Hanukkah 2016

HAPPY HANUKKAH (CHANUKKAH, CHANUKAH) to all those celebrating! The eight-day festival begins tonight at sundown. That means that this year the first day of Hanukkah will overlap with Christmas. (Cross-file under Cosmic Synchronicity.)

Last year's Hanukkah post is here. It links to past Hanukkah posts with additional historical background. PaleoJudaica has put up many posts on Hanukkah in the last year. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Stronk, Semiramis’ Legacy

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Semiramis’ Legacy. Notice of a new book: Stronk, Jan p. 2016. Semiramis’ Legacy: The History of Persia According to Diodorus of Sicily (Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia). Edinburgh University Press.

I have commented here on the importance of the work of Diodorus for biblical studies, notably as cultural background to the Book of Daniel.

Butts and Gross, The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

THE HISTORY OF THE ‘SLAVE OF CHRIST’
From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr

Edited and Translated by Aaron Michael Butts & Simcha Gross

Publication Status: Forthcoming

Series: Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Text and Translation 6
Publication Date: Nov 29,2016
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 269
Languages: English, Syriac
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0573-7

The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’: From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr offers the first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of this fascinating text, which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher, who after converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’) is martyred by his father Levi in a scene reminiscent of Abraham’s offering of Isaac in Genesis 22. In a detailed introduction, the authors argue that the text is a fictional story composed during the early Islamic period (ca. 650–850) probably in Shigar (modern Sinjār). Building upon methodology from the study of western Christian and Jewish texts, they further contend that the story’s author constructs an imagined Jew based on the Hebrew Bible, thereby challenging the way that previous scholars have used this text as straightforward evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians in Babylonia at this time. This ultimately allows the authors to reevaluate the purpose of the text and to situate it in its Late Antique Babylonian context.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

December 25?

'TIS THE SEASON: Why is Christmas on December 25? (Anthony Le Donne, The Jesus Blog).

From the modern historian’s perspective, we must conclude that we haven’t the first clue of Jesus’ birthdate. Rather, December 25 is a theological guess that was not widely commemorated until the 6th century. What I find most interesting, however, is that commemorating the life of Jesus restructured how Christians thought about their annual calendar. Conversely, once a commemorative calendar had been established, these traditions eventually restructured how Christians thought about Jesus.

Cross-file under Asking the Important Questions.

Christmas carols and NT textual criticism

'TIS THE SEASON: Variants affecting carols (P.J. Williams, ETC Blog). Which variant readings in Greek New Testament manuscripts influenced the wording of Christmas Carols in English? There are a few, but watch out also for apocryphal readings in the comments.

The Magi and the OTP

'TIS THE SEASON: The Magi and the Cave of Treasures (Philip Jenkins, The Anxious Bench).

As any Bible reader knows, the infant Jesus was visited by Magi, who brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and a cold coming they had of it. But where did they actually get these gifts from? However arcane and speculative such a question may seem, the resulting curiosity generated a vast body of Christian literature. Although not mentioned in canonical scripture, the resulting tales became an integral part of faith for countless believers.

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Past posts on The Cave of Treasures are here and here. You can read an old translation at the second link. As noted, this text has recently been translated for the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Magi in history and legend are here and here and links.

Cross-file under Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch and New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

Toledot Yeshu

'TIS THE SEASON (POLEMICAL COUNTER-HISTORY EDITION): The Jewish Jesus Story. In the mysterious and controversial ancient Hebrew text ‘Toledot Yeshu,’ a counterlife of the Nazarene ‘bastard, son of a menstruant’ that criticizes Jews as much as Christians (Eli Yassif, Tablet Magazine).

Toledot Yeshu (The Life Story of Jesus) is almost certainly one of the most mysterious and controversial, yet exceedingly popular, books in the history of Hebrew literature. The book lays out for the reader the New Testament stories about the life of Jesus of Nazareth from a Jewish point of view. The Virgin Birth, the divinity and messiahship of Jesus, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, the sentencing of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, his death, and his resurrection as Son of God are all replaced by a newly shaped narrative, what the late historian Amos Funkenstein termed “counterhistory,” that crudely derides the deepest principles of the Christian faith.

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But it is remarkably sympathetic to the figure of Jesus himself.

Past PaleoJudaica posts on Toledot Yeshu (Toledoth Yeshu) are here and here. The latter notes a new edition of the text, published two years ago.

Interview with Steven Fine

MENORAHS GALORE: Everything You Wanted To Know About Menorahs But Were Afraid To Ask (Benjamin Ivry, The Forward).

Hanukkah does not begin until December 24, but the historian Steven Fine has already captured the holiday mood in “The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel.” Among other things, Fine’s book explains the distinction between the seven-branched menorah used in the ancient Temple and the hanukiah, or nine-branched candelabrum lit during Hanukkah. A professor at Yeshiva University, and head of the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration Project, Fine spoke to the Forward’s Benjamin Ivry about menorah history and lore.

Past posts on Professor Fine's new book are here and links. Past posts on ancient menorahs in general are here (cf. here) and many links. Past posts on why the Temple menorah is not in the Vatican are here, here, here, here, and here. I have posted some photos of the Arch of Titus here. Cross-file under 'Tis the Season (Hanukkah Edition).

Fredriksen on Hayes, What’s Divine About Divine Law?

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Paul and the Mosaic Law (Paula Fredriksen). I take it that this too is from the recent SBL session on Professor Hayes's book, although that is not stated explicitly. For the earlier SBL reviews posted at AJR, see here and here. The first of those two post also collects earlier PaleoJudaica posts on the book.

Amihay, Theory and Practice in Essene Law

ARYEH AMIHAY: Theory and Practice in Essene Law (Academia.edu). This file includes the front and back matter and the introduction to his new (2016) OUP book with this title.

Hyrcanus was here

EPIGRAPHY: Hasmonean Period Stone Bowl Engraved with Rare Hebrew Inscription ‘Hyrcanus’ Discovered (JNi.Media).

A stone bowl engraved with a rare Hebrew inscription – “Hyrcanus” – dating to the Hasmonean period was discovered in the archaeological excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Givʽati Parking Lot at the City of David at the Jerusalem Walls National Park. “Hyrcanus” was a common name of the time, as well as the name of two kings of the Hasmonean dynasty.

According to researchers, “This is one of the earliest examples of the appearance of chalk vessels in Jerusalem. In the past, these vessels were widely used mainly by Jews because they ensured ritual purity (stone vessels never receive tumah).”

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("Tumah" means "ritual impurity.")

Postdoc on the ideology of writing in the ancient Mediterranean

FROM MICHAEL SATLOW:

Brown University: DOF: Religious Studies
Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Culture and Ideology of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean
Location: Providence, RI

The Departments of Religious Studies, Classics, and History, and the Programs in Judaic Studies and Early Cultures, invite applications for an International Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the area of the culture and ideology of writing in the ancient Mediterranean. Specialization is open, but preference will be given to candidates who employ the digital humanities in their research; applicants from outside North America are especially encouraged to apply. The fellow’s administrative home will be in the Department of Religious Studies, but applications are invited in any of the fields represented by the sponsoring programs, and the successful candidate is expected to be able to work across disciplines.

Fellows participate in a weekly, multi-disciplinary seminar at the Cogut Humanities Center and teach one course each term. S/he will join a strong intellectual community of scholars from across the university who work on issues involving the role of writing in the pre-modern world.

This is a two year position beginning July 1, 2017, with stipends of $61,500 and $63,907 in their 1st and 2nd years, respectively, plus standard fellows’ benefits and a $2,000 per year research budget. Applicants must have received their Ph.D. within the last five years from an institution other than Brown.

Applicants should submit a CV; letter of interest; and writing sample (of about 20 pages) online through https://apply.interfolio.com/39903, and arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 1, 2017.

For further information, write to either of the Search Committee Chairs, John Bodel (john_bodel@brown.edu) or Michael Satlow (michael_satlow@brown.edu).

Application Instructions
Applicants must have received their Ph.D. from an institution other than Brown within the last five years. The appointment will begin July 1, 2017. Applicant should submit a CV; letter of interest; and writing sample (of about 20 pages) online through https://apply.interfolio.com/39903, and arrange for the submission of three letters of recommendation. The Search Committee will begin reviewing applications on February 1, 2017.

Schiffman on the Jerusalem papyrus and forgeries

PROFESSOR LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: JERUSALEM PAYPYRUS “PROVES” JEWISH CONNECTION TO TEMPLE MOUNT. BUT IS IT A FORGERY?. A thoughtful new article by Professor Schiffman in Ami Magazine. Background on the Jerusalem papyrus is here and links.

In that article Professor Schiffman also tells an instructive little tangentially-related anecdote which is worth quoting:

Hearing these accusations reminded me of an experience I had last summer when I was in Yerushalayim. I had gotten an email from a woman who was an investigative reporter for a Canadian French-language news program; she had attached scans of a supposedly antique Jewish magical amulet. The reporter asked me to call her in Beirut. Sitting in my hotel room in Israel, I was soon speaking with her.

She had already been told by another scholar, an expert in Jewish magical texts, that what she had scanned was a forgery. Strangely, the amulet was a mixture of our standard Hebrew script, ksav Ashuri—Assyrian or square script—and ksav Ivri—the old Hebrew script (paleo- Hebrew), which went out of general use in the time of Ezra and Nechemiah, around 450 BCE. Ksav Ivri was only used later for nationalistic reasons on Jewish coins and in the writing of some Biblical manuscripts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Kusim (Samaritans) continue to use the old script for their Torah scrolls and mezuzos today.

The combination of the scripts in one sloppily written, nonsensical text showed clearly that it was forged. The reporter explained that she was actually investigating an influx of forged Judaica currently being marketed as having been smuggled into Beirut from Syria and Iraq, where antiquities thieves have been having a field day. So I was in no way surprised when questions about the authenticity of the Jerusalem papyrus were raised.

Mixed scripts with sloppily-written, nonsensical text are features characteristic of forgeries. That doesn't necessarily mean every text with those features is a forgery, but the combination should make us consider the possibility carefully.

Toledo and Ángel, The Zoroastrian Law to Expel the Demons

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: The Zoroastrian Law to Expel the Demons. Notice of a new book: Andrés Toledo, Miguel Ángel. 2016. The Zoroastrian law to expel the demons: Wīdēwdād 10-15. Critical edition, translation and glossary of the Avestan and Pahlavi texts (Iranica 23). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

Hanukkah and the Maccabean war

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): The Maccabees Were on the Wrong Side of History — So Why Do We Still Celebrate Hanukkah? (Barbara Brotman, The Forward). The author consulted with many scholars about the question. I don't think we can simplify the Maccabean war to either a rebellion against an oppressive outsider or a civil war. The situation was complicated and both were involved.

New DSS from the Cave of the Skulls

EPIGRAPHY: New Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments Found in Judean Desert. Documents from Iron Age and Roman times surfacing in the black market helped convince archaeologists there was more to be found (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz).

New fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found in the Cave of the Skulls by the Dead Sea in Israel, in a salvage excavation by Israeli authorities. The pieces are small and the writing on them is too faded to make out without advanced analysis. At this stage the archaeologists aren't even sure if they're written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or another language.

“The most important thing that can come out of these fragments is if we can connect them with other documents that were looted from the Judean Desert, and that have no known provenance," says Dr. Uri Davidovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, among the scientists investigating the caves.

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The latest finds, two papyri fragments about two by two centimeters with writing and several fragments without discernible letters, were made during a three-week salvage excavation in the Cave of the Skulls this May and June by a joint expedition of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The excavations were led by Uri Davidovich and Roi Porat of the Hebrew University, together with Amir Ganor and Eitan Klein from the IAA.

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Nothing exciting or even particularly interesting here yet, but hopefully this is a harbinger of better things to come as the IAA's new comprehensive survey of the Judean Desert caves proceeds. The article also discusses many other non-epigraphic finds in the Cave of the Skulls. Past posts on the exploration of the Cave of the Skulls last spring and on the IAA's cave-survey initiative in general are collected at the end of this post.

More ancient Jewish coins up for auction

NUMISMATICS: Goldbergs: Extraordinary Collection of Ancient Jewish Coins at Auction January 10 (Coin Week).

One of the most extensive collections of extraordinary high quality ancient Jewish coins, assembled by a Long Island Doctor over two decades, will be auctioned at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on January 10. Included are a remarkable number (45) of extremely rare silver coins picturing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, minted just 60 years after the Temple had been destroyed in 70 CE. Each of these museum-quality, approximately quarter-dollar-size silver coins pictures the interior of the Temple, including the Ark of the Covenant surrounded by columns, usually with a star above--thought to refer to the Jewish leader Simon Bar Kochba (Simon Son of the Star), who was proclaimed the Messiah by Rabbi Akiva, and whose name, in ancient Hebrew, surrounds the Temple. The other side of the Temple coins features lulav and etrog, along with Hebrew inscriptions like “For the Freedom of Israel.” The auction company estimates that most of the Holy Temple coins will sell for $5,000 USD and up.

There are coins that have the indicated inscriptions, but the pictured coin reads somewhat differently. On it, the side with the Ark and the Temple reads ירושלם, "Jerusalem," and the side with the lulav and etrog reads שבלחר ישראל, "y(ear) 2 of the free(dom) of Israel." I am not a numismatist, but that's what I see.

The auction of the Brody Family Collection also includes some coins from the first revolt, a late Hasmonean menorah coin, other Hasmonean-era coins, and a gold Judea Capta coin.

As always, I hope that any collector who buys the coins will make them available for scholars to study and will perhaps exhibit some of the more interesting and rare ones in a museum.

Ancient menorahs

'TIS THE SEASON (HANUKKAH EDITION): Oldest-known Images of Hanukkah Menorahs: Not What We Know Today. Ancient images of Hanukkah menorahs usually had seven arms, per the divine dictate, but alternatives may have arisen due to bitter mourning, and a rabbinical ban (Miriam Feinberg Vamosh and Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The menorah today has nine branches: one for each of the eight days of the Hanukkah miracle, and the central stem holding the shamash. The oldest known depictions of menorahs were different. They usually had six arms plus the central stem, and some rare ones have only four.

There is no consensus on how today's nine-armed candelabrum used in commemorating Hannukkah emerged, especially given the divine directive to make menorahs with seven branches for other purposes entirely, but there are some intriguing ideas.

Hanukkah itself commemorates the purported miracle of one day's oil lasting eight days, at the height of the Maccabean revolution against Greek oppressors in the 2nd century B.C.E. Nowhere do Jewish sources dictate that a menorah be lit in commemoration, but that is the practice nowadays. As for menorahs themselves, one of the earliest-known depictions is from some 200 years later, and it's in Rome.

However, the oldest reference to a menorah is from a much earlier time, a time from which we have no archaeological evidence at all: the wandering of the Jews in the desert.

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A long article that surveys the uses and forms of the menorah through late antiquity, with a brief stop in the present.

Many past posts on ancient menorahs are here and here and links.

Greeks on the Temple Mount

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Evidence of Greeks on the Temple Mount (Jennifer Greene, Temple Mount Sifting Project Blog).

It’s all Greek to Me
There are donuts EVERYWHERE and we are getting in the holiday season! As Channukkah approaches, we wanted to share with you one of our important finds relating to the Greeks on the Temple Mount. At the beginning of the project, we found a handle from an amphora that was stamped by an official from the Greek Island of Rhodes. This unique find from our sifting dates to the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV and constitutes a direct link to the Greco-Seleucid regime.

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Cross-file under 'Tis the Season (Hanukkah Edition). Past posts on the Temple Mount Sifting Project are here and oh so many links. Past posts relating to the Acra/Akra are here and here and links.

Lifta

CONSERVATION CONTROVERSY: Paved paradise? The secrets of an ancient Jerusalem-area village revealed. Ahead of plans to a luxury neighborhood, architects and archaeologists find a treasure of ancient remains in the onetime Palestinian village of Lifta on Jerusalem's outskirts (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

The Antiquities Authority has just completed a first-of-its-kind survey in the abandoned village of Lifta, on the western approaches to Jerusalem, ahead of plans to build a neighborhood of private homes on the site.

The survey, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, includes an archaeological, historical and geographic study, including measurements and digital reconstruction of each of the village’s structures, and how the entire village looked in various periods. Israel has never reconstructed any former village in this manner.

The study led to new insights regarding Lifta’s history and development, its function and architecture. Artifacts from the Hellenistic period were discovered, as well as subterranean spaces never known about before.

All this may not help conserve the village in face of a plan to build an upscale neighborhood on the site.

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