The purpose of this post is to draw your attention to two new publications of mine in the online Database of Religious History (DRH). DRH is the world’s first comprehensive online quantitative and qualitative encyclopedia of religious cultural history. You can read about DRH on the website’s landing page (here) or their About page (here).
Balaam Inscription from Tell Deir 'Allā
My first contribution to the database (published 02/17/24) is about the famous eighth-century Tell Deir Alla inscription which recounts a dream of the prophet Balaam son of Beor. The inscription is particularly fascinating for linguistic reasons which I mention (with bibliography) in the Entry Description. You can read about the Balaam Inscription from Tell Deir ‘Allā here.
Katumuwa Stele from Sam'al
My second contribution (published 02/26/24) is about the recently discovered Katumuwa Stele from the ancient Aramean kingdom of Sam’al/Ya’diya (modern Zincirli). It contains an inscription as well as banquet scene of its commissioner, Katumuwa. The inscription is particularly important for our understanding mortuary cults in the Iron Age Levant. You can read about the Katumuwa Stele from Sam’al here.
Conclusion
DRH is comprised of experts from various fields within the humanities. I encourage you to also take a look at the entries written by my colleagues and fellow graduate students at Johns Hopkins:
Matthew Saunders is a PhD student in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He researches the languages and literatures of the ancient Near East, especially Aramaic Studies, Ugaritic Studies, and Comparative Semitics.