Feasting in the Archaeology and Texts of the Bible and the Ancient Near East

Feasting in the Archaeology and Texts of the Bible and the Ancient Near East
Author: Peter Altmann
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 157506894X

This volume brings together the work of scholars using various methodologies to investigate the prevalence, importance, and meanings of feasting and foodways in the texts and cultural-material environments of the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East. Thus, it serves as both an introduction to and explication of this emerging field. The offerings range from the third-millennium Early Dynastic period in Mesopotamia to the rise of a new cuisine in the Islamic period and transverse geographical locations such as southern Iraq, Syria, the Aegean, and especially the southern Levant. The strength of this collection lies in the many disciplines and methodologies that come together. Texts, pottery, faunal studies, iconography, and anthropological theory are all accorded a place at the table in locating the importance of feasting as a symbolic, social, and political practice. Various essays showcase both new archaeological methodologies—zooarchaeological bone analysis and spatial analysis—and classical methods such as iconographic studies, ceramic chronology, cultural anthropology, and composition-critical textual analysis.

‘He is a Glutton and a Drunkard’: Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible

‘He is a Glutton and a Drunkard’: Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible
Author: Rebekah Welton
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2020-02-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004423494

In ‘He is a Glutton and a Drunkard’: Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible Rebekah Welton uses interdisciplinary approaches to explore the social and ritual roles of food and alcohol in Late Bronze Age to Persian-period Syro-Palestine (1550 BCE–400 BCE). This contextual backdrop throws into relief episodes of consumption deemed to be excessive or deviant by biblical writers. Welton emphasises the social networks of the household in which food was entangled, arguing that household animals and ritual foodstuffs were social agents, challenging traditional understandings of sacrifice. For the first time, the accusation of being a ‘glutton and a drunkard’ (Deut 21:18-21) is convincingly re-interpreted in its alimentary and socio-ritual contexts.

T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel

T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel
Author: Janling Fu
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 641
Release: 2021-11-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567679802

Food and feasting are key themes in the Hebrew Bible and the culture it represents. The contributors to this handbook draw on a multitude of disciplines to offer an overview of food in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel. Archaeological materials from biblical lands, along with the recent interest in ethnographic data, a new focus in anthropology, and emerging technologies provide valuable information about ancient foodways. The contributors examine not only the textual materials of the Hebrew Bible and related epigraphic works, but also engage in a wider archaeological, environmental, and historical understanding of ancient Israel as it pertains to food. Divided into five parts, this handbook examines and considers environmental and socio-economic issues such as climate and trade, the production of raw materials, and the technology of harvesting and food processing. The cultural role of food and meals in festivals, holidays, and biblical regulations is also discussed, as is the way food and drink are treated in biblical texts, in related epigraphic materials, and in iconography.

The Wide Lens in Archaeology

The Wide Lens in Archaeology
Author: Allan Gilbert
Publisher: Lockwood Press
Total Pages: 517
Release: 2017-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1937040968

This book honors the memory of Brian Hesse, a scholar of Near Eastern archaeology, a writer of alliterative and punned publication titles, and an accomplished amateur photographer. Hesse specialized in zooarchaeology, but he influenced a wider range of excavators and ancient historians with his broad interpretive reach. He spent much of his career analyzing faunal materials from different countries in the Middle East-including Iran, Yemen, and Israel, and his publications covered themes particular to animal bone studies, such as domestication, ancient market economics, as well as broader themes such as determining ethnicity in archaeology. The essays in this volume reflect the breadth of his interests. Most chapters share an Old World geographic setting, focusing either on Europe or the Middle East. The topics are diverse, with the majority discussing animal bones, as was Hesse's specialization, but some take a nonfaunal perspective related to the problems with which Hesse grappled. The volume is also broad in temporal scope, ranging from Neolithic Iran to early Medieval England, and it addresses theoretical matters as well as methodological innovations including taphonomy and the history of computers in zooarchaeology. Several of the essays are direct revisits to, inspirations from, or extensions of Hesse's own research. All the contributions reflect his intense interest in social questions about antiquity; the theme of social archaeology informed much of Brian Hesse's thinking, and it is why his work made such an impact on those working outside his own disciplinary research.

Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE

Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE
Author:
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2021-02-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1646021517

The city of Ur—now modern Tell el-Muqayyar in southern Iraq, also called Ur of the Chaldees in the Bible—was one of the most important Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic Period in the first half of the third millennium BCE. The city is known for its impressive wealth and artistic achievements, evidenced by the richly decorated objects found in the so-called Royal Cemetery, which was excavated by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 until 1934. Ur was also the cult center of the moon god, and during the twenty-first century BCE, it was the capital of southern Mesopotamia. With contributions from both established and rising Assyriologists from ten countries and edited by three leading scholars of Assyriology, this volume presents thirty-two essays based on papers delivered at the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale held in Philadelphia in 2016. Reflecting on the theme “Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE,” the chapters deal with archaeological, artistic, cultural, economic, historical, and textual matters connected to the ancient city of Ur. Three of the chapters are based on plenary lectures by senior scholars Richard Zettler, Jonathan Taylor, and Katrien De Graef. The remainder of the essays, arranged alphabetically by author, highlight innovative new directions for research and represent a diverse array of topics related to Ur in various periods of Mesopotamian history. Tightly focused in theme, yet broad in scope, this collection will be of interest to Assyriologists and archaeologists working on Iraq.

The Theology of the Books of Nahum, Habbakuk, and Zephaniah

The Theology of the Books of Nahum, Habbakuk, and Zephaniah
Author: Daniel C. Timmer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2024-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1108475590

Daniel C. Timmer's study explores how the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah engaged with ancient Judah's sociopolitical landscape.

The Wealth of Nations

The Wealth of Nations
Author: Michael J. Chan
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2017-07-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9783161540981

"Michael J. Chan argues, on a methodological level, for the deeper integration of iconographic materials into the task of tradition history-a method that has tended to focus on textual evidence alone. Following the work of O.H. Steck, however, 'tradition' is understood in more flexible terms, to refer to inherited concepts and constellations, which can exist across multiple media. The author undertakes a tradition-historical study of the 'Wealth of Nations Tradition' - a series of texts in which the foreign nations of the earth bring their wealth to Zion (1 Kgs 10:1-10, 13, 15//2 Chr 9:1-9, 12, 14; 1 Kgs 10:23-25//2 Chr 9:22-24; Pss 68:19, 29-32; 72:10-11; 76:12; 96:7-8//1 Chr 16:28-29; Isa 18:7; 45:14; 60:4-17; 61:5-6; 66:12; Zeph 3:10; 2 Chr 32:23). The Wealth of Nations tradition is found throughout the ancient Near East. Michael J. Chan shows that in some cases, the biblical texts reflect this tradition with little to no modification while in others the tradition is recast in creative and disruptive ways"--

The Book of Jeremiah

The Book of Jeremiah
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 565
Release: 2018-07-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004373276

Written by leading experts in the field, The Book of Jeremiah: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation offers a wide-ranging treatment of the main aspects of Jeremiah. Its twenty-four essays fall under four main sections. The first section contains studies of a more general nature, and helps situate Jeremiah in the scribal culture of the ancient world, as well as in relation to the Torah and the Hebrew Prophets. The second section contains commentary on and interpretation of specific passages (or sections) of Jeremiah, as well as essays on its genres and themes. The third section contains essays on the textual history and reception of Jeremiah in Judaism and Christianity. The final section explores various theological aspects of the book of Jeremiah.

Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament

Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament
Author: Jonathan S. Greer
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 956
Release: 2018-11-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493415549

This authoritative volume brings together a team of world-class scholars to cover the full range of Old Testament backgrounds studies in a concise, up-to-date, and comprehensive manner. With expertise in various subdisciplines of Old Testament backgrounds, the authors illuminate the cultural, social, and historical contexts of the world behind the Old Testament. They introduce readers to a wide range of background materials, covering history, geography, archaeology, and ancient Near Eastern textual and iconographic studies. Meant to be used alongside traditional literature-based canonical surveys, this one-stop introduction to Old Testament backgrounds fills a gap in typical introduction to the Bible courses. It contains over 100 illustrations, including photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, and tables, which will facilitate its use in the classroom.