Enoch obsession

WHY INDEED? Why is Everyone Obsessed With the Book of Enoch? The uniqueness and mystery of this ancient text have captivated millions (Stephanie Hertzenberg, Beliefnet).

As interest in Enoch grew, the book began to appear in various media outlets. The History Channel referenced it repeatedly in various shows. Blogs and websites that dealt with everything from scholarly articles about ancient texts to attempts to predict the end of the world began to reference Enoch. Interest grew, and more people began to look for information on Enoch. This led to more people putting out information on Enoch. A feedback loop formed, and it has not collapsed yet.

This article isn't exactly a comprehensive account of 1 Enoch. But it does flag the increasing popular interest in the book and things in it which appeal to a popular audience.

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So much Psalms of Solomon!

READING ACTS has been busy while I was away. Phil Long has put up many posts on the Psalms of Solomon. These are all installments in his current summer series on the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Past posts in the series have been noted here and links. The latter post gives an introduction to the Psalms of Solomon. Here are the rest:

The Death of a Tyrant – Psalms of Solomon 2

Psalm of Solomon 2 is a lament for Jerusalem after Pompey captured the city in 63 B.C. Although his name is not specifically mentioned, the author of the psalm clearly has Pompey in mind. He is called an “arrogant sinner” who brought battering rams against the walls of the Temple (2:1). According to Josephus, the city surrendered to the Romans but the Temple itself was captured. Pompey therefore brought “mechanical engines, and battering-rams from Tyre” (Antiq. 14.4.2).

[...]

The Lord Will Cleanse the Devout – Psalm of Solomon 3

This psalm reflects a “two ways” ethic found in Second Temple wisdom literature. Building on the covenant renewal in Deuteronomy 30:11-20, there are only two ways the people can go, either toward life or toward death. If Israel follows the Law, they will be blessed and have peace and material prosperity. However, if they do not follow the Law, they will be cursed and not experience peace and prosperity. Psalm 1 contrasts two kinds of people, the righteous person and the sinner. The righteous is like a tree planted beside water (prosperous and bearing fruit), but the sinner is like a bush growing in the desert, barely surviving and never bearing fruit.

[...]

A Dialogue Concerning The Hypocrite – Psalm of Solomon 4

Psalm of Solomon 4 is labeled a dialogue (Διαλογὴ) although not in the sense of a conversation between Solomon and the hypocrite. The Psalm stands in the “two ways” tradition. It begins with a stunning condemnation of those who sit in the council but are “far from the Lord” and ends with a blessing on “those who fear the Lord in their innocence” (4:23).

[...]

Moderate Wealth with Righteousness – Psalm of Solomon 5

There is nothing in Psalms of Solomon 5 to hint at a date or historical circumstance. The psalm begins with praise to God for his gracious provision during a time of affliction (v. 5). Several times the author describes himself as hungry (v. 8, 10, 11) or in need of kindness (v. 13), but there is no specific historical situation in mind. Most Jews living in the Diaspora would hear their own experience in this Psalm.

[...]

A Restoration of Israel – Psalm of Solomon 7

The title of this short psalm is significant. R. B. Wright translates the Greek title ἐπιστροφῆς as “about restoring” since verses 1-3 call on the Lord to restore his people after a time of discipline. Likewise, Atkinson renders the phrase “of returning” in the NET Septuagint. The Lexham LXX renders the word “on conversion.” In the New Testament the word is rare, only appearing in Acts 15:3 for the “conversion of the Gentiles.”

[...]

Do Not Neglect Us, O God! – Psalm of Solomon 8

This psalm is a description of the invasion of Jerusalem by Pompey. The invading army is foreshadowed by “the blast of the trumpet sounding slaughter and destruction.” Since the sound of destruction is in the holy city of Jerusalem, the writer is crushed by what he heard and becomes physically ill (8:5). The writer sees himself as one of the innocent (8:23) who are devout (8:34).

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Review of Orlov, Yahoel and Metatron

READING RELIGION:

Yahoel and Metatron
Aural Apocalypticism and the Origins of Early Jewish Mysticisim

Andrei A. Orlov
Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism
Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck , August 2017. 238 pages.
$125.00. Hardcover. ISBN 9783161554476.
For other formats: Link to Publisher's Website.

Review
The study of Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism has been enriched in recent years by a revival of the study of the Slavonic pseudepigrapha. Andrei Orlov has been at the forefront of that discussion. His study of The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (TSAJ 107; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005) has rightly been hailed as a major contribution. Orlov has now followed this with a study comparing the figure of Yahoel in the Apocalypse of Abrahamand Metatron in Sefer Hekalot (3 Enoch), arguing for continuity between the apocalypses and later mystical traditions.

[...]

The review is by Professor John J. Collins. I noted the publication of the book here last year.

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Back from Hadrian's Wall

I'VE BEEN ON HOLIDAY for the last week, including a stay around Hadrian's Wall. I visited Vindolanda again, of course, and also other Roman sites. I will report in due course.

Meanwhile, there's a lot of blogging to catch up with in the coming days.


Hadrian's Wall, behind the Roman Fort at Housesteads.

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More mosaics from Huqoq!

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Huqoq Mosaic Depicts Israelite Spies from Numbers 13 (Robin Ngo). There is also a Hebrew quotation from Isaiah 11:6 and another fragmentary Hebrew inscription.

The excavation of the late-antique synagogue at the site of Huqoq continues to produce remarkable mosaics, year after year. For past posts on the excavation of the site and the remarkable discoveries there, start here and just follow those links back.

Cross-file under Decorative Art.

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The Talmud on disqualified sacrifices

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Suited to the Fire. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ Talmudic rabbis continue their investigations into sacrificial offerings and remain dispassionate in their analysis of sexual sins. Plus: the origin of the word ‘treyf.’

The general hermeneutic principle of the Talmud is that every Torah verse comes to teach a point of law. Understanding the Torah requires parsing the verse very carefully, paying attention to each word and even to pronouns and articles. If two authorities disagree on the law, therefore, they also disagree on the interpretation of the Torah verse.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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Olyan and Wright, Supplementation and the Study of the Hebrew Bible

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Supplementation and the Study of the Hebrew Bible
Saul M. Olyan, Jacob L. Wright

ISBN 9781946527059
Status Available
Price: $30.95
Binding Paperback
Publication Date April 2018

Explore the role supplementation plays in the development of the Hebrew Bible

This new volume includes ten original essays that demonstrate clearly how common, varied, and significant the phenomenon of supplementation is in the Hebrew Bible. Essays examine instances of supplementation that function to aid pronunciation, fill in abbreviations, or clarify ambiguous syntax. They also consider more complex additions to and reworkings of particular lyrical, legal, prophetic, or narrative texts. Scholars also examine supplementation by the addition of an introduction, a conclusion, or an introductory and concluding framework to a particular lyrical, legal, prophetic, or narrative text.

Features:

• A contribution to the further development of a panbiblical compositional perspective
• Examples from Psalms, the pentateuchal narratives, the Deuteronomistic History, the Prophets, and legal texts

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A letter from Claudius

BRICE C. JONES: Roman Emperor Claudius' Letter to the Alexandrian Embassy. This is a papyrus found in Egypt which contains the text of a letter sent by Claudius to Alexandria in 41 C.E. in response to a letter sent to him by the Alexandrians. In it he tells the Alexandrian gentiles and the local Judeans to just get along. Or else.

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Online Digital Manuscripts and Editions updated

THE OTTC BLOG: Online Digital Manuscripts and Editions. Last updated 3 July 2018 (Drew Longacre).

This page is a list of digital images of manuscripts and editions available online. This catalogue should be viewed as a work in progress, and I will continue to update it with new resources. It is by no means complete, but I hope it will be helpful for those looking for a one-stop portal for finding online primary resources that are significant for the study of the Old Testament text. Please post any additional sources you may be aware of in the comments, and I will incorporate them into the main list.

Last updated two years ago, so worth a look again. It's a good list. The focus is Hebrew Bible, but it has lots of cognate material (LXX, Targums, NT, rabbinics, etc.) as well.

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Tomás García-Huidobro's blog

BLOG OF NOTE: Tomás García-Huidobro. Tomás García-Huidobro Misticismo judío y orígenes del cristianismo. I have mentioned this blog a couple of times in the past, but it has moved to a new address. So here it is again. I generally only link to English-language blogs, but I do keep an eye on this Spanish one and I have recently added it to my blogroll. It often deals with matters of interest to PaleoJudaica. If you read Spanish, it's worth keeping an eye on.

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Interview with Batsheva Goldman-Ida (Hasidic Art and the Kabbalah)

THE BOOK OF DOCTRINES AND OPINIONS BLOG: Interview with Batsheva Goldman-Ida-Hasidic Art & the Kabbalah (Alan Brill).

In the past, Jewish ceremonial art was treated as decorative and functional. This book, in contrast, explicitly investigates the symbolism and theological meanings of the objects. It is as if we merged the studies of Moshe Idel with art history. Hasidic Art and the Kabbalah presents eight case studies, almost as exhibits, of manuscripts, ritual objects and folk art developed by Hasidic masters in the mid-eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries. Goldman-Ida investigates the sources for the items in the Zohar, German Pietism, Safed Kabbalah and Hasidism. She shows Kabbalah embodied in material culture, not just as abstract ideas. In addition, we are treated to discussions of magical theory from James Fraser and on the subjective experience of the user at the moment of ritual using the theories of Wolfgang Iser, Gaston Bachelard, and Walter Benjamin.”

This is on a period later than PaleoJudaica's usual interests, but I try to keep an eye on the full range of developments in the study of Jewish mysticism. There is lots of room for this sort of groundbreaking work in earlier periods too, even if the surviving artifacts are fewer.

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Reed, Jewish-Christianity and the History of Judaism

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Annette Yoshiko Reed. Jewish-Christianity and the History of Judaism [Judenchristentum und die Geschichte des Judentums.] 2018. XXX, 505 pages. forthcoming in July. Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 171. 174,00 €. ISBN 978-3-16-156060-6.

Published in English.
“Jewish-Christianity” is a contested category in current research. But for precisely this reason, it may offer a powerful lens through which to rethink the history of Jewish/Christian relations. Traditionally, Jewish-Christianity has been studied as part of the origins and early diversity of Christianity. Collecting revised versions of previously published articles together with new materials, Annette Yoshiko Reed reconsiders Jewish-Christianity in the context of Late Antiquity and in conversation with Jewish studies. She brings further attention to understudied texts and traditions from Late Antiquity that do not fit neatly into present day notions of Christianity as distinct from Judaism. In the process, she uses these materials to probe the power and limits of our modern assumptions about religion and identity.

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Did Jesus really say "Render unto Caesar ... ?"

NUMISMATICS MEETS THE HISTORICAL JESUS: Numismatic Evidence that Corroborates Suetonius’ Life of Otho and Contradicts the Gospels (Matthew Ferguson, Κέλσος Blog). I'm not a coin specialist, or, for that matter, a Historical Jesus specialist. So I won't take a position on the argument. But I thought it was interesting enough to mention.

A couple of past posts on the numismatics of the relevant New Testament passage (Mark 12:13-17 and parallels) are here and here.

By the way, Matthew has been blogging since 2012. I know I have seen his blog before, but I don't seem to have linked to it. It looks like it has some stimulating posts. Cross-file under Assimilated to the Blogosphere (Belatedly Noted).

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Meiser et al. (eds.), Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz. 6. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 21.-24. Juli 2016. Hrsg. v. Martin Meiser, Michaela Geiger, Siegfried Kreuzer u. Marcus Sigismund. [The Septuagint – History, Impact, Relevance. 6 thInternational Conference held by the Septuaginta Deutsch Project (LXX.D), Wuppertal July 21–24, 2016.] 2018. XII, 947 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 405. 219,00 € cloth. ISBN 978-3-16-155638-8.

Published in German.
As the central biblical reference text for ancient Greek-speaking Judaism and Christianity alike, the Septuagint both aids and challenges expressions of Jewish and Christian identity. The diversity of its current debates are reflected in this volume, which brings aspects of textual criticism, textual history, philology, theology, reception history, and Jewish identity in the Second Temple period together to provide an up-to-date overview of the latest in international research.

Published in German, but many of the articles are in English.

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Patrologia Blog

THE AWOL BLOG: Patrologia: Latina, Graeca & Orientalis. This is notice about a blog (with this title) which is new to me:

Hints, resources, links and information about the Patrologia Latina and the Patrologia Graeca, both edited by J.-P. Migne and reprinted later by the Garnier Brothers, and the Patrologia Orientalis, edited by R. Graffin and F. Nau.
This website and it’s blog aims to inform and study. All studies in this blog are the property of the authors, and publishers. The administrator of this blog or its readers have no commercial right. Copying for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited.

It has information about Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and Syriac sources.

I would say Assimilated to the Blogosphere, but its assimilation took place long ago. The blog has been running since the beginning of 2008. I'm glad to have finally run across it.

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Bortz, Identität und Kontinuität

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Bortz, Anna Maria

Identität und Kontinuität
Form und Funktion der Rückkehrerliste Esr 2

[Identity and Continuity. Form and Function of the List of Returnees in Ezr 2]
Series:Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 512

Aims and Scope
The character of the list of returnees in Ezra 2 has been a subject of ongoing scholarly controversy. This study offers a thorough examination of the list in terms of form and content and of its placement and function in the narrative context of Ezra 1-3. The list itself gives insight to the continuities and discontinuities in the construction of post-Exile Jewish identity.

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Davies's Qumran slide collection

RETRO-QUMRANICA: Philip R. Davies Qumran Slide Collection (1970-71). The slides are posted by the Leverhulme International Network Project for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Cave Artefacts and Archival Sources.

DQCAAS is extremely grateful to the late Prof. Philip R. Davies for generously making available to us his slide collection of Qumran. These slides were taken in 1970-71 when he was a doctoral student in Jerusalem, working on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Travelling Scholar at the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (now the Kenyon Institute). These slides include a remarkable picture of Fr. Roland de Vaux explaining how the people of Qumran washed their laundry.

[...]

HT Jim West. More on the late Philip R. Davies is here and links.

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Review of Brannan, Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: Book Review: Rick Brannan, Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha (Phil Long, Reading Acts).

Brannan, Rick. Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments, and Agrapha. Lexham Classics; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2017. 193 pp.; Pb. $14.99 Link to Lexham Press

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New critical edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

The Samaritan Pentateuch
A Critical Editio Maior

Ed. by Schorch, Stefan

6 volumes
Volume III
Leviticus
Ed. by Schorch, Stefan

Aims and Scope
A critical edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch is one of the most urgent desiderata of Hebrew Bible research. The present volume on Leviticus is the first out of a series of five meant to fill this gap. The text from the oldest mss. of SP is continuously accompanied by comparative readings, gathered from the Samaritan Targum and the oral reading, as well as MT, the DSS, and the LXX, creating an indispensable resource for Biblical research.

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Eaten by worms!

THE CSCO BLOG: Eaten By Worms: Comparison between Acts 12:23 and Death of the Persecutors 33-35 (Gianna Zipp). That's in the Bible. And elsewhere:

In quite a few ancient sources a bad emperor gets eaten alive by worms and in most of them it is made clear from the beginning that a god or God is punishing some impious tyrant by these means. There is already some work on the topos of worms as a disease naming numerous examples.[i] I want to compare the descriptions by Lactantius and Luke in Acts to see how they differ and why that may be ...

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