The Journal of the American Oriental Society articles from July 2002

The Journal of the American Oriental Society archives from July 2002

The high places (bamot) and the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah: an archaeological investigation.
July 1, 2002... THE BIBLICAL TEXT castigates the people of Israel and Judah repeatedly for going to bamot to sacrifice and burn incense rather than to the great temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 3:2, 3; 22:44; 2 Kings 12:4; 14:4; 15:4, 35). Hezekiah and Josiah...

The date of death of Jesus of Nazareth.
July 1, 2002... BORN INTO A WORKING-CLASS JEWISH HOME at Nazareth in Galilee a couple of years before 1 C.E., Jesus early on devotes himself to rabbinical learning. After leading a life of anonymity until about age thirty, he sets out to preach his message....

IBN al-Salah al-Shahrazuri and the isnad.
July 1, 2002... I. INTRODUCTION AFTER THE COMPOSITION of the main authoritative collections in the third/ninth century, the prime activity in the field of Sunni liadith is particularly well illustrated in the Muqaddima of the Ayyubid-era muhaddith Ibn...

Wu Li (1632-1718) and the first Chinese Christian poetry.
July 1, 2002... WU LI (1632-1718) AND THE FIRST CHINESE CHRISTIAN POETRY (1) 1. IT Is WELL KNOWN THAT Jesuit missionaries in China quickly grasped the significance of learning and scholarship for the Chinese literati, and themselves made every effort...

The etymonic determinatives of wanq [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII].
July 1, 2002... IF ONE WERE TO COME ACROSS the character [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in a modern Chinese text, he might note that the phonetic component is immediately apparent: [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] wang. And indeed...

Advances in Late Babylonian. .(Zahi and Zeit: Grammatik der Numeralia and des Verbalsystems im Sputbabylonischen)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... THE APPEARANCE OF A REVIEW seven years after the publication of the book that is its subject may be justified, in this case, by the absence of any other reviews of the book in question. (1) Such neglect is odd, for Michael P Streck's Zahl und...

Down-to-earth biblical history.(What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... THE MONOGRAPH UNDER REVIEW is William G. Dever's response to the "revisionist" movement in biblical scholarship. That "school" is best represented by Philip R. Davies in the UK. and N. P. Lemche and T. L. Thompson in Copenhagen. For the past...

A recent volume in the Kohlhammer Tosefta series. .(Die Tosefta: Seder, II: Moed; Schekalim--Jom ha-kippurim. Rabbinische Texte, Erste Reihe: Die Tosefta, 11.2)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... IT IS NOT OFTEN that one comes across a work of such quality that the sense of excellence that comes at first glance only grows with further reading. Such is the translation and commentary to the Tosefta tractates Shekalim and Jom ha-kippurim...

X-slots, feature trees, and the Chinese sound inventory: a twenty-first century take on Mandarin phonological structure. .(The Phonology of Standard Chinese)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... THE PHONOLOGY OF Standard Chinese, or "Mandarin phonology," as it is sometimes referred to, is a field in which consensus has been exceedingly hard to come by. A glance at the twenty or so books, theses, and journal articles published on the...

A new standard for Avicenna studies.(Ibn Sina, lettre au vizir Abu Sa'd: Editio princeps d'apres le manuscrit de Bursa)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... 1. MICHOT'S INTRODUCTORY ESSAY IN THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, research into the life, times, and philosophy of Avicenna has witnessed a resurgence among scholars of medieval Islamic intellectual history. This resurgence can be traced in part...

Translating sufism. .(Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur'an, Mi'raj, Poetic and Theological Writings)(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... RECENT TRANSLATIONS OF SUFI WORKS ISLAMIC MYSTICISM, OR SUFISM (Arabic tasawwuf), from the ninth century A.D. until the last two hundred years, was the one cultural and intellectual constant that bound together elite and common Muslims...

A Further Note on [Isa.sup.[subset]]. (Brief Communication).(Koranic name for Jesus)
July 1, 2002... Latest research shows that [Isa.sup.[subset]] derives from al-Masih and not from Maiyya. I recently published in JAOS 121 (2001): 1-6, a study in which I proposed emendations and/or explanations for seven Koranic names which had so far...

Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Letters from Priests to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. By STEVEN W. COLE and PETER MACHINIST. State Archives of Assyria, vol. 13. Helsinki: HELSINKI UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1998. Pp. xxx + 221. The 211 letters newly edited and translated...

Uruk Kleinfunde IV: Metall- und Steinobjekte im Vorderasiatischen Museum zu Berlin.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Uruk Kleinfunde IV: Metall- und Steinobjekte im Vorderasiatischen Museum zu Berlin. By FRIEDHELM PEDDE, MARLIES HEINZ, and BERND MULLER-NEUHOF, Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte, vol. 21. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP vON ZABERN, 2000. Pp. xiii +...

The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. By DAVID STEPHEN VANDERHOOFT. Harvard Semitic Museum Publications, vol. 59. Atlanta: SCHOLARS PRESS, 1999. Pp. xii + 246. $29.95. [Distrib. by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Ind.] ...

The Construction of the Assyrian Empire: A Historical Study of the Inscriptions of Shalmaneser III (859-824 B.C.) Relating to His Campaigns in the West. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Construction of the Assyrian Empire: A Historical Study of the Inscriptions of Shalmaneser III(859-824 B.C.) Relating to His Campaigns in the West. By SHIGEO YAMADA. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, vol. 3. Leiden: BRILL, 2000....

Frank Moore Cross Volume. Eretz-Israel. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Frank Moore Cross Volume. Eretz-Israel, vol. 26. Edited by BARUCH A. LEVINE, PHILIP J. KING, JOSEPH NAVEH, and EPHRAIM STERN. Jerusalem: ISRAEL EXPLORATION SOCIETY, 1999. Pp. vii + 234 (English), xii + 191 (Hebrew), illus. $90. Frank Moore...

Early Dilmun Seals from Saar: Art and Commerce in Bronze Age Bahrain. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Early Dilmun Seals from Saar: Art and Commerce in Bronze Age Bahrain. By HARRIET CRAWFORD. Ludlow, Shropshire: ARCHAEOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, 2001. Pp. 110, illus. This slim volume, filled with color photographs and drawings on almost every...

Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah: New Studies.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Sennacherib's Campaign to Judah: New Studies. By WILLIAM R. GALLAGHER. SHCANE, vol. 18. Leiden: BRILL, 1999. Pp. Xvii + 313, illus. $94.50. This monograph is a revision of the author's dissertation written under Hermann Hunger and Georg...

Mittelagyptisch: Grammatik fur Anfanger. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Mittelagyptisch: Grammatik fur Anfanger, 6th, rev. ed. By ERHART GRAEFE, with Jochem Kahl. Mainz: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2001. Pp. xix + 262. DM 78 (paper). Textbook activity in Middle Egyptian, spoken about 2000 B.C. and imitated...

A Grammar of Egyptian Aramaic.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... A Grammar of Egyptian Aramaic. Handbook of Oriental Studies, sect. I: The Near and Middle East, vol. 32. By TAKAMITSU MURAOKA and BEZALEL PORTEN. Leiden: BRILL, 1998. Pp. xlix + 393. $110. In a survey article that appeared shortly before...

Euphemismen in der hebraischen Bibel.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Euphemismen in der hebraischen Bibel. By STEFAN SCHORCH. Orientalia Biblica et Christiana, vol. 12. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2000. Pp. xiii + 323. DM 178. The presence of euphemisms in the Hebrew Bible has long been observed, but...

David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... David's Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. By BARUCH HALPERN. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING Co., 2001. Pp. xx + 492. $30. The title of this book hardly suggests sober historiography. Indeed, it reads more...

The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins. By JOSEPH A. FITZMYER, S.J. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING Co., 2000. Pp. xvii + 290. $25 (paper). Joseph Fitzmyer is a distinguished and prolific scholar who has produced...

The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape, and Interpretation & Liturgical Works. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape, and Interpretation. Edited by PETER W. FLINT. Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING Co., 2001. Pp. xv + 266. $22 (paper). Liturgical Works....

A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim. By JOEL BURNETT. SBL Dissertation Series, vol. 183. Atlanta: SCHOLARS PRESS, 2001. Pp. xv + 172. $39.95. Burnett undertakes what he believes is a necessary reassessment of the biblical term "Elohim" in...

Sources of Japanese Tradition, vol. 1: From Earliest Times to 1600. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Sources of Japanese Tradition, vol. 1: From Earliest Times to 1600. Second Edition. Edited by WM. THEODORE DE BARY, DONALD KEENE, GEORGE TANABE, and PAUL VARLEY. Introduction to Asian Civilizations. New York: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000....

The Genesis of East Asia, 221 B.C.-A.D. 907. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Genesis of East Asia, 221 B.C.-A.D. 907. By CHARLES HOLCOMBE. Asian Interactions and Comparisons. Honolulu: UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS, 2001. Pp. xii + 332, maps. $53 (cloth); $24.95 (paper). For those of us who teach the premodern...

Incense at the Altar: Pioneering Sinologists and the Development of Classical Chinese Philology. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Incense at the Altar: Pioneering Sinologists and the Development of Classical Chinese Philology. By DAVID B. HONEY. American Oriental Series, no. 86. New Haven: AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY, 2001. Pp. xxxv + 359. $35. The reverential title of...

Exhibiting Experimental Art in China.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Exhibiting Experimental Art in China. By Wu HUNG. The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago. Chicago: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS, 2001. Pp. 224, illus. $40 (paper). Over forty years ago the critic and art historian...

Sex, Law, and Society in Late Imperial China.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Sex, Law, and Society in Late imperial China. By MATTHEW H. SOMMER. Stanford: STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000, Pp. xvii + 413, maps. $55. In this groundbreaking book, Matthew Sommer contributes to a growing body of scholarship that is...

The Demon Chained under Turtle Mountain: The History and Mythology of the Chinese River Spirit Wuzhiqi. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Demon Chained under Turtle Mountain: The History and Mythology of the Chinese River Spirit Wuzhiqi. By POUL ANDERSEN. Berlin: G UND H VERLAG, 2001. Pp. 96, illus. M 52 (paper). In this short but stimulating monograph, Poul Andersen...

Reading the Chuang-tzu in the T'ang Dynasty: The Commentary of Ch'eng Hsuan-ying (fl. 631-652). .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Reading the Chuang-tzu in the T'ang Dynasty: The Commentary of Ch'eng Hsuan-ying (fl. 631-652). By SHIYI YU. Asian Thought and Culture, vol. 39. Bern: PETER LANG, 2000. Pp. xiv + 209. $54.95. This book originated as a dissertation on how an...

Miracle et Karama: Hagiographies medievales comaprees.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Miracle et Karama: Hagiographies medievales comparees, 2. Edited by DENISE AIGLE. Bibliotheque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes sciences religieuses, vol. 109. Turnhout, Belgium: BREPOLS, 2000. Pp. 690. E 78. This thick volume presents...

The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis. Edited by MARTIN KRAMER. Tel Aviv: THE MOSHE DAYAN CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, TEL Aviv UNIVERSITY, 1999. Pp. viii + 311. $24.95 (Distrib. in U.S. by Syracuse...

Wasf San'a: Texts in San'ani Arabic.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Wasf San'a: Texts in San'ani Arabic. By JANET C. E. WATSON with 'ABD AL-SALAM AL-'AMRI. Semitica Viva, vol. 23. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2000. Pp. 319. The volume under review is another splendid addition to the Semitica Viva series...

The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Tenth Century CE. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Tenth Century CE. By MICHAEL BRETT. The Medieval Mediterranean: Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400--1453. Leiden: BRILL, 2001. Pp. xi + 497. $160. ...

God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers: A Qur'anic Study. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers: A Qur'anic Study. By DAVID MARSHALL. Richmond, Surrey: CURZON PRESS, 1999. Pp. xviii + 222. [pounds sterling]40.00. The primary purpose of this book is to delineate a development in the manner in which...

Arab Dress: A Short History. From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Arab Dress: A Short History. From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times. By YEDIDA KALFON STILLMAN. Edited by NORMAN A. STILLMAN. Themes in Islamic Studies, vol. 2. Leiden: BRILL, 2000. Pp. xxxii + 240, plates, figs. Billowing folds, exquisite...

A Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... A Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire. By SEVKET PAMUK. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000. Pp. xxvi +276. $69.95. One should best, perhaps, assume the guise of an undergraduate to...

Majlis: Discours sur l'Ordre et la creation.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Majlis: Discours sur l'Ordre et la creation. Edited and translated by DIANE STEIGERWALD. Saint-Nicolas, Quebec: PRESSES DE L'UNIVERSITE LAVAL, 1998. Pp. 168. $35 (paper). Taj al-Din Abu'l-Fath Muhammad b. Abd al-Karim al-Shahrastani (d....

The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven. By JAMES WASSERMAN. Rochester, Vt.: INNER TRADITIONS, 2001. Pp. 318. $16.95 (paper). An important chapter in Ismaili history was initiated in 1090 by Hasan-i Sabbah's seizure of the...

Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia. By FRANK E. VOGEL. Studies in Islamic Law and Society, vol. 8. Leiden: BRILL, 2000. Pp. xx + 404. The agenda of this book is indicated by its main title. The book is not merely a...

Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Ma'mun. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Ma'mun. By MICHAEL COOPERSON. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2000. Pp. xxii + 217. $59.95. Michael Cooperson has...

Histoire de la langue Hebraique: Des origines a l'epoque de la Mishna. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Histoire de la Ian gue Hebraique: Des origines a l'epoque de la Mishna. By MIREILLE HADAS-LABEL, Collection de la Revue des Etudes juives, vol. 21. Louvain: PEETERS, 1995. Pp. 199. First published in 1976, this book now enters its fourth...

125 Jahre Indogermanistik in Graz: Festband anlasslich des 125 jahrigen Bestehens der Forschungsrichtung "Indogermanistik" an der Karl-Franzens-Universitat Graz. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... 125 Jahre Indogermanistik in Graz: Festband anlasslich des 125 jahrigen Bestehens der Forschungsrichtung "Indogermanistik" an der Karl-Franzens-Universitat Graz. Edited by MICHAELA OFITSCH and CHRISTIAN ZINKO. Graz: LEYKAM, 2000. Pp. xxvii +...

Huan K'uan: Spor o Soli y Zheleze (Yan Te Lun). .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Huan K'uan: Spor o Soli y Zheleze (Yan Te Lun) [Huan K'uan: Debate on Salt and Iron (Yen t'ieh lun)]. Translated by Ju. L. KROLL. Vol. 1, St. Petersburg: RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, ST. PETERSBURG BRANCH, 1997....

A Glossary of Dharmaraksa's Translation of the Lotus Sutra.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... A Glossary of Dharmaraksa's Translation of the Lotus Sutra [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] By SEISHI KARASHIMA. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, 1. Tokyo: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED BUDDHOLOGY,...

Tokyo Central: A Memoir. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Tokyo Central: A Memoir. By EDWARD SEIDENSTICKER. Seattle: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS, 2002. Pp. 250, illus, $30. Edward Seidensticker's translations both of classical and twentieth-century authors have probably introduced more readers...

Guanzi: Political, Economic, and Philosophical Essays from Early China, vol. 1: Chapters I, 1--XI, 34, and XX, 64-XXI, 65--66. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Guanzi: Political, Economic, and Philosophical Essays from Early China, vol. 1: chapters I, 1--XI, 34, and XX, 64-XXI, 65--66. Revised edition. By W. ALLYN RICKETT. C & T Asian Translation Series. Boston: CHENG AND TSUI COMPANY, 2001. Pp. xii +...

Music in the Age of Confucius.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Music in the Age of Confucius. Edited by JENNY F. So. Washington, D.C.: FREER GALLERY OF ART AND ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, 2000. Pp. 152, illus., tables, figs., maps. $30 (paper). [Distrib. by Univ. of Washington Press]...

Bamberger Symposium: Rezeption in der islamischen Kunst vom 26.6-28.6.1992.(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Bamberger Symposium: Rezeption in der islamischen Kunst vom 26.6-28.6.1992. Edited by BARBARA FINSTER, CHRISTA FRAGNER, and HERTA HAFENRICHTER. Beiruter Texte und Studien, vol. 61. Beirut: FRANZ STEINER VERLAG, 1999. Pp. 338, plates. DM 148....

The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam's Holy Book. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam's Holy Book. Edited by IBN WARRAQ. Amherst, New York: PROMETHEUS BOOKS, 1998. Pp. 411. This is a collection of articles in Qur[contains]anic studies by some of the more influential early...

The Arabic Manuscript Tradition: A Glossary of Technical Terms and Bibliography. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... The Arabic Manuscript Tradition: A Glossary of Technical Terms and Bibliography. By ADAM GACEK. Handbook of Oriental Studies: sect. 1, Near and Middle East, vol. 58. Leiden: BRILL, 2001. Pp. xvi + 269. Eur 57. Orientalists are more and more...

Kitab al-Iftikhar. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... Kitab al-Iftikhar. By ABU YA'QUB ISHAQ B. AHMAD AL-SIJISTANI. Edited with commentary by ISMAIL K. POONAWALA. Beirut: DAR AL-GHARB AL-ISLAMI, 2000. Pp. xxviii (English) + 497 (Arabic). In 1980 Mustafa Ghalib published one version of this...

al-Dawla al-fatimyya fi Misr: Tafsir jadid. .(Book Review)
July 1, 2002... al-Dawla al-fatimyya fi Misr: Tafsir jadid. 2nd ed. By AYMAN FU'AD SAYYID Cairo: AL-DAR AL-MISRIYYA AL-LUBNANIYYA, 2000. Pp. 817. The first edition of Ayman Fuad Sayyid's The Fatimid State in Egypt: A New Interpretation, which appeared in...