PRESIDENT BUSH visited Masada yesterday. And Mrs. Bush visited the Western Wall tunnels.

UPDATE: Here's a Masada Factbox from Reuters. Looks accurate, except it should note that Josephus's account is viewed with skepticism by some modern scholars.

VISION OF GABRIEL UPDATE: Earlier I noted Israel Knohl's English article "'By Three Days, Live': Messiahs, Resurrection, and Ascent to Heaven in Hazon Gabriel" in the Journal of Religion, accessible only by subscription. Now Professor Knohl has posted it for free at the website of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

UPDATE: The link has gone dead. I've e-mailed Professor Knohl and will keep you posted.

UPDATE (18 May): Problem fixed.

THE FIFTEENTH WORLD CONGRESS OF JEWISH STUDIES has issued a call for papers.

(Via the Agade list.)

MORE ON THE ISAIAH SCROLL EXHIBITION:

Israel Museum puts Dead Sea scroll on rare display

By MATTI FRIEDMAN – 13 hours ago

JERUSALEM (AP) — One of the most important Dead Sea scrolls is going on display in Jerusalem this week — more than four decades after it was last seen by the public. The 24-foot scroll with the text of the Bible's Book of Isaiah had been in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum since 1967. It went on display two years earlier, but curators replaced it with a facsimile after noticing new cracks in the calfskin parchment.

The museum decided to put the scroll back on show for three months as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations.

[...]

Yesterday's article said only two months. The Jerusalem Post had some photos to go with today's article. (Click on first link above.)

A far smaller fragment of another Dead Sea scroll will be on display at the Jerusalem convention center where Bush will be speaking along with other dignitaries.

The segment, also rarely shown, contains the text of Psalm 133, which reads: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

INDIANA JONES GALLERY: Lots of Crystal Skull photos here.

Plus, there are interesting interviews with Karen Allen here and here. Excerpt from the second:

iF: What's the biggest change that Marion has made in the new Indy?

ALLEN: Well, it's difficult to talk about that, given that we're not supposed to reveal anything about the story. And a lot of the changes in Marion’s life are connected to the plot of the film that's been kept so incredibly, incredibly secret! But I think I can say that Marion and Indy's lives over the past twenty years have diverged, and they haven't seen each other for a long time. She's been living in the world on her own terms, and has developed into an interesting, completely independent woman who can stand on her own two feet. And that’s definitely a change from the first RAIDERS. Even though she's a feisty character in that movie, I felt that Marion was a bit buffeted around by circumstance in it. She's thrown here, thrown there, dropped into a well of souls and tossed into a basket. But I feel that this time, Marion’s really taking charge of where, and whom she's going with. And it’s that level of grounding, and maturity in her character that I liked when I read the script.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS EXHIBITIONS:

The Isaiah Scroll from Qumran Cave 1 (1QISa^a) is on display at the Israel Museum:

2,100-year-old Isaiah Scroll on rare public display for two months
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Yigal Yadin, Isaiah Scroll

For the past 40 years, the 2,100-year-old Isaiah Scroll has been kept in a dark room with temperature and humidity controls, far from the public eye. A few days ago, in honor of Israel's 60th anniversary, the Israel Museum put the parchment scroll on display in the Shrine of the Book - for two months only.

[...]

And the Jewish Museum in New York is to have six unidentified Dead Sea Scrolls on display for the same reason:

Jewish Museum Celebrates Israel’s Birthday
(Huliq.com)

The Jewish Museum is marking the 60th anniversary of Israel’s founding with a variety of programs featuring Israeli art and artists. Among the highlights are a panel discussion on Israeli and Jewish film on Tuesday, June 3; an exhibition of six Dead Sea Scrolls at the Museum from September 21, 2008 through January 4, 2009; and several exhibitions including the work of contemporary Israeli artists.


[...]

An upcoming exhibition will feature artifacts that shed light on ancient worship and religious debates. The Dead Sea Scrolls are among the world’s most famous archaeological discoveries, and three of the six scrolls to be displayed––from September 21, 2008 through January 4, 2009––have never before been shown in New York. Part of one of the earliest copies of the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jeremiah (c. 200), is included. Exhibition visitors will be able to explore what the scrolls tell us about ancient Judaism and early Christianity.

[...]

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Resumption of the work on the Mughrabi (Mugrabi) Gate bridge has reportedly been approved (again?).

Background here.

THE NEWARK STONES are in the news:

'Holy Stones' prompt investigation

By L.B. WHYDE • Newark Advocate • May 12, 2008

NEWARK - Trying to preserve the Union during a tumultuous time in history, several prominent local men conspired and manufactured artifacts to support an emerging anti-slavery theory.

Known as Newark's Holy Stones, the artifacts later were proven to be fake. But two local men have done extensive research to discover the reasons behind the conspiracy.

Brad Lepper, an Ohio Historical Society archaeologist, first learned of the pair of hand-carved stones found in the Newark area in 1860 while he was a graduate student working at the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton, where the original stones are housed.

When he became the curator at the Newark Earthworks in 1988, Lepper had to learn about the fake artifacts because of the number of questions about them. But when Jeff Gill, a history enthusiast and supply preacher, moved into the area in 1989, the duo continued the research to discover the men and reasons behind the conspiracy.

"Looking into the background of what was going on at that time period, it shows us how Licking County played a role in the movement for freedom of rights," Gill said. "They (the conspirators) did it for the right reasons, but I deplore their methods."

[...]

The first stone unearthed had several flaws, including being found too close to the surface and the fact the writing was modern Hebrew for that time. Five months later, another stone, called the Decalogue Stone, was discovered much deeper, in the area of Jacksontown.

Again Wyrick found the stone, which seemed to answer all the flaws of the first stone. The stones were claimed to be conclusive proof that all men descended from Adam and Eve. After both stones later were found to be fake, and his premature death, the blame was put on Wyrick by former Newark Mayor Israel Dille.

[...]

A few years ago Rochelle Altman published an essay at the Bible and Interpretation website in which she argued that the stones were genuine Jewish artifacts from the late Middle Ages.

A "BIOGRAPHY" OF A GEMARA MANUSCRIPT from Manuscript Boy. The first of many, I hope.

ED COOK is publishing a new book:

A Glossary of Targum Onkelos

Congratulations Ed!

DUELING NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICS.

HARRISON FORD is profiled by the Independent in advance - of course - of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Excerpt:

The marketing men are taking a rather different line on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is a star attraction at the Cannes film festival starting next week and which opens in the UK later this month. They are talking about something "fresh but familiar", which is what fans will be hoping for from the old team of storymaker George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford back in the hat as the born-again archaeologist action hero. The money men are predicting the blockbuster of the summer.

Harrison Ford has form on that. The previous Indiana films have been one of the biggest box-office successes in the history of the movies. They won Ford the No 1 slot in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list – and took his gross worldwide earnings to almost $6bn, making him one of the most financially successful actors of his generation. Who cares that his long career has featured only one Oscar nomination when he has appeared in five of the top 10 highest-grossing movies ever.

Still, Indiana 4 has been a long time coming. Spielberg and co have been on the lookout for a good enough script for more than 15 years, rejecting three so-so ones in the process. "None of us was fully satisfied with what was produced," says Ford.

There is an irony in that. For long planning is the antithesis of the happenstance that has characterised Harrison Ford's long career. Many of the nodal points over the past four decades were happy accidents or serendipitous defaults. His big break, playing Han Solo in the first Star Wars film, came while he was a carpenter standing in to read for an absent actor. Indiana's leather coat (very odd wear for a hot-climate archaeologist) was originally intended for another actor, Tom Selleck, who at the last minute couldn't get out of his contract for the TV show Magnum PI.

And there are already noises being made about a fifth Indiana Jones movie. I'll let you know what I think of that once I've seen the fourth.

Meanwhile some high school students in Florida are learning about real archaeology in a simulated excavation:

The project, a joint effort by Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast high schools' Community Problem Solvers teams, is designed to teach students about world cultures through archaeology, said Flagler Palm Coast teacher Diane Tomko.

"When you learn about archaeology, it's hard to do it in the classroom," said Tomko, who worked with Matanzas teacher Mat Saunders to coordinate the project. "They get more of a hands-on experience this way."

To prepare for their roles as archaeologists, students first researched 15 different countries including Japan, India and Pakistan, said Bunnell fifth-grade gifted teacher Karen Driscoll. They had to familiarize themselves with the art forms, dress and currency of the country.

Students practiced their excavation techniques using toothpicks to carefully wedge out the chocolate chips in cookies, Driscoll said. Saunders -- who will lead Flagler Palm Coast and Matanzas students on a dig in Belize this summer -- said it's important students understand that there's more to archaeology than just digging up antiques.

"We're teaching them scientific method, history, world cultures, geometry," he said. "Everything is tied into this."

The 27-by-50-foot dig box may be the largest of its kind in North America and is similar to a real archaeological site, Saunders said. Before the students could dig, Saunders and Tomko charted the locations of each country in the box and buried dozens of artifacts -- ranging from a full samurai suit to a golf club.

Good stuff.

DRUZE DNA is producing some interesting genetic data:

Genetics Confirm Oral Traditions Of Druze In Israel

ScienceDaily (May 8, 2008) — DNA analysis of residents of Druze villages in Israel suggests these ancient religious communities offer a genetic snapshot of the Near East as it was several thousands of years ago.

The Druze harbor a remarkable diversity of mitochondrial DNA types or lineages that appear to have separated from each other many thousands of years ago, according to a new study by multinational team, led by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Rappaport School of Medicine.

But instead of dispersing throughout the world after their separation, the full range of lineages can still be found within the small, tightly knit Druze population.

Technion researcher Karl Skorecki noted that the findings are consistent with Druze oral tradition suggesting the adherents came from diverse ancestral lineages "stretching back tens of thousands of years." The Druze represent a "genetic sanctuary" or "living relic" that provides a glimpse of the genetic diversity of the Near East in antiquity, the researchers write in the May 7th issue of the journal PLoS ONE.

[...]

THE BIBLE, BRITISH VERSION. Including the Apocrypha.

THE QUEEN OF SHEBA'S PALACE?

Archaeologists find Queen of Sheba's palace at Axum, Ethiopia
07.05.08 23:38 (TREND Information, Azerbaijan)

Archaeologists believe they have found the Queen of Sheba's palace at Axum, Ethiopia and an altar which held the most precious treasure of ancient Judaism, the Ark of the Covenant, the University of Hamburg said Wednesday, the dpa reported.

Scientists from the German city made the startling find during their spring excavation of the site over the past three months.

The Ethiopian queen was the bride of King Solomon of Israel in the 10th century before the Christian era. The royal match is among the memorable events in the Bible.

Ethiopian tradition claims the Ark, which allegedly contained Moses' stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, was smuggled to Ethiopia by their son Menelek and is still in that country.

[...]

Whatever is going on here sounds garbled to me. I take it that a German team of archaeologists has found a tenth-century BCE palace in Axum and speculates that it might have belonged to the Queen of Sheba. This sounds at least possible. But the Bible does not say that Solomon married the Queen of Sheba. That, the stuff about the Ark, and the name Menelek all come from the medieval compilation of Ethiopian legends in the Kebra Negast. (See the links at the bottom of this post for background.) The original story of the Queen of Sheba is found in the Bible in 1 Kings 10:1-13.

This may be an important find, but we'll have to see. Watch this space.

UPDATE (10 May): Todd Bolen has some useful observations at the BiblePlaces blog.

A PBS SPECIAL ON JUDAISM is reviewed by the NYT:

Telescoping 4,000 Years of Talmud and Tradition

By GINIA BELLAFANTE
Published: May 7, 2008

It is easy to see why someone might approach “The Jewish People: A Story of Survival” with a certain reservation. The documentary, to be shown on Wednesday on WLIW and on other PBS stations in June, condenses four millenniums of atrocity into 60 minutes, allotting the pogroms the amount of time it takes to dust a coffee table.

On the surface “The Jewish People” is like a YouTube video reducing multiple seasons of a complex television show — let’s say “Battlestar Galactica” — into 50 seconds: enslavement, evil pharaohs, the marauding Babylonians, the overpowering Romans, the rise of anti-Semitism, the ravages of the Crusades, shtetls, the birth of Yiddish, the Holocaust, Stalinism, the glories of Theodor Herzl, Zionism. And yet what we get is an impressive and surprisingly rigorous feat of synthesis that roots itself in the lesser-known aspects of Jewish life during the ancient world.

[...]

If Ms. Leibowitz really does take her Talmud on the plane, it must be the Reader's Digest condensed version.

BLOG POST TITLE FOR THE DAY:

Piles or Penises?

SOME EXCITING GENIZA NEWS, also via the Aramaic Blog.

UPDATE (8 May): Bad link fixed. Sorry.

ARAMAIC WATCH: An Aramaic Music Festival in Lebanon.

SCHØYEN COLLECTION FOR SALE.

I've mentioned the Schøyen Collection here, but the links have all died. But see also here and here.

UPDATE: Duane Smith comments at Abnormal Interests.