I\’ve neglected to update my blog because October has been an absolute whirlwind of activity for me.  As mentioned previously (see below), I went to Cincy to visit Hebrew Union College. I got back about ten days ago, and already I\’m once again in the Tampa Airport (TPA) and on my way again.  This time, however, I\’m headed to quite the different locale.  I\’m off to New York City to visit Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS).  Whereas HUC is the Reform rabbinic school, JTS is the conservative rabbinic school.  (Of course, for those unfamiliar with the flavors of Judaism, this won\’t mean too much.)  At any event, JTS also boasts a quite excellent graduate school, in which I am particularly interested in their program in Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages.  I\’m really looking forward to seeing how the libraries, faculty, and administration of JTS compare to those of HUC.  I have to say, HUC set the bar extremely high, but I\’m about finding out what JTS has to offer. 

The trip is even more exciting because this time, unlike Cincy, I get to bring my lovely wife along with me.  It\’s been at least a decade since I\’ve been to NYC, and Kathryn has never been, so we saved up our overtime for the past six months and decided to turn this trip into our big vacation for the year (or two…).  So, we\’ll not only be in NYC for the sun-mon visitation day, but for a few days extra to see the city and the sites and decide whether we — two kids from rural Alabama — could really live in America\’s largest city for 3-5 years without killing ourselves or multiple other unsuspecting people.

It should be a great trip, and I\’ll no doubt post some pictures and comments on the trip as it develops.

For those who are wondering about how my thesis is coming about…. It\’s coming. Slowly, but surely making progress.  I was reading through De Vries FOTL on Chronicles, where I found this gem:

Some years ago, Rolf Knierim flew out to Ohio to ask Ronald Hals and me to oin the FOTL project. Professor Hals was to do Ezekiel and I was to do 1—2 Chronicles. \”But,\” I protested, \”I don\’t know much about Chronicles.\” \”Neither does anyone else,\” Knierim replied….

 This certainly reflects the common understanding of one of the most neglected books in the OT canon, and it certainly makes me feel better when I consider my own inadequacies about my thesis project! 

As mentioned previously, I\’m currently in the process of finding out where I\’m going to pursue my PhD. One of the schools on my shortlist (though it\’s far less certain whether I\’ll be on theirs!) is Hebrew Union College. (Cincy Campus.)  Several of my Hebrew professors are HUC grads, and they all vigorously recommended that I visit the campus. 

So, I took a plane from Tampa to Baltimore which enabled me to connect to my flight to Louisville, so that I could drive to Cincinnati.  Ironically, I took two planes and a two-hour car trip just to end up on the same highway that is about 100 yards from my house — I-75.

I\’ve never been to Cincy before, so I made sure to get here early to see the city a bit before I had to be at HUC. I always like exploring new cities, and if I\’m going to live here for a few years, I should certainly figure out whether I liked it.  So, I paid for parking and walked to Skyline Chili (which Luke Chandler insisted that I visit) and got a Cheese Coney and Chili Three-Ways (an odd but delicious combination of spaghetti and chili).  After that, I walked to the University of Cincinnati to visit their Classics Library.  It\’s only a short walk away from HUC, and I thought that I would see what resources they had for the Classics aspect of my future research if I ended up in Cincy for my degree.  I\’m currently blogging from there as we speak, but will head back to HUC shortly.

This is the first time that I\’ve \”visited\” a potential school, and it\’s certainly a new experience.  However, by the end of November I will have visited at least three more, so by then I\’ll be an old pro.  I\’m certainly looking forward to learning more about HUC and I\’ll keep this updated as I go.

Charles Halton over at Awilum just posted a segment of a discussion about Thucydides\’ History taken from here.  I\’ve read Kagan\’s new book (quite good, by the way.  And no, I\’ve received absolutely no compensation, money or otherwise to say so.  It was just a great read), and one of the points that Kagan makes is that modern readers are heavily influenced by previous readings of Thucydides.  Some of the most memorable quotes taken from Thucydides and taught around the world in geopolitics and economics courses are more the result of the translator rather than Thucydides himself. 

Working heavily in Thucydides\’ History for my Thesis, I can concur.  Thucydides is hard.  Reading from the Loeb Classical Edition of his work, I have occasionally attempted to translate him myself before throwing up my hands in despair and returning to the left page which kindly holds the English.  No wonder people have wanted to make this greatest of ancient historians make sense!  And no wonder they have had to interpret, rather than translate, him in order to make any sense of some of his statements.

Now, admittedly, I am not a classicist.  My classical Greek is bad and my Latin is worse.  But it gets me thinking — how often are the newer translators of Thucydides swayed by the pithy translations of their predecessors?  Not just his modern readers who happen to pick up the Penguin Classical Edition (Trans. Martin Finely, a well respected Thucydidean scholar who also agrees that Thucydides is the hardest Greek he\’s ever read), but the translators themselves?  Stanley Porter wrote in VTest (1990) questioning whether there was even a Thucydidean view of History taken from his quotation in 1.22.1 since no one is exactly sure what it says.  Kagan questions several of his other statement in his newest book. 

What can we know about Thucydides, and how much are we influenced by Thomas Hobbes\’ original translation in 1629?  Do we have parallels between the beautiful rendering of Thucydides and the rendering of the bible in the King James Version?  How much do you think that we\’re influenced by these attractive but flawed translations, and how do we return fully to the beginning?

My good friend (and cousin) Luke Chandler has been an invaluable resource for discussion on the various finds and significance of the on-going excavation of  Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Back on July 15, in the middle of this year’s Khirbet Qeiyafa excavation, I wrote about the potential of some new finds:

Best case scenario: A couple of things have been found that could add entirely new dimensions to our site over several periods, including the early Iron Age (ca. time of King David). One find could potentially impact our understanding of David’s kingdom, depending on what more is learned through excavation.
Alternate scenario: A couple of things have been found that are not as grand as we hoped for, but are still exciting and add new dimensions to our site over several periods, including the early Iron Age.

At this point things generally point to the “alternate scenario” – which is still a good thing. (Few finds result in a “best case scenario” interpretation. How many “extraordinary” things really exist at any one site?) I will use a few posts to highlight some of our finds during the 2010 season at Khirbet Qeiyafa.

You can read the entry in full (as well as catching up on earlier posts) here.  I\’ll leave the telling of what was actually found to him.

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I have a confession to make: I\’ve been a \”lurker\” for some months now; always following and reading, never writing.  Part is because I see some of the blogs and posts of others and wonder, \”What can I add to that?\”  In fact, this is very much the question that most grad students that I\’ve talked to have felt.  When told to write papers, or — especially! — their theses/dissertations, they look around their well-stocked library, browse the relevant journals, perhaps peruse ATLA, and conclude that all has been said.  Afterall: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh.  However, it is exactly that mindset that the grad student (and scholar in general) must conquer if he wishes to contribute to the community as a whole. 

This blog, in a way, is my attempt to take a cautious step into that bottomless ocean; a stimulus to become part of the academic community along with all of the fear and anguish which is associated with that swim.  However, just as when writing original research, one must approach a well-worn topic with an eye open for unanswered questions or unused methods.  This blog will hopefully fulfill that same role in the blogosphere, adding a new and varied voice to the cacophony of sounds already present.  So, what will the focus of this blog be?  What is its origin, it\’s purpose?

My plan is to blog on my studies, both those which I am pursuing in school as well as on my own.  This will consist largely of the study of biblical texts and languages, but also of history and culture of the ANE and Mediterranean Rim.  I plan on posting neat things that I\’ve come across in my readings, as well as reviews of what I\’ve read.  But Jared, you say, all of that is being done already.  And you are correct.  However, I think perhaps my approach will be different — at least from what I\’ve seen thus far.  I plan to write about these topics especially from the perspective and to the audience of those of us who are still students (though, really, aren\’t we all always students?).  I hope this will be helpful to others who are asking similar questions as myself: how do I approach topics? how should I pursue education? what is it like to attend one\’s first SBL conference, or publish one\’s first paper?  Most of all, however, I wish to have these same questions given input by those who have already done these things.  Think of it as contributing to the community of future scholars. 

So, hopefully this will be helpful to a few, applicable to many, and interesting to all.