30th Anniversary of U2’s First Meeting

According to Neil McCormick’s book Killing Bono: I Was Bono’s Doppelganger (MTV, 2004; Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com) today is the 30th anniversary of the first meeting of the guys that would eventually form the band U2. Paul Hewson (Bono), Dave Evans (The Edge), Adam Clayton, Ivan McCormick, Dick Evans all got together at the house of one Larry Mullen Jr.

During this first meeting they talked, played a couple covers, and decided to form a band called Feedback. Feedback later became The Hype, which later became U2.


Parallel Hebrew Bible with Paleo-Hebrew

I have been meaning to put together a page for my Biblical Hebrew Resources pages collecting the various resources available online, so I have been collecting a fairly impressive list of sites. The Parallel Hebrew Old Testament just came to my attention the other day and it has a pretty neat feature: not only can you have the Hebrew Bible with the Latin Vulgate as well as a whole variety of English translations, you can also have it in paleo-Hebrew characters!

This is kind of neat, though practically the only use I can think of it is for text critics to be able to see how a passage would have looked in a paleo-Hebrew script. (You can also purchase the software for your own computer for a mere $5)
(HT Jim West)


The Latest in Vetus Testamentum

Volume 56 of Vetus Testamentum — one of the major academic journals on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible — has hit the shelves, and it contains a number of interesting articles, including one on the first chapter of Chronicles as well as a brief one on abecedaries.

Here is the table of contents:

  • Assis, Elie. “From Adam to Esau and Israel: an anti-edomite ideology in 1Chronicles 1,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 287-302.
  • Auffret, Pierre. “Dans les assemblées je bénirai YHWH: nouvelle étude structurelle du Psaume xxvi,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 303-12.
  • Berman, Joshua. “The narratorial voice of the scribes of samaria: Ezra iv 8-vi 18 Reconsidered,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 313-26.
  • Forti, Tova. “Bee’s honey-from realia to metaphor in biblical wisdom literature,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 327-41.
  • Hess, Richard S. “Writing about writing: abecedaries and evidence for literacy in Ancient Israel,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 342-46.
  • Kreuzer, Siegfried. “Zebaoth – der Thronende,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 347-62.
  • Norin, Stig. “Was ist ein gillajon?,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 363-69.
  • Seebass, Horst. “Versuch zu Josua xviii 1-10,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 370-85.
  • Shnider, Steven. “Psalm xviii: theophany, epiphany empowerment,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 386-98.
  • Wong, Gregory T.K. “Ehud and Joab: separated at birth?,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 399-412.
  • DiTommaso, Lorenzo. “History and apocalyptic eschatology: a reply to J.Y. Jindo,” Vetus Testamentum 56 (2006), 413-18.