Scholars from Europe, North America, and Australia gathered to Naples on 30 June – 4 July 2015 to participate in the Fifth Enoch Seminar Nangeroni Meeting ”Second Temple Jewish Paideia in its Ancient and Hellenistic Contexts”. The organisers of the conference – Jason Zurawski, Gabriele Boccaccini, and Luca Arcari – had compiled a fascinating programme of academic papers and field trips. Continue reading On Jewish Paideia in Naples
All posts by Rick Bonnie
Mothers as Leaders in Early Jewish Texts
The status of women in early Judaism continues to be debated. Interestingly, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (L.A.B.) employs the term ‘mother’ several times in chapter 33, which outlines Deborah’s farewell speech and her death. This article analyzes the significance of the title ‘mother’. This term has been interpreted in different ways in the past. For instance, several scholars understand the title ‘mother’ as a ‘feminist counterpart’ to the term ‘father’. I think such interpretation is problematic since it retrojects a modern perspective upon the ancient author. Moreover, I claim that most research done on the figure of Deborah in L.A.B. regarding the title ‘mother’ appear to be based on the scholars’ assumptions about women in the ancient world rather than on critical research of the actual text. Continue reading Mothers as Leaders in Early Jewish Texts
Reflections on “From Scribal Error to Rewriting: How (Sacred) Texts May and May Not Be Changed” (Tbilisi, 2015)
Several members of the CSTT had the opportunity to attend the international symposium “From Scribal Error to Rewriting: How (Sacred) Texts May and May Not Be Changed” in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 30 April to 3 May 2015. The symposium was dedicated to the memory of Septuagint scholar Udo Quast and was a fitting memorial for his important work. We were generously hosted by Anna Kharanauli and many colleagues and students from the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Continue reading Reflections on “From Scribal Error to Rewriting: How (Sacred) Texts May and May Not Be Changed” (Tbilisi, 2015)
Investigating the Babylonian Exile: When Old Testament Studies Is Not Enough
by Tero Alstola
After a long siege, Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian forces in 597 BCE. King Jehoiachin and upper classes, the supporters of the rebellion against their Babylonian overlords, were taken captive and deported to Babylonia. The city was plundered, heavy tribute was carried to the temples and palaces of Babylon and a new vassal king was placed on the throne in Jerusalem. Another rebellion ten years later resulted in the collapse of Judean society at the same time, when Judean deportees were resettled in Babylonian towns and countryside. Perhaps a century later, some descendants of these deportees were able to return to Judah and claim a high status in the slowly recovering society. Continue reading Investigating the Babylonian Exile: When Old Testament Studies Is Not Enough
Dosentti päivystää henkimaailman asioita: Haastattelussa Hanne von Weissenberg
Toimittaja Aarno Laitisen keksimä pilkkanimi ”päivystävä dosentti” toi yliopistollisen arvonimen kaiken kansan suuhun. Termillä Laitinen sohaisi paitsi epämääräisiä kommentteja latelevia ylipistotutkijoita myös – ja ehkä ennen kaikkea – laiskoja ja tietämättömiä median edustajia: Laitisen mielestä nämä eivät tahtoneet aina jaksaa paneutua sopivien asiantuntijoiden etsimiseen vaan pakottivat samat tutkijat kommentoimaan asiaa kuin asiaa. Moni tavallinen mediankuluttaja on kuitenkin ottanut Laitisen ivailun merkkinä siitä, että yliopistoväki on pääasiassa turhanpäiväistä joukkoa – dosentit etunenässä. Continue reading Dosentti päivystää henkimaailman asioita: Haastattelussa Hanne von Weissenberg
Reflections on Workshop “Functions of Psalms and Prayers in Late Second Temple Period Judaism” (Copenhagen, May 7-9)
By Jeremy Penner and Mika Pajunen
On May 7-9 scholars from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK, and the United States gathered in Copenhagen for a workshop titled, “Functions of Psalms and Prayers in Late Second Temple Period Judaism.” The workshop took place under the auspices of the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Theology, and was organized by Mika Pajunen, Trine Bjørnung Hasselbalch, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Jeremy Penner, and Årstein Justnes. This workshop was part one of a two-part program, the second to be held in Helsinki on September 24-25 of this year.
Understanding Rhetoric and Hyberbole in the Hebrew Bible
Biblical scholars often treat idealistic expectations – for kings or eras – as “eschatological” or “messianic” expectations. Yet this sort of analysis often elides the rhetorical nature of the source texts. Messianism and eschatology are complex and important ideas, but they need to be carefully understood within the ways in which humans communicate with each other. Only when a broader rhetorical context is understood can particular concepts such as these be analyzed effectively, and thus appreciated on their own terms – why an author or a community found them appealing at a particular moment in time. I analyze the rhetoric of Obama’s first presidential campaign as a recent comparator, using Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory and recent work on hyperbole. The results of this discussion are then applied to four sample passages from the context of Hebrew Bible to argue that idealistic or “utopian” language need not necessarily imply any of the ideas associated with messianism or millenarianism. In the final analysis this will mean that scholars must be more careful in delineating the diachronic development of ideas in ancient texts. Continue reading Understanding Rhetoric and Hyberbole in the Hebrew Bible
New Publication: “Women and Power in Neo-Assyrian Palaces”
Fresh from the printers! A new book written by CSTT-member Saana Svärd has just appeared in the series State Archives of Assyria Studies. Continue reading New Publication: “Women and Power in Neo-Assyrian Palaces”
Workshop Program: Ancient Jewish Cosmology – Sacred Time and Order (Jerusalem, June 15-16)
CSTT Workshop in Jerusalem, 15‒16 June 2015, at the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, co-sponsored by the Finnish Institute in the Middle East (FIME). Continue reading Workshop Program: Ancient Jewish Cosmology – Sacred Time and Order (Jerusalem, June 15-16)
The Origins of Satan in Judaism
Scholars looking to understand from where the figure of Satan derives have long appealed to Iranian influence, particularly in the form of the Zoroastrian Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). I argue instead that the first appearance of the term as a noun in the Hebrew Bible ought to be understood as an administrative official of the Achaemenid Empire. This continues a working hypothesis of mine that various aspects of the divine realm was envisioned as similar to the Achaemenid Empire by some in Second Temple Judaism. Continue reading The Origins of Satan in Judaism