Archives from Elephantine

Archives from Elephantine
Author: Bezalel Porten
Publisher: Berkeley : University of California Press
Total Pages: 421
Release: 1968
Genre: Elephantine (Egypt)
ISBN: 9780520010284

A study based on three Aramaic archives from the colony, of some dozen documents each, two of which are family archives and the other a communal archive.

The Elephantine Papyri in English

The Elephantine Papyri in English
Author: Bezalel Porten
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 664
Release: 1996
Genre: History
ISBN: 9789004101975

175 documents, spanning more than 3,000 years, from the ancient mounds on the island of Elephantine are translated into English here for the first time. A massive collection of papyri and ostraca, written in many scripts and tongues - including hieratic, demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic and Arabic. Each entry, arranged thematically, includes information on date, size, parties, objects, content and significance, as well as general comments and cross-references. An important source, previously scattered among various museums and institutions, brought together here for the first time.

Elephantine Revisited

Elephantine Revisited
Author: Margaretha Folmer
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2022-03-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1646022084

The Judean community at Elephantine has long fascinated historians of the Persian period. This book, with its stellar assemblage of important scholarly voices, provides substantive new insights and approaches that will advance the study of this well-known but not entirely understood community from fifth-century BCE Egypt. Since Bezalel Porten’s pioneering Archives from Elephantine, published in 1968, the discourse on the subject of the community of Elephantine during the Persian period has changed considerably, due to new data from excavations, the discovery and publication of previously unknown texts, and original scholarly insights and avenues of inquiry. Running the gamut from archaeological to linguistic investigations and encompassing legal, literary, religious, and other aspects of life in this Judean community, this volume stands at a crossroads of research that extends from Hebrew Bible studies to the history of early Jewish communities. It also features fourteen new Aramaic ostraca from Aswan. The volume will appeal to students and scholars of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Judaism, as well as to a wider audience of Egyptologists, Semitists, and specialists in ancient Near Eastern studies. In addition to the editor, the contributors to this volume include Annalisa Azzoni, Bob Becking, Alejandro F. Botta, Lester L. Grabbe, Ingo Kottsieper, Reinhard G. Kratz, André Lemaire, Hélène Nutkowicz, Beatrice von Pilgrim, Cornelius von Pilgrim, Bezalel Porten, Ada Yardeni, and Ran Zadok. Moreover, a video recording of an interview conducted with Porten on his long career in Elephantine studies accompanies the book through a link on the Eisenbrauns website.

Historical and Biblical Israel

Historical and Biblical Israel
Author: Reinhard G. Kratz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2015-12-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191044482

At the center of this book lies a fundamental yet unanswered question: under which historical and sociological conditions and in what manner the Hebrew Bible became an authoritative tradition, that is, holy scripture and the canon of Judaism as well as Christianity. Reinhard G. Kratz answers this very question by distinguishing between historical and biblical Israel. This foundational and, for the arrangement of the book, crucial distinction affirms that the Israel of biblical tradition, i.e. the sacred history (historia sacra) of the Hebrew Bible, cannot simply be equated with the history of Israel and Judah. Thus, Kratz provides a synthesis of both the Israelite and Judahite history and the genesis and development of biblical tradition in two separate chapters, though each area depends directly and inevitably upon the other. These two distinct perspectives on Israel are then confronted and correlated in a third chapter, which constitutes an area intimately connected with the former but generally overlooked apart from specialized inquiries: those places and "archives" that either yielded Jewish documents and manuscripts (Elephantine, Al-Yahudu, Qumran) or are associated conspicuously with the tradition of the Hebrew Bible (Mount Gerizim, Jerusalem, Alexandria). Here, the various epigraphic and literary evidence for the history of Israel and Judah comes to the fore. Such evidence sometimes represents Israel's history; at other times it reflects its traditions; at still others it reflects both simultaneously. The different sources point to different types of Judean or Jewish identity in Persian and Hellenistic times.

The Historical Books

The Historical Books
Author: J. Cheryl Exum
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 388
Release: 1997-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781850757863

This volume is part of a series which brings together the best articles on major fields of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible studies from the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. The aim of the series is to provide for scholars and students a convenient and up-to-date briefing on developments in the field. The so-called historical books embrace a vast amount of diverse biblical material, from Joshuah to Nehemiah, and this selection of 20 essays covers a breadth of biblical material using a wide range of methodological approaches. The breadth of its scope combined with the depth of scholarship makes this Reader a useful and comprehensive resource for both undergraduate and graduate courses.

The Elephantine Papyri in English

The Elephantine Papyri in English
Author: Porten
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 651
Release: 2023-10-09
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9004669078

175 documents, spanning more than 3,000 years, from the ancient mounds on the island of Elephantine are translated into English here for the first time. A massive collection of papyri and ostraca, written in many scripts and tongues - including hieratic, demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic and Arabic.

Marriage in the Book of Tobit

Marriage in the Book of Tobit
Author: Geoffrey David Miller
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2011
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 3110247860

This study examines marital elements in the Book of Tobit in light of the mores and beliefs of Ancient Israel and neighboring civilizations. After surveying key Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern texts, this monograph outlines what the Book of Tobit reveals about ancient marital practices as well as the values it seeks to inculcate in its Diaspora audience with regard to marriage. Four aspects are analyzed: 1) the qualities a man should seek in a bride, 2) the marital customs observed by ancient Jews, 3) the role of God in marriage, and 4) the nature of the marital relationship.

The Pentateuch as Torah

The Pentateuch as Torah
Author: Gary N. Knoppers
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2007-06-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1575065851

Since antiquity, the five books of Moses have served as a sacred constitution, foundational for both Jews and Samaritans. However long the process of accepting the Pentateuch as authoritative tōrâ (“instruction”) took, this was by all accounts a monumental achievement in the history of these peoples and indeed an important moment in the history of the ancient world. In the long development of Western societies, the Pentateuch has served as a major influence on the development of law, political philosophy, and social thought. The question is: how, where, and why did this process of acceptance occur, when did it occur, and how long did it take?