Review of Mitchell, Cyrus the Great

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Cyrus the Great: a biography of kingship.

Lynette Mitchell, Cyrus the Great: a biography of kingship. Routledge ancient biographies. New York: Routledge, 2023. Pp. 206. ISBN 9781138024106

Review by
Bodil Due, Aarhus University. bdue@au.dk

... A central merit of the book is the demonstration of the rich pool of storytelling that existed in the Near East. Its different patterns of narrative, which emerge in stories of the King as warrior, or as gardener, or as stranger king, destroyer of cities as well as builder, as elected and protected by the gods and maybe in Cyrus’ case their equal. The many different Cyruses incorporate almost all of these patterns, but differently in different works and authors. ...

I noted the publication of the book here. For many PaleoJudaica posts on Cyrus, follow the links from there, plus here.

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CFP (deadline soon): LXX colloquium at McGill University

WILLIAM A. ROSS: SEPTUAGINT COLLOQUIUM AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY (CALL FOR PAPERS).

This event colloquium is an initiative of the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies at Trinity Western University and the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. It’s being organized by my friend and colleague Jean Maurais, along with others from McGill University (Gerbern Oegema), McMaster Divinity College (Mark Boda), and Trinity Western University (Dirk Büchner). It will take place from 19-20 June 2024 at McGill University and the call for papers is now open and will remain so through 15 January.

Bold-font emphasis his. Follow the link for full details.

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Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World (Faraone Festschrift, Routledge)

NEW BOOK FROM ROUTLEDGE:

Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World
Studies in Honor of Christopher A. Faraone

Edited By Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Carolina López-Ruiz, Sofía Torallas-Tovar
Copyright 2024

Hardback £104.00
eBook £31.19

ISBN 9781032341262
396 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
Published November 17, 2023 by Routledge

Description

This volume explores aspects of ancient magic and religion in the ancient Mediterranean, specifically ways in which religious and mythical ideas, including the knowledge and practice of magic, were transmitted and adapted through time and across Greco-Roman, Near Eastern, and Egyptian cultures.

Offering an original and innovative combination of case studies on the material aspects and cross-cultural transfers of magic and religion, this book brings together a range of contributions that cross and connect sub-fields with a pan-Mediterranean, comparative scope. Section I investigates the material aspects of magical practices, including first editions and original studies on papyri, gems, lamellae containing binding curses and protective texts, and other textual media in ancient book culture. Several chapters feature the Greco-Egyptian Magical Papyri, the compilation of magical recipes in the formularies, and the role of physical book-forms in the transmission of magical knowledge. Section II explores magic and religion as nodes of cultural exchange in the ancient Mediterranean. Case studies range from Egypt to Anatolia and from Syria-Phoenicia to Sicily, with Greco-Roman religion and myth integrated in a diverse and interconnected Mediterranean landscape. Readers encounter studies featuring charismatic figures of Magi and itinerant begging priests, the multiple understandings of deities such as Hekate, Herakles, or Aphrodite, or the perceived exotic origin of cult statues, mummies, amulets, and cursing formulae, which bring to light the rich intercultural networks of the ancient Mediterranean, and the crucial role of magic and religion in the process of cross-cultural adaptation and innovation.

Magic and Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World appeals to both specialized and non-specialized audiences, with expert contributions written in an accessible way. This is a fascinating resource for students and scholars working on magic, religion, and mythology in the ancient Mediterranean.

For more on Christopher A. Faraone's work, see here and here.

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Darshan, Stories of Origins in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Literature (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Stories of Origins in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Literature

AUTHOR: Guy Darshan, Tel Aviv University
DATE PUBLISHED: December 2023
AVAILABILITY: Available
FORMAT: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009344487

£ 85.00
Hardback

Description

In this book, Guy Darshan explores stories of origins that lie at the heart of Pentateuchal sources in the context of literature created in neighboring societies of the ancient Mediterranean world. A comparative study, his volume analyses the parallels between Biblical origin stories – the narrative traditions arranged in geneaological sequence that recount the beginnings of humanity and origins of peoples -- in tandem with ancient Greek genealogical writings from the 7–5th centuries BCE onwards. He also considers Phoenician and Anatolian sources from the first millennium, several of which have only been published in recent years. This is the first scholarly study to trace the origins of this genre of narrative and the circumstances that led to appearances in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Mediterranean literature. It sheds new light on our knowledge of the history of literature, as well as the interconnections and interrelations between civilizations of the pre-Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean and Near East.

• Sheds new light on our knowledge of the interconnections and interrelations between civilizations of the pre-Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean and the Near East
• Enlightens the question of the formation of the Pentateuch, and Genesis in particular, from a fresh comparative approach
• Broadens our knowledge of the history of literature in the ancient Levant, and the eastern Mediterranean in general

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Sherman, Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah (SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah
Tina M. Sherman

ISBN 9781628375510
Volume AIL 49
Status Available
Publication Date November 2023

Hardback $73.00
Paperback $53.00
eBook $53.00

Tina M. Sherman offers a first-of-its-kind, detailed analysis of prophetic passages that depict people as plants—from grasses and grains to fruit trees and grapevines—examining how the biblical authors exploited these metaphors to portray the condemnation and punishment of Israel and Judah in terms of the everyday work of crop farming and plant husbandry. Additionally, she explores how the prophetic authors employed plant imagery to construct national identities that emphasize the people’s collective responsibility for the kingdoms’ fate. Plant Metaphors in Prophetic Condemnations of Israel and Judah demonstrates the usefulness of combining conceptual metaphor theory with aspects of frame semantics in the analysis of patterns of thought and expression in biblical metaphor.

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Schiffman on Gaza and the Hasmoneans

PROF. LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN: GAZA AND THE CHASHMONAIM. THE HISTORY THAT GOES BEYOND THE DAYS OF CHANUKAH.

Everyone knows the story of Chanukah, but for some reason the years of the Chashmonean Empire that followed from 152 BCE to the Roman conquest of Eretz Yisrael in 63 BCE are barely understood. In this period, the Jewish people came into conflict for the second time with the occupants of what is now the Gaza Strip and the southern coastal plain of Israel. In antiquity, this area ran farther north than today’s Gaza, continuing northward up through Ashkelon and Ashdod

[...]

The post links to a pdf reprint of the full article in Ami Magazine.

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Haxby, The First Apocalypse of James (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: Mikael Haxby. The First Apocalypse of James. Martyrdom and Sexual Difference. 2023. XI, 163 pages. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 591. 74,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-162560-2.

Published in English.
In this study, Mikael Haxbyoffers a comprehensive reading of a little-studied ancient Christian text, making use of recently discovered manuscript evidence. This text was originally found in the Nag Hammadi Codices and has historically been classified as Gnostic or heretical. Using new manuscript evidence, the author shows that the First Apocalypse of James intervenes in ancient Christian debates about martyrdom, ritual practice, scriptural interpretation, and questions of gender in both theology and social order. By bringing the First Apocalypse of James back into dialogue with other Christian texts, whether later classified as heretical or not, this study offers new insights into how Christians responded to the threat of political violence, engaged with holy texts, and produced new social formations in which women might hold authoritative positions.

For more on that "new manuscript evidence" for the First Apocalypse of James, see here, here, and here. I hadn't heard anything more about it since late 2017. It's good to see a monograph out that now takes into account the new material. Presumably the book will address the questions that were being raised about its provenance.

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Soul Matters: Plato and Platonists on the Nature of the Soul (SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Soul Matters: Plato and Platonists on the Nature of the Soul
Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Danielle A. Layne, Crystal Addey, editors

ISBN 9781628375480
Volume WGRWSup 22v Status Available

Publication Date October 2023

Hardback $100.00
Paperback $80.00
eBook $80.00

Platonic discourses concerning the soul are incredibly rich and multitiered. Plato's own diverse and disparate arguments and images offer competing accounts of how we are to understand the nature of the soul. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the accounts of Platonists who engage Plato’s dialogues are often riddled with questions. This volume takes up the theories of well-known philosophers and theologians, including Plato, Plotinus, Proclus, the emperor Julian, and Origen, as well as lesser-known but equally important figures in a collection of essays on topics such as transmigration of the soul, the nature of the Platonist enlightenment experience, soul and gender, pagan ritual practices, Christian and pagan differences about the soul, mental health and illness, and many other topics. Contributors include Crystal Addey, Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Dirk Baltzly, Robert Berchman, Jay Bregman, Luc Brisson, Kevin Corrigan, John Dillon, John F. Finamore, Lloyd P. Gerson, Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum, Elizabeth Hill, Sarah Klitenic Wear, Danielle A. Layne, Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, Gregory Shaw, Svetla Slaveva-Griffine, Suzanne Stern-Gillet, Harold Tarrant, Van Tu, and John D. Turner.

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Stories from BAS 2023 Dig Scholarship winners

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Tales from the Trench. 2023 BAS Dig Scholarship winners share their stories.

Every year, the Biblical Archaeology Society offers dig scholarships to selected applicants who wish to participate in a dig and demonstrate sufficient need. In this Bible History Daily article, a few of our 2023 BAS Dig Scholarship winners share what made their dig experiences so special.

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Lecture on 2 Esdras by Matthew Goff

UPCOMING LECTURE: Matthew Goff: “The Book of 2 Esdras: Jewish, Christian, Both, Neither” (Jewish Boston).

As part of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning’s Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, professor Matthew Goff will present his lecture, “The Book of 2 Esdras: Jewish, Christian, Both, Neither” in professor Yonder Gillihan’s course, “Early Christianity in Its Jewish Context.”

On 21 March. Follow the link for a summary.

The Book of 4 Ezra was dropped by Judaism shortly after it was written (c. 100 CE). But it has a long history of transmission by Christians. Notably, "2 Esdras" is a Latin translation of 4 Ezra that includes two other short works (5-6 Ezra).

This is a good excuse to mention that our forthcoming Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, volume 2, (MOTP2) reprints Michael Stone's English translation of the Armenian version of 4 Ezra, with a new introduction by Vered Hillel.

The Armenian version translates a Greek version of 4 Ezra that had been heavily edited in late antiquity by Christians, with changes that are sometimes of considerable theological interest.

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Dreams and Visions in the Bible and Related Literature (SBL)

NEW BOOK FROM SBL PRESS:

Dreams and Visions in the Bible and Related Literature
Richard J. Bautch, Jean-François Racine, editors

ISBN 9781628375534
Volume SemeiaSt 101
Status Available
Price $40.00
Publication Date November 2023

Paperback
$40.00

Hardback $60.00
Paperback $40.00
eBook $40.00

The essays in Dreams and Visions in the Bible and Related Literature focus on how the reading community interprets dreams or visions and what is at stake for whom in a dream or vision’s interpretation. Contributors explore the hermeneutics of readership, the relationship between reading and intertextuality, and the interplay of affect and emotion within dreams and visions in religious texts. A variety of methodologies are employed, including rhetorical analysis, critical theory, trauma studies, the analysis of space and society, and the history of emotions. Contributors are Richard J. Bautch, Genevive Dibley, Roy Fisher, Gina Hens-Piazza, Joseph McDonald, Deborah Thompson Prince, Jean-François Racine, Andrea Spatafora, and Rodney A. Werline.

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Review of Mastnjak, Before the Scrolls

THE BIBLICAL REVIEW BLOG: Review: “Before the Scrolls: A Material Approach to Israel’s Prophetic Library” by Nathan Mastnjak (William Brown).

Nathan Mastnjak. Before the Scrolls: A Material Approach to Israel’s Prophetic Library. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023. 250 pp.

... Shifting from Jeremiah and in light of his discussions on book history, Mastnjak argues that the redactional history of the Book of the Twelve is a helpful model for thinking about Jeremiah via a collection model. Subsequently, Mastnjak brings colophons from the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian literature, as well as Jeremiah’s mention of a “single scroll,” to strengthen his claim for a collection model in Jeremiah. This model likewise works for Psalms, the Book of the Twelve, Ezekiel, Daniel, Proverbs, and Samuel and the Song of Hannah. Simply put, the evidence that Mastnjak proposes for the claim that versions of Jeremiah reflect “a thematically and redactionally unified collection” as opposed to steps in composition history “suggest a reorientation of how biblical scholarship imagines its objects of study” (107). ...

It's nice to have another typically thorough review from William Brown.

I noted the publication of this book here.

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Nabucco is playing in Idaho

OPERA: ‘Nabucco’ Offers Operatic Version of King Nebuchadnezzer and the Jews (KAREN BOSSICK, Eye on Sun Valley).

Ancient Babylon will come to life when the Metropolitan Opera presents an opera of biblical proportions on Saturday.

Sun Valley Opera and Broadway will present the live simulcast of Met Opera’s “Nabucco” at 10:55 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum

[...]

For PaleoJudaica posts on this opera by Verdi, including a 2010 performance at Masada, see here, here, here and links, and here (cf. here).

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What William Ross read in 2023

WILLIAM A. ROSS: MY 2023 READING LIST.

This is his "mostly pleasure reading" list. Perhaps that's why the Septuagint doesn't show up. I hope that he will also give us a list of recommended new Septuagint publications, as he did last year.

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HNY from Bibliographia Iranica

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Happy New Year. Arash Zeini gives some stats and updates on BiblioIranica's 2023.

I find this blog very useful for keeping up with what is going on in the field of ancient Iranian studies. And often it overlaps with ancient Judaism. I linked to it a dozen times in 2023. And happy belated ten-year anniversary!

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Biblical Studies Carnival 213

ZWINGLIUS REVIVUS: The December ‘Out with the Old in with the New’ Stupendous Biblical Studies Carnival of Stupendousness.

Jim West reviews the history of Bible blogging ("biblioblogging") and kindly presents me and Mark Goodacre as its orginators. But we should also mention that AKMA Adams was blogging, often on Bible-related matters, at AKMA’s Random Thoughts before either of us, and he continues in 2024.

David Meadows was another early adopter, with his Classics blog rogueclassicism. It too is still running, although David has not posted lately, due to ill health. Get well soon, David!

Jim also links to his history of biblioblogging published in 2010. I too wrote account of my blogging experience in 2005. It is still available, although Blogger unhelpfully wiped many of the links in it in a few years later. Alas, my 2005 paper on blogging has been link-rotted away. You can read the abstract here.

My history of (SBL paper on) biblioblogging from 2010 is still up: What Just Happened. The rise of "biblioblogging" in the first decade of the twenty-first century. It links to the 2005 essay.

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Armstrong Institute's top ten 2023 archaeological discoveries

ANNUAL ARCHAEOLOGY LIST WATCH: Top 10 Biblical Archaeology Discoveries of 2023. Our take on the top discoveries in 2023 (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology).

Another year in biblical archaeology is behind us—and a big year it was, particularly in discoveries and research relating to kings David and Solomon.

What follows is our top 10 list of biblical archaeology discoveries for 2023. Some of these are in the form of individual small finds, some are broader site finds, and some are the product of general research and publication. Where applicable, our podcast videos with the researchers in question are posted below.

Enjoy!

[...]

One could debate the interpretations of some of these discoveries, but all of them are interesting. PaleoJudaica has also posted on many of them.

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Top 2023 Greek Archaeological Discoveries

ANNUAL ARCHAEOLOGY LIST WATCH: Top Greek Archaeological Discoveries of 2023 (unattributed, Greek City Times).

2023 has been a remarkable year for Greek archaeology, offering thrilling glimpses into the ancient world and enriching our understanding of history. Here’s a spotlight on some of the most captivating discoveries ...

This top-four list is mostly of interest for the history of Greek mythology, but it includes that courtesan's (?) tomb discovered in Israel.

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Were the lost gospels really lost?

NOT SO MUCH: Were the lost gospels really lost? The myth that alternative gospels were suppressed by empire and only recently rediscovered is too good to be true (Philip Jenkins, The Christian Century).

We also need to be very skeptical about claims that all those ancient visions of an alternative Jesus were lost until very modern times—indeed, until the 1970s. In fact, any educated person in 1900 had access to a substantial library of texts and translations that told you all you needed to know about the “Gnostic Jesus,” and new finds continued steadily throughout the early 20th century.

Professor Jenkins has published a book and many essays (the latter especially at the Anxious Bench Blog) on this topic. PaleoJudaica has linked to some of his essays and to related articles, but a reminder is alway in order.

For those past links, which cover in detail many point raised in this short article, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

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Lundhaug & Bull (eds.), The Nag Hammadi Codices as Monastic Books (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK: The Nag Hammadi Codices as Monastic Books. Edited by Hugo Lundhaug and Christian H. Bull. 2023. XIII, 384 pages. Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum / Studies and Texts in Antiquity and Christianity 134. 99,00 € including VAT. sewn paper ISBN 978-3-16-162232-8.

Published in English.
Since their discovery in 1945, the significance of the texts contained in the thirteen papyrus manuscripts now known as the Nag Hammadi Codices has been fiercely debated. In the history of scholarship, the texts have primarily been analyzed in light of the contexts of their hypothetical Greek originals, which in a majority of cases have been thought to have been authored in the second and third centuries CE in a variety of contexts. The articles in this volume take a different approach. Instead of focusing on hypothetical originals, they ask how the texts may have been used and understood by those who read the Coptic papyrus codices in which the texts have been preserved and take as their point of departure recent research indicating that these manuscripts were produced and used by early Egyptian monastics. It is shown that the reading habits and theological ideas attested historically for Upper Egyptian monasticism in the fourth and fifth centuries resonate well with several of the texts within the Nag Hammadi Codices.

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