Nelson & Ulmer (eds), ... Proceedings of the Midrash Section, Society of Biblical Literature (Gorgias)

NEW BOOK FROM GORGIAS PRESS:

TEN MEASURES OF BEAUTY
Proceedings of the Midrash Section, Society of Biblical Literature

Edited by W. David Nelson & Rivka Ulmer

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-4800-0

The contributions that comprise Ten Measures of Beauty, the 10th volume published by the Society of Biblical Literature’s Midrash Section, pertain to Sifra, Midrash Tadshe and Masora, Rabbi Meyuḥas ben Elijah (a biblical commentator), food and meals in midrash, and peace studies.

Formats *
Hardback (In Print) ISBN 978-1-4632-4800-0
eBook PDF (In Print) ISBN 978-1-4632-4801-7 on Gorgias Mobile App (Glassboxx)

Publication Status: In Print
Series: Judaism in Context34
Publication Date: Mar 28,2025
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 146
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-4800-0
Price: $114.95 (USD)
Your price: $91.96 (USD)

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

On the Oxyrhynchus Papyri

OXYRHYNCHUS WATCH: The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: From ancient trash to historical treasure. What can the famous papyrus corpus tell us about the ordinary people of late-ancient Egypt? Richard J Britton investigate (The Past).

Imagine that, 1,500 years from today, an archaeologist finds the remnants of your garbage in a dump. They might find your shopping lists, receipts, insurance contracts, bank statements, your will, personal letters to family and friends, and maybe even pages from a journal therapy course. Perhaps they might find religious or spiritual writings, a few old newspapers, and a few torn pages from your favourite thriller or romance novels.

Such a scenario should give you a flavour of what Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt found in their excavation of a site at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt between 1896 and 1907. Here, within a city rubbish dump, the archaeologists found a seemingly inexhaustible trove of papyrus documents dating to the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods that have revolutionised our understanding of late-ancient Hellenic Egyptian society and culture.

[...]

It's always good to come back to the story of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. This article focuses on some of the quite interesting non-literary texts.

For a great many PaleoJudaica posts on the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, run "Oxyrhynchus" through the search engine.

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

Franek, Solomonica Magica (Brill)

NEW BOOK FROM BRILL:

Solomonica Magica: Solomon, Sisinnius, and the Holy Rider on Greek-Inscribed Amulets from Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium

Series:
Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, Volume: 201

Author: Juraj Franek

Solomonica Magica is the first comprehensive survey of ‘Solomonic’ or ‘Holy Rider’ amulets from the Mediterranean of Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. Hundreds of magical gems, leaf-shaped pendants, circular medallions, and other apotropaic objects—many of which were previously unpublished—are presented against the backdrop of a parabiblical tradition involving Solomon the Magician and Sisinnius the Demon-Hunter. All Greek texts have received fresh critical editions and English translations. The text of the monograph is richly illustrated with over 700 images, many newly commissioned specifically for this volume.

Copyright Year: 2025

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-73528-6
Publication: 21 Jul 2025
EUR €189.00

Hardback
Availability: Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-73526-2
Publication: 24 Jul 2025
EUR €189.00

For a recently discovered amulet of this type, see here.

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

Towers, Manichaeism: Encounters with death (Brepols)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Manichaeism: Encounters with Death.

Notice of a New Book: Towers, Susanna. 2025. Manichaeism: Encounters with death. Studies in the material, spiritual and parabolic body (Studia Traditionis Theologiae 61). Turnhout: Brepols Publishers.

Follow the link for description and ordering information.

Cross-file under Manichean (Manichaean) Watch.

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

"Two astonishing years" for lost scriptures

THE ANXIOUS BENCH: Rediscovering Lost Scriptures: Two Astonishing Years (Philip Jenkins).

Those years were 1896-1897. Not as impressive as 1945-1947 for rediscovery of lost scriptures, but probably a good strong second.

Background here.

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

Swinney, Reforging History in the Persian Era Editing of the Twelve (Mohr Siebeck)

NEW BOOK FROM MOHR SIEBECK:

Kipp Swinney
Reforging History in the Persian Era Editing of the Twelve
The Significance of the Motifs of the Divine Warrior, Chaoskampf, and Theophany for Shaping the Book of the Twelve

[Geschichtsschreibung in der persischen Redaktionszeit des Zwölfprophetenbuchs. Die Bedeutung der Motive des göttlichen Kriegers, des Chaoskampfes und der Theophanie für die Gestaltung des Zwölfprophetenbuchs.]
2024. XVII, 200 pages.
Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe (FAT II) 159

€79.00
including VAT

sewn paper
available
978-3-16-163400-0

Also Available As:
eBook PDF €79.00

Summary

In the Persian era, Judean editors of the Book of the Twelve incorporated new material and revised existing content in ways that reflected on the history from Assyria's fall to Persia's rise. Kipp Swinney argues that the Persian era editors of the Twelve embed a historiography that centralizes Yahweh's role in Judah's history by using the motifs of the divine warrior, Chaoskampf, and theophany. These motifs depict Yahweh's acting in history without human assistance, which enhanced Yahweh's legitimacy as king despite Babylon's destruction of Judah and Persia's ascendancy. Amos, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah contain this embedded historiography and legitimizing agenda. Synthesizing developmental models of the Twelve with the tradition history of the motifs used, Swinney illuminates the Persian era shaping of the Book of the Twelve.

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

On ancient wilderness narratives

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

How Did Ancient Wilderness Narratives Form Identities and Relationships with Nature? And Do They Still?

Ancient wilderness narratives from Mesopotamian, Jewish, and Christian traditions shaped religious identity by portraying wilderness not merely as chaotic or dangerous, but as a space for personal transformation, divine encounter, and critique of societal order. Rather than reinforcing dominion over nature, these stories often highlighted awe, humility, and kinship with the wild, forming a legacy of spiritual introspection that resonates with modern wilderness experiences and ecological reflection. In both past and present, such narratives foster what scholars now call “resonant self-world relations,” emphasizing nature’s uncontrollability as essential to human thriving.

See also Ancient Mythologies of the Wilderness: Narrative, Nature, and Religious Identity Formation from the Babylonians to the Late Antique Christians (Cambridge University Press, 2025).

By Laura Feldt
Associate Professor
Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion
University of Bergen
August 2025

I noted the publication of the book here.

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

Coin of Berenice II excavated in Givati Parking Lot

NUMISMATICS: Rare gold coin of Queen Berenice II unearthed in Jerusalem. Dating to 246-221 BCE, it is the first of its kind found outside Egypt, offering new insight into Jerusalem’s revival under Ptolemaic rule (Yaron Drukman, Ynet News).

A rare gold coin bearing the portrait of Egyptian Queen Berenice II was discovered during an Israel Antiquities Authority excavation at the Givati parking lot in the City of David archaeological excavation site, within Jerusalem Walls National Park.

The tiny coin, valued at a quarter drachma and crafted from 99.3% pure gold, dates to 246-221 BCE during the reign of her husband, Ptolemy III. The Israel Antiquities Authority and City of David hailed it as the first of its kind found in a clear archaeological context, one of only about 20 known worldwide.

[...]

For more on the Ptolemaic Queen Benenice (Berenike) II and her coins, see here.

For PaleoJudaica posts on the Givati Parking Lot excavation and the many discoveries there, start here and follow the links.

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

Looted inscribed dolphin weight recovered in Jerusalem

APPREHENDED: 2150 years old: Jerusalem dolphin artifact found. Greek inscription notes the name of a market oversight official from the Hellenistic period. Researchers aim to identify the weight's origin city based on the mammal's illustration (Lidor Sultan, Israel HaYom).

A rare lead weight in excellent condition, bearing an ancient Greek inscription from the Hellenistic period, was seized this week in Jerusalem during an operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority's Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Theft. The weight, dated to 147–148 BCE, was uncovered in an antiquities shop following intelligence information.

The fascinating archaeological find is inscribed with the text "Heliodorus son of Apollonius, agoranomos" – the name and title of a government official responsible for overseeing the accuracy of measurements and weights in markets to prevent commercial fraud. The date indicated on the weight – year 165 of the Seleucid era – corresponds to the Hellenistic period in the Land of Israel, when the Seleucid Empire controlled vast regions of the Middle East.

[...]

Cross-file under Theriomorphic Iconography and Greek Epigraphy.

I note that the object is unprovenanced, which raises the possibility it could be a forgery. Not saying it is, but I want to hear how we know it isn't.

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

Strauss, Jews vs. Rome (Simon & Schuster)

INTERVIEW: Book details Jews’ two-century fight against Roman Empire (Linda B. Glaser, Cornell Chronicle).

For two centuries, the Jews of Judea – ancient Israel – waged rebellion against the power of the Roman Empire. Although they never succeeded in throwing off the Roman yoke, the tales of their resilience form a stirring narrative described in the new book “Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire,” by Barry Strauss ’74, the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies Emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences. ...

The Chronicle spoke with Strauss about the book.

Cross-file under New Book. It is being published by Simon & Schuster in September 2025.

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

A late-antique senior care home in Sussita (Hippos) National Park?

GERIATRIC ARCHAEOLOGY: 1,600 years of care: Archaeologists in northern Israel uncover world’s earliest home for elderly. University of Haifa researchers discover mosaic medallion bearing inscription ‘Peace be with the elders’ in Byzantine city of Hippos (Times of Israel Staff).

Designated institutions for the elderly have been referenced in texts from the fifth and sixth centuries, but this was the first physical evidence of such a practice, the researchers said.

The find was uncovered near the intersection of two major streets in the residential area of the ancient Byzantine city of Hippos in the Galilee. The Christian city was the seat of the bishop, where archaeologists have also discovered seven churches, a temple, a basilica, a theater, and at least two theaters.

The underlying article in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik does not seem to be available online at all.

For many PaleoJudaica posts on artifacts and architecture recovered in Sussita (Hippos) National Park, start here and follow the links

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

Cartagena Festival 2025 is coming

PUNIC WATCH: The Carthaginians and Romans fiestas, a legacy of the rich past of Cartagena. Few cities can match the heady mix of history, culture and tradition in the September fiestas of Cartagena! (Murcia Today). HT Rogue Classicism.

Every year in September, when the heat of summer is beginning to die down, the city of Cartagena goes back to a time more than 200 years before the birth of Christ when in the space of a few years it was known first as Qart-Hadast and then as Carthago Nova, as it celebrates the annual fiestas of the Carthagineses y Romanos.

[...]

Cartagena, Spain, was a Punic town (Carthago Nova - New Carthage) founded in the third century B.C.E. by Hasdrubal the Fair, Hannibal's brother-in law.* The ten-day festival begins on the third Friday in September (this year the 19th).

I will have more for you on the 2025 festival later on. Watch this space.

For earlier posts on the festival, as well as on the history and archaeology of the city, see here and links.

The Phoenician ship, the Mazzarón II (with various spellings), was raised last year and is currently being reassembled and restored in Cartagena.

*I know that the article says that the founder was Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal Barca. Confusingly, there were lots of Hasdrubals. But Hasdrubal the Fair founded New Carthage. (I can't believe the rabbit holes this blog takes me down every day.)

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

Review of Hendel, Genesis 1–11

BOOK REVIEW: Genesis 1–11: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. WRITTEN BY RONALD HENDEL (REVIEWED BY DUSTIN BURLET, Themelios 50.2).

To conclude, Ronald Hendel’s Genesis 1–11 in the Anchor Yale Bible commentary series was worth the wait. With over thirty years of research, his analysis deepened my understanding of Biblical Hebrew and offers fresh perspectives on much “established” scholarship. It is a valuable resource for anyone engaging Genesis on a serious level. Highly recommended!

I noted the publication of the book here (cf. here).

Ron Hendel and I overlapped as doctoral students in the Harvard NELC program in the 1980s. He was hard at work on the Book of Genesis even back then. It great to see this fruit of a career's worth of labor now published.

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

Papyri at the University of Oslo

PAPYROLOGY: In a small room in Oslo lie hundreds of pieces of 2,000-year-old papyrus. Researchers are working on publishing two new volumes from the papyrus collection in Oslo (Elise Kjørstad, Sciencenorway.no). HT Rogue Classicism.

On the fourth floor of the HumSam Library at the University of Oslo, a small room holds hundreds of ancient Egyptian texts.

These texts, written in ink some 2,000 years ago, are preserved on fragments of papyrus. The pieces are mounted behind glass, lined up neatly in display cases.

[...]

This collection has lots of interesting fragments—many, but by no means all, already published—including of Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Daniel, Matthew, a magical papyrus, and even the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Most are in Greek, but also some are in Coptic and even Egyptian hieratic and hierogyphics. Naturally most are documentary texts such as sales documents and personal letters.

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

Rowlands, The Metaphysics of Historical Jesus Research (Routledge)

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Theology, Philosophy, and the Historical Figure of Jesus

The study of the historical Jesus involves an interplay between theology, philosophy, and historiography, with our understanding shaped by pre-existing worldviews as much as it shapes them. While absolute certainty about Jesus’ life is unattainable, historians assess plausibility through their philosophical and theological assumptions, making “what we can know” dependent on who “we” are. Embracing diverse perspectives, rather than enforcing a single framework, offers the best path toward meaningful research.

See also The Metaphysics of Historical Jesus Research: A Prolegomenon to a Future Quest for the Historical Jesus (London, 2023).

By Jonathan Rowlands
Graduate Tutor, Lecturer in Theology, and Lead Tutor for Assessment
St. Mellitus College, East Midlands
August 2025

Cross-file under New(ish) Book, which I missed when it came out.

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

Harrison, Kingship and Empire under the Achaemenids (Edinburgh University Press)

BIBLIOGRAPHIA IRANICA: Kingship and Empire under the Achaemenids, Alexander the Great and the Early Seleucids.

Notice of a new book: Harrison, Stephen. 2025. Kingship and Empire under the Achaemenids, Alexander the Great and the Early Seleucids. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Follow the link for additional details.

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

Kendall, Seeing the Messiah (Wipf & Stock)

NEW BOOK FROM WIPF AND STOCK:

Seeing the Messiah
An Analysis of the Postmortem Appearances of Jesus Christ and the Lubavitcher Rebbe Against the Backdrop of Apparitional Phenomena/BIG>

by Jonathan Kendall
Foreword by Michael Licona
Imprint: Resource Publications
276 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.55 in

Paperback
9798385248995
Published: July 2025
$33.00 / £25.00 / AU$51.00

eBook
9798385249015
Published: July 2025
$33.00 / £25.00 / AU$51.00

DESCRIPTION

Apparitions are real. The evidence for their objective nature is immense, and they are frequently not the transparent, non-physical manifestations depicted by Hollywood and popular culture. Moreover, some apparitions demonstrate blatantly physical characteristics to the point that they may be initially mistaken for real people. Seeing the Messiah takes readers on a tour of case studies from eight well-evidenced categories of apparitions that occur in nature. These categories include visions of the bereaved, those that linger in haunted houses, figures that materialize during seances, and apparitions that represent religious icons such as the Blessed Virgin Mary. What exactly are apparitions? Visitations from the supernatural realm? Dramas created through telepathy? Dr. Kendall speculates on how these strange intrusions into our reality might best be interpreted and the implications this has for the nature of reality itself. Having established the characteristics of this phenomenon, Dr. Kendall examines claims that Menachem Mendel Schneerson (i.e., the Lubavitcher Rebbe) was raised from the dead, with special scrutiny of the post-mortem encounters of the Rebbe to his followers. He then evaluates the historical data used to support Jesus' resurrection in light of the same apparitional data. Do those who "see the Messiah" merely experience apparitions?

For another recent book on the Lubavitcher Rebbe, see here. And follow the links from there for many more posts on him and the messianic tradition around him.

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

Peterson, Qoheleth and the Philosophy of Value (CUP)

NEW BOOK FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS:

Qoheleth and the Philosophy of Value

Author: Jesse M. Peterson , George Fox University
Published: July 2025
Availability: Available
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781009513258

£85.00 GBP
Hardback

£85.00 USD
Adobe eBook Reader

Description

The book of Ecclesiastes is the Bible's problem child. Its probing doubts, dark ruminations, self- reflexive dialogues, and unflinching observations have simultaneously puzzled and fascinated readers for over two millennia. Some read the book's message as hopelessly pessimistic, while others regard the text as too contradictory to bear any consistent message at all. In this study, Jesse Peterson offers a coherent portrait of the book and its author-the early Jewish sage known as Qoheleth-by examining both through a philosophical lens. Drawing from relevant contemporary philosophical literature on meaning in life, death, well-being, and enjoyment, Peterson outlines a clear and compelling portrait of Qoheleth and his philosophical assumptions about what is good and bad in the human experience. As Peterson argues, Qoheleth's grievances concerning the pursuit of meaning in life are paired with a genuine affirmation of life's value and the possibility of a joy-filled existence.

• Provides original translation and interpretation for many of the book's most central passages
• Sets the book of Ecclesiastes in dialogue with contemporary philosophies of value
• Presents a comprehensive understanding of Qoheleth's system of values

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

A wildfire at Tel Araj (Bethsaida?)

BLAZING ARCHAEOLOGY: Wildfire Unveils Lost Biblical Village of Bethsaida. The fire that scorched the Betiha nature reserve exposed mounds all over el-Araj: These were the homes of Bethsaida, archaeologists say. And there was a public building too (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).

A wildfire along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee in late July endangered bathers, shut down Highway 87 in both directions, and as the lakeside vegetation burned to a crisp, unveiled the missing town of Bethsaida.

It isn't that the ancient homes had been covered with foliage, only to be suddenly revealed as 2,000-year-old stone walls when the flames engulfed them. The village from the time of Jesus was – and remains – buried in the sands of time, and now ash as well.

But bared by the conflagration that consumed the Betiha Nature Reserve, small mounds are now exposed, scattered all over the archaeological site of el-Araj, sprawling over hundreds of meters.

[...]

It sounds like no one was injured by this fire, which is good.

I have been following the debate over the original site of New Testament Bethsaida for some years. The other contender is nearby et-Tell/e-Tel. So far, the evidence seems to me to be weighing in favor of el-Araj. But I am not an archaeologist, and I haven't seen a defense recently from the et-Tell proponents. For past posts on the two sites and the debate, start here and follow the links.

Once again, a fire spared church ruins. The current article attributes the el-Araj fire to careless cigarette disposal. It's worth noting that wildfires are not always caused by deliberate arson. As I've said before, I don't know what caused the Tabyeh fire. I haven't seen any updates on the question.

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

Hugoye 28.1 (2025)

A NEW ISSUE: Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 28.1 (2025).

Note in particular:

More Readings from 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in the Konat Collection
By Florian Neitmann and Liv Ingeborg Lied
Source: Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 28.1 (2025): 155-180.
URI: https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/article/hv28n1neitmann-lied

ABSTRACT

This article presents three liturgical manuscripts containing passages from 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch which have thus far been overlooked in the scholarship on these two books. The study begins with a summary of the previous history of scholarship on Syriac lectionaries containing readings from 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. This is followed by a description of the three manuscripts, all three of which are preserved in the Konat Collection in Pampakuda, Kerala (India). One of them, Ms. 208, is a lectionary, while the two others, Mss. 91 and 354, are lectionary indices. They were produced in the years 1892– 94, which shows that the reception of readings from 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch in Syriac liturgical manuscripts continued for much longer than previously thought. This continued reception was enabled by the faithful preservation of— and engagement with—the lectionary Ms. 77 in the Konat Collection, which, as argued in this article, is the source of the three nineteenth-century manuscripts preserved in the same collection.

This brings the liturgical citation of 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch as scripture up to the end of the nineteenth century, adding another 500 years to their Syriac reception history. That is not to say that the scribes had access to the full books in Syriac. One of the manuscripts notes that the Ezra quote is not in the current printed Syriac Old Testament.

Hugoye is a high-quality, peer-review, open-access journal, which I should keep better track of. I last noted volume 25 (2022) (2021) here. And for more, follow the links from there. Cross-file under Syriac Watch.

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