Ancient Aramaic in Bahrain?

ARAMAIC WATCH? Experts find first archaeological evidence of Christianity in Bahrain. Experts have found the first archaeological evidence showing Christianity was practised in Bahrain, a discovery which sheds light on a missing part of the country’s history (University of Exeter).

The archaeological remains were found late last month in the village of Samahij, on the northern coast of Muharraq island. Samahij was probably the location of the episcopal seat of Meshmahig mentioned variously in historical sources between 410 and 647, and one of the centres of the country’s pearl trade.

Also found at the site were the remains of wine jars, glass goblets and pottery, which dates from the 7th century. One of the wine jars is inscribed in what is thought to be an Aramaic language called Psalter Pahlavi.

The work was led by Professor Insoll and Dr Rachel MacLean of the University of Exeter and Dr Salman Almahari of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, with additional input from Professor Robert Carter who studied the ceramics found.

The substantial building, measuring 17m x 10m, was probably part of a monastery or large house. The building was likely occupied in the 7th century just before the people converted to Islam. The building has several rooms and was decorated with carved plaster. A cross has been found carved onto a piece of stone and another cross was found painted on a pot sherd.

It is likely that the Christians who used the building were part of the Nestorian Church which flourished in the Gulf between the 4th/5th and 7th centuries.

My emphasis. I am confused by this report. Pahlavi is Middle Persian (an Indo-European language), not Aramaic (a Semitic language). Psalter Pahlavi is a Pahlavi script named after the script in the Pahlavi Psalter. It is connected with the Nestorians, but it is not itself Aramaic or Syriac. If anyone knows more about this jar inscription from Samahij, please drop me a note.

For more on ancient Aramaic inscriptions found in the pre-Islamic Arabic-speaking world, start here and follow the links. This is the first I've heard of an Aramaic inscription — if that's what it is — being discovered in Bahrain. But there were Nestorians there, so I would not be surprised to see evidence for the use of Syriac.

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

Buyoung Son, The Subversive Chronicler

NEW BOOK FROM SHEFFIELD PHOENIX PRESS:

The Subversive Chronicler
Narrative Film Theory and Canon Criticism Refocus his Intention
Buyoung Son

In 1 and 2 Chronicles, commentators have long noted a pattern of retributive justice whereby kings who comply with Yahweh’s will are rewarded with long life and honourable burial, whereas those who do not are disgraced. However, another pattern significantly emerges from a group of kings whose careers display an unexpected reversal. No convincing consensus has yet emerged to explain this reversal pattern.

By exploring and adopting the insights of narrative film theory, particularly of cognitive film semiotics, into the effects of macro-repetition, Son uncovers the implications of these unexpected reversals. As the reversal pattern is interwoven with the retributive pattern, the narrative emerges as a falsifying narration, provoking a deep scepticism about the conventional view of retribution theology.

Deleuzian film theory offers a crucial insight into how this falsifying narration works. The reversal pattern has a destabilizing effect, which suggests that the Chronicler’s theological outlook is more nuanced than that of Samuel–Kings, or perhaps even frankly subversive of it. From a canonical perspective, furthermore, the presence of the Chronicler’s work in the Ketuvim points to its potential function as a subtle theological readjustment in the postexilic Jewish community.

The Subversive Chronicler is then a challenge to the Chronicler’s theology as it is commonly understood and also as a refocusing of its difference from the historiography of Samuel–Kings.

Buyoung Son is Senior Pastor at Chowol Sungshin Church and Instructor of Bible News Institute, South Korea.

Series: Hebrew Bible Monographs, 83
978-1-910928-59-2 hardback
Publication November 2019

viii + 248 pp.

£27.50 / $37.50 / €32.50
Scholar's Price

£55 / $75 / €65
List Price
Hardback

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

Ancient synagogue mosaics found in the Golan

DECORATIVE ART: Rare 3rd century Golan synagogue mosaics show shift in Jewish life post-Temple. Colorful decorations in Roman-era synagogue record transition from study hall to public ‘mini-Temple’ prayer hall (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

Colorful remains of mosaics from a 3rd century synagogue in the ancient town of Majdulia are the earliest evidence of synagogue decoration in the Golan, according to a University of Haifa press release on Monday.

[...]

The mosaics are very fragmentary, but important.

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

Nebuchadnezzar explained

THE WORLD IS FULL OF HISTORY: Nebuchadnezzar explained: warrior king, rebuilder of cities, and musical muse (Louise Pryke, The Conversation). King Nebuchadnezzar is most famous not for any of these things, but because the Bible tells of his destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and his exiling of the Judeans to Babylon. And, as this essay notes, he is in the news now because of Kanye West's new opera about him. The essay is a good, brief overview of what we know about him.

Many past PaleoJudaica posts involve Nebuchadnezzar. Some of them are here, here, here, here, and links.

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

Why did no one come back for those books?

AN ANCIENT MYSTERY: Scrolls, Lost Gospels, And Why Nobody Came Back To Get Them (Philip Jenkins, The Anxious Bench). I agree with Professor Jenkins. If we find ancient hidden treasure, something bad happened to the original owners.

A thought: Josephus comments that the Romans could not break the Essenes with torture (J.W. 8.152-53). He says they inflicted it to make them curse their lawgiver or eat forbidden food. But the Romans were practical people. I wonder if those interrogations also involved more practical matters.

Cross file under the Copper Scroll?

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

Review of Barton, Ethics in Ancient Israel

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | Ethics in Ancient Israel (James Nati).

John Barton, Ethics in Ancient Israel. New York: Oxford, 2014. pp. xii + 317. ISBN 978-0-19-878517-0.

Excerpt:

Barton’s work is thus meant not at offering clarity for believers as they try to live more “biblically,” but rather to argue that ancient Israelite thinkers deserve a seat at the table among other ethical thinkers throughout history.

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

The Gospel of Thomas

NEW TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA WATCH: What is Gospel of Thomas - missing Bible chapter changes EVERYTHING known about Jesus (Tom Fish, The Express). This article being in The Express did not fill me with high expectations. And the headline did nothing to raise them. But when I read the article itself, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was well researched and well presented for the target audience.

I have called out The Express for poor coverage in the past, so I want to give them credit this time for doing a creditable job. But next time I hope they exercise more restraint with the headline.

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

Zedekiah's Cave meets Aladdin's

CULINARY SPELUNCULAR LEGEND MASHUP: Open Sesame: Jerusalem cave hosts Aladdin-themed feast. Open Restaurants festival welcomes renowned Turkish chef as Jerusalem looks to food for tourism boost (MAYA MARGIT/THE MEDIA LINE, Jerusalem Post).

On a cold November night, dozens of visitors slowly file into an opening in the ancient stone walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Walking down candlelit steps with wine glasses in their hands, they make their way through a large cavern as performance artists dance nearby and light projections illuminate the walls. Yet there are no magic lamps or genies inside this legendary space known as Zedekiah’s Cave; rather, the treasure these visitors seek is of the gastronomic variety.

[...]

Sounds like a fun party. For past posts on Zedekiah's Cave and the cycle of legends around it, see here and links.

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

Mani exhibition at the Chester Beatty Library

THE NSEA BLOG: THE MYSTERY OF MANI. The Symposium on Manichaeism in Egypt is now past, but the Mani exhibition is still on into January 2020. And if you can't make it to Dublin, there is a full 3-d version only.

Cross-file unde Manichean (Manichaean) Watch. Some past posts on the Chester Beatty Library are here and here and links.

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

Chalmers on The Samaritan Other

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: The Samaritan Other: Representation, History, and Lost Late Ancient Difference (Matthew Chalmers).

Matthew Chalmers, Representations of Samaritans in Late Antique Jewish and Christian Texts (University of Pennsylvania PhD Dissertation, 2019)

... My dissertation asked how representation of Samaritans in late antique Jewish and Christian texts can restructure the ways we approach religious identity and difference. ...

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

Hurtado memorials

MEMORIALS FOR THE LATE LARRY HURTADO are coming in. These are the ones I have seen which are linkable to. There are many more on Facebook.

THE ETC BLOG: RIP Larry W. Hurtado (1943–2019) (Tommy Wasserman).

CHRISTIANITY TODAY: Remembering Larry Hurtado, Leading Researcher of Early Christian Worship. The Edinburgh New Testament professor modeled faithful scholarship with his work on historic devotion to Jesus (HOLLY J. CAREY).

THE BIBLE AND CULTURE BLOG: Old Friends Here…. and Hereafter (BEN WITHERINGTON).

Background here.

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

Review of Warren, Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature

REVIEWS OF THE ENOCH SEMINAR:

R. Rodríguez Reviews Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature (M. Warren)

Reviews of the Enoch Seminar 2019.11.10

Meredith J. C. Warren, Food and Transformation in Ancient Mediterranean Literature. Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series 14. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781628372380. Pp. xv + 189. $29.95. Paperback.

Rafael Rodríguez
Johnson University

Excerpt:

Warren’s discussion of the half-dozen examples of hierophagy (as well as references to additional potential instances or relevant comparanda) is fascinating, well-written, and engaging. She intentionally brings together literary phenomena that transcend ideological/religious boundaries (Jew, Christian, Graeco-Roman) in order to situate her proposal within a broader ancient Mediterranean worldview. With references to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the Wachowski Brothers’s The Matrix, among others, she also proposes hierophagy as a significant research agenda across time as well as space. In every instance, her analyses are stimulating and suggestive for other narrative and textual moments.

But the reviewer is skeptical that she has demonstrated the existence of an ancient genre of hierophagy.

For more on the book, see here.

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

On Porat, Justice for the Poor

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Justice for The Poor (Benjamin Porat).

Justice for the Poor: The Principles of Welfare Regulations from Biblical Law to Rabbinic Literature
צדק דלים: עקרונות דיני הרווחה מן התורה לספרות חז״ל
Nevo Publishing; Sacher Institute; Israeli Democracy Institute, 2019. [hebrew]

Excerpt:

This book is devoted to an examination of the theoretical conceptions that emerge from the welfare laws in the Bible and from the laws of charity that developed later in the rabbinic literature, i.e., by the mishnaic and talmudic Sages. The book reveals the underlying theoretical currents giving rise to these conceptions and those that arose in their wake.

Cross-file under New Book.

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

Rickett, Separating Abram and Lot

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Separating Abram and Lot

The Narrative Role and Early Reception of Genesis 13

Series: Themes in Biblical Narrative, Volume: 26

€149.00/
$179.00

Author: Dan Rickett

In Separating Abram and Lot: The Narrative Role and Early Reception of Genesis 13, Dan Rickett presents a fresh analysis of two of Genesis’ most important characters. Many have understood Lot as Abram’s potential heir and as an ethical contrast to him. Here, Rickett explores whether these readings best reflect the focus of the story. In particular, he considers the origin of these readings and how a study of the early Jewish and Christian reception of Genesis 13 might help identify that origin. In turn, due attention is given to the overall purpose of Genesis 13, as well as how Lot and his function in the text should be understood.

E-Book
Status: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-41388-7
Publication Date: 01 Oct 2019
Hardback
Status: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-39989-1
Publication Date: 10 Oct 2019

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

Thanksgiving 2019

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my American readers and to anyone else who is celebrating!

This is a working day in the U.K., so I am in my office as usual. But thankful nonetheless. Have a great day!

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

Yahalom, Sources of the Sacred Song

NEW BOOK FROM MAGNES PRESS (IN HEBREW):

Sources of the Sacred Song
Crossroads in Jewish Liturgical Poetry

By: Joseph Yahalom

Publisher: Magnes Press
Year: 2019
Catalog number: 45-541011
ISBN: 978-965-7008-41-6
Pages: 300
Language: Hebrew
Weight: 600 gr.
Cover: Paperback

Print $30
eBook for Magnes App $21

Synopsis

The book is concerned with the main trends in Jewish Liturgy during Late Antiquity and its connections and inter relations with Aramaic Targum, Midrash, mysticism, popular beliefs, structure and rhyme patterns as performed amid Late Antique Synagogues in Palestine, as well as the later spread of these fertile products to Southern Italy and then to the rest of Europe. The book discusses the different layers of poets and performers as presented in ancient manuscripts which were preserved in the Cairo Geniza collections and later in European Mahzorim, and the fascinating struggle of survival of the different liturgical cycles.

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

Larry Hurtado - 1943-2019

SAD NEWS: Social media is alight with notices of the death of Professor Larry Hurtado yesterday. Larry was Professor of New Testament Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh. He was a major figure in New Testament studies and is especially known for his work on the earliest Christology. Regular readers of PaleoJudaica will be familiar with his blog, which I have cited often. He continued to update it through his final illness. The last post was on 17 November. His Wikipedia entry is here.

I first met Larry in 1991 at the founding of the Divine Mediator Figures Group in the Society of Biblical Literature. We both continued to be active in the Group throughout its existence. He was a founding member of the Early High Christology Club (on which more here, here, and here - I still have the mug!). He moved to Scotland in 1996, the year after I came to St. Andrews. He was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus, which was held at the Divinity School of the University of St. Andrews in 1998. He retired from the University of Edinburgh in 2011, but remained active in the field throughout his life.

Larry's contribution was vast. We are all very sad to have to say goodbye to him. Requiescat in pace.

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

Review of Ben-Eliyahu, Identity and Territory

H-JUDAIC REVIEW:

Ames on Ben-Eliyahu, 'Identity and Territory: Jewish Perceptions of Space in Antiquity'

Author: Eyal Ben-Eliyahu
Reviewer: Tracy Ames

Eyal Ben-Eliyahu. Identity and Territory: Jewish Perceptions of Space in Antiquity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2019. 216 pp. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-520-29360-1.

This volume examines changing ideas related to perceived territorial boundaries and ethno-national identity as reflected in Jewish literature from the Second Temple period to the Roman Byzantine period. Through close readings of biblical, Second Temple, and rabbinic literature, the book focuses on the reciprocal relationship between fluctuating notions of geographic borders and differing views of identity in postbiblical Jewish society. Eyal Ben-Eliyahu presents a pioneering approach to the literary sources he investigates with the application of the spatial theory of history, widely employed in the humanities and social sciences. The central arguments of the book are that identity influences territorial perceptions and that territory, itself, is one of the factors involved in shaping identity. In addition, the treatment of ancient sources related to deliberations about perceptions of status, scope, and the nature of territory among different groups demonstrates that these issues continue to be part of internal and external dialogue about the status of the territory of Israel.

[...]

The review mentions that this book includes material from an earlier book by Ben-Eliyahu: Between Borders: The Boundaries of the Land of Israel in the Consciousness of the People of the Second Temple and the Roman-Byzantine Periods. For a review of it, see here.

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

Review of Noam, Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans (Daniel Picus).

Vered Noam, Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Parallels between rabbinic literature and the writings of Josephus are a problem: how would the rabbis have known Josephus? On the one hand, we can assume that the rabbis knew Josephus in some form. Either they knew Greek and/or there was an Aramaic Josephus (a claim Josephus himself makes in Jewish War I, 3). Our other possibility is that the shared traditions come from a common storehouse, or “repository” of stories, traditions, and narratives: in its suggestion of an unknown source, this option bears a close resemblance to the famous “Q” document of New Testament criticism.[1] Where it differs is in the lack of an actual reconstruction of this putative text.

[...]

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

Awabdy, Leviticus

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Leviticus

A Commentary on Leueitikon in Codex Vaticanus

Series: Septuagint Commentary Series

€154.00/
$185.00

Author: Mark Awabdy

In Leviticus Awabdy offers the first commentary on the Greek version of Leviticus according to Codex Vaticanus (4th century CE), which binds the Old and New Testaments into a single volume as Christian scripture. Distinct from other LXX Leviticus commentaries that employ a critical edition and focus on translation technique, Greco-Roman context and reception, this study interprets a single Greek manuscript on its own terms in solidarity with its early Byzantine users unversed in Hebrew. With a formal-equivalence English translation of a new, uncorrected edition, Awabdy illuminates Leueitikon in B as an aesthetic composition that not only exhibits inherited Hebraic syntax and Koine lexical forms, but its own structure and theology, paragraph (outdented) divisions, syntax and pragmatics, intertextuality, solecisms and textual variants.

E-Book
Status: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-40983-5
Publication Date: 01 Oct 2019
Hardback
Status: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-40552-3
Publication Date: 10 Oct 2019

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