The Hebrew Bible often portrays Sheol in a manner evocative of the tomb. In texts such as Psalm 88 the tomb is a dreary and isolating symbol. Yet this contrasts with the positive role of the family tomb where the dead are reunited with their ancestors. The ritual analysis of Judahite bench tombs, however, reveals a dynamic concept of death. This…[Read more]

This paper examines the concept of kingship in the book of Ben Sira by exploring both the adages regarding rulers and the Praise of the Ancestors. In the former, Ben Sira stresses God’s sovereignty over the Gentile ruler, and in the latter he assures peace through fidelity to the Aaronide priesthood, especially the lineage of Simeon. He…[Read more]

This study reexamines the form and character of the Gezer ‘calendar’ inscription, examines the text’s structural affinities to the list of times in Ecc 3 and demonstrates how the Gezer inscription is, itself, a combination of two incompatible ways of giving an ordered structure to time.

The present study comprises a philological examination of the Biblical Hebrew term šninɔ. The contextual semantics, the ancient translations, and the re-identification of the verbal root ŠNN as a by-form of ŠNY ‘to recount’ demonstrate that šninɔ may be realigned as related to this root and translated as a ‘cautionary tale’.

The following study examines the history of the translation of a Biblical Hebrew phrase in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin—a phrase which shaped the English idiom “to take up a parable, proverb, or song.” As early as Greek and Aramaic Bible translations, the phrase NŚʾ mɔšɔl was translated word-for-word in the target language, even though the verb u…[Read more]

The study challenges the use of the book of Proverbs as a primary data set in the recovery of ancient Israelite and Judean educational values and practices. The study argues that an examination of the nature of the Book of Proverbs and its poetics must necessarily precede the use of this text in reconstructing the values and practices of ancient…[Read more]