A Fresh Look at the Egyptian Environment of the Pharaonic Period

Abstract

The article deals with the territorial history of the southern steppe areas of the Levant in the period between ca. 1050–750 BCE. In the early days of the Iron Age, until the mid-9^th century BCE, parts of them, were ruled by local desert entities: in the late Iron I a Moabite polity and in the early Iron IIA and the early years of the late Iron IIA the Tel Masos-Beer-Sheba-Negev Highlands Highlands entity. This situation changed in the later years of the Iron IIA as a result of Damascus' rise to hegemony in the Levant. In the second half of the 9^th century BCE Judah, under Damascene domination, expanded for the first time into the Beer-Sheba Valley. In the first half of the eighth century BCE, with the revival of Assyrian power in the days of Adad-nirari III, Damascene authority was replaced by north Israelite domination in the south.     

Samson and Heracles Revisited

In the past scholars have suspected that Greek legends about Heracles and other Greek narratives may have influenced the emergence of the Samson narratives in Judges 13-16. Usually Philistine mediation of these Heracles legends to the Israelites in the pre-monarchic era was suggested. However, the author suggests that the Heracles legends arose in the sixth century BCE and later, so the biblical author could have encountered Greek stories only in the Persian or Hellenistic eras. The Samson narratives then would be a late redaction into the Deuteronomistic History. The author believes that the large number of similarities indicates not simply familiarity with general folkloristic motifs, but rather that the author of the Samson narratives was familiar with the Heracles legends.     

Abducted Wives: A Hellenistic Narrative in Judges 21?

the author suggests the possibility that Judges 13-16, 17-21, and 2 Samuel 21-23 may have been added to the Deuteronomistic History in the late Persian or Hellenistic period, for this literature shows continuity with Greek literature. In particular, the author traces the similarities between the biblical account of the “Abduction at Shiloh” in Judges 21 with the account of the “Rape of the Sabine Women” found in Livy and Plutarch. Though the biblical author lived before these classical authors, the biblical author may have known an earlier version of the tale, as demonstrated by at least twelve plot similarities between the narratives.     

The Monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History

The Hebrew Bible is often characterized as a monotheistic book, but a closer inspection reveals that monotheistic passages represent only a thin and late layer: There are only six passages in the Deuteronomistic history that contain monotheistic vocabulary. They are late additions that belong to the latest editorial phases of the composition. They were probably added to the composition in the 5th century BCE or later. This means that the final shift to monotheistic conceptions, as far as the Deuteronomistic History is concerned, occurred in the Persian period. The monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History is “nationalistic.” Although other gods are assumed to be non-existent, the other nations are not invited to join the Israelites in their worship of Yahweh. This also reveals the preliminary stage of the monotheism. It is improbable that there is a planned religious system behind the monotheistic passages of the Deuteronomistic History. The authors are convinced that there is no other deity but Yahweh, but all the consequences of this view have not yet been drawn. The authors assume that Yahweh has already created humankind as well as the whole world. This idea is not found in the older texts. It is probable that the monotheistic authors are dependent on a later form of the Pentateuch, which already includes a creation story. The idea that Yahweh lived in heaven, whence he spoke to the Israelites, is also late. It is the end of the development caused by the destruction of Yahweh's physical representation in the temple where he lived: Yahweh moved to heaven. Differences between the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History and Deutero-Isaiah are evident. Deutero-Isaiah is more open to the possibility that other nations worship Yahweh. Deutero-Isaiah also makes a connection between idol criticism and monotheism, whereas in the Deuteronomistic History these themes are found in different texts. Idol criticism seems to be older than monotheism. The differences between the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History and Deutero-Isaiah suggest that none of them is dependent on the other. Although some mutual interaction and influence should not be excluded, they seem to be two distinct developments that took place in different contexts. While external influence is also possible, it seems that many roots of the monotheism of the Deuteronomistic History can be found in the older conceptions of Israel's religion and especially in the Deuteronomistic theology, which is a product of the events in 587 BCE. It is probable that without the destruction of the temple Israel's religion would not have developed monotheistic conceptions. In view of the literary development in the Deuteronomistic History, any pre-587 BCE dating of monotheistic conceptions or phraseology is improbable.     

The Excavations at Tel 'Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Tel 'Eton, commonly identified with biblical 'Eglon, is a large site in the trough valley in the southeastern Shephelah. Since the summer of 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and its surroundings. The excavations were preceded by a detailed mapping of the site, which was subsequently divided into 39 sub-units. This was followed by survey and shovel tests in each of those units, and by full-scale excavations in four excavation areas. It appears that the site was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age to the late Iron Age (8^th century BCE). Following a settlement gap in the 7^th–5^th centuries BCE, the site was resettled for a short period in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period. Among the major finds is a thick Assyrian destruction layer (8^th century BCE), which sealed many houses with their content, including many pottery vessels, metal artifacts, and botanical material (some still within the vessels), and many additional finds. The present article summarizes the results of the explorations of the site in 2006–2009.     

The Rhetoric of Convention: The Foundational Saul Narratives (1 Samuel 9–11) Reconsidered

Biblical scholars have applied new methodologies to the royal narratives in the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua–Kings) as viable resources for recovering authentic historical information regarding the monarchic cultures of ancient Israel and their impact on the development of Israelite religion. The present study considers anew the narratives regarding Israel's first king, Saul son of Kish. A recurring motif in these narratives is the appeal to socio‐religious convention, which is suggestive of a rhetorical strategy among the authors that sought to situate the Saulide royal lineage in familiar traditions that the institution of kingship was perceived as disrupting.     

Geographical and Historical Realities behind the Earliest Layer in the David Story

ABSTRACT

The article attempts to identify an early Judahite layer in the David narrative in 1-2 Samuel and dates the reality behind it to the period prior to Judah expansion into the southern Hebron Highlands and the Beer-sheba Valley in the second half of the 9th century BCE. This helps to clarify the territorial and historical situation in the south in the 10th and early 9th centuries BCE. The article delineates the southern extent of the early north Israelite highlands polity, whose hub was in the area of Gibeon-Gibeah, and the territories of the Philistine kingdom of Gath and the desert polity that emerged at that time in the Beer-sheba Valley. It also deals with the role of Sheshonq I in shaping the long-term territorio-political order in southern Canaan.     

Missionaries of the Millennium: Israelite Preachers in the English‐Speaking World, 1823–1863

This article recovers the global history of the English millennial religion of Southcottianism. After Joanna Southcott died in 1814, leaving thousands of English followers still expecting the millennium that she prophesied, elements of her movement generated further prophets and a dynamic missionary division known as “Israelite Preachers.” From the 1820s onwards, these preachers took Southcott's ideas and new doctrines developed by her successor, John Wroe, throughout the British Isles, then the English‐speaking world, most notably Australia and North America. Drawing mission approaches (and recruits) from revivalist dissent, Israelite preachers forged first a Britain‐wide sect, then a global movement which followed the British settler diaspora and competed with rival American millennialisms. The spread of Southcottianism is a forgotten episode in the story of nineteenth‐century British colonial missions, and an argument for examining millennial movements beside more mainstream Christianity.     

Reconsidering the Metamorphosis of Io: on Texts,Images and Dates

This article reconsiders the portrayal of Io's metamorphosis in texts and images from the fifth century BCE. It discusses points of synchronicity and diachronicity, innovation and variety in this myth. While the depiction of Io on vases may not help us date with more certainty the texts of the fifth century BCE, including the Prometheus Bound and Bacchylides’ Ode 19, I argue that the comparison between texts and images may draw attention, instead, to a synchronic variety in the depiction of Io in the decades preceding and following the mid-fifth century BCE. This shift in perspective leads me to advance the proposition that myth interpretation may be revitalized by a paradigm shift from “tree” to “network”.     

Archaeology and the Bible Revisited: A Review Article

David and Solomon, a new book by Israel Finkelstein and Niels Asher Silberman, through their discussion of Palestinian archaeology's current understanding, proposes to provide evidence to prove the accuracy of Frank Cross's more than 30 year old revision of Martin Noth's theory of a “Deuteronomistic History.” The authors attempt to confirm the history of the redaction of the biblical narratives about Saul, David and Solomon, involving seven distinct oral and four written strata of tradition. Their argument moreover claims the warrant to assert the historicity of each of these legendary kings of Israel. The present article argues to the contrary that the “archaeological evidence” proposed does not support such a redaction history nor establish the historicity of either the biblical figures or their stories, but that the harmony of biblical and archaeological issues is circular and illegitimate by the standards of historical research. It argues, moreover, that the claim of an oral tradition, reflecting original memories of an historical David or Saul is an entirely unnecessary and unlikely explanation for the origins of both the figures and their tales in the stories of 1-2 Samuel and 1 Kings. It moreover argues that the hypothesis of a redaction history in a succession of four cumulative revisions, beginning in the eighth century and completed in the sixth to fourth century, BCE—lacking as it does reference to a readable text—is neither critical nor falsifiable. Finally, Finkelstein and Silberman's book is judged as an unsuccessful attempt to return to the methods of “biblical archaeology” that were legitimately impeached in the mid-1970s.     

Scientisme sur L’histoire D’un Concept Difficile

Today “scientism” is a pejorative concept in every language. But isn’t that just a projection made in order to exploit the fear of “science”? The article develops the argument that scientism is a historical current which can be analyzed in a concrete way. It shows that the word goes back to the 19^th century and got its negative emphasis when “scientific” spiritism on the one hand and Catholicism on the other were struggling against the “exaggerated” claims of natural science.     

Médecine et Discours sur L’Homme dans la Première Modernité

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, medical knowledge was anthropological in so much as it produced a discourse on man whose ambition and legitimacy needed no justification. Underwritten by the belief that the body was an object of science, the epistemic horizons of a doctrina de homine emerged from the interaction of medical practice, particularly anatomy, with philosophy and theology in a specific framework - the reorganization of knowledge in Europe over the “long 16^th century”.     

Dwelling(s) in a north‐west Arabian oasis: decoding residential architecture at Taymāʾ

The definition of an ancient, autochthonous north‐west Arabian residential architecture is still a major void in the archaeology of the region. This preliminary case study is intended to shed some light on this “blind spot” by presenting and analysing the architectural complex E‐b9 from Taymā? (c. fourth/third century BCE until the first/early second century CE). A meticulous study of the architecture identified a modular concept as a key to understanding the complex. Furthermore, underlying patterns of household organisation can be deduced from the architectural remains resulting in the definition of potential household units. Those are indicated by a set of activity areas which are congruent with patterns of accessibility and the use of specific wall types. These findings provide insights into the organisation of households and daily life in the oasis of Taymā?, and may help to define local or regional traditions in the future.     

The Judicial Bookshelf

Some may be surprised to realize that nearly a half century has lapsed since publication of The American Supreme Court by Robert G. McCloskey. ¹ One reviewer praised the book as “unique,” one that could be read “profitably by layman, student, lawyer, and constitutional lawyer.” ² Readers familiar with that compact volume will recall the antinomy that the author put forward as the defining theme of American constitutional history: the tension between fundamental law and popular sovereignty. The latter suggests will and the former restraint. The antinomy is reflected in the founding documents of the Republic. The Declaration of Independence trumpets “inalienable rights” in the same paragraph that it emphasizes “government by the consent of the governed.” The Constitution, “ordain[ed] and establish[ed]” by “We the people,” insisted in Article VI that it “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” This conflict between equally valid principles lies at the heart of judicial review in the federal courts, where appointed and politically unaccountable judges sit in judgment on the actions of the politically accountable representatives of the people. In McCloskey's view, one principle “conjures up the vision of an active, positive state; the other emphasizes the negative, restrictive side of the political problem.” ³ Opposites though these principles are, Professor McCloskey emphasized that Americans have managed to cling simultaneously to both. “But like most successes in politics and elsewhere, this one had a price. The failure to resolve the conflict between popular sovereignty and fundamental law perhaps saved the latter principle, but by the same token it left the former intact. And this meant that fundamental law could be enforced only within delicately defined boundaries, that constitutional law, though not simply the creature of the popular will, nevertheless had always to reckon with it, that the mandates of the Supreme Court must be shaped with an eye not only to legal right and wrong, but with an eye to what popular opinion would tolerate.” ⁴     

Zoologische Gärten in Stadtkultur und Wissenschaft im 19. Jahrhundert

The foundation and administration of European Zoological gardens in the 19^th century is analized. It is significant of such new institutions, that they are founded in the large cities, and that most of the founders looked at the great models in Paris and London, which are described first. Further it is shown that the change from princely menageries to public Zoological Gardens is caused both by common interests in people's education and pleasure and by scientific aims which leaded to choose the name Zoological “garden” in analogy to botanical gardens. It seems to be characteristic of such public institutions created by citizens in the 19^th century that they are mostly supported by commercial or scientific local societies. This is exemplified by describing the administration of the Zoological gardens of Berlin (1841), Frankfurt (1856) and Hamburg (1863), which initiated also research for acclimatization of wild animals.     

« Techno-Esthétique » de L’Économie Smithienne Valeur et Fonctionnalité des Objets dans L’Angleterre des Lumières

From The Theory of Moral Sentiments to his essay on The Nature of that Imitation Which Takes Place in What Are Called the Imitative Arts, Adam Smith offered a vision of aesthetics combining beauty and utility. An echo of exchange value as the “ability to buy other goods” — the “power” to organize and achieve one’s goals — his definition of beauty was premised on the “aptness” of things, that is, the fact that they were also useful. Sustained by the commodification of products, a kind of “techno-aesthetics” thus emerged in England in the 18^th century, one that implied designing, adapting, reducing and showcasing the means of production.     

Wissenschaft und Musik – Einführende Bemerkungen

Science and music. Introductory remarks. The article presents a brief introduction to “Science and Music”, theme of the 44^th symposium of the “Society for History of Sciences” held in Munich in Mai 2007. The text begins with a brief reference to the numerous biographical connections between the two fields, but focuses primarily on topics that reveal music and the sciences to be results of shared cultural practices. Examples include: (1) shared objects in the material sense, meaning the use of particular instruments in both music and the sciences; (2) shared semantics, metaphors, and concepts, for example the use of the concepts like clang or tone color in acoustics and the psychology of audition, or talk of ‘mood’ and ‘harmony’ in both music and in literature; (3) direct interactions between mathematics, physics and music, for example in the electronic music of the twentieth century.     

Assemblies,Coalitions, and Conflicts Over Free Speech: From “Trespass” to “Encroachment” in Urban Space at Hyde Park,London, 1861–1962

By drawing, among others, on the ideas of the Bakhtin Circle and Judith Butler, this paper explores spatial struggles over the right to free speech at Hyde Park, London, 1861–1962. From the 1860s to the early 20^th century, the state gradually constructed a “monologic” discourse about an ideal-typical “indecent” speaker who would “trespass” on Hyde Park through their “excitable speech” against a legally sanctioned right to give a “public address” in the park. This discourse gave the state some room to evict those it claimed to be transgressing “public address”. However, different “heteroglossic coalitions” of regulars ensured that Hyde Park remained not only a “political assembly” to discuss political issues, but also a “social assembly” to exercise free speech on a range of social topics. Indeed, by the 1950s, these coalitions used a nearby road scheme to successfully argue it was the state that was potentially trespassing, or “encroaching”, on free speech at Hyde Park.