Reader Checked|25/10/2012 SE
This study deals with physiognomic and astrological texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls that represent one of the earliest examples of ancient Jewish science. For the first time the Hebrew physiognomic-astrological list 4Q186 (4QZodiacal Physiognomy) and the Aramaic physiognomic list 4Q561 (4QPhysiognomy ar) are comprehensively studied in relation to both physiognomic and astrological writings from Babylonian and Greco-Roman traditions. New reconstructions and interpretations of these learned lists are offered that result in a fresh view of their sense, function, and status within both the Qumran community and Second Temple Judaism at large, showing that Jewish culture in Palestine participated in the cultural exchange of learned knowledge between Babylonian and Greco-Roman cultures.
Contents: Reading 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4Q186) And 4QPhysiognomy ar (4Q561): Texts, Genre, And Structure -- To Read Strange Matters From The Human Body: Physiognomics In Babylonian And Greco-Roman Culture And Literature -- "In The Foot Of Taurus": Astrological Notions In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4Q186) -- "There Is A Spirit For Him...": Human Or Zodiacal Spirits In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4Q186) -- Functions And Contexts Of Physiognomic And Astrological Learning In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Second Temple Period Judaism -- Notes And Comments On Readings In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4Q186) And 4QPhysiognomy ar (4Q561) -- Physiognomic Consciousness In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Second Temple Period Literature|Read more: http://books.google.co.il/books?id=Ue6K0IU0yL0C&printsec=frontcover&hl=…