Van Der Toorn Research Articles

Scribal culture and the making of the Hebrew Bible

Scribal Culture and Making of Hebrew Bible, by Karel van der Toorn. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2007. 401 pp. $35.00. Scribal Culture and Making of Hebrew Bible, Karel van der Toorn seeks origins of Bible in scribal of ancient Israel. As he acknowledges, what sets his study apart from other contributions on subject is its extensive use of comparative method (p. 3). The author describes his work as a in four stages (p. 4). First, he conducts a reconnaissance of roles of writing and authorship and place of written texts in ancient Near East (Chapters 1 and 2). He concludes that a book culture did not exist; rather author in Israel and Mesopotamia a craftsman, whose talent was not an instrument to express private and personal but a way to attain pinnacle of collective art (pp. 46-47). second phase, van der Toorn explores scribal milleu and its modes of production (Chapters 3, 4, and 5). He argues that cosmopolitan spirit of scribal made it open to influences from outside world (p. 53); thus a study of Israelite scribal naturally lends itself to use of comparative data. Inasmuch as author takes his methodological cues from nature of evidence itself, his work provides a superb model for use of comparative method. However, it bears considering that oral may have had a stronger foothold in Israel than it did in Mesopotamia and Egypt (as witness vast difference in numbers of texts that have come down to us from Israel and its vicinity as compared with Egypt and Mesopotamia - a fact that perhaps should not be explained on basis of preservation alone). If indeed Israel differed from its distant neighbors in this regard, this may have affected a distinct set of Israelite attitudes towards scribalism itself, a possibility that van der Toorn does not address. third phase of his work he applies his conclusions to two biblical case studies: of Deuteronomy (Chapter 6) and of Jeremiah (Chapter 7). While both books contain illuminating references to production and transmission of texts, scholars widely recognize that these books share a common outlook and vocabulary that suggests close temporal and institutional connections. Van der Toorn admits this, speculating that scribes behind Jeremiah had same background as, or were even identical with, scribes behind Deuteronomy (p. 199). These books then, probably should not be regarded as representative of the making of Bible as a whole (p. 7), as van der Toorn suggests. His analysis may provide a more limited picture of Israelite scribal than he acknowledges. The author's choice of Deuteronomy as a sample of scribal is dependent on 1889 work of Karl Marti, who identified iorwf yhwh attributed to deceitful pen of scribes, in Jeremiah 8:8, as of Deuteronomy. Van der Toorn explains, In view of obvious connection berween Deuteronomy and the'book of Teaching,' underlying religious reform carried out by King Josiah in 622, it makes sense to think that it indeed an early edition of Deuteronomy that provoked Jeremiah's criticism. On assumption that Deuteronomy is a product of 'pen of scribes' then, it can be read as a mirror in which scribal is reflected (p. 143). Van der Toorn's logic here reflects an array of unsubstantiated assumptions. …

Planets, Livers and Omens in Mesopotamia

Thanks to important and original publications such as those above, the Laffen, Doktoren, Magister, Schreiber and Pfaffen of ancient Mesopotamia gradually crawl out of millennial woodwork: modern scholars are able to reconstruct their philosophy, law, medicine, and theology with increasing confidence and insight. Here, where one monograph and a collection of sixteen essays are reviewed,' the emphasis will be on philosophy (using the word in a broad sense, to include all types of systematic, connective, or reflexive thought). David Brown's monograph treats of that area of Mesopotamian thought and culture where 'science' has been found with the greatest sanguineness, namely astronomy-astrology, while the essays edited by Tzvi Abusch and Karel van der Toorn treat of that area in which it has least been sought, namely magic. We will be suggesting that the two have not little in common. The volume of essays is organised into three parts: I. Theoretical Perspectives, II. Surveys and Studies, III. Texts. In its entirety, the collection constitutes both a very substantial and innovative scholarly contribution to the study of Mesopotamian magic and

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (review)

The Jewish Quarterly Review, XCII, Nos. 3-4 (January-April, 2002) 497-505 Review Essay Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. van der Horst. Second Extensively Revised Edition . Leiden, Boston and Köln: Brill; Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cambridge , UK: William B. Eerdmans, 1999. Pp. xxxviii + 960. Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev According to a well-known aggadah (Midrash Rabbah on Exod 5:2; cf. Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc), Pharaoh, not knowing the God of Israel, examined his palace archives where the names of the gods of all the nations were listed in order to verify the credentials of the upstart YHWH whom Moses claimed to represent. Were he living in Mesopotamia, he could have asked to see a copy of the great god list An = Anum. If he were alive today, he would certainly request the book under review. The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) is an encyclopedia of all the divine, semi-divine, deified, hypostasized, and no-longerdivine beings mentioned in the Bible. DDD's purpose is to provide convenient , state of the art information and an updated, comprehensive bibliography about every indigenous and foreign deity mentioned in Scripture: both how they were conceived of in their religions of origin and how they are portrayed or function in the Bible. Any deity suspected of being mentioned or alluded to in the Bible even once is included, no matter how obscure , minor or dubious he/she is, whereas gods who are not mentioned in the Bible are excluded from DDD irrespective of their rank and stature in their native habitats. The hefty tome contains over 600 entries, which, when reduced by approximately 150 cross-Jistings, leaves a total of close to 450 separate articles. It is an international effort, with 106 participants from Europe, North America, and Israel, who each contributed anywhere from one to forty-six articles. Each article contains as many as five sections: a discussion of the divine name or title, its meaning, and etymology; a study of the deity outside the Bible, be it in Ancient Near Eastern or classical literature ; the deity in the Hebrew Bible; the deity in Christian Scripture; bibliography . The second edition has twenty-one more entries than the first edition,1 and many entries have been revised, corrected, and updated. For 1 According to the preface to the revised edition there are "some thirty" new articles. A comparison of the tables of entries for each of the two editions gives the 498THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW the purpose of the project, the problematic, controversial concept "Bible" has been given a maximalist definition, making it congruent with the Holy Scriptures of the Orthodox Churches. DDD's Bible thus consists of the Jewish canon, the complete Septuagint including apocryphal and pseudepigraphic books, and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The introduction explains that four types of deities are included: gods still recognized as such by the authors and the audience; gods mentioned in proper nouns; demythologized or decommissioned gods mentioned albeit not in their capacity as gods; and "ghost-gods" whose presence has been posited by individual scholars but whose actual mention in the Bible or in the Ancient Near East remains questionable. Yet these categories do not exhaust the true range of topics covered. Some gods are represented in several articles by their name, the natural phenomenon they are associated with, and certain epithets by which they are known. There are also articles on divine symbols, deified cult objects, divine manifestations, divine attributes, divine titles, and even pejoratives or euphemisms. Gods and other concepts not eligible for separate entries but discussed in passing are registered in an index. To a certain extent, DDD is a dictionary of god-related terms and not gods per se. It parallels to a degree the highly important book by K. L. Tallqvist, Akkadische Götterepitheta (Helsinki, 1938; reprinted 1974) which contains both divine names and divine epithets. DDD is extremely informative and useful. It has been composed competently by experts in the pertinent disciplines, and should be a standard reference work found in every university...

Family Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Karel van der Toorn

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsFamily Religion in Babylonia, Syria and Israel: Continuity and Change in the Forms of Religious Life. Karel van der Toorn Mark W. ChavalasMark W. Chavalas Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 59, Number 2Apr., 2000 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/468801 Views: 4Total views on this site Copyright 2000 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Once More ≡

Short notices of reissued books:John J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic LiteratureKarel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst (eds), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the BibleCarol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist SpiritualityJudith R. Baskin (ed.), Jewish Women in Historical PerspectiveElisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, The Book of Revelation: Justice and JudgmentRichard N. Longenecker, Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic PeriodKenneth E. Kirk, Conscience and Its Problems: An Introduction to CasuistryGerard Loughlin, Telling God's Story: Bible, Church and Narrative TheologyJudith Taylor Gold, Monsters and Madonnas: The Roots of Christian Anti‐Semitism, revised edition

On the Art of CONSULTING

IN THIS ESSAY, ROZ GOLDFARB CREATES a forum to exchange insights among four internationally renowned consultants—Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff, creative director and principal of Total Design, in Amsterdam; Kenneth Roberts, president and CEO of Lippincott & Margulies, in New York; Henry Steiner, head of Steiner & Co., in Hong Kong; and Allen Adamson, managing director and principal of Landor Associates, in New York. Their comments are invaluable wisdom on some of the key dimensions of design consulting.

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD)

Book Review| December 01 1996 Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD), Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst. Bart D. Ehrman Bart D. Ehrman Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Biblical Literature (1996) 115 (4): 776. https://doi.org/10.2307/3266385 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Bart D. Ehrman; Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD). Journal of Biblical Literature 1 January 1996; 115 (4): 776. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3266385 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveSBL PressJournal of Biblical Literature Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Tools and Critical Editions You do not currently have access to this content.

Nimrod Before and After the Bible

The biblical information concerning the figure of Nimrod is scarce. Post-biblical tradition has added supplementary details that cannot be found in the biblical text, however much they may be presented as results of exegesis of this text. This article first examines the biblical data about Nimrod and sees whether he can be identified with an extra-biblical, a pre-biblical, prototype. Second, it investigates the ways in which the few biblical data have given rise to post-biblical haggadic developments. K. van der Toorn has written the first part of this essay, P. W. van der Horst the second.

Erratum

Acta Botanica NeerlandicaVolume 38, Issue 4 p. 512-512 ErratumFree Access Erratum This article corrects the following: Comparative demography of Plantago. I. Observations on eight populations of Plantago lanceolata J. H. Mook, J. Haeck, J. Van Der Toorn, P. H. Van Tienderen, Volume 38Issue 1Acta Botanica Neerlandica pages: 67-78 First Published online: April 22, 2015 First published: December 1989 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.1989.tb01388.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume38, Issue4December 1989Pages 512-512 RelatedInformation

Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study

Book Review| December 01 1987 Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study, K. van der Toorn. J. J. M. Roberts J. J. M. Roberts Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Biblical Literature (1987) 106 (4): 695–697. https://doi.org/10.2307/3260831 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation J. J. M. Roberts; Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia: A Comparative Study. Journal of Biblical Literature 1 December 1987; 106 (4): 695–697. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3260831 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveSBL PressJournal of Biblical Literature Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Book Reviews You do not currently have access to this content.

ChemInform Abstract: A PROTON MAGNETIC RESONANCE STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOLVENT ON THE ROTATION ABOUT THE CARBAMATE AMIDE BOND IN N‐(BENZYLOXYCARBAMOYL)‐L‐PROLINE T‐BUTYL ESTER

Chemischer InformationsdienstVolume 6, Issue 40 Physical Organic Chemistry ChemInform Abstract: A PROTON MAGNETIC RESONANCE STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE SOLVENT ON THE ROTATION ABOUT THE CARBAMATE AMIDE BOND IN N-(BENZYLOXYCARBAMOYL)-L-PROLINE T-BUTYL ESTER E. W. B. DE LEER, E. W. B. DE LEERSearch for more papers by this authorJ. M. VAN DER TOORN, J. M. VAN DER TOORNSearch for more papers by this author E. W. B. DE LEER, E. W. B. DE LEERSearch for more papers by this authorJ. M. VAN DER TOORN, J. M. VAN DER TOORNSearch for more papers by this author First published: October 7, 1975 https://doi.org/10.1002/chin.197540061AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume6, Issue40October 7, 1975 RelatedInformation

Comment on “Precipitation in gold-platinum alloys: thermodynamics”

Abstract : The purpose of the present note is to point out a computational error in a paper on the thermodynamics of the gold-platinum system by van der Toorn and Tiedema. It is also shown that the method used by these authors for calculating the free-energy curve from the phase diagram is, in any case, unreliable because of its extreme sensitivity to small shifts in the position of the phase boundaries.

International Telecommunication Union

At the conclusion of the two International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferences held in Geneva in 1959—the Plenipotentiary (October 14 to December 16) and the Administrative Radio (August 17 to December 17)—two international documents were officially signed by the representatives of 85 and 84 countries respectively, namely: 1) the new Convention, replacing the International Telecommunication Convention of Buenos Aires, 1952; and 2) the new Radio Regulations, replacing those of Atlantic City, 1947. The Convention was to take effect on January 1, 1961, and the Radio Regulations on May i, 1961. Some additional protocols had to be signed as well, so that certain decisions (for example, the elections of the newly-constituted Administrative Council, the Secretary-General, and the Deputy Secretary-General, and changes made in the budget system) could take effect forthwith. Numerous recommendations and resolutions were also adopted, and decisions concerning the way ITU was organized, how it was run, and its future development were reached by the Plenipotentiary Conference, the chairman of which was Mr. J. D. H. van der Toorn, head of the Netherlands delegation. The chairman of the Radio Conference was Mr. Charles J. Acton, head of the Canadian delegation.

International Telecommunication Union

The seventh plenary assembly of the International Telegraph Consultative Committee (CCIT) of the International Telecommunication Union met in Arnhem, Netherlands, from June 5 through 13, 1953, under the chairmanship of Mr. van der Toorn (Netherlands). Most of the work of the session was carried on in study groups on the following subjects: 1) general telegraphy, 2) technical aspects of the establishment, operation and maintenance of telegraph channels, 3) technical aspects of telegraph apparatus, 4) vocabulary, symbols and classification, 5) phototelegraphy and facsimile, 6) technical aspects of switching in the service of start-stop apparatus, 7) European telegraph network operated by start-stop apparatus, 8) operational methods and quality of service, 9) services offered to users and rates other than telex rates, and 10) international service of telegraph subscribers and rates for such service. At the request of the Buenos Aires Plenipotentiary Conference of ITU, CCIT considered the possibility of amalgamating itself with the International Telephone Consultative Committee (CCIF) and concluded, by a vote of 16 to 11 with 1 abstention, that such a course would not serve the best interests of ITU. CCIT decided to hold its eighth plenary assembly in Geneva in the first half of 1956.