A new-ish journal, brought to our attention by AWOL (the Ancient World On Line), seems mostly to concentrate on Biblical studies material, broadly speaking. The approach seems kind of fresh, though, and this might be a site worth keeping an eye on for lovers of ancient esotericism. Their logo was designed by David Tibet, presumably of Current 93 fame, so there’s an extra esoteric connection for lovers of gloomy folk arcana.

Here is what they say about themselves:

A journal of modern philology and the ancient imagination offering new vistas on the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. Named after the mediating angel of Jewish mysticism, it is designed to open cutting-edge research to a broad intellectual community.

As an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, Metatron is designed to be:

Conversational but Focused: each volume presents a dialogue between scholars on a current topic. Contributors of diverse backgrounds and career stages approach the question from multiple perspectives.

Rigorous but Readable: Rather than mystifying readers with bursts of recondite theory or vast footnotes, Metatron focuses on short pieces designed to provoke thought and evoke dialogue. These are combined with companion case studies that share an important text, image, or site and work through it to illuminate new aspects.

Scope: Our scope covers ancient Western Asia and the Near East from the dawn of writing through late Antiquity and from philology and poetics to history and material culture. As an open-access publication, Metatron presents high quality works-in-progress designed to provoke creative discussion. An initial stage of double-blind peer review preserves the rigor of traditional publication, but an equally vital element of review is the discussions that make up the journal itself. The result preserves the scholarly values of traditional publication but focuses not on fully polished works but contributions that raise questions worth having a dialogue on.