Book Notes

Book Notes BOOK NOTES 135 Annotations of books in German were written by Walter Hirsch of Purdue University. Ancient World and Archaeology Before Writing, by Denise Schmandt-Besserat. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992. Vol. 1: From Counting to Cuneiform. 304 pp. $60.00 (c). ISBN 0-292-70793-5. Vol. 2: A Catalog ofNear Eastern Tokens. 544 pp. $85.00 (c). ISBN 0-292-70784-3. The origin of writing has puzzled experts for centuries. In this work, Denise Schmandt-Besserat offers evidence that when writing began in the Near East it was not a sudden and spontaneous invention, as previously thought, but rather the outgrowth of thousands of years' worth of experience at manipulating symbols. Biblical Israel: State and People, by Benjamin Mazar. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992. 175 pp. n.p.1. ISBN 965-223-797-3. A compilation of fourteen studies by biblical scholar Benjamin Mazar, surveying various facets of the formative period of biblical Israel's creation as a state: the general setting, the ethnic fabric, the religious fiber, and a comprehensive picture of the institution of the Israelite monarchy during the biblical period. Blessing and Curse in Syro-Palestinian Inscriptions of the Iron Age, by Timothy G. Crawford. New York: Peter Lang, 1992. 259 pp. $46.95. ISBN 0-8204-1662-2. This book examines blessings and/or curses in all published alphabetic inscriptions from Iron II (1000-586 B.C.E.) Syria-Palestine. Inscriptions having either blessing, curse, or both (in general or specific forms) have been collected and sorted according to the presence therein of deity names. Those inscriptions which call upon Yahweh, God of Israel, for blessing or curse 'have been separated from those which call upon other deities and from those which did not contain a deity name. The ~Iessings and curses in these inscriptions have then 136 SHOFAR Spring 1993 Vol. 11, No.3 been compared and contrasted both to each other and to the Hebrew Bible in order to show what the various peoples of that area and time meant by blessing and curse and how they expressed these ideas. Der Fremde im antiken juda (The Stranger in Ancient Judah), by Christoph Bultmann. G6ttingen: Vandenbroeck, 1992. 231 pp. DM 118. ISBN 3-525-53834-0. An exegetical analysis of the meaning of the term "ger" and the social role of the stranger in ancient Israel. (German) jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways A.D. 70 to 135, edited by James D. G. Dunn. Tiibingen: J.CB. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1992. 408 pp. DM 268. ISBN 3-16-145972-5. This volume consists of the papers read at the Durham-Tiibingen Research Symposium on Earliest Christianity and Judaism at Durham University in September 1989. The objective of the Symposium was to clarify when and to what extent we can speak of the parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism in the period spanned by the two Jewish revolts against Rome. The chief Jewish and Christian documents and traditions relating to the period are subjected to analysis in turn to draw out their significance for the topic. A summary of the Symposium's discussion and conclusions is included, and the papers have been revised (in some cases substantially) in the light of the discussion. The result is an integrated and near comprehensive study of the question. Prophetic Figures in Late Second Temple jewish Palestine: The Evidence fromjosephus, by Rebecca Gray. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 272 pp. $39.95. ISBN 0-19-507615-X. Isolated passages from the writings ofJosephus are routinely cited in general studies of early Jewish prophecy, but the present work is the first comprehensive examination of this material. Gray begins with a discussion of the significance of the belief-widely attested in Jewish sources from the late Second Temple period-that prophecy had ceased, and proceeds to outline a general theory about the nature and status of prophecy in this period. She gives careful consideration to the prophetic claims that Josephus makes for himself, and argues that these claims are more substantial and more important for understanding Josephus than is usually thought. Additional chapters. Book Notes 137 examine Josephus's reports concerning prophecy...