Hurtado on the latest Oxyrhynchus Papyri volume

LARRY HURTADO: Latest Volume of Oxyrhynchus Papyri. This is a reviewlet based on his forthcoming RBL review. The volume publishes many texts. The four biblical manuscripts include the infamous formerly-first-century Mark fragment, fragments of Luke, a fragment of Philemon, and a fragment of Psalms.

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5 MOTB DSS fragments acknowledged as fake

CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE: US museum says 5 fragments in Dead Sea Scroll collection are fake. Washington’s controversial Museum of the Bible removes the pieces from display after a German research institution concluded they weren’t old enough (Times of Israel and Agencies). PaleoJudaica readers, I know this is hardly a surprise to you. We have been following developments concerning those dubious post-2002 Dead Sea Scroll-like fragments for years. (New readers, start here and follow the links.)

This article doesn't give the details of the work of the German research institution. But another article, by Peter Dockrill at Science Alert, fills us in: A $500 Million Museum Just Revealed Its Priceless Dead Sea Scrolls Are Fakes.

Dead Sea Scrolls expert Kipp Davis from Trinity Western University voiced doubts about the authenticity of some of the fragments in 2017, and a high-tech analysis by scientists at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany appears to have confirmed the suspicions.

Using 3D digital microscopy, scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), the researchers analysed the ink and sediment in the fragments.

According to the museum, the results look to back up Davis's previous inklings, based on "scribal quality and technique in the penning of the texts as well as the physical composition and current state of the manuscript media."

We should always be cautious of materials tests, because they are fallible too. But in this case, multiple lines of evidence lead to the conclusion that these fragments are fake. Probably other fragments are too, but those have not (yet?) undergone the materials tests.

The Museum of the Bible has always openly admitted, including in the exhibitions, that these fragments could be forgeries. I commend them for now acknowledging the new evidence against them and acting accordingly

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The Talmud, the omer, and the Boethusians

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: Flour Power. In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ Talmudic rabbis—debating the origins of the omer—explore the sanctity of different forms of wheat. Plus: Can seeds found in elephant dung be made clean by replanting? That was a rare question to which the Talmudic rabbis could not find an answer.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

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A new Greek edition of the Letter of Aristeas

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Jewish Fictional Letters from Hellenistic Egypt: The Epistle of Aristeas and Related Literature

L. Michael White, G. Anthony Keddie

ISBN 9781628371857
Status Forthcoming
Price: $56.95
Binding Paperback
Publication Date November 2018
Pages 490


The first Greek text of the Epistle of Aristeas published in more than a century

The Greek text Epistle of Aristeas is a Jewish work of the late Hellenistic period that recounts the origins of the Septuagint. Long recognized as a literary fiction, the Epistle of Aristeas has been variously dated from the third century BCE to the first century CE. As a result, its epistolary features, and especially those in which the putative author, Aristeas, addresses his brother and correspondent, Philocrates, have largely been ignored. In light of more recent scholarship on epistolary literature in the Greco-Roman world, however, this volume presents for the first time a complete Greek text and English Translation with introduction, notes, and commentary of the Epistle of Aristeas with key testimonia from Philo, Josephus, and Eusebius, as well as other related examples of Jewish fictional letters from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.

Features

• Relevant excerpts from Eupolemus, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, and the Greek Additions to Esther with translations and introductions
• A critical introduction to ancient Greek letter-writing
• An outline of epistolary features in the text

Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

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CFP: Special Issue "Synagogue Art and Architecture"

H-JUDAIC: CFP: Special Issue "Synagogue Art and Architecture."

This Special Issue offers a global, online, free-access platform for representing current research in the field. We invite historians of art and architecture; historians; archaeologists; and experts in religion, literature, folklore, and anthropology to join the ongoing exchange of ideas on synagogue architecture and art by submitting a paper to be considered for publication.

The Special Issue will include discussion of synagogue architecture and art from all time periods and places.

Details follow. Paper proposals are due by 1 December 2018.

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The History of the Temple Mount in 12 Objects: #1

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: The History of the Temple Mount in 12 Objects: #1 The Late Bronze Age.

Hello everyone!

As those of you who follow our newsletter know, the blog is about to embark on an exciting new journey: Inspired by the British Museum’s A History of the World in 100 Objects, we will, over the course of the coming year, showcase objects of different periods in the Temple Mount’s history, telling you about them and about the periods they represent.

So without further ado – here’s the first post, of the Temple Mount back before there was a temple: ...

The first object is an Egyptian faience amulet. I noted the report of its discovery here. And there's more here on that LBA cuneiform fragment excavated in Jerusalem (not by the Sifting Project).

And finally, for many past PaleoJudaica posts on the Temple Mount Sifting Project, start here and just keep following those links.

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Review of Azar, Exegeting the Jews

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | Exegeting the Jews: The Early Reception of the Johannine “Jews” (Janelle Peters).

Michael Azar, Exegeting the Jews: The Early Reception of the Johannine “Jews.” Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Excerpt:

Azar focuses on three prominent ancient interpreters: Origen of Alexandria, John Chrysostom, and Cyril of Alexandria. He concludes that the anti-Jewishness of these authors is not consistent within their writings. Moreover, there is no overarching anti-Jewish position of nascent orthodoxy. Rather, the three men achieved positions of ecclesial prominence and found themselves needing to interpret scriptures to address problems in very different times and places.

I noted the book and an essay by the author a couple of years ago here.

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Philo on the war of the kings in Genesis 14

DR. ELLEN BIRNBAUM: What Caused the War between the Kings? Philo’s Dual Interpretation (TheTorah.com).

In his account of Abraham’s life, the first-century thinker Philo of Alexandria skillfully interprets the bewildering details in the story of the war between the four and five kings. Understanding the tale on a literal and allegorical level, he offers intriguing suggestions about what motivates both powerful rulers and forces within the soul.

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Atkinson, The Hasmoneans and Their Neighbors

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

The Hasmoneans and Their Neighbors
New Historical Reconstructions from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Classical Sources

By: Kenneth Atkinson

Published: 23-08-2018
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 232
ISBN: 9780567680822
Imprint: T&T Clark
Series: Jewish and Christian Texts
Volume: 27
Dimensions: 234 x 156 mm
RRP: £85.00
Online price: £55.25
Save £29.75 (35%)


About The Hasmoneans and Their Neighbors
Kenneth Atkinson adds to an already impressive body of work on the Hasmoneans, proposing that the history and theological beliefs of Jews during the period of the Hasmonean state cannot be understood without a close investigation of the histories of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires, as well as the Roman Republic. Citing evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls and classical sources, Atkinson offers a new reconstruction of this vital historical period, when the Hasmonean family changed the fates of their neighbors, the Roman Republic, the religion of Judaism, and created the foundation for the development of the nascent Christian faith.

Atkinson additionally provides reconstructions of events in classical history, including the most detailed examination of Pompey the Great's assassination in light of Jewish sources; by focusing on his death, this volume uncovers new information that explains the discrepancies in the classical accounts of this pivotal event that shaped Middle Eastern and Roman history, and which helped end the Republic. Collecting sources ranging from the beginning of the Hasmonean monarchy, through its religious strife and golden age, to its eventual downfall, Atkinson concludes that that Jewish sectarianism and messianism played far greater roles in the Hasmonean state than has previously be assumed.

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Gamble Festschrift forthcoming

THE ETC BLOG: Forthcoming Festschrift for Harry Gamble (Peter Gurry). The title is Books and Readers in the Premodern World (ed. Karl Shuve). The subject is material and literary book culture in the Roman, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic worlds.

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Those lost books weren't so lost?

THE ANXIOUS BENCH: Three Gnostic Books (Philip Jenkins).

Here’s my main problem. Very little in the “lost scriptures” was ever really lost, and was pretty well known through texts preserved – accurately, and at great length – by various Church Fathers. More to the point, the great age of rediscovering original heretical and alternative texts occurred long, long, before the 1970s, or 1940s. If there was a turning point in the process of rediscovery, it occurred closer to 1890 than 1980. We have forgotten a century or so when all these insights were well known, and were in fact thoroughly absorbed into popular culture.

Professor Jenkins's point is valid and he spells out the details in this post.

That said, there are still many, many books from antiquity — scriptures and otherwise — which are now lost. We know some only from their title or from brief quotations. Doubtless not even that much survives of many more.

For past PaleoJudaica posts on Lost Books, see here, here and here and keep following those links.

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CFP: IOSCS 2019

THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SEPTUAGINT AND COGNATE STUDIES: IOSCS Aberdeen 4th–9th August 2019

Call for Papers
The main theme of the IOSCS meetings will be ‘The Septuagint in its Hellenistic Jewish setting’, encompassing questions of history, textual development, interpretation, religious outlook, cultural context, and lexicography. Papers relating to this theme will be especially welcome.
However, papers on other subjects will also be considered. Both the IOSCS projects (NETS, Hexapla, LXX.D, SBLCS) and other allied groups (e.g. HTLS, Göttingen volume editors, La Bible d’Alexandrie) are encouraged to offer panel sessions, either on the conference theme or on aspects of their current work.

This meeting is in association with the 2019 IOSOT annual meeting and the 2019 IOQS annual meeting.

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Free issue of Textus!

FOR YOU, SPECIAL DEAL: Textus: A Journal on Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Volume 27, Issue 1, 2018) is now availabe online for free. There are some good articles, so go have a look!

Introduction
Introduction
Author: Emanuel Tov
pp.: 1–2 (2)

Research Article
The Relationship between Paleography and Textual Criticism: Textual Variants Due to Graphic Similarity between the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch as a Test Case
Author: Hila Dayfani
pp.: 3–21 (19)

Research Article
Repetition due to Detected Omission
Author: Leeor Gottlieb
pp.: 22–43 (22)

Research Article
Reconsidering the Date of the En-Gedi Leviticus Scroll (EGLev): Exploring the Limitations of the Comparative-Typological Paleographic Method
Author: Drew Longacre
pp.: 44–84 (41)

Research Article
An Eleventh- or Twelfth-Century Masoretic Bible Codex (Jeremiah, Zechariah, Proverbs, and Chronicles): Its Place among Eastern Codices
Author: Jordan S. Penkower
pp.: 85–110 (26)

Research Article
The Book of Samuel in the Cairo Genizah. An Interim and Introductory Report
Author: Gary A. Rendsburg
pp.: 111–121 (11)

Research Article
Does the Yod of ‮נַפְשִׁי‬‎ in Ps 24:4 Represent a Minuscule Waw?
Author: David Marcus
pp.: 122–134 (13)

Research Article
The Socio-Religious Setting of the (Proto-)Masoretic Text
Author: Emanuel Tov
pp.: 135–153 (19)

Introduction
Horizons in Textual Criticism: New Approaches and New Questions
Authors: John Screnock and Jan Joosten
pp.: 157–159 (3)

Research Article
Scribal Revision. A Post-Qumran Perspective on the Formation of Jeremiah
Author: Justus Theodore Ghormley
pp.: 161–186 (26)

Research Article
Reflections on the Critical Edition of the Hebrew Text of Ben Sira. Between Eclecticism and Pragmatism
Author: Jean-Sébastien Rey
pp.: 187–204 (18)

Research Article
How to Edit an Elusive Text? The So-called Poem of Solomon (1 Kgs 8:12–13 MT // 8:53a LXX) as a Case Study
Author: Matthieu Richelle
pp.: 205–228 (24)

Research Article
A New Approach to Using the Old Greek in Hebrew Bible Textual Criticism
Author: John Screnock
pp.: 229–257 (29)

Research Article
The Role of Memory in Vorlage-based Transmission: Evidence from Erasures and Corrections
Author: Jonathan Vroom
pp.: 258–273 (16)

HT IOTS Facebook.

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Heller, Printing the Talmud

FORTHCOMING BOOK FROM BRILL:

Printing the Talmud
Complete Editions, Tractates, and Other Works and the Associated Presses from the Mid-17th Century through the 18th Century

Series:
Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Volume: 62

Author: Marvin J. Heller

Printing the Talmud: Complete Editions, Tractates and Other Works, and the Associated Presses from the Mid-17th Century through the 18th Century is a profusely illustrated major work describing the complete editions of the Talmud printed from about 1650 to slightly after 1800. Apart from the intrinsic value of those editions, their publication was often contentious due to disputes, often bitter, between rival publishers, embroiling rabbis and communities throughout Europe. The cities and editions encompassed include Amsterdam, Frankfort am Main, Frankfurt on the Oder, Prague, and Sulzbach. This edition of Printing the Talmud addresses these editions as an opening to discuss the history of the subject presses, their other titles and their general context in Jewish history.

Publication Date: 19 December 2018
ISBN: 978-90-04-37672-4

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Elisha ben Avuyah (Acher)

INFAMOUS: Elisha ben Abuyah: The Sage Called "Acher" (Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, Chabad.org).

Elisha ben Abuyah, or Acher (“the Other”), as he came to be known by his colleagues, was a Mishnaic sage turned heretic. Born into a prestigious Jerusalem family,1 Elisha was described by the Talmud as an extraordinary scholar who delved deep into the secrets of the Torah. Ultimately, though, Elisha threw off his Torah observance and committed terrible sins.

Let us explore the story of this elusive, almost infamous sage.

[...]

Elisha ben Avuyah (Abuyah), a.k.a. "Acher" or "Aher," "the Other One," was presumably a real rabbinic sage of the Tannaitic period. But in rabbinic legend he grew to be the paradigmatic heretic. He is also famous for his muddled encounter with God and the archangel Metatron in the divine throne room. This essay gives a good overview of the legend of Acher.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on him are here, here, here, here, and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

Sabar on Saving Aramaic

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Saving Aramaic, the Language Jesus Spoke. One native speaker’s quest to preserve an ancient language (Robin Ngo).

Follow Yona Sabar’s life-long journey to safeguard the language Jesus spoke for future generations by reading his article “Saving the Aramaic of Jesus and the Jews,” published in the November/December 2018 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

The article is in the current issue of BAR, which just came out. As usual, it is behind the subscription wall. But the BHD essay gives an overview of it. Cross-file under Aramaic Watch.

Yona Sabar is a retired UCLA Professor of Neo-Aramaic. I have mentioned him often at PaleoJudaica. He used to have a "Hebrew Word of the Week" column in the Jewish Journal. See here and many other posts in the archive.

His son, Ariel Sabar, wrote a book, My Father's Paradise, on his father's Aramaic-speaking Kurdish Jewish background. Ariel is perhaps better known for breaking the story that settled the controversy over the Gospel of Jesus' Wife forgery.

A somewhat-related recent post is here. And there are other ongoing efforts to save Aramaic as a spoken language. For some relevant PaleoJudaica posts, run "Modern Aramaic Watch" through the blog search engine.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

CFP: volume on ancient demonology

H-JUDAIC: CFP: Edited Volume on Demonology.

Theme

Interest in ancient Jewish and Christian beliefs about demons has grown significantly in recent decades. Particular consideration has been given to the influence of other cultures (e.g. Zoroastrian traditions), the transmission of traditions across time and between communities (e.g. the myth of rebellious angels), and to the origins of demons and methods for dealing with them (e.g. exorcism rituals, magic, etc.). Less attention has been paid to the nature and characteristics of demonic beings (broadly conceived).

Dr Hector M Patmore and Prof. Josef Lössl (Cardiff University) therefore invite proposals for papers that consider this theme in Jewish and / or Christian sources from the Biblical period to Late Antiquity. ...

Follow the link for details.

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LXX interview with Ross and Lanier

THE INTERVIEWER INTERVIEWED: LXX Q&A with Will Ross and Greg Lanier. William Ross is well-known in PaleoJudaica circles for his series of blog interviews with Septuagint scholars. Now the Hedrickson Publishers Blog has an interview with him and co-editor Greg Lanier about their just-released book, Septuaginta: A Reader’s Edition. Past PaleoJudaica posts on it are here and links.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

American Numismatic Society Publications

THE AWOL BLOG: American Numismatic Society Publications Online. A treasure trove of data on coins from all periods. The American Numismatic Society now also has a blog called Pocket Change. I have linked to it from time to time.

Cross-file under Numismatics.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.

A Jesus exhibition in the Terra Sancta Museum

REBOOT PHASE TWO: NEW JERUSALEM MUSEUM LOOKS AT THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY. After extensive renovations, Terra Sancta Museum showcases archaeological artifacts linked to the life of Jesus (Jerusalem Post). The renovation of this century-old museum has been ongoing for some time. Last year I noted a report on it, which included a visiting exhibition in Italy of the Museum's Palmyra collection.

The Museum's newly opened wing on the time of Jesus is also covered by PJ Grisar in The Forward: Museum Shows How He (And First Century Jews) Lived. With links to earlier coverage.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.