PaleoJudaica.com

Hebrew class to study a DSS

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:05:00 +0000

COOL: OCU Hebrew students to study Dead Sea Scrolls (edmondsun.com).

OKLA. CITY — Students in a Biblical Hebrew class at Oklahoma City University will get a chance to study one of the Dead Sea Scrolls during the fall 2013 semester.

[...]

The students who will study the Dead Sea Scroll artifact previously have taken Biblical Hebrew I and II with Professor Wolfe. As a class, they will work to determine what part of the Bible is represented in a particular item and investigate what other known scrolls might be closely related to it. They will visit the scroll in person, and then later use special photographic records in class to do their work.

[...]

In praise of Carey Newman

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:59:00 +0000

BAYLOR: Carey Newman: How to Rescue a University Press.

When Carey Newman became director of Baylor University Press in 2003 it was teetering on the edge of extinction, as many university presses have in recent years. “I told the university it would take twenty-five years to build up the press,” says Newman. “Ten years to get one-third up the mountain and set up base camp. Ten years to get to the summit and five more to assault it.” A decade later, with net revenues “up 1,500%,” he is happy to state, “We are ahead of schedule.”

[...]

Dr. Newman was also a mover and shaker in the SBL Divine Mediator Figures in Antiquity Group in the 1990s and he and I organized and held an international conference at St. Andrews on the origins of the worship of Jesus in 1998.

Review of Ben-Yehuda, The Myth of Masada

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:50:00 +0000

BLAST FROM THE PAST: For some reason Bing has been reviving some old items, including one from a decade ago by Alex Joffe, a review of Nachman Ben-Yehuda, The Masada Myth: Collective Memory and Mythmaking in Israel: Sacrificing Truth: Archaeology and the Myth of Masada (The Middle East Quarterly). Excerpt:

If Ben-Yehuda is too severe in his standards, he does offer an important contribution to Israeli history. His detailed investigative approach, a vital contribution to developing the proper relationship between archaeology and society, should be emulated.

Somehow I missed that review at the time, but I noted others here.

Attention, volunteers from the Masada excavation!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:20:00 +0000

ARCHAEOLOGIST AND PALEOJUDAICA READER DAVID STACEY E-MAILS:

Jim - With the 50th anniversary approaching, Eretz magazine - a popular though serious English Language Israeli journal dedicated to the history, archaeology and geography of Israel - is going to produce a Masada 50th special edition. I have been asked to contribute an article from the volunteers perspective - I was there for all but the first fortnight of the second season. I am having great difficulty locating surviving international volunteers particularly those who did not continue in archaeology. Should there be any ex Masada volunteers reading your blog, who would like to share their anecdotes, I would be grateful if they would contact me david.stacey63@ntlworld.com

Background here.

The ocean of Talmud

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:53:00 +0000

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: How the Talmud Maps Behavior by Exploring Definitions, Not Listing Rules: Daf Yomi: The rabbis examined practical dimensions of deep questions, including those raised around saliva, urine, and sex.

This week’s Daf Yomi reading was a wonderful example of the range of the Talmud’s concerns, and the twisting paths that connect them. What starts out as a discussion of the laws of tefillin becomes an examination of the biology of urination and spitting, which is really a debate on the definition of substances and objects. Finally the rabbis turn to questions of sex, marriage, and the status of women, in which the notion of original sin and its punishment is refined in very unexpected ways. Chapter 10 of Tractate Eruvin is all by itself a good argument for the idea that the Talmud is not just a book but an ocean.

UPDATE: Almost forgot, earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and links.

SOTS Booklist 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

IN THE MAIL:

Deborah W. Rook (ed.) with Holly Morse, Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2013 (London: Sage, 2013)

The Other Old Testament

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:59:00 +0000

OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA WATCH: The Other Old Testament (Philip Jenkins). Excerpt:

Although Barnabas is notionally quoting the Exodus story, his citation has precious little in common with the original. He has moreover added a whole eschatological and messianic dimension that absolutely is not in the original. Although he might be inventing these words himself, it is also likely that he is transmitting a whole tradition of Christian midrash on the original Biblical texts.

Christians also drew on the pseudepigrapha, the works attributed to great figures of the Old Testament, to Abraham, Moses or Ezra. Many such works had originated from Second Temple Judaism, but Christian editors soon revised them to their own purposes.

And they wrote a few themselves, very likely more than are immediately obvious.

Reflections on Tisha B’Av

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:50:00 +0000

AMBIVALENCE: Tisha B’Av in the 21st century (Binyamin Kagedan, JNS.org). Excerpt:

How could Tisha B’av, traditionally one of the most intense and salient religious experiences of the year, be wholly foreign to a large portion of American Jewry? Surely it cannot simply come down to the fact that most people are averse to fasting—if that were the case, how could we explain the ongoing popularity of Yom Kippur?

The actual answer revolves around the traditional thematic elements of the fast. The narrative of Tisha B’Av centers on the destruction of the holy temple in Jerusalem, a national calamity that marked the end of Jewish sovereignty in ancient Israel and the official onset of the long Jewish diaspora. The day’s liturgy mourns the disappearance of high priests and animal sacrifices, and woven into its eulogizing is the wish for a return to these original forms or worship.

Masada announcement anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:46:00 +0000

JUNE 15, 1954: Remains of King Herod’s Palace Discovered in Israel.

Psalms of Solomon Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:23:00 +0000

OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA WATCH: The First International Meeting on the Psalms of Solomon (University of Strasbourg, 17-18 June 2013). Follow the link for the program.

Alter's Dtr

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:59:00 +0000

ROBERT ALTER has published the latest installment of his translation of the Bible: the Deuteronomistic History. Adam Kirsh has a review in Tablet: Robert Alter Wants Us To Think More Seriously About the Bible as Literature: The scholar, critic, and masterful translator remains dedicated to uncovering the full subtlety and intelligence of the stories in sacred texts. Excerpt:

Reading the Bible in Robert Alter’s translation helps to bring such moments of literary and human power into focus—thanks not just to his clear and elegant translation, but to the comprehensive notes that pinpoint exactly what is happening at crucial moments in the text. Ancient Israel is a perfect opportunity to return to these foundational Jewish stories and see them with fresh eyes—and what you find there may surprise you.

Posts on earlier sections of Alter's Bible translation are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here and follow the links back.

Job in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:41:00 +0000

OPENING AT INDIANA UNIVERSITY:

Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies

Institution:
Indiana University

Posted:
June 10, 2013

Location:
Indiana

Employment Level:
Tenured, tenure track

Category:
Religion

Employment Status:
Full-time

Religious Studies: Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies- Bloomington, IN. Teach, research, and serve in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism for the Department of Religious Studies. Req. PhD in Hebrew Bible/ Ancient Judaism. Applicants should email a letter of application and current resume to the Department Chair, Religious Studies, Indiana University, Prof. Winnifred Sullivan, . Indiana University is an equal employment opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services.

Follow the link to apply. HT James McGrath.

Wait, I thought they didn't know Aramaic!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

ARAMAIC WATCH: An angel sings in Arabic … and Aramaic.

The young and beautiful Lebanese diva, Abeer Nehme, is blessed with the voice of an angel and a natural charm that occasionally borders on shyness. Abeer is totally endearing and she had the audience spellbound from the moment she stepped on stage. Her programme was rooted in the religious traditions of the Middle East. She sang in Arabic, Syriac and Aramaic and she explained in French how each language has its own musical notation. At times the musical tone was set by the Middle eastern kanoun – a type of zither – and at times by an electric organ that gave me a strangely displaced sensation – it sounded more like being in church than being in Fes.

She does have a lovely voice.

Merkabah Rider

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:30:00 +0000

A WESTERN-HORROR NOVEL ABOUT A BADASS JEWISH MYSTIC: Merkabah Rider: Tales of a High Planes Drifter.

When is a roof a domain?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:46:00 +0000

THIS WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSH IN TABLET: Why the Talmud Draws Imaginary Lines All Around Us—and Over Our Heads: Daf Yomi: Our literary critic ambles over rooftops, ruins, and ships, in search of meaning in Jewish commentary.

Earlier columns are noted here and links.

Apocryphal posts

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:37:00 +0000

APOCRYPHA WATCH: You’re reading the wrong Book of Esther (Joel J. Miller).

And, related, Philip Jenkins has a blog post up on how Protestants came to lose the Apocrypha.

Imagining an Aramaic "voice"

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:34:00 +0000

ARAMAIC WATCH: Novelist Janice Weizman is Thinking in Aramaic, Writing in English. And it isn't easy.

St. Ephrem

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:30:00 +0000

SYRIAC WATCH: Yesterday was the Feast Day of St. Ephrem the Syrian.

ABC Radio on Vermes

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:27:00 +0000

AN AUSTRALIAN RADIO PROGRAM ON THE LATE GEZA VERMES: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Jesus: the life work of Geza Vermes.

Background here and links.

Berko Park

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:22:00 +0000

TRAVEL PIECE: Berko Park, aka ancient Tiberias: King Herod Antipas unwittingly built Tiberias directly over a Jewish cemetery. Luckily, some 130 years later, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai decided to purify the place (Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am, Times of Israel).

Here's an old post on the Tiberias excavation and here's another that involves that cemetery in Tiberias (see the update). And, of course, there is much more on Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and other legends about him here and links.

Manuscripts

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 08:44:00 +0000

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Where to find ancient manuscripts? (Peter Head, ETC).

The answer seems obvious, but we keep managing to be surprised by it.

West Bank archaeological politics

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 08:35:00 +0000

SEBASTIA: Stuck between Israel and PA, key archaeological site neglected: Ancient Israelite capital Sebastia, site of important Roman and Crusader ruins, lies unprotected because of security situation (AP).

Judaism in Transition: Conference in Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:53:00 +0000

IN HONOR OF PETER SCHÄFER: Konferenz am 2. und 3. Juli 2013: Judaism in Transition. Crossing Boundaries in Time and Space: From the Hellenistic-Roman World to Babylonia, from the Orient to Medieval Europe.

A rich man should dress the part

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Davila) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:33:00 +0000

THE WEEK'S DAF YOMI COLUMN BY ADAM KIRSCH IN TABLET: The Talmud Paints a Vivid Picture of Jewish Family Life in This Week’s Daf Yomi: Daf Yomi: Our literary critic discovers more rules on male authority, Shabbat meals, and how the rabbis thought about wealth.

Earlier Daf Yomi columns are noted here and here and links.