Father Columba Stewart

DIGITIZATION: The Monk Who Saves Manuscripts From ISIS. Why a Christian wants to rescue Islamic artifacts (Matteo Fagotto, The Atlantic).

Rescuing the world’s most precious antiquities from destruction is a painstaking project—and a Benedictine monk may seem like an unlikely person to lead the charge. But Father Columba Stewart is determined. Soft-spoken, dressed in flowing black robes, this 59-year-old American has spent the past 13 years roaming from the Balkans to the Middle East in an effort to save Christian and Islamic manuscripts threatened by wars, theft, weather—and, lately, the Islamic State.

“Given what’s happened in the last years since the rise of ISIS, it’s very clear that things are really endangered,” Stewart said. “It’s imperative to make sure that these manuscripts are safe, because we don’t know what will happen to them.”

As ISIS militants have destroyed countless artifacts, Stewart has attempted to counter them by working with Christian and Muslim communities in hotspots such as Iraq and Syria. He has trained local teams to photograph centuries-old books with the help of the non-profit organization he directs, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML). Based out of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, HMML is dedicated to preserving endangered manuscripts on microfilm and in digital format. So far, it has managed to photograph more than 140,000 complete manuscripts, for a total of more than 50,000,000 handwritten pages, according to the organization’s website.

[...]

His work also involves Christian Syriac manuscripts:

... I followed him through the narrow alleys of the souq. Stopping in front of an iron door surmounted by a stone arch, he entered the gate of St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Monastery [in Jerusalem]. A group of monks sitting around a white plastic table greeted him warmly. After some small talk and a few sips of cardamom coffee, a frail, bearded man led him upstairs into a dusty room. Waiting in wooden cabinets were rows of priceless manuscripts dating back to the sixth century.

Stewart carefully opened one manuscript, lingering over the elegant calligraphy of its yellowed pages. It was written in Syriac, an ancient Middle Eastern language. “Isn’t it beautiful?” he said.

Some past PaleoJudaica posts on the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) are collected here (cf. here). Father Stewart's work is noted there and has come up on PaleoJudaica previously here, here, here, and here.

For many other manuscript digitization projects, start here and follow the links. Cf. also here.

Hugoye 20.1 (2017)

A NEW ISSUE Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 20.1 (2017). I'm always happy to see more from this excellent, open access journal. Follow the link for the TOC. I note that in the current issue there is an article on The Cave of Treasures.

Cross-file under Syriac Watch and Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Watch.

Review of Steiner and Killebrew (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c. 8000-332 BCE

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW:

Margreet L. Steiner, Ann E. Killebrew (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c. 8000-332 BCE. Oxford handbooks in archaeology. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Pp. xxi, 885. ISBN 9780199212972. $175.00.

Reviewed by Thomas Kiely, British Museum (TKiely@britishmuseum.org

Excerpt:

So, cui bono? It is unfortunate to conclude that this is not really a handbook in any meaningful sense, that the uneven and at times neglectful treatment of material culture in some sections is disappointing, and that the volume is more of a vast and at times somewhat unprincipled compendium (though of often very good scholarship). This is regrettable because, apart from the qualities of the individual contributions in the diachronic or thematic sections, such as Gzella on peoples and languages (chapter 2) and Sharon on the complexities of chronology (chapter 4), some of the period clusters fit at least together quite nicely, even if the authors do not explicitly cross-reference their neighbours. Likewise, the commentators on the individual sections generally do an excellent job in making overall sense of the theme. Perhaps had the publishers invested more in the basic presentation of the book and given the authors—and perhaps editors—far more scope for better visualizing the masses of data cited, they would have provided a better investment for the punter.

CFP: “Being Jewish, Writing Greek”

FACULTY OF CLASSICS, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE:

— Call For Papers: “Being Jewish, Writing Greek” —

Deadline: Friday 30th April

Greek texts written by Jews in the Hellenistic and Imperial period (ca. 3rd century B.C.E. to 3rd C.E.) occupy numerous positions within two traditions; Jewish liturgical, religious and legal texts combine with historians, poets, novelists and tragedians. Some are translations, others new compositions. Some are written for a Jewish, others for a non-Jewish audience. Much has been said about the historical as well as theological contexts and content of these works. However, relatively few studies have considered these Jewish writings in Greek as literary works.

In this conference, then, we want to bring together scholars from the fields of Classics, Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies and beyond to explore the literary aspects of these Jewish texts in Greek. The interdisciplinary nature of the conference is vital, as we seek to consider these texts as the product of two interacting cultural identities. We believe that a focus on form, in addition to content, has the potential to better our understanding of the negotiations of culture and identity which come with being Jewish, and writing Greek.

[...]

The conference takes place on 6-8 September 2017. Follow the link for further particulars and information on submitting a paper proposal.

Dragon-slaying in the HB and ANE

THE MITZPEH: Meyerhoff Center hosts lecture on dragon slaying in Ancient Hebrew texts (Nicole Reisinger).

Dragons, storm gods, and the sea were the focal points of Robert Miller’s lecture Wednesday when he addressed a group of about 30 students and faculty.

The lecture, “Dragonslaying in the Ancient Near East, Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Texts,” was the first of four spring semester talks organized by the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies [at the University of Maryland].

Junior linguistics and Jewish studies major Rebecca Magazine said she had never attended one of these lectures before.

“I enjoy learning about things that I wouldn’t get [the chance] to otherwise,” said Magazine. “It’s an interesting topic that I don’t know anything about.”

Miller, a Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan, is an associate professor of Old Testament at the Catholic University of America. He’s also an affiliate of the Meyerhoff Center, spoke on the complex origins of the dragon slaying mytheme.

[....]

Sounds like it was a good lecture.

Jerusalem Conference in honor of Prof. Shamma Friedman

H-JUDAIC: CONF: A conference in honor of Prof. Shamma Friedman On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Wednesday, 15 March, 2017. It takes place at the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies, 4 Avraham Granot St., Jerusalem. There are many interesting-looking papers on Talmudic Judaism and related matters.

CFP: Qumran Aramaic texts (Copenhagen)

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran
International Symposium on Aramaic Texts from Qumran, Copenhagen, 14.-15. August, 2017

The Copenhagen Qumran Initiative and the Theological Faculty of the University of Copenhagen are organizing an international symposium focusing on the Aramaic texts from the Qumran Caves.

The texts from the Qumran Caves written in Aramaic make up a variegated corpus with several literary genres represented. These texts are interesting not only because of their literary contents and their historical significance, but also because they throw new light on the history of the Aramaic language, and the linguistic situation in Palestine in the late Second Temple period. Some of the texts are related to biblical literature in Hebrew in ways that are not always easily grasped. Arguably, some of the Aramaic texts may represent earlier versions of the cognate Hebrew compositions. While focusing attention on vision texts and the “testament” genre, the symposium will attempt to cover a wide range of topics related to this fascinating material.

We welcome papers on topics related to Aramaic Qumran texts. If you are interested in participating, and in presenting a paper, please contact Kasper Siegismund, ksi@teol.ku.dk.

Stuckenbruck, The Myth of Rebellious Angels (paperback)

THE EERDWORD BLOG: The Nephilim and the Fallen Angels, by Loren Stuckenbruck.

The mythical story of fallen angels preserved in 1 Enoch and related literature was profoundly influential during the Second Temple period. In The Myth of Rebellious Angels renowned scholar Loren Stuckenbruck explores aspects of that influence and demonstrates how the myth was reused and adapted to address new religious and cultural contexts.

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1, “Origins of Evil in Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition.”

Good stuff, although somehow Eerdword has managed to reverse all the Hebrew script in the excerpt, which is distracting. They apologize at the bottom of the post and attribute it to "coding constraints." That's not good enough. Get better codes and fix it!

The book was published by Mohr Siebeck in 2014. The paperback version has now been published by Eerdmans in 2017.

God as the Judge in Apocalyptic Literature

READING ACTS: God as the Judge in Apocalyptic Literature.

A feature of apocalyptic which is drawn from the Hebrew Bible is the belief God will intervene in history to destroy the evil attacking the faithful. The nation of Israel always understood God as their defender. There is a great deal of “warrior language” in the Old Testament, it is God that fights on behalf of the nation. In addition to this, Israel always understood God to be their king.

[...]

True both for Jewish apocalypses and for the Jewish apocalytic worldview according to Collins (see here). (And follow the latter link for previous posts in Phil Long's series on the Second Temple Period.)

I would nuance this point a little though. Both 4 Ezra (an "apocalypse") and the Qumran sectarians (with an "apocalyptic" worldview) narrowed the true, faithful, Israel to a limited group within historical Israel. Daniel, the Similitudes, and, e.g., 2 Baruch seem to take a broader view.

CFP: Forgeries SBL 2017

MARKERS OF AUTHENTICITY BLOG: CfP: Panel on Forgeries at SBL Annual Meeting (Malcolm Choat). "The call for papers closes on 8th March 2017." Sounds like a promising topic.

Are two elephants a fair trade for the Siloam Inscription?

EPIGRAPHY DEAL? Minister offers Turkish mayor elephants for ancient Hebrew inscription. 2,700-year-old Siloam inscription, taken by the Ottomans and still held in Istanbul, marks direct evidence of Bible’s account of King Hezekiah’s tunnel-building in Jerusalem (Ilan Ben Zion et al., Times of Israel).

Culture Minister Miri Regev used an impromptu trip to southern Turkey for a basketball game to offer a different kind of trade: Two elephants for an ancient inscription from Jerusalem currently housed in a Jewish museum, considered one of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions in existence.

Regev was heard making the offer in a video posted online of an informal chat with Gaziantep mayor Fatma Sahin Wednesday. Regev was in Turkey to accompany the Ironi Nahariya basketball team for a Europe Cup game, after Turkish authorities insisted that a minister be present in order for the team to bring their own armed guards.

In the video, Sahin, a politician from the ruling AKP party, speaks of her zoo’s elephant problem: it has just one, and it wants more.

“We’re willing to work for it,” the mayor quips.

Regev is heard telling her aides and translators, “We’ll make a deal. We’ll give them the elephants, and they’ll give us the inscription of Hezekiah.”

[...]

I guess it was worth a try.

For background on the Siloam inscription and the negotiations for its return to Israel, start here and follow the links.

Harari, Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah

NEW BOOK FROM WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah
Yuval Harari

Subjects: Jewish Studies, Jewish Life and Tradition
Series: Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology

HARDBACK

Published: February 2017
ISBN: 9780814336304
Pages: 604 Size: 6x9
Illustrations: 17 color photographs; 3 black-and-white photographs
$64.99

"Magic culture is certainly fascinating. But what is it? What, in fact, are magic writings, magic artifacts?" Originally published in Hebrew in 2010, Jewish Magic Before the Rise of Kabbalah is a comprehensive study of early Jewish magic focusing on three major topics: Jewish magic inventiveness, the conflict with the culture it reflects, and the scientific study of both.
The first part of the book analyzes the essence of magic in general and Jewish magic in particular. The book begins with theories addressing the relationship of magic and religion in fields like comparative study of religion, sociology of religion, history, and cultural anthropology, and considers the implications of the paradigm shift in the interdisciplinary understanding of magic for the study of Jewish magic. The second part of the book focuses on Jewish magic culture in late antiquity and in the early Islamic period. This section highlights the artifacts left behind by the magic practitioners—amulets, bowls, precious stones, and human skulls—as well as manuals that include hundreds of recipes. Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah also reports on the culture that is reflected in the magic evidence from the perspective of external non-magic contemporary Jewish sources.
Issues of magic and religion, magical mysticism, and magic and social power are dealt with in length in this thorough investigation. Scholars interested in early Jewish history and comparative religions will find great value in this text.

For the TOC and introduction, see here. For more on Dr. Harari's work, including a forthcoming contribution to the More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha Project, see here.

More on the "Money Talks" lecture series

NUMISMATICS: A NEW LECTURE SERIES: “MONEY TALKS: NUMISMATIC CONVERSATIONS” (Andrew Reinhard, Pocket Change Blog). I already noted this current lecture series in New York here. But this Pocket Change post has some additional information, notably on this upcoming lecture:

David Hendin, “Ancient Jewish Coinage.”

Mr. Hendin will discuss the origins and production of ancient Jewish Coinage from the Persian era until the time of the revolts against Rome.

Date: TBA. Venue: American Numismatic Society.

"Apocalypses" and "apocalyptic"

READING ACTS: Defining Apocalyptic Literature. This could be expressed a little more clearly.

John Collins has done important work on defining the literary genre "apocalypse," as summarized in the blog post. There is no "apocalyptic" genre. There have been various attempts to define "apocalyptic" as a worldview, but these definitions do not find the same general acceptance that the genre "apocalyse" does. After all, there are plenty of examples of apocalypses. Demonstrating the existence of a worldview is more difficult.

Collins defines the apocalyptic worldview as a belief in the active influence of supernatural entities (i.e., angels and demons) on human affairs, along with a belief in eschatological salvation involving the judgment of human beings after death.

Past posts in Phil Long's series on the Second Temple Period are noted here and links.

A template for the First Temple?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Searching for the Temple of King Solomon How the ’Ain Dara temple in Syria sheds light on King Solomon in the Bible and his famous temple. No they aren't going to find the First ("Solomon's") actual Temple. That is long gone. But arguably they have found a contemporary temple designed on the same template:

The similarities between the ’Ain Dara temple [in northern Syria] and the temple described in the Bible are indeed striking. Both buildings were erected on huge artificial platforms built on the highest point in their respective cities. The buildings likewise have similar tripartite plans: an entry porch supported by two columns, a main sanctuary hall (the hall of the ’Ain Dara temple is divided between an antechamber and a main chamber) and then, behind a partition, an elevated shrine, or Holy of Holies. They were also both flanked on three of their sides by a series of multistoried rooms and chambers that served various functions.

Even the decorative schemes of ’Ain Dara temple and the temple described in the Bible are similar: Nearly every surface, both interior and exterior, of the ’Ain Dara temple was carved with lions, mythical animals (cherubim and sphinxes), and floral and geometric patterns, the same imagery that, according to 1 Kings 6:29, adorned the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible.

Alas, they don't seem to have found an Ark of the Covenant there either. But, seriously, the parallels sound impressive.

This BDH post was published in 2013, but I missed it then.

Ancient Hebrew inscriptions on limestone capital in the Galilee

EPIGRAPHY: Hebrew carvings on column lend weight to Galilee village’s Jewish past. IAA says discovery of 1,800-year-old limestone capital bearing inscriptions reinforces association of Druze village of Peki’in with Roman-era center of Jewish scholarship (Ilan Ben Zion, Times of Israel).

pair of 1,800-year-old Hebrew inscriptions carved into a capital found last week in the Druze village of Pekiin may lend support to a tradition linking the Galilean village to an ancient center of Jewish scholarship.

The inscriptions, etched into a limestone block buried beneath a courtyard of a building adjacent to the village’s 19th-century synagogue, were found during restoration work, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.

The antiquities authority was tight-lipped about the find and refused to disclose the text of the inscriptions, saying they were still being studied and wouldn’t be published until they appear in a scholarly journal.

The IAA also wouldn’t say how archaeologists who inspected the inscriptions determined they were 1,800 years old. The IAA did disclose that the inscriptions appeared to be dedications by donors to the synagogue, lending support to the tradition of a Jewish presence during the Roman period.

[...]

Cargill on Qumran "Cave 12"

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Did Archaeologists Really Discover a New Dead Sea Scroll Cave? Dead Sea Scroll cave under the microscope. Excerpt:

I must, in all fairness, concede that Gutfeld’s speculation is entirely plausible. However, we must also acknowledge that it is still speculation—even if well-informed speculation on the part of Prof. Gutfeld—because no Dead Sea Scrolls were actually discovered in the cave! We could similarly speculate that scrolls were once present in several other caves excavated in the past, but that does not make them scroll caves. If there are no Dead Sea Scrolls in the cave, then it is not a scroll cave, even if we think there might have been in the past.

But that does not mean the discoveries in the cave are not important. Read it all.

Background here and links,

JSJ 47 (2016)+

THE JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF JUDAISM VOLUME 47 (2016, issues 1-5) is now complete and available online. There are lots of articles and reviews on Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods. You can read the TOC and abstracts for free, but access to the articles requires a paid personal or institutional subscription.

They have also advance-posted a number of articles that are coming out in 2017.

Some earlier articles/issues from vol. 47 has already been noted here, here and here.

Yazidi refugees to go to Canada

YAZIDI WATCH: Canada to welcome 1,200 Yazidi refugees from Iraq. Vulnerable religious minority targeted by Islamic State as heretics, being taken in by Ottawa at ‘controlled pace’ (AFP/Times of Israel).

Past PaleoJudaica posts on the Yazidis, their Gnosticism-themed religion, and their tragic fate in the hands of ISIS, are here and here with many links.

Five great books on apocrypha and pseudepigrapha

THE EERDWORD BLOG: Five Great Books on Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.

It's a good list. I am pleased to see Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, volume 1 (ed. Bauckham, Davila, and Panayotov) among them.

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