Search results for ""JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck)""

Although Judah's prophets and priests often stood united in their concerns for the cult, many prophetic texts from the 6th and the 5th century BC testify to a major disagreement between them as to how to worship God. Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer analyzes the critique of the priests as found in the prophetic texts from that period. In these texts, the prophets accused the priests of misdemeanours in both the cultic and the social realm. The author further explores how the same prophets envisioned a more righteous priesthood. The earlier promises in Isaiah 40-55 form the background of this critique. Much of the post-exilic prophetic literature sought to explain the non-fulfilment of these promises. The author shows that the shared focus of most of these explanations is a culpable priesthood. She further demonstrates a different picture of the post-exilic priesthood from the one often previously assumed. Rather than attributing cultic monolatry to the post-exilic priests, reformed through their suffering following the destruction of Jerusalem, she shows that the emerging new clergy were not so very different from their pre-exilic predecessors. In addition, in contrast to the common assumption that the prophetic literature displays contradictory views, the author stresses the similarity between the thoughts and ideas displayed throughout Isaiah 56-66, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8 and Malachi.

Read more less

Tal Ilan explores the way historical documents from antiquity are reworked and edited in a long process that ends in silencing the women originally mentioned in them. Many methods are used to produce this end result: elimination of women or their words, denigration of the women and their role or unification of several significant women into one. These methods and others are illuminated in this book, as it uses the example of the Jewish queen Shelamzion Alexandra (76-67 BCE) for its starting point. Queen Shelamzion was the only legitimate Jewish queen in history. Yet all the documents in which she is mentioned (Josephus, Qumran scrolls, rabbinic literature etc.) have been reworked so as to minimize her significance and distort the picture we may receive of her. Tal Ilan follows the ways this was done and in doing so she encounters similar patterns in which other Jewish women in antiquity were silenced, censored and edited out.

Read more less

Alexander Kemnitz provides a unified framework for the analysis of the effects of immigration on wages, employment and welfare of the population of the target country in the presence of unemployment. Taking into account important features of European labor markets, he shows that unemployment results from the interplay of trade union wage setting and welfare state provisions. The author identifies technological and political conditions, in particular with respect to the wage setting process and the adjustment of welfare state provisions, which can make low skilled immigration beneficial for the host. Building on these insights, he scrutinizes the popular argument that immigration can serve to alleviate the demographic burden imposed by public pensions. It is shown that population aging can not serve as an argument for immigration when unemployment exists. Moreover, the author elaborates on the political viability of immigration policies and the challenges education policy faces, emphasizing the importance of educational participation of the native population and the integration of second generation immigrants.

Read more less

Joy Philip Kakkanattu provides an exegetical and theological analysis of an important and difficult text of the Old Testament through a synchronic and diachronic reading. Detailed critical notes, which discuss the textual difficulties, accompany the translation of the text from Hebrew. In the detailed exegesis, special attention is given to study of the key terms theologically significant in Hos 11:1-11 against the context of the whole book. The exegesis shows that in Hos 11:8-9 it is not the repentance of Yahweh that causes the withholding of His anger against Israel, but Yahweh's constancy in His election of Israel as His son. More than a change of heart, the decision not to execute the deserved judgement witnesses Yahweh's divine nature. Special attention is dedicated to the parent metaphor employed in Hos 11:1-11. It is concluded that more than expressing the Yahweh-Israel relationship as a father-son relationship, the text speaks of it in terms of parent-child relationship. In the diachronic analysis, the author deals with the origin and formation of Hos 11:1-11.

Read more less

This book presents a selection of William Horbury's recent essays. Those collected in Part I seek to trace the profile of Herodian Jewish piety, its Greek and Roman setting, and its reflection in Christianity. Monotheism, mysticism, perceptions of Moses and the Temple are all considered in this way, and a Jewish context for the term 'gospel' and the institution of 'the Lord's Supper' is suggested. Part II treats modern New Testament study, with special attention to its links with study of the classical and Jewish traditions, and a survey on British study in its international setting.

Read more less

Taking seriously the Gospel as a unified narrative and the Gospel's late first-century Jewish setting, John Dennis investigates the Fourth Gospel's appropriation of Jewish restoration theology. Employing John 11.47-52 as the starting point, the author argues that one of the primary functions of restoration theology in John is to interpret Jesus' death in the light of Jewish restoration expectations. A new angle on Jesus' death in the Fourth Gospel emerges from this study: Jesus' death effects the restoration of Israel, the restoration that was engendered by the Prophets and expected by many Jews of the Second Temple period. In the course of the study it is also argued that John was primarily concerned with Israel's restoration and not with a mission to the Gentiles. In this light, a fresh interpretation of the "children of God" (11.52) is offered.

Read more less

Matthias Reinhard Hoffmann identifies an angelomorphic portrait of Christ in certain passages of Revelation and provides possible reasons for the inclusion of an angelomorphic Christology: Angelomorphic Christology is not regarded as an isolated christological concept. In turn, the author compares angelomorphic Christology with the prominent Lamb Christology of Revelation. A comparison of these concepts reveals that both Lamb and angelomorphic Christology serve the purpose of contrasting different functions of Christ. The functions correspond with the implied perception of Christ by his followers on the one hand and his opponents on the other. Accordingly, Christ appears to be an eschatological juridical figure (described in angelomorphic patterns) to his opposition, while he is perceived as salvific redeemer (in form of the Lamb) by those who believe in him. Such a christological perspective draws on traditions from the Exodus narrative, namely the features of the Passover Lamb and the Destroying Angel. Further, equality between God and Christ is established despite an angelomorphic portrait of Christ: especially those passages describing Christ as the Lamb put him on par with God. But also within visions with an angelomorphic description of Christ, his status as superior to angels and as an equal to God is displayed.

Read more less

The science-and-religion dialogue has now become an established part of the wider cultural debate about the respective roles of science and religion within democratic societies. Typically, science has usually been identified with the sphere of reason, fact and explanation, whereas religion has been located within the realm of experience, value and interpretation. But religions also prescribe beliefs and support these with metaphysical accounts of the self, world and God. Such belief systems are both identity-forming and comprehensive. But the pluralism of world-views within modern liberal democracies and methodological naturalism in the sciences would seem to require believers to suspend these deeply-held beliefs when engaged in public discourse or scientific inquiry. This raises a number of interesting philosophical and practical issues which this volume seeks to address. As a reflection on the matrix of science, religion and politics, this volume constitutes a major contribution to an important, but neglected topic. This book will open up new lines of research and communication not only among philosophers, scientists and theologians, but for all those interested in the larger cultural conversation about the relationship between science and religion.

Read more less

Firms produce an increasing part of their value added in networks. Therefore, managing the boundaries of the firm is essential to the success of such interfirm networks. It has become obvious that firms as well as networks need rules for good governance. Developing and enforcing these rules is one of the tasks of the network management, which is one of the prerequisites for successfully operating networks. In this volume, well-known economists and organization research scholars analyze the many facets of interfirm cooperation.

Read more less

Joseph Dan, the Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah Emeritus at the Hebrew University and long-time Professor of Jewish Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, is one of the most influential figures in the fields of Jewish mystical thought, homiletical and ethical literature, modern Messianism and Hasidism, and contemporary 'belles-lettres'. His studies of the diverse aspects of Jewish creativity, with close attention to the dialectics of religious-cultural continuity versus historical innovation, provide a comprehensive overview of the complex history of Jewish thought and its multiple creative faces. It is precisely for this reason, to honor Joseph Dan's multifaceted research, that his many colleagues, students, and friends, scattered among universities around the world, have decided to focus their contributions in this Festschrift on the continuing process of creation and re-creation in Jewish thought throughout the centuries. Contributors: Philip Alexander, Dan Ben-Amos, Peter Schäfer, Margarete Schlüter, Bernard McGinn, Klaus Herrmann, Herbert Davidson, Annelies Kuyt, Haym Soloveitchik, Eli Yassif, Gerold Necker, Marc Saperstein, Giuseppe Veltri, Aviezer Ravitzky, Avinoam Rosenak, Kimmy Caplan, Saverio Campanini, Eric Jacobson, Yair Zakovitch, Rachel Elior, David Weiss Halivni, Avigdor Shinan, Avraham Grossman, Giulio Busi, Moshe Hallamish, Chava Turniansky, Jacob Elbaum, Hagit Matras, Joseph Hacker, Raya Haran, Arnold J. Band, Hamutal Bar Yosef, Miri Kubovy, Naama ben Shahar.

Read more less

Judith Hauptman argues that the Tosefta, a collection dating from approximately the same time period as the Mishnah and authored by the same rabbis, is not later than the Mishnah, as its name suggests, but earlier. The Redactor of the Mishnah drew upon an old Mishnah and its associated supplement, the Tosefta, when composing his work. He reshaped, reorganized and abbreviated these materials in order to make them accord with his own legislative outlook. It is possible to compare the earlier and the later texts and to determine, case by case, the agenda of the Redactor. According to the author's theory it is also possible to trace the evolution of Jewish law, practice, and ideas. When the Mishnah is seen as later than the Tosefta, it becomes clear that the Redactor inserted numerous mnemonic devices into his work to assist in transmission. The synoptic gospels may have undergone a similar kind of editing.

Read more less

Erkki Koskenniemi analyzes the most important early Jewish texts, which attribute miracles to people mentioned in the Old Testament. He investigates the miracles of Moses, Elijah and Elisha, but also, for example, the extra-biblical deeds of men like Abraham, David and Solomon. The author looks at the development of the traditional elements of the miracle stories and the theological intentions of every writer who deals with these stories.The Jewish tradition of miracle-workers is rich and multifaceted. There was no rule that the biblical stories should be retold as they were written. Miracles could thus be connected with different types of historiography or even, in one case, with a tragedy, which was an imitation of Aeschylus' great work. It didn't take long for the growing tradition to develop new shades and colors for the old stories: for example, the struggle with evil powers is involved in the retold stories. Several authors also hoped for the repetition of the saving miracles of the past, especially of the Exodus, God's help in the desert and the great deeds of Elijah. The investigation of this rich tradition helps us to better understand the early Jewish belief as well as the early Christian world.

Read more less

Aquila H.I. Lee explores the development of early Christian understanding of Jesus as the preexistent Son of God. He first reviews recent attempts to explain the development as a result of the influence of Jewish angelology and similar speculations. In the second part he argues that neither the personification of various attributes of God, including wisdom, nor speculations about principal angels and a preexistent messiah in Second Temple Judaism ever provided a ready-made category for viewing Jesus as a divine and preexistent being alongside God.An examination of the Synoptic evidence for Jesus' self-consciousness of divine sonship and divine mission in the whole context of his life and teaching shows that his self-understanding was open to interpretation in terms of pre-existence. The author also examines the early Christian use of Pss 110:1 and 2:7 against this background. He proposes that the root of preexistent Son Christology is to be found in early Christian exegesis of these two messianic psalms (the catalyst) in the light of Jesus' self-consciousness of divine sonship and divine mission (the foundation). The tremendous impact left by the resurrection event and the resulting conception of Jesus "literally" enthroned to God's right hand led them to see Jesus as the preexistent Lord and Son of God.In the final part of this book Aquila Lee argues that the pre-Pauline 'sending' formula "God sent his Son" (Gal 4:4-5; Rom 8:3-4; Jn 3:16-17; and 1 Jn 4:9) derives from this understanding of Jesus as the preexistent Son of God rather than from divine wisdom christology.

Read more less

How do visual images from the ancient world shed light on New Testament texts? In a methodologically multifaceted manner, the contributions in this volume examine early Christian images with regard to their ancient context. Various New Testament texts (the synoptic gospels, the Johannine and Pauline corpora) are linked to ancient visual images. Various approaches in iconography are summarized and applied to the interpretation of texts, taking account of the strengths and limitations of these images, as well as possible future applications. These essays incorporate current viewpoints from archaeology and the history of art. The topics range from studies of the depictions of Christ and the disciples to the images of humans and the world. This volume provides an innovative basis for the discussion of the iconographic method and the New Testament.

Read more less

With this work, Terence C. Mournet contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding oral tradition and the formation of the Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic studies have been marked by an excessive bias towards exclusively literary models of Synoptic interrelationships. Despite the widespread recognition that oral tradition played a significant role in the formation of the gospel tradition, the gospels are often examined as literary works apart from their relationship to oral performance. While not dismissing the use of written sources in the process of gospel composition, a study of the relationship in antiquity between oral communication and written texts leads us to re-examine any solution to the Synoptic Problem that does not take into adequate account the influence of oral tradition upon the development of the gospel tradition. Orality studies, and in particular folklore research, can help provide additional insight into the transmission of the early Jesus tradition and the formation of the Synoptic Gospels. The author examines various so-called 'Q' pericopes in light of the folkloristic characteristics of variability and stability, and he raises questions about how we envision the form and scope of a 'Q' text. While not discounting the assured results of literary methods of Gospel analysis, it is suggested that more serious attention be given to an oral performance model of early Christian tradition transmission.

Read more less

This book presents a selection of adapted papers originally read at the 7th Nordic New Testament conference in Stavanger in 2003. The 14 essays expose different aspects of the conference theme "the formation of the early church". To these belong considerations about how the primitive church developed and defined its own identity over against (other) Jews, both historically and with regard to how recent research has treated this theme methodologically. Further, early developments within and between different church communities and congregations are discussed as well as aspects of authority and power structures within them. Three essays deal with questions relating to the New Testament canon. For obvious thematic reasons the volume moves beyond the 1st century A.D.; two essays address issues related to the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, and one patristic contribution focuses predominantly on Cyprian.

Read more less

James A. Kelhoffer offers a comprehensive analysis of Mark 1:6c par. Matt 3:4c in its socio-historical context, the Synoptic gospels and subsequent Christian interpretation. The first chapter surveys various anecdotes about John's food in the Synoptic gospels and notes that there has never been a consensus in scholarship concerning John's "locusts and wild honey." Chapters 2 and 3 address locusts as human food and assorted kinds of "wild honey" in antiquity. Chapter 4 considers the different meanings of this diet for the historical Baptist, Mark, and Matthew. Contemporary anthropological and nutritional data shed new light on John's experience as a locust gatherer and assess whether these foods could have actually sustained him in the wilderness. The last chapter demonstrates that the most prevalent interpretation of the Baptist's diet, from the third through the sixteenth centuries, hails John's simple wilderness provisions as a model for believers to emulate.

Read more less

In the first part of the book, Karl William Weyde analyses the festival calendar in Leviticus 23 and compares it with other festival calendars in the Hebrew Bible. On this basis, characteristic features of the Leviticus calendar appear, leading to the conclusion that Leviticus 23 presents the latest of the calendars and presupposes them. This holds good also vis-à-vis the priestly legal material in Numbers 28-29. Thus, the legislation for Passover and the festival of unleavened bread in Lev 23:5-8 is short because it builds on the detailed stipulations related in Exodus 12-13 and Deuteronomy 16. But it is also demonstrated that, for the sake of precision, the legislation for the grain festival in Leviticus 23 is more detailed than in other texts. Moreover, it is shown that the sukkôt festival is predominant in this calendar, together with other festivals in the seventh month. Without denying the possibility that the legislation was revised during the process of transmission, the author contends that some of the arguments used by recent researchers for such contention are not tenable. However, the Sabbath command (v. 3) and the sukkôt legislation in vv. 39ff are later additions inserted during the exile in Babylon.The second part of the book deals with texts related to the sukkôt festival in the Hebrew Bible. It gives examples of the significance of this festival in exilic and post-exilic times. Particular attention is paid to the question of whether it is possible to identify sukkôt psalms in the Psalter.

Read more less

The present volume makes accessible once more the groundbreaking work "The Septuagint Version of Isaiah" (1948) by Isac Leo Seeligmann (1907-1982), accompanied by two studies that have to be seen as prolegomena to the book. Both studies were published originally in the Dutch language, and the English translation of one of them appears in this volume for the first time. Seeligmann aims to understand the Septuagint as a witness of Hellenistic Judaism striving to maintain the text's special character as a document of faith. At the same time all of Seeligmann's works edited in this volume are documents of the suffering of European Judaism during the time of National Socialism.The new edition provides evidence of Seeligmann's approach to the Septuagint as a witness of Hellenistic Judaism which strives to maintain the text's special character as a document of faith. Because of this new access from the perspective of content and method, Seeligmann's influence on Septuagint research became so strong that it has lasted up to the present. The reader will realise that the history of Israel during the Hellenistic period does not simply represent an object of scholarly research for Seeligmann but also serves as the background for the interpretation of the history of the Jewish people in his own time.

Read more less

Whereas apologetics has often been associated with negative connotations, it is dealt with in this volume as a form of narrative self-assertion as well as a form of critical self-reflection and as an individual and a collective need to justify oneself using religious and philosophical methods. The essays focus not only on the religious aspect in self-definition but also on the structure and the assertion of one's identity as a comprehensive self-creating act of "lifting oneself into a state of consciousness". This volumes shows how the boundaries and the transition between religious apologetics and philosophical argumentation are fading and indicates that they will have to be redefined in individual cases. It also combines historical and contemporary case studies from Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Read more less

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was the most important festival of late-antique Judaism, but its influence on Christianity was not generally recognized. Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra here not only reveals the profound influence of Yom Kippur on early Christianity up to the fifth century but also offers the first detailed analysis of the festival itself. He examines the rituals of and the concepts underlying Yom Kippur in various types of Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. In detailed analyses of many New Testament and extra-canonical writings, as well as Gnostic and early mystical texts, the author portrays the sweeping influence of the high priest, Holy of Holies, blood sacrifice and scapegoat ritual on early Christian thought and practice. In the final part he examines Christian exegesis of Leviticus 16, Christian-Jewish polemics and the impact of Yom Kippur on Christian liturgy.

Read more less

Analyzing the illness-related terminology of the Gospel against the background of classical medical texts, Annette Weissenrieder examines the degree to which ancient medical knowledge was incorporated into the healing narratives of the Gospel of Luke. Thus, her work focuses on the crossroads of theology and medical history. Her primary reference is the Corpus Hippocraticum, supplemented by the writings of Soranus, Empedocles and Caelius Aurelianus. She also examines Jewish sources in the light of these secular medical texts. The premise of the study is the constructivist concept that has been developed in the context of 'writing the history of the body': that there is no objective view of the sick body. Every description of the body is formed by the cultural norms of a particular society, and society's culture influences the way in which any given illness is seen.In investigating concepts of medicine prevalent in antiquity, Annette Weissenrieder brings to light the cultural parameters of perception specific to Luke. She deals with gender-specific images of illness as well as with those associated with impurity or demonic possession. Her analysis confirms that the concepts of illness used by the Lucan author were profoundly characteristic of his time. She demonstrates how he uses these concepts to make his central message plausible: the presence of divine reality in the human sphere which can be experienced by both the physical body and the social body.

Read more less

Donald Dale Walker advances biblical lexicography by carefully identifying and illustrating a semantic field present in 2 Corinthians 10-13, with particular focus on the key terms praytes and epeieikeia. For each of these words the author has also crafted detailed definitions. In addition, this study contributes to the recent interest in the investigation of Paul and politics by outlining the ideology of good rule and showing how it guided Paul's christological imagination. By attributing popular ideas of good rule to Christ, Paul forged a rhetoric that he could use to promote his agenda in Corinth. The rhetoric of populist appeal is also the key to understanding Paul's self-presentation in 2 Corinthians 10-13. By pressing the implications of good rule, this study breaks new ground in the analysis of Paul's rhetorical ethos, expanding the discussion beyond the limited instructions of ancient handbooks to reveal the apostle's modest populism (which incorporates his philosophical irony). Combining lexicographical insight, political theories, and rhetorical ethos creates a comprehensive reading strategy that integrates 2 Corinthians 10 -13.

Read more less

For the hundred years since W. Wrede ( Paulus, 1904) made the provocative claim that Paul should rightly be regarded as 'the second founder of Christianity', scholars have debated vigorously on the relationship between Jesus and Paul. Past studies on the Jesus-Paul debate have largely been confined to either the literary or the theological level. This study looks at the issue afresh by combining the historical and the theological approaches. The discussion focuses on the issue of faith, paying special attention to two groups of Jesus' sayings ('Faith that can remove mountains' and 'Your Faith has healed/saved you') and Paul's use of Gen. 15:6 and Hab. 2:4.The distinctive methodology of this study is to compare Jesus and Paul against the backdrops of the Jewish biblical tradition and Hellenistic parallels. The picture of the Jesus-Paul relationship that emerges is a most complex one. To a great extent the similarity between Jesus and Paul is due to their common Jewish heritage. The early Church plays a part in influencing Paul's concept of faith and Paul himself reinterprets the Jewish Scriptures in an innovative manner. At the same time, Paul is found to be greatly indebted to Jesus for his concept of faith. The method of placing Jesus and Paul against the Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds permits a fuller appreciation of the historical and theological continuities between Jesus and Paul than has hitherto been possible.

Read more less

Antigone Samellas examines the modes of reception of Jesus' message of salvation. She explores the Greek and Jewish influence on Christian eschatology and traces the Hellenistic roots of Christian consolation philosophy. The author examines Christianity as a 'total therapy of grief' and highlights the differences that existed between the religious cures and the Hellenistic philosophical therapies. To gain a better understanding of the process of conversion to the new faith Antigone Samellas also investigates which aspects of Christianity were appealing and which repugnant in the eyes of pagans and Jews. Finally, she attempts to convey something of the wisdom of the East, in all its cultural and religious nuances, to the modern reader.

Read more less

Since Judaism has always been seen as the quintessential 'religion of the book', a high literacy rate amongst ancient Jews has usually been taken for granted. Catherine Hezser presents the first critical analysis of the various aspects of ancient Jewish literacy on the basis of all of the literary, epigraphic, and papyrological material published so far. Thereby she takes into consideration the analogies in Graeco-Roman culture and models and theories developed in the social sciences. Rather than trying to determine the exact literacy rate amongst ancient Jews, she examines the various types, social contexts, and functions of writing and the relationship between writing and oral forms of discourse. Following recent social-anthropological approaches to literacy, the guiding question is: who used what type of writing for which purpose?First Catherine Hezser examines the conditions which would enable or prevent the spread of literacy, such as education and schools, the availability and costs of writing materials, religious interest in writing and books, the existence of archives and libraries, and the question of multilingualism. Afterwards she looks at the different types of writing, such as letters, documents, miscellaneous notes, inscriptions and graffiti, and literary and magical texts until she finally draws conclusions about the ways in which the various sectors of the populace were able to participate in a literate society.

Read more less

Mehrdad Fatehi studies Paul's letters and shows that the risen Lord is featured in the religious experiences of Paul and the Pauline believers as the present and active lord of the new covenant community. These experiences seem to point beyond the notion of a divine agent alongside God to a redefinition of the very concept of God in a way that it would include Christ within itself. This is confirmed by the way Paul and the Pauline communities believed themselves to have experienced the risen Lord through God's Spirit.In Judaism in general, as well as in Paul, the Spirit was not regarded as an entity distinct or separable from God but as God himself in his presence and action in and among his people. Yet we have clear evidence in Paul's letters that the risen Christ was experienced and conceived of as being present and active through the Spirit bestowing grace and gracious gifts, infusing wisdom, communicating his will, regenerating and transforming his people, and dwelling in and among them all through the Spirit in a way which is best understood after the analogy of God's presence and work through the Spirit in Judaism. In other words, Paul's 'the Spirit of Christ' is best understood after the analogy of 'the Spirit of God'.Paul's application of the Spirit-language to describe and interpret the Christians' experiences of the risen Lord shows that Paul most probably presupposed a redefinition of monotheism in which Christ would be included within the Godhead.

Read more less

Margaret M. Mitchell argues that all Pauline interpretation depends to a large degree upon the ways in which readers formulate their own mental (and sometimes graphic) images of the author, Paul. John Chrysostom, the most prolific interpreter of the Pauline epistles in the early church (c. 349-407 C.E.), richly exemplifies this phenomenon in his writings and speeches, where he composes word portraits of his beloved Paul, so as to bring his own readers face to face with the saintly figure he commends for their imitation.The author brings together the copious portraits of Paul - of his body, his soul, and his life circumstances - found throughout Chrysostom's immense corpus of writings, and for the first time analyzes them as complex rhetorical compositions built upon well-known conventions and techniques of Greco-Roman rhetoric (epithet, encomium, and ekphrasis). Chrysostom's literary portraiture, by idealizing Paul as 'the archetypal image' of Christian virtue, served as a rhetorical vehicle for social construction and replication of the Pauline model in the now-Christian society of late antiquity. Pauline interpretation as Chrysostom practiced it confounds both the traditional map of patristic exegesis as defined by the dichotomy between Antiochene literalism and Alexandrine allegory, and contemporary hermeneutical claims about 'the death of the author' in the interpretive enterprise. While Chrysostom's Pauline portraiture may reach exalted heights of artistry, it is not unique, as comparisons with Chrysostom's Latin contemporary Augustine and recent Pauline scholarship reveal. Two appendices offer a fresh translation of Chrysostom's seven homilies de laudibus sancti Pauli, and a catalogue and color plates of artistic representations of Chrysostom and Paul that graphically represent the author/exegete dynamic this study explores.

Read more less

Reciprocity was at the heart of all forms of benevolence in the ancient Greco-Roman world. The bestowal of gifts usually initiated long-term relationships that involved mutual obligations and clear status differentials between the parties concerned. The leadership of the Jerusalem church requests at the so-called Jerusalem meeting " not to forget the poor" (Gal. 2:10), was interpreted by Paul in terms of these principles.In response to their benefactions, the Jerusalem church demanded that Paul address the needs of the socially destitute in their midst. In order to fulfill these obligations towards Jerusalem, but also in view of the fact that the church in Antioch did not live up to their responsibilities in this regard, Paul then took it upon himself to organize a collection in the Christian communities under his control.Paul utilized specific rhetorical strategies and contextual 'theologies' in the course of the collection project to ensure its completion, but also to secure his role as benefactor of Jerusalem.Paul and Jerusalem's conflicting ideologies threatened the eventual success of the collection. In anticipation of a possible rejection of the collection, Paul offered a new ideological angle of incidence to this project. In a 'Christian' reinterpretation of the basic principles of benefit exchange, Paul turned the collection into an 'eleventh hour success' within the framework of his communities.Although Luke is not well-informed on the Pauline collection, he presents us with the basic outlines of Paul's final visit to Jerusalem to deliver the collection. From the available information it may be deduced that Paul devised an emergency solution to ensure the eventual acceptance of the collection by the Jerusalem church. However, Paul's imprisonment brought an abrupt end to this imaginative project.

Read more less

From recent reviews: "The book contains detailed and fascinating investigations of the methods of the ancient historians of Greece and Rome for the light they are claimed to shed upon those of the New Testament writers. Whenever an ancient source is quoted, not only is an English translation given in the text, but the original language of the example is also reproduced in a footnote. Fascinating also are the discussions of relevant passages in the New Testament such as Lk 1:1-4; Jn 19:35; 21:24; and 1 Jn 1:1-4.In this well-produced volume the author has reviewed a vast amount of ancient and modern literature on a subject of vital importance for assessing the historicity of the gospel tradition."John Tudno Williams in The Expository Times 2000, vol. 112, p. 59Erzählung als Geschichte - Geschichte als Erzählung. Die Evangelientradition im Rahmen der mündlichen Überlieferung der Antike. Studienausgabe.Von Samuel Byrskog.

Read more less

The Longer Ending of the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:9-20) was appended to the Gospel of Mark in the first half of the second century. James A. Kelhoffer explores this passage's distinct witness to the use of gospel traditions and the development of Christian thought. Concerning the origin of this passage, he argues that a single author made use of the New Testament Gospels in forging a more satisfactory ending to Mark. He studies the passage's sometimes innovative literary forms as well. Also of interest is the passage's claim that the ascended Lord will help "those who believe" to perform miraculous signs - casting out demons, speaking in new languages, picking up snakes, drinking poison with impunity and healing the sick - when they preach the gospel (verses 17-18, 20). This expectation is compared with portraits of miracles, especially in the context of mission, in the New Testament, various apocryphal acts and Christian apologists of the second and third centuries. In the two final chapters the author interprets the signs of picking up snakes (verse 18a) and drinking a deadly substance with impunity (verse 18b) in their history of religions contexts. An Epilogue summarizes the findings of this study and explores what can be ascertained about the otherwise unknown Christian author of Mark 16:9-20.

Read more less

This collection of essays brings together a number of studies of Galilee in Hellenistic and Roman times. Sean Freyne evaluates the important archaeological work in the Galilee and brings this evidence into a critical dialogue with the literary evidence. The emerging profile of the social and religious world of Galilee has proved highly influential in discussions about the historical Jesus, especially in relation to the matrix of Early Christianity. Several individual studies demonstrate how the reconstructed social world, viewed as text, offers the possibility of new readings of familiar gospel texts.

Read more less

This volume is based on a symposium held at the School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway, in 1998 on 'The Mission of the Early Church to Jews and Gentiles'.Four authors discuss the question of the mission to the Jewish people with particular regard to the gospel of Matthew and the Great Commission. Further papers address different phases and aspects of early mission. Finally the volume contains four essays relating to the Acts of the Apostles and to the Pauline letters.

Read more less

The Dead Sea Scrolls represent the remains of an ancient Jewish library which antedates 68 C.E. It is the most significant discovery of biblically related ancient manuscripts, and represents more than 600 ancient Jewish documents. The series presents an introduction, critical text, and literal English translation of all the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not copies of books in the Hebrew Bible. It is the definitive collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Fifty scholars from Canada, Germany, Isreal, the United States, and other countrys serve as subeditors in the series.Volume four, the third to appear in the series, contains improved Hebrew texts and literal translations of the Angelic Liturgy, for the first time with a critical apparatus and a composite text; also included are numerous prayers and non-canonical psalms. The series is prepared with the text on the left page and the translation on the right. Critical notes help the scholar to understand the text, variants, philological subtleties, and translation. An introduction with bibliography precedes each document.

Read more less

The main point delivered by this book is that Jews living in Germany during the Middle Ages developped a dynamic and variegated culture which should be recognized as a constituent of European and German medieval religiosity. The esoterics, mystics and pietists who produced works like those analyzed in this volume derived their inspiration from the traditional Jewish texts, but were also part of the world they lived in, despite the seclusions enforced by the religious prejudices of the time. The esoterical-mystical phenomena described were to a very large extent an original development in central-European Jewry, and constitute one of their most important contributions to Jewish culture as a whole. In some cases, a spiritual atmosphere reminiscent of early Protestant sects, which were to appear in the same regions three centuries later, can be discerned. Some of these texts influenced the Christian kabbalists of the sixteenth century, like Johannes Reuchlin and others. This is a major spiritual phenomenon which has been completely neglected until now, and it is hoped that this volume will contribute to a new appreciation of this aspect of European creativity in the Middle Ages.

Read more less

Die Arbeiten des Bandes 7 führen die in Band 5 und 6 vorgelegten Studien weiter. Es handelt sich fast durchweg um neuere Arbeiten aus den letzten 15 Jahren vor Erscheinen des Bandes. Trotz der Verschiedenheit der Titel zeichnet sich in allen Arbeiten, ob über die Vorsokratiker, über Plato oder Aristoteles ein Ineinandergreifen philologischer Forschung und philosophischer Problemstellung ab.Diese Hauptstücke eines Spätwerkes sind stets neue Illustrationen der Grundsätze der philosophischen Hermeneutik, die der Verfasser in 'Wahrheit und Methode' systematisch ausgearbeitet hat. Er gibt keine doppelte Wahrheit. Was philologisch falsch ist, sollte man nicht gelten lassen. Wo sich unser gegenwärtiges philosophisches Fragen in den Fragen und Antworten der griechischen Philosophen wiedererkennen kann, zeigen sich Wege in unsere Zukunft. Inhaltsübersicht

Read more less

The tensions and self-contradictions in Paul's statements on the Torah are analysed in this book in detail, which also critically discusses a vast body of scholarly literature on the subject. The contradictions in Paul cannot be explained away, neither by dialectical interpretive devices nor by way of development theories. Rather, they must be taken seriously as real contradictions and as pointers to Paul's unsolved theological problems. Different statements owe their origin largely to different needs, mostly polemical ones, arising in changing situations."Anyone who has studied Paul knows that probably the most complex problem he develops is his view of the law and its purpose. The beauty of Räisänen's work is that he recognizes and respects this complexity without himself becoming too dense to understand. R. finds that Paul's radicalized, negative criticism of the law is peculiar to him, unparalleled in the NT and without precedent in Jewish thought. With careful, patient examination of various contexts, R. leads his readers to see that Paul has an oscillating, even inconsistent view of the law. [...] This book is well-written in clear, readable English. It is an important book, recommended to any serious student of Paul. Its strength is in R.'s willingness to abandon preconceptions of what Paul's view on the law should be according to some consistent plan and in allowing Paul to speak for himself." Mary Ann Getty in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47 (1985).

Read more less

Torah is a topic of keen interest among scholars of the Bible and Second Temple Judaism. The Hellenistic age especially witnessed an undeniable textual pluriformity of not only the Pentateuch (Torah), but of a host of other works concerned with traditions of authoritative "teaching" or "instruction" ( torah ) that was related in complex ways to books that would become part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Second Temple period, the term torah was thus a robustly multivalent term, deployed in discourses emerging from different contexts, and toward a range of rhetorical ends. The essays in this volume employ a plethora of methodologies to offer innovative studies of a range of early Jewish literature - including texts from the Hebrew Bible, the so-called Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint - that is concerned in different ways with Torah/ torah .

Read more less