The Biblical Archaeology Society has a section now that features Mazar’s original announcement, the rejection of this reading by Deutsch and Rainey, and Mazar’s acceptance of the reading of Shlomit.
The site also includes a high-res photograph of the seal. The original posting about this discovery is here. Rainey suggests that this might be Shlomit, the daughter of Zerubbabel, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:19.
Update (2/5): The Jerusalem Post now covers the story.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Matthew S. Santirocco (Dean, College of Arts and Science, New York University) – Welcome
10:00a.m. – Session One: Rewriting the Bible
Erik Larson (Florida International University) – On The Identification of Two Greek Texts of Enoch
Mark Smith (New York University) – “In-between Texts”: Biblical Texts, Inner-Biblical
Interpretation, Second Temple Literature, and Textual Criticism
Moshe Bernstein (Yeshiva University, New York University) – The Dead Sea Scrolls and Jewish
Biblical Interpretation in Antiquity
12:00 Noon – Lunch
1:30p.m. – Session Two: The Dead Sea Sect
Gary Rendsburg (Rutgers University) – Language at Qumran
Shani (Berrin) Tzoref (Hebrew University, University of Sydney) – The Pesharim and the Pentateuch:
Explicit Citations, Overt Typologies, and Implicit Interpretation
Alexei Sivertsev (DePaul University) – Sectarians and Householders
4:00p.m. – Keynote Address
Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University) – The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism
and Christianity
6:00p.m. – Reception
Friday, March 7, 2008
9:00a.m. – Session Three: The Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism
Alex Jassen (University of Minesota) – The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Study of
Prophecy in Ancient Judaism
Yaakov Elman (Yeshiva University) – Zoroastrianism and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Joseph Angel (Yeshiva University) – The Historical and Exegetical Roots of Eschatological
Priesthood at Qumran
11:00a.m. – Session Four: Judean Desert Texts
Judah Lefkovits (Independent Scholar) – The Copper Scroll (3Q15): A Reconsideration
Baruch Levine (New York University) – Judean Desert Documents of the Bar Kokhba Period:
Epistolary and Legal
Andrew Gross (University of Pittsburgh) – The Judean Desert Formulary: A Case Study in the
Continuity and Innovation of Ancient Near Eastern Traditions
The school’s announcement is here.
HT: Joe Lauer, who says that the event is free and open to the public. You can confirm attendance
with Shayne Leslie Figueroa at shayne dot figueroa at nyu dot edu.
From the AP:
A rare snowstorm swept the Middle East on Wednesday, blanketing parts of the Holy Land in white, shutting schools and sending excited children into the streets for snowball fights. The weather in Jerusalem topped local newscasts, eclipsing a government report on Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon. Men in long Arab robes pelted each other with snowballs in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government, came to a standstill. “I’m originally from Gaza where snow never falls,” said Bothaina Smairi, 28, who was out in Ramallah taking photographs. “The white snow is covering the old world and I feel like I am in a new world where everything is white, clean, and beautiful.” Jerusalem’s Old City was coated in white. A few ultra-Orthodox Jews, wearing plastic bags over their hats to keep them dry, prayed at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. Snow falls in Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick. The Israeli weather service said up to 8 inches of snow fell in the city. By late morning, the snow changed to rain, turning the city into a slushy mess. But forecasters said temperatures were expected to drop, and the snow would continue through Thursday morning. Heavy snow also was reported in the Golan Heights and the northern Israeli town of Safed, and throughout the West Bank.
The story continues here. You can see some photos of Jerusalem in the snow from previous years here.
Haaretz reports the approval of the construction of a tunnel near the Western Wall.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has decided to dig a tunnel under the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, close to the Temple Mount. Two weeks ago, the IAA denied such a decision had been made. The tunnel will connect those under the Temple Mount and the site of Ohel Yitzhak, some 150 meters from the Temple Mount wall. The decision to begin the dig was taken in spite the fact that no plan was filed to the planning authorities. Moreover, the Palestinians under whose homes the tunnel will pass were not consulted, even though the law grants them ownership over the territory under their property. (Meron Rapoport)
The third sentence should be corrected to read: “The tunnel will connect the Western Wall ‘rabbinic tunnels’ and the site of Ohel Yitzhak….” Such a mistake might be excusable if not for the fact that dozens were killed as a result of a similar falsehood perpetuated by Yasser Arafat in 1996. He inaccurately claimed that Israel was digging under the Temple Mount and 85 Muslims and 16 Israelis died in the riots that resulted.
HT: Joe Lauer
Here’s a set I almost never see available for sale (and for many years I have had a continuous search for it going through ABEBooks). But it’s a bit out of my price range, so I’m passing it on to you.
The Survey of Western Palestine, Col. Sir Charles Warren; Capt. Claude Reignier Conder 1881, Published for the committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF), 1881-1889 – First Edition (according to bibliographic resources). A set of six cloth folios, being 11. Bookseller: Orr Hirschauge, Tel-Aviv Price: US$ 4500.00
View or Order this Book:
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/ListingDetails?bi=1039913148&cm_la=want
Of course, if you just want the maps, in super high-resolution, you can get those on CD for $35. Or you can get the Index for free. Archive Books has the reprint set available for £2,995 ($5,966).
Haaretz has a story and photo on the unveiling of a Byzantine-era glass mosaic from the Bird Palace.
Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has restored a unique 1,400-year-old glass mosaic, which was discovered in 2005 during excavation of the ancient Bird Palace in Caesarea, Haaretz has learned.
Yael Gurin-Rosen, head of the IAA’s glass department, said that the mosaic panel is the first of its kind to be excavated in Israel, and due to the quality of its preservation, given its age, and its gleaming, gilded craftsmanship indicating Christian origins, it is most likely the only one in the world.
You can read the rest and see the photo here.
HT: Yehuda Group.
Update: Joe Lauer sends along two related articles, one from the AP and one from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Both have nice photos.
Update #2: Infolive.tv has a short video showing the glass mosaic. There is some confusion in terminology – this is a glass mosaic found in the “Palace of the ‘Bird Mosaic.'” The palace has many mosaics, some of which are birds, and which you can see from above at 15-20 seconds into the video. The photos below are from this palace.
