A gustinus G ianto (ed.), Biblical and Oriental Essays in Memory of William L. Moran

A gustinus G ianto (ed.), Biblical and Oriental Essays in Memory of William L. Moran

Abstract

Journal of Semitic Studies LIII/1 Spring 2008 © The author. Published by Oxford SHORT NOTICES University Press on behalf of the University of Manchester. All rights reserved. SHORT NOTICES AGUSTINUS GIANTO (ed.), Biblical and Oriental Essays in Memory of William L. Moran (Biblica and Orientalia 48). Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Rome 2005. Pp. ix + 203. Price: /20.00 paperback. ISBN: 88-7653-351-6. W.L. Moran is best known for his work on the Amarna letters, but since a volume of his own writings on this subject has been published posthumously (Amarna Studies: Collected Writings, Winona Lake 2003) this modestly priced memorial volume avoids that sphere. There are seven contributions. T. Abusch, ‘The Promise to Praise the God in Suilla Prayers’, pp. 1–10, attempts to define ‘praise’ from the contextual evidence of these prayers. P. Steinkeller, ‘Of Stars and Men: The Conceptual and Mythological Setup of Babylonian Extispicy’, pp. 11–47, collects a mass of evidence, but the conclusions are at times speculative, as admitted. No evidence is offered for a Babylonian spherical universe, though it is assumed. Also there is no goddess called MaÌ, and ittaÒâ does not mean ‘Come out’. N. Lohfink, ‘Die An- und Absageformel in der hebräischen Bibel: