Noonan on Non-Semitic Loanwords

Benjamin Noonan provides an interesting overview article based on his book on non-Semitic loanwords in the Hebrew Bible. He suggests that Egyptian loanwords predominate in the earlier texts of the Hebrew Bible, while later texts have much more influence from Greek and Old Iranian.

Ph.D. Scholarship in Louvain-la-Neuve

Matthieu Richelle has posted on Agade a call for applications for a Ph.D. scholarship at the The Catholic University in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). It sounds like an exciting opportunity to work on interesting textual problems with an excellent scholar!

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Call for applications : PhD scholarship in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

The Catholic University in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) invites applications for a two-year (renewable once) doctoral scholarship starting in Fall/Winter 2020.

This FSR Seedfund fellowship will be ascribed to a student writing a PhD dissertation, in English or in French, under the supervision of Matthieu Richelle, professor in the Faculty of Theology and member of the RSCS Institute.

This dissertation will be based on a research project concerning the so-called Miscellanies: two passages in the Books of Kings that are proper to the Septuagint (3 Kingdoms 2,35a-k et 46a-k). They contain some material that appears elsewhere in Kings, interspersed between 1 Kgs 5,2 and 1 Kgs 11,27. But they also include information without any parallel. The main objective of the dissertation is to shed light on the origins of the Miscellanies thanks to a methodology that combines diachronic and synchronic methods: textual and compositional analysis on the one hand; structural and narrative criticisms on the other.

For further details about the research project, the starting date of the scholarship, and financial aspects, please contact Matthieu Richelle (matt_richelle@yahoo.fr).

How to apply ?
Send a CV, a cover letter (1-2 pages) and a letter of recommendation to Matthieu Richelle (matt_richelle@yahoo.fr) by 15 July 2020.

The Damascus Psalm Fragment: Middle Arabic and the Legacy of Old Ḥigāzī

Ahmad Al-Jallad (with a contribution by Ronny Vollandt) has published an open access volume on a fascinating Arabic psalter written in Greek script: The Damascus Psalm Fragment: Middle Arabic and the Legacy of Old Ḥigāzī.

Abbreviations is Psalm Manuscripts

In this month's Genizah Fragment of the Month, Kim Phillips describes A Shorthand Psalter: T-S A43.8. Looking at this personal production—as well as the note sheet T-S A40.34—Kim shows how writers could abbreviate well-known psalms as reference guides for recitation.

Kaifeng Torah Scroll

Ilana Tahan posts an interesting discussion on a Torah scroll from Kaifeng, China, with background on the history of Jews in China.

Ariel Sabar on Dirk Obbink

Ariel Sabar has done another great exposé on the current controversies involving stolen papyri, Dirk Obbink, Scott Carroll, the Green and Stimer collections, and the Egypt Exploration Fund. It is a fascinating and revealing read in an ongoing saga.

HT ETC

Jodi Magness Tour of Qumran

I recently came across a series of YouTube videos of Jodi Magness giving a tour of Qumran, for those who are interested.