Saint Hilarion Monastery now on UNESCO's endangered site list

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: UNESCO puts monastery in Gaza, one of Middle East’s oldest, on endangered site list. UN’s World Heritage Center says fourth-century site faces risk of destruction amid ongoing war between Israel and Hamas (AFP/Times of Israel).

For more on the Saint Hilarion Monastery, see here and links. The site was already under UNESCO's provisional enhanced protection.

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Muhammad ed-Dhib...?

VARIANT READINGS: Another Photo of Muhammad ed-Dhib (Brent Nongbri).

Background here. To continue the theme: we're not even certain of the correct name of the discoverer of the first Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940s. Yet we think we can figure out the sobriquets in the Qumran pesharim? Well, maybe.

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Golb, The Qumran Con (Archway)

NEW BOOK FROM ARCHWAY PRESS:

The Qumran Con

A Dead Sea Scrolls Memoir

by Raphael Golb

Formats

E-Book $3.99

Softcover $35.99

Hardcover $56.99

Book Details

Language : English Publication Date : 6/17/2024

Format : E-Book Dimensions : N/A Page Count : 524 ISBN : 9781665758284 Format : Softcover Dimensions : 6x9 Page Count : 524 ISBN : 9781665752848 Format : Hardcover Dimensions : 6x9 Page Count : 524 ISBN : 9781665758291

About the Book

Why did Professor Norman Golb of the famed Oriental Institute need to be silenced? Why did a small clique monopolize access and publication rights to the Dead Sea Scrolls for more than four decades? Why does the truth matter about where the scrolls came from?

And what do these questions have to do with scholarly ethics, freedom of speech, and the criminal justice system?

In this documented memoir, Raphael Golb exposes the inside story of the Dead Sea Scrolls controversy and its scandals. He describes how he himself became involved in the controversy—and ended up fighting to stay out of Rikers Island.

For over seventy years, the true historical significance of the scrolls has been obscured by the institutional influence of a threatened scholarly establishment. Never were the stakes made clearer than when powerful Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau took action to protect the reputation of well-connected scroll figures, both in New York and across the United States.

Raphael Golb’s memoir of his journey through the system—in a case that almost reached the Supreme Court—poses the question of where we stand with the First Amendment today. While reigniting the great debate over who wrote the scrolls, Golb’s account also sheds light on broader issues involving academic revolutions, censorship, and how easily power can be abused in a democratic society.

“Institutions and museums, international conferences and books may ostracize the scholar who transmits a new message … A crisis emerges … Eventually … the new paradigm gradually gains adherents and replaces the old.” — Joel Kraemer (2012 essay on Norman Golb)

HT Todd Bolen at the Bible Places Blog.

I followed the developments in the Raphael Golb internet impersonation case for years and years, because of its sad connection with the Dead Sea Scrolls. For the many posts, start here and follow the links.

In 2011, shortly after Golb's conviction and before his appeal (which I noted was in planning), I published an essay on "The Golb Affair" in Religion in the News. It gives background to the case and my own analysis of the situation at the time. For a legal analysis of the case which came near the end of the appeals process, see here. Over the years I linked to other legal analyses from time to time.

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Allegro, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Routledge, rpt.)

REPRINT FROM ROUTLEDGE:

The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls
in Text and Pictures

By John Marco Allegro

Copyright 1958

Hardback
£69.59
eBook
£39.99

ISBN 9781032738024
200 Pages
Published February 1, 2024 by Routledge

Original Price £86.99
Sale Price GBP £69.59

Description

First published in 1959, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls gives a complete pictorial record of the dramatic story of the Dead Sea Scrolls – actually shows the places where the Scrolls were found, as well as the desert and caves in which the people of the Scrolls lived just before the dawn of Christianity. The striking photographs tell the exciting story of the discovery of the Scrolls and the subsequent archaeological excavations and research. They also show the rocky desert with the remains of the ancient Essene community in which the people of the Scrolls practiced their austere faith, and the Scrolls themselves, which reflect the life of the desert settlement, its leaders, and its religious spirit. This book will be of interest to students of history, religion and archaeology.

Long out of date, but of historical interest.

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Schorr & De Troyer (eds.), ... Key Concepts of the Greek Bible (Peeters)

NEW BOOK FROM PEETERS:

From Worshipping, Sacrificing and Mourning to Praising and Praying
Key Concepts of the Greek Bible

SERIES:
Contributions to Biblical Exegesis & Theology, 120

EDITORS:
Potgieter A., Schorr J., De Troyer K.

PRICE: 62 euro
YEAR: 2024
ISBN: 9789042952607
E-ISBN: 9789042952614
PAGES: VIII-256 p.

SUMMARY:
There are a variety of concepts and verbs that are used when expressing a sort of relationship with God: Does one pray, worship, serve God? How does one address God and which titles can be used? Where does one worship and serve God? How does one express sacrificing? What verbs and concepts are used to indicate mourning? All these key-concepts and verbs are analysed in this volume. Whereas the focus of this volume is on the Greek Biblical, Septuagintal text, these concepts and verbs are also traced from the Hebrew Bible, via the Greek Old Testament, and further into the New Testament and the patristic literature.

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Morano & Lieu (eds.), Varia Manichaica (Brepols)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Varia Manichaica.

Morano, Enrico & Samuel N. C. Lieu (eds.). 2024. Varia Manichaica (Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum. Analecta Manichaica 3). Turnhout: Brepols.

Notice of a new book. Cross-file under Manichean (Manichaean) Watch.

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The history of the Tell el-Hesi excavation

THE BIBLE AND INTEPRETATION:

Hesi after 50 Years and 130 Years

Paying Tribute to the Long Excavation History at Tell el-Hesi

Introduction

See, Hesi after 50 Years and 130 Years (Eisenbrauns, 2023).

Edited by John R. Spencer
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
John Carroll University

James W. Hardin
Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures
Mississippi State University

Jeffrey Blakely
Department of Classics and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Follow the link for a link to the pdf file. Cross-file under New Book.

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Early DSS photos and archival footage

VARIANT READINGS: Photos from the 1950 Duke Exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Brent Nongbri).

Watching them casually handling and rolling and unrolling those Dead Sea Scrolls is disturbing.

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More on Zerzevan Castle's Mithras temple

ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATE: In the 1,900-year-old underground temple of Mithras religion in Zerzevan Castle, an area where participants of secret rituals stayed was unearthed (Oguz Buyukyildirim, Arkeonews). HT Archaeologica News.

Indicating that this is a very important discovery, [excavation director Aytaç] Coşkun said: “Because it is the first sanctuary found on the eastern border of the Roman Empire, it is one of the last Mithras sanctuaries in the world. Mithras is the esoteric and mystery belief of the Roman Empire. Its ceremonies and rituals are secret; all these secret ceremonies and rituals were held in underground structures and temples at Zerzevan Castle.”

“During the excavations, we found where Mithras adherents from different parts of the Roman Empire stayed during certain periods of the year. We are continuing the excavations in this area. We will present our work to the scientific community,” he added.

I noted the 2017 discovery of this Mithras sanctuary here. For PaleoJudaica posts involving Mithras and Mithraism, see the links collected there, plus here and links.

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First-century Jesus-follower refugees in Pella? Maybe.

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY has two essays on the site of Pella, a Decapolis city in Jordan. According to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 3.5.3), the whole Jerusalem community of Jesus followers were warned by an oracle to flee there before the war with Rome.

Excavating Ancient Pella, Jordan. Archaeology investigates the Jerusalem Christians’ escape to Pella

Pella: A Window on Survival (Mark Wilson)

I already noted the second essay some years ago. I mentioned then that I lived in that Pella in Iowa for several years before I moved to Scotland. The first one is new to me.

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More on that insect-dyed fabric

ANCIENT ENTYMOLOGICAL ADORNMENT: Early Red Dye Made From Insects Used in Pre-biblical Israel. Hundreds of fabric pieces found in Cave of Skulls by the Dead Sea date from Chalcolithic to Roman period – and some are startlingly scarlet (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

I posted on this story last week, but Ms. Schuster's characteristically well-researched article deserves to be noted for its additional entymological and cultural background information.

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More on Jerusalem's mysterious monumental moat

ANCIENT MONUMENTAL ENGINEERING: Solving mystery, archaeologists find vast moat that protected Jerusalem’s biblical kings. Researchers say fortification required major engineering and resources, separated Temple Mount and king’s palace from rest of Jerusalem; discovery accords with biblical references (Times of Israel).

I already posted on this story last December, but everyone seems to be reporting the latest IAA press release, so I may as well too. As far as I can tell, there's nothing new except that: "The results of the excavation are set to be presented at the City of David’s Jerusalem Studies Experience conference in August." I look forward to hearing more about it then.

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Online Lilith event with Sarah Clegg

NOTED BY IANVISITS:

Following Lilith — tracking a demoness through time - Dr Sarah Clegg

Sunday, 13th Oct 2024
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm
£10.87

This is an online video event, please check the organiser for details about how to watch.

This talk will examine her origins in the child- and mother-killing demoness Lamashtu from ancient Mesopotamia

Following Lilith — tracking a demoness through time

The monstrous Lilith has some popularity in the modern day, both as a demoness appearing in literature, TV and film, and as a feminist symbol. In most modern tellings of her story, she is the first wife of Adam, cast out of paradise when she refused to have sex with her husband, and is often represented as a seductive, child-killing creature. But where does Lilith come from? Tracing her back for over 4000 years, this talk will examine her origins in the child- and mother-killing demoness Lamashtu from ancient Mesopotamia, and Lamashtu's contemporary, a rather sad species of virgin ghost called Lilitu. It will follow her through Aramaic incantation bowls, kabbalist literature, Christian folklore and Victorian art, looking not just at how she’s changed over the millennia, but what drove those changes - how she combined with cultures, movements and interests to become the monster (and feminist figure) that she is today.

Bio

Sarah Clegg has a PhD in ancient history from Cambridge University; she was part of the 2020/21 London Library Emerging Writers Programme. Her first book — Woman’s Lore: 4,000 Years of Sirens, Serpents and Succubi — was published by Head of Zeus and traces a group of seductive, child-snatching demonesses through folklore from ancient Mesopotamian to the present day. It was shortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown Award 2023.

Curated & Hosted by

Marguerite Johnson is a cultural historian of the ancient Mediterranean, specialising in sexuality and gender, particularly in the poetry of Sappho, Catullus, and Ovid, as well as magical traditions in Greece, Rome, and the Near East. She also researches Classical Reception Studies, with a regular focus on Australia. In addition to ancient world studies, Marguerite is interested in sexual histories in modernity as well as magic in the west more broadly, especially the practices and art of Australian witch, Rosaleen Norton. She is Honorary Professor of Classics and Ancient History at The University of Queensland, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Follow the link for booking information etc.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Lilith, start here and just keep following those links.

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Ezekiel's dry bones

PROF. MATTHEW J. SURIANO: Judah’s Restoration: The Meaning of Ezekiel’s Vision of the Dry Bones (TheTorah.com).

Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones did not assume personal resurrection, a belief that entered Judaism in a later period. In its original context, the imagery of bones rearticulating and coming back to life draws upon the ancient burial practices of Judahite family tombs, offering a message of hope to the exiles in Babylon that YHWH will return them to their land.

I have discussed this topic before. I think that this essay is correct in what it asserts—that the bones of Ezekiel 37 are a metaphor for the exiles and the resurrection of the bones symbolizes the restoration of the exiles in the Land of Israel.

But I am also inclined to think that the essay is incorrect in what it denies—that the vision of the dry bones did not assume personal resurrection. As I asked earlier, "Would anyone have used this image unless some ideas about physical resurrection were not already part of the cultural narrative?"

I have discussed the question at length in my 2018 post, Resurrection in the Book of Ezekiel (and in Ugaritic). I think the idea that the gods could resurrect the dead is a lot older than usually acknowledged. It alreary appears in Ugartic epic. And Ezekiel is at least playing with the idea that personal resurrection could be collective. Full details there.

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Industrial metal meets Nag Hammadi?

MUSIC: Fleischkrieg premieres ‘Eve’ video on Side-Line – Out now (Side-Line).

This is what the band [Fleischkrieg] says about the track: “The song “Eve” is based on the Gnostic tradition of Adam’s wife being the hero in the Genesis creation myth – rather than the villain. This 2nd century Christian sect revered Eve as an early incarnation of the Divine Feminine, and if it weren’t for her courage to commit “original sin” – we’d still be trapped in a genetics lab known as the Garden of Eden.

The song is sung from Adam’s point of view where he praises Eve for delivering them from the tyranny of the Elohim. Though they are “thrown out the gilded cage”, Adam asks Eve to “make the thorns our home”, a poetic nod to human resilience in the face of catastrophe.”

The music video is creative in a metal sort of way. It has just about everything you could imagine. But apart from the opening quote from the Apocalypse of Adam, I struggle to see any direct influence from ancient Gnosticism.

Neverthless, duly noted as on some level inspired by it and the Nag Hammadi Library. For other musical inspirations see here, here, here, and here. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Library has become a kind of cultural icon.

For more on ancient and esoteric themes in metal music, see the links collected here.

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Earliest photos of first DSS discoverers?

OVER AT VARIANT READINGS, Brent Nongbri has done some detective work on identifying the subjects and dates of the original discoverers of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Cave One).

The Earliest Photo of the Man Who Discovered the First Dead Sea Scrolls?

Photos of the First Finders of the Dead Sea Scrolls

We can't even keep straight the dates of the first photos of Muhammad ed Dhib and we think we can reconstruct the history of the Qumran sect?

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New info on the central church at Shivta

ARCHAEOLOGY: Before the Storm: How Early Christians Built Another Church in Ancient Shivta. Possibly the early Christians in the Negev didn't identify the storm clouds building over their heads. Or maybe they did, and wanted to pray (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

In the late 6th century or possibly the early 7th, the Christians of Shivta built another church.

The Central Church was squeezed in between existing homes in the late 6th or early 7th century, hundreds of years after the village's foundation in the deep desert. It was the Shivta's third monumental church, which ostensibly reflects prosperity and population growth.

Indeed Shivta, founded during the Roman period, flourished in the Byzantine period, from the 5th to the 7th century. The people developed remarkable ways to efficiently farm the Negev, growing the usual suspects, including grapes for wine. Plausibly the third church was erected because of a growing population's need.

In hindsight, that need may not have lasted for long. The Central Church was built on the cusp of the village's decline ...

The site of Shivta is important for the archaeology of the late-antique Negev. It has been the subject of many PaleoJudaica posts.

For more on the apocalyptic social collapse in the late-antique Negev, see here.

Whatever the limitations of Harris Dunscombe Colt, the excavator of Shivta in the early twentieth century, his management of his things, such as it was, resulted in the preservation of a suitcase full of artifacts (noted here and here) and, now, the survival and recovery of important sketches of the Shivta excavation which shed light on that third church.

Shivta is perhaps best known for the portrayal of Jesus's face on a wall painting in the baptistry of the north church. See here links.

For still more posts involving Shivta, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

The peer-review article underlying the current Haaretz one is published in the current issue of the Palestine Exploration quarterly (156, issue 2, 2024). It is behind a subscription wall, but the abstract, acknowledgements, and notes are available for free.

Old Ground Plan - New Insights: The Central Church Compound in Shivta Revised

Emma Maayan-Fanar & Yotam Tepper
Published online: 17 Jun 2024
Cite this article https://doi.org/10.1080/00310328.2024.2363671

ABSTRACT

The three monumental churches of the Byzantine site of Shivta in the Negev Desert were fully excavated in the first third of the 20th century. Lacking the original archaeological reports, discussion of them has been based mostly on contemporary observations of the ruins. The Central Church, situated in the center of the village and surrounded by houses, has received the least scholarly attention of the three churches. Recently recovered data, including its ground plan executed by Colt’s expedition in 1937, and archival materials published here for the first time, enabled re-examination of the Central Church structure within the compound, its history, date, and identification of the function of some of the rooms. Analysis of old and new data led us to propose an updated plan of the Central Church complex. Accordingly, new insights are proposed regarding the place of the church within the village, its neighboring domestic structures, its relation to the other two churches of Shivta, and the layout of the site.

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Another review of Strange, Excavating the Land of Jesus

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Review: Excavating the Land of Jesus.

Excavating the Land of Jesus
How Archaeologists Study the People of the Gospels
By James Riley Strange
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2023), 192 pp., 29 b/w figs., 2 maps; $29.99 (hardcover and eBook)

Reviewed by Matthew J. Grey

... In short, this book helps its reader understand how archaeologists think and work, particularly when dealing with such significant historical or religious texts as the Gospels.

Although other volumes have recently provided updates on specific aspects of this topic—such as surveys of newly excavated sites or studies of Galilean daily life—Strange’s book focuses on the process of archaeological research itself. ...

Earlier PaleoJudaica posts on the book are here and here.

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And another review of Fine, The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic': Gila Fine’s fine book on women in the Talmud - review. Gila Fine’s The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic reexamines Talmudic women, challenging stereotypes and offering fresh, scholarly perspectives on their roles and stories (PAM PELED, Jerusalem Post).

Fine’s delightful book The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud is written with such a light touch as it dishes up Greek mythology and medicine, midrashim, modern movies, and everything in between, that this seemingly esoteric book is more compelling than any novel. I couldn’t put it down.

I have noted other reviews of the book here and here.

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Batten (ed.), Review of Biblical Literature, 2023 (SBL)

NEWISH BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Review of Biblical Literature, 2023
Alicia J. Batten, editor

ISBN 9781628373462
Volume RBL 25
Status Available
Publication Date January 2024

Paperback $100.00
eBook $100.00

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.

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