April 2008 Archives
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April 30, 2008
Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Oh, My!
Get over to MU-PÀD-DA and check out Jay Crisostomo's relatively new blog. He tells us that MU-PÀD-DA is Sumerian connoting "called by name." And his sub-heading reads, chosen . . . for something . . . thoughts on life and...Read all of "Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Oh, My!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:47 PM
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April 29, 2008
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Online
Excepting Volume 20, U/W which is in preparation, the complete set of The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (aka The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary, CAD) is online, ready to download and free. I take this...Read all of "The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Online"
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April 28, 2008
Who Are These People?
And why are they on this list? I've been tagged by John Hobbins to play a little game with The Top 100 Public Intellectuals as published by Foreign Policy. I view this as a snobbish game but then I'm a...Read all of "Who Are These People? "
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April 26, 2008
Watch Out for Those Low Notes
Last night Shirley and I went to another free concert at Pomona College. This concert featured the Pomona College Orchestra and the Pomona College Choir along with four guest soloists. They performed Mozart's Mass in C Major sometimes called the...Read all of "Watch Out for Those Low Notes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:45 AM
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April 25, 2008
On The Boundaries of Ancient Hebrew "Writing"
As part of his series on Isaiah 38:9-20 John Hobbins took occasion to review the occurrences of מכתב in ancient Hebrew. In addition to Isaiah 38:9, he cites Exodus 32:16 (twice) and Deuteronomy 10:4 where the authors makes a distinction...Read all of "On The Boundaries of Ancient Hebrew "Writing""
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:55 PM
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April 24, 2008
Sectarian Science and Mecca Mean Time
Assuming you don't already have a headache and aren't afraid of getting one, check out this crazy stuff. Philip Plait at Bad Astronomy, whence comes the video link, has a few things to say about this nonsense. Here is one...Read all of "Sectarian Science and Mecca Mean Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:57 PM
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April 23, 2008
Did The King of Ugarit Write?
What follows is more or less wild speculation. Handle with care. Over the last few months, I've been worrying about the possibility that there were literate professionals and semiliterate persons at Ugarit. One motivation for this is the work, recent...Read all of "Did The King of Ugarit Write?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:52 PM
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April 21, 2008
To Jeane Murch
A dear friend died today. I have known Jeane Murch for decades. She was one of those people who brought life to every occasion. Her joy for life was contagious. For the last several months, Jeane fought an extremely debilitating...
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:12 PM
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April 20, 2008
The Truly Expelled
Get thee over to Blake Stacey's Science After Sunclipse and read about individuals who have really been expelled. And I'm quite sure this is a short list. And then visit Christopher O’Brien's place and see what he has to say...Read all of "The Truly Expelled"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:43 PM
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Excuses, Dinner and Seeming Irrelevancies
I spent most of yesterday and part of today trying to whip a paper into the proper format for submission to a journal. While software automates some of this work, I must do other parts of it by hand. I'm...Read all of "Excuses, Dinner and Seeming Irrelevancies"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:15 PM
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April 17, 2008
Why Bother Answering Silly Questions?
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks they're silly. Someone new to the issue might think they're meaningful. Some silly questions have dangerous implications. They're easy to answer. For anyone who thinks it silly to answer silly questions...Read all of "Why Bother Answering Silly Questions?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:45 PM
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April 16, 2008
On A Very Strange Question
For a number of reasons, none of them very good, I wasn't going to address Jim West's rather strange and naive "Question For Evolutionists." If natural selection and 'survival of the fittest' are the core notions of evolutionary theory, why...Read all of "On A Very Strange Question"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:23 PM
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How Long Do You Think It Took to Negotiate These Few Words?
While working on RS 1975.2, I decided to take a closer look at another tablet. RS 19.78 (PRU VI #52), also from Ugarit, reads in my translation, On this day, in front of witnesses, Akiteššub frees the commander of a...Read all of "How Long Do You Think It Took to Negotiate These Few Words?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:16 PM
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April 15, 2008
A Complete Course
Kevin Wilson at Blue Cord and Charles Halton at Awilum are reflecting on how and what to teach in a Hebrew Bible survey course. Their thoughts provoked nostalgic memories. Gerald Larue at USC taught the only Hebrew Bible survey course...Read all of "A Complete Course"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:55 AM
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April 13, 2008
CNN and the Faith Meme
This evening CNN hosted a two part forum, not a debate, with the two remaining Democratic candidates for President on extricating us from the worst foreign policy decision of my lifetime restoring our constitutional protections combating terrorism national energy policy...Read all of "CNN and the Faith Meme"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:05 PM
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April 12, 2008
Could He Have Been All That Certain?
I've been working on RS 1975.2, the last of the "lost" Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets. Michael Astour had responsibility for the publication of this large fragment of a letter written in Akkadian. The way I normally work on such things...Read all of "Could He Have Been All That Certain?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:31 PM
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April 11, 2008
David Noel Freedman
Many bloggers have already reflected upon the death of David Noel Freedman. He died April 8th. Freedman was one of those giants of 20th century biblical studies who continued to make very significant contributions to his last days. The list...Read all of "David Noel Freedman"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:27 PM
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April 10, 2008
Complicating a False Dichotomy
Chris Heard explains "Why Ken Miller isn’t in Expelled" and he uses associate producer Mark Mathis's own words to do it. But I would tell you from a, my personal standpoint as somebody who’s worked on this project, that Ken...Read all of "Complicating a False Dichotomy"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:42 AM
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April 9, 2008
Global Warming for the Drinking Classes
If this The Sun article doesn't raise consciousness, I don't know what will. CLIMATE change could send the price of beer rocketing because it might hamper the production of a key grain needed for the brew, a scientist has warned....Read all of "Global Warming for the Drinking Classes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:30 PM
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April 8, 2008
The Final Missing Administrative Tablet: RS 1957.701 (KTU 4.709)
KTU 4.709 is part of the set missing Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets that I've been discussing. The picture to the left is of a cast of the obverse of the tablet with the name Ashdod circled. The tablet itself...Read all of "The Final Missing Administrative Tablet: RS 1957.701 (KTU 4.709)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:20 PM
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April 7, 2008
Our Bougainvillea
This mostly red bush is a Bougainvillea (Plantae, Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Caryophyllales, Nyctaginaceae, bougainvillea [I don't know the sub-species]). It is extremely beautiful this time of year and will remain so throughout spring and summer and well into the fall. Even...Read all of "Our Bougainvillea"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:23 PM
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April 6, 2008
Another Missing Tablet: RS 1957.3
The other day I discussed a missing administrative tablet from Ugarit and mentioned that three other tablets are now lost. Today I'll discuss another one of those missing tablets. It too is an administrative tablet written in Akkadian and from...Read all of "Another Missing Tablet: RS 1957.3"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:40 PM
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April 5, 2008
The Hermeneutics Quiz
A few months ago, Scot McKnight published one of the stranger quizzes I have seen in some time. He called it "The Hermeneutics Quiz" and said, "This quiz is designed to surface the decisions we make, perhaps without thinking about...Read all of "The Hermeneutics Quiz"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:26 PM
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April 4, 2008
Where Is It Now?
Over there on the left is a picture of a cast of a small cuneiform tablet. The original is almost certainly from Ugarit. The actual tablet is black. The picture is very near actual size: 3.4 cm by 1.6 cm....Read all of "Where Is It Now?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:44 AM
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April 3, 2008
The Real Biblical Studies Carnival XXVIII Is Up
Chris Weimer has posted the real Biblical Studies Carnival XXVIII at Thoughts on Antiquity. Nothing fishy and little Zwinglian about this attempt. Chris has done a great job of bringing together a diverse set of posts from last month. These...Read all of "The Real Biblical Studies Carnival XXVIII Is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:06 PM
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April 1, 2008
Not In My Family, Not This Time
For a while, Shirley thought this individual was one of my relatives. Hans Jacob Holtzapfel, born about 1662 in Franfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany; died June 17, 1684 in Michelfeld near Sinnsheim, Germany. Executed: beheaded and burnt at the stake...Read all of "Not In My Family, Not This Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:46 PM
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My April Fools Day Came March 31
And my computer played that April fools joke on me at the Society for Biblical Literature, Pacific Coast Regional meeting. I planned to use projected slides to supplement my presentation. I made sure everything was working correctly before the session....Read all of "My April Fools Day Came March 31"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:01 AM
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