Yale)

NEW BOOK FROM YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Maimonides
Faith in Reason

by Alberto Manguel

Series: Jewish Lives

256 Pages, 5.75 x 8.25 in, 16 b-w illus.

Hardcover
9780300217896
Published: Tuesday, 21 Mar 2023
$26.00

Description

An exploration of Maimonides, the medieval philosopher, physician, and religious thinker, author of The Guide of the Perplexed, from one of the world’s foremost bibliophiles

Moses ben Maimon, or Maimonides (1138–1204), was born in Córdoba, Spain. The gifted son of a judge and mathematician, Maimonides fled Córdoba with his family when he was thirteen due to Almohad persecution of all non-Islamic faiths. Forced into a long exile, the family spent a decade in Spain before settling in Morocco. From there, Maimonides traveled to Palestine and Egypt, where he died at Saladin’s court.

As a scholar of Jewish law, a physician, and a philosopher, Maimonides was a singular figure. His work in extracting all the commanding precepts of Jewish law from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, interpreting and commenting on them, and translating them into terms that would allow students to lead sound Jewish lives became the model for translating God’s word into a language comprehensible by all. His work in medicine—which brought him such fame that he became Saladin’s personal physician—was driven almost entirely by reason and observation.

In this biography, Alberto Manguel examines the question of Maimonides’ universal appeal—he was celebrated by Jews, Arabs, and Christians alike. In our time, when the need for rationality and recognition of the truth is more vital than ever, Maimonides can help us find strategies to survive with dignity in an uncertain world.

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Studia Philonica Annual XXXIV (SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

The Studia Philonica Annual XXXIV, 2022: Studies in Hellenistic Judaism

David E. Runia, Gregory T. Sterling, editors

ISBN 9781628374469
Volume SPhiloA 34
Status Available
Price $60.00
Publication Date December 2022
Hardback $60.00
eBook $60.00

The Studia Philonica Annual is a scholarly journal devoted to the study of Hellenistic Judaism, particularly the writings and thought of the Hellenistic-Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (circa 15 BCE to circa 50 CE).

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Review of More New Testament Apocrypha volume 3 (with an update on MOTP2)

READING ACTS: Tony Burke, ed. New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 3: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Phil Long reviews MTNA3.

For my four-part review of MNTA1, see here and links. For the six-part AJR review of MNTA2, see here and links. And editor Tony Burke has posts on the editing of MNTA 1-3 at his blog, Apocryphicity, here and links, here, and here.

Regular readers may be wondering whatever happened to the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project (MOTP). I am happy to report that volume 2 of Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, edited by myself and Richard Bauckham, is on track and nearing completion. All going well, it should be in your hands by 2025.

For volume 1, see here. For a preview of one of the showpieces of volume 2, see here.

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Review of Adler, The Origins of Judaism

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Origins of Judaism': Finding how far back rabbinic tradition goes - review. Prof. Yonatan Adler’s book provides proofs both for and against how far back ‘rabbinic Judaism’ goes (ARI ZIVOTOFSKY, Jerusalem Post).

Adler presents a treasure trove of ancient texts (e.g., Josephus, Philo, Letter of Aristeas, Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, assorted papyri) and archaeological findings related to a variety of commandments. The sources are enlightening, intriguing, sometimes surprising and, as he explains, prove without a shadow of a doubt that by 2,100 years ago, Jews in the Land of Israel practiced Judaism in a manner similar to today.

But what about a few hundred years earlier? Adler’s thesis is that it all started only about 2,100 to 2,200 years ago. Overall, he tackles about a dozen religious practices and tries to show that they only emerged in the first/second centuries BCE. His data are impressive, his conclusions less so.

This review is worth a read. The author has some thoughtful criticisms of Adler's case.

That said, he does not seem to understand, or at least does not make clear, that the problem with the Elephantine "Passover Papyrus" is that the word "Passover" does not actually survive on the document. It has to be reconstructed. The reconstruction seems plausible to me, but that's not the same as having the word on the leather.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Adler's work, especially his book The Origins of Judaism, along with some of my own criticisms, see here and links.

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Is the Pentecost story a lost resurrection appearance?

BELATEDLY FOR PENTECOST (SHAVUOT): Pentecost, Resurrection, and the Chasm of History (Philip Jenkins, The Anxious Bench).

This coming Sunday marks the feast of Pentecost. In connection with that, I am posting a substantially revised version of an offering of mine at this site some years ago. As I’ll suggest, the astonishing events that we read about on that first Pentecost were, at one time, regarded as even more critical than we now think of them. Specifically, I will argue that when early Christians first told that dramatic tale, it was as a Resurrection appearance, just as clearly so as the better known stories that we tell around Easter time. The whole phenomenon raises fundamental issues of definition and understanding, and above all in how we think of that idea of Resurrection.

[...]

I think the proposal is very speculative, but who knows? A resurrection appearance to 500 people does seem like a big event to misplace.

For more on the events of Acts chapter 2 and their relation (or not) to the festival of Shavuot, see here and here.

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Re-creating the Balm of Gilead?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Harvesting the Balm of Gilead. Israeli archaeologists extract biblical balm from pistachio trees.

I had no idea the Balm of Gilead came from pistachio resin. Another report from many years ago said it was "a member of the myrrh family." I still doubt that it was the "gold" of the three magi.

Thsi BHD essay summarizes a BAR article by Zohar Amar which is behind the subscription wall. But the essay is well illustrated and informative.

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Weiss, De 2 à 4 Maccabées (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Emmanuel Weiss. De 2 à 4 Maccabées. Étude d'une réécriture. [Vom 2. zum 4. Makkabäer. Untersuchung einer Umschreibung. From 2 to 4 Maccabees. Study of a Rewriting.] 2023. XVII, 427 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 498. 154,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-161095-0.

Published in French.
Dans la présente monographie, Emmanuel Weiss étudie la façon dont l'auteur de 4 Maccabées combine plusieurs sources, dont la principale est certainement 2 Maccabées. Cet auteur ne se contente pas de reproduire le récit du martyre d'Éléazar et des sept frères, il le réécrit en profondeur. La théologie de 4 Maccabées se démarque de celle de 2 Maccabées: le lexique de la souveraineté y est transféré de Dieu à la Raison humaine qui, conformément aux représentations du stoïcisme tardif, est la partie supérieure de l'âme, qui a néanmoins besoin d'un guide, la Loi juive donnée par Dieu. Ce faisant, l'auteur de 4 Maccabées justifie paradoxalement une vision assez traditionnelle du Judaïsme en l'appuyant sur des conceptions empruntées à la culture dominante de langue grecque.

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Sims-Williams et al., A Manichaean Prayer and Confession Book (Brepols)

NEW BOOK FROM BREPOLS PUBLISHER:

A Manichaean Prayer and Confession Book

Nicholas Sims-Williams, John S. Sheldon, Zsuzsanna Gulacsi

Pages: xxvi + 198 p.
Size: 210 x 297 mm
Illustrations: 128 col.
Language(s): English, Sogdian
Publication Year: 2023

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ISBN: 978-2-503-59790-4
Hardback
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SUMMARY

The Manichaean Prayer and Confession Book is the best-preserved Manichaean book found in the Turfan area and the only one which survives in the form of a bound codex. It constitutes a precious treasure-trove of information on its three Iranian languages, on the Manichaean religion itself, and on Manichaean codicology and book-art. The surviving parts of this beautifully decorated miniature paper codex include Middle Persian and Parthian hymns and readings for the Bema festival, the high-point of the Manichaean liturgical calendar, followed by an elaborate confessional formula for the Elect in the Sogdian language. Until now this manuscript has been accessible for scholarship only from its 1937 edition in German by W. B. Henning, titled ‘Ein manichäisches Bet- und Beichtbuch’ (BBB). This new edition provides the first English translation by Nicholas Sims-Williams, the first codicological study by Zsuzsanna Gulacsi and an introduction by John S. Sheldon. It also includes the supplementary Sogdian texts which Henning added to his ‘BBB’. It incorporates magnificent colour photos, codicological diagrams, and digital reconstructions never seen before. This beautifully-produced volume appropriately inaugurates the Series Iranica of the Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum.

Cross-file under Manichean (Manichaean) Watch. For more on the discoveries at Turfan, see here (cf. here) and links. For more on the Sogdians and the Sogdian language, see here and here and links.

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Forgotten Shavuot History

FOR SHAVUOT: Forgotten Shavuot History: The 4 B.C.E Rebellion and the Therapeutae (Prof. Martin Goodman, TheTorah.com).

The Shavuot rebellion and consequent burning of the Temples’ porticoes during the time of Augustus Caesar made no impression on subsequent Jewish historiography, despite the later humiliating defeat of the rebellion’s suppressor, Varus, in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Another lost memory of Shavuot is the all-night vegetarian feast, prayer, and Torah study of the Therapeutae, an egalitarian ascetic Jewish community in Egypt.

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Shavuot 2023

THE FESTIVAL OF SHAVUOT (Weeks, Pentecost) begins tonight at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating.

Last year's Shavuot post, with links, is here. For biblical references, see here.

UPDATE (30 May): More here and here.

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A second Baron Award for Emanuel Tov

RECOGNITION: Emanuel Tov wins second Baron Award. For Scholarly Excellence in Research of the Jewish Experience (University of Vienna).

Tov’s research focuses on the Hebrew Bible as the central text of Judaism, and its history. His book “Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible” is one of the standard works in Jewish Studies. Tov’s research has enhanced our knowledge on how Biblical text was shaped significantly. Tov is a leading figure of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project. Under his guidance, more than thirty volumes appeared between 1992 and 2010 in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert series. Like Salo W. Baron, Emanuel Tov is one of the few scholars who contributed to a new field of research but also to the organisation of research and science.

Congratulations to Professor Tov on receiving yet another well-deserved award.

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Roman-era burial cave destroyed by house-building

CUTTING CORNERS CAN BE COSTLY: Family building a house in northern Israel destroys 1,800-year-old burial cave. Inspectors raid construction site where bulldozers flattened cave, find ossuaries; owner to be indicted for failing to report antiquity discovery (MELANIE LIDMAN, Times of Israel).

The ToI article concentrates on the events around the raid. This JNS article by Pesah Benson gives some additional details about the ossuaries (glosskamas): Authorities probing theft find Roman-era burial cave. Coffins used by Jews during the period following the Bar Kochba revolt were found.

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Cyril and Methodius Day: the earliest known Cyrillic text?

OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC WATCH: 1,100-year-old breastplate to ward off evil may contain the oldest Cyrillic writing ever found. An inscription on an 1,100-year-old breastplate found in a ruined fortress in Bulgaria may contain one of the earliest known examples of Cyrillic text, researchers claim (Owen Jarus, Live Science).

As it happens, today (in some traditions) is the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet in the late ninth century. The owner of this apotropaic amulet was presumably an early adopter.

For more on Cyril and Methodius and the importance of Old Church Slavonic for the preservation of some Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, see here and here and links.

UPDATE: A reader informs me that "the Cyrillic alphabet owes its name to Constantine-Cyril and Methodius, but they are credited with the invention of the Glagolitic alphabet." Thanks for the correction.

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A page number in a Psalms codex

VARIANT READINGS: A Book of Psalms and a Missing Page Number (Brent Nongbri). Not so missing after all? Cross-file under Codicology.

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In memory of Moshe Greenberg

DR. ALEX SINCLAIR: Moshe Greenberg: A Spiritual Critical Bible Scholar (TheTorah.com).

At the heart of the life and career of Moshe Greenberg, z”l, was a search for spiritual meaning through the scholarly study of the Bible.

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Musical Proto-Semitic?

MUSIC MEETS PHILOLOGY: Israeli artist brings ancient language back to life in song. Dor Zlekha Levy's One Tongue audiovisual project revives Proto-Semitic, the ancestral language of Hebrew and Arabic, in song (DEBBIE MOHNBLATT, The Media Line via Jerusalem Post).

Thousands of years after it was last heard in the region, the ancient language of Proto-Semitic is ringing out once again, in a unique audiovisual project at the bell caves at the Beit Guvrin National Park in central Israel.

Israeli multimedia artist Dor Zlekha Levy created One Tongue, an audiovisual display that centers around a musical performance in Proto-Semitic, the ancestor of today’s Semitic languages: Amharic, Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew.

Great, but I wish the video let us hear more of the song!

For a recent art installation in the Beit Guvrin caves, see here. For ancient art and Greek and Aramaic inscriptions found in the Beit Guvrin-Maresha caves, see here, here, here, here and follow the links.

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The not-so-secret Jewish treasures in the Vatican Library

PROFESSOR LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: WHAT’S REALLY IN THE VATICAN LIBRARY? Disspelling some misconconceptions about the Vatican’s collections of Jewish manuscripts.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked whether the Vatican has the menorah from the Beis Hamikdash [the Temple]. (The answer is no.) But I am never asked about the more then 600 Hebrew manuscripts they do have, which have been available to the scholarly community for years.

Follow the link for a pdf reprint of the Ami Magazine article.

For more on the Jewish treasures that the Vatican has and doesn't have, see here and here and links.

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