I’ve just published a new inscription mentioning biblical Makkedah. It is written in Aramaic and dated to the fourth century BCE.

It is an “ostracon,” i.e. a pottery shard recycled into writing medium. For more information, you may download the article in PDF format:

Langlois 2012, “Un nouvel ostracon mentionnant la ville biblique de Maqqéda”, Semitica 54, p. 51-63

Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) is often associated to Syriac, from which it inherits its writing; as a result, most printed editions use a Syriac font. But in reality, CPA uses a specific writing, whereas its linguistic characteristics (phonology, morphology, syntax) associate it with other western Aramaic dialects.

For these reasons, a CPA-specific Unicode font was long due. I am pleased to offer a preliminary version of my “CPA Genizah ML” font.

The shape of the letters is based on writing attested in the Cairo Genizah and drawn by Alain Desreumaux. The font uses the Syriac Unicode encoding, and can thus be used with the Syriac keyboard I created.

To install this font, just click the link below and save the file in your fonts folder.

CPA Genizah ML

Semitica 54 is out!

Monde sémitique et Bible hébraïque, édité par Michael Langlois sous la direction de Thomas Römer. Paris, Maisonneuve, 2012. 250 p., ISBN 978-2-7200-1164-1.

Here is the table of contents:

Première partie : Documents inédits

• Jean-Marie Durand – avec une note de Michaël Guichard. Noms d’équidés dans les textes de Mari. p. 9-18.
• Michaël Guichard. Relations entre Carkémish et Mari : nouveaux fragments. p. 19-32.
• André Lemaire. Quatre nouveaux ostraca paléo-hébreux. p. 33-49.
• Michael Langlois. Un nouvel ostracon mentionnant la ville biblique de Maqqéda. p. 51-63.
• André Lemaire. Trois nouveaux ostraca araméens d’Idumée. p. 65-70.
• Marie-Jeanne Roche. Deux graffiti thamoudiques dans la région de Bayḍāʾ, Pétra. p. 71-79.
• François Bron. Une nouvelle inscription sabéenne du règne de Laḥayʿathat Yarkham, roi de Sabaʾ et dhū-Raydān. p. 81-89.

Deuxième partie : Études épigraphiques, philologiques et historiques

• Reinhard Achenbach. The Protection of Personae miserae in Ancient Israelite Law and Wisdom and in the Ostracon from Khirbet Qeiyafa. p. 93-125.
• Matthieu Richelle. Notes épigraphiques sur l’ostracon numéro 3 de Tell el-Mazar. p. 127-146.
• Jürg Hutzli. The Procreation of Seth by Adam in Gen 5:3 and the Composition of Gen 5. p. 147-162.
• Thomas Römer. Le « sacrifice d’Abraham », un texte élohiste ? Quelques observations à partir de Gn 22,14 et d’un fragment de Qumrân. p. 163-172.
• Hans-Peter Mathys. Exode 12,38 et Nombres 11,4 : Éléments d’interprétation philologique et historique. p. 173-184.
• Christophe Nihan. Garizim et Ébal dans le Pentateuque. Quelques remarques en marge de la publication d’un nouveau fragment du Deutéronome. p. 185-210.
• Ido Koch. The “Chariots of the Sun” (2 Kings 23:11). p. 211-219.
• Torleif Elgvin. Notes on the Gabriel Inscription. p. 221-232.
• David Hamidović. An Eschatological Drama in Hazon Gabriel: Fantasy or Historical Background? p. 233-250.

After years of silence, Semitica is back!

Semitica was created in 1948 by the Intitute of Semitic Studies of the University of Paris, with a board including R. Blachère, A. Dupont-Sommer, Ch. F. Jean, J. Nougayrol, and Ch. Virolleaud, its chairman. In 1973, the Institute was transferred to the College of France; Semitica was regularly published until the 2000s, when it slowed down.

After his nomination at the College of France, Thomas Römer asked for the revival of Semitica and asked me to be the new scientific editor. I prepared a new layout, and we worked on a first project, in collaboration with a new editorial board.

The purpose remains unchanged: Semitica covers all branches of Semitic studies: linguistics, philology, history, archaeology, epigraphy, and all areas of the Semitic world, ancient and modern, as well as related fields.

For more information, please visit the new semitica.fr website.

Feast is a central theme in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Think about religious festivals, such as Passover, or family feasts, such as weddings. Think also about the parable of the banquet, or even the Lamb’s marriage supper in the book of Revelation. Feast is at the heart of the Bible!

To know more, come to Strasbourg for the next PULSE night on Friday, April 13 at 8 PM, at the Salvation Army (5 rue de la Chaîne). Bring your friends!