Το τρέχον τεύχος του Sacra Scripta / The current issue of Sacra Scripta

 Sacra Scripta 17/2 (2019)

Gottfried Schimanowski, "Das Vaterunser als elementarer Baustein lukanischer Theologie," 119-148

Luke is the canonical Gospel with the most material on prayer; you could say: “the evangelist of prayer”. This subject therefore should play an important role in Lucan theology. Especially in the narrative of chapter 11, Luke includes an extended section on prayer, inclusive the Lord’s Prayer (five petitions or lines: “Pentalogue”) – in a different form compared with Matthew (six or seven petitions, or perhaps ten lines to utter: “Decalogue”). Perhaps the narrative in the description of Jesus and the development of the disciples could explain the difference from placing the material in Matthew. But surely both versions show that the message and the content of the Lord’s Prayer are totally in accordance to the teaching and praying of Jesus himself! Several perspectives should be considered: the context and especially the introduction of the ch.11 in Luke; the addressing: God, the Father; all the different petitions of the prayer itself. Nevertheless, to Luke, prayer is central in the discipleship Jesus calls his followers to. The audience is in a very direct way thought to participate in God’s work through prayer. On the canonical Gospels, it is only in Luke that prayer is the central act of piety and devotion. But what does this mean in direction of the theological understanding of the evangelist himself?

Gheorghe Șchiopu-Constantin, "Job's Behaviour Towards Disanvantaged People in Society: An Exegetical Study of the Text of Job 31:16-23," 149-164

Job 31 is a chapter that arouses both confusion and amazement. The perplexity is given by the negative-imprecative way in which, for the last time, Job defends his behaviour during his prosperity. The amazement emerges from the values that are highlighted by him, starting from the motivations and intentions, and continuing with the nature of the words and the manifested acts. Job 31:16-23 is the rendering of the way in which Job used to behave with the poor and defenseless people of society. Job's concern for the poor is a benevolent modus operandi, derived from a modus vivendi whose intrinsic motivations discover an ethic of epitomical nature in relation to the disadvantaged ones in society.

Walter Dietrich, "König David - Ein andächtig-kritisches Porträt," 165-178

The biblical portrait of David is not at all onesided but multifaceted and colourful. He is, particularly in the Books of Samuel, depicted as a venerable man and king on the one side and as a fallible and deterrent monarch on the other side. His best qualities are: he is a master of music and poetry, his rise from a nobody to a powerful king is admirable, he is able to avoid violence and to spare human life, and he became the founder of a powerful and longstanding dynasty. The dark sides of David are: he seems to be a classical usurper, he has been a man of violence and war, he made himself guilty of horrifying crimes, he was unable to manage a peaceful life within his family and a fruitful transition from his rule to his son and successor Solomon. The superscription of his biblical portrait could be: «ecce rex» and «ecce homo». 

Michael Sommer, "John the Baptist, the Reception of Malachi and Luke's Widows - A Quick Look at Luke's Understanding of δικαιοσύνη," 179-195

The biblical portrait of David is not at all onesided but multifaceted and colourful. He is, particularly in the Books of Samuel, depicted as a venerable man and king on the one side and as a fallible and deterrent monarch on the other side. His best qualities are: he is a master of music and poetry, his rise from a nobody to a powerful king is admirable, he is able to avoid violence and to spare human life, and he became the founder of a powerful and longstanding dynasty. The dark sides of David are: he seems to be a classical usurper, he has been a man of violence and war, he made himself guilty of horrifying crimes, he was unable to manage a peaceful life within his family and a fruitful transition from his rule to his son and successor Solomon. The superscription of his biblical portrait could be: «ecce rex» and «ecce homo». 

Hans Klein, "Die Enrwicklung im Denken des Paulus über Israel in Röm 9-11," 196-212

Röm 9-11 ist ein einzigartiger Entwurf zur Frage des Schicksals Israels angesichts der Annahme der Heiden in die werdende Kirche. Die vorliegende Studie bemüht sich um den Nachweis, dass das berühmte Geheiminis der Rettung Gesamtisraels dem Apostel erst beim Schreiben des Römerbriefes als Offenbarung zuteilwurde. Eine genaue Beachtung des komplizierten Satzgefüges in Röm 9,22f kann zum Schluss führen, dass ihm dieses Geheimnis erst nach der Niederschrift der Aussagen dieser Verse geschenkt wurde.