From: owner-ane@ (ANE Digest) To: ane-digest Subject: ANE Digest V1998 #284 Reply-To: Sender: owner-ane@ Errors-To: owner-ane@ Precedence: bulk ANE Digest Wednesday, October 14 1998 Volume 1998 : Number 284 ane Cyrus Gordon and his book (was: two random details) Re: ane Ancient Board-Games Re: ane Amenhotep III, Deification ane Re: Amenhotep III biography Re: ane Ane: Poseidon ane Ancient Board-Games Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis ane NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT Re: ane hippos and Linear A Re: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis ane Newsletter for pre-Modern Hebrew ane Midwest AOS Call for Papers ane The Priests=?iso-8859-1?Q?=B9 Chromosome??= ane Linear A ane Re: Cyrus Gordon ane Phoenician Alphabet Re: ane The =?iso-8859-1?Q?Priests=B9?= Chromosome? Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Re: ane Ancient Board-Games Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 04:49:42 -0400 From: Christopher Robbins Subject: ane Cyrus Gordon and his book (was: two random details) Peter T. Daniels wrote (in part): >Allen Adler wrote: >> Now, one more fact that may be relevant here is that in 1965, Cyrus Gordon >> wrote another book (which I haven't seen yet) entitled: >> "The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations". >> (snip) >> Question: How is Gordon's book "The Common Background..." regarded by >> scholars today? > >Bernal's discussion of its reception, in *Black Athena* vol. 1, is >pretty accurate. Bernal, of course, requires Cyrus Gordon and Michael Astour (Gordon's hired protégé at Brandeis). After the presumed epiphany in which "Almost immediately, (Bernal) realized that _this_ (refering to Late Ancient Egyptian, emphasis in the original) was the third outside language (of which the Greek vocabulary was, in his view, comprised), Bernal wonders "Why, if everything is as simple and obvious as (Bernal himself) maintain(s), has nobody seen it before?" Why, indeed. Anyway, for Bernal "This was answered when I read Gordon and Astour." Like Bernal, Gordon also has the unique ability to find "obvious" connections which "nobody (else has) seen before." For example, he set out to "demonstrate the existence of Phoenician or even early Jewish influence on America". But this was ridiculous at face value, and even Bernal reports that it made (Gordon) "appear ludicrous." As Bernal himself says "the obvious is not always false!", and Gordon's appearing "ludicrous" in this instance is a case in point. Better perhaps to attack an easier target, one where there is dearth of literary evidence, where exploitable ambiguity abounds, where the "'scientific' status of ancient history" can be brushed aside, where archaeology can be denigrated and dismissed almost with impunity, where a presumed "kernel of truth" in myth and legend is all you need to demonstrate your case (this latter being asserted by Astour and Bernal alike). Hmmm. As much as he needs Cyrus Gordon, however, even Martin Bernal must post some cover to his flanks by acknowledging that Gordon "destroyed his reputation as a 'sound' scholar", that he "has published all his later books with a small press owned by a family member", that he "is in many ways an academic pariah", and that his work, _Ugaritic Grammar_, notwithstanding, "for the past thirty years he has been on the fringes of academia and most scholars consider him a crank." Incidentally, I am not aware of any specific reference to Gordon's book, _The Common Background of Greek and Hebrew Civilizations_, in _Black Athena_, Vol. 1 nor of any particular discussion in regard to its reception. No doubt Peter Daniels will be able to direct me to the exact page where this book by Cyrus Gordon is mentioned by name and its reception is discussed, given Prof Daniels' concrete assurance above that such a specific reference and discussion exist in _BA_, Vol. 1. Christopher Robbins New York City crisica@idt.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 12:42:13 +0200 (IST) From: chaim cohen Subject: Re: ane Ancient Board-Games Dear Massimo and list members, I suggest we all begin appreciating the wonderful new book by W.W. Hallo, ORIGINS (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1996). There, you will find the latest complete discussion (as far as I know) of "Games" (including board games) with complete bibliography on pages 110-119. All the best, Chaim Cohen On Sun, 11 Oct 1998, Massimo Montanari wrote: > I'm a Egyptologist's student in the Bologna University (Italy). > I'm working to degree thesis about the board-games in Ancient Egypt > and Near East. > Who can help me about? > > Thanks! > > Best Regard > > Milena Montanari > e-mail: montanari@telcanet.it > BAZZANO - BOLOGNA (ITALY) > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 11:04:31 AST From: Tom Simms Subject: Re: ane Amenhotep III, Deification On Mon, 12 Oct 1998 17:27:08 -0700, montre@redshift.com writes: > >Greetings: (I leave all of Ben's comments so his ideas get better seen.) >A prolonged and continuing illness has reduced this independent >researcher's activity on the ANE list for more than a year. During >most of this time the list has been under a moratorium banning >discussion of the historicity of Israel, now continuing as a ban on >discussion of the Exodus only. Due to the controversial nature of >my work I requested the advice of the list owner as to my >proposed discussion of the reign of Amenhotep III, in some detail >but with no suggestions regarding other matters. I believe that the >following is in conformity with his response. >Therefore: > >The deification of Amenhotep III. I have been and continue to be >surprised by the paucity of list discussion on this most splendid of >Egypt's kings. What was his position in the world of his day? How >does his reign really compare to other kings such as the great >conqueror Tutmose III and the much more publicized Ramesses II. >What was his importance in the monotheistic activities of his much >more famous son, Akhenaten? > >Two modern books by recognized experts offer quotes which are >enlightening in relation to this last question. > >Cyril Aldred said ( p.58) that this king was >regarded as both "the offspring and the incarnation" of a "single >universal and supreme divinity" toward which his dynasty had been >moving. Note that Aldred did not make this statement about >Akhenaten. He said that it was Amenhotep III who was the >incarnation of the universal god. > >Published 16 years later, Donald Redford's (Heretic King> p. 234) includes a very important point along the >same line but slightly obfuscated by the fact that the author chose >to replace the commonly used "Aten" with its English translation, >"disc." Re-translated to emphasize the more popular name of the >god of Egyptian monotheism we have this important statement as, >"What it was, Akhenaten tells us plainly enough: the (Aten) was his >father, the universal king." The Aten was Amenhotep III. Thus the >two best known and respected, I believe, books on ancient Egypt's >monotheistic moment have both offered brief but powerful force to >the effect that Amenhotep III was the center of that great heresy >normally attributed to his son, Akhenaten. > >Many years later I can only wonder, didn't anyone else notice these >statements? > >I will postpone discussion of the most interesting findings of W. >Raymond Johnson. His 1990 (Cleveland Museum) and 1991 (KMT >Summer) publication of these findings (on the deification of >Amenhotep III) might have been expected to create a considerable >ripple in the realm of Egyptology. But again, I can find no sign of >any such interest in his ideas on this list. To me these findings >strongly confirmed and strengthened the above positions of Aldred >and Redford. Ben notes the difference in dates (sixteen years) of the two quotes. Aldred in his last book, 1988, well after Redford's, notes the same conclusion again on pp. 174-75 only states more plainly that Amen Hetep III and Tiye were garbed as if deified. Raymond Johnson had only just published a paper (1987) arguing for that view, which I'll leave to Ben to describe. Nonetheless, Aldred(1988) published on p. 175 evidence from Carter's and others' work on the Great Temple to the Aten at Amarna of offerings to the Aten in his later nomen by both Amen Hetep III in his prenomen and by Akhu En Aten, cited by Fairman, which seems to argue both were living. Johnson's work, being mostly from epigraphic changes at Thebes, cements that earlier argument. I have, courtesy of Ben, the 1987 paper from Cleveland given by Johnson. Courstey of Federico Rocchi, I have Johnson's 1991 paper from _Acts 6th International Congress of Egyptologists_ at Turin that year. Also, courtesy also of Rocchi, I have Johnson's 1996 _JEA, 82_, paper too. Each argues forcefully the same thing, one piled on the previous, that Amen Hetep III stepped up to living divinity with his First Jubilee. So then, we must view Akhu En Aten's cult was of his father living AND dead but divine. I suspect the infamous excisions of the father's personal name were to fit the death, but Johnson, as my search of the three papers suggests, did not make that argument. He argues, instead, most forcefully in his 1996 paper, it was directed at the gods of Thebes themselves, which is another matter. >Thus, with the exception of the impact of the great show put >together at the Cleveland Museum (1992) Amenhotep III remains, >to the world at large, a seldom mentioned and not very interesting >ruler who preceded the famous, if freakish, Akenaten and that other >universal symbol of Egyptian glory, Ramesses II. Of course this >generalist has not attempted a search of the literature relating to >this reign. Perhaps someone within the academic community will be >willing to broaden our view on the question of the deification of >this great king. The footnetes alone of the 1991 Turin paper are an education in themselves. >My question for list members who are teaching Egyptologists is >this: Are your students being equipped with the best knowledge, >including discussion of the above, of that great slice of Egyptian >history called Amarna? If not, why not? Well, Ben, thanks for bringing up this point. I have at hand two splendid books that bear on this issue, both from, IMO at least, a respectable publisher, Thames and Hudson, both by Nicholas Reeves, the second with Richard Wilkinson, first, _The complete Tutankhamun_ (1995); second _The Complete Valley of the Kings_ (1997). Both had earlier first printings but the previosity's the same. The first book references fully the post mortems done in the late 1960's of Tut and Smenkh Ka Ra and all the items set out to establish the identities and the co-regency as set down by Aldred in 1988. Curiously, the second text leaves out almost all that material and reverts to the 1907 reading of the identity of the remains from the Amarna Cache (KV-55) in the Kings' Valley. I say curious because the notice of the identifying piece of gold foil from the KV-55 mummy found in Germany this decade had to have been known to the two authors. One more question, eh Ben? > >Ben Lyon >Monterey > More K8R Tom Simms Saint John, N. B. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 10:15:14 -0500 From: "Eric H. Cline" Subject: ane Re: Amenhotep III biography In response to Ben Lyons, and as Gary Greenberg has very observantly pointed out, the first biography of Amenhotep III has indeed just been published by the University of Michigan Press (1998). Co-edited by David O'Connor and myself, it contains contributions by Larry Berman, Betsy Bryan, Ray Johnson, Arielle Kozloff, David O'Connor, Bill Murnane, Jim Weinstein, Eric Cline, Ken Kitchen, and John Baines. The volume is available from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, in addition to the University of Michigan Press of course. For further information and links, go to http:/oz.uc.edu/~clinee/Edited.html. I send below the Table of Contents, for those interested. Cheers, Eric H. Cline _Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign_ David O'Connor and Eric H. Cline, eds. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1998. Table of Contents Abbreviations Illustrations Ch. 1 Overview of Amenhotep III and His Reign (Larry Berman) 1 Ch. 2 Antecedents to Amenhotep III (Betsy Bryan) 27 Ch. 3 Monuments and Monumental Art under Amenhotep III: Evolution and Meaning (W. Raymond Johnson) 63 Ch. 4 The Decorative and Funerary Arts during the Reign of Amenhotep III (Arielle Kozloff) 95 Ch. 5 The City and the World: Worldview and Built Forms in the Reign of Amenhotep III (David O'Connor) 125 Ch. 6 The Organization of Government under Amenhotep III (William Murnane) 173 Ch. 7 The World Abroad 223 Egypt and the Levant in the Reign of Amenhotep III (James M. Weinstein 223 Amenhotep III, the Aegean, and Anatolia (Eric H. Cline) 236 Amenhotep III and Mesopotamia (Kenneth Kitchen) 250 Amenhotep III and Nubia (David O'Connor) 261 Ch. 8 The Dawn of the Amarna Age (John Baines) 271 Bibliography 313 Contributors 373 Title Index 375 Subject Index 379 Plates 395 - ----- Eric H. Cline, Ph.D. Dept of Classics 410 Blegen Library University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH 45221-0226 Ph: 513-556-3170 (office) FAX: 513-556-4366 Email: clinee@email.uc.edu WebPage: http://oz.uc.edu/~clinee/Welcome.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 16:54:27 +0200 From: Banyai@t-online.de (Banyai) Subject: Re: ane Ane: Poseidon Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote: > >Maybe iqo / ipo are only dialectal forms in Mycenian Greek. > > I don't think there is an "ipo" in Mycenaean... Except if one takes that upojo... > >Ipo may have later > >mutated to the known hippos. There are however traces preserved in the > Balkan > >substratus languages of an originar Ipo. The romanian word for mare is Iapa. > > The shift kw > p is certainly trivial enough to have happened > independently in P-Celtic (Gaulish and British), in Osco-Umbrian, in > Romanian and in Sardinian, as well as in Greek. However, in Greek it > happened to happen *after* Mycenaean times. I don't think there is a > single instance of *kw > p in the Linear B corpus. Is there? I can´t help. BTW one might enlarge the former list, I think, by the celtical godess Epona. Is there any one to correct me? Anyhow I wonder that the switch kw>p should have happened on such a broad front independently at so many places so late after the Mycenian times, especially in connection with this special word. I don´t intend to contradict you. Regards, Banyai Michael Leonberg Banyai@t-online.de ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 12:44:57 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) From: "Carl S. Ehrlich" Subject: ane Ancient Board-Games On games in the ANE in general see Ulrich Huebner's (ue = u + Umlaut) article on "Games" in Eric M. Meyers, ed., _Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East_ (New York-Oxford: Oxford University, 1997) 2:379-382. Huebner has also written a book on the subject in German, which is both comprehensive and includes voluminous secondary literature. I believe that it appeared in OBO. Unfortunately, my copy of the book is in my office, and I am checking my email at home, so I cannot at present convey any more exact information. Carl Ehrlich +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Professor Carl S. Ehrlich + + Director of Undergraduate Studies + + Division of Humanities + + York University-Toronto + + North York, Ontario M3J 1P3 + + Canada + + Email: ehrlich@yorku.ca + + Phone: +1-416-736-2100 x-77021 + + Fax: +1-416-661-8064 + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 12:52:26 -0400 From: "Richard Stern" Subject: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Several comments on this thread: Avigdor suggests that an asherah is simply a pole or tree with no personality. Have you considered the relation of the Menorah to the Asherah? Further, for those of you in the Washington DC area, there is (and has been for many years) a magnificent Asherah at the corner of Macomb St. and Mass. Ave. NW (NW corner) with a great deal of "personality". Take a look. Regarding "to YHWH of Samaria and his Asherah," and the similar inscriptions: the conclusion is reasonable that Asherah means consort in this context. But it is also not unreasonable to think that the statement means "to YHWH and his sacred cultic symbol". Suppose you found an inscription that said "to YHWH and his Shekinah"....would you have to conclude that Shekinah referred to a consort of YHWH? Asherah _might_ be just a hypostesization of HaShem rather than a female deity. (And the Qedeshim _might_ be chaste cultic personnel.) Yes, there is a female figure on the same fragment, at least in one case. But it is not sure that the inscription refers to the figure, or that if it does the "Asherah" in the inscription refers to the female figure. (Please forgive me if this is beginning to sound like the Minimalist critique of the United Kingdom and Kings David and Solomon.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Best wishes, Richard H. Stern email: rstern@ablondifoster.com web: www.ablondifoster.com snail: 1150 18th St. NW - Ste. 900, Wash. DC 20036 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 15:11:12 -0400 From: Judith Weingarten Subject: ane NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT Posted with the permission of Chuck Jones. SIGN OF TAURUS: The Archaeological Worlds of Gerti Bierenbroodspot by Judith Weingarten with an introduction by the travel-writer Harm Botje; principal photography Erik Hesmerg. In English, hard cover edition, 304 pp, 150 full-colour, 135 b&w illustrations Printed in Holland by Wanders Publishers: $65 plus p&p Like the painters of a past Golden Age, the Dutch artist Bierenbroodspot spends three months ever year travelling along the magnificent archaeological trails of the Middle East. For the last ten years she has been living and working among the ruins of three great Caravan Cities: PETRA, PALMYRA, and BAALBECK. SIGN OF TAURUS describes Bierenbroodspot's travels, the sites and their histories, and discusses the complex and interactive affair of her recent work, the extraordinary transformation of ancient images into modern paintings of true authority and beauty. Bierenbroodspot uses archaeological worlds as the starting point for her paintings, sculpture and wall-rubbings, creating a highly personal vision of a modernity grand in theme as well as in manner. "Archaeological worlds are like parallel worlds, places that may have once existed in time, been inhabited and gone, although that's not the important thing now: rather they are worlds poised between the familiar and something altogether new, like moon-rocks brought back to earth. These are the in-between creative spaces which can only be entered when you leave the quotidian behind. In that re-created space, Bierenbroodspot refracts glowing artefacts *a thousand years old and yet newborn*, burning with the warmth of her lustrous illustrations." Bierenbroodspot's artistic inspiration comes from the Middle East. In 1996, her work in Petra was crowned by a major exhibition, presented by H.M. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands to H.M. King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, a form of gift exchange that should be familiar to every ANE archaeologist. In 1998 she became the first foreigner (and certainly the first woman ever) to be granted honorary citizenship of Baalbeck in Lebanon. NB: The text is NOT academic or strictly archaeological, but there's a lot of history, myth, etc., besides some fabulous photographs. But the main interest is, of course, the how and why a superb modern artist uses and transforms archaeological images. Orders with the usual credit card data from the publisher: info@waanders.nl Cordially, Judith Weingarten ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 14:22:20 -0500 From: "James P. Robinson III" Subject: Re: ane hippos and Linear A At 11:56 AM 10/12/98 +0200, Bjarte Kaldhol wrote: >Dear listmembers, >There are two problems with Greek hippos as compared to equus etc.: the >aspiration (possibly secondary) and the vowel i. Perhaps this word is not >IE at all? Or it may be influenced by a substrate. > As for Linear A, there may be several languages using this script. I have heard the assertion several times that there may have been a number of different languages being spoken on Crete in the pre-Linear B time period (presumably not all dialects of a single language). What is the evidence for this assertion and is there a corollary assertion that there were several distinct culture on the island? - -- ************************************************************************ James P. Robinson III jprobins@ix.netcom.com ************************************************************************ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 15:53:09 EDT From: Roskop@aol.com Subject: Re: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis In a message dated 10/13/98 1:31:38 PM, you wrote: <> Either option suggested here is a *possible* interpretation of Ashera in the Ajrud inscription - the question is which is more likely. This can be argued several ways. I have so far been most convinced by the parallel raised in an article by P. Xella (La dieu et "sa" deesse, UF 27 (1995):599=96610). Xella not only gives examples of a suffix on a divine name, but also points out that "male deity X and his goddess (consort) Y" is a common formula, at Ebla (and possibly elsewhere), I believe, but my xerox is not at hand. I have found this to be the most convincing because it is the closest parallel in formula to what we have in the Ajrud inscription. I would be interested to hear other arguments (e.g., why we might prefer McCarter's theory that the asherah is a cultic object over Xella's explanation). Sincerely, Angela Roskop ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 16:45:24 -0400 (EDT) From: morsil@webtv.net Subject: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Hi Victor- I must be dense today. I do not see your point of your reference to Kaufmann. Can you please spell it out for my benefit? Best, Morris Morris Silver Department of Economics City College of New York ANCIENT ECONOMIES I http://members.tripod.com/~sondmor/index.html ANCIENT ECONOMIES II http://www.angelfire.com/ms/ancecon/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 18:00:52 -0500 From: "Charles E. Jones" Subject: ane Newsletter for pre-Modern Hebrew Forwarded on behalf of the undersigned, to whom responses and inquiries should be directed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: "M.F.J. Baasten" Subj: Newsletter for pre-Modern Hebrew Dear Hebrew scholar, This is just to remind you that we shall soon be preparing the Newsletter for pre-Modern Hebrew, no. 3, and you are kindly requested to send us news from your end by November 1, so that we may be able to publish the newsletter before the end of the month. If you know of any Hebrew scholar whose name has not appeared on the last two issues but who may wish to share information with fellow Hebraists, please encourage him or her to send us data. You may send data either by the regular mail or per e-mail to the following addresses: Prof. dr. T. Muraoka Near Eastern Studies Leiden University P.O. Box 9515 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands Muraoka@rullet.LeidenUniv.nl Please remember that we shall not be able to retrieve data sent per e-mail in a Hebrew font. Yours sincerely, Prof. T. Muraoka ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 18:05:22 -0500 From: "Charles E. Jones" Subject: ane Midwest AOS Call for Papers Forwarded on behalf of the undersigned, to whom responses and inquiries should be directed. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From: RAverbeckTEDS _______________________________________________________ Midwest Region Annual Meeting: Society of Biblical Literature American Oriental Society American Society of Oriental Research Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion 3101 Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio, 45220 September 28, 1998 Dear Midwestern Members of the SBL, AOS, and ASOR: I am pleased to announce that plans are proceeding for the next annual joint meeting of our societies scheduled for February 14-16, 1999 (Sunday late afternoon or evening through Tuesday noon). Our host this year is Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45220 (tel. # 513-221-1875). Professor David Weisberg has been busy as coordinator of local arrangements. You will find the following enclosed: (1) A Pre-Registration Form (to be submitted by January 22, 1999). As you complete the form, be sure to note your banquet preference. (2) Housing Information. We have made arrangements for a hotel about 2 miles from the College. The hotel will provide a shuttle service between the College and the hotel. Note: you should contact the hotel to make reservations by January 29, 1999. (3) An Abstract Form (to be submitted by January 1, 1999). We hope that each of you will consider reading a paper on the theme "Daily Life in the Ancient Near East" or some other topic in the field of your current research. See the announcement and call for papers below. Should you have any questions, please contact me for AOS/ASOR or Robert D. Haak for SBL. The Sunday program of the SBL/AOS/ASOR meeting itself may begin in the afternoon, but members should at least plan on the special plenary session (ca. 7:00-9:00 PM). It will be devoted to "Daily Life in the Ancient Near East." After the evening session there will be a reception hosted by Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion. Professor Mark W. Chavalas (AOS Midwest president) will deliver his presidential address on Monday evening. The title of his address will be "Babel and Bible: A Century Later." You will not want to miss hearing all about how far we have or have not come this Century! All pre-registrants will receive a complete program of the meeting and a map with arrival instructions prior to the meeting. We look forward to your attendance and participation in the conference. Have a good fall season! I am Sincerely yours, Richard E. Averbeck Office: (847) 317-8017 Fax: (847)-317-8141 1999 Program Coordinator Home: (414) 697-1877 Midwest SBL/AOS/ASOR e-mail: INTERNET:RAverbeck@compuserve.com ************************* DAILY LIFE IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST February 14-16, 1999 Hebrew Union College Cincinnati, Ohio The Midwest Region of the American Oriental Society (MWAOS) hereby announces to colleagues far and wide that our topic for this year's joint meeting with the Midwest Regional Organizations of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) will be "Daily Life in the Ancient Near East." The meeting will be held at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 14-16, 1999 (Sunday late afternoon or evening through Tuesday noon). Plenary speakers for the conference include: Daniel Snell (Sumer), Samuel Greengus (Mesopotamian and Biblical Law), David Weisberg (Babylonia), Harry Hoffner (Hatti), Anson Rainey (Canaan-Israel), Jim Hoffmeier (Egypt), Carol Meyers (Hebrew Bible), and Bruce Malina (New Testament). Others are also invited to propose papers that contribute to the topic. The intent is to publish an edited volume of proceedings from the conference, including both the plenary addresses and other worthy papers. All who are interested in reading a paper related to this topic at the meeting should contact the Program Coordinator at their earliest convenience. Those who are interested in the topic but live abroad or do not belong to the Midwest Region of either the AOS, SBL, or ASOR are also invited to participate either by reading a paper or by attending. All are welcome! Sincerely yours, Richard E. Averbeck Office: (847) 317-8017 1999 Program Coordinator Fax: (847)-317-8141 Midwest AOS/SBL/ASOR Home: (414) 697-1877 Trinity Evangelical Divinity School e-mail: RAverbeck@compuserve.com 2065 Half Day Road Deerfield, IL 60015 ************************* PRE-REGISTRATION FORM DEADLINE: JANUARY 22, 1999 Midwest Region Annual Meeting: Society of Biblical Literature American Oriental Society American Society of Oriental Research Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion 3101 Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio, 45220 Name__________________________________________________ Institution______________________________________________ Address________________________________________________ City, state, country________________________________Zip Code___________ Daytime telephone: Area Code_______Number_________________ e-mail: _____________________________ Circle society affiliation: SBL AOS ASOR Meeting Registration Fee: (includes all conference materials and refreshment breaks, etc.) _____ $25 Full Registration if paid by January 22, 1999 _____ $30 After January 22 _____ $15 Student _____ $5 Spouse fee _____ $16 Banquet, no. attending ___ circle one: __Meat (no.__) __Vegetarian (no.__) __Kosher (no.__) Total Enclosed________ Make check payable to: American Oriental Society, Middle West Branch. Mail to: Richard E. Averbeck Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 2065 Half Day Road Deerfield, IL 60015 ************************* HOUSING INFORMATION DEADLINE: January 29th, 1999 Midwest Region Annual Meeting: Society of Biblical Literature American Oriental Society American Society of Oriental Research FEBRUARY 14-16, 1999 1. Hotel accommodations for the annual meeting have been arranged for February 13-15 (Satruday evening through Monday evening) at the VERNON MANOR HOTEL, 400 Oak Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219, (513) 281-3300. *You should contact the Vernon Manor Hotel directly (ask for SBL/AOS/ASOR meeting arrangements -- Mari Beth Schmidt is the official contact person). A shuttle service will be provided between the hotel and the church (ca. 2 miles). Rooms have been contracted with the hotel at a rate of $94 per night for a double (2 double beds) or $84 per night for a single. PLEASE NOTE: after the January 29th, 1999 deadline rooms will be provided on a space available basis only. 2. Dormitory accommodations (i.e., a regular dorm room with community shower, etc.) will also be available on the campus of Hebrew Union College at a rate of $20 per night. There will be separate floors for men and women. To make reservations call Hebrew Union College (513-221-1875) and ask for Judy Greer or contact her by e-mail: jugreer@cn.huc.edu. ************************* ABSTRACT FORM DEADLINE: JANUARY 1, 1999 FOR THE SBL: FOR AOS/ASOR: Robert E. Haak Richard E. Averbeck Religion Department Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Augustana College 2065 Half Day Road 639 38th Street Deerfield, Illinois 60015 Rock Island, IL 61201-2296 e-mail: RAverbeck@compuserve.com e-mail: rehaak@augustana.edu FAX: 847-317-8141 I propose to read a paper entitled: _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Please type your abstract below and limit it to 100 words. Special requirements needed for my presentation (circle): slide projector overhead projector chalk board maps other _______________________ ___ I am willing to chair a session devoted to the following area of interest (Hebrew Bible, NT, Assyriology, archaeology, etc.):________________________________ NAME_____________________________________________ CIRCLE SOCIETY AFFILIATION: SBL AOS ASOR CIRCLE ONE: faculty member student independent scholar STUDENTS PLEASE PROVIDE AN ENDORSEMENT HERE FROM ONE OF YOUR PROFESSORS:__________________________________________ INSITUTIONAL AFFILIATION (if any) _____________________________________ MAILING ADDRESS_________________________________________________ ______________________________PHONE (_____)______________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 19:22:47 -0400 From: barrett@sover.net Subject: ane The Priests=?iso-8859-1?Q?=B9 Chromosome??= The following is an abstract and it's references from Science News Online (The full text version of this article is not on-line, but is most interesting.) Best, Helen http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/10_3_98/Bob1ref.htm The Priests¹ Chromosome? DNA analysis supports the biblical story of the Jewish priesthood. An analysis of Y chromosomes, which pass from father to son, indicates that Jewish priests, or cohanim, may stem from an ancestor who lived several thousands years ago.   References: Thomas, M.G., et al. 1998. Origins of Old Testament priests. Nature 394(July 9):138. Further Readings: Adler, T. 1995. Lineage of Y chromosome boosts Eve theory. Science News 147(May 27):326. Skorecki, K., et al. 1997. Y chromosomes of Jewish priests. Nature 385(Jan. 2):32. Travis, J. 1997. Jomon genes. Science News 151(Feb. 15):106. ______. 1997. Debunking a myth about sperms¹ DNA. Science News 151(Jan. 25):58. Sources: David B. Goldstein University of Oxford Department of Zoology Oxford OX1 3PS United Kingdom Karl Skorecki Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute Haifa 31096 Israel Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman San Francisco State University Jewish Studies Program HUM 416/426 1600 Holloway Avenue San Francisco, CA 94132 From Science News, Vol. 154, No. 14, October 3, 1998, p. 218. Copyright Ó 1998 by Science Service. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 01:43:12 +0200 From: "Bjarte Kaldhol" Subject: ane Linear A Dear listmembers, I was asking for a Semitic explanation of the suffixes of the Minoan root una-, that is: not for similarities, but for exact correspondences. Where are they? And where do we find a root 'una-'??? When reading Linear A, I use the known values of Linear B. There are enough correspondences now (particularly place names) to show that most -- if not all -- of the syllabograms that are common to the two scripts must have similar values. These two scripts were used almost simultaneously in the same city (Knossos), and since Linear B was not rearranged to suit the Greek language particularly well, there is in my opinion little reason to suppose that the sound values of the syllabograms were much different except perhaps in a few cases. Therefore one should not maintain that the 'phonology is only assumed'. This would be to go too far. To compare these two scripts to Latin and Cyrillic is not a good analogy. The Romans did not use Cyrillic in Rome. We should not look for analogies, but rather try to understand what we see with our own eyes. In fact, most active researchers in the field today agree that Linear A can be read with the values of Linear B, and the syllabograms of both scripts are identified with the letters AB followed by a number. Unless surprise discoveries should make the assumption of similar values untenable, I prefer to work as if Linear A can be read on the basis of the known values from Linear B. As for the commas, they are mine, but the sentence clearly consists of three parts: inawa ari izurinita ari idapa(.)isari (possibly only one word) and has the typical form of an incantation. Ina is a man's name known from Pylos, and ida- is a root with the suffixes ida-a (compare una-a) ida-mate ida-mi ida-pa (pa3) etc. When I think that Minoan (or one of the Minoan languages) is agglutinative, this is precisely because the known roots seem to be unchangeable and that the 'shifts in meaning seem to be accomplished through affixes', as Whiting correctly states. But dear Bob, what do you mean by 'easily' -- responding to my question if any any Near Eastern language can be related to this sentence? To which language can this sentence 'easily' be related? Regards, Bjarte Kaldhol ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 21:20:28 EDT From: SheMichael@aol.com Subject: ane Re: Cyrus Gordon Why was a screed posted against Cyrus Gordon? Gordon has been the adored mentor of generations of cuneiform scholars. Sheila Shiki y Michaels ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 20:10:43 PDT From: "David Rosenbaum" Subject: ane Phoenician Alphabet Dear List Members, I have developed a website devoted to the Phoenician Alphabet. Along with my shareware Moabite Font, it contains a discussion of the meaning of the individual letters, and of the ancient Near Eastern culture. NOTE: Since my BA is in Philosophy, this may well be too highly speculative for some of you. However, since I would like to present accurate information, I would appreciate your comments. Simply click on the "Phoenician Alphabet Link" at: http://members.tripod.com/~davidmyriad/david.myriad.home.index.html Shalom, David Rosenbaum e-mail: davidmyriad@bigfoot.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 00:23:17 -0500 From: Jack Kilmon Subject: Re: ane The =?iso-8859-1?Q?Priests=B9?= Chromosome? barrett@sover.net wrote: > > The following is an abstract and it's references from Science News > Online (The full text version of this article is not on-line, but is > most interesting.) Best, Helen > > http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/10_3_98/Bob1ref.htm > > The Priests¹ Chromosome? > > DNA analysis supports the biblical story of the Jewish > priesthood. An analysis of Y chromosomes, which pass from father to son, > indicates that Jewish priests, or cohanim, may stem from an ancestor who > lived several thousands years ago. > > References: > Thomas, M.G., et al. 1998. Origins of Old Testament priests. > Nature 394(July 9):138. > I haven't read the Nature Article yet and certainly plan to...but this story has made me uncomfortable since it became popular in the press. I have a background in molecular biology as well as ANE studies and there are so many opposing factors from both areas that I see so many red flags I would flunk a fundoscopy. I wont be presumptuous enough to challenge the "priest gene" (or accept it) until I have read the article and look closely at the origins of the sample pool. If the sample pool is from the various Ashkenazi families, i.e., Shapiros, Levis, etc, considered Cohanim, I'm going to need some basis for linking medieval Eurpean families to 2nd temple Palestine. I wont say more until I have read the article but will admit to being very skeptical at first blush. Jack - -- ______________________________________________ Min d'LA rokHEM l'maRAN yeSHUa meshyCHA niheYAH. maRAN aTHA Jack Kilmon jkilmon@historian.net http://www.historian.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 00:46:22 -0400 From: Irene Riegner Subject: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis - --------------7849032951D34BD93EE8BEF9 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, I would like to respond to some of the issues that have been raised: Angela Roskop wrote concerning the Kuntillet Ajrud inscription : > I have so far been most convinced by the parallel raised in an > article by P. Xella (La dieu et "sa" deesse, UF 27 (1995):599=96610). Xella > not > only gives examples of a suffix on a divine name, but also points out that > "male deity X and his goddess (consort) Y" is a common formula, at Ebla (and > possibly elsewhere), I believe, but my xerox is not at hand. I have found this > to be the most convincing because it is the closest parallel in formula to > what we have in the Ajrud inscription. > The difficulty with the inscription from Kuntillet Ajrud is the phrase "May you be blessed by YHVH AND HIS ASHERAH": Does "asherah" refer to the goddess by that name or to a sacred tree or pole. In the Hebrew bible, a proper name does not take a possessive pronoun ending, so such an ending would indicate that "asherah" refers to an object; yet the context does seem to suggest a person. A. Roskop believes the text refers to the goddess and cites evidence from Ebla that a possessive ending on a proper name is possible. However, Hebrew is a NW Semitic language and Eblaite is an East Semitic language, different branches of Semitic. Eblaite is syllabic and is written in cuneiform and contains many "Sumerianisms" in it. The language may be related to Old Akkadian, may be Akkadian or one of its dialects. If P. Xella is using texts from the archives, they date from the 3rd millennium bce; K.A. is dated between the 9th and 8th cent. bce. The distance in time and space and the different language groups would preclude using Ebla grammatical constructions as the basis for the Hebrew in K.A. as a reference to the goddess Asherah. Do any Ugaritic texts use a possessive with a proper name---especially one indicating a relationship between a goddess and a god? And Tilde Binger wrote: > Also, please be careful not to mix the Iron-age history of > Palestine/Israel/Judah with the fictional world of the OT. > I'm not sure what is meant by the "fictional world of the OT." Writers write from within their culture and with the language whose constructions, categories and expressions express that culture. One can critique this culture but one cannot stand outside of it---especially if one wants to communicate with those within the culture (as did the prophets). [My poetry teacher used to tell us to write from our experiences.] The prophetic view is "perspectival," but I'm not sure it's any less accurate than drawing conclusions about "Asherah" as Yhvh's consort solely from a few remains and a few inscriptions---these after all are also perspectival. I think we need a hypothesis that would account for both the inscriptions and for the absence of a prophetic critique of a consort of Yhvh. > Further, it is > highly doubtful whether "Israel's worship of Baal" is borne out in the > texts. Much seems to indicate that "worshipping Baal" is just another way of > saying "worshipping Yahweh the wrong way". > I find this intriguing since I had thought that the prophetic critique was aimed at both baal worship, where baal may refer to any god other than Yhvh, AND to a critique of what the prophets considered improper Yhvh worship. BTW Morris, couldn't the phrase in Amos 8.14, )$mt $mrn , refer to "the guilt of Samaria," that is to the calves of Jeroboam. There is a fem. form )$mh [ashamah]. Just to speculate: I wonder if the planting of an "asherah" next to an altar (DT 16.21) is a sign indicating the assimilation of the fertility function of Asherah to Yhvh? Dt 16.21 prohibits planting an "asherah," a tree, next to an altar. irene - --------------7849032951D34BD93EE8BEF9 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi,

I would like to respond to some of the issues that have been raised:

Angela Roskop wrote concerning the Kuntillet Ajrud inscription : 

I have so far been most convinced by the parallel raised in an
article by P. Xella (La dieu et "sa" deesse, UF 27 (1995):599=96610). Xella
not
only gives examples of a suffix on a divine name, but also points out that
"male deity X and his goddess (consort) Y" is a common formula, at Ebla (and
possibly elsewhere), I believe, but my xerox is not at hand. I have found this
to be the most convincing because it is the closest parallel in formula to
what we have in the Ajrud inscription.
 
The difficulty with the inscription from Kuntillet Ajrud is the phrase "May you be blessed by YHVH AND HIS ASHERAH":   Does "asherah" refer to the goddess by that name or to a sacred tree or pole.  In the Hebrew bible, a proper name does not take a possessive pronoun ending, so such an ending would indicate that "asherah" refers to an object;  yet the context does seem to  suggest a person.

A. Roskop believes the text refers to the goddess and cites evidence from Ebla that a possessive ending on a proper name is possible.

However, Hebrew is a NW Semitic language and Eblaite is an East Semitic language, different branches of Semitic.  Eblaite is syllabic and is written in cuneiform and contains many "Sumerianisms" in it.  The language may be related to Old Akkadian, may be Akkadian or one of its dialects.  If P. Xella is using texts from the archives, they date from the 3rd millennium bce;  K.A. is dated between the 9th and 8th cent. bce.  The distance in time and space and the different language groups would  preclude using Ebla grammatical constructions as the basis for the Hebrew in K.A. as a reference to the goddess Asherah.

Do any Ugaritic texts use a possessive with a proper name---especially one indicating a relationship between a goddess and a god?
 
And Tilde Binger wrote: 

Also, please be careful not to mix the Iron-age history of
Palestine/Israel/Judah with the fictional world of the OT.
 I'm not sure what is meant by the "fictional world of the OT."  Writers write from within their culture and with the language whose constructions, categories and expressions express that culture.  One can critique this culture but one cannot stand outside of it---especially if one wants to communicate with those within the culture (as did the prophets).  [My poetry teacher used to tell us to write from our experiences.]

The prophetic view is "perspectival," but I'm not sure it's any less accurate than drawing conclusions about "Asherah" as Yhvh's consort solely from a few remains and a few inscriptions---these after all are also perspectival.

I think we need a hypothesis that would account for both the inscriptions and for the absence of a prophetic critique of a consort of Yhvh.
  

Further, it is
  highly doubtful whether "Israel's worship of Baal" is borne out in the
  texts. Much seems to indicate that "worshipping Baal" is just another way of
  saying "worshipping Yahweh the wrong way".
 
I find this intriguing since I had thought that the prophetic critique was aimed at both baal worship, where baal may refer to any god other than Yhvh, AND to a critique of what the prophets considered improper Yhvh worship.  

BTW Morris, couldn't the phrase in Amos 8.14,  )$mt $mrn , refer to "the guilt of Samaria,"  that is to the calves of Jeroboam.  There is a fem. form   )$mh  [ashamah].

Just to speculate:  I wonder if the planting of an "asherah" next to an altar (DT 16.21) is a sign indicating the assimilation of the fertility function of Asherah to Yhvh?  Dt 16.21 prohibits planting an "asherah," a tree, next to an altar.

irene - --------------7849032951D34BD93EE8BEF9-- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 07:24:19 +0200 (IST) From: avigdor horovitz Subject: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Dear Richard, I have indeed considered the relationship of the Ashera and the Menorah and of the opinion that the menorah is actually an embodiment of the Ashera and was P's way of incorporating the ancient symbol. I made remarks to this extent in my responses to questions at the Philadelphia meeting of AOS about four years ago where I participated in a panel discussion about S. Parpola's theories about the Assyrian origins of Qabbalah, a theory which was published first in JNES and which connected the Assyrian sacred tree with the Sefirotic tree of the Qabbalah. The floral aspects of the menorah were at the center of Carol Meyers' dissertation and book on the Tabernacle Menorah. The menorah as a divine symbol was pointed out by Yehezkiel Kaufmann in his discussion ot the menorah in Zechariah's vision. There is much room for serious work on the asherah and its development and continuation in Judaism. It seems not to have died when the deuteronomist axes got into it, nor did it first take root on Israelite soil. Victor Hurowitz On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, Richard Stern wrote: > Several comments on this thread: > > Avigdor suggests that an asherah is simply a pole or tree > with no personality. Have you considered the relation of > the Menorah to the Asherah? Further, for those of you > in the Washington DC area, there is (and has been for > many years) a magnificent Asherah at the corner of > Macomb St. and Mass. Ave. NW (NW corner) with a > great deal of "personality". Take a look. > > Regarding "to YHWH of Samaria and his Asherah," > and the similar inscriptions: the conclusion is reasonable > that Asherah means consort in this context. But it is > also not unreasonable to think that the statement means > "to YHWH and his sacred cultic symbol". Suppose you > found an inscription that said "to YHWH and his > Shekinah"....would you have to conclude that Shekinah > referred to a consort of YHWH? Asherah _might_ be > just a hypostesization of HaShem rather than a female > deity. (And the Qedeshim _might_ be chaste cultic > personnel.) > > Yes, there is a female figure on the same fragment, at > least in one case. But it is not sure that the inscription > refers to the figure, or that if it does the "Asherah" in > the inscription refers to the female figure. (Please forgive > me if this is beginning to sound like the Minimalist > critique of the United Kingdom and Kings David and > Solomon.) > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > Best wishes, > > Richard H. Stern > email: rstern@ablondifoster.com > web: www.ablondifoster.com > snail: 1150 18th St. NW - Ste. 900, Wash. DC 20036 > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 07:28:07 +0200 (IST) From: avigdor horovitz Subject: Re: ane Ancient Board-Games Dear all ANE gamers, If anyone is interested in actually playing ancient games and not only talking about them as spectators, the British Museum years ago made available the so-called ROyal Game of Ur. This is still available in several versions. THere is also a recent collection of various games in book form prepared by Irving Finkel. I saw it on sale at the University Museum at Penn in Philly and am sure it is available at better book stores in your town (but don't try at the OTB office). FInkel is preparing a major work on the ancient Mesopotamian games. Victor Hurowitz On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, Carl S. Ehrlich wrote: > On games in the ANE in general see Ulrich Huebner's (ue = u + Umlaut) > article on "Games" in Eric M. Meyers, ed., _Oxford Encyclopedia of > Archaeology in the Near East_ (New York-Oxford: Oxford University, 1997) > 2:379-382. Huebner has also written a book on the subject in German, which > is both comprehensive and includes voluminous secondary literature. I > believe that it appeared in OBO. Unfortunately, my copy of the book is in > my office, and I am checking my email at home, so I cannot at present > convey any more exact information. > > Carl Ehrlich > > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > + Professor Carl S. Ehrlich + > + Director of Undergraduate Studies + > + Division of Humanities + > + York University-Toronto + > + North York, Ontario M3J 1P3 + > + Canada + > + Email: ehrlich@yorku.ca + > + Phone: +1-416-736-2100 x-77021 + > + Fax: +1-416-661-8064 + > +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 07:44:25 +0200 (IST) From: avigdor horovitz Subject: Re: ane Israel's ashera: a hypothesis Dear Morris, My point in reference to Kaufmann was that he had noticed the discerepancy between the biblical polemics against polytheism, etc. and what polytheism in fact was. He claimed that the biblical polemicists viewed idols as fetishes of wood and stone, plainly and simply, and they ignored or were ignorant of any personality or other traits which their worshippers may have attributed to them. I was reminded of this position by the correspondent who pointed out that the Bible does not relate to the Ahserah as a female deity but only as a cultic pole or a tree. We know today, thanks to epigraphic finds that Asherah may have been M(r)s. YHWH, but Kaufmann certainly did not. The Deuteronomic injunction against planting an Asherah near the altar or setting up a pillar may reflect this realtionship (massebah=YHWH, Asherah= M(r)s YHWH) but other references to Asherah make no allusion to the familial link or to any aspect of (the) Asherah apart from the wood of which it is made. Whether the biblical authors ignored the essence of the AHserah, covered it up, or were ignorant of it is a questions for scholars to decide, and some of the participants in this particular discussion have already made their opinions known in the scholarly literature. Victor On Tue, 13 Oct 1998 morsil@webtv.net wrote: > Hi Victor- > > I must be dense today. I do not see your point of your reference to > Kaufmann. Can you please spell it out for my benefit? > > Best, > Morris > > Morris Silver > Department of Economics > City College of New York > > ANCIENT ECONOMIES I > http://members.tripod.com/~sondmor/index.html > ANCIENT ECONOMIES II > http://www.angelfire.com/ms/ancecon/index.html > ------------------------------ End of ANE Digest V1998 #284 **************************** Back issues are available on the Oriental Institute World-Wide Web (WWW) site at: http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/ANE/OI_ANE.html