Two Ancient rewritings of Numbers 11

Numbers 11 tells of various happenings that transpire once the Israelites leave Mount Sinai (see Num 10,11-12), these including a story of God's sending quail to the refractory people that ends up badly for them. This essay provides a detailed comparative reading of two ancient retellings of the biblical quail story, i.e. those of Josephus (Ant. 3.295-299) and Philo (Spec. 4.126-131). From this comparative investigation, it emerges that both authors, e.g., accentuate the reprehensibility of the people's behavior and eliminate the speaking role attributed to God himself in the biblical account. At the same time, Josephus' rendering is distinctive in its highlighting of the interaction between Moses and the people, an interaction into which the historian introduces mention of two nameless individuals who respectively, support and challenge Moses in his exchange with the people. Philo, on the other hand, focusses all attention on the covetous people, the punishment that comes upon them, and the moral lessons to be drawn from the happening, even while he confines mention of Moses to the opening and closing reflections with which he "frames" his reproduction of the data of Num 11,31-34

Israel's Confrontation with Edom (Num 20,14-21) according to Josephus and Philo

Nm 20, 14-21 relata breument l’enfrontament entre Israel i Edom que es resol prenent un altre camí per part dels primers davant la negativa adamita dels darrers a permetre Israel passar pel seu territori. Aquest estudi es basa en tres versions de l’episodi del segle I de la nostra era: una de Josephus i dos de Filò. Josephus, a Ant 4, 76-77, reprodueix el contingut bàsic de la història en la seva forma més breu i així mateix esmenta una consulta a Déu per part de Moisès i la resposta divina que indueix al líder perquè fessin un tomb per darrera dels Edomites. De les dues versions de Filò, la relectura de Mos 1. 239-249, per exemple, es situa l’incident de Nm dins un context històric més ampli en la llarga relació entre tots dos pobles tant diferents i posa l’accent sobre el paper de Moisès als fets. Tanmateix al seu Deus 144-180 Filò cita les paraules de (lxx) Nm 20, 17-20 literalment i després continua amb un comentari al•legòric de tipus pesher on “Edom” és la representació de tots aquells que s’aferren a les coses terrenes (i intenten impedir els altres que prenguin un altre camí), mentre “Israel” simbolitza els que intenten seguir el “camí principal” de la sabiduria que condueix a Déu.Num 20,14-21 briefly relates a confrontation between Israel and Edom that results in the former’s taking another route in the face of the latter’s adamant refusal to allow Israel passage through its territory. This essay focusses on three first-century A.D. handlings of the episode, one by Josephus, and two by Philo. Josephus, in Ant 4.76-77 reproduces the basic content of the story in shortened form, while likewise introducing reference to an inquiry of God by Moses and the Deity’s response that prompts the leader to initiate Israel’s withdrawal before the Edomites. Of Philo’s two versions, the relecture in Mos 1.239-249, e.g., sets the Numbers incident within the wider historical context of the long-lived relationship between two very different peoples and accentuates the role of Moses in the proceedings. In his Deus 144-180, by contrast, Philo cites the words of (lxx) Num 20,17-20 verbatim and then proceeds to an allegorical, pesher-like commentary upon them, wherein «Edom» becomes the representative of all those who cling to earthly things and (attempt to impede others from taking a different course), while «Israel» symbolizes those intent on following the «highway» of wisdom that leads to God

The Rewriting of Genesis 26 in Josephus and Jubilees

Gènesis 26 és l’únic capítol de la Bíblia que es centra en la figura d’Isaac. Aquest assaig aporta una lectura minuciosa i comparativa de les dues antigues versions de Gènesis 26: la de Flavi Josep en Antiquitates Iudaicae 1.259-266 i la d’El Llibre dels Jubileus 24.8-33. De la comparació entre elles es desprèn que Flavi Josep destaca la psicologia d’Isaac i d’Abimelech, mentre treu importància del paper de Déu en la història i els trets de paral·lelisme Isaac/Abraham en Gènesis 26, i adopta una visió positiva en l’acord dels patriarques i els filisteus, com a model no conflictiu de les relacions entre jueus i gentils. Jubileus, per la seva banda, evidencia una preocupació de datació en la seva versió, que es manifesta per la inserció repetida de dates precises en la narració dels fets. En contrast amb Flavi Josep, li dóna un paper molt rellevant a Déu en el desenvolupament de la història, i pren una clara postura negativa envers els tractats fets per Isaac, que en darrera instància fa que el patriarca pronunciï una maledicció d’orientació escatològica sobre els seus antics aliats.Genesis 26 is the only chapter of the Bible to focus on the figure of Isaac. This essay provides a detailed, comparative reading of two ancient rewritings of Genesis 26, i.e. those of Josephus in Ant. 1.259-266 and Jub. 24.8-33. From the comparison between them, it emerges that Josephus, e.g., highlights the psychology of both Isaac and Abimelech, while downplaying God's role in the story and the Isaac/Abraham parallelism featured throughout Genesis 26, and adopts a positive view on the patriarch's treaty-making with the Philistines as modelling a non-conflictual model of Jewish-Gentile relationships. Jubilees, for its part, evidences a calendrical preoccupation its rewriting, repeatedly inserting precise dates for the narrative's events. In contrast to Josephus, it also makes more of a place for God in the unfolding of the story, and assumes a clearly negative posture towards' Isaac's treaty-making, ultimately having the patriarch pronounce an eschatologically-oriented curse upon his erstwhile treaty-partner

The demise of Joshua according to Josephus

This article focuses on Josephus’ account of the end of Joshua in his Ant. 5.115-119. It offers a detailed comparison between that account and its biblical source (Jos 23-24) on the one hand, and two other postbiblical narrations of Joshua’s demise, that is those of Pseudo-Philo in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 23-24 and the “Samaritan Chronicle No. II,” on the other. As compared with Joshua 23-24, Josephus’ version appears highly abbreviated, leaving aside, for example, the whole of Joshua 23 as well as 24:16- 28, 31-32, even while also introducing various new elements. Josephus shares his non-reproduction of Joshua 23 and 24:31-32 with Pseudo-Philo and the Chronicle, for example, but deviates from these other witnesses in his downplaying of the role/activities of the dying Joshua

Lost in Transition: How Ireland and Three Other Small Open Economies Responded to Europeanisation 1987-2013

This thesis provides a political economy account of how four small open economies – Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Ireland – have coped with the adaptation required by the exogenous pressures of Europeanisation over a period of 25 years. The research is grounded in Polyanian conceptualising of the interaction of States and markets using Varieties of Capitalism as a theoretical foundation. Starting with Katzenstein’s (1985) comparative study as a departure point, the research evaluates how each country responded to deepening EU integration over a four stage periodisation broadly aligned to critical junctures of integration, and closing with the fifth anniversary of the Lehman Bros bank collapse on 15th September, 2013. Particular attention is paid to the Irish case, with a view to resolving the puzzling question of why its ‘Celtic Tiger’ phase of development proved to be unsustainable. The research also identifies the areas where the different Varieties of Capitalism converge and diverge. The findings are that the ‘Democratic Corporatism’ which Katzenstein identified as the means by which small open economies could cope with market forces by balancing them with social compensation, is still intact. Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands have all made necessary reforms to welfare regimes and labour markets without compromising societal values. While having to accommodate to an extent to liberalising forces, they remain developmental states. Ireland exhibited developmentalist characteristics during the 1990s. It caught up with the rest of Europe in a material sense but not in respect of the capabilities required to carry this developmentalism forward to the new millennium. On the contrary, the 2000s saw the country make serious policy errors principally due to an intellectual failure to assimilate the requirements of living in a currency union. Moreover, democratic corporatism in an Irish context was not embedded. It is imperative that Ireland recaptures this developmentalism and repertories of action to help it do so are identified. A number of dilemmas confronting the European integration project are outlined. Foremost among them is the challenge of embarking on a course of deeper integration necessary to consolidate the future of the currency in circumstances where political legitimacy is seriously undermined by austerity. A singular focus on fiscal adjustment has resulted in a deflationary debt crisis which seems set to continue for some time. There is no obvious escape route for Ireland. Indeed the situation is much complicated by its relationship with Britain which is becoming increasingly semi-detached from Europe. Within the policy space available to it, the best course for Ireland is to reinvent itself as a Social Market Economy, as far as possible in the image of its northern European peers. For all the bleakness of the current environment there is opportunity too. The institutional architecture of EMU is so dysfunctional that it must eventually yield to reform if European integration as a project is to survive. Therein lies the possibility for a social democratic revival if a convincing narrative for it can be communicated

The Blessing of Isaac according to Josephus and Jubilees

Gn 27,1-28,9 explica, amb un detall poc edificant, les circumstàncies que envolten la partença de Jacob de la seva família després d’haver obtingut fraudulentament, instigat per la seva mare Rebeca, la benedicció paternal dirigida al seu germà Esau. Aquest estudi analitza com dos antics relats de l’episodi, que són: Flavi Josep Ant. 1.266-267 i Jub. 26.1-27.12 (13-18), es diferencien de la font textual del Gènesis en els trets més problemàtics. El treball conclou amb la comparació, entre elles, de dues versions postbíbliques, clarificant tan les semblances (p. e., cap d’ells no reprodueix la doble falsa identificació d’ell mateix com Esau [vegeu Gen 27,19.24] com a tal) com les diferències (Flavi Josep ofereix una imatge molt més comprensiva d’Esau, més que no pas la Bíblia, Jub. una de més negativa)

The Large Scale Roll-Out of Electric Vehicles: The Effect on the Electricity Sector and CO2 Emissions

The UK government has set the ambitious targets of 20 and 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 2050 respectively. The transport sector accounts for 21% of total CO2 emissions in the UK and can, therefore, be important for achieving the emissions reduction targets. Within the transport sector, electric vehicles (EV) are considered as one of the important mitigation options. However the effect of EVs on emissions and the electricity sector is subject to debate. We use scenario analysis to investigate the emission reduction potential of EVs and their interaction with electricity sector. We show that managing the charging patterns could reduce adverse effects of EVs on the electricity sector while the number of EVs remains the factor affecting the mitigation potential. Our findings indicate that in the UK, by 2030, EVs could result in up to 32% emissions reduction compared to advanced internal combustion engines. We also found that the need for new electricity generation and distribution capacity to meet the conventional electricity demand and demand from EVs could be reduced by up to 12% from 70.6 to 61.8 GW if the EV’s electricity demand is managed