This book examines historical changes in the grammar of the Indo-Aryan languages from the period of their earliest attestations in Vedic Sanskrit (around 1000 bc) to contemporary Hindi. Uta Reinoehl focuses specifically on the rise of configurational structure as a by-product of the grammaticalization of postpositions: while Vedic Sanskrit lacks function words that constrain nominal expressions into phrasal units - one of the characteristics of a non-configurational language - New Indo-Aryan languages have postpositions which organize nominal expressions into postpositional phrases. The grammaticalization of postpositions and the concomitant syntactic changes are traced through the three millennia of Indo-Aryan attested history with a focus on Vedic Sanskrit, Middle Indic Pali and Apabhramsha, Early New Indic Old Awadhi, and finally Hindi. Among the topics discussed are the constructions in which the postpositions grammaticalize, the origins of the postpositional template, and the paradigmatization of the various elements involved into a single functional class of postpositions. The book outlines how it is semantic and pragmatic changes that induce changes on the expression side, ultimately resulting in the establishment of phrasal, and thus low-level configurational, syntax.

The Qur'anic verses 18:60-82 in Surat al-Kahf present the story of Khidr and Moses as a lesson on the modalities of being and of knowing. Traditionally, the story is seen from a variety of vantage points which include historical, textual, literary, and allegorical, each of which is framed differently depending upon the religio-cultural context. This book, in addition to examining the theological sources, traces the story's mythical, mystical, and popular interpretations engendered by the Qur'anic story. The author argues that the story's major contribution is its ability to communicate the importance of cultivating humility - a fundamental goal for any person of faith. Despite his importance in the Qur'an, Moses is not the main hero in this story; instead, he is being used to point to an even higher truth pertaining to the spiritual dimensions of faith. This book suggests that Khidr's Qur'anic story symbolizes these truths by providing a perspective on the tension between materiality and spirituality, the zahir (exoteric) and the batin (esoteric), and human and divine forms of knowledge. Additionally, in this work the Khidr narrative is viewed as a source of nourishment for theories that speak to the intersectionality between Islam and other religious traditions.

Unexplainable coincidences abound in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew. For example, the Hebrew words for ear and balance are derived from the same philological root. But it was only toward the end of the nineteenth century that scientists discovered that the human body s balancing mechanism resides in the ear. Coincidences in the Bible and in biblical Hebrew details scores of such incidents, including:

Words in Hebrew that show intent to convey a message
Coincidences in the Hebrew language that show intent to convey hidden information, and occasionally information that could not be expected to be known in biblical times
Passages in the Bible that convey or assume information or knowledge unlikely to have been known in biblical times
Other coincidences from Jewish tradition or Jewish history

In this second edition, author Haim Shore discusses two types of coincidences-those that can be considered just that, and others that are subject to rigorous statistical analysis. Altogether, nineteen analyses have been conducted with highly significant results. Simple plots that accompany the analyses clarify their meanings and implications so that no prior statistical know-how is required. Genesis creation story is statistically analyzed.

This comprehensive, textual treatment of the Kaifeng Passover Rite is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of the community's origins in particular and to comparative Jewish liturgy in general. The book includes a facsimile of one manuscript and a sample of the other, the full text of the Hebrew/Aramaic and Judeo-Persian Haggadah in Hebrew characters, as well as an English translation. Following a review of the community's history, sources for study, and related scholarly work conducted to date, the languages used in the Haggadah and their backgrounds are discussed in detail. Analysis of the order of the service allows for comparison of the Kaifeng Jewish community's recitation of the Passover liturgy, performance of ritual, and consumption of ceremonial food to other communities in the Jewish Diaspora. The various parts and chapters of the book, including its extensive and meticulous annotations and bibliographical references, provide much fresh and useful material for scholars and readers interested in pre-modern Jewish, Judeo-Persian and Chinese literary traditions and cultures. David Yeroushalmi, Tel Aviv University, 2015

"Speaking of Gods in Figure and Narrative" analyzes the figurative-narrative creation of gods, their heavenly abodes, and behaviors, reaching back to the beginning of history in Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, and Greece, and continuing through a biblical tradition that includes the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an. Each culture leaves its linguistic residue for the next to incorporate into its sacred texts, resulting in the perpetuation and validation of ancient imagining, attitudes, and ideas.

Night of Beginnings is a groundbreaking new haggadah for the Passover seder from acclaimed poet, translator, and liturgist Marcia Falk, beautifully designed and illustrated with original color drawings by the author. Unlike both traditional and new haggadahs, which do not contain a full recounting of the biblical story, Night of Beginnings presents the Exodus narrative in its entirety, providing a direct connection to the ancient origins of the holiday. This retelling highlights the actions of its female characters, including Moshe's sister, Miriam; Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts the baby Moshe; and the midwives Shifrah and Pu'ah, who save the Hebrew male infants. Falk's revolutionary new blessings, in Hebrew and English, replace the traditional, patriarchal seder blessings, and her kavanot-meditative directions for prayer-introduce a genre new to the seder ritual. Poems, psalms, and songs are arranged to give structural coherence to the haggadah. A new commentary raises interpretive questions and invites us to bring personal reflections into the discussion. Like the author's widely acclaimed previous prayer books, The Book of Blessings and The Days Between, Falk's poetic blessings for the seder envision the divine as a Greater Whole of which we are an inseparable part. The inclusive language of Falk's blessings makes room for women to find and use their voices more full-throatedly than they were able to do with the male-centered prayers inherited from the early rabbis. Men, too, will encounter here a spiritually moving and thought-provoking experience.

The Psalms have resulted in controversies between Jews and Christians over the centuries and it is only from the mid twentieth century onwards that the two traditions have worked side by side in the academy at least. This is one of the very few volumes on the psalms to incorporate scholarship from both these traditions for nearly a century, and the result is a rich celebration of these extraordinary ancient songs. This innovative essay collection draws together internationally renowned Jewish and Christian scholars of the Psalms, with one tradition responding to the other, in areas as diverse as Qumran studies, Medieval Jewish interpretation, Reception History, Liturgical Psalters and Chagall's Church Windows and more recent Literary Studies of the Psalter as a Book. The range of topics chosen will be of interest not only to those specializing in the Psalms but also to others interested more generally in biblical studies. Several musical and artistic representations of selected psalms are also included and the book includes a colour plate section which illustrates several of the chapters.

Though he has no formal rabbinical training, Ephraim Sobol began teaching a weekly parsha class in his community. In two years time, the class grew as his students shared their excitement. He began writing "Two Minutes of Torah," a weekly Dvar Torah email based on his class. These emails took on lives of their own, and soon they were a much sought after read. Appealing to audiences with a broad spectrum of knowledge, Two Minutes of Torah offers original and concise insights into the parsha. To help students connect with the lessons, he has woven many of his real-world experiences into his essays.In the third volume of his popular series of books on the parsha, Sobol completes that which he set out to do: provide a constant companion for those seeking insights on the parsha every week. Now spanning the entire Torah, these works have become an essential component of many Shabbos tables.Using a folksy and inviting manner Sobol provides fresh, deep insights into an ancient text.

The term desire in the Hebrew Bible covers a wide range of human longings, emotions, and cravings. The direct and explicit term of desire is nevertheless limited to only two roots found in the Decalogue-the verb forms of the lexical roots and , which reflect not only the dynamics of desire occurring in human beings, but also in God. With an comprehensive semantic analysis and an overview of the synonyms and antonyms, the author shows that the verb form of the lexical root denotes a variety of needs related to human existence including aspiration for God while the verb form of the lexical root denotes the desire to acquire material wealth and possessions beyond basic needs. All the findings are compared on two levels-in relation to human beings (objects and people) and in relation to God-and ultimately serve for the interpretation of the roots in both versions of the Decalogue (Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21) to resolve questions concerning the meaning of the desire in Tenth Commandment and substantiate whether the answers to life's questions provided by the Bible correspond to modern society.

The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature explores the growth, makeup, and transformation of Chan (Zen) Buddhist literature in late medieval China. The volume analyzes the earliest extant records about the life, teachings, and legacy of Mazu Daoyi (709-788), the famous leader of the Hongzhou School and one of the principal figures in Chan history. While some of the texts covered are well-known and form a central part of classical Chan (or more broadly Buddhist) literature in China, others have been largely ignored, forgotten, or glossed over until recently. Poceski presents a range of primary materials important for the historical study of Chan Buddhism, some translated for the first time into English or other Western language. He surveys the distinctive features and contents of particular types of texts, and analyzes the forces, milieus, and concerns that shaped key processes of textual production during this period. Although his main focus is on written sources associated with a celebrated Chan tradition that developed and rose to prominence during the Tang era (618-907), Poceski also explores the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Song (960-1279) periods, when many of the best-known Chan collections were compiled. Exploring the Chan School's creative adaptation of classical literary forms and experimentation with novel narrative styles, The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature traces the creation of several distinctive Chan genres that exerted notable influence on the subsequent development of Buddhism in China and the rest of East Asia.

In the wake of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the displacement of exile, there is a unique story that is told about the remnant left behind after the invasion. The narrative of Jeremiah 40-44 unfolds the challenges and crises of this community who remain in Judah as they negotiate their survival following the catastrophe of Jerusalem's fall. After the Invasion shares the often overlooked, but compelling story that emerges from the five later chapters of Jeremiah. Keith Bodner expertly reveals the assortment of personalities, geographic locations, shifts in point of view, temporal compression, and layers of irony. Primary focused on the narrative design of this text, Professor Bodner proves that these chapters form a creative and sophisticated narrative that make a rich, though perhaps underestimated, contribution to the book of Jeremiah as a whole.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

For countless generations families have lived in isolated communities in the Godavari Delta of coastal Andhra Pradesh, learning and reciting their legacy of Vedas, performing daily offerings and occasional sacrifices. They are the virtually unrecognized survivors of a 3,700-year-old heritage, the last in India who perform the ancient animal and soma sacrifices according to Vedic tradition. In Vedic Voices, David M. Knipe offers for the first time, an opportunity for them to speak about their lives, ancestral lineages, personal choices as pandits, wives, children, and ways of coping with an avalanche of changes in modern India. He presents a study of four generations of ten families, from those born at the outset of the twentieth century down to their great-grandsons who are just beginning, at the age of seven, the task of memorizing their Veda, the Taittiriya Samhita, a feat that will require eight to twelve years of daily recitations. After successful examinations these young men will reside with the Veda family girls they married as children years before, take their places in the oral transmission of a three-thousand-year Vedic heritage, teach the Taittiriya collection of texts to their own sons, and undertake with their wives the major and minor sacrifices performed by their ancestors for some three millennia. Coastal Andhra, famed for bountiful rice and coconut plantations, has received scant attention from historians of religion and anthropologists despite a wealth of cultural traditions. Vedic Voices describes in captivating prose the geography, cultural history, pilgrimage traditions, and celebrated persons of the region. Here unfolds a remarkable story of Vedic pandits and their wives, one scarcely known in India and not at all to the outside world.

What are the legal rights to ancient documents of editors, archaeologists, curators, or modern states? In the light of recent controversies, this collection emphasizes the status of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Palestine, recovered in Jordan, and largely edited by an international Christian team who prevented public access to unpublished manuscripts. Subsquently, the state of Israel, which had already purchased many of the Scrolls, has assumed responsibility for all of them. Most recently, one scroll editor has claimed copyright on his reconstruction, instigating a lawsuit and introducing serious implications for future Scrolls scholarship. This volume looks at international copyright and property rights as they affect archaeologists, editors and curators, but focuses on the issue of 'authorship' of the Scrolls, both published and unpublished, and the contributors include legal experts as well as many of the major figures in recent controversies, such as Hershel Shanks, John Strugnell, Geza Vermes and Emanuel Tov.

This collection takes the Hebrew book as a focal point for exploring the production, circulation, transmission, and consumption of Hebrew texts in the cultural context of the late medieval western Mediterranean. The authors elaborate in particular on questions concerning private vs. public book production and collection; the religious and cultural components of manuscript patronage; collaboration between Christian and Jewish scribes, artists, and printers; and the impact of printing on Iberian Jewish communities. Unlike other approaches that take context into consideration merely to explain certain variations in the history of the Hebrew book from antiquity to the present, the premise of these essays is that context constitutes the basis for understanding practices and processes in late medieval Jewish book culture.

For the first time, in one, book, are the three most popular English translations of the Qur an: the ones by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, and Muhammad Habib Shakir. Two of them, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Habib Shakir are Arabic scholars