A Short History of Siege Coins

NUMISMATICS: Emergency Money: A Short History of Siege Coins (Mike Markowitz, CoinWeek).

Sieges of the Jewish War/Great Revolt (Jerusalem, Masada, Gamla) head the list.

For more on the Year 5 silver shekel, see here.

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DNA analysis of late-antique Negev-highlands wine grapes

ANCIENT VITICULTURE: Ancient DNA from a lost Negev Highlands desert grape reveals a Late Antiquity wine lineage (Pnina Cohen et. al., PNAS, April 17, 2023).

Abstract

Recent excavations of Late Antiquity settlements in the Negev Highlands of southern Israel uncovered a society that established commercial-scale viticulture in an arid environment [D. Fuks et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 19780–19791 (2020)]. We applied target-enriched genome-wide sequencing and radiocarbon dating to examine grapevine pips that were excavated at three of these sites. Our analyses revealed centuries long and continuous grape cultivation in the Southern Levant. The genetically diverse pips also provided clues to ancient cultivation strategies aimed at improving agricultural productivity and ensuring food security. Applying genomic prediction analysis, a pip dated to the eighth century CE was determined to likely be from a white grape, to date the oldest to be identified. In a kinship analysis, another pip was found to be descendant from a modern Greek cultivar and was thus linked with several popular historic wines that were once traded across the Byzantine Empire. These findings shed light on historical Byzantine trading networks and on the genetic contribution of Levantine varieties to the classic Aegean landscape.

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ASOR on the Neo-Assyrian Aramean gods relief

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: The Başbük Rock Wall Panel: Serving Empire, Honoring Syro-Anatolian Gods (Mehmet Önal , Celal Uludağ, Yusuf Koyuncu and Selim Ferruh Adalı).

Başbük’s divine procession uniquely combined different elements. Inscriptions reveal their Aramaic names. Anatolian and Syrian divine motifs as well as their unique features underscore the cult’s local character. Anatomical elements in the depictions, including definition of their muscles, hair and profile point to the early Neo-Assyrian period. The ear-of-corn barley held by the leading Hadad-’Attar‘ata couple and the ear-of-corn imagery on Sîn and Šamaš’s headgears point to the importance of fertility represented in this complex at Başbük. These features differentiate the Başbük rock-panel from other Neo-Assyrian reliefs in the provinces ...

I have posted on the discover of the Neo-Assyrian Aramean gods relief at Başbük, Turkey, here and here. Cross-file under Parietal Petroglyphs.

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Schiffman on the claims about new Hezekiah inscriptions

PROF. LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: THE WRITING ON THE WALL? THE CLAIM OF A CONTROVERSIAL EXPERT TO HAVE DECIPHERED AN ANCIENT INSCRIPTION IS MET WITH DOUBT.

Just noticed this blog post by Professor Schiffman from the beginning of February. It is in response to an archaeologist's claim to have discovered a number of hitherto unnoticed royal inscriptions by King Hezekiah in Hezekiah's Tunnel in Jerusalem.

Other archaeologist received the announcement with skepticism. I noted the story here.

To my knowledge, no evidence for the claims has yet received scholarly publication. Schiffman summarizes the case for skepticism in an article in Ami Magazine.

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What route did Jeremiah take to Egypt?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Egyptian Journey of Jeremiah in the Bible. The archaeological and geological evidence (Marek Dospěl).

In his article “Jeremiah’s Journey to Egypt,” published in the Spring 2023 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, James K. Hoffmeier finally confirms the route that brought the biblical prophet to Egypt.

I noted the discovery of the second stele of Pharaoh Apries (Hophra) in 2021.

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Online edition of Proverbs in Sahidic Coptic

THE CONSULTING PHILOLOGIST BLOG: The Proverbs of Solomon in Sahidic Coptic (Matthew Scarborough ). HT Rogue Classicism.

This post is about "a single third/fourth century manuscript containing a translation of roughly two-thirds of the book of Proverbs (Papyrus Bodmer VI)." It includes a link to photographs and a preliminary edition of the text by the author.

Cross-file under Coptic Watch.

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Nabatean altars in a submerged Italian city?

NABATEAN (NABATAEAN) WATCH: 2,000-year-old altars found under water in Italy belong to ancient kingdom, experts say (Moira Ritter, Miami Herald via Yahoo News).

The latest discovery in the city [of Pozzuoli] includes a temple and two marble altars that once belonged to the Nabataean people, the ministry said. Experts dated the altars to the first half of the first century.

For more on the Nabateans, see here and here and many posts in the PaleoJudaica archive. They were a pre-Islamic, polytheistic Arab kingdom. They spoke Arabic, but wrote in a dialect of Aramaic.

For an ancient Jewish connection see the posts on the Babatha archive collected here (plus here), notably here and here.

Cross-file under Marine (Maritime, Underwater) Archaeology.

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Amsler, The Babylonian Talmud and late antique book culture (CUP)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The Babylonian Talmud. Notice of a New Book:

Amsler, Monika. 2023. The Babylonian Talmud and late antique book culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

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The origin of Leviticus' dietary laws

PROF. ESIAS E. MEYER: Leviticus’ More Priestly Version of the Dietary Laws (TheTorah.com).

Deuteronomy and Leviticus drew on common Vorlage (source text) to develop their regulations about the consumption of land, marine, and winged creatures. While Deuteronomy only lightly modifies this Vorlage, the editors of Leviticus expanded the text in several stages to align it with Priestly ideology.

Could be. Some thoughtful redaction criticism for those who enjoy such things.

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This necklace took 5,000 years to make.

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: A PIERCING INSIGHT INTO ANCIENT BEADS.

At first glance, one may think this is simply an artifact discovered in the sifting, which may tell a single story from a single period, but one important part of this item isn’t a recovered artifact – the string. What we have in front of us are in fact 35 different beads, discovered separately, each telling the story of a different necklace or other pieces of jewelry and articles of clothing.

Also, there is a specialist on the technology of drilling ancient beads? Of course there is.

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Review of Hendin, Guide to Biblical coins (6th ed.)

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Guide to Biblical coins.

David Hendin, Guide to Biblical coins. 6th edition. New York: American Numismatic Society, 2022. Pp. 668. ISBN 9780897223706

Review by
Michaël Girardin, Université du Littoral – Côte d’Opale. michael.girardin@univ-littoral.fr

The review is in French. You can read a Google-Translate English version here. From the latter:

As we can see, the book is not a simple synthesis: it is innovative, well documented, very informed on many subjects. Thanks to this sixth update, it will accompany research for a long time to come and will remain one of the best books about the coins of Second Temple Judaism, to put in everyone's hands.

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Jesus and first-century synagogues

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Jesus and Synagogues. The role of synagogues in Jesus’ ministry (Megan Sauter).

Summarizes an article by Jordan J. Ryan in the current issue of BAR. The article itself is behind the subscription wall. But this essay does inclue a list of sixteen known synagogues from before the Bar Kokhba Revolt, with some information on most of them.

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Jerusalem's ghost Gennath Gate?

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: In Search of Josephus' Gennath Gate. Jerusalem's elusive Gennath Gate is mentioned only once by Josephus. Scholars have proposed many different locations for it, but all of them share a common geography (Chandler Collins, Approaching Jerusalem Substack). HT Rogue Classicism.

Josephus also tells us that the Gennath Gate served as the beginning of another wall that ran north, the so-called Second Wall. Although Josephus introduces us to the Gennath Gate in the context of the Second Wall, it is important to remember that it was actually a preexisting gate which was built into the First Wall. Conclusive remains of the Second Wall have never been found, but that has not stopped scholars from proposing many different hypothetical routes based mainly on the topography ...

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Who lived at Hazor? And where is their archive?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The Ancient People of Tel Hazor. Who actually lived in ancient cities?

The article by Shlomit Becha in the Spring 2023 issue of BAR is behind the subscription wall, but you can get a taste of it here.

For almost forty years I have been awaiting the discovery of that elusive cuneiform royal archive at Hazor. PaleoJudaica has been following the news about the site for the last twenty.

Archaeologists thought they knew where to look for it. If it's there at all, I guess they didn't. But at least they are still looking.

I hope they find it!

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Memorial to James Aitken

WILLIAM A. ROSS: IN MEMORIAM: JAMES K. AITKEN (1968-2023).

It’s difficult to know how to write a post like this one and what to say. Jim was widely recognized as an outstanding scholar. His untimely death is a tremendous loss to the field, of course. Rather than focus on that, I thought I would provide some more personal reflections, since Jim was not just a wonderful supervisor for me, but also a good friend.

I noted the passing of Prof. Aitkin here.

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More on the script of that 10th-century BCE Jerusalem inscription

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Archaeological Evidence of Solomon and Sheba? Scholar identifies South Arabian inscription in Jerusalem (Nathan Steinmeyer).

I noted this story here. This BHD essay updates it with some responses. Christopher Rollston is skeptical that the script is early Arabian rather than Canaanite.

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How many plagues on Egypt and what were they?

FOR PASSOVER: How Many Plagues Were There in Egypt? Surprise! The bible doesn’t actually mention plagues at all, and different sources cite radically different numbers. And what is arov, anyway? (Elon Gilad, Haaretz).

Scholars have grappled with reconciling these two accounts with the narrative in Exodus, which famously lists ten plagues: blood, frogs, lice, arov, disease of livestock, boils, hailstorms, locusts that destroyed crops, darkness that covered the land, and the death of the firstborn.

Their main conclusion has been that the story of the plagues went through various versions and transmission processes before being incorporated into the Book of Exodus, which given the differences between the three accounts was likely written only after Psalm 78, and Psalm 105.

As for the second plague: The Plagues of Passover: Blood. Toads… The second plague sent to afflict the ancient Egyptians who refused to let our people go was what exactly? (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

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Prof. James K. Aitken R.I.P.

SAD NEWS: Word came this weekend of the passing away of James K. Aitken, Professor of Hebrew and Early Jewish Studies at the Cambridge University Faculty of Divinity. He was especially know for his work on the Septuagint and on Hebrew Semantics.

In an e-mail on 7 April, SOTS Membership Secretary Alistair Hunter wrote, in part:

“It is with immense sorrow that we write to inform you that Professor Jim Aitken died peacefully in the early hours of this morning, with his family by his side. A beloved colleague, scholar, teacher, supervisor, and friend, Jim was held in high esteem and affection by all who knew him. As Professor of Hebrew and Early Jewish Studies, he commanded an international reputation, while here in Cambridge he provided distinguished leadership as Faculty Chair (2019-22), particularly during the pandemic. As we mourn his untimely passing, we extend our condolences to the members of his family and to his fiancée, Diana. We will be in touch again as further details become available.

Requiescat in pace.

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Easter 2023

HAPPY EASTER to all those celebrating.

Last year's Easter post is here with links.

My 2016 Easter post contains links leading to biblical and related passages concerning Easter and to correct information on the origin of the word. And this post gives biblical references for the Passion narrative.

I don't see any current stories of interest, but you can review some past Easter-related posts here, here, here, here, and here.

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Palimpsest fragments of the Old Syriac Gospels

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: Fragment of a 1,750-year-old New Testament translation discovered (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, PhysOrg).

The small manuscript fragment, which can now be considered as the fourth textual witness [to the Old Syriac translation of the gospels], was identified by Grigory Kessel using ultraviolet photography as the third layer of text, i.e., double palimpsest, in the Vatican Library manuscript. The fragment is so far the only known remnant of the fourth manuscript that attests to the Old Syriac version—and offers a unique gateway to the very early phase in the history of the textual transmission of the Gospels.

The underlying article by Grigory Kessel in New Testament Studies 69.2 (2023) is open access:

A New (Double Palimpsest) Witness to the Old Syriac Gospels (Vat. iber. 4, ff. 1 & 5)

Abstract

Vat. iber. 4, a membrum disjectum of the manuscript Sin. geo. 49, contains on two of its folios the Syriac Gospel text as the lowest layer (scriptio ima) within a double palimpsest. Comparison with known Syriac versions of the extant text – Matt 11.30–12.26 – shows that the text represents the Old Syriac version, and is particularly akin to the Curetonianus (Sy^c). On palaeographic grounds, the original Gospel manuscript can be dated to the first half of the sixth century. The fragment is so far the only known vestige of the fourth manuscript witness to the Old Syriac version.

For more on the Sinai Palimpsests Project, see here, here, and here.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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