Head of All Years: Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran in their Ancient Context
Author(s): Jonathan Ben-Dov (Author)
Publisher: Brill
Publication Date: August 22, 2008
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Print length: 332 pages
ISBN-10: 900417088X
ISBN-13: 9789004170889
Book Description
Rather than being an isolated, primitive body of knowledge the Jewish calendar tradition of 364 days constituted an integral part of the astronomical science of the ancient world. This tradition―attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Pseudepigrapha―stands out as a coherent, novel synthesis, representing the Jewish authors’ apocalyptic worldview. The calendar is studied here both “from within”―analyzing its textual manifestations ―and “from without”―via a comparison with ancient Mesopotamian astronomy. This analysis reveals that the calendrical realm constituted a significant case of inter-cultural borrowing, pertinent to similar such cases in ancient literature. Special attention is given to the “Book of Astronomy” (1 Enoch 72-82) and a variety of calendrical and liturgical texts from Qumran.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Jonathan Ben-Dov has won the 2010 Michael Bruno Memorial Award. The Michael Bruno Memorial Awards are granted each year to Israeli scholars and scientists of truly exceptional promise, whose achievements to date suggest future breakthroughs in their respective fields. Candidates must not yet have passed the age of fifty.
From the Back Cover
Rather than being an isolated, primitive body of knowledge the Jewish calendar tradition of 364 days constituted an integral part of the astronomical science of the ancient world. This traditiona “attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Pseudepigraphaa “stands out as a coherent, novel synthesis, representing the Jewish authorsa (TM) apocalyptic worldview. The calendar is studied here both a oefrom withina a “analyzing its textual manifestations a “and a oefrom withouta a “via a comparison with ancient Mesopotamian astronomy. This analysis reveals that the calendrical realm constituted a significant case of inter-cultural borrowing, pertinent to similar such cases in ancient literature. Special attention is given to the a oeBook of Astronomya (1 Enoch 72-82) and a variety of calendrical and liturgical texts from Qumran.
About the Author
Jonathan Ben-Dov, Ph.D (2005), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is a Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Second Temple Literature at the University of Haifa. He has co-authored the edition of calendrical texts in the series Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (Oxford University Press, 2001), and published a series of articles in the field.
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