A new volume is out in the Florilegium Marianum series (this release is volume 11), Les Archives du vin à Mari.  This book gathers 190 texts from Mari that relate to wine and presents photos, transliterations, French translation, and commentary.  I try to purchase everything that comes out in this series because it is really convenient to have photos, transliterations, etc. all in one place and also very few libraries include this series in their collection so if you want to reference this book it would probably be good to just go ahead and purchase it (plus it’s also exciting to get an airmail package from France).  Here is the info on how to do that:

Prix: 30 euros + port (48 US $+postage)
Prix promotionnel jusqu’au 31 décembre 2009: 25 euros (40 US $)

Commandes à adresser à la SEPOA:
– par fax au:
+33 1 44 27 18 39
– par courrier:
SEPOA c/o D. Charpin, 14 rue des sources, 92160 Antony (France)

$ U.S. ORDERS: **Add 17 US $** for postage (priority) [So $57 until
12/31/09; afterwards, $65]
– By snail mail:230 Divinity School, Vanderbilt University,Nashville, TN 37212
***Make check payable to *Jack M. Sasson* [you may add at the “for”
line: “SEPOA (FM11)”***

The Book Bench section of the New Yorker has a very thoughtful reflection on the latest efforts of Google Books’ foray into print-on-demand services for out of print books.  Personally, I’m conflicted but optimistic about it.

If you are interested in researching the history, culture, and language of the Moabites the best resource is Erasmus Gass’ book, Die Moabiter.  One of the best features of the book is the presentation of ancient texts that are relevant to the study of ancient Moab.  Gass gives not only a transliteration, translation, and commentary, but he also includes copies of each text.  This is incredibly helpful because he gathers all the texts into one volume and it saves you tons of time tracking down stuff that is scattered in books and journals.  He also discusses biblical and archaeological data.  This would make a great SBL purchase.  Here is more detailed info about the book including table of contents:

Die Moabiter – Geschichte und Kultur eines ostjordanischen Volkes im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr.
Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins – ADP-V 38
by Erasmus Gass
Harrassowitz Verlag, 2009
x + 374 pages, German
Cloth
ISBN: 9783447059084
Your Price: $105.00
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/GASMOABIT

Table of Contents:

A. Name und allgemeine Verortung
B. Literarische Quellen
1. Moab im Spiegel vorderorientalischer und ägyptischer Quellen
1.1. Moabitische Quellen
1.2. Ägyptische Quellen
1.3. Neuassyrische Quellen
1.3. Neuassyrische Quellen
1.4. Hebräische Quellen

2. Moab aus der Perspektive des Nachbarn – Das Alte Testament
2.1. Moab-Belege im Kontext
2.2. Syntax und Semantik der Moab-Belege
2.3. Toponyme in Moab
2.4. Hinweise zu Art und Verortung des Toponyms Moab
2.5. Zur Sihon-Tradition
2.6. Zusammenfassung

3. Ein später Textzeuge zu Moab – Flavius Josephus

C. Archäologischer Befund
1. Ausgrabungen
1.2. Einzelne Orte

2. Surveyergebnisse
2.1 Wohnsiedlungen
2.2. Befestigungsanlagen
2.3. Vermutlich landwirtschaftliche Einrichtungen

3. Kultische Einrichtungen
3.1. Heilgtüer
3.2. Schrein
3.3. Figurinen
3.4. Ausblick

4. Zusammenfassung und Ausblick auf die Besiedlungsgeschichte Moabs
4.1. Mittel- und Spätbronzezeit
4.2. Übergang von der Spätbronzezeit zur Eisenzeit I
4.3. Besiedlung in der Eisenzeit II
4.4. Sozioökonomische und politische Gliederung in der Eisenzeit II

D. Literatur

E. Register

Dr. Gottschalk was the chancellor emeritus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.  Here is a bio from HUC.  His funeral will be held today at the Plum Street Temple in Cincinnati.  May his memory be for blessing.

I’d normally agree with the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” however, when it comes to these books I don’t care what they are about I just want them.  Here are more pics of other covers in this series.

Research and writing is a love-hate kind of thing; at least it is with me.  Most of the time I enjoy it but sometimes it feels like pulling teeth.  How do you push through the obstacles and finally create things that are publishable?  How do those really prolific scholars produce so much stuff?  Like many other things in life they just put one foot in front of the other–however, they do it everyday.

An example of this can be seen on John Anderson’s blog in his reproduction of the IVP interview with John Goldingay.  Here is Godlingay’s description of his writing process:

So I had no detailed maps, and no array of books really, because I wanted to let the Old Testament itself set the agenda.  So I started reading it!  And set myself to writing seven hundred words a day.  Then when I had done my own reading and thinking and writing, I went to the books.  That’s the way I tell students to write their papers, too.

When you think about it 700 words per day is not that much.  But, if you put down 700 really good words per day it adds up quickly and this is why Goldingay is able to produce three HUGE Old Testament theology books in a relatively short amount of time.  So, here are just a few tips on how to make writing a part of your daily scholarly life:

• Put a few hours a day of writing time into your calendar and design your day around this time.  Write in a place where there are limited distractions.
• Set an average goal of the amount of words you want to write per day–I normally don’t let myself stop writing until I have at least 500 words but by the time I get around 1200 my brain is usually fried and I need to stop.
• Some days your writing time will be mostly editing, compiling proposals, stuffing envelopes, going over page proofs, or researching.  This is fine because all of these things contribute to the goal of getting your writing published.  However, try to spend just a bit of time actually writing.
• Writing takes practice so don’t get discouraged if it starts out slowly–practice makes perfect.
• Keep a dump file for every writing project and don’t be afraid to use it.  A dump file is a file that you create to store all the stuff that you don’t use in the final version of the article or book.  Instead of deleting paragraphs that you are not happy with, cut and paste them into a dump file–you never know if you might want to come back to it later.  Also, some ideas are great but they just don’t fit a specific project.  David Aaron once told me that as he was writing a book he dumped an entire 40 page chapter that he had written because it just didn’t fit the flow of the rest of the book.  Expect that a lot of the stuff you write will never be published–much of the stuff you write you will never send out for review either and that is okay.
• Read Scot McKnight’s reflections on writing in pages 22-28 of The Professor as Scholar.

What are your suggestions?

Here is a pre-publication version of my article appearing in Ancient Near Eastern Studies 46 (2009):  Halton–ANES 46

There are a few minor changes from this version and the printed article–mostly just fixed typos.  I dedicated this article to Daniel Block and David Aaron for their influence upon my appreciation of rhetorical and literary criticism.  Here is the abstract; let me know what you think of the article:

The purpose of this article is to begin the evaluation of the rhetorical aims and
strategies of the use of allusions within Neo-Assyrian oracles. These allusions are
to some of the most prominent texts within the Mesopotamian literary stream of
tradition: Adapa and the South Wind, Atra-Ìasis, and the Gilgames Epic.
The authors borrowed imagery from these works and fused it with their own
rhetorical purposes. Prophets even used allusions that contained a complex set of
apparently conflicting associations. The use of subtle allusions that often contain
complex associations should cause modern readers to more greatly appreciate the
rhetorical abilities of the Neo-Assyrian prophets.