Berlejung, YHWH's Diversity (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Angelika Berlejung

YHWH's Diversity

A Lot of Names and No Iconography?

[JHWHs Vielfalt. Viele Namen und keine Ikonographie?]
2025. XIII, 204 pages.
Orientalische Religionen in der Antike (ORA) 63

€119.00
including VAT

available 978-3-16-164305-7

Also Available As:
eBook PDF €119.00

Summary

By applying a bottom-up approach, Angelika Berlejung examines YHWH's names, epithets, attributes, and functions in biblical and extrabiblical texts, images found in iconographic material, and attempts to correlate these sources. In doing so, her study reverses the usual approach: rather than starting with discussions about the one (and only) origin of YHWH and the search for his primordial theological profile, it aggregates the diversity of the known YHWH names and the fact that there is no specific YHWH iconography into the thesis that there were different origins of YHWH and regional manifestations of this god before the exile, each with different theological profiles and iconographies. This thesis is accompanied by a consistent regionalization of YHWH worship. The study is embedded in modern approaches to the archaeology of religion and a conception of the Southern Levantine religions which are characterized by a high degree of diversity, regionality, exchange, entanglement, hybridisation and dynamics of appropriation and negation. Instead of a uniform YHWH religion shared by all »Israelites«, the polyyahwistic and polyiconographic approach to Yahwism reveals a mosaic of regionally diverse, religiously non-homogeneous clusters that were only harmonised with each other by Judean and Samarian interpretive authorities in the post-exilic period. From this point of departure, the author discusses possible reasons that lead from pre-exilic polyyahwism and polyiconography to YHWH's later differentia specifica, monotheism and the ban against YHWH images.

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Leuchter, The Achaemenid Dynastic Myth and Jewish Scribes in the Late Persian Period (OUP)

NEW BOOK FROM OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS:

An Empire Far and Wide

The Achaemenid Dynastic Myth and Jewish Scribes in the Late Persian Period

Mark A. Leuchter

E-book: £59.00

Hardback
This item is not yet published, but may be pre-ordered now for delivery when available.
Published: 13 January 2025 (Estimated)
184 Pages
235x156mm
ISBN: 978019777274

Description

The Persian period (539-332 BCE) sits somewhat awkwardly within the study of Second Temple Judaism. Amidst a myriad of issues and debates, the approach to the Persian period is fundamentally complicated by the difficulty in labelling communities — whether or not the communities in the province of Yehud, in Egypt, or in the Eastern Diaspora can even be called "Jewish," a label denoting a type of ethnic and religious symbiosis that some scholars are hesitant to identify any time before the mid-2nd century BCE.

This uncertain position of the Persian Period in Jewish memory is nothing new — in fact, it can be traced back to nearly two thousand years. Yet it can lead contemporary scholars to exercise too much caution when dating, analyzing, and discussing ancient scribal texts. Utilizing recent tools to examine scribal methods, Mark Leuchter takes a definitive approach. An Empire Far and Wide focuses on a careful selection of literary test cases to better understand how Jewish scribes in Persian Yehud interacted with a feature of Persian imperialism that has not received adequate attention: the dynastic mythology of the Achaemenid rulers and the way it shaped emerging Jewish identity in the Persian period.

Leuchter works from the determination that we can indeed apply the terms "Jewish" and "Judaism" to certain Persian period communities with certain caveats. This book illuminates the fact that the Persian period is hardly a "dark age" of study — it reveals important dimensions of Jewish culture of the era. The textual record of the learned Yehudite Jewish caste of the Persian period provides us with monumental insight into a larger intellectual history — one shaped by centuries of imperialism extending back, and forward, in time.

I've been holding off posting this one for months and months, waiting for the hardback to come out. Never mind, just enjoy the e-book.

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Did the Babylonian rabbis know the Yerushalmi?

GENIZA FRAGMENTS BLOG: What did the Geonim of Babylonia really know about the Jerusalem Talmud? (Zvi Stampfer.)

For over 150 years, scholars have debated a fascinating question: To what extent did the Geonim—the heads of the great academies of Sura and Pumbedita—engage with the Jerusalem Talmud? The Geonim saw themselves as the guardians and transmitters of the Babylonian Talmud, which became the dominant text of Jewish law. But was the Yerushalmi, composed in the Land of Israel, also part of their intellectual world?

My current research is shedding new light on this issue. While working on previously unpublished teshuvot (responsa) from the Geonic period, I have uncovered evidence suggesting that more Babylonian Geonim made use of the Jerusalem Talmud than previously thought.

[...]

Cross file under (Jerusalem) Talmud Watch.

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Ethiopic biblical manuscripts identified

ETHIOPIC WATCH: Researchers uncover oldest-ever Ethiopian Jewish scriptures. Two 15th-century Orit scrolls discovered through Tel Aviv University program documenting sacred texts of Beta Israel; scholars say find reshapes global understanding of Jewish history preserved in oral tradition and Ge’ez script (Yaron Drukman, Ynet News).

The headline overstates the case, although the subheader is correct. These are the oldest mauscripts of the Jewish Scriptures belonging to the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews now in Israel). The article explains:

“The Orit of Beta Israel includes the Five Books of Moses as well as Joshua, Judges and the Scroll of Ruth," said Prof. Dalit Rom-Shiloni of the Department of Biblical Studies.

The oldest Ethiopic (i.e. Ge'ez) Old Testament manuscript I know of dates to before 1270 CE. The oldest Ge'ez manuscript I know of is the Garima Gospels, which dates to the fourth to seventh centuries.

Nevertheless, these are early Ge'ez manuscripts and it's great to have them and to know they are well cared for.

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

Was Zenobia Jewish?

PALMYRA WATCH: Third-century queen, target of Syrian government, may have converted to Judaism. “The ancient sources implying Queen Zenobia converted to Judaism are possibly accurate,” Haggai Olshanetsky, of University of Warsaw, told JNS (Menachem Wecker).

The underlying article summarized in this one is published open access in Clio 107.1.

Zenobia, the Great Jewish Queen? Re-analysing Zenobia’s Attitude to Monotheism, Judaism and Its Reasonings

Haggai Olshanetsky

Published/Copyright: May 22, 2025

Summary

The current article wishes to reassess the Christian texts mentioning Queen Zenobia’s potential affinity to Judaism, or her conversion to Judaism. It will be shown that the claims against the reliability of these texts are deficient or inaccurate. Furthermore, it will be clarified that she was not Jewish from birth. Instead, the sources indicate that she had a special relationship with monotheism, and Judaism in particular, and that she may have wished to convert to Judaism or did so in secret. The reasoning for this action and her relationship with Judaism will be examined while considering her politically precarious position, as well as the place of monotheism and Judaism in Palmyra, the Roman East and the Roman Army. Through this, the current article wishes to provide a better, more accurate presentation of Zenobia’s religious inclinations, how she used and manoeuvred between an ambiguous monotheism and Judaism in order to gain power and support, and what was her raison d’être for such a move and choice.

For more on Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, see here and links, notably here.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the ancient metropolis of Palmyra, its history and archaeology, the Aramaic dialect once spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now hopefully once again trending for the better, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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

Review of Garfinkel, The First Expedition to Lachish

BOOK REVIEW: The First Expedition to Lachish: A Colonial Archaeology Story. Archaeology at the biblical city of Lachish began a century ago and went neither well nor smoothly. In a new book, Yosef Garfinkel tells the fascinating tale of the hazards the archaeologists faced (Robin Twite, Haaretz).

Yosef Garfinkel, Colonial Archaeology in Palestine in the 1930s: The First Expedition to Lachish. Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society and Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2024. 712 pages, ILS 260 (about $75 US dollars).

Though the title of the book by Garfinkel, a professor of archaeology at Hebrew University, is somewhat forbidding, its content is the reverse. In his new book, Garfinkel tells the fascinating tale of the first archeological expedition to Tel Lachish and the many hazards those involved faced – among them incomprehension from the local population, the fear of violence in a time of trouble, distance from health and other services, and difficult relations with donors.

[...]

Lachish is a very important archaeological site. For some of the many PaleoJudaica posts on its archaeology and epigraphic discoveries (including the famous Lachish Letters and the Canaanite lice comb), see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and follow the links

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Tony Burke's Regensburg Year: June 2025

THE APOCRYPHICITY BLOG: My Regensburg Year Part 11: June 2025.

Tony Burke is on research sabbatical for the 2024-25 academic year at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Less than one month to go now!

June included a visit to Dublin and a look at the Chester Beatty Papyri, then to Bratislava and Oslo. At a workshop in the latter he presented on his work on Longinus the centurion traditions.

For earlier posts in the series and more on Tony's work, see here and links.

Cross-file under New Testament Apocrypha Watch.

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

Update on the Tomb of Nahum in Iraq

RESTORED AND OPEN FOR VISITORS: In Iraq, restored tomb of biblical prophet Nahum quietly attracts Jewish pilgrimage. Despite geopolitical tensions, dozens of Jews, including Israelis, have journeyed to shrine in Kurdish city of Alqosh since its rehabilitation in 2022, says project organizer (Rossella Tercatin).

I have been following the fate of the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum in Alqosh (al-Qosh, Al Qosh, Al-Quosh) for years. For past posts, start here and follow the links.

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

Eight new scrolls at the Reagan Library Exhibition

SCROLL ROTATION: Eight newly installed Dead Sea Scrolls on display at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, U.S. (Chris Eyte, Christian Daily).

The newly installed scrolls include the Community Rule Scroll 4Q260, also known as the Manual of Discipline, which details the governing structure, daily practices, and core values of the 1st century BC Qumran community. They replace the previous set of eight scrolls as part of a regular rotation to preserve the ancient manuscripts, which are highly sensitive to light and environmental exposure.

I can't find any information yet about the other seven scrolls.

Background on the exhibition is here and links.

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

Biblical Studies Carnival #227

READING ACTS: Biblical Studies Carnival #227 for June 2025 (Phil Long).

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

Is the Moabite Stone a forgery?

IT'S COME TO THIS: Is the Mesha Stele Also a Forgery? (Yigal Bin-Nun, Times of Israel Blogs).

Two famous cases of forgery are associated with the figure of Moses Shapira, an antiquities dealer: the Moabite sherds sold to the Berlin Museum in 1872, and the pseudo-scroll of Deuteronomy written in ancient Hebrew in 1883. These two episodes were preceded by the discovery of the Mesha Stele, attributed to Mesha, king of Moab (1868), with which Shapira is also indirectly associated. A reassessment of this stele, based on archival material from the time, leads me to believe that the authenticity of the inscription it bears must now be called into question.

[...]

Fair enough to raise the question. I doubt that epigraphers would have continued to be fooled by an epigraphic forgery from the nineteeth century. They know too much about the details of the Northwest Semitic scripts for that to be likely. To really make the case for forgery, one would have to show that the script of the Mesha Stele gets details wrong that no one would have noticed in the nineteenth century.

It's true that we don't have many substantial lapidary royal inscriptions from ancient Israel. But we do have Hezekiah's Siloam Tunnel Inscription and some other fragments from his era. Perhaps not as many as have sometimes been argued. For discussion, see here and links. And there also is the fragmentary Tel Dan Stele, which was set up by an Aramean king, but which mentions the House of David.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Mesha Stele (Moabite Inscription), start here (plus here and here) and follow the links. For the renewed debate over the authenticity of the Shapira Scroll fragments, start here and follow the links.

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

Still more on that ancient mass grave in the Negev

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT: Treasures in the Desert (Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology).

From the May-June 2025 Let the Stones Speak Magazine Issue

An ancient tomb complex containing 60 mostly young female bodies was discovered in the Negev region of southern Israel. Among the bodies were a plethora of exotic artifacts, including jewelry, alabaster vessels for spices, mortar-​and-pestle figurines, weights, scales and arrowheads.

In February, Let the Stones Speak podcast host Brent Nagtegaal interviewed Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini, senior researcher at the Israel Antiquities Authority, about the discovery. Here is their fascinating discussion.

[...]

I noted this story here and here.

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

What is a god in the ANE?

THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST TODAY:What is a God in the Ancient Near East? (Michael B. Hundley).

What is a god? While the question is simple enough, the answer depends on context and perspective. For those raised in the shadow of the great monotheisms — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — the god category has a singular member who is the creator and perfect unchallenged ruler of the cosmos. For most other modern religious traditions, gods are multiple and variable.

[...]

First in a series.

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Safeguarding archaeological artifacts in Israel

SECURING THE COLLECTIONS: How Israel safeguards archaeological treasures amid Iranian attacks. DOMESTIC AFFAIRS: Museum staff members across Israeli institutions face the challenge of protecting some of the most important artifacts of humankind. (Joanie Margulies, Jerusalem Post). The Dead Sea Scrolls, of course, present a particular challenge.

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

Wagner, ... Die Rolle Henochs im slavischen Henochbuch (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Andreas M. Wagner

Zwischen Engeln und Menschen

Die Rolle Henochs im slavischen Henochbuch

Edited by Hermann Lichtenberger and Daniel Schumann
[Between Angels and Humans. The Role of Enoch in the Slavic Book of Enoch.]
2025. XIV, 586 pages.
Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe (WUNT II) 634
Published in German.

€129.00 including VAT

sewn paper
available
978-3-16-163923-4

Also Available As:
eBook PDF €129.00

Summary

In this study, Andreas M. Wagner examines the significance of the Slavonic Enoch for understanding ancient Judaism and the environment of the New Testament. His focus lies on Enoch's role between angels and humans and the depiction of the heavenly world.

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

Goodacre, The Fourth Synoptic Gospel (Eerdmans, forthcoming)

THE NT BLOG: The Fourth Synoptic Gospel. Everything is the Synoptic Gospels!

Congratulations to Mark Goodacre on his forthcoming book.

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel
John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

by Mark Goodacre

Imprint: Eerdmans

205 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

PAPERBACK
9780802875136
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
$29.99
£22.99

EBOOK
9781467462716
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
$29.99
£22.99

DESCRIPTION

A bold reassessment of John’s Gospel and its relationship to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

Generations ago in biblical studies, it was taken for granted that John wrote with full knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But this consensus was overturned in the 1930s and since then, there has been no agreement on the issue. Today many scholars view the problem as unsolvable or impossibly complex. Mark Goodacre, however, takes a different view. In his galvanizing new book, Goodacre synthesizes long-neglected data with newer perspectives to make a strong case for John’s familiarity with all three Synoptic Gospels.

Writing in a clear and accessible style, Goodacre takes a systematic, step by step approach to showing that John knew and used the narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Goodacre identifies key points of agreement that range from diagnostic shards to shared structures. He also analyzes key differences; in his telling, John dramatically transforms the Synoptics and develops their Christology while adding a beloved disciple of Jesus, who is himself a Synoptic character. To make his argument accessible to a broad audience, Goodacre minimizes the use of scholarly citations and translates all Greek words. Just as importantly, he illustrates his claims with clear, simple charts so that readers can see for themselves the evidence that John knew and used the Synoptics.

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel is sure to spark lively discussions among biblical scholars. Given that John’s relationship to the Synoptics is a fundamental issue in New Testament studies, Goodacre’s book is also a must read for students and professors alike.

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More on those bronze lion-head discs

THERIOMORPHIC ICONOGRAPHIC ARTIFACTS: Lion-head Bronzes in Grave in Israel May Reveal Zoroastrian Influence on Rome. Bronze discs found in rare intact grave were handles of a coffin that may have contained a Roman dignitary worshiping Mithra, the archaeologists deduce (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

As an aside, I love the stone relief of Gilgamesh and the lion in the illustration. I know it says he is "subduing" it. But it looks to me as though Gilgamesh, who was eleven cubits tall (almost 18 feet) and who appears as a giant in the Book of Giants, is cuddling his pet lion. And in his other hand he is holding a cat play toy. But I am not an Assyriological iconographer, so receive my interpretation with caution.

Enigmatic bronze lion heads found in 1,900-year-old tomb in central Israel. Discovered near Kfar Saba, the ornate coffin fittings may hint at ties to pagan cults — or a Roman soldier’s final journey (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

With HT to Ancient Origins, I noted this story and the underlying 'Atiqot article a couple of months ago. I'm not sure why everyone is suddenly noticing it now (also here, here, here, and here). But I'm glad to see these artifacts getting more attention.

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Review of McCarter, Women in power

BRYN MAYR CLASSICAL REVIEW: Women in power: classical myths and stories, from the Amazons to Cleopatra.

Stephanie A. McCarter, Women in power: classical myths and stories, from the Amazons to Cleopatra. New York: Penguin Classics, 2024. Pp. 352. ISBN 9780143136361.

Review by
Francesca Rohr, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. rohr@unive.it

This book aims to illustrate, through a selection of ancient sources, how certain elite women exercised considerable power and influence in the public sphere and the way ancient historiography and literature represented women when they held positions of power.

[...]

Notwithstanding the "Classical" focus, this book deals with many ancient women of interest to PaleoJudaica, including Semiramis, legendary queen of Babylon (and actual Assyrian queen), Dido, legendary queen of Carthage, Salome Alexandra, queen of Judea, Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, and Zenobia, regent (and de facto empress) of Palmyra.

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

A library without scrolls and scrolls without a library

SOME ANCIENT ARCHIVES STUFF:

2,000 Year Old Library Discovered at Ancient City of Stratonikeia in Turkey (Nisha Zahid, Greek Reporter).

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a rare Greco-Roman library in the ancient Greek city of Stratonikeia (Greek: Στρατoνικεια) in southwest Turkey, revealing new insights into the architectural and cultural legacy of one of antiquity’s largest marble cities.

[...]

Spoiler: all the books were checked out. And are overdue. But there are some inscriptions that name the architect who designed it. And it's nice to have the floor plan of a substantial Greco-Roman-era library.

The Forgotten Archive of the Scribe of the Temple of Crocodile God in Egypt is Recovered, Containing Sent and Received Letters and Questions to the Oracle (Guillermo Carvajal, LBV).

Carolin Arlt holds a doctorate in Egyptology. After studying Egyptology, Ancient History, and Classical Archaeology at the Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg (JMU), she earned her doctorate at the same institution. She later worked at universities in Cologne, Berkeley, and Jerusalem before returning to JMU in 2009 as a researcher on a project focused on a temple in Egypt’s Fayum region.

She is now starting a new research project based on another temple in Fayum, a Ptolemaic archive from the temple of Soknopaiu Nesos. Her research will focus on 75 documents from this temple, written on papyrus in Demotic over 2,200 years ago by Tesenuphis, son of Marres, who referred to himself as the “scribe of the priests.”

Unfortunately, these documents were looted from said temple (or somewhere) in the nineteenth century, so their archaeological context is lost. But I suppose we're lucky to have them at all.

Neither story is directly relevant to ancient Judaism. But I offer them as a reminder that there are still plenty of ancient archives waiting to be uncovered, some even with texts still in them.

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

Jerusalem's ancient aqueduct tunnel was longer than any in Rome?

ANCIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: Jerusalem aqueduct tunnel surpassed Rome’s in length, study reveals. Wadi el Biyar’s 2.8-kilometer water tunnel is longer than any Roman equivalent. (Jerusalem Post).

A recently published study has revealed that ancient Jerusalem’s water infrastructure included a tunnel longer than any known from the Roman Empire. The finding appears in the June 2025 issue of the journal Groundwater and was authored by David Deming of the University of Oklahoma.

[...]

The underlying article is open access:

The Aqueducts and Water Supply of Ancient Jerusalem

David Deming
First published: 23 June 2025 https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.70000

Article impact statement: Describes the importance of groundwater to the history of the city of Jerusalem and links the utilization of groundwater with religious and cultural history.

Abstract

Jerusalem, a city held sacred by three of the world's great religions, is located in a semi-arid climate, and its occupation through the millennia has only been made possible by the construction of an extensive and ingenious water supply infrastructure. The settlement of Jerusalem was first made possible by water from the Gihon Spring. Over the centuries, the inhabitants of Jerusalem added several pools and reservoirs to collect and store water. Nearly all buildings, both private and public, also had extensive storage capacity in the form of cisterns. To support a burgeoning population and pilgrim growth during the late Second Temple Period, four aqueducts were constructed to bring additional water into Jerusalem. Much work remains to identify, date, classify, and restore the ancient water works of this great city.

For PaleoJudaica posts on Jerusalem's ancient water supply, substantial parts of which have been rediscovered only in this century, start here and follow the links.

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