Ancient Near Eastern Studies

Biblical Hebrew Tenses and Saadya Gaon's Translation of the Pentateuch

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:21:14 GMT

This paper examines tenses in Saadya Gaon�s translation of the Pentateuch from two viewpoints: the reflection of Biblical Hebrew tenses in Saadya�s Post-Classical Arabic, and how much of the whole range of Arabic tenses, especially complex tenses, is manifested in this language. These two aspects are examined according to four versions of the translation: Ms. St. Petersburg, Derenbourg edition, Ḥasīd edition, and the London Polyglot. Alongside the more obvious translations of past and future Saadya Gaon�s translation reveals sensitivity to aspectual nuances like past perfect, present perfect, or continuous past, and inasmuch as can be observed in the translation, also to certain modal nuances. Attuned as he is to the great range of the Biblical Hebrew tenses, including their special nuances, Saadya exploits surprisingly little the variety of complex tenses involving an auxiliary verb available in Classical, Post Classical, and Middle Arabic for expressing broader nuances of time and aspect.

Allusions to the Stream of Tradition in Neo-Assyrian Oracles

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:29:23 GMT

The purpose of this article is to begin the evaluation of the rhetorical aims and strategies of the use of allusions within Neo-Assyrian oracles. These allusions are to some of the most prominent texts within the Mesopotamian literary stream of tradition: Adapa and the South Wind, Atra-ḫasīs, and the Gilgameš Epic. The authors borrowed imagery from these works and fused it with their own rhetorical purposes. Prophets even used allusions that contained a complex set of apparently conflicting associations. The use of subtle allusions that often contain complex associations should cause modern readers to more greatly appreciate the rhetorical abilities of the Neo-Assyrian prophets.

Dual Pronouns in Semitics and an Evaluation of the Evidence for their Existence in Biblical Hebrew

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:25:45 GMT

In the context of establishing the pronominal dual forms of proto-Semitic, philologists sought for vestiges of such forms in different non-related branches of the Semitic family of languages. This paper starts with an updated reconstruction of the Proto-Semitic�s dual pronouns based on all the information at our hands, and consequently examines the evidence proposed in the literature for vestiges of these forms in the biblical consonantal text, especially the most recent support made by Rendsburg. In a list of publications Rendsburg proposed to strengthen this hypothesis by using statistical considerations. This paper will reject his conclusions and will refute his arguments by demonstrating that merely counting examples can be very misleading; either separately counting examples found in the same biblical context with some unique dialectical features falsely increases the number or, far worse, some examples should not even be considered at all since there are other motivations for the use of their peculiar forms.

Trade Terminology among the Safaitic Arabs before Islam as Reflected in their Inscriptions

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:36:01 GMT

This paper deals with some aspects of commerce (merchandise and trade) activities as attested in the Ancient North Arabian Safaitic inscriptions. The Safaitic tribes were in close contact with some political entities in the region, such as the Nabataeans and Romans. Their inscriptions reflect certain aspects of the tribal life of the Safaites and their activities � the merchandise and trade activities, for instance. The activity of trade is discussed in this paper in the light of some terms that occurred in inscriptions. Furthermore, we can deduce that they were familiar with manufacturing salt through the expression of wḥḍr ḫlqt mlḥ 'and prepared a pitfall to extract salt'. The inscriptions, also, gave some clues on the existence of market places � for example, w qtt f zm. The social and daily life, in some cases, motivated the Bedouin to use what is so-called �barter� namely, the exchange of animal products for grains and other needed things.

The Rite of the Consecration of the Church of Koskam

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:38:43 GMT

This paper studies the local tradition related to the commemoration of the Church of Koskam. It provides the Coptic liturgical texts used on this occasion with commentary. Despite the late date of this manuscript, and the many misspellings of the Coptic words, it reflects an important local rite that has hitherto never been published. As the level of knowledge of the scribe is very poor, we may assume that he copied them from another text written when Coptic was in use. The texts contain some Coptic extracts from the homily of Theophilus, which survive in Ethiopic, Syriac and Arabic. Our texts here are the unique witness of the Coptic version.

Tiglath-pileser III's Aid to Ahaz

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:42:11 GMT

This study examines the discrepancy in the biblical text�s account of Tiglath-pileser III�s aid to Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis in light of the Assyrian sources. II Kings 16:5-9 (and Isaiah 7) states that Tiglath-pileser helped Ahaz by repelling the attacks of the Syro-Ephraimite coalition, while II Chronicles 28:5-21 proclaims that Tiglath-pileser failed to help the Judean king. Previous studies have attempted to resolve the textual conflict by way of literary analysis or textual emendation. By undertaking an historical methodology of the biblical text and an examination of the Assyrian sources, the case is made that while the biblical accounts contradict each other in specific areas, there are key elements that are historically accurate in both accounts which are in complete accord with the Assyrian sources, and in turn clarify the biblical accounts.

Representations of Archers in the Relief of Tiglath-Pileser III

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:44:18 GMT

Modern scholarship has tended to focus on the concepts of ideology and propaganda in Assyrian palace reliefs. This paper wrestles with the presence of artistic conventions and their level of stability throughout the Neo-Assyrian period. My aim is to draw attention to specific examples of accepted principles that were followed in the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II and measure their stability throughout the centuries, with particular emphasis on reliefs of Tiglath-Pileser III. To do so, I have selected a relief from the Central Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III, which illustrates an Assyrian officer preparing to shoot an arrow in a leftward direction. It is concluded that the violation of illusionistic perspective in this relief can be explained by accepting the presence of Assyrian artistic conventions.

National Archaeologies and Conflicting Identities

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:47:29 GMT

This paper explains the effects of archaeology as a nationalistic practice that provides a cogent perspective on the holistic demands of modern historical thought. Archaeology constitutes the national concept of being itself. The absolute national knowledge conceptualised by geography needs continuity, thus archaeology is constructed as a practice of the appropriation of the other. In this context, this paper aims to identify the problematic interpretation of archaeological materials in Greek and Turkish societies. The nationalistic approaches of both societies produce an archaeological discourse into debates around the relations of history to geography, of politics to knowledge.

Migration, Diffusion and Emulation

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:50:30 GMT

The spread of Early Transcaucasian (ETC) pottery, portable hearths and architecture across a vast swath of the ancient Near East from northeast Anatolia to the southern Levant during the fourth and third millennia BC, has been an issue of intense research and debate. Recently scholars have suggested a combination of factors such as migration of populations, diffusion, and local emulation of foreign styles to explain this cultural phenomenon. One productive way to examine this problem is with an analysis of the chemistry and mineralogy of ETC style pottery to address issues such as geological source, manufacturing techniques and regional differences. This paper presents the results of a petrographic analysis of pottery from Malatya-Elazıg region of Turkey and suggests most ETC style pottery in Anatolia was manufactured locally while a small portion appears to have either been made of imported materials or technology.

Habur Ware

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:53:29 GMT

The problem of origin, development and cultural affiliation of Habur Ware has been disputed for decades. Four main theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon: theory of an eastern origin, theory of a Trans-Caucasian origin, an indigenous origin theory and a Syro-Cilician origin theory. In the following discussion, the author puts a proposition that the origin and development of Habur Ware was a multidirectional phenomenon i.e. that Habur Ware was typologically rooted in third millennium pottery tradition of North Mesopotamia (which is a proof of the persistence of traditional ways of consumption), while its geometric decoration was strongly influenced by painted pottery of Syro-Cilicia (that was an effect of adoption of fashionable decorative motifs).

The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:57:03 GMT

Recent excavations in the upper Tigris River valley have yielded an increasing number of archaeological data that have been helping archaeologists in the reconstruction of ancient histories in this specific region. Among these projects, the Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project has focused its attention on a fundamental phase of occupation � the Middle Bronze Age � that characterises the site as well as numerous other settlements in the upper Tigris River valley. The present article will emphasise the role played by Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the western bank of the upper Tigris river valley in southeastern Turkey, at both a local and inter-regional level during the Middle Bronze Age period that shows an increase in long-distance commercial exchanges between Mesopotamian and Anatolian polities. More specifically, an in-depth analysis will be given to the large architectural complex discovered on the site�s High Mound and on a preliminary interpretation of the material culture found within it.

Book Reviews

poj@peeters-leuven.be — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:58:56 GMT

Book reviews