Biblical Archaeology Review is the flagship publication of the Biblical Archaeology Society. For more than 40 years it has been making the world of archaeology in the lands of the Bible come alive for the interested layperson. Full of vivid images and articles written by leading scholars, this is a must read for anyone interested in the archaeology of the ancient Near East.
Agnes Lewis recorded the events of their trip and their subsequent conversations with Schechter in In the Shadow of Sinai (Cambridge, Eng.: Macmillan & Bowes, 1898), pp. 143–180; see also A. Whigham Price, The Ladies of Castlebrae (Gloucester, Eng.: Alan Sutton, 1985), pp. 130, 132. Norman Bentwich tells Schechter’s story in Solomon Schechter: A Biography (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1938), p. 140.
The name Ecclesiasticus, or “ecclesiastical book,” likely refers to the book’s extensive use in church liturgy. The book is also known as Sirach, a transliteration of its Greek name. See Alexander Di Lella, “Wisdom of Ben Sira,” Anchor Bible Dictionary (Garden City, NY: 1992), vol. 6, p. 931. See also Yigael Yadin, Masada, trans. Moshe Pearlman (New York: Random House, 1966), p. 175.
I suggested an analogy to the case of a mezuzah (a casing enclosing a parchment scroll attached to the doorpost of Jewish homes). On moving from the home, it is forbidden to remove the parchment scroll if the home is to be occupied by Jews. But if there is a likelihood that the mezuzah will be desecrated, it must be removed. There is almost a presumption of desecration if the home is not to be occupied by Jews, Rabbi Breitowitz told me.
