Tuesday, May 18, 2021

More on Psalm 116

THE DUST BLOG: The cost of kindness. Bob MacDonald responds to Marc Zvi Brettler's recent essay on Psalm 116 in TheTorah.com, noted here.

Bob appeals to the musical notation of the Masoretic accents. This is a technical subject outside my expertise. I agree that v. 15 is not a question, for reasons I have already explained. That said, Bob's argument – assuming it is correct – may tell us something about the early medieval interpretation of the psalm. But it does not necessarily illuminate the psalm's original intent.

The root חסד (ḥsd) is often translated as "kindness" or "lovingkindness" or the like, but its root meaning is "covenant loyalty." The two concepts have some overlap. The translation "lovingkindness" usually works, although not always. For example, in Psalm 136:10, God smote the firstborn of Egypt out of ’covenant loyalty’ to Israel. But "lovingkindness" doesn't fit. Similarly in verses 15, 17-20.

The meaning of (חסידיו) ḥsydyw in this verse would be an interesting topic for discussion.

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Zornberg, Moses: A Human Life (Yale)

RECENT BOOK FROM YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS:
Moses
A Human Life

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

An unprecedented portrait of Moses's inner world and perplexing character, by a distinguished biblical scholar

No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, acclaimed for her many books on Jewish thought, turns her attention to Moses in this remarkably rich, evocative book.

Drawing on a broad range of sources—literary as well as psychoanalytic, a wealth of classical Jewish texts alongside George Eliot, W. G. Sebald, and Werner Herzog—Zornberg offers a vivid and original portrait of the biblical Moses. Moses's vexing personality, his uncertain origins, and his turbulent relations with his own people are acutely explored by Zornberg, who sees this story, told and retold, as crucial not only to the biblical past but also to the future of Jewish history.

Format: Paper
Price: $15.00

ISBN: 9780300251883
Publication Date: March 17, 2020
240 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
1 b/w illus.

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Stepped pools, chalk vessels, and ritual purity

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Archaeology and Jewish Purity Practices. Testimony of Stepped Pools and Chalk Vessels (Marek Dospěl). This essay summarizes two BAR articles, one by Cecilia Wassén in 2019 and the other by Yonatan Adler in the current issue. Both articles are behind the subscription wall.

I have noted another essay by Dr. Adler on the same subject here.

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Vatican issues archaeology awards

RECOGNITION: The Vatican has recognized three archaeologists for their contributions (Aleteia). Congratulations to all three, but notably to the gold-medal winner, Győző Vörös, chief excavator of Machaerus, the site of the execution of John the Baptist.

HT Rogue Classicism.

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Monday, May 17, 2021

Rom-shiloni, Voices from the Ruins (Eerdmans)

NEW BOOK FROM EERDMANS:
Voices from the Ruins
Theodicy and the Fall of Jerusalem in the Hebrew Bible
Dalit Rom-shiloni

HARDCOVER; Published: 5/13/2021
ISBN: 978-0-8028-7860-1
Price: $ 70.00
580 Pages
Trim Size, in inches: 6 x 9

DESCRIPTION

Where was God in the sixth-century destruction of Jerusalem?

The Hebrew Bible compositions written during and around the sixth century BCE provide an illuminating glimpse into how ancient Judeans reconciled the major qualities of God—as Lord, fierce warrior, and often harsh rather than compassionate judge—with the suffering they were experiencing at the hands of the Neo-Babylonian empire, which had brutally destroyed Judah and deported its people. Voices from the Ruins examines the biblical texts “explicitly and directly contextualized by those catastrophic events”—Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations, and selected Psalms—to trace the rich, diverse, and often-polemicized discourse over theodicy unfolding therein. Dalit Rom-Shiloni shows how the “voices from the ruins” in these texts variously justified God in the face of the rampant destruction, expressed doubt, and protested God’s action (and inaction).

Rather than trying to paper over the stark theological differences between the writings of these sixth-century historiographers, prophets, and poets, Rom-Shiloni emphasizes the dynamic of theological pluralism as a genuine characteristic of the Hebrew Bible. Through these avenues, and with her careful, discerning textual analysis, she provides readers with insight into how the sufferers of an ancient national catastrophe wrestled with the difficult question that has accompanied tragedies throughout history: Where was God?

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Precious or costly?

PROF. MARC ZVI BRETTLER: Psalm 116 – Is the Death of the Righteous Precious in the Eyes of YHWH? (TheTorah.com).
Psalm 116:15 declares the death of the righteous to be yaqar, often translated as “precious,” to God. To avoid this message some scholars reinterpret the word yaqar to mean “difficult” or “grievous,” but a better solution is available.
I have always taken this verse to mean that the death of the pious is "costly" or "expensive" in God's eyes. In other words, God recognizes the value of their lives and presumably would make some effort to prevent their loss. That understanding still works for me. But read the essay and see what you think.

UPDATE (18 May): More here.

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Review of Chapot (Ed.), Les récits de la destruction de Jérusalem

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Les récits de la destruction de Jérusalem (70 ap. J.-C.): Contextes, représentations et enjeux, entre Antiquité et Moyen Âge.
Frédéric Chapot, Les récits de la destruction de Jérusalem (70 ap. J.-C.): Contextes, représentations et enjeux, entre Antiquité et Moyen Âge. Judaïsme ancien et origines du christianisme, 19. Turnhout: Brepols, 2020. Pp. 408. ISBN 9782503588308 €85,00.

Review by
Duncan MacRae, University of California, Berkeley. duncanmacrae@berkeley.edu

[...]

In sum, the reader of this book is presented with an album of destructions of Jerusalem, moving from Roman military practice and rhetorics to late imperial construction projects and early medieval apocrypha, with the essays, for the most part, both introducing their subjects well and guiding readers towards the bigger picture. ...

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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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Sunday, May 16, 2021

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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Saturday, May 15, 2021

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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Friday, May 14, 2021

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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