S21-203 Aramaic Studies 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM 11/21/2011 Room TBD Christian Brady, Pennsylvania State University, Presiding Aaron Koller, Yeshiva University Jewish Aramaic literature of Achaemenid times (20 min) Discussion (10 min) Adam C. McCollum, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library Towards a Typology of Translation Technique from Greek to Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) (20 min) Discussion (10 min) James F. McGrath, Butler University The Satirical Use of Christian Material in the Mandaean Book of John (20 min) Discussion (10 min) Ryan Armstrong, Princeton Theological Seminary The Fountain of Youth or the Lake of Fire? Job 33:25 in 11Q10 and Greek Bible (20 min) Discussion (10 min) David Shepherd, University of Chester Can Anything Targumic Come From Qumran? Revisiting Klaus Beyer’s ‘Targums’ of Tobit and Isaiah (20 min) Discussion (10 min) S21-104a Aramaic Studies 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM 11/21/2011 Room TBD The Elephantine Papyri This section will be invited papers addressing the Elephantine Papyri corpus, perhaps from the perspectives of language, law, and social history. Mark Leuchter, Temple University, Presiding 50 Years of Research by Bezalel Porten Alejandro Botta, Boston University, Panelist (20 min) Andrew Gross, Catholic University of America, Panelist (20 min) Bezalel Porten, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Respondent (20 min) Discussion (45 min)

 

CORRECTION: Sorry. I meant to specify Targum Ketuvim as not working yet. Ed Cook immediately wrote me to say that Targum is working for him. It is true that TgOnk and TgJon are working. PsJon does not appear to be up either…

Steve Caruso of The Aramaic Blog reports that The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon is Up. Except the Targum Ketuvim modules (and others?) are not. That is ok, as CAL points out, this is a labor of love so I am just very grateful that they have gotten so much done already. The story itself is worth posting here also:

A Note to our users: We apologize for the unavailability of our system during the six weeks between early May and mid-June, 2011. The CAL server was struck by a hacker from an ISP in London, UK precisely on the day that Dr. Kaufman left the country, apparently simply because he or she wanted a complete copy of our online version of Sokoloff’s DJPA and wanted to save the $100 for the second edition and received instead an early draft of the first edition, while totally comprimising the system. There is no indication that the identity of any of our users was looked for or their own privacy comprised in any way. The length of the delay is a direct function of the fact that we have failed to have any NEH funding renewed for many years now and the CAL continues on solely as a labor of love without any paid researchers.

This may not be “total” depravity, but it is pretty pathetic. I agree with Steve, when we find out who did this, it may not be pleasant.

 

Two recent articles from well-respected news agencies have included fallacious details about the relationship between Hebrew and Aramaic. The first described the Aramaic dialect spoken in the first century of the Common Era as “a language which developed from the classical Hebrew of the scriptures, a few hundred years earlier,” and the second claimed that Aramaic is “the linguistic root of modern day Hebrew and Arabic.”

So which one is it? Is Aramaic the root of Hebrew or did Aramaic develop from Hebrew? The answer, of course, is neither. Although they may be related by a shared lineage, there is not a direct genetic relationship between the two. That is to say, one did not derive from the other. Pete Bekins irascibly assimilates these two absurd statements with the tongue-in-check proposal that “Classical Hebrew developed into Aramaic which then morphed back into Modern Hebrew and Arabic.

via DailyHebrew.com » The Genetic Relationship of Aramaic & Hebrew.

 

You know I like wordle.net so here is the Book of Lamentations and below is Targum Lamentations.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness: Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture

Introduction—Robin A. Parry and Heath A. Thomas / xi

1 “Holy Scripture” and Hermeneutics: Lamentations in Critical and Theological Reflection—Heath A. Thomas / 1

2 Outrageous Demonstrations of Grace: The Theology of Lamentations —Paul R. House / 26

Soundings in Jewish Reception History

A Lamentations in Isaiah 40–55—Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer / 55

B The Character and Significance of LXX Lamentations —Kevin J. Youngblood / 64

C Targum Lamentations—Christian M. M. Brady / 70

D Lamentations Rabbati—Jacob Neusner / 77

E Introduction to Rashi’s Commentary on Lamentations —Mayer I. Gruber / 83

F Lamentations in Jewish Liturgy—Elsie R. Stern / 88

G Lamentations in Modern Jewish Thought—Zachary Braiterman / 92

Soundings in Messianic Jewish Reception History

H Holocaust Theology in the Light of Yeshua? Messianic Jewish

Reception of Eikah—Richard Harvey / 101

Soundings in Christian Reception History

I Lamentations in the Patristic Period—Heath A. Thomas / 113

J Christian Interpretation of Lamentations in the Middle Ages —David S. Hogg / 120

K John Calvin’s Interpretation of Lamentations—Pete Wilcox / 125

L Lamentations for the Lord: Great and Holy Friday in the Greek Orthodox Church—Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou / 131

M Lamentations and Christian Worship —Andrew Cameron-Mowat SJ / 139

Soundings in Artistic and Contemporary Reception

N Musical Responses to Lamentations—F. Jane Schopf / 147

O Lamentations in Rembrandt van Rijn: “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem”—Heath A. Thomas / 154

P Psychological Approaches to Lamentations—Paul M. Joyce / 161 Q Feminist Interpretation(s) of Lamentations—Heath A. Thomas / 166

3 Wrestling with Lamentations in Christian Worship—Robin A. Parry / 175

4 Confession and Complaint: Christian Pastoral Reflections on Lamentations—Ian Stackhouse / 198

Appendix 1: A Translation of LXX Lamentations—Kevin J. Youngblood / 211

Appendix 2: A Translation of Targum Lamentations —Christian M. M. Brady / 228

Appendix 3: Lamentations Rabbati on Lamentations 3:1–21 —Jacob Neusner / 248

Appendix 4: Rashi on Lamentations 3:1–21 / 264

Appendix 5: Calvin on Lamentations 3:1–23 / 267

 

Dear Christian,

I am writing to introduce you to some of Gorgias Press’s academic publishing programs. At the last SBL meeting, we released ca. 65 new titles, some of which are listed below under my signature. During the past nine months, we refined our acquisitions and production processes in order to meet scholarly needs, and release books very efficiently within months.

During this holiday season, we are running a 40% sale on all books. This is the perfect time to get any Gorgias book at a discount. If you would like to learn about new releases, I encourage you to sign up here. You can opt out any time.

You can download our most recent PDF catalog where you can see a list of special sale items at up to 60% discount.

Please find below some of the titles we released for SBL, as well as information on how to submit your work for publication. If you have a publication project, please write to us at submissions@gorgiaspress.com.

Yours,

George A. Kiraz, President

Gorgias Press
180 Centennial Ave., Suite #3
Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA
Tel. +1 732-885-8900
Fax. +1 732-885-8908
E-mail: helpdesk@gorgiaspress.com
www.gorgiaspress.com

---

Some of the Titles Released for SBL

	A Syriac Lexicon by By Michael Sokoloff ISBN 978-1-60724-620-6, $149.50
The second edition of Carl Brockelmann’s Lexicon Syriacum, published in 1928, is the best dictionary of Syriac ever written. However, its Latin language and the ordering of words according to triliteral Semitic roots make its use difficult for most students and scholars. This revised edition by Sokoloff renders meanings in English, arranges words alphabetically, and includes many useful tools on a CD.
	Qumran through (Real) Time by By Robert Cargill ISBN 978-1-60724-058-7, $82 (Your price $49.20)
This book proposes a new occupation model for the remains of Khirbet Qumran, the site associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Using the latest in virtual reality technology, the author reconstructs the site of Qumran and demonstrates that the site was initially built as a Hasmonean fortress, and was later expanded into a residence for a self-sufficient community responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls.
	A Palimpsest: Rhetoric, Ideology, Stylistics, and Language Relating to Persian Israel, Edited by Ehud Ben Zvi, Diana Edelman, and Frank Polak > ISBN 978-1-60724-584-1, $121.16 (Your price $72.70)
A collected-essays volume that explores what we can learn by looking into the matters of language, rhetoric, style, and ideology about the producers and readers of biblical books. Contributors include P. Guillaume, J-D Macchi, R. Rezetko, D. Rom-Shiloni, F. Stavrakopoulou, I. Young and the three editors.
	Dischronology and Dialogic in the Bible’s Primary Narrative by David Bergen ISBN 978-1-60724-105-8, $105 (Your price $63.00)
How ought the Bible to be read? A dialogical struggle between Moses and God results in the publication of a lawbook within the storyworld. Observing how characters read this lawbook, the reader uncovers a surprising answer to this hermeneutical question.
	The Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Sanandaj by Geoffrey Khan ISBN 978-1-60724-134-8, $158.12 (Your price $94.87)
This volume presents a description of the Neo-Aramaic dialect that was spoken by the Jews of Sanandaj in western Iran, but which is now virtually extinct. The material for the volume was gathered firsthand in fieldwork conducted with the last remaining speakers in Israel. The volume consists of a detailed grammatical description, a corpus of transcribed texts, including folktales, historical accounts and portrayals of customs, and an extensive glossary.
	In the Wake of Tikva Frymer-Kensky Edited by Steven Holloway, JoAnn Scurlock, and Richard Beal ISBN 978-1-59333-977-7, $111.32 (Your price $66.79)
This volume consists of 14 papers delivered by Assyriologists and biblical specialists at the 2007 Society of Biblical Literature congress in sessions devoted to the scholarly legacy of the late Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.
	Two Sides of a Coin: Juxtaposing Views on Interpreting the Book of the Twelve / the Twelve Prophetic Books by Ehud Ben Zvi and James D. Nogalski; Introduction by Thomas Römer ISBN 978-1-60724-303-8, $29 (Your price $17.40)
A conversation between James D. Nogalski and Ehud Ben Zvi on the question of The Twelve and its implications for the historically oriented study of the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible and for the reconstruction of the intellectual history of ancient Israel.
	Enlivening the Past by J. Jayakiran Sebastian ISBN 978-1-60724-103-4, $102.92 (Your price $61.75)
This collection of essays offers an innovative exploration by an Asian theologian of various issues and themes that engaged the early teachers of faith, with a special focus on their ongoing relevance to Christian theological discourse and praxis today.
	Psychology of Prophecy in Early Christianity by Alan Humm ISBN 978-1-60724-618-3, $114.68 (Your price $68.81)
Dr. Humm tries to identify the psychological states associated with early Christian prophecy in the context of the Greco-Roman world. Reviewing (generally) Christian reports, he tries to classify them following a set of generally observable practices and claimed mental states.
	Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on the Veil on Moses’ Face, Translation and Introduction by Sebastian Brock ISBN 978-1-59333-644-8, $50 (Your price $30.00)
This volume gives a bilingual Syriac-English edition of Saint Jacob of Sarug’s homily, The Veil on Moses’ Face. The Syriac text is fully vocalized, and the translation is annotated with a commentary and biblical references. The volume constitutes a fascicle of Gorgias’s Complete Homilies of Saint Jacob of Sarug.
	Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Elijah, Translation and Introduction by Stephen Kaufman ISBN 978-1-59333-942-5, $88 (Your price $52.80)
This volume gives a bilingual Syriac-English edition of Saint Jacob of Sarug’s homilies on Elijah. The Syriac text is fully vocalized, and the translation is annotated with a commentary and biblical references. The volume constitutes a fascicle of Gorgias’s Complete Homilies of Saint Jacob of Sarug.
	Fatima, Daughter of Muhammad by Christopher Clohessy ISBN 978-1-59333-979-1, $113.24 (Your price $67.94)
This work, based almost entirely on the primary Arabic texts of Sunnî and Shîca Islam, offers a fresh examination of the life of Fatima, Muhammad’s only surviving child, and reveals for the first time her distinctive and fascinating personality.
	Speaking on the Brink of Sheol by Bryan Cribb, Foreword by Daniel Block ISBN 978-1-60724-671-8, $123.44 (Your price $74.06)
A groundbreaking form critical study of a previously unidentified Old Testament genre, the death story. By modifying traditional methodology, the work forges new paths in form criticism, while also providing exegetical insights into these important biblical accounts.
	Bardaisan of Edessa: A Reassessment of the Evidence and a New Interpretation by Ilaria Ramelli ISBN 978-1-60724-074-7, $128.24 (Your price $76.94)
This comprehensive study offers a critical, comparative analysis of the sources available on Bardaisan and a reinterpretation of his thought. In this connection, special attention is paid to many parallels with Origen, to the possible relationship between Origen, Bardaisan, and their schools, and to the implications of the valuable fragments preserved by Porphyry.
	Further Biblical Hebrew by Fiona Blumfield ISBN 978-1-59333-948-7, $123.56 (Your price $74.14)
This is a coursebook for intermediate – advanced students of Biblical Hebrew. Constant reference is made to modern reference grammars and to the grammatical comments of medieval Jewish exegetes. All exercises are based on actual Biblical verses, with translations and explanations throughout.

For additional titles, go to the Gorgias Just Published page.

Call for Submissions

The Gorgias acquisitions team is seeking submissions in the form of monographs, textbooks, and reference works. Our production workflow has been perfected using automation technology. We are able to get your book out within months rather than years without jeopardizing quality. Our editorial team consists of scholars in the field and is author friendly. All submissions are subject to internal editorial review as well as peer review to ensure quality. Ph.D. dissertations are welcomed provided that they are revised to meet monograph requirements. To submit a work for publication, please send an email, a summary, and sample chapters (or the entire work) in electronic format to submissions@gorgiaspress.com.

**You are receiving this email as a part of your membership with the Society of Biblical Literature. To opt out of future emails like this one, click here.

 

So with the Congress only a year away it is time to announce the call for papers. It is shaping up to be a very good IOTS meeting with Steven Fraade and Dineke Houtman confirmed for two of our three keynote addresses.

Please forward this call and feel free to this link to the Newsletter for Targumic and Cognate Studies site.

International Organization for Targum Studies

Sixth Meeting
HELSINKI, FINLAND
August 4-6, 2010

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 6th meeting of the IOTS will cover a wide range of topics related to Targum Studies:

Philology;
Typology and Genre;
Translation Strategies and Theory;
Exegesis;
Theology;
Text-criticism and Manuscript Studies;
Relationship to Rabbinic Literature.

We are pleased to announce a call for short papers in any of these categories. Papers should be of twenty-minutes length, allowing ten additional minutes for discussion. The deadline for paper proposals is September 15, 2009, and March 1, 2010 for the submission of written abstracts.

DATE
The sixth meeting of the IOTS will be held from August 4-6, 2010 in conjunction with the XXth Congress of IOSOT, the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, and other specialized congresses (IOQS, IOSCS, IOMS), to be held from 1st to 6th August 2010 in Helnsinki, Finland. All information on these congresses, registration, accommodation, etc. can be found on http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/pro/iosot/abstracts/iosot.htm.

PAPER PROPOSALS
If you are interested in participating and presenting a paper, please send your proposal (title and/or subject of paper) to:

Dr. Willem Smelik,
willem.smelik @ ucl.ac.uk / willem.smelik @ gmail.com

Dept. of Hebrew and Jewish Studies
University College London
Foster Court, Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

Please forward this call for papers to any student or scholar you think may be interested.

 

For Orthodox Jews, lifelong study of the Talmud is the supreme religious precept. But for many earnest students through the ages, it has been a frustrating grind. Written in Aramaic (often described as the language of Jesus), it does not easily surrender its textual meaning or inner reasoning. In the 11th century, a French rabbi named Shlomo Yitzhaki, often known by the acronym Rashi, wrote a ground-breaking commentary to make the original text more accessible. But even he is often terse and replete with abbreviations and unelaborated allusions, as are the thousands of commentaries and books of scholarly correspondence that accrued over the ages.

Talmud students inevitably wasted time barking up wrong trees or beating paths that had been beaten before. Not any more. The traditional study is radically changing and broadening, thanks to a 20-year-old American-based project nearing completion. “The Art Scroll Talmud” has published all 72 volumes of its English-language Talmud and nearly 60 volumes of a Modern Hebrew version. A French edition is progressing more slowly, and there are plans for a Russian one.

 

Dear members of the IOTS and other interested parties,

The IOTS has long discussed the desirability of new editions of (most of) the Targums. A first task, the collection of data on targumic manuscripts, has already started and has come to a promising, even if partial, conclusion at the Theologische Universiteit of Kampen, the Netherlands. Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman came with a proposal for a system of sigla which, if agreed upon and endorsed by the IOTS, could be used in any future studies and editions of the Targums, similar to the sigla nowadays common in the study of the Peshitta. The advantages of a common system are clear to everyone.

At the last meeting of the IOTS it was agreed that we should establish a committee to discuss the format for the sigla of manuscripts, starting with the afore-mentioned proposal. We would therefore like to invite interested scholars to come forward and express any interest that they might have in contributing to this task. The executive body of the IOTS will then discuss the options and decide upon a representative and suitable committee, who will hopefully be able to report their findings at the next meeting of the IOTS in Helsinki 2010.

The contact address is:

Willem Smelik
willem.smelik AT ucl.ac.uk
26 Tenison Road
Cambridge CB1 2DW
UK

With kind regards,
on behalf of the IOTS

Willem Smelik

 

A friend pointed me to this YouTube video by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill. (I will give Driscoll credit, I see that his blog has a series on Charles Spurgeon, who I agree was one of the greatest preachers ever to live.) There are lots of things that we may quibble point out are wrong in this video on the Trinity, but shall we just start with the title topic, “Targum Neofiti?”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6mVLmSMRMU

The first is the date. TgNeof is most likely late second century CE not BC(E) as Driscoll states. Furthermore, his entire argument rests on an erroneous translation. He says that TgNeof Gen. 1. reads “In the beginning with the Firstborn God created….” It should be “From the beginning, with wisdom, the Lord created…” The text reads ‏מלקדמין בחכמה ברא {ד}ייי I do not have a critical edition to hand and the text I just copied comes from the Accordance module, but I see no variants noted (other than the dalet in ד}ייי} ).

So the term “with wisdom” seems certain and it is certainly nothing like “firstborn,” ‏.בכורא What Neof is doing is referring to Prov. 3.19 “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.”

Feel free to offer other comments on the video. For the first time I have actually left comments on a YouTube video because I think this is so egregious. And for those who don’t know me as well and to be open and clear, I do believe in the Trinity, I just abhor bad sermons and errors.