More on the SPhA 2006

Thanks to David T. Runia, I am now able to provide some more info about the contents of the most recent volume of the Studia Philonica Annual:

The editors of The Studia Philonica Annual are very pleased to announce the publication of Volume XVIII (2006). For the first time this volume is being published by SBL Publications (Atlanta). The Annual has been given an attractive new cover, showing a depiction of Ezra reading the Law from the Synagogue of Dura Europa.

We are convinced that this year’s volume will contain much material of interest to the Philonist and anyone working in the area of Hellenistic Judaism and its context in the ancient world. Through its bibliography, book reviews and other features it allows its readers to remain up to date on the latest developments in Philonic scholars. It is moreover attractively presented and priced.

We invite scholars to support our work by purchasing this volume.

Here are the publication details:
The Studia Philonica Annual. Studies in Hellenistic Judaism
Volume 18, 2006
David T. Runia and Gregory E. Sterling, editors
256 pages. ISBN 1-58983-253-1. Price $39.95 Cloth

Contents
Articles
Announcements; Steven Di Mattei, Moses’ Physiologia and the Meaning and Use of Physikôs in Philo of Alexandria’s Exegetical Method;
Philip R. Bosman, Conscience and Free Speech in Philo;
Pieter W. van der Horst, Two Short Notes on Philo.

Special Section: Philo’s De Virtutibus
David T. Runia, Introduction;
David Konstan, Philo’s De virtutibus in the Perspective of Classical Greek Philosophy;
James R. Royse, The Text of Philo’s De virtutibus;
Gregory E. Sterling, “The Queen of the Virtues”: Piety in Philo of Alexandria.

Review Article
Julia Annas, Recent Work on Plato’s Timaeus

Bibliography Section
D. T. Runia, E. Birnbaum, K. A. Fox, A. C. Geljon, H. M. Keizer, J. P. Martín, R. Radice, J. Riaud, D. Satran, G. Schimanowski, T. Seland,
Philo of Alexandria: an Annotated Bibliography 2003;
Supplement: Provisional Bibliography 2004–2006.


Book reviews by Cameron Boyd-Taylor, Jean Riaud, Erich S. Gruen, Andrei A. Orlov, John W. Marshall, Michael E. Stone, Ronald R. Cox, Maren Niehoff, David T. Runia
News and Notes; Notes on Contributors; Instructions to Contributors.

For more detailed contents and order form see the Annual’s website www.nd.edu/~philojud Or visit the SBL site, www.sbl-site.org

New URL

Kåre Fuglseth informs me that there has been a change in the url to his The Norwegian Philo Concordance Project page:

The new url is: http://webster.hibo.no/alu/seksjon/krl/kaare/filon/index.html

Officina Magica

Another note of Jim Davila (cp. below) made me aware of a recent book on Magic I hadn't noticed yet: Officina Magica: Essays on the Practice of Magic in Antiquity (Ijs Studies in Judaica, V. 4).Brill 2005.

The publishers 'blurb' says: "This book discusses various aspects of the theory and practice of magic in antique cultures around the Mediterranean. While some of its contributors address problems of methodology of research into magic and the definition of magic, others deal with specific historical and textual issues. Although a major focus is on Jewish texts ranging from antiquity to the medieval period, the book also includes studies of several magical texts from ancient Mesopotamia and their impact on later magical practice, and studies of Greek and Zoroastrian texts and artifacts. The approaches thus range from the examination of textual or visual sources to theoretical issues such as the history of research and the definition of magic."

I wonder if anyone 'out there' knows if this volume contains any article or sections related to magic in Philo's works? I presume Jim, for one, would know... A comment in my comments field below would be welcome..

Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft

Just a brief note on a new journal that has appeared, and a pointer to its webpage Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft(thanks to Jim Davila and manuscriptboy for the info). A sample of the first issue published can be seen here: summer issue 2006.

The Journal presents 'itself' as "A serious, rigorously peer-reviewed scholarly journal, Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft draws from a broad spectrum of perspectives, methods, and disciplines, offering the widest possible geographical scope and chronological range, from prehistory to the modern era and from the Old World to the New. In addition to original research, the journal includes book reviews, editorials, and lists of newly published work."

This subject might be considered some way off Philonic studies; but not so, at least not to me, as I have written an article on Philo and Magic, published last summer too.

Education in Ancient Egypt

Following a link in What is new in Abzu, I discovered an interesting website about
Education in Ancient Egypt, A K-12 Resource of the University of Michigan Papyrus Collection.

The site contains the followning subpages; Background, Curriculum, The Schoolhouse, Teachers & Students, Apprenticeships, Artifacts, The Gymnasium. Its a k-12 source, but it might nevertheless be informative for other students too.

Yet another interesting educational page-set on the same main site is this one on
Writing in Greco-Roman Egypt.

Bibliography on children

I discovered in another blog, a reference to a very comprehensive bibliography, available on the Web, on Children in Ancient World. A Bibliograaphy, made by Ville Vuolanto, University of Tampere, Finland,
3rd February 2006 (Fifth revised version), containing as much as 981 entries.

The bibliography does not contain any references to works on Philo; I might nevertheless (or just because of the lack), at least refer to an article by Adele Reinhartz located on my website: Adele Reinhartz, 'Philo’s Exposition of the Law and Social History: Methodological Considerations.'First printed in Eugene H. Lovering Jr. (ed.), SBL Annual Meeting 1993 Seminar Papers (Scholars Press, Atlanta, Georgia, 1993), pp. 6-21. Here scanned and made accessible as a .pdf file.
Another item lacking in the bibliography mentioned above, is a work of one of may own collegues here at The School of Mission & Theology, namely Odd Magne Bakke, When Children Became People. The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2005). 348pp.

Studia Philonica Annual 18 2006

Studia Philonica Annual XVIII
David T. Runia, Gregory E. Sterling, Hindy Najman
ISBN 1589832531
Price: $39.95
Binding Cloth

You who are lucky enough to get to the SBL Annual Meeting will probably have a chance to buy it; I hope to get hold of it in January.

Surviving?

Mark Goodacre has some relevant comments on an issue raised by an other blogger on Surviving SBL, that is, on how to survive during the conference. I know the problems very well, not at least how to survive all the temptations of buying too many books,and the problems of too many sessions to attend in too little time.

But this year I have no problems surviving at the SBL, but how to survive without attending the SBL. I am getting more and more in a condition of having abstinence symptoms. Have I been addicted to this annual event? I have to stay at home, for several reasons, being jealous of those attending.

However, I have strong hopes of being able to attend the meeting in San Diego next year! That's my carrot for the time being. :)