Finally - the physical copy!

The first panel from last week's conference at @Georgetown in collaboration with the @AISS_Afg "Ancient Wisdom & Mutuality: Jewish-Persian Relations in Antiquity" in now online. My talk dealt with Iranian-Jewish contact points in antiquity through the epigraphic record, the

My contribution to the volume "A Prophet to the Nations: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on Jeremiah 46–51" edited by Jordan Davis and Benedikt Hensel is now available in open access (as is the entire book, which I highly recommend!). This article places the Oracles

Wrapping up a thoroughly enjoyable conference at Georgetown University and the AISS. Where I participated in the panel titled "Ancient Wisdom & Mutuality: Jewish-Persian Relations in Antiquity" alongside Dr. Parvaneh Pourshariati (CUNY) and Dr. Michael Rubin (the American

Just finished recording an episode with Jacob Berman and @HistoryValley . Here's the link: https://t.co/vUTgqHFy3i

Looking forward to being part of this important and inspirational conference! Georgetown university, Washington. Sept. 29th, 2025.

This Wednesday-Thursday, I will be in Köln and Paris under two hats: the main purpose of the trip is related to a forthcoming performance/recording of my music and the second, the continuation of my study on an ostracon at the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Letters. Looking

Many of these beautiful implements made from green chert (from Afghanistan) are inscribed with formulaic administrative texts. The context of their use reflects the intersection between imperial taxation and Zoroastrianism. I analyzed these fascinating and unique finds recently

I'm pleased to inform you all that this article is now in open access and freely available for download.

New article out! Barnea, Gad (2025). Some Achaemenid Zoroastrian Echoes in Early Yahwistic Sources. Iran, 1–10. Abstract In her magnum opus, A History of Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce perceptively noted that often, in the history of this Iranian religion, “developments within Iran

The article in @archaeologymag on Elephantine that came out almost a year ago is now available online (at least, I only learned of it now...). The article provides a great and very accessible overview with quotes from Bezalel Porten z"l, Diana Edelman, Karel van der Toorn, and

This episode turned out to be a 3-hour deep(er)-dive into my two IOSOT papers covering Samari(t)an/Israelite identity (+Hananiah)- which, given the conference's time limitations, could only scratch the surface of the study . I'm grateful to have the opportunity to present the

I am excited to be back in Washington D.C. next month to speak at the "Jews and the Persianate World: Politics, Culture, and Historical Ties" conference at @Georgetown University - co-organized by Center for Jewish Civilization - CJC and the @AISS_Afg (Afghan Institute for

IOSOT is starting tomorrow in Berlin and, unfortunately, I will not be able to attend physically (for personal reasons). However, the panel chairs were gracious enough to allow me to present my papers via zoom. The schedule will be (all on Aug. 14, 2025, all Berlin time): 1.

A side-comment in one of the grant applications I submitted together with some additional scholars recently mentioned (not negatively, but matter-of-factly) some surprisingly low H-indexes for us based on information from @Clarivate's WebofScience (WoS) database. I have never

Part II of the triptych: Barnea, G. (2025). The Significance of ṛtācā brzmniy in Xerxes’ Cultic Reform: A New Light on The “Daiva” Inscription (XPh). Iran and the Caucasus, 29(2), 131-152. https://t.co/6hcNDAZxJl.

Part I of the Triptych Barnea, Gad. 2025. "Imitatio Dei, Imitatio Darii: Authority, Assimilation and Afterlife of the Epilogue of Bīsotūn (DB 4:36–92)" Religions 16, no. 5: 597. https://t.co/D7IwbdZ6y6.

Open Access! The final installment of my triptych on certain open issues pertaining to Mazdean/Zoroastrian cult during the reigns of Darius I and Xerxes is now published in open-access. The first two (also published in open-access earlier this year) dealt with royal inscriptions:

I have just learned of a very nice blog post (in Portuguese) on my lecture at Curitiba last April regarding the origins of the psḥ as read through ostraca from Elephantine. Thank you Matheus Treuk! "UMA NOVA LEITURA SOBRE AS ORIGENS DO PÊSSACH (psḥ) E A “PÁSCOA JUDAICA”: A

So sad to learn of Russell Gmirkin's passing today - a great gentleman and scholar!.. An out-of-the-box thinker and a bright and kind soul. This is a tremendous loss. May his memory be a blessing!..