I’m honored to host this month's
edition—the very first carnival of the new year. As this is my first time at
the helm, I humbly ask for your patience (and kindness!). The Biblical Studies
Carnival is a long-standing tradition of showcasing thought-provoking
scholarship, insightful reflections, and fresh perspectives on biblical
studies.
This month's roundup features a
diverse collection of essays, book reviews, and podcast episodes that I’ve come
across in my readings. Whether you’re a seasoned scholar or simply passionate
about the study of the Holy Scripture, I hope you’ll find something here to
spark your curiosity and deepen your understanding.
Enjoy these resources, and may
they inspire meaningful learning and discussion!
- · Joshua Berman brings to the fore a new book by Professor Aaron Hornkohl, which leverages historical linguistics to argue that the Torah exhibits the earliest linguistic profile among biblical texts, challenging prevailing academic theories that posit its later composition.
- · Mitchell First discusses the possible connection between the Homeric Greek word machaira (“sword”) and the Hebrew word מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם (in Gen. 49:5), concluding that the Hebrew word actually derives from the Hebrew root כרת which refers to the act of “cutting.”
- · Susan Niditch offers a curious study about why the Joseph carraraite in Genesis seems to portray the Egyptians in a positive light (while in other parts of the Bible, the Egyptians are presented as wretched idolaters and slave-masters).
- · Zach Truboff offers an essay that explores what it means that the Jewish Nation are a “stiff-necked people,” using Biblical thought infused with Hassidic insights.
- · Marg Mowczko discusses how the author of the Book of Hebrew in the Christian Bible followed the Greco-Roman science of its time in believing that women also emitted “seed” in conceiving a child.
- · Aton Holzer offers a learned essay on the parallels between the developments in Rome and in the Hasmonean Kingdom, using that to speculate on how the rabbis may have viewed the Hasmonean state.
- · Gavin Michal offers a fascinating overview of how Biblical translations that render the original Hebrew into other languages can influence or color theological ideas of those who read those translations:
- · Speaking of Bible translations, Yosef Lindell offers an erudite look at a forgotten 20th century Jewish translation of the Pentateuch into English by Dr. Philip Birnbaum. His essay seeks to explain why that particular book never “made it” in Orthodox Jewish circles.
- · The Jerusalem Post had a recent write-up about the so-called “Finger of Og” — which isn’t as gruesome as its name suggests; it just pillar from the Herodian period.
- · At the end of the year, lists like this one come out all the time, and here ASOR offers a list of the top archeological findings in the levant from 2024. All serious bible scholars have to keep their pulse on the latest in archeology to remain relevant.
- · I also came across this fascinating website, which is like an online museum exhibit that features a timeline of the Holy Land along with pictures and descriptions of various archeological artifacts found therein.
Podcasts
- · The newly-resurrected Biblical Mind Podcast from the Center for Hebraic Thought offers a discussion with Dru Johnson on defining what exactly is meant by the term “Hebraic Thought.”
- · On the This Week in the Ancient Near East podcast, there was a discussion of alphabets and new evidence of the use of the alphabet as early as the 3rd millennium in Syria.
- · Nachi Weinstein talks to Daniel R. Schwartz about the first two Books of Maccabees and how they are similar and different from each other.
- · Dovid Katz discussed the bad blood between King David and Joab as depicted in the Book of Samuel.
- · Yours truly (Reuven Chaim Klein) made an appearance on the Bible podcast It Means What it Means talking about Orthodox Judaism and the importance of the Bible in that tradition.
- · The always-entertaining and always-informative Biblical World podcast from OnScript has an episode about various Egyptian places that are important to the Exodus narrative.
- · Catherine Hezser talks about her recently published book on the formation of the Palestinian Talmud in the context of Late Antique scholasticism among Pagan Romans and early Christians. (full disclosure: I happen to be in middle of reading her book right now).
- · Michael Doran is interviewed on the Tikvah Podcast to discuss the theology behind the late President Jimy Cartner’s foreign policies concerning the Middle East (spoiler-alert: Carter viewed the Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin as the devil incarnate).
- · One of my favorite podcasts (which I’ve been following since the beginning), The History of English Podcast, started way back from Proto-Indo-European times and has finally gotten up to the reign of King James who commission the King James Bible in his newest episode.
- · Ari Lamm offers his take on the story of Joseph and his brothers, explaining that while the brothers planned to sell him into slavery, they never actually consummated that plan. But there are still profound lessons to be learned from the story.
