PSALM 136 ALS ZEITWEILIGE SCHLUSSDOXOLOGIE DES PSALTERS

It is shown that Ps 118,1-4 as a ''liturgical instruction'' forms the introduction to Ps 136. Therefore, Pss 118,5-29; 119; 120-134 and 135 must have been inserted between 118,4 and 136,1. The reason why the collection has grown in this way is that Ps 136 was for some time the final doxology of the Book of Psalms as a whole. The present shape of Ps 118 is a patchwork formed from several prayers. The collection Pss 120-134 has been inserted as a unit. Ps 135 is to be understood as the secondary link between Ps 134 and 136 (taking account of 118.1-4). Ps 119 is a late insertion. Ps 115 is secondary in relation to Ps 135.     

Is it wise to believe Daniel?

A number of possible reasons for the unusual use of divine names in Pss 42-83 are presented. Detailed analysis of the Elohistic Psalter follows, pinpointing exactly how it differs from the rest of the Psalter. Frequencies of divine names are examined, as well as their stylistic use (including use in parallelism, the place of acrostics and refrains, and specific criteria for use of the less-favoured name), and the differing use of shared material and idioms. The author concludes that the Elohistic Psalter is the result of highly skilled editorial activity which was unrelated to any reluctance to pronounce the tetragrammaton.     

An Intertextual Reading of the Theophany of Psalm 97

This article applies an intertextual method of reading the Psalms in order to discern the full meaning of the theophany of Ps 97. It is argued that Ps 97 actualizes the claims in Pss 93-100 that Yahweh reigns by giving the reader a (textual) theophany which would have been particularly meaningful in an exilic or post-exilic context.     

Pilgrimage,tapestries, and cartography: sixteenth-century wall hangings commemorating a pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The paper considers two large sixteenth-century tapestries, originating in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It is argued that although they are not paper maps, and were never printed or included in any atlas or map collection, these tapestries ought to be categorized as realistic pilgrimage maps, based on first-hand observation and guided by the unique late medieval Christian geo-religious perception of the Holy Land and the Holy City. Furthermore, the resemblance of the tapestries to printed maps, such as the map included in the book of Bernhard of Breydenbach, and other well-known contemporary paintings of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, such as the one commemorating the pilgrimage of Friedrich the Wise, may hint at the source material used by their creators, who lived in a similar social–cultural milieu.     

The Aramaic Levi—Comparing the Qumran fragments with the Genizah text

ABSTRACT

Among the extra-biblical texts from Qumran we find the so-called Aramaic Levi, which can be described as a somewhat different variant of the “Testament of Levi,” a part of the larger Greek text “The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs.”

Aramaic Levi, however, was already known from the Cairo Genizah. The following article is a linguistic comparison between the Qumran text and the version from the Cairo Genizah.

As Klaus Beyer has noticed, there are a lot of non-Hasmonean spellings and words in the Genizah text, but most of Beyer’s examples are from parts of the text that are not preserved in the Qumran fragments. Comparing the two versions, we now note that the deviations are of two kinds. As expected, the Genizah text often follows a later language than Qumran. This applies in particular to orthographic features and the use of status emphaticuswithout the definite sense. But in other places the Genizah text represents a language older than Hasmonean Aramaic, which we interpret as an adaptation to Bibli-cal Aramaic and sometimes to Hebrew.     

Encounters with the Levant: the late medieval illustrated Jerusalem Travelogue by Paul Walter von Guglingen

The late medieval illustrated Jerusalem travelogue by the Franciscan friar Paul Walther von Guglingen has heretofore received scant scholarly attention, perhaps owing to the unusual nature of some of its images. Guglingen charts decidedly Islamic spaces with his maps and plan, instead of the conventional sacred shrines of Christianity; these topographical features are interlaced with personal travelling experiences. Illustrations of flora and fauna encountered along the way are the result of careful observation, and meticulous recording. The author experiments with forms to visually represent his own lived experience. In all cases, text and image are closely intertwined and testify that non-religious aspects form a legitimate aspect of this pilgrimage account. Consideration of the illustrations in Guglingen’s Itinerarium, alongside, for example, those in the travelogue of his famous travel companion Bernhard von Breydenbach, allows us to illuminate more facets of the late medieval pilgrimage experience.     

The German Empire and Palestine: German pilgrimages to Jerusalem between the 12th and 16th century

This study is an attempt to discuss various points of interest concerning the pilgrimages to Jerusalem which started from the German Empire during and after the Crusader period. On the basis of a comprehensive critical investigation, it will be demonstrated that by reason of extremely high travel expenses, most pilgrims decided against going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is pointed out to what extent the noble and non-noble pilgrims from the Empire who planned the journey to Jerusalem would have to take into consideration their legal and moral obligations toward their feudal lords or local communities. It will be shown that most German pilgrims' ignorance of foreign languages furthered the cohesion and isolation of their travel parties on the road to Syria. As may be proved, they were not ready to adapt themselves to unusual manners and customs and had a remarkable penchant for violence. Finally, it will be demonstrated that the presence of German pilgrims ready to give donations or to pay for an indulgence must always have been a very important economic factor for some of the religious communities in Jerusalem.     

Family Burial,Family Structure,and The Urbanization of Herodian Jerusalem

Abstract

Epigraphic, archaeological, and historical data indicate that most of the population in Herodian Jerusalem was buried in family caves. In several cases, however, Diaspora Jews and proselytes were buried together, replacing the family by an alternative reference group of other immigrants or proselytes. Furthermore, the Qumran sectarians, and perhaps also some early Christians and pharisaic haverim, chose to withdraw from their families and to be buried in the sphere of the sect. This distinctive burial practice results from the ideological tension between the sect and the family (of the sectarian member).

Analysis of the number of niches in 306 burial caves (presumably familial caves) in light of the skeletal remains from some of these caves leads to a tentative reconstruction of the family structure in Herodian Jerusalem. Most prevalent were the nuclear and the small extended families, whereas hamulas were distinctively rare. It seems that the average family became smaller during the Herodian period. It is suggested that this process was due to the urbanization of Jerusalem, and that the change in family structure accelerated the growth of individualism in Jerusalem society.     

Revisiting Qumran Cave 1Q and its Archaeological Assemblage

Qumran Cave 1Q was the first site of Dead Sea scroll discoveries. Found and partly emptied by local Bedouin, the cave was excavated officially in 1949 and published in the series Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (Volume 1) in 1955. Contents of the cave are found in collections worldwide, and in different institutions in Jerusalem and Amman. While the scrolls are the most highly prized artefacts from this cave, in archaeological terms they are part of an assemblage that needs to be understood holistically in order to make conclusions about its character and dating. This study presents all of the known items retrieved from the cave, including those that are currently lost, in order to consider what we might know about the cave prior to its emptying and the changes to its form. It constitutes preliminary work done as part of the Leverhulme funded International Network for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Caves Artefacts and Archival Sources [IN-2015-067].     

One city,different views: a comparative study of three pilgrimage maps of Jerusalem

Among the early printed maps of Jerusalem there is a special group of realistic maps, which should be identified as pilgrimage maps. They were based on an actual acquaintance with the city, and drawn by pilgrims or for them. These maps depicted Jerusalem as the Holy City for Christianity; portraying the city through the eyes of the Christian pilgrims, and reflecting their perceptions, excitement and devotion. They often underscored the city's religious sites and traditions, and undermined certain elements of the city's actual cultural and religious landscape.     

The Water Pools and the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the Late Second Temple Period

A significant number of water pools existed in Jerusalem in the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The pools constitute an archaeological phenomenon that should be analysed in its own right. No other city in the region had so many stand-alone large pools in its urban landscape. This paper offers an explanation of this phenomenon based on its cultural, historical, and archaeological context. The article discusses the corpus of pools, including the dating, the methods of water collection and their possible use in light of similar water installations that were common in this period. In the analysis of the pools' appearance in Jerusalem, the paper examines the broader context of the phenomenon—water utilisation by Jewish society in the time of the Second Temple before 70 AD. The conclusion drawn is that the pools are a manifestation of the wide-scale pilgrimage movement to Jerusalem that emerged in the Late Second Temple.     

The pilgrimage economy of Early Roman Jerusalem (1st century BCE–70 CE) reconstructed from the δN and δC values of goat and sheep remains

Religious and historical sources suggest that pilgrimage formed a major source of Jerusalem's economy during the Early Roman period due to the Temple's role as a religious and judicial center for the Jewish diaspora. Until now, this assertion has been supported by little material evidence. In this study, the carbon and nitrogen isotope values of local arcahaeological and, modern wild herbivores from known environments were used to determine the environmental origins of domesticated sheep and goat that were traded and consumed in Early Roman Jerusalem. Pinpointing the environmental origins of these herd animals can determine if they were raised in specialized farms in the vicinity of Jerusalem, brought to the city by local pilgrims, or were part of organized importation of sacrifice animals from desert regions that lie beyond the boundaries of the province of Judea. The results indicate that at minimum 37% of the goat and sheep consumed in Jerusalem during the Early Roman period were brought from desert regions. The inter-provincial importation of animals to Jerusalem to meet high demands for sacrifice by pilgrims is the first material evidence for large scale economic specialization in the city. Furthermore, the results imply that desert animals were further marketed for domestic use in contemporaneous farm sites out of Jerusalem.     

‘Stronger than men and braver than knights’: women and the pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome in the later middle ages

Women who participated in the long-distance pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries faced a variety of economic and social barriers. Based upon the pilgrimage narratives of Margery Kempe, Felix Fabri, and others, this article examines the strategies women used to overcome those barriers both before and during the journey. While resistance to women’s pilgrimages was strong, in part, because they did not fit their quotidian roles as caregivers, it was nevertheless to aspects of those same normative roles that women appealed in order to justify their pilgrimages and shield themselves from censure during their journeys.     

King Davidʼs Exposure while Dancing: A Queer Reading of 2 Samuel 6

According to the Hebrew version of the transport of the ark to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6, King David is so scantily dressed that he publicly exposes himself while dancing before G*d (????). David?s wild, gay and possibly sexual conduct can evoke associations with the behavior of gay persons of today. Queer readers may identify with David and like him turn their backs on dominant rulers—like the members of Saul?s dynasty—if they are not respected because of their queer way of life, but persecuted—as David was persecuted by King Saul. Such an interpretation implies that G*d (????) is on the side of persons like King David, who—from the point of view of other people as well as of David?s wife Michal—behave in a strange fashion, thus act queerly.     

Long‐Distance Pilgrimage and the Counter Reformation in France: Sacred Journeys to the Mont Saint‐Michel 1520 to 1750

In the Counter Reformation, a great upsurge in pilgrimage activity occurred across Europe. Much of this pilgrimage was to local shrines, often newly created. Another destination was Rome. Less well known is the post‐Reformation refashioning of ancient, long‐distance pilgrimages. This article examines the origins and nature of such revived pilgrimage, using the example of the Mont Saint‐Michel in northern France. In the Catholic Reformation, the traditional, distant centres of pilgrimage contributed to the devotional culture of individuals and groups who wanted to go beyond the local, to experience a challenge as part of their spiritual and social growth. At the Mont, revival of the shrine came from the universality of the cult of St Michael, his role in the struggle against heresy, and veneration tied increasingly to that of Christ through the Eucharist. While pilgrims continued to travel in search of, or in thanksgiving for, healing and other graces, there was also greater emphasis on spiritual healing and intimacy with God. Also, for many young men, they proved themselves and their Catholicity by undertaking this heroic journey. Through the pilgrimage to the Mont, reformed Catholicism spread many of its ideas and values around the cities and communities of northern France.     

Funeral at the edge of a cliff: Israel bids farewell to David Ben-Gurion

David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, passed away on 1 December 1973, weeks after the Yom Kippur War. His funeral reflected his unique political and symbolic standing as the “father of the nation,” as well as his wish to express national pioneering values. Buried on the cliff overlooking Wadi Zin, near his kibbutz home in the Negev desert, Ben-Gurion “forced” the Israeli leadership to follow a ritualistic pilgrimage path leading from Jerusalem to Sde Boker, similar to the one he had advocated and attempted himself. The article discusses how this watershed historical event was conceived, planned and carried out.     

Regionalökonomische Bedeutung kleiner Wallfahrtsorte

Today pilgrimage is experiencing an increasing interest, although motives are notable changing. Sites along pilgrim routes normally profit in an economically way. But until today regional economic effects of even very small pilgrimage sites are underexplored. Therefore economic impulses of the pilgrimage site in Biberbach (Bavaria) were identified using interviews and calculations. According to that the 10,000 visitors per year generate nearly 30,000 € gross turnover and 0.5 jobs. So even small pilgrimage sites can obviously produce a notable increase of local EVA.     

The land which bled forth its bounty: An exile image of the land of Israel

Abstract

The expression: “a land flowing with milk and honey” appears some 20 times in the MT version of the Hebrew Bible and is generally thought to express the overall productivity of the Land of Israel. It is one of the few expressions which is used in many literary strata of the text as a distinctive term to describe the Land of Israel and its produce, although its absence from poetic, proverbs and wisdom literature indicates that it was not seen as a universally useful expression. Appearing in writings attributed to J, E, Dtr¹ and Dtr², as well as the writings of the prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the expression is understood by medieval and modem commentators as a metaphor for abundant grazing land and date palm honey (i.e. abundant flora and fauna). It's presence in different literary strata of four of the five books of the Torah, in particular, seems to point to the antiquity and long term utility of the expression. Further investigation of this expression reveals that it may not be a realistic perspective on the ancient land of Israel, but rather a rather poignant, nostalgic, exilic, and purely metaphoric view of the land written at a period after the land had passed through a significant devastation. This article will investigate the language of this passage and attempt to locate it in its original historical context.