BARlines

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The Phenomenon of the Festschrift

A festschrift—literally a festival of writing or a writing fest—is a collection of papers presented to a senior scholar by his or her colleagues and students.

Festschrifts in archaeology and Biblical studies are appearing with ever-increasing frequency, and they are having a significant impact on scholarly publishing in the field. In many ways festschrifts—or festschriften, to use the German plural—are replacing the scholarly journals.

Everyone knows that scholarly journals have been having a hard time. They are often hopelessly behind in their production schedules, with some numbers appearing a year or two late. So-called double numbers—two issues bound together—appear in an effort to catch up. Sometimes the double issue is institutionalized, so that the journal appears only twice yearly instead of four times. When this happens, the size of the double issue is often much smaller than two single issues.

One amusing aspect of these developments is that a journal’s name may no longer describe its frequency: The venerable Palestine Exploration Quarterly appears not quarterly but twice yearly.

Paradoxically, while the journals struggle to survive, the festschrifts are thriving. Some have suggested it is simply easier to raise money for a book honoring a great scholar than for a journal.

But there is another dimension to this phenomenon. Some of the most interesting and penetrating scholarship is appearing in festschrifts. If this trend continues, the journals may be relegated to preliminary reports and to technical studies. One reason for the appearance of exciting material in the festschrifts is that scholars may be moved by the desire to honor a colleague. In addition, scholars may be encouraged to submit work to festschrifts because their contributions will be compared to those of other major scholars in the same volume.

Another reason that has been suggested for the proliferation of festschrifts is that papers submitted to scholarly journals are vetted, while contributions to festschrifts are not. “Vetted” sounds as if it should mean “shredded” or “cut to pieces.” But it does not. It simply means reviewed by other scholars for acceptability. Perhaps this amounts to the same thing as being cut to pieces. In any event, without the restrictions of vetting, a scholar writing for a festschrift is free to let his imagination expand, to look at the broader picture, to ruminate, to speculate, to synthesize. As one scholar put it, “Peer review can have a deadening effect. Standard journals get good gray articles. Festschriften get exciting and creative articles as well as more junk than journals.”

For whatever reason, the fact remains that some of the most exciting scholarship is now being published in festschrifts. Some may eventually achieve the wide exposure of a great work such as The Bible and the Ancient Near East, the festschrift for William Foxwell Albright edited by G. Ernest Wright in 1961 (Doubleday, New York, and Routledge and Kegan Paul, London). Unfortunately, however, festschrifts are often inaccessible.

To apprise our scholarly readers of what is appearing in these works, we will, on a more or less regular basis, and beginning with this issue, publish titles of particularly relevant articles from recent festschrifts. In a future issue we will describe the collection, another type of publication in which scholars are publishing original articles. As with festschrifts, we will list selected articles from several recently published collections. Supplementing this will be titles of relevant articles from scholarly journals. We would be pleased to hear from scholars and other readers as to whether this is a useful service.

Essays in Honour of Yigael Yadin

edited by Geza Vermes and Jacob Neusner

The Journal of Jewish Studies Vol. 33 (1982)

(Published for The Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Studies by Allanheld, Osmun and Co.: Totowa, New Jersey, 1983)

Amnon Ben-Tor, “The Relations between Egypt and the Land of Canaan during the Third Millennium B.C.”

William G. Dever, “The Late Bronze, Iron Age, and Hellenistic Defences of Gezer”

Ephraim Stern, “A Favissa of a Phoenician Sanctuary from Tel Dor”

Abraham Malamat, “‘Silver, Gold and Precious Stones from Hazor’: Trade and Trouble in a New Mari Document”

Yochanan Muffs, “Abraham the Noble Warrior: Patriarchal Politics and Laws of War in Ancient Israel”

Joseph Blenkinsopp, “Abraham and the Righteous of Sodom”

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Menahem Haran, “Book-Scrolls in Israel in Pre-Exilic Times”

Z. Kallai, “The Wandering Traditions from Kadesh-Barnea to Canaan: A Study in Biblical Historiography”

Jacob Milgrom, “The Levitic Town: An Exercise in Realistic Planning”

Moshe Weinfeld, “The King as the Servant of the People: The Source of the Idea”

James H. Charlesworth, “A Prolegomenon to a New Study of the Jewish Background of the Hymns and Prayers in the New Testament”

Geza Vermes, “Jewish Literature and New Testament Exegesis: Reflections on Methodology”

Magen Broshi, “The Credibility of Josephus”

Shaye J. D. Cohen, “Masada: Literary Tradition, Archaeological Remains, and the Credibility of Josephus”

The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth—Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Sixtieth Birthday

edited by Carol L. Meyers and M. O’Connor

(Published for the American Schools of Oriental Research by Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana, 1983)

Mitchell Dahood, “The Minor Prophets and Ebla”

Frank Moore Cross, “Studies in the Structure of Hebrew Verse: The Prosody of Lamentations 1:1–22”

Jack R. Lundbom, “Abraham and David in the Theology of the Yahwist”

Abraham Malamat, “The Proto-History of Israel: A Study in Method”

Frank Anthony Spina, “Israelites as gerim, ‘Sojourners,’ in Social and Historical Context”

Tikva Frymer-Kensky, “Pollution, Purification, and Purgation in Biblical Israel”

Siegfried H. Horn, “The Discovery of the Moabite Stone”

Lawrence T. Geraty, “The Historical, Linguistic, and Biblical Significance of the Khirbet et-Kôm Ostraca”

William G. Dever, “Material Remains and the Cult in Ancient Israel: An Essay in Archaeological Systematics”

Lawrence E. Toombs, “Baal, Lord of the Earth: The Ugaritic Baal Epic”

The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E. Mendenhall

edited by H. B. Huffmon, F. A. Spina, A. R. W. Green

(Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana, 1983)

James W. Flanagan, “Succession and Genealogy in the Davidic Dynasty”

Robert R. Wilson, “Enforcing the Covenant: The Mechanisms of Judicial Authority in Early Israel”

Baruch A. Levine, “In Praise of the Israelite Mispaha: Legal Themes in the Book of Ruth”

Herbert B. Huffmon, “The Social Role of Amos’ Message”

J. Tracy Luke, “‘Your Father Was an Amorite’ (Ezekiel 16:3, 45): An Essay on the Amorite Problem in OT Traditions”

Jacob Milgrom, “Magic, Monotheism, and the Sin of Moses”

Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians—In Honor of Ernest R. Lacheman

edited by Martha A. Morrison and David I. Owen

(Eisenbrauns: Winona Lake, Indiana, 1981)

I. M. Diakonoff, “Evidence on the Ethnic Division of the Hurrians”

Tikva Frymer-Kensky, “Suprarational Legal Procedures in Elam and Nuzi”

Cyrus H. Gordon, “Erebu Marriage”

Harry A. Hoffner, Jr., “The Hurrian Story of the Sungod, the Cow and the Fisherman”

Martha A. Morrison, “Evidence for Herdsmen and Animal Husbandry in the Nuzi Documents”

Jack M. Sasson, “On Idrimi and Sarruwa, the Scribe”

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Plea for Owner of Solomon’s Temple Relic to Identify Himself

The best archaeological sleuths in Jerusalem are stumped. Ever since BAR publicized the only surviving relic from the Solomonic Temple (see “Probable Head of Priestly Scepter From Solomon’s Temple Surfaces in Jerusalem,” BAR 10:01), the archaeological cognoscenti in Jerusalem have been trying to identity the owner of the beautiful ivory scepter head carved in the shape of a pomegranate and inscribed with the legend “Belonging to the Tem[ple of the Lor]d [Yahweh], holy to the priests.”

The result: No one knows who owns it or where it is being kept. No one except the owner, that is, and perhaps the Jerusalem antiquities dealer who handled the sale. If he knows, he won’t tell his best friend.

We can only plead with the owner to identify himself—or at least to allow the Israel Museum to display the inscribed ivory pomegranate anonymously, so that the public can view this beautiful relic, which can now be seen only in BAR’s lifelike color photographs.

The Israeli Attorney General and the Director of the Department of Antiquities should also look into the situation. Is it legal for a private individual to keep to himself a priceless artifact like this, which is part of the heritage of all Israelis and of the millions of visitors who could view it in the Israel Museum? If it is legal, should it be? Perhaps the Israeli law should be changed. In any event, the Israeli authorities should be investigating. We will continue to report to our readers as matters develop.

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More Digs Seek Volunteers

BAR has already published listings of digs that need volunteers this summer—in “Excavation Opportunities 1984,” BAR 10:01, and BARlines, BAR 10:02. Here are still more to consider.

Herodium

In 23 B.C., Herod built a magnificent palace-fortress atop a natural hill three and one-half miles east of Bethlehem. Tons of earth fill heaped against the walls of the fortress created an artificial mountain. Herod built a second palace, a garden, and a large pool at the foot of the mountain.

For the past seven years, Ehud Netzer has been excavating the mountain palace-fortress and other structures at Herodium (see “Searching for Herod’s Tomb,” BAR 09:03). Netzer will excavate the site again in August 1984 and is looking for volunteers to join him in his quest for Herod’s tomb. Volunteers may stay in Jerusalem or in Tekoa (both are about two and a half miles south of the site) at a cost of $110 per week. Registration fee is $20. Lectures on Herodium and Herodian architecture will be offered, as well as field trips. Minimum stay is two weeks. To apply to dig, write to Dr. Ehud Netzer, Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.

Shavey Zion

Moshe Prausnitz of the Israel Department of Antiquities will excavate remains from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine period from September 2 to September 25 at Shavey Zion, near Nahariya on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Accommodations will cost about $15 per day. The $50 registration fee will be returned at the end of the excavation season. Volunteers with experience in classical archaeology are preferred. If you can join the excavation team for at least two weeks, write to Dr. Moshe Prausnitz, Department of Antiquities, P. O. Box 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel.

Negev Rescue Excavations And Survey

Rudolph Cohen, Southern District Archaeologist of the Israel Department of Antiquities, leads emergency excavations at unscheduled times aimed at saving archaeological and historical sites in the Negev. For details, write to Negev Rescue Excavations and Survey, P. O. Box 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel.

Complaint About BAR’s Seminar at Sea

BAR’s Seminar at Sea—a one-week cruise on the Norwegian ship M/S Skyward in the Caribbean during February—was acclaimed by the 25 participants in all respects but one.

The ship was beautiful, the food excellent, the sights extraordinary and the lectures by Professor Joseph Callaway fascinating. The one widespread complaint, however, was that there weren’t enough lectures. Or a variation on the theme: The lectures should have been longer. One hour of lectures per day was simply not sufficient for the eager, enthusiastic BAR participants.

For example, one participant wrote: “What do I think of the concept of a lecture cruise? I LOVED IT! What did I think of the cruise and its itinerary? The Mayan ruins were great! Key West was more interesting than I expected, and I enjoyed Nassau more than a beach party. The content of Professor Callaway’s lectures was very interesting; he himself was excellent (he made you think too, not only listen), and the informal gatherings made for good fellowship. The only thing I would like is MORE (or longer) LECTURE TIME.”

Another said “The lectures exceeded my expectations, and the added informal discussion was certainly a generous gesture on the part of Dr. Callaway. But I think that the lecture periods could have been extended.”

We’re glad to hear you so clearly. Next year’s Seminar at Sea will have more lectures—but attendance, like all aspects of this wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled way to learn, will be optional.

Religious Books Bibliography Published

Bibliographic information on virtually every book concerned with religion that was published or distributed in the United States during a 106-year span has been compiled for the first time in Religious Books 1876–1982. Published by the R. R. Bowker Company, this bibliography contains more than 130,000 entries. A three-volume subject index contains over 27,000 Library of Congress subject headings, including listings for the major religions of the world, lesser-known sects, and topics that have religious implications. A fourth volume contains author and title indexes. Religious Books 1876–1982 is priced at $195.

The Phenomenon of the Festschrift

A festschrift—literally a festival of writing or a writing fest—is a collection of papers presented to a senior scholar by his or her colleagues and students.