RIP Jim Aitken

This Good Friday is doubly bittersweet. I learned that Jim Aitken has passed away after a major heart attack. Jim was an outstanding scholar of the Septuagint and many other things who was always very generous with his time and energies with colleagues and students. I had the opportunity to have many interactions with him at conferences and online, as well as reading through Greek documentary papyri with him and others during Covid. He will be sorely missed.

Kantor on Greek Orthography

Benjamin Kantor has a very interesting article on using epigraphic and papyrological evidence for reconstructing spelling in the New Testament. He argues that this evidence allows the reconstruction of several spelling practices that more accurately reflect the time period of the New Testament authors than what are preserved in modern critical editions.

Verse Order in Hebrew Acrostics

I just reread a fascinating article on varying alphabetical orders and the (re-)arrangement of verses accordingly in alphabetic acrostics like Lamentations and the Psalms. A very interesting read, if you're not familiar with the issue.

Christian Palestinian Aramaic Fragment of Joshua

In this Fragment of the Month, Christa Müller-Kessler discusses a Christian Palestinian Aramaic fragment of the book of Joshua on a palimpsest from the Cairo Genizah. The Christian Palestinian Aramaic is a very interesting version, but not well attested or widely known, so any fragment that has survived is important.

Competition for Deciphering Herculaneum Rolls

Brent Seales and his team have announced a new competition to see who can read rolled up and carbonized Herculaneum scrolls. Unlike the En Gedi Leviticus scroll that had metallic ink, up to now it has proven very difficult to read these Herculaneum scrolls that used a carbon-based ink. So this would truly be an important development in the field.

Saqqara Book of the Dead

Owen Jarus republishes images of the new 16 meter-long Book of the Dead recently discovered intact in Saqqara.

Mirotadze on Greek Esther

Natia Mirotadze has published a brief and helpful discussion of the various Greek versions of Esther and the Old Georgian evidence. At risk of a shameless plug, for those who are interested in further details on the tradition of Esther and the Old Georgian texts, see several articles in the volume From Scribal Error to Rewriting that we co-edited together with Anneli Aejmelaeus.