Schiffman "Outside the Bible"

Larry Schiffman has a brief post on the significance of extra-canonical books for the study of ancient Judaism.  It is extremely relevant for my current course, "Forbidden Scriptures," in which we read several of the texts he discusses there.  Check it out!

Biblical Manuscripts, Texts, and Translations Online

In an effort to make my blog not merely a place where I offer occasional news or offer up an initial essay (in Montaigne's sense) of my thoughts on an ancient text from time to time, but a place that can be useful for students of the ancient world, I have begun to organize my sidebar to be a database for online resources for ancient manuscripts, texts, and translations.

My first category is, naturally enough, Biblical Manuscripts, Texts, and Translations.  I have a few listed toward the top of my sidebar.

Perhaps the most significant digitized manuscripts for the Bible I have come across are the Codex Sinaiticus and the Aleppo Codex.  This summer, Trinity College of Dublin also made their famous Book of Kells available online.  If anyone knows of any other biblical manuscripts available in high resolution photographs online, please let me know, and I will create a link to it here.

I have also placed Nestle-Aland's 28 for the New Testament text.  Unfortunately, the critical apparatus is not online.  I have not found an equivalent for the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHS), LXX, or Vulgate as of yet.

I have also posted some translations, most of which can be found on the University of Michigan's website: King James, Luther's, Rheims, and RSV.

I hope this can be of use for everyone out there.  Next I will begin two separate link lists for Jewish and Christian manuscripts, texts, and translations respectively.

Blackboard versus Blog (Review)

I posted several years ago an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education on the relative merits of using blackboard versus using blogs.  I had, at the time, never used blackboard as an instructor, but now I am at an institution that does use Blackboard.  I have, nonetheless, been toying around with creating a blog for some of my courses for students to present material to one another, comment on each other's work, and ultimately present it in a format that is accessible outside of the university in a public (hyper)space.

For disseminating course materials, I think one would have to supplement a blog with dropbox or google docs, but I think it is worth reconsidering.

Here is the old link.

Fall Semester Offerings

Today is the first day of class for the University of Mississippi.  Here are the courses I am offering this semester.  Have a great semester everyone!

Hebrew Bible/OT

The Bible has been one of the most influential collections of literature on religion, other literature, society, and culture.  The stories of Abraham and Moses and the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah have had a profound impact on Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures from popular films to politics.  Despite this apparent familiarity, the Hebrew Bible (a.k.a., the Old Testament) can often be very strange and disorienting for modern readers.  In this class we will recover Hebrew Bible’s strangeness by reading it anew in its ancient Near Eastern context.  To do this we will critically examine the biblical books’ transmission, development, historical contexts, and literary aspects. 

Jesus and the Gospels

“He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Mark 8:29). 

In addition to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, more than 50 gospels were written by early Christians in antiquity, such as the gospels of Thomas, Peter, Mary, and even Judas.  Each gospel has its own distinctive view of Jesus.  Why do these gospels portray Jesus in the way they did?  What do these portrayals tell us about Jesus, and what do they tell us about the gospel writers themselves?  In this class we will learn how various scholarly methods can illuminate the gospels, using the different views of Jesus as a vital lens to study and understand the variety of emergent Christian groups.

Forbidden Scriptures

The books of the Bible are only the tip of an iceberg of a vast collection of ancient literature produced by ancient Jews and Christians, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Enoch, and the Gospel of Thomas.   Why were these books excluded from the Bible?  Why have they been lost, forgotten, or even banned?  In this class, we will examine several ancient Jewish and Christian writings that were omitted from the Bible, placing them in their historical contexts and in dialogue with canonical texts in order to gain a more complete understanding of ancient Jewish and Christian cultures.

Hebrews 9:23 Really Bothers Me

After publishing my recent book, I am of course in need of a hiatus from Hebrews and am off to different research projects, particularly my Christian Moses stuff.  But when I return to Hebrews--and I shall return--it will likely be because of Hebrews 9:23, a line that has bothered me every time I've read it.  Quoting from the RSV:

"Thus it was necessary for copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."

Before this in chapter 9, there is a conflation of several sacrificial rites from the Day of Atonement (Lev 16) to the blood used to establish the covenant (Exod. 24:6-8), etc.  These rites established and purified the earthly sanctuary (the copies of heavenly things).  But that is not the part that bothers me; it is the second phrase.  While the better sacrifices refers to Jesus', why, oh why, would the heavenly things / heavenly sanctuary need to be purified at all?  Is it impure, defiled in some way?  If so, how might one defile the heavenly sanctuary?  Is it due to human defilement?  Or, perhaps, angelic defilement?

One could argue that it is inaugural purification (inaugurating the new covenant in the way Moses did the old); I am not remembering off the top of my head, but I think this position is favored by Erich Gräßer and several of his followers; it does, indeed, have some benefits.  Its simplicity is attractive.  On the other hand, Hebrews still seems to associate the inaugural blood with purgative rites, ridding one of sin.  Moreover, it seems to me that this phrase is encapsulating: that is, it is referring to all the rites just mentioned and not just the inaugural one.

Or one could argue that it somehow relies upon what Jacob Milgrom has pointed out in his famous article "The Priestly Picture of Dorian Gray": the magnetic character of sin and how the Day of Atonement and other ceremonies have a predominate function to purge the sanctuary of people's sin.  Could the people's sins be, likewise, affecting the heavenly sanctuary, which, as the heavenly sanctuary, needs a greater sacrifice to purge it?

Or, a combination of both.

Or...something else.  Indeed, while I address this verse in my book, I don't think I've found an adequate answer.

I at least see a conference paper in my future on this question, and then we'll see from there.

Sabbath and Sanctuary Available!

My book, The Sabbath and the Sanctuary: Access to God in the Letter to the Hebrews and Its Priestly Context, is now printed, published, and available for purchase from Mohr Siebeck!  Check it out here and order it for your libraries today!

Elizabeth Castelli Weighs in on Aslan's Zealot

In a Nation piece full of gems, Elizabeth Castelli summarizes many of the critiques Bible scholars have been making of Reza Aslan's new book, Zealot.  The final paragraph is worth reproducing:

Simply put, Zealot does not break new ground in the history of early Christianity. It isn’t clear that any book framed as a “the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth” could, in fact, do so. Indeed, if it had not been thrust into the limelight by an aggressive marketing plan, the painfully offensive Fox News interview, and Aslan’s own considerable gifts for self-promotion, Zealot would likely have simply been shelved next to myriad other examples of its genre, and everyone could get back to their lives. As it is, the whole spectacle has been painful to watch. And as it is with so many spectacles, perhaps the best advice one might take is this: Nothing to see here, people. Move along.

Historical Jesus and Reza Aslan Roundup at Paleojudaica

I haven't wanted to wade into the fray of Reza Aslan that I have seen raging online, on television, and by all my scholarly friends on facebook for two reasons: (1) I haven't read the book; (2) I have been busy moving from Illinois to Mississippi for my new job at the University of Mississippi.  But Jim Davila has a nice roundup of relevant and interesting posts, ranging from positive to negative views of Reza Aslan's book.

Gospel of the Grateful Dead

It has been long observed that Deadheads have the makings of a religious movement.  I remember as an undergraduate reading Catherine Albanese's America: Religion and Religions, in which she included the Grateful Dead.  Evidently, at the moment, we are in the most important part of the Deadhead liturgical year: the Days Between.  Named after a Grateful Dead song, it is the days between August 1 (Jerry Garcia's birth) and August 9 (his death).  So, there is a short article in the Huffington Post reminding us of this enduring movement:

Every religion struggles to redefine itself after the death of its charismatic founder. Often times, this process takes the form of establishing and edifying the authoritative scriptures and commentaries of the tradition. For Jerry Garcia, evangelizing did not happen through sermons or speeches, but rather through his concert performances. Accordingly, Garcia's numerous concert recordings endure as the foundational texts of the Grateful Dead canon.

Book of Kells Online

James McGrath has noted that Trinity College Dublin has digitized and placed the Book of Kells online.  You can see it here.

Making the Chronicle's Honor Roll

The Chronicle of Higher Education has released its "Great Colleges to Work For 2013" guide, and my new institution this fall, University of Mississippi, made their "Honor Roll," that is, the top ten in its category (as a large 4-year university).  They received the honor roll for good ratings in the following categories: Collaborative Governance; Confidence in Senior Leadership; Facilities, Workspace, and Security; Job Satisfaction; Professional/Career Development Programs; Respect and Appreciation; Supervisor or Department Chair Relationship; Tenure Clarity and Process; Work/Life Balance.

Areas where they did not score as highly include:  Compensation and Benefits; Diversity; Teaching Environment.

Congratulations to Ole Miss for doing so well.  

The Exorcism Business is Booming

Evidently, anyway.  According to a Huffington Post article focusing on how Polish exorcists have been worried about Madonna, it mentions that requests for exorcists and, evidently, for Catholic clergy to receive exorcism training is on the rise not only in Eastern Europe, but also in the U.S.  I wonder why there is such an upsurge in interest?

Two Powers in Heaven (Now Affordably Priced)

Larry Hurtado notes here that my late advisor's first book, Two Powers in Heaven, is now being re-printed by Baylor University Press at an affordable cost.

Here is the blurb on BUP's site:

In his now classic Two Powers in Heaven, Alan Segal examines rabbinic evidence about early manifestations of the "two powers" heresy within Judaism. Segal sheds light upon the development of and relationships among early Christianity, Gnosticism, and Merkabah mysticism and demonstrates that belief in the "two powers in heaven" was widespread by the first century, and may have been a catalyst for the Jewish rejection of early Christianity. An important addition to New Testament and Gnostic scholarship by this much revered scholar, Segal's Two Powers in Heaven is made available once again for a new generation.

Updated Biblioblog List

There is a new, updated list of biblioblogs.  You can find Antiquitopia listed as New Testament / Early Christianity with an emphasis on Greco-Roman Culture (in its categorization "3d").  The site also lists which blogs are "Top 20" and which are "Top 50."  Antiquitopia, finally, has made the cut for Top 50!

SBL Program Book Online

The SBL Annual Meeting program book is now available online.

Here is the section in which I am giving a paper, scheduled for Sunday evening of the conference.  Looks like Jim Davila will be responding.

Esotericism and Mysticism in Antiquity 11/24/2013 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Holiday 2 - HiltonTheme: Religious Practices that (Trans)form Rebecca Lesses, Ithaca College, Presiding Jonathan A. Draper, University of KwaZulu-Natal Spiritual Temple and Prophetic-Priestly Revelation of Divine Mysteries in the Didache Community (25 min) Tyson Putthoff, University of Durham “To Die Saturated in His Glory”: Initiatory Death and Ontological Reconstruction in Hekhalot Zutarti (25 min) Joseph E. Sanzo, University of California-Los Angeles Making “Christian Magic”: Themes of Christian Identity Formation on Textual Amulets from Late Antiquity (25 min) Jared C. Calaway, Illinois Wesleyan University God and the Senses: Smelling, Tasting, and Touching God in Early Christianity (25 min) William Hamblin, Brigham Young University The Pseudepigrapha and Visionary Books (25 min) James Davila, University of St. Andrews, Respondent (15 min) Discussion (10 min)

God and the Senses (9): The Gospel of Truth

“For when they saw and heard him, he let them taste him and smell him and touch  the beloved Son” (30,23-31,35; trans. Marvin Meyer in Nag Hammadi Scriptures: International Edition). 

I have been reading a lot of the Nag Hammadi Codices lately, since many of my current research projects seem to intersect there.  While re-reading the Gospel of Truth, I found that it was full of multi-sensory language.  The Gospel of Truth, a profoundly original Valentinian homily (some even think it derives from Valentinus himself), effectively engages all five senses.  Indeed, in some ways, this one line encapsulates one’s relationship with the divine in this text: once you see and hear (initial steps), one then came come closer and taste, smell, and touch the divine, all indicating intimacy if not union.

Throughout the entire sermon, the speaker/author invokes sensory language.  There is, of course, a lot of visionary and auditory language, but there is also strong tasting/smelling and touching language as well.  Different types of senses seem to cluster around different types of ideas relating to salvation and ways of experiencing the divine.

Vision and Knowledge:  Seeing and failing to see serves primarily as a metaphor for understanding and knowledge (17,4-18,11; 28,32-30,23).  "Appearance" has ambivalent meaning: “mere appearance” can stand for the deficiency of the world (23,17-25,25), but there is also the positive appearance of truth (26,27-28,32).   Son is seen, but his name is invisible (as well as unheard, unpronounced, but uttered by whom the Name belongs) (38,6-41,3).

Hearing and Salvation:  the unutterable and unhearable name leads to issues of hearing.  There is some terminology of proclamation, but not much (19,34-21,25).  There is, again, great importance placed upon uttered and unuttered names.  Unlike the discussion of what can be uttered, this discussion is quite different.  Uttered and unuttered names (and "letters") refer to people who are called and those who are not called; hearing, therefore, serves as a metaphor for salvation.  This, in fact, sounds a lot like Paul in Romans 8:28-30.  The “letters” in this section suggest the names of those, who are called and lead to knowledge of the Father.

There is, moreover, the embodiment of the Word that was spoken (25,25-26,27)

Tasting (and Smelling):  Language of the Father:  Much of Valentinian theology surrounding the Father is basically apophatic, the via negativa.  Nonetheless, some more positive language occurs in smelling and tasting language.  Indeed, one finds in this text and throughout the Tripartite Tractate the fact that the Father is “sweet.”  Jesus is also sweet (23,17-25,25).  Smelling and tasting, in fact, are to the Gospel of Truth, the spiritual senses par excellence, far surpassing seeing and hearing:

           

“For the Father is sweet, and goodness is in his will.  He knows what is yours, in which you find rest.  By the fruit one knows what is yours.  For the Father’s children are his fragrance; they are from the beauty of his face.  The Father loves his fragrance and disperses it everywhere, and when it mixes with matter, it gives his fragrance to the light.  Through his quietness he makes his fragrance superior in every way to every sound.  For it is not ears that smell the fragrance, but it is the spirit that possesses the sense of smell, draws the fragrance to itself, and immerses itself in the Father’s fragrance.” (33,33-34,34; Trans. Marvin Meyer)

The superiority of smell over sound has a few advantages.  It seems to rely, firstly, upon a relationship between the concept of “spirit” and “breath,” which in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, etc., are the same word or from the same root word.  Breathing in is how you smell, and breath is spirit; therefore, smell is the sense of the spirit.  Hearing, moreover, is a response to sound; while obvious, hearing discernable sounds in communication would violate the principle that the Father is ineffable; smelling, however, is difficult to describe (except, in this case, as sweet).  It approaches ineffability in a way that hearing and seeing do not.

If one smells the Father, one tastes the “place of rest” (41,3-43,24).  Tasting is associated with the experience of salvation; and, moreover, tasting largely in biblically-derived sources seems to largely be equivalent with “experiencing” something: tasting death; tasting the heavenly gift (Hebrews), etc. 

Touching the Father’s Mouth:  Smelling is an especially intimate act, but touching is, at least in the Gospel of Truth, more so.  “Whoever loves truth, whoever touches truth, touches the Father’s mouth, because truth is the Father’s mouth.  His tongue is the Holy Spirit, and fro his tongue one will receive the Holy Spirit” (26,27ff).  While mouth and tongue connected with truth would, most of the time, be associated with hearing; in this case, it is touching.  It is more intimate; touching a mouth and tongue evokes a scene of kissing.  It, in that sense, resembles Origen’s spiritually erotic interpretation of “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (Song of Songs 1:1) as the intimate messages given between Christ and the soul, combining kissing with the conveyance of truth, perhaps a truth that surpasses discursive thought.  

In short, vision relates to knowledge and understanding; hearing relates to calling; but things that surpass understanding, things that surpass language, are best expressed in terms of smelling, tasting, and touching.  I think the most startling aspect of the Gospel of Truth is its reservation of smelling as the highest or most spiritual sense, if not the only sense that is truly spiritual.  

Taking the Bible Seriously (As Literature)

There is a nice review of Robert Alter's newest installment of his translation of the Hebrew Bible in the Tablet.

In Ancient Israel, Alter has reached the part of the Bible with the most to say about history. The Pentateuch begins in myth and ends in moral exhortation; its most famous legends are precisely that, legends, which can only be accepted as true by an act of faith. Adam eating the apple, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, Moses parting the Red Sea—these are not the kinds of things that can be corroborated with outside evidence. Starting with the Book of Joshua, however, Ancient Israel moves into a more recognizable world of power politics, in which the main events are wars between tribes, states, and empires, and the intrigues of kings and courtiers. Toward the end of Kings, when we read of the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrian Empire and the sacking of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, we are dealing with events that also appear in extra-biblical inscriptions and documents. Somewhere along the line, the Israelites have evolved from a holy family into a political entity, with all the compromises and disappointments that entails.

Be sure to read the rest of it here, especially the bit about David.

How Did Protestants Lose the Apocrypha?

It is a few days old, but Philip Jenkins has an interesting informative post (definitely worth the read) on Protestants and "Apocrypha."