O P. van der Horst για τις προσευχές της συναγωγής / P. van der Horst on the synagogal prayers

Στη γνωστή σελίδα The Bible and Interpretation έχει αναρτηθεί ένα σύντομο κείμενο του Pieter van der Horst, ομότιμου καθ. του Παν/μίου της Ουτρέχτης σχετικά με τις προσευχές της συναγωγής και τις πιθανές φιλοσοφικές επιδράσεις σε αυτά.  Ως κείμενα αναφοράς ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποιεί τις έξι προσευχές που διασώζονται στις Αποστολικές Διαταγές 7:33-38 κι οι οποίες σήμερα θεωρούνται χριστιανικές επεξεργασίες των επτά προσευχών για την ευλογία του Σαββάτου. O van der Horst εξετάζει τις πιθανές επιδράσεις της ελληνικής φιλοσοφικές σκέψης στις συγκεκριμένες προσευχές κι υποστηρίζει, χωρίς, ωστόσο, να αποκλείσει εντελώς την πιθανότητα να οφείλονται εδώ στη χριστιανική επεξεργασία των κειμένων, ότι υπήρχαν στο ιουδαϊκό πρωτότυπο. Κάτι τέτοιο μαρτυρεί την έντονη επίδραση της ελληνορωμαϊκής κουλτούρας στον Ιουδαϊσμό της εποχής αμέσως μετά την καταστροφή του Ναού. 

The Bible and Ancient Philosophy in Greek Synagogal Prayers

Ένας νέος τόμος για τη βιβλική λεξικολογία / A new volume on biblical lexicology

Κυκλοφόρησε από τον εκδοτικό οίκο de Gruyter ένας νέος συλλογικός τόμος με μελέτες σχετικά με την βιβλική λεξικολογία. Σύμφωνα με την σύντομη περιγραφή στη σχετική σελίδα του εκδοτικού οίκου σκοπός των επιμέρους αυτών μελετών είναι η ανάδειξη της σχέσης μεταξύ της μελέτης των λέξεων και της μελέτης των κειμένων. Για αυτό χρησιμοποιούνται παραδείγματα από την εβραϊκή Βίβλο και τη μετάφραση των Ο΄. Μεταξύ των άλλων στις μελέτες του τόμου εξετάζονται θέματα ετυμολογίας, σημασιολογίας, ιστορίας των λέξεων, νεολογισμοί και άλλα. 

Eberhard Bons / Jan Joosten / Regine Hunziker-Rodewald  (eds.) -in collab. with Romina Vergari, Biblical Lexicology: Hebrew and Greek. Semantics – Exegesis – Translation (BZAW 443), de Guyter, Berlin 2015

ISBN: x + 393 pp.

€ 129.95

Πίνακας περιεχομένων / Table of contents

Δύο νέα άρθρα στο τρέχον τεύχος του HTS / Two new articles in the current issue of HTS

Hervomde Τeologiese Studies 71:1 (2015)

• Kyu Seop Kim, "Reframing Paul’s sibling language in light of Jewish epistolary forms of address"
• Evangelia G. Dafni, "Euripides’s Helena and Pentateuch traditions: The Septuagint from the perspective of Ancient Greek Tragedies"

Ένα νέο άρθρο στο τρέχον τεύχος του In die Skriflig / A new article in the current In die Skriflig

In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi 49:2 (2015)

Francois P. Viljoen, "Matthew and the Torah in Jewish society"

RBL 19.6.2015

Peter Bing and Regina Höschele, Aristaenetus, Erotic Letters
Reviewed by Richard I. Pervo

David E. Briones, Paul’s Financial Policy: A Socio-theological Approach
Reviewed by Julien M. Ogereau

Brandon D. Crowe, The Obedient Son: Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew
Reviewed by Don Garlington

Philip R. Davies, On the Origins of Judaism
Reviewed by Daniel Boyarin

Patricia Dutcher-Walls, Reading the Historical Books: A Student’s Guide to Engaging the Biblical Text
Reviewed by Iain Provan

J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Living God’s Word: Discovering Our Place in the Great Story of Scripture
Reviewed by James W. Thompson

Jörg Frey and Angela Standhartinger, eds., Neues Testament und frührabbinisches Judentum
Reviewed by Judith M. Lieu

Joel B. Green and Tim Meadowcroft, eds., Ears That Hear: Explorations in Theological Interpretation of the Bible
Reviewed by Craig L. Blomberg

Martin Hengel, Between Jesus and Paul: Studies in the Earliest History of Christianity
Reviewed by Timothy P. Henderson

Pieter W. van der Horst, Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
Reviewed by Matthew J. Grey

Alexander Kyrychenko, The Roman Army and the Expansion of the Gospel: The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts
Reviewed by James M. Morgan

Clemens Leonhard and Hermut Lohr, eds., Literature or Liturgy?
Reviewed by Thomas Bergholz

Jared L. Miller, Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Birger Olsson, A Commentary on the Letters of John: An Intra-Jewish Approach
Reviewed by Daniel R. Streett

Stanley E. Porter and Cynthia Long Westfall, eds., The Church, Then and Now
Reviewed by Nijay Gupta

Rafael Rodríguez, Oral Tradition and the New Testament: A Guide for the Perplexed
Reviewed by Werner H. Kelber

Michael Tuval, From Jerusalem Priest to Roman Jew: On Josephus and the Paradigms of Ancient Judaism
Reviewed by Jonathan Klawans

David R. Wallace, Election of the Lesser Son: Paul’s Lament-Midrash in Romans 9–11
Reviewed by A. Chadwick Thornhill

Matt Waters, Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE
Reviewed by Jason Silverman

Ola Wikander, Drought, Death, and the Sun in Ugarit and Ancient Israel: A Philological and Comparative Study
Reviewed by Laura Quick

Το τρέχον τεύχος του Biblica online / The current issue of Biblica online

Biblica 96:1 (2015)

Van Seters John, "Dating the Yahwist’s History: Principles and Perspectives," 1-25

In order to date the Yahwist, understood as the history of Israelite origins in Genesis to Numbers, comparison is made between J and the treatment of the patriarchs and the exodus-wilderness traditions in the pre-exilic prophets and Ezekiel, all of which prove to be earlier than J. By contrast, Second Isaiah reveals a close verbal association with J’s treatments of creation, the Abraham story and the exodus from Egypt. This suggests that they were contemporaries in Babylon in the late exilic period, which is confirmed by clear allusions in both authors to Babylonian sources dealing with the time of Nabonidus.

Eichler Raanan, "Cherub: A History of Interpretation," 26-38 

The cherub is a type of creature mentioned some 90 times in the Hebrew Bible, where it is portrayed as a predominant motif in Israelite iconography. This paper surveys the attempts to determine the form of the cherub, in both textual and iconographic sources, from the fourth century to the twentyfirst. The cherub has been interpreted as a winged human (child or adult), a bird, a winged bovine, a griffin, a winged sphinx, and a composite creature in general. The last two identifications, which prevail in contemporary scholarship, are rejected, and a path to a correct identification is proposed.

Ramond Sophie, "La voix discordante du troisième livre du Psautier (Psaumes 74, 80, 89),"39-66

In the neo-Babylonian period, ideologically antagonistic literary circles propose various conceptions of the relationship between God and his people. The aim of this article is to examine which of the Psalms of collective laments in Book III could be classified as dissident texts, refuting the mainstream opinion that justifies the actions of God and thus places the blame on the people for the situation of devastation and exile. More specifically, Psalms 74, 80 and 89 are analysed to find out whether they present a theological strand different from the dominant deuteronomistic line of thinking.

Peters Janelle, "Crowns in 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and 1 Corinthians," 67-84

The image of the crown appears in 1 Thess 2,19, Phil 4,1, and 1 Cor 9,25. However, the crowns differ. While the community constitutes the apostle’s crown in 1 Thessalonians and Philippians, the crown in 1 Corinthians is one of communal contestation. In this paper, I compare the image of the crown in each of the letters. I argue that the crown in 1 Corinthians, available to all believers even at Paul’s expense, is the least hierarchical of the three crowns.

Tack Laura, "A Face Reflecting Glory. 2 Cor 3,18 in its Literary Context (2 Cor 3,1 – 4,15)," 85-112

This contribution investigates the translation of the hapax legomenon katoptrizo/menoi in 2 Cor 3,18; in addition to philological and religionhistorical arguments, in particular the article takes into account the broader literary context (2 Corinthians 3–4). The main theme of that context, embodied proclamation, turns out to be an important justification of the translation “to reflect as a mirror”. Especially the link between 2 Cor 3,18 and the whole of 2 Corinthians 4, which describes Paul’s somatic identification with and manifestation of Christ, results in understanding 2 Cor 3,18 as describing the unveiled face that reflects the divine glory as a mirror.

Gilbert Maurice, "L’interpretazione di SiracideVL-Vg 24,6a," 113-118

The addition in SirVL-VG 24,6a (“I [Wisdom personified] made the light arise that does not set”) has been understood by C. Kearns as the light that illuminates the righteous in the afterworld. In this short note, we propose to see in this “light” that of the Torah, which arose before the creation of the universe.

Στο τρέχον τεύχος του REAug / In the current issue of REAug

Revue des études augustiniennes et patristiques 60:2 (2014)

Martin Dulaey, "Heber or Abraham ? Ambrosiaster and Augustine on Language History," 175-212

David is generally considered as a prefigurement of Christ, and early Christian scholars endeavoured to bring this out in the many accounts about him in the two Books of Kings. This first article examines the beginning of David’s story. His anointment by the prophet Samuel shows he is the one whom God has chosen. His heroic combat against Goliath foreshadows the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection. The harp he plays to expel the evil spirit tormenting Saul symbolises the cross and the songs of the Scriptures.

Sébastien Morlet, "Mentions et interprétations du tétragramme chez Eusèbe de Césarée," 213-252

Eusebius of Caesarea appears to be the ancient Christian writer who most often alludes to the tetragrammaton. This paper offers all the texts in Greek with translation. Eusebius attests to a few Jewish traditions about the divine name. It also informs us about witnesses of the biblical text – which cannot always be identified easily – where the tetragrammaton was written in Hebrew. Eusebius has a specific way of interpreting the tetragrammaton: either as an indication of the Father as opposed to the Son, or of the Son’s divinity as opposed to the angels. Eusebius here breaks with the Jewish interpretation but also with Origen, though the latter seems to be his main source. The Alexandrian indeed appears to hold the tetragrammaton above all, if not exclusively, as a name of God as such, that is to say, of the Father.

Olga Nesterova, "La figure de la corbeille de Moïse chez Origène et chez Grégoire d’Elvire," 253-268

The paper deals with a lacunal passage in the treatise of Gregory of Elvira († after 404) on the birth of Moses (Ex. 2), where the author is unexpectedly skipping from the image of the infant Moses’ basket to the theme of two kinds of fire, a tormenting one and a salutary one. The examination of a number of echoing and concurrent typological motives involved by Gregory in his other treatises, as well as of corresponding texts of Origen, permits to propose a reconstruction of the missing logical link between two above-mentioned subjects.

Sébastien Grignon, "L’apport des recueils de testimonia à une édition critique : l’exemple des Catéchèses baptismales de Cyrille de Jérusalem," 269-289

Cyril of Jerusalem’s Baptismal Catecheses provide a fairly wide range of biblical testimonia, the study of which can be of some philological interest, as can be seen from the example of Micah 5:1. A thorough examination of the printed editions and a survey of the manuscript tradition, together with a brief study of the indirect tradition of the verse, has permitted us to draw two conlusions: first, that the modern editors have proved exceedingly dependent on the editio princeps and have wrongly reproduced the reading of a late and overcorrected manuscript; second, that the textual variant provided by that manuscript and those editions is part of an Antiochian testimonial tradition which is probably fairly remote from that in use in fourth century Jerusalem. That critical approach of the testimonial tradition therefore seems to permit us not only to draw attention to the modern editors’ choices, but also to amend the text. We have thus applied it to a larger corpus, namely that of the testimonia concerning the Incarnation (Cat. 12) and the Passion (Cat. 13), in order to check more consistently its relevance. This study, which of course doesn’t solve all the issues of the Catecheses’ critical edition, sheds a interesting light on a work in which the biblical quotations and allusions are uncommonly frequent, even for Patristic litterature.

Josef Eskhult, "The primeval language and Hebrew ethnicity in ancient Jewish and Christian thought until Augustine," 291-347

This article deals with the topics of the primeval language and Hebrew ethnicity in ancient Jewish and Christian thought. After a survey of these topics in the Old Testament (chapter 2), I proceed to explore the historical development of the same topics in ancient Judaism (chapter 3) and in ancient patristic exegesis and apologetics (chapter 4 and 5). I demonstrate how and, to some extent, why the primordial language was identified with Hebrew in Hellenistic Judaism and describe how this idea was adopted by Greek and Latin patristic authors until the end of late antiquity with main emphasis on Augustine’s views. The article also charts the development of the accompanying concept of Hebrew ethnicity in ancient thought, primarily with regard to the question how the term Hebrew was etymologized as an ethnic term and how it was utilized as a religious term in Christian apologetics of late antiquity. This article is based on a wide range of primary sources in antiquity.

Κοινωνικό φύλο και Βίβλος / Gender and the Bible

The Bible and Interpretation 

Amy Kalmanofsky, "Gender-bending in the Bible"

Το τρέχον τεύχος του CBR / The current issue of CBR

Currents in Biblical Research 13:3 (2015)

• Dermot Nestor, "Merneptah's 'Israel' and the Absence of Origins in Biblical Scholarship," 293-329 (abstract)
• Hughson T. Ong, "Ancient Palestine Is Multilingual and Diglossic: Introducing  Multilingualism Theories to New Testament Studies," 330-350 (abstract)
• Arie W. Zwiep, "Jairus, His Daughter and the Haemorrhaging Woman (Mk 5.21-43; Mt.  9.18-26; Lk. 8.40-56): Research Survey of a Gospel Story about People in Distress," 351-387 (abstract)
• Daniel Ullucci, "Sacrifice in the Ancient Mediterranean: Recent and Current Research," 388-439 (abstract)

 

Το χιούμορ στη λατινική γραμματεία / Humor in Latin Literature

Ο τόμος πρακτικών του συνεδρίου για το χιούμορ στη λατινική γραμματεία, που έλαβε χώρα το Μάιο του 2011 στην Αθήνα, υπάρχει αναρτημένος στο διαδίκτυο σε μορφή pdf κι ελεύθερος για όσους επιθυμούν να τον διαβάσουν και να τον καταφορτώσουν:

Rideamus igitur: το χιούμορ στη λατινική γραμματεία /Rideamus igitur: humour in Latin Literature

Ένα άρθρο βιβλικού ενδιαφέροντος στο τρέχον τεύχος του In die Skriflig / An article of biblical interest in the current issue of In die Skriflig

In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi 49:1 (2015)

Bradley M. Trout, "The nature of the law’s fulfilment in Matthew 5:17: An exegetical and theological study"

Δύο άρθρα βιβλικού ενδιαφέροντος στο τρέχον HTS / Two articles of biblical interest in the current issue HTS

Hervomde Theologies Studies 

• Kwanghyun Cho, Ernest van Eck, Cas Wepener, "Paul’s community formation in 1 Thessalonians: The creation of symbolic boundaries"
• Ernest van Eck, "Honour and debt release in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Mt 18:23–33): A social-scientific and realistic reading"

RBL 12.6.2015

George Aichele, The Letters of Jude and Second Peter: Paranoia and the Slaves of Christ
Reviewed by Andrew Mbuvi

Warren Carter, Seven Events That Shaped the New Testament World
Reviewed by Richard Johnson

Bruce Chilton, Visions of the Apocalypse: Receptions of John’s Revelation in Western Imagination
Reviewed by Ian Boxall

Louis H. Feldman, James L. Kugel, and Lawrence H. Schiffman, eds., Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writing Related to Scripture
Reviewed by Igal German

Michael Graves, The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture: What the Early Church Can Teach Us
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

A. Kirk Grayson and Jamie Novotny, The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704–681 BC), Part 2
Reviewed by Michael S. Moore

Lowell K. Handy, Psalm 29 through Time and Tradition
Reviewed by Wojciech Wegrzyniak

Franz D. Hubmann; ed. Werner Urbanz, Prophetie an der Grenze: Studien zum Jeremiabuch und zum Corpus Propheticum
Reviewed by Mark E. Biddle

Michael B. Hundley, Keeping Heaven on Earth: Safeguarding the Divine Presence in the Priestly Tabernacle
Reviewed by Nevada L. DeLapp

Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (3:1–14:28)
Reviewed by Joshua L. Mann
Reviewed by Justin A. Mihoc

Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
Reviewed by Jessica Tinklenberg

Shelly Matthews, The Acts of the Apostles: Taming the Tongues of Fire
Reviewed by Brian LePort

David Miano, Shadow on the Steps: Time Measurement in Ancient Israel
Reviewed by Trent C. Butler

Heinz-Dieter Neef, Die Prüfung Abrahams: Eine exegetisch-theologische Studie zu Gen 22,1–19
Reviewed by Thomas Hieke

C. Marvin Pate, Apostle of the Last Days: The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul
Reviewed by James Hanson

Daniel Patte, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
Reviewed by Valeriy Alikin

Daniel Patte and Vasile Mihoc, eds., Greek Patristic and Eastern Orthodox Interpretations of Romans
Reviewed by Michael F. Bird

Abraham Sung-Ho Oh, Oh, That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down! The Eschatological Theology of Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66)
Reviewed by Klaus Koenen

Eric D. Reymond, Qumran Hebrew: An Overview of Orthography, Phonology, and Morphology
Reviewed by Emanuel Tov

Brian C. Small, The Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews
Reviewed by Felix H. Cortez

Joan E. Taylor, ed., The Body in Biblical, Christian and Jewish Texts
Reviewed by Joshua Schwartz

Alexander J. M. Wedderburn, The Death of Jesus: Some Reflections on Jesus-Traditions and Paul
Reviewed by Peter Frick

Στο τρέχον τεύχος του PRSt

Perspectives in Religious Studies 42:1 (2015)

Jin H. Han, "The Role of “an Audience" in Isaac’s Blessing in Genesis 27," 5-10

Isaac’s blessing of Jacob in Gen 27 is narrated as life-changing, and every character in the account recognizes its impact. A close examination, however, reveals that it would fail the felicity test. For example, due to failing eyesight, Isaac could not tell whom he was blessing. Moreover, he was tricked into granting everything to a mistaken recipient. Within the narrative confines, the mise-en-scène that produces a dark comedy features an audience made up of Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau, who relentlessly shore up the event as an irrevocable performative speech act. Battle lines are drawn over the role of the audience.

Matthias Hopf, "Being in between: Canticles as a “Chimera" between Written and Oral Styles of Speech," 11-27

The Song of Songs seems to stand in between the written and the spoken word. On one hand, we find forms of phrasing that have been identified as features of oral language, such as a large variety in the verbal grammar (especially the tendency to avoid consecutive forms and to use various other verbal forms instead) and diverse peculiar ways of phrasing. On the other hand, the Song can hardly be called colloquial in style, but is quite literate (cf. e.g. its poetic elaborateness and lexical richness). Consequentially, we assume that the authors/composers tried to imitate day-to-day speech in order to create a written text in the guise of spoken language.

Sherri Brown, "What’s in an Ending? John 21 and the Performative Force of an Epilogue," 29-42

This paper explores John 21 as a storyteller performs it as an epilogue. A Gospel telling that has beautifully faded to black is picked up again, and a performance critical approach helps to explain this final chapter’s existence as well as how it was intended to be received by audiences. The relationship engendered by Jesus in John 1-20 leaves its community with two commands: to love and to believe. However completely these truths are revealed, living through them as a community can become problematic when members struggle with whom and what to love and to believe. In John 21, the storyteller actualizes the new covenant commands into their lived experience through the performance of this epilogue composed for them.

Lee A. Johnson, "Performance in Corinth: Envisioning Paul's Successful 'Letter of Tears'," 43-59

Despite the claim by most scholars of ancient epistles that a letter-writer was at a distinct disadvantage by relying upon a written word rather than a personal visit, this essay argues that Paul’s success in Corinth was directly tied to his epistolary relationship with the Corinthians. Employing performance criticism, my work focuses upon the undervalued role of Titus in Paul’s letter campaign in Corinth. I show that Titus was involved at all stages in the letter-writing process-from composition to performance of the letter for the Corinthians-and that his ability to present and defend Paul’s message was instrumental in Paul’s success.

Joanna Dewey, "Performance Criticism in Teaching the Gospel of Mark," 61-72

In this article, I argue for the use of performing in class for students to understand performance criticism and deepen their knowledge of a text. Part I addresses pedagogical hurdles for students to perform and discusses differences between narrative and performance criticism, using Holly Hearon's work. Part II suggests that by recognizing the centrality of performance in the ancient world, we must also recognize the fluidity of texts: they were not fixed as we imagine them to have been, but were continually adapted to different situations and audiences. Part III, the bulk of the article, describes how I use performance in teaching Mark. Finally, Part IV briefly explores multimedia presentations using Richard Swanson's work.

Philip Ruge-Jones, "Taking Luke’s Gospel to Heart: Creating a Community of Mercy and Compassion through Biblical Storytelling," 73-88

The process of internalizing and performing biblical texts is essential in performance criticism. This spiritual discipline provides for the religious and ethical formation of both individuals and communities. This article maps out the struggle to take the Gospel of Luke to heart in a concrete community. It demonstrates how this process shapes the character of those who participate in it and equips them to live out Luke’s vision of compassionate mercy in the world. Through this ongoing engagement, the story becomes an expansive dwelling place that houses stories of faith communities from across the globe and throughout time.