Free eBook: Fourth Maccabees and the Promotion of the Jewish Philosophy

Wipf and Stock is offering a free eBook copy of Fourth Maccabees and the Promotion of the Jewish Philosophy by David deSilva. The offer is valid until July 12. Here are the instructions to get your copy.

1. Click on this link.
2. Click "ADD TO CART" on the eBook option.
3. Use the code "FOURTHFREE"
4. Upon checkout completion, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions of how to download your free eBook.

Music in the Herodian Temple

Leen Ritmyer has a very interesting post here related to music in the Herodian temple with a specific focus on some recent archaeological information.

Azazel and the Day of Atonement

This post has a good discussion concerning traditions related to the azazel goat and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) during the Second Temple period.

Machaerus, the Mishnah, and the Second Temple

I recently had the opportunity to meet Professor Gyozo Vörös, the director of the Hungarian Academy of Arts excavations at Machaerus. We were not able to talk long but I was very interested in their work at Machaerus. Apparently much work has been done since I visited in 2007. Below is one fairly recent article on a recent find and its implications for understanding the second temple in Jerusalem.

"The monumental miqweh that has recently been unearthed at the Herodian hill fortress of Machaerus is an important addition to the corpus of this type of installation. Several of its features are true to type – its general form with a stairway leading down to the bottom, which extends across its entire width, the plaster coating and even the associated storage tank which is known from other miqwa'ot, although was fairly uncommon for the period. However, the stairway stands out on account of its resemblance to the staircase that led up to the Sanctuary of Herod’s Temple from the Court of the Priests, the detailed form of which is known only from tractate Middot of the Mishnah. Both stairways comprise twelve steps, arranged in groups of three, separated by deeper intermediate landings. Such ‘interrupted’ flights of stairs are characteristic of the late Second Temple Period and in different contexts: miqwa'ot, thoroughfares, Herod’s Temple and tomb complexes, as has been pointed out.

"The new finding at Machaerus demonstrates the remarkable accuracy of detail about the Temple that can be gleaned from the Mishnah. Many scholars have questioned the reliability of tractate Middot as a source of information on this edifice, on the grounds that it is not contemporaneous, only being codified in the 3rd century CE, but here we clearly see an example of its trustworthiness, provided that it is used critically."

David M. Jacobson, “A New Discovery at Machaerus Shines Light on Herod's Temple,” Revue Biblique 124 (2017), 583.

The Place of Trumpeting Inscription

Leen Ritmeyer has an interesting post here on the "place of trumpeting" inscription found in the southern Temple Mount excavations. One point that I found intriguing was Leen's suggestion that the inscription may have been Broken inadvertently by Charles Warren in 1867.

First Century Jews Still in Exile?

Mike Bird discusses the question of whether first century Jews considered themselves to be still in exile here. The discussion is brief and will not shed much light on the particulars but Bird does provide a good bibliography on the topic. 

Antiochus IV Coin Found

A coin of Antiochus IV (see Daniel 8, 9, 11) was found recently during some repairs at the Tower of David. You can see it and read about it here and here.

Second Temple Floor Tiles

A number of news outlets are reporting that archaeologists have been able to reconstruct the tile flooring of the second temple, more specifically and most likely Herod's temple. You can see these three stories (with one in Hebrew). I list all three because they have different pictures.

Jerusalem Post

NRG

Haaretz

HT: David Graves

Philo as Biblical Commentator: Leviticus

I recently picked up a copy of Torah from Alexandria: Philo as Biblical Commentator, Volume III: Leviticus. According to the publisher's description, "Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel has meticulously culled from all of Philo’s exegetical comments, and arranged them according to the biblical verses. He provides extensive parallels from rabbinic literature, Greek philosophy, and Christian theology, to present Philo’s writing in the context of his time, while also demonstrating Philo’s unique method of interpretation."

If anyone knows anything more about this volume, I would be very interested in hearing them.

Hurtado on Writing & Pronouncing the Divine Name in Second-Temple Jewish Tradition

Larry Hurtado has a fascinating explanation here related to how the Divine name YHWH was written and pronounced in Second-Temple Judaism and what the implications that this may have for Jesus being called Lord.

High Priest's Bell?

  
Leen Ritmeyer has a post on the possible discovery of one of the bells that may have been worn by the high priest during the Second Temple period. It is probably a bit early to be speculating too much, but it is interesting.
  

Messiah in the Temple Project

Leen Ritmeyer has posted here on the progress being made on the Messiah in the Temple project.

Challenge to N. T. Wright's View of Exile in Second Temple Judaism

David Miller has written an interesting challenge to N. T. Wright's view of exile in Second Temple Judaism. You can read his post here.

Second Temple Quarry Redux

Yesterday I posted a story on the recent discovery of a Second Temple quarry. Leen Ritmeyer has responded to the story. The long and short of it is that this quarry probably did not provide stones for Herod's temple as some have intimated. In any case read Ritmeyer's article here.

Another Second Temple Quarry Found Near Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that another Second Temple quarry has been found about two kilometers from old city Jerusalem. The quarry was apparently abandoned around A.D. 66-70.

On a related note, see this story about the challenges of doing archaeology in general in Jerusalem.