Saint Jerome's feast day 2021

THE FEAST DAY OF ST. JEROME IS TODAY, 30 SEPTEMBER. Jerome was one of the few Church Fathers to learn and use Hebrew. The Latin Vulgate is his complete translation of the Hebrew Bible. I last noted his feast day in 2016. For more on him, follow the links there. More recent posts are here, here, and here.

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Theophilos, Numismatics and Greek Lexicography (T&T Clark)

RECENT BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Numismatics and Greek Lexicography

Michael P. Theophilos (Author)

Hardback
$120.00 $108.00

Ebook (PDF)
$35.95 $28.76

Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$35.95 $28.76

Product details

Published Nov 28 2019
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 296
ISBN 9780567674364
Imprint T&T Clark
Illustrations 76 bw illus
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

Michael P. Theophilos explores the fascinating variety of numismatic contributions to Greek lexicography, pertaining to lexicographic studies of the Second Temple period in general, and the New Testament in particular.

Theophilos considers previous scholarly attempts to grapple with, and incorporate, critical numismatic material into the emerging discipline of Greek lexicography - including foundational work by F. Preisigke and E. Kiessling - before outlining his own methodological approach. Theophilos' then examines the resources available for engaging with the numismatic material, and presents a series of specific case studies throughout the New Testament material. His carefully annotated images of coins draw readers in to a greater understanding of the material culture of the Greco-Roman world, and how this impacted upon the Greek language and the New Testament.

The paperback is coming out soon.

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Diversity and Rabbinization (ed. McDowell, Naiweld & Stökl Ben Ezra; Open Edition Books)

THE AWOL BLOG: Diversity and Rabbinization: Jewish Texts and Societies between 400 and 1,000 CE.

Diversity and Rabbinization: Jewish Texts and Societies between 400 and 1,000 CE
Gavin McDowell, Ron Naiweld et Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra (dir.)
Diversity and Rabbinizationv Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures Series

An open-access book.

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More on Qumran as a festival-gathering site

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE DAMASCUS DOCUMENT: Medieval Hebrew document could reveal why Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran. Damascus Covenant could hold the answers (Tom Metcalfe, Live Science).

Now, research suggests Qumran was in fact the site of a huge annual ceremony of the mystical Jewish sect of the Essenes, in which its members gathered from cities and rural communities all over Israel to observe a key ritual known as the Covenant of Renewal. Qumran's peculiar construction, the researchers suggest, reflects this ceremonial function. Fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls also mention a festival that seems to be referring to the same gathering of the Essenes, the researcher said.

According to the new theory, many of the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves could have been written by Essene communities throughout the country and brought to Qumran at the time of the annual festival to study and be stored there.

I noted this story back in August, when Rossella Tercatin wrote on it in the Jerusalem Post. The Times of Israel now also has an article on it here.

The suggestion is possible, and is pretty consistent with the scenario I suggested years ago. I doubt that we have enough evidence at present to solve the matter decisively.

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Stroumsa, The Crucible of Religion in Late Antiquity (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Guy G. Stroumsa. The Crucible of Religion in Late Antiquity. Selected Essays. 2021. X, 305 pages. Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum / Studies and Texts in Antiquity and Christianity 124. 84,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-160691-5.

Published in English.
The religious revolution of late antiquity and its intertwined religious history are reflected in a broad array of new forms of religious belief and practice, of which Christianity is only the most perceptible one. It is represented in the passage from polytheistic systems to monotheistic and dualist ones, as well as in the move from rituals centred upon sacrifices in temples to rituals established upon scriptures, in churches, synagogues, or mosques. This double dynamism of beliefs and rituals sheds light on the transformations of religious ethos. Guy G. Stroumsa's two-part volume reflects this double argument. The essays all focus on central aspects, such as in Part I on mental aspects of religion in the Roman Empire, as expressed in early Christian texts and traditions, and in Part II on religious communication across the empire's cultures and communities.

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Bodner & Johnson (eds.), Characters and Characterization in the Book of Kings (T&T Clark)

RECENT BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Characters and Characterization in the Book of Kings

Keith Bodner (Anthology Editor), Benjamin J.M. Johnson (Anthology Editor)

Hardback
$120.00 $108.00

Ebook (PDF)
$35.95 $28.76

Product details

Published Dec 12 2019
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 320
ISBN 9780567680907
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

This book is an examination of characters in the books of Kings; showing how understanding and interpretation of key characters affects readings of the story. The volume begins with more general pieces addressing how the study of characters can shed light on the composition history of Kings and on how characters and characterization can be considered with respect to ethics, particularly with respect to the moral complexity of biblical characters.

Contributors then consider key characters within the Kings narrative in depth, such as Nathan, Bathsheba, Solomon and Jezebel. The contributors use their own specific expertise to analyze these characters and more, drawing on insights from literary theory and considering such approaches as questioning our view of a particular character with based on the character within the text with whom we identify. Contributors also assess whether or not characters as portrayed in the biblical text necessarily match up to their possible counterparts in history.

The paperback is coming out soon.

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Shemeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2021

SHEMINI ATZERET begins tonight at sundown. In Israel, this is also the holiday of Simchat Torah (Simhat Torah). Outside of Israel, the latter holiday begins tomorrow at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating!

Last year's Shemini Atzeret post is here. The 2017 post has biblical etc. links.

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Edelman et al. (eds.), Deuteronomy in the Making (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Deuteronomy in the Making
Studies in the Production of Debarim

Edited by: Diana Edelman, Kåre Berge, Philippe Guillaume and Benedetta Rossi

Volume 533 in the series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110713312

eBook
Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110713312

Hardcover
Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110713053

About this book

A number of long-standing theories concerning the production of Deuteronomy are currently being revisited. This volume takes a fresh look at the theory that there was an independent legal collection comprising chs 12-26 that subsequently was set within one or two narrative frames to yield the book, with ongoing redactional changes. Each contributor has been asked to focus on how the “core” might have functioned as a stand-alone document or, if exploring a theme or motif, to take note of commonalities and differences within the “core” and “frames” that might shed light on the theory under review. Some of the articles also revisit the theory of a northern origin of the “core” of the book, while others challenge de Wette’s equation of Deuteronomy with the scroll found during temple repairs under Josiah. With Deuteronomic studies in a state of flux, this is a timely collection by a group of international scholars who use a range of methods and who, in varying degrees, work with or challenge older theories about the book’s origin and growth to approach the central focus from many angles. Readers will find multivalent evidence they can reflect over to decide where they stand on the issue of Deuteronomy as a framed legal “core.”

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Introduction to Numismatic Terms and Methods

THE AWOL BLOG: Introduction to Numismatic Terms and Methods. A thorough introduction to the study of coins by the American Numismatic Society. Cross-file under Numismatics.

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Beavis & Kateusz (eds.) Rediscovering the Marys (T&T Clark)

RECENT BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Rediscovering the Marys
Maria, Mariamne, Miriam

Mary Ann Beavis (Anthology Editor), Ally Kateusz (Anthology Editor)

Hardback
$115.00 $103.50

Ebook (PDF)
$35.95 $28.76

Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
$35.95 $28.76

Product details

Published Jan 23 2020
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 288
ISBN 9780567683458
Imprint T&T Clark
Illustrations 50
Dimensions 9 x 6 inchesv Series Scriptural Traces
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

This interdisciplinary volume of text and art offers new insights into various unsolved mysteries associated with Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and Miriam the sister of Moses. Mariamic traditions are often interconnected, as seen in the portrayal of these women as community leaders, prophets, apostles and priests. These traditions also are often inter-religious, echoing themes back to Miriam in the Hebrew Bible as well as forward to Maryam in the Qur'an. The chapters explore questions such as: which biblical Mary did the author of the Gospel of Mary intend to portray-Magdalene, Mother, or neither? Why did some writers depict Mary of Nazareth as a priest? Were extracanonical scriptures featuring Mary more influential than the canonical gospels on the depiction of Maryam in the Qur'an?

Contributors dig deep into literature, iconography, and archaeology to offer cutting edge research under three overarching topics. The first section examines the question of "which Mary?" and illustrates how some ancient authors (and contemporary scholars) may have conflated the biblical Marys. The second section focuses on Mary of Nazareth, and includes research related to the portrayal of Mary the Mother of Jesus as a Eucharistic priest. The final section, “Recovering Receptions of Mary in Art, Archeology, and Literature,” explores how artists and authors have engaged with one or more of the Marys, from the early Christian era through to medieval and modern times.

Coming out in paperback soon.

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How to end a line in Hebrew

THE ETC BLOG: Hebrew Scribes at the End of the Line (Anthony Ferguson).

Composing a text by hand demands an awareness of certain details that we can ignore when using a word processor. One of these details is if the next written word corresponds to the available space. At times, the space didn't for Hebrew scribes, and when this happened, they had several ways to navigate this situation. Let’s review some of these. ...

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Review of Mouton (ed.), Flesh and bones

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Flesh and bones: the individual and his body in the ancient Mediterranean basin.

Alice Mouton, Flesh and bones: the individual and his body in the ancient Mediterranean basin. Semitica et Classica: Supplementa (SUPSEC), 2. Turnhout: Brepols, 2020. Pp. 240. ISBN 9782503590387 €65,00.

Review by
Julianne Burnett, Asbury University. julianne.burnett@asbury.edu

The volume includes essays on ancient Egyptian, Hittite, Akkadian, biblical Hebrew, and Greco-Roman literature.

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Crouch, Israel and Judah Redefined (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Israel and Judah Redefined
Migration, Trauma, and Empire in the Sixth Century BCE

Part of Society for Old Testament Study Monographs

AUTHOR: C. L. Crouch, Fuller Theological Seminary, California
DATE PUBLISHED: August 2021
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781108473767

£ 75.00 Hardback

Description

In Israel and Judah Redefined, C. L. Crouch uses trauma studies, postcolonial theory, and social-scientific research on migration to analyse the impact of mass displacements and imperial power on Israelite and Judahite identity in the sixth century BCE. Crouch argues that the trauma of deportation affected Israelite identity differently depending on resettlement context. Deportees resettled in rural Babylonia took an isolationist approach to Israelite identity, whereas deportees resettled in urban contexts took a more integrationist approach. Crouch also emphasises the impact of mass displacement on identity concerns in the homeland, demonstrating that displacement and the experience of Babylonian imperial rule together facilitated major developments in Judahite identity. The diverse experiences of this period produced bitter conflict between Israelites and Judahites, as well as diverse attempts to resolve this conflict. Inspired by studies of forced migration and by postcolonial analyses of imperial domination, Crouch's book highlights the crucial contribution of this era to the story of Israel and Judah.

• Introduces social scientific research on diverse migration experiences to a biblical studies audience
• IIdentifies the significance of Israel and Judah to the identity debates in the sixth century BCE
• IIntegrates postcolonial theory, trauma studies, and social scientific research on migration to interpret ancient texts

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The etrog, the citron, and Sukkot

DR. DAFNA LANGGUT: The Etrog: Celebrating Sukkot With a Persian Apple (TheTorah.com).

A luxury Persian import, famous for its medicinal qualities and lovely smell, the citron became Sukkot’s פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר “fruit of a splendid tree” in the first century C.E.

PaleoJudaica posts on the etrog/citron, including ones on the Ramat Rachel garden, are collected here.

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Schröter et al. (eds.), Jews and Christians – Parting Ways in the First Two Centuries CE? (De Gruyter)

NEW BOOK FROM DE GRUYTER:

Jews and Christians – Parting Ways in the First Two Centuries CE?
Reflections on the Gains and Losses of a Model

Edited by: Jens Schröter, Benjamin A. Edsall and Joseph Verheyden

Volume 253 in the series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110742213

eBook
Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110742213

Hardcover
Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110742138

About this book

The present volume is based on a conference held in October 2019 at the Faculty of Theology of Humboldt University Berlin as part of a common project of the Australian Catholic University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Humboldt University Berlin. The aim is to discuss the relationships of “Jews” and “Christians” in the first two centuries CE against the background of recent debates which have called into question the image of “parting ways” for a description of the relationships of Judaism and Christianity in antiquity. One objection raised against this metaphor is that it accentuates differences at the expense of commonalities. Another critique is that this image looks from a later perspective at historical developments which can hardly be grasped with such a metaphor. It is more likely that distinctions between Jews, Christians, Jewish Christians, Christian Jews etc. are more blurred than the image of “parting ways” allows. In light of these considerations the contributions in this volume discuss the cogency of the “parting of the ways”-model with a look at prominent early Christian writers and places and suggest more appropriate metaphors to describe the relationships of Jews and Christians in the early period.

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Zoomcast on ancient Jerusalem

ARCHAEOLOGY: What did biblical Jerusalem look like some 2,500 years ago? JPost One-on-One Zoomcast, Episode 34 - Rossella Tercatin and Prof. Yuval Gadot, archaeology and ancient near eastern cultures at Tel-Aviv University (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

“What we have uncovered is a level of wealth that we could not imagine before,” Prof. Yuval Gadot, the head Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel-Aviv University - and co-director of the excavations conducted by TAU and the Israeli Antiquities Authority at the City of David - said.

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Interview with Sarah Parkhouse

COPTIC APOCRYPHA WATCH: Interview with Dr Sarah Parkhouse (University of Manchester).

Dr Sarah Parkhouse has recently joined the Centre for Biblical Studies as a British Academy postdoctoral fellow. We sat down to discuss her work and the research project she will be undertaking.

I have noted books by Dr. Parkhouse here and here.

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How do we know what ancient writers actually wrote?

THE ANTIGONE BLOG: WHERE DO THE CLASSICS COME FROM? OR, THE APPARATUS CRITICUS AND YOU (Max Hardy). HT Rogue Classicism.

To read a Classical text without an apparatus has been justly compared to the experience of sitting in the back of a car while another controls the wheel. In the fullness of time, come the development of the self-driving car, this simile may eventually lose its force; but the apparatus will certainly not have lost its relevance to those who are fascinated about what ancient writers actually wrote.

A lucid introduction to the science and art of textual criticism.

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Eichler, The Ark and the Cherubim (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Raanan Eichler. The Ark and the Cherubim. 2021. XV, 391 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 146. 134,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-155432-2.

Published in English.
The most important objects in the Hebrew Bible are a wooden box, styled in English »the ark« or »the ark of the covenant«, and two statues of winged creatures, »the cherubim«, that surmount it. Raanan Eichler attempts to understand these objects using the full gamut of data and tools available to the modern scholar. The study features an abundance of visual comparative material, much of it in colour, with a particularly close examination of the finds from the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The author proposes solutions to a number of unsolved puzzles, such as the question of what cherubim looked like, and offers a new explanation of the nature of the ark and the cherubim, rejecting the prevailing scholarly view of them as having constituted an »empty throne« and footstool for the God of Israel. Rather, he argues, they constituted an empty frame, a unique cultic focus that surpassed all known systems in the ancient Near East in the extent of the efforts it represented to prevent an anthropomorphic conception of the deity in a cultic context.

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AJR on Brown-deVost, Commentary and Authority in Mesopotamia and Qumran

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Book Note | Commentary and Authority in Mesopotamia and Qumran (Emily Branton).

Bronson Brown-deVost. Commentary and Authority in Mesopotamia and Qumran. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019.

I noted another review of the book here.

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