Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah (new presentation)

LEEN RITMEYER: Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah A new presentation by Ritmeyer Archaeological Design.

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Shavuot 2021

THE FESTIVAL OF SHAVUOT (Weeks, Pentecost) begins tonight at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating.

Last year's Shavuot post, with links, is here. Subsequent Shavuot-related posts are here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Enjoy the celebrations, but stay safe, especially if you are in Israel right now.

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On Phoenician burial practices in the Persian Period

PHOENICIAN WATCH: Phoenician mortuary practices of the Achaemenid Period (Roman Times). Mary Harrsch gives an illustrated report on a recent PhD dissertation by Helen Dixon: "Phoenician Mortuary Practice in the Iron Age I – III (ca. 1200 – ca. 300 BCE) Levantine “Homeland” (University of Michigan). One takeaway is that Phoenician funerary customs arguably were influenced by Zoroastrianism.

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Colorizing ancient Mesopotamia

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: Mesopotamian Sculpture in Color (Astrid Nunn).

Visitors to museums have long been accustomed to seeing ancient sculpture literally in black and white. The fact that Greek sculpture was painted continues to surprise some people. This is also true for Mesopotamian stone sculpture, although few traces of color have always been visible to the naked eye. This is changing as in the 21st century new ways of retrieving and interpreting those traces are now available.

[...]

For the similar problem of recovering the colors of the Arch of Titus, see here and links. For a recent book on color in ancient Mesopotamia, see here. For posts on language and ancient color perception, see here and links.

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Did the Land have to repay lost sabbatical years?

PROF. JOSEPH LAM: Sin Is a Debt that Must Be Repaid (TheTorah.com).

What do the curses in Leviticus 26 mean by saying that Israel will רצה ratzah their sins and the land will רצה ratzah its Sabbatical years?

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Syriac Apocryphal Acts

THE APOCRYPHYCITY BLOG: Apocryphal Acts in Syriac Manuscripts (Tony Burke). This post is a "detour" on the way to Professor Burke's promised follow-up post to last year's post on The “Egyptian” Collection of Apocryphal Acts.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch and Syriac Watch.

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Josephus in Ethiopic

ROGER PEARSE: Josephus in Ethiopian – a dissertation. HT Rogue Classicism.

I didn't know that there was an Ethiopic translation of Josephus (well, of Sefer Jossipon/Sefer Yossipon). But there is.

For more on (Pseudo-)Hegesippus, a Latin translation (sort of) of some the work of Josephus, see here.

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Too much flouride at Palmyra and Herculaneum?

ROMAN TIMES: Fluorosis a problem in ancient Palmyra and Herculaneum (Mary Harrsch). It seems that too much flouride can damage your teeth and your bones. Who knew? And sometimes ground water can have too much flouride.

For many other posts on the ancient cities of Palmyra and Herculaneum, follow the links.

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Excavating in the plague year: Hazor

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: New Horizons at Hazor. Four questions for Shlomit Bechar & Amnon Ben-Tor (Michele Barasso). Once again, 2020's main excavation was suspended, but they did conduct "a short trial excavation near the site."

When they start excavating again, I hope they finally find Hazor's cuneiform royal archives that they have been looking for since 1990. For more on Hazor and its excavation, follow the links from there and cf. also here and here.

I have also noted the BHD interviews with the excavators of Abel Beth Maacah, ‘Auja el-Foqa, and Tel Burna.

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Layered theatre and death depository at Hippos-Sussita

ARCHAEOLOGY: Excavating Hippos and the Last Roman Theater in the World. The only Roman city-state on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, Hippos has been revealing its treasures in recent decades, including a recently identified Roman theater. But many mysteries still remain unanswered about this magnificent site (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

Everything you wanted to know about the site of Hippos-Sussita, from its pre-Maccabean founding to its downfall by earthquake in 363 CE to its decline and its end by another earthquake in 749.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Hippos-Sussita and the many remarkable discoveries there, start here and follow the links. For its Roman Theatre, see here and for that Pan mask, see here.

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Zoom celebration of Schiffman Festschrift

H-JUDAIC: EVENT: Presentation of Lawrence Schiffman Festschrift.

A Celebration of Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman on the Occasion of the Publication of From Scrolls to Traditions (Brill, 2021), A Festschrift Prepared by his Students

A Zoom meeting

When: Jun 3, 2021 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Registration information is at the link. I noted the publication of the book here. Once again, Larry, congratulations!

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Orpah - defamed mother of giants?

DR. BARRY DOV WALFISH: The Defamation of Orpah (TheTorah.com).

Chesed, lovingkindness, is a major theme in the book of Ruth. And yet, the rabbis have little sympathy for Orpah. To the contrary!

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Excavating in the plague year: Tel Burna

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Publication Push at Tel Burna. 4 Questions for the Dig Directors of Tel Burna (Megan Sauter). In this case they did not excavate in 2020. But they aim to in 2021.

I have also noted the BHD interviews with the excavators of Abel Beth Maacah and ‘Auja el-Foqa.

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New JSIJ articles

JEWISH STUDIES AN INTERNET JOURNAL 20 (2021) has published several new articles of interest. There are English abstracts, but the articles are in Hebrew.

Yosef Marcus, “The High Priest’s Sanctification of Hands and Feet for the Yom Kippur Ritual: Between Palestinian and Babylonian Traditions of the Mishnah”

This article discusses the multiple sanctifications of hands and feet throughout the Yom Kippur ritual as detailed in Talmudic traditions. The ritual performed by the High Priest was comprised of five parts, each one requiring a changing of clothing, and demarcated by the ritual washing of hands and feet, both before and after. A close examination of the variants in Mishnah manuscripts shows a significant difference between the Palestinian text and the Mishnah cited by Babylonian Amoraim. The primary distinction discussed is whether the High Priest was required to wash his hands and feet after removing his simple clothing at the beginning of the Yom Kippur ritual. The article concludes that the Babylonian variant taken up by early Palestinian liturgical poets, which omits this initial immersion, is the early and authentic reading, which, in fact, originated in Palestine.

Harry S. Paris, “Taxonomic Identity of the Edible Cucurbits of the Mishna, Tosefta, and Talmud”

The Cucurbitaceae have provided food for people for thousands of years. Two of them, the qishu’im and the avattiẖim (Numbers 11:5), were familiar crops in ancient Egypt. These two, as well as the delu‘in and the melafefonot, were referred to in the Mishnah. All four, as well as the qirmulim, were referred to in the Tosefta and Palestinian Talmud. A sixth edible cucurbit, the boẕin, was alluded to in the Babylonian Talmud. The young fruits of the qishu’im, delu‘in, qirmulim, and boẕin, and the ripe fruits of the avattiẖim and melafefonot, were consumed. The qishu’im are identified as Cucumis melo L. Flexuosus Group (snake melons, faqqous) and Adzhur Group (adzhur melons, ‘ajjour). These were the most widely grown and appreciated of the cucurbit crops from biblical through talmudic times. The avattiẖim are watermelons, Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. The delu‘in are bottle gourds, Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl., and the melafefonot slightly sweet melons, Cucumis melo Adana Group. The qirmulim are identified as sponge gourds, Luffa aegyptiaca Mill. and the boẕin are cucumbers, Cucumis sativus L. This rabbinic literature contains the first account of sweet watermelons, the first evidence for the arrival of sponge gourds in the Middle East, and early evidence of the arrival of cucumbers in Mesopotamia.

Adiel Schremer and Binyamin Katzoff, “On the Difficulties in Editing the Tosefta: The Fine Line Between Text, Interpretation and the Transformations of Tradition”

This paper addresses fundamental questions pertaining to the editing of classical rabbinic texts, particularly: How should the critical editor of a Talmudic text present this text where the textual evidence leads in one direction, while the context leads in another direction? This paper argues that the editor’s preference for a specific reading might be influenced not just by the existence of alternative interpretative possibilities, but by the editor’s views about the text’s development. This claim is illustrated through a careful analysis of one passage in Tosefta Avodah Zarah, in which different aspects of the text, its interpretation, and development, are interwoven and contribute to its final formation.

Avishalom Westreich, “"'Ox' Covers All Kinds of Damage Done by Ox" (BT Bava Kamma 3b)? On Mishnah Bava Kamma, Its Redaction and Versions, and Their Relation to the Concepts of Tort Law”

This article seeks to uncover the intimate and bidirectional connections between the literary structure of M. Bava Kamma and the versions and legal conceptions on which it is based. It focuses on the monetary damages unit in the first six chapters of the tractate, in general, and, specifically, on one of the unit's central axes: the “Pit” mishnayot in chapter five. The article examines the sources of the Mishnah in the earlier tannaitic literature, and analyzes its literary redaction. My analysis demonstrates the presence of the thread that runs between the legal assumptions that pertain to the definition of the archetypes of damage (arba’ah avot nezikin) and the redaction of the first six chapters of the tractate. At the same time, I show that the tension between these conceptions, along with the redactor's impartiality, led to the splitting of the textual traditions of the “Pit” mishnayot in the fifth chapter into Babylonian and Land of Israel traditions, leaving their mark on the extant textual witnesses.

This article details the disputatious approaches of the schools of R. Ishmael and R. Akiva as the possible source of tannaitic traditions incorporated in the monetary damages unit of the tractate. Traces of these conceptions are also found in the disagreement between the Amoraim Rav and Samuel on the categories of damages in the Mishnah. I argue that this tension is the driving force behind the textual variations in those “Pit” mishnayot between the Babylonian and Palestinian traditions. The division, I argue, preceded the amoraic traditions, and reflects the lack of decision on the part of the redactor of the Mishnah.

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Sinai and the deadly intertext?

PROF. RABBI HERBERT BASSER: If You Don't Accept the Torah, Mount Sinai Will Be Your Grave (The Torah.com).

In several midrashim, God lovingly lifts Mount Sinai over the Israelites to protect them from the dangers of the revelation. One midrash, however, has God threatening to bury the Israelites with the mountain if they don’t accept the Torah. The difference is the intertext.

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Aus (ed.), Haggadah in Early Judaism and the New Testament (Mohr Siebeck

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Haggadah in Early Judaism and the New Testament. Edited by Roger David Aus. 2021. XIII, 431 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 461. 149,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-160090-6.

Published in English.
Although it is difficult to define Haggadah exactly, this topic, thus far neglected in New Testament studies, can comprise among other things hyperbole; the addition of names, dates and numbers to an earlier text; glorification of a biblical character; parables to illustrate a statement or principle; and the creation of speeches, even of entire scenes. In addition, it is important in resolving the centuries-old inaccurate alternative of true or false, historical or fictional. The nineteen essays collected in this volume, by leading scholars in their own fields, illustrate in an exemplary way how Jews in Antiquity and Jewish Christians creatively employed haggadic elements in their writings.

The essays are in English and German, with one in French.

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Stern (ed.), Calendars in the Making (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Calendars in the Making: The Origins of Calendars from the Roman Empire to the Later Middle Ages

Series: Time, Astronomy, and Calendars, Volume: 10

Editor: Sacha Stern

Calendars in the Making investigates the origins of calendars we are most familiar with today, yet whose early histories, in the Roman and medieval periods, are still shrouded in obscurity. It examines when the seven-day week was standardized and first used for dating and time reckoning, in Jewish and other constituencies of the Roman Empire; how the Christian liturgical calendar was constructed in early medieval Europe; and how and when the Islamic calendar was instituted. The volume includes studies of Roman provincial calendars, medieval Persian calendar reforms, and medieval Jewish calendar cycles. Edited by Sacha Stern, it presents the original research of a team of leading experts in the field.

Contributors are: François de Blois, Ilaria Bultrighini, Sacha Stern, Johannes Thomann, Nadia Vidro, Immo Warntjes.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €134.00 / $161.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45969-4
Publication Date: 26 Apr 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45963-2
Publication Date: 29 Apr 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021

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Symposium on belief in the ancient world/Bible

CALL FOR PAPERS: 2021 University of St Andrews Biblical Studies Symposium - July 7-9, 2021 - Online only.

About

The St Mary’s School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews is hosting this interdisciplinary conference dealing with questions of belief in the ancient world and in the biblical texts. The conference will consist of both plenary sessions and breakout sessions in which both postgraduate students and professional scholars will have the chance to present and discuss their research. Plenary speakers include: Dr. Brent Strawn (Duke University), Dr. Erin Darby (University of Tennessee), Professor Thomas Harrison (University of St Andrews), Dr. Madhavi Nevader (University of St Andrews), Dr. Matthew Novenson (University of Edinburgh), and Dr. Theodore Lewis (Johns Hopkins University).

Follow the link for further particulars, registration information, and the call for paper proposals (deadline 17 May 2021).

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Workshop on Greco-Roman Jewish authors & power

H-JUDAIC: WORKSHOP: Jewish Authors & Power in the Graeco-Roman Period (June 3rd-4th).

On Zoom, of course. Appears to be free, but requires advance registration. Details are at the link.

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More on the Herculaneum skeleton

VESVUIUS WATCH: The Daily Mail has an article on that skeleton found at Herculaneum, the one which could be of a Roman officer from Pliny's Vesuvius rescue mission. The Mail has decent coverage of the story and good new photos. It also touchs on some other Vesuvius-related matters.

Skeleton found in ruins of Herculaneum is identified as Roman officer who was killed while helping to rescue others during the Mount Vesuvius eruption 2,000 years ago (Stacy Liberatore)

Also, Mary Beard has a blog post that registers a healthy note of skepticism. Part of the post is behind the TLS subscription wall, but you can see some of it for free. (HT Rogue Classicism).

Putting a name on a Roman skeleton

You know what I am about to say. There is no reason whatsoever to tie in this skeleton with the report about Pliny. We could not prove that it wasn’t connected. But the number of middle-ranking military types in the disaster zone must have been large, and he could have been any one of them.

Background here.

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