Eric M. Meyers on the earliest synagogues

ERIC M. MEYERS on the earliest synagogues:

Unearthing the First Shuls

Excavations from Israel over the past 50 years suggest that synagogues may be older than we initially thought.

This is not an area I know a lot about, but on his e-mail list Joseph Lauer comments, "With specific regard to the following article by Prof. Meyers [i.e., the one above - JRD], the dating of synagogue structures is still a matter of some controversy and it is hoped that further excavations, including at Huqoq by Prof. Jodi Magness and the IAA's David Amit beginning this summer, will shed more light on ancient synagogues."

Tear dow the Mughrabi Gate bridge

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: More controversy over the Mughrabi (Mugrabi) Gate bridge.

City: Destroy Mughrabi Gate within two weeks

By MELANIE LIDMAN (Jerusalem Post)
05/24/2011 07:51

Engineer says it was never meant for permanent use; lawyer insists no reason to hurry before court date.

The Jerusalem City Engineer sent a strongly worded letter to the Western Wall Heritage Fund on Sunday, stating that the temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate must be destroyed within two weeks, or the city will tear it down.

Since 2004, the covered ramp has been used as the main entry point for non-Muslim tourists to enter the Temple Mount from the Western Wall plaza, as well as for security forces entering the area in times of unrest.

[...]

Background here and follow the links.

KJB@400: Exploring The Genesis Of The KJV

KJB@400 WATCH:

Exploring The Genesis Of The KJV
King James Bible

First Posted: 05/23/11 08:04 PM ET Updated: 05/23/11 08:04 PM ET

By Peggy Fletcher Stack
Salt Lake Tribune (re-posted in the Huffington Post)

(RNS) The King James Bible, translated from ancient Greek and Hebrew in 1611, is, by virtually all accounts, the most awe-inspiring work of English prose ever written.

Over the past four centuries, the KJV has sold more than 5 billion copies. Its exquisite English text has circulated the globe in the hands of missionaries and graced the homes of kings, pastors and peasants. Its lofty language has been repeated over pulpits and podiums, in prayers and poetry, by teachers and travelers.

The words are so familiar that some believers may think that's how God actually talks. Here, then, is an overview of how this world-changing work came to be.

[...]

Sergila, a late-antique Syriac-speaking village

SERGILA, a late-antique Syriac-speaking village in Syria is profiled by SANA:

Sergila ..A Distinguished Ancient Syrian Village Sample

May 24, 2011

IDLEB, North Syria, (SANA)- Sergila archeological village lies next to al-Bara village on al-Zawia Mountain in Idleb Province, about 330 km from Damascus. It is one of a group of archaeological nearby villages that are preserved in a good state. These villages give a true image of the countryside in the Northern part of Syria between the Byzantine and the Roman periods. Sergila has got various buildings, houses, churches, bathrooms and olive squeezers.

[...]

Historian Fayez Qweasrah said the importance of studying Sergila village is that it highlights the status of the Syrian countryside during the Roman and Byzantine periods, as the studies showed that the Syrian countryside was inhabited by active farmers who speak Syriac language and know Greek language.

[...]

More reviews of "Footnote"

MORE REVIEWS OF FOOTNOTE:

In The Forward: More Than a 'Footnote' From Cannes. Excerpt:

“Footnote” was well received by critics at Cannes, who acknowledged Cedar’s shift of focus from the tense war terrain of the 2000 South Lebanon conflict in “Beaufort” to the academic skirmishes of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “This film does not deal with conflict at the national level, but rather within the context of a personal story,” the director said at Cannes. “It reflects the desire to live peacefully in Israel. In the Talmud, it says that you should not do unto others as you would not like them to do unto you. In a word, compassion.” Talmudic texts were edited and conveyed orally, written down and copied in manuscripts over hundreds of years, and finally printed in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today the study of traditional sacred texts is controversial because the analytical approach questions the reliability of the manuscript. Uriel is a proponent of this “big picture” approach, while traditionalist Eliezer calls himself a philologist.

From the Village Voice:

7. Footnote, Joseph Cedar’s Talmudic tale of Talmud scholars, father and son, competing for the Israel Prize, is another sort of parable—a Kafka story that could have been played out in 18th-century Vilna or 1930s Hollywood. If immersing oneself in the history of the Jews is the essence of Jewish religion, this profoundly ironic, dryly absurdist burlesque is the most Jewish movie I’ve ever seen in Cannes. Fittingly, it won the prize for best screenplay.

More reviews here (first part of post) and follow the links.

Hackett and Huehnergard in defense of the humanities

JO ANN HACKETT AND JOHN HUEHNERGARD have published an editorial in the American-Statesman in defense of the humanities in the era of the bursting higher education bubble:

Two Texas professors on why academic research matters

By Jo Ann Hackett and John Huehnergard

SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN

It was spring break 2009, and we were spending it in Florida, watching our beloved Red Sox play spring training games. We had a glorious week, seeing our baseball heroes a few feet from where we sat in the stands. Our time in Florida was cut short by a couple of days, though, so that we could fly to Austin to give a paper and to meet with members of the University of Texas' Department of Middle Eastern Studies, the Department of Religious Studies, and Deans Randy Diehl and Richard Flores of the College of Liberal Arts. When our two days were over, and we got situated in the plane for Boston, we each asked the other, "What do you think?" And we had the same answer: "We've got to make this work. I really want to come here."

Each of us had taught at Harvard University for more than two decades. But although Harvard had recently selected a historian as its president, a series of deans had made it clear that, as Harvard faced a financial meltdown, the humanities were expendable. If anywhere, Harvard should be the depository of, as well as the cutting edge of research in, what we know about our world and how we know it; instead, attrition was reducing our top-ranked program in ancient languages and cultures to a shadow of its former self. We felt it was time for a change.

[...]

Barely a month later we "retired" from Harvard and became members of the UT faculty. By August , we were ensconced in a new home and new offices, the whole process dizzyingly quick. But all for the best possible reason: We are happy here.

We are also now, suddenly, wondering whether we made a mistake.

The ideas we hear floated by some "experts" in higher education — that research and teaching should be separated and that some research isn't useful to the university, isn't cost-effective — are the exact opposite of what led us to move to Texas. They are also ideas that will ensure that UT will no longer be the great university we thought we were coming to.

The "professors who do not bring in as much money as they cost" is often code for the humanities. ...

Read it all. I am sorry to hear about such developments at Harvard. I got my Ph.D. there in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in the 1980s (and studied comparative Semitics and historical grammar of Hebrew with John while I was there).

For related thoughts on the importance of the humanities, see here and here.

(HT the Agade list.)

Meanwhile, Semitic philology still has a presence in Texas for now, as shown not only by John's and Jo Ann's work at UT, but also by Jeff Childers's work on an edition of the Syriac version of the writings of John Chrysostom at Abilene Christian University. (Background here.)

Book reviews in Tablet Magazine

TABLET MAGAZINE has brief reviews of numerous books relating to medieval and late-antique Judaism in its current On the Bookshelf column. Most of them look interesting, although the one on Hebrew numerology by Stan Tenen sounds goofy. As the reviewer says, "one hopes that he’s a conceptual artist lampooning new agey Kabbalists, in which case he’s hilarious." But the rest seem worthwhile.

Happy Saints Cyril and Methodius Day!

SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS DAY is being celebrated today by Orthodox Christians in Russia and Bulgaria. It commemorates the invention of the Slavonic alphabet and the translation of biblical and related literature from Greek into Old Church Slavonic. For background on relevance to the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha etc., see here and follow the links.

Popular culture, Metatron, Talmud, science fiction, Gnosticism ...

POPULAR CULTURE IN THE MEDIA is taking an unusual interest in some of PaleoJudaica's favorite themes today.

The new film Footnote continues to get attention after its Cannes screening, for which it has won an award:

Israel's Cedar wins award at Cannes

By Viva Sarah Press (Israel21c)
May 23, 2011

Israeli film director Joseph Cedar clinched the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival for his film, Footnote.

Footnote is a drama-comedy about the rivalry between a father and son who are competing Talmud scholars at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

[...]

Jason Solomons gives it a brief review in his Guardian Cannes roundup:

Contrasting with Malick's new agey, Romantic reverie was the old age study of the holy word contained in Joseph Cedar's Talmud tragicomedy Footnote, probably my favourite film of the festival. It's about a father and son who are both respected but very different Talmud scholars and the Shkolnik family "broigus" that ensues when father is finally awarded the prestigious recognition of the Israel prize.

The film was partly inspired by Cedar's own experience as an Oscar nominee for his last feature, war film Beaufort, but this is closer to something like the Coen brothers' A Serious Man or a David Lodge campus comedy. The performances from Lior Ashkenazi as the son and Shlomo Bar Aba are outstanding in this very smart, very Jewish film. What's not to like?

More reviews of Footnote here.

[UPDATE (24 May): Praise for the Hebrew University's Talmud Department from Manuscript Boy at Hagahot.]

From Talmud to mysticism: the Archangel Metatron make an appearance as a character (sort of) in a play currently running in Santa Monica. Reviewlet by Steven Leigh Morris in LAWeekly:

NEW REVIEW DEUX EX MACHINA AND THE HANDS OF THE BEHOLDER
​
Minutes into writer-director R.S. Bailey's "dark Vaudevillian farce," one gets a sinking feeling. The play (which really feels like two discreet works), takes place in a semi-apocalyptic setting in which God's wrath is at hand and religious zealots have taken over the world. In the prologue, we meet a character named The Historian (Jezter Detroit), who rambles on about history, politics, cause and effect, great events, historical relativism, and more. Prompted by the wail of police sirens, he quickly exits, after which the "meat" of the play begins. Bailey assumes the role of Old Testament Patriarch -- with a dash of mad scientist and Sorcerer's Apprentice tossed in -- who is searching for God before the Day of Judgment. Assisting him are his wife Majda (Mary Dryden), and son Jesse (Jonathan Brett), who is working on a contraption called a Metatron where God is located, or as it turns out, the dwelling place of his voice. The inspiration for this is purportedly the story of Abraham and Isaac, but if it is, it doesn't come across as such, notwithstanding the bizarre sacrifice near the play's end. Theatre Z Productions at The Complex, Dorie Theatre, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlwd.; Thurs-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m.; thru June 5. (323) 960-7788. plays411.com (Lovell Estell III)

All of the other stories today are connected in one way or another with ancient Gnosticism.

On recent and classic films with a Gnostic connection:

Knowing Is Half The Battle: Dark City, The Matrix, And Inception As Gnostic Manuals

Added by Keoni Chavez on May 15, 2011 (Screened)

When hearing the word "religion", it's a safe assumption that most people will think of the more commonly referenced faiths, like Islam, Catholicism, declaring for Ba'al, what have you. However, I'd like to talk about an often-overlooked sect of Christianity (though even that stipulation is arguable) called Gnosticism.

Essentially -- and know that this is a gross oversimplification, but for the purposes of this article, it'll do -- the Gnostics believed that the material world was an imperfect reflection of a higher, truer reality. This imperfection was created, not by God, but by a lesser being known as a 'demiurge'. While the purpose for this creation isn't always clear, it was said that only by adherence to esoteric knowledge -- or "gnosis" -- can one transcend the trap of the material world and ascend to the higher plane.

Now, run that notion through Hollywood's lens, and what do you get? At least the three movies mentioned in the title: Alex Proyas' Dark City, The Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix, and Christopher Nolan's Inception.

[...]

Exegesis follows. The Truman Show also rightly gets a mention. Earlier thoughts on The Matrix and Gnosticism are here.

Also at Screened, more Matrix-as-Platonism/Gnosticism exegesis by Andrew Godoski in Under The Influence: The Matrix:

Moving on, the philosophy at play in The Matrix is simply mind-boggling. They actually devoted an entire disc to it in The Ultimate Matrix Collection box set. I’m not even going to try to delve too deep into any of it, because if I did this article would quickly turn into a 300 page thesis. But, I’ll touch on one idea really quickly. The premise of The Matrix can be tied into Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” Keeping this extremely basic, Plato likened people who were uneducated in his Theory of Forms (which is in very, very simplistic terms, the idea that the true essence or definition of an object isn’t what we perceive with our eyes, but rather the quality that makes it that object, i.e. what makes a table a table... that is its true form) to being chained in a cave. A fire glows behind them and they see the shadows of objects passing along the wall, but not the actual objects themselves. These people perceive the shadows as reality and thus do not know the true form of the objects. They are prisoners to this false perception of reality. Sound strikingly familiar? Again, this barely scratches the surface, but it goes to show just how complex the storytelling in The Matrix really is.

I’ll finish by making a quick stop on religion to tie it all back to this week's theme. Just naming a few, this film touches on the ideas of Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. And like philosophy, religion is so tightly woven into the script that discussing all of what you see here would take hours and hours. Obviously, I can’t go through all of it, but I will touch on perhaps the most blatantly apparent idea in the series... Neo as a Christ figure. To start, Neo has a “virgin” birth of sorts since he’s created by the machines and brought into the real world after spending his entire life in an incubator pod, which, of course, is symbolic of a womb. You also can’t ignore the prophecies of his coming and the fact that he is the one chosen to free humanity from their bondage. Then, there's his name, Thomas Anderson. Thomas refers to Doubting Thomas, as Neo never believed he was The One at first. Anderson can literally mean “son of man” when broken up into its roots. Anyone familiar with the teachings of Christianity knows Jesus is often referred to by that name. And if you couple that name with Neo meaning new, you get “new son of man.” You also can’t ignore the Judas/Cypher and Morpheus/John the Baptist metaphors and the fact that Neo gets a very Christ-like death at the end of the series.

Plus you can watch a video excerpt of the lobby scene.

Regular PaleoJudaica readers will be reminded of earlier discussions of Gnosticism and the Simulation Argument here, here, and here. I'll take the red pill.

Then we have Lady Gaga and the Gospel of Judas, offered by Rev. Patrick S. Cheng at the Huffington Post:

Lady Gaga -- the queer icon and pop sensation -- is setting off the Christian right again. In her new song and video, "Judas," Lady Gaga sings over and over, "I'm in love with Judas," referring to the reviled disciple who betrays Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Is there anything redemptive, theologically speaking, about this song and video?

For me, the answer is a definite "yes." As a queer theologian and professor of early church history, this song and video brings to mind the little-known second century gnostic Christian text The Gospel of Judas. In that text, Judas is actually the disciple who is the most loyal to Jesus and does the will of Jesus by setting into motion the events that ultimately lead to human salvation.

[...]

Unfortunately, this interpretation of the Gospel of Judas is widely disputed.

[UPDATE: Rock diva Helen Ingram does Judas in her church organ series. Why no video, Helen? We expect the highest production standards.]

Then there's Coptic, Platonism, Gnosticism, Satanism, and black metal: Ipsissimus Discusses "The Way of Descent" (by Disc0rdant at metal underground.com):

Haimatokharmes: With the Coptic bridge in the middle of the song, I simply wanted to express black piety with the brutal and pithy character of Coptic. I arranged the riffs and the lyrics in a chiastic structure (a-b-c-b-a) to lend the section a particularly liturgical cohesion.

Finally, the Gnostic gospels Off-Broadway:

Musical Based on Gnostic Gospels, The Magdalene, to Bow Off-Broadway

By Adam Hetrick (Playbill.com)
20 May 2011

The new musical The Magdalene, inspired by the Gnostic gospels that portray Mary Magdalene in a new light, will begin previews Off-Broadway June 14 at the Theatre at St. Clement's. The production will officially open June 27 for a run through Sept. 4.

[...]

According to producers, "In this musical, Mary and Yeshua are destined to become husband and wife, and face together the dangerous and corrupt powers of the time—the Roman Empire and the church—not only battling the new religious ideas, but also the resistance to empowering women."

[...]

[UPDATE: on a related note, James McGrath has a post up on The LOST Series Finale: One Year Later. I liked the ending and could never quite figure out why some people were so unhappy with it.]

Review of Juifs et chrétiens en Arabie aux Ve et VIe siècles

BMCR REVIEW:

Joëlle Beaucamp, Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, Christian Julien Robin (ed.), Juifs et chrétiens en Arabie aux Ve et VIe siècles: regards croisés sur les sources: [actes du colloque de novembre 2008]. Monographies, 32. Paris: Association des amis du Centre d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance, 2010. Pp. 302. ISBN 9782916716237. €30.00 (pb).

Reviewed by Hagith Sivan, The University of Kansas (dinah01@ku.edu)

Far away from the centers of Roman and Sasanid power and from the raging doctrinal debates of early sixth century, the historian of late antiquity runs into an astonishing phenomenon. In a bizarre twist of Byzantine-Persian rivalry and of post-Chalcedonian controversies, an unforeseen light is shed on the emergence of southern Arabia as contested political, commercial and theological arena. The region, Himyar (roughly present day Yemen), was strategically critical to the trading interests of both empires. The major local players were the rulers of Himyar and their neighbors across the Red Sea, the rulers of Axum (present day Ethiopia). In the late fourth century the Himyarite ruling house apparently converted to Judaism. A century later the Axumites annexed Himyar to their kingdom. In 522, when the chronology of Himyarite events suddenly acquires precision, prince Yusuf revolted again the Axumite overlords of Himyar. His first priority was to secure the coastal region. In the course of his operations he besieged the town of Najran, setting on fire its church and its clergy (523). The Axumite king, Caleb, invading Himyar, defeated Yusuf and executed the Jewish inhabitants of the kingdom.

The events of 522-523 received extraordinary coverage. We have sources in Syriac, Greek, Geez, Sabean, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Aramaic, some with Chalcedonian bias, others reflecting the views of miaphysites, yet more with a Nestorian twist. Virtually all the sources display one striking feature in common, namely anti-Judaism.

English readers have had opportunities for familiarizing themselves with Himyarite events largely through the efforts of Irfan Shahîd. In addition, K. A. Kitchen has published a Bibliographical Catalogue of Texts in the series Documents for Ancient Arabia.

In the last two decades French scholarship on the south Arabian peninsula in general and on Yemen in particular has undergone a veritable renaissance. A scholarly team headed by the editors of the volume under review created a series devoted to the editing, commentary, and analysis of major sources relating to the Najran episode. The first volume dealt with the text known as “The Martyrdom of Saint Arethas and his Companions,” and appeared in 2007. The second, based on a 2008 conference, is a collection of articles, under review here, designed to highlight further research on the sources. Two more are in preparation. Both Beaucamp and Robin have already published important studies elsewhere. In 2009 alone two other related books appeared, one by Iwona Gajda on the kingdom of Himyar in its monotheistic phase, the other a volume of essays edited by Robin and Jeremie Schiettecatte on the historicity of the narrative sources in light of Axumite and Himyarite inscriptions.

[...]

Review of "Footnote" in Salon

FOOTNOTE is a success at Cannes and gets a good review in Salon, even though the reviewer is under the erroneous impression that philology is "unsexy," apparently due to issues with his father. Go figure.

Cannes: The Talmud scholarship comedy of the year!

A deadpan Israeli comedy about dueling father-son professors, "Footnote" is an unexpected hit at Cannes

Another review is noted here.

Lag B'Omer

LAG B'OMER (the Counting of the Omer) is celebrated beginning this evening at sundown (unless pre-empted by the Rapture, which doesn't look likely now). Best wishes to all those celebrating.

Review of Ulmer, Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash

BOOK REVIEW:

Rivka Ulmer. Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash. Berlin: Walter De Gruyter, 2009. Illustrations. vi + 404 pp. $155.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-3-11-022392-7.

Reviewed by Marc Bregman (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
Published on H-Judaic (May, 2011)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

Egypt through Rabbinic Eyes

This book is a collection of ten interrelated essays, with numerous figures, color plates, and tables of motifs, by the prolific scholar of rabbinic literature, Rivka Ulmer, utilizing her additional expertise in Egyptology, art history, and cultural theory. A number of the essays that have been published previously are here revised, updated, and integrated into a monograph on the significance of Egypt, as a cultural icon, in rabbinic texts. The concept of “cultural icon” is best explained in the introduction to chapter 7, “Cleopatra, Isis and Serapis”: “For the purpose of this chapter a cultural icon is understood to be a representative of a particular culture or a famous individual that emerged to signify this culture to a sizable segment of the known world of antiquity, the Roman provinces and even Non-Roman territories” (p. 215).

[...]

Adin Steinsaltz interviewed in Tablet

ADIN STEINSALTZ is interviewed in Tablet Magazine:

Found in Translation

Scholar Adin Steinsaltz discusses his recently completed edition of the Talmud, why the Internet is better than TV, and the prospect of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Elvis playing cards together

Background on his Talmud translation is here and follow the links.

Cargill on the latest on the fake metal codices

FAKE METAL CODICES WATCH: Speaking of Media Fails, I didn't have the heart to discuss this latest nonsense puff-piece on the Elkingtons, but Robert Cargill has it covered: i just threw up in my mouth: on david elkington and the lead codices.

Media Fail: "Egyptologist" accused of antiquities smuggling

"EGYPTOLOGIST" ACCUSED OF ANTIQUITIES SMUGGLING:

Retired U.S. Academic Is Arrested in Israel on Suspicion of Antiquities Trafficking

By Matthew Kalman (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Jerusalem

A retired American college lecturer has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of trafficking in stolen antiquities and attempting to smuggle them out of the country.

John L. Lund, 70, a motivational speaker, author, and tour guide, was detained late Monday by Israeli customs and antiquities agents as he prepared to board a plane at Ben Gurion Airport. Mr. Lund is an expert on Egyptian history, is the author of How to Hug a Porcupine: Dealing With Toxic and Difficult to Love Personalities, and, according to his Web site, has lectured in history as an adjunct faculty member at universities in California, Idaho, Utah, and Washington.

A search of his belongings revealed a stash of ancient silver and bronze coins that he was attempting to take out of Israel without a permit, as well as $20,000 and other evidence from the illegal sales of ancient coins, clay oil lamps, and glass and pottery vessels, said a statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Mr. Lund had been acting as a guide to two groups touring Israel.

One of the items retrieved by officials was a rare Roman lamp bearing an incised decoration of a seven-branched menorah. Such items are not permitted to be taken abroad without an export license from the antiquities agency.

Mr. Lund was allowed to leave Israel after posting a bond of $7,500. Israeli police expect to file charges in the near future.

[...]

Dr. Lund claims to be innocent, and the courts will have to sort this one out. But I find the case itself less interesting than the press reports about Dr. Lund's credentials. Here's what I could find with a little Googling.

Here is his profile at the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum. Credentials:

... He is a popular speaker and author of many books, cd's and dvd's. His most recent book is, Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon, Is This the Place?.

He holds Bachelor's degrees in sociology and education from Brigham Young University, a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Doctor of Education from Brigham Young University. Because of his emphasis in research, he also completed the equivalent of a Doctoral Minor in Statistics.

His own personal description is here and goes into somewhat more detail but adds nothing relevant.

The Deseret Book website has a list of 15 of his books for sale. They are all popular works, mostly in the self-help category. None of them has anything to do with Egyptology.

He is a motivational speaker, tour guide, and author of self-help and religious books. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, but an Egyptologist they do not make. If he has a doctorate in history, he's keeping it well hidden. Apparently he has taught at adjunct level somewhere and so counts as a retired "academic" or "professor," but if some institution let him teach ancient history, I'm not impressed with their recruiting standards.

I am no Egyptologist, but I'm more of one than he is. At least I have actually studied an ancient Egyptian language (Coptic) and have taught ancient Near Eastern history and mythology at the tertiary level.

The Chronicle of Higher Education report above details his background pretty well, but then spoils it with the howler "Mr. Lund is an expert on Egyptian history." Many of the media reports do no better and some are worse.

JTA: U.S. professor arrested for trafficking stolen antiquities. The article refers to him as "[a] retired history professor."

The Media Line: American Professor Caught Trafficking Antiquities in Israel; "[a]n American history professor."

Art Daily has an innocuous headline (An Attempt to Smuggle Hundreds of Stolen Antiquities from Israel was Thwarted) but describes Mr. Lund as "a retired university lecturer with a Ph. D in history from the United States."

Ynet News: US professor suspected of selling stolen artifacts; "[a] history professor from the US."

Then it gets even better:

Jerusalem Post: Egyptologist suspected of smuggling artifacts from Israel; " a former history lecturer specializing in Ancient Egypt."

Likewise Arutz Sheva: US Egyptologist's Attempt to Smuggle Stolen Antiquities Thwarted; "an American tour guide, a retired American university lecturer and expert on Egyptian history and culture."

To be fair, we don't find this nonsense this time with some media, including the major outlets:

Haaretz gets credit for getting it about right: U.S. tour guide arrested for antiquities trafficking.

CNN does all right as well: American arrested over alleged antiquities smuggling in Israel. Description: "a retired American university lecturer." Note that Mr. Lund had not been identified by name at this point.

The AP (Fox News, CBS, WaPo) likewise: Israel accuses US man of antiquities trafficking; "a retired U.S. lecturer."

I am not picking on Dr. Lund, nor am I pre-judging the outcome of this case. He is what he is and, as far as I can tell, he himself doesn't claim otherwise. My problem is with the media, much of which is simply incapable of judging academic credentials. Even Haaretz and the major media did not express themselves clearly by saying that he is a retired adjunct lecturer in areas that have nothing to do with ancient history. (The adjunct status is relevant: although many adjuncts are fully credentialed, publishing scholars, many are also non-academics teaching a course here and there. Dr. Lund clearly falls in the latter category.)

With Dr. Lund and, recently, with Mr. Elkington, it has become obvious that the media could not identify an Egyptologist if one rose up from an alabaster coffin in front of them. Once again, Media Fail.

UPDATE: At Rogue Classicism, David Meadows reaches the same conclusion about this story: Journalists Just Aren’t Trying Any More.

VMBA: Virtual Magic Bowl Archive

ARAMAIC INCANTATION BOWLS ONLINE: VMBA: Virtual Magic Bowl Archive.

The aim of VMBA is to provide an environment that will allow collaborative work on material that is otherwise difficult to access or unavailable. The material within this archive consists, at this stage, of parts of three collections: The Moussaieff Collection, The Dehays Collection and The Barakat Collection. By providing access to this material to a number of scholars and their students we aim to encourage the production of critical editions of these texts and their publication. A single portal providing access to a shared virtual environment where this can occur provides a convenient forum for collaboration between a small group of scholars from different institutions spread in a number of countries.

(Via AWOL.)

Updates on the Valmadonna and Schneerson Judaica collections

THE SALE OF THE VALMADONNA LIBRARY of Judaica has fallen through:

Treasured Judaica Library, Feared Lost, Is Back On the Market

By Paul Berger (The Forward)
Published May 04, 2011, issue of May 20, 2011.

One of the world’s largest and most valuable private Judaica libraries is up for sale, again.

To the consternation of Judaeophiles and scholarly libraries around the world, public access to the Valmadonna Trust Library — or even knowledge of its whereabouts — was feared to have been lost last December, with the selection of an anonymous buyer in a sealed bid auction conducted by Sotheby’s. Scholars braced for the potential breakup or disappearance of an unparalleled assemblage of rare and historic Jewish books and an incalculable loss to Western culture. Libraries rued its loss, perhaps forever, as a potential acquisition.

But the sale of the collection, the Forward has learned, never went through.

“It’s sitting a few feet from me right now,” said David Redden, a Sotheby’s vice-chairman, in an April 29 interview. Redden, who led the sale in New York, said that an anonymous bidder had met or exceeded the $25 million minimum set by the library’s trustees. But Jack Lunzer, who amassed the collection, told the Forward that the trustees had aborted the sale because the buyer failed to meet two stipulations for purchase: that the library be kept whole and be made available to scholars.

The library has been sitting in Sotheby’s New York offices ever since.

[...]

The centerpiece of his library is a 16th-century Babylonian Talmud that was coaxed out of the collection of Westminster Abbey, where it had lain for about 400 years. The Talmud was published by Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer who was the first to publish a complete edition. The Abbey refused repeated attempts by Lunzer over a period of 25 years to buy the books. In 1980, Lunzer spotted an opening: A New York collector needed to unload the original charter of Westminster Abbey. Lunzer bought the charter and used it as a bargaining chip to persuade, some might say blackmail, the Abbey into letting the Talmud go.

[...]

(HT Gerald Rosenberg.)

Previous posts on the Valmadonna Library sale are here, here, here, and here.

Tangentially related topic: U.S. looking at Chabad-Russia feud over texts (JTA). The dispute between Chabad and Russia over the Schneerson Collection has now led to US exhibition cancellations and is attracting the interest of the State Department. Background on that is here.

Part of State Comptroller's report on Temple Mount released

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Part of that suppressed State Comptroller's report on the Waqf and the Temple Mount has been released. From Haaretz:

'Waqf Temple Mount excavation damaged archaeological relics'

State Comptroller's report finds that the Muslim religious trust carried out works without permits and used heavy equipment damaging the Jerusalem holy site.

By Nir Hasson

Tags: Israel news Temple Mount Jerusalem Israel archeology Jerusalem Old City

* Published 18:52 17.05.11
* Latest update 18:52 17.05.11

In his annual report, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss found many shortcomings in the supervision of works carried out by the Waqf Muslim religious trust at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, saying that as a result, important archaeological artifacts had been damaged.

The majority of the State Comptrollers opinion is being kept confidential, as per the decision of the State Control Committee. According to the State Comptroller's report, this is "In order to guarantee state security and to prevent damaging Israel's international relations, in accordance with article 17 of the state comptroller's law."

The only section of the opinion that was made public was the conclusion, which says that supervision of the works that the Waqf carried out at the Temple Mount, particularly in the structure known as Solomon's Stables, was problematic. ...

The released text of the report follows.

Background here.

iGematria App

GEMATRIA — There's an app for that: iGematria App Unlocks Ancient Hebrew Numerology System.