Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Hugo Holbling · 11-20-2004, 10:00 AM

Thanks to the efforts of Ian Hutchesson, we now have an excellent interview with Mario Liverani on the subject of the Ancient Near East in our Library. I thought it might be of interest to readers of this forum.

Toto · 11-20-2004, 10:17 AM

Is that Ian Hutcheson or Ian Hutchesson as spelled on the essay's page?

(Sorry to be picky, but sometimes people are sensitive about their names.)

Hugo Holbling · 11-20-2004, 12:04 PM

Please edit my OP to spell Hutchesson's name correctly. I hope more substantive comment will follow soon.

Vorkosigan · 11-20-2004, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugo Holbling

Thanks to the efforts of Ian Hutcheson, we now have an excellent interview with Mario Liverani on the subject of the Ancient Near East in our Library. I thought it might be of interest to readers of this forum.

That is not "our' library, Hugo. That is the library at Ebla. "Your" library. Also, the link goes to a main page, and not to the article itself, which is here. It might be a good idea to indicate which library is under discussion.

Good article, though. Actually not much to discuss, as he has positioned himself as a sensible middle alternative, though philosophically inclined to a more "minimalist" position.

Vorkosigan

Vorkosigan · 11-20-2004, 03:11 PM

Sorry, Hugo! I clicked on the wrong link.

Michael

Celsus · 11-20-2004, 07:07 PM

Also of interest, perhaps, is the interview with P.R. Davies, whom Bill Dever labelled variously a "deconstructionist", "revisionist", "postmodernist", "poststructuralist", and his work as "postmodern piffle". See for yourselves.

Joel

Vorkosigan · 11-20-2004, 07:19 PM

I found this fascinating in the latter interview:

Quote:

Our greatest expert on Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce, said: 'As the religion of a great empire, Zoroastrianism exerted its widest influence, notably on the Jews, contributing thus to shaping the beliefs and hopes of a large part of mankind.' It's hard to say for sure because unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, we don't have a corpus of ancient Persian religious texts, only mediaeval versions. But my hunch is that the influence is very great, not least because there is no criticism of Persian religion in the Bible, and that is suspicious. There are obvious traces in Isaiah 40-55 of Zoroastrian concepts, and many features like eschatology, angelology, written law-codes, antagonism to icons, make sense as influences from Zoroastrianism. Not to mention the dualism of the Qumran Community Rule. Was YHWH understood in Judah as a local manifestation of Ahura Mazda? Probably. In this way the problem of Judah's god being defeated by another nation's god was solved in a better way than blaming Judah's sins for its god's desertion. The fact is that Second Temple Judaism is so unlike any religion of Iron Age Judah that something fairly radical must have happened. Among other things, Yahweh lost his wife and images (another Persian influence?). Critics of Persian influence on the Bible (e.g. Yamauchi) often point to a lack of Persian words in it. But no one in Persian period Judah spoke Persian, not even the Persians. They spoke Aramaic.

Have you read Boyce?

Celsus · 11-20-2004, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorkosigan

Have you read Boyce?

Afraid not, though she is on my to-read list. I've read a bit of Yamauchi though, and he's rather, how do I put it nicely, crap.

Joel

Ted Hoffman · 11-21-2004, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celsus

Afraid not, though she is on my to-read list. I've read a bit of Yamauchi though, and he's rather, how do I put it nicely, crap.

Joel

Celsus, you can be quite a delight sometimes.

11-20-2004, 10:00 AM	#1
Hugo Holbling Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Self-banned in 2005 Posts: 1,344	Liverani and the Ancient Near East Thanks to the efforts of Ian Hutchesson, we now have an excellent interview with Mario Liverani on the subject of the Ancient Near East in our Library. I thought it might be of interest to readers of this forum.

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11-20-2004, 10:17 AM	#2
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Is that Ian Hutcheson or Ian Hutchesson as spelled on the essay's page? (Sorry to be picky, but sometimes people are sensitive about their names.)

11-20-2004, 12:04 PM	#3
Hugo Holbling Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Self-banned in 2005 Posts: 1,344	Please edit my OP to spell Hutchesson's name correctly. I hope more substantive comment will follow soon.

11-20-2004, 03:11 PM	#5
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	Sorry, Hugo! I clicked on the wrong link. Michael

11-20-2004, 07:07 PM	#6
Celsus Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 2,875	Also of interest, perhaps, is the interview with P.R. Davies, whom Bill Dever labelled variously a "deconstructionist", "revisionist", "postmodernist", "poststructuralist", and his work as "postmodern piffle". See for yourselves. Joel

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