THE ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTRY has been accused by the Antiquties Authority of damaging a Christian archaeological site - a 1500-year-old Byzantine monastery - during the contruction of the controversial security barrier. It denies the charge.

FURTHER TO MY POST BELOW on favorite Jesus movies, Mark Goodacre likes Jesus Christ Superstar the best - unless we allow The Life of Brian, which is really a satire of first-century Jewish messianism rather than a Jesus movie per se. If we're including The Life of Brian, I would put it second. Very funny and very quotable: "That halibut was fit for Jehovah!" "Romans go home!" "Crucifixion? Yes. Good!" "Bloody favoritism!" And so on.

HERE'S NEWS ON SOME SYRIAC INCANTATIONS from Kurdistan, located at Harvard University and being edited by John Brolley, a scholar at the University of Cincinnati.

TODAY IS SIMCHAT TORAH (also spelled "Simkhat," "Simhat," or "Simchas").

"WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE 'JESUS' MOVIE?"

LATER: I think my favorite is The Last Temptation of Christ, because I like its development of "Gnostic" themes (follow the link for some details). Which ones do other history bloggers like best? And why?

THE WORLD MONUMENT FUND has released a list of the one hundred most endangered archaeological sites. Ten of them are in the Middle East. (Scroll down and - mostly - up to see the other ninety. Via Archaeology Magazine News.)

MEDITATIONS ON THE TEMPLE LIBRARY for Simchat Torah (which is coming up on Sunday).

FOLLOW THE LINK for some images from the "Dead Sea Scrolls to the Hidden Book" exhibit in Dallas (heads-up, Stephen Goranson).

HEBREW POSITION AT PENN STATE (via G-Megillot):

Rank-open
Penn State is seeking candidates for a rank-open, tenure-line appointment in Hebrew. Tenure-track or tenured according to rank and qualifications. Starting date: August 2004 preferred. Ph.D. in Hebrew, Comparative Literature, Near Eastern Studies, Jewish Studies, or related field, and relevant teaching experience required. Candidates must have broad knowledge of the Hebrew language: areas of further specialization and research program may include (but are not limited to) Classical, Rabbinic or Modern Hebrew, comparative approaches to Hebrew texts (including ancient, medieval, and/or modern), comparative Semitics, classical Hebrew elements in later literatures, literatures of the diaspora and Israel, Israelite or Jewish texts, parshanut or Jewish thought. Ability to teach Hebrew at all levels of the curriculum required. Knowledge of additional languages a plus. The successful candidate will help direct and develop our Hebrew language curriculum. S/he will hold an appointment in the Jewish Studies Program, with a tenure home, as appropriate, in the Department of Comparative Literature or the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies or another unit. Salary competitive. Our tenure-track teaching load is 4 courses per year (2 per semester). Applications received by November 17, 2003, will receive full consideration; however, all applications will be considered until the position is filled. Send letter, c.v., and names and addresses of 3 references to Chair, Hebrew Search Committee, c/o Cindy Bierly, Box CB, Department of Comparative Literature, 311 Burrowes Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 USA. Applications may also be sent by email to or by Fax to (814) 863-8882. Penn State is committed to Affirmative Action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cindy Bierly (cqb2@psu.edu)
Administrative Assistant I
School of Languages and Literatures
College of the Liberal Arts
311 Burrowes Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802-6203
(814) 865-1168
FAX: (814) 863-8882
http://www.la.psu.edu

MEL GIBSON'S MOVIE RENAMED: it's now The Passion of Christ.

HERE'S AN ACCOUNT of a visit to the reputed tombs of the prophet Nahum and his sister in an Aramaic-speaking Christian town in Iraq.

HERE'S A COMPLETE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS TARGUM by the well known Aramaist and Qumranologist Edward Cook.

THE "PETRA: LOST CITY OF STONE" EXHIBIT at the American Museum of Natural History opens Saturday (via Rogue Classicism).

AN EARLY PAPYRUS FRAGMENT OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN has become the subject of a big lawsuit.

JESUS IN THE TALMUD: Mel Gibson's The Passion and Sanhedrin 43a have been generating some debate among Jews, started by an article by Steven Bayme. The article has been taken down, but you can read the Google cache copy here. More rabbinic passages that deal with Jesus, or may deal with him, can be found at Alan Humm's Ancient Jewish Accounts of Jesus website. The Talmud, of course, gives no new useful historical information about Jesus but, for what it's worth, it does tell us what kind of spin Babylonian rabbis c. 400 C.E. wanted to put on the Jesus story. How much should that inform the current discussion? I blog, you decide.

PRETTY QUIET on the PaleoJudaic front in the media, and I'm pretty busy here, but ancient Aramaic is represented in the current news by roundup articles on Mel Gibson's The Passion and the San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble.

AN ISRAELITE HOUSE IN 12TH CENTURY B.C.E. EGYPT? Maybe. Does it prove the Exodus happened? No. (Via Archaeologica News.)

THE UNOFFICIAL "GENEVA ACCORDS" would grant sovereignty of the Temple Mount to the Palestinians. According to the New York Times:

On another delicate issue, the plan calls for the Palestinians to have ultimate control over Jerusalem's most important and contested holy site, the mosque compound in East Jerusalem, called the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims. Israel would relinquish its claim of sovereignty over the site, which Jews call the Temple Mount. Israel would keep full control of the Western Wall, the Jewish place of prayer that borders the compound.

More here in the Guardian.

Sorry for the light posting lately. Family things are not leaving much time for blogging.

MARK GOODACRE has redesigned the main page of his vast New Testament Gateway website. This is a trial-run page, not the real main page, as he explains here (and scroll up to the next post too). He's asking for feedback, so have a look and let him know what you think. Looks great Mark.

THE TEMPLE MOUNT and Islamic, Christian, and Jewish eschatology: a potentially explosive mixture.

Ariel Sharon: Messenger of Abrahamic Apocalypse? (Beliefnet, via Bible and Interpretation News)
Consider his controversial visit to a contested Jerusalem holy site from a Muslim end-times perspective.

By Gershom Gorenberg

Excerpts (but read it all):

Fa'iq Da'ud was expecting trouble at Jerusalem's Temple Mount in 2000--or as he'd say, at al-Haram al-Sharif.

In fact, the violence that exploded at the world's most contested holy site this fall, and which ignited ongoing battles between Israelis and Palestinians, is only a pale glimmer next to Da'ud's apocalyptic visions--visions that shed light on a dangerous, often-ignored side of the Mount's place in the religious imagination of three faiths.

For Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, the 36-acre hilltop plaza is not only at the center of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, it is also center stage for the Last Days.Da'ud's book, "The Great Events Preceding the Appearance of the Mahdi," was on sale at Islamic bookstores around the West Bank last year. The cover of the Arabic tract shows an aerial photo of the Haram--Dome of the Rock mosque at the center, Al-Aqsa mosque to one side.Next to it is a picture of a model of the Jewish Temple, superimposed on the same site, replacing both mosques. Inside, Da'ud portrays a vast conspiracy of Jews and Christians that, he says, intends to build the Third Temple to prepare the way for the arrival of their shared messiah, who he says is the Antichrist. Yet he finds hope in the threat to Islam's shrines: It heralds history's final battles and the coming of the Mahdi, the true redeemer.

It's a dark fantasy but hardly unique.

[...]

To make sense of all this, picture apocalyptic believers seated in a triangular theater around the stage of Jerusalem. All agree that history's last act is being played out, but they hold different programs. Jewish Temple activists--bit players in real life--have starring roles in the Christian play; Jews and Christians alike unknowingly play in the Muslim script. Hope and fear are the sound system, wildly amplifying every word, every footstep. Small actions at the Temple Mount take on significance that nonbelievers--such as secular politicians and analysts--neither expect nor understand.

[...]

Viewing Jerusalem as the stage of the End warps perception of political events, creates expectations of absolute victories, makes battles glorious instead of tragic. But it is certainly not the only religious view of Jerusalem's sorrows.

Those who regard life as more sacred than soil, who believe that God commands us "to seek peace and pursue it," must reject the apocalyptic vision and insist that the faiths can live together in the Holy City.