July 2007 Archives
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July 31, 2007
Help!
How about one of you bibliobloggers doing a nice little post or comment on Ezekiel 16:47? While the whole verse is of interest, I'd like to know what you make of כִּמְעַט קָט. No fair emending or even deleting קָט...
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:35 PM
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July 30, 2007
Two Unfinished Works
Stop the presses: I was about to post my translation and comments on the next section of the Ugaritic veterinary text KTU 1.85 when a new interpretation of this section occurred to me. The idea seems all too obvious. But...Read all of "Two Unfinished Works"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:14 PM
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July 29, 2007
Helena Zheng
Helena Zheng is a friend of mine. She is part of a small group of engineers that I lunch with almost very Monday. (Yes, they are all women.) Helena came to the US from the China when she was 18....Posted by Duane Smith at 3:19 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
July 28, 2007
A Horse in Pain or Just a Painful Text?
I continue my look at the Ugaritic veterinary text KTU 1.85 with lines 12-17. [If you see squares, rectangles or something else that doesn't look right, please install the Charis SIL font.] 12) [k . yi]ḫd . akl . śśw...Read all of "A Horse in Pain or Just a Painful Text?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:56 PM
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July 27, 2007
Is Your Horse Constipated or Suffering from Ischuria?
Here's what KTU 1.85, the veterinary text from Ugarit, tells you to do. [If you see squares, rectangles or something else that doesn't look right, please install the Charis SIL font.] 9) w . k . l . yḫru ....Read all of "Is Your Horse Constipated or Suffering from Ischuria?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:24 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
More Tablets from Alalakh
Excavators have found a new cache of tablets at Alalakh, Tell Atchana, in southern Turkey. According to reports, these just discovered tablets come from the "Level VII Palace courtyard sounding." I think Level VII is Middle Bronze Age. Middle Bronze...Read all of "More Tablets from Alalakh"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:39 AM
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July 26, 2007
More Medication Down a Horse's Nose
I got so excited thinking about what a horse might do if someone poured a noxious mixture down its nose that I decided to try to translate a couple more sections of KTU 1.85. But before I could do anything...Read all of "More Medication Down a Horse's Nose"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:05 PM
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July 25, 2007
How to Take Care of a Coughing Horse
Well, how you might take care of a coughing horse if you lived in Ugarit during the Late Bronze age. The other day I mentioned Pardee's Les Textes Hippiatriques. The book deals with four Ugaritic tablets, all broken to varying...Read all of "How to Take Care of a Coughing Horse"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:22 PM
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July 24, 2007
A New Breed of Archaeologist
Check this out....Read all of "A New Breed of Archaeologist"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:37 AM
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July 23, 2007
On My AMule Again
In this post, I do penance for making an erroneous comment about mules on Blue Cord a couple of weeks ago. Well, it was not exactly about mules but about the Ugaritic word for "mule." Much of the delay in...
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Posted by Duane Smith at 7:28 PM
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July 22, 2007
There is No Excuse for This
We have the same kind of pots and pans as a woman from Santa Barbara and they are very easy to clean. So there's no excuse for her having this kind of a stain on one of her pots. It...Read all of "There is No Excuse for This"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:55 AM
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July 21, 2007
Mark Twain on Horses and Mules
Some of Mark Twain's funniest stories are about various encounters with horses. But since I am currently thinking about mules, I decided to see if he had anything abnormally interesting to say about them. Well, it turns out that he...Read all of "Mark Twain on Horses and Mules"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:16 PM
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July 20, 2007
In Preparation for Something Unimportant
I've been working on something for much longer than it deserves. I'm still not quite ready to post on it or even disclose exactly what "it" is. So I thought I'd post a few random comments of various Akkadian words...Read all of "In Preparation for Something Unimportant"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:59 PM
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July 18, 2007
What's a ŠA Among Friends?
I've been watching the continuing discussion of the Nabu-sharrussu-ukin tablet. Chris Heard has another good post on it and, in the comments, Kevin Edgecomb of Biblicalia makes important points on the title rab ša rēsi. He correctly tells us to...Read all of "What's a ŠA Among Friends?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:46 PM
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Mycenaean Grave Found
During road construction workers found a Mycenaean grave near Agrinio in the Peloponnese. Archaeologists said it appeared to be the grave of a local military official and was the first time a single grave had been found with such a...Read all of "Mycenaean Grave Found"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:31 PM
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July 17, 2007
Four Stone Hearth 19
The nineteenth edition of Four Stone Hearth, the anthropology blogging carnival, is now up at Sherd Nerd. Amanda has done a great job of pulling all this together. There's something for everyone who cares to sit around the fire and...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth 19"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:49 PM
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New Religions
Six miles from the nearest road, in the vast Siberian wilderness, a bearded man in flowing white linen robes sat at his kitchen table and talked about his crucifixion at the hands of Pontius Pilate 2,000 years ago. In a...
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:39 AM
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July 15, 2007
Foreign Fighters in Iraq
Based in data provided by "a senior US military officer" and "Iraqi lawmakers" the Los Angeles Times reported the follow breakdown of foreign fighters in Iraq: 45% from Saudi Arabia 15% from Syria and Lebanon 10% from North Africa. Juan...Read all of "Foreign Fighters in Iraq"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:04 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
On Learning Greek
John Habbins and Iyov are having a conversation that I'm tempted to get into but likely won't, at least for now. As part of a much larger point Iyov makes this observation, . . . attempting to learn two languages...Read all of "On Learning Greek"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:26 AM
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July 14, 2007
Two Simple Challenges
Christopher Hitchens has two simple challenges in response to Michael Gerson's op-ed in yesterday's Washington Post. Here is my challenge. Let Gerson name one ethical statement made, or one ethical action performed, by a believer that could not have been...Read all of "Two Simple Challenges"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:48 PM
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July 13, 2007
Nabu-šarrussu-ukin on a Tablet
I'm a little late to the party. Many abnormally interesting things about a recently announced tablet with the name Nabu-šarrussu-ukin have already been said. Nabu-šarrussu-ukin is a name that may or may not be related to a possible Nebo-sarsekim who...Read all of "Nabu-šarrussu-ukin on a Tablet"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:45 PM
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July 12, 2007
The Wellcome Trust Images
The Wellcome Library has a nice collection images that are available under Creative Commons 2.0., a license similar to the license that allows you to pilfer things from Abnormal Interests (full attribution, without commercial use and, in their case, without...Read all of "The Wellcome Trust Images"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:00 AM
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July 11, 2007
Possibility, Probability, Proof and a Reed Boat
I often complain about the misuse of the word "proof." I like to remind people that logicians and mathematicians have proofs and everyone else has (or doesn't have) evidence that points to a probability. But every so often, I discover...Read all of "Possibility, Probability, Proof and a Reed Boat"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:01 AM
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July 8, 2007
Literate? Be Thankful for Underwear
Moveable type may have had a role in increasing literacy but don't forget underwear. “The development of literacy was certainly helped by the introduction of paper, which was made from rags,” says Dr Marco Mostert, a historian at the Centre...Read all of "Literate? Be Thankful for Underwear"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:21 PM
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July 7, 2007
The 23rd Psalm, a Stolen Credit Card and an Appearance Bond
If you don't get the relationship between these three things, you'll understand it when you read The Angry Astronomer or this AP article. Appalling! There's no other word for what you will read there. Every criminal needs to know his...Read all of "The 23rd Psalm, a Stolen Credit Card and an Appearance Bond"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:14 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
"Intercourse with God" or Simply a Mirage
My post in reaction to comments by Claude Mariottini has generated a fair amount of discussion. You can read some of it here and here and here and here. Be sure to checkout the comments. I admit to not understanding...Read all of ""Intercourse with God" or Simply a Mirage"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:18 AM
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July 6, 2007
Not in My Family
I think I've mentioned that Shirley is trying to fine at least one honorable person in either one of our backgrounds. So far she has traced part of her family line back to the 16th century and part of mine...Read all of "Not in My Family"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:40 PM
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July 5, 2007
Akkadian Is So Easy
One of the blogs I look at via my RSS feed everyday is Language Log. If you're not familiar with Language Log, it is certainly worth an extended visit. Yesterday, Bill Poser reported on a couple of remarks by Matthew...Read all of "Akkadian Is So Easy"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM
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July 4, 2007
Let Freedom Real Estate Ring!
A real estate broker working for a national real estate firm placed small flags in front of every house in an adjoining neighborhood. Why didn't he place them in our neighborhood? I'll tell you. I do not know but I'm...
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Posted by Duane Smith at 1:08 PM
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Four Stone Hearth is Up
Checkout Four Stone Hearth 18 at Clioaudio. Alun's presentation is very imaginative; so imaginative that he even included one of my posts from last month. My only problem is that by my count there are seven major headings (Death and...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:12 AM
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My 4th of July Wish List
What would it take to make me feel patriotic again? Ending the current aristocracy Returning to a government of laws and not men Telling the truth with regard to public matters Having people in government who believe in government Returning...Read all of "My 4th of July Wish List"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:46 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
July 3, 2007
Here's to a Life Full of Length of Days
The other day I discussed a Hebrew epigraphic text from Kuntillet Ajrud. In that post, I dealt with a minor but potentially important point of grammar. However, that point of grammar is not the most interesting thing about Kuntillet Ajrud...Read all of "Here's to a Life Full of Length of Days"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:23 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
July 2, 2007
Who Can "Fully" Interpret the Bible?
I've been meaning to write something on this subject anyway. Yesterday's online interview with Claude Mariottini provided the necessary motivation. Check out the interview. It is abnormally interesting and visit Claude's blog while you're at it. Claude is an extremely...Read all of "Who Can "Fully" Interpret the Bible?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:13 AM
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July 1, 2007
Local Warming
We live in what the weather people call "the valleys." It's been rather warm the last few days here in these valleys east of Los Angeles, 95º or so. But it looks like it is really going to warm up...
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:22 PM
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Biblical Studies Carnival XIX
Biblical Studies Carnival XIX is up on Stephen Cook's Biblische Ausbildung. I don't remember a month that had so much good stuff as this June did. Stephen has done a great job pulling it all together for us....Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnival XIX"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:40 AM
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God's Floods
There's major flooding in some parts of the UK and a couple of Bishops know why. The summer floods are God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society, claim senior Church of England bishops. [Telegraph] The Telegraph article...
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:04 AM
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