A Living Calf at Sinai?

2020 ◽  
pp. 318-379
Author(s):  
Michael E. Pregill
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Golden Calf ◽  
Literary Context ◽  
Western Scholarship ◽  
The Creation

This chapter re-evaluates major aspects of the Golden Calf story in the Qur’an, proposing a reading of the narrative that breaks with those of both traditional Muslim and Western scholarship and seeks to restore it to its proper historical, religious, and literary context in Late Antiquity. The qur’anic references to the image worshipped by the Israelites provided Muslim exegetes with a pretext for depicting the Calf as alive or at least possessing some semblance of life. However, the qur’anic Calf is better understood not as ? lowing image of a calf but rather an image of a lowing calf, a distinction of enormous significance for the exegesis of the story. In the absence of a conception of the Golden Calf as actually or seemingly animate, the Qur’an’s allusions to the creation of this entity must be reinterpreted as well. This chapter thus proposes alternative explanations of the major elements of the traditional portrayal of the narrative, especially the depiction of the “Samaritan” as an outside interloper who created and animated the Calf through supernatural means, with Moses subsequently imposing a sentence of exile on both him and his descendants, the Samaritan community, for all time. Instead, the major elements of the key passage in the Qur’an can be interpreted as allusions to various biblical subtexts; the qur’anic story originally posited, like its Jewish and Christian precursors, that it was Aaron—called by the unique epithet al-sāmirī here—who had made the Calf and led the Israelites into sin.

BEYOND BUTRINT: THE ‘MURSI SURVEY’, 2008

2016 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 269-297
Author(s):  
Richard Hodges ◽  
Erika Carr ◽  
Alessandro Sebastiani ◽  
Emanuele Vaccaro
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Short Report ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
History Of ◽  
Byzantine Period ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Town

This article provides a short report on a survey of the region to the east of the ancient city of Butrint, in south-west Albania. Centred on the modern villages of Mursi and Xarra, the field survey provides information on over 80 sites (including standing monuments). Previous surveys close to Butrint have brought to light the impact of Roman Imperial colonisation on its hinterland. This new survey confirms that the density of Imperial Roman sites extends well to the east of Butrint. As in the previous surveys, pre-Roman and post-Roman sites are remarkably scarce. As a result, taking the results of the Butrint Foundation's archaeological excavations in Butrint to show the urban history of the place from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, the authors challenge the central theme of urban continuity and impact upon Mediterranean landscapes posited by Horden and Purcell, inThe Corrupting Sea(2000). Instead, the hinterland of Butrint, on the evidence of this and previous field surveys, appears to have had intense engagement with the town in the Early Roman period following the creation of the Roman colony. Significant engagement with Butrint continued in Late Antiquity, but subsequently in the Byzantine period, as before the creation of the colony, the relationship between the town and its hinterland was limited and has left a modest impact upon the archaeological record.

The Qur’anic Calf Episode Between Orientalism and Islamic Tradition

2020 ◽  
pp. 265-317
Author(s):  
Michael E. Pregill
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
The West ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
Golden Calf ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Western Scholarship ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Radical Revision

This chapter discusses the qur’anic Golden Calf episode as it is traditionally interpreted in both Muslim exegesis and Western scholarship. The qur’anic references to the image worshipped by the Israelites are usually understood as depicting the Calf as alive or at least possessing some semblance of life—as ? lowing image of a calf, as the Qur’an puts it. Further, the Qur’an seems to posit that the Calf was made and animated by a character called al-sāmirī—the “Samaritan”—and not Aaron as in the biblical story. Western scholars and traditional Muslim commentators have always agreed on this interpretation of the qur’anic version of the episode. However, this chapter shows that Western scholars have generally relied upon the explanation of the episode in Muslim exegesis or tafsīr, misunderstanding the role that early Muslim commentators played in introducing a radical revision of the story that was quite different in major details from the account found in the Qur’an itself. This can be demonstrated by examining historical translations of the Qur’an in the West, beginning with some of the earliest translations and commentaries of the medieval and early modern periods in Europe. In the specific case of the Calf narrative, Western scholars’ reliance on tafsīr has typically been motivated not by a desire to validate the claims of Muslim authorities, but rather by the assumption that Islam is at its root thoroughly dependent upon Judaism. This assumption has colored not only the overarching approach to the qur’anic narrative per se, but also the characterization of a number of rabbinic traditions that have been cited as the sources of that narrative.

Method and Context in the Study of Bible and Qur’an

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-52
Author(s):  
Michael E. Pregill
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Golden Calf ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Ancient Israel

This chapter introduces the story of the Golden Calf, comparing the biblical version found in the book of Exodus and the presentation of the episode in the Qur’an. It argues for the importance of conceiving of qur’anic and Islamic retellings of ancient Israelite narratives as part of a broader biblical tradition, of equal value and legitimacy to the canonical and paracanonical biblical literature of Jews and Christians. In support of this argument, it examines the contribution complex processes of acculturation and scripturalization made to the formation of the Qur’an in Late Antiquity; calls for the abandonment of a one-dimensional concept of “influence” of Jewish traditions on the Qur’an in favor of a conception of the Qur’an as actively engaging a variety of traditions in circulation in its environment; and suggests that this engagement was part of a larger discourse of contestation, polemic, and dispute between communities. In Late Antiquity, Jews, Christians, and Muslims were all committed to their particular visions of the legacy of ancient Israel and its significance for their community’s claims of divine favor. Scriptural rewriting and exegesis thus provided a major arena for demarcating boundaries and defining self and other through reinterpretation of episodes from Israel’s history.

DINING AS SPECTACLE IN LATE ROMAN HOUSES

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN STEPHENSON
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Visual Display ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Late Roman

Abstract The elements of visual culture preserved in late Roman houses confirm an intense interest in dramatic visual display. This study employs an interpretive lens of spectacle to examine a new form of banquet space amd furnishings in the period, as well as a new style of ‘dinner-theatre’ they served. By considering ancient art as inseparable from active contexts and ephemeral events, a more sophisticated understanding of a society's self-definition through art emerges. Rather than being epiphenomenal to the poliltical culture of late antiquity, spectacle is argued to be central to the creation and contestation of power structures: performance is politics.

Vault

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wendland
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Complex Geometry ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Geometric Design ◽  
Stone Masonry ◽  
Lateral Thrust ◽  
Great Ability ◽  
Persian Architecture ◽  
The Creation

Vaults are curved masonry surfaces for roofs and ceilings, able to give shelter and protection. Fireproof and very durable, they were the only massive constructions available for such purposes before modern reinforced concrete was invented. Vaulted ceilings have often been a major issue in the creation of architectural space—as dominating elements with sculptural quality, and as fascinating constructions, often elegant, sometimes astonishing or even daring, always artful, and requiring and demonstrating great expertise and skill in their design and building. In early stone architecture, vaults built with horizontal circular courses can already be characterized as spatial structures. Since the early Great Civilizations, vaults were constructed with blocks arranged in radial bed joints—they could be built with great economy, with complex shape and adapting to irregular plans, as they are still in modern vernacular architecture, such as in Central Asia or in northern Africa. In Late Antiquity, vaults made with dressed stone show great ability in the geometric design—this art was later resumed both in the Middle East and in European Renaissance architecture. In Imperial Rome, vaults made of concrete reached enormous spans, were robust enough to last many centuries, and could be built virtually in any shape. Vaults of brick or stone masonry or of dressed stonework are among the greatest masterpieces of architecture, including the marvelous vaults in Persian architecture, the high vaults of Gothic cathedrals perfectly balanced upon slender pillars, the magnificent spatial inventions of Baroque vaulting, the great domes, and finally the creation of modern shell structures. By principle, vaults are stable by their shape. Their equilibrium demands curvature, regularly resulting in shapes with complex geometry. Therefore, they are very demanding in design, planning, and construction. Systems of anchoring or abutment have to be devised to contain the lateral thrust, and a shape must be created that enables the stability by counterbalancing the heavy components within the vault. Moreover, the building of the curved shape requires form control during bricklaying, geometric design of the temporary support structure, and, in case of stone structures, the formulation of precise specification for producing the single building elements. Therefore, beyond symbolic values, ideas of space in architecture, and the expertise and virtuosity of planners and builders, vaulted ceilings also reflect the historical development of applied geometry and mechanics. Their study gives an insight to the knowledge society that created the buildings.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Anna Clayfield
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Cuban Revolution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Hegemonic Discourse ◽  
Western Scholarship ◽  
The Creation

The introduction challenges the widely held view in Western scholarship that the supposed “militarization” of the Cuban Revolution is key to understanding its longevity. While the pervasiveness of the armed forces in revolutionary Cuba is hard to refute, this chapter argues that it is the Revolution’s guerrilla origins, rather than its “militarism,” that partly explains its survival and the political authority of its leaders. Specifically, it is the promotion of a guerrilla ethos in the Revolution’s official, hegemonic discourse that, through the creation of a new political culture since 1959, has afforded historic legitimacy to the ex-guerrilla fighters in power. This chapter explains how the author, through discourse analysis, draws on the works of Michel Foucault and Norman Fairclough to examine a range of texts that span the Revolution’s six decades in power. This analysis reveals a consistent endorsement of the values and attributes associated with the guerrilla fighter, a phenomenon introduced here as guerrillerismo.

Excursus: The Founding of an Islamic Rajab Under Fatimid RuleLunar Calendar

2020 ◽  
pp. 151-153
Author(s):  
Daniella Talmon-Heller
Keyword(s):  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Lunar Calendar ◽  
Ibn Taymiyya ◽  
Western Scholarship ◽  
The Creation

Addressing the pre-Islamic custom of the Arabs to use intercalation for adjusting their lunar calendar to the solar annual cycle, the Qurʾan and the Prophet's farewell sermon are said to forbid the nasīʾ. This excursus brings the explanations of the medieval scholars al-Biruni and Ibn Taymiyya and of western scholarship for the creation of a unique Islamic calendar.

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