The Journal of the American Oriental Society articles from October 2004

The Journal of the American Oriental Society archives from October 2004

Scholars and their books: a peculiar Islamic view from the fifth/eleventh century (presidential address).
October 1, 2004... Scholars are notorious for their love of their books. They might undergo all kinds of difficulties when they compile them, and they might not want to read, or even look at, them once they are published and in their hands, finished products; but...

Canaanite in cuneiform.
October 1, 2004... It has become a truism that Akkadian, the principal Semitic language of ancient Mesopotamia, was the lingua franca of the Near East during the second millennium B.C.E. This is stated, more or less in so many words, in any number of works on the...

A reflection on two Qur'anic words (iblis and judi), with attention to the theories of A. Mingana.
October 1, 2004... The extent to which scholars of Qur'anic studies today are divided is evident from recent publications in the field. One work, Understanding the Qur'an (1999), by Muhammad Abdel Haleem of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London,...

Did Chinggis Khan have a Jewish teacher? An examination of an early fourteenth-century Arabic text.
October 1, 2004... The answer to the question posed in the title of this article is no, or rather: no, at least as far as we are aware of at this time. My hope here, however, is not to attract the reader's attention with a catchy but totally hypothetical question...

A Harivamsa hymn in Yijing's Chinese translation of the Sutra of Golden Light.
October 1, 2004... A HYMN IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS The Harivamsa (first to third century), well known as an account of the life of the god Krsna, contains also a few hymns to the goddess Durga. These hymns are extremely inter-esting in that they are amongst the...

On a five-colored cloud: the Songs of Mount Wutai.
October 1, 2004... THEMES OF THE MOUNT WUTAI POEMS The Mount Wutai poems (1) take as their theme the Buddhist concept of nirmanakaya, or bianxian [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]: the idea that buddhas and bodhisattvas can transform themselves and vary their...

The early development of the Padmasambhava legend in Tibet: a study of IOL Tib J 644 and Pelliot tibetain 307.
October 1, 2004... This article offers some new evidence on Padmasambhava, the Indian master who, according to legend, was instrumental in establishing Buddhism in Tibet. In the course of my research on tantra in the Tibetan manuscripts discovered near Dunhuang,...

An Iranian name in duplicate.
October 1, 2004... The archive of Bel-remanni contains various duplicates, (1) among which are the tablets CTMMA 3 89 and VAS 4 113. (2) The text is a receipt for silver, which Bel-remanni, son of Musibsi-Marduk, descendant of Sangu-Samas paid to...

[.sup.d.N]arru and [.sup.d.Z]ulummar in The Babylonian Theodicy (BWL 88: 276-77).
October 1, 2004... The well-known Akkadian composition Asis[...], usually designated "The Babylonian Theodicy," is an acrostically arranged dialogue containing twenty-seven stanzas of eleven lines each in which an anonymous sufferer complains to his wise friend...

Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Ancient Place Names in the Holy Land. By YOEL ELITZUR. Jerusalem and Winona Lake, Ind: MAGNES PRESS and EISENBRAUNS, 2004. Pp. xiii + 446. $59.50. This well-researched work on biblical toponyms that have survived through the ages is based...

Reflections on Ancient Glass from the Borowski Collection.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Reflections on Ancient Glass from the Borowski Collection. Edited by ROBERT STEVEN BIANCHI. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. Pp. 379, illus. [euro]76.80. The subject of this splendid new catalogue is a collection of more than 450...

The Harra and the Hamad: Excavations and Surveys in Eastern Jordan.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Harra and the Hamad: Excavations and Surveys in Eastern Jordan, volume 1. Edited by A. V. G. BETTS. Sheffield Archaeological Monographs, vol. 9. Sheffield: SHEFFIELD ACADEMIC PRESS, 1998. Pp. xx + 252, illus. $74. The first volume in...

The Babylonian Entitlement narus (kudurrus): A Study in Their Form and Function.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Babylonian Entitlement narus (kudurrus): A Study in Their Form and Function. By KATHRYN E. SLANSKI. ASOR Books, vol. 9. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2003. Pp. xxi + 362, illus. $29.95. The approximately 160 inscribed...

Bethel: Geschichte, Kult and Theologie.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Bethel: Geschichte, Kult and Theologie. By KLAUS KOENEN. Freiburg: UNIVERSITATSVERLAG. Pp. 251, illus. FS79. Everything you always wanted to know about ancient Bethel and were afraid to ask will be found in this book. Klaus Koenen, noted...

Spat-altbabylonische Tontafeln: Texte und Siegelabrollungen.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Spat-altbabylonische Tontafeln: Texte und Siegelabrollungen. By HORST KLENGEL and EVELYN KLENGEL-BRANDT. Vorderasiatische Schriftdenkmaler des Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, vol. 29. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. Pp. 76, plates. $29.80...

Old Babylonian Account Texts in the Horn Archaeological Museum.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Old Babylonian Account Texts in the Horn Archaeological Museum. By MARCEL SIGRIST. Andrews University Cuneiform Texts, vol. 5. Berrien Springs, Mich.: ANDREWS UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2003. Pp. v + 325, illus. $39.99. Volume five of the Andrews...

Die Konigsmutter des Alten Agypten von der Fruhzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Die Konigsmutter des Alten Agypten von der Fruhzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie. By SILKE ROTH. Agypten und Altes Testament, vol. 46. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2001. Pp. xlvi + 584, illus. DM 168 (paper). This work is a detailed...

Society, Economics, and Politics in Pre-Angkor Cambodia: The 7th-8th Centuries.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Society, Economics, and Politics in Pre-Angkor Cambodia: The 7th-8th Centuries. By MICHAEL VICKERY. Tokyo: CENTRE FOR EAST ASIAN CULTURAL STUDIES FOR UNESCO, 1998. Pp. vii +486. Southeast Asia offers an especially interesting arena for...

The Art and Architecture of Thailand: From Prehistoric Times through the Thirteenth Century.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Art and Architecture of Thailand: From Prehistoric Times through the Thirteenth Century. By HIRAM WOODWARD. Handbook of Oriental Studies, section 3: South-East Asia, vol. 14. Leiden: BRILL, 2003. Pp. xix + 275, plates, figures, maps. ...

Nirgranth Aitihasik Lekh-Samuccay.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Nirgranth Aitihasik Lekh-Samuccay. By MADHUSUDAN DHANKI [M. A. Dhaky.] Sresthi Kasturbhai Lalbhai Sreni, vols. 4-5. Ahmedabad: SRESTHI KASTURBHAI LALBHAI SMARAKNIDHI, 2002. Pp. 24 + 348, 20 + 304, 88 photographs. Rs. 500 per vol. M. A....

A New Version of the Gandhari Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories: British Library Kharosthi Fragments 16 + 25.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... A New Version of the Gandhari Dharmapada and a Collection of Previous-Birth Stories: British Library Kharosthi Fragments 16 + 25. By TIMOTHY LENZ, with contributions by Andrew Glass and Bhikshu Dharmamitra. Gandharan Buddhist Texts, vol. 3....

Das Upasampadavastu: Vorschriften fur die buddhistische Monchsordination im Vinaya der Sarvastivada-Tradition: Sanskrit-Version und chinesische Version.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Das Upasampadavastu: Vorschriften fur die buddhistische Monchsordination im Vinaya der Sarvastivada-Tradition: Sanskrit-Version und chinesische Version. By JIN-IL CHUNG. Sanskrit-Worterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden,...

The Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals. Edited by RALPH RUSSELL. New Delhi: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2003. Pp. viii + 572. Rs. 1125. Mirza Asadullah Khan "Ghalib" (1797-1869) has aroused much critical acclaim and popular...

Singing the Body of God: The Hymns of Vedantadesika in Their South Indian Tradition.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Singing the Body of God: The Hymns of Vedantadesika in Their South Indian Tradition. By STEVEN PAUL HOPKINS. New York: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2002. Pp. xx + 344. $80. This volume marks a significant contribution to the study of...

The Role of Divine Grace in the Soteriology of Sankaracarya.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Role of Divine Grace in the Soteriology of Sankaracarya. By BRADLEY J. MALKOVSKY. Numen Book Series, Studies in the History of Religions. Leiden: BRILL, 2001. Pp. 421. This book attempts systematically to study an "overlooked feature"...

The Mahavadanasutra: A New Edition Based on Manuscripts Discovered in Northern Turkestan.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Mahavadanasutra: A New Edition Based on Manuscripts Discovered in Northern Turkestan. Edited by TAKAMICHI FUKITA. Sanskrit-Worterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden, Beiheft 10. Gottingen: VANDENHOECK & RUPRECHT, 2003. Pp....

The Avestan Vowels.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Avestan Vowels. By MICHIEL DE VAAN. Leiden Studies in Indo-European, vol. 12. Amsterdam: RODOPI, 2003. Pp. xxxv + 710. [euro]160. Michiel de Vaan's book, based on his 2002 Leiden doctoral thesis, is not for the faint-hearted...

A Journey in the World of the Tantras.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... A Journey in the World of the Tantras. By MARK S. G. DYCZKOWSKI. Varanasi: INDICA BOOKS, 2004. Pp. 315. Rs. 375. A collection of six articles and chapters written between 1986 and 2001, the present volume is very much an account of the...

Reason's Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Reason's Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought. By MATTHEW T. KAPSTEIN. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: WISDOM PUBLICATIONS, 2001. Pp. xviii + 473. $34.95. This is a collection of essays...

The Keepers: An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Samaritans.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Keepers: An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Samaritans. By ROBERT T. ANDERSON and TERRY GILES. Peabody, Mass.: HENDRICKSON PUBLISHERS, 2002. Pp. xvi + 165, illus. $29.95. This work breaks no new ground in the study of...

Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law and the Plight of Widows, Strangers, and Orphans in Ancient Israel.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law and the Plight of Widows, Strangers, and Orphans in Ancient Israel. By HAROLD V. BENNETT. The Bible in Its World. Grand Rapids, Mich.: WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING CO., 2002. Pp. xiii + 209. $28, [pounds...

Amarna Studies: Collected Writings.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Amarna Studies: Collected Writings. By WILLIAM L. MORAN; edited by John Huehnergard and Shlomo Izre'el. Harvard Semitic Studies, 54. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 2003. Pp. xxxi + 363. $44.95. In the latter half of the twentieth century,...

Asagi Pinar I: Einfuhrung, Forschungsgeschichte, Stratigraphie und Architektur.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Asagi Pinar I: Einfuhrung, Forschungsgeschichte, Stratigraphie und Architektur. By NECMI KARUL, ZEYNEP ERES, MEHMET OZDOGAN, and HERMANN PARZINGER. Archaologie in Eurasien, vol. 15. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2003. Pp. ix + 209, plates....

Norsuntepe: Kleinfunde II.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Norsuntepe: Kleinfunde II. By KLAUS SCHMIDT. Archaeologica Euphratica, vol. 2. Mainz: VERLAG PHILIPP VON ZABERN, 2002. Pp. xi + 206, plates. [euro]128. Large-scale salvage projects in the Keban area (modern eastern Turkey) carried out...

Daniel.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Daniel. By C. L. SEOW. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS, 2003. Pp. xiii + 198. $29.95 (cloth); $12.95 (paper). The Westminster Bible Companion series consists of non-technical commentaries intended for...

The Text of Matthew in the Writings of Basil of Caesarea.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... The Text of Matthew in the Writings of Basil of Caesarea. By JEAN-FRANCOIS RACINE. SBL New Testament in the Greek Fathers, vol, 5. Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2004. Pp. xvi + 424. $49.95 (paper). The emperor Julian always felt...

Die Lekhapaddhati-Lekhapancasika: Briefe und Urkunden im mittelalterlichen Gujarat; Text, Ubersetzung, Kommentar: Glossar (Sanskrit-Deutsch-Englisch).(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Die Lekhapaddhati-Lekhapancasika: Briefe und Urkunden im mittelalterlichen Gujarat; Text, Ubersetzung, Kommentar: Glossar (Sanskrit-Deutsch-Englisch). By INGO STRAUCH. Monographien zur indischen Archaologie, Kunst und Philologie, vol. 16....

Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.(Book review)
October 1, 2004... Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. By PRATAPADITYA PAL, with contributions to Amy Heller, Oskar von Hinuber, and Gautama V. Vajracharya. Chicago: ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO, in association with UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS and MAPIN PUBLISHING,...