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Abstract
This paper investigates the presence and action of demons in New Kingdom medical texts, in which these supernatural beings are recognisable only by their determinative, whereas the etymology of certain names is not always clearly understood. Several scholars have presented their own interpretations about this topic, most of whom believe these names can be ascribed to illnesses or to the supernatural sphere, though others have expressed reservations about these ascriptions. A fresh analysis of medical texts from an emic perspective helps in reconsidering this topic: prescriptions and incantations suggest the ancient Egyptians really perceived these entities as supernatural beings and not merely as manifestations of illnesses. The presence of the same demons in other contexts, such as funerary texts, confirms this hypothesis and encourages an in-depth study of the medical sources.
Abstract
Ancient Near Eastern kings were always assumed to mediate between the divine and human worlds, but where they fell in the spectrum between mortal and divine varied from one king or dynasty to the next. Additionally, human kings could claim divine or semi-divine status through certain activities attached to the office of kingship. Through a diachronic survey, this study examines how the royal act of lawgiving elevated human rulers above other people. As lawgivers, these rulers could embody certain attributes of gods of justice within their political realms – most evident in metaphors attributing solar imagery and solar language to human rulers in royal ideology. Using cognitive metaphor theory, I examine the various ways that ancient audiences received and processed this figurative language, answering for themselves how the king could simultaneously be a mortal man and represent a solar god of justice.
Abstract
The paper revisits the Hurrian section that is inserted in the Ugaritic-language tablet RS 24.643 (KTU 1.148). The present work comprises two main parts: an individual analysis of each line and clause and a structural analysis of the whole hymn. A near complete elucidation of the hymn is proposed.
Abstract
The Urartian Kingdom is recognized for its idiosyncratic religious architecture and ritual practices. Tower-temples (susi) at the peak of citadels, dedicated to the “national” god Ḫaldi, constitute the most essential element of religious architecture. Additionally, cult areas with an altar and uninscribed stelae on pedestals, best known from Erzincan/Altıntepe, demonstrate that there were different types of sanctuaries in the Urartian world. Veneration of stelae is also known from depictions in seal-impressions. Recent discoveries of an open-air sanctuary with stelae at Varto/Kayalıdere and uninscribed stelae at Aznavurtepe and Yeşilalıç bear witness to the wide distribution of this cult. Although discoveries at Altıntepe and Varto/Kayalıdere led to an association of stelae with funerary cults, inscriptions that speak of Ḫaldi worship in front of stelae (pulusi) strongly suggest that stelae sanctuaries on the slopes of citadels must be related with the Ḫaldi cult, in whose name susi and temple complexes (É.BÁRA) were built in citadels.
Contributors are Christopher A. Born, Elizabeth Carson Pastan, Nicole Corrigan, Gillian B. Elliott, Barbara Franzé, Anne Heath, Philip Jacks, Divya Kumar-Dumas, Brigitte Kurmann-Schwarz, Ashley J. Laverock, Susan Leibacher Ward, Elodie Leschot, Meghan Mattsson McGinnis, Michael Sizer, Kelly Thor, and Laura J. Whatley.
Contributors are Christopher A. Born, Elizabeth Carson Pastan, Nicole Corrigan, Gillian B. Elliott, Barbara Franzé, Anne Heath, Philip Jacks, Divya Kumar-Dumas, Brigitte Kurmann-Schwarz, Ashley J. Laverock, Susan Leibacher Ward, Elodie Leschot, Meghan Mattsson McGinnis, Michael Sizer, Kelly Thor, and Laura J. Whatley.
Abstract
Recent research on disability and the Bible has made distinctive contributions to the field of biblical studies. Most work in this area focuses on representations of disability in the Bible, biblical language related to disability, or biblical themes that can be used for theologies of disability. This article proposes that scholars broaden the scope of this research by drawing on a disability consciousness to interpret texts that do not ostensibly discuss disability or disability-related themes. As a case study, this essay examines Philippians 3:2–11 in light of contemporary debates about cochlear implantation, and it argues that discourse about cochlear implants can inform debates about the ethno-religious identities of Paul and the Philippians. In so doing, the interpretive exercise supports the larger, hermeneutical thesis that a disability consciousness can yield insights into biblical passages—and related scholarly interests—that do not explicitly concern disability or themes commonly related to disability.
Abstract
A number of scholars have praised the work of René Girard as opening a way forward for biblical interpretation. This essay seeks to test the utility of Girard’s theories by applying them to a close reading of 2 Samuel 21:1–14. It concludes that Girard’s work draws attention to certain neglected themes but is unable to account for the narrative of 2 Samuel 21 in its final form.