Last year's Tu B'Shevat post is here, with links to earlier posts.
For biblical background, see here. The name "New Year for Trees" comes from Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 1.1. That passage gives two alternative dates for the celebration, one from Shammai and one from Hillel. Hillel's date (15 Shevat) is the one celebrated at present.
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Some PaleoJudiaca posts on Beth Shean are here, here, here and links, and here. Also, as Beit She'an/Scythopolis, here, here, and here.
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Robert A. Kugler, Resolving disputes in second century BCE Herakleopolis: a study in Jewish legal reasoning in Hellenistic Egypt. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, 201. Leiden: Brill, 2022. Pp. xii, 274. ISBN 9789004505636I noted the publication of the book here.Review by
Patrick Sänger, University of Münster. saengerp@uni-muenster.de... Kugler has undeniably achieved the goal he set out to accomplish with his study. He has unequivocally demonstrated that the petitions of P.Polit.Iud. suggest an awareness of Jewish legal thinking based on the Torah, that corresponding elements were utilized within the underlying argumentative strategy, that the legal reality reflected in the petitions was characterized by legal pluralism, and that the recourse to Jewish legal principles can be attributed to a certain pragmatism serving the purpose of substantiating and ultimately enforcing the petitioner’s position (p. 255). ...
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Serach, daughter of Asher, is mentioned by name twice in the Torah—in the list of Jacob’s descendants who go down to Egypt and in the census in Numbers—without any details about her life. As a reward for breaking the news to Jacob that Joseph is still alive, the Midrash grants her immortality, gives her a key role during the exodus, and identifies her as the wise woman during King David’s reign.
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Date: 20 February 2024The event is free, but requires pr-registration at the link.
Venue: Online via ZoomEvent details
In this talk, we will explore ancient Jewish ideas about childbirth and childrearing, including sex, conception, and lactation. Using comparative evidence from the ancient eastern Mediterranean alongside close readings of biblical and ancient Jewish texts, we will consider what it meant to conceive, birth, and look after a baby, and in particular how gender figured into the embodied practices of childbirth and childrearing.
PaleoJudaica has notes some of Professor Quick's wide-ranging work here, here, here, and here.
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Justin David Strong, The fables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: a new foundation for the study of parables. Studies in cultural contexts of the Bible, 5. Paderborn: Brill, 2021. Pp. xvii, 629. ISBN 9783506760654Review by
Aaron T. Lockhart, Denver University, Iliff School of Theology. Aaron.Lockhart@du.eduThe fifth volume in Brill’s Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible series, Strong’s monograph on the fables of Jesus is a work whose value cannot be overstated. Adding to an already rich series, Strong’s volume engages in a literary and historical examination that bridges the chasm between parable and fable scholarship and brings the latter to the attention of those engaged in New Testament studies.
[...]
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• Front Matter & Editorial Atiqot 113HT the Bible Places Blog.
Keywords: Front Matter & Editorial• A First-Century BCE Chalk-Vessel Assemblage from Har Ḥoma, Jerusalem, and the Beginning of the Chalk-Vessel Industry (pp. 1–27)
Dennis Mizzi, Ayala Zilberstein, Débora Sandhaus, Rina Avner and Shua Kisilevitz
Keywords: Chalk vessels, chalk-quarry workshops, Jewish ritual purity, late Second Temple period, Har Ḥoma, Jerusalem• Ritual Purification and Bathing: The Location and Function of Siloam Pool and Solomon’s Pool in Second Temple Period Jerusalem (pp. 29–44)
Nahshon Szanton
Keywords: purification, bathing, First Wall, Silwan Pool, Siloam Pool, Birkat el-Ḥamra, Pool of Solomon, Tyropoeon Valley• Jewish Pilgrimage, Temple Sacrifices and ‘Disposable’ Cooking Pots (pp. 45–58)
Omri Abadi
Keywords: Second Temple period, Jerusalem, pilgrimage, cooking-pot production, ritual purity, ceremonial feasting• Late Roman–Byzantine-Period Ritual Baths at Ḥorbat Susya in Daroma (pp. 59–96)
Yuval Baruch and Ronny Reich
Keywords: purity, ritual bath, miqweh, Daroma, synagogue, Jewish village, Late Roman period, Byzantine period, priest, oil press, winepress• Archaeology, Purity and Society: Some Methodological Reflections (pp. 97–113)
Eyal Regev
Keywords: Purity, ritual baths, stone vessels, social archaeology, ethnicity, individualism• The Rise and Fall of ‘Purity Culture’ in the Land of Israel: A Historic Perspective (pp. 115–157)
Zeev Safrai
Keywords: Purity, social development, miqweh, priests, Rabbis, sages, sects• Jewish Ritual Immersion in the Longue Durée: From Earliest Manifestations until Today (159–181)
Yonatan Adler
Keywords: Judaism, ritual purity, ritual immersion, ritual immersion pools, ritual baths• A Second-Temple Period Chalk Quarry and Vessel- Production Cave Complex on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem (pp. 185–274)
Jon Seligman, David Amit and Irina Zilberbod
Keywords: Jewish, Halakha, purity, chalk vessel industry, workshop, quarry, technology, quantification• The Pottery Assemblage from the Mount Scopus Chalk-Vessel Production Cave (pp. 275–286)
Débora Sandhaus
Keywords: Pottery, Roman period, Herodian period, between the Revolts• Stratigraphic Setting and Lithology of Mount Scopus Chalk Quarry Cave (pp. 287–293)
Amos Frumkin and Ze’ev Lewy
Keywords: bedrock stratigraphy, lithology, depositional paleoenvironment
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Calendrical disputes, which recurred frequently in ancient and medieval Jewish communities, created alternative dates for festivals such as Yom Kippur and Passover. Here, we look at four disputes and the different ways that communities navigated them.For more on the Jewish calendar and the Pesher to Habakkuk, see here.
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Crucially, coins and other finds from the site [of Nesher-Ramla] date from the end of the Hasmonean period, in the first half of the first century B.C.E., to the first century C.E. The almost total lack of finds from the second century C.E. indicates the settlement had already been abandoned by then, possibly as a consequence of the devastation wrought during the First Revolt, Melamed says.Not surprisingly, not all archaeologists agree with his conclusions.More broadly, only some two dozen coins from the Bar Kochba Revolt have been found in the hundreds of hiding complexes across Israel, [excavator Alexander] Melamed noted in a 2022 study.
This indicates that scholars may have been too quick to link them so closely to this revolt and interpret them as part of a centralized preparation plan ahead of the war, he says.
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Babylon's bright-blue Ishtar Gate was thought to have been built to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem — but a new analysis finds that it may have been erected years later.The Live Science article seems to assume, and the Plos One article to hint, that specialists thought that the Ishtar Gate was built to celebrate the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II. I try to keep up with the archaeology of ancient Babylon, but this question is outside my expertise. Still, I have never seen anyone propose this before and Nebuchadnezzar's dedicatory inscription on the gate (which you can read in translation here) says nothing about the conquest of Jerusalem. But apparently the connection has been suggested.[...]
Be that as it may, the key points of interest from this project are (1) the relatively precise dating this new technique provides and (2) that it can work on architectual elements such as mud brick (and, in the case of Jerusalem, floor tiles).
The conclusions are that the Ishtar Gate was built well after the destruction of Jerusalem and that the whole gate was built more or less at the same time, not in stages over a substantial length of time. These are more fine-grained results than we could get from C-14 dating.
There is a recent book on the Ishtar Gate of Babylon by Helen Gries.
For the use of archaeomagnetic dating to anchor the date of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, see here, here, and here.
Many PaleoJudaica posts on ancient Babylon are collected here.
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Neither radicarbon analysis nor paleography is a very precise tool for dating manuscripts. But its nice when they sort of agree.
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Cross-file under Numismatics.
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Richard Bauckham, "Son of Man" Early Jewish Literature (Eerdmans 2023)A copy kindly sent to me by the author.
Noted earlier here and link.
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Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East
Essays in Honor of Steven J. Friesen
Edited By Nathan Leach, Daniel Charles Smith, Tony Keddie
Copyright 2024Hardback £104.00
eBook £31.19ISBN 9781032382678
344 Pages 38 B/W Illustrations
Published November 30, 2023 by RoutledgeDescription
This collection of essays from a diverse group of internationally recognized scholars builds on the work of Steven J. Friesen to analyze the material and ideological dimensions of John’s Apocalypse and the religious landscape of the Roman East.
Readers will gain new perspectives on the interpretation of John’s Apocalypse, the religion of Hellenistic cities in the Roman Empire, and the political and economic forces that shaped life in the Eastern Mediterranean. The chapters in this volume examine texts and material culture through carefully localized analysis that attends to ideological and socioeconomic contexts, expanding upon aspects of Friesen’s research and methodology while also forging new directions. The book brings together a diverse and international set of experts including emerging voices in the fields of biblical studies, Roman social history, and classical archeology, and each essay presents fresh, critically informed analysis of key sites and texts from the periods of Christian origins and Roman imperial rule.
Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East is of interest to students and scholars working on Christian origins, ancient Judaism, Roman religion, classical archeology, and the social history of the Roman Empire, as well as material religion in the ancient Mediterranean more broadly. It is also suitable for religious practitioners within Christian contexts.
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Lynette Mitchell, Cyrus the Great: a biography of kingship. Routledge ancient biographies. New York: Routledge, 2023. Pp. 206. ISBN 9781138024106I noted the publication of the book here. For many PaleoJudaica posts on Cyrus, follow the links from there, plus here.Review by
Bodil Due, Aarhus University. bdue@au.dk... A central merit of the book is the demonstration of the rich pool of storytelling that existed in the Near East. Its different patterns of narrative, which emerge in stories of the King as warrior, or as gardener, or as stranger king, destroyer of cities as well as builder, as elected and protected by the gods and maybe in Cyrus’ case their equal. The many different Cyruses incorporate almost all of these patterns, but differently in different works and authors. ...
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This event colloquium is an initiative of the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies at Trinity Western University and the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. It’s being organized by my friend and colleague Jean Maurais, along with others from McGill University (Gerbern Oegema), McMaster Divinity College (Mark Boda), and Trinity Western University (Dirk Büchner). It will take place from 19-20 June 2024 at McGill University and the call for papers is now open and will remain so through 15 January.Bold-font emphasis his. Follow the link for full details.
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Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean WorldFor more on Christopher A. Faraone's work, see here and here.
Studies in Honor of Christopher A. FaraoneEdited By Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Carolina López-Ruiz, Sofía Torallas-Tovar
Copyright 2024Hardback £104.00
eBook £31.19ISBN 9781032341262
396 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
Published November 17, 2023 by RoutledgeDescription
This volume explores aspects of ancient magic and religion in the ancient Mediterranean, specifically ways in which religious and mythical ideas, including the knowledge and practice of magic, were transmitted and adapted through time and across Greco-Roman, Near Eastern, and Egyptian cultures.
Offering an original and innovative combination of case studies on the material aspects and cross-cultural transfers of magic and religion, this book brings together a range of contributions that cross and connect sub-fields with a pan-Mediterranean, comparative scope. Section I investigates the material aspects of magical practices, including first editions and original studies on papyri, gems, lamellae containing binding curses and protective texts, and other textual media in ancient book culture. Several chapters feature the Greco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, the compilation of magical recipes in the formularies, and the role of physical book-forms in the transmission of magical knowledge. Section II explores magic and religion as nodes of cultural exchange in the ancient Mediterranean. Case studies range from Egypt to Anatolia and from Syria-Phoenicia to Sicily, with Greco-Roman religion and myth integrated in a diverse and interconnected Mediterranean landscape. Readers encounter studies featuring charismatic figures of Magi and itinerant begging priests, the multiple understandings of deities such as Hekate, Herakles, or Aphrodite, or the perceived exotic origin of cult statues, mummies, amulets, and cursing formulae, which bring to light the rich intercultural networks of the ancient Mediterranean, and the crucial role of magic and religion in the process of cross-cultural adaptation and innovation.
Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World appeals to both specialized and non-specialized audiences, with expert contributions written in an accessible way. This is a fascinating resource for students and scholars working on magic, religion, and mythology in the ancient Mediterranean.
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Stories of Origins in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean LiteratureAUTHOR: Guy Darshan, Tel Aviv University
DATE PUBLISHED: December 2023
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009344487£ 85.00
HardbackDescription
In this book, Guy Darshan explores stories of origins that lie at the heart of Pentateuchal sources in the context of literature created in neighboring societies of the ancient Mediterranean world. A comparative study, his volume analyses the parallels between Biblical origin stories – the narrative traditions arranged in geneaological sequence that recount the beginnings of humanity and origins of peoples -- in tandem with ancient Greek genealogical writings from the 7–5th centuries BCE onwards. He also considers Phoenician and Anatolian sources from the first millennium, several of which have only been published in recent years. This is the first scholarly study to trace the origins of this genre of narrative and the circumstances that led to appearances in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Mediterranean literature. It sheds new light on our knowledge of the history of literature, as well as the interconnections and interrelations between civilizations of the pre-Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean and Near East.
- Sheds new light on our knowledge of the interconnections and interrelations between civilizations of the pre-Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean and the Near East
- Enlightens the question of the formation of the Pentateuch, and Genesis in particular, from a fresh comparative approach
- Broadens our knowledge of the history of literature in the ancient Levant, and the eastern Mediterranean in general
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Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah
Tina M. ShermanISBN 9781628375510
Volume AIL 49
Status Available
Publication Date November 2023Hardback $73.00
Paperback $53.00
eBook $53.00Tina M. Sherman offers a first-of-its-kind, detailed analysis of prophetic passages that depict people as plants—from grasses and grains to fruit trees and grapevines—examining how the biblical authors exploited these metaphors to portray the condemnation and punishment of Israel and Judah in terms of the everyday work of crop farming and plant husbandry. Additionally, she explores how the prophetic authors employed plant imagery to construct national identities that emphasize the people’s collective responsibility for the kingdoms’ fate. Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah demonstrates the usefulness of combining conceptual metaphor theory with aspects of frame semantics in the analysis of patterns of thought and expression in biblical metaphor.
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Everyone knows the story of Chanukah, but for some reason the years of the Chashmonean Empire that followed from 152 BCE to the Roman conquest of Eretz Yisrael in 63 BCE are barely understood. In this period, the Jewish people came into conflict for the second time with the occupants of what is now the Gaza Strip and the southern coastal plain of Israel. In antiquity, this area ran farther north than today’s Gaza, continuing northward up through Ashkelon and AshdodThe post links to a pdf reprint of the full article in Ami Magazine.[...]
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Published in English.For more on that "new manuscript evidence" for the First Apocalypse of James, see here, here, and here. I hadn't heard anything more about it since late 2017. It's good to see a monograph out that now takes into account the new material. Presumably the book will address the questions that were being raised about its provenance.
In this study, Mikael Haxbyoffers a comprehensive reading of a little-studied ancient Christian text, making use of recently discovered manuscript evidence. This text was originally found in the Nag Hammadi Codices and has historically been classified as Gnostic or heretical. Using new manuscript evidence, the author shows that the First Apocalypse of James intervenes in ancient Christian debates about martyrdom, ritual practice, scriptural interpretation, and questions of gender in both theology and social order. By bringing the First Apocalypse of James back into dialogue with other Christian texts, whether later classified as heretical or not, this study offers new insights into how Christians responded to the threat of political violence, engaged with holy texts, and produced new social formations in which women might hold authoritative positions.
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Soul Matters: Plato and Platonists on the Nature of the Soul
Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Danielle A. Layne, Crystal Addey, editorsISBN 9781628375480
Volume WGRWSup 22v Status AvailablePublication Date October 2023
Hardback $100.00
Paperback $80.00
eBook $80.00Platonic discourses concerning the soul are incredibly rich and multitiered. Plato's own diverse and disparate arguments and images offer competing accounts of how we are to understand the nature of the soul. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the accounts of Platonists who engage Plato’s dialogues are often riddled with questions. This volume takes up the theories of well-known philosophers and theologians, including Plato, Plotinus, Proclus, the emperor Julian, and Origen, as well as lesser-known but equally important figures in a collection of essays on topics such as transmigration of the soul, the nature of the Platonist enlightenment experience, soul and gender, pagan ritual practices, Christian and pagan differences about the soul, mental health and illness, and many other topics. Contributors include Crystal Addey, Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Dirk Baltzly, Robert Berchman, Jay Bregman, Luc Brisson, Kevin Corrigan, John Dillon, John F. Finamore, Lloyd P. Gerson, Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum, Elizabeth Hill, Sarah Klitenic Wear, Danielle A. Layne, Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, Gregory Shaw, Svetla Slaveva-Griffine, Suzanne Stern-Gillet, Harold Tarrant, Van Tu, and John D. Turner.
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Every year, the Biblical Archaeology Society offers dig scholarships to selected applicants who wish to participate in a dig and demonstrate sufficient need. In this Bible History Daily article, a few of our 2023 BAS Dig Scholarship winners share what made their dig experiences so special.
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As part of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning’s Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, professor Matthew Goff will present his lecture, “The Book of 2 Esdras: Jewish, Christian, Both, Neither” in professor Yonder Gillihan’s course, “Early Christianity in Its Jewish Context.”On 21 March. Follow the link for a summary.
The Book of 4 Ezra was dropped by Judaism shortly after it was written (c. 100 CE). But it has a long history of transmission by Christians. Notably, "2 Esdras" is a Latin translation of 4 Ezra that includes two other short works (5-6 Ezra).
This is a good excuse to mention that our forthcoming Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, volume 2, (MOTP2) reprints Michael Stone's English translation of the Armenian version of 4 Ezra, with a new introduction by Vered Hillel.
The Armenian version translates a Greek version of 4 Ezra that had been heavily edited in late antiquity by Christians, with changes that are sometimes of considerable theological interest.
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Dreams and Visions in the Bible and Related Literature
Richard J. Bautch, Jean-François Racine, editorsISBN 9781628375534
Volume SemeiaSt 101
Status Available
Price $40.00
Publication Date November 2023Paperback
$40.00Hardback $60.00
Paperback $40.00
eBook $40.00The essays in Dreams and Visions in the Bible and Related Literature focus on how the reading community interprets dreams or visions and what is at stake for whom in a dream or vision’s interpretation. Contributors explore the hermeneutics of readership, the relationship between reading and intertextuality, and the interplay of affect and emotion within dreams and visions in religious texts. A variety of methodologies are employed, including rhetorical analysis, critical theory, trauma studies, the analysis of space and society, and the history of emotions. Contributors are Richard J. Bautch, Genevive Dibley, Roy Fisher, Gina Hens-Piazza, Joseph McDonald, Deborah Thompson Prince, Jean-François Racine, Andrea Spatafora, and Rodney A. Werline.
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Nathan Mastnjak. Before the Scrolls: A Material Approach to Israel’s Prophetic Library. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. 250 pp.It's nice to have another typically thorough review from William Brown.... Shifting from Jeremiah and in light of his discussions on book history, Mastnjak argues that the redactional history of the Book of the Twelve is a helpful model for thinking about Jeremiah via a collection model. Subsequently, Mastnjak brings colophons from the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian literature, as well as Jeremiah’s mention of a “single scroll,” to strengthen his claim for a collection model in Jeremiah. This model likewise works for Psalms, the Book of the Twelve, Ezekiel, Daniel, Proverbs, and Samuel and the Song of Hannah. Simply put, the evidence that Mastnjak proposes for the claim that versions of Jeremiah reflect “a thematically and redactionally unified collection” as opposed to steps in composition history “suggest a reorientation of how biblical scholarship imagines its objects of study” (107). ...
I noted the publication of this book here.
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Ancient Babylon will come to life when the Metropolitan Opera presents an opera of biblical proportions on Saturday.For PaleoJudaica posts on this opera by Verdi, including a 2010 performance at Masada, see here, here, here and links, and here (cf. here).Sun Valley Opera and Broadway will present the live simulcast of Met Opera’s “Nabucco” at 10:55 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum
[...]
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This is his "mostly pleasure reading" list. Perhaps that's why the Septuagint doesn't show up. I hope that he will also give us a list of recommended new Septuagint publications, as he did last year.
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I find this blog very useful for keeping up with what is going on in the field of ancient Iranian studies. And often it overlaps with ancient Judaism. I linked to it a dozen times in 2023. And happy belated ten-year anniversary!
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Jim West reviews the history of Bible blogging ("biblioblogging") and kindly presents me and Mark Goodacre as its orginators. But we should also mention that AKMA Adams was blogging, often on Bible-related matters, at AKMA’s Random Thoughts before either of us, and he continues in 2024.
David Meadows was another early adopter, with his Classics blog rogueclassicism. It too is still running, although David has not posted lately, due to ill health. Get well soon, David!
Jim also links to his history of biblioblogging published in 2010. I too wrote account of my blogging experience in 2005. It is still available, although Blogger unhelpfully wiped many of the links in it in a few years later. Alas, my 2005 paper on blogging has been link-rotted away. You can read the abstract here.
My history of (SBL paper on) biblioblogging from 2010 is still up: What Just Happened. The rise of "biblioblogging" in the first decade of the twenty-first century. It links to the 2005 essay.
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Another year in biblical archaeology is behind us—and a big year it was, particularly in discoveries and research relating to kings David and Solomon.One could debate the interpretations of some of these discoveries, but all of them are interesting. PaleoJudaica has also posted on many of them.What follows is our top 10 list of biblical archaeology discoveries for 2023. Some of these are in the form of individual small finds, some are broader site finds, and some are the product of general research and publication. Where applicable, our podcast videos with the researchers in question are posted below.
Enjoy!
[...]
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2023 has been a remarkable year for Greek archaeology, offering thrilling glimpses into the ancient world and enriching our understanding of history. Here’s a spotlight on some of the most captivating discoveries ...This top-four list is mostly of interest for the history of Greek mythology, but it includes that courtesan's (?) tomb discovered in Israel.
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We also need to be very skeptical about claims that all those ancient visions of an alternative Jesus were lost until very modern times—indeed, until the 1970s. In fact, any educated person in 1900 had access to a substantial library of texts and translations that told you all you needed to know about the “Gnostic Jesus,” and new finds continued steadily throughout the early 20th century.Professor Jenkins has published a book and many essays (the latter especially at the Anxious Bench Blog) on this topic. PaleoJudaica has linked to some of his essays and to related articles, but a reminder is alway in order.
For those past links, which cover in detail many point raised in this short article, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.
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Published in English.
Since their discovery in 1945, the significance of the texts contained in the thirteen papyrus manuscripts now known as the Nag Hammadi Codices has been fiercely debated. In the history of scholarship, the texts have primarily been analyzed in light of the contexts of their hypothetical Greek originals, which in a majority of cases have been thought to have been authored in the second and third centuries CE in a variety of contexts. The articles in this volume take a different approach. Instead of focusing on hypothetical originals, they ask how the texts may have been used and understood by those who read the Coptic papyrus codices in which the texts have been preserved and take as their point of departure recent research indicating that these manuscripts were produced and used by early Egyptian monastics. It is shown that the reading habits and theological ideas attested historically for Upper Egyptian monasticism in the fourth and fifth centuries resonate well with several of the texts within the Nag Hammadi Codices.
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For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Cairo Geniza, start here and just follow those links!
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Published in English.
The archaeological and historical study of the southern Levant during the first millennium BCE – the Iron Age kingdoms and their societies as well as their successors during the Persian and Hellenistic periods -has dramatically developed in recent decades. This is the result of two common and overlapping trends: the vast archaeological exploration of the southern Levant and the shift in the studies of biblical literature. The ten contributions in this volume demonstrate the range of questions, methods, and theoretical frameworks employed in the current study of Judah and neighbouring regions during the first millennium BCE and beyond.
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Best wishes and prayers for goodness and peace this year. And do continue to make PaleoJudaica a regular part of your year.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
I used to give an annual list of top PaleoJudaica stories in my anniversary posts, but in recent years I have been too busy in March to get around to it. So ...
Below is my own list of PaleoJudaica's top ten stories/posts for 2023. My criterion is stories that I found most interesting. They are in no particular order.
• The Mount Ebal tablet was in the news a lot, either as an important inscription or a comparatively insignificant fishing weight. I am not persuaded that there is any writing on it. Start at Latest on the Mount Ebal curse tablet / fishing weight and follow the links back.
• The "Vesuvius Challenge" competition (for deciphering a carbonized Herculaneum scroll) has produced an early winner. Start at Profile of the Vesuvius Challenge prizewinner and follow the links.
• The Egyptian Book of the Dead was also in the news, not least with reports of two new manuscripts discovered at Saqqara. Follow the links from The Egyptian Book of the Dead at the Getty Museum. An ancient mummification workshop was also excavated in Saqqara this year. See the links.
• The Codex Sassoon, roughly the oldest nearly complete Hebrew Bible, was auctioned by Sotheby's in May: Oldest Hebrew Bible up for auction. I suggested that the owner should donate it to a museum in Israel. The new owner, former US Ambassador to Romania Alfred H. Moses, dutifully did so: Codex Sassoon sold for $38.1M, is going to Israel. Well done. For all the 2023 posts on the Codex, start at Codex Sassoon is in Israel and work back through the links.
• A tomb was excavated in Israel which may have been of a courtesan around the time of Alexander the Great. The headlines kept getting better and more unlikely: The courtesan story has jumped the shark.
• A very important announcement: News about the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project. Cf here and here. Look for MOTP volume 2 by early in 2025. Watch here for updates in the meantime.
• My post about The Coronation of King Charles III is among the (all time) top five most-read PaleoJudaica posts. See also here.
• The initial authentication of the fake showpiece Darius ostracon was and remains a serious challenge to the credibility of lab tests for authenticating unprovenanced ancient artifacts. See Lessons from the fake Darius ostracon and follow the links.
• Yonatan Adler's book, The Origins of Judaism, with its late dating of those origins, received a good bit of attention this year. I have interacted with it and Adler's work in a few posts. See Adler on the origins of Judaism and Passover, Review of Adler, The Origins of Judaism and When did the Qumran sectarians observe the Day of Atonement?
• The report of the discovery of what appears to be an Old Bablyonian-era Amorite-Akkadian glossary made a splash early this year: An Amorite glossary from the time of Hammurapi? But the tablets are unprovenanced, which raises some concerns which I touched on in my post. See also here. As I noted in another 2023 post, we are seeing an increasing debate over how, if at all, scholars should deal with unprovenanced artifacts.
Bonus stories:
• Late-antique underworld portal excavated near Jerusalem? and More on that "underworld portal" cave.
• Tony Burke's SBL paper gave us The latest on Christian Apocrypha studies.
Have a good and safe New Year's Eve 2023!
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• The best of the lot: Bible Places annual archaeology list
• (ASOR's) Ten big ANE discoveries in 2023
• Haaretz's top 2023 archaeology stories
• 2023: A big year for Egyptian archaeology (ahramonline)
• Sword discovery is National Geographic's best of the year
Not strictly archaeology-related, but still important:
UPDATE: One more, also very important: PaleoJudaica's top ten for 2023.
UPDATE (3 January): I have noted two more archaeology lists:
Top 2023 Greek Archaeological Discoveries
Armstrong Institute's top ten 2023 archaeological discoveries
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What were the top ten biblical archaeology stories of 2023? As the year winds down, we look back at some of the most popular news stories published on Bible History Daily in 2023. From uncovering Jerusalem’s ancient architecture to an early papyrus of Jesus’s sayings to the discovery of several ancient languages, this year provided some incredible archaeological news. The articles below are not listed or ranked in any particular order, though readers are welcome to share their top picks in the comments section below.PaleoJudaica noted almost all of these stories when they came out.[...]
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Ancient Jew Review is thankful for our community of contributors and readers invested in learning about Jews and their neighbors in the ancient world. For the year of 2023, these are our ten most-read pieces published this year ...There is also a bonus list of the top three all-time AJR articles.
PaleoJudaica linked to most of these when they came out, sometimes with comments.
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The following is a “roundup of roundups.” Surveying more than 100 roundup posts written over the year, I have created a series of lists for what I consider to be most significant, beginning with the Top 10 Discoveries related to biblical archaeology. Our survey also recalls the most controversial stories of the year and other noteworthy reports from Jerusalem, Israel, and the broader biblical world. We have a section of top stories related to tourism, and for the first time, I am including a section of stories related to the antiquities trade and vandalism. As usual, we round up the best print and digital resources noted here over the year, as well as the deaths of influential figures. At the end, you can find links to other top 10 lists.By far the best and most comprehensive annual archaeology list of 2023. PaleoJudaica has also covered most of these stories over the course of the year.
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In 2023 archaeologists and researchers continued to push the limits of the discipline and provide new insights into the ancient world. Here we include some of the highlights of those efforts: ten compelling discoveries and breakthroughs either made, announced, and/or published in 2023 (in no particular order).It's a good list. PaleoJudaica has posted on the tenth-century BCE Jerusalem inscription that may be in Old South Arabian here and here; on the possibly oldest known codex (book) here and here; on the Roman-era swords found in the Judean Desert here and here; on the Berenike Buddha here and here; and on the unprovenanced Old Babylonian-era Amorite glossary here.[...]
To make it twelve, I would add the discovery of new Book of the Dead manuscripts and of embalming workshops, both in Saqqara, Egypt. See here and links.
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The sedentarisation of the Nabataeans or at least of parts of the Nabataean society is understood as a longer process which started when Petra was chosen to become the seat of the tribe that is the residency of the royal family and the nobility of the tribe.This article look to be connected to an earlier one by the same author noted here.
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The poem is loosely based on the late-antique/early medieval Aramiac prose work Megillat Antiochus, a legendary account of the Maccabean Revolt.
From the odd ordering of the poem, the focus on Nikanor, the mention of banning the Torah instead of the new moon, and the teeth enabled circumcision, one wonders whether the poem was fully based on the megillah at all, or whether it had more of an independent life and some elements were selected or reworked and re-ordered as they had a more contemporary relevance, or just added for ‘shock value’.41Belatedly for Hanukkah.Either way, it is another celebration of the Chanukah miracle that at least two of the scribes in the Genizah, (one, our FOTM, written by a man of some considerable standing in the community), felt worthy to bring to our attention.
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DATES[1] ARE SO universal on modern coins that it may come as a shock to learn that most ancient coins provide no indication of when they were minted. The “Common Era” (or “AD”, Anno Domini) dating system used in our world to designate years did not come into general use on European coins until the 16th century[2]. A wide variety of dating systems were used by different cultures in the ancient world to keep track of years, and in some cases, these appear on coins.Examples follow, including coins of Cleopatra, Tyre, and Pontinus Pilate.[...]
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Small ceramic lamps of this type, also called “sandal candles,” were filled with oil and used for indoor lighting in the region since “ancient times,” [IAA archaeologist Sarah] Tal said. This particular candle was identified as being from the Byzantine period and likely from the 5th or 6th century CE.
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The Book of Enoch makes for interesting reading. This pseudepigraphal work was widely read and accepted by the early church fathers, and once it went missing, the interpretation of key Biblical texts changed. Today, we distinguish between three works known as the Book of Enoch. So, what are these fascinating works all about?There are a few little errors in this piece, but it is otherwise substantially accurate and informative.[...]
There are many, many PaleoJudaica posts on the books of 1-3 Enoch. For some on 1 Enoch, see here and here and links. On 2 Enoch, see here and links. On 3 Enoch, see here and here and links.
A translation of the fourth "Book of Enoch" — the Book of Giants — is coming out in MOTP2 in 2025. This will be the first complete English translation of all surviving fragments. The volume will also reprint an English translation of the surviving Coptic fragments of 2 Enoch. Watch this space for updates.
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The Religion Prof has a brief open-access introduction to the Mandeans in the Spectator. The Mandeans follow John the Baptist and aren't very keen on Jesus.
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The Gospel of John and the Future of IsraelPart of Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
AUTHOR: Christopher M. Blumhofer, Duke University, North Carolina
DATE PUBLISHED: November 2023
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Paperback
ISBN: 9781108737432£ 22.99
PaperbackDescription
The Gospel of John is renowned for the challenges it presents to interpreters: its historical complexity, theological and literary unity, and its consistently critical stance toward characters known as 'the Jews'. There is abundant scholarly literature on each of these challenges, and yet there are very few studies that consider the Gospel as a whole in light of these pressing issues. Mark Blumhofer offers a fresh approach to understanding the Fourth Gospel, one that draws together the insights of scholarship in all of these areas. He shows that a historically sensitive, ethically attuned, and theologically and literarily compelling reading of the Fourth Gospel lies before us in the synthesis of the approaches that have long been separated. Unlike studies that consider only a narrow portion of the Gospel, Blumhofer's unique approach draws on most of it and shows how common themes and interests run throughout the narrative of John.
- Shows the reader what it would look like to read almost the whole of the Gospel of John in a fresh way
- Combines literary, historical, and theological insights into a synthetic reading of the Gospel of John
- Focuses on the text of the Gospel rather than long discussions of secondary literature, thus revealing common themes and interests throughout the text
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For posts of Christmases past, see my 2022 Christmas post and links.
More recent Christmas-related posts are here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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I see that Northwest Semitic epigrapher Christopher Rollston shares my reservations about the authenticity of the object. Background here.
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For the restoration and reopening of the Ben Ezra synagogue (source of the Cairo Geniza), see here and links. Follow the links from there for many more posts on the Geniza.
For more on the recently-discovered other Cairo Geniza, see here and links.
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Paul and the Resurrection of Israel
Jews, Former Gentiles, IsraelitesAUTHOR: Jason A. Staples, North Carolina State University
DATE PUBLISHED: November 2023
AVAILABILITY: In stock
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009376761£ 30.00
HardbackDescription
The gospel promoted by Paul has for many generations stirred passionate debate. That gospel proclaimed equal salvific access to Jews and gentiles alike. But on what basis? In making sense of such a remarkable step forward in religious history, Jason Staples reexamines texts that have proven thoroughly resistant to easy comprehension. He traces Paul's inclusive theology to a hidden strand of thinking in the earlier story of Israel. Postexilic southern Judah, he argues, did not simply appropriate the identity of the fallen northern kingdom of Israel. Instead, Judah maintained a notion of 'Israel' as referring both to the north and the ongoing reality of a broad, pan-Israelite sensibility to which the descendants of both ancient kingdoms belonged. Paul's concomitant belief was that northern Israel's exile meant assimilation among the nations – effectively a people's death – and that its restoration paradoxically required gentile inclusion to resurrect a greater 'Israel' from the dead.
- What motivated St Paul's great leap forward, as regards his gospel of Gentile inclusion? This important book provides imaginative, persuasive and comprehensive answers to questions that have tantalised scholars for many years
- Represents a brilliant new take on the rise of Christianity and its divergence from the Jewish religion as well as an exemplary articulation of the emerging field of 'Second Temple studies'
- Mandatory reading for scholars of early Christianity and of Paul, as well as Second Temple Judaism: will engage students of the Hebrew Bible/OT as much as those of the NT
- Jason Staples is one of the most exciting younger biblical scholars whose earlier CUP book received much attention and praise
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The volume 76 (2022) of the journal Phoenix is out. It contains several papers about numismatics especially within the economy of Achaemenid empire.Also, notable for PaleoJudaica:
Haim Gitler, Oren Tal: Indigenous Coinages in Palestine: Towards an Understanding of the Persian-Hellenistic Transitional Monetary PhaseCross-file under Numismatics.
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So why aren’t we told which mother actually stole the baby?It's possible this story has an historical basis, but I tend to read it as a folktale. Be that as it may, my favored interpretation is that Solomon didn't care who the biological mother was. His "dangerous ruse" established which woman would be the better mother to the child. He gave him to her.
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PaleoJudaica has, of course, posted on most of these stories. For Jerusalem as the upturned archaeological layer cake, see here. For Jerusalem's "Millo," see here. For Hazael's invasion and baked bricks at Gath, see here. For those Temple Mount voids, see here. For extracting the DNA of First Temple-era Israelites, see here. For Yossi Garfinkel's case for a Davidic bureaucratic state, see here. For Jerusalem's mystery monumental moat, see here. And for the the Mount Ebal curse tablet/fishing weight, see here, here, and here.
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During a span of seven decades in the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Jewish people challenged Roman power in the eastern Mediterranean. The Roman-Jewish wars were the backdrop for some of the most dramatic and tragic episodes from ancient history, from the sack of Jerusalem to the siege at Masada.A quite detailed account of the three revolts, especially the first, on which we have the most information.[...]
Today, by the way, is the "minor fast" of the Tenth of Tevet. It memorializes the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, as well the victims of the Holocaust. An easy and healthy fast to all those observing.
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We are pleased to announce the next UCL-KCL Workshop on Biblical Studies, which will be an online event. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Peter Machinist of Harvard University, on the theme of 'Assyria and the Hebrew Bible: A Reassessment'Follow the link for information on submitting a paper proposal. The event takes place on 20 May 2024.
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Nativity scenes are peaceful and idyllic. However, Matthew’s story of the magi bringing gifts to the newborn Jesus, set in the time of King Herod, foreshadows the gospel’s themes of political rivalry, violence, and the death of Jesus.For many posts on the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi, start here and follow the links. For a recent PaleoJudaica post on the prologue to the Gospel of John, see here.
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Thus, we arrive at a twofold problem. First, ancient astronomers placed critical value on many astral phenomena that fall outside the purview of modern astronomy, including things as mundane as the weather. Second, interpretations of these events could vary greatly, even between individual astronomers who could choose which phenomena they focused on and which they did not.I know I said that the Star of Bethlehem was already covered for this year. But this new BHD essay is worth noting for its focus on ancient astronomy.Unfortunately, the Gospel of Matthew is of little help in pinning down what the Star of Bethlehem may have been. Despite the interpretive efforts of numerous scholars, Matthew’s description remains too vague, allowing for an incredible array of possible explanations before one even considers the many other phenomena that the ancients would have factored into their understanding of the sky.
For PaleoJudaica posts on the many explanations of what the Star of Bethlehem might have been, plus who Matthew's Magi may have been, see here and links. As I have said before, I think the Star story is based on a midrash on Numbers 24:7. I do not exclude the possibility that it was an actual celestial phenomenon, but I've not seen any proposals that have convinced me. If you're interested, follow the links and see what you think.
Cross-file under 'Tis the Season.
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How, then, do we decide which meaning is intended in John’s Prologue? Overcome or understood?I agree with Professor Jenkins that John probably intended the Greek word as a double entendre.
Cross-file under 'Tis the Season.
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Enhancing the tourist experience, digitising the services provided at archaeological sites and museums, exploring and conserving Egypt’s heritage, and opening new cultural attractions all took place this year, writes Nevine El-ArefPaleoJudaica noted many of the discoveries and developments mentioned in the article. These include the new Egyptian Book of the Dead manuscripts; the reopening of Alexandria's Greco-Roman Museum; the new chamber in the Great Pyramid; the Saqqara embalming workshops; and the reopening of the Ben Ezra synagogue.
PaleoJudaica also posted on a couple of Egyptian discoveries not mentioned in the article: the Buddha statue at Berenike and the tombs excavated at Oxyrhynchus.
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Links to a pdf reprint of his article in Ami Magazine.
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Whether you’re interested in the worlds of Kings David and Solomon, want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and the apostles, or work in an ancient Phoenician city, we’ve got an archaeological dig for you. For each dig, we provide an in-depth description, including location, historical and biblical significance, and the goals for the upcoming season. You can also learn all about the dig directors and professors who will lead your summer adventure.Keep an eye on the travel advisories. Let's hope archaeological volunteering will be on in the summer.
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As the article notes, Judah the Maccabee's first major victory took place on the ascent to Beth Horon. See 1 Maccabees 3:13-26. Judah also killed Nicanor in battle in the vicinity of Beth Horon (1 Maccabees 7:39).
The article also mentions the defeat of the Roman army by Jewish rebels at Beth Horon in 66 CE, early in the Great Revolt (Josephus, Jewish War, 2.19.2-9).
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With news about this convention, which evidently took place alongside the annual AAR/SBL conference, and also about Prof. McGrath's recent book, The A to Z of the New Testament.
Cross-file under Mandean (Mandaean) Watch.
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Due to the impossibility of assessing the damage on site, Unesco experts have been monitoring the situation remotely “using satellite data and information transmitted by third parties”, a Unesco spokesperson says. “Unesco is particularly concerned about the situation of the ruins of Saint Hilarion.”For more on the Saint Hilarion Monastery, see here and links. My comments there still apply, more than ever.At a meeting on 14 December, Unesco’s Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant provisional enhanced protection to Saint Hilarion—the highest level of immunity against attacks established by the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol.
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A team of researchers subjected the minuscule artifact, measuring just 23 by 19 millimeters (0.9 by 0.7 inches) to a battery of scientific tests, many of which had not yet even been developed when the bulla surfaced in Be'er Sheva. And although unprovenanced artifacts from the antiquities market are always suspect, the scientists found no evidence of forgery, the team reports in a recent paper published in Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. (An earlier report on their research was published in the Hebrew journal Eretz Israel in 2021).I noted the first announcement (before any of the journal articles) in 2020 here.
This time I'm going to inject some skepticism.
Do you remember the Darius ostracon? The exciting artfact found on the surface at Lachish that referred to King Darius I and even included a date? It wasn't long ago. It seemed too good to be true, but ...
But a few weeks later, after the IAA had put the potsherd through multiple scans and laboratory tests, including at the Dead Sea Scrolls Lab, Ganor called Levy and told him the potsherd was believed to be authentic.Guess what? It was too good to be true. It was a modern showpiece for use in teaching that someone had carelessly dropped at the site after a demonstration to students.
If an object passes all the tests, that just tells us that it has not been demonstrated (yet) to be a fake. It does not prove it is genuine. The authors of the new study acknowledge this.
In the last link above, I commented:
What are all those scans and laboratory tests worth if they can't even identify a modern pedagogical showpiece that wasn't intended to fool anyone? This is a major hit to their credibility.Let's not forget that now. The tests got fooled bigtime earlier this year.
Am I indulging in hyperskepticisim? Maybe. But keep reading.
In the copy and photographs of the original Megiddo seal there is small chip or hole that is visible directly under the chest of the lion, a tiny area that was probably damaged already in antiquity. The chip has no iconographic meaning – it is simply a defect, Münger tells Haaretz. And yet that same defect appears in the seal impression from Be'er Sheva, even though we know that this imprint must have been made from a smaller copy of the original artifact.There are ways of getting around this problem, but it is a substantial piece of evidence that the bulla (seal impression) is a fake or forgery.How could both seals carry the same defect? This could support the scenario that a modern forger created the bulla, copying the chip in the original seal because he was unaware that it was a defect, he says.
Where do we stand then?
I accept the bulla as provisionally genuine. It is not nothing to have passed all those tests, some of which, as article notes, had not been devised at the time it was bought. At the same time, fakes can sometimes pass the tests. And there is good evidence on other grounds that the object is a fake.
So, I have my doubts, but provisionally genuine. But no historical reconstructions should use it for evidence without flagging the problems with it. Any historical reconstruction using it is on shakey ground. That is true in general for the use of unprovenanced artifacts.
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Rise of Nabataeans: A connection to trade, geographic reorganisation (Saeb Rawashdeh, Jordan Times).
AMMAN — The emergence of the Nabataeans is connected with the incense trade between southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean ports. First historical records on the Nabataeans appear in 4th century BC while before that period the Qedarites, the dominant Arab tribe of the Persian period, controlled the south from the Hijaz and all of the southern Palestine with a local centre at Lachish. The Qedarites established frankincense trade on their territory and they stepped on the historical stage when they became the main traders of frankincense from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean World.Ancient scrolls reveal astonishing information about the life of a Nabatean woman, who lived in the first century AD in Petra (oguz kayra, Arkeonews).[...]
The documents are now in the possession of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and Professor Hannah Cotton-Paltiel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is an expert on them.I'm surprised to find that I have never posted on Abi-adan. Two of the documents in the Babatha archive pertain to her. For more details, see this review by Elizabeth Shanks Alexander of Philip Esler's book Babatha's Orchard: Businesswomen Before Bar Kokhba (Jewish Review of Books).“Abi-adan is a Nabatean woman and the two documents are interesting because she’s selling the same orchard to one person and then to another,” she explained.
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Judicial Decisions in the Ancient Near EastSophie Démare-Lafont, Daniel E. Fleming, editors
ISBN 9781628374858
Volume WAW 43
Status Available
Publication Date November 2023Hardback $90.00
Paperback $50.00
eBook $50.00This volume presents the first broadly inclusive collection, with accessible text and English translation, of documents related to judicial decisions in the ancient Near East, the oldest setting for such writing in the world. The texts in this volume belong to various genres, especially legal records and letters, and span almost two thousand years. With such varied material, the work depends on the expertise of specialists in each setting, from the Sumerian of early Ur to the late Akkadian of Babylonia under the Persians. The collection brings together not only 183 transliterated texts and new translations but also introductions and commentary that place these legal documents in their historical and social contexts. A glossary of legal terms, a concordance of texts included, and an index of legal terms makes this an invaluable tool for students and scholars across disciplines. The contributors are Dominique Charpin, Sophie Démare-Lafont, Daniel E. Fleming, Francis Joannès, Bertrand Lafont, Brigitte Lion, Ignacio Márquez Rowe, Cécile Michel, and Pierre Villard.
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Published in German.
This volume includes studies by Jan Christian Gertz in which he addresses the history of the origin and interpretation of the Book of Genesis, the significance of the biblical Primeval History in the context of the literary and intellectual history of the ancient Near East, and the question of the relationship of Genesis to the subsequent Exodus narrative.
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The ninth Lincoln College International Summer School in Greek Palaeography will be held on 29 July - 3 August 2024. ...
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