https://hcommons.org/members/msuriano/activity/ Activity feed for Matthew Suriano. Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:18:02 -0400 https://buddypress.org/?v=10.6.0 en-US 30 hourly 2 474f0e9ff69d62ea72a10ce9aeaefc39 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1932796/ Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:52:15 -0400 0 1c96ac97370f8c7362a6b675423c80a2 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1826722/ Fri, 16 Dec 2022 05:50:24 -0500 0 bf19891a1392dd5ed91805de29bdbd55 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1823985/ Sun, 27 Nov 2022 14:53:38 -0500 0 bdffaf990ec5987674c815b22b873bce https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1818381/ Fri, 21 Oct 2022 18:44:06 -0400 0 c30707d8d3cf55c7ef0ba728aa1ec5ec https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789910/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:55 -0400 What was the significance of ancestors in the Hebrew Bible? The question is spurred by Kerry Sonia’s Caring for the Dead, which argues that the cult of dead kin was an accepted practice in the culture of the biblical writers. In building this thesis, Sonia resists an idea popular in scholarship that the Hebrew Bible promotes a negative view of r…[Read more]

]]> 0 e64368beabdaa371dda5ab24335768f5 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789909/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:51 -0400 What was the significance of ancestors in the Hebrew Bible? The question is spurred by Kerry Sonia’s Caring for the Dead, which argues that the cult of dead kin was an accepted practice in the culture of the biblical writers. In building this thesis, Sonia resists an idea popular in scholarship that the Hebrew Bible promotes a negative view of r…[Read more]

]]> 0 f44f0fa620d1097e2f2768a010cb908b https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789908/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:50 -0400 What was the significance of ancestors in the Hebrew Bible? The question is spurred by Kerry Sonia’s Caring for the Dead, which argues that the cult of dead kin was an accepted practice in the culture of the biblical writers. In building this thesis, Sonia resists an idea popular in scholarship that the Hebrew Bible promotes a negative view of r…[Read more]

]]> 0 e318c099528614fb53fcb1d92e233865 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789907/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:33 -0400 What was the significance of ancestors in the Hebrew Bible? The question is spurred by Kerry Sonia’s Caring for the Dead, which argues that the cult of dead kin was an accepted practice in the culture of the biblical writers. In building this thesis, Sonia resists an idea popular in scholarship that the Hebrew Bible promotes a negative view of r…[Read more]

]]> 0 72408478f2ad6486d7d038b18c5f6554 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789906/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:32 -0400 Feeding the dead was an accepted cultural practice in the world of biblical writers. It is circumscribed by cultic considerations in passages such as Deut 26:14, but there are no texts that prohibit the placing of food inside tombs. Thus, the biblical writers tacitly acknowledged the practice, though feeding the dead is never explicitly prescribed…[Read more]

]]> 0 b51644954eb4b26f0607c150efa89254 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789905/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:24 -0400 Feeding the dead was an accepted cultural practice in the world of biblical writers. It is circumscribed by cultic considerations in passages such as Deut 26:14, but there are no texts that prohibit the placing of food inside tombs. Thus, the biblical writers tacitly acknowledged the practice, though feeding the dead is never explicitly prescribed…[Read more]

]]> 0 518341354fcd81697b16fd54bd6cfe01 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789904/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:23 -0400 Feeding the dead was an accepted cultural practice in the world of biblical writers. It is circumscribed by cultic considerations in passages such as Deut 26:14, but there are no texts that prohibit the placing of food inside tombs. Thus, the biblical writers tacitly acknowledged the practice, though feeding the dead is never explicitly prescribed…[Read more]

]]> 0 b453403da194113e6da4da05a285277d https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789903/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 02:24:03 -0400 Feeding the dead was an accepted cultural practice in the world of biblical writers. It is circumscribed by cultic considerations in passages such as Deut 26:14, but there are no texts that prohibit the placing of food inside tombs. Thus, the biblical writers tacitly acknowledged the practice, though feeding the dead is never explicitly prescribed…[Read more]

]]> 0 6b42801dce514502e34a92c14d310fe2 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789856/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 16:21:46 -0400 What was the significance of ancestors in the Hebrew Bible? The question is spurred by Kerry Sonia’s Caring for the Dead, which argues that the cult of dead kin was an accepted practice in the culture of the biblical writers. In building this thesis, Sonia resists an idea popular in scholarship that the Hebrew Bible promotes a negative view of r…[Read more]

]]> 0 e3e67cea32b98924526589719f41bdd2 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789849/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 16:03:31 -0400 Feeding the dead was an accepted cultural practice in the world of biblical writers. It is circumscribed by cultic considerations in passages such as Deut 26:14, but there are no texts that prohibit the placing of food inside tombs. Thus, the biblical writers tacitly acknowledged the practice, though feeding the dead is never explicitly prescribed…[Read more]

]]> 0 b19187838cbd4859b860e4ba3a375986 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789844/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 15:25:28 -0400 0 0b1187345847d546e97d9db3b3dd4e95 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1789840/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 15:19:58 -0400 0 f7cf72bcf65a45ff52a81379bed624bd https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1780412/ Sun, 01 May 2022 14:59:25 -0400 0 547ee91ec3988364a4efe8694fe3e474 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1726495/ Sat, 06 Feb 2021 16:55:01 -0500 0 0c74fc52de006b87bad109d09e9d2f28 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1676606/ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:25:32 -0500 Ezekiel 37 is based upon Judean mortuary culture, and the revivification of bones is a reversal of death. Rather than a resurrection event, Ezekiel's metaphor of Israel as a mass of dry bones is based upon the burial customs that occurred inside the family tomb.

]]> 0 0c74fc52de006b87bad109d09e9d2f28 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1676605/ Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:25:32 -0500 Ezekiel 37 is based upon Judean mortuary culture, and the revivification of bones is a reversal of death. Rather than a resurrection event, Ezekiel's metaphor of Israel as a mass of dry bones is based upon the burial customs that occurred inside the family tomb.

]]> 0 6a9f2ed97f1c967374ad7c3179a3dd98 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1676578/ Tue, 28 Jan 2020 23:30:02 -0500 Ezekiel 37 is based upon Judean mortuary culture, and the revivification of bones is a reversal of death. Rather than a resurrection event, Ezekiel's metaphor of Israel as a mass of dry bones is based upon the burial customs that occurred inside the family tomb.

]]> 0 6d6c8080db3d4bb6061dad54637b52f6 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1657314/ Wed, 10 Jul 2019 17:49:12 -0400 0 d486e2730facccb24eac2ac9f1802fdd https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1657155/ Tue, 09 Jul 2019 16:25:26 -0400 A private seal impression with the Hebrew name "Ezer (son of) Haggai" discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah.

]]> 0 d486e2730facccb24eac2ac9f1802fdd https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1657154/ Tue, 09 Jul 2019 16:25:26 -0400 A private seal impression with the Hebrew name "Ezer (son of) Haggai" discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah.

]]> 0 70817ffe3dabf5204c25fcdfdb263001 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1657037/ Mon, 08 Jul 2019 18:21:23 -0400 A private seal impression with the Hebrew name "Ezer (son of) Haggai" discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah.

]]> 0 a2e909b2168b5b45e961de786fbb694d https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1641295/ Fri, 31 May 2019 16:25:50 -0400 The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

]]> 0 9954119b83151beb242e3b99f40991a0 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1641294/ Fri, 31 May 2019 16:25:49 -0400 The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

]]> 0 c8b83b18a5c7dbea62d206b9b03020a0 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1641293/ Fri, 31 May 2019 16:25:21 -0400 The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

]]> 0 11aa80717abcea6655abd6ca03208958 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1641195/ Thu, 30 May 2019 20:25:24 -0400 0 23fce2f67b7def8d34389a5bf4927056 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1641176/ Thu, 30 May 2019 18:31:32 -0400 The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

]]> 0 4c9f4a1a31a041a290cace054527b9aa https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610882/ Fri, 15 Jun 2018 04:12:57 -0400 The problem with using royal inscriptions as historical sources is their inherent bias. The interests of the king drive the narratives of royal inscriptions. Yet this essential feature reveals their underlying concept of history. In royal inscriptions, historical thought is defined by the life and experience of the king. This article will present…[Read more]

]]> 0 213b86a6461102eb03e31ed1f759101f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610881/ Fri, 15 Jun 2018 04:12:56 -0400 The problem with using royal inscriptions as historical sources is their inherent bias. The interests of the king drive the narratives of royal inscriptions. Yet this essential feature reveals their underlying concept of history. In royal inscriptions, historical thought is defined by the life and experience of the king. This article will present…[Read more]

]]> 0 ee4f807392e970436a41eeea9ca11304 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610880/ Fri, 15 Jun 2018 04:12:25 -0400 The problem with using royal inscriptions as historical sources is their inherent bias. The interests of the king drive the narratives of royal inscriptions. Yet this essential feature reveals their underlying concept of history. In royal inscriptions, historical thought is defined by the life and experience of the king. This article will present…[Read more]

]]> 0 629073de1f607a1a0eba93016a25b23f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610804/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:15:06 -0400 The Samaria Ostraca contain a subset of receipts that record wine shipments from what were evidently royal vineyards. But this particular group of ostraca has been largely overlooked in the study of the Northern Kingdom, probably resulting from the fact that not all of the ostraca were published in the editio princeps. This article presents a new…[Read more]

]]> 0 629073de1f607a1a0eba93016a25b23f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610803/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:15:06 -0400 The Samaria Ostraca contain a subset of receipts that record wine shipments from what were evidently royal vineyards. But this particular group of ostraca has been largely overlooked in the study of the Northern Kingdom, probably resulting from the fact that not all of the ostraca were published in the editio princeps. This article presents a new…[Read more]

]]> 0 f7ee028ce9dbd46a87248f1c9441eeff https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610802/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:14:36 -0400 The Samaria Ostraca contain a subset of receipts that record wine shipments from what were evidently royal vineyards. But this particular group of ostraca has been largely overlooked in the study of the Northern Kingdom, probably resulting from the fact that not all of the ostraca were published in the editio princeps. This article presents a new…[Read more]

]]> 0 606a96850518e9ac595b3d3a04ad5e58 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610801/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:14:36 -0400 The comparison of Qoheleth and Gilgamesh begins with the so-called carpe diem advice of Siduri and Eccl 9:7-9. Additionally, the rhetoric of kingship evoked through Gilgamesh’s narû (“stele”) at the beginning of the epic parallels the royal voice of Qoheleth beginning in Eccl 1:12. Yet these similarities raise several historical issues. First,…[Read more]

]]> 0 2d907e2c67f9e661f21ee5dbc8b62a07 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610800/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:14:04 -0400 The comparison of Qoheleth and Gilgamesh begins with the so-called carpe diem advice of Siduri and Eccl 9:7-9. Additionally, the rhetoric of kingship evoked through Gilgamesh’s narû (“stele”) at the beginning of the epic parallels the royal voice of Qoheleth beginning in Eccl 1:12. Yet these similarities raise several historical issues. First,…[Read more]

]]> 0 4452e82890b521c256fb52293a1b8782 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610715/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 02:09:42 -0400 The problem with using royal inscriptions as historical sources is their inherent bias. The interests of the king drive the narratives of royal inscriptions. Yet this essential feature reveals their underlying concept of history. In royal inscriptions, historical thought is defined by the life and experience of the king. This article will present…[Read more]

]]> 0 bf8329ddf6a6049582f9490710d0ac63 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610708/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:54:46 -0400 The Samaria Ostraca contain a subset of receipts that record wine shipments from what were evidently royal vineyards. But this particular group of ostraca has been largely overlooked in the study of the Northern Kingdom, probably resulting from the fact that not all of the ostraca were published in the editio princeps. This article presents a new…[Read more]

]]> 0 80e02e1126b941e0717823807094488e https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1610707/ Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:41:41 -0400 The comparison of Qoheleth and Gilgamesh begins with the so-called carpe diem advice of Siduri and Eccl 9:7-9. Additionally, the rhetoric of kingship evoked through Gilgamesh’s narû (“stele”) at the beginning of the epic parallels the royal voice of Qoheleth beginning in Eccl 1:12. Yet these similarities raise several historical issues. First,…[Read more]

]]> 0 ed26f6450508e2736e4c282477be9fb7 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1593329/ Fri, 22 Dec 2017 16:24:30 -0500 0 acbb15c03ed76a3bd6e6130ce48f396c https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1577245/ Thu, 03 Aug 2017 03:34:33 -0400 0 da6d17aa47cdcc4c30d8acb4ed08b41e https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1577244/ Thu, 03 Aug 2017 03:33:13 -0400 0 ffdd969b468f0832c19d85ae154c4092 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1573228/ Mon, 05 Jun 2017 13:20:57 -0400 0 574f1ccee61e0582c34e4b6d719238c9 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1573079/ Sat, 03 Jun 2017 20:31:08 -0400 0 157d1824f61c7ae06100530ef40b7139 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1568788/ Wed, 03 May 2017 01:02:54 -0400 In the Ba‘al Cycle’s description of the threshold separating the realms of the dead from that of the living, the key reference point is described as “the two tells (at) the boundary of the netherworld” (CAT 1.4 viii, 4). The specific word used to describe both topographical features is tl, the tell, an object well known in the archaeology of the…[Read more]

]]> 0 157d1824f61c7ae06100530ef40b7139 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1568787/ Wed, 03 May 2017 01:02:54 -0400 In the Ba‘al Cycle’s description of the threshold separating the realms of the dead from that of the living, the key reference point is described as “the two tells (at) the boundary of the netherworld” (CAT 1.4 viii, 4). The specific word used to describe both topographical features is tl, the tell, an object well known in the archaeology of the…[Read more]

]]> 0 22982f26bb8b7bd59ac96f1084dca747 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1568786/ Wed, 03 May 2017 01:02:45 -0400 In the Ba‘al Cycle’s description of the threshold separating the realms of the dead from that of the living, the key reference point is described as “the two tells (at) the boundary of the netherworld” (CAT 1.4 viii, 4). The specific word used to describe both topographical features is tl, the tell, an object well known in the archaeology of the…[Read more]

]]> 0 52199cbaf200f576812e33589e7aee88 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1568785/ Wed, 03 May 2017 01:02:24 -0400 In the Ba‘al Cycle’s description of the threshold separating the realms of the dead from that of the living, the key reference point is described as “the two tells (at) the boundary of the netherworld” (CAT 1.4 viii, 4). The specific word used to describe both topographical features is tl, the tell, an object well known in the archaeology of the…[Read more]

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