Gad Barnea
Biographic Data
| ID | 1132478 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gad Barnea |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gad |
| FAMILY NAME | Barnea |
| SIGNATURE | BARNEA G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Haifa |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5144-5761 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Miθra and His Mąθra
The Gospel of John is geographically associated with Judea and Anatolia—regions that, throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, formed part of the frontier with the Iranian world. Anatolia preserved important Mazdean traditions well into the Common era, while the budding miθra cult established itself in Judea around the time the Fourth Gospel was actively being elaborated—most notably at Caesarea Maritima, where an early Christian community c…
ʾAhyh ʾAšr ʾAhyh
Various types of impact, assimilation, and engagement of certain redactional layers of the Hebrew Bible with Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism have long been noted by biblical scholars and by researchers of ancient Iranian cultic practices. Both disciplines, however, are facing similar challenges regarding the problem of the transmission history of their sacred texts, which is complex, perplexing, and vigorously debated. Thus, due caution must be tak…
Thwarting the ‘Evil Eye’
The Aramaic term psḥ(ʾ) and its possible relation to the Hebrew psḥ (recorded in the Hebrew Bible) are associated with “the Passover” feast in Judaism and Samaritanism and, by extension, with Easter in Christianity. This lexeme is exceedingly rare in extra-biblical sources and my goal with the present article is to closely examine the only two unambiguous sources available to us—both of which are found on Aramaic ostraca associated with the Yahwi…
The Significance of ṛtācā brzmniy in Xerxes’ Cultic Reform
Ever since its preliminary publication, Xerxes’ “Daiva” inscription (XPh) has been seen as an important and unique witness to early Achaemenid Mazdean orthopraxy and cultic propaganda. It is an essential document that captures a major reform in Achaemenid-Zoroastrian cult patterns and its relationship to cognate cults. This royal inscription describes a liturgical reform or, at least, the enforcement of such a reform, targeting and condemning the…
Khnum Is Against Us”
According to the Elephantine Yahwists’ own dramatic portrayal, the figure of a certain Ḥananiah played a key role in the misfortunes they experienced following his arrival in Egypt in or around 419 bce. Therefore, understanding who this person was and how he might have helped cause these calamities can provide important context to the analysis of the final decades of this community. This article looks at all available evidence—textual, linguistic…
Some Achaemenid Zoroastrian Echoes in Early Yahwistic Sources
Imitatio Dei, Imitatio Darii
The Bīsotūn inscription of Darius I (DB) is a masterpiece of ancient literature containing descriptions of historical events, imperial propaganda, cultic statements, ethical instructions, wisdom insights, blessings and curses, and engagements with posterity. It was disseminated far and wide within the empire and left a lasting impression on the cultures with which it came into contact. However, a specific section of this royal inscription (DB 4:3…
Deciphering Arachosian Tribute at Persepolis
Inscribed trays, plates, mortars, and pestles made of beautiful green chert bearing formulaic administrative textual formulae were found during excavations at the Persepolis Treasury in the 1930s. These implements and the enigmatic formulae inscribed upon them present scholars with a complex and unique challenge whose correct interpretation holds important implications for the study of Achaemenid history, imperial administration, and relations be…
Yahwistic Identity in the Achaemenid period
Double-Identity: the DataThe Elephantine Yahwists possessed a complex double identity, both components of which were used for practical and administrative purposes1.As far as they were concerned, each member was truly Yhwdy2 and truly 'rmy ("Aramean") -even though they were not entirely interchangeable.The following table lists cases where the same person was tagged as Yhwdy in some documents and 'rmy (or Swnḫn) in others: Multiple IdentitiesTabl…
Elephantine in Context
The Migration of the Elephantine Yahwists under Amasis II
Justice at the House of Yhw(h)
What was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco-Roman times. This article presents such a text-one that has been hiding in plain sight for almost a century on a small ostracon found on the island of Elephantine. It has variously been interpreted as dealing with i…
The Migration of the Elephantine Yahwists under Amasis II
Imitatio Dei, Imitatio Darii
The Bīsotūn inscription of Darius I (DB) is a masterpiece of ancient literature containing descriptions of historical events, imperial propaganda, cultic statements, ethical instructions, wisdom insights, blessings and curses, and engagements with posterity. It was disseminated far and wide within the empire and left a lasting impression on the cultures with which it came into contact. However, a specific section of this royal inscription (DB 4:3…
The Significance of ṛtācā brzmniy in Xerxes’ Cultic Reform
Ever since its preliminary publication, Xerxes’ “Daiva” inscription (XPh) has been seen as an important and unique witness to early Achaemenid Mazdean orthopraxy and cultic propaganda. It is an essential document that captures a major reform in Achaemenid-Zoroastrian cult patterns and its relationship to cognate cults. This royal inscription describes a liturgical reform or, at least, the enforcement of such a reform, targeting and condemning the…
Some Achaemenid Zoroastrian Echoes in Early Yahwistic Sources
Justice at the House of Yhw(h)
What was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco-Roman times. This article presents such a text-one that has been hiding in plain sight for almost a century on a small ostracon found on the island of Elephantine. It has variously been interpreted as dealing with i…
Elephantine in Context
The Migration of the Elephantine Yahwists under Amasis II
Justice at the House of Yhw(h)
What was the nature of ritual in ancient Yahwism? Although biblical sources provide some information about various types of cultic activity, we have thus far lacked any extra-biblical ritual texts from Yahwistic circles prior to Greco-Roman times. This article presents such a text-one that has been hiding in plain sight for almost a century on a small ostracon found on the island of Elephantine. It has variously been interpreted as dealing with i…
Yahwistic Identity in the Achaemenid period
Double-Identity: the DataThe Elephantine Yahwists possessed a complex double identity, both components of which were used for practical and administrative purposes1.As far as they were concerned, each member was truly Yhwdy2 and truly 'rmy ("Aramean") -even though they were not entirely interchangeable.The following table lists cases where the same person was tagged as Yhwdy in some documents and 'rmy (or Swnḫn) in others: Multiple IdentitiesTabl…
ʾAhyh ʾAšr ʾAhyh
Various types of impact, assimilation, and engagement of certain redactional layers of the Hebrew Bible with Achaemenid-era Zoroastrianism have long been noted by biblical scholars and by researchers of ancient Iranian cultic practices. Both disciplines, however, are facing similar challenges regarding the problem of the transmission history of their sacred texts, which is complex, perplexing, and vigorously debated. Thus, due caution must be tak…
Thwarting the ‘Evil Eye’
The Aramaic term psḥ(ʾ) and its possible relation to the Hebrew psḥ (recorded in the Hebrew Bible) are associated with “the Passover” feast in Judaism and Samaritanism and, by extension, with Easter in Christianity. This lexeme is exceedingly rare in extra-biblical sources and my goal with the present article is to closely examine the only two unambiguous sources available to us—both of which are found on Aramaic ostraca associated with the Yahwi…
The Significance of ṛtācā brzmniy in Xerxes’ Cultic Reform
Ever since its preliminary publication, Xerxes’ “Daiva” inscription (XPh) has been seen as an important and unique witness to early Achaemenid Mazdean orthopraxy and cultic propaganda. It is an essential document that captures a major reform in Achaemenid-Zoroastrian cult patterns and its relationship to cognate cults. This royal inscription describes a liturgical reform or, at least, the enforcement of such a reform, targeting and condemning the…
Khnum Is Against Us”
According to the Elephantine Yahwists’ own dramatic portrayal, the figure of a certain Ḥananiah played a key role in the misfortunes they experienced following his arrival in Egypt in or around 419 bce. Therefore, understanding who this person was and how he might have helped cause these calamities can provide important context to the analysis of the final decades of this community. This article looks at all available evidence—textual, linguistic…
Some Achaemenid Zoroastrian Echoes in Early Yahwistic Sources
Imitatio Dei, Imitatio Darii
The Bīsotūn inscription of Darius I (DB) is a masterpiece of ancient literature containing descriptions of historical events, imperial propaganda, cultic statements, ethical instructions, wisdom insights, blessings and curses, and engagements with posterity. It was disseminated far and wide within the empire and left a lasting impression on the cultures with which it came into contact. However, a specific section of this royal inscription (DB 4:3…
Deciphering Arachosian Tribute at Persepolis
Inscribed trays, plates, mortars, and pestles made of beautiful green chert bearing formulaic administrative textual formulae were found during excavations at the Persepolis Treasury in the 1930s. These implements and the enigmatic formulae inscribed upon them present scholars with a complex and unique challenge whose correct interpretation holds important implications for the study of Achaemenid history, imperial administration, and relations be…
Miθra and His Mąθra
The Gospel of John is geographically associated with Judea and Anatolia—regions that, throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, formed part of the frontier with the Iranian world. Anatolia preserved important Mazdean traditions well into the Common era, while the budding miθra cult established itself in Judea around the time the Fourth Gospel was actively being elaborated—most notably at Caesarea Maritima, where an early Christian community c…
Ancient Near East History (7 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (6 works) · History (6 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (5 works) · Eurasian Exchange Networks (5 works) · Ancient history (4 works) · Archaeology (4 works) · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies (4 works) · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology (3 works) · Art (3 works)