Qusayr 'Amra bathhouse frescoes | Jordan, built ca.723-743 by Walid Ibn Yazid | Image Source

On AJR

Essay following up on SBL Forum (on Christine Hayes, What’s Divine about Divine Law): “Divine Law in Islamic Tradition”

Herman: "In short, What is Divine about Divine Law pinpoints a series of conceptions available to later thinkers who sought to navigate divergent perspectives on the nature of revealed and rational law. Some texts adopt the claims of revealed law’s alleged rationality wholeheartedly, knowingly espousing earlier models of divine law, while others seem to back into Greco-Roman conclusions about divine law only accidentally."

Articles and News

Muriel Debie talks Syriac sources for the Sasanian and Arab-Muslim seventh century CE.
Stunning image resource for Qusayr Amra and more at the Manar al-Athar project.
Maimonides’ autograph of his commentary on Mishnah online.
Oxford University Press publishing a graphic novel of the Life of Perpetua (no, not that Liz Clark!).
Why name weapons? Sarah Bond explores in this week's column.
Over at Black Perspectives, David Withun provides an accessible introduction to African American engagement with Classics.
Sparkling review of Lily Vuong and N. DesRosiers’ edited volume on ancient religious competition.
Reading meaning from the now-redundant material characteristics of objects (skeuomorphs).
On the highly selective genre that is the high school (or undergraduate) history curriculum.

Twitter

TOC for my @mohr_religion book, in case anyone is curious (=combination of updated reprints & new materials on "Jewish-Christianity") pic.twitter.com/bj7ADQUe7r
— Annette Yoshiko Reed (@AnnetteYReed) 6 September 2017

This is hitting the printing press now and the Brill website very soon - I will keep you posted @JewishStudiesUK @PTRBirmingham pic.twitter.com/nRw1pjSWTP
— Charlotte Hempel (@QumranRocks) 5 September 2017

Eager to kick off #jewsancientmaterial @UMJudaicStudies Institute tmw w/ 17-18 Fellows &colleagues! #antiquity #lateantiquity #jewishstudies
— Rachel R. Neis (@RNeis) 5 September 2017

In/near Philly? Like knowing stuff? Come to our #PSCO2017 seminars: "What did Ancient Jews Know?"- dates incoming! https://t.co/bTY4d6ckVx pic.twitter.com/bOtwsqceOG
— Matthew Chalmers (@Matt_J_Chalmers) 3 September 2017