Cook, Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects
An Introduction

TEXTBOOK

AUTHOR: Edward Cook, Catholic University of America, Washington DC
PUBLICATION PLANNED FOR: September 2022
AVAILABILITY: In stock
FORMAT: Paperback
ISBN: 9781108714488

[Currently Available on the Cambridge Higher Education website.]

Description

Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects is a comprehensive, introductory-level textbook for the acquisition of the language of the Old Testament and related dialects that were in use from the last few centuries BCE. Based on the latest research, it uses a method that guides students into knowledge of the language inductively, with selections taken from the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and papyrus discoveries from ancient Egypt. The volume offers a comprehensive view of ancient Aramaic that enables students to progress to advanced levels with a solid grounding in historical grammar. Most up-to-date description of Aramaic in light of modern discoveries and methods. Provides more detail than previous textbooks. Includes comprehensive description of Biblical dialect, along with Aramaic of the Persian period and of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Guided readings begin with primary sources, enabling students learn the language by reading historical texts.

• Only introduction to Biblical Aramaic within the context of contemporary dialects
• Uses inductive method to learn language by reading primary texts from the beginning
• Provides a comprehensive view of ancient Aramaic grammar

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Suchard, Aramaic Daniel (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Aramaic Daniel

A Textual Reconstruction of Chapters 1–7

Series: Studia Semitica Neerlandica, Volume: 73

Author: Benjamin D. Suchard

The first half of the book of Daniel contains world-famous stories like the Writing on the Wall. These stories have mostly been transmitted in Aramaic, not Hebrew, as has the influential apocalypse of Daniel 7. This Aramaic corpus shows clear signs of multiple authorship. Which different textual layers can we tease apart, and what do they tell us about the changing function of the Danielic material during the Second Temple Period? This monograph compares the Masoretic Text of Daniel to ancient manuscripts and translations preserving textual variants. By highlighting tensions in the reconstructed archetype underlying all these texts, it then probes the tales’ prehistory even further, showing how Daniel underwent many transformations to yield the book we know today.

€119.00 Hardback

Copyright Year: 2022
E-Book (PDF) [Open Access!]
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52130-8
Publication date: 19 Sep 2022

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-52129-2
Publication date: 22 Sep 2022

I repeat: the E-Book is Open Access.

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

More on "Careers in Jewish-Christian Relations"

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW has published the two remaining essays in a series on Careers in Jewish-Christian Relations. For the earlier essays, see here and here.

The Eye, the Sense of Sight, and Seeing God? Reflections on God’s (In)visibility Considering Early Jewish Christian Relations (Deborah Forger)

What might the eye, the sense of sight, and the desire of many in the ancient world to see God tell us about points of continuity and discontinuity between Jews and Christians in antiquity? Moreover, how might this specific question about humanity’s ability to see God offer us fresh perspectives on our primary task for this morning? Namely, to think about and discuss what it means to invest in a career in early Jewish Christian relations—the opportunities, pitfalls, joys, and challenges of centering one’s work on questions related to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.

Do Rabbis Belong in Early Jewish Christian Relations? (Krista Dalton)

While I’ve raised concerns related to the framing of early Judaism and Christianity as a singular category of knowledge, I want to end by making the case for why the rabbis matter to this category. The rabbis did not arise in a vacuum. Judaism may have “shattered” following the Great Revolt (66-74 CE), as Seth Schwartz famously argued, and the rabbis may have initiated a new kind of grammarian piety using their ancestral texts, but they did so with the tools that they already possessed.

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

The Akitu festival

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY: The Babylonian Akītu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King (Sam Mirelman).

The Babylonian akītu festivals reflect a common ritual structure of status reversal, for which there are many examples from other cultures around the world. On the other hand such festivals may be considered as a reflection of the political context in which they were written and/or performed. ...

This is a good summary of what we know about the Akitu Festival. It includes some new (at least to me) information.

For PaleoJudaica posts involving the ancient Mesopotamian Akitu Festival, see here and links. And see here and links for the modern Akitu Festival.

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

IAA raid seizes Medusa figurines & other artifacts

APPREHENDED: Hundreds of ancient artifacts seized from home in northern Israel. About 270 ancient artifacts were found in the search, including coins from different periods and figurines of Medusa (Jerusalem Post).

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

Another review of Star, Apocalypse and golden age

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Apocalypse and golden age: the end of the world in Greek and Roman thought.

Christopher Star, Apocalypse and golden age: the end of the world in Greek and Roman thought. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021. Pp. 320. ISBN 9781421441634 $54.95.

Review by
Joseph Gerbasi, University of Toronto. joseph.gerbasi@utoronto.ca

... The aim of Christopher Star’s book is to show that there is an “underappreciated tradition” of apocalyptic thought among the pagans of Greco-Roman antiquity too (p. 5). The book’s ambition, being both interdisciplinary and indeed timely, is exciting and worthwhile. However, I do not think the book accomplishes all that it sets out to do. ...

I noted another review of the book here.

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

Exhibition on the myth of Alexander the Great

AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY: How did Alexander become ‘the Great’? A new exhibition explores the making of a myth (Ursula Sims-Williams, Scroll.in). HT Rogue Classicism.

The exhibition, however, is not about history, but the first of its kind to explore 2,000 years of storytelling and mythmaking. With objects from 25 countries in 21 languages, it shows how one figure could serve so many purposes, creating shared narratives of universal appeal. The Alexander Romance, composed originally in Greek in the third century AD, was at the heart of this storytelling. But legends also found their way into epic poetry and drama, and more recently into novels, comics, films and video games. You will see examples of all of these in the exhibition.

It opens on 21 October.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Alexander and his connection with ancient Jewish traditions, start here and follow the links. For posts on the Alexander Romance, see here and links.

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

Long, The Book of Enoch for Beginners

READING ACTS: The Book of Enoch for Beginners. Phil Long has a new book out:

The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World (Rockridge Press, 2022)

His blog post gives the details and a link to the Amazon page.

Cross-file under New Book.

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

Another coin from Elymais

APPREHENDED: Elymais, Seleucid and Parthian relics recovered by police (Tehran Times). HT Rogue Classicism.

The relics, which include an Elymais-era bronze coin and pieces of a marble vessel were seized from smugglers in Dezful of Khuzestan province, CHTN reported on Wednesday.

In addition, an ancient Roman gold coin attributed to Julius Caesar was recovered from the suspects by police forces in charge of protecting cultural heritage, the report said.

[...]

For more on the region of Elymais, and why PaleoJudaica is interested in it, see here. Cross-file under Numismatics.

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

Temple Mount sifters find stone vessel fragments

THE TEMPLE MOUNT SIFTING PROJECT BLOG: FIND AND FINDERS OF THE MONTH: ANDRÉ AND DANIELA LOPES FOUND A PIECE OF A STONE VESSEL. Two other sifters, at present unidentified, also found stone vessel fragments.

For more on ancient Jewish stone vessels, see here and links.

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

More on the Gaza mosaic

MORE COVERAGE OF THE BYZANTINE-ERA MOSAIC FROM GAZA:

Work Continues on Byzantine Mosaic Discovered by Palestinian Farmer in Gaza (Yahoo/Storyful.).

The ministry of tourism and antiquities also said that along with the mosaics, the discovery included evidence of the ancient walls, pottery, and glass bottles.

With a video showing good views of the mosaic. Plus disquieting scenes of what appear to be lots of separate mosaic stones being put into receptacles. Does that imply that part of the mosaic was damaged? The next article seems to indicate not.

Photos: Byzantine mosaics discovered under Gaza farm. The mosaics, latest in a series of Byzantine archaeological finds in Gaza, are “in a perfect state of conservation” (Al Jazeera).

Background here.

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

Review of Flower, Empire and religion in the Roman world

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Empire and religion in the Roman world.

Harriet I. Flower, Empire and religion in the Roman world. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021. Pp. xiii, 277. ISBN 9781108831925 $99.99.

Review by
David Woods, University College Cork. d.woods@ucc.ie

This article is notable for PaleoJudaica's interests:

Contingency and Context: The Origins of the Jewish War against Rome (Erich S. Gruen)

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

Ancient Babylon

THE WORLD IS FULL OF HISTORY: Ancient Babylon, the iconic Mesopotamian city that survived for 2,000 years. Babylon is known for Hammurabi's laws and its hanging gardens (Owen Jarus, Live Science).

Ancient Babylon was an influential city that served as a center of Mesopotamian civilization for nearly two millennia, from roughly 2000 B.C. to 540 B.C. It was located near the Euphrates River, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Baghdad in what is now Iraq.

Babylon had a significant impact on Mesopotamia. One of its early rulers, Hammurabi, created a harsh system of laws, while in later times, the Babylonian language was used across the Middle East as a way of communicating across borders. The law code, while not the oldest in the Middle East, is one of the most famous. The city is also famous for the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (if the ancient stories are true), a wonder of the ancient world that some people believe was built by the biblical king Nebuchadnezzar II.

[...]

This is a long, informative article. It surveys the entire history of the city of Babylon from antiquity to the present.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on Babylon see the links collected here, plus here and here. For the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which, if they existed at all, may not have been at Babylon, see here and links. See the latter link, and follow the links, for what I like to call the Greek Fantasy Babylon tradition. For the parallel Aramaic Fantasy Babylon tradition, especially in relation to the Book of Daniel, see here and here.

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

Rosh HaShanah 2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR (ROSH HASHANAH - Jewish New Year 5783) to all those celebrating. The New Year begins tonight at sundown.

Last year's Rosh HaShanah post, with links, is here. A more recent post is here. For biblical background, see here.

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

Treasures in vessels of clay?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Treasures in Clay Jars (Mark Wilson).

The ubiquity of hoards in antiquity, both in time and region, suggests that the phenomenon was so well known that Paul could reasonably use it as an analogy. However, these treasures—the coin hoards mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4:7—were never placed in clay lamps but rather in clay jars.

Cross-file under Numismatics and Metaphor.

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

Review of Ran Zadok Festschrift

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Individuals and institutions in the ancient Near East: a tribute to Ran Zadok.

Uri Gabbay, Shai Gordin, Individuals and institutions in the ancient Near East: a tribute to Ran Zadok. Studies in ancient Near Eastern records, 27. Boston; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021. Pp. xxii, 294. ISBN 9781501520525 $124.99.

Review by
Michaela Weszeli, Universität Wien. michaela.weszeli@univie.ac.at

This small volume is dedicated to a scientist who has a name in Ancient Near Eastern, Iranian and Jewish studies. His specialty is onomastics (personal, geographic, tribal names), ethnolinguistics and lexical studies of single words, as his extensive list of publications (p. xiii-xxii) shows. His studies concern, i.a., Old Iranian Anthroponyms as well as ancient survivals in modern Palestinian Toponymy, Jewish Onomastics, as well as historical and linguistic studies in the wide region of the Ancient Near East.

[...]

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

Ishoʿdad of Merv: Commentary on Daniel (ed. Schmidt; Gorgias)

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

ISHO‛DAD OF MERV
Commentary on Daniel

By T. C. Schmidt

Ishoʿdad of Merv’s (fl. 850 AD) Commentary on Daniel provides an important witness to East Syriac exegetical technique. In it Ishoʿdad typically emphasizes an historical reading of the Old Testament above any kind of allegorical, spiritual, or even Christological interpretation. Most notable is Ishoʿdad’s belief that the Maccabees fulfilled several of the visions described in the book of Daniel, even including the Heavenly Kingdom of Daniel chapters 2, 7, and 8, and the physical resurrection of Daniel 12. These interpretations dramatically depart from most eastern and western commentators who considered Daniel’s visions to portend the rise of the Roman Empire and the advent of Christ. Ishoʿdad’s commentary is translated here into English for the first time.

Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4278-7
Formats: Paperback, eBook

Publication Status: In Print
Series: Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 62
Publication Date: Aug 23,2022
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Page Count: 106
Languages: English, Syriac
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4278-7

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

Review of Matt, Becoming Elijah

BOOK REVIEW: Becoming Elijah: Prophet of transformation by Daniel C. Matt. Anthony Phillips reads about Elijah and how he has been revered (Church Times).

It is the elusiveness of Elijah which Matt seeks to explore, as he uncovers “the various portrayals of the immortal prophet”; for, whoever Elijah was in real life, he is still active.

I noted the publication of the book here.

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

SBL Seminar Papers volumes now online

THE AWOL BLOG: Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting Seminar Papers.

The first link in the AWOL post is (at present) incorrect. It should go here.

This Emory University archive contains the full text of all the SBL Seminar Papers volumes from 1971 to 2003. Note that they are still copyrighted.

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

Lieu on "The Parting of the Ways"

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: "The Parting of the Ways": Reflections on the Journey (Judith M. Lieu).

A common thread through much of what precedes here is the dilemma regarding how we negotiate the largely inaccessible patterns of life and personal interaction “on the ground” together with the inevitable degree of abstraction and narrative projection — and hence the need for descriptive terms and even labels — with which the historian must labour. ...

This essay is the second in a series on Careers in Jewish-Christian Relations, on which see here.

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