Independence Day 2019

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to my American readers!

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

The Christian Century on Alter's Bible translation

BOOK REVIEW: Robert Alter’s Hebrew Bible translation is at once accurate and eloquent. Precision and beauty have kissed (Judy Klitsner, The Christian Century).

With his groundbreaking translation, Alter has done no less than to turn a technical task into a vehicle for showcasing and celebrating the artistic glory of the Hebrew Bible. To the attuned reader, the Bible’s exquisite craftsmanship communicates the deeply affecting nature, as well as the eternal relevance, of an ancient, hallowed text.

With some good examples that I haven't seen before.

For more on the now-complete Alter translation of the Bible, start here and follow the many links.

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

More Bible-themed mosaics from Huqoq

DECORATIVE ART: Uncovered 1,600-year-old Jewish art brings more of an unknown culture to light UNC-Chapel Hill’s Jodi Magness, researchers and students are the first to find a mosaic art depiction of a scene from the biblical book of Exodus. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). An interview with Professor Magness, the chief excavator, announces the discovery of two new mosaics in the Huqoq Synagogue:

If you could name the biggest discovery of this summer, what would it be?
First, Chapter 7 in the book of Daniel describes four beasts which represent the four kingdoms leading up to the end of days. This year our team discovered mosaics in the synagogue’s north aisle depicting these four beasts, as indicated by a fragmentary Aramaic inscription referring to the first beast: a lion with eagle’s wings. The lion itself is not preserved, nor is the third beast. However, the second beast from Daniel 7:4 — a bear with three ribs protruding from its mouth — is preserved. So is most of the fourth beast, which is described in Daniel 7:7 as having iron teeth.

Second, We’ve uncovered the first depiction of the episode of Elim ever found in ancient Jewish art. This story is from Exodus 15:27. Elim is where the Israelites camped after leaving Egypt and wandering in the wilderness without water. The mosaic is divided into three horizontal strips, or registers. We see clusters of dates being harvested by male agricultural workers wearing loincloths, who are sliding the dates down ropes held by other men. The middle register shows a row of wells alternating with date palms. On the left side of the panel, a man in a short tunic is carrying a water jar and entering the arched gate of a city flanked by crenellated towers. An inscription above the gate reads, “And they came to Elim.”

For past posts on the Huqoq excavation, its ancient synagogue, and its splendid mosaics, start here and follow the many links.

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

Herod the Gardener?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Herod the Great’s Ancient Gardens (Marek Dospěl). As usual, this BHD essay is a summary of a BAR article. The full article by Kathryn L. Gleason, "Herod the Great Gardener," is behind the subscription wall.

For many past posts on Herod the Great and on related archaeological discoveries, start here and follow the links.

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

Review of Brill's Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Harold Tarrant, Danielle A. Layne, Dirk Baltzly, François Renaud (ed.), Brill's Companion to the Reception of Plato in Antiquity. Brill's companions to classical reception, 13. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2018. Pp. xxi, 657. ISBN 9789004270695. €187,00. Reviewed by Adrian Pirtea, Freie Universität Berlin; Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (adrian.pirtea@fu-berlin.de)

The volume includes chapters on Philo of Alexandria and on Sethian Gnostic Platonism.

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

Shingal, the Yazidis, ancient Judaism, etc.

YAZIDI WATCH: Ezidi temples, Christian churches, Shia shrines, and historic civilizations: Shingal, an ancient town worth fighting to preserve (Levi Clancy, Kurdistan24).

Sinjar, known as Shingal in Kurdish, was catapulted into the world’s consciousness after the shocking Yezidi (Ezidi) genocide that emptied the town and surrounding villages in 2014. Lost in the aftermath of apocalyptic violence, however, is the seldom-discussed story of Shingal as a town of enormous cultural heritage that is nearly unrivaled to have all in one place: a medieval minaret, a soaring stone-built cathedral, stunning old homes, a universe of Ezidi temples going back to Sheikh Adi himself, and thousands of years of history from ancient Mesopotamia through the present day.

[...]

Aside from the Yazidi (Ezidi) connection, the region around Shingal/Sinjar also had associations with Judaism and Syriac Christianity in antiquity. This interesting article gives an overview of its history up to the present.

For many past posts on the Yazidis, their Gnosticism-themed religion, and their tragic fate in the hands of ISIS, start here and follow the links

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

Samson the Demigod?

DR. NAPHTALI MESHEL: Samson the Demigod? (TheTorah.com).

Samson’s conception story may be read subversively as the result of a union between a divine being and a mortal woman, making Samson a demi-god with superhuman characteristics. At the same time, the text keeps open the more mundane possibility that his father is Manoah and his powers are simply a gift from God.

I was less skeptical about this proposal after I read this essay than when I started it.

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

Early review of Scholem's "Jewish Gnosticism"

REPRINT REVIEW: Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition, by Gershom G. Scholem. Professor Scholem's latest work is a scholar's book--in both sense of that phrase (FEB, 1961 BY JAKOB J. PETUCHOWSKI, Commentary Magazine). Scholem's Jewish Gnosticism is outdated now, but it is a classic that did much to define the field of Hekhalot Studies. For an early response to it, read this review.

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

Kotzé et al., eds., Ancient Texts and Modern Readers

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Ancient Texts and Modern Readers
Studies in Ancient Hebrew Linguistics and Bible Translation

Series:
Studia Semitica Neerlandica, Volume: 71

Editors: Gideon Kotzé, Christian S. Locatell and John A. Messarra

The chapters of this volume address a variety of topics that pertain to modern readers’ understanding of ancient texts, as well as tools or resources that can facilitate contemporary audiences’ interpretation of these ancient writings and their language. In this regard, they cover subjects related to the fields of ancient Hebrew linguistics and Bible translation. The chapters apply linguistic insights and theories to elucidate elements of ancient texts for modern readers, investigate how ancient texts help modern readers to interpret features in other ancient texts, and suggest ways in which translations can make the language and conceptual worlds of ancient texts more accessible to modern readers. In so doing, they present the results of original research, identify new lines and topics of inquiry, and make novel contributions to modern readers’ understanding of ancient texts.

Contributors are Alexander Andrason, Barry L. Bandstra, Reinier de Blois, Lénart J. de Regt, Gideon R. Kotzé, Geoffrey Khan, Christian S. Locatell, Kristopher Lyle, John A. Messarra, Cynthia L. Miller-Naudé, Jacobus A. Naudé, Daniel Rodriguez, Eep Talstra, Jeremy Thompson, Cornelius M. van den Heever, Herrie F. van Rooy, Gerrit J. van Steenbergen, Ernst Wendland, Tamar Zewi.

Publication Date: 7 June 2019
ISBN: 978-90-04-40291-1

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

New members elected to Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

BELATED CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL: Six new members elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

In particular, Professor Michael Stone is well-known to PaleoJudaica readers as a premier specialist in ancient Judaism and Armenian Studies. And Professor Yehuda Liebes, a likewise premier specialist in Kabbalah, has been mentioned here.

Meanwhile, over at Haaretz, Shira Kadari-Ovadia has noted the awards with a criticism: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Admits Six New Members, All Men.

Academy Director Galia Pinzi said that she is aware of the "distressing" lack of women in the organization's ranks, and that the selection of Academy members is made on the basis of excellence in research alone. "The number of women among Academy members reveals the lack of representation of women among in senior academic staff in institutions of higher education in Israel," she said.

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

Opening of Pilgrim's Road

ARCHAEOLOGICAL POLITICS: NEW DISCOVERY IN JERUSALEM'S CITY OF DAVID: 2,000-YEAR-OLD PILGRIMAGE ROAD. The City of David has already changed Jerusalem. A new discovery there opening soon will change the way Jews connect with their past in a way never seen before (Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post).

As is often the case with archeology, though, the first discovery or two are just the beginning. That is how a few weeks ago I found myself on an exclusive tour of an ancient road dug out beneath the village of Silwan and above the now well-known water channel (also the place where Jewish rebels made a final stand against the Roman invaders).

The ancient street is referred to as “Pilgrimage Road,” since archeologists are convinced that this is the path millions of Jews took three times a year when performing the commandment of aliyah l’regel – going up to the holy city of Jerusalem to bring sacrifices to God during Judaism’s three key holidays, Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.

The Pilgrimage Road goes all the way from the Shiloah Pool to the area adjacent to the Western Wall known as Robinson’s Arch, where today you can still see remnants of the ancient stairway that led into the Jewish Temple.

I wouldn't call this a new discovery. The project has been around for a while. But aside from the headline, the article gives a good overview of the archaeological significance of the road. And there are lots of politics to go around too. See, for example, the following article:

FRIEDMAN, GREENBLATT ATTEND ARCHAEOLOGICAL INAUGURATION IN CITY OF DAVID. Emek Shaveh activists were removed by police from protesting against the Sunday opening of Pilgrim Road, which they call “Fighting Road” (Hagay Hacohen, Jerusalem Post).

US Ambassador David Friedman and US Middle East special envoy Jason Greenblatt attended the inauguration of Pilgrimage Road in the City of David on Sunday, triggering angry denunciations from Palestinian and left-wing circles for taking part in a “settler project.”

Ministers Rafi Peretz and Uri Ariel, US Senator Lindsey Graham, Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, Israel Antiquities Authority director Israel Hasson, and US billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam were also among those present at the event.

[...]

I noted the story of the broken sewage pipe in Jerusalem that lead to the uncovering of the first bit of road here, here, and here.

Some other past posts on the Pilgrim's Road Project in Jerusalem and the attendant politics are here, here, here, and here.

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

A secret sale of biblical Oxyrhynchus fragments?

CANDIDA MOSS: Did Oxford Scholar Secretly Sell Bible Fragment to Hobby Lobby Family? The first-century antiquity is part of a collection at Oxford, but paperwork reportedly suggests it was sold by a professor (The Daily Beast). The fragments under discussion may have included the no-longer-first-century papyrus of the Gospel of Mark, on which more here and links.

This is a very complicated and messy story. I've been trying to get my head around it for a while. This essay by Professor Moss sums up the key information. For more details as they came out, see the recent posts by Brent Nongbri at his Variant Readings Blog. His most recent post, Jerry Pattengale on Dirk Obbink and the Mark Fragment, came out after Professor Moss's essay in the Daily Beast.

I'm not going to try to summarize the situation. And I'm certainly not going to offer an opinion on it. I note the discussion merely for your information. Let's keep an eye on what happens next.

UPDATE: The Evangelical Textual Criticism Blog has also been posting on this story.

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

Forum on Boyarin’s "Judaism"

MARGINALIA REVIEW OF BOOKS: Daniel Boyarin’s Judaism: A Forum.

I was otherwise occupied in May when this forum on Judaism: The Genealogy of a Modern Notion (Rutgers University Press) commenced, and it only came to my attention recently as it finished up. There are eight essays by prominent scholars and a "Responsum" by Professor Boyarin. Follow the link for everything.

Another post on Professor Boyarin's new book is here. And Michael Satlow has some related comments, and notice of his new article on Philo's definition of "Judaism," here.

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

The amazing migrating word

PHILOLOGOS: This Word Goes Back 4,000 Years and Spans Over a Dozen Languages. Variations of Hebrew’s misken, meaning “poor” or “unfortunate,” can be found from Italian to Swahili to Tagalog and far beyond (Mosaic Magazine). It looks as though this is an Akkadian word that spread to Aramaic, and then to all over the place.

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

On repatriating antiquities

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: First Person: Who Owns History? From the May/June 2019 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (Robert Cargill, chief editor of BAR).

Good question. I have offered my own answer, for example, here and here and links. I blog, you decide.

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

Review of Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great (ed. Moore)

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Kenneth Royce Moore (ed.), Brill's Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great. Brill's companions to classical reception, volume 14. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2018. Pp. 856. ISBN 9789004285071. €189,00. Reviewed by Christian Thrue Djurslev, Aarhus University (ctd@cas.au.dk). Excerpt:

Part II, ‘Later receptions in the Near- and Far East and the Romance tradition’, opens with much-needed studies of religious writers. Klęczar tackles Jewish tradition in an exemplary fashion, whereas Shahar revisits the Jerusalem episode. Nawotka and Wojciechowska quantify evidence from Coptic Egypt over a long period of time. Jouanno is the right person to offer a chapter on the Byzantine corpus, and I was impressed with the paleographical discussion of the (Greek) authors I found missing in Part I. She reminds us that Arrian, Plutarch and Diodorus were read for many other reasons in Byzantium. Peltonen surveys some essential references in early Christian authors, although I am not persuaded by all of his readings. Blythe provides some good summaries of inaccessible material from medieval Italy, which complements and updates Cary’s book on the Medieval Alexander (Cambridge, 1956). Nawotka revisits many important issues regarding the Alexander Romance in Syria and Persia, again with solid summaries of relevant texts. The last paper is the only one that overlaps with content from Zuwiyya’s Brill volume from 2011.

I noted the publication of the book last year.

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

More on the Beit Shemesh exhibition

ROADWORKS VS. ARCHAEOLOGY, CONTINUED: A FOCUS ON BEIT SHEMESH. Beit Shemesh, at the crossroads between Jerusalem and coast, has been inhabited since earliest times, going back to the pre-biblical Canaanite civilization from whom its idolatrous name originates (MORDECHAI BECK, Jerusalem Post).

The Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem saw a unique opportunity for creating a special exhibition dedicated to this site and to the issues it raised. According to the director, Amanda Weiss, the decision to create an exhibition happened spontaneously. “One of our guides told me about the finds that were being uncovered there,” said Weiss. “She said to me ‘You must come and see for yourself while they are digging.’ So I grabbed Leora (her deputy) and a couple of other of the curators and rushed down in my car. This was last November. It was a very memorable day. Not only was it an exciting place to visit – we saw the site in the pouring rain! We were drenched, but that was part of the experience, with all the beautiful fragrances of the flowers. In just four months we arranged this exhibition.”

For background on the exhibition and on the controversy over Highway 38 and the site of Beit Shemesh, start here and follow the links.

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

Was the Sotah rite for saving marriages?

PROF HANNA LISS: The Sotah Ritual: Permitting a Jealous Husband to Remain with His Wife (TheTorah.com).

The root ק.נ.א “jealous zeal” in the chapter on the sotah (Numbers 5) highlights a key goal of the ritual and its accompanying offering, namely, to remove the husband’s jealous zeal and allow him to remain with his wife without guilt.

A couple of past posts on the Sotah rite and its postbiblical interpretation are here and here.

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

Deciphering ancient stonemasons' marks at Hippos-Sussita

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Israeli Archaeologists Discover How Ancient Romans Pulled Off Their Monumental Architecture. Ikea didn’t invent the DIY diagram: Ancient stonecutters wanted credit for their efforts just like any artist, signed their work — and also marked the stone blocks with building instructions (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz premium).

At Hippos-Sussita, about 20 percent of the heavy basalt stone-block flooring bears masons’ marks. “We managed to identify 20 different types,” Kowalewska shares. “It is entirely possible that the quarriers couldn’t read or write, but they did know how to make their marks.”

Also, the marks can be a tool for reconstruction of buildings, providing they are preserved on many of the stones. If the marked stone has been reused, they can tell from which structure it was taken. Besides their usefulness for archaeologists, these marks also serve as a simple reminder of all the hard work undertaken by the builders of the past.

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

Tomb of the Kings to reopen?

THEOLOGICAL POLITICS: RESTING PLACES OF ADIABENIAN JEWISH QUEEN TO RE-OPEN. The tombs, discovered in Jerusalem by Louis Félicien de Saulcy in 1863, are owned by the French government since 1885 (Hagay Hacohen, Jerusalem Post).

French authorities announced on Wednesday that the site should be open to the public, while Foreign Minister Israel Katz lauded their decision.

The site is generally, although not universally, understood to be the burial ground of the dynasty of Queen Helena of Adiabene. I hope that this new announcement means that the legal issues around the site have been resolved and it will indeed be reopening. For background on Queen Helena and on the site, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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