The Aramaic Astronomical Book from Qumran

The Aramaic Astronomical Book from Qumran
Author: Henryk Drawnel
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199590435

A critical edition of the four Aramaic manuscripts from Qumran (4Q208-4Q211) that comprise the Aramaic Astronomical Book, part of the Jewish pseudepigraphic literature of the Second Temple period. It describes the movement of the moon in its phases, schematic meteorology, and the movement of the stars in relation to the seasons of the year.

Head of All Years

Head of All Years
Author: Jonathan Ben-Dov
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2008-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047424190

Rather than being an isolated, primitive body of knowledge the Jewish calendar tradition of 364 days constituted an integral part of the astronomical science of the ancient world. This tradition—attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Pseudepigrapha—stands out as a coherent, novel synthesis, representing the Jewish authors’ apocalyptic worldview. The calendar is studied here both “from within”—analyzing its textual manifestations —and “from without”—via a comparison with ancient Mesopotamian astronomy. This analysis reveals that the calendrical realm constituted a significant case of inter-cultural borrowing, pertinent to similar such cases in ancient literature. Special attention is given to the “Book of Astronomy” (1 Enoch 72-82) and a variety of calendrical and liturgical texts from Qumran.

Zodiac Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Their Reception

Zodiac Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Their Reception
Author: Helen R. Jacobus
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 555
Release: 2014-10-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004284060

The ancient mathematical basis of the Aramaic calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls is analysed in this investigation. Helen R. Jacobus re-examines an Aramaic zodiac calendar with a thunder divination text (4Q318) and the calendar from the Aramaic Astronomical Book (4Q208 - 4Q209), all from Qumran. Jacobus demonstrates that 4Q318 is an ancestor of the Jewish calendar today and that it helps us to understand 4Q208 - 4Q209. She argues that these calendars were taught in antiquity as angelic knowledge described in 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees. The study also encompasses Babylonian, Hellenistic, Byzantine astronomy and astrology, and classical and Jewish writings. Finally, a medieval Hebrew zodiac calendar related to 4Q318 with an astrological text is published here for the first time.

The Aramaic Books of Enoch and Related Literature from Qumran

The Aramaic Books of Enoch and Related Literature from Qumran
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2024-05-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004696717

This volume contains studies that explore the content and meaning of the Qumran manuscripts of the Aramaic Books of Enoch, the Book of Giants, and related literature. The essays shed new light on the lexicon, orthography and grammar of the Aramaic scrolls, as well as their relationship to schematic astronomy in ancient Mesopotamia. Contributors examine the origin of the angelic tradition of the Watchers, the textual and literary relationship of the Aramaic scrolls to the Book of the Watchers, and the culpability of humanity in the spread of evil on earth according to the myth of the fallen angels.

A Handbook of the Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves

A Handbook of the Aramaic Scrolls from the Qumran Caves
Author: Daniel Machiela
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2022-12-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004513817

This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves of Qumran. These nearly one hundred scrolls open a window onto a vibrant period of Jewish history for which we previously had few historical sources. Scholars and advanced students will find a general introduction to the corpus, detailed, richly-illustrated profiles of individual scrolls, and up-to-date studies of their Aramaic language and scribal practices. The goal of the book is to foster and support further study of these scrolls against the historical backdrop of early Judaism and ancient Mediterranean scribal cultures.

Qumran and Apocalyptic

Qumran and Apocalyptic
Author: Florentino García Martínez
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2018-11-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004350101

The present volume contains a selection of studies on the Aramaic texts from Qumran, originally published in Spanish but thoroughly revised here, which investigate the contributions made by the Qumran manuscripts to the study of the Apocalyptic Tradition. The first three papers collected here are concerned with apocalyptic texts belonging to the Enochic Tradition (Book of Noah, Books of Enoch, Book of Giants) and show how the fragmentary copies found at Qumran have radically altered the way in which we understand them. The next two studies deal with two texts which were previously unknown and which stem from the Danielic Tradition (4QPrNab, 4QpsDan Ar); they both notably enrich our knowledge of the traditions of Daniel. The last two studies discuss two Qumranic apocalypses (4Q246, 11QNJ) which reveal the richness and the diversity of the theological conceptions circulating within the Apocalyptic Tradition. The book offers a most up-to-date survey of research on these manuscripts and makes a fresh contribution to the understanding of Qumran and of the Apocalyptic Tradition.

Aramaica Qumranica

Aramaica Qumranica
Author: Katell Berthelot
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 653
Release: 2010-11-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004194320

The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls represent roughly 13% of the Qumran library and correspond to a wide range of genres and topics. This book consists of the proceedings of a conference on the Aramaic scrolls from Qumran which took place in Aix-en-Provence in 2008. It includes both the papers themselves and a transcription of the discussions. The 22 papers tackle linguistic, exegetical and historical questions, focusing in particular on: the relation of the Aramaic texts to what we know as the Hebrew Bible; their literary genres; the question of their sectarian or non-sectarian provenance; the character of the corpus, and specifically its relevance to the development of apocalypticism and messianism in the Jewish tradition.

Hellenistic Astronomy

Hellenistic Astronomy
Author: Alan C. Bowen
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 783
Release: 2020-02-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004400567

In Hellenistic Astronomy: The Science in Its Contexts, renowned scholars address questions about what the ancient science of the heavens was and the numerous contexts in which it was pursued.

The Aramaic Levi Document

The Aramaic Levi Document
Author: Jonas C. Greenfield
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-10-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047405072

The fragments of Aramaic Levi Document are presented for the first time as a single coherent whole. This book, which will move the study of this pivotal document to a new level, includes original texts, translation, introduction and extensive and detailed commentary.