Images of cosmology in Jewish and Byzantine art : God's blueprint of creation /
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Does the design of the Tabernacle in the wilderness correspond to God's blueprint of Creation? The Christian Topography, a sixth-century Byzantine Christian work, presents such a cosmology. Its theory is based on the "pattern" revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai when he was told to build the Tabernacle and its implements "after their pattern, which is being shown thee on the Mount." (Exod. 25: 40). The book demonstrates, through texts and images, the motifs that link the Tabernacle and Creation. It traces the long chain of transmission that connects the Jewish and Christian traditions from Syria and ancient Israel to France and Spain from the first through the fourteenth century, revealing new models of interaction between Judaism and Christianity.
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1 online resource (xxi, 318 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004252196 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Talmudic transgressions : engaging the work of Daniel Boyarin /
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Talmudic Transgressions is a collection of essays on rabbinic literature and related fields in response to the boundary-pushing scholarship of Daniel Boyarin. This work is an attempt to transgress boundaries in various ways, since boundaries differentiate social identities, literary genres, legal practices, or diasporas and homelands. These essays locate the transgressive not outside the classical traditions but in these traditions themselves, having learned from Boyarin that it is often within the tradition and in its terms that we can find challenges to accepted notions of knowledge, text, and ethnic or gender identity. The sections of this volume attempt to mirror this diverse set of topics. Contributors include Julia Watts Belser, Jonathan Boyarin, Shamma Boyarin, Virginia Burrus, Sergey Dolgopolski, Charlotte E. Fonrobert, Simon Goldhill, Erich S. Gruen, Galit Hasan-Rokem, Christine Hayes, Adi Ophir, James Redfield, Elchanan Reiner, Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Lena Salaymeh, Zvi Septimus, Aharon Shemesh, Dina Stein, Eliyahu Stern, Moulie Vidas, Barry Scott Wimpfheimer, Elliot R. Wolfson, Azzan Yadin-Israel, Israel Yuval, and Froma Zeitlin.
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"Originated in a conference held at the University of California, Berkeley, in April 2014"--From the editors. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004345331 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Dimitrie Cantemir, salvation of the sage and ruin of the sinful world /
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This is a thoroughly revised and expanded version of the first edition of the Arabic version of Dimitrie Cantemir's The Divan or the Sage's Dispute with the World (Ṣalāḥ al-ḥakīm wa-fasād al-ʿālam al-ḏamīm) (Iaşi, 1698), his first printed book, the earliest ethical treatise in Romanian literature and a testimony to his wide knowledge, reading, and proficiency in foreign languages. Completed in 1705 by Athanasius III Dabbās, Patriarch of the Antiochian Church (1684-1694, 1720-1724), the Arabic text is accompanied by the first translation into a modern language, English. Book III contains Cantemir's version of the Latin work Stimuli virtutum, fraena peccatorum (Amsterdam, 1682) by the Unitarian Andzrej Wiszowaty (Andreas Wissovatius) of Raków (Poland), a chief representative of the Polish Brethren. Thus, in the space of twenty-three years Central-European Protestant ideas reached the Arab Christians of Ottoman Syria, by way of Greek and Arabic.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004311022 :
2213-0039 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Mani's pictures : the didactic images of the Manichaeans from Sasanian Mesopotamia to Uygur Central Asia and Tang-Ming China /
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The founder of Manichaeism, Mani (216-274/277 CE), not only wrote down his teachings to prevent their adulteration, but also created a set of paintings-the Book of Pictures -to be used in the context of oral instruction. That pictorial handscroll and its later editions became canonical art for Mani's followers for a millennium afterwards. This richly illustrated study systematically explores the artistic culture of religious instruction of the Manichaeans based on textual and artistic evidence. It discusses the doctrinal themes (soteriology, prophetology, theology, and cosmology) depicted in Mani's canonical pictures. Moreover, it identifies 10th-century fragments of canonical picture books, as well as select didactic images adapted to other, non-canonical art objects (murals, hanging scrolls, mortuary banners, and illuminated liturgical manuscripts) in Uygur Central Asia and Tang-Ming China.
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1 online resource (xix, 535 pages) :
9789004308947 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The institution of the Hasmonean high priesthood /
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In The Institution of the Hasmonean High Priesthood , Vasile Babota offers an interdisciplinary study of the establishment of the Hasmonean priests as high priests in Jerusalem, from their revolt in 167 down to 140. The Hasmonean high priests exercised both religious and civil powers until 37 B.C.E. and some acted also as kings. Previous studies looked at them mainly from a biblical /Jewish perspective. Vasile Babota persuasively argues that the first high priests Jonathan and Simon acted as Hellenistic high priestly rulers. This conclusion is based on an analysis of the activity of the high priests Jonathan and Simon on internal and external levels, a comparison with earlier Jewish high priests, and a comparison with Hellenistic (Seleucid and Ptolemaic) high priests.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004252042 :
1384-2161 ;
The Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia as handbooks to eternity : exploring the gnostic mysteries of the ineffable /
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Despite the surge of interest in Gnostic texts following the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library, the Coptic Books of Jeu and Pistis Sophia remain understudied. Often dismissed as convoluted, confused, and repetitious, Erin Evans convincingly shows that these texts represent the writings of a distinct religious group with a consistent system of theology, cosmology, and ritual practice. This book offers an in-depth examination of these texts, their relationship to other contemporary Gnostic ideas, and their use in the context of a practicing religious group. Three thematic sections demonstrate how the collection of texts functions as a whole, covering baptisms and mystical ascent procedures, guides to moral living, and introductory texts and myths.
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1 online resource (vii, 284 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-281) and index. :
9789004301191 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The chapters of the wisdom of my Lord Mani.
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The Chapters of the Wisdom of My Lord Mani , a Coptic papyrus codex preserved at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, describes Mani's mission, teachings and debates with sages in the courts of the Sasanian empire during the reign of Shapur I; with an extended account of his last days and death under Bahram I. The text offers an unprecedented new source for the history of religions in Late Antiquity, including interactions of Manichaean, Zoroastrian, Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions in Iran, remarkably transmitted into the Mediterranean world as part of Manichaean missionary literature. This is the first of four fascicles constituting the editio princeps , based on enhanced digital and multispectral imaging and extended autoptic study of the manuscript.
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1 online resource (viii, 216 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004363403 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Calendrical variations in Second Temple Judaism : new perspectives on the "Date of the Last Supper" debate /
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Starting from the seminal work of the French scholar Annie Jaubert on the date of the Last Supper, the present work revisits known - and identifies new - calendrical issues in the literature of Second Temple Judaism. The research supports the conclusion that all known calendrical traditions functioned on the tenet that orthopraxis in ancient Judaism meant close interconnection between cultic and agricultural cycles. From this perspective the book removes the calendrical objection leveled at the Jaubertian theory. Further, the research brings new light on current debates about Qumran calendrical documents and proposes the identification of a previously unknown calendrical polemic in the Astronomical Book of Enoch concerning the synchronization of the 364DY tradition with the lunar cycle.
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1 online resource (xvi, 280 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-268) and indexes. :
9789004226326 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Jewish Martyrdom in Antiquity : From the Books of Maccabees to the Babylonian Talmud /
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This volume offers a comprehensive discussion of all relevant sources concerning Jewish martyrdom in Antiquity. By viewing these narratives together, tracing their development and comparing them to other traditions, the authors seek to explore how Jewish is Jewish martyrdom? To this end, they analyse the impact of the changing social and religious-cultural circumstances and the interactions with Graeco-Roman and Christian traditions. This results in the identification of important continuities and discontinuities. Consequently, while political ideals that are prominent in 2 and 4 Maccabees are remarkably absent from rabbinic sources, the latter reveal a growing awareness of Christian motifs and discourse.
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004538269
The Antiochene crisis and jubilee theology in Daniel's Seventy Sevens /
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In The Antiochene Crisis and Jubilee Theology in Daniel's Seventy Sevens , Dean R. Ulrich explores the joint interest of Daniel 9:24-27 in the Antiochene crisis of the second century B.C.E. and the jubilee theology conveyed by the prophecy's structure. This study is necessary because previous scholarship, though recognizing the jubilee structure of the seventy sevens, has not sufficiently made the connection between jubilee and the six objectives of Daniel 9:24. Previous scholarship also has not adequately related the book's interest in Antiochus IV to the hope of jubilee, which involves the full inheritance that God has promised to his people but that they had lost because of their compromises with Antiochus IV.
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1 online resource (xii, 186 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-174) and indexes. :
9789004302754 :
0169-7226 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Psalm 91 and Demonic Menace /
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In Psalm 91 and Demonic Menace Gerrit Vreugdenhil offers a thorough analysis of the text, structure and genre of Psalm 91. Already in its earliest interpretations, Psalm 91 has been associated with the demonic realm. The use of this psalm on ancient amulets and in magic texts calls for an explanation. Examining the psalms images of threat from a cognitive science perspective, Vreugdenhil shows that many of these terms carry associations with sorcery and magic, incantations and curses, diseases and demonic threat. The psalm takes demonic threat seriously, but also draws attention to the protection offered by JHWH. Finally, the author proposes an outline of the situational context in which Psalm 91 might have functioned.
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1 online resource. :
9789004427891
9789004427884
Torah and tradition : papers read at the Sixteenth Joint Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap, Edinburgh, 2015 /
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The proceedings of the sixteenth joint meeting presented in this volume will show the fruits of the ongoing cooperation between the members of the British Society for the Study of the Old Testament and the Dutch Oudtestamentische Werkgezelschap . The theme of the conference was 'Torah and Tradition'. The volume brings together many different approaches in describing the multifaceted traditions behind the Hebrew Bible in its present form.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004337695 :
0169-7226 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A Corpus of Syriac incantation bowls : Syriac magical texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia /
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The Aramaic incantation bowls from Sasanian Mesopotamia are the most important source we have for studying the everyday beliefs of the Jewish, Christian, Mandaean, Manichaean, Zoroastrian and Pagan communities on the eve of the Islamic conquests. In A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls , Marco Moriggi presents new editions of forty-nine Syriac incantation bowls that were originally published between 1853 and 2012, with accompanying introductions, translations, philological notes, photographs and glossaries. Furthermore, there is a detailed analysis of the Estrangela and Manichaean scripts as used on the bowls, together with newly drawn script charts. In gathering, organising and updating most of the published Syriac bowls, this book provides a valuable resource for further research into both their language and content. \'This volume is a significant contribution to the study of the Syriac incantation bowls, and it should be of great interest to scholars of 'magic' in Late Antiquity as well as to those working in Syriac language, literature, and history, since the Syriac incantation bowls are a fascinating-yet often neglected-component of the broader Syriac heritage.\' - Aaron M. Butts , The Catholic University of America - Washington D.C., JNES (October 2015) . \'Moriggi's new book will no doubt become an essential reference work for all interested in Syriac magical texts from late-antiquity. It is also an important contribution not only to our knowledge of the language of the Syriac incantation bowls, but to the whole field of Babylonian Aramaic (JBA and Mandaic).\' - Ohad Abudraham , Ben-Gurion University of the Negev - Beer Sheva, Israel, Orientalia (2015) . \'The volume certainly makes an enormous contribution to furthering studies on Syriac incantation texts, and more generally on incantation bowls. For any scholar who has an interest in incantation bowls, this work is a 'mustʼ\' - Erica C. D. Hunter , SOAS University of London, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 113.1 (2018) .
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1 online resource (pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004272798 :
2211-016X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The apocryphal epistle to the Laodiceans : an epistolary and rhetorical analysis /
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Challenging nearly two centuries of scholarship, this book offers the first close analysis of the apocryphal epistle to the Laodiceans. A near consensus in scholarship has emerged in which Laodiceans is dismissed as a random collection of phrases plucked from the undisputed Pauline letters, which lacks any organizational structure or theological sophistication. In The Apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans, Philip Tite offers a detailed analysis of this Latin letter by exploring the epistolary conventions utilized by the letter writer. What emerges is a pseudonymous text that is a carefully crafted paraenetic letter with a discernible rhetorical situation. By highlighting Laodiceans' use of Paul as a literary culture hero, Tite situates the letter within second-century Christian identity formation.
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1 online resource (xiii, 158 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [135]-146) and index. :
9789004231627 :
1574-7085 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Cantos and strophes in biblical Hebrew poetry II : Psalms 42-89 /
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This volume deals with the poetic framework and material content of the Second and Third Books of the Psalter (Psalms 42-72 and 73-89). It is a continuation of the Psalms Project started in OTS 53 (2006). Formal and thematic devices demonstrate that the psalms are composed of a consistent pattern of cantos (stanzas) and strophes. The formal devices include quantitative balance on the level of cantos in terms of the number of verselines, verbal repetitions and transition markers. A quantitative structural approach also helps to identify the focal message of the poems. Introductions to the design of biblical poetry and the rhetorical centre of the psalms conclude this massive study. The third volume, dealing with the Fourth and Fifth Books of the Psalter (Psalms 90-106 and 107-151), is in preparation.
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Sequel to: Cantos and strophes in biblical Hebrew poetry, with special reference to the first book of the Psalter (Oudtestamentische studiën ; d. 53). :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [561]-566) and index. :
9789004182332 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Newness in Old Testament prophecy : an intertextual study /
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In Newness in Old Testament Prophecy: An Intertextual Study Henk Leene examines the relations between the new song raised in the Psalms, the new things concealed in Deutero-Isaiah, the new heaven and the new earth announced in Trito-Isaiah, Ezekiel's new heart and the new spirit, and the envisioned new creation and new covenant in Jeremiah. Where these promises were mainly linked form-critically, Henk Leene assumes their direct literary relations. In what direction does the one promise allude to the other, and how do such allusions draw us into a continuing intertextual dialogue on Israel's expectations about the future? Most challenging is Leene's conclusion that Jeremiah's promise of the new covenant presumes the newness passages from both Ezekiel and Isaiah.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004263093 :
0169-7226 ;
The Deuteronomist's history : the role of the Deuteronomist in historical-critical research into Genesis-Numbers /
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In The Deuteronomist's History , Hans Ausloos provides for the first time a detailed status quaestionis concerning the relationship between the books Genesis-Numbers and the so-called Deuteronom(ist)ic literature. After a presentation of the origins of the 18th and 19th century hypothesis of a Deuteronom(ist)ic redaction, specific attention is paid to the argumentation used during the last century. Particular interest also is paid to the concept of the proto-Deuteronomist and the mostly tentative approaches of the Deuteronom(ist)ic 'redaction' of the Pentateuch during the last decades. The book concludes with a critical review and preview of the Deuteronom(ist)ic problem. Each phase in the Deuteronomist's history is illustrated on the basis of the epilogue of the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 23:20-33).
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004307049 :
0169-7226 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Psalms and prayers : papers read at the Joint Meeting of the Society of Old Testament Study and Het Oudtestamentische Werkgezelschap in Nederland en België, Apeldoorn August 2006...
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The essays in this volume focus on the interpretation of the Book of Psalms and comparable texts in the Hebrew Bible. A variety of methods is applied to the ancient texts. Some essays concentrate on composition and structure, others on redaction and context. It is of great interest to see that each approach has its strength and its limits: stressing the importance to read the Psalms with a multi-dimensional matrix of methods. By viewing the Psalms as prayers, and thus as expressions of both faith and despair, a perspective on the contents of the ancient hymns and their functions in daily life has been opened. This volume contains various incentives for future research.
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"The papers collected in this volume were all read at the Joint Meeting of The Society for Old Testament Study (SOTS) and the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap in Nederland en Belgie (OTW), in Apeldoorn, 21-24 August 2006. The Dutch and British Old Testament Societies foster a long tradition of Joint Meetings, of which this was the 13th since the start in 1970, now hosted by the Theological University of Apeldoorn." Netherlands. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047422587 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.