How YHWH became Jehovah

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: The History of the Tetragrammaton. How YHWH became Jehovah ( John Drummond).

This is a nice brief look at the history of the Tetragrammaton. The full article by Juan Manuel Tebes is behind the BAR subscription wall.

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The Transformation of Archaeology

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: From Dust to Data. A Journey of Archaeological Investigation (Alexandra Wrathall).

Archaeological method is an increasingly rapidly moving target.

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A cave that hid refugees for 6,000 years

SPELUNCIC ARCHAEOLOGY: Cave Where Generations Hid for 6,000 Years Found in West Bank. Inside el-Janab Cave near Nablus, archaeologists have found first-ever solid evidence of Muslims fleeing Mongol forces sweeping through the Levant in 1260 (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The earliest items found in the survey date to the Late Chalcolithic 6,500 years ago, and the latest are from the period of the Mamluks, who ruled this land from Egypt between 1260 and 1516 C.E. It’s not hard to imagine knowledge of this refuge passing from generation to generation, Lewis says.

But, based on pottery and coinage, it's clear that the place was mainly used during three periods: the late Persian/early Hellenistic, the Early Roman, and the late Ayyubid/early Mamluk period, which is where the Mongols enter the story.

The most interesting finds pertain to the time of the Mongul invasion, and most of the article covers that period. But regarding the earlier finds from historical periods:

In the late Persian/early Hellenistic period, the cave may have sheltered as many as dozens of people, based on the plethora of pots and their distribution throughout the space. These folks would have been fleeing the Samaritan revolt against Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.E. and/or the wars from 312 to 301 B.C.E. following Alexander’s death.

The Early Roman finds are thought to have been brought by Jews during the First Jewish Revolt, the Bar Kochba Revolt, or both.

There are photos of coins from this time range.

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A Mithras sanctuary excavated in Spain

ARCHAEOLOGY: 1,800-Year-Old Sanctuary to Mithras Uncovered by Archaeologists in Spain (Francesca Aton, ARTnews).

A sanctuary dedicated to the ancient god Mithras was uncovered by archaeologists excavating at the Villa del Mitra in Cabra, Spain. Remains of ritual banquets were found within the sanctuary.

Mithraism was a cult religion that became popular among the Roman Empire during the first century CE. Mithras was a Romanized form of the Iranian god of the sun and justice Mithra.

[...]

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Mithras mystery cult (Mithraism), start here (cf. here) and follow the links. There was a Mithras sanctuary (Mithraeum) at Caesarea. Another was reportedly discovered recently in southeastern Turkey.

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A lost history of the Diadochoi being recovered?

ALGORITHM WATCH: AI is deciphering a 2,000-year-old 'lost book' describing life after Alexander the Great. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, it carbonized a book on rulers who followed Alexander the Great. Now, machine learning is deciphering the "lost book" (Owen Jarus, Live Science). HT Rogue Classicism.

Only small parts of the heavily damaged text can be read right now. "It contains the names of a number of Macedonian dynasts and generals of Alexander," Janko said, noting that it also includes "several mentions of Alexander himself." After Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., his empire fell apart. The text mentions the Macedonian generals Seleucus, who came to rule a large amount of territory in the Middle East, and Cassander, who ruled Greece after Alexander's death.

The lost book is from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, a city that was destroyed alongside Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted after the turn of the first millennium. ...

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and its destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, start here and follow the links. For the works of the Philosopher Philodemus and other works recovered from the carbonized library at Herculaneum, see here and here and links. For posts on the work of Dr. Brent Seales on recovering the text of the Herculaneum scrolls and other ancient documents, see here and links.

For many posts on Alexander the Great and his connection with ancient Jewish traditions, notably in the Alexander Romance, see here and links. Some posts on the Diadochoi (Alexander's generals who took over after him) and their successors are collected here.

Cross-file under Lost Books.

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International Septuagint Day 2023 (belatedly)

INTERNATIONAL SEPTUAGINT DAY WAS YESTERDAY, 8 FEBRUARY. I hope you had a good time celebrating.

William Ross posted some Septuagintal news for the day: 17TH INTERNATIONAL SEPTUAGINT DAY.

For past posts on the day, see here and links.

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Ancient gold bead found in Jerusalem

MATERIAL CULTURE: Archaeologists Find Rare Mesopotamian-style Gold Bead in Jerusalem. Discovered in a Late Roman building in the ‘City of David,’ the exquisite bead is one of few gold jewels ever found in the area, archaeologists say (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

The bead was found in pristine condition by Hallel Feidman, a volunteer sifting and washing dirt removed from the Roman building, itself a big, ornate construction. It can’t be dated but the building where it was lost can. It is from the Late Roman era, about 1,600 years ago.

Made of pure gold, the bead was crafted by affixing dozens of tiny golden spheres together to shape a tiny ring. It likely wouldn’t have been worn in solo glory like a pendant but probably formed part of a bigger piece, says Dr. Amir Golani, the IAA’s ancient jewelry expert.

An article by Michael Bachner in the Times of Israel has additional details: Rare 1,600-year-old gold bead found by teenager in Jerusalem’s City of David. Piece of jewelry, which required unique expertise to make, discovered in earth sifted from magnificent Roman structure in Pilgrimage Road, near Old City.

The Temple Mount Sifting project found a gold bead in 2020.

Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay heads the Sifting Project. His excavation at Ketef Hinnom also found about fifty silver beads some decades ago.

I have not yet mentioned the jewelry found in the undisturbed repository. That deserves special notice. The treasure trove of jewelry from this repository is unequalled in Jerusalem excavations. It gives us our first glimpse of the jewelry worn by women (and perhaps also by men) in Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period. The repository yielded more than a hundred silver items and six gold items, including simple crescent-shaped earrings, 15 silver earrings, four silver finger rings, about 50 silver beads, a silver pendant and a scarab mounted in silver. The most common decoration on the earrings was a granulation technique, that is, the attachment of tiny silver balls to the body of the earrings. A large number of beads were made of semiprecious stones—agate, carnelian and rock-crystal— as well as more common materials like glass, faience and shell. Another especially fine piece is a silver signet ring bearing the figure of a galloping griffin with a feline body, the head and wings of an eagle and a coiled tail.

(BAR 2013. My emphasis.) Ketef Hinnom is better known for the silver scrolls excavated there which were inscribed with biblical texts. See here and here and many links.

Cross-file under Ancient Bling.

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What language did Adam speak?

PHILOLOGOS: Did Adam Speak Hebrew? The ancient rabbis believed there was linguistic proof that the first man spoke Hebrew with God. Why? (Mosaic Magazine).

It seemed like a good argument at the time.

The Renaissance polymath and occultist John Dee thought that Adam spoke Enochian, the "Adamical" or "Angelical" language.

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Sinai - from Exodus to the Rabbis

DR. KEVIN MATTISON: Anchored in the Authority of Sinai. “Who controls the past controls the future.” – George Orwell, 1984 (TheTorah.com).

A series of processes—a combination of intentional literary decisions and historical accidents—has obscured the diversity of the Sinai/Horeb narratives that existed among the ancient sources.

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The Gittin Book of Remedies

THE GENIZA FRAGMENTS BLOG: Q&A Wednesday: Talmudic therapy with a Mesopotamian pedigree? The Gittin Book of Remedies with Jason Sion Mokhtarian (Melonie Schmierer-Lee and Jason Sion Mokhtarian).

It’s [a geniza fragment] an excerpt from a medical work, the Gittin Book of Remedies. What makes this work unique is that it appears to have been an independent handbook that was edited into the Babylonian Talmud. Most interestingly, as Mark Geller has argued convincingly, it seems to come from a much earlier Mesopotamian milieu, from an Akkadian precursor.

I noted the publication of Prof. Mokhtarian's book, Medicine in the Talmud, here.

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Ramat Rahel and the Iron Age administrative system

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Stamp Impressions from Ramat Rahel. Uncovering the administration of the Kingdom of Judah (Marek Dospěl).

In summarizing key arguments from his latest book, Age of Empires (Eisenbrauns, 2021), [archaeologist Oded] Lipschits mostly draws on material excavated from Ramat Rahel. Located a mere 3 miles south of Jerusalem, Ramat Rahel served as the heart of this centralized administrative system that was based on collecting, storing, and transporting agricultural products in support of Judah’s economy and to pay the kingdom’s annual tribute—first to the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, Persians, and finally Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires.

Substantive PaleoJudaica posts on the site of Ramat Rahel (Ramat Rachel) are here, here, here, here, here, here, here , here, here, (sort of) here, and the links collected here.

Cross-file under Iconography and Northwest Semitic Epigraphy.

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Brodersen, The Beginning of the Biblical Canon and Ben Sira (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Alma Brodersen. The Beginning of the Biblical Canon and Ben Sira. 2022. XIII, 257 pages. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 162. 139,00 € including VAT. cloth ISBN 978-3-16-161599-3.

Published in English.
The Book of Ben Sira, written in Hebrew in the early second century BCE, is often regarded as containing the earliest references to the canon of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. In contrast, Alma Brodersen examines methodological and historical issues regarding the beginning of the biblical canon and Ben Sira, and demonstrates that the book itself – as distinct from the later Prologue to its Greek translation – does not actually refer to texts as canonical. In addition, a systematic analysis of key passages in Ben Sira 38–39 and 44–50 in Hebrew and Greek uncovers similarities with other ancient texts which are not canonical today but preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Far from proving the existence of the biblical canon in his day, Ben Sira's book indicates instead the importance of oral teaching and the relevance of a wide range of traditions.

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Tu B'Shevat 2023

TU B'SHEVAT, the "New Year for Trees," begins this evening at sundown. Best wishes to all those celebrating.

Last year's Tu B'Shevat post is here, with links to earlier posts.

For biblical background, see here. The name "New Year for Trees" comes from Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 1.1. That passage gives two alternative dates for the celebration, one from Shammai and one from Hillel. Hillel's date (15 Shevat) is the one celebrated at present.

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Nasoraia, The Mandaean Rivers Scroll (Diwan Nahrawatha) (Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

The Mandaean Rivers Scroll (Diwan Nahrawatha)
An Analysis By Brikha Nasoraia
Copyright Year 2022
Hardback £84.00

eBook £25.89

ISBN 9780367335441
Published September 30, 2022 by Routledge
204 Pages 22 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

This book features detailed analysis of an ancient secret scroll from the Middle East known as the Rivers Scroll or Diwan Nahrawatha, providing valuable insight into the Gnostic Mandaean religion. This important scroll offers a window of understanding into the Mandaean tradition, with its intricate worldview, ritual life, mysticism and esoteric qualities, as well as intriguing art. The text of the Rivers Scroll and its artistic symbolism have never before been properly analyzed and interpreted, and the significance of the document has been lost in scholarship. This study includes key segments translated into English for the first time and gives the scroll the worthy place it deserves in the history of the Mandaean tradition. It will be of interest to scholars of Gnosticism, religious studies, archaeology and Semitic languages.

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Tanit at Ibiza

PUNIC WATCH: Tanit, Ibiza's mythical goddess. Tanit, Ibiza's moon goddess and protector, dedicated to love, fertility, creativity and dance (Will McKenzie, Ibiza Spotlight). Cross-file under Tourism.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Tanit (Tannit), the "snake lady," a Punic and perhaps Phoenician goddess, see here and links. As I have noted before, her name seems to be cognate with the Hebrew word tannin, "sea monster."

If you get bored with partying on your Ibiza trip, you can visit the sites of a couple of Tanit sanctuaries. One is now a cathedral and the other is a (now empty) cave.

For more on Punic remains at Ibiza, see here. And for Ibiza's connection to an apocryphal chain letter from Jesus (yes, really), see here.

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Brand & Scheerlinck (eds.), Religious Identifications in Late Antique Papyri (Routledge - open access)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

Religious Identifications in Late Antique Papyri
3rd—12th Century Egypt Edited By Mattias Brand, Eline Scheerlinck
Copyright Year 2023
Hardback £84.00

Open access content is available for this title.
ISBN 9781032263496
Published October 17, 2022 by Routledge
314 Pages 16 B/W Illustrations

Book Description

This volume provides novel social-scientific and historical approaches to religious identifications in late antique (3rd–12th century) Egyptian papyri, bridging the gap between two academic fields that have been infrequently in full conversation: papyrology and the study of religion.

Through eleven in-depth case studies of Christian, Islamic, “pagan,” Jewish, Manichaean, and Hermetic texts and objects, this book offers new interpretations on markers of religious identity in papyrus documents written in Coptic, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Using papyri as a window into the lives of ordinary believers, it explores their religious behavior and choices in everyday life. Three valuable perspectives are outlined and explored in these documents: a critical reflection on the concept of identity and the role of religious groups, a situational reading of religious repertoire and symbols, and a focus on speech acts as performative and efficacious utterances.

Religious Identifications in Late Antique Papyri offers a wide scope and comparative approach to this topic, suitable for students and scholars of late antiquity and Egypt, as well as those interested in late antique religion.

A PDF version of this book is available for free in Open Access at www.taylorfrancis.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

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Mummification secrets revealed!

ARCHAEO-CHEMISTRY: Secrets to making mummies revealed in ancient urns. Scientists discover the chemicals applied to corpses in a 2700-year-old mummification workshop (Andrew Curry, Science.org).

This headline would make a good logline for a horror movie. The reality, though is more mundane. So far ...

By identifying residues from labeled jars found in an ancient Egyptian mummification workshop, the researchers were able to show the process involved complex chemistry and exotic ingredients, including resins sourced from a continent away. “You can actually look into the vessels and see what’s still inside,” says Barbara Huber, an archaeological scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology who was not involved with the research.

Ariel David has an article at Haaretz with more details: How to Make a Mummy: Archaeologists Reveal Ancient Recipe for Embalming in Egypt. Analysis of 2,600-year-old ceramics from embalming workshop at Saqqara, Egypt shows mummification process included products sourced from as far as Southeast Asia.

The ancient Egyptians believed that preserving the body of the deceased was essential to ensure the soul’s continued existence in the afterlife, and the richer you were the more effort and money were poured into the embalming process.

Just how much effort can be gleaned from the new study, which identified the substances held in 31 beakers and bowls found at the Saqqara complex. The workshop, excavated in 2018, served as a one-stop-shop funeral home for Egypt’s elites in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E.

Yet another important discovery at Saqqara. (UPDATE [14 February]: For still more on Saqqara, see here.

Back in 2006, archaeologists announced the discovery of a "room for mummification" in the Valley of the Kings. For more on room KV-63 (KV63), see here.

According to Genesis 50:1-3, the body of the patriarch Jacob was embalmed by the Egyptians in a forty-day process. The story seems to be saying that he was mummified.

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Biblical Studies Carnival 203

MATTERS OF INTERPRETATION: Biblical Studies Carnival #203 (Heather Theissen). For January 2023.

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Miriam in the Dead Sea Scrolls

PROF. HANNA TERVANOTKO: More about Miriam the Prophetess (TheTorah.com).

The Dead Sea Scrolls elaborate on Miriam’s leadership role and personal history.

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Review of Be Fruitful! The Etrog ...

BOOK REVIEW: Etrog: The significance of this Sukkot fruit in Judaism - review. When is a piece of fruit more than a piece of fruit? The history and meaning of the etrog is explored in a new book (MARTIN LOCKSHIN, Jerusalem Post).

Warren Klein, Sharon Liberman Mintz and Joshua Teplitzky have edited a collection of 18 fascinating essays that outline and explain the appeal of the etrog: Be Fruitful! The Etrog in Jewish Art, Culture, and History.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the etrog (citron) and its relation to Sukkot and its appearance on ancient coins and mosaics, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and links.

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