Some months ago I wrote about my work with Michael Sperling analyzing and graphing the rabbinic citation network in the Babylonian Talmud (see here). Our full academic paper on this remains forthcoming (although all of our data and code is now … [Continue reading] about The Rabbinic Citation Network
Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine: Presentation
It's been quite a year and for many completely prosaic reasons I have not kept up this blog as I should have. This is not to say that I have not been busy (even if, at time, languishing under the conditions of the year), although not in the kinds of … [Continue reading] about Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine: Presentation
Ben Sira and Wine
I recently published a commentary on the book of Ben Sira in the Jewish Annotated Apocrypha. As a result of that, I was invited by Rabbi Drew Kaplan to appear on his podcast series, "Jewish Drinking." Before this appearance, I had never much … [Continue reading] about Ben Sira and Wine
Josephus’s Knowledge of Scripture
In my book, How the Bible Became Holy, I suggested that both Josephus and Paul should be seen in a similar light: Jews from Jerusalem who, like many in their class, were brought up with little knowledge of Hebrew or Scripture, and whose first real … [Continue reading] about Josephus’s Knowledge of Scripture
Sirach vs. Ben Sira
The Book of Ben Sira was written in Hebrew by a Jewish scribe around 180 BCE. Jews (well, the Jews who could read) read and ascribed authority to it until the early Middle Ages. The Cairo Geniza contains several manuscript copies. And then it kind … [Continue reading] about Sirach vs. Ben Sira