Michael Langlois

I’ve just published a new inscription mentioning biblical Makkedah. It is written in Aramaic and dated to the fourth century BCE.

It is an “ostracon,” i.e. a pottery shard recycled into writing medium. For more information, you may download the article in PDF format:

Langlois 2012, “Un nouvel ostracon mentionnant la ville biblique de Maqqéda”, Semitica 54, p. 51-63

Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA) is often associated to Syriac, from which it inherits its writing; as a result, most printed editions use a Syriac font. But in reality, CPA uses a specific writing, whereas its linguistic characteristics (phonology, morphology, syntax) associate it with other western Aramaic dialects.

For these reasons, a CPA-specific Unicode font was long due. I am pleased to offer a preliminary version of my “CPA Genizah ML” font.
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Semitica 54 is out!

Monde sémitique et Bible hébraïque, édité par Michael Langlois sous la direction de Thomas Römer. Paris, Maisonneuve, 2012. 250 p., ISBN 978-2-7200-1164-1.

Here is the table of contents:

Première partie : Documents inédits

• Jean-Marie Durand – avec une note de Michaël Guichard. Noms d’équidés dans les textes de Mari. p. 9-18.
• Michaël Guichard. Relations entre Carkémish et Mari : nouveaux fragments. p. 19-32.
• André Lemaire. Quatre nouveaux ostraca paléo-hébreux. p. 33-49.
• Michael Langlois. Un nouvel ostracon mentionnant la ville biblique de Maqqéda. p. 51-63.
• André Lemaire. Trois nouveaux ostraca araméens d’Idumée. p. 65-70.
• Marie-Jeanne Roche. Deux graffiti thamoudiques dans la région de Bayḍāʾ, Pétra. p. 71-79.
• François Bron. Une nouvelle inscription sabéenne du règne de Laḥayʿathat Yarkham, roi de Sabaʾ et dhū-Raydān. p. 81-89.

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After years of silence, Semitica is back!

Semitica was created in 1948 by the Intitute of Semitic Studies of the University of Paris, with a board including R. Blachère, A. Dupont-Sommer, Ch. F. Jean, J. Nougayrol, and Ch. Virolleaud, its chairman. In 1973, the Institute was transferred to the College of France; Semitica was regularly published until the 2000s, when it slowed down.
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Feast is a central theme in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Think about religious festivals, such as Passover, or family feasts, such as weddings. Think also about the parable of the banquet, or even the Lamb’s marriage supper in the book of Revelation. Feast is at the heart of the Bible!

To know more, come to Strasbourg for the next PULSE night on Friday, April 13 at 8 PM, at the Salvation Army (5 rue de la Chaîne). Bring your friends!