Another essay on Liane Feldman's recent book, The Story of Sacrifice: Ritual and Narrative in the Priestly Source (Mohr Siebeck, 2020).
I noted the earlier essays in the series here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Hebrew Texts and Language of the Second Temple PeriodProceedings of an Eighth Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira
Series: Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, Volume: 134
Volume Editor: Steven Fassberg
The 21 essays in this volume deal with the language and text of Hebrew corpora from the Second Temple period. They were originally presented at the Eighth International Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira, held in January 2016 in Jerusalem. Most of the papers focus on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the light of First and Second Temple Hebrew. A few of the contributions are devoted primarily to the language of Ben Sira, Samaritan Hebrew, and Mishnaic Hebrew. You will find discussions of orthography, phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, language contact, and sociolinguistics.
Prices from (excl. VAT): €134.00 / $161.00
E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-44798-1
Publication Date: 25 May 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-44797-4
Publication Date: 21 Jul 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Background here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
But what makes this show so unusual is precisely its offer of different truths. Nothing in it convinces me that Nero was a hero, but neither does it damn him on the basis of Tacitus and his colleagues. Its true subject, in a sense, is the way that history calcifies into dogma, but may come alive again, in all its complexity, through modern minds and eyes.Background and additional reviews are noted here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah CommentarySteven and Sarah Levy
JPS Study Bible Series
216 pages
2 indexesPaperback
January 2018
978-0-8276-1269-3
$29.95eBook (PDF)
(Requires Adobe Digital Editions)
January 2018
978-0-8276-1347-8v $29.95About the Book
Rashi, the medieval French rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105), authored monumental commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. With The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary, his commentary on the Torah—regarded as the most authoritative of all Torah commentaries—is finally accessible to the entire Jewish community.
Steven and Sarah Levy quote from the biblical text in both Hebrew and English, highlight Rashi’s comments relating to the parashah, and delve into his perceptive moral messages in the context of twenty-first-century dilemmas. Each portion features three essays with analysis and discussion questions that draw on universal human experiences, enabling families and Shabbat study groups to deepen their understanding of Rashi and the portion over the three Sabbath meals.
Readers with little or no knowledge of Hebrew, the Torah, or Jewish practice will feel comfortable diving into this discussion commentary. All Hebrew terms are defined, quoted verses contextualized, and less familiar Jewish concepts explained.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
The Christians Who Became Jews
Acts of the Apostles and Ethnicity in the Roman CityChristopher Stroup
Description
A fresh look at Acts of the Apostles and its depiction of Jewish identity within the larger Roman era
When considering Jewish identity in Acts of the Apostles, scholars have often emphasized Jewish and Christian religious difference, an emphasis that masks the intersections of civic, ethnic, and religious identifications in antiquity. Christopher Stroup’s innovative work explores the depiction of Jewish and Christian identity by analyzing ethnicity within a broader material and epigraphic context. Examining Acts through a new lens, he shows that the text presents Jews and Jewish identity in multiple, complex ways, rather than as a simple foil for Christianity.
Stroup convincingly argues that when the modern distinctions among ethnic, religious, and civic identities are suspended, the innovative ethnic rhetoric of the author of Acts comes into focus. The author of Acts leverages the power of gods, ancestry, and physical space to legitimate Christian identity as a type of Jewish identity and to present Christian non-Jews as Jewish converts through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Format: Hardcover
Price: $65.00ISBN: 9780300247893
Publication Date: April 21, 2020
240 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Named Tall-e Ajori, the archaeological site and its surroundings, which has been subject to archaeological work over the past decade, was officially inaugurated as an open-air museum by the visiting Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister on Monday.According to local experts, tours of Persepolis can start from Tall-e Ajor to have a more detailed introduction of the Iranian culture of the time, allowing tourists and researchers to see the art of the Achaemenids from another angle.
The gateway is made of brick and clay materials and the whole exterior has been decorated with painted bricks. The lower parts and the plinth of the walls are decorated with [themes of] lotus flowers, the body, and facade of the walls are embellished with various colored panels of mythical animals, symbols, and belief symbols of ancient Iranians, Elamites, and Mesopotamians.
[...]
For background on the ancient Iranian city of Persepolis and why it is of interest to PaleoJudaica, see here (with photos at the link) and here (cf. here) and many links .
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
It is also worth mentioning Pseudo-Hegisippus' De excidio Hierosolymitano, a free, Christianized, Latin version of Josephus' Jewish War. See here with a link to Roger Pearse's English translation. For related Ethiopic material, see here.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
For many, many PaleoJudaica posts on the the Ark of the Covenant in the Bible and tradition and in light of archaeology, start here and follow the links. And don't miss the results of the Winter 2020 BAR caption contest here.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
The botanical finds, mostly charred seeds and other plant remains, allowed the researchers to understand not only what kind of food the ancient Canaanites ate, but also how they warmed up their houses, where their fields were located, the seasons of the crops, how work was split between agriculture and herding, and how Gath related to the contemporary commercial routes.The JP article refers to an underlying article in the Journal of Archaeological Science, but that paper does not yet appear on the journal's website.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
As a scholar whose expertise is in the social and religious history of the Greco-Roman world, Professor Stanley knows well the background of the New Testament world. My common sentiment as I read was gratitude—gratitude for the author’s careful research and his ability to weave a fascinating story. Sometimes his descriptions confirmed what I knew, but he usually delved much more deeply than I ever have, and I thoroughly enjoyed soaking it in.I noted another review by Phil Long at Reading Acts.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
HT Rogue Classicism.
Now here's some real Shapira news from Daniel Stoekl, circulated in various places:
A scholarly webinar on Idan Dershowitz' recent reassessment of the Shapira documentsI have some conflicting meetings on that day, but I shall be able to attend part of it.Please register here: https://tinyurl.com/bfdjjn9a
June 10, 2021
3-8 pm CEST // 9 am - 2 pm EDT
---------------------------
3 pm CESTDaniel Stökl Ben Ezra (EPHE, PSL), Introduction - 10'
Idan Dershowitz (U Potsdam) and Naama Pat-El (UT Austin), New
Observations and Reactions on the Valediction of Moses - 30'
Rebecca Jefferson (U Florida), Moses Shapira’s Manuscript Sales - 10'
Benjamin Sass (Tel Aviv U), A Note on the Palaeography - 10'
Matthieu Richelle (UCLouvain), Paleography- 10'Pause 30 min
4:40 pm CEST Robert Holmstedt (U Toronto), Linguistics - 15'
Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra (EPHE, PSL), Dead Sea Scrolls - 10'
Konrad Schmid (U Zurich), Is V a Literary Precursor to Deuteronomy? - 15'
Jeffrey Stackert (U Chicago), Hebrew Bible - 10'Pause 30 min
From 6 pm CEST: General Discussion
Please register here https://tinyurl.com/bfdjjn9a in order to receive the webinar link.
For background on the Shapira affair and recent reassessments arguing that his scroll was a genuine ancient artifact, see here, here, here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Hedwig Schmalzgruber, Speaking animals in ancient literature. Kalliope - Studien zur griechischen und lateinischen Poesie, 20. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2020. Pp. 619. ISBN 9783825346904 €78,00.As you would expect, the serpent in the Garden and Balaam's donkey receive attention. So do Philo of Alexandria and the Acts of Thomas.Review by
Diego De Brasi, Universität Trier. debrasi@uni-trier.de
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Glenn J. Corbett, the new Editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, answers 5 Questions about his training and experience that led him to fill this new role at the Biblical Archaeology Society. From South Carolina to Petra, it’s been an exciting journey!
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
For posts on the diet of John the Baptist, see here and links.
For more on and from the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, see here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
BROOKLYN (CN) — Craft chain Hobby Lobby is going to court again, this time to recover some $7 million it paid a former Oxford University classics professor for ancient fragments of the Christian gospels and other artifacts that turned out to be stolen.The full text of the federal complaint is here. The article posts, summarizes, and discusses it.[...]
Over at Evangelical Textual Criticism, Peter Gurry links to the article and complaint and has a briefer summary and discussion: Hobby Lobby Sues Obbink for $7m.
For PaleoJudaica posts on the Oxford missing-papyri scandal and its alleged connections with Dirk Obbink and Hobby Lobby, see here and here and links. For the various other problems with the provenance and authenticity of artifacts associated with the Museum of the Bible and the Green Collection, see here and here and follow the many links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
From a talking donkey to a man being eaten by a giant fish, the Bible has no shortage of strange stories. In her new book "A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible" (Oxford University Press, 2021), Kristin Swenson, an associate professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, delves into these stories and many others. Here's a look at 20 of the more bizarre biblical stories that Swenson discusses in the book.This is a good list. The examples could, of course, be multiplied. And it leaves out some of the most disturbing stories. Perhaps that is good thing.
For more on Prof. Swenson's new book, see here.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
Miriam and Aaron speak negatively about Moses for marrying a Kushite woman. Does their issue have to do with her skin color? Miriam’s punishment may hold the key.For more on Cushites (Kushites) in the Bible, see here and here.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
His family picked up on a similar sentiment. “The minute we realized the question was values, we all went to tikkun olam,” Lander said, explaining that tikkun olam has particular resonance in his family: “What is our purpose here? Our purpose is to repair the world, to help others in need of help, to take in strangers, to have empathy.”Dr. Lander was sworn in by the Vice President yesterday.That realization, in turn, reminded Lander of an expression found in the Mishnah, the earliest collections of rabbinic interpretations of oral Jewish law: “It’s not required that you complete the work, but neither may you refrain from it.”
In scouring the Library of Congress catalog for a copy of Mishnah, however, Lander stumbled upon something a bit more specific: a 13-page volume containing the Pirkei Avot, a subset of the Mishnah that focuses on ethics and contains the expression.
Lander couldn’t help but notice the publication date: 1492, an era when Jewish populations were expelled from the Kingdom of Spain. ...
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.