The Fruit of the Vine: Viticulture in Ancient Israel by Carey Ellen WalshReview by: Oded BorowskiJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 122, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 2002), pp. 112-113Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3087672 .

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112 Journal of the American Oriental Society 122.1 (2002)

Some of the passages common to Neofiti and rabbinic lit- erature are also attested in other translations. At the end of the introduction the author indicates the relationship between Neofiti and other translations of the Bible based on the degree of similarity between Neofiti and each translation.

One would expect the introduction to elaborate on the prob- lem that triggered this book: the nature of the affinity between Neofiti and rabbinic literature and the relationship between Midrash and Targum. But no such discussion is to be found in the introduction, and, regretfully, the book has no summary.

After the introduction, the text of Neofiti to Genesis, edited by L. H. Schiffman, is presented (pp. 1-46), followed by tex- tual notes (pp. 47-52) that offer improved readings suggested by Dfez Macho and Schiffman. The references are difficult to find, since the comments are indicated only by chapter, with- out verse numbers. A list of different readings in this edition compared with Dfez Macho's would have been helpful, as would a collection of marginal and interlinear variants. A trans- lation into English would have been very useful to those who are not familiar with Aramaic.

The main part of the work is the commentary (pp. 53-316), that is, the comparison between the translation and rabbinic in- terpretation in the Halakhic literature and the Midrash, as well as in ancient Bible translations. The reader could make better use of the English translation of the rabbinic passages, were they aligned opposite the Hebrew text rather than as an appen- dix (pp. 317-448). While the commentary is detailed and in- cludes comments on textual problems and a host of parallels from rabbinic literature, too often difficulties in the text that concern the meaning of words or their grammar are neglected. For example, in 8:8, the reading 1'j'iz (actually 15,j1?) re- quires explanation since it is not Aramaic; in 25:8, 49:33 one would expect a grammatical explanation of the form 9X0 (back-formation of the participle). Many other such readings remain without explanation.

The bibliography should have mentioned the following items: J. A. Foster, "The Language and Text of Codex Neofiti 1 in the Light of Other Palestinian Aramaic Sources" (Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University, 1969); S. Lund and J. A. Foster, Variant Versions of Targumic Traditions within Codex Neofiti 1 (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1977); J. R. Miller, "A Grammar of the Type II Marginalia within Codex Neofiti 1" (Ph.D. diss., Boston University, 1979); J. Lund, "A Descrip- tive Syntax of the Non-Translational Passages according to Codex Neofiti 1" (M.A. thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusa- lem, 1981); D. M. Golomb, A Grammar of Targum Neofiti (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1985); S. E. Fassberg, A Gram- mar of the Palestinian Targum Fragments from the Cairo Genizah. (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990); A. Shinan, The Em- broidered Targum: The Aggadah in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of the Pentateuch (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992) [in Hebrew];

The Biblical Story as Reflected in its Aramaic Translations (Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1993) [in Hebrew].

One gets the impression that this book was written a gene- ration ago and not updated, since it does not take into consid- eration recent studies on the nature of Neofiti and especially its relationship with related Palestinian targums: the Genizah fragments of the Palestinian targums and the fragmentary targums.

The volume ends with indices of passages and authors. The book has very few typographical errors, but its general

design is sloppy. For example, the "Textual Notes" (p. 47) are listed in the Table of Contents as "Abbreviated Critical Appa- ratus." The Table of Contents has "Appendix-English Trans- lation of Rabbinic Passages," while on p. 317 the title is "English Translations of Rabbinic Passages." The Table of Con- tents has "Indexes" while the main text has "Indices" (p. 460).

In sum, this book's important contribution lies in the wealth of parallels between Targum Neofiti and rabbinic literature, demonstrating the affinity between the Targum and the Mid- rash that might have emerged from the same school, although the parallelism is sometimes vague and does not actually dem- onstrate a true connection between the texts.

DAVID TALSHIR

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY

The Fruit of the Vine: Viticulture in Ancient Israel. By CAREY ELLEN WALSH. Harvard Semitic Monographs, vol. 60. Winona Lake, Ind.: EISENBRAUNS, 2000. Pp. vii + 259. $29.95.

The growing interest among biblical scholars in the daily lives of the average Israelite is resulting in an increasing num- ber of works, exemplified by the book under review. In this respect it could be entitled "Everything you wanted to know about viticulture (grape-vine cultivation), wine making, and drinking in biblical times." The author presents six chapters chockfull of information related to viticulture and textual analyses of the biblical references to this field. She "seeks to bridge the current interpretive gap between biblical studies and historical study of ancient Israel and illuminate the mean- ings of viticulture and wine use in the culture of ancient Israel" (p. 8). She looks at viticulture and winemaking from the prac- tical as well as the symbolic point of view. The former is highly important because, as Walsh says, to understand bib- lical imagery replete with references to viticulture and wine, it is necessary to understand " . . . their meaning within the texts . .. [because] without an historical analysis of the practi- cal aspects of ancient viticulture" this task is impossible (p. 2).

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Reviews of Books 113

In the introduction, Walsh lays out the reasons for the book, originally written as a dissertation at Harvard University. She emphasizes that to understand the text one needs to be familiar with its background. To understand the large number of bib- lical metaphors and similes referring to viticulture, one needs to have some knowledge in this field of horticulture. As Welsh puts it, " . . . viticulture, no less than drinking, marked the social sphere of Israelite practitioners, and so its details were often enlisted to describe social relations in the Hebrew Bible" (p. 3). Furthermore, "[t]he additional thematic and theological meanings attached to such biblical representations of the vine and wine imagery are also refined by knowledge of the viticul- ture technology practiced by the Israelites" (p. 4). The need to understand the agricultural background of the text is repeated several times because the " . . . investigation of the meanings of viticulture and wine use in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible is focal to understanding Israelite culture" (p. 10).

Chapter one, "Viticulture as a Vital Facet of Israelite Cul- ture," traces the history of viticulture in Syria-Palestine; looks at Egyptian and Mesopotamian agriculture and the common drink (beer) they produced and compares it with that of Pales- tine (wine); examines the geographical conditions favorable to viticulture in Syria-Palestine; and examines the Israelite agri- cultural calendar and its relationship to viticulture as reflected in the Gezer Calendar. In chapter two, "The Sociology of the

Vintner," Walsh examines the question "Who Was a Vintner?" and concludes on the basis of biblical, extra-biblical, and ar- chaeological evidence that viticulture was the domain of the family and of the individual within it. In chapter three, "The Cultivation of Grape Vines," Walsh is guided by the Song of the Vineyard (Isa 5:1-7) and looks at the different activities related to starting, maintaining, and enjoying the vineyard and

its fruit. Chapter four, "Installations of the Israelite Vineyard," deals with two important installations related to the vineyard, the tower and the winepress. In chapter five, "The Grape Har-

vest," Walsh examines the timing of the harvest as well as how

it was carried out and how the wine was produced. This in-

cludes a discussion of the various terms related to wine and

other alcoholic beverages. Chapter six, "Wine Consumption," describes the culmination of the vintner's efforts. It includes a

discussion of when, where, and how wine was consumed in

Israelite society. The book also includes an extensive bibliog- raphy, as well as scripture and subject indexes.

Social aspects of viticulture are interwoven within many of the chapters and the different topics. As Walsh says in her con-

clusion, "[t]he present project has been an exercise in social

history" (p. 251), and indeed it was. The sociology of viticul-

ture is addressed in chapter two and that of wine drinking in

chapter six. Other references to sociological themes, such as

the archaeology of the winepress, are sprinkled throughout the

book (pp. 148-57).

Although I have some disagreements with a few of Walsh's interpretations (e.g., of yrhw zmr) and with some of her trans- lations (e.g., that of Exod 22:15; Ps 128:3), they do not detract from the high value of the book and I strongly recommend it to every Bible scholar who wants to understand the "meaning between the lines." It is unfortunate that the book does not in- clude a discussion of trade and commerce in wine or of the processing of other products of the vine (raisins, syrup). Typos are very few, including the missing footnote 189 on p. 162; and the reversed Hebrew writing of yn yen (pp. 206-7). The question of loom weights used as stoppers (p. 192) needs more elaboration. Adding a few things could have enhanced the use- fulness of the book. It could also have benefited from a few illustrations (photographs) of actual objects rather than styl- ized line drawings. For non-readers of Hebrew, the use of transliteration for Hebrew terms could have facilitated reading. And finally, the subject index is not very helpful. In a book devoted to viticulture, entries such as "drinking," "grape(s)," "vine(s)' "vineyard(s)," "vintner(s)," and "wine" are too gen- eral and should have been subdivided into sub-topics.

ODED BOROWSKI

EMORY UNIVERSITY

The Practical Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean

Archaeology. Edited by SCOTT PiKE and SEYMOUR GITIN.

Wiener Laboratory Monograph, vol. 3. London: ARCHETYPE

BOOKS, 1999. Pp. ix + 169, illus. ?20, $30 (paper). [Distrib.

by Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, Los Angeles,

Calif.]

The relationship between archaeologists and archaeological

scientists has often been a tortured one, and after fifty years

of attempting to work out the essentials of communication,

one would hope that the bases for a long-term partnership had

been established. Most major, annual archaeological confer-

ences (e.g., AIA, SAA, ASOR) regularly incorporate symposia

or colloquia devoted to presenting the results of science-based

research in archaeology, and these sessions more often than

not involve both archaeologist and scientist collaborating in

the presentation of their work. Every other year, science-based

archaeologists organize the by-now well-known Archaeometry

meetings, at least thirty of which have now taken place. In

addition, over the decades, several "round tables" or work-

shops have been set up in the attempt to establish the ground

rules and to foment communications between archaeologists

and their scientifically-oriented colleagues. One recent and very

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