Volunteer to be a Scribe of the Cairo Geniza

CAIRO GENIZA WATCH: UNCOVERING THE SECRETS OF THE EGYPTIAN GENIZA WITH CITIZEN SCIENCE (Science Connected Magazine).

To get started with the project, all volunteers need to do is choose one of our active workflows. Each workflow has a Tutorial and Field Guide providing information on how to get involved. Anyone can participate in the project, even if they have no knowledge of the Hebrew and Arabic language. Since 2017, over 9,500 volunteers have sorted more than 50,000 fragments into Hebrew and Arabic script, started discussions about what they’ve seen and learned and done the important work of transcribing ancient texts.

For PaleoJudaica Posts on the multi-institution Scribes of the Cairo Geniza Project, see here and links. And for many, many other posts on the Cairo Geniza and its manuscripts, start here and follow the links.

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A gold coin hoard and the Persian conquest of Jerusalem

NUMISMATICS: Ancient Gold Coin Hoard Pinpoints Persian Destruction of Jerusalem (David Hendin, CoinWeek).

The Givati hoard is singularly homogeneous, and [IAA senior numismatist Gabriella] Bijovsky concludes that “during this time (608-615 CE), and especially after the capture of Antioch by the Persians in 611 and until 613, the presence of a Byzantine military garrison in Jerusalem could explain the operation of a temporary mint in order to pay the troops and emphasize Byzantine sovereignty over the city… Given the fact that all Antioch surrendered to the Persians in 610, Emesa and Apamea in 611, and Damascus in 613, Jerusalem remained the only major Byzantine stronghold in the region capable of coin production.”

This is the first I recall hearing about this coin hoard. For PaleoJudaica posts about other discoveries at the Givati (Giv'ati) Parking Lot Excavation, see here and links.

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Kutash, Goddesses in Myth and Cultural Memory (Bloomsbury)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY:

Goddesses in Myth and Cultural Memory

By: Emilie Kutash

Published: 05-20-2021
Format: Hardback
Edition: 1st
Extent: 256
ISBN: 9780567697394
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Dimensions: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
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About Goddesses in Myth and Cultural Memory

How have the goddesses of ancient myth survived, prevalent even now as literary and cultural icons? How do allegory, symbolic interpretation, and political context transform the goddess from her regional and individual identity into a goddess of philosophy and literature? Emilie Kutash explores these questions, beginning from the premise that cultural memory, a collective cultural and social phenomenon, can last thousands of years.

Kutash demonstrates a continuing practice of interpreting and allegorizing ancient myths, tracing these goddesses of archaic origin through history. Chapters follow the goddesses from their ancient near eastern prototypes, to their place in the epic poetry, drama and hymns of classical Greece, to their appearance in Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy, Medieval allegory, and their association with Christendom.

Finally, Kutash considers how goddesses were made into Jungian archetypes, and how some contemporary feminists made them a counterfoil to male divinity, thereby addressing the continued role of goddesses in perpetuating gender binaries.

Note in particular chapter 8: "Asherah, Sophia, Shechinah: Are they Hebrew Goddesses?"

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Getatchew Haile 1931-2021

SAD NEWS: Getatchew Haile, renowned Ethiopian philologist and beloved St. John's professor, dies at 90 (Star Tribune via MSN).

Getatchew Haile was two very different people in one body.

One version of Haile, who died this month at 90, was an eminent scholar at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at St. John's University in St. Joseph, Minn. In his field of philology, the study of the historical development of languages, Haile worked in eight languages, from ancient Hebrew and Arabic to ancient Ethiopian tongues such as Amharic and Ge'ez. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship — the "genius grant" — Haile studied and cataloged manuscripts from the early days of Christianity in Ethiopia, dating back some one and a half millennia.

[...]

The Manuscript Man, Father Columba Stewart, is quoted. And read on for the other version of Professor Haile. Cross-file under Ethiopic Watch.

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Samaritan Shavuot 2021

SAMARITAN WATCH: Samaritans celebrate Shavuot atop Mount Gerizim The Samaritan religion closely resembles Judaism, but with several marked differences, including its own Torah written in their own ancient Hebrew, and Mount Gerizim being their holiest place (Jerusalem Post). The celebrations began this morning. As always, best wishes to those celebrating.

Past posts on Samaritan Passover are here and links.

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Fine (ed.), The Arch of Titus (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

The Arch of Titus

From Jerusalem to Rome—and Back

Editor: Steven Fine

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome—and Back explores the shifting meanings and significance of the Arch of Titus from the Jewish War of 66–74 CE to the present—for Romans, Christians and especially for Jews. Built by triumphant Romans, this triumphal monument was preserved by medieval Christians, lauded by modern visitors and dictators and imitated around the world. The Arch of Titus has special significance for the once-defeated Jews. Its menorah is now the national symbol of modern Israel.

The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome—and Back assembles an international array of scholars to explore the Arch in all of its complexity. This volume celebrates an exhibition mounted at Yeshiva University Museum and is the final statement of the Yeshiva University Arch of Titus Project.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €110.00 / $132.00

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ISBN: 978-90-04-44778-3
Publication Date: 20 Jun 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021

For background on the Yeshiva University Arch of Titus Project and Exhibition, see here and follow the links.

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What William Ross is doing this summer

WILLIAM ROSS: SUMMER ’21 UPDATE. Despite the pandemic, Dr. Ross remains busy with Septuagint-related activities and projects.

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

Yale Digital Dura-Europos Archive (YDEA)

THE AWOL BLOG: Yale Digital Dura-Europos Archive (YDEA).

YDEA IS HARNESSING THE POWER OF LINKED OPEN DATA (LOD) TO REASSEMBLE AND RE-CONTEXTUALIZE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA FROM DURA-EUROPOS.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the site of Dura-Europos, its late antique synagogue, and that synogogue's remarkable murals, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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

Where did the Israelites cross into the Promised Land?

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: Wadi Zered (Dr. David Ben-Gad HaCohen, TheTorah.com).

Crossing Wadi Zered marks the end of Israel’s 38-year sojourn in the wilderness and their entry into the land. Why does its location differ in Numbers and Deuteronomy?

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

Burnett on interpreting the New Testament through inscriptions

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Interpreting the New Testament Through Inscriptions: An Introduction (D. Clint Burnett). For more on Dr. Burnett and his recent book on the New Testament and inscriptions, see here and links.

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

Review of Henderson & Thomas (eds.), The Loeb Classical Library and its progeny

BRYN MAY CLASSICAL REVIEW: The Loeb Classical Library and its progeny.

Jeffrey Henderson, Richard F. Thomas, The Loeb Classical Library and its progeny: proceedings of the First James Loeb Biennial Conference, Munich and Murnau, 18–20 May 2017. Loeb Classical Monographs. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020. Pp. 456. ISBN 9780674248717 $30.00.

Review by
Mirte Liebregts, Radboud University. mirte.liebregts@ru.nl

[...]

This volume is not just a promotion of the four Harvard bilingual series; the bilingual format itself and the accessibility of a text through the vernacular are now and then challenged (Wilson, Tyler). The publication is more broadly relevant for understanding the ways in which the act of translating ‘classical’ texts has functioned in the past and functions in the present, and it exemplifies that the study of translation transcends disciplinary borders. ...

PaleoJudaica has mentioned the Loeb Classical Library from time to time. For the Digital Loeb Classical Library®, see here. Many of the volumes are out of copyright and are available for free at the Loebolus website, on which see here and links. And follow the links from there for more.

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

The archaeology of fingerprints?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Archaeological Forensics. What fingerprints on ancient pottery reveal about their creators (Marek Dospěl).

To learn the nitty-gritty of the science behind these observations and to explore the social implications of how ancient pottery work was organized, read Kent D. Fowler’s article “Making an Impression: How Fingerprints Can Identify Ancient Potters,” published in the Summer 2021 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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Rising sea levels at Hellenistic Dor

ANCIENT CLIMATOLOGY: Israel sea level rose 2 m. in Hellenistic period, could explain decline. "We do not know of such an increase in history. It is an increase that is recognized only when talking about the end of the ice age and the great melting of glaciers." (Rossella Tercatin and Hadassah Brenner, Jerusalem Post).

What’s more, historical and archaeological evidence of deserted or declining coastal cities supports the theory that a rapid rise saw buildings flooded and coastlines disappearing.

“We have seen similar evidence of a decline in Acre and other Hellenistic coastal cities, and we speculate that the inhabitants of the period, seeing entire buildings gradually covered by the water, recognized the rapid rise in sea level, but in many cases failed to adapt to the new conditions successfully,” Dr. Gil Gambash, a historian from the University of Haifa, noted.

The underlying technical article was published at Plos One:

New relative sea-level (RSL) indications from the Eastern Mediterranean: Middle Bronze Age to the Roman period (~3800–1800 y BP) archaeological constructions at Dor, the Carmel coast, Israel

Assaf Yasur-Landau , Gilad Shtienberg, Gil Gambash, Giorgio Spada, Daniele Melini, Ehud Arkin-Shalev, Anthony Tamberino, Jack Reese, Thomas E. Levy, Dorit Sivan

Published: June 9, 2021https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251870

Abstract

This article presents new archaeological observations and multidisciplinary research from Dor, Israel to establish a more reliable relative sea level for the Carmel Coast and Southern Levant between the Middle Bronze Age and the Roman period (ca. 3500–1800 y BP). Our record indicates a period of low relative sea level, around -2.5 m below present, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period (ca. 3500–2200 y BP). This was followed by a rapid rise to present levels, starting in the Hellenistic period and concluding during the Roman period (ca. 2200–1800 y BP). These Roman levels agree with other relative sea-level indications from Israel and other tectonically stable areas in the Mediterranean. Several relative sea-level reconstruction models carried out in the current study provide different predictions due to their parameters and do not model the changes observed from field data which points to a non-isostatic origin for the changes. Long-term low stable Iron Age relative sea level can be seen in Dor, where Iron Age harbor structures remain around the same elevation between ca. 3100–2700 y BP. A similar pattern occurs at Atlit, the Iron Age harbor to the north used continuously from ca. 2900 y BP to the beginning of the Hellenistic period (ca. 2200 y BP). An examination of historical and archaeological sources reveals decline and occasional disappearance of Hellenistic sites along the coast of Israel at ca. 2200 y BP (2nd century BCE), as in the case of Yavneh Yam, Ashdod Yam, Straton’s Tower, and tel Taninim. In Akko-Ptolemais, the large harbor installations built in the Hellenistic period were never replaced by a substantial Roman harbor. The conclusions of this research are thus relevant for the sea-level research community and for the historical analyses of the Israeli and South Levantine coastline.

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

Maqdala artifacts to be repatriated to Ethiopia

ETHIOPIC WATCH: Looted Maqdala objects—pulled from rural English auction at the last minute—will be returned to Ethiopia. Busby auction house confirms it has "negotiated a settlement" after Ethiopian officials requested the return of items stolen by British troops in a brutal 1868 battle (Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper).

The looted items were an eighteenth-century Coptic Bible and three horned beakers of unspecified date. Arguably this post should have been headed Coptic Watch, but the story also bears on Ethiopic matters

The artifacts are not particularly valuable. Their total estimated value was £400-£700. But their repatriation establishes a precedent that could have wider implications.

There are some 350 manuscripts in the British Library and at least five at the University of Edinburgh which were also looted at the Battle of Maqdala. They include two copies of the Ethiopian national epic the Kebra Negast and a copy of the Book of Isaiah, all presumably in the Ethiopic language. So far, requests for their repatriation to Ethiopia have been declined. It will be interesting to see if this latest development has any effect on that decision.

For background on the manuscripts and artifacts looted at the Battle of Maqdala, see here and links. For PaleoJudaica posts involving the Kebra Negast, see here and here and links.

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

Talmud Yerushalmi Zoom Seminar

H-JUDAIC: Invitation: Talmud Yerushalmi Zoom Seminar, Netanya Academic College.

The Jewish Heritage Center at Netanya Academic College has been holding an ongoing seminar - Study of Talmud Yerushalmi. Over the past year we have completed the third chapter of Megillah and the eighth chapter of Bava Kamma.

We are delighted to invite all who may be interested to join our latest cycle - the tenth chapter of Sheviit [In anticipation of the upcoming Jewish Year which will be a Shemita year].

The seminar takes place on Monday nights at 21:00 Israel time. Seminar led by Dr. Moshe Pinchuk

Follow the link above for access to the Zoom link.

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Harris, The Forgotten Sage (Cascade)

RECENT BOOK FROM WIPF AND STOCK:

The Forgotten Sage
Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and the Birth of Judaism as We Know It

by Maurice D. Harris
Foreword by Leonard Gordon
Imprint: Cascade Books
184 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.00 in

Paperback
9781498200769
Published: May 2019
$23.00 / £17.00 / AU$34.00

eBook
9781498200776
Published: May 2019
$23.00

Hardcover
9781498286510
Published: May 2019
$43.00 / £31.00 / AU$63.00

DESCRIPTION

Just after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., there lived a poor and ugly nail-maker who was also, for a time, the leading rabbi of his generation. His name was Joshua ben Hananiah, and he helped give us the Judaism we know--the complicated, word-filled tradition of debates, multiple viewpoints, and endless questions. Through his humanity, humility, and occasional audacity, Joshua helped set Judaism on its course towards becoming the decentralized, multi-opinionated, exile-surviving, other-religion-respecting, pragmatic-yet-altruistic, wounded-yet-hopeful religion that it is at its best. And yet, inside and outside the Jewish community, few people know about him. This book wants to change that. In these pages, people of all faiths or backgrounds will find accessible and vivid translations of some of the most stunning stories in the Talmud and in Midrash. Rabbi Maurice Harris is a friendly guide through the texts and dramas of early rabbinic Judaism, providing general audiences with clear and compelling explanations of complex narratives, legal issues, and historical contexts. Venture inside this book and discover Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, one of the bravest and humblest heroes you'll ever meet in sacred literature.

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John J. Collins is retiring

YALE DIVINITY SCHOOL: Professor John Collins looks back on stellar academic career (Timothy Cahill). Best wishes to Professor Collins for a long and productive retirement.

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

Circumcision conference with Edinburgh New College

ZOOM EVENT announced by ChristianOrigins:

We are excited to announce our forthcoming conference: Circumcision, Gender, and Ethnicity in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity. The conference will take place over Zoom on three Mondays in August (16/23/30).

Follow the link for the flier and registration information.

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Hannibal's nemesis

PUNIC WATCH: Rome’s Greatest General: Who Was Scipio Africanus? Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was a Roman general and statesman who saved Rome and defeated Hannibal, laying the foundation for Rome’s overseas expansion (Vedran Bileta, The Collector).

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236-183 BCE) had a fascinating life. Scipio’s youth was marked by one of the most traumatic events in Rome’s history – the invasion of Italy by Hannibal Barca. An eyewitness to the massacre at Cannae, Scipio spent the following years studying his nemesis – Hannibal – in order to eventually outwit the master-tactician. [...]

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Hannibal Barca, see the links collected here. As the article says, Hannibal receives much more attention that Scipio, but I have mentioned the latter now and again.

For the disastrous Roman defeat by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae, see that same link.

Scipio's conquest of Cathago Nova in Spain turned the tide in favor of the Romans. This city survives today with the name Cartagena. The modern city makes full use of the archaeological and tourism potential of its Punic history, not least in its annual Romans and Carthaginians Festival in September. More recently, see here, here, and here.

Scipio went on to defeat the Carthaginians decisively at the Battle of Zama.

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

Borgen, Illuminations by Philo of Alexandria (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Illuminations by Philo of Alexandria: Selected Studies on Interpretation in Philo, Paul and the Revelation of John

Series: Studies in Philo of Alexandria, Volume: 12

Author: Peder Borgen
Volume Editor: Torrey Seland

This volume contains a collection of 17 essays on Philo written by Peder Borgen between 1987 and 2018. The first six studies deal with important issues in Philo’s religious thought and social world, such as his views on Flaccus, prayers, and his eschatology. The next five essays illustrate how an understanding of Philo can contribute to the interpretation of Paul, especially his Letter to the Galatians. The final six studies deal with the importance of Philo’s writings for the interpretation of the Revelation of John, a subject too rarely touched upon in recent scholarship.

Prices from (excl. VAT): €138.00 / $166.00

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45278-7
Publication Date: 25 May 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-45276-3
Publication Date: 20 May 2021
Copyright Date: 01 Jan 2021

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