The Talmudic sages and late-antique viticulture

TALMUD WATCH MEETS ARCHAEOBOTANY: Talmudic sages were active participants in ancient Mediterranean wine culture. According to a new study, the sages "sought ways to allow Jewish farmers to remain part of the wine industry without compromising Halacha” (Joanie Margulies, Jerusalem Post).

The researchers used an interdisciplinary approach, combining textual analysis of rabbinic literature like the Mishna, the Tosefta, and the Jerusalem Talmud with archaeological evidence and Classical Greek and Latin agricultural treatises. This integration of evidence demonstrated the sages’ deep familiarity with vineyard planning and growing techniques.

A key finding of the study was that the distances mandated by the sages between vine rows to prevent crossbreeding were “nearly identical” to those found in Classical-era vineyards in Italy and France.

The underlying article is published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History. It is behind the subscription wall.

Mediterranean Viticulture in Late Antique Palestine

Shulamit Miller, Guy Bar-Oz, Eyal Ben-Eliyahu, Gil Gambash The Journal of Interdisciplinary History (2025) 56 (1): 43–79. https://doi.org/10.1162/jinh.a.3

Abstract

Viticulture in Late Antiquity was a widespread, economically vital, and regionally diverse form of horticulture in the Mediterranean world, and archaeological and textual sources such as rabbinical literature shed light on viticulture, particularly in Palestine. Vineyard cultivation was shaped by local geography, climate, and religious norms, with techniques ranging from dryland farming to terracing, and from small plots to industrial-scale wine production. Rabbinical texts highlight Jewish legal and theological concerns—such as prohibitions on mixed planting and non-kosher wine—yet also show that rabbis operated within a shared Mediterranean viticultural koiné. Despite religious distinctions, vintners engaged in trade, adapted common practices, and contributed to a vibrant, interconnected viticultural economy. This article’s multidisciplinary perspective positions Palestine as a fully integrated participant in Late Antique Mediterranean wine culture, with its own regional adaptations shaped by religious, economic, and environmental factors.

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

The fate of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex

IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM. AND THAT'S WHERE IT IS: The Anonymous Buyer of One of World’s Oldest Books? The Green Collection. Scholars worried that the text had disappeared from the public, but the Crosby-Schøyen Codex is now on display at the Museum of the Bible (Emily Belz, Christianity Today).

The buyer of one of the oldest books in existence is no longer anonymous, and the book is viewable by the public after scholars fretted that it had disappeared into unknown private hands.

The Green Collection, connected to the Museum of the Bible, revealed that it purchased the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, which contains what is perhaps the earliest complete versions of Jonah and 1 Peter, at an auction last year.

[...]

HT Brent Nongbri at Variant Readings.

This is very good news!

We last saw the Coptic Crosby-Schøyen Codex when it was sold at a Christie's auction in June of 2024. For many PaleoJudaica posts, follow the links from there. Two substantive posts are here and here.

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

Greek Matthew and 6 Ezra fragments from Oxyrhynchus

VARIANT READINGS: New Article on P.Oxy. 1 2 and P.Oxy. 7 1010 (Brent Nongbri).

Behind the bland title of Brent's post lies a very interesting article on two long-known manuscripts that deserve more attention:

AnneMarie [Luijendijk] and I gave a general overview of Christian codices among the Oxyrhynchus papyri and then focused on two pieces, P.Oxy. 1 2, a papyrus bifolium containing the beginning of the Gospel According to Matthew in Greek and P.Oxy. 7 1010, a parchment leaf from a codex containing 6 Ezra.

The Matthew papyrus is dated to the third century and is of interest to New Testament scholars.

The second manuscript is of particular interest to PaleoJudaica. The full text of 6 Ezra is known only in a Latin translation appended to the Latin version of 4 Ezra. This Latin combination of 4-5-6 Ezra is known as 2 Esdras. This small, late-antique parchment fragment preserves the little that we have of the Greek original of 6 Ezra.

This open-access article gives background on Christian papyri from Oxyrhynchus. It discusses the details of this manuscript and explores the question of its provenance (Jewish or Christian). The authors also argue that the manuscript was a stand-alone one containing only 6 Ezra. This is an important datum for questions about the text's origin, transmission, and attachment to 4-5 Ezra. The article also points to an intriguing reference to a copy of an Ezra book–conceivably this very manuscript—in a fourth-century personal letter, also discovered at Oxyrhynchus.

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

Conference: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Apocalypticism in the 7th-9th Centuries

H-JUDAIC: EVENT: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Apocalypticism in the 7th-9th Centuries (September 1-3).

Conference
Date September 1, 2025 - September 3, 2025
Location United Kingdom
Subject Fields Jewish History / Studies

Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Apocalypticism in the 7th-9th Centuries
Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
1-3 September 2025
All times are British Summer Time or UTC+1

The conference marks the final event of a funded project examining apocalyptic literature of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in this formative period of contact and conflict. The aim is to bring together scholars from different disciplines to inspire innovative discussion about the nature of apocalypticism and Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations at the emergence of Islam.

Follow the link for the conference schedule and free online-attendance registration information. It's not clear to me whether registration for in-person attendance is still possible.

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

More on the possible synagogue in Castulo

ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATED: Study suggests 4th-century prayer site may be one of Spain’s earliest synagogues. Oil lamps decorated with menorahs and architectural evidence uncovered in the Roman city of Castulo suggest that the building was not a church, but served as Jews’ place of worship (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

A 4th-century building in the Ibero-Roman city of Cástulo in south-central Spain, traditionally interpreted by experts as an early Christian church, might have instead been a synagogue, a group of Spanish archaeologists has argued.

[...]

I've covered this story and the underlying technical article already here. But this article includes some new details from an email interview with an excavator.

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

Ezra and Nehemiah pseudepigrapha?

AN EXPERIMENT:

There are a number of Old Testament pseudepigrapha associated with the name of Ezra: 4 (5-6) Ezra, Greek/Latin Apocalypse of Ezra, Apocalypse of Sedrach(?), Vision of Ezra, Questions of Ezra, Revelation of Ezra. Yet no pseudepigrapha survive which are attributed to his contemporary Nehemiah. Not one.

Why?

What do you think? Comments enabled.

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

Judicial neutrality and the Bible

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

The Bible and the Myth of Judicial Impartiality

Judicial neutrality is critiqued through an exploration of ancient legal traditions that both uphold and challenge the ideal of rule-bound justice. Narratives such as those of Daniel, Susanna, Herod, and Jesus reveal how rigid legalism can lead to injustice, while empathy and contextual judgment often result in fairer, more humane outcomes.

See also Trial Stories in Jewish Antiquity: Counternarratives of Justice (Oxford, 2024).

By Chaya Halberstam
Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Studies
King’s University College at Western University
July 2025

I noted the publication of the book here.

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

Tony Burke's Regensburg Year: July 2025

THE APOCRYPHICITY BLOG: My Regensburg Year Part 12: July 2025.

Tony Burke was on research sabbatical for the 2024-25 academic year at the University of Regensburg in Germany. The year is now done and this is his final report:

This was it. Our last month. The plan was to spend one week in Poland and in the other three I would finish my book. Only one of those things was going to happen.

[...]

Never mind about the book. It will get done. Meanwhile Tony reports that during the year they visited fifty cities in fifteen countries and he presented six academic papers.

Back to work for Tony at York University. I have enjoyed following his Regensburg year.

For earlier posts in the series and more on Tony's work, see here and links.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

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

Ancient Star of David with a cross in it? Nope.

DECORATIVE ART: Grave Dig Uncovers 1,500-Year-Old Mosaic with Star of David and Cryptic Greek Petition in Türkiye (Leman Altuntaş, Arkeonews).

A routine burial in southeastern Türkiye has led to an extraordinary archaeological discovery. While digging a grave in the rural Özbilek neighborhood of Ergani district, local residents uncovered a stunning 35-square-meter mosaic floor believed to date back to the late Roman or early Byzantine period.

What makes the find even more fascinating is the presence of a six-line inscription in ancient Greek, resembling a formal petition or plea, along with a unique Star of David containing a Christian cross motif — a symbol rarely seen in combination. The mosaic was unearthed on March 8 during preparations for a burial, but the find has only recently been detailed by local museum authorities.

The article above has the best photo of the "Star of David" that I could find. As you can see, it is an eight-pointed star, two overlapping squares. It is not a Star of David. The Star of David is a six-pointed star, two overlapping equilateral triangles.

There is a + design in the center of the star. I don't know if it is a Christian cross. It's not obvious to me that it is. The mosaic has lots of geometric designs in it. You can see a better overall photo of it here. There is another + shape in the center of the big main design. The star containing the + is in the lower right.

It gets stranger. The Jerusalem Post reports: Mosaic with Star of David and Hidden Messages in Ancient Greek Found in Turkey. It too claims "The most striking feature of the mosaic is its incorporation of a Star of David with a cross motif and six lines of text written in Ancient Greek." There is a photo at the top which does depict a hexagram in a mosaic. There is a greenish blob in the center which has no resemblance to a cross. The article doesn't quite say that this is the mosaic being covered, but it certainly permits the reader to assume that.

I spent too much of my morning going down a rabbit hole to work out that the pictured mosaic is a fourth-century BCE one at Neo Paphos in Cyprus. It contains various geometric and other shapes, including, strikingly, a swastika next to the star. Both are just geometric designs in this period.

I was not surprised to see this notice at the bottom of the JP article: "Written with the help of a news-analysis system." In other words, it is AI generated.

In short, the mosaic discovered recently in Türkiye is of interest in itself, but it doesn't contain a Star of David. I suspect the "cross" is just a geometric decoration as well, but I don't know.

It is disappointing that the various journalists who transmitted this story didn't read it carefully enough to see the obvious problem with it. And doubly disappointing that the "Jerusalem Post Staff" let their article go through with that confusing and misleading photo. Why not use a photo of the actual Türkiye mosaic?

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

Lundbom, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Cascade)

NEW BOOK FROM WIPF AND STOCK (CASCADE):

Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi Hebrew Prophets of the Sixth and Fifth Centuries

by Jack R. Lundbom
Series: Cascade Companions

Imprint: Cascade Books
212 Pages, 5.00 x 8.00 x 0.42 in

Paperback
9798385237388
Published: June 2025
$28.00 / £21.00 / AU$43.00

eBook
9798385237401
Published: June 2025
$28.00 / £21.00 / AU$43.00

DESCRIPTION

This book introduces readers to Hebrew prophets of the sixth and fifth centuries BC, providing detailed discussion of Haggai's prophecy, of selected prophecies from I and II Zechariah, and of Malachi's prophecy. After a survey of the historical background of the period and brief introductions to each prophet, prophecies are translated; their rhetorical and compositional nature is noted, then discussed in detail. Questions for reflection are provided, making the book suitable for Bible study and small group discussions.

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

Tisha B'Av 2025

TISHA B'AV (THE NINTH OF AV) begins this evening at sundown. An easy fast to all those observing it.

The Ninth of Av is not specifically a biblical holy day. Rather, it commemorates a number of disasters that happened to the Jewish people, traditionally all on that same day of the year. These include the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians, the destruction of the Herodian Temple by the Romans, and the fall of Betar during the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Last year's Tisha B'Av post is here, with links.

More recent posts related to the day are here, here, and here.

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

Anniversary of the Battle of Cannae

PUNIC WATCH: On 2 August 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca led the Carthaginian army to a major victory over the Romans at the Battle of Cannae in southeast Italy. PaleoJudaica posts on the battle are collected here and links.

Hannibal won the battle but lost the (Second Punic) war. Details at the link. Plus, here is a recent analysis of the battle and its outcome: The Importance of the Battle of Cannae (BRET C. DEVEREAUX, War on the Rocks).

The Battle of Cannae, fought on Aug. 2, 216 BCE, the crowning success of Hannibal Barca over the Romans, sits comfortably in the pantheon of great military victories. It is one of the most spectacular examples of adroit tactics enabling a smaller, less heavily equipped army to defeat a larger, heavier opposing force in an open, pitched battle. However, though Cannae is frequently described as a “decisive victory,” it was, of course, nothing of the sort: The battle took place two years into the 17-year-long Second Punic War, which Hannibal lost. The failure of even the greatest of tactical victories to alter the overall strategic situation is every bit as much of the legacy of Cannae as Hannibal’s dazzling double-envelopment tactics.

[...]

Every so often I also like to link to this post, which explains why PaleoJudaica pays attention to the Phoenicians, Phoenician, the Carthaginians, and Punic and Neo-Punic.

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

Sifting Project recovers Hebrew bulla bearing possibly biblical name

NORTHWEST SEMITIC EPIGRAPHY: Tiny 2,600-year-old clay sealing inscribed with biblical name found in Temple Mount soil. Minuscule artifact discovered at the Jerusalem-based Temple Mount Sifting Project may reference an official who worked for King Josiah and who appears in II Kings and II Chronicles (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

A clay seal from the First Temple period bearing a Hebrew name that appears in the Bible has been uncovered by archaeologists at the Temple Mount Sifting Project in Jerusalem, the organization announced on Tuesday.

[...]

The original announcement from the Temple Mount Sifting Project Blog: HAS THE NAME OF KING JOSIAH’S TRUSTED OFFICIAL BEEN FOUND ON AN ANCIENT SEALING?

A rare seal impression on clay bearing the Hebrew name “Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu,” has recently been uncovered in the sifting. This exciting discovery raises the intriguing possibility of a direct link to a well-known biblical story: the finding of a sacred biblical law scroll during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, just years before the destruction of Jerusalem’s First Temple.

Could there have been more than one royal offical named Asayah(u) in the final generation of the Judean monarchy? Sure. But this bulla could well be from a seal belonging to the biblical official.

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

Coin from end of Great Revolt excavated near Temple Mount

NUMISMATICS: 'Coin of Despair' From End of Jewish Revolt Against Rome Found in Jerusalem. Earlier Jewish coins from the revolt period called for the liberation of Zion. This one found near Temple Mount called for 'redemption,' months before besieged Jerusalem fell to the Romans (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The switch to "redemption" indicates a change in mindset, and likely reflects the desperate situation of the rebel forces about six months before Jerusalem would finally fall to the Romans again on Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of Av, which is commemorated as a tragedy to this day, explains the excavation director Yuval Baruch.

Cross-file under Temple Mount Watch.

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

On Lamentations 2

TISHA B'AV IS COMING: When God Becomes the Enemy (Dr. Naama Golan, TheTorah.com).

Jerusalem’s destruction and the people’s suffering in the book of Lamentations is mostly seen as punishment for sin. But chapter two breaks the pattern: it accuses God not only of abandoning but of actively attacking His people with His own right hand. Perhaps counterintuitively, only by confronting YHWH in raw, honest terms—and with tears that flow like a stream—can the fire of God’s anger finally be cooled.

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

Old Church Slavonic evangeliary on display in Serbia

OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC WATCH: Miroslav’s Gospel on display at the National Museum to mark UNESCO listing anniversary. In a video message on his Instagram profile, Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković stated that Miroslav’s Gospel is on display at the National Museum to mark 20 years since the oldest preserved Serbian Cyrillic manuscript book was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World list. (Snezana Rakic, Serbian Monitor).

Created in the 1180s, Miroslav’s Gospel was written on parchment, contains 181 leaves and 296 miniatures drawn with a quill, later coloured with a brush and decorated with gold. An inscription on the last leaf of the Gospel confirms that it was commissioned by Miroslav, the Prince of Hum and brother of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja. It is believed that the scribe or miniaturist of the Gospel was a monk named Gligorije, whose signature appears on the last written page.

Miroslav’s Gospel is written in Old Church Slavonic, in the Serbian recension and the Raška orthography. Structurally, it is an evangeliary – a liturgical book containing selected passages from the four Gospels. ...

For more on Old Chuch Slavonic and why PaleoJudaica is interested in it, see here and many links (and note also here and here).

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

Whitaker, Eschatology and the Use of Psalms in Hebrews (T&T Clark)

NEW BOOK FROM BLOOMSBURY/T&T CLARK:

Eschatology and the Use of Psalms in Hebrews

Songs for the Last Days

Seth Whitaker (Author)

Hardback $120.00 $108.00

Ebook (PDF) $108.00 $86.40

Ebook (Epub & Mobi) $108.00 $86.40

Product details

Published Jul 10 2025
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 200
ISBN 9780567720955
Imprint T&T Clark
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Series The Library of Second Temple Studies
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

Description

Seth Whitaker argues that the Psalm texts function as the structural and theological backbone of Hebrews from start to finish, and that few scholars have examined the use of Psalms outside of quotations or connected the author of Hebrews' use of Psalms with his broader eschatological outlook. Whitaker suggests that the author's eschatology is his dominating exegetical assumption, allowing numerous psalms to be read with multiple meanings.

Whitaker further suggests that Psalms, for the author of Hebrews, not only provide messianic material for his exegetical commentary, but also speak to a deeper interpretive tradition that is detectable through scriptural allusions, shared motifs, and narrative structures. Whitaker examines three passages of Hebrews, 1:5–13, 12:18–28 and 13:15, which correspond to three perceived gaps in scholarship: the relationship between quoted texts, the author's cultural encyclopedia, and the function of scriptural allusions. By focusing on Psalms and the eschatological nature of the author of Hebrews' exegesis, Whitaker concludes that readers will be better suited to situate Hebrews in relation to other Second Temple and early Jewish interpretive traditions.

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

A mason's mark on a Temple Mount wall stone?

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Mason’s Mark Discovered on Stone Likely From Temple Mount Wall. ‘Show and Tell’ from the current Ophel Excavations in Jerusalem (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology).

An informative video.

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

On Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations

PROF. LIZ BOASE: Why Was the Book of Lamentations Attributed to Jeremiah? (TheTorah.com).

Was it based on an ancient tradition? Inspired by stylistic similarities? A strategy to give legitimacy to a text with controversial portrayals of God? Or does it reflect a broader cultural shift toward authorial attribution in the Second Temple period? And finally—how does this attribution change how we read the Book of Lamentations?

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

Bigtime grant for Heculaneum scrolls research

TECHNOLOGY WATCH: UK’s [i.e., University of Kentucky's] Brent Seales, global team secures Europe’s top research grant to digitally decode Herculaneum scrolls (Lindsey Piercy, University of Kentucky).

The $13.5 million (approximately €11.5 million) grant supports “UnLost: Uncovering Lost Knowledge from the Ancient Library of Herculaneum” — a project led by a global consortium of experts in papyrology and computer science.

Seales is one of three co-principal investigators selected for the highly competitive award, which funds only a handful of projects each year and is widely considered one of the most significant research grants globally — with success rates typically below 10%.

“This Synergy Grant gives us the resources and partnership structure we need to pursue what was once thought impossible — a full-scale recovery of the lost library of Herculaneum,” Seales said. “I’m honored to be part of a project that will rewrite what we know about the ancient world.”

Congratulations to Professor Seales and his collaborators!

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and its destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and on the efforts to reconstruct and decipher the carbonized library at Herculaneum, start here and follow the links.

The decipherment of the Herculaneum scrolls has gained momentum in the last few years. See that last link, plus here, here, here, here, and here.

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