"The Scaffolding of Our Thoughts"

Essays on Assyriology and the History of Science in Honor of Francesca Rochberg

Series: 

Francesca Rochberg has for more than thirty-five years been a leading figure in the study of ancient science. Her foundational insights on the concepts of “science,” “canon,” “celestial divination,” “knowledge,” “gods,” and “nature” in cuneiform cultures have demanded continual contemplation on the tenets and assumptions that underlie the fields of Assyriology and the History of Science.

“The Scaffolding of Our Thoughts” honors this luminary with twenty essays, each reflecting on aspects of her work. Following an initial appraisal of ancient “science” by Sir Geoffrey Lloyd, the contributions in the first half explore practices of knowledge in Assyriological sources. The second half of the volume focuses specifically on astronomical and astrological spheres of knowledge in the Ancient Mediterranean.

"This excellent Festschrift, dedicated to Francesca Rochberg, offers fascinating insight into the world of ancient magic and divination."
-Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43.5 (2019)
Copyright Year:
2018
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-36338-0
Publication:
17 Jul 2018
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-36337-3
Publication:
26 Apr 2018
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Front Matter
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 Where Next for “Ancient Science”?
Chapter 2 Crow Omens in Mesopotamia
Chapter 3 Old Signs in New Dress? On the Meaning of Inanna’s Symbol as Sign and “Presence” in Early Babylonian Divination
Chapter 4 Material, Constellation, Image, God: The Fate of the Chosen Bull According to kar 50 and Duplicates
Chapter 5 A Late Babylonian Compilation Concerning Ritual Timing and Materia Medica
Chapter 6 bm 40187: A Birthnote for Two Named Individuals
Chapter 7 Converging Fortunes—Links between Celestial and Intestinal Divination
Chapter 8 Sumerian Divination
Chapter 9 The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabû
Chapter 10 Translation in The Elevation of Ištar
Chapter 11 Judean Scribalism, Documentary Epistemology, and the Name ישׂראל
Chapter 12 Dating eae. When was the Astrological Series Enūma Anu Ellil Created?
Chapter 13 Bricoleurs in Babylonia: The Scribes of Enūma Anu Enlil
Chapter 14 The Date of the Accession of Nabonidus to the Throne of Babylon: A Reappraisal of the Evidence
Chapter 15 Intercalary Months in Achaemenid Elamite Administrative Documents from Persepolis
Chapter 16 The Importance of Experts: Agents in the Transfer of Astral Knowledge between Hellenistic Mesopotamia and the Greek-speaking World
Chapter 17 Diodorus on the Chaldeans
Chapter 18 Observing Eclipses: An Optical Question in Problemata 15.11
Chapter 19 Chaldeans on the Nile: Two Egyptian Astronomical Procedure Texts with Babylonian Systems A1 and A2 for Mercury
Chapter 20 Clever Machines and the Gods Who Make Them
C. Jay Crisostomo, Ph.D. (2014) is Assistant Professor of Assyriology at the University of Michigan. His research and publications have focused on the languages, history, and scribal practices of cuneiform cultures, particularly of early second millennium Babylonia.    

Eduardo A. Escobar, Ph.D. (2017) is a postdoctoral fellow at the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago, whose research focuses on cuneiform scholarly cultures of the ancient Middle East.

Terri Tanaka, Ph.D. (2014) is a visiting professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley and the communications and project analyst for Berkeley Prosopography Services. She has published on dress and identity in cuneiform texts and pedagogical practice.

Niek Veldhuis, Ph.D. (1997) is Professor of Assyriology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of several books and articles on cuneiform culture, history, and lexicography, including Religion, Literature, and Scholarship (Brill, 2004).
“This excellent Festschrift, dedicated to Francesca Rochberg, offers fascinating insight into the world of ancient magic and divination. (…) The volume contains 20 essays, all of consistently high quality (…)”
- Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, in Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2019
Contents
Acknowledgments IX

Introduction
 1 A Status Quaestionis on the Formation of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible
 2 Some Preliminary Clarifications
 3 Methodology and Structure

1 The Twenty-Two Books of the Jews According to Josephus
 1 The Passage of the Against Apion
 2 The Twenty-Two Books Outside the Against Apion
 3 Josephus and Some Books on the Borderline of the Canon

2 The Ninety-Four Books of the Torah According to 4 Ezra
 1 Introduction to 4 Ezra
 2 Coordinates for a Comprehensive Understanding of 4 Ezra
 3 The Characterization of Ezra
 4 Function and Meaning of the Ninety-Four Books
 5 Historical Context and Social Function of 4 Ezra
 6 Fourth Ezra and the Canon of the Hebrew Bible

3 Comparison and Conclusions
 1 A Short Comparison between Josephus and 4 Ezra on the Books
 2 Elements for an Hypothesis
Bibliography
All interested in the History of Science, including astronomy, divination, and scholarly knowledge, particularly in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean cultures.
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