What Color Was Papyrus?

According to a recent study, quality ancient papyrus sheets were usually white. According to the authors, modern commercial papyrus is treated with lye, which turns the papyrus pith from its natural white to yellow, presumably in order to imitate the appearance of aged papyrus. But they argue that papyrus sheets when they were produced in antiquity were probably white.

A New Identification of a Psalm Manuscript from Qumran: 4Q85 + 4Q98c

I just got news that an article I co-authored with Brent Strawn has now been published as an advance article in Dead Sea Discoveries:

Drew Longacre and Brent Strawn, "A New Identification of a Psalm Manuscript from Qumran: 4Q85 + 4Q98c." DSD Advanced Articles (2022): 1-8.

Abstract

This brief note proposes a new identification for a fragment of one of the Psalm manuscripts from Qumran. On the basis of material conditions—but above all else, the distinctive paleography of the script—4Q98c (4QP st) should be considered as part of the same manuscript known as 4Q85 (4QP sc). If this identification is correct, the latter now contains material known from the second half of the (proto-)MT Psalter, increasing the plausibility that it once contained the entire book of Psalms.

MIDRASH – Migrations of Textual and Scribal Traditions via Large-Scale Computational Analysis of Medieval Manuscripts in Hebrew Script

A recent news release describes the newly funded ERC Synergy Grant "MIDRASH – Migrations of Textual and Scribal Traditions via Large-Scale Computational Analysis of Medieval Manuscripts in Hebrew Script." Congratulations to all who are involved in this exciting new project to combine the latest in handwriting recognition and the KTIV database for Jewish manuscripts.

Galil on New Hezekiah Inscriptions

For those who haven't seen it, Gershon Galil has just announced on Facebook his claimed identification of several new inscriptions from the reign of Hezekiah in the area of the Siloam tunnel. See also some Hebrew news coverage on the discovery. If this pans out, it would be a remarkable and important discovery.

More Virtual Unwrapping of Dead Sea Scrolls

Christy Chapman and Brent Seales announce the successful virtual unwrapping of another layered set of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments in Bible History Daily.

Kim Phillips on the Masoretic Tradition

Kim Phillips has a simple and well-illustrated introduction to the Masoretic Hebrew tradition on the TCI page.

Papyrus Production in el-Qaramus, Egypt

A bit old, but still interesting, here are some resources on modern papyrus production in el-Qaramus, Egypt.

Business Insider video

Al-Jazeera article

Catalogue of Biblical References in Incantation Bowls

Daniel James Waller (with contributions by Dorota Molin) has produced a very useful, open-access catalogue of biblical references in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls. These resources are often not well understood and researched by biblical scholars and textual critics, even though they sometimes contain the oldest materially attested forms of biblical passages.

AIP Guidelines for Editing Papyri

For anyone who edits papyri, Jean-Luc Forget announced the useful AIP guidelines for editing papyri on the PAPY mailing list as follows:

Dear Papy-list members,

I am pleased to announce that the Guidelines for editing papyri are now online on the website of the Association Internationale de Papyrologues: https://aip.ulb.be//PDF/Guidelines_for_editing_papyri.pdf

This text was prepared at the request of the president of the AIP (after the Lecce Congress) by a working group headed by myselft and made up of the following people : Rodney Ast, Amin Benaissa, Willy Clarysse, Hélène Cuvigny, Alain Delattre, Nick Gonis, Jürgen Hammerstaedt, Federico Morelli, Paul Schubert, Joanne Stolk, Katelijn Vandorpe. It was presented to the AIP General Assembly at the end of the XXXth International Congress of Papyrology (July 30, 2022).

The purpose of these Guidelines is to propose precise norms for editing Greek/Latin, Demotic and Coptic papyri. It also proposes new rules for rendering certain data not taken into account by the Leiden system and for which a uniform treatment would facilitate systematic study.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the working group and the colleagues who kindly gave their opinion and contributed to improve this text. 

We hope that these Guidelines will be useful.

Best wishes,

Jean-Luc Fournet

Meade on OT Canon

John Meade's lecture at Southeastern Seminary "The Old Testament Canon: Repertoires and Orders" is now available online. He discusses historical canon lists and how these should be understood in the Christian church.

Studies in the Masoretic Tradition of the Hebrew Bible

Check out the 2022 Open Access book Studies in the Masoretic Tradition of the Hebrew Bible with several interesting papers on the medieval Masoretic tradition.

Abstract

This volume brings together papers on topics relating to the transmission of the Hebrew Bible from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period. We refer to this broadly in the title of the volume as the ‘Masoretic Tradition’. The papers are innovative studies of a range of aspects of this Masoretic tradition at various periods, many of them presenting hitherto unstudied primary sources. They focus on traditions of vocalisation signs and accent signs, traditions of oral reading, traditions of Masoretic notes, as well as Rabbinic and exegetical texts. The contributors include established scholars of the field and early-career researchers.

Contents

Using the Masora for Interpreting the Vocalisation and Accentuation of the 

• Elvira Martín-Contreras

The Masoretic Notes in RNL EVR II B 80+: An Initial Report

• Kim Phillips

The Marginal nun/zayin: Meaning, Purpose, Localisation

• Vincent D. Beiler

Tiberian ketiv-qere and the Combined Samaritan Written-Reading Tradition: Points of Contact and Contrast

• Aaron D. Hornkohl

A Further Analysis of the ‘Byzantine (Italian- Levantine) Triad’ of Features in Common Torah Codices

• Estara J. Arrant

Hebrew Vocalisation Signs in Karaite Transcriptions of the Hebrew Bible into Arabic Script

• Geoffrey Khan

Dissonance between Masoretic Vocalisation and Cantillation in Biblical Verse Division

 Yochanan Breuer

Why are there Two Systems of Tiberian Ṭeʿamim?

• Daniel J. Crowther

“Some Fanciful Midrash Explanation”: Derash on the Ṭeʿamim in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

• Benjamin Williams

Does Saadya Refer to the Accents in his Introduction to the Pentateuch?

• Joseph Habib

Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae 2.0

 Version 2.0 of the Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae is now available online.

The Origins of the Greek Alphabet

A. Sebastian Anderson has published an interesting review of Robert Parker, Philippa M. Steele, The early Greek alphabets: origin, diffusion, uses. Oxford Studies in Ancient Documents. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Moster on Hebrew Pronunciation Traditions

David Moster has posted an interesting video comparing and contrasting different Hebrew pronunciation traditions.

Autopsy

 If you ever wondered what it's like to look at manuscripts in person, check out my recent blog post for Logos' Word by Word blog.

Gordon Fee, RIP

Christianity Today pays fitting tribute on the recent passing of Gordon Fee, a man whose teachings, writings, and example have impacted so many. I never met him, but I have learned much from him.

Online Qumran Lexicon

The Qumran Digital project of the University of Göttingen has made available an online version of the texts and entries for the Qumran Wörterbuch.

Puech on the Scribal Arts

 Emile Puech has a nice video introduction to the scribal arts in French on YouTube.

Typology of Greek Documents

The Grammateus website has a useful explanation of the typology of Greek documentary texts and a search engine to search for documents by certain criteria. The typology and database do not include literary texts like biblical manuscripts, but it is still interesting for understanding Greco-Roman writing culture.

Oxyrhynchus Papyri

The Oxyrhynchus papyri have a new dedicated page with images of all of the manuscripts in the Sackler Library. The site gives a brief history of the collection and imaging, as well as instructions for accessing images, databases, and reproductions.

A New First Temple Hebrew Papyrus

The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced the exciting recovery of a fragment of a Hebrew papyrus letter from the 7th-6th centuries BCE, that was presumably found in the Judea Desert. The backstory is quite intriguing and worth a read. The papyrus was supposedly also radiocarbon dated to around the same period, which lends strong support to its authenticity (there's not much blank papyrus from that period floating around in Israel). This is one of only a very small number of Hebrew papyri with a claim to come from that early, and those who helped bring it to light are to be congratulated.

HT Gary Rendsburg

Kim Phillips on Memorization of the Psalms in the Middle Ages

Kim Phillips examines an interesting manuscript from the Cairo Genizah that gives insight into medieval practices of memorizing the Psalms.

Newsom on Multiple Versions of the Bible

Carol Newsom has written a nice survey of some of the factors to consider when studying different versions of biblical books for thetorah.com.

HebrewPal Paleography Database

The HebrewPal database now has a public website established, though it does not yet include many manuscripts. It promises to be quite a useful tool once a greater dataset is input.

The project also has a call out for a postdoctoral researcher to work on paleographic descriptions of medieval and early modern Hebrew manuscripts.

Short Intro to BHQ

 David Moster has produced a short video introduction to BHQ.

HT Agade

Online Aramaic Curriculum

I wanted to draw people's attention to the fact that John Ma and Christopher Tulpin put online a useful introduction to Imperial Aramaic as part of their Arshama project.

NLI Torah Scrolls

The National Library of Israel has a nice post with videos about some of their more interesting Torah scrolls.

Nongbri - The Ethics of Publication: Papyrology

Brent Nongbri has published a thought-provoking piece on the The Ethics of Publication in Papyrology. He gives a balanced survey of the arguments of various positions and urges more caution and consideration by papyrologists on whether and how to publish unprovenanced papyri.

Maniaci - Trends in Statistical Codicology

Marilena Maniaci has edited an open access volume entitled Trends in Statistical Codicology, which is a helpful compendium of codicological articles on medieval Greek and Latin manuscripts. The contents include:

Contents

Marilena Maniaci

Introduction: Statistical Codicology. Principles, Directions, Perspectives

Forms and typologies

Marilena Maniaci

The Structure of Atlantic Bibles

Chiara Ruzzier

The Miniaturisation of Bible Manuscripts in the 13th Century: A Comparative

Study

Michel Trigalet

Making a Count of Hagiographic Books. Quantitative Aspects of the Production

and Dissemination of Latin Hagiographic Literature (2nd–15th Centuries)

Materials and tools

Marilena Maniaci

Parchment in Byzantine Manuscripts of the 11th and 12th Centuries:

Characteristics and Use

Ezio Ornato

Watermarks Galore. Observations on the Number and Homogeneity of Papers

Used in Manuscripts and Incunabula

Ezio Ornato

An Experiment in Dating Documents through the Analysis of Watermarks: The

Letter ‘P’ in Incunabula of the Low Countries

Manufacturing techniques

Paola Busonero

Quiring in Manuscripts of the Late Middle Ages

Marilena Maniaci

The Art of Not Quartering Skins: Techniques Employed for the Subdivision of

Bifolia in Byzantine Manuscripts

Denis Muzerelle

The Arithmetic Properties of Lineation in Humanistic Manuscripts

Marilena Maniaci

The ‘Non-Unitary’ Greek Codex: Typologies and Terminology

Denis Muzerelle and Ezio Ornato

The Third Dimension of the Book: Codicological Aspects of Multi-

Textuality

Layout and text formatting

Marilena Maniaci

Canons and ‘Recipes’ for the Layout of the Medieval Book: New Observations

and Verifications

Marilena Maniaci

Divergences between the East and the West in the Construction and

Management of the Written Space: General Principles and Specific

Solutions

Luciana Devoti

A Medieval Puzzle. The ‘Architecture’ of the Page in Manuscripts and

Incunabula of the Codex Justinianus

Marilena Maniaci

Words within Words : Layout Strategies in Some Glossed Manuscripts of the

Iliad

Marilena Maniaci

At the End of the Line: Text Continuity and the Division of Words in Byzantine

Manuscripts

Scripts and scribes

Frank M. Bischoff

The Rhythm of the Scribe: A Serial Analysis of the Density of Writing in the

Gospels of Henry the Lion

Denis Muzerelle

The Scribe’s Gesture and its ‘Shadow’: An Essay on the ‘Modular Ratio’ of

Scripts

Lucien Reynhout

Quantitative Codicology and Scientific Paradigms. A Typology of Latin

Formulae in the Colophons of Western Manuscripts

Denis Muzerelle

Concerning the (Re)discovery of French Scriptoria: The Contribution of the

‘Catalogue of Dated Manuscripts’

HT Agade

Editorial Techniques in the Hebrew Bible

Reinhard Müller and Juha Pakkala have published a new book on editorial techniques in the Hebrew Bible, continuing their agenda of refining literary-critical criteria based on documented examples. Go to the link for bibliographic information and front matter.

Abstract from publisher's website:

Editorial Techniques in the Hebrew Bible: Toward a Refined Literary Criticism presents and applies a model for understanding and reconstructing the diachronic development of the Hebrew Bible through historical criticism (or the historical-critical method). Reinhard Müller and Juha Pakkala refine the methodologies of literary and redaction criticism through a systematic investigation of the evidence of additions, omissions, replacements, and transpositions that are documented by divergent ancient textual traditions. At stake is not only historical criticism but also the Hebrew Bible as a historical source, for historical criticism has been and continues to be the only method to unwind those scribal changes that left no traces in textual variants.

 

Moore on Aramaic Papyrus Fragments in Berlin

James Moore has just released his open access monograph publishing many new documentary papyrus fragments from Elephantine in the Berlin collection. In addition to the editions themselves, he provides helpful reviews of the literature, paleographic analysis, and indices.

The Bible in Arabic

Juan Pedro Monferrer-Sala gives a nice illustrated survey of early Arabic Bible translations on the ASOR blog. While pre-Islamic Arabic translations probably existed, the manuscripts that have survived come from the Islamic period and reflect different dialects and base texts, depending on where they were translated.

Word Division in NW Semitic

Robert Crellin has posted his interesting new Open Access monograph on word division in NW Semitic and Greek on the CREWS project site.

Werning, Digitale Einführung in die hieroglyphisch-ägyptische Schrift und Sprache

Daniel A. Werning has put up a useful Digitale Einführung in die hieroglyphisch-ägyptische Schrift und Sprache complete with short lessons and exercises.

HT Agade

TCI Easter Series on Isaiah 53

 The Text and Canon Institute has put out an Easter series on a number of interesting variants in Isaiah 53.

Aitken Grinfield Lectures Online

I just saw that the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies has put Jim Aitken's 2021-2022 Grinfield Lectures online here. Jim gives a fascinating exploration of how the Septuagint fits within contemporary Egyptian Greek writing culture and the ramifications for Septuagint research. Highly recommended!

EPHE-PSL Seminars on Ancient Scripts

On the Scriptish mailing list Andreas Stauder announces French-language program of seminars on a wide range of ancient scripts. The recorded sessions are also available on YouTube. See below details from the email.

Cycle « Les écritures dans les mondes anciens »,  

de l’Institut des langues rares (Ilara) de l’EPHE-PSL (Paris) : 

 

- Le programme : 

https://ilara.hypotheses.org/files/2022/02/Conferences-ecritures-anciennes.pdf 

 

- La prochaine conférence :  

« Observations sur les écritures d’Asie Centrale au Ier millénaire de notre ère »,  

par Georges-Jean Pinault, le mercredi 20 avril, à 18h30 (inscription gratuite, obligatoire, sur eventbrite) : 

https://www.eventbrite.fr/e/billets-conference-8-cycle-de-conferences-les-ecritures-dans-les-mondes-anciens-316661361657  

 

- La chaîne YouTube, avec les sept conférences déjà données :  

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT__n1OePD2jGdJTR0hNVdUrYYF-Nl3c5 

Le papyrus dans tous ses États, de Cléopâtre à Clovis

Jean-Luc Fournet has put up online a wonderful virtual tour of the Collège de France exhibition on the history of papyrus (in French) here.

The Editio critica maior of the Greek Psalter catalogue

I just noticed that the Editio critica maior of the Greek Psalter project has put a catalogue online that includes images to many Greek manuscripts.

NYU DSS Conference Recordings Online

New York University has now uploaded the recordings of sessions from their June 2021 Dead Sea Scrolls public conference. Here is the program from the website:

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: A SECOND PUBLIC CONFERENCE Sponsored by: New York University Global Network for Advanced Research in Jewish Studies Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies

The Israel Antiquities Authority Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority Sunday June 6, 2021 11:00 - 11:30 AM EDT [6:00 - 6:30 PM IDT]: Opening Session Presiding Chair and Opening Remarks Alex Jassen, Chair, Skirball Department of Hebrew & Judaic Studies, New York University Greetings Andrew D. Hamilton, President New York University Gideon Avni, Head Scientist, Israel Antiquities Authority Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority Joe Uziel, Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit, Israel Antiquities Authority 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EDT [6:30 - 8:00 PM IDT]: Report on the Judean Desert Caves Archaeological Project

Chair: Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Israel Antiquities Authority The Judean Desert Caves Archaeological Project: Goals, Methodology and Achievements Eitan Klein, Israel Antiquities Authority Excavations in Murabba`at Cave 4: Preliminary Insights Haim Cohen, Israel Antiquities Authority

“And I will bring them to dwell in Jerusalem”: New Fragments of the Greek Minor Prophets Scroll (8HevXII gr) Oren Ableman and Beatriz Riestra, Israel Antiquities Authority 1:00 - 1:30 PM EDT [8:00 - 8:30 PM IDT]: Break

1:30 - 3:30 PM EDT [8:30 - 10:30 PM IDT]: Major Issues in Dead Sea Scrolls Research Chair: Angela Kim Harkins, Boston College

Scribal Text Groups among the Bible Manuscripts Found in the Judean Desert Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Evidence for Scribal Apprenticeship and Education at Qumran Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska

What Do We Know about the Teacher of Righteousness? John J. Collins, Yale University

Troops of Light: Militant Prayer and Ritual Cursing in the Dead Sea Scrolls Daniel Falk, Penn State University

9:00 - 10:30 AM EDT [4:00 - 5:30 PM IDT]: Archaeology of Qumran

Chair: Molly Zahn, University of Kansas

Qumran in the Late Hellenistic Period: An Archaeological Reassessment. Dennis Mizzi, University of Malta

To Sit or to Squat? The Qumran Toilet Revisited Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina

Searching for Qumran Cave 6Q
Marcello Fidanzio, Faculty of Theology, Lugano

10:30 - 11:00 AM EDT [5:30 - 6:00 PM IDT]: Break

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EDT [6:00 - 7:30 PM IDT]: Archaeology and Sectarianism

Chair: Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina

The Archaeology of Sectarianism: Social Analysis of Khirbet Qumran Eyal Regev, Bar-Ilan University

The Gate of the Essenes in Jerusalem
Timothy H. Lim, University of Edinburgh

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Tefillin (Phylacteries) Assemblage from the Judean Desert: A Work-in-Progress

Yonatan Adler, Ariel University

12:30 - 1:00 PM EDT [7:30 - 8:00 PM IDT]: Break 1:00 - 3:00 PM EDT [8:00 - 10:00 PM IDT]: Launching the Qumranica (SQE) Virtual Scholarly Environment Chair: Esther Chazon Scripta Qumranica Electronica: The Vision, Concept, and Challenges of a New Online Platform for the Dead Sea Scrolls Reinhard Kratz, University of Göttingen and Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority A Short Tour of the Qumranica Platform

Bronson Brown deVost, University of Göttingen Digital and Material Reconstruction of Highly Fragmentary Scrolls Jonathan Ben-Dov, Tel Aviv University and Eshbal Ratzon, Ariel University Towards a New Edition of 4QInstruction: The Case of the Prologue Asaf Gayer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Tuesday, June 8, 2021 9:00 - 11:00 AM EDT [4:00 - 6:00 PM IDT]: Manuscript and Text Chair: Eileen Schuller, McMaster University Do 11Q19 and 11Q20 Represent Different Recensions of the Temple Scroll? Methodological Considerations Andrew Gross, Catholic University of America 4QpaleoExodm (4Q22) and the ‘Samaritan’ Tenth Commandment. Hila Dayfani, University of Oxford, Oriel College Pesher Habakkuk: From Behind the Scenes of a Forthcoming New Commentary Noam Mizrachi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Dead Sea Scrolls and Authorship George Brooke, University of Manchester 11:00 - 11:30 AM EDT [6:00 - 6:30 PM IDT]: Break 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM EDT [6:30 - 9:00 PM IDT]: Aramaic and Parabiblical Texts Chair: Joseph Angel. Yeshiva University A God’s-Eye View: The Perception of Sacrifice in Aramaic Levi Liane Feldman, New York University Is There 'Poetry' in the 'Prose' of the Genesis Apocryphon? Moshe J. Bernstein, Yeshiva University Books and Writings in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran Devorah Dimant, University of Haifa What Did Levi Do? James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame 'Seal the Words of the Scroll until the Time of the End' (Daniel 12:4): Hidden Manuscripts and the Search for a New Biblical Past Eva Mroczek, University of California, Davis Wednesday, June 9, 2021 9:00 - 11:00 AM EDT [4:00 - 6:00 PM IDT]: Legal and Sectarian Texts Chair: Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska 'Bringing the Messiah(s) Through Law': Reflections upon Completing a New Commentary to the Damascus Document Steven Fraade, Yale University Inter-sectarian Polemic in Miqsat Ma`asei Ha-Torah (4QMMT) Vered Noam, Tel Aviv University On Timing and Law: A Multimodal Analysis of the Maskil in 4Q259 James M. Tucker, University of Toronto The Temple Scroll and Mishnah Middot: A Literary Comparison Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EDT [6:30 - 8:00 PM IDT]: Scripture, Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism Chair: Alison Schofield, University of Denver Why Did Moses Stay for Forty Days and Forty Nights on Mt. Sinai? Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School Lived Wisdom in Early Judaism Elisa Uusimäki, Aarhus University Are the Dead Sea Scrolls Authentic? Insights from Early Qumran Scholarship Michael Langlois, University of Strasbourg 1:00 - 1:30 PM EDT [8:00 - 8:30 IDT]: Break 1:30 - 2:30 PM EDT [8:30 - 9:30 PM IDT]: War and Violence in the Scrolls Chair: Liane Feldman, New York University “Deep into that darkness peering “: New Light on the War Scroll (1QM) Guy Stiebel, Tel Aviv University The Origins of Violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Sociological Perspective Alex Jassen, New York University 2:30 - 3:00 PM EDT (9:30 - 10:00 PM IDT]: Closing Remarks and Thanks Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority Joe Uziel, Israel Antiquities Authority Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University

HT Agade