Cultural Contact And Appropriation In The Axial Age Mediterranean World

Cultural Contact explores adaptation, resistance and reciprocity in Axial-Age Mediterranean exchange, a discussion begun in antiquity. Real progress requires relearning the Mediterranean as a historical system. These essays illustrate the problems such study must overcome.

This study blends together ethical philosophy, neurocognitive-evolutionary studies, and literary theory to explore how imaginative discourse addresses a distinctively human deep sociality, and by doing so helps shape cultural and literary history. Deep sociality, arising from an improbable evolutionary history, both entwines and leaves non-reconciled what is felt to be significant for us and what ethical sense seems to call us to acknowledge as significant, independent of ourselves. Ethical Sense and Literary Significance connects literary and cultural history without reducing the literary to a mere expression of something else. It argues that affective differences between non-egocentric and egocentric registers of significance are integral to the bioculturally evolved deep sociality that verbal art addresses—often in unsettling and socially critical ways. Much imaginative discourse, in early societies as well as recent ones, brings ethical sense and literary significance together in ways that reveal their intricate but non-harmonized internal entwinement. Drawing on contemporary scholarship in the humanities and sciences, Donald R. Wehrs explores the implications of interdisciplinary approaches to topics central to a wide range of fields beyond literary studies, including neuroscience, anthropology, phenomenological philosophy, comparative history, and social psychology.

An insightful historical account of Phoenicia that illustrates its cities, culture, and daily life Hélène Sader presents the history and archaeology of Phoenicia based on the available contemporary written sources and the results of archaeological excavations in Phoenicia proper. Sader explores the origin of the term Phoenicia; the political and geographical history of the city-states Arwad, Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre; and topography, climate, and natural resources of the Phoenician homeland. Her limited focus on Phoenicia proper, in contrast to previous studies that included information from Phoenician colonies, presents the bare realities of the opportunities and difficulties shaping Phoenician life. Sader’s evaluation and synthesis of the evidence offers a corrective to the common assumption of a unified Phoenician kingdom. Features Historical as well as modern maps with the locations of all relevant archaeological sites Faunal and floral analyses that shed light on the Phoenician diet Petrographic analysis of pottery that sheds light on trading patterns and developments

This book introduces readers to the concept of the Axial Age and its relevance for a world in crisis. Scholars have become increasingly interested in philosopher Karl Jaspers’ thesis that a spiritual revolution in consciousness during the first millennium BCE decisively shaped world history. Axial ideas of transcendence develop into ideologies for world religions and civilizations, in turn coalescing into a Eurasian world-system that spreads globally to become the foundation of our contemporary world. Alongside ideas and ideologies, the Axial Age also taught spiritual practices critically resisting the new scale of civilizational power: in small counter-cultural communities on the margins of society, they turn our conscious focus inward to transform ourselves and overcome the destructive potentials within human nature. Axial spiritualities offer humanity a practical wisdom, a profound psychology, and deep hope: to transform despair into resilience, helping us face with courage the ecological and political challenges confronting us today.

Presenting dynamic research, this publication explores two millennia of cultural interactions between Egypt, Greece, and Rome. From Mycenaean weaponry found among the cargo of a Bronze Age shipwreck off the Turkish coast to the Egyptian-inspired domestic interiors of a luxury villa built in Greece during the Roman Empire, Egypt and the Classical World documents two millennia of cultural and artistic interconnectedness in the ancient Mediterranean. This volume gathers pioneering research from the Getty scholars' symposium that helped shape the major international loan exhibition Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018). Generously illustrated essays consider a range of artistic and other material evidence, including archaeological finds, artworks, papyri, and inscriptions, to shed light on cultural interactions between Egypt, Greece, and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Late Period and Ptolemaic dynasty to the Roman Empire. The military's role as a conduit of knowledge and ideas in the Bronze Age Aegean, and an in-depth study of hieroglyphic Egyptian inscriptions found on Roman obelisks offer but two examples of scholarly lacunae addressed by this publication. Specialists across the fields of art history, archaeology, Classics, Egyptology, and philology will benefit from the volume's investigations into syncretic processes that enlivened and informed nearly twenty-five hundred years of dynamic cultural exchange. The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at www.getty.edu/publications/egypt-classical-world/ and includes zoomable, high-resolution photography. Also available are free PDF, EPUB, and Kindle/MOBI downloads of the book.

Camels are first mentioned in the Bible as the movable property of Abraham. During the early monarchy, they feature prominently as long-distance mounts for the Queen of Sheba, and almost a millennium later, the Gospels tell us about the impossibility of a camel passing through a needle’s eye. Given the limited extrabiblical evidence for camels before circa 1000 BCE, a thorough investigation of the spatio-temporal history of the camel in the ancient Near and Middle East is necessary to understand their early appearance in the Hebrew Bible. Camels in the Biblical World is a two-part study that charts the cultural trajectories of two domestic species—the two-humped or Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the one-humped or Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius)—from the fourth through first millennium BCE and up to the first century CE. Drawing on archaeological camel remains, iconography, inscriptions, and other text sources, the first part reappraises the published data on the species’ domestication and early exploitation in their respective regions of origin. The second part takes a critical look at the various references to camels in the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels, providing a detailed philological analysis of each text and referring to archaeological data and zoological observations whenever appropriate. A state-of-the-art evaluation of the cultural history of the camel and its role in the biblical world, this volume brings the humanities into dialogue with the natural sciences. The novel insights here serve scholars in disciplines as diverse as biblical studies, (zoo)archaeology, history, and philology.

This volume explores the part played by different metals in use from the fourth millennium BC to the Early Iron Age, not only in the Aegean but also in the wider Old World. It addresses the divergent uses and roles of different metals, the interrelationships of these roles and the changing values that may have been accorded to them at different times and in different places by producers and consumers. Individually, the papers in the volume contemplate the particular properties of different metals and the various issues concerning their frequent under-representation in the archaeological (but not necessarily textual) record, and also point out comparative and diachronic perspectives that may have the ability to offer insights into their important roles in wider cultural and historical changes over a period of several millennia. After the Introduction and Chapter 1, which reflects on some of the parameters involved in the term ‘precious’ as applied to metals, the remaining six chapters cover the Aegean and the networks that link the Aegean with Italy, Cyprus and the Near East more generally, and south-east Anatolia and the Caucasus. Between them they discuss the beginnings of regular iron metallurgy, the uses of and attitudes to gold, silver and bronze and other copper-based alloys at various times between the fourth millennium BC and the Early Iron Age.

Write That They May Read is a collection of essays written in honor of our mentor, friend, and fellow scholar, Professor Alan R. Millard. Respectful of his contribution to our understanding of writing and literacy in the ancient biblical world, all the essays deal with some aspect of this issue, ranging in scope from archeological artifacts that need to be “read,” to early evidence of writing in Israel’s world, to the significance of reading and writing in the Bible, including God’s own literacy, to the production of books in the ancient world, and the significance of metaphorical branding of God’s people with his name. The contributors are distributed among Professor Millard’s peers and colleagues in a variety of institutions, his own students, and students of his students. They represent a variety of disciplines including biblical archeology, Egyptology, Assyriology, Hebrew and other Northwest Semitic texts, and the literature of the Bible, and reside in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Germany. Write That They May Read contains contributions by: Section 1: Artifacts and Minimalist Literacy 1. “See That You May Understand”: Artifact Literacy—The Twin-cup Libation Vessels from Khirbet Qeiyafa Gerald Klingbeil, Research Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Andrews University Martin Klingbeil, Professor of Biblical Studies and Archaeology, and Associate Director, Institute of Archaeology Southern Adventist University 2. Ketiv-Qere: The Writing and Reading of EA 256 and Its Place in Reflecting the Realia of Power and Polity in the LBA–IA Golan and Peripheries Timothy M. Crow, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Akron; Professional Fellow Old Testament, Ashland Theological Seminary 3. Another Inscribed Arrowhead in the British Museum Terrence C. Mitchell†. Former Keeper of Western Asiatic Antiquities, The British Museum, London, England 4. Earliest Literary Allusions to Homer and the Pentateuch from Ischia in Italy and Jerusalem Paul J. N. Lawrence, Translation Consultant, Summer Institute of Linguistics International 5. The Etymology of Hebrew lōg and the Identity of Shavsha the Scribe Yoshiyuki Muchiki, Professor of Biblical Theology, Japan Bible Seminary, Tokyo Section 2: Artifacts and Official Literacy 6. The Writing/Reading of the Stone Tablet Covenant in the Light of the Writing/Reading/Hearing of the Silver Tablet Treaty Gordon Johnston, Professor of Old Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary 7. For Whose Eyes? The Divine Origins and Function of the Two Tablets of the Israelite Covenant Daniel I. Block, Gunther H. Knoedler Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Wheaton College 8. Write That They May Judge? Applying Written Law in Biblical Israel Jonathan Burnside, Professor of Biblical Law, Law School, University of Bristol. 9. “And Samuel Wrote in the Book” (1 Samuel 10:25) and His Apology in First Samuel 1–15 Wolfgang Ertl, Dozent am Bibelseminar Bonn, Bornheim/Germany; Associate Professor of Old Testament, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary 10. “For the one who will read it aloud will be able to run with it” (Habakkuk 2:2c) David Toshio Tsumura, Professor of Old Testament, Japan Bible Seminar Section 3: The Rise of Literary Literacy 11. The History and Pre-History of the Hebrew Language in the West Semitic Literary Tradition Richard E. Averbeck, Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 12. Divine Action in the Hebrew Bible: “Borrowing” from Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and “Inspiration” C. John Collins, Professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary 13. Encoding and Decoding Culture Jens Bruun Kofoed, Professor of Old Testament, Fjellhaug International University College, 14. No Books, No Authors: Literary Production in a Hearing-Dominant Culture John H. Walton, Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College 15. The Discovery of the Book of the Law in 2 Kings 22:8–10 in the Light of the Literary Renaissance of the Eighth to Seventh Centuries in the Ancient Near East James K. Hoffmeier, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 16. “Read This Torah” (Deuteronomy 31:11): The Importance and Function of Israel’s Primary Scripture in Early Spiritual Growth David C. Deuel, Academic Dean Emeritus, The Master’s Academy International 17. What is a “Messianic Text”? The Uruk Prophecy and the Old Testament Ernest C. Lucas, Vice-Principal Emeritus, Bristol Baptist College, UK 18. “Joshua 24 and Psalm 81 as Intertexts” Cheryl Eaton, PhD Candidate, Trinity College, Bristol Section 4: Metaphorical Literacy 20. Belonging to YHWH: Real and Imagined Inscribed Seals in Biblical Tradition Carmen Joy Imes, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Prairie College, Three Hills, Alberta 21. Reading the Eye: Optic Metaphorical Agency in Deuteronomic Law A. Rahel Wells, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Andrews University 5. Epilogue 22. Literacy and Postmodern Fallacies Richard S. Hess, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Denver Seminary Abstract: 23. In Praise of a Venerable Scribe: A Tribute to Alan R. Millard Edwin M. Yamauchi, Professor of History Emeritus, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio [with contributions from Daniel I. Block and Paul J. N. Lawrence]