December 2008 Archives
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December 31, 2008
Scholarly Tablets from the Royal Palace at Ugarit
For a variety of abnormal reasons, I'm building a database of the scholarly tablets from Ugarit. By "scholarly tablets" I mean tablets used by master scribes to teach students or the work of the students themselves on such tablets: lexical...Read all of "Scholarly Tablets from the Royal Palace at Ugarit"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:20 PM
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December 30, 2008
Scribal Culture of the Heart
While traveling last week I read David Carr's Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature (Oxford University Press, 2005) and finished reading the endnotes to Karel van der Toorn's Scribal Culture and the Making of...Read all of "Scribal Culture of the Heart"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:22 AM
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December 29, 2008
A Warmer Shade of Cold
We are back from the not as cold as we thought it might be Midwest and a great vacation with our daughter. Don't get me wrong, when we arrived it was 1º F. But a week later we where enjoying...Read all of "A Warmer Shade of Cold"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:30 PM
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December 20, 2008
Off to Kent Ohio
Next week I will post very infrequently if at all. Shirley and I leave tomorrow morning to visit our daughter in Ohio. Of course, if the world ends I will share a few abnormal thoughts. The other day we received...Read all of "Off to Kent Ohio"
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December 18, 2008
The Finest Facilities
As a break from other things, I continue to scan my old 35mm slides. I found this gem a little while ago. I took this picture in August of 1971. We were on our way to the Mitla Pass. It...Read all of "The Finest Facilities"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:17 PM
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December 17, 2008
Why?
.... Dr. Rick Warren, an evangelical minister of the Saddleback Church, [is] among the select group of people who will participate in Barack Obama’s inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20. [New York Times] Warren will deliver the invocation. I know...
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:22 PM
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December 16, 2008
The End of Life As I Have Known It
I no longer have a job, part time, or otherwise. I have worked part time over the last five years and full time for five years before that for a small company. But from now on, I won't be getting...Read all of "The End of Life As I Have Known It"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:22 PM
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December 15, 2008
The Latest Zeitschrift für Assyriologie
The December, 2008, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie (Volume 98, Number 2) is now available. Here's the table of contents: Antoine Cavigneaux, "Jean Bottéro 31.8.1914–15.12.2007" Daniel Potts, "Puzur-Inšušinak and the Oxus Civilization (BMAC): Reflections on Šimaški and the geo-political...Read all of "The Latest Zeitschrift für Assyriologie"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:08 PM
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December 14, 2008
Ghosts and UFOs and Witches, Oh My!
And many other unjustified beliefs are extremly popular. Some are more popular than an extremely well justified belief. If you've ever wondered why unjustified beliefs are problematic, check out this Harris Interactive Poll. Normally, I would have had more to...Read all of "Ghosts and UFOs and Witches, Oh My!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:03 AM
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December 12, 2008
Friday Culture Word: reed > canon
This post relies on a post I wrote last year on etymology of the word "canon." That post was a reaction to something Claude Mariottini said. qn(h) is the common Semitic word/root for "reed." It not only appears in Biblical...Read all of "Friday Culture Word: reed > canon"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:27 PM
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December 11, 2008
Göbekli Tepe: Navel of the Earth Pot-bellied Hill
Yesterday, Aydin Örstan at Snail's Tales discussed a writer who went well beyond the evidence. In this case, the writer made an error of 'cosmic proportions' based on a misunderstanding of the modern name of a site. Checkout Aydin's post....
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Posted by Duane Smith at 8:25 PM
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December 10, 2008
References to the Reading and Writing of Kings
I continue to be abnormally interested in the literacy of kings in the ancient world. At this time, I'm trying to pull together a list of all explicit references to any Biblical king or queen who is said to have...Read all of "References to the Reading and Writing of Kings"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:36 PM
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December 9, 2008
Loren Fisher in the Land of Purple
My friend and teacher Loren Fisher just lunched a new website, The Land of Purple. Loren says this about his site, Here is what you can find in the Land of Purple. You will find fact and fiction. I try...Read all of "Loren Fisher in the Land of Purple"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:31 AM
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December 7, 2008
From Religious Tract to Musical Classic
This is free concert season at the local colleges, three of them in the last three days and two more to come early in the week. This afternoon the Pomona College Choir under the direction of Donna M. DiGrazia preformed...Read all of "From Religious Tract to Musical Classic"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:47 PM
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December 6, 2008
Plato on the Propriety and Impropriety of Writing
Does this mean we should all stop blogging and take up reality? For the impatient, the punch line is at the bottom of the quotation. SOCRATES: But there is something yet to be said of propriety and impropriety of writing....Read all of "Plato on the Propriety and Impropriety of Writing"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:06 PM
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December 5, 2008
Friday Loanword: What is a Loanword?
Over the last few months, I've been writing about words that appear to be borrowed into Biblical Hebrew from Akkadian. I haven't posted on nearly all of them, but I have cited most of the uncontroversial ones that fairly clearly...Read all of "Friday Loanword: What is a Loanword?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:12 PM
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December 4, 2008
Charles Halton on Archaeology
Is Charles at Awilum trying to tell me something? Five of my last six posts have been on archaeology. But then those posts were "narrow and exceedingly dry" blog posts and not "narrow and exceedingly dry "academic papers. I guess...Read all of "Charles Halton on Archaeology"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:43 AM
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December 3, 2008
Khirbet Qeiyafa, One More Time
Today Chris Heard at Higgaion wrote a post called, "Khirbet Qeiyafa slideshow by Garfinkel and Ganor." Chris makes several important points as he assesses the slide presentation that Garfinkel and Ganor gave at this year's ASOR meeting. One of their...Read all of "Khirbet Qeiyafa, One More Time"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:14 PM
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December 2, 2008
New Study Confirms C14 Dating for the Eruption of Thera
Based on new radiocarbon analysis of an olive tree branch, Walter Friedrich and Walter Kutschera date for the eruption of Thera (Santorini) to 1613 BCE plus or minus 10 years. Two olive branches buried by a Minoan-era eruption of the...Read all of "New Study Confirms C14 Dating for the Eruption of Thera"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:28 PM
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December 1, 2008
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVI is Up
At the stroke of midnight last night, Jim West posted Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVI. As expected, he did an outstanding job. You're sure to find something of abnormal interest in the area of academic Biblical studies. And if you don't,...Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVI is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:02 AM
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