Reading the human body : physiognomics and astrology in the Dead Sea scrolls and Hellenistic-early Roman period Judaism / / by Mladen Popović.

• Superior document: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah, v. 67
• Author: Popović, Mladen.
• Year of Publication: 2007
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah ; v. 67.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (366 p.)
• Notes: Originally presented as author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Groningen, 2006.

This study deals with physiognomic and astrological texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls that represent one of the earliest examples of ancient Jewish science. For the first time the Hebrew physiognomic-astrological list 4Q186 (4QZodiacal Physiognomy) and the Aramaic physiognomic list 4Q561 (4QPhysiognomy ar) are comprehensively studied in relation to both physiognomic and astrological writings from Babylonian and Greco-Roman traditions. New reconstructions and interpretations of these learned lists are offered that result in a fresh view of their sense, function, and status within both the Qumran community and Second Temple Judaism at large, showing that Jewish culture in Palestine participated in the cultural exchange of learned knowledge between Babylonian and Greco-Roman cultures.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / M. Popović -- Introduction / M. Popović -- Chapter One. Reading 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4q186) And 4QPhysiognomy Ar (4q561): Texts, Genre, And Structure / M. Popović -- Chapter Two. To Read Strange Matters From The Human Body: Physiognomics In Babylonian And Greco-Roman Culture And Literature / M. Popović -- Chapter Three. \'In The Foot Of Taurus\': Astrological Notions In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4q186) / M. Popović -- Chapter Four. \'There Is A Spirit For Him...\': Human Or Zodiacal Spirits In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4q186) / M. Popović -- Chapter Five. Functions And Contexts Of Physiognomic And Astrological Learning In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Second Temple Period Judaism / M. Popović -- Appendix I. Notes And Comments On Readings In 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4q186) And 4QPhysiognomy Ar (4q561) / M. Popović -- Appendix II. Physiognomic Consciousness In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Second Temple Period Literature / M. Popović -- Figure 1: 4QZodiacal Physiognomy (4q186) Fragments 2, 4 – 7 / M. Popović -- Plate I: Recent Photograph (B-45417) Of Iaa #109 / M. Popović -- Bibliography / M. Popović -- Index Of Modern Authors / M. Popović -- Index Of Ancient Sources / M. Popović.