The assignment sign up sheet is now available on the blog. Those of you who have not signed up for all three slots should email me and let me know which open slots they can fill.
There was a little bit of confusion last class about the Zenon Archive. Really, all you need to know is certain details from Josephus' Tobaid romance can be verified by archaeological evidence.
It seems as though the Tobaids were in close contact with the Ptolemaic government. We know this because correspondence between a "Toubias" (Greek for Tobiah) and Apollonius (second in command to Ptolemy II) were discovered in Egypt. A fortress discovered in the Trans-Jordan has some features that are similar to Josephus' description of Hyrcanus' (son of Joseph son of Toubias) fortress. An inscription with the name Tobiah was also found on site.
Toubias, Jospeph and Hyrcanus all appear to be descendants of Tobiah the Ammonite from the book of Nehemiah.
As for next class, continue reading Ben Sirach and Koheleth. We will also discuss the excerpt from Josephus' Jewish Antiquities Book 12, a charter granted by the Seleucid king Antiochus III to the Jews.
I suggest that you get started reading I and II Maccabees if you can. At the very least you can use the excerpts from the course packet. For those of you who are more ambitious, try reading all of I and II Macc. There are several good versions of the text as these books are part of the Apocrypha and are preserved in most Christian Old Testaments:
1) The Anchor Bible series volumes 41 and 41a (ed. Jonathan Goldstein) has a good translation but his notes can be a little outlandish at times.
2) The Apochrypha ed. by Goodspeed
3) The NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) Bible
4) The RSV (revised standard version) which can be found online here.
5) For the ambitious, the Hebrew text of I Macc reconstructed by Uriel Rappaport can be useful to look at- ספר מקבים BS1825.53 .R36 2004
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Jews under Ptolemaic Rule
Tomorrow's class will be devoted to the Ptolemaic period of Jewish history, roughly the third century BCE in Palestine.
Unfortunately, we have very little primary evidence for this period. Your reading assignments for tomorrow's class include the Tobiad legend from Josephus' Jewish Antiquaties, the Biblical book Koheleth, and excerpts from the apocryphal book Ben Sirach. Josephus Ant. 12: 160-236, the Tobiad legend, can be found here and is listed in the class readings links on the right side of this web page.
Koheleth (or Ecclesiastes) can be found in any Bible translation, preferably JPS. The Art Scroll translation of this book is based on the alegorical midrashic reading found in Rabbinic literature and thus is totally without use. The Ben Sira excerpts can be found in the course packet. You may also use any of the translations found in:
1) Apocrypha, ed. Edgar J. Goodspeed
2) Oxford English Apocrypha
3) Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, ed. R.H. Charles
4) Anchor Bible v. 39, ed. A. di Lella
5) online at http://etext.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html (NSRV translation of the Old and New Testament hosted by the University of Virginia)
or you may consult the Hebrew reconstruction prepared by M.H. Segal (Ben Sira HaShalem).
Can you see signs of Greek influence in Kohelth or Ben Sira? If so, what are they? Try to come to class prepared to discuss this question.
If you have not been keeping up with the readings, focus on the Josephus reading, as well as the Tcherikover that you were supposed to have begun reading last week.
Thanks. See you tomorrow.
-LRS
Unfortunately, we have very little primary evidence for this period. Your reading assignments for tomorrow's class include the Tobiad legend from Josephus' Jewish Antiquaties, the Biblical book Koheleth, and excerpts from the apocryphal book Ben Sirach. Josephus Ant. 12: 160-236, the Tobiad legend, can be found here and is listed in the class readings links on the right side of this web page.
Koheleth (or Ecclesiastes) can be found in any Bible translation, preferably JPS. The Art Scroll translation of this book is based on the alegorical midrashic reading found in Rabbinic literature and thus is totally without use. The Ben Sira excerpts can be found in the course packet. You may also use any of the translations found in:
1) Apocrypha, ed. Edgar J. Goodspeed
2) Oxford English Apocrypha
3) Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, ed. R.H. Charles
4) Anchor Bible v. 39, ed. A. di Lella
5) online at http://etext.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html (NSRV translation of the Old and New Testament hosted by the University of Virginia)
or you may consult the Hebrew reconstruction prepared by M.H. Segal (Ben Sira HaShalem).
Can you see signs of Greek influence in Kohelth or Ben Sira? If so, what are they? Try to come to class prepared to discuss this question.
If you have not been keeping up with the readings, focus on the Josephus reading, as well as the Tcherikover that you were supposed to have begun reading last week.
Thanks. See you tomorrow.
-LRS
Assignments Due Today
Jonathan Henkin, Emily Watkins, Simone Gore and Jonah Rank are signed up to complete their first assignment for today.
You can post your assignments as responses to this blog entry. Make sure you let everyone know what you are writing about. Remember to include your name somewhere in your post. I will try to archive all of your work so that it will be easy for students to find later on in the semester.
If you can't post and would like to, send me your assignment as an email attachment and I will post it for you.
See you all tomorrow,
LRS
You can post your assignments as responses to this blog entry. Make sure you let everyone know what you are writing about. Remember to include your name somewhere in your post. I will try to archive all of your work so that it will be easy for students to find later on in the semester.
If you can't post and would like to, send me your assignment as an email attachment and I will post it for you.
See you all tomorrow,
LRS
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Readings for Thursday and next Tuesday
The text of Hecataeus of Abdera is now available. I don't assume that we will get to talking about it on Thursday. If you have not already finished reading Ezra and Nehemiah, or the Ben-Sasson chapter, etc... make sure that you do so by thursday.
If you want to get started on next weeks readings, I suggest beginning with Victor Tcherikover's Introduction to Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews. It can be found in the course packet and there are numerous copies available in both the columbia and jts libraries.
If you want to get started on next weeks readings, I suggest beginning with Victor Tcherikover's Introduction to Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews. It can be found in the course packet and there are numerous copies available in both the columbia and jts libraries.
The Province of Yehud
Over the past few classes I have been talking about the small province of Yehud. Since my crude blackboard maps are less than exact, I though I would give you a few maps to look at. The actual borders of Yehud are a matter of debate.
Map #1 shows a reconstruction of the province that is a little smaller. Map #2 extends the area of the province into the North-West somewhat. The smaller map takes into account some of the natural boundaries of the region in its reconstruction, and thus I generally feel that it is more reliable. In any event, the region is quite small.
Map #1 shows a reconstruction of the province that is a little smaller. Map #2 extends the area of the province into the North-West somewhat. The smaller map takes into account some of the natural boundaries of the region in its reconstruction, and thus I generally feel that it is more reliable. In any event, the region is quite small.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Ezra and Nehemiah Cont.
During the fourth and fifth century BCE a small garrison of Jewish soldiers served on the Island of Elephantine (Yeb in Aramaic) near modern Aswan in Egypt. Several archives of papyri from this small community survive.
The first document is often called the "Passover Papyrus". A picture of this papyrus is on both the syllabus and the website. The fragmented state of the document make it quite difficult to read. All of the text in brackets is reconstructed. The original aramaic text is on the top of the page. It is followed by an English and Hebrew translation.
Does this document really mention "passover"? What seems to be the context behind its composition?
The second document (as it is quite long I spared you the Hebrew and Aramaic) is a letter from the Jewish garrison at Elephantine requestion permission (and/or funds?) to rebuild their temple. The last line (cut off on our copy) mentions that these Jews not only sent a letter to the high priest in Jerusalem, but also to the Samaritan leadership. The Judeans sent no reply.
Document three is an answer to the letter sent re: rebuilding the temple at Elephantine. It seems to be a memorandum of a conversation which took place between Bagoes, a representative of the Persian king, and Delaiah, son of the governor of Samaria.
Their reply granting permission conspicuously fails to address one of the major concerns spelled out by Elephantine Jews in their letter. Why might Bagoes and Delaiah been reticent to address this issue?
This coin dates from Persian Period Yehud. When it was first discovered, some scholars read the inscription as reading "Yaho," a shortened version of the divine epithet of the Israelite God. It is more likely that the coin simply reads "Yehud"-- the name of the Persian province. But the image on the coin appears to be a figure seated in a fashion generally reserved for deities in Persian iconography. Is this a picture of the Jewish God on a Persian era Jewish coin?
The first document is often called the "Passover Papyrus". A picture of this papyrus is on both the syllabus and the website. The fragmented state of the document make it quite difficult to read. All of the text in brackets is reconstructed. The original aramaic text is on the top of the page. It is followed by an English and Hebrew translation.
Does this document really mention "passover"? What seems to be the context behind its composition?
The second document (as it is quite long I spared you the Hebrew and Aramaic) is a letter from the Jewish garrison at Elephantine requestion permission (and/or funds?) to rebuild their temple. The last line (cut off on our copy) mentions that these Jews not only sent a letter to the high priest in Jerusalem, but also to the Samaritan leadership. The Judeans sent no reply.
Document three is an answer to the letter sent re: rebuilding the temple at Elephantine. It seems to be a memorandum of a conversation which took place between Bagoes, a representative of the Persian king, and Delaiah, son of the governor of Samaria.
Their reply granting permission conspicuously fails to address one of the major concerns spelled out by Elephantine Jews in their letter. Why might Bagoes and Delaiah been reticent to address this issue?
This coin dates from Persian Period Yehud. When it was first discovered, some scholars read the inscription as reading "Yaho," a shortened version of the divine epithet of the Israelite God. It is more likely that the coin simply reads "Yehud"-- the name of the Persian province. But the image on the coin appears to be a figure seated in a fashion generally reserved for deities in Persian iconography. Is this a picture of the Jewish God on a Persian era Jewish coin?
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