Most professors loathe the use of smart phones, tablets, and computers in the classroom for updating social networks. Instead of banning them, why not use these sources for advancing classroom topics? The social network Twitter can be a great tool for student to student and professor to student communication about classroom discussion topics. Through the use of hashtags (#), the class can create a journal of the learning experiences. Twitter can be used in the classroom for building a knowledge base of information through group projects. It can also be used for backdoor discussions that allow students to help other students with common information that the professor would otherwise have to answer. Outside the classroom Twitter can provide continued forum for discussion of the day’s topic. Pedagogically, Twitter serves to enhance the learning experience in several ways. First it allows students to teach students minor information which allows the class to stay on task. Second it allows instant feed back from students that might not vocally engage in the classroom, Third it allows the conversation to continue beyond the classroom environment.

Analysis of the structure of the story of Solomon in Surat al-Naml (27), using Semitic Rhetorical figures, uncovers layers of meaning that are otherwise not evident. This analysis of Solomon's encounters with the ant, the hoopoe, and the Queen of Sheba reveals three types of reactions to various messages. A parallel symmetry is formed by repetition of derivatives of *na?ara* (looking, examining), highlighting the theme of rational response. Solomon "investigates" the veracity of the hoopoe's report on the idolatry of the Queen of Sheba. The Queen's council trust her "to evaluate" the entire situation. And the Queen "looks into" Solomon's truthfulness. A concentric symmetry places the ant at the center, highlighting her willingness to give this Prophet the benefit of the doubt. Framed by a series of stories that depict people's forthright rejection of their messengers, Solomon’s story appears to denote that rationality and spirituality cross gender and species lines.

According to the deuteronomistic frame of Deuteronomy Dtn 5:23-6:3 argues that after the Decalogue the teachings of Deuteronomy were revealed to Moses at mount Horeb as a basic text of the Covenant of Moab. Thus the text offers an alternative narrative to account of Exod 20:18-21 and the revelation of the Covenant Code. Dtn 18:16-22 adds a third version of that story, stating that God promissed to raise up a prophet to pronounce the commandmends in future. It is obvious that there are several links between this text and the Book of Jeremiah (cf. Dtn 18:18/Jer 1:9) and for the formula „to speak in the name of the LORD“ (cf. Dtn 18:19) an equivalent evidence in the Hebrew Bible is found in Jer 26:16 (cf. also Jer 11:21;20:9; (26:9); 44:16)! The formula must be understood in line with the criticism against prophets who prophecy falsely in the name of God (cf. Jer 14:14f; 23:25; 27:15; 29:21 a.o.). Whereas Dtn 17:8-13 relates to the written Torah that stands under the suveillance of levitical priests who „serve in the name of the LORD“ (Dtn 10:8; 18:5), Dtn 18:16-18 thus opens the perspective of an oral Torah under the surveillance of scribes who follow the prophet who „speaks in the name of the LORD“. Thus the non-Mosaic oral Torah of the Prophets becomes „the unwritten Text of the Covenant“. The lecture will investigate the literary-historical consequences of this notion, and it will put the question, if there exist any parallels for this development in the cultural milieu of the Achaemenid period.

Private enmity and private friendship seem at first glance to be at best marginal categories in Ancient Israel law. Supposedly inserted into a passage about trial rules, two brief cases refer to the escape of an enemy’s livestock and to an enemy’s donkey’s breakdown (Exod 23:4-5; ‘yb; cf. Deut 22:1-4). In passing, priestly homicide law alludes to enemies (Num 35:23; cf. ‘enmity’ V 21-22) and a broad command not ‘to hate’ a fellow countryman but ‘to love’ the sons of one’s people can be found in the Holiness Code (sn’ Lev 19:16). Notwithstanding this seemingly scattered evidence for enmity in codified law, this paper claims first that long term enmity designates the legally relevant social status between two individuals and, second, that this status of enmity has continuously gained influence in Biblical law. The paper traces back how private enmity between two individuals develops in the literary history of codified law and describes the evolving nature of the social status of enmity. Examples on the basis of which dispute settlement between private enemies can be imagined include injury law (Exod 22:1-2; Deut 19:1-12; Num 35:9-34), depository laws (Exod 21:34-22:14) and procedural law (Exod 23:1-8). Exemplary cases demonstrate the fundamental relevance of private enmity. I hypothesize an enmity ethos in Israelite Law and I extrapolate four basic aspects that characterize enmity as a distinct relationship between two individuals: the overt act requirement between two enemies; the flexibility and variation in the responses between two enemies; the reciprocity and escalation in the responses between two enemies; the transitivity and heritability of enmity. The results for enmity in codified biblical law will be compared with enmity as it is apparent in Greek forensic oratory (Demosthenes, Antiphon, Lysias).

The Task of African Biblical Hermeneutics In the past, attention has been on the definition and the application of African Biblical Hermeneutics to the biblical text, but not much, if any, has been paid to the actual broad and crucial task of African Biblical Hermeneutics. This paper intends to answer the important question of what is the task of African Biblical Hermeneutics. It is an important paper because without a clear discussion of what the tasks are, we may not have a clear road map to move forward and what to achieve. This paper will discuss critically, the task below and other tasks. Some of our tasks as scholars of African Biblical Hermeneutics include not only the understanding of the biblical text and discovering it as the word of God in our own reality, but also to understand God as the liberator of the oppressed and the marginalized. It is not only to put Africa and Africans and their culture at the center of the world of biblical scholarship by asserting African presence in the Bible, but also to interprete the bible existentially to facilitate the life of a community. It is not only to blacken? the Bible but also to challenge and correct the Eurocentric hegemony of making Western methods the only correct interpretation of the Bible. African Biblical Hermeneutics tries to discover our story and use it as a strategy for reading Prof. David Tuesday Adamo Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria. adamodt@yahoo.com

Luke and Rhetorical Education: The Role of the Progymnasmata and a Response to Recent Proposals

William F. Albright was not the original proponent of the theory of local texts popularized by Frank Moore Cross. It seems that credit for something akin to an original articulation of Cross’ theory should be given to Johann Gottfried Eichhorn in the late 18th century. The textual divergence in the text forms of Jeremiah inspired Eichhorn’s geographical theory as it continues to inspire current text critical theories of textual plurality. The popularity of Cross’ theory of “Geographical Recension” has apparently had its day. However, future literature must give the honor of originality for Cross’ theory of local texts to Eichhorn and no longer to Albright. Moreover, Eichhorn also created a sharp distinction in the text forms of the Septuagint and Massoretic Texts of Jeremiah that since his time has continued to heavily influence textual criticism of the book. Future text critical theories would benefit from the guidelines outlined by S. R. Driver in 1889, who suggests that a common Urtext of Jeremiah must be assumed for proper textual criticism to be done. It is apparent from the history of research that all text critical theories presuppose aspects of their argument and will usually find what they wish to find in the manuscript evidence. Finally, the text critic must ask himself if what he thinks occurred in the history of the Jeremiah transmission holds true for text traditions of other biblical literature.

The employment of the Septuagint in textual criticism of the Hebrew text presupposes backtranslation of elements of the Greek text into Hebrew. In many cases, it is easy to perceive a pattern followed by the translator, and this gives the backtranslation a high probability. There are however cases in which the translation shows no such pattern, and the translator may have been in difficulty trying to find a rendering for a certain, rare expression in his Vorlage. At times he has even given false renderings for Hebrew words and expressions unknown to him. How is it possible to deal with such cases? How is it possible to backtranslate a false rendering or reconstruct elements of the Vorlage that were inexplicable to the translator? One of the examples to be considered is 1 Sam 1:11.

This study will explore the role of Memory (Mnemosyne) in Greek rituals as part of the possible cultural matrix of Gentile followers of Jesus in Corinth. Mnemosyne played a key role in the cult of Asklepios (allowing remembrance of supplicants’ dreams and the resulting votives that honor the god for centuries), the oracle of Trophonius (proper preparation for encountering the god and calming ordering of the mind to recall the encounter and inscribe it for temple archives), and Bacchic mystery initiation rituals (allowing the initiates to remember the crucial rituals they experienced throughout the night of initiation). All of these rituals show the importance of Mnemosyne’s presence in extending the ritual effects of contact with the divine world and allowing one to order the chaotic and confusing thoughts resulting from the encounter with the divinity. For Paul, the Lord’s Supper in Corinth is a locus of social chaos and lack of understanding for the Corinthians. Analogous to the three rituals mentioned above, in Paul’s vision of the Lord’s Supper ritual, anamnesis functions to order this chaos, to clarify the proper way to understand the significance of the meal for the Corinthians, and to extend the encounter with Jesus and his death to present and future generations. Rather than arguing for the origins of the Last Supper ritual through the influence of surrounding cultural practices, this study posits the possible cultural knowledge of the Corinthians who participated in the Last Supper ritual, and the discussion of concurrent ritual practices in Greece is strictly for comparative purposes. When the Last Supper ritual is read in light of these other Greek rituals where memory plays a key role, it is clear that memory also resides at the center of the Last Supper as a key to the other aspects of the Corinthian ritual as envisioned by Paul.

The persuasive strategies of the Epistle to the Hebrews employ metaphors of travel, arrival, and entrance both to describe the work of Jesus in the world (earthly and heavenly) and to encourage its inscribed audience to maintain solidarity with Jesus. The quotation of Ps 40:6-8 on Jesus’ lips in Hebrews 10 announces not only his “arrival” to do God’s will, but also emphasizes the “body prepared” in place of the sacrificial offerings of the Israelite cult. This paper examines the spatial mapping of Hebrews in order to understand the semiotically complex landscape through which Jesus and the audience journey. It attends particularly to the erasure and re-inscribing of meaning within this landscape in relation to patterns of sacrifice, offering, and ritual presence. It argues that the argument of Hebrews places Jesus’ suffering body within this landscape and thus redefines the landscape of meaning through which the audience moves. Building on my earlier work that develops a reading of Hebrews within the cityscape of Flavian Rome, it proposes that Hebrews is thus deploying a conceptual reimagining of the ritual, sacrificial, and monumental space of the city of Rome in order to create a compelling vision of “the city that is to come” (Heb 13.14).

Since the beginning of Christianity one of its main doctrinal aspects was virginity or sexual abstinence. The spiritual life involved the purity of the body according to the Sacred Scriptures, a style of life which many Christian people followed. They were differentiated from the rest of the Christians community by their titles or designations. Terminology used in papyri of early Christian times allow the identification of women who had consecrated their lives to the Christian religion. This paper will examine the terms which refer to virginity and virgins, to observe their involvement and development in Christian society.

This paper examines a fragmentary Coptic Psalms testimonia collection (see C.W. Hedrick, Journal of Coptic Studies 8 [2006]: 1-41) in the context of early Egyptian monasticism. The CPT lists approximately thirty events from Jesus’ life; each event is paired with a Psalms quotation understood as a prophetic witness (testimonium) to that event. Of special interest is the CPT’s quotation of Christian additions to Ps 96:10 (“on the wood”) and Ps 51:7 (“by the blood of the wood”), additions also witnessed in the Coptic Psalter. The collection is creedally structured, focusing on Jesus’ birth, his passion and death, and his resurrection, ascension, and heavenly enthronement. The CPT’s texts and interpretations show close affinities with catechetical works such as Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical Lectures and Rufinus’ Commentary on the Apostolic Creed. This paper locates the CPT’s quotations and interpretations within a wider early Christian interpretive tradition (including Origen, Diodore, and Athanasius) that focused on identifying the speaker in each Psalm. Applying the testimonia literally to events in Christ’s life, the CPT eschews both Origen’s spiritual interpretations and Diodore’s focus on historical context. Given its provenance at Antinoë and its exclusive use of Psalms, this paper suggests that the CPT was composed as a catechetical tool for novices in the monasteries associated with Pachomius or Shenoute. A monastic setting is also suggested by two quotations that conflate passages from different Psalms; these may derive from liturgical hymns (e.g., the hermeniai) composed in the monasteries by blending Psalm excerpts. With its focus on prophecies literally fulfilled in the life of Christ (including his virgin birth, the flight to Egypt, his burial, and his bodily resurrection), the CPT fits well in the historical context of Shenoute’s struggle against the docetic Christologies of Origenist and gnostic interpreters.

It is accepted that the author of Matthew utilizes the Mosaic tradition and, in particular, frequently references Deuteronomy. However, Matt 9:33 has never been identified as one of these references. I propose reading the passage, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel,” as a reference to Deut 34:10, “Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses...”. This assertion is based on how the passage was redacted from Mark, the frequency and manner of Matthew’s use of Deuteronomy, the context in which it is used and other uses of the superlative evaluation. All of this serves to further the Mosaic motif, increase the conflict between Jesus and his pharisaic opponents, and place Jesus among the great figures of Jewish history.

To say with Émile Bréhier that the Legum Allegoriae are "the most important for knowing Philo’s ideas” is as true as to say that these treatises are “the most important for knowing the intellectual and religious personality of their author”, as Claude Mondésert quotes and comments in the introduction to his translation in French (Legum Allegoriae I-III, Paris: CERF, 1962, p. 15). And, if that is clear through a philosophical reading of their contents, is it not even clearer through the rhetorical analysis of each unit in their allegorical interpretation of the biblical text? I hope to demonstrate in my paper that Philo’s exegetical exposition of Genesis 2:1-3:19 clearly reflects the influence of ancient rhetorical theory, both in terms of argumentative structures of interpretation, and in terms of strategies of persuasion, in order to implant understanding in those who are without knowledge. And I will do it, analyzing some relevant passages of these three works of Philo, in light of the main patterns of argumentation taught by rhetoricians and sophists in his cultural milieu. It is, in fact, my conviction that Philo makes prolific use of the canons of rhetoric taught in the paideia schools of his time, to disclose and prove the philosophical ideas he saw in the text, putting rhetoric’s patterns of argumentation at the service of his exegetical exposition, mainly in the allegorical interpretation of Scripture.

The women in Luke’s gospel account provide a constant, though often silent, backdrop to the story of Jesus’ life, death, and ministry that Luke tells. This paper employs a narrative critical approach to present these women, introduced in Luke 8:1-3, as companions of Jesus according to an accompaniment model. It explores the warrants for and implications of this accompaniment through an examination of the context and placement of Luke 8:1-3 within Luke’s narrative, the grammatical structure of this text as a paratactical sentence, and the function and purpose of the summary genre through which it is conveyed. It then contrasts this strong accompaniment theme with the complete abandonment of Jesus by all of his disciples, including the women, at the cross. The paper pursues this incongruity within the narrative framework in order to understand the complete solitude of Jesus on the cross. This solitude can only be understood in the context of the assumed, multifaceted accompaniment of the women at every other point in Jesus’ ministry. That Jesus was accompanied, instead, at that crucial point only by two criminals who were forced by their own limited circumstances further emphasizes this fissure. However, Luke’s narrative does not end with Jesus on the cross. Rather, this moment of incongruity highlights the role of Luke’s women as companions of Jesus throughout his ministry. In this way, the embodied ministry of presence that is central to both Jesus’ proclamation and to the early church is reclaimed. In light of this, this paper argues that the women in Luke 8:1-3, especially Mary, Joanna, and Susanna, while relatively flat and undeveloped individually in the narrative, are therefore crucial to an understanding of the progression and importance of the narrative as a whole. Through their embodied example, readers are able to experience what it is like to “be with” Jesus and are also encouraged to join in the broadly understood service that this ministry entails.

According to D. J. Wiseman, the arrangement of divine names in the curse section of Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty (SAA 2 6:414-465) defied his expectations after the first five names. The sequential arrangement of the remaining divine names can be explained, however, in light of the curses associated with each god and in light of lists of divine names found in other Assyrian documents. Moshe Weinfeld observed that the sequence of the five curses found in SAA 2 6:419-430 resembles that found in Deuteronomy 28:26-33 and proposed that these two texts shared a common Neo-Assyrian curse tradition. Aside from the Deuteronomist’s expected elimination of Mesopotamian divine names from the curses, the most notable difference between these two texts is the placement of the curse against the transgressors’ corpses in their respective arrangements. In Deut 28:26, the corpse curse is the first of five curses, but in SAA 2 6:425-427, it is the third. Jeffrey Tigay surmises that the biblical author rearranged these curses in order to impose a chiastic structure on the curses in vv. 23-42 as he had done previously in vv. 3-13. This paper argues for the opposite of the above scenario: one in which the author of SAA 2 6 modified the traditional arrangement of curses. He did this so that the divine names Sin and Šamaš would precede Ninurta. As a result of this rearrangement, SAA 2 6’s presentation of the curses and their corresponding gods in ll. 419-430 conforms to the expected divine hierarchy attested in other Assyrian documents and elsewhere in SAA 2 6 (i.e., high gods, warrior gods, and goddesses). This suggested rearrangement also provides a key that prevented Wiseman from unlocking the connection between the first five divine names in this curse list with Venus, Jupiter, and the remaining ten divine names.

This paper will review J.S. Kloppenborg's, 'The Formation of Q', with particular reference to how its ideas have been employed in different reconstructions of the historical Jesus.

In the autumn 124, Hadrian undertook an extensive tour of the Peloponnese which lasted until March 125, when he was back in Athens. His presence at Corinth is tentatively assigned by Birley to early 125, on his way back to Athens. Coins with an imperial galley on the reverse and the legend ADV(entus) AVG (usti) might attest Hadrian’s visit at Corinth. If they are dated to 124/125 AD, then they provide a good clue to the chronological sequence of the coinage. The choice of the galley seems however strange, as Hadrian’s tour was by land, unless he decided, when he was returning to Athens, to sail from Pylos to Corinth (and visit first Olympia, though evidence for a visit there is lacking). From Pausanias (II, 3, 5), we know Hadrian’s benefactions to Corinth: an aqueduct and baths. But, more important, Corinth was granted ateleia, that is freedom of taxation, during his reign. The city was paying the normal taxes, both tributum soli and tributum capitis to the central government when Cn. Cornelius Pulcher obtained ateleia for the colony. It means that the status of Corinth changed as the « ateleia provided the same fiscal privileges as those which resulted from possession to the ius Italicum ». Pulcher was a prominent citizen of Epidauros, patron of Corinth, who was, during the reign of Hadrian, appointed priest of Hadrian Panhellenios and Panhellenic archon. When was the ateleia granted? This grant can be linked with the representation on the coinage of a silenus identified as Marsyas. This figure was a symbol of civic freedom. As this type is linked with portraits which can be dated from the first part of Hadrian’s reign, it is possible that ateleia was granted during Hadrian’s visit in 124/5.

The prevalence of disabling visual disorders effected the quality of life and the behavior of individuals and groups in ancient Israel, and the phenomenon of blindness elicited a range of understandings that have been preserved in the Hebrew Bible. This paper applies comparative epidemiology and literary criticism (1) to describe the categories of visual impairment and estimate the incidence and burden of disease in ancient Israel and (2) to enrich the interpretation of relevant texts in the Hebrew Bible.

According to my point of view, most of the book of Judges was written and edited on the basis of northern traditions in Judah at the end of the eighth cen. BCE or the beginning of the seventh cen. I have adhered to this view for more than twenty years, from the time I wrote my dissertation that was published as The Book of Judges: the Art of Editing (Leiden: Brill, 1999). This paper draws upon my recent article: "The Book of Judges – Dating and Meaning" in Homeland and Exile: Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of Bustenay Oded (Leiden: Brill, 2009). In my presentation I shall reexamine the evidence for the position that the book of Judges represents the beginning of history writing in Judah, and is the product of intellectuals who reacted to the Assyrian conquests of the eighth cen., and particularly to the fall of the northern kingdom (722 BCE).

The account of the commissioning of Joshua in Num 27:12-23 and that of Joash’s ascent to the Judah’s throne in 2 Chr 23:1-21feature the late reformulation of potentially disparate textual traditions. Notably, Eleazar (Num 27:15-23) and Jehoiada (2 Chr 23:1-12) figure prominently in the narratives as the key sacerdotal agents to legitimate the succession of the subsequent leader of the Israelites. The question then arises as to what extent the Priestly characterization of these high priests coincides and what theological emphasis such a textual revision achieves. A careful evaluation of the Priestly interpolations of the both texts (Num 27:12-23 and 2 Chr 23:1-21) indicates that the status of the high priest is consistently upheld over the military/political leader of the Israelites and the Levites. In the succession narrative of Num 27:12-23, the emerging picture is not the diarchic leadership of Joshua and Eleazar modeled after that of Moses and Aaron. In fact, Eleazar assumes the religious capacity of Aaron as the high priest, while remaining superior to Joshua by playing a mediating role between YWHW and Joshua. In this way, the perceived hierarchy of Moses, Aaron, and the Levites is to an extent reversed through the conspicuous claim on the priestly supremacy in the narrative. The Priestly rendition of Jehoiada’s rise in 2 Chr 23:1-21 is instructive in this regard. The analysis reveals that the tradents reworked the deuteronomistic base text in 2 Kgs 11:4-21 to heighten Jehoiada’s priestly status— especially over the military/political leader and the Levites—by means of a number of distinctive literary rearrangements, including the employment of the hithpael conjugation of ??? in connection to Solomon’s reign. These findings enlighten the nature of the embedded rhetoric in the biblical tradition attributed to the Second Temple Period and provide insights into the exegetical and theological heritage of the group that stands behind the text during the Persian period.

This paper will explore the use of the Bible in seventeenth century Ireland, specifically as depicted in the 1641 Depositions. This collection, containing roughly 19,000 pages of testimony from English and Scottish settlers at the time of the 1641 rising by Irish Catholics, recounts a formative and contested time in Ireland. One theme that recurs within these depositions has to do with the Bible. Interestingly, the Bible is rarely, if ever, quoted in these depositions. Rather, there are numerous reports relating to the material Bible, whether it is used in the swearing of oaths (usually by Protestants), or in relation to its desecration by burning, defacement, and destruction (always reported to have taken place at the hands of Catholics as part of broader hostilities toward Protestants). Bearing in mind serious historiographical and ideological questions concerning these documents, these testimonies nonetheless highlight important issues regarding the perception and use of the Bible beyond that of a semantic and performative text in the seventeenth century. Indeed, the references to the Bible in this collection point to another dimension of sacred texts: that of their materiality and related iconic status. As such, the notion that sacred texts have an iconic dimension will be used heuristically as a way to explore the material Bible in the 1641 Depositions, the differing conceptions of the Bible displayed by Catholics and Protestants, and in turn how this might shape our understanding of the ways in which scriptures function in both historical and contemporary contexts.

The newly founded non-profit organization the Center for Study & Preservation of the Majority Text (CSPMT) based in Washington, D.C. is establishing itself as a leading textual research center including the study of Greek New Testament manuscripts, editions and related litugical books. In this paper, Paul Anderson President of CSPMT will examine the (Antoniades) Greek Orthodox New Testament and lectionary texts comparing their history, textual characteristics and traditions within the Greek Orthodox Church. Since 1904, the Antoniades Greek New Testament has been the official New Testament text of the Greek Orthodox Church. Also, the liturgical books known as lectionaries form an important part in the liturgy and worship within the Church. The Antoniades New Testament and the Euaggelion-Apostolos lectionaries history and textual charecteristics have remained largely untapped and without scholarly examination for nearly a century. This paper will examine the two textual traditions attempting to fill this void of in the study of the Bible's role within the Greek Orthodox Church.

Sometime in the spring of 251, Cyprian of Carthage announced that several eucharistic disasters had taken place in his town. Some lapsed Christians, he claimed, had attempted to receive the eucharist but found their efforts frustrated when the consecrated food instead choked them, induced vomiting, set itself on fire, or dissolved into ash. After 1 Cor 11:29-30, these are the earliest references to the eucharist physically harming its recipients. This paper explores how Cyprian used the discourse of a self-policing, sacrificial eucharist to control the boundaries of his congregation in the aftermath of the Decian persecution. Specifically, it focuses on three aspects of his treatise “On the Lapsed.” First, unlike Christian writers before him, Cyprian does not hesitate to say that Christians sacrifice, and in a context of forced imperial sacrifice, this is striking. Second, Cyprian presents a eucharist that is active, violent, and self-policing. It is its own guard dog, sniffing out and attacking intruders. Third, the eucharist, the lapsed, confessors, martyrs, and their interactions are overwhelmingly described in terms of bodily integrity and dismemberment. Both the eucharist and the Christian assembly are called the “body of Christ” by Cyprian, and thus the regulation of either can be portrayed as the defense of a body from assault. I argue that these three aspects of Cyprian’s discourse attacked from different angles the problems he faced in controlling the Carthaginian Christian community during the so-called controversy over the lapsed. The familiar ritual act of consuming the body and blood of Christ provided him with a concrete discursive space in which he could assert his authority unimpeded. In short, by setting up a situation of competing sacrifices in which the only real actors were Christ and the lapsed, Cyprian avoided challenging his rivals (the martyrs) directly, attempted to elevate himself to the status of a martyr, and exerted a panoptic pressure on his congregation, effectively creating the category of the lapsed and ensuring its maintenance.

This paper explores the purpose of the Qumran Book of Giants (BG). After an introductory discussion of the composition’s provenance (endorsing a date in the early to mid 2nd century BCE, perhaps in Palestine), the study considers unique aspects of the work vis-à-vis the larger corpus of early Enochic lore in an attempt to determine the underlying purpose of its composition. The interpretive cue is taken from two central and peculiar aspects of BG: First, BG is the only known Enochic work written from the perspective of the giants. Second, there is a pronounced emphasis on the destructive crimes of the giants and particularly on how their impending judgment is revealed directly to them through dream-visions. Previous research has accounted for these details within the framework of an etiological approach to the myth of the giants. For example, one prominent interpretation views the emphasis on the irreversible judgment against all of the giants as a polemical response to certain Hellenistic-Jewish traditions of the mid 2nd century BCE according to which some giants survived the flood and mediated culture to humanity. The insistence of BG that the giants were informed of their own doom is taken as espousing a conception of the post-flood giants (the disembodied spirits inhabiting the world of the audience) as defeated powers who had already suffered a decisive setback in the Urzeit and who were fully cognizant of their vast inferiority to the power of God. Given the multivalent character of the apocalyptic symbolism of BG, this study argues that the above interpretation is to be supplemented by a paradigmatic approach to the myth. According to this option, the myth projects a perceived historical crisis to the mythological plane as a paradigm for the judgment of real historical oppressors and the vindication of the oppressed audience. Given the likely provenance of BG in the 2nd century, the violence of the giants would represent that of the Seleucids. (The attribution of the Babylonian names Gilgamesh and Hobabish to the giants is consistent with an attitude of hostility toward Mesopotamian-Hellenistic figures of power.) The revelation of doom-judgment to the giants would reflect the belief that the Seleucid oppressors would be humbled by their awareness of their ultimate fate. The paper suggests that this is to be related to the motif of the humbling of arrogant oppressors through the revelation of their inferiority to God, which is well-attested in Second Temple literature (e.g., Daniel 2, 4, 5), and which appears explicitly in connection with Antiochus IV in 1 and 2 Maccabees. The paradigmatic approach thus suggests that a major motivation of the author of BG in his reworking of earlier Enochic traditions (especially BW) lies in his desire to respond to Seleucid oppression. This invites further comparison of BG with the Daniel material, with which the paper concludes.

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The rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement has unleashed a challenge to wealthy multi-national corporations and individuals. In particular it has highlighted a dangerous consolidation of food sources and, in response, a call for an “occupation” of the food supply by reclaiming the “commons” (natural resources that should belong to everyone). A similar movement is needed in 9th century BCE Israel as described in 1Kgs 17- 2 Kgs 9. When Ahab marries the Phoenician Jezebel, trade between these two nations and access to each other’s wealth and cultural values open even wider. In addition, the monarchy consolidates power by controlling the nation’s food supplies. By law Israel’s land and resources are gifts to the people from God, or “the commons.” However, Ahab and Jezebel’s hunger for agricultural land and international power lead to a system of unequal food distribution that becomes exacerbated by the famine and droughts (1 Kgs 18:1-2). During these crises, Jezebel feeds 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah (1 Kgs 18:19) presumably at the expense of her people. Meanwhile, Ahab strives to keep his horses fed and watered (1 Kgs 18:5) perhaps because of the power these horses give him in matters of state, but also because horse dung appears to play a role in food production as fertilizer and fuel for much needed food to maintain his elite lifestyle. Water is diverted away from thirsty people to supply the irrigation system needed to grow the, perhaps, egotistical and impractical garden Ahab plants at the confiscated site of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kgs 21). Vineyards grow much more successfully in parched ground than vegetables. This paper will examine how Ahab and Jezebel’s monopoly of ecological resources threatens the welfare of their people and the sustainability of Israel’s resources that parallels today’s environmental threats.

The biblical dietary laws on prohibition of consumption of pork as stated in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are very well known and serve as a hallmark of biblical and rabbinical Judaism. However, the reasons and motivations for these laws are still elusive and conjectural. Many attempts to explain these laws were made during the past centuries, but none with a compelling theory. This presentation is different from the conventional attempts since it is not based only on texts or sociological models, but it uses archaeological and contextual approaches. The excavations at Bethsaida and other sites may serve as a clue to understand this prohibition. These excavations revealed sacrificial high places in which only “kosher” animals were sacrificed while the populations of these places were not Israelites and consumed pork. Bethsaida, for example, a none- Israelite city, did not have to comply with Leviticus and Deuteronomy and indeed, research shows that pork made about 8% of the meat consumption. Yet, the sacrificial high place at Bethsaida yielded only “kosher” animals. The contextual approach suggests viewing the larger picture of deities in the ancient world. Ancient gods and goddesses were divided into two main groups. The upper gods who reside on the surface of the earth and up to the farthermost extend of heaven and the lower, chthonic gods who dwell under the surface of the earth. Each group of deities had different role, different diet and different sacrifice. While upper gods were the creator gods and were responsible for the weather, sun, and justice; the domain of the chthonic gods included death and rebirth, revival, and fertility. Their diet or sacrificial animals was accordingly different, while upper gods enjoyed sheep, cattle and deer, chthonic gods prefer pigs and rabbits. In the process of immitatio dei worshippers in the polytheistic religions sacrifice and consume the food of the deities for whom they sacrificed. In the monotheistic religions when the one and only god is an upper god, the diet of the worshipper in this process is naturally limited to “kosher” animals only.

A critical review of J.S. Kloppenborg's 'The Formation of Q'.

Many years ago , H. J Cadbury (The Style and Literary Method of Luke, 1920), noted that with regard to editorial changes made by Luke, “in some cases . . . the change is quite contrary to the apparent preferences of Luke” (p. 188). Cadbury noted five instances of Lucan aorist tenses in parallel with perfect tenses in Mark (p. 163), although he could have added three more to his list (Cf. Lk. 8.39, 8.47, and 9.7 and the parallels with Mark). These eight examples illustrate an important point, because Luke almost never gives an aorist reading compared with Matthew (the one exception is Matt. 26.75). Luke commonly gives perfect tenses for Matthean aorists. Apparently, it never occurred to Prof. Cadbury that the Markan editor could have been practicing the same changes on Luke that Luke employed on Matthew (or Q). To address this matter of the spread of perfect tenses in the synoptic gospels, I enlisted the help of Bible Works 8, and with comparative ease compiled all occurrences of perfect tenses in the synoptics, and constructed some conclusions of my own. The data shows that Mark never employs an aorist tense (with same verb) if either or both Matthew and Luke employ a perfect tense. Mark never employs a perfect tense in common with Matthew and against Luke. With the pertinent date drawn from Bible Works 8, a strong case can be made for the Griesbach hypothesis, i.e., both Luke and Mark edited Matthew, and Mark edited both Matthew (or Q) and Luke.

It is known that Paul’s polemic against the Torah is strong and clear in the series of his arguments in Gal. 3-4. But when it comes to the ethical section in Gal. 5-6, many understand that he tones down his polemic against the Torah. For example, one finds such expressions (in NASB) as, ‘the whole law is summed up (peplêrôtai) in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”’ (5.14), or ‘There is no law against such things (kata tôn toioutôn)’ (5.23). The positive reading of such expressions on the Torah have led some interpreters to suppose that the whole ethical section as a later interpolation. While such a suggestion found only a few supporters, recent commentators regard the expressions by Paul as a ‘shock’ or an ‘extreme paradox.’ However, it seems that not enough attempts have been made to re-evaluate the possible nüances that Paul might have sought to communicate with these expressions, especially in light of the larger context of the epistle. This general tendency has its implications. One of which is that the rather positive reading of the Torah statements in Gal. 5-6 among the western academic communities directly and immediately affect the way the chapters are translated into the language of the presenter so much so that the epistle as translated in the language sounds as if it is quite contradicting itself. In the presentation, therefore, the presenter will take a close look at such expressions as ‘peplêrôtai’ and ‘kata tôn toioutôn’, in order to seek to bring out nüances different from the ordinary understanding of the verses. As the result, it will be suggested that Paul is NOT positive about the Torah in the ethical section, and that he is quite consistent in the entire epistle in his polemic against the Torah.

By drawing on recent research and a careful assessment of ancient textual and archaeological evidence, this paper will focus on the ways in which the letter of Ephesians constructs the so-called “identity” of non-Jewish peoples. Frequently, theology and theologically motivated constructions of history (supersessionism) have colored many attempts to understand the letter. This paper will argue that the author of Ephesians does not construct an elaborate scenario of an ethnic transformation involving Jews and gentiles. The letter has little to say about the Jews and virtually nothing about how they are reconstructed. Rather, through an elaborate ethnogenetic argument it constructs the status of a sub-set of gentiles who constitute the “faithful in Christ Jesus” by establishing kinship bonds, articulating their status with respect to their new deity, relating a foundation myth, and implementing guidelines of normative behavior.

The term glh refers to the expulsion or migration of people from their land. The land of refuge is called galut. The use of this term reflects the people’s perception that they are removed from their homeland. Though these are simple observations they do not reveal a full theological outlook that can be found in various biblical texts. I propose to demonstrate the idea that even people who remained in the Land still felt in exile. The concept of exile in many biblical passages refers to a situation of a break in the covenantal relationship between God and the people. The exile of the people was a result of this unstable relationship. Thus people who remained in the Land, felt in exile as well, because they believed that God rejected them. The question of exile, depends less on the place of residence than their perception of the covenantal relationship with God. This idea will be explored within texts that were written in the exilic period by or for the Judean community that continued to reside in Judaea.

In the canonical gospels the apostles appear to be afflicted with persistent doubts, even after the resurrection. Though they do so in diverse ways, Matthew, Luke, and John all point out the presence of doubt or unbelief in response to the resurrection of Jesus. This paper will explore the reception or reuse of these post-resurrection doubt traditions in the Nag Hammadi corpus and other "gnostic" writings. Two trends will be examined: 1) a tendency to use the doubt to criticize the apostles as representatives of a competing (proto-orthodox) tradition, and 2) a pattern of exploiting the doubt as an opportunity to expound and promote gnostic doctrine—including, among other things, a docetic understanding of the resurrection. Counter trends that defend or downplay the doubts of the apostles in anti-gnostic and anti-docetic writers will also be considered. The presentation will conclude with some implications for historical-critical interpretation of the canonical resurrection narratives.

This paper will examine the complex problems involved in using the term "magic" as a heuristic term for analyzing certain aspects of religious phenomena in the ancient world. The author will focus on a critique of one of the more comprehensive recent discussions of the phenomenon of "magic" in antiquity: Marco Frenschkowski, "Magie," Reallexikon fuer Antike und Christentum, Band XXIII (Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 2010), cols. 857-957.

In media and popular imagination Bolivia is often synonymous with snow-capped Andes mountain ranges, coca leaf, and indigenous politics. Nevertheless, nearly two-thirds of Bolivia consists of hot and steamy low lands. Eastern Bolivia or El Oriente, as it is locally known, has its distinct culture(s) and customs that are considerably different from the Andes mountain range and the central valleys. Easter Bolivians generally use the word Camba as a self-designation despite the highly ambiguous character of the term (Waldman 2008). Cambas characterize themselves as care-free, hospitable, and happy people in contrast to their rigid and hard-working compatriots. Nevertheless, despite the fact that the city of Santa Cruz in the east has become the number one economic center of the country, numerous people in Oriente live in abject poverty. In addition to this, government corruption and the lack of basic services make life difficult for many even within cities. Despite these difficulties, many people in the local Christian communities try to maintain the care-free and happy Camba outlook on life. This presentation will attempt to give a Camba reading on the classic gospel text “Do not Worry” in this highly ambivalent context. The method employed in the reading is empirical hermeneutics. The researcher spent nine months listening to the readings and interpretations of the poor and marginalized Camba Pentecostals and Evangelicals both in the slums of the city of Santa Cruz and in a small village which lacks basic water supply. The readings were recorded and supplemented by interviews and participant observations.

Socio-rhetorical criticism has been used to argue that the Pauline epistles exhibit more anti-slavery sentiments than what may be apparent. In particular, Ben Witherington, in a number of works (e.g., The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and Ephesians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles [2007]; The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament [2010]), argues that Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon must be read in the context of three orders of moral discourse in which familiarity between the author and the audience helps determine the level of frankness used in criticism of slave holding. In addition, Witherington (The Letters to Philemon…, p. 63) argues that Philemon uses the technique known as insinuatio by which author begins any criticism or plea “indirectly so as not to offend or anger the audience and then in the peroratio to pull all the emotional stops and make one’s appeal boldly and directly.” This paper will critique the methodology and conclusions of such socio-rhetorical analysis of the Pauline epistles. In particular, it will demonstrate that Witherington’s a socio-rhetorical analysis: 1) Misreads, in some crucial cases, the classical rhetoricians cited for support; 2) Depends on a flawed homogenization of the directives found in disparate classical sources; 3) Minimizes the flexibility of rules exhibited in the actual letters written by classical theorists of rhetoric, and especially Cicero; and 4) Does not fully cohere with how Paul’s rhetorical techniques are characterized in the Pauline epistles (e.g., 1 Cor. 2:1-4; 2 Cor. 10:9-11). Finally, the paper shows how such a such socio-rhetorical analysis of Pauline epistles functions to mitigate a biblical author’s view of slavery rather than to illuminate how Pauline epistles actually applied any classical rhetorical theories.

One of the bitterest enemies of the Israelites that challenged them from the conquest of Canaan till the early monarchy period were the Philistines. They are mentioned mainly in the so-called "Deuteronomitic History" and some references are scattered throughout the Pentateuch, the Latter Prophets, and the Book of Chronicles. Some of the texts depict the Philistines with fear and hate. Josephus mentions the Philistines when he retells the biblical narratives from Joshua to Kings in his Antiquities of the Jews. He does not follow the biblical occurrences strictly, and he omits or gives an abridged version of some narratives in which the Philistines appear. My aim in this paper is to explore the ways in which Josephus constructs the Philistines' ethnic identity as "the others" in relation to his people. Exum (1993) views the Philistines in the Book of Judges as "permanently identified with otherness." This otherness is portrayed by means of binary opposition, "in which one side of the opposition is always privileged." As Faust and Lev-Tov (2011) show in their recent artlice, "ethnicity is too complex to be merely identified with a material or an archaeological culture." Thus, I shall show how Josephus' defines the Philistines through their titles (Palestinoi; Allophuloi, polemioi), their military behavior; their unique practices; and the overall relationship between them and the Israelites. In fact, these descriptions are needed for the self-definition of both Josephus and the people to which he belongs, the Ioudaioi. Circumcision may be deemed a differentiating factor, assuming that the Philistines did not use to circumcise themselves at least until the Iron Age II. If that is the case, how can we explain Josephus' avoidance of the term "the uncircumcised" when describing the Philistines? I shall also examine the question whether Josephus is projecting his Greco-Roman present into his retelling of the Philistines' past. Finally, I will compare Josephus's description of the Philistines to the way in which Greek and Roman authors viewed the Ioudaioi.

The Ugaritic expression “Baal son of Dagan” has been the subject of several studies which attempt to resolve the contradiction between the depiction of Baal as El’s son on the one hand and the expression “Baal son of Dagan” on the other. Despite the paucity of literary evidence, the majority of scholars have either identified Dagan with El or Baal, consequently attributing a single “real” father to Baal. In this paper I would like to suggest a new solution in light of the literary traditions preserved in the Hurro-Hittite texts – contemporary with Ugarit – and the development of these traditions in the writings of Philo of Byblos (1st–2nd centuries C.E.). Both these texts describe the storm-god as having two fathers: the grain-god (Kumarbi / Dagon) and the veteran god of the pantheon, the god of Heaven (Anu / Ouranus). Given the close relationship between Ugarit, the Hurrians, and the Phoenicians, it is difficult to regard this parallelism as coincidental.

Sacred Time in West Semitic Festival Calendars and the Dating of Leviticus 23

It was Nelle Morton who back in 1985 introduced the concept of ‘hearing one another into speech’. Although now an often cited, almost iconic metaphor within feminist theology, this provides an important challenge to feminist biblical hermeneutics within a global setting. The ‘good news’ of the Bible has often masked the bad news of western hegemony, heteropatriarchy, colonialism and white supremacy and there is considerable work still to do in order to unearth the voices of women and men buried beneath such dominant theological discourse. In response to this, this paper suggests that feminist biblical hermeneutics at the turn of the 21st century must principally be a matter of ‘hearing one another into speech’ so that women previously excluded from biblical interpretation are empowered to ‘name in their own way, their own oppression and suffering’ (Morton, 1985: 128). This though involves a radical and political act of listening across contexts so as to allow space for other voices to be heard ‘before speaking’ (1985: 205, emphasis mine). It means being prepared to accompany one another (from a myriad of global settings) towards liberation and to sit in ‘powerful silence’ (ibid), in full anticipation of being changed by the process. Although feminist theology has increasingly come to embrace a diversity of contextual approaches to reading the Bible, the art of ‘hearing each other into speech’ demands an especially radical commitment to listening in ways which evoke new speech and transform inherited traditions. It calls for a global dialogue in which previously marginalized readings of the Bible are not only valued but also engaged with one another so that the critical work of feminist liberation theology (c.f. Fiorenza, 1996) can be continued. As a genuine intercultural project, the task of ‘hearing one another into speech’ thus becomes an important device for working toward a critical feminist hermeneutics of liberation. It not only recognises that different women hear the ‘word’ of God in different ways (an increasingly common observation within feminist scholarship) – that, as Schroer argues, ‘every “context” involves a different “history with the Bible” that has shaped this context and that influences and will continue to influence the treatment of biblical texts’ (2003: 3), but that different contextual readings must speak to, critique and inform others in the pursuit of justice and liberation for all. This more greatly facilitates the exposure of the racist and colonial implications of Western-European hegemonic readings. Such intercultural learning, rather than relativizing interpretations of biblical texts so they are confined to particular socio-historic-political locations, insists that women from across contexts ‘listen to and obey each other’ (Ibid, 4).

Kathryn Blanchard and Jane Webster recently invited me to contribute to a forthcoming collection of biblical women's monologues prompted by Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. I accepted the invitation to give voice to Mary Magdalene’s story. This paper reflects on three aspects of that writing process: the implications of writing a first person account rather than third person description which is more typical of historical discourse; the challenges of using historical sources to narrate women’s embodied religious experience; and the narrative quality of a monologue that must both satisfy historical lacunae and represent various historical sources in a single plot-line.

A persistent but often unaddressed question in the study of biblical atonement concerns what use the scholar of the NT and early Judaism should make of his or her readings of the works of modern Hebrew Bible scholars who strive to recapture the original sense and logic of cultic atonement. This paper argues that beyond a greater appreciation of OT texts in their own right, such reading can sharpen historically oriented observation about the NT and early Jewish texts. The principle is illustrated with reference to Jacob Milgrom and Hartmut Gese. First, knowing Milgrom’s theology helps one to appreciate how little it is reflected in early Jewish sources. No known ancient Jewish or early Christian text unambiguously reflects on the significance that the application of sin-offering (hatta’t) blood to holy objects in the sanctuary has for the forgiveness (Leviticus 4) or cleansing (Leviticus 16) of Israelite worshipers. The Temple Scroll says that in the ideal temple the high priest will use the blood of the people’s sin offering on the Day of Atonement to “atone for all the people of the assembly” (11Q19 26:7, 9), but the text does not mention atonement for the sanctuary or the altar (cf. Lev 16:16, 18, 20, 33). The author of Hebrews comes closer to having “read” Milgrom in that he mentions blood on holy objects and forgiveness of persons in close proximity, but the connections are tenuous and must be supplied by the modern reader: “Indeed, under the law almost all things are purified (katharizetai) with blood [including the worship vessels just mentioned in v. 21?], and without the shedding of blood [for sprinkling on these things?] there is no forgiveness of sins [for people]” (Heb. 9:22). The differences between Milgrom and Gese might be summarized by the significance they give to the blood of the hatta’t: blood as “purging” the sanctuary (Milgrom) versus blood as providing symbolic “access” to the sanctuary for the Israelite people as represented by their high priest through his hand-leaning on the animal victim (Gese). Gese-like ideas are found in both Ephesians and Hebrews. Gentile believers are “brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13) and thus enjoy an “access” (prosagôgê, 2:18; 3:12) previously accorded only to members of the “commonwealth of Israel” (2:12). This echoes Paul’s idea of Jesus as the new “mercy seat (hilastêron) though faith” (Rom 3:25) with its implication of “access by faith into grace” (Rom 5:2). Similar images of cultically mediated access in Hebrews include “a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,” where Jesus made his journey for others (Heb. 6:19-20; cf. 9:24); “the entrance (eisodos) into the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus that he opened for us, as a new and living way (hodos) through the curtain” (10:19-20); and an invitation to “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (4:16, possibly alluding to the mercy seat of 9:5). Ultimately the cultic motifs emphasized by Gese are more constitutive for Hebrews than those of Milgrom.

Hebrew classrooms invariably contain students with facility in language learning sitting beside those who struggle to grasp even basic concepts. The teacher is challenged to meet the needs of this spectrum of ability without either discouraging or boring class members and within the parameters of a regular class session. Salman Khan developed a method of making short presentations on discrete aspects of mathematics in video clips of no longer than ten minutes. Students were able to master each concept by viewing and repeating as needed until they were able to proceed to the next higher concept. In this session we will explore how this method was used to teach an introduction to biblical Hebrew, using both on-line access to the presentations as well as face-to-face tutorial sessions.

In an attempt to recognize the common scriptural heritage shared by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as historical, cultural and theological linkages that prove fertile for comparative studies, scholars have adopted the term "Abrahamic." While there are advantages to using this shorthand, the term is highly problematic. This paper will explore the extent to which describing these religions as "Abrahamic" is a useful analytical tool for interrogating their complex relationship as a family of religions. In order to frame the discussion, it will consider ways in which scholars describe the relationship between Jewish, and Muslim scriptural and extra-scriptural sources, and will examine portrayals of Abraham’s discovery of God and rejection of idolatry in ancient and early medieval sources.

According to Exodus 12, the lamb-sacrifice that the Israelites are required to offer upon their exodus from Egypt is designated to serve as means of protection during the tumult of the plague of the firstborn, and the procedures it entails are distinctly and explicitly apotropaic. However, alongside the instructions for sacrificing the lambs in the specific context of the exodus and of the plague, the priestly author mandates that a commemorative ritual for the events of the exodus night – including the sacrifice – must be performed annually during the same time of the year henceforth. In the rabbinic tradition, the distinction between the sacrificial instructions unique to the night of the exodus and the instructions that apply to the commemorative annual ritual thereafter is known as a distinction between the “Passover of Egypt” and “the Passover of generations” respectively. The latter, as developed in rabbinic legislation, also includes a sacrificial offering of a lamb, but is devoid of all the features that mark this offering as apotropaic. Rather, the sacrifice in the “Passover of generations” is offered at the Temple, and is subject to most of the rules and regulations that pertain to other kinds of offerings. The discrepancy between the “Passover of Egypt” and “the Passover of generations” is a central theme of preoccupation in the tannaitic Midrash on the book of Exodus, the Mekhilta dRabbi Ishmael, as it is in other rabbinic texts. However, the homiletic trajectory that the creators of the Midrash adopt in grappling with this discrepancy is quite surprising. As I will show in this paper, rather than considering the sacrifice in Egypt to be the paradigm and the annual Passover sacrifice to be its modified replication, the homilists attempt to present the ritualized Temple sacrifice as the paradigm, and to project it back unto the “Passover of Egypt.” In other words, rather than the Temple sacrifice being presented as a reenactment of the Egypt sacrifice, the Egypt sacrifice is presented as a pre-enactment of the Temple sacrifice. This homiletic move is made through a systematic ritualization of aspects of the “Passover of Egypt” which were clearly designated for practical and/or apotropaic purposes, ultimately emptying out the “Passover of Egypt” from its one-time unique content. An analysis of this homiletic move can shed light, I suggest, both on rabbinic concepts of time and memory and on the rabbinic approach towards sacrifices and Temple-worship in the post-destruction era.

The question as posed comes from inter-textual ruminations in Job 7 and Psalms 8, with echoes of Genesis 1. Hebraic texts and traditions typically address the question by using theology to define and limit anthropological considerations: God is God; human beings are mortal; God’s knowledge and capacity surpass anything humans might question; thus, the proper role of humans is to accept, submit, and conform themselves to forbidden knowledge and limited participation in the affairs of God and the world. This paper puts these and other Hebraic texts in conversation with Hesiod and Aeschylus (on Prometheus), Goethe, Byron, and Shelley, as romantic interpreters who accented the laudable and necessary role of mortals in the cosmic drama of the gods, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which emphasizes the gruesome nature of the “noble savage,” who is impelled by the truest of motives to become an anti-hero in the debate about what it means to be created in the image of the creator. To submit willingly to the decrees of God (or the gods), or to construe defiance, when appropriate, as the “right worship” that defines what it means for humans to be in relationship with the divine? Such are the abiding, multi-faceted questions that press our understanding of how the human being relates to the divine.

Micah 6-7 contain an unusual number of intertextual allusions. In this paper I will explore these intertextual allusions and demonstrate that they create a greater degree of unity between Micah 6 and 7 than previous scholarship supposed. The theme of Micah 6-7 moves from judgment to hope for salvation, paralleling that same move in Micah 1-5. Previous scholarship on these chapters has recognized only a tenuous unity formed by the juxtaposition of disparate individual units. However, examination of the intertextual allusions in this text reveals an arc of intertextuality that uses references to the history of Israel to move from past judgment to hope for future salvation. These two chapters contain an unusual number of inner-biblical allusions. These references include both Moses and Abraham who appear as closely together only six other times outside of the Pentateuch (Josh 24:2-4; 1 Chr 15:15; 16:16; 2 Chr 30:6, 16; Neh 9:7, 14; Psalm 105; Isa 63:11-16). Mention of Moses or Abraham is very rare in the prophets—Abraham seven times and Moses five—only appearing together in Isaiah 63 and Micah 6-7. References to other parts of Israel’s story include: Exodus story (6:4; 7:15, 18, 19), to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (6:4), Balak, Balaam, Shittim, and Gilgal (6:5), Omri and Ahab (6:16), Assyria and Egypt (7:12), Bashan and Gilead (7:14), and finally to Jacob and Abraham (7:20). Mic 6:1-7:7 move the reader through the history of Israel’s failures and judgment from the Exodus to the divided monarchy. Then Mic 7:8-20 reverses the pattern by going backwards from the divided monarchy to the Exodus, and ending with hope for salvation in the oath sworn to Abraham. Many of the references in chapter 6 have parallels with those in chapter 7, enhancing the relationship between the two chapters.

It is widely accepted that Matthew presents Jesus as fulfilling Jewish eschatological expectations, particularly, Davidic hopes. However, although Jesus frequently speaks positively about his disciples’ participation in the cult in Matthew’s narrative (e.g., Matt 5:23-24), little attention has been paid to Matthew’s interest in Christ’s fulfillment of the cultic dimensions of Israel's hopes. In fact, ancient Jewish sources repeatedly express hopes not only for an eschatological temple but also for a reformed and/or new priesthood (e.g., Isa 66:21; Mal 3:3; Ezek 40:45-46; 1Q28b 3:22-23; CD 4:1-6). This paper will look at the way such expectations appear to relate to Matthew 16:16-19. To begin with we shall draw upon the work of scholars who have recognized “temple building” language in Jesus’ promise to “build the church” upon a “rock” (e.g., Zech 4:7-9)(e.g., Wright, Beale, Meyer, Davies and Allison). As others have noted, such imagery fits well with Matthew’s Davidic Christology. However, though the Davidic temple-building imagery is often caught, what is frequently missed is that Jesus’ description of Peter's role also seems to be linked with cultic traditions. As many scholars have noted, Jesus’ words appear to Peter echo the description of Eliakim in Isaiah 22 (e.g., Davies and Allison, Hagner, Willis). What is frequently overlooked is that this passage describes Eliakim as wearing garments usually associated with the high priest (cf. Isa 22:21 with Exod 28:4), an aspect of the passage not lost on Jewish readers (e.g., Tg. on Isaiah; b. Ta’an. 29a). In light of this we shall argue that this passage provides Jesus with the perfect quarry: if the church is a temple, its leadership is naturally described in terms of priestly responsibilities. Furthermore, the terminology of the “keys” may also have a cultic reference; keys were associated with the priests’ responsibilities (cf. 1 Chr 9:27; Josephus, C. Apion 2.108; m. Mid. 1.9; t. Šeqal. 2:25; b. Ta’an. 29a). Moreover, the language of “binding” and “loosing” also seems to cohere well with a priestly reading. Although the terminology may point in different directions, the most common interpretive options involve linking the language to activities most prominently associated with the priesthood (e.g., teaching, judging, mediating forgiveness of sins, etc.). Finally, we shall support our reading by looking at Matthew 19:29, where Jesus’ description of the disciples as those who have renounced kin and “lands” and thus will “inherit” eternal life, is best read against Levitical traditions, i.e., the Levites renounced kin (cf. Exod 32:29; LXX Deut 33:9) and received no land but instead were given a unique inheritance in the Lord (cf. Num 18:20, 23; Deut 10:9; 18:1–2; Neh 13:10). That next verse describes the apostles as the judges of Israel in the eschaton supports this priestly reading since judging Israel in the eschatological age was an activity especially associated with the priests (e.g., Ezek 44:23; 4Q161 VIII–X, 24–25). In sum, this paper will argue that Jesus identifies Peter as a high priestly figure who is given responsibility over the eschatological temple, the Church.

Various claims have been made about the production of early Christian literary documents and especially that the New Testament documents have been produced by copyist who are more at home in producing documentary texts. This paper will examine in particular the nature of the New Testament manuscripts from the perspective of the care, training and or ability of the copyist in their production. This exercise will in part involve examining letter formation in a selection of New Testament documents and the conclusions that are able to be drawn from that evidence as to the training and ability of the copyists.

This paper examines Isa 14:3–23 as a particularly clever example of parody in the Hebrew Bible. It persuades its audience to trust in YHWH’s authority over that of the mightiest human conquerors. It traces the ways in which the text takes the expected elements of a funeral lament (cf. 2 Sam 1:17–27) and turns it into a lyric celebrating the fall of a Babylonian tyrant. Essentially, this paper demonstrates how Isa 14:3-23 weaves together its rhetorical strategies in order to savagely lampoon the intended target and persuade its audience that YHWH stands above rival authorities. This text begins by looking forward to a day of release from trouble and turmoil and in doing so it calls upon the people of YHWH to adopt the following prophetic poem as their own (Isa 14:3–4a). It describes the agency of YHWH in the destruction of this figure (Isa 14:5–6). It then follows with a description of the gleeful response of nature and the underworld to his fall, which stands in stark contrast to the expected elements of a funeral lament (Isa 14:7–11)). The prophet then recapitulates the lament form and he connects this Babylonian king to a mythical figure (Helel ben Shahar) who trespassed on the realm of the divine and was struck down (Isa 14:12–15). The text makes this hubris explicit speaking as the tyrant himself and unmasking his claim on the divine realm before articulating once again his fall into the underworld. The text then details a mock funeral where attendees mock the tyrant’s corpse, rather than lamenting his passing (Isa 14:16–17). The text then describes the king’s fate in death, where he is treated like the poor and lowly and not given the acclaim normally awarded to the subject of a funeral lament (Isa 14:18–21). Finally, the poem gives the last word to YHWH who again emphasizes that it is through his agency and power that the tyrant becomes the subject of ruthless mockery (Isa 14:22–23). This paper then suggests that through the moves made in this oracle, the text presents a persuasive message concerning the posture that the people of YHWH are to adopt towards their conquerors. This prophetic oracle declares that ultimately YHWH will break them free from their bondage and that the tyrant who seems so powerful is powerless before YHWH.. The repeated references to YHWH as the cause of the tyrant’s fall and the cleverness of the parodied lament form are the key rhetorical strategies through which this prophetic oracle persuades its audience that YHWH’s authority extends over any human power.

Authors of several apocryphal works employ Deut 6:4-5 in their compositions, reinterpreting the message of Deut 6:4-5 within a new historical situation – often the Exile or the destruction of Jerusalem. Some of the authors attribute the nation’s woes to Israel’s failure to keep the commandments. They express the hope that repentance and obedience to the Law will reverse the Deuteronomic curses rightly imposed upon the nation and restore the people’s fortunes. Tobit and Sirach draw upon Deut 6:4-5 more extensively than the other apocryphal writings. While Sirach contains the only references to God’s oneness, both speak of “those who love God,” denoting those who fulfill their covenantal obligations, a phrase that appears in other works as well. Many Jewish writers in the Second Temple period struggle with the problem of theodicy arising from the Exile, and see the nation’s sin as its chief cause. They exhort their readers to repent and return to Torah observance in order to mitigate God’s punishment and restore the nation to the Land. Writers use key features of Deut 6:4-5 – hearing, love for God, the whole heart, soul, and strength – to motivate their fellow Jews to renew their commitment to God and the covenant in whatever land in which they reside. Sirach and Baruch draw upon traditions which associate wisdom with Torah. Fourth Ezra’s apocalyptic visions include a forceful call to the people to hear and obey the commandments. By utilizing Deut 6:4-5 and its connection to the Mosaic covenant, some seek to bring about an end to the Dispersion. In the case of 4 Ezra and Fourth Maccabees, the concern is to make sense of and alleviate the suffering incurred by the Destruction of 70 CE. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 was a text that was used to stimulate the corporate memory of the people, as it encapsulated their past, present, and future. In the past, YHWH had loved and redeemed Israel and required absolute fidelity to his commandments. In the present, the people suffered the consequences of disobedience – Exile and rule by foreign powers. In the future, if Israel heard and obeyed the ancient message and returned to YHWH with all their heart, soul, and strength, there was hope that they would be restored and renewed, that they would receive the promise of life once again. Across genres and generations, Deut 6:4-5 was a text that wielded power over the Jewish religious imagination. It was used in a variety of ways to explain suffering and national disaster, to maintain commitment to ancient teaching and law in foreign lands, and to provide hope that in so doing, the nation would be reunited in the land, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.

Paul’s proclamation in Athens has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention from a guild and a culture that traces its intellectual roots back to the philosophical schools of Athens and Greece. As a symbolic cultural progenitor, Athens is an important site. It is little surprise then that scholars find in Paul’s presentation of the gospel to the Athenians the encounter par excellence of the religious and philosophical traditions most central to the study of the New Testament. Scholars have tended to emphasize the universal dimensions of Paul’s proclamation at Athens, arguing that Luke’s Paul here engages in a philosophical discourse designed to encompass and persuade all peoples. By this, scholars assume that the distinctly Greek setting of Paul’s speech marks it as universal. In contrast, I contend that this scene is far more local than it is universal. While Greek heritage is a cultural touchstone for much of Western culture, Paul’s encounter with Greece does not necessarily mark it as a foundational moment in the narrative of Acts. The events of Acts 17:16-34 are more particular to the Athenian ethos constructed by Luke than it is transcendent of individual cultures and thus applicable to all. My argument is two-fold. First, Luke’s narration of the Areopagus events is yet another instantiation of his careful orchestration of vibrantly local scenes. That is, Luke highlights the unique features of Athens in order to emphasize this particular setting. Paul’s proclamation here is tailored to the peculiar character of Athens not the wider world. Second, Paul’s sermon trades on notions of ethnicity. If there is a broader proclamation present at the Areopagus, it is in the Lukan Paul’s strategic deployment of ethnic discourse. In other words, Paul’s speech deals directly with the proliferation of ethnic difference and how the endurance of ethnic difference is an integral component of God’s working among the nations. Thus, the encounter of Athenian curiosity and Pauline proclamation is yet another instance of Luke’s negotiation of the wide claims of the gospel in the diverse and particular communities of the ancient world. Luke does not posit that a single culture can encompass all the various peoples of the world or that the gospel can transcend the many ethnic and cultural differences that characterized the ancient world. Instead, intensely local instantiations of the gospel are the very means by which the nations hear the good news. At root, the proper vessel of the gospel in Acts is a distinctively ethnic discourse, not a universal word.

Idolatry plays a critical conceptual role within the book of Jeremiah, not least because it programmatically justifies YHWH's use of destructive force against Judah (1:16). However, idolatry is no simple, identifiable cultic act. Rather, Jeremiah's idolatry texts both presuppose and carefully manipulate the concept of idolatry. The audience is presumed both to have a conceptual category of 'elohim, to which YHWH and other deities belong, and to admit the possibility of offering cultic service to multiple members of the category. While accepting the formal equivalence of YHWH and other gods, Jeremiah's rhetoric carefully avoids ascribing any active reality to other gods. Furthermore, the rhetoric manipulates the idea of offering service to multiple deities through a wide variety of metaphors that transform such into exchanging YHWH for others, thus abandoning YHWH. This exchange concept is then used to impugn turning to other gods as an irrational exchange of the incomparable, invaluable, and inevitable YHWH for utter worthlessness. Finally, the concept of idolatry is expanded by drawing other activities--both political and moral--into the same conceptual space by also linking them to abandoning YHWH. Seeking political protection from the reigning empires or violating YHWH's moral law are both presented as rejecting YHWH, just like the heinous offense of idolatry. In such ways, these texts "create" the concept of idolatry, develop a logic that justifies its offensiveness, and fashion it into a flexible accusatory concept of the greatest gravity. This study of idolatry in Jeremiah considers texts from the three major genres of the book (poetry, biography, and sermon) and finally reflects on later Jewish and Christian reception of both the gravity and flexibility of idolatry as an offense against God.

Prosopopoiia, temporarily taking on a different character during a speech in order to persuade the audience, was a well-known rhetorical strategy in the New Testament era. Intriguingly, some of the some of the early fathers of the church, such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, employed prosopopoiia not in order to persuade their audiences, but as an exegetical technique—that is, as an excavative reading strategy—an observation which has generally eluded biblical scholarship. In other words, when reading the scriptures, Justin and Irenaeus assumed that a putative speaker such as Isaiah might not be speaking as Isaiah, but might rather be slipping into the guise of a different character, speaking from an alternative prosopon, and they sought to identify the true identity of this alternative speaking character while reading their scriptures. In this paper I will present the basic features of this excavative reading strategy, best termed prosopological exegesis, as described in the ancient sources. Then I will argue, partly on the basis of reception history in the early fathers, that we can better understand puzzling moments in the New Testament, such as Paul’s interpretation of Psalm 115:1 LXX in 2 Cor 4:13, when Paul’s prosopological technique is appreciated.

Revelatory experiences were instrumental in “driving and shaping” the veneration of Jesus in early Christianity. Hurtado notes the “demonstrable efficacy of such experiences in generating significant innovations in various religious traditions” (LJC, 65). If such revelatory events—i.e., “divine disclosures by visionary or auditory means” (Bockmuehl, RM, 2)—were indeed influential in early Christian circles, revelatory experience accounts in the Gospels may also have a generative role in early Christian texts. More specifically, if revelatory experiences were significant for christological devotion in the earliest Christian communities, the revelatory accounts in Matthew may have a similar role in developing the christological purposes of the author. This paper will investigate the narratival role of revelatory experience in Matthew’s Gospel, comparing and contrasting the different revelatory accounts in an effort to understand Matthew’s concept of revelation. Matthew uses revelatory experiences to present and validate Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. This paper will examine the way his Gospel shapes its presentations of Jesus via the revelatory experience events. First, the role of religious experience in general will be examined to determine its use and function throughout the narrative. Such religious experiences—i.e., any contact with the divine—are ubiquitous in Matthew and play a sure part in the development of the narrative. After the wider role of religious experience is investigated, select revelatory experience accounts will be analyzed to determine how these scenes function within the Gospel. Because of the scope of the project and the limitations of time, accounts will be grouped together where possible. The goal of this paper is to understand Matthew’s revelatory emphasis and the contribution these accounts make to the wider picture of his Christology. It is argued in this paper that Matthean revelatory experience accounts validate Jesus to the reader and demonstrate the priority of the First Gospel on divine revelation concerning one’s apprehension of Jesus.

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The present paper will focus on a peculiar – and rather small – group of early Christian papyri that are characterized by some very specific “formal” features. A number of (not only Christian) Greek literary texts are written on the verso of reemployed sheets of papyrus. This feature is quite frequently accompanied by other characteristic elements, as, among others, a cursive or relatively unskilled handwriting. The first part of the paper will ask what kinds of texts were mostly put into writing in this particular fashion. It will be evident that texts happened to be written on the verso when their use was connected to specific practical purposes, as in the case of the numerous school exercises that can be found on the verso of discarded papers. Following the increasing attention that paleographers (as Guglielmo Cavallo) and papyrologists (as William Johnson in his recent book on reading) are paying to reading (and writing) as a social practice and to the ways in which the latter is reflected in the “formal” features of ancient manuscripts, it is easy to conclude that the appearance of literary texts on the verso of reemployed papyrus hints at some more general inferences concerning the circulation and the social fruition of the texts themselves. The paper will end by bringing these conclusions to bear on the study of early Christian papyri specifically. It is worth inquiring whether those texts that appear more frequently (as it happens for apocalyptic writings, for instance) or exclusively on the verso of reemployed papyrus are identified by specific traits, as being part of the same literary genre or sharing a certain social function.

The so-called appendices to the book of Judges in chapters 17-21 consist of two main stories (that of Judg 17-18 and 19-21). They are bound together by the pro-monarchic comments in 17:1; 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25. Both stories seem to presuppose and emphasize the connection between the Hexateuch story and the Deuteronomistic edition of the story of the kings in 1 Samuel to 2 Kings. The pro-monarchic verse does not reflect the expectation of a new (Davidic) king but is a means of structuring the salvation history (Heilsgeschichte) from a late Persian perspective.

This paper attempts to survey the development of the necessary conceptual basis for conversion, namely, the idea of a "religion" identity-marker separable from ethnic identity. It was always possible for emigrants to "go native" in exotic lands, as well as for local people to participate, even exclusively, in exotic cults brought by emigre colonists. Paul of Tarsus belongs to a development of the latter phenomenon that involves the reduction of the exotic cult to an essence deliberately conceived for adoption by non-native participants, and in this respect resembles various purveyors of exotic wisdom in Greco-Roman lands. Yet early Christians continued to struggle to distinguish the adopted identity from ethnic categories. The full emergence of a concept of distinct religious communities competing for identity-allegiance in a given population, I propose, may only come clearly into view in the 3rd century in the writings of Mani and the inscriptions of the Zoroastrian leader Kerdir. Before this, the very idea of "conversion" would be problematic. I hope to elicit from the discussion any evidence contrary to this proposal.

While recent studies on metaphors in the Hebrew Bible have taken the cognitive linguistic approach to metaphor to heart, they rarely question how this approach takes into account the fact that these metaphors occur in literary contexts. The characteristics of metaphors in literature are currently an important theme within cognitive poetics. Cognitive poetics, a term coined by Tsur in the 1980s, has come to refer to the emerging field in which cognitive linguistic scholars join the efforts of literary scholars who apply insights from cognitive sciences to clarify the stylistic features of literary texts (cf. Stockwell 2002, Semino & Culpeper 2002, Steen & Gavins 2003, Brône & Vandaele 2009). Main topics in metaphor research in cognitive poetics include the continuity and discontinuity between metaphor in and outside literature, the evoked sensuous, emotional, and aesthetic effects, and the function of metaphor on the level of the text. In this paper, I will explain what developments in cognitive poetics contribute to the understanding of metaphor in literature, and I will demonstrate what this involves for the study of metaphor in the Hebrew Bible by considering several metaphors in the book of Job.

Paul’s mention in 1 Corinthians 10:4 of the “the rock that followed Israel” during its wilderness wanderings is considered by all to be one of Paul’s more perplexing uses of Scripture. Even more perplexing is understanding how and why Paul proceeds to identify Christ with that wilderness rock. Paul’s interpretive approach has been variously labeled as pesher, typology, allegory, and re-read Bible. Yet, none of the standard exegetical methodologies account for Paul’s bold assertion that that wilderness rock was in fact Christ (v. 4) and his command “not to put Christ1 to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents” (v. 9). While, a traveling rock can perhaps be deduced from the exodus-wilderness narrative, Christ as that rock is more problematic. Is this then Paul’s creative genius at work? Or is there a valid Scriptural and exegetical basis for Paul’s rock Christology? This paper will explore the interpretive history of the wilderness rock tradition with a view to shedding light on Paul’s use of Scripture and on his exegetical methodology in 1 Corinthians 10:1-11. 1.See Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2nd ed.; New York: United Bible Societies, 1994) 494.

Though often forgotten, scent played a fundamental role in the ritualized experience of the Israelite cult. This is most readily seen in the use and manipulation of incense both within and without the sanctum. When one examines these usages it appears that the use of incense was associated with an entire ritual process that was meant to facilitate the creation of a temporary time and space whereby the divine world could interact directly with the mortal one. This usage, in turn, may point towards an understanding of the temple/tabernacle precincts as a liminal space, rather than a divine one. In other words, while the sacred space of the temple has been associated in the past with the abode of the deity, the rites of liminality, including prominently the use of incense, suggests that this space is best understood as one that stood between heaven and earth, a temporary place that could be facilitated for the meeting of man and deity. Thus, contrary to the idea that incense worked as a divine shield protecting man from the harmful influence, the incense usage may be understood to facilitate the ability for one to enter into the presence of deity, as long as one performed the ritual correctly.

Central to the construction of social memory, at least among the literati of the period, were memories of some core divine promises. Within their social mindscape, many of their core divine promises were understood in terms ‘covenant’ and vice versa. To illustrate, the divine promise to David in 2 Sam 7 was understood in covenantal terms in Jer 33:21; Ps 89; 2 Chr 13:5; 21:7 (cf. 2 Kgs 8:19) and these texts, in turn, shaped and reflected the community’s reading of 2 Sam 7. This paper will focus on how remembering the past evoked by the DHC (deuteronomistic historical collection) raised both 'settling' and very 'unsettling' issues about divine promises for the community. It will then look at the ways in which reading Chronicles partakes in and influences this balancing act. There will be references to promises to David, Aaron and Israel, but also to the ‘broken’ promise to Eli and his line (in Samuel), about the unfulfilled promise of the land, but the fulfilled promise of the catastrophe of 586, and to balancing acts regarding 'conditional and unconditional promises.' Some transcultural considerations about social mindscapes influenced by crushing defeat and 'living among the ruins’ will be advanced.

In the problematic realm of Johannine ethics, scholarship has assumed for a long time that Jesus’ love command in 13:34 is pretty much the only (explicit) ethic in the Gospel or even entire Johannine corpus (albeit perhaps as the précis of his commandments). As a result, publications on this subject abound but they all too often merely stress that believers should love one another and rarely address the means by which Jesus’ command can be carried out. The focus of this study, therefore, is on the practice of the love command. Our central question is this: How can believers actualize (i.e. realize in action) Jesus’ ethical imperative ‘to love one another’? In answer to this, I wish to argue that, for John, believers should and are able to love one another through imitation. The mimetic chain looks approximately like this: just as the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves the disciples (15:9); just as Jesus loves the disciples, they should love one another (13:34; 15:12; 1 Jn 4:11). The concept of mimesis does not merely address why the love command must be carried out but also how it can be achieved or realized. Since mimesis is essentially relational, believers can actualize the love command in and out of their relationship with Jesus. For it is precisely Jesus’ love for the believers (the original or ?p?de??µa) which is the basis that motivates and empowers believers to love one another. I will argue my case by examining four passages (13:34–35; 15:9–17; 1 Jn 3:11–18; 4:7–21) because these virtually contain all the references to the love command and its mimesis.

The beginning of Trito-Isaiah is actually not a disputed issue in academic circles. On the contrary, there seems to be no problem at all. Voices that presented different views are overheard or not well received. The majority of scholars seem to be happy to rely on Is 56.1 – for whatever reasons given in the past. But can the formula “Thus says the Lord” really function as an introduction to this last section of the book of Isaiah? Not even Bernhard Duhm seemed to be really convinced by this and lately various scholars have proposed other division lines (i.e. Vermeylen, Watts, Seitz, Rofé). Searching for a new solution one wonders how little attention is given so far to the verse Is 54,17b: “This is the heritage of the Servants of YHWH, and their righteousness is of me, said YHWH“. This is even more astonishing when one notices that the great Isaiah scroll in Qumran uses surprisingly three devices (vacat, paragraphos and spatium) to highlight 54.17b as something very special. The lecture argues to see this colon as the superscript for the last part of the book of Isaiah, i.e. to let “Trito-Isaiah” start with chap. 55! What are the consequences doing so, especially for the interpretation of Isaiah 55 in conjunction with 56?

Conventional understandings of the mechanism of collective responsibility in the account of the sin of Achan (Joshua 7), such as notions of corporate responsibility or the contagion present in devoted goods, have been found to be problematic. Moreover, nowhere in the legal or treaty literature of the ancient Near East is there a precedent for the collective punishment of an entire polity due to the infraction of a lone individual. Diachronic studies of these chapters posit here two accounts –a devoted goods account and an Ha-Ai account. Even if this accepted, we must probe the aims of the redactor who wove the two accounts in this fashion. A synchronic and close reading of Joshua 6-7 reveals that Achan, like the spies who returned from Ha-Ai are seen to reveal a broad spirit within the Israelite camp that downplayed the role of the Lord at Jericho, and credited the forces of Israel with the victory. Through creating an attitudinal climate conducive to the perpetration of Achan's crime, Israel is held accountable. Contemporary moral theorists often balk at the notion of collective responsibility for a crime, because it is impossible to demonstrate the intent of all those incriminated. The theory put forth here, however, resonates strongly with the work of the contemporary philosopher Larry May, who likewise speaks of the guilt incurred when individuals contribute to create a societal climate that leads to crime.

The Occupy Movement, which emerged in fall 2011, as well as its immediate predecessor, the Arab Spring, will be remembered as moments of revolutionary fervour, and spoken of in the same breath as the revolutions of 1848, 1871, 1917, 1968, and 1989. Such revolutionary moments provide opportunities to re-envision our world, and re-evaluate its history and our place therein. This paper will focus upon Acts 5:12-13, and argue that, much as the Occupy Movement re-envisioned public space through physical occupation, so too did the early Christian re-envision Solomon’s portico. The paper will further reflect upon how such an understanding of Acts 5:12-13 might help develop a theological understanding of the revolutionary events of 2011.

While “exact knowledge” as Epiphanius of Salamis observes, “guides man, to protect him from error about either part of the truth,” heresiological literature evidences the inadequacy and tension embedded within expounding how a Christian knows, when he knows, when he knows too much, when he must cease from knowing, and whether he can know at all (Pan. 62.7.7). Theorizing knowledge, both as an end in itself and as an investigative process, heresiology shapes the formation a Christian scholastic and pedagogical tradition in which the barriers to, limits of, and utility for information, genuine and so-called, human and divine, totalizing and parochial, are enumerated, contested, and meticulously reconfigured. This paper analyzes the scholastic claims of heresiological literature—as evidenced in the works of Epiphanius, Philastrius of Brescia, Augustine, and Theodoret of Cyrrhus—to identify the epistemological foundations and quandaries attending the classification and refutation of the heretics. I argue that heresiological texts are not mere performances of orthodox authority, but rather that they are contemplations about the capacity of the heresiologists to (1) conceptualize an epistemological distinction between heresy and orthodoxy, (2) comprehend the expansive contours of the heretical world, and (3) codify that knowledge in texts. Even though the heretics are depicted as knowable due to their human lineages, the heresiologists dispute, by editing and augmenting the genre, the conceptual and practical (im)possibility of drafting heresiological texts. Their extended refutations conceive heretical errata as more than historical or theological phenomena to be refuted in texts; heretics become textual and epistemological dilemmas in themselves. And even in the cases where our orthodox authors include heresies they report to be extinct, they identity by name only, or they bemoaning describing, the contestation over the comprehensiveness of their texts evidences that the heresies are problems of, by, and even beyond texts. Heresiological literature is as much an instantiation of scholastic impossibility as it is a polemical performance of orthodox knowledge.

Circumcision serves as the initiation rite of passage for males in the Hebrew Bible. This ritual practice biologically excludes the female population, suggesting that they had no formal means of entry into or fulfillment of the covenant. However, through the process of gender-specific ritualization they created their own rituals to venerate the covenantal promises. Cross-cultural case studies conducted in the modern Middle East indicate that village women form informal social networks to develop alternative and unofficial religious practices, focusing almost exclusively on their immediate domestic concerns. Women’s religious rituals, therefore, are an outgrowth of the household. In ancient Israel the entirety of a woman’s life would be spent in the domestic realm, as she fulfills her primary role of childbearing and maintaining the household. Fear of childbirth and women’s sexuality is apparent throughout the Ancient Near East; pregnancy and labor was physically hazardous while the texts reflect an ideological fear of women’s bodies. It is here, in this dangerous period of liminality, where women created and participated in their own rites of passage. The ritual functioned on two levels --as an apotropaic to ward off perils associated with marriage and childbirth, and as a female initiation into the religion. Hints of women’s rites of passage are meager in the Hebrew Bible (Gen 24:55; Jdg 11:40) but by employing a combined methodology of ideological criticism, cross-cultural ethnography, ritual theory, and a re-examination of domestic archaeological artifacts, this rite of passage can be revealed.

Invited

Biblical and Systematic Perspectives on Creation: An Interdisciplinary Approach

The Orphic Gold Tablet known as the “Great” Tablet from Thurii, produced during the late fourth or early third century BCE, has been linked plausibly with similar Orphic/Dionysiac tablets which, accompanying the bodies of deceased individuals at burial sites, were designed to guide the entry of the deceased into the underworld and to facilitate access to chthonic deities who could grant a more pleasant afterlife. The tablet consists of ten lines of Greek letters inscribed on gold leaf, in which the names of Greek and Anatolian deities appear alongside mention of various elements (earth, air, fire) and epithets (“hero,” “light to the mind”). Interspersed amongst these words and names are a series of incomprehensible letters, constituting roughly half of the tablet’s content. These letters have been interpreted as a series of mistakes introduced by a semi-literate artisan or incompetent scribe, an accumulation of copyists’ errors, a phylactery containing nonsense magical words, and an ancient “word-search puzzle,” in which meaningful elements were hidden amongst meaningless ones. Most of the explanations that have been proposed assume that, in order for the letters in the text to be deemed significant, they must serve a denotative function; that is, they must transmit semantic information. Greco-Roman religious practice, however, did not share this assumption. Incomprehensible utterances and writings, in some cases attributed to prophetesses and prophets, secret books reserved for initiates into the mysteries of Isis, religious functionaries serving as intermediaries between the earth and the underworld and, of course, magicians, were deemed to convey divine power and to serve as a mediating link between humans and the gods. Verbal utterances and written productions containing incomprehensible sequences of phonemes were judged significant, not because they conveyed denotative semantic information, but because they connoted numinous power and access to the divine. After a brief survey of the connotations associated with incomprehensible utterances in the writings of Aeschylus, Lucian of Samosata, Apuleius of Madauros, Cicero, and the Greek magical papyri, the paper will argue that the “Great” Tablet from Thurii included a number of denotatively meaningless phonemes in order to evoke a sense that the bearer of the tablet enjoyed access to and intimate association with heavenly and chthonic deities. Far from being mistakes, copyists’ errors, or attempts to conceal information, these incomprehensible utterances conveyed meaning by evoking a set of cultural associations connoting access to the divine. Attempts to remove the non-denotative phonemes from the text, along with claims that they are unimportant to the text’s interpretation, overlook the important connotative and evocative significance of the nonsensical utterances: connoting access to the divine, the tablet’s nonsensical phonemes are precisely what render it a fitting text to accompany the deceased who, upon entering the underworld, desired to establish relations with the chthonic deities who held sway there.

The paper will examine the significance, scope and origin in Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah of their self-identification with the Israel of the traditions.

Research on Iron Age levels at Tel Dor, located on Israel's Carmel coast, focused in the last decades mostly on the earliest levels of that period. The research has resulted in a detailed picture of the Sikila ("Sea People") material culture of Dor—which we define as synonymous with Phoenician—that illuminates the Egyptian texts that mention these people at Dor. Excavations have revealed the origin of the Sikila, their extensive commercial activities—which are quite unparalleled in this period—and on-going interaction with communities in Cyprus. Recently it has become very clear that this Sikila/Phoenician sequence comes to an abrupt end during Iron Age II when all structures are abandoned and a new administrative center is literally imposed over these remains. Thus far, this new center consists of public structures and a new fortification, which is quite unique since parts of it are constructed solely of ashlars. In tandem with the new constructions, all commercial activities that typified the earliest Iron Age levels cease, contacts with Cyprus are disrupted, and Dor's material culture becomes practically identical to that of inland Israelite sites. This abrupt transition, no doubt, exemplifies the takeover of the site by the Israelite kingdom, as described in 1 Kings. In the 8th century, this Israelite center at Dor was abandoned (rather than destroyed). The town's demise has usually been attributed to the Assyrians under Tiglath Pileser III, but recently-accumulated evidence indicates that most probably when the Assyrians arrived at this part of Western Asia the site was already deserted and so the town's demise should be attributed to another agent or other factors.

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In one of her poems, Emily Dickinson describes the Bible as ‘an antique volume/written by faded men’. According to Alicia Ostriker, this view of scripture allowed Dickinson the freedom, as a woman, ‘to criticize, to mock, to rewrite, and to use for her own purposes’ the sacred texts in both her poetry and her letters. While Dickinson included many allusions to the biblical texts in her writing, I wish to focus on her engagement with one particular ‘faded man’ – the apostle Paul. Dickinson makes a number of direct references to Paul (using such epithets as ‘The Apostle’ and ‘orator of Ephesus’) as well as paraphrasing him on numerous occasions in her letters and poetry, often in ways that thoroughly unbalance his spiritual and heaven-centred gaze, thrusting it earthwards to bring new and unexpected meaning to very earthly elements such as friendship, love, death, suffering, and desire. Through taking a closer look at her writings in which she addresses the apostle, I will consider the tension that exists between, on the one hand, Dickinson’s obvious interest in and desire to engage with Paul’s writings and, on the other hand, her regular rejection of what she considered to be ‘distorting’ elements of Pauline theology in favour of her own ‘radical alteration’ of Christian belief that she felt made more sense within her own specific socio-cultural context. In particular, I will explore the ways in which Dickinson’s Calvinist faith stands at times uneasily alongside Pauline affirmations of a transcendent and resurrected Godhead, in her focus on the utterly down-to-earth suffering of Christ, the dreaded uncertainty of life after death, and the ever-present tribulation of humanity in a world in which both pain and paradise could be encountered.

Introductory formulae found in Zech 7:1, 4, 8; 8:18 suggest the work of a redactor (7:1, 8: “the ?word of Yahweh came to Zechariah, saying”) taking up a first person account of the ?prophet (7:4; 8:18; “the word of Yahweh came to me, saying”). The introductory formula ?in 8:1, with its shortened form “the word of Yahweh came” stands apart from these other ?formulae in chs. 7-8 and suggests that the material which follows has arisen from a ?different hand. This material which follows 8:1 falls into two distinct pieces, 8:2-8 and ??8:9-13, which would make 8:14 the continuation of the speech which is broken off in ??7:14. In this paper I will look more carefully at the material found in 8:1-13? ? and ?evidence for its role in the early development of a Haggai-Zechariah 1-8 corpus?. 8:2-8 interacts with the material in Zech 1-6, applying it to the issues raised in Zech 7-8, while 8:9-13 interacts with the material in Haggai, also applying it to the issues raised in Zech 7-8. In this way Haggai and Zechariah are presented as "earlier prophets" whose words have enduring relevance.

This paper deals with the Iconographic and textual evidence dealing with Ezekiel's vision of the double current flowing from the New Temple in New Jerusalem. The the vision found in Ezek. 47:1-12 describes a spectacular renewal of the Dead Sea owing to the torrent that flows into it from the New Temple allowing fish to abound again. The element of the tree of healing which grows along the torrent will also be analyzed in light of Akkadian texts. Both motifs are found in Ancient Near Eastern iconography as decoration of temple façades.

This paper explores the vexed issue of credit in the ancient Near East, especially in light of studies that question the extensiveness of credit for interest. How was credit understood (as far as we are able to discern)? Was its function focussed on monetary return, repayment in kind, or labour? Was credit understood as a source of income for the lender or did the lender seek to ensure the productiveness of labour on the land? Further, how was the issue of 'interest' calculated? Was it a customary amount with little direct or detailed calculation in specific cases?

Throughout the Late Antique Mediterranean, the preservation of statues, particularly those depicting traditional sacred subjects or those offered as dedications, has provided a window onto social and religious transformation during a time of ascendant Christianity. The preservation of statuary collections, known from textual and archaeological evidence, is increasingly important in this regard. Archival research has revealed the discovery of a Late Antique statuary collection from Ostia’s Sanctuary of Magna Mater. Excavated by C.L. and P.E. Visconti in 1867–1869, the sanctuary was a treasure trove of marble sculptures, reliefs, and at least one bronze statue, all of which pertain to the cult of Cybele and Attis. All were well preserved; several were found in the open spaces of the sanctuary. These pieces, the last of which dates to the late fourth century C.E., span 500 years of history. Unfortunately, the collection as whole was soon dispersed throughout Rome, and the Late Antique significance of the finds was lost. This paper reassembles that collection and situates it for the first time within the urban and religious landscape of the late fourth- and fifth-century town. In particular, I propose that, even as dedications came to an end, the sanctuary retained its cultural importance as a museum. Thus, even in an increasingly Christian landscape, I suggest that traditional sacred spaces remained active agents in promoting a multilayered approach to history and identity, encouraging residents and viewers to incorporate the past in the creation of contemporary, Christian identities.

Renewed emphasis on the scribal milieu of the Tanakh is a good reminder that the Torah, Nevi’im and Kethuivm are products of the same, relatively small, scribal class. Consequently, strong dichotomies between the Wisdom writings and the remainder of the biblical corpus are ill-advised. This paper explores Qohelet’s remarks about human effort and the cult in an attempt to see if they demonstrate knowledge of, and adherence to, an idea of covenant, tempered in the social and political exigencies of the post-exilic era.

This paper uses the variants of the Daniel tradition, particularly those in chapters 3:31-6:28 as the basis for a broader argument concerning the growth of biblical texts. The central argument is that the divergent trajectories in which the Daniel court tales were composed, grew, and then were used as the basis for an otherwise unrelated set of apocalyptic texts are extraordinarily similar to the way computer programmers in the modern day use open source code to produce software we use everyday. It is hoped that illustrating the way this phenomenon plays out in modern media with reference to ancient works will further our understanding of the environment in which, not only the book of Daniel, but all literature in the ancient Judean milieu may have developed.

Around 120 alphabetic tablets from the house of Urtenu, fortuitously unearthed by a bulldozer in 1973, contain a mass of information of highest interest. This incomplete documentation is the most important group of Ugaritic tablets discovered at Ugarit, other than tablet finds from the royal palaces. The house of Urtenu had significant connections with the three other main centers: the library of the High Priest, the palaces of Ugarit, and Ras Ibn Hani. A mythological fragment bearing the colophon of Ilîmilku (RS 92.2016) refers to the literary texts unearthed during the 1930s; lists of personnel and toponyms as well as epistles tally with those from the royal palaces, and the mention of Yabninu recalls the southern palace (RS 94. 2965). A letter from Ras Ibn Hani (RIH 78/12 = CAT 2. 82) expresses concern with the health of Abdimilku, probably wounded during a battle; an homonym, pointing surely to the same person, appears in the testament of Abdimilku (RS 94. 2168), an important document from this «bibliothèque au sud de la ville» stored in the house of Urtenu.

The book of Hosea contains several passages that are strongly critical of the behavior of the kings of Israel, a couple others that dismiss them (or perhaps any king) as irrelevant, and several others that delimit their royal prerogatives of making war, conducting diplomacy, and carrying out large construction projects. Many scholars have recognized the anti-monarchical sentiment in the book. However, with a couple of exceptions, scholars who have undertaken an analysis of this perspective in the book have attempted to fit this ideology into the context of eighth-century Israel, that is, the prophet (ostensibly responsible for the majority of the book) is viewed as something like a social critic. However, the idea that an Israelite prophet could criticize in writing the king of Israel is problematic in light of the limitation of literacy to just a few social locations in the southern Levant, namely, within the context of a royal administration, within a temple context (closely associated with a royal administration in most instances), and for merchant activity. Israelite men (and women) in other social roles would have had little to no need of literacy. Even if a relatively large number of Israelites were exposed to the basics of literacy (like the alphabet, or reading and writing one’s name), which is debatable, only a handful of persons in Israel at any one time would have had both the intellectual capacity and the access to extensive scribal training (available primarily via the royal administration it seems) to write a sophisticated literary work like the book of Hosea. Furthermore, those who did have the ability to write larger literary works would have been educated and socialized in a pro-monarchic context, one that reinforced the notion of the king’s superiority to other humans and his divine right to rule. These considerations suggest that the book of Hosea (and other books in the Hebrew Bible with a strong anti-monarchical bent) should perhaps be understood as a product of the (Judahite) post-monarchic period.

Reference to Sarah as a model for believing wives in 3:6 has provided fodder for an evaluation of 1 Peter’s use of Scripture as undisciplined and tangential. And while many studies have looked to the larger Abrahamic narrative to provide warrant that 1 Peter is sensitive to the context of the OT narrative he evokes (Kiley, Grudem, Spencer, van Rensburg), scholarly consensus has invalidated these intertextual proposals on the grounds that “they press the lexical evidence further than it allows” (Green). This paper offers a fresh appraisal of 1 Peter’s use of Sarah in 3:6 in light of his instructions to husbands in 3:7, offering an intertexual reading of 3:7 to explain the peculiar instructions to husbands found there, to demonstrate the contextually appropriate reasons for 1 Peter’s use of Sarah in 3:6, and to validate 1 Peter’s use of previous Scripture as both disciplined and nuanced. This paper is particularly distinctive in that it establishes the literary coherence of the phrases “living with the woman,” “weaker vessel,” and the rationale behind the commands to husbands that ensure their prayers “are not hindered.” These phrases are linked by their sexual and reproductive connotations, and are visible in Genesis 18 and 20, to which they allude. Moreover, 1 Peter’s use of this narrative identifies Abraham negatively, as a husband who refuses to regard Sarah as a “coheir” in light of her reproductive capacity, or lack thereof. 1 Peter’s instructions to husbands contrast Sarah’s submission to the marital relationship, despite Abraham’s age (3:6), with Abraham’s disregard of the marital relationship, because of Sarah’s age (3:7). With this reading, 3:7 no longer remains an afterthought to 1 Peter’s instructions, and his reference to Sarah in 3:6 exhibits remarkable sensitivity to the underlying tensions present in the scriptural narratives to which he alludes.

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Secondary characters in any literary work play supporting roles. In their cameo appearances, they reinforce the importance of the primary characters, the stars. While not given top billing on the marquee, they nonetheless remain crucial to the plot and contribute to its twists and turns. When a secondary character interacts with a primary character, additional traits of the primary one emerge. However in this interaction, often distinct personality traits of the secondary character likewise appear. This paper looks at selected secondary characters in the Book of Judith including--among others--Joakim, the high priest and leader of the council in Jerusalem; Uzziah, the magistrate of Bethulia, the city besieged by Holofernes and the Assyrian army; and Bagoas, Holofernes’ aide de camp. Via a literary methodology which sees the Book of Judith as a fictional short story, this paper examines the contributions of characters who play supporting roles to those taking center stage, Judith the beautiful Bethulian widow, and Holofernes, the Assyrian bully who is conquering the world. Yet borders are crossed as Judith, accompanied by her silent maid, invades the Assyrian camp, dressed for battle in a tiara and anklets. Beguiled by her beauty and wisdom and blindly unaware of the intrusion within the boundaries of his camp, Holofernes succumbs to his lustful fantasies, passes out drunk and dies ignominiously—beheaded by Judith in his own bedroom, unprotected by Bagoas and surrounded by his sloppy, sleeping, undisciplined army. The God of Israel wins over Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the Assyrians and their self-declared god. It is a stunning triumph.

The description of demonic rule that causes sin can be found in several works of Jewish Pseudepigrapha. This paper will focus on the description of this "phenomenon" in three works: Levi’s prayer in the Aramaic Levi Document (ALD), the Plea for Deliverance (column 19 of the Psalms Scroll), and Moses’ prayer in Jubilees 1:19-21. Through comparison of these three works, this paper attempts to draw the contours of demonic "rule" leading to sin as it was perceived in the Second Temple period. The terminological similarity of the Aramaic Levi Document and the Plea for Deliverance and their reliance on Ps 119:133 is well-known. When read together, ALD 3:9, the Plea for Deliverance, and Jub. 1:19-21 demonstrate that the more abstract idea in Ps 119:133b, namely that sin may "rule over" the speaker, was later transformed into a description of the workings of demons who cause sin. These demons, while clearly a force to be reckoned with, are under divine control. Demons may achieve dominion over human beings, thereby causing sin; however, all three texts agree that God has the power to prevent this dominion. These three works reflect a complex view of sin, where internal and external sources of sin combine to cause iniquity. The Plea makes no distinction whatsoever between internal-human and external-demonic sources of sin and pain, while Moses’ prayer in Jubilees and Levi’s prayer in ALD address the human desire to sin separately from the potential influence of Belial (Jub.) or "any satan" (ALD). In addition, in all three texts, the request that the demonic presence not be allowed to "rule" the speaker follows a request that God prevent sin, and in ALD and the Plea, that God endow the speaker with good qualities (ALD 3:6-7) or cleanse him from past sins (11QPsa XIX 13-14). In other words, demonic influence is only one possible source of sin, alongside a person’s own internal qualities. Finally, while evil forces are described as "ruling" the sinner, the sinner is not exclusively under their command, just as Belial is not the exclusive ruler of the Israelites in Jub. 1:19-21. The nature of demonic rule is evident through terminological parallels with legal documents found in the Babatha archive. These documents use terms similar to those found in ALD and the Plea to denote the right over and control of a property or person. Consequently, it is possible to understand that the use of both these terms in reference to demons is an expression, on the one hand, of the control and authority that demons may wield over the human self and, on the other, of the idea that this right must be granted by God (as such a right would be legally granted in the case of property). In the context of the passages examined here, the use of these terms implies that to nullify the demon’s power it is sufficient to ask God not to allow such control.

In recent years, biblical scholars have become much more sensitive to the context-dependence of meaning as well as the ongoing recontextualization of biblical texts. For some scholars, the focus on context is a means of delimiting meaning by "putting the text in its ancient context." For other scholars, the emphasis on contextualization represents an effort to push beyond the traditional fields of "lower" and "higher" criticism. Yet strangely, both historical-critical biblical scholars and cultural studies-minded contextual readers generally avoid an analysis of the concept of context itself. What is a context, exactly? Though modern biblical scholarship has advanced our knowledge primarily because of its concern for historical contextualization of texts, “context” often functions as a catch-all term that at times references linguistic synchrony, at other times references literary conventions, and at other times references the world of historical events, including authors and their intentions. The field of contextual hermeneutics, as well, often seems to take for granted the concept of context. Perhaps the concept of “context” has eluded analysis because it is, to the observing scholar, a "horizontal phenomenon," such as peripheral vision, which is defined as that which one does not analyze directly. In this paper, I will develop a concept of context that takes the peripheral notion of context as its central definition. Contexts are particular determinations of underdetermined elements that could always be configured differently. This is not to say that elements and their relations are completely open to any determination imaginable. On the contrary the parts of a context can always play multiple roles– but not just any role– within the context itself. Contexts are not pre-given wholes like a puzzle in which every piece has only one place to fit within the larger picture. Rather, contexts more closely resemble a set of building materials in which the contours of each element allow for certain connections, but not others. These structural contours allow for a multiplicity of constructions that are not identical, but each exhibit a certain stability. Rather than thinking of a context as an already-determined synthesis of parts into a whole, we must think in terms of "disjunctive synthesis." As literary contexts, biblical texts are determinable in the same way, as is their relationship to any particular historical context in which they are read. Biblical examples will come from the books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Amos.

In her massive commentary, Lucian: On the Syrian Goddess (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), Jane Lightfoot takes the work very seriously as a description of the Syrian religion, in which the fictional narrator, who presumes to be the author, a Greco-Syrian, asserts his own identity and the superiority of this religious site over any other. Jas Elsner, “Describing Self in the Language of the Other: Pseudo (?) Lucian at the Temple of Hierapolis,” in: Simon Goldhill (ed.), Being Greek under Rome: Cultural Identity, the Second Sophistic and the Development of Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) 123-153, describes a Syrian Greek, whose “Syrianness” and “Greekness” are always in conflict. The debate centers somewhat on the narrator’s reliability in discussing the “Syrian” religion, and the seriousness of the work. Against both are Marie-Françoise Baslez, John North, and Alain Billault. Most recently, Daniel Richter “More Syrians,” in his Cosmopolis. Imagining Community in Late Classical Athens and the Early Roman Empire (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) 235-242, has noted the inconsistencies and confusion, which he sees as intentional, but which also are at the heart of syncretism. In any case as soon as we speak of polis religion here, pan-Syrian religion, a cult, or a Greco-Roman-Syrian hybrid, boundaries seem to break down. Exoticism and syncretism, visual representation and large temples, were part of the day. But for the fictional narrator of the piece, the lines demarcating “Syrian religion,” polis religion, or a cult, were not at all clear. To understand On the Syrian Goddess, one can compare Lucian to voluminous writers like Pausanias and Plutarch. Each had a particular agenda and produced similar but serious works on certain religious sites which were somewhat difficult to define. Elsner has noted many similarities between the work of Pausanias and On the Syrian Goddess, in particularly a sense of religion and pilgrimage. Pausanias’ purpose in a sense is the exaltation of a religion encompassing the whole of Greece. Ultimately, though, Pausanias’ approach is based on Greek polis religion. Susan Alcock, too, has described something similar in “Landscapes of Memory and the Authority of Pausanias,” in: Domenico Musti et al. (eds.), Pausanias historien (Vandoeuvres-Geneva: Fondation Hardt, 1994) 241-267. In the case of places like Corinth or Athens, the lines of polis religion are rather clearly drawn. However, for Delphi or Olympia there is a Pan-Hellenic element which blurs the lines between polis religion, cult, and Pan-Hellenism. Do we have here polis religion, a local cult, or Hellenic religion? In the Imperial period, this situation became much more complicated and particularly so in the case of religions like that of the Syrian Goddess at Hierapolis, where a non-Greek element enters, even if described in Greek terms. The name itself suggests the religion of a polis, but it hardly is a typical Greek polis religion, in spite of all the (pretended) efforts of the narrator.

From the time of Jubilees onwards, interpreters of Genesis have worked hard to create the impression that the ancestral marriages are valid and proper, but there are many ways in which this common interpretive endeavour departs from the details of the primary texts, especially when they are read through the lens of the Persian period. Sarah Shechtman’s recent question is well formulated: why does the emphasis found in both P and non-P texts on the Aramean lineage of the matriarchs (via Terah or Bethuel) suddenly evaporate with the sons of Jacob? Contra Shectman, however, it is simply not the case that the earlier endogamous marriages conform to common anthropological norms without complication. Secondly, it is unlikely that the cognitive dissonances bequeathed by earlier traditions regarding ancestral marriages might have been addressed by purely literary solutions, without regard for the historical challenges faced by the editors’ audience. In this paper, I will pursue the hypothesis that the editors of Genesis belong to the Holiness School (or are strongly influenced by them) and that they are burdened not simply by the weight and contradictions of tradition, but by the social and economic challenges arising from Nehemiah’s ethnocentric policies.

In the Psalter, the mighty voice of the LORD appears fifteen times in eight psalms (Pss 18; 29; 46; 68; 81; 95; 103; 106). Can one, therefore, draw any conclusions about the psalmists’ use of kôl in the Psalter? Does God’s voice act in certain ways in the psalms? Is the use of kôl tied to specific topics or a particular theology? In this paper, I will investigate the literary function of Yahweh’s kôl in the eight psalms listed above in order to answer these questions. Four of the psalms using the term are theophanic in nature (Pss 18; 29; 46; 68) and four are not (Pss 81; 96; 103; 106). The voice functions in two particular ways in the Psalter. In the theophanic psalms, the voice is employed by the psalmist to demonstrate how it saves and protects God’s people, specifically controlling chaos and intervening on behalf other people, and to motivate the people to praise God for its great power. In the non-theophanic psalms, the voice of God serves as a reminder of the people’s past disobedience and as a command for present obedience. Early in Israel’s history, God appeared to the people in theophany as a symbol of God’s presence among them. As the Torah and the Prophets begin to serve as a conduit for God’s presence, it is God’s word through law and prophetic utterance that replace theophany. Both the law and prophecy call for obedience on behalf of the people to God’s word, which can result in blessing and prosperity. These psalms, therefore, reflect a progression of the function of the voice of God in Israel’s history from divine presence among the people early in the history of the nation to God’s word itself among them calling for obedience after the devastation of the Babylonian exile.

Hierarchy, Equality, or Mutuality?: Mapping out the Relational Contours of Second Corinthians

Mark and the first half of Acts may seem worlds apart, yet several episodes of Mark have curious similarities to those in Acts, similarities so striking and persistent that they indicate the presence of some form of literary link. For instance, the account of the lowering of the man through an opening in the roof (Mark 2:1-12), an incident that, within Mark’s gospel initiates an emphasis on controversy with Jewish authorities (Mark 2:1-3:6), has curious similarities to Peter’s vision of the lowering of the sheet from heaven (Acts 10:9-16), an event that also led to controversy, though of a more peaceful kind. The paper examines some of the similarities, and asks what is the best explanation of the data. The paper then steps back and reviews some further data: (1) The changing context for discussing composition and possible links between texts: (a) there is increasing awareness that in tracing the composition of biblical prose narrative the role of oral tradition and redaction has been overstated, and that it is necessary to allow for thoroughly literary processes, including both scribal literary traditions whereby a writer build on a line of preceding writers, and also careful complex transformation; (b) there is particular awareness that Mark, far from being “clumsy” or “unliterary”, is a highly literary writing; (c) the recent gradual emergence of criteria for judging literary dependence. (2) The broad context of some existing affinities between the work of Mark and that of Luke: (a) Luke’s gospel uses Mark in a transparent way; (b) initial evidence points to some dependence of both Mark and Luke-Acts on epistles. (3) Raymond E. Brown’s thesis: of all the literary models underlying the gospels the strongest claims are those of the biblical prophetic lives, especially that of Elijah, and particularly Elisha (“Jesus and Elisha”, Perspective, 12: 1971, 86-104). (4) Among the gospels, those that most clearly depend on the Elijah-Elisha narrative are Luke and Mark. (5) Several features in the work Luke-Acts have generated theories about earlier narratives—Proto-Luke, or “Semitic” Luke (which included most of Acts 1-15), or Elijah-Elisha Luke (which included all of Acts 1:1-15:35). The paper then makes a proposal: The Elijah-Elisha narrative did indeed function as an initial model for the gospels, first for Luke in the Elijah/Elisha-shaped narrative that included Acts 1:1-15:35, and then for Mark, who—probably in accord with scribal writing tradition—not only used the Elijah-Elisha narrative but also incorporated Luke’s Elijah/Elisha-based narrative (including Acts 1:1-15:35), transforming its text in accord with his own distinct vision. This is the explanation that most easily accounts for the data, and so best satisfies the requirements of scientific method.

The primary focus of my proposed study is the historicization of the formative exegetical discourse on Eve, or Hawwa, among Quran exegetes during the 7th-10th centuries CE. I examine the literary interrelationships between Quranic commentary (tafsir), quasi-historical traditions (akhbar), prophetic hadith and other, late antique literary representations of Eve found in Jewish and Christian literature (parascriptural corpora, midsrashim, sermons, poetry, etc.). Based on my preliminary research, I argue that the earliest Muslim interpretations of and discourse on Eve were conducted outside of a Quranic frame of reference, leaving posterity to deal with the discomfiting disjunction between the scriptural-textual Eve and her exegetical counterpart. Indeed, the Quranic portrayal of Eve as Adam’s helpmate and consort accords little with the seductress of the exegetes. I argue that, by viewing early exegesis on Eve as an accreted body of literature produced within the confluences of late antique syncretism, we can glean insight into the intellectual development of the early Islamic community as conceptions of the first woman evolved from ecumenically-minded, multi-confessional renderings of Eve to the particularistic renderings where self-definition and legitimation took precedence.

Abstract to be considered for the Second Project (First-Century Christianity and Ancient Economy): One of the most critical pieces in the debate about social stratification in the Corinthian church is that of the socio-economic profile of “Erastus,” whom Paul describes in Rom 16:23 as ho oikonomos tes poleos. Hot debate has surrounded this figure ever since the 1929 discovery of an ancient inscription bearing his name. Two portions of a paving slab situated east of the stage building of the Roman theatre together contain the inscription: “Erastus in return for his aedileship laid (the pavement) at his own expense (Erastus pro aedilitate s.p. stravit)” (Corinth VIII 232). Upon its discovery, the inscription immediately roused the interest of biblical scholars. If this was the same man as the Corinthian Christian named by Paul, it would have seismic ramifications for our understanding of the socio-economic composition of the early church, for the aedileship was one of the highest municipal offices in Corinth. Three questions have remained central to the debate: the date of the inscription, the nature of the office of oikonomos, and the frequency of the name “Erastus” in antiquity. Several recent articles have treated questions related to the date of the inscription and the nature of Erastus’ office (Goodrich 2010; Weiss 2010; Friesen 2010; Goodrich 2011). The present paper attempts to make a contribution with regard to the frequency of the name in antiquity. Moving beyond Meggitt’s earlier research (1996; 1999), this paper furnishes a comprehensive catalog of literary, papyrical, and epigraphical occurrences of the name (in Greek and in Latin) in antiquity. The payoff of the catalog is two-fold: (1) it provides, for the first time, comprehensive quantitative proof that the name was in fact rare; and (2) it reveals a chronological, geographical, and institutional distribution for the name which allows for a tantalizing new hypothesis regarding the social station of Paul’s Erastus.

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Psalms 60 is nexus of inner biblical allusions- it reads, is read, is unread, and reread within the Hebrew canon. This paper presents the reading of the tradition by the poet of Psalm 60, the response of Deutero-Isaiah to that reading, the unreading of Psalm 60 by the poet of Psalm 108, and new reading of Psalm 60 by the exegete who affixed its historical superscript. When the poetic unit is isolated, its rhetoric analyzed, and structures understood, it provides a liminal theopoetic expression of a bitter people, who are defeated but expectant. This expression is taken up by the prophet Isaiah and transformed into a confident expression of both the defeat of Israel’s enemies and the restoration of the Divine’s creative manifestations. The structure of Deutero-Isaiah’s allusions to Psalm 60 change questions to answers and the manifestations of God’s judgment against his people to blessings. Having experienced the promise of Deutero-Isaiah, Psalm 60 is unread as an authoritative expression of the cult by Psalm 108. This is accomplished by the reappropriation of material from Psalm 57 and the strengthened links between Psalm 108 and Deutero-Isaiah. Finally, Psalm 60 is given a new reading by the addition of an historical superscript, which provides inner biblical allusions to the Davidic corpus. These inner biblical allusions not only change the meaning of Psalm 60, but the understanding of Davidic intertexts as well. This diachronic analysis of the meaning of Psalm 60 demonstrates how the imagery of poetic material is reutilized to change meaning and how the inner biblical allusions of the historical superscript recontextualizes the poetry to provide both poem and intertext with new meaning.

One of the most distinguishing features of the Gospel of Thomas is Thomas’ claim to secrecy with Thomas’ incipit stating “these are the secret words that Jesus the living one spoke.” In this paper I will argue that Thomas’ rhetoric of secrecy was one of the main techniques employed by the gospel in order to negotiated social and intellectual space and power in a context in which older modes of accesses to space and power had been destroyed or altered significantly by, among other things, Roman imperialism. I argue that Thomas addressed a situation of social and economic deracination by creating a discourse of secrecy and interpretation centred around the text of Thomas. The double claim both to possess a secret and the ability to interpret that secret, I argue, bought a measure of social capital for those readings and interpreting Thomas. To argue this point I will use Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social capital to illustrate how the rhetoric of secrecy in Thomas served to buy back some measure social capital which Thomas’ composers lost (or deemed themselves to have lost) due to, among other things, the social and economic reordering brought about by the Roman Empire. Additionally, the fact that the secret in Thomas must be worked on and correctly interpreted implies that the interpretation of Thomas’ secret was not a solo venture, but instead a guided effort where the privileged insider guided the less privileged insider. In this way the Gospel of Thomas functioned to both form an alternative scholastic community around the secret, and to empower those who claimed to know the interpretation of that secret. Finally, by comparing the secret sayings of Gospel of Thomas to the secret sayings created and used by colonized Gurus in nineteenth century India, I will illustrate concretely the ways in which discourses of secrecy can, and have been utilized as means of negotiating intellectual and social space in the context of empires (in these cases British and Roman).

The Textual History of the Ethiopic Old Testament Project is aimed at identifying and characterizing the families of manuscripts within the Ethiopic manuscript tradition as well as the relationship of those manuscript families to the Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Christian Arabic manuscript traditions. It will use the Profile Method to characterize the nature of the text of the 39 books of the Ethiopic Old Testament shared in common with the Hebrew Bible. It is impractical to expect one or two senior scholars to take on the entirety of such a project and complete it in a timely manner. Instead, the THEOT project will employ digital tools and processes to foster and encourage a community of scholars of differing levels of expertise and experience to work each step of the project. In this presentation we will discuss the digital tools that are being utilized in this project. These include the use of relatively unsophisticated tools such as Google documents, Unicode fonts and keyboards, and programs for the comparison of texts. But, it also includes more sophisticated tools such as CollateX for the analysis of familial relationship between manuscripts. We will also discuss the processes of having a community of scholars work on the same project and the logistics of employing the efforts of many scholars and maintaining the highest levels of accuracy and precision. We will also discuss the sociology of scholarship underlying the project design and especially the opportunity it affords for junior scholars to gain experience and to identify areas for further study.

Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation (SRI) was influenced in the early 1980’s by recent insights from Mediterranean anthropology. However during the 80’s and 90’s, Mediterranean anthropology went through a significant period of crisis. It has re-emerged as a disciplinary focus but not without significant changes regarding the homogeneity of the region (e.g. northern vs. southern), the role of complementary opposites (e.g. honor and shame), and primary cultural forces (e.g. kinship or economy). This paper will review the developments in Mediterranean anthropology over the last 30 years and suggest how a renewed conversation can refine the use of social-cultural texture within SRI.

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While the connection between Second Temple Jewish ascents into heaven and Jesus’ ascent in Acts 1:9-14 has long been recognized, there are few considerations of this material that are not largely form critical in nature. The diversity of ascent-into-heaven accounts in Second Temple Judaism makes it highly unlikely that Luke had one particular “form” by which he framed Jesus’ ascent into heaven. Additionally, form critics have usually only examined select Second Temple Jewish texts, unnecessarily fragmenting this body of literature and impeding an analysis of the common themes and motifs present in most, if not all, of the ascent-to-heaven texts of this period. Failing to address these commonalities with regard to theme or motif has allowed Luke’s potential emphases in Jesus’ ascent into heaven in Acts 1:9-14 to remain obscured. The importance of Second Temple Jewish texts for Jesus’ ascent into heaven lies in their place as a vital web of discourse within which Luke wrote his ascent narrative. Second Temple Jewish ascents into heaven are strongly concerned with God in heaven, describing God as the King and Lord sitting on the throne, reigning and ruling over all creation, being worshipped by angels, and receiving and responding to the prayers of the people. A comparison of these motifs with Acts 1:9-14 reveals very similar emphases in the Lukan account. This paper seeks to demonstrate that Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ ascent into heaven in Acts 1:9-14 highlights Jesus’ divine identity, an identity revealed by its connection with Second Temple Jewish portrayals of God in heaven. Luke presents Jesus as the heavenly Lord, Ruler, and King over all to whom angels are subject and to whom the people of God pray as the one who sovereignly governs the world. Jesus’ ascent in Acts 1:9-14 redefines Second Temple Jewish notions of God in heaven for his audience and calls them to identify Jesus with the God of Israel as the heavenly Lord over all.

The Fourth Gospel constitutes ongoing problems to scholars engaged in homiletics and practical theology. First, Jesus’ long speeches, lacking logical argument and a narrative progression, are notoriously difficult to preach. The speeches spiral poetically around the same subject: Jesus’ presence with his disciples after his death and glorification. As is generally recognized among New Testament scholars, the Johannine Jesus already speaks from this future position. To those who love him and abide in his words, Jesus promises that he will return with the Father and make an abode with them (14:23). But how to take his words? Second, the apparently contradictory fact that the FG has no story of Jesus’ baptism and no account of the last supper, but at the same time excels in imagery of water and bread has divided Johannine scholarship on the status of the sacraments in John’s Gospel. Concurrently, liturgical studies face the challenge of bringing the Eucharistic ordo of the early church into harmony with the NT. After all, the narratives about the last supper seem not to have been used as liturgical prescripts. Instead, the Emmaus narrative appears to be a valid source for our reconstruction of early Eucharistic practices. After an initial reading from the scriptures, the Eucharist prayer and the breaking of the bread would follow, completed by an ordinary meal. The gospels – including John – presuppose such ritualized practice which enriches their literary description of the Eucharist by providing them with new meaning. The Emmaus story may be seen as a paradigmatic example of how textual traditions are revived and charged with experiences of eschatological presence when embedded in a liturgical practice. In order to come to terms with this surplus of experiential meaning evoked through ritualization, we pick up perspectives from linguistic research into the extra-semantic dimensions of oral language. In his article on “Intersubjectivity and Intercorporeality”(2008), Csordas objects to the characterization of this dimension as body language arguing that the designation indicates that the intercorporeal exchange may be reduced to language. He quotes Merleau-Ponty: “Meaning is not on the phrase like the butter on the bread, like a second layer of ‘psychic reality’ spread over the sound, it is the totality of what is said.” Instead of attributing language to the body, we should attribute corporeality to language. Speaking is a kind of “sonorous touching,” a “bodily secretion” or may even be seen as a fertilizing “intercourse” between speaker and listener. Whereas intersubjectivity is mediated through language, the experience of intercorporeality is always immediate. In this way, when performed in a ritual setting, the Johannine Jesus’ speeches may establish his “real presence.” The discourse of the Spirit, which is to replace Jesus’ fleshly presence in the community, may be understood as a meta-discourse on this intercorporeal aspect of language. When seen in this light, Jesus’ speeches appear to be a kind of liturgical language that mediates between preaching and sacrament. This paper is a polyphonic performance for three voices: liturgical studies, homiletics and Johannine exegesis.

The interpretation of biblical theophanies is crucial to our understanding of early Christianity’s self-definition in relation to both the sacred history of Israel and the contemporary and competing Rabbinic Judaism. My paper will take Clement of Alexandria as a test-case, inquiring about the degree to which his approach is part of an inherited tradition, with significant precursors in pre-Christian literature, or an exegetical novelty, driven by specific polemical concerns, and involved in a specific type of identity-construction.

The biblical narrative of the Samson cycle emphasizes the wine-guzzling behavior of the Philistines. When Samson set with his Philistine friends, were they having a Greek-style symposium? Philistine material culture excavated in Israel revealed a recurring assemblage of pottery vessels comprising of spouted jug, krater and small bowls, presumably used for drinking alcoholic beverages - most probably wine. The (in)famous Philistine 'beer-jug' (strainer-jug) is another vessel attesting to wine consumption. The origins of the Philistine drinking customs were considered to be rooted in the Aegean world. However, the typical Mycenaean service for drinking wine is different as it comprises deeper, krater and stemmed vessels – kylikes or goblets. While the form and decoration of the Philistine wine-drinking vessels are clearly of Aegean origins, the repertoire is more akin to the Levantine cultural sphere. There, stemless vessels, mainly bowls, were preferred for wine consumption (as exemplified by a 14th century BCE feasting assemblage recently exposed at Tel Beth-Shemesh). Intriguingly, Philistine 'beer-jugs' are missing from the first stage of Philistine pottery and appeared only later, reflecting the practice of wine straining unfamiliar in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. Philistine drinking habits may therefore hint at behavioral patterns rooted in the Orient no less than in the Occident.

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The three festival calendars of Exodus 23 and 34, and of Deuteronomy 16 present apparently the same exhortation: “No one may appear before me empty-handed!“ In the book of Deuteronomy, the invitation to bring offerings concludes the calendar and is applied indifferently to the three annual pilgrimages. In both references of Exodus (23.15 and 34.20), the phrase concerns only the feast of Mazzot, the first of the calendar. This limited statement raises an ambiguity since Mazzot has to be celebrated in spring while no harvest has yet started; therefore there is nothing to bring to Yahweh. Exodus 34 links together the offering of the first-born and Mazzot (v.19-20). Because of their primacy, all the first-borns belong automatically to Yahweh. They are unfitting as a thanksgiving offering for their “offering” constitutes a rite of passage. The wording of the offering demand in both Exodus calendars shows syntactical variations inviting to reverse the meaning of the sentence. As the verb appears here in a plural form, the expression “my face” (which is used in the plural form) without the preposition could be understood as subject. The sentence would then have a new meaning, formulating Yahweh’s commitment towards his people in response to Mazzot’s celebration: “my face[s] (YHWH) will not appear empty-handed”, announcing the benediction on the harvest. This inversion of the offerings between Deuteronomy’s calendar and those of Exodus, alludes to two different meaning of the feast of Mazzot in two different socio-historical backgrounds. It expresses also two different concepts of the deity whose generosity spreads anterior and posterior to the cult. The deuteronomistic god provides blessings to his people by means of a “contract” while the priestly god demands a ritual first of his people to which he answers by his proximity and his blessings.

The proposed paper seeks to analyze the rhetorical dimensions of a Jewish legend involving an ancient institution known as the Synagogue of Severus. First attested in the medieval exegetical treatise Bereshit Rabbati, the legend alludes to an ancient Torah scroll taken from Jerusalem during the first Jewish revolt against Rome and later transferred to the care of said synagogue. There, it was supposedly read by the second-century Palestinian sage Rabbi Meir and noted for its variant (i.e., non-Masoretic) readings of the biblical text. Although often taken at face value, the story of the ancient Torah scroll appears to be a fabrication reflecting the familiarity of the Tiberian Masoretes with classical rabbinic witnesses to ‘vulgar’ Torah scrolls and related ancient witnesses otherwise at odds with the received Hebrew text of the Pentateuch. This observation naturally problematizes the prospect of accounting for the historicity of the Synagogue of Severus itself. If not, however, as a documentary witness to that ancient institution or its scroll, it is my contention, that the Severus legend ought to be read as an authentic recollection of the situation of the local Jewish community in pre-Christian Rome. Analyzing the story in view of its rhetoric vis-à-vis the acquisition of its sacred relic, I aim to demonstrate how the Severus legend serves to legitimize the place of the Jews in imperial Rome for the benefit of a medieval Jewish readership whose own memories of the erstwhile center of Christian political power were colored by subsequent incidents of tension and regret.

In order to reconstruct the early history of the Qur’an’s written transmission and usage as a physical text, it is necessary to situate that history within the context of the scribal cultures and forms of literacy present in the late ancient Near East. Because the earliest extant Qur’an manuscripts are transcribed in a defective Arabic script that only minimally displays the diacritics necessary for the full decipherment of the Arabic alphabet’s several homographic consonants, the question emerges of who would have been able to access and read these documents. Modern scholars of early Islam have often interpreted these manuscripts’ textual ambiguity as a physical embodiment of the multiple permissible Qur’an recitations circulating in the period of their production, and/or as evidence that such manuscripts were primarily used as aide-mémoires by individuals who already knew the Qur’anic text by heart. Exploring who such learned and literate writers and readers might have been, this paper suggests that the sparse presence of diacritics in the early Qur’an manuscripts reflects their production within the context of seventh- and eighth-century Arabic scribal culture. The similarity in orthographic conventions exhibited also within seventh- and eighth-century Arabic administrative papyri and commemorative inscriptions indicates that the earliest Qur’an manuscripts were likely written – and perhaps used – by the same highly literate scribes who produced and read other Arabic texts in this period. Situating these early Islamic textual artifacts within the social environment of late ancient scribal practices, this paper investigates the role of literacy in the production and usage of the early written Qur’an, and brings this history into conversation with that of other scriptures and texts of the late ancient world.

A very brief introduction will be given on Philippians, a letter of encouragement and explanation that thanks the Philippians for their support. The audience will be treated as recipients of the letter. -- The presentation itself will cover 20-22 minutes. Afterwards, a few brief comments will be added in English pointing out some of the structures that derive from presentation and some of what has been learned in preparation. -- Five minutes will be open for questions in this time slot. However, the presentation itself provides a background to the following Panel Discussion where a generous allotment of time is open for questions from the audience and may include reference to the presentation on Philippians within the larger questions of the Panel.

In his letter to the Romans Paul considers sin to be a pervasive power in the world which is manifested in its reign through death. With the first sin came death, a penalty that not only affected the first sinner, but all of humanity. As part of his program Paul fingers Adam as the first sinner and therefore the reason that death is in the world (Rom 5:12, 14). But this view of Adam was not as universal as some might suppose. Some interpreters laid the blame not at the feet of Adam but Cain. In some ways Cain fits the category of prototypical sinner better than Adam. These interpreters noticed that the stories of Adam’s disobedience and Cain’s treachery were similar, yet contained significant differences. Adam’s act of disobedience is never described as sin in Genesis nor does he die because of it. It is only in the Genesis 4 story that sin makes its debut and it is through Cain’s murder of Abel that death enters the world. Cain, therefore, has the distinction of being the first human condemned for an act defined as sin and is the first to introduce death into the world. This paper will suggest that what Paul was doing was against the grain of many Jewish and Christian interpretations and, consequently, not everybody would have been convinced by Paul’s argument since it was possible that they subscribed to an alternative interpretation that blamed Cain, not Adam, for the presence of sin and death in the world.

My aim is to analyse Philo's Interpretation of Gen 2,18 in Leg. II. 1-18. I mean to see Adam's solitude as a human condition contrasted with God's being unique and with the situation of mankind after Eve's birth. At the beginning Adam was alone and his status made him similar to God, he was nearer to perfection. How did his duality work before the creation of Eve? And which is the relation between his being alone and God’s status? There is a problematic position in Philo’s praise of Adam’s being alone, which assimilates him to God, makes him superior to the men who will come later and, at the same time, sets him in a state of lack and need. Duality is essential to the man, both when we speak of gegonos anthropos and of peplasmenos one. This aspect can be seen in the necessity of a helper which is more recent than the man. We have here a duality in time which is particularly interesting if we consider that, while speaking of God's solitude, Philo says that in God's eternity there is nobody/nothing else. On the contrary, man cannot be alone and duality and alterity are essential parts of his being, together with his being plunged in temporality and becoming. My aim is to analyse the words expressing solitude, monadic condition, simplicity and to see how their meaning changes when related to God or to the man. The meaning of the term monos must be considered also in relation with monas and with heis: it can mean alone, unique, simple, haplos. I mean also to see how these terms change in connection with eternity and with temporality. The meaning of "helper" should also be studied, in relation both to Eve and to the animals and their receiving a name.

While the early sixth-century series of Babylonian invasions of Judah, with the ensuing deportations of Judeans from their homeland, were traumatically real, they left surprisingly little overt mark on the Israelite identity story ultimately encoded in the Hebrew canon, with neither of the two major histories giving much if any expression to the human cost of this experience. I argue in this paper that the group who self-identified as the golah had, in effect, to sell “the exile” as a defining feature of “Israelite” identity, that the notion returning to an “empty land” had to be negotiated as part of this process, and that the gender ideology inherent in, and sometime expressed by, both myths was an important aspect of their wider if not complete acceptance.

After Jehu raced across the plain driving his chariot like a ‘madman’ to the Jezreel fortress, Queen Mother Jezebel was thrown from the window and trampled to death, according to the Hebrew Bible sources. In fact, death by trampling under the sharp, flint hooves of war horses was feared and dreaded as one of the most violent and disgraceful ways to die in the ancient world. This paper analyses the killing force of the ancient war- horses and how their power was used practically and symbolically for regime change and glorified in political rhetoric by the prophets. In addition, the historical importance of Jezreel as the Omride cavalry headquarters and its function as the mustering depot for the Battle of Qarqar (853 b.c.e.) is explored.

In Book II of Allegorical Interpretation, Philo comments on the beginning of Genesis and suggests recognizing in Adam and Eve an allegory of two Greek philosophical concepts: mind and sense-perception. In § 71, he quotes Gen 3:1: “Now the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts on the earth, which the Lord God had made.” Influenced by Cynic philosophy, he then describes the serpent as pleasure and explains that pleasure is necessary so that mind and sense-perception might be united. Still, like the Cynics, Philo uses the adjective poikilos to describe the serpent; this adjective has different meanings: “variable”, “complex”, “tortuous”, “cunning”. So what is Philo's idea of pleasure — and likewise of virtue, since he uses the same adjective in speaking of self-mastery (§ 79)? Philo opposes to Eve's serpent, which he considers to be useful but which gnaws at the human soul by overstepping its functions, a symbol of salvation: the bronze serpent of Moses (Num 21:8), which represents self-mastery. Between these two serpents, and with the help of other biblical passages with serpents on which Philo comments in our passage § 71-108, is it possible first to discover an Epicurean influence that has perhaps been falsified, knowing that Philo elsewhere defends necessary pleasures over against superfluous pleasures? Secondly, in view of the meaning of poikilos when speaking of self-mastery, must not the various stages of moral progress inspired by Stoicism be linked: those progressing, the ascetics, and the perfect? If for philosophy, wisdom is possible but rarely realizable, for Philo, who is a believing Jew, this wisdom is attained thanks to divine intervention.

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Definition and meaning of Torah observance among Diaspora Jews remains a topic of keen interest. This paper will consider what is meant by Torah-observance in three bodies of Jewish Diaspora evidence representing Rome and Alexandria. Equally, each literary author is a near contemporary of Paul. We will take “soundings” from this Diaspora evidence in considering Torah observance as a means to help better contextualize Paul as a Torah-observant Diaspora Jew. The evidence to be used for analytical and illustrative purposes is Josephus’ Contra Apionem, Philo’s Hypothetica, and the Pseudo-Phocylides Sentences. We will seek to (i) contextualize the use, range of meaning and definition of Torah observance within these designated literatures (ii) clarify motives behind Torah observance language in the Jewish representatives and samples of literatures (iii) suggest reasons for an inquiry of these select Jewish authors (Josephus, Philo, and Ps. Phoc.) in seeking definitions and sensibilities of Torah observance in the Diaspora world (iv) offer evidence and texts without arguing the case in this paper for ways that may serve as potential windows to understanding Paul as a Torah-observant Jew. To this end, this study may serve as background for future studies on Paul to appreciate (a) the meaning and range of use relating to Torah oriented sensibilities in Paul (b) motives and perspectives of Paul as a Torah-observant Jew (c) locate Paul’s Torah-oriented perspective within Diaspora Hellenistic Judaism.

While diaspora is the primary hermeneutic lens utilised in this analysis, this paper employs the notions of le même and le divers presented in Édouard Glissant’s, le Discours Antillais, as paradigmatic analytics to execute a socio-rhetorical exegesis of the woman of Samaria’s encounter with Jesus at Jacob’s well (Jn 4:1-42). Implementing an experimental hermeneutic and analytic, this paper has four objectives: a) to describe how même [sameness] and divers [differentness] can help explore a text’s discursive character; b) to outline four thematic categories that are useful when considering discourses from, for, or within diaspora; c) to demonstrate the appropriateness of diaspora as a socio-rhetorical hermeneutic, for historico-literary analysis in general, for Biblical studies in particular; d) to contribute to scholarly readings of John 4:1-42 by challenging the interpretive emphasis placed on difference - the woman’s marriages/Jesus’s piety; Jews/Samaritans; These objectives are developed in four parts. The first section outlines this paper’s experimental hermeneutic and analytic. Twofold, it describes même and divers as paradigmatic analytics to critique the syntagmatic presence and signifying value of difference within text, while also introducing the understanding of diaspora employed within these pages. This comparative analysis provides intertextual parallels for conceiving the variant rhetorical and poetic strategies employed in diaspora discourse. After this sampling of diasporic literature ensues a discussion of diaspora and its relationship to the social and cultural texture of the Gospel of John. This paper refrains from an argument that the Gospel of John has a specific diasporic provenance or intended ancient audience. It does, however, argue that when one combines various textual aspects of the Fourth Gospel, knowledge of the socio-cultural and political climate of the early Roman Empire with an assumed presence of diasporic experiences and communities during the late first to early second centuries common era, a diasporic context, whether envisioned or authorially intended or not, is a legitimate and plausible through which an interpreter can conceive John’s ancient social and cultural texture. By identifying diaspora as a significant part of the social and cultural texture, this section initiates discussion of John’s ideological texture. The final section consists of an exegesis of John 4:1-42 that focuses primarily on the pericope’s innertextual and intertextual textures. A brief conclusion summarises the benefits même and divers give this diasporic reading of the woman of Samaria’s encounter with Jesus at Jacob’s well by situating this reading among traditional exegeses of John 4.

The absence of any material fulfillment of the golah community's desired restoration in Yehud produced a perceived "trauma." In turn, this resulted in the usurpation of cultural memory (traditions etc.) and a subsequent construction of an exclusive group identity. Using Ruth Leys' theory on trauma and memory, it can be shown that an initial survivor's guilt led to an autotelic response promoting the idea that the restoration of "Israel" (intentionally defined) was affected by exile (thus, explaining Ezra-Nehemiah's [also Dtr.'s] emphasis on exile as divine punishment). In other words, reading post-exilic texts such as Ezra-Nehemiah with the aid of Leys' model reveals responses to social-psychological concerns conducted by writing (autotelic) texts that argued that restoration was the desired consequence of exile--a strategy that while at first was a survival mechanism was later developed by Ezra-Nehemiah into one supporting the golah community in its contest for social-political authority. This investigation focuses on the development of that strategy within the cultural memory of the Judean exiles as that which can be determined from Ezra-Nehemiah.

For years scholars have known about the rich diversity in the apocryphal acts of John that exists in the Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic traditions, but as of yet there has been little effort to fully analyze this vast range of transmission. Therefore, my paper presents the results of not only my analysis of the Ethiopic text of the apocryphal acts of John (particularly the Metastasis), but also a comparison of the Ethiopic to the Greek, the results of which I summarize here. The analysis revealed numerous insights into the assumed textual transmission of the Ethiopic. Using Budge’s printing of two 18th century manuscripts of the Contendings of the Apostles, and what is likely a 15th century manuscript, I was able to find evidence that the Ethiopic tradition, which was previously assumed to descend from the Coptic via Arabic, actually descends from an unknown Greek tradition. Even though the Ethiopic tradition is very similar in content to the Coptic and Arabic, evidence such as the transliteration of Greek place names and syntax suggests that the Ethiopic was dependent upon a Greek tradition that has not survived. As such, it then becomes critical to compare the Ethiopic, and thereby the possible Greek behind it, to the traditional Greek in order to find the points of divergence. My analysis revealed that the Ethiopic is not only significantly longer, but differs from the Greek in the minor details (i.e., names of characters and narrative plot development). However, the Ethiopic preserves the speeches of John closely to the Greek. Therefore, my conclusion is that the Ethiopic likely built upon a very early Greek edition of the apocryphal acts of John, which was primarily sayings of John, and was later amended by the addition of narrative material.

This paper aims at demythologizing Chinese reception of Mayan 2012 apocalypse (namely “December 21, 2012” as Doomsday) in cyberspace. YouTube becomes a hotbed of syncretism between Mayan prophecy of 2012 and Christian Apcoalypse of John. By means of global marketing and glocal production, numerous Chinese Christian sects take advantage of this 2012 phenomenon. In Hong Kong, the “2012”-reception of the Church of Zion, as a case being studied in this paper, is remarkably typical and radical. The sectarian live sermons, short films and personal testimonies are posted, propagandized and proliferated via YouTube as an apocalyptic series of “texts” or hypertexts. Special attention will be paid on a keynote of their mythical reading of the Apcoalypse of John, particularly Rev 12. Their glocalized sectarian hermeneutics could be viewed as a modern gnositicism. Three features are precisely noted: syncretistic, astrological and pseudoscientific. Living in the age of information explosion, Hongkongers are overwhelmed by abundance of data. Religiosity of information age demands spiritual direction. In this manner, Hongkong “Zionists,” who are experiencing a cosmopolitan city, read the Apocalypse of John with their pluralistic and cross-cultural explosure. Like relocating all mosaic stones in the Bible, they employ an eclectic paradigm to reconstruct a biblical timeline for reading the Revelation and syncretize the myth of Mayan “21-12-2012” into it since 2009. In consequence, paradigam of “three-and-a-half” years is presupposed in their gnostic reading. Indeed they summon a “cross-textual” interpretation. In light of Mayan 2012, Revelation 12 (e.g. Rev 12:1) is interpreted with the aid of folk astronomy or astrology, especially Mayan Calendar (cf. Malina 2000). Furthermore, under influence of the marketization of Chinese churches, their pseudoscientific claims or relevance win audience, including professionals. But to certain extent, their contextual biblical interpretation reflects that Hongkongers demand a cross-cultural, cosmological and (anti-)globalist spirituality in an information age.

Numerous authors have sketched a historical outline of the political economies of ancient Israel and Judah wherein a first round of surplus extraction via taxation was followed by a second round of surplus extraction accomplished through various debt instruments. This second round of surplus extraction is seen by these authors as particularly severe during periods of agricultural intensification, such as the eighth century B.C.E. Previous studies have explored how specific literary units in the eighth-century prophets reflect and reflect upon these dynamics of debt and their role in the impoverishment of large portions of the peasantry in Israel and Judah. The older portions of the “Israel oracle” in Amos 2:6b-8, 13-16 seem to witness these same dynamics, but the oracle bristles with philological obscurities and uncertainties that have precluded its full contribution to the discussion. Careful attention to the working details of the political economy presumed allows more intrinsic and less contrived “solutions” to many of these philological difficulties. These “solutions,” in turn, help to unify the oracle in content and literary form, as well as contributing incrementally to an understanding of the role of debt in its several iterations to the process of peasant pauperization.

Of the numerous questions to be explored, the most prominent are these: Why did Jesus followers create the concept that Jesus went into Hell? Where do we find these concept? Is this concept found in Early Judaism? Why would Reitzenstein trace the concept not back to Judaism or Christianity but back to Iranian thought? Why would the Odist emphasize this concept? What is the rhetorical function of composing ex ore Christi? When did this event ascribed to Jesus occur, after his crucifixion but before his resurrection or after his resurrection? How far into Sheol did “the Son of God” enter? What image of Sheol is provided by Ode 42? What are the two main theological claims enhanced by the concept of descensus ad inferos?

In the cycles of interpretive sensibility, the Older Testament, traditionally read by Christians as Christian documents, was at least theoretically released from Christian theological constraints by turning to both the original context of the text and the text itself. This potentially undermined Christian readings of the texts along with the supersessionist presuppositions of pre-modern Christian commentaries. Post-Holocaust awareness eventually reversed supersessionist scholarship and eschewed suppersessionism. Some Christian exegetes began to read scriptural texts with anti-supersessionist convictions. Now the pendulum has again swung and the biblical guild is criticized for reading the texts simply as ancient literature thereby robbing them of their spiritual power for worship and devotion. The criticism is giving rise to a small movement promoting the theological interpretation of scripture that distinguishes itself from the earlier biblical theology movement that failed in its quest to discern theological unity in the Christian scriptures. How is theological interpretation of scripture sensitive to both concerns to proceed? That is, how are we to read the Older Testament both respecting the pre-Christian theology of the text while addressing the spiritual and devotional needs of current believers? Psalm 22 is a central text through which to attempt such a mediating undertaking for Christians precisely because it is so central to Christian piety. While many questions arise in this undertaking, perhaps the greatest challenge is to identify theological features of the text that illumine later Christian sensibilities. The reading of Psalm 22 offered here seeks to honor both sensibilities by mining the reception of the text for clues to its nurturing power. The attempt will consider the canonical Gospels’ appropriation of phrases of Psalm 22 and delve further into how the dynamic movement of the psalm illuminates the story of Jesus.

On the basis of two Sinai manuscripts, in 1955 Gérard Garitte published an edition of the Old Georgian version of the Acts of the Apostles. He was unaware that Ilia Abuladze had published an edition in Georgia five years earlier, utilizing many more manuscripts--but not the Sinai texts. Garitte's edition has been more widely used by western scholars, and the Sinai form of text has often been upheld as the most primitive extant form. Yet a thorough investigation of Garitte's text and the multiple recensions in Abuladze reveal that the situation is more complex. Nor could either scholar have known that new discoveries at St Catharine's Monastery would once again complicate things further, due to the trove of Georgian treasures amongst the New Finds. These include some badly damaged fragments of a fine Old Georgian copy of Acts, in the primitive asomtavruli script. This paper presents the results of a thorough analysis of the unpublished New Finds fragments. It not only clarifies the manuscript's significance for defining the Sinai text and for understanding the history of the Georgian text tradition, but also examines the role that new manuscript discoveries may play in shedding new light on old problems.

A number of tradition-rich motifs come together in the closely related texts, Isaiah 24:21–23 and 25:6-8: divine kingship, feasting, Zion, and Death. As part of a ongoing project on Isaiah 24:21–23 and 25:6–8, for this presentation, I propose to review primary and secondary literature on Death (???) to argue for a multi-dimensional understanding of Death and his (ironic) relationship to the motif of feasting. Attention will extend to the difference between Death and God’s celestial and earthly enemies (24:21) and to the difference in the mode of their punishment (cf. 24:22 and 25:8). I will suggest that Death is primarily an enemy to God’s royal authority but also affirm his (antagonistic) relationship to creation as an important factor in understanding the apocalyptic feast of judgment and vindication.

Abstract This article explores the meaning of the Pauline pistis Christou which has caused one of the most perplexing debates in recent NT scholarship. The issue at stake is whether pistis Christou should be interpreted in the objective genitive, i.e., “faith in Christ,” or in the subjective genitive, i.e., “faith(faithfulness) of Christ.” Because the problem cannot be settled by grammar and syntax alone, this paper focuses on the role of pistis within the dika- and the nomos constructions of Romans and Galatians to determine the meaning of pistis Christou. The article gives special attention to whether the pistis Christou construction, when it is employed with the dika- and the nomos terminology, functions as an instrument to attain God’s righteousness or whether it functions to disclose God’s righteousness. Through a contextual and exegetical investigation of Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-31, 4:1-25 and Galatians 2:15-20, 3:1-29 and 5:2-6, the article argues that the phrase pistis Christou functions as the means to attain God’s righteousness, not to disclose it. The flow of Paul’s argument in most of the periscopes of pistis, dika- and nomos construction in Romans and Galatians is on how God’s salvation in Jesus Christ has been given to us without the works of the law (“about soteriology”), rather than what Jesus Christ has done for our salvation (“about Christology”). Although both are indissolubly connected, the major issue in the earliest Christian communities including the Roman church was not of Christology but of soteriology. Christology was the accepted given and common ground for all early Christian churches, while soteriology referring to whether salvation/righteousness was given through “only faith” or “the works of the law” was debated among the churches in Antioch, Jerusalem, Galatia, and Rome. Providing support from both contextual and historical study, the article concludes that the phrase pistis Christou should be taken in the objective genitive referring to “faith in Christ” rather than in the subjective genitive meaning of the “faithfulness of Christ.”

One of the most common and popular genres of television programs today is the psychological police procedural. The procedural genre is predicated on predictable repetition, i.e., there is a formula that is routinzed, so that audience expectations operate at a normalized level. Series such as "Criminal Minds" and the venerable "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" embrace this format and seek to explore the psychological motives behind horrific crimes such as serial homicides and violent sexual offenses. In this presentation, I will examine texts that depict divine and divinely sanctioned sexually aggressive behavior by exploring parallels with both the content and form of the modern procedural drama. The importance of such a discussion is twofold: (a) noting the parallels between psychopathic sexual behavior in these series and the behavior of God in texts like Hosea 1-3 and Ezekiel 16 and 23 allows us a greater specificity in exposing the underlying gender expectations and patterns of sexual abuse in these chapters; and (b) exploring the genric qualities of the procedural can help to account for the surprising survival of explicit and abusive images, including the marriage metaphor, in prophetic literature. To be clear, I am not arguing for the direct influence of the Bible on these episodes. Rather, by placing these troubling biblical texts into conversation with (a) these television series; (b) their specific interest in psychosexual abnormalities; and (c) the episodic genre of the procedural, we can bring popular cultural forms and content to bear on the some of the Bible’s most horrific sections in the hope that one day, these cases can be closed.

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In teaching Pastoral Counseling classes one finds many resources that engage the student with the text but few which apply the text to pastoral care. Apocalyptic literature is one form of Biblical genre which students struggle to both understand and apply to their ministries. In the past I have used apocalyptic and prophetic texts along with abuse survivor stories to confront the students with both the injustice of human behaviors as well as the comfort of God. I would like to share my research concerning the effects of both the texts and experiences upon the students and their awareness in how to help others suffering injustice, pain, and a crisis of their faith. I would also like to offer a model for the relationship that can exist between Biblical scholarship and Patoral Theology in both the classroom and pastorate.

The elusive ending to the Acts of the Apostles baffles many readers. Numerous solutions have been posited, ranging from the possibility that Luke simply came to the end of the scroll and stopped writing, to the suggestion that Luke had a third volume planned that he was never able to complete. Moreover, when considering Paul’s apparent dismissal of the Jews in Acts 28, the problem of reading the ending of Acts intensifies. Does Paul say “farewell to Judaism” by completely writing off the Jews through his recitation of Isaiah’s words? Or does the pantas of 28:30 include the Jews as welcomed into Paul’s residence? Unsatisfied with previous readings of the closing of Acts, increasing numbers of scholars are rereading the ending of Acts as intentionally crafted. Literary criticism is often a recourse for such readings. Richard Pervo’s major Hermeneia commentary on Acts, for example, takes its lead from narrative criticism in order to suggest that the narrative of Acts is finished while the future is left open. In this paper, I will briefly address previous interpretations of Acts 28:16-31 as well as the effect that these interpretations have on understandings of Paul’s interactions with the Jewish community. Then, building on Pervo’s suggestion to read the ending of Acts as “finished” in light of “openness,” I will provide another possible solution to this problem through the literary theory of Michel Bakhtin, in particular his notion of unfinalizability. Unfinalizability is best represented by this often repeated quote from Bakhtin’s Problems of Doesteovsky’s Poetics: “Nothing conclusive has yet taken place in the world, the ultimate word of the world and about the world has not yet been spoken, the world is open and free, everything is still in the future, and will always be in the future.” This concept shaped Bakhtin’s notion of history, in which multiple potentials exist within the present. Read in the light of this theoretical principle, the open ending of Acts is reopened to incorporate the sense of finality present in Acts while simultaneously exploring the unfinality that exists in delicate balance with this finality. Unfinalizability, then, allows me to read Acts 28:16-31 as purposely open and creatively unfinished, and Paul’s residence as a continually reopened space for pantas.

It has long been noted that the third-century Mishnah contains extensive details about the performance of ritual in the Jerusalem Temple. Many scholars, particularly before the 1970s, believed that the rabbis preserved traditions from the Temple era about how Temple rituals were in fact performed. Jacob Neusner argued that the rabbis of the Mishnah were “reacting” to the destruction by pretending that “nothing has changed.” Building on my own (forthcoming) work, I argue in this paper that the extensive set of Temple material in the Mishnah was politically useful to the rabbis in their own time and that the rabbis shaped their laws and accounts of Temple ritual in a way that asserted authority for themselves and their traditions. The paper begins by demonstrating that there are two distinct ways in which the Mishnah conveys how Temple ritual is done: one, by describing in theoretical laws how Temple rituals ought to be performed, and two, by purporting to tell, in what I call “Temple ritual narratives,” how Temple rituals used to be performed in the past. Focusing especially on the Passover sacrifice and the first-fruits offering, I continue by showing that the two types of Temple material, in their interplay, validate the rabbinic version of the traditional way of life by reading unique characteristics of the rabbinic legal system into the past. First, both sets of material assert that there were endless varieties of ways in which the ritual could have been performed, depending on contingencies—whether, e.g., the person making the recitation could read Hebrew or whether the pilgrims lived near to or far from the Temple. These are the hallmarks of the Mishnah’s so-called casuistic law, which the Mishnah asserts were part of past observance in the Temple. Second, while the theoretical laws—like most of the Mishnah’s laws—focus almost exclusively on the individual’s or family’s ritual performance usually in the home setting, the Temple ritual narratives link the individual’s participation in the home to the public performance of the ritual by all of Israel in the Temple. In doing so, the Mishnah not only suggests that the rabbis’ own stress on the individual in the home was a component of Temple ritual, but hints that observance of the rabbinic version of traditional practice in post-temple times could, like the Temple rituals of past, serve as well to unify all of Israel.

The recipients of the Letter of James are called “the twelve tribes of the diaspora” (1:1). Understanding the Letter of James as an official “Letter to the Diaspora” from Jerusalem makes the letter ripe for a postcolonial analysis using the burgeoning field of diaspora theory. The center/margins binary created between Jerusalem and diaspora in the opening prescript of James calls on those in the diaspora to come back to the homeland. The homeland is governed by “the perfect law of freedom” (1:25) and “kingdom law” (2:8). By positioning the homeland as a rival kingdom to the “world,” James makes his claim on the diaspora’s primary allegiance. In this call to the diaspora, the recipients are forced to make a choice between the alternative kingdom espoused by James or the kingdom of the world/Roman Empire that James flatly condemns (5:1-6). The rhetoric used throughout the Letter of James is full of imperatives that beckon the diaspora to remain pure and undefiled before God. Using decolonization scholars like Frantz Fanon and Aimé Césaire as lenses to read the Letter of James, the invectives used to call the diaspora begin to reflect nativist calls to homeland. Reading the Letter of James from this postcolonial perspective changes the scholarly conversations about the Letter of James in relation to historical questions of Sitz im Leben, social setting, authorship and recipients.

This paper will examine the reception of Walter Bauer’s book by Rudolf Bultmann and his students, especially Helmut Koester. The focus will be on Koester’s contribution to Bultmann’s Festschrift, Zeit und Geschichte, his article in the third edition of Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart on heretics in early Christianity, and his article “Gnomai Diaphoroi: The Origin and Nature of Diversification in the History of early Christianity,” which appeared first in the Harvard Theological Review in 1965 and was reprinted in Trajectories through Early Christianity in 1971.

In his The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), Timothy H. Lim begins with the astute observation that “Many people have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but few know what they are” (p. 1). Ever since their discovery some 65 years ago, the scrolls (both the biblical and non-biblical manuscripts) have been a source of fascination, not only for scholars (who see in them a window through to the late Second Temple period and its textual diversity), but for the public alike, for whom “the Dead Sea Scrolls” has become a byword for mystery, conspiracy, and ancient or hidden knowledge. This paper will explore the popularization of the scrolls and attempt to explain how an obscure collection of ancient and heavily fragmented Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts have come to play such a prominent role in popular culture and the public imagination.

This paper explores the dynamic landscape of Roman Corinth, looking for ways to reimagine the Corinthians to whom Paul wrote and with whom he worked, debated, and disagreed. In exploring the literary and material contours of the city, I attempt to invoke a sense of the multiple “ordering principles,” in J.Z. Smith’s words, that were negotiated in the landscape of Corinth. Ideology and civic religion are certainly two kinds of ordering principles, but other alternatives are also important: myth, place, oracles, pilgrimmage and travel, to name but a few. What I hope to convey in my exploration of Corinthian identity is a sense of how the inhabitants of Corinth negotiated between and among these various orders, thereby creating new, pluriform ways of constructing identity and cultic practice. Out of attention to plurality and multiplicity, I discuss how we might hear the voices of Corinthians for whom the cult of Jesus offered new possibilities for negotiating life in and around Corinth.

Although Revelation had enjoyed universal acceptance in the Church from the second century onward, opinion had turned against Revelation in the East by the mid-fourth century and it was mostly rejected from the New Testament canon. But popular interest in the Apocalypse remained, especially as Late Antiquity drew to a close. The first Greek commentary on the Apocalypse appeared at the end of the sixth century, authored by Oikoumenios, a Miaphysite philosopher. As the only Greek commentary on Revelation, Oikoumenios’s work should have found a ready readership. But his commentary was quirky, unorthodox, relied on imagination and frequently expressed surprising conclusions. Shortly thereafter, the Eastern Roman Empire slid into chaos. The early seventh century saw famine, earthquakes, bubonic plague, civil war, and a devastating Persian invasion. In this apocalyptic climate, a well-known and respected exegete, Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia, composed a second Greek commentary on Revelation, one which would directly respond to Oikoumenios. Andrew wrote that he would “listen to the patristic voices.” The commentary was remarkably sound, intelligent, orthodox and preserved the entire history of Apocalypse interpretation in the Greek East, including the opinions of Oikoumenios himself, thirteen ancient writers, as well as many previously unknown oral sources and traditions. Far from being a mere “catena,” Andrew applied his own exegetical skill to those passages for which little patristic tradition existed. Andrew’s commentary had a tremendous impact. It quickly eclipsed Oikoumenios’s composition, which today only survives in one complete copy. On the other hand, one third of all Revelation manuscripts contain the Apocalypse commentary of Andrew of Caesarea. The commentary influenced eschatological opinion in the East, preserved early Greek Apocalypse interpretations, and eventually even led to Eastern Christian acceptance of Revelation in the New Testament canon after it had been excluded for over one thousand years.

The story of Jael has long intrigued scholars, artists and poets alike in its depiction of a non-Israelite woman who gruesomely murders the Canaanite general Sisera. In the context of Judges, Jael is clearly a hero, with a victory hymn declaring her the “most blessed of women.” Nevertheless, with Barak’s masculinity undercut, not to mention Sisera’s, the biblical narrative already signals the gender deviance that would captivate and frighten the imaginations of later artists and storytellers. This paper will examine a range of artistic and literary renderings of Jael, across several different historical periods, attending to the effects of different media in the gendered constructions of Jael. Artists, of course, show the gender identity of Jael, with musculature, clothing, posture, and facial expressions working to convey an understanding of the story in which Jael plays the role of a dominant masculine figure, or conversely a wily female seductress. With literary retellings, gender construction takes place through motives that are attributed to Jael by the authors. Here, too, the retellings lean in different directions, creating more or less masculine depictions of Jael and Sisera. These examples of artistic and literary renderings of Jael illustrate both the gender anxieties and cultural assumptions of the artist/author, but also provide insight into the biblical narrative.

The temple vision of Ezekiel (chs. 40-48) presents an understanding of God’s nature and presence that stands out within the Scriptures and even within Ezekiel’s scroll. It maps out a three-dimensional architecture of holiness to house the divine body—a body that physically inhabits the system in 43:1-12, a major point of resolution within Ezekiel’s scroll. Despite the startling theology of divine presence and permanence in the vision, the temple “blueprint” has hardly evolved from nothing. It arises out of a defined stream of tradition. It builds upon established Zadokite assumptions about an actual bodily presence of divine reality on earth. It elaborates its understandings and ideals by mounting daring new interpretations of the Pentateuch’s priestly legal traditions, particularly Zadokite Holiness School traditions. In this paper, I examine how the text of Ezek 40-48 characterizes the deity who bodily indwells the ideal temple complex and I probe the theological roots and sources that inform this characterization.

From Bronze-Age Mesopotamia to modern-day Latin America, debt has been used as a weapon to keep individuals and nations in states of poverty and dependence, while concentrating wealth and power among ruling and economic elites. Although illegal foreclosure practices in California and World Bank conditionality loans that generate poverty and dependence in the developing world may belong to a vastly different time than that of the biblical authors, the motivations and consequences of these activities are not far removed from examples of debt exploitation that are found in the Hebrew Bible. Cultural-evolutionary theorists find that a recurring societal pattern develops as subsistence communities enter into trade systems, regardless of culture or time, in which administrators coerce farmers into specialized agriculture and seize land through debt exploitation. Using evidence of these patterns in Judah’s entrance into Assyria’s eighth-century trade nexus, Marvin Chaney and D.N. Premnath have offered valuable new contextual insights into prophetic complaints against landownership abuse that are attributed to this time. My paper uses the effects of these same cultural-evolutionary patterns on such modern developing nations as Tunisia and El Salvador to expand the conversation and gain new insights into how debt exploitation was used to generate a poverty that not only created wealth for Judah’s ruling elites, but also solidified people’s dependence upon an increasingly powerful Judean state.

Among the diverse papyri from Oxyrhynchus are musical documents, all of them stemming from the Roman era—second century to the end of the third/early fourth centuries. Some of these materials are fragmentary musical scores. The scores of songs, which contain both lyrics and musical notation, include a Christian hymn from the later third century. This paper describes the musical documents of Oxyrhynchus, including their place in ancient Greek music and life, and gives special attention to the ancient Christian hymn.

In 3 Maccabees the interaction between the Jewish Diaspora in Alexandria and their Hellenistic overlords is, quite literally, an issue of burning significance. 3 Maccabees 2:29 records King Ptolemy IV Philopator’s decree that the Jews of Alexandria are to be branded with “the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus.” Quite what this action signifies has been the subject of ongoing dispute. Since the ivy leaf is one of the most characteristic symbols of Dionysus, does branding the Jews with his symbol make them (willing or unwilling) affiliates of his cult? At the same time, however, branding was sometimes used in Egypt as a means of identifying slaves. Would this indicate that Ptolemy’s action was intended to emphasize the Jews’ servile status? While the latter seems the likelier option, it is nevertheless highly suggestive that the Etymologicum Magnum (s.v. Gallos) relates that Ptolemy IV was himself branded with ivy leaves. Philo of Alexandria (De spec. leg. 1.58) also furnishes a discussion of the practice of religious branding by “idolators.” This paper will consider the various options presented by the evidence, and argue that a detailed examination of the rituals associated with the Dionysiac mysteries as practiced throughout the Mediterranean provides the best evidence for assessing Philopator’s attempt to brand the Jewish people.

The ethnographic literature is replete with spirit journey experiences, religious traditions are packed with stories about soul or sky travels and the scientific library is full of stories and studies about out-of-body, near-death and autoscopic experiences. Scholarly interpretations vary between easy identification of these phenomena because of the researcher’s diagnostic tool and total separation because of the experients unique claims. The neurocultural model suggests that each of the phenomena or experiences can be seen as a state of consciousness that is constituted as a configuration of neurobiological, psycho-cognitive, social and cultural elements; in short, as neurocultural phenomena. Three implications for the understanding of soul journeys follow from this. Firstly, by means of this analytical model a soul journey can be analysed as a composite neurocultural experience. Secondly, because it is seen in terms of the constituting elements, soul journeys can be compared to parallel experiences by means of any or all of the constituting elements. The suggestion of this paper is that soul journeys activate similar neuro- and cognitive mechanisms and structures as the parallel experiences but despite these shared features they are uniquely stamped as cultural realities because of their social functions and cultural ecology. Thirdly, advances in cognitive and neuroscientific research infuse this analytical model. One of the features of experients’ concepts is that single elements from the experience or phenomena are highlighted without attention to the other constituting aspects. From the perspective of this model a soul journey is always a composite neurocultural phenomenon and the fact that experients/analysts either do not know or do not recognise it does not change that fact. Local descriptions are part of the data to be analysed and not the facts to be affirmed. Analytical and not local models about soul journeys advance the scientific understanding of complex human phenomena and much is known about the neural mechanisms of out-of-body experiences. While feelings of flying may constitute the conscious state of a soul journey it does not mean anybody or anything has done the travelling.

When it comes to the evaluation of impurity in the Hebrew Bible, one frequently encounters the opinion that impurity in the Priestly Source is 'non-demonic' and as such set apart from its non-biblical counterparts. Nonetheless, some scholars still detect a weakened 'demonic' element in the Priestly conceptions of impurity which can be traced back to Israel's polytheistic past. Thus, the debate focuses not only on the nature of impurity, but also on the place of polytheism in the evolution of the Israelite religion and biblical monotheism. In order to clarify the relationship between non-biblical religion, pollution and the demonic, it is necessary to outline the manner in which the concepts of demonic pollution has been developed and employed in the field of biblical studies. The subsequent reevaluation of cuneiform sources will lead us to question whether terms like 'demonic' or 'non-demonic' can be used to describe either non-biblical or Priestly pollution.

This paper will investigate and try to uncover what can be known of the five trees of Paradise, a motif famous for being found in the Coptic “Gospel of Thomas” (log. 19): “For there are five trees for you in Paradise which remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever becomes acquainted with them will not experience death” (transl. T. O. Lambdin: 1989). Although present in texts known before the discovery of the “Gospel of Thomas”, this motif has intrigued scholars for more sixty years. This paper will start by looking closely at the characteristics of these five trees, as they are found in the “Gospel of Thomas”. Keeping these characteristics in mind, we will then shift our attention on the other texts where the motif is attested, and thus see where and how they are similar or different. Coming from various sources, the Bible, the Jewish tradition, the intertestamental literature, the gnostic literature, and Manichaeism, these other attestations of the motif of the five trees will help us to get a larger perspective of its expression in the “Gospel of Thomas”, and contribute to a better understanding of the motif in general. With the help of all the evidence that we will have gathered, we will finally see if it is possible to speculate on the origin and development of the motif of the five trees of Paradise in Antiquity.

In the past twenty years the genre of the Faerie Story, more commonly known as “fantasy,” has exploded into popularity both in the area of film and literature. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has sold 150 million copies since its 1950s release, and has had a resurgence since the books were adapted to film by Peter Jackson, selling approximately 50 million copies since the film releases. Similarly, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series has sold over 450 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages. The films have been equally successful. This genre has dominated the cultural consciousness of the world, moving from the fringes into the mainstream. This is important for those who teach in the field of Biblical Studies because both the Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series are wrought with biblical motifs. Both series have allusions to “the fall” in Genesis 3; and both contain messianic imagery, characters who play the role of “cross bearers,” and Christ figures that die and resurrect both for the purpose of sacrifice and to attain overall victory in the battle against evil. Without a firm biblical education, the future generations of college graduates will not be able to understand the theological underpinnings that root much of the popular culture that they regularly ingest, a culture that is literally altering how many view the world, and imbedding biblical concepts into common tongue via references to fantasy stories. This is especially important as biblical education seems to be on the decline in the home. Using the two fantasy works, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, this paper will make a case for the necessity of biblical courses in the undergraduate liberal arts education.

Using theorists and thinkers such as Slavoj Žižek, Fredric Jameson, David Harvey, and Wendy Brown, this paper will show how the interconnected contemporary concerns of cultural indeterminacy, individualism, free market and deregulation, a multicultural (limited) tolerance of the Other, and liberal masking of the structures of power – collectively brought under the label of “neoliberalism” – are as deeply rooted in contemporary Gospel and historical Jesus scholarship as they are in virtually all areas of “Western” culture. After outlining these ideological trends affecting scholarship over the past 40 years, our attention will turn to examine some of the ways in which Jesus’ portrayal as the “homeless one” within liberal scholarship often unknowingly reinscribes these ideas and themes. This is typically done through a massive emphasis on individual agency, a downplaying of structural causation, and an emphasis on Jesus’ Jewish Otherness whilst simultaneously making him unique and different from (scholarly constructions of) Judaism.

It is a scholarly commonplace to assert that the book of Deuteronomy constitutes a subversive rewriting of Neo-Assyrian imperial ideology. The prevalence of this assertion is attributable to the widespread recognition of similarities between elements of Deuteronomy, especially chapters 13 and 28, and ancient Near Eastern treaties and oaths and, in particular, the Succession Treaty of Esarhaddon (VTE). The object of this paper is to dispute this widely-held understanding of the relationship between Deuteronomy and Mesopotamian imperial power. The relationship between VTE and Deuteronomy is neither exclusive nor robust enough to support assertions of Deuteronomy’s subversive intent, nor is such an intent consistent with Deuteronomy’s overall interests. The paper will examine the specific arguments regarding the nature and extent of Deuteronomy’s relationship to VTE, addressing issues surrounding bilingualism and literacy as well as the nature of subversive texts. The paper concludes that Deuteronomy cannot be using Assyria’s legal and literary traditions to subvert Assyrian imperial power.

As part of the inquiry into how second century texts led to later Trinitarian formulations, this paper will consider the close relationship between Jesus and God the Father articulated in the early Christian homily known as 2 Clement. Indeed, one of the remarkable features of this homily is the way in which the author reformulates statements that refer to God the Father from what has come to be known as the New Testament and applies these to Jesus. In a significant comment at the beginning of the homily, the author states that we should think of Jesus Christ as we do of God. It appears that this association is a driving influence behind the interpretive moves the author makes, and this paper seeks to trace some of implications of this approach. This can be seen, for example, in the statement that Jesus is as a father (1.4), and in the author’s view of the divine will. Although the scriptural precedent in almost every case is to speak of the will of God or will of the Father, in a fascinating move the author of 2 Clement speaks of both the will of the Father and the will of the Son. These are two examples of a broader phenomenon of an overlapping associative relationship throughout 2 Clement. Thus, this paper will consider the various ways in which Jesus is related to God in 2 Clement, and the underlying logic of the author’s sometimes distinctive exegesis of texts and traditions. It will be argued that the author’s hermeneutic reflects his christology and allows him freely to transpose statements referring in scriptural traditions to God and apply them to Jesus—even where he may not have explicit precedent. Additionally, this paper will consider the several suggestive references to the (Holy) Spirit in 2 Clement, especially in light of the Spirit’s close relationship to the Son. It will be concluded that, though some ambiguities are to be found in Pseudo-Clement’s theological reflections, we can also identify clear distinctions between the Father and the Son and (possibly) the Spirit in 2 Clement. Finally, the significance of the interpretive approach modeled in 2 Clement will be considered in relationship to the emerging Trinitarian shape of early Christian thought.

The woman from Endor in 1 Samuel 28:3-25 appears as an evaluative tool used by the Deuteronomist to condemn Saul as a king who has deviated from the Deuteronomistic code. This woman, while portrayed as having a profound connection with the spiritual world, is condemned by the authors and later commentators as a "witch." Current discussion concerning this passage involves the efficacy of her necromantic ritual or what it reveals about the ancient Israelite view of the afterlife. This presentation will investigate how contemporary theory of how magic functions in colonial and postcolonial contexts can inform interpretations of this passage to suggest that the calling up of the spirit of Samuel was an act of resistance against the "colonizing" actions of King Saul.

Cognitive Science of Religion and Socio-Rhetorical Interpretation

The Bible occupies a unique place in some African Christians’ socio-religious space. This is because it has become a frame of reference for these Christians in issues bordering on their lives and faith. It is because of this unique role of the Bible that African biblical scholars have devised different interpretative grids to make the message of the Bible meaningful and properly internalized so as to engender social transformation in the Africa. The different African social, cultural and political situations find relevance in the interpretative process, hence the reference to this mode of interpretation as African biblical hermeneutics. However, because African biblical hermeneutics emerged from the colonial contexts made it reactionary in character. Therefore, the basic interest in African biblical hermeneutics is engaging the colonial structure and its residue in the postcolonial situations. This paper however, will explore the possibility of rethinking the interests of African biblical hermeneutics in the light of the postcolonial and global challenges. Today in most independent Africa, hunger, disease, poverty, war and other debilitating social conditions are prevalent. The cause of these calamities has been linked to the colonial era. However, it is a fact that the problems facing most African countries today are self-inflicted. In view of this, how can African biblical hermeneutics address these present realities, without necessarily seeing them mainly as consequences of colonialism? How can biblical hermeneutics in Africa be engaged to engender individual and social transformation and holistic development? How can African biblical hermeneutics be globally relevant? Proffering answers to these questions is the focus of this paper.

This paper will examine Tertullian of Carthage’s pithy oration, On the Pallium, as evidence of how clothing could be scripted in the production and performance of Christian, masculine identity. His project, it suggests, is carried out in a spirit of competitiveness, which finds him proclaiming all assertions of masculinity failed and dubious. Such heated claims have, however, lead some scholars to read On the Pallium as evidence of his supposed animosity toward the Roman world. In fact, this speech witnesses a more complex and dynamic engagement with the cultural discourses of the Roman Empire, notably ethics and moral subject formation. Rather than shun this normative discourse and its logic, Tertullian’s mines it in order to constitute a winning Christian masculinity—through dress—that is fitted to his colonial context. This paper will show that to do so Tertullian symbolically appropriates the squared-off tunic, the pallium. But this move does not simply repeat a neat dichotomy of Christian and non-Christian, or Roman and non-Roman; instead it reveals the very malleability of such ascriptions in the Roman Empire. Tertullian’s rhetorical machinations depend on his ability to highlight the multivalent ethnic heritage of this garment—Punic, African, Greek, and Roman—only finally to displace these ascriptions with the moniker Christian. My examination of this speech will indicate that Tertullian picks up on tropes drawn directly from Roman oratory in order to fashion a kind of Christian masculinity, in ethnic terms, that retains the positively coded Roman virtues: courage, discernment, self-control, and avoidance of luxury. His rhetoric is marked, then, by what Denise Buell has called “ethnic reasoning.” Tertullian’s speech re-signifies these virtues as ethnically Christian, and distinctively, non-Roman, or more precisely anti-imperial. Ultimately, I will suggest that this speech indicates how early Christians could utilize dress to shape their self-representation in the agonistic environment of the Roman provinces.

Although idol prohibitions are widely discussed in both scholarly and popular settings, the biblical terminology is often misunderstood as referring to any type of image. In contrast, close examination of the relevant vocabulary suggests that the prohibitions are most concerned with the materials from which idols were made rather than their iconographic content. When these materials are placed in the ancient Near Eastern context of international trade in elite goods, it becomes evident that prohibitions were not targeting a “popular cult” but the national religion. As such, the prohibitions may have been less concerned with the latent danger of images in general than with the socio-economic implications that accompanied the cult of elite images at the state level. Furthermore, if metal, wood, and stone images were problematic due to the particular economic system that enabled their existence, prohibitions may have grown out of the same ethical objections voiced in the Hebrew Bible’s egalitarian and agrarian ideals. In order to demonstrate the relationship between ancient Near Eastern trade and biblical idol prohibitions, this paper first briefly summarizes biblical passages that emphasize the materials from which idols were made. It then discusses the textual and archaeological data that shed light on the international trade of metal, wood, and stone, as well as the uses to which these items were put. Finally, the paper poses various motivations behind idol prohibitions, comparing these texts to biblical critiques of ancient Near Eastern imperial economic systems and their social repercussions.

This paper posits that the supplementation of postcolonial theory to the conceptual framework of African American biblical hermeneutics is effective in ironing out the knotty dimensions of a hermeneutical tradition that is based on a homogeneous identity construct because it allows for the articulation of the complexity of identity construction and cultural negotiation within a post-slavery, post-internally-colonized community. Postcolonial theory and African American biblical hermeneutics are compatible discourses because they share common goals such as: 1) exploring issues of re-presentation, essentialism and nationalism, 2) revealing the devastating aspects of neocolonialism and the lingering forms of discrimination, inequality, and racism that the system perpetuates, 3) providing alternative enunciations of the myth of origin, 4) critiquing how the West uses the concept of the Other and vice versa in the construction of identity; 5) focusing on a subversive revision of the dominant version of history by giving voice to a text muted by dominant historical referents and 6), with reference to womanists and postcolonial feminists, critiquing patriarchy as it aligns with the imperial agenda, including white feminist ideology. Yet, the application of postcolonial theory tends to collapse into a universalism and does not satisfactorily demonstrate the particular negotiation strategies of a particular community. African American biblical hermeneutics, however, with its focus on specificity, disables the postcolonial tendency to collapse specific cultural negotiations into a discourse that is so theoretically general that it disallows cultural uniqueness and difference. Thus, both disciplines enhance one another. Whereas, postcolonial theory contributes to African American biblical hermeneutics by resituating it out of its local cultural context and placing it into a broader global conversation, African American biblical hermeneutics is ideally situated to address racial issues in relation to the (neo)imperial practices of the United States. By re-conceptualizing African American biblical hermeneutics through the lens of hybridity, mimicry and ambivalence, a re-envisioning of the discipline is made possible that better addresses the broader dimensions of cultural identity without forsaking key issues and concerns of African American biblical scholars on race and gender.

Epiphanius of Salamis, whose Panarion describes and categorizes eighty different types of heresy, has a bad reputation among scholars as a man with a one-track mind and a vicious anti-intellectual streak. While it is true that Epiphanius is no Homeric scholar, and also that he criticizes opponents like Origen for their Greek education, too much focus on these facets of his rhetoric is a distraction from Epiphanius’s overall program. This paper will argue that, in addition to his heresiological project of identifying and categorizing various heretical schools, Epiphanius also sought the authority to define what it meant to be knowledgeable. Far from despising scholarship, Epiphanius consistently uses language related to intelligence, scholarliness, and ignorance in the Panarion to present himself as an ideal scholar, a man writing to readers who also love study. When possible, he readily takes advantage of Greek education by displaying what knowledge he has, heavily praising ideological allies whose intellectual accomplishments can benefit his cause, and even playing up the roles of ideological opponents who happen to offer support for particular points. In other words, Epiphanius realizes that Greek education confers authority, and he does not shy away from borrowing some of that authority for himself even as he denies it to others. Epiphanius’s aggressive comments about Greek education should not simply be interpreted as a testament to Epiphanius’s own ignorance and anti-intellectualism. Instead, they should be understood within a rhetorical framework in which he adjusts his attitude towards educational status on a case-by-case basis in hopes of gaining an authoritative advantage.

Scholarly discussions of the legal background of the narrative concerning Judah and Tamar as recorded in Gen. 38 have generally focussed on the legislation concerning levirate marriage in Deut. 25:5-10. Both the law and the narrative imply that the primary aim of the institution was to provide a son for the childless widow, but the points of similarity and difference between the two texts require further explication. The aim of this short paper is to seek to answer three basic questions. Did the levirate custom contemplate marriage between the brother-in-law and the widow? Was the levirate duty optional or obligatory? Did the levirate obligation at one time extend to the widow’s father-in-law? A comparison of the law and the narrative suggests that the first question may be answered in the affirmative. In answer to the second question it is argued that the levirate duty, in its earliest phase, was obligatory but that the later Deuteronomic provision made it optional. With regard to the third question, it is argued that ancient Near Eastern laws relating to levirate marriage suggest that the obligation devolved upon the father as well as the brothers of the deceased. Viewed in this light, the liaison between Judah and Tamar was not one of incest (as is commonly supposed) but of a resourceful widow who seeks to ensure – albeit surreptitiously – that her father-in-law fulfils his legal obligation.

According to 2 Kings 16:10-18, King Ahaz was on a diplomatic trip to Damascus when he saw an altar that he ordered to be replicated for the Temple in Jerusalem. Scholarly opinion on this altar remains mixed: some commentators see its construction as nothing short of apostasy (cf. 2 Chr 28:22-23), while others see it as a practical and necessary renovation. The political implications of the altar’s construction are often treated secondarily and are usually viewed in terms of Judah’s vassalage to Assyria. Little attention devoted to the effect of the new altar on the political landscape of Jerusalem. However, a closer look at the passage from the perspective of Henri Lefebvre’s spatial theory reveals the complex local politics that underlie the construction and inauguration of the new altar. In terms of what Lefebvre calls “spatial practice,” we note how little attention is given to the materials and methods of construction; the detailed instructions sent by Ahaz are not at all specified. Instead the report focuses on the exclusive roles of Ahaz and Uriah the priest within the sacred precinct. Moreover, the relocation of the old altar, its exclusive use by Ahaz, the prescribed use of the new altar for the offerings of the ‘am ha’are?, and the removal of the lavers, bronze oxen and “sabbath covering” may all be considered examples of Lefebvre’s “representations of space” insofar as they reflect a political and social hierarchy that Ahaz sought to inculcate. Without discounting the religious significance of the passage or its implications for international relations, this paper will examine how Ahaz’s reorganization of sacred space represents his attempt to reorder three of Judah’s most powerful institutions: the palace, the priesthood and the ‘am ha’are?.

Spheres of experience and value that moderns normally think of as distinct and perhaps in acute tension – economics, ecology, spirituality – are for many biblical writers inseparable. Drawing from Amos and Jeremiah, this paper will explore the complex modes of interaction and causality between human and non-human creatures that are foundational to prophetic understandings of reality.

I have taught Reading and Interpreting Hebrew Bible Prophets at Saint Mary's College four times since 2005. Saint Mary's is a Roman Catholic, all-women's college; my course, which counts for elective credit in the Religious Studies department and feminist theory credit in the Women's Studies minor, examines the prophets using the tools of feminist biblical criticism. Most of my students are Roman Catholic with little experience either with biblical studies or feminist hermeneutics. Therefore, their encounter with the marriage metaphor, in which God as "husband" abuses and/or sanctions the abuse of "his wife Israel" can be a traumatic experience. It can be a challenge to teach those texts in ways that are faithful to the words on the page, hermeneutically rigorous, and also sensitive to the context of my students. In this paper, I will discuss how I teach the marriage metaphor in ways that may trouble students' previous understandings of gender and theology. In the process, however, my goal is to empower and not paralyze my students, and I will talk about how that too can be done.

On the painted panel ceiling of the medieval Church of St. Martin at Zillis, Switzerland, within a larger narrative sequence of biblical and hagiographical scenes presented in the form of a mappa mundi, there is a conspicuous apocryphal scene—a panel showing a young Jesus bringing clay birds to life. This story, drawn from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, came to be popularized in the Latin West as part of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. In this paper, I attempt to reconstruct medieval perceptions of this image found in St. Martin’s. To this end, I argue that worshipers and visitors would have been prompted to view the Christ child’s miracle in localized terms—specifically, in relation to both the Alpine topography encountered outside the church and the ritual practice of baptism performed within its walls.

Contemporary scholars accept Gaventa’s proposal that Paul presents himself as an example in the autobiographical section of Galatians and describes his own experiences to demonstrate the gospel’s insistence on the “reversal of prior value-systems.” Additionally, most commentators note that Gal 1:13-2:21 includes several Pauline hapax legomena, some of which occur in 2 Maccabees, especially the martyrdom narratives that praise those who strictly adhere to the Mosaic law. I will argue that Paul draws his atypical vocabulary from the martyrdom narratives in order to reinterpret the Maccabean understanding that a faithful follower of God is one who has zeal for the law and refuses to commit apostasy in the face of persecution. While the Maccabean narratives present those who chose to die for the Mosaic law as honored models to be emulated, Paul employs rhetorical parody in order to present himself as the new paradigm of faithfulness in that he died to the law in order to live for God (Gal 2:19). According to Quintilian, Hermogenes, and Ps.-Demetrius, rhetorical parody added forcefulness to an argument by quoting a written phrase in a witty manner in order to reinterpret the meaning of the words as presented in the hypotext. Therefore, it is my contention that Paul employs rhetorical parody in order to present an argument of dissociation in which he sought to convince the Galatians that Torah observance was, in Perelman’s terminology, only an “appearance” of faithfulness. As an “appearance,” Torah observance was previously accepted and valued as reality; however, Paul argues that the “appearance,” the Maccabean paradigm of faithfulness, has been replaced by a new “reality,” a reality brought about by God’s revelation of Jesus Christ (1:12).

The paper will explore two aspects of Paul's use of the Old Testament in Galatians: (1) the status of "the scripture" (3:8; 3:22; 4:30)as text and (2) the value, or authority, of OT (salvation) history. What is the status of the scripture for Paul post Christum? Does he attribute value or authority to (some parts of) the "history" contained in the text? What is the relation between the two aspect?

Ever since Darwin’s ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,’ a causal connection is frequently postulated between tasting food and disgust. In this contribution, I study the role of the gustatory in the Book of Job in two subsidiary parts. Firstly, within the gustatory frame, ingestion serves as a source domain for discernment. Job uses the metaphor ‘discernment is taste’ to challenge his comforters: is his faculty to judge good from evil still accurate (6:30; 12:11; 34:3; 12:20; 6:6-7)? The potential failure to recognize evil when ‘tasting it’ makes food one of the loci of morality in the metaphorical conceptualizations of the Book of Job (15:16). Secondly, the poet introduces defective digestion. In Job 20, the wicked eat greedily, yet they are never satisfied. They consider evil to be sweet and take it in only then to discover it is poisonous. Interestingly, God interrupts the digestive process actively: a) he has the wicked vomit their evil out (20:15) and b) he meets their insatiable hunger feeding them his anger to subsequently pierce their innards (20:23-25; also 16:13). The failure of taste thus leads to the divinely orchestrated prevention of digestion and the creation of disgust in story and reader. For Zophar evil cannot be digested. Ironically, the poet completes his contemplation by arguing that the wicked themselves will be consumed (20:26). The possible lack of aversive stimuli in the face of evil are therefore followed by the abrupt interruption of the digestive process. The poet’s focus on the malfunction of both taste and digestion associates taste to morality and digestion to delayed retribution.

Current research on Israelite historiography focuses on the ideological bias of biblical texts, understanding biblical history writing as the discursive interpretation of history, influenced by belief systems, world views and ethic values. Applied to the book of Joshua, this entails that scholars began to examine the rhetorical, literary and ideological function of the conquest account (Kang 1989; Younger 1990; Rowlett 1996; van Bekkum 2010). A serious flaw in these studies is the absence of a reflection on how ideology operates in language. To fill this lacuna, my study aims at unraveling the relationship between language, ideology and cognition in biblical texts, in the following three steps. First of all, a clear definition of ideology will be provided, as the term has become extremely fuzzy in biblical scholarship, often blurring the distinction between ideology and theology. Secondly, I will develop a new methodology to analyze ideological patterns in biblical texts, by adopting Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), a multidisciplinary discourse approach incorporating both Hallidaean systemic-linguistics, cognitive-linguistic approaches to metaphor and social theories (in particular Foucault’s understanding of “orders of discourse”, Gramsci’s notion of “hegemony” and Althusser’s use of “ideological state apparatuses”). Finally, I will illustrate my methodology with the concept of divine warfare in Josh 10-11, and demonstrate how social problems and power struggles are manifested in the text. A meticulous discourse analysis of both the micro- and macro-level of the text, shows that the image of warfare in Josh 10-11 with its emphasis on total destruction (cherem) and complete obedience towards YHWH’s command, together with the conceptualization of YHWH as divine warrior, functions as an exemplaric case in persuading the early post-exilic community to obey YHWH’s laws and abstain from all non-Yahwistic religious customs. This study contributes to the development of critical language awareness, and provides research tools to recognize ideological rhetoric in biblical texts.

In this paper, I would like to first reiterate my position on the growth of the Book of Esther from Hebrew text to Old Greek translation and then to revised second Greek text. I will then put the literary development of the Book of Esther within the larger context of rewritten Scripture as attested in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint and among the Dead Sea Scrolls and point to the importance of multiple textforms as well as the interpretative traditions at work in rewritten Scripture.

Hermeneutics is often described metaphorically as bridging the gap between the horizons of the reader and of the text. This paper offers the metaphor of a triangulation between three perspectives: western, African, and New Testament. It reports the results of a study of New Testament texts conducted by a US instructor and Ghanaian pastoral students. A comparison of five phenomenological aspects of human existence (personhood, community, the world, time, and the spiritual) between the western and African world-view informed study’s participants in their shared examination of New Testament texts that reflect the world-view of their authors about these elements of human experience. This triangulation between three world-views permits mutual understanding: the West and Africa for each other through the medium of the Bible as a shared text, and of Bible for the West and for Africa as informed by the perspective of the other reader world. The dialectical reading of the Bible from the Western and from the African traditions opens both traditions to the synthesis of a new awareness of the message of the Bible for both. That is, the paired theses of understanding of a text from the Western and African perspectives makes possible the creation of a new understanding. As a result, the reading posture of each participant is reshaped, allowing one to interpret in new ways not only the text, but also one’s own experience, as well as sensibilities for a different contemporary culture. The texts under consideration by this study are: (1) Personhood: Romans 7:14-25, Galatians 5:16-26; (2) Community: Luke 10:25-37, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; (3) The World: John 15:18-25, Romans 8:18-25; (4) Time: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, 2 Peter 3:1-13; and (5) The Spiritual: Mark 1:21-28, Ephesians 6:10-18. The instructor, who represents the western perspective, prepared for the study not only from his own upbringing and training in western thought, but also by preaching on each of these ten passages in a predominately working-class, predominately white, predominately socially conservative Presbyterian congregation in the US, which elicited feedback from the members. Additionally, he received input from other westerners through social media. The students, representing the African perspective, prepared through personal reflection on the passages under consideration, interviews with members of their churches, families, and communities, and through a series of reflective activities for the five phenomenological elements. For each of the five meetings of the study, the instructor facilitated a process for the students to articulate Ghanaian perspectives on an aspect of the human experience, explained the US perspectives on that aspect, and led an investigation of the perspective of the texts related to this aspect. The study was conducted in April 2012, and this paper will present its results.

This paper approaches ancient slavery as a discursive formation; that is, a nexus of several ancient discourses which are inherently somatic. The study investigates the slave-body then from three, interrelated dimensions: firstly, the slave-body as a heteronomous body (i.e. a body subject to domination and rule); a carceral body (i.e. a body in a state of physical and symbolic incarceration or carceral spatiality); and, finally, a domestic body (i.e. a body that mostly functions in the oikos/domus and hence subject to various oeconomical dynamics and strategies). It will conclude with a synthesis as well as a discussion of the possibilities of this tripartite somatography for a new understanding of ancient slavery.

DeConick crafts a contemporary understanding of Gnostics in antiquity by studying how ancient religious people crafted their own identity as seekers or possessors of Gnosis. Past scholarship has been focused on understanding the ways in which historical forces are at play in the emergence of Gnostic communities and identities, although it has cast a spell of pure origins of Christianity that has been difficult to break. This spell has bound the Gnostic to a later secondary era when the pure Christian religion was threatened with Gnostic erosion and degenerations, but was saved by the heroes of the catholic Church. The other story that has been told most recently has unintentionally resulted in the complete marginalization of the Gnostic, so that the Gnostic is no longer part of history, and only the Christian remains. DeConick's own construction of the Gnostic asks us to consider the role of cognition in the formation of new identities. She suggests that Gnostic spirituality is a complex cognitive network, an emergent structure, that forms in the first century as an impulse within early Judaism and Christianity. It is a new way people begin to think about and discuss metaphysics and engage perennial conversations, many of which have existential dimensions. Once this new type of spirituality is formed in the West, it becomes dispersed into the wider cultural web of knowledge, entrenched in long-term and social memory and distributed within artefacts that were built to prompt these specific constructions of meaning. This framework continues to be operational today, as the scaffold for the spirituality of the New Age and therapeutic movements.

“What are you seeking?”: Pedagogical Implications from the Appropriation of the Philosophical Call Story in the Gospels

The Assyrian conquest of the ANE forcibly brought together different peoples to create the first great syncretistic world culture. Illuminating this syncretism is the first incantation tablet from Arslan Tash, published in the 1930's. It was found in a site identified as ?addattu, i.e., “New Town", established by Tiglath Pileser III. The text is written in an Aramaic script, paleographically dated to the mid-seventh century BCE, while the words are in a Tyrian dialect of Phoenician, with some Aramaisms, The text is a remnant of Phoenician literature and gives voice to the otherwise silent exiles caught up in the social and religious upheaval of the time. For some scholars this fascinating document has been judged a scholarly forgery, for others its unique features evidence authenticity. A case in point is the meaning of the word ?NQT which has yet to be properly explained. In this paper I argue for the authenticity of the incantation by noting that this Phoenician term is the cognate and perhaps the source of the Greek “sphinx”, from the root meaning “to strangle”. Iconographic support for this observation is the sphinx like demon depicted on the reverse side of the tablet.

Revelation is not a text that so much asks to be interpreted as seeks to interpret the circumstances in which the congregation that reads or hears it finds itself. Because of the particular challenges within their social location and recent history, Christians in Sri Lanka find Revelation to be more immediately relevant as "interpretation" of their situation and less remote (hence, needing such imaginative interpretation as we have seen among prophecy experts in the Western world for some centuries). This paper reports on conversations held with Sri Lankan Christians in the context of a seminary course and in less formal contexts of conversations in churches and homes about what Revelation "means" within, and how Revelation positions Sri Lankan Christians to respond to, the challenges of their social location. The more prominent focal points in this conversation include: the role of iconic religion in Sri Lankan majority and dominant culture, the incentives to participate, and the social consequences of non-participation; the tension between the identification of the kingdom of God as a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual entity, the ethnic violence between Sinhalese and Tamil from 1977 to 2009, and ongoing marginalization of the Tamil minority; Sri Lanka at the crossroads between several economic empires, varying perceptions of "Babylonish" intrusions and pollution, and the challenges of "coming out"; and the costliness of witness in a political order that observes no distinction between (Buddhist) Temple and State.

"Autexousion" is a technical term that is very often used in early Patristic interpretation of Scripture to refer to the human capacity for free choice. The Greek term "Autexousion" appears neither in the Septuagint nor in the New Testament. In this paper I will present the way in which this term was adapted and functioned in the very early stages of Christian theology. This term is since Justin Martyr one of the most fundamental theological and hermeneutical principles for the Greek-patristic interpretation of the New Testament. I will first describe the non-biblical background of this term and especially its mean-ing in Stoic and Peripatetic philosophy (Chrysipp, Epictet and Alexander from Aphrodisias). I will then focus on crucial New Testament texts concerning the divine and human will (e.g. Mk 14:36) and compare them with the Stoic and Peripatetic theories of free will. After this I will inquire into the reason why Justin Martyr adapts the term "Autexousion" in the second Century and why it became so popular by the next century among the most important interpreters of the Scripture in Alexandria (Clemens, Origen and Cyrill of Alexandria) and Antioch (Tatian, Diodor, John Chrysostom and Theodor of Mopsuestia). I will conclude by showing how "Autexousion" was used in the Greek-patristic interpretation of the most relevant New Testament texts concerning divine agency and human will: Rom 7:15-20; 9:22-24; Jo 6:44-45; Mt 13:11-12. I make a short exegetical excursus on these texts and pre-sent the Patristic application of "Autexousion" in their interpretation. This project makes it evident that despite the fact that the New Testament does not have any theory of human will, one can ascertain that in several New Testament texts a relative human freedom of decision is presupposed. For this reason, "Autexousion" can be accepted as a theological and hermeneutical principle because it is based on solid exegetical ground by the Greek Fathers and reflects their very good knowledge of the Greek language and Hellenistic philosophy and rhetoric. In addition to this, "Autexousion" was also theo-logically necessary in the early Christian Church as a criticism of both pagan fate-theory and astrology as well as Gnostic determinism and dualism. Finally, "Autexousion" served a practical need in early Christian theology: The application of "Autexousion" in the Patristic readings of the New Testament emphasized the responsibility of the Christian believers for living in a consistently Christian manner.

In the investigation of Jesus remembered in Johannine and Mark perspective, the following issues merit consideration: 1) Mark and John make use of materials coming from different groups of Jesus followers located in different parts of the land of Israel. 2) The groups that transmitted the different materials on which the two gospels are partially based were probably not in reciprocal communication for decades. 3) It is important to ask about the consequences of the fact that only at a certain point the traditions—that we now find in Mark—came to the knowledge of the Johannine prophetic school that was writing the fourth Gospel. 4) For these reasons, a sociology-of-memory analysis—applied to two case-studies in the passion narrative—takes into account different mechanisms of constructions of memory: distance and discontinuity, localizations of the transmitted materials, uses of written texts, and polemics between lines of transmission.

The brief command, “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk,” appears three times in the Torah. While its meaning seems plain enough, the rationale behind the law has been a puzzle with no shortage of proposed solutions, none of which has managed to attract a consensus. Some point to modern Arab cuisine; some to Ugaritic parallels; some argue that humanitarian concerns are at stake; some suspect that avoiding a “pagan” Canaanite practice is the issue; still others note structuralist taboos about mixing life with death. The only common ground among various interpreters appears to be the assumption that it was in fact a dietary prohibition. This paper will question that assumption and argue that, although the command eventually became a dietary law, it originally served another function entirely. Looking at the context in which the prohibition in its various forms appears and comparing it to biblical and extrabiblical Near Eastern aphorisms, this study will argue that the “law” was originally a metaphorical restatement of another law that had nothing at all to do with dietary restrictions. Finally, it will suggest the mechanism by which it came to be a law in its own right, as it has been understood ever since.

“Then God created Adam, human beings, in the image of God they were created, male and female He created them, She created them, God created them.” This sounds new, strange for most, heretical for others, liberating for many and, above all, courageous: it includes them. A bible translation attempting to be just, e.g. inclusive in this sense makes evident that which was not visible prior, elucidates that which could not be seen or someone did not want to be seen. The scholarly theological and multiculturally interdisciplinary translation work in the Latin American context has started. This work is dependent, aside from contextual connections, on this particular new discourse. A group of female theologians from Chile, a missionized country that has lost its own religions with the mission, is attempting to offer a separate translation relevant to present times. The starting point of this project is thus initially the particular context-steeped theology that often only exists as oral tradition and everyday practice and as such initially appears to be outside the academic context. If every religion we have today is a collection of testimonies of faith that we encounter in the form of different cultural testimonies, then that opens new spaces and rights; spaces and rights of reception as well. If the ecclesiastical year and its Easter cycle stop using northern astronomical constellations as a guide, then Good Friday and Easter Sunday could be a celebration of the rising sun in the southern hemisphere too. If Christmas would cease to be a historical birthday, then Jesus as Christ could also appear as the light in the darkness in the southern hemisphere – in June. How much are we allowed to scratch off the classic image of Jesus with the justified argument that it has been assigned and laid down as a cultural possession? He may be black, but could He also be gay? This question abruptly points out limits, especially those based solely on resentments – even if they masquerade as theological arguments. Is it irrelevant whether the New Testament’s stories take place at the Sea of Galilee or at Lake Titicaca? What are the consequences if their geography, history, culture is moved to a new location? What so-called "Proprium" remains essentially Christian and why? What are the consequences of the insight that the archaic "subduing" of Gen 1:28 means "protecting" in today’s language? Questions such as these provoke dialogue; not only theological-ecumenical or interreligious dialogue, but multicultural and interdisciplinary dialogue as well. It is more than the simple issue of correct translation whether the gospel calls us to build a path for God or make His marks visible. The scientific theological and multicultural interdisciplinary work in the Latin American context has begun in Chile and depends on that discussion along with context references. The new project is an initiative of women doing theological work. It is not commissioned by the church. That is the basis for its liberating aspect and its cultural theological potential in a structural as well as symbolic manner.

According to several ancient witnesses, Roman theology could be divided into three categories: the mythical, the physical, and the civil (the theologia tripertita). Poets like Homer and Hesiod were associated with the mythical theology and some ancient writers (most notably Plato) thought that the Homeric presentation of the gods was inadequate for the establishment of laws for the people. The Jewish historian Josephus, in Against Apion 2.240–256 enters the debate and exploits the immoral depictions of the gods in Homer for his own gain. In contrast to their unseemly behavior, he makes the point that the Jewish law was given by Moses with the concept of piety (e?s?ße?a) being the center of it all. In this respect then, Moses was far superior to the Greek law-givers because they allowed themselves to be influenced by Homer. In this paper, I will argue that Josephus actually uses the problems inherent in the theologia tripertita as a major point in the overall argumentation of the work.

Beginning in the third and fourth centuries CE, a reconsideration of the relationship between the material and the divine was underway within Mediterranean culture; matter was becoming a crucial and positive element in religiously-oriented practices such as pilgrimage, theurgy, the veneration of relics, and the liturgical use of ekphrasis. During this “material turn,” both religious specialists and philosophers began to construe matter as a valuable instrument in the deification of humans. Amongst those glorifying the material realm and incorporating the use of matter into rituals of divine participation and assimilation were the Neoplatonic theurgists and their (proto-) Orthodox Christian contemporaries. Though both Neoplatonic theurgists and late antique Christians increasingly considered matter a necessary tool in rituals of divine participation and assimilation, these groups had competing views regarding the specific type of matter to be used in sanctification. Christians found divine power in human flesh, but decried animal sacrifice and denied their God a habitable statue. Neoplatonic theurgists practiced sacrifice, statue animation, prophecy, and ecstasy to connect with the gods, but they viewed human flesh – particularly corpses – as inimical to the divine. In my paper I will demonstrate that these competing views regarding the types of matter used in rituals of deification and sanctification are directly informed by these groups’ disagreements over the nature of the divine. Late antique Christians, because of Christ’s incarnation, consider the human body to be the most sacred kind of matter, while Neoplatonic theurgists, who seek assimilation to the ineffable and immaterial One, value materials untarnished by perishable human flesh. In proving this point I will rely upon the works of Iamblichus, Proclus, the Cappadocian Gregories, and John Chrysostom.

Background: For 1 John 2:2, the eighth-revised edition of Nestle-Aland27 (1994) lists three variants for monoon (henceforth oo for Omega) in place of monon (from the majority of witnesses). Since then more manuscripts have been added to the list. The 2003 Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Critica Maior provides nineteen variants, plus lacunae, for monoon. Moreover, the presence of de and kai occurs in some MSS but not in others. Questions are raised regarding the syntax and/or grammar of ou peri toon hemeteroon de monon alla kai peri holou tou kosmou. Accordingly, different readings are possible: (a) monon with de-kai; (b) monon without de-kai; (c) monoon with de-kai; and (d) monoon without de-kai. The variants suggest a plurality of grammatical and theological interpretations of the entire text (2:1-2). Methods: Applying the criteria in the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) in the Editio Critica Maior, this paper evaluates the different readings of 1 John 2:2 in the textual tradition to see whether monon or monoon (with or without de-kai) is likely to be the initial text. The use of monon or monoon stems from the three-ending adjective monos,-e,-on, with its usual meaning “alone” or “only”. The absence or presence of de and/or kai also affects the readings of the text. Two findings will be exemplified. First, the variant monon cannot be taken as an adjective since it does not modify toon hemeteroon, but functions as an adverb in ou peri ton hemeteroon de monon alla kai peri holou tou kosmou. Second, the variant monoon must be taken as an adjective since it agrees in case, number, and gender with ton hemeteroon. Conclusions: A text-critical analysis, backed by the CBGM, indicates that de monon alla kai is the better reading in accordance with the textual tradition for 1 John 2:2. Thus, the variant monoon (in B 1 rell) is mostly likely born out of scribal preference.

In this paper, I explore the intersection between the frequently debated category of “natural theology” and the moral rhetoric in the Book of Job. Drawing on the challenges set forth by Carol Newsom in her 2011 SBL presidential address (as well as Newsom’s recent work in The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations [2003]), I explore theological anthropology and ecology as it is related to the development of the human “self” as an entity in radical continuity or discontinuity with other animals—and with the cosmic theater as a whole. Indeed, the debate between the Friends and Job directly addresses the question of self-agency vis-à-vis a deterministic natural order; within the core of the Joban dialogues (chs. 3–31), numerous appeals are made to models of creation, animal life, and plant growth as analogies for human order and suffering. For example, the Eliphaz speech in Job 4 (especially vv. 8–16, 23–27) makes shrewd references to “natural” cycles of precipitation by way of anchoring a conventional appeal to divine justice, and further appeal to covenants with the animal kingdom and the prospect of flourishing grass suggests that the trials of the suffering self can be straightforwardly tested against floral and faunal responses. In 8:11–12, Bildad evokes seemingly common-sense agricultural norms as an analogy for human faith. As a counter-model to these attempts at a seamless eco-anthropology, Job offers a shocking rejoinder in Job 12 (vv. 7–8; 22), in which animal and cosmological imagery serve as evidence for a world that can only be an inverted parody of the Friends’ concept of natural theology (i.e., the notion that God’s activity can be accurately perceived through a “rational,” conventionally-conceived image of the physical order). Moreover, the ominous references to Leviathan (Job 3:8; 41:1) and other mythological creatures (7:12; 26:12–13) heighten the philosophical problem inherent in the natural drama from Job’s (and God’s) perspective, since they introduce further distance between humans and the rest of the created order, and thus insert confusion into the anthropology of suffering as it is related to the state of non-human life forms. Thus, I argue, the Book of Job offers a supremely meaningful (and still under-explored) window into the question of whether and how the Hebrew Bible engages with the problem of “natural theology,” and this engagement contributes data to our study of the evolution of Israelite psychological formation in antiquity.

In his Sermones super cantica, the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) develops an epistemological model which centers around Christ incarnate. Christ is the Word (according to St. John), and so for Bernard – who draws upon the patristic tradition – the word of scripture and Jesus Christ the man are two faces of the same coin. The Sermons on the Canticle were written mostly for monastic readers and serve Bernard as medium for religious education, formation of monks in this case. For a historian of religion, Bernard’s exegesis is in many ways of interest: he presents an allegorical exegesis of the Canticle, connects his findings with his exegesis of other Biblical passages but also draws upon scripture as present in the acustic environment of the monastery – the liturgy – thus employing an aesthetic pedagogical strategy.

Despite the widespread practice of crucifixion in the Greco-Roman world, most first-century authors were reluctant to mention the cross—see Martin Hengel (1977) and Sean A. Adams (2008). Cicero even forbade Roman citizens to utter the shameful word crux. Nevertheless, two Roman citizens—Paul, the Christian apostle and Seneca, the Stoic senator—not only mention the cross: they astoundingly depict themselves as having been crucified. Furthermore, both employ this metaphor of the cross in a defense against respective opponents and refer to crucifixion in relation to sinful passions. While scholars have often found great value in comparing Pauline concepts with Stoicism in general and the thoughts of Seneca in particular, they have tended to neglect this striking similarity. This paper, then, seeks to continue the comparison by heuristically examining Paul’s use of the cross in Galatians and Seneca’s use of it in De Vita Beata. Will any resemblances found reveal their differences more clearly so that one can better understand Paul and Galatians as well as Seneca and De Vita Beata? If so, then how so? In the pursuit to answer these questions, I will first explore the accusations Seneca faced and how the Stoic takes up the cross to silence his foes. Next, I will discuss the likely charges made against Paul by his opponents in Galatia and how the apostle wields the cross in defense of his apostleship. In the final section, I will compare the similarities and differences between their employments of the cross metaphor in order to provide a fresh reading of both Galatians and De Vita Beata.

In preparing the Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia’s (BHS) Masorah, Gérard E. Weil did not diplomatically present the Masorah of the Leningrad Codex (ML) as the editors of BHS did with ML’s text; rather, he opted to “complete,” “revise,” and “integrate” (BHS, xv) the text and Masorah of ML. Weil marked certain Mp notes “sub loco” in the Masoretic apparatus of BHS in order to indicate that the note required discussion, which was to be found in the commentary of Massorah Gedolah, vol. 3. Due to Weil’s passing, however, this commentary was never realized. A published analysis of BHS’s sub loco notes had to wait until Daniel S. Mynatt’s groundbreaking 1994 monograph, The Sub Loco Notes in the Torah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, wherein he lists, analyzes, and classifies the Pentateuch’s 297 sub loco notes with a view to determining how and why BHS’s Mp differs from that of ML. Since that time, no analysis of the sub loco notes of the Prophets or the Writings has been published. Thus, continuation of Mynatt’s research into the next section of the Hebrew Bible, the Former Prophets, is the next step in both completing and analyzing the unfinished work of Weil. In this paper I shall discuss how my Ph.D. dissertation on the sub loco notes of the Former Prophets builds upon and develop Mynatt’s treatment of Weil’s sub loco notes and how my research will serve as a value to supplement the Masoretic commentary of Biblia Hebraica Quinta.

Redemptive almsgiving — that is, the notion that providing material assistance to the needy redeems (or cancels, or cleanses) human sin— is an important concept in many Second Temple Jewish texts (e.g., LXX Dan 4:27; LXX Prov 15:27; Tobit 12:8-9; Sir 3:30) and in early Christian literature (2 Clem. 16.1-4; Didache 4.5-8; Herm. Sim. 2.5-6; Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 31-32; Cyprian, Eleem.) It has been suggested that prophetic critiques of ritual sacrifice, which are frequently coupled with calls for the demonstration of justice for the poor, paved the way for the emergence of this doctrine in Judaism and Christianity. Thus, Roman Garrison suggests, “The Prophets lay much of the theological groundwork for the doctrine of redemptive almsgiving” (Redemptive Almsgiving, 48). This paper will explore connections between the prophetic critique of sacrifice and the emergence of redemptive almsgiving in Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period and in select early Christian texts. Given that many Jewish and Christian proponents of redemptive almsgiving do not appeal to the prophetic writings in their advocacy of the practice, combined with the fact that the motif of justice for the poor is often minimized or absent in this particular soteriological model, criticism of the sacrificial cult among Israel’s prophets and the prophetic emphasis on justice do not appear to have been major factors in the emergence of redemptive almsgiving in Second Temple Jewish and early Christian literature. Moreover, as Jonathan Klawans has shown for the prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible itself, Second Temple Jewish texts that emphasize the redemptive value of alms are quite compatible with the continuing legitimacy of the Jerusalem temple cultus and do not categorically reject sacrifice. Similarly, early Christian texts do not reflect the view that the promotion of redemptive almsgiving and the importance of sacrifice are mutually exclusive, even as Christian literature tends to reinterpret the concept of sacrifice in light of Jesus’ death.

Famous Rab-shaqeh’s speech addressed to the Jerusalemites on the city walls has been the object of numerous scholarly studies. In this paper I will investigate some Neo-Assyrian letters and inscriptions. First, I will analyze in detail the digital photograph of tablet 81-2-4,96 (ABL 685; SAA XV 136), and then I will offer some comments on Sennacherib’s inscriptions. Based on this study I will conclude that an Assyrian diplomatic mission, which took place under the walls of Jerusalem, can be connected with the episode of Sennacherib’s annals describing how Assyrian officials forced Hezekiah to bring Padi, the king of Ekron, out of Jerusalem.

This paper will present for the first time in a scholarly venue an unpublished Aramaic-Hebrew bilingual amulet which is part of the Green Collection of texts. The goal of the Green Scholars Initiative (http://www.greenscholarsinitiative.org/) is to bring faculty and students together to research the items in the Green Collection. Thus, this paper is a co-presentation of professor (Robert Duke) and two students (Lance Baker and Andrew Wall). This paper will have two foci: 1) an overview of the content and possible date of composition of an unpublished silver amulet which quotes the Shema and 2) a discussion of the use of the Shema in the known amulet corpora. The goal is to show how the Shema was used in the popular religious activity of using amulets to ward off illness and other “demonic” activities. The first part of the paper will provide a transcription, translation, and discussion of the material on this amulet. This amulet contains seven lines with an incantation that uses Scripture to ward off the “demon of afflictions”. This part of the paper will conclude with a suggested date of composition. The second part of the presentation will survey all the known amulets from the Near East which quote the Shema to ward off illness and disease. The use of this text in this context gives insights into the popular use of this central daily Jewish prayer. The use of amulets in folk medicine is well-known throughout the world, and this paper will give special insights into how the Shema was used in this enterprise.

The problem of Adam’s silence during the dialogue between the serpent and Eve is a well-known crux in Genesis 3. While classic rabbinic midrashic sources are not entirely consistent on this question, they generally consider Adam’s absence from the conversation as evidence that Eve is primarily to blame for heeding the serpent’s speech. However, the eighth - ninth century CE redacted collection Avot de-Rabbi Nathan Version A (ARNA) shifts the blame from Eve to Adam, assigning near exclusive culpability to the latter. This study examines the shift in ARNA, proposing that the work’s Islamic cultural milieu, particularly the Qur’anic account of the ‘Fall of Adam and his wife,’ may account for ARNA’s divergent perspective: the elevation of Adam’s status to khalifa and prophet on the one hand and Eve’s diminished role as unnamed spouse on the other may be at work here. This study argues that the shift of focus is thus not an ‘exoneration’ of Eve in ARNA but evidence of her ‘occlusion’ in this early medieval retelling.

Alverno College uses eight Abilities which students demonstrate at various levels as the core of its teaching and assessment. Teaching an upper-level undergraduate course on "The Biblical Worldview" provides the medium through which the Bible is used for students to demonstrate analysis, developing a global perspective, valuing, aesthetic appreciation and effective communication. Students learn to appreciate, understand,and apply the Bible using tools of modern scholarship. Using an ability-based approach centers classroom learning on student activities and makes the process more relevant and effective than lecture and grade-based methods.

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The traditions locating the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul in Rome represent foundational narratives for the formation of Christian identity, particularly Roman Christian identity. While there is great variety within the different accounts of the circumstances and precise causes of these deaths, the sources nevertheless tell the story of a united apostolic mission, the “concordia apostolorum.” Walter Bauer’s emphasis on the variety within early Christianity, however, compels us to read the evidence of primitive Christianity with fresh eyes. Such close reading reveals a possible alternative explanation for the apostolic deaths in a rather unexpected place, 1 Clement. Here we find the suggestion that Peter and Paul died as a result not of external persecution, but of discord within the incipient Christian community.

Psychologists and cognitive scientists have postulated that humans tend to be lazy in their thinking and revert to a limited number of socially reinforced default mental categories and patterns in our thinking. Biblical scholarship can offer corroborative evidence of this tendency in the literature in the Hebrew Bible, which mirrors practices in the larger ancient Near East. Scribes seem to have employed a limited range of patterns that they likely memorized during their formal training and used them as a “vocabulary” in a number of different combinations to generate their compositions, similar to the elements that have been identified to be the building blocks of folktales. One of these specific patterns will be examined: the kinghip pattern, which is best known in mythic forms in the Ba’al cycle from Ugarit and the Enuma Elish. It is used in various biblical texts to remember and reinforce divine and human royal ideology: psalms, the book of Exodus, 1 Samuel, and prophetic texts. Such practices of representing the past in familiar patterns, where details that do not conform readily to established patterns are omitted initially if not over time while others can be added on the basis of the pattern, makes the evaluation of potential evidence by a contemporary historian who is interested in recreating history on the level of event much more complicated.

The purpose of this proposed essay is to examine the dietary recommendations given to women by Basil of Ancyra and Aetius of Amida in De Vera Virginitatis Integritate and The Tetrabiblion, respectively. I will argue that both writers, though writing for different purposes and to different female audiences, both ascribe to Galenic theories of the effect of certain foods on the fertility, sexual desire, and the production of semen in women. Aetius of Amida, a court physician to Justinian in the sixth century C.E., writes in The Tetrabiblion for the woman who desires to maintain sexual desire and fertility through increased production of semen and regular menstrual flow. These effects can be achieved, he argues, through a diet of moist, heating foods. In contrast, Basil of Ancyra, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia in the mid-fourth century C.E., writes in De Vera Virginitatis Integritate for the virgin who desires to maintain sexual chastity. She can achieve this goal in part by reducing her sexual desires and production of semen through an abstemious diet of cooling, drying foods. Galen of Pergamon, physician/philosopher writing in the fourth century C.E., articulates the theory that the production of semen is directly linked to dietary regimens, with heating, moist foods stimulating the production of semen, but with cold, drying foods depressing the production of semen. I will maintain that both Aetius and Basil, either directly or indirectly aware of these theories, apply them to their respective female audiences according to their rhetorical strategies.

Since Benetton courted controversy in 1991 by linking the death of AIDS activist David Kirby with the crucifixion of Jesus in their multi-award winning advertising campaign ‘Pieta’, Christ-imagery has become ubiquitous in contemporary advertising. This paper investigates the trend that has seen Christ become the poster boy for companies looking for a way to offer their brand an edgy, irreverently cool reputation among their target markets. Advertisements employing Christ-imagery, however, are usually irreverent only to the traditional Western construct of Jesus as a blonde, white man whose ‘masculinity’ is often downplayed. Such images rarely make any attempt to parody or lampoon the Christian faith. In fact, where male celebrities are represented as Christ-like it signifies enormous respect for the artist as a suffering servant of their art and the images tend to be released simultaneously with press interviews about the artist’s deeply-held Christian beliefs and love or admiration for Jesus. In advertising campaigns then, Christ-imagery is used as a vehicle through which marketers can communicate messages about the brand they are promoting, whether that be a hip hop star or a clothing store, through constructions of race, sexuality and masculinity. This paper will look at examples from promotional campaigns for hip hop artists Kanye West, Tupac and Sean Combs, alongside fashion and sports-clothing advertising to show how Christ-imagery functions as a tool for the negotiation of traditional ideas of racialised masculinities.

This study sets out to examine the subjective psychological effect of reflecting upon and praying through texts taken from the Book of Ruth (Ruth). A group of men and a group of women from a (South) African university were presented with selected texts from Ruth, and invited to reflect upon /pray through using Ignatian meditation. Following this exercise, participants were invited to participate in a focus group in which they shared the impact of this exercise on their subjective sense of self and (gendered) identity. The focus group material was subjected to a critical thematic analysis, in order to identify what aspects of the exercise were most responsible for reported subjective changes. In this paper, which reports the results of this analysis, particular attention is given to the comparative effect on men and women participating in this exercise, and the differential effect of various aspects of the exercise on men and women.

Most members of the Corinthian ‘ekklesia’ were used to a context in which numerous deities were seen as responsible for diverse aspects of life. Entrenched in their ‘habitus’ was the perception that each aspect of life required the appropriate relationship to a specific deity. Adherence to the respective cultic practices was vital for the well-being not only of the individual but also for the well-being of the polis as favourable returns were only guaranteed by proper cultic practices. To attribute responsibility for all aspects of life to just one single deity would have been most strange when perceived from such a perception and practice and could have been seen as risky, dangerous or even malicious. The Jewish refusal to pay ‘proper’ respect to the deities invoked, under certain circumstances, an image of them as being ‘asebeios’ or even haters of humankind which could be seen as a threat to the well-being of the polis. I will argue in this paper that such perceptions together with potential fears they could have invoked among Greek and Roman neighbours in Roman Corinth might have been the reason for Paul having to deal at such length with the issue of the oneness of God and the Spirit in 12. 1-11. Having argued clearly and beyond doubt in chapters 8-10 that anything which could be seen as involvement with an ‘idol’ or ‘demon’ was out of the question for a member of the ‘ekklesia’ it might have been necessary for Paul to reassure the Corinthians that all of their spiritual gifts were actually rooted in the one God, rather than with other beings, and that none of these had got lost or were omitted because they had ‘turned away from idols’. By providing assurance that all of these gifts are actually provided by the one God, the well-being and building up of the ‘ekklesia’, rather than being neglected, remains at the centre of concern. Paul is thus seen here as negotiating ‘cultural translation’ between different ‘symbolic universes’ (Jewish and Graeco-Roman) in that he tries to explain how with the ‘turning-away-from-idols’ aspects of life, with which the Corinthians were familiar and which had relevance for their life in Christ should be understood and practised by members of the ‘ekklesia’. By providing internal assurance to the members of the ekklesia, Paul, whether consciously or inadvertently, also challenged loyalty claims if not to the polis then certainly to the empire, because the receiving of decisive gifts was not attributed to a polis or empire deity but to the one God.

Within the prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible, the reader comes across oracles announcing radical rejection of sacrificial cult, as well as prophecies that presuppose or even actively promote sacrificial worship of YHWH. Sometimes such apparently contradictory utterances stand side by side in the same book. Jeremiah is a case in point. Since the book of Jeremiah displays a rather high degree of ideological coherence (despite its complex process of coming into being), it is unlikely that this perplexing juxtaposition of cult-critical and cult-positive texts is due to editorial oversight. In this paper, an alternative solution is presented. On the basis of an analysis which combines rhetorical analysis and redaction criticism, it is argued that the cult-critical and the cult-supporting prophecies in the book of Jeremiah are perfectly compatible, from an editorial point of view. More precisely, they are compatible with a positive stance toward sacrificial cult in the Second Temple (as opposed to the cult in the First Temple, at least during its last decades). However, this does not mean that the textual material is free from tensions. While some passages, adopting a Jerusalem-centered perspective, include sacrifices as an integral part of their vision of ideal worship, other passages, accommodating the message to the reality of Diaspora communities, tend to relativize the role of sacrifices.

The Gospel of Luke and that of John are the two canonical gospels with a first-person narrator (Luke 1:1-4; John 1:14, 16; 21:24-25). The presence of these narrators gave rise to a number of different hypotheses. My thesis is that the narration of Luke-Acts can most adequately be analyzed using narratological tools. In a second step, those observations may be contextualized within the literature and history of early Christianity. First I will single out the narrative metalepsis in the Luke-Acts. Gérard Genette defines metalepsis, a term from ancient rhetoric, as “any intrusion by the extradiegetic narrator or narratee into the diegetic universe (or by diegetic characters into a metadiegetic universe, etc.), or the inverse” and “taking hold of (telling) by changing level” (Genette, Narrative Discourse [Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1980], 234–35). For Luke-Acts, Anja Cornils has analyzed a metalepsis in her essay, “La métalepse narrative dans les Actes des Apôtres: un signe de narration fictionnelle?” in J. Pier / J.-M. Schaeffer, eds., Métalepses (Paris: Éditions de l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 2005). I want to offer proof for and expand Cornils’s arguments, correlating them with a proposed metalepsis in the Gospel of John. Luke’s gospel opens with a prologue by an extradiegetical narrator (Luke 1:1-4), who in the second book surprisingly becomes a character in the story, a companion of Paul in the so-called “we” passages. In the Gospel of John the reader encounters a “we” narrator (John 1:16, 18; 21:24). Confusingly enough, this first-person-plural narrator becomes a first-person-singular narrator in the very last verse of the gospel, saying that the true narrator of the gospel is the “beloved disciple”. How is it that one narrative level has intruded on the other? What effects does this produce? My inquiry will further seek the functions of this narrative strategy. My supposition is that in early Christian literature it serves as a claim to authority. It may not be accidental that we find the narrative phenomenon of metalepsis solely in the two later gospels. The first-person narrators explicitly demonstrate that they have to compete with other narratives of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:1-4; John 21:25). In light of that competition it makes sense to lay special emphasis on the authority and truthfulness of one’s own narrative.

I believe my proposal speaks to the first theme mentioned in the CFP: During the first four centuries of the common era, Judaism and Christianity developed distinct hermeneutics of scripture that are mirror images of one another. Judaism came to obsess about the graphic form of the written text to an extreme degree—one could even say the graphic presentation of the Torah was fetishized--while simultaneously cultivating a rather free-form culture of scriptural interpretation, as manifest in rabbinic literature. Christianity, by contrast, did not overly concern itself with the graphic or material form of scripture, but with stabilizing the meaning of the Bible, with Christian authorities ultimately working to fix a singular interpretation as orthodox, not open to challenge without the risk of being labeled heterodox. I realize this is a big claim, and one which uses traditional categories like “Judaism” and “Christianity” that may easily be problematized. But I intend these categories largely as starting points on which to map the data through a process of comparison and contrast (ultimately I intend including the scriptures of other ancient traditions, as, for example, Manicheanism, but in the interest of time, I will most likely not include that material in this presentation). The data are essentially of two types: manuscripts of scriptural writings and comments about the graphic production of scripture found in rabbinic literature and patristic authors. Although time is limited, I hope to present enough of a range of material to illustrate these contrasting attitudes toward scripture-as-writing in Jewish and Christian communities. I will conclude with some reflections about the way these different treatments of material scripture correspond to and facilitate different models of textual power and religious authority.

In this paper, I will demonstrate that Q 57 should be read alongside Acts 13 and 21. More specifically, I will argue that the Arabic text of Q 57:26-27 is best understood in dialogue with the Syriac text of Acts 13:1 and 20:28. On the intertextual level I will illustrate four things. First, I will show how the “prophecy and teachings” (al-nubuwwah wa al-kitab) bestowed upon the offspring of Noah and Abraham (Q 57:26) make reference to the “prophets and teachers” (nabiye w-malpane) sent to the church at Antioch—including Paul (Acts 13:1). Second, I will show that the verb qaffa (Q 57:27) should be understood as “to match,” and implies the existence of two different churches (probably at Antioch and Jerusalem). Third, I will show that rahbaniyyah (Q 57:27) refers to the “clergy, overseers” (episqupe) mentioned by Paul in Acts 20:28, and that it was a gift from God until Paul and his followers “perverted it” (ibtada‘uha). Fourth, I will show that the phrase “they did not care for it as it should have been cared for (fama ra‘awha ?aqq ri‘ayatiha)” in Q 57:27 is a polemical response to and a play on the words of Paul in Acts 20:28, namely “to care for the church of God (d-ter‘un l-‘idta d-alaha).” On the contextual level I will argue that the Qur’an takes sides in the Early Church controversies in the wake of the Council of Jerusalem (ca. 50 CE). In the case of the dialogue between Q 57:26-27 and Acts 13:1 and 20:28, the Qur’an considers Paul’s abolition of circumcision for Gentile converts a corruption of clerical authority and in direct violation of Jewish Law. Instead, the Jewish-Christian sensibilities of the Qur’an (and perhaps Muhammad) cast a more positive light on the early Church in Jerusalem established upon the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and leadership of the apostle Peter.

Examples and Precedents were thought to be a necessary ingredient in order to persuade and to clarify within Progymnasmatic teaching on narrative composition. In Luke's special material in the Third Gospel we find distinctive examples of important Christian experience not just because Luke has sought these out randomly from Jesus tradition, but because of progymnasmatic influence. A similar performance is found in the Book of Acts. Specific and descriptive examples of salvation and of Spirit-reception are included in both documents to provide rhetorical precision with regard to important Christian experience. These narrative examples also employ Pauline language and thereby greatly clarify Paul’s letters so as to stimulate fresh re-readings of them.

1QSamuel, found in Cave 1 by de Vaux in 1949, was published in DJD 1 (1955). Barthelemy noted that this scroll did not contain 2 Sam 24, and suggested that the scribe could have attached this chapter to a scroll of Kings. A hitherto unknown fragment of 1QSamuel has surfaced in The Schøyen Collection (2 Sam 20:22-24). The presence of this fragment enables a new physical reconstruction of the end of this Samuel scroll, which preserved remnants of chs. 20, 21, and 23. This scroll, copied in the early Herodian period, neither contained the psalm of ch. 22 (=Ps 18) nor the story of the census in ch. 24. Only five of the eight appendices to 2 Samuel in chs. 21–24 were present in this early recension, and the sequence of the appendices is different from the later canonical order. 1QSamuel shows a stage in the literary growth of Samuel before the book had reached its final form. The recension of 1QSamuel represents a documentary confirmation and refinement of Karl Budde’s outlining of the editorial process behind 2 Samuel (1903). It shows light on the development of the varied textual tradition of the books of Samuel in Hebrew and Greek. A tentative outline of the main editorial processes behind 1–Samuel will be suggested.

Joseph Smith’s use of seer stones, divining rods, and other practices known to America’s frontier folk magic tradition, is common knowledge among historians. Evangelical critics of Mormonism also know this and present it as counter-evidence of his prophetic claims. Mormon apologists sometimes implicitly accept their critics’ premise and seek to minimize Joseph Smith’s seemingly superstitious activities. Missing from these discussions have been folklorists and Bible scholars—the two academic types perhaps best suited to interpret such practices for moderns. Folklorists understand “magical” traditions in comparative perspective, and Bible scholars understand how prophetic roles were understood in the ancient religion Joseph Smith claimed to restore. The author of this paper teaches folklore and the Bible as literature and brings these disciplines to bear on a subject so far mostly handled by historians of American religious history, Mormon critics, and apologists. In so doing, the author suggests that, properly understood, Joseph Smith’s involvement in folk magic is not necessarily as alien to either Biblical religion or the modern world as many have presumed.

While imprisoned during the final year of his life, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “[The church] must not under-estimate the importance of human example . . . ; it is not abstract argument, but example, that gives its word emphasis and power” (Letters and Papers from Prison). This paper will explore the relationship between preaching with words and preaching with deeds in 1 Corinthians. The presentation will ask: What can be learned from 1 Corinthians about how the gospel works its way from the preacher to the congregation, so that the message of the gospel becomes embodied through the life of a congregation? The paper will offer three brief exegetical sketches as it argues that the apostle Paul considers participation in Christ and in the gospel to be foundational for integrating word and deed. Two of the sketches will deal with Paul’s commands to imitate him in sections of the letter that portray his participatory union with the gospel – 1 Cor 4:16 in the context of chapters 1-4, and 11:1 in the context of 8:1-11:1. The other will examine the relationship between preacher, gospel, and congregation in 1 Corinthians 15. The exegesis will establish that, to win the Corinthians to a gospel which must be embodied, the apostle himself not only preaches the gospel but embodies it in his life and self-portrayal. Paul’s pastoral work in writing 1 Corinthians involves continuous depiction of the integration between gospel and life. He continually exemplifies for the Corinthians what it looks like to be rightly related to the message of the gospel. Moreover, the paper argues that the constant aim of Paul’s message and example is to invite the congregation to share in his participatory relationship with the gospel, so that the pattern of the gospel becomes their own manner of life, and so that their deeds work in partnership with the gospel’s power. Paul’s steady supply of images that connect the gospel with his way of life invites the Corinthians to take Paul’s vocation of embodying the gospel and embrace it as their own vocation.

God’s memory in prophetic literature is both infallible and comprehensive. The implications of such memory, however, carries different significance in the theologies of First Isaiah, of Hosea and Jeremiah, and in those of Ezekiel and Second Isaiah. This paper offers an analysis and comparison of God’s memory in this corpus based on close analysis of memory terminology and its deployment in each. It demonstrates that First Isaiah conceives of God’s memory as perfect and absolutely free and imagines its use principally to execute just punishment on the wicked. For Hosea and Jeremiah, however, memory constrains God even as it feeds his anger at Israel’s wayward behavior. God is bound by a fond nostalgia for Israel which prevents him from abandoning wholly his people. Finally, Ezekiel and Second Isaiah impart to God the freedom to remember and forget at will. Out of the language study, this paper maps the character of God’s memory for each prophet and considers it in terms of historical circumstances in which each worked.

The Book of Ruth presents the reader with a tale of one woman’s extraordinary faithfulness to her mother-in-law, which ultimately leads to her participation in King David’s ancestral line. Juxtaposing this tale, in certain manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, is the final chapter of Proverbs, more specifically Prov 31:10-31, which describes a woman of noble character. The present study investigates various subtle, and yet tangible, intertextual associations between the aforementioned texts. Though the intertextual associations between these two works are not immediately apparent, a closer examination reveals various lexical and thematic links between them. As a diachronic analysis, the study first determines the relative dates of the two compositions. To achieve this, it depends primarily upon the foundation of contemporary scholarship. After this it discusses each of the proposed connections between the two works. Taking the results of the dating and analysis of intertextual associations, the paper concludes that the connection between the two texts may not be coincidental, but one author has apparently influenced the other’s composition.

Why do some people in the Fourth Gospel come to faith in Jesus? And why do others not? The paper attempts to answer these two questions by arguing that in John 7-8, the author develops through narrative means a fairly full theory, or even epistemology, of faith that explains the differences in people’s reactions to Jesus. Central concepts in this theory are the notions of ‘wanting to do God’s will', ‘hearing’, ‘having the spirit’ and, conversely, being possessed by demons, including the father of them all, Satan. In articulating the inner logic between these concepts, the paper draws on certain specific ideas in Greco-Roman philosophy contemporary with John (not least the Stoic notion of pneuma). Thus the paper is an exercise in so-called ‘philosophical exegesis’ of John. However, it is a key claim that the philosophical core of the theory ascribed to John can only be recovered through a narrative analysis of the development of John’s story in the two chapters that brings out how one and the same theme is gradually given an ever sharper profile throughout these chapters. Thus ‘philosophical exegesis’ in John requires attending to the ‘cumulative force’ of his narrative argument.

In a joint 2006 venture headed by Prof. Michael Gervers and sponsored by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, the contents of the library of Gunda Gunde were digitized. As this has long been recognized as one of the most important sites in Ethiopian monasticism, this project fulfilled a longstanding scholarly desideratum. Significantly, this monastic library includes thirty-two manuscripts containing one or more books of the Ethiopian Old Testament, all but one of which can be dated between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, thereby rendering these copies among the oldest known exemplars of these texts. Although multiple copies of many OT books are attested, peculiar and increasingly corrupt textual strains are endemic, necessitating caution in the utilization of these manuscripts in text-critical work. Particularly noteworthy examples include the appendage of the Life of Ezekiel onto the end of the canonical book and the unique version of Jubilees in the many exemplars from this location, each of which respectively aids in establishing the provenance of Gunda Gunde manuscripts now in other collections.

In The Wilderness Itineraries: Genre, Geography, and the Growth of Torah, I argued that the priestly wilderness narrative is a vision for return to the land and restoration of cult, calendar, and social structure after exile, similar in goal to the vision presented in Ezekiel 44-46. In this paper, I will more fully explore how the priests and levites were characterized in Numbers 3-4 so they fit into this annalistic mode of emplotment. I will also explore how the priestly social structure in Numbers 3-4 compares to that in Ezekiel 44 and to a limited extent 1 Chronicles 1-9 in an effort to better understand the social and historical context in which this priestly emplotment of the wilderness narrative was made.

The presentation of prophetic sign acts in the book of Jeremiah transmit a certain kind of a communicative act, no matter if with a historical background or imagined, and transmit it to a different kind of medium, a narrative text. Considering a number of aspects the structure of prophetic sign acts corresponds to the structure of performances of artists as Valie Export in the 1970th or more recently Marina Abramovic in modern art. The prophet and the artist are the main characters of their own performance. Their performances point to a reality behind their acts. The prophet as well as the artist confronts the audience. Their performances might be done at some location where the audience cannot avoid the confrontation (public space). The artist and the prophet claim that their act is relevant for their audience. The artist’s as well as the prophet’s performances work if and only if the audience identifies themselves with the performer. While the prophetic sign act has been transmitted to another medium (the narrative) which values and interprets the prophet’s performance, the understanding of the communication pattern of performances in modern art can be used to understand and evaluate the communicative act assumed by and highlight the way in which it is used by the book of Jeremiah.

A continuing focus of Matthean scholarship is where the First Gospel is situated with respect to groups usually designated as “Jews” on the one hand and “Gentiles” on the other. The prevailing model is one of two religions, “Judaism” and “Christianity,” whose adherents are “Jews” and “Christians.” Debate rages, for example, as to whether Matthew’s original audience were intra muros, still within “Judaism,” or extra muros, meaning some split had occurred with the local “Jewish” synagogue. There is a wealth of data in the text that appears to respond to such questions and to provide supporters of such positions with evidence for their arguments. This paper proposes a new way of interpreting this data within the larger context of the Gospel that takes as its starting point a recognition that the Ioudaioi and the sons of Israel referred to in Matthew’s Gospel are people with an ethnic identity, “Judeans” not “Jews,” while the members of the Matthean audience were characterized by an entirely different, non-ethnic identity. Evidence for the nature of Judean ethnic identity in the first century CE will be adduced from a number of sources, but especially the Contra Apionem of Josephus. A wide range of textual data in Matthew responding to this approach will be analyzed, including the genealogy, negative statements concerning ethnikoi, the limitation of the Jesus’ ministry to “the lost sheep of the House of Israel,” certain parables and other material, and the concluding instruction to make disciples of all peoples. Important to the argument will be an explanation of the explicit limitation of the earthly ministry of Jesus to Judeans coupled with the recognition (including by Jesus) that non-Judeans would be incorporated after his death and resurrection. The result will be a more satisfactory interpretation of such data in the text than those being proposed in current scholarship.

This paper proposes to investigate some of the epistemological considerations of the theologies of the cross of Erasmus and John Calvin, as they arise out of the interpretation and use of Philippians 2. M. A. Screech, in his monograph Ecstasy and the Praise of Folly, has argued at length that the epistemological foundations of Erasmus’ philosophia Christi lie in the Pauline notion of the foolishness of the cross as found primarily in the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, but also in the ‘kenotic’ humiliation of Phil. 2. Furthermore, he has demonstrated that Erasmus was, to a large extent, indebted to Origen of Alexandria, not only for his anthropology, but also for his understanding of the foolishness of divine wisdom. In Erasmus’ hands, the philosophically intractable nature of the Incarnation is employed against scholastic dialectical theology, and simplicity is posited as a theological virtue. John Calvin, likewise an advocate for theological simplicity, but certainly no Origenist, seems to focus more on the exaltation theme of Philippians 2 than that of the stumbling block of the suffering God, both in his commentaries and in the Institutes. Incidentally, he also explicitly rejects Erasmus’ interpretation at least twice in his commentary on this section of Philippians. An examination of Calvin’s Christology and his theological epistemology can both illuminate, and be illuminated by, a close look at his understanding of this passage. His strong preference for Augustine and Erasmus’ for Origen makes comparison all the more intriguing, as does each thinker’s shared humanistic training and disdain for scholasticism. Thus, the paper will have something to say about not only the history of interpretation of Paul, but also about theological epistemologies in the 16th century (especially regarding the folly of the cross), and about the reception of two exegetical and theological giants, Origen and Augustine, in the anti-scholastic milieu of the early Reformation.

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The paper deals with two unrelated nineteenth-century paintings, Jean-Jacques Henner’s The Levite of Ephraim and His Dead Wife and Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Ecce Ancilla Domini. In the texts upon which these paintings are based, the women’s bodies are not theirs to control and women are the victims of (a)sexual violation. One event is typically viewed negatively, arousing repulsion and reproach, while the other holds an important positive status in Christian tradition. The paper will examine how the texts use both women to promote androcentric ideologies, and consider how the paintings both challenge the biblical versions and reveal the scandal of the ideologies that lie behind them. In staging a dialogue between the text and the canvas, I am arguing not only for the importance of art in the reception history of the Bible but for bringing art into mainstream biblical interpretation—for adding visual criticism to other criticisms (historical, literary, form, rhetorical, ideological, etc.) in the exegete’s toolbox.

This paper explores Paul's attempt to capitalize on the language of ethnicity to promote his claims to divinatory expertise and ancient knowledge. Just as Pauline Ripat recently pointed out that, “claiming to hail from the land that birthed astrology had value for astrologers,” Paul’s unquestionable lineage validates him as a legitimate spokesperson and expert on matters pertaining to Judean texts, practices, and myths. While his extant letters do not tell his readers where he’s from, he does make his qualifications clear when he describes himself as “circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law a Pharisee..” (Philippians 3.5). He reasserts these credentials in Romans: “I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin” (Rom.11.1). With such a pedigree, Paul establishes himself as one qualified to relay any messages he may have regarding the Judean deity, even if he does not claim outright to be from Judea. His credentials come to the fore in 2 Corinthians, when he must contrast himself with his immediate competitors, the “false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor 11.13). He writes, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one” (2 Cor. 11.22-23). When Paul defends his divinatory expertise and possession of special knowledge, he does not refer to himself as Ioudaios, which is a curiosity given that this is the Greek word everyone else would (and did) use to denote Paul’s ethnic group. I suggest that Paul's claims to be an Israelite (as well as his avoidance of self-presentation as a Ioudaois) are strategic. Not only is he competing against these “super apostles,” but he is also competing in a wider world of Egyptians, Chaldeans, Etruscans – all of whom also boast ancient knowledge and technical expertise in one method of divination or another (or even “magic”). I suggest that Paul tends to bypass Ioudaios to link himself back to an ancient time (Israelites, of course, no longer exist in the 1st century). By doing so, he can capitalize on stereotypes of Moses as a magician and Israelites as being the ancient people of an exotic deity. Understanding Paul's self-presentation as an Israelite in the context of the varied “ethnicity-based” divinatory experts of the early Empire, I argue, is very fruitful; scholarship on ancient Christianity has often been locked in debate over how “Jewish” or “Hellenized” Paul was. This paper cuts across these interests by looking not at how Jewish Paul was, but at the “work” that Jewishness does in his accrual of symbolic capital among a field of ethnically diverse, traveling divinatory specialists.

In this presentation, I will offer an intertextual reading of selected texts from the biblical, the Qumran, and Mahina Fakatonga (Tongan) calendars. Coming from a Pacific Island perspective, this reading will show how the experiences and way of life of local people provided the foundations for Biblical calendars. The Priestly and other calendars then built upon that foundation. Reading the Biblical and Qumran calendars from an island perspective will highlight the knowledge of local people. Scholars who study calendars overlook and ignore the experiences of local, grassroot peoples who understood the changing times and the seasons. I will thus show how the biblical calendar arose from the daily experiences of local people rather than from the priestly temple. Reading with Mahina Fakatonga and the experiences of local islanders will help one understand the importance of this knowledge for understanding the biblical and the Qumran calendars.

In the Roman Imperial Period the numbers of amulets inscribed with Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts increases dramatically and some have suggested far reaching social change in the Mediterranean, a turn to superstition and magic. Such argument, however, ignores evidence in both Greek and Jewish culture for some tentative earlier attempts at inscription – for example the silver amulets from Ketef Hinnom (inscribed in the 6th century BCE in Hebrew) and the recently published lead amulets from Selinous (inscribed in a Greek alphabet of fifth-century BCE date) – as well as literary evidence about Orpheus, Empedocles and David that reveals how Greeks and Jews for centuries used oral prayers, blessings and incantations to protect and heal themselves and that the main innovation of the Roman period was the inscription of these traditional oral speech acts, not any increased beliefs in magic or superstition.

South Africa has been a democratic country for almost twenty years now and its Constitution has been hailed as one of the best in the world. Case law has made it clear that the Constitutional court regards human rights as essential, specifically the right to dignity as found in section 10 of the Constitution. At the same time, the South African people have many traditions and customary practices, some of which, may appear to be in conflict with human rights. One of these customary practices is virginity testing, an ancient sexuality rite that is prevalent among the Zulu people. Virginity testing is aimed at ensuring that maidens remain chaste until they are married. Advocates of virginity testing claim that the Biblical text of Exodus 20:14 supports their cause. Although virginity testing is not specifically aimed at ensuring that the maidens conform to the commandment in Exodus 20, those Christians who follow this practice claim that they are simultaneously following this commandment. The commandment may even be used to justify the practice. On the other hand, the law sees the practice as an infringement of human rights, particularly the girl child’s right to privacy and her right to dignity. Clearly, the rights to dignity and privacy are on a collision course with this traditional way of virginity. The question is, what role can African Biblical interpretation and the promotion of human rights play in figuring out whether there is still a need for the sexuality rite of virginity testing to be practiced in South Africa. In this paper, the concept of virginity testing will be examined, analysed and problematised. The focus will be on the reasons advanced for the revival of the practice and its effectiveness. This will be followed by a discussion of its relevance in a democratic country as well as the human rights implications of this sexuality rite, driven by “the need to make sure that indigenous customs…do not contravene the Constitution as well as basic universal human rights”. And finally, the role of African Biblical hermeneutics in addressing this issue will be spelt out.

Taking a literary approach to the Qur'an, I analyze in this paper Surat al-Fatiha and Surat al-Nas in terms of structure and theme. I show that the Qur'an’s first sura has a ring pattern featuring a statement of monotheism and a supplication to God in the center. Moreover, I show that this sura is firmly linked with al-Nas, the last sura of the Qur'an. This paper thus highlights ring structure in the first and last suras and underscores the link between the Qur'an’s beginning and end. It suggests finally that the pattern of concentric symmetry may well obtain for the Qur'an as a whole.

This paper explores the socio-historical implications of the levitical purity laws as they are understood in the Holiness Source (H) and the Temple Scroll (TS). At first glance, these sources show a close similarity in rhetoric, but closer examination reveals fundamental differences between them. In particular, I focus on the manner in which these sources construe the application of the wilderness camp model to Israelite society after the settlement in the Land of Israel, since this paradigm serves as the primary framework for the practical realization of the biblical purity laws. In H, we find a repeated emphasis on the danger of polluting the Tabernacle (e.g. Lev 15:31; Num 5:4). From a strict philological analysis of these sources, it becomes clear that these statements focus on the purity of the centralized sanctuary, a view which is consistent with Lev 17. Interestingly, this attitude is finds echoes in the rabbinic view which restricted the application of the purity laws almost exclusively to Jerusalem (e.g. m. Kelim, ch. 1). In comparison, the interpretation of these verses in TS construes them as requiring purity in other cities throughout the land (48:14–17). These ostensibly exegetical differences seem to thinly conceal a political dimension, rooted in divergent attitudes regarding the legitimacy of the Jerusalem temple. Nevertheless, the decentralized notion of purity in TS does find a real basis in H, which emphasizes the holiness of the Israelite people (e.g. Lev 11:34) and the Land of Israel (Num 35:34). However, it will be argued, these similar views are the result of diametrically-opposed cultic agendas, a recognition which demands a more nuanced understanding of the notion of purity in H.

Thutmose III's triumph at Megiddo transformed Egyptian imperialism as it became the standard by which future warrior Pharaohs would be judged. Typically Egyptologists analyze the art and inscriptions relating to the battle within the Egyptian cultural construct with Megiddo serving as an exemplar of the Königsnovelle tradition. Biblical scholars tend to ignore it since, after all, Israel didn't even exist yet and there is no mention of any patriarch at the battle. Although biblical scholarship frequently refers to the Israelites as Canaanites, the emphasis has tended to be either on how the Ugaritic texts shed light on the language and religion of Israel or how did the people live in this environmental context. The history of the region tends to be ignored. In a recent article, Nadav Na'aman wrote: "...Egypt ruled Canaan uninterruptedly for about 350 years [c. 1500-1150 BCE]... How can we explain the black hole that was opened wide in the biblical memory...?" This paper takes the position that the battle of Second Armageddon was part of the Canaanite memory of the beginning of Egyptian imperialism in the land of Canaan and that the Song of Deborah was part of the celebration of its termination.

This paper takes the position that the law in Exodus 22:29 mandating that firstborn sons be given over to YHWH should be understood as a requirement to dedicate firstborn sons to sanctuary service. This law is of a piece with texts such as Numbers 3:12-13, according to which firstborn sons preceded the Levites in the role of cultic personnel. I argue that this reading does not undermine the view that Exodus 22:29 mandates the sacrifice of firstborn sons. Exodus 22:29 is, rather, one of several biblical passages that describe dedication to sanctuary service in sacrificial terms. Such texts envision cultic service as a sacred donation or offering in which people were brought to a sacred place and transferred to YHWH’s possession, often through the medium of higher-ranking priests. The benefit that higher-ranking priests accrued from this service was viewed as analogous to the benefits that they accrued from comestible offerings.

Classified with the Second Temple literature rewriting the Hebrew Bible, the scroll 4Q522 (4QProphecy of Joshua[4QApocryphon of Joshuac ?]) drew some scholarly attention, as it contains a prophetic speech by Joshua son of Nun. Yet, this scroll also preserves several fragments providing various geographical data related to the Israelites’ conquests in the Promised Land. Until now no attempt has been made to analyze the lists of toponyms found in 4Q522. The present paper fills this gap by explorings the ways in which the author of this scroll interpreted the geographical data found in the Books of Joshua and Judges.

Not since James VanderKam's brief treatment more than fifteen years ago (in Vanderkam and Adler 1996) has there been a study devoted foremost to the influence of the Enochic literature and cognate traditions in various strands of Gnosticism. This is despite that, among other traditions fully developed in the Enochic pseudepigrapha, the 'fall of the angels' theme “played a major function in the development of Gnostic mythology”—or is even “at the very core of the mythological expression of Gnostic consciousness” (Stroumsa 1984: 32). This paper seeks to give an up-to-date evaluation of this neglected area of study, and explores several new directions in the extent to which Gnostic literature and thought might indebted to “Enochic” Judaism(s). Specific issues addressed include the relationship between the etiology of evil spirits attested in Enochic literature and its influence on Gnostic demonology and psychology—especially the general presence of “error” in the world, and its relation to 1 Enoch and themes from Second Temple apocrypha; the possible relation of some themes of “proto”-Gnosticism (or “para”-Gnosticism) in the New Testament and the early church authors to Enochic Judaism (including reconfiguration of Enochic themes in thought attested to in Athenagoras and Tatian, as recently taken up in a studies by Giulea [2007, 2010]); and finally, special attention is paid to the neglected presence of Enochic themes in works such as the Book of Thomas, The Hypostasis of the Archons, and texts which show an interest in “astrology,” including the comparatively recently published Gospel of Judas. In light of this latter observation, much discussion on this will be framed in the context of the general interplay between Hellenistic astronomy/astrology, Enochic Judaism, and Gnostic literature—and its enduring legacy into late antiquity.

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Since the days of Moses Finley, it has been a given in many academic circles that the ancient economy was essentially stagnant. The overall level neither improved, nor, for that matter, deteriorated throughout antiquity. But of late that doctrine is being challenged. Ian Morris has presented study of housing to make his case that the standard of living increased in Greece from the 8th to the 3rd centuries BCE . His study of 300 houses indicates, remarkably, that house sizes increased five or six fold in that span and he concludes that there must have been “a dramatic improvement in the standard of living . . . .” Therefore, Morris rejects Moses Finley’s ancient economy model in which there was “essentially static economic performance” . There are still questions I have about primarily using housing as the measure for standard of living: Have poorly constructed houses left any traces? Were not most houses do-it-yourself constructions like the log cabins of the American frontier? To what extent do house sizes reflect cultural as opposed to economic factors? Keeping these caveats in mind, I propose to compare housing sizes between four late 2nd Temple villages (Gamla, Yodefat, Khirbet Qana, and Capernaum) and Mishnaic era houses in three villages (Meiron, Katzrin, and Chorazin) to see if the size (square meters) of the domestic space increased. Next, I hope to examine any connections between house sizes and village economy. Is there evidence that those villages with larger houses had a better economy with, e.g. more industry?

Museum exhibitions are important-- yet generally overlooked-- venues for the public display of Jewish-Christian relations. Here the values academic/museum communities interface with the interests of donors and real artifacts. Exhibitions are deeply constructed-- yet temporary--environments, set within culture institutions that that contemporary society often imbues with authority--if not sanctity. Recent museum exhibitions that focus upon late antiquity have presented Christianity and Judaism in ways that are distinctive to the organizing venues and the communities they serve. This lecture will explore ways that Christian-Jewish relations are presented in a series of 2011-12 exhibitions at Boston College, the NYU Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, the Onassis Cultural Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We will discuss the ways that this relationship is expressed within these very different, though often overlapping venues, and what these exhibitions as a group tell us about the public presentation of Jewish-Christian relations. It will focus upon object selection and exhibition, as well as label copy, ephemera and catalogs as primary sources for this investigation.

Those Christians who keep a 7th day sabbath maintain not only that Jesus faithfully observed the sabbath but that he instructed his followers to do so as well. Recent emphasis by certain Jewish scholars studying the New Testament on Jesus as Torah-observant and Torah-affirming would seem to back up this perspective. This paper will discuss the extent to which "The Jewish Jesus" is in fact compatible with a Christian sabbatarian view and to what extent it poses a challenge.

M. Konkel (Architektonik des Heiligen, 2001) has shown the fundamental importance of the new temple concept in Ezek 40-48 for the book of Ezekiel. Motifs like Yhwh’s glory and other elements in earlier parts of the book underline the central role of the sanctuary in Jerusalem in Ezek. This is very different from Jer, which, in its final chapter 52, brings at length the destruction and emptying of the temple. Indeed, even before this, a process of relativization of the sanctuary and its components has begun (e.g., in Jer 3:16-17 and 7:4, 12-14). The divergent attitudes towards the temple in Jerusalem in the books of Ezek and Jer require discussion and explanation.

How exactly do we approach the polyvalent text of Revelation which is both disparate and yet united and which constantly defies categorisation? This paper proposes the answer potentially lies in reading Revelation as a Combination Pastiche. A Combination Pastiche is a specific textual form in which different, often disparate source texts are taken from their original contexts, transformed and combined together to create something new and unique. It favours no one source and largely defies categorisation. Rather it requires the audience to recognise its many voices and to ask how they dialogue with each other and are changed by these dialogues. This paper argues for the merit of reading Revelation this way, and begins by explaining how combination pastiche is understood today in Cultural, Literary and Film studies. Through using texts such as Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose it demonstrates the ‘disparate yet united’ nature through modern examples. It then examines other studies on pastiche in Biblical texts. It finishes with a test case of the ‘inaugural vision’ of Revelation 1 to allow us to approach the text from this fresh perspective and highlight some of the more marginalised voices. In doing so it offers a framework for approaching Revelation which allows the reader to listen to the tensions and the harmonies, the ‘major’ allusions and the ‘minor’ ones and that ultimately affirms the fact that the text defies all boundaries, whilst preventing it from collapsing in upon itself through deconstruction.

This paper provides a critical assessment of Eugene Nida’s influences and his continuing legacies upon the practice of biblical translation in Chinese, and argues for the use of four-character set phrases as an ideal candidate for implementing the theory of functional equivalence. Built upon the author’s previous comprehensive survey of the use of four-character set phrases (primarily those stereotyped phrases known as chéngyu) in more than two dozens of New Testament versions in Chinese, this paper primarily deals with the linguistic aspect of set phrases in the light of Nida’s translation theory. In addition to common four-character set phrases typically derived from classical Chinese literature, this study also investigates the intriguing “Christian four-character set phrases” such as yi-yan-huán-yan, yi-yá-huán-yá (“eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,” Matt 5:38), which are in fact derived from the Chinese Bible. Such Christian four-character set phrases provide convincing evidence of the general reader’s acceptance to idiomatic translation of biblical concept, and thus justify the use of four-character set phrases in the Chinese Bible as an effective way to implement Nida’s theory.

The usefulness of valency concepts in linguistic description and theoretical inquiry is well established, especially in dependency grammars. In non-dependency grammars, alternate formalisms are adopted (government, subcategorization, complementation), but both the resulting lexical-unit characterizations and theoretical insights are similar. In carrying out valency studies, analysts rely on: (1) intuition-based well-formed-ness assessments and/or (2) attestations in verb corpora. In Biblical Hebrew studies, the intuition-based approach may yield unreliable inferences due to its intrinsic vagueness or due to quite appropriate non-native-speaker uncertainty. The corpus-based approach risks faulty inferences when it: (1) fails to take confounding variables into account, (2) ignores the damaging effects of noise, or (3) is oblivious to the generalization-deflating effects of small sample sizes. This paper catalogues the operative debilitating phenomena and suggests how best to minimize their effects.

The original setting of many psalms can be easily identified through hints to their cultic ritual or festival background. However the identification of the daily-life setting of the Wisdom psalm is much more complicated. Indicative features pointing to temple rituals or royal court ceremonies are not evident; nor are there any references to historical background or ideological traditions that might facilitate the identification of the cultural setting of Wisdom psalms. Moreover, the lack of consensus among scholars in defining criteria for identifying the Wisdom Psalm has evoked a methodological problem in regard to its origin and message. This paper will reevaluate the problem of how methodological imprecision with regard to the wisdom genre per se has affected negatively on the study of Psalms. Notwithstanding the insufficient accepted criteria for establishing the literary genre of Wisdom psalms, this paper will suggest four aspects in determining their link to the creative workshop of the circles of the wise men: a. Thematic and ideational features; b. Linguistic and stylistic aspects; c. Accumulation of wisdom vocabulary, and d. Figurative features.

Many modern Catholic biblical scholars find in Thomas Aquinas’ notion of the “literal sense” of Scripture a foundation for their own contemporary historical critical practice. Indeed, the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s document Interpretation of the Bible in the Church treats Thomas in just this way. This paper will argue that such a reading of Thomas misunderstands his notion of the literal sense of Scripture. Moreover, Thomas’ notion of the literal sense might be able to incorporate certain historical critical interpretations, but it requires interpreters to go well beyond the bounds of historical critical readings and seeks to regulate interpretation with a set of considerations that are largely ruled out of bounds by historical critics.

There are a number of reasons biblical interpreters might have for attending to a biblical text's effective history. Such attention is not always directed to the same end. Moreover, scholars use terms such as Wirkungsgeschichte, effective-history and reception history in diverse ways. This paper will try to shift focus away from effective-history as one more interpretive method and toward the important role that effective history plays in cultivating wisdom among interpreters.

Gauging Egyptian Influences on Biblical Literature How do we know a foreign influence when we see one? And why should we bother? This paper asks about identifying Egyptian influences on Israelite literature and the value of applying the identifications to the study of the Bible. The paper will look at examples and try to situate them on two scales: one an epistemological scale ranging from certain to conjectural; the other an aesthetic scale ranging from sharp to pallid. The examples will be taken from wisdom literature, psalmody, and love songs.

The thesis of this paper is that the priestly corpus in the Pentateuch exhibits divergent tendencies with regard to the monotheistic conception. The divergence can be highlighted through the analysis of several priestly passages. On the one hand, the priestly patriarchal tradition displays a clear concern to remove the participation of angels, so predominant in the non-priestly traditions, from its narrative. Similarly, God is usualy depicted as much more transcendent thatn he is in the non-priestly parallels.A comparision of the priestly and non-priestly texts concerning the plauge of blood in Exodus 7 also shows an attempt by P to remove mythological conceptions of divine combat from its narration. On the other hand, the priestly account of creation depicts God surrounded by the divine council, the cherubim are set up as icons on top of the ark in Exodus, and Azazel seems to be a deity parallel to YHWH in Leviticus 16. It may also be argued from the formulation of Genesis 1:27 that mankind was created in the image of the gods, and these are thought of as both male and female. The motif of theomachy is clearly refered to in the reference to God's punishment of the gods of Egypt, and the gods of Canaan are apparantly refered to in the priestly passage of Numbers 14:9. Finally, nowhere do we find an explicit priestly denial of the reality of other gods the way we find in D material. Some of the apparently conflicting evidence may be harmonized, but the thesis of this paper is that several important conceptual distinctions lie behind the diverse material subsumed under the title P.

This paper will review some of the principal issues surrounding the definition, description, and ongoing discussion of ancient magic, with particular attention to the agents of ritual expertise.

The important role of Jezreel in the history of the northern Kingdom of Israel will be revealed using the longue durée approach to examine Jezreel’s strategic location; a key factor that assured Jezreel’s continual occupation. This paper also presents a new 3-D model of the site of Jezreel-?????? recently produced using airborne laser (LiDAR) technology. The resultant model when georeferenced with aerial photographs, maps and past excavation results helps elucidate not only Biblical Jezreel but also Jezreel-Stradela of the Roman/Byzantine period, Jezreel-Le Petit Gérin of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Jezreel-Zerin the Ottoman village.

When hagiography rose to prominence in the late antique world, John of Ephesus recorded the lives of numerous saintly figures. His thoughtful introduction to the Lives of the Eastern Saints indicates uneasiness with relating the marvelous deeds that these holy persons of God were able to accomplish. One can pinpoint this struggle in the first vignette of his compilation when the stories of the famous holy man, Habib, are recounted. Habib is accused by a wealthy landowner of coming out of his monastery to wander about and eat and drink. Deeply offended, Habib prays that God would do as his “grace knoweth how.” Immediately, his opponent is smitten with a withered body and later succumbs to death even though he begs for the holy man’s forgiveness. Habib declares that God’s judgment has already gone forth and cannot be recalled. This fascinating example of divine comeuppance serves as a typical trope within hagiographical narrative from the eastern side of the empire. Questions emerge as to why this framework for justice is continually reinforced in this period of Christian development. What does it say about the communities who propagate and honor these stories filled with divine comeuppance? Are these merely didactically oriented folk tales, intent on building faith in the unbeliever? This paper will argue that the inclination towards these themes and their subsequent rise in usage was far more nuanced and interesting. Although these themes draw on prior narratives like Elisha and the bears in 2 Kings 2 and Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5, something very different is happening in the Christian imagination during Late Antiquity. This paper will examine the underlying motivations for the rise in usage of God’s immediate comeuppance in relief to the background of Greco-Roman concepts of fated victory and divine favor. While arguing that divine comeuppance is a significant theme in Byzantine hagiographical texts, this paper will examine the reception and transmission of these literary tropes that directly engage questions of providence confronting early Christian communities. Focusing on these remarkable examples of holy requests for death, the paper also will ask how divine comeuppance was conceived and translated from scripture into a source of faith in early Byzantine narratives. Drawing on the numerous examples found in John’s Lives, the paper will show that these instances of comeuppance are not simply the pitiful attempts of a “popular” religion to promote their brand of belief. Rather, in keeping with Peter Brown and his critique of this supposed two tiered system, I will show that these narratives are the translation of the intricate, and often private, ascetic practice into a broader economy of holiness that was meant to explain Christianity’s prominence and promote its standing as the religion of the Empire.

Scholars have traditionally examined the Septuagint translators as working in very small units at a time. This position could be challenged by greater attention to larger discourse units and, in particular, to discourse markers. I contend that the particle de is one such marker and is used to constrain the reader to understand what follows the particle to be a new development in the discourse. The particle de has traditionally been described by grammars and lexicons as primarily an adversative particle. Although de is found in contrastive contexts, one can find many occurrences of it that clearly do not express contrast and seem to be functioning in various different ways. To account for this, de has often been assigned a plethora of semantic functions. This resulting multiplicity of functions of de might be better explained as deriving from the context in which the particle appears, rather than from de itself. Owing to work in discourse analysis by scholars such as Stephen Levinsohn and Steven Runge, a different approach to de has been offered. Levinsohn and Runge understand the particle to have a discourse function: marking development. This description of de has advantages over the more traditional explanations, in that this single constraint can more consistently explain many more instances of the particle. In the Septuagint Minor Prophets, de frequently appears in contexts in which there is observable development in the discourse. In many of these instances, an adversative function cannot be assigned to de due to the semantic constraints of its context. A correct understanding of the function of de could offer insights to discussions regarding the Septuagint translators and translation technique, in that, the use of the particle implies both a concern for the wider context and deliberation regarding what constitutes a development, on the part of the translator.

The menorah, the (seven-branched) candelabrum mentioned in the book of Exodus and throughout the Hebrew Bible became one of the few iconic renderings found (in different manifestations) on a variety of artifacts from the Iron Age through the Byzantine period in both the Diaspora and the Land of Israel. The meaning of the menorah in antiquity seems to have undergone a series of incarnations but by the Byzantine period it emerges as the unique symbol for Judaism, replacing the pentagram and hexagram as well as the Torah Shrine, Tabernacle/Temple artifacts and the image of the Temple as the unique symbol of Judaism. This paper will begin with the earliest renderings of a precursor to the menorah, the so-called “sacred tree,” image that does appear on seals and seal amulets in the Iron Age but is not a unique symbol of the Israelites or the Judeans. The majority of symbols of the early Iron Age Judean and Israelite seals, are animals, (both real and mythological), agricultural products, as well as human figures and they were replaced with some aniconic images by the end of the Iron Age. The menorah can be seen as an aniconic image and it may be that this characteristic may have contributed to its preservation into the Persian and Greco-Roman periods. Images of the artifacts of the Jews changed from the Iron Age to the Persian period but the transition to the Greek period and the appearance of coinage iconography provides a good opportunity for an image make-over and consolidation for Jewish iconography. From the first century BCE through the Byzantine period, both in the Diaspora and in Israel, the menorah emerges as the predominant symbol for Judaism. It appears that the menorah was the symbol of choice of the rabbinic movement (both in the Diaspora and Israel) in opposition to images that became associated with the early Christians. In this paper in addition to coin evidence I will examine evidence from oil lamps, mosaics, murals, glass, and metals in order to determine why the menorah became so prominent by the end of the Byzantine period.

Looking at the priests in the book of Numbers, it is striking that there seems to be a consistent schema throughout: There are no levitical priests, as in Deuteronomy, but rather Aaronides only are priests. Interestingly, the title high priest (???? ?????) is introduced twice at the end of the book. Thus the hierarchy of the priestly organization seems to be quite clear: The Levites are subordinated to the Aaronides explicitly (Num 3:6; 18:2). This is underlined by the story of Korach, Datan, and Abiram (e.g. Num 16:10). It is further remarkable that there are only two instances of kohanîm in Numbers: In the genealogy in Num 3:3, where Aaron and his four sons are mentioned, and in Num 10:8, where the sons of Aaron shall blow the signal to set off with the two trumpets. Thus in the narrative, Eleazar and Itamar blow the trumpet. All other instances in which the title kohen is used refer to a single specific priest, namely, Aaron, Eleazar, or Itamar. Thus on the narrative level the priestly circle seems limited to a small family tradition. The perspective is broken up in Num 18:1, where the social unit of the father's house is addressed.

This study will present several indicators from the narrative of Exod 5, which in their entirety may suggest the practice of Sabbath keeping among the Israelite slaves in Egypt. One such indicator is the verb shabat, “cease,” a verb that marks the seventh day of the creation week with the quality of divine Sabbath rest. Its particular form and use in v. 5 entails various semantic notions, such as the idea that the Israelites ceased from their slave labors regularly. In addition, contextual, structural, and discourse elements allow for a reading that is indeed telling with regard to the Israelites’ social status and the impact of a possible Sabbath cessation. Finally, certain verbal expressions link with Exod 23:12, a Sabbath text that is embedded in the exodus narratives of slavery and freedom. All these indicators when taken together allow for a Sabbath motivated reading of Exod 5. The implications of such a reading tell of a world that longs for restored identities and renewed relationships.

Many research projects have used stable isotope analysis of skeletal material to determine average diets for inhabitants in the easternMediterranean region. Some of these projects have also attempted to correlate diet to factors such as gender, age, economic status, and local resources. This paper surveys results from those projects, discussing problems with the materials and possible implications for the study of ancient religious phenomena.

According to the proem to his work Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus aims to present a depiction of the Jewish people's past and the political constitution “translated from the Hebrew scriptures” (Ant 1,5). However taken at face value this so-called “translation” can hardly be characterized as verbatim – just as Josephus’ literary treatment of the Scriptures should certainly not be seen as an attempt on his part to reproduce any kind of formal equivalence between his work and the Vorlage. As it will be demonstrated in this paper Josephus’ approach to the Scriptures can best be described as highly creative. This creative nature of his particular use of the Scriptures can among other things be seen in the minute care that he pays to the depiction of the Biblical characters – in the sense that he subjects them to a rigorous and highly meticulous literary rewriting process, where he eliminates certain character traits, while other traits are being embellished or transformed. All of this in an attempt to provide his readers with an easily intelligible narrative, which Louis Feldman (et al.) so often has pointed out. The aim of this paper is to examine Josephus' highly creative literary use of the Scriptures taking the various ways in which he “translates”, adapts and transforms the story of King David, Bathsheba, Uriah and the subsequent encounter with Nathan the Prophet (2 Sam 11,1-12,25 in Ant 7,130-158) as the point of departure. Special emphasis will be laid on Josephus’ depiction of the characters, his treatment of the theological ramifications of the story with regards to the notion of divine punishment and the role of the prophet in this particular narrative (as well as elsewhere in the Antiquities).

The story of Abimelech in Judges 9 has usually been interpreted as a broadside against kingship. To cite just two examples, Martin Buber characterized the “trees choose a king” fable in vv. 8-15 as “the strongest anti-monarchical poem of world literature,” and Frank Crüsemann included the chapter among the few biblical texts that unambiguously reject the monarchy. Construed in this way, Judges 9 clashes with the balance of the book that seems to build towards the switch to kingship by tracing progressive deterioration of the institute of judgeship and Israel’s plummeting fortunes under it and, in the last five chapters, explicitly and repeatedly pointing towards the absence of a monarch as the cause of the people’s misfortunes. The alleged political stance of the chapter also poorly fits in with the cautious but generally positive attitude towards kingship in Deut 17:14-20 and such Deuteronomistic pieces as 2 Samuel 7. Examining the literary layout and rhetoric of Judges 9, with a special reference to Jotham’s discourse in vv. 7-20, the paper argues that the outlook implicitly operative in both is in fact pro-monarchic. The narrator not only implies that under different circumstances Abimelech’s monarchy would have succeeded, but also caricatures his opponents and, most importantly, traces the entire fracas back to Gideon’s refusal to accept the crown (Judg 8:23) – in perfect agreement with the Deuteronomic prescription (17:14-15) that kingship should be installed as soon as the people feel like it. Abimelech’s story consequently presents itself as an integral element of Judges and the Deuteronomistic composition.

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Since September 11th and prior, the OT rationales for collective violence by the Lord’s Israelite adherents against religiously alien peoples in the promised land have come under scholarly critique. This attention has made biblical studies an important player in exploring how and why organized social violence against targeted peoples can gain a cachet of legitimacy and righteousness. One research area has explored transposable biblical intolerance and atrocities, in which the social identities corresponding to the Lord’s Israelites and the religiously alien peoples under attack go through revisionism across time to provide new pretexts of biblical justification for a wide range of biblically motivated social violence (Gaca HTR 1999, Collins, JBL 2003). My paper extends this research on updating biblical atrocities in two ways, both of which concern populace-ravaging warfare. The first pertains to 1 Maccabees (160s BCE), which represents a Hellenistic Jewish martial adaptation of problematic early Israelite principles of warfare in Numbers and Deuteronomy. Mattathias, from a priestly Jerusalem family (2:1-4), is Phineas, here slaughtering a Jewish worshipper at the pagan altar of Modin (2:23-26). Similarly, when Judas Maccabaeus and his forces create their Jewish people’s army, they do so by following the Lord’s ninth-century BCE directive in Deuteronomy 20:14 for ancient Israelite forces: Judas and his forces kill all the males, young and old, in Bozrah, Alema, and Ephron (1 Macc 5:28, 35, 51), while subjugating and coopting alive the women and girl inhabitants. Second are Nazi comments from the Nuremberg Trials that pertain to the total extermination policy of biblical herem. In Joshua, the Lord God’s martial terror cuts a narrative swath of total extermination in the lands claimed as Israelite. With the Lord giving the directive, Israelite forces are said to have killed off everyone living in Jericho, Ai, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Hebron, Eglon, and throughout the whole region, regardless of the attacked people’s sex or age or social status—male and female; elders, adults, children, and infants; kingly and commoner alike (6:21, 8:25-27, 10:28-39, 10:40, 11:16). This miracle-induced violence resists an easy historicizing and has led to a conflicting stalemate in reputable scholarly efforts to understand its import. By one interpretation, these goings-on in Joshua are a fearsome braggadocio with little or no grip on social reality, one ultra-terrifying war story about the Lord as Terminator. A conflicting scholarly interpretation acknowledges that some of this martial violence must have been real, insofar as herem practices are also attested in the Moabite Mesha inscription and in the Assyrian annals (Kern, Ancient Siege Warfare 1999: 63-64). By a disreputable yet grimly influential Nazi Christian understanding, however, this biblical ideology of total extermination was used as a justification by Streicher, among others, for making a pre-emptive strike on European Jews before they could bring the frightful likes of Joshua to the doorsteps of European Christendom (IMT 12: 974; NMT 9: 1184).

There are two iconic expressions that capture the liberation of the Exodus: shalach et ‘ami – “Let my people go” and “The Holy One brought us out of Egypt out of the house of slavery.” The verb in the second expression y-tz-’, is the primary verb of the Exodus. Yet Ex 21:7, proclaims, lo tetze’, “she shall not go out.” Under what circumstances could a woman’s liberation be abrogated, her Exodus annulled and she returned to bondage? If her father decides to sell her into slavery, which is thinly disguised sex-slavery, the liberating acts of God, Miryam and Moshe are of no avail to her. This paper will explore sexual/reproductive slavery in the Hebrew Bible signified by the terms amah and shiphchah. The terms are used together and so interchangeably that it is no longer possible to distinguish between them. Both seem to refer primarily to foreign women; Lev 25:44 stipulates that they should be bought from foreigners. However, a survey of the relevant passages does not indicate that these women are entirely or preferentially non-Israelite. Exodus 21:17 allows for an Israelite man to sell his daughter as an amah-slave for sexual use and places no limitations on him as it pertains to selling his daughter into sexual subjugation, he can do so for any or no reason. I translate amah and/or shiphchah as “womb-slave.” In these cases the girls are given by other women to men for sex for the express purpose of impregnating them. This is forcible surrogacy. The term “sex-slave” may conjure up abducted girls imprisoned in dungeons whose stories litter contemporary news-reports. In modernity, sex-slaves are kidnapped and trafficked women and girls (and sometimes boys) forced to have sex with one or more men for the duration of their captivity, and are sometimes forced to bear their captor’s children. If their captors force them to perform other services – dealing drugs, soliciting other victims, domestic chores, etc. – that does not mitigate against their sexual enslavement. I am calling these women in the bible sex-slaves to make their sexual servitude visible and to center it for the religious reader/hearer of these texts, not to suggest that they do not perform any other duties. I conclude with some reflections on the sexual abuse of enslaved African women in the Americas and Caribbean. The pervasiveness of Israelite sexual servitude of women from their own people in addition to other peoples stands in sharp contrast to the sexual subjugation of African and Native women by European colonizers. There seems to be no biblical, Israelite equivalent of the construct of white ladihood, particularly that reified and constructed in the American South. This also means that there is no exact biblical corollary to the wholesale depiction of black and brown women’s bodies as publicly sexually available, promiscuous and uniquely suited for sexual depravity that undergirds and frames American history and contemporary culture.

Modern scholars speak regularly of the canonical books and the apocrypha, and sometimes trace the modern (Catholic and Protestant) distinctions between these classifications to the fourth century. This paper will examine the use of the term apocrypha in the crucial fourth century among Latin writers, also carrying the investigation into the early-fifth century. Our first finding will be that few Latin writers of this period use the term apocrypha very frequently. It appears rarely or never in the works of Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose of Milan, Ambrosiaster, Rufinus of Aquileia, Priscillian, and Pelagius. On the other hand, Jerome (39x) and Augustine (21x) use the word much more often. We will investigate the reception of the works labelled apocrypha by all of these Latin writers. Which works receive this designation? Does this term carry positive or negative connotations for each Latin author? Even when an author uses the term pejoratively, does he still allow for some useful material in the work so labelled? Do these Latin authors agree with each other concerning which works should be considered apocrypha, and do they agree with their Greek and Latin predecessors in this judgment? Our examination will reveal a variety of possible nuances in the word and a variety of works branded by the designation. We will especially seek to clarify why some authors choose the term apocrypha to categorize certain works that would not be classified in the same way by other authors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the portrayal of Joseph as a forced migrant. Much debate surrounds the function of Joseph within the novella at the end of the Book of Genesis. I propose to understand this novella as a piece of wisdom literature directed to Jews in the diaspora. The Joseph Story may reflect the concerns of many Jews after the Babylonian Exile who were living in the diaspora. Joseph has commonly been viewed as a story reflecting the time of its setting in the Late Bronze Age. I would like to investigate the Egyptian setting of this story in order to argue for a new understanding of the story. I will start from the notion that Egypt can serve as a place of refuge as easily as a house of bondage. Many refugees fled to Egypt during the conquest of Jerusalem at the beginning of the Sixth Century BCE. The Joseph Story can be read as directions for their survival and adaptation into Egypt and other foreign countries. Although Joseph is set in the distant past, the many Aramaisms and thematic similarities with Daniel suggest a different social setting than the apparent setting. When Joseph is understood in a later setting, the audience of the story will also be perceived differently. The plight of a man sold into slavery is disturbing, but probably a distant concern for many ancient readers. When the reader focuses on Jospeh’s challenges as a forced migrant, Joseph’s story becomes more pertinent to the everyday lives of many more readers. Special attention will be paid to Joseph’s interaction with women in Egypt where we can see parallels with the two women of Proverbs 9 in the lives of Potiphar’s wife and Asenath.

Recent quests for the historical Jesus by Jews and in Christian-Jewish dialogue are eroding the teaching of contempt from the Cross at Calvary. But how much of this “Good News” has compromised the Christian belief that Jesus is the “King of the Jews” and inspired the Jewish observant to study without bias Christian scriptures? How graceful is the Jewish Jesus and how lawful is the Christ of faith? What scholars pontificate obfuscate people in the pew. How and why will be discussed in this historio-religio- socio presentation. .

During six excavation seasons at Khirbet Qeiyafa (2007-2012) three cultic rooms were unearthed, with various installations and cultic objects. The cultic paraphernalia includs standing stones, libation vessels, basalt alters and "shrine models". These finds are the earliest known evidences for cult in Judah at the time of King David. Various aspects relating to these fascinating discoveries will be discussed, including their implications for the Biblical description of Solomon palace.

The Bible is full of embarrassing, offensive, problematic texts that present serious interpretive challenges for contemporary Christian faith and practice. The presentation will consider interpretive strategies for engaging them with integrity.

This paper will engage 4 Maccabees as a participant in the Greek literary project under the Roman empire, and therefore a participant in the cultural and political engagement with Rome during the literary renaissance of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE in the Greek-speaking East. Drawing on the work of Mary Rose D’Angelo and Timothy Whitmarsh, this reading will attempt to understand the cultural location of this text that so remarkably employs Greek rhetorical and moral modes of expression while affirming the role of “pious reason” in the successfully died deaths of the Maccabean martyrs. Through an excursus on Eleazar’s interchange with Antiochus in chapters 5-7, the success of the argument of 4 Maccabees will be shown to rely on Hellenistic rhetorical modes and moral categories established in the so-called Second Sophistic. This participation in the cultural project that embodied “Greekness” in view of an appreciative Roman cultural audience will be shown to be integral to the argument of 4 Maccabees. The resulting reading will find the text to be culturally ambiguous, having subordinated itself to Greek cultural modes of expression in order to co-opt the political legitimacy and cultural capital that this literature had achieved under Roman rule. “Greekness” as it is successfully imported to the person of Eleazar is translated in 4 Maccabees into faithfulness to the Jewish law and God. However, this discursive interchange will be shown to break in both cultural directions, certainly aiding in the cultural purchase of the text, but also requiring a certain consent to the establishment of Greek and Roman social power. This cultural legitimacy is purchased through the portrayal of Eleazar through the author’s own rhetorical mode, but also in the character of Eleazar himself who demonstrates (apodeiknumi) Greek cultural values through his agonistic endurance and athletic success. The resulting reading intends to unseat some of the “problems” that have been posed for this text by arguing for an explicitly ambiguous cultural location for it. Moving past the binaries that have approached 4 Maccabees in terms of comparative “Graeco-Romanness” and “Jewishness,” this reading will drawn on Daniel Boyarin’s concept of border-crossings to locate this text as precisely such a crossing, but additionally as a strategic cultural negotiation that adopts an embodied “Greekness” for its hero in view of what Greek expression had achieved for non-Roman authors in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE.

Contemporary scholarship, in its efforts to come to a better appreciation of gnosticizing Christianity, have devoted a considerable degree of attention to questions involving moral psychology, and in particular to claims of made by heresiologists that this particular version of Christianity ascribed to some form of ethical determinism. Yet those studies which seek to remove the obscuring lens of the apostolic tradition have sometimes confused two different philosophical positions, fatalism and compatibilism. Fatalism is the view, a version of which is ascribed to Valentinus by Irenaeus, that whatever human beings do, a certain outcome will result. We find this in Irenaeus’s claim that Valentinus and his followers engaged in licentious behavior because they believed that they would return to the pleroma regardless of their actions; this view is widely believed to be a polemical smear. Yet another, more plausible theory of moral psychology is nevertheless open to Valentinus, that called compatibilism. According to this theory, human beings need not have the freedom to act against their character in order to be held morally responsible for their actions. In contemporary philosophy, this remains a viable philosophical position, and indeed it was one during antiquity as well. If we take Valentinus and those who followed him as compatibilists who understood human action as a consequence of a moral nature which could not be altered, we can make sense of why other Christians like Irenaeus, Clement, and Origen thought that the ability of human beings to act against their characters distinguished them from their gnosticizing opponents without taking the outlandish claims made by Irenaeus and others at face value. This paper will examine in particular the Tripartite Tractate and Origen’s Commentary on John, and other texts.

In the early decades of the thirteenth century innovations in the Faculty of Arts were again in the process of percolating upward into the Faculty of Theology at Paris. Just as the School of Laon, a hundred years earlier, had introduced into their glossed books of Scripture the way of introducing texts by their intentio, materia, and modus tractandi popular in introduction to poets, so that scheme was itself being replaced in the postills of the 1230s by one based on the four Aristotelian causes: material, final, formal and efficient. One advantage of this division was that distinguishing a temporal cause for a given effect (the efficient), gave commentators a chance to consider the nature of agency on the part of the human authors of Scripture. This in turn led to an expansion of what meanings were to be considered under the blanket term “literal sense.” Alexander of Hales (c.1186-1245) used a combination of the old and new introductory methods in his unedited Postilla in Iohannis Evangelium (ca.1230s). There he exhibits attentiveness to a twofold efficient causality in the Gospel: the Holy Spirit and John, his minister. He also expands the contents of the literal sense to include the “enigmatic, the metaphorical, the paradigmatic and the parabolic,” as well as the historical in his newly-edited treatise de Significationibus et expositione sacrarum scripturarum (also ca. 1230s). This progressive stance and its outworking in Alexander’s exegesis of John may surprise those who have read Beryl Smalley’s comment that Alexander’s merit as theologian comes at the cost to his readers of his “depreciation of the literal or ‘carnal’ sense…in favor of the spiritual sense.” Although Alexander remains a theologian commenting on the “theological Gospel,” his new distinctions of agency and authorship make his exegetical insights worthy of the publication and study they have been denied.

This paper offers a literary and intertextual study of exile in the book of Ezekiel. It is well known that the Holiness Code functioned as the programmatic influence for Ezekiel’s interpretation of the theological crisis surrounding the events of 587 B.C.E., inasmuch as the prophet indicted Israel for failure to keep its statutes and pronounced judgments according to its curses (see Michael A. Lyons, From Law to Prophecy: Ezekiel’s Use of the Holiness Code [T&T Clark, 2009]). However, this paper argues that Ezekiel draws primarily from the exile passages in Deuteronomy for his conception of the exile itself. As many scholars have noted, Deuteronomy’s threats of exile need not derive from the period after 587 B.C.E., given the reality of deportation as a tool of the Assyrian empire (itself at work in Israel in 722 B.C.E.) and the frequency of threats of exile in the ancient Near Eastern curse tradition, and therefore reasonably were available to the prophet. Based on the prophet’s known techniques of literary borrowing (see Lyons), I argue that Ezekiel’s common formula for describing the exile, “to scatter (hephitz) among the nations and disperse (zrh) among the lands,” is best explained as a combination and conflation of the deuteronomic and priestly terms for scattering. Indeed, one finds evidence that Ezekiel in fact knows a pentateuchal tradition about exile. In 20:23 he alludes to a tradition that in the wilderness Yahweh swore to scatter Israel among the nations. The plot structure and narrative flow Ezekiel’s account of Israel’s history in chapter 20 indicate a setting for this oath during the second wilderness generation, which naturally points to Deuteronomy. One particular text in Deuteronomy appears to be the basis for the allusion. By alluding to Deuteronomy’s threat of exile and emphasizing Israel’s religious failures from its earliest days (ch. 20), Ezekiel reveals his agreement not simply with Deuteronomy’s view of Israel’s religious aptitude, but also the distinctive view that the seeds of Israel’s loss of the land were present from the very beginning of its history.

The American naturalist William Bartram published an account of his travels in south eastern North America in 1791. Though this work is ostensibly a scientific research project, he introduces biblical material to his study of the flora and fauna of the region for diverse purposes. First, he likens his journey through these pristine lands to “the first appearance of the earth to man at the creation,” thus assuming an Adam-like role, naming what he observes in the natural world and asserting white, European dominion over non-white, non-European civilizations living there (cf. Gen 2:20; 1:28). In addition to the colonial assumptions implied by this posturing, Bartram’s presence in this new-world Eden also alludes to the positive images of tending God’s garden (cf. Gen 2:15), evident in Bartram’s deep respect for sentient beasts that are also works of “the great Author” and “manifest the divine and inimitable workmanship.” Second, Bartram’s biblically literate, Quaker influenced, and surprisingly poetic Linnaean writing does include a political dimension. He is oddly silent about the momentous events of the American Revolution (1775-1783) that overlapped his travels (1773-1778) and subsequent years of writing. He even appears to shape his narrative in such a way that certain experiences depicted coincide with key moments in the Revolution. This silence and the manipulation of his travelogue is conspicuous, suggesting his Eden is a deliberately constructed counterpart to political events unfolding further north. Bartram’s Travels influenced subsequent writers (e.g., Samuel Taylor Coleridge), anticipated and inspired animal rights movements in the nineteenth century and, if recent publications are any indication, continues to have an audience among modern readers. This paper examines Bartram’s uses of the Bible with particular attention to his politics and views on human responsibilities in the “glorious apartment of the boundless palace of the sovereign Creator.”

The site of violence is the ear of a slave. Apparently walking around Jerusalem armed with a sword, a close follower of Jesus is the agent of violence. Under Roman law, the insult and damage are against the owner of the slave—the high priest—rather than the man whose head bleeds. Jesus may touch the slave’s ear and heal him (Luke 22:51), but the story itself remains an open wound, not easily incorporated into somatic narratives that privilege marks of violence perpetrated against Jesus and his followers. Unlike the talismanic ulcers of the resurrected Christ or the storytelling scars of Paul, the slave’s ear—whether hemorrhaging, healed, or cicatrized—is theologically meaningless. I plan to offer close readings of the canonical rehearsals of the incident of the slave’s ear (Mark 14:47; Matthew 26:51-54; Luke 22:50-51; John 18:10-11) in order to highlight desire—ancient and modern—for meaningful bodies, and the ethical and narrative limits of that desire. For those of us who write about ancient bodies, getting beyond notions of representation and inscription is a task at once urgent and impossible. How do we get to the cost of wounded bodies?

The multi-faceted presentation of Jehu and his dynastic successors in the Book of Kings provides an excellent opportunity to examine the Deuteronomists’ historiographic agenda and their use of sources. This is particularly so inasmuch as the most blatant examples of contrastive evaluations of the Jehuite kings are concentrated in passages that might be taken to represent seam points between various source materials (thus 2 Kgs 10:30–36; 13:1–9). The evident correlation between a passage like 2 Kgs 13:3-5 and the programmatic verses in the Book of Judges only complicates matters, since scholars are divided on the question of the origins of the Judges material. My examination will lend further support to the notion that the Deuteronomistic presentation of history is integrally tied to a prophetic perspective, within which the power of God’s word to be fulfilled is paramount.

This paper assesses two ways that the writings of Paul can be re-assessed in light of the full publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a process that has only been completed in the last few years. The first topic regards supernatural revelation. Raymond Brown argued in 1968 that Paul’s use of the term “mystery” (mysterion) (e.g., 1 Cor 2:7; 15:51) draws on older Jewish traditions, as suggested by the employment of the word raz (“mystery”) in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The publication of 4QInstruction in 1999 confirms Brown’s observations. In this text the word raz, as part of the raz nihyeh (the mystery that is to be), denotes revealed knowledge that a teacher transmits to his students, who are encouraged to ponder and study them. This is similar to how Paul uses the term “mystery.” The second topic relates to Paul’s famous flesh-spirit dichotomy. 4QInstruction contains one of the earliest examples of flesh-spirit dualism in Judaism. The text utilizes Genesis 1-3 to describe two different types of humankind, one called fleshly, the other spiritual. I will argue that Paul’s flesh-spirit dichotomy, and his use of Genesis 1-3 to explain the nature of humankind, appropriates Palestinian sapiential and exegetical traditions preserved in 4QInstruction.

Though often neglected and/or marginalized in modern biblical and theological studies, the Book of Proverbs was held in high regard by the early church, especially by those who were influenced by Origen’s reading strategy for Scripture and the Solomonic trilogy (e.g., Evagrius Ponticus; Didymus the Blind; the Cappadocians; Theodoret of Cyrrhus; Procopius of Gaza). This paper will first briefly explore the reading strategy (“theory”) of Origen for Proverbs (as articulated in his prologue to Commentary on Song of Songs and other comments preserved in the catenae). We will then seek to illustrate this reading strategy at work (“practice”) in Evagrius Ponticus’s Scholia on Proverbs. For the Greek Fathers, because of the genre of “proverb” and the multileveled discourse signaled in the various terms of Prov 1.6, the Book of Proverbs became the paradigm for understanding and engaging all of Scripture, which in turn was to begin to penetrate the very logoi of creation and the mysteries of the Logos’s incarnation and proverbial discourse (Jn 16.25)—all of which was intended to draw souls upwards to the eternal, intelligible realm and to pure communion with God. This “ascent” was predicated upon first cultivating virtue, which purified the “eye” of the mind to perceive the sacramental function of creation, Scripture, and the incarnation. In Evagrius’s reading, we will see these themes at work, however with an added attention to “spiritual combat” owing to his more formally ascetic/monastic context. The effect of this approach (à la both Origen and Evagrius) to the Book of Proverbs is a fundamentally narrative and performative type of interpretation, in which individual sayings, vignettes, and indeed the whole book become paradigms for and a means of the soul’s progress in virtue, spiritual contemplation, and ultimately deification.

The pictorial models for the new Canaanite letters were taken from Egyptian hieroglyphs in Sinai. All prototypes for the new letters were available as hieroglyphs from the Middle Kingdom inscriptions in Sinai. I believe that the inventors were illiterate. The hypothesis of hieratic models for the Sinai letters is unnecessary, and complicates the discussion and has a much weaker explanatory power. The invention of the alphabet, one of the greatest media revolutions in history, was not born in any cultural center and was not adopted by any center-repertoire.

Recent work on the dynamics of pseudonymous attribution in the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period has drawn out both the variety and complexity inherent in the ways that pseudonymous attribution functions for ancient texts, their authors, and the communities that preserved them. A number of texts in the so-called pseudepigrapha have been the focus of careful study in terms of how the attribution of authorship to a revered ancient personage enables an author and community to find a place in a living and developing tradition in the midst of changing circumstances. Along these lines scholars have examined 4 Ezra, 1 Enoch, and Wisdom of Solomon, among others. In many cases scholars have found significant connections between the instruction and perspective of a particular pseudepigraphon and the developing tradition of discourse surrounding a particular ancient figure. To date, however, no single article, chapter, or monograph has fully explored the dynamics of pseudonymous attribution as it is encountered in the Psalms of Solomon. This lacuna is perhaps not surprising given the ways scholars have disassociated the Solomonic attribution from the original Hebrew text of Psalms of Solomon, suggesting it occurred only later and on the basis of the weakest of connections (if any) with Solomon and the tradition of literature which bears his name. However, the increasing awareness within the scholarly community of the subtle but significant dynamics of pseudonymous attribution in other ancient Jewish texts suggests that it is now time to reexamine Psalms of Solomon. This essay thus explores the questions of the significance of an author or later editor’s choice to ascribe this collection of psalms to Solomon, as well as the functions of such a literary move. By drawing on the work of Hindy Najman relating to pseudonymous attribution and the practice of authorial effacement, this analysis will support the view that associations with Solomon are central to the discourse of Psalms of Solomon and critical to promoting the teaching of this collection as a whole. If they were added later, the psalm titles and ascriptions to Solomon may have been added to bring out this dimension of these psalms even more clearly. Regardless, the developing tradition of Solomonic discourse offered Solomon as the ideal figure for the Psalms of Solomon for many reasons, not the least of which is that his life exemplifies the particular message the Psalms of Solomon promote.

The words of the banquet host in Luke 14:21 direct his servant to ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ Traditionally, the reference to the poor and those with physical disability listed in the Parable of the Banquet, have been interpreted allegorically as the marginalized members of the Jewish community as well as those completely outside of covenant relationship with God, the Gentiles. The parable therefore simply emphasizes God’s universal invitation of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. While such an interpretation is valid, this paper argues that a historical investigation of the relationship between those with physical disability and banquets in the ancient world will lead to a reassessment of the way in which the invitees are described in Luke 14. The literature and artwork of the Greco-Roman world make reference to those with physical disability as being the akletoi in reference to the banquet, the uninvited members of the banquet. This paper argues that the imagery used in Luke 14 recalls this literary history in its use of the phrase “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” It is hoped that such a historical investigation may cause us to assess anew the radical nature of the words of the banquet host in relationship to those with physical disability, as those not merely present as akletoi, but rather as fully-fledged invitees experiencing all that the banquet has to offer.

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Making use of sixteenth-century, title-page borders, this study seeks to understand how they functioned to introduce their respective books. Each woodcut makes use of symbols for the four Gospels and then adds illustrations of Peter, Paul, the doctors of the Western Church, biblical stories, or other religious scenes. The borders typically show concern for issues of authority, exhibit a certain rhetoric of design, sometimes suggest a hermeneutic for the church’s reading of Scripture, and cite sacred texts to guide interpretation of a title-page illustration or the text of the book that follows.

Psalm 18, an anomaly in terms of its form and genre, has provoked unresolved disputes over its unity, dating and authorship. However, despite the apparently disparate nature of some of its strophes in terms of form, style, and content, there is a remarkable unity to the psalm. A closer look at some of its key metaphors will reveal that this can be largely attributed to the interplay between particular words and images used in the psalm’s metaphors. This paper aims to demonstrate that the theme of strength can be seen both explicitly and implicitly in a variety of metaphors throughout the psalm, and that it weaves together several distinctive strands of imagery and theological rhetoric into a cohesive literary whole. The approach to exegesis in this paper assumes the view that metaphors are a flexible and integral part of the whole text, and draws together insights from lexical semantics, pragmatics and cognitive linguistics, embracing a complementary approach to the use of metaphor theories in biblical interpretation. The psalm’s overture, 'I love you, O YHWH, my strength!' gives the psalm an intimate frame, addressing YHWH personally with a declaration of love and an appellation of YHWH as his strength. The process of interpreting this opening metaphor will involve an exploration into how particular words and images interact within a literary unit. While the introductory metaphor provides an interpretative frame which sheds a particular light on the understanding of subsequent metaphors in the psalm, its full meaning and impact can only be ‘filled in’, and therefore understood by, these same metaphors. This paper will explore a select number of metaphors that focus on the king’s relationship to YHWH. Together these will enrich our understanding of YHWH as a source of strength in the opening metaphor, and will give insight into how this theme of strength establishes connections between the king’s deliverance in the first half of the psalm, his gift of power and victory in the second half, and the meditation on justice and righteousness that stands in the centre.

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Calvin is one of the foremost Reformation champions of the authority of Scripture read according to its literal sense. But nowhere does he lay out methodologically his understanding of how the literal sense is to be defined, or how it might be sought. The matter becomes especially interesting when Calvin reads those passages in the New Testament in which the Old Testament is interpreted. There, Calvin’s understanding of the literal reading of Scripture bears a family resemblance to what we might otherwise call a typological reading. Focussing our attention on Calvin’s interpretation of New Testament texts which speak of the promises to Abraham, we will ask some key questions. How do the following impinge on his reading of the literal/typological sense: his overall understanding of classic Christian confession (i. e., Nicaea though Chalcedon); the canon of Scripture as a whole; polemic with other interpreters from the history of the tradition behind him; polemic arising from within his own day’s ecclesiastical context; the tasks of Christian formation and proclamation?

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Almost all Christians read and study the New Testament in translation. And almost all of these translations feature, especially in the Gospel of John, references to “the Jews” as implacable foes of Jesus and thus of the truth. The main characters, as recorded in these same versions, bear distinctively “un-Jewish” names like “Jesus” (instead of “Jeshua”), “Mary”(instead of “Miryam” and “Joseph” (for “Yosef”). Thus it is that Jesus’ many “Jewish” connections are obscured or misrepresented for Christians in their Scripture. Literary scholar Willis Barnstone has mounted the most recent challenge to these practices. But he is far from alone. In this presentation we will re-evaluate the evidence from the perspective of both first century CE Judaism and translation studies. Although, for the most part, Christians are responsible for the nature and direction of translations of the New Testament, this is no longer entirely the case nor should Jewish scholars and scholarship be reluctant to weigh in on issues such as this that have a direct bearing on interfaith and interconfessional relations.

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In this paper the vision of peace in Isaiah 2:1-5 will be analyzed focusing on an interpretation of Torah as referring to the Mosaic Law Book. In other words, Torah is understood in the Deuteronomic/post-Deuteronomic sense of a written code of ethical and religious teaching. This interpretation of Torah in Isaiah 2:3 supports an understanding of Isaiah as a prophet like Moses. For the authors of the post-exilic Pentateuch Moses was not only the last prophet of YHWH’s direct revelation, but he was also the first scribe writing down the Torah and the first exegete of the Torah that accompanied the people of Israel on their way into the promised land after Moses’ death. For the priestly authors of the post-exilic Pentateuch Moses’ task as prophet was revived in the written Torah. This theory of prophetic revelation as formulated in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 was accepted by the scribes editing the book containing the oracles of Isaiah. According to the tradents of Isaiah his prophetic revelation was understood as an updating of the Torah itself; that is to say, he is a man actualizing and commenting on the Mosaic Torah. He becomes a successor to Moses, the giver of the law at Sinai and the prophet par excellence (Deut 18:15-18). Similarly to Israel having received God’s instruction at Sinai, the nations will be taught and be instructed at Mount Zion through the book of Isaiah. Torah teaching thus has a universal impact.

Scholars over the last century have devoted a great deal of energy to adducing the parallels between the various law collections from Mesopotamia and the law collections found within the Hebrew Bible. Recent scholarship on biblical law, in particular David Wright’s 2009 book Inventing God’s Law, has raised anew certain questions as to the nature of these parallels. Two specific questions Wright’s study raises are: (1) Do these parallels stem more from common legal traditions—meta-traditions shared throughout the ancient Near East—or do they stem more from direct textual influence? (2) What does the answer to the first question suggest about when and how the biblical law collections were compiled? Did these traditions spread from the Old Babylonian Empire into Bronze Age Syria and eventually make their way into ancient Israel? Or did they reach ancient Israel only with the spread of the Neo-Assyrian Empire across the ancient Near East in the 1st millennium? Precisely the same questions have been raised regarding the streams of traditions reflected in legal documents of practice from the ancient Near East. Clear parallels can be adduced between the legal formularies used in Aramaic deeds of sale and those used in cuneiform ones. If we assume a chain of influence here, does that chain run from 2nd millennium Mesopotamia through Bronze Age Syria and eventually into 1st millennium Aramaic common law? Or did these parallel elements only enter the Aramaic tradition with the rise of the great 1st millennium Mesopotamian empires? In this paper, I will examine some of the parallels found in these documents of practice, assess the various arguments regarding their origins, and consider what implications they have for the transmission of legal traditions in the ancient Near East in general.

The agonistic character of the Apocryphal Acts literature has been well documented. The vast majority of these traditions revolve around the apostolic figure battling both demonic and human adversaries. The Acts of Thomas is no exception, showing the protagonist as Christian hero par-excellence, navigating both cosmological and theological adversaries, always emerging triumphant. Beyond the narration of these competitions themselves, however, the reader also witnesses Thomas navigating different places and spaces in his journeys. The dichotomies of deserted/inhabited, public/private, sacred/profane, domestic/communal are all encountered and their meanings adjudicated through the apostolic competitions. This paper will use spatiality theory to interrogate the use of these narrative topoi. In so doing, the role of space will not only be explored in these imagined places of the Acts of Thomas, but implications for the lived experience of the community will be investigated. How might these stories simultaneously reflect and influence ritual practice and performance by the community? In what ways might the manipulation of space within the narrative map onto power relationships both within the community and in relation to rival communities? By reading the Acts of Thomas through the lens of space and place, this paper will also explore the possibility that these contemporary tools can help reconstruct both the internal social situation of the community of reception of the text as well as its relationship to other power dynamics in this late antique world (i.e., imperial authority, local/regional influence, and emerging episcopal authority).

As a writer, public speaker, and political advocate, Briet Bjarnhedinsdottir (1856–1940) promoted women’s rights and education. In 1885, her article on women’s rights and education won her recognition as the first woman to have an article published in an Icelandic journal. In December 1887, Bjarnhedinsdottir became the first woman to give a public lecture in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, speaking to a packed audience on the same subject. Her lecture was published in a monograph only a few months later. Like many other women who fought for women’s rights, Bjarnhedinsdottir recognized that the Bible had played an important role in preventing women from gaining full equality with men. In her public lecture of 1887, Bjarnhedinsdottir called particular attention to the history of the interpretation of the story of woman’s creation in Gen 2, to misogynist Old Testament laws and narratives, and to some of the teachings of the apostle Paul. She suggested that Paul was following the creation story in his instructions to women to be submissive, forbearing, and obedient to their husbands. She highlighted as problematic Paul’s instructions to women to cover their heads in church and public gatherings, and to remain silent in meetings. While Bjarnhedinsdottir certainly found Paul’s message problematic, she held his interpreters to be even more culpable. Her approach was similar to that found in the Woman’s Bible, which was first published seven years after she delivered her lecture on women’s freedom and education in 1887. Hence, Mrs. Bjarnhedinsdottir rightfully belongs to pioneers among women who contributed to a critical interpretation of biblical writings world-wide.

The earliest known gospel harmony, composed in Syriac probably by the early Christian writer Tatian (ca. 120-180 CE), remained the standard gospel text in the Syriac-speaking part of the Christian world until the late 5th century. It had been long thought that this text must have had an impact on early Christian art. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate from the perspective of biblical studies that a well-known early Christian book painting has a diatessaronic visual narration. In order to prove that a full-page illumination (folio 125 recto) depicting the events of the early Passion in twelve scenes within a 6th-century Latin manuscript known as the St. Augustine Gospels (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge) conforms to Tatian’s prose, my argument is three-fold. First, I demonstrate that the narrative scope of the pictorial cycle is identical to the twelve events discussed in a continuous section in Tatian’s text (37:46-51:18). This newly recognized fact forms the foundation of this project. Second, I show that the combination of a large group of key motifs chosen to be depicted also conforms to the text of the Diatessaron. Thus, the iconography, too, can be identified as diatessaronic. Finally, I apply a codicological method to the study of the St. Augustine Gospels in order to highlight various additional clues retained within in the manuscript as a physical object to suggest that the full-page painting with its twelve scenes could not have originated within the context of this illuminated book. The location with the book and the conscious design of this 12-scene cycle indicate that the painting was copied into this Latin manuscript not as literal illustrations to any of the four gospel texts, but as an appropriate luxurious embellishment to a gospel-book used as an the Episcopal gift. Thus, I argue that this 12-secen diatessaronic cycle must have originated outside the physical context St. Augustine Gospels, as a now-lost pictorial prototype that was closely based on Tatian’s gospel harmony.

The mockery of idols in the Jewish Scriptures as well as early Jewish literature is distinctive. The Israelites harangued idol worshippers for being deceived by objects that are not alive and cannot offer true divine aid or protection. It is rather common for Biblical scholars to treat the Jewish idol polemic as a caricature insofar as they appear to be convincing “pagans” or fellow Jews to recognize that cult statues were not real gods. Many Biblical scholars presume that “pagans” already knew that their cult statues were not actual gods and, thus, the Jewish rhetoric is inaccurate. This paper will challenge the prevailing assumption that “pagans” did not in fact view their cult statues as real gods. There is much evidence to support the notion that Greco-Romans, in particular, told stories and treated their cult statues in ways that demonstrate that these objects were understood as much more than symbolic statues or even receptacles of numinous power. The theory will be posited that the most likely conceptualization of the ontology of Greco-Roman cult statues involved a threshold existence that managed to bridge the realm of the gods and the world of mortals. Thus, when Jews warned “pagans” and Jews not to worship idols, while certainly the rhetoric was pointed, it was not necessarily irrelevant or inaccurate. [NB: This proposal is meant for the section "Palpable Gods"]

The paper will explore the politics of gender discourse through a reading of Woman Wisdom and Strange Woman in Proverbs in comparison with the discourse of a loose woman (??) and a virtuous woman (??) in East Asian Confucian tradition.

The Amarna archive reflects a crucial period in the history of the Ancient Near East during the 14th century BC. The letters are the most important source for the study of words in the North Western Semitic dialects in the pre-Israelite period. Along with the Canaanite glosses, they provide firm ground for linguistic studies. This paper aims to present new interpretations of some biblical roots in the light of material from the archive.

Galut (Exile) in Biblical theology is simply a punishment. The people no longer live in their homeland since they do not deserve to live there: "For the land shall be forsaken of them… while they atone for their iniquity" (Lev. 27:43). However, most of the Jewish people lived outside the Land of Israel during the Second Temple period. Did they see themselves as being punished? How did they explain the punishment of the "exile"? In my paper I will examine some Jewish-Hellenistic authors' views, but mainly the way the LXX understands the concept of Galut. Based on the words and terms the LXX uses to translate the semantic field of Gola, we will suggest that the punishment is not the sojourn outside the homeland but the circumstances of life in those places. Thus enslavement and captivity are the true negative essence of Gola: a free man anywhere in the world is not in exile at all.

The typological significance of God's not sparing the sinful angels, the ungodly ancient world, and the notorious cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in the eschatological-ethical argument of 2 Pet 2:4-6 is readily apparent (cf. the gar of 2 Pet 2:4a, introducing the extended conditional argument that runs from vv. 4-10a). And the role of Noah and Lot as their positive counterparts is equally transparent. Within these parallels, however, the force of the positive description of Noah within the argument is not immediately clear. In 2 Pet 2:4-5, those being judged are described as "having sinned" and as "the world of the ungodly," who can then be summarized in 2:9 as the "unrighteous." In contrast, Noah is described not in terms of his actions (which one might anticipate in view of his building of the ark) or as "righteous" himself, but as a "preacher of righteousness" (2:5). This is all the more striking in comparison to Lot, who is both described as "righteous" and illustrated to be so (2 Pet 2:7-8). Moreover, this description of Noah appears to be unmotivated by earlier tradition, since there is no explicit reference in the biblical account or in early, post-biblical literature to Noah actually preaching a message of "righteousness" to his contemporaries. The first references to Noah as a preacher to his pre-flood generation date from ca. AD 100. Nevertheless, the reference in 2:5 to Noah as the "eighth" (cf. 1 Pet 3:20) does recall the biblical narrative, where the datum of the eight members of Noah's family being saved in the ark finds special emphasis through its threefold repetition across the narrative (Gen 6:18; 7:7; 8:18). Following this lead, the rationale for Noah's unique description in 2 Pet 2:5 should therefore be sought in the Scriptural Noah-narrative considered more broadly. Indeed, an analysis of the Noah-narrative in Scripture serves to unpack the key motifs of the apocalyptic, Urzeit-Endzeit argument of 2 Peter: 1) Gen 6:8 and the Noah-focused palistrophic structure of the narrative, with Gen 8:1 as its center, is an interpretive key to 2 Pet 2:5; 2) the relationship between Gen 6:8, 9, and 7:1 may explain why Noah can be said to preach the righteousness he performs (cf. 1QapGen 6:1-6); and 3) Noah's only speech in the biblical narrative, in which he pronounces covenant blessings and curses on his descendants (Gen 9:20-27), informs 2 Pet 2:9-10a (cf. the b-version of T. Benjamin 10:6). The argument from Scripture in 2 Pet 2:5 and 9 thus forms part of the trajectory of the apocalyptically-colored Noah-tradition already reflected within the canon (cf. Isa 54:9; Ezek 14:12-20) and evidenced in Jubilees and 1 Enoch. Scripturally conceived, Noah is not a moral example, but an eschatological model of the remnant saved by God's righteousness, who preaches, in anticipation of the judgment to come, the reality he practiced.

Classical languages instructors nowadays, seek new ways drawn from Second Language pedagogy and methodology, and communicative teaching, in particular, in order to enhance their teaching and their students' learning. Such new ways and activities often require 'producing' language (animated reading aloud of texts, leading a simple conversation, acting out a dialogue, playing games) which some instructors, in spite of their deep competence in the vocabulary and grammar of the language they teach, do not feel at ease doing. Proficiency in Modern Conversational Hebrew (which may take time to achieve), can certainly help Biblical Hebrew instructors overcome their hesitance and actively use BH in class. In this suggested shorter way, instructors can greatly improve on their 'production' of BH through Hebrew Story Time workshops. In these sessions they will enjoy listening to an engaging children's story, orally answer guided questions, and attempt to simply discuss interesting subjects stemming from it – all in Hebrew. Much of Hebrew children's literature is written in rich language, not too different from BH, and has good literary qualities. Suitable stories for the suggested workshops are short, have simple plots, and are illustrated. Initially written for children (some by renowned authors), they may still be considered 'ambivalent', understood by adults on different, higher levels, and are intriguing and thought provoking. Adult learners have long benefited from such stories in the Vancouver Mini Ulpanim . Slight modifications to texts (replacing post Biblical elements with Biblical) and adaptation of methodology (drawing from participants 'passive' but substantial familiarity with BH (is needed. Adapted stories will still keep their original style, charm, and effectiveness, will help BH instructors 'activate' their competence, and foster their confidence to vocally use BH in varied new ways in the classroom.

Toward the end of the letter to the Hebrews, the author writes, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (13:15). In the context of this letter, which contains some of the strongest supersessionist language in the New Testament, this may seem to be a facile spiritualization of sacrifice. In fact, the author is drawing on a tradition already present in the Hebrew Bible, especially in the Psalms. While a thanksgiving offering (todah) would originally have included both an animal sacrifice and some manner of publicizing the works of God through praise (cf. Lev. 7; Pss 22; 66; 107:21-22), eventually the vow to praise and its subsequent fulfillment eventually sufficed as a fitting response to God’s deliverance (Ps 40:6-10; 50:8-16; 107:8, 15, 31-32). In his influential article, Ginsberg showed the similarities between biblical psalms of thanksgiving and North Semitic eucharistic epigraphy, specifically the Ben-hadad stele. The actual writing down of a psalm, similar to an inscription on stone, came to be an acceptable form of thanksgiving in response to an act of deliverance. When the Lord extends Hezekiah’s life in Isa 38, his prayer is introduced not with a simple, “He said” or “He prayed” as are other psalms in the midst of narrative but rather with ??????? ????, “an inscription/writing of Hezekiah.” Similarly, when God delivers Tobit, the angel Raphael orders him to “Write down all that has happened to you” (12:20). Since the words of praise in the Psalms are meant to extend not only spatially but temporally (Ps 22:30-32), the means for this, as Brevard Childs notes, can be found in Ps 102:19: “Let this be recorded (????) for a generation to come.” Because of these different voices within the Old Testament itself, we can see that the author of Hebrews is actually being true to the literal sense of a thanksgiving offering and not simply imposing a metaphorical reading onto the texts.

Learner needs are often constrained by the traditional structure of a timed lecture that is sequenced into a rigid term or semester. One way to meet the real learning needs of students is to plan for and create learning opportunities that respond to the immediate needs of learners. Instead of only using class time to deliver content (i.e., lecture), class time can be used to address learners’ needs. This approach has been called Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT). Essentially, the teacher uses a variety of means to determine in advance of the instructional moment what the learners’ needs are. The instructor then adjusts the activities of the course or lecture time period to meet those specifically determined learning needs. This presentation will enact this very process of Just-in-Time Teaching with conference participants to demonstrate several ways that teachers can be more effective and efficient in their teaching, even in large introductory Biblical studies lecture courses. Essentially, during the course of the presentation, using Just-in-Time tactics, participant learner needs will be determined and learning activities enacted that help to meet those immediate needs.

A manuscript excavated from Qumran Cave 4, 4Q529, preserves the title of a document or a part of a document: “Words of the book which Michael has said to the angels”. Therefore the document or a part of it may be named: “Book of words of Michael”. The manuscript in Aramaic seems to be copied at the end of the first century BCE. The fragment 1 is the best preserved. Many words and expressions are closed to 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch like “the troops of fire” to designate angels or the vision of several mountains for example, but other words and expressions recall the book of Daniel like the call to the angel Gabriel to explain the vision and the presence of “a man”. The document may attest early the mix of apocalyptical traditions inside Jewish groups. Another document from the Dead Sea shores published in 2007 and named Hazon Gabriel may attest also the mix of Enochite and Danielic traditions but during the first century CE. Many affinities concerning the angelology may be put in evidence from the comparison between 4Q529 and the stele of Hazon Gabriel. It is not possible to postulate a direct link between both documents but they reflect the development of angelology around CE in Judaism. Both documents contribute to show the difficulty to assign a literary tradition to a specific group or milieu. The paper raises question on the usual paradigms in historical sociology to identify and describe a milieu beneath the text.

Mark Sneed has argued that the biblical texts usually described as Wisdom Texts do not reflect a single, distinct tradition or worldview but rather a series of loosely related genres produced by scribes who were also responsible for other sorts of work. In making this argument, he challenges a century or more of research, pointing to major inconsistencies in logic and evidentiary gaps present in much older scholarship. This paper explores a dimension of genre-creation in ancient Israel, i.e., the transformation of oral (or oral-like) forms into written texts containing their own commentaries. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern commentary parallels, the paper focuses on the book of Ezekiel as it offers meshalim and commentaries on them (especially Ezekiel 17-19). The book exhibits a highly self-reflective awareness of the plasticity of literary genres and their potential for multiple rhetorical uses. This capacity for commentary on texts within an obviously prophetic textual corpus argues for a Sneed's case that "wisdom" was not a self-contained thought world but more a way of writing texts. But it also suggests that scribalism was itself not a purely in-school activity, much less a purely literary one (whatever that would mean), but a set of processes involving interactions with larger currents of life in Israelite culture.

This paper examines the adaptation of a prayer to Sîn into a variety of ritual contexts, and how it was transformed into a dingir.ša.dib.ba that was included in an assembly of such ritual prayers. The examination indicates that the scribes freely adapted the name of the deity to fit different regional traditions in the five extant versions of the prayer. The scribes that produced the dingir.ša.dib.ba smoothed over a corruption in the transmission of the text, so that the dingir.ša.dib.ba reads “May the earth, which receives it, draw my fear to the Apsu,” rather than the original prayer’s “Let it (the earth) draw my fear as in a ditch to the Apsu.” There are other adaptations in transmission of the prayer to Sîn into a dingir.ša.dib.ba that take their cues from the texts, such as rather than reading lu-ši-ir “so that I may sing,” the text reads lu-še-er “so that I may succeed,” followed by a lengthy motive clause. Beyond regional traditions regarding the epithet for Sîn that inspired the adaptations in the text in the first line, the scribes take their cues from the text, and based on those cues either make sense of a difficult to understand text, or adapt it for a different theological message and purpose. The paper then discusses how the transmission and adaptation of the prayer to Sîn serves as a model for the adaptation of Psalms 14//53 and 40:14-18//70 into their various collections with slightly different theological messages.

List-making has a long history as an exercise of wisdom from antiquity. The book of Proverbs not only comprises lists (e.g., graded numerical sayings in 6:16-19 and 30:15-33) but also utilizes poetic devices to add comic flavor. For example, the depiction of sloth in 6:10 uses assonance (šenôt . . . tenûmôt. . ?ibbûq . . . liškob) and alliteration (me‘at . . . me‘at . . . me‘at . . .), portraying theatrically a person reeling in bed. In another instance, in 23:29, a clever permutation of exclamations ridicules the vice of inebriation by reproducing a slurred speech (“Who has ’ôy? Who has ’abôy?”). Four additional questions follow, featuring judgmental speeches (midyanîm), incessant complaints (sîa?), inexplicable bruises (pe?a‘îm ?innam), and dull eyes (?aklilût ‘ênayim for “a double vision?”). Each question is introduced with lemî (lit. “to whom,” meaning “who has?”), constructing a case of anaphora. The answer to the bacchanalian litany is given in v. 30. They are “those who tarry (me’a?arîm) over wine” (v. 30), who will eventually (’a?arîô in v. 32 that comes from the same root as me’a?arîm—a case of polyptoton) be stung by the poisonous snake, whose hissing is simulated with a series of sibilants (kena?aš yiššak ûke?ip‘onî yapriš, v. 32). The paper investigates the aural effect that generates the humor embedded in some of the proverbs.

This paper brings to the study of ancient Israel’s wisdom tradition certain insights gained in recent feminist works by Joan Copjec, Catherine Malabou, and others, which chart a course between the doxas of constructivist anti-essentialisms, now well established and yet ever under threat in the humanities, as well as evolutionary psychology, a trend toward which many in the humanities have recently turned. This paper opposes both the “biological turn” in the humanities, which has often contributed to a climate of hostility and ignorance regarding feminist approaches to gender, identity, and the body, as well as still-prevalent, albeit now outdated and poorly justified, suspicions of and hostilities to the natural sciences clung to by many thinkers involved with the humanities, Continental philosophy and psychoanalysis in particular. With recent re-conceptions of woman as a resistant essence, a resistance that prevents the impossibility of its own disappearance, this paper rereads the skeptical literature in Israel’s wisdom corpus (Job and Qoheleoth) as a feminization of wisdom. Job and Qoheleth compel us to ask what remains of wisdom after its sacrifice, our understanding of which is informed in crucial ways by how this question has returned in the history of the feminist struggle.

This paper scrutinizes one moment in the effective history of the biblical accounts of Josiah’s reform (2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chron 34-35), focusing on the ideological implications of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s use of this text in 1547, with reference to the English monarchs Henry VIII and Edward VI, as the religion of England was being forcibly shifted from the rich symbolic world of the medieval Church towards a stark Protestantism of the written word (cf. Duffy 1992 and 2005; pace Daniell 2003). When Cranmer dubs Edward a latter day Josiah at his coronation on February 20, 1547 (Ware 1682: 2-9; Cox 1846: 126-127; cf. MacCulloch 1996: 351-409; Simpson 2007: 10-17), there is an obvious allusion to his ancient Judahite predecessor: he is still a child (cf. 2 Kings 21:23-22:1; 2 Chron 33:21-34:1), too young to rule alone, and it is the evangelical Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who effectively rules as Lord Protector until 1552. But the allusions go deeper. That Cranmer can also refer to the late King Henry VIII as a latter day Josiah, in a sermon of July 31, 1547, points to the role of the two Tudor kings in presiding over the destruction of religious images, just as Josiah had earlier done, such images, moreover, having in each case implied allegiance to a foreign power. Underlying Cranmer’s understanding of the roles of Henry and Edward is the notion that the king has been divinely chosen and is subject to God alone, a view heavily shaped by texts such as Rom 13:1-7, but also by texts from the Old Testament connected with the divine election of the Davidic dynasty. But the key aspect to the effective history of Josiah’s reform during the Edwardian Reformation in England is the ideology of uniformity. Uniformity is conceived in relation to the imposition of authoritative written texts, as opposed to “unwritten verities”: just as Josiah’s reform is represented as inspired by an authoritative written text, the law of Moses, that supposedly forbids unwritten religious symbols, so reform in England under Edward VI is tied to the written authority of the recently translated English Bible. With the Act of Uniformity of 1549, enforcing the use of Cranmer's English Book of Common Prayer, it was also to be tied to a single devotional language, English. This was the spark for rebellion in Cornwall and Devon in 1549, the rebels demanding both the restoration of recently proscribed devotional practices, and a return to Latin as the language of devotion. Partly this was due to the fact that in parts of Cornwall the imposition of a language other than Latin or Cornish was tantamount to the suppression of both religious and linguistic identity in favour of the universal imposition of English. This, while hardly an inevitable consequence of Cranmer’s use of the biblical account of Josiah’s reform, was nevertheless one of its major effects.

Prayers and hymns, often in the first person voice, vividly construct an elaborate religious geography that has a quality of realism to it but is not based on any single empirical place. In this paper, I wish to explore how the affective bodily reenactment of being in Paradise in the Odes of Solomon 11 can be said to result in the further generation of what its environs look like. The text that I wish to examine is Odes of Solomon 11 which differs in the Syriac and Greek versions. The Greek version contains noticeable material that describes Paradise’s landscape in line 16 which is not found in the Syriac text. I wish to propose that the diverging Greek text (Ode 11:16 a, b, c) can be understood as a further vision of Paradise that was had during a religious experience. The spatial details that appear in the Greek version of Ode 11 are elements that were reconstituted spontaneously into the mental template of the garden as a result of memory’s naturally associative process. The Greek and the Syriac versions of Ode 11 are not two divergent translations that stem from a common Urtext, but reflect two distinct experiences of this text that arose during a state of ritual reenactment.

At the invitation of Pam Scalise I am filling out this form to say that I will be participating in the Panel Discussion on teaching Hebrew online. I spent the last 13 years teaching both Greek and Hebrew in the classroom, in hybrid format, and 100% online . I have done everything related to online courses: plan, design, create, teach, evaluate, and even publish an article on it. So I can share about the logistics, the pedagogical and epistemological assumptions, motivational issues, distance education, adult learning, challenges to online teaching, UNICODE fonts, and more. I'll look to Pam and others for direction.

Modern scholars have downplayed the use of Leviticus by the redactor of Ezra-Nehemiah (cf. European Seminar), focusing rather on the extensive use of Deuteronomic traditions in the text (Frevel, 2010). In fact, the generous stance toward the ger in Leviticus has led to the belief that Ezra-Nehemiah is primary and that Leviticus is a reaction to its harsh position toward foreigners (Douglas, 2002). Taking the position that the tolerant attitude toward the ger in Leviticus reflects an earlier time of less crisis vis-à-vis foreigners, I beg for reconsideration of this view of the chronology of these texts. In this paper, I call attention to elements from Leviticus which are present in Ezra-Nehemiah but are not found elsewhere in the Torah and argue for the chronological priority of Leviticus over Ezra-Nehemiah. The following arguments will be raised: 1) the description of Sukkot found in Leviticus 23 can be explained to inform Nehemiah 8; 2) the use of ma’al and asham in Ezra 9-10 can best be explained by levitical traditions embedded in the cult, since the terms are used differently elsewhere in Scripture, as well as usage of other levitical terms: to‘evah, ga’al, and badal ; 3) the presentation of the jubilee and sabbatical years in Leviticus 25 serve as a necessary backdrop to Nehemiah’s insistence on cancelling debt and returning land (Neh 5); and 4) Leviticus is the only book of the Torah to assume an ongoing supply of wood for the perpetual altar fire (Lev 6:12-13; cf. Neh 10:34, “as it is written in the law”), thus forming a basis for Nehemiah’s wood collection decree. Leviticus 24 is also the base text for the Wood Festival in Qumran texts (e.g. 4Q365; cf. Zahn, 2009).

"Scriptural Reasoning is the communal practice of reading sacred scriptures, in small groups, together. Normally the passages of scripture chosen are Jewish, Christian and Muslim and are linked together by a particular issue, theme, story or image. When read together in this way participants – or “reasoners” - have found that astonishing, powerful and, at times, quite surprising, new conversations and relationships may open up." This statement, found on the web site www.scripturalreasoning.org, reflects an idea whose time has surely come. Religious thinkers of most every tradition find "truth" in sacred texts, and that truth, over the generations, has all too often been considered by adherents of those traditions as exclusive in nature. While Scriptural Reasoning as a process or even a movement does not necessarily counter those types of claims, it does offer the opportunity, for religious communities that might otherwise be in conflict, for learning about the sacred texts of "the other," along with the tradition of interpretation that these scriptures have engendered. The spirit of the undertaking is one of friendship and respect and, it is hoped, of opening up the potential for improving the quality of our disagreements. I will share a few of the anecdotes that recall my first experiences with Scriptural Reasoning, during a recent sabbatical at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Concerted archaeological attention has begun to lift the obscuring veil on the formative character of the Early Iron Age (ca. 1200-900 BCE), challenging the conventional view that this era was marked by cultural devolution, ethnic strife and historical disruption. The University of Toronto excavations at Tell Tayinat, on the Plain of Antioch, have begun to uncover the remains of an extensive settlement from this period. The emerging archaeological picture points to the rise of a powerful regional kingdom associated with the ‘Land of Palistin’, comprised of an intriguing amalgam of Aegean, Anatolian (Luwian) and Bronze Age West Syrian cultural traditions. Palistin resurfaces in ninth century Neo-Assyrian sources as the Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Patina/Unqi, though within diminished political borders, with Tayinat (ancient Kunulua, biblical Calno) its royal city. In 738 BCE, Kunulua is destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian empire builder Tiglath-pileser III, who transforms the site’s Neo-Hittite citadel into the seat of an Assyrian provincial governorate. This presentation will review the results of the ongoing Tayinat Archaeological Project investigations, and the historical (and biblical) insights they have provided to date.

The title may surprise the informed reader. I was suprised myself when I discovered in Jonah more than accidental terminological links to the first chapters of Genesis. They turned out to be of significant importance for the theology of the book. To be sure, there is not only one theological issue of Jonah but a bundle of them, including a prophet of doom having „too much“ success and, as an overall hermeneutical clue, the open question of the consequences of the concept of YHWH as the creator of the whole earth whose benvolence encompasses all living beings. Research on Jonah often recognized so called „Leerstellen“ (Wolfgang Iser), empty spaces within the narrative, which – in light of a reader response theory – have to be filled in by the reader’s mind. The proposed paper tries to show how these „empty spaces“ in Jonah, with special focus on chapters 3-4, have a positive counterpart in the flood narrative Genesis 6-9 (Jonah 3) and the story of Cain Genesis 4 (Jonah 4).

This paper examines an overarching theme of bird imagery in the Acts of Xanthippe (AX); it takes the position that the narrative's approach to the avian can complicate readings of the animal-human-divine relationship(s) in the text, as well as present new ways of reading how Christian self-identity is conceived of in relation to alterity. In using a deconstructionist approach by means of Derrida's (2003) concept of the divinanimal, I establish that the value of studying a text's interest in the non-human—in critical contrast to its anthropocentricism—is that it can provide one fruitful lens for complicating our readings of apocryphal Christian literature. Three examples of AX characterizations and their avian relationality are examined, namely: (1) the Eagle and the Raven of Probus' vision, which respectively signal the coming of Christ and the Devil's fall; (2) Paul the Nightingale as the intermediary to the divine in his apostleship; and (3) Xanthippe the metaphorical “caged bird” as Christian convert. On the one hand, these characterizations are contextualized by the narrative's overt purpose to validate Christian identity, as well as map the success of this identity upon Roman cultural cues in an imperial context; on the other hand, these same characterizations are given another layer of complexity by studying how the text subtly asserts that the avian is to be emulated in its closer connection with the divine, despite the overt anthropocentricism upon which the story-world primarily functions. This paper is most interested in the discussion of how a character can become more bird-like to become Christian (Xanthippe) or can be more perfectly Christian as a medium for God via the avian (Paul), as well as add to the more established scholarly discussion of Probus' vision, toward which the other two examples gesture.

In Ephrem’s Hymns on Paradise, it is unsurprising that the characters of Adam and Jesus have significant roles to play in his meditations on the human fall from and restoration to paradise. However, some scholars – such as Robert Murray – have noted that the Hymns on Paradise do not explicitly portray Christ as a second head of the human race, or "second Adam." Still, Ephrem’s “symbolic” method of doing theology demands that scholars look at his work beyond face value to try to make sense of the function of the various raze that he employs in his writings. If one reads the Hymns with attention to these raze as interpretive keys, more implicit connections between Adam and Christ – and their respective roles – will become clear. Therefore, this paper will call attention to two major raze in the Hymns on Paradise which implicitly link the corporate personalities of Adam and Christ. Upon close examination, these symbols – the Robe of Glory and the Crown of Victory – prove integral to Ephrem’s entire narrative of creation, fall, and redemption in the Hymns. Through the image of the Robe of Glory, Ephrem depicts the stripped and lost glory in Adam restored by the incarnate Christ through Adam’s very own flesh. By employing the image of the Crown of Victory, Ephrem portrays Adam’s loss at the testing ground of the Tree of Knowledge as a victory to be won by the the victorious Athlete, Jesus. These two raze depict Adam as both an historical forefather and as a corporate personality; in his loss of the robe of glory, all are stripped. In his failure to win the Crown, all lose. Indeed, Christ’s role is thoroughly tied up with Adam’s, for according to Ephrem, Jesus takes on Adam’s robe as his own, and in his victory offers it to Adam – and therefore to humanity – once more. Thus, while Fr. Murray is correct in saying that explicit language referring to Christ as “second Adam” is hardly evident, a closer study of Ephrem’s use of these significant images will demonstrate that in a very real sense, Christ functions as a second Adam in the Hymns on Paradise.

In Acts 12:20-23, the evangelist narrates the gruesome fate of King Herod, who had begun to violently persecute the church in 12:1. The inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon had come before the king to regain his good will because the region depended upon his kingdom for its food supply. Herod appeared before them to give a public address, dressed in royal garb and seated upon his throne; afterwards the people shouted, “The voice of a God, not of a man!” When Herod did not give the glory to God, a messenger of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms and died. The death of Herod is also narrated by Josephus in the Jewish Antiquities; in both traditions, the deifying cries of the people lavished upon the king are explicitly tied to a tragic end even though he does not solicit them. A possible literary relationship between Josephus and Acts has largely driven the history of research on Acts 12:20-23, and yet a comparison of these two accounts does not adequately explain the Lukan redaction of his source. The theme of the jealousy of the gods is well attested in the works of Herodotus and the Athenian playwrights: great wealth and power inevitably lead to hubris and hubris must be punished. This literary tradition, in which both Josephus and Luke participate, sheds considerable light upon the sudden death of an abusive tyrant who persecutes the church and starves the people.

Anthony D. Smith has argued that nationalist identities and ideologies are grounded in traditional religious beliefs and practices drawn from one of more ethnic communities over time. Religious commitments provide the “sacred foundations” that have given rise to nationalism as a separate belief-system and explain why nationalist sentiments persist and evoke passion. Prominent among these sacred resources are, 1) a constitutive politic myth that articulates claims to group origins and descent, and 2) an alleged and felt symbiosis between a piece of earth and “its” community. Smith’s focus on the continuity of nationalist myth-symbol complexes with their religious antecedents provides an important avenue for tracing the influence of the book of Joshua on American national mythology – an influence often noted but rarely explored. Both biblical Israel and modern America construct a myth of origins through a narrative of conquest. These narratives are configured, I propose, by a common mythic structure comprising four parts. The Myth begins with the fiction that the indigenous inhabitants of the land have somehow defiled or misused the land, so that both the land and its people are disordered. Second, the invading people enter the land and subjugate the indigenous peoples, thus freeing the land from their disordering influence. Third, the invaders draw boundaries that define the terrain and establish a beneficial order in the land. Finally, the invading people removes all remaining indigenous peoples, facilitating new attachments between the land and the immigrant people. In this way, the Myth resolves a fundamental ambivalence about the invader’s connection to the land; that is, how the land can be understood as the homeland of a nation whose origins lie outside it. The Myth, in short, narrates a transformation in which the land is claimed and remade in the image of its invader.

Contemporary readers of the Gospel of John have identified the text’s ethics as a problem. John claims that knowledge of Christ is foundational for ethics, but the Gospel provides few specific ethical teachings. This paper will undertake a reading of the interpretation of John in the First Apocalypse of James, in order to argue that 1ApocJas builds from this gap in the Gospel of John an ethical program of preparation for martyrdom. Literary scholars suggest that the gapped, incomplete character of texts serves as a spur to intertextual work, and this gap in John serves precisely to drive early Christian interpretations. Comparison to Heracleon’s Commentary on John demonstrates that other early Christian readers identified and attempted to solve this problem of ethics and Christology in John. In Heracleon, just as in 1ApocJas, the fundamental ethical question asked of John is not how to judge actions in the world as right or wrong, but how one is to form oneself as an ethical subject. 1ApocJas reads the Christological revelation of John 7-8 for this type of ethical training. What in John were statements by Jesus about his peculiar identity are understood by 1ApocJas as knowledge about the nature of the person. James is exhorted to train himself to inculcate this knowledge in order to train himself for martyrdom. This Christological knowledge becomes in the reading of 1ApocJas knowledge about the nature of the self which provides the justification for enduring torture and execution. 1ApocJas' method of interpretation draws a striking equivalence between Christology and anthropology in order to produce a coherent reading of ethics in John.

References to sound and silence play an important role within the overall rhetoric of judgment and restoration in the book of Jeremiah. Many references to sound and silence are found in oracles that may be considered to be persuasive poetry, i.e. sounds are evoked by terms such as lament, wail and mourn in Jeremiah 4.8 and 6.26, while silence is mandated by the phrase '...they shall not lament for him' in Jeremiah 22.18. Consequently, literary form combines with evocative content to press home the message of the text. This paper will examine the way that references to sound and silence are combined with marital imagery and terminology,. This creates a powerful rhetoric that contributes to the overarching message of judgment and restoration in the book of Jeremiah. While the narrator is deeply concerned with the situation in Judah and Jerusalem, his rebuke takes the form of fond remembrance on the one hand (Jeremiah 2.2) and statements of direct intent on the other (Jeremiah 7.34; 16.9; 25.10 and 33.10-11). Additionally, although these passages are scanned as prose in English translations such as the NRSV, the well-coordinated parallelisms exhibited in these texts beg the question of where poetry leaves off and prose begins.

It is widely recognized that Job, in his suffering, entertains the idea that death would be preferable because it might lead to a better afterlife. The Egyptian character of some of the afterlife imagery has been noted, and this article extends that set of associations to include Job’s recurrent imagery of the rebirth of a tree. That tree imagery has deep resonance with the Egyptian motif of the Osiris tree, which symbolized rebirth for the deceased person, who aspired to “become an Osiris.” Furthermore, it is demonstrable that the motif of the Osiris-tree was received in the Levant. The paper concludes with a reflection on relevance of specific tree images within the wide variety of Egyptian tree imagery, by means of Joel LeMon’s model of “congruent imagery.”

This paper seeks to demonstrate that LXX Jeremiah had a strong influence on the formation of Luke-Acts, particularly in regard to the themes of 1) judgment on Jerusalem and the Temple, 2) persecution of God’s spokepersons, including trials and imprisonments; and 3) Gentile deliverance at the precise time of hostility towards God’s spokespersons and of impending judgment on Jerusalem and her leaders. The first part of this paper will briefly discuss the manner in which Luke-Acts normally connects to the Hebrew Bible (i.e. usually through allusion and not direct citation). Next this paper will note the importance of the “prophets” in Luke-Acts, underscoring especially the differing contexts in which the "prophets” are mentioned. The second part of the paper will identify several unique features in LXX Jeremiah that have special relevance to Luke-Acts. For example, Jeremiah is the one, above all of the other prophets, who most repeatedly and consistently preaches judgment against Jerusalem and the Temple. It is Jeremiah who actually stands in the Temple and delivers scathing messages of judgment. Likewise, it is Jeremiah, more than any other prophet, who faces active hostility from the leaders in Jerusalem, including numerous plots against his life as well as trials and imprisonments. In this sense Jeremiah “personifies” the persecuted prophet. It is also Jeremiah who prophesies the New Covenant and who introduces an Ethiopian Eunuch as the paradigm of Gentile faith and salvation in the midst of Israelite apostasy and the consequential destruction of Jerusalem. Next a brief survey of Jewish literature of the Second Temple period will reveal that in the first century CE, Jeremiah was closely associated with the proclamation of judgment on Jerusalem and the Temple. He was also seen as the premier example of the persecuted prophet. Then the paper will survey those texts in Luke-Acts that contain the theme of judgment on Jerusalem and the Temple, comparing this theme and specific associated Greek terms to the passages conveying this similar theme and using similar terms in LXX Jeremiah. Next the paper will examine the theme and terminology of hostility and persecution against God’s spokesmen (Jesus, Stephen, Peter, Paul) by the leaders of Israel in Luke-Acts, in comparison with this similar theme and terminology in LXX Jeremiah. Likewise, the salvation of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8), coming at a time when Israel and her leaders reject the message of God’s spokesmen with hostility (i.e. the death of Stephen), will be analyzed to hear an echo of the Ethiopian Eunuch of Jeremiah 38-39, who finds deliverance just as Jerusalem is destroyed and Israel’s hostile and unbelieving leaders are executed.

This paper considers the Colossian presentation of the role of Tychicus (Col 4.7-9) within a broader understanding of the role of named letter carriers in epistolary communication in antiquity and early Christianity (including the undisputed Paulines). It is argued that when understood against this background (aided by a reconsideration of the textual evidence for the second clause in 4.8), Tychicus is presented as not only bringing news from Paul but also as both mediating his absent-presence to the recipients and aiding their reception of the letter. Assuming that Colossians was a real letter (whether authentic or otherwise) it is possible to outline some elements of a Tychician interpretation of Colossians.

This paper will focus on the legacy of Eugene Nida on Bible translation methodology, and how Nida influenced translators during the second half of the 20th century. The emphasis will be on Nida’s anthropological insights and writings and on the cultural issues that translators faced, often unaware, as they translated the Bible into preliterate languages of minority indigenous peoples. The presentation will focus on Nida’s startling claim in 2002 that “More of the problems [in Bible translation] involve cultural anthropology than they do problems of theology.” A summary of an investigation of Luke 1 in terms of cultural/anthropological issues will be presented, in addition to a review of Nida's influence on the presenter's career in anthropology over a period of 40 years. Case studies of New Testament translation problems into a hunter-gatherer language in the Philippines, which illustrate mistranslations due to a lack of anthropological insight, will be included.

In the Second Testament and other early Christian writings we find traces of and references to oral traditions: for example, stories, sayings, legends, and acclamations. There are a number of studies that have given attention both to the identification of oral traditions and to social dimensions of their transmission and transformation through performance. One question as yet unexplored is whether some of these traditions may have been transmitted through music. In the Second Testament and other early Christian writings we find references to musical instruments (trumpets, flutes, stringed instruments) and singing (e.g. hymns of praise, laments). There are also a number of texts in the Second Testament that are thought to be hymns. This prompts questions about the role music may have played in the preservation, transmission, and performance of early Christian traditions, the social settings in which music was employed and who performed this music. In this paper I will present trace evidence of intersections between oral traditions and music in the New Testament and other early Christian writings, giving particular attention to when, where, and how music is employed, as well as the memorial and aesthetic functions it may have served, and propose questions for consideration in future studies of multimedia (or multimodal) articulations of early Christian traditions.

The Syriac Bible has long been known to provide a wealth of variants and information for those engaged in New Testament Textual criticism. The Syriac Revelation did not belong to the primitive canon of the Syriac church and was only later translated into Syriac, but not before the 7th century. Up to date there is no critical edition of its text available. This lecture will provide a short textual history of the Syriac Revelation and give some sample readings from its text which promise to be significant for the reconstruction of the Greek text of John's Apocalypse.

Every instructor feels the press of time—even more so, when the course covers the entirety of the Old Testament (or even the Christian Bible). This 15-minute presentation demonstrates several ideas for pre- and post-class exercises that enhance both effectiveness and efficiency within class time by engaging students in thoughtful preparation for and reflection on class sessions. Attendees will be invited to participate in a very short sample class first without these approaches and then with them, so that they may see for themselves in brief order what a difference implementing these ideas can make.

This paper will revisit the evidence of the Community Rule on commensality in the Yahad. Rather than trying to offer a synthesis of various passages, as is customary in many discussions, the approach adopted here stresses significant differences between the description of the common meal in 1QS 6:2c-3, 4b-5 and the place of pure food and drink in the admissions process in 1QS 6:13b-23. The common meal emerges as a rather low key and uncontroversial shared meal of standard Mediterranean staples preceded by a priestly blessing. The admissions process, on the other hand, is considered afresh against the background of halakhic texts such as 4QTohoraha (4Q274) 3and 4QHarvesting (4Q284a). It is argued that sharing the pure food and drink of the community is only the final stage in a more extended and laborious process of food production and preparation envisaged for gradually advancing new members. The discussion will consider to what extent each account can be considered to describe ritual activities.

While the innate value of courses in biblical studies is evident to faculty, many undergraduates—often motivated by pre-professional track promises of “hireability”—shy away from our classes and thus our majors. This roundtable discussion will explore strategies that convey to our students both the “relevance” and the “payoff” of biblical studies courses. In addition, we will share creative ideas for packaging undergraduate majors as pre-professional through promoting tracks such as “pre-ministry,” “peace and conflict transformation,” etc. Ultimately, to “sell” our courses and majors more effectively will engage more students in the responsible reading of sacred texts that continue to play a significant role in today’s world.

This paper explores the lives of children in the ANE in a unique manner, through the use of agency theory. Agency theory recognizes that, as representatives of society, adults present minors in texts and archaeological realia as they perceived them, a depiction that is necessarily one-sided. Addressing questions that lead to both objective and subjective answers, agency theory creates a fuller, richer picture of the lives of children in the ANE. In essence, agency theory writes children back into the historical record by giving them a voice. It does this by using the seemingly unknowable element of emotion to restore the individual to his/her life as it is represented by the textual data and archaeological materials. Six different children will be presented in this paper; they are offered as a sampling of a larger work. This paper will consider children from different social ages (birth to puberty), statuses (free child, adopted child, slave child), cultures (Canaanite and Mesopotamian), and time periods (the Early Bonze Age I ca. 3300-3050 BCE through the Neo-Babylonian Period ca. 556-539 BCE). Such a variety of cases offers a cross-section of what life may have looked like for children in the ANE. Before moving to a discussion of agency theory and its use within textual and archaeological contexts, the paper will engage in a more traditional approach. This first section will give a brief overview and interpretation of the data concerning the six different children to be discussed through the lens of agency theory. After a presentation of the data the paper will then apply agency theory to the archaeological and textual data, a process that recaptures the lives of six real children through narratives about their lives.

The corrections of an ancient manuscript offer an unparalleled opportunity to evaluate the judgments of early scribes and the state of their exemplars. Moreover, one can revisit the assessments of textual critics who conscript scribal corrections for the reconstruction of the NT’s transmission history. Codex Sinaiticus’s fourth century corrections offer an opportunity to do both. Over a half-century ago, Josef Schmid claimed that the Apocalypse’s Andreas “text-type” went back to the fourth century on the basis of its relationship to Codex Sinaiticus’s fourth century corrections. This judgment gave Colwell pause, noting that Schmid was relying on an earlier study by Boussett that had not been assessed in light of recent developments regarding the history of “text-types.” While the “text-type” nomenclature continues to be hotly debated today, a fresh assessment of Codex Sinaiticus’s corrections in the Apocalypse may help to clarify the issue. This paper will examine both the fourth and seventh century corrections in Codex Sinaiticus’s text of the Apocalypse with a view to creating a typology of scribal corrections and assess their connections to the putative Andreas “text-type.”

Written by Athanasius of Alexandria in Greek and translated soon thereafter into Latin by Evagrius Ponticus, the Life of St. Antony represents one of the most important texts for understanding monasticism in the Late Antique period. Recent research by authors, such as David Brakke, has highlighted the importance of the demonic in works such as the Life for determining monastic identity: by defining their opposition, the monks define aspects of themselves. Contrary to present research on the Life, I will argue that there are two distinct types of demonic corporeality present in the Greek and Latin Lives. The Greek Life presents demons as beings capable of influencing thoughts, creating illusions, and even causing others to feel psychosomatic pain, but also as entities incapable of affecting and influencing their environment on the same physical level as human beings. Contrary to the Greek Life, the Latin Life offers an entirely different and more frightening portrayal of demons: creatures capable of shattering doors, beating opponents nearly to death, and struggling with monks on the tops of mountains. These differences are important for two reasons. First, the differences between the two texts suggest that the Life of St. Antony embodies not one perspective of demons in Egyptian monasticism but two. Thus, two conflicting views of monastic identity which I will describe. Finally, as suggested by the propagation of the Latin Life over the Greek, it is Evagrius’ conception of the demonic, not Athanasius’, which continues to inform the Latin West through the end of the Middle Ages, and thus to influence not only the identities of Saints and eremites but popular literature and art for several hundred years.

This paper investigates the methodological possibilities and pitfalls involved in the study of intertexts shared by authors whose knowledge of the other is doubtful or problematic. I will focus on one striking anomaly shared by two ancient Jewish authors usually relegated to separate studies because of (artificial) disciplinary divides: Paul’s epistle to the Romans (9:25-26) and Joseph and Aseneth (19:8) are the only instances in extant literature in which Gentiles are called “sons of the living God.” As is well-known, these authors are quoting Hosea 2:1 LXX [1:10 MT], in which the prophet contrasts idolatrous Israelites (“Not My People”) with future eschatological Israelites who repent and are therefore called “Sons of the Living God.” These authors thereby include (some) Gentiles, who were previously not chosen, in the chosen people of God. I hypothesize that while neither of these authors is dependent on the other, Paul and the author of Joseph and Aseneth use this intertext for similar rhetorical purposes: they each deconstruct the traditional usage of the epithet “the living God” in Israel’s scriptures in order to re-imagine the relationship of this God to Gentiles. The paper concludes with reflections on the methodological questions inherent to such a project.

With the exception of Lev 2:13 and 24:8 the term bryt, “covenant,” occurs in the book of Leviticus only in chapter 26. Here, however, the eight occurrences form a significant concept in three stages that correspond to the three main parts of the chapter. In the part called “blessings” or better “promises” (Lev 26:3-13), God enumerates the blessings and benefits that will be granted to Israel if the people follow God’s laws, keep God’s commandments and observe them. Israel will gain agricultural and military success, and God will uphold his covenant with Israel (26:9). However, if Israel does not obey God and his commandments, thus breaking the covenant (26:15), God has to punish the people severely and a sword will execute vengeance for the covenant (26:25). The (longer) part called “curses” or better “commination” (Lev 26:14-39) lists a wide variety of consequences of Israel’s disloyalty to the covenant and God’s commandments. God will take back all the promises mentioned in the first part – with one exception: the promise to uphold his covenant is not mentioned and therefore not withdrawn in the second part. Israel experienced the evil consequences in destruction and exile in the sixth century B.C.E. But as the people survived the catastrophe, these two parts of admonition need to be supplemented by a third part of redemption (Lev 26:40-45). God grants mercifully a new beginning after the (necessary) punishment. The text uses the metaphor that God “remembered his covenant” – it is the covenant with the Patriarchs (Jacob, Isaac, Abraham – in this sequence in 26:42) and the (same) covenant with the ancients freed from the land of Egypt (26:45). This concept of redemption that results from the experiences of the Exile and the new beginning in the Persian period is integrated into the revelation at Mount Sinai in order to anchor the paradigm of failure, punishment, forgiveness and new beginning at the roots of Israel’s religion. While the concept of admonition by promises and commination is borrowed from the treaties in the Ancient Near Eastern literature, the concept of redemption is unique in Israel’s environment. The text suggests the following theological and anthropological conclusions: The concept of covenant in Leviticus 26 presents God as a reliable covenant partner and as a merciful and forgiving deity. As Israel is freed from the land of Egypt in the sight of all nations (26:45), hence the people stand for an anthropological paradigm: All human beings are summoned to a life according to God’s ethical demands in order to gain a life in prosperity and peace. While human beings experience their failure in following God’s commandments and suffer the severe consequences, God will answer confessing and repentance by granting a new beginning (“remembering the covenant”). Thus God’s mercy does not suspend the ethical responsibility of the human beings; their actions do not become irrelevant. However, punishment will not be God’s last word; it is the covenant that lets God’s love prevail against his vengeance.

This paper identifies connections between the Johannine portrait of Jesus and the memory/reception of that portrait in early, non-canonical sources. It asks whether these sources reflect dependence upon the Gospel itself or upon independent, parallel tradition, and how they affect our understanding of the Gospel’s presentation of history and the historical Jesus. While we find that historical issues related to Jesus are generally fused with theological and spiritual ones in this literature, it is also possible to tease out ways in which the historical import of the Johannine Jesus was perceived and appropriated.

Ruth makes three appearances in the work of William Blake (1757-1827), appearing once in his poetry and twice in visual art. This paper is principally concerned with the earliest of these works, a colour print conventionally entitled "Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to Moab" (Butlin 299). Examining the image in the context of Blake's other biblical works, and as one in a series of twelve large-scale prints, enables consideration of Ruth's place in Blake's broader hermeneutics. Blake is thus shown to be a creative and independent exegete, who interacts with tradition but also demonstrates a sensitivity to the biblical text comparable with more recent literary readings; this has particular implications for his representation of Naomi and Ruth.

In this paper I shall first give an outline of what I believe to be one important current of Platonism in Early Imperial times ("religious platonism"), and then interpret the Johannine way of re-telling the story of Jesus against this background. This will shed new light on the question in what way some writings of the New Testament might be regarded, and might have regarded themselves, as philosophical.

The experience of biblical bloggers and the example of the online Review of Biblical Literature points to the advantages of reviewing books online if one’s target audience is the ever-growing number of people who research a topic via an electronic search engine without wanting to be limited by the confines of ATLA or JSTOR. Online book reviews by bloggers and electronically available book reviews in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, precisely because they are at everyone’s fingertips with no money down and no logins required, are among the most-read and frequently accessed secondary literature in the field of biblical studies. Moreover, thanks to the fast-and-furious nature of blogging, a number of threads document responses to a book as presented in a book review with unparalleled immediacy. Finally, the elastic nature of the electronic medium has meant that very long book reviews face, technically speaking, no obstacles; at the same time, tweet-length book reviews have become commonplace. Where do we go from here? In the paper, in addition to recounting amazing episodes from the annals of the biblical blogosphere, I argue in favor of an industry standard for electronic book reviews and present a proof of concept in that sense. A proposed standard is important not because it should or will become the norm, but because the existence of a proposed standard will raise the bar on several fronts and encourage the more intrepid to put it in practice and help the field of academic biblical studies realize the full potential of electronic media for research and teaching.

“Mary said, ‘Behold, the Lord’s slave. May it be for me according to your word.’” (Luke 1:38) With these words, Luke’s Mary acknowledges the news that Gabriel announced to her in the preceding verses, namely, that she is to bear a son when a holy spirit overcomes her and the power of the most high overshadows her. Traditionally, commentators have portrayed this verse as the moment of Mary’s acceptance; she is “the model believer,” the woman impregnated with God’s son without coitus. However, the ambiguity surrounding the “how” of this conception presents many questions laden with sexual overtones. Specifically (and pushing beyond the questions raised by Jane Schaberg), what might it mean in such a sexualized context, and in the Roman world of the first and second centuries CE, to label oneself a doule, a slave? What might it mean to label oneself the doule kuriou, the Lord’s slave, in particular? Mary’s self-appellation as doule is striking, especially when the conditions of first century Greco-Roman slaves are considered. Though Luke’s Mary submits to God, her master (kurios), some early hearers of Luke’s story surely would have pictured this submission in conformity to the slave conditions with which they were familiar. In this case, Mary’s portrayal as the Lord’s slave means that her master-God has full access and rights over her body. Given the sexual tension pervading this passage, especially surrounding Mary’s virginity and predicted pregnancy, the slippery connections (noted by classical scholars such as Laura McClure, Thomas McGinn, Allison Glazebrook, and Madeleine Henry) between the conditions the doule and the porne (“prostitute”) in the first century C.E. become apparent in this passage. In other words, it is probable that some would have heard Mary’s submission as the doule kuriou as her professing to be the porne kuriou, “the Lord’s whore.” After discussing the probability of this reading and then using feminist and queer theoretical work on sex trafficking and prostitution, this paper will consider the implications of this potentially shocking reading for both the figures of Mary and of her master-God.

The Egyptian Papyrus Amherst 63 is a 23-column text in Aramaic but in Demotic script. It contains a wide variety of compositions, many of which prominently feature the Mesopotamian goddess Nanaya. This deity is the female participant in the "sacred marriage" included in column 17, the last cultic composition on the papyrus and the culmination of its liturgic arch. The papyrus most likely reflects the religious, cultural, and literary traditions of several disparate groups of Arameans or Aramaic-speakers from Mesopotamia and Syria-Palestine, who had taken refuge in the same communities in Egypt. In this hybrid and syncretistic milieu, the sacred marriage composition highlighting Nanaya appears as a key element in understanding the purpose of the authors or copyists of the papyrus.

This session presents and discussion the new and expanded edition of The Text of the New Testament.

Who is Esther? Scholarly and popular literature, Jewish and Christian alike, have painted very different images of the female protagonist of this early antique Jewish novel. The presentation will trace the configuration of the Esther character in the HB, and in the LXX/AT with special emphasis on the so-called beauty-contest in Est 2. These texts have earlier been compared by Kristin De Troyer from a feminist perspective. I want to add the perspective of Est 2 as a sexual fantasy, a piece of erotic or maybe even pornographic literature (cf. Athalya Brenner’s definition of pornography as a representation of a violent sexual fantasy, vs Linda William's statement that one person's pornography is another person's erotica). If we consider the “Oriental Beauty Parlor” (De Troyer) as a (liminal) space for preparing virgins for the royal harem, and the extreme duration of the beauty treatment as a parallel to the training of characters in sadomasochistic novels like “The Story of O” or “9½ Weeks”, yet another aspect can be added to the picture of Esther’s development under the reader’s gaze from an obedient teenager (object)to a mature queen (subject). How does this picture add to the overall understanding of gender in the ancient versions of the Book of Esther?

In biblical prayers, speakers regularly demand that God "hear their voices" (e.g. Ps. 5:2-3; 27:7) and "see their plight" (e.g. Ps. 9:14; 35:22). These demands correspond directly with descriptions, within prayers themselves, but also in other texts, of God "hearing" prayers (e.g. Ps. 22:6; Deut. 26:2) and "seeing" petitioners' plights (e.g., Ps 31:8; Gen. 31:42). Biblical scholars, working mostly with the Hebrew text on its own, have proposed forensic interpretations of these verbs of sensory perception. Thus, it is suggested that God's hearing and seeing are more than indications of God's awareness of the speakers and their situations. Instead, God's hearing and seeing, as legal actions, contribute to understanding biblical prayer as courtroom speech. This paper will support this understanding by considering the biblical evidence together with the language available from Mesopotamian legal texts, especially trial records.

Songs are Chimeras – entities in between. They walk the border between the written and the performed, as Giles and Doan have already pointed out (cf. Giles, and Doan 2008, 5.). Still, texts conceptualized specifically as written manuscripts usually differ in style and diction from those principally laid out as texts to be orally performed. Generally, the former are inclined to be more elaborate and complex, while the latter tend to be more colloquial and imprecise in phrasing. Naturally, these variations in style should also crop up – at least to some degree – in biblical songs in their “betwixt nature”. This paper explores the book of Canticles as an example of biblical songs, trying to make plausible that the book is intentionally designed as a “Chimera” between written and oral style of speech. For on the one hand, Canticles is, of course, elaborately designed in structure and phrasing, as has been demonstrated repeatedly. Thus, it obviously shares the characteristics of written speech. But on the other hand, it seems to display various features of oral diction and style, which seemingly contradict the named elaborateness. These characterisics revolve predominantly around the usage of verbs, but other features, e.g. different kinds of sub-standard use of language and the phenomenon of ellipsis, are also taken into account. In this, the book is of special interest regarding this difference between oral and written speech, as this poetic piece of art is almost completely composed in the mode of direct discourse. In its analysis, the paper concentrates on Cant 5:2–6:3 while also referring to some other passages of the book. Furthermore, the author draws from the observations on verbal syntax and orality in Hebrew texts by Erhard Blum, Mark S. Smith and Ian Young among others.

With some hesitancy, scholars of early Islamic literature have begun to approach the study of the Qur’an from the perspective of intertextuality. This paper reviews some of the major trends of this development, ranging from rejection to adoption to redefinition of this approach for the specific Islamic context (e.g., Dayeh, Ahmed, Sinai, Neuwirth, Reynolds, Reza Adel ). Within biblical scholarship, intertextual approaches have gained a significant foothold and are well represented. In a second step, this paper compares and contrasts the application of the intertextual approach in Qur’anic studies to respective projects in Biblical scholarship. It argues that perceptions of the degree of the sacredness of the text and respect for its integrity continue to determine the extent of scholarly applications of the method to the text. It also argues, that the level of a given scholar’s familiarity and deep knowledge of ancient literature, a residual phobia of “interdisciplinary work,” as well as a willingness to overcome territorial claims to “schools of thought” are and crucial factors that determine any success in applying intertextual approaches to ancient, normative texts

Throughout the Hebrew Bible we read echoes of Deuteronomistic covenant theology, the promise of land and progeny based on Israel's obedience of the instructions given to Moses. Some argue this language was redacted in earlier portions of the Pentateuch and reshaped to read more rigidly in the historical books and books of the prophets. Looking at the hybrid nature of the covenant, based on its adaptation from Assyrian Vassal Treaty language, I will explore through the lens of early Object Relations theorist, Donald D. Winnicott, the nature of the covenant as a transitional object. Winnicott argues that transitional objects help one make the transition from one’s subjective experience to a more whole relationship with the objective other regarding the other’s subjectivity. I will argue how trauma can affect one's transitional objects and vice versa, and how the shaping of Deuteronomistic covenant language throughout the Hebrew Bible can be read in this light opening up new ways to approach these texts in concert with the varying counter-narratives offered in others such as Job and Jonah.

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This paper will explore the unique contribution that 2 Corinthians makes to Paul’s developing pneumatology. 2 Corinthians is home to some of Paul’s most important pneumatological conceptions, yet it is often overshadowed by the flashier and more controversial pneumatology of 1 Corinthians, or the more practical and ethically oriented pneumatology of Romans. The first part of the paper will (briefly) compare and contrast the pneumatological perspective of 2 Corinthians with other Pauline letters in order to emphasize the distinctive voice of 2 Corinthians on this subject. For example, in Galatians the Spirit is the fulfillment of a promise (Gal. 3:14), while in 2 Corinthians it is the promise of fulfillment (1:21; 5:5); in 1 Corinthians, the Spirit gives gifts, while in 2 Corinthians the Spirit gives life; in Romans, the Spirit affects outward behavior, while in 2 Corinthians the Spirit effects inner renewal, and so on. The next portion of the paper will analyze and organize Paul’s explicit Spirit-statements, emphasizing the importance of understanding the conflict setting of this letter. Paul’s pneumatology in 2 Corinthians is formulated against the backdrop of Jewish-Christian intruders in Corinth, and is articulated, in part, in response to this opposition. Finally, this paper will also highlight certain implicitly pneumatological themes that should be also be considered as part of the pneumatology of this letter. For example, Paul’s “new creation” statement in 2 Cor. 5:17, and the motif of strength in weakness.

In the elusive quest for the »Markan Community«, many introductions to the New Testament have variously dotted the map of the ancient Mediterranean world between Rome and Syria with little flags, indicating possible places where the »Community of the Second Gospel« – mostly constructed as predominantly gentile – were located. Besides relying on the testimony of the Church Fathers, the main criteria for pinpointing the community’s location have stemmed from the textual evidence, such as the use of certain Latinisms, geographical (mis-)information, and the need to explain Jewish customs. However, it needs to be pointed out that this approach suffers from the hermeneutical problem that textual evidence is interpreted as directly pointing towards external evidence. Yet this ignores the fact that the text actual world (TAW) of the Second Gospel is not merely a replica of the reality behind the text and hence a one-to-one relation cannot be used to reconstruct that world without, at least, some necessary intermediate steps. This paper will undertake these intermediate steps by starting off with a hermeneutical reflection and continue with an exploration of the possible worlds, memory constructs, and social constructs that are to be found in the Gospel of Mark. Evaluating each in turn, the paper will then be able to better reflect upon the question of how the "Mark People" - the group of commemoration behind the Gospel - constructed their identity as a group, what social and religious issues they carried around, and finally, where indeed they might have been located.

The recent publication of several treaties from Tell Leilan, contemporary with earlier published treaties from Mari, emphasizes again some important regional and ideological differences among the presently available second and first millennium treaties. This paper focuses on the presence or absence of two aspects of the treaties: (1) the presence or absence of the historical prologue, and (2) the presence of both blessings and curses or of curses alone. The historical prologue is a feature of the Anatolian-Syrian tradition, which includes the Israelite covenant tradition, but is not clearly found elsewhere. Again, both blessings and curses occur in the Anatolian-Syrian tradition, whereas the Northern Mesopotamian (Mari, Tell Leilan) tradition and the Neo-Assyrian tradition contain curses but no blessings. The Anatolian-Syrian tradition presents a very different juridical understanding, featuring a suzerain who is a benefactor, such that there are mutual benefits. The other two traditions, especially the better-attested Neo-Assyrian tradition, feature a primary emphasis on the power of the suzerain to impose policies on the (citizens and) vassals, primarily regarded as potentially treacherous. One model emphasizes the benefactions of the overlord which call forth affiliation with the overlord’s protection, and so offers both curses and blessings. The Neo-Assyrian model emphasizes a one-sided power relationship backed up by an impressive array of curses. Indeed, many of these curses have close parallels in the Biblical tradition, but the basic ideological connection of ancient Israel seems to be with the earlier Anatolian-Syrian treaty tradition, presenting a historical prologue and both blessings and curses.

Hildegard of Bingen’s rich and textured works have led many to envision her in their own image. Later medievals saw her as a mystic when viewed through the lens of her disciple Elisabeth of Schönau. Humanists like Jacob Faber Stapulensis saw her as a woman of letters. Reformers like Andreas Osiander found a Protestant, and in the present day filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta sees a proto-feminist. Hildegard was of course also a conservative medieval Catholic, among many other things, a defender of hierarchy in Church and society and an opponent of those regarded as heretics, while her visions were in essence doctrinal expositions of Scripture in accord with the beliefs of the times. When one examines Hildegard’s appropriation of St. Paul in her monumental Scivias, one sees traces of all these versions of Hildegard. Drawing on historical receptions of both Hildegard and Paul, this paper will argue that Hildegard presents an authentic Paul long lost to modernity, a Paul at home both in the premodern world of traditional Catholicism and the postmodern worlds of today.

In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter insists that his proclamation of Christ's "power and coming" was not based on clever myths (1:16). His defense has two parts. First he claims that the apostles were themselves with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (1:16-18). Second, he states that biblical prophecy is valid or sure, spoken entirely by God (1:19-21). This train of thought is puzzling. Why, to support the reality of Christ's mighty parousia, does the author appeal to the transfiguration (rather than, e.g., the resurrection or ascension)? And how does the inspiration of scriptural prophecy relate to the veracity of Peter's proclamation? Finally, it is unclear how the two parts of the defense relate to each other. Has the experience of the transfiguration made the prophetic word "more certain"? Is prophecy "more certain" than Peter's experience? Peculiarities and obscurities in the Greek of both parts of the argument have also hindered interpretation. For instance, most translations would suggest that Peter claims that the apostles were "eye-witness" of the transfiguration; but in fact they are said to have been "initiates" (epoptae) of Christ's majesty. Indeed, the use of this technical term is but one of the ways the transfiguration is portrayed as a mystery initiation. Likewise, the awkward language of 1:20 has traditionally been rendered as though it were denying that prophecy was a matter of "private interpretation." But the most straightforward rendering of the Greek is "no prophecy of scripture is a matter of its own interpretation." This suggests an altogether different hermeneutical claim, namely, that "scriptural prophecy is not self-explanatory." Stated positively, 2 Peter is claiming that prophetic scripture needs interpretation because it does not interpret itself. (This is precisely the sense of the Old Latin: omnis profetiae scriptura interpretatione indiget.) On such an understanding of 1:20, the subsequent verse, which insists that the prophets spoke entirely from God, can have its full logical force without being tautological. Scriptural prophecy cannot interpret itself because it is from God, and hence is not susceptible to the modes of interpretation that might unravel merely human locutions. Here we see the widespread ancient assumption that divine utterances—most notoriously oracles—were characteristically vague or ambiguous, and stood in special need of interpretation. This understanding of 2 Pet 1:20-21 is consonant with the claim—made often in the second century—that prophecies of Christ's second coming were not easily understood because scripture, as an inspired text, spoke multivalently. Thus by attending to the details of the Greek, the coherence of the entire paragraph emerges: Peter's experience of the transfiguration is presented in the terms of a religious initiation in order to demonstrate Peter's uncommon qualifications, especially his capacity for spiritual perception. This capacity authorizes Peter as an interpreter of the inspired oracles of God, which, when rightly understood, can be seen to predict Christ's second coming.

Subfloor burials in residential houses – a common practice during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages – apparently went out of fashion in the subsequent periods. Nevertheless, there are minute indications in the material culture of the Southern Levant that this custom was still known during the Iron Age I (c. 1130-950 BCE). The paper presents examples from sites in northern Palestine, especially from Tel Kinrot (ancient Kinneret) on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee. On the background of contemporary burial practices these findings call for special attention, particularly in light of a few Biblical texts mentioning burials in residential houses during this very period. The passages are all found in the books of Samuel and Kings and explicitly refer to burials of powerful members of Israel’s elite (Samuel, Ahitophel [cf. LXX] and Joab) in domestic contexts. Scholarship, however, has never given attention to these texts as an ensemble. The paper will thus bundle the currently available archaeological and literary data relating to house burials in ancient Israel and beyond and demonstrate the fruitful interaction of two historical disciplines.

Scholars have often argued that the Acts of Paul and Thecla is a radical ascetic text that contrasts sharply with proto-orthodox Christian views, especially those of the Pastoral Epistles. This contrast between Thecla and more orthodox views is complicated by the later reception of Thecla’s story. Thecla’s popularity in the 4th-5th centuries, even among the fathers of the church, is well established. To explain her prominence, scholars argue that the radical, ascetic version of Thecla was “domesticated” and thus rendered acceptable to the emerging orthodox church. This explanation makes sense, in part, because it fits with the meta-narrative we tell about the early church and women: that the need for institutionalization of church roles led to the exclusion of women from leadership positions. In this paper I explore the 5th c. Life and Miracles of Saint Thecla to counter the prevailing view that the later Thecla is watered down. I argue that Thecla of the Life and Miracles is both orthodox and radical. She retains and expands her charismatic and leadership roles even as she develops a remarkably orthodox theology. This close reading of the Life and Miracles calls into question the theory that Thecla’s leadership roles must be diminished in order for her to be acceptable in the early church. It also may contribute to a reassessment of the scholarly assertion that the Acts of Paul and Thecla differs radically from orthodox views.

In Mark 12:35, while teaching in the temple, Jesus asks “how can the scribes say that Christ is the son of David?” Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, when she develops a narrative Christology, argues that what the implied author does with this passage (Mk 12:35-37) is to portray Jesus not as a Davidic king but as a suffering servant. According to her, here Jesus deflects honor and recognition bestowed on him to God. She understands that what is at stake in this passage is the identity of Jesus. However, I will interpret this passage from a postcolonial perspective and argue that the main theme of this passage is not the identity of Jesus but a challenge to power, especially the Jewish elites. Jesus harshly denounces the scribes by challenging their ground of power, namely, their specialty in interpretation of the Scriptures. For example, the story of a poor widow’s mite (Mk 12:41-44) has been long understood as an example of faith. Tolbert understands the poor widow’s offering as doing the will of God. She defines the scribes’ desire for fame, honor, and high repute as self-aggrandizement while defining the poor widow’s offering as sacrificial devotion to God. Similarly, Malbon regards the poor widow’s offering as “the climatic allusion to the cross in the woman’s sacrifice.” Donahue interpret it as an example of the true piety and generosity that exists among God’s people. According to him, the fact that the story of the poor widow is placed between Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes (Mk 12:38-40) and his announcement of the Temple’s destruction (Mk 13:1-2) confirms this view. However, some scholars have interpreted the story as a vivid example of the victimized case. Powery argues that, although this story had been viewed as an example of faithfulness, Jesus does not say so. He concludes that “in light of the context of conflict between Jesus and the temple leaders, this story is more likely a condemnation, rather than a commendation, for the ways the treasury (of those scribes responsible for determining financial requirements) consumes the means of the poor.” Myers says that this episode provides a further illustration of the ills of official devotion. According to him, Jesus here condemns both the value system that motivated her action and the people who conditioned her to do it. Major characters in this pericope are the scribes, crowd, rich people, the poor widow, and the disciples. I will first closely examine how these characters are portrayed in a larger narrative structure, especially paying attention to the social and religious location of the widow and the scribes in a colonized Jewish society. I will then read the passage from the viewpoint of the widow who has been abused and marginalized in society. I will argue from a postcolonial perspective that, in this passage, Jesus laments for the poor widow who was victimized by the temple authorities and challenges the scribes’ honor-seeking attitude at the cost of others’ life that conforms to imperial ideology of power.

The courtroom drama is one of the metaphors that the prophets used to express problems in YHWH-Israel relations. This metaphor contains charges of covenant violation as evidenced by a rundown of prevailing social injustice, indictment and threats, and critique of worship and sacrificial offerings. The prophetic criticisms against sacrifice in the Temple cult is presented as YHWH’s objection to these practices, the gravity of which is understood more when it is viewed against the backdrop of socio-cultural values perceivable in the texts. This investigation on the prophetic critique of the sacrificial cult in Isa 1,1-20 and Micah 6,1-8 aims to understand what is going on in the apparently negative attitude of YHWH - as expressed by the prophets - towards Israel’s sacrifice in the “prophetic lawsuit” metaphor. The investigation will proceed as follows: (1) it will provide a brief overview of understanding “prophetic lawsuit” as a metaphor from the perspective of conceptual metaphor theory, particularly of “Blending Theory”; (2) it will characterize Israel and YHWH according to the text and their differing understandings of sacrifice; (3) it will discern the socio-cultural values that one can glean from the text; and (4) it will identify the function of the critique on sacrifice in the so-called prophetic lawsuit texts in Isa 1:1-20 and Micah 6:1-8.

In the comic book series Watchmen, one of the characters, Jon Osterman, steps into an ‘Intrinsic Field Subtractor’ and is promptly dematerialised (Watchmen 4). He is not dead, however, and in the tradition of comic books he has become the super ‘hero’, Dr Manhattan. Dr Manhattan is the equivalent of God in the Watchmen universe, which is an alternate 1980s Cold War America. Dr Manhattan experiences all time simultaneously and can manipulate objects at will, making him almost all powerful. When the world is threatened by a nuclear holocaust, it is Dr Manhattan who can diffuse the threat. Appeals to Dr Manhattan to intercede however come up against his inability to appreciate human suffering, as well as his love for chaos, attitudes that are presented as outgrowths of his capacity to experience the universe at an atomic level. Dr Manhattan and the God of the Book of Job are comparable in this way. In Job, not only does God seem unable to appreciate human suffering, God also expresses a love for chaos, and both of these attitudes seem to arise from God’s ‘universal viewpoint’. Given the biblical allusions throughout Watchmen it is possible that the Dr Manhattan character arose in relationship with the ‘God of the Hebrew Bible’ in general, and the God of Job in particular. Further, a case can be made for the Watchmen graphic novel being an interpretation of the Book of Job for Cold War America. This interpretation suggests on the one hand that God’s indifference to human suffering and love for chaos is natural given God’s presumed experience of the world, and on the other hand it condemns this very attitude, presenting the relationship between people and God as itself ‘a peace that is no peace’.

Rhetorical criticism has tended to emphasise ethos and logos over pathos in analysing New Testament texts, and studies have largely focused on such things as values and logic. Emotions seem to be too ‘messy’ to deal with. And yet the Roman rhetorician Quintilian taught, at the time the Gospels were being written, that the greatest power in oratory is to be found in appeals to the emotions of the hearer. Indeed, he declared that “power over the emotions is the life and soul of oratory.” If appeals to the emotions were considered the greatest power in oratory in the rhetorical environment of Roman society, we should be looking at the use of this tool in the Gospel narratives. Rhetorical criticism has been very successful in raising awareness of the rhetorical nature of New Testament texts and literary criticism has created a consciousness of the need to attend to the workings of the story, and so we are now in a far better position to understand how the Gospel narratives functioned as rhetoric. However, rhetorical critics have only rarely paid attention to the Gospels, as there has been doubt that this method of criticism could be sustained throughout a whole narrative. The result has been a failure to appreciate narrative as a different genre of rhetoric, one in which that prime tool of rhetoric, the appeals to the emotions, is a key player. Identifying pathetic appeals in the Gospels can be achieved by having regard to the way in which the author has alluded to the experiences and prior knowledge of the intended audience and thus attempted to arouse their emotional sensitivities, using memories and feelings to move them as any orator of the day would have done. Examples of the benefits of this approach will be provided by showing how the author of Mark's Gospel alluded to past and recent events to trigger memories and stir emotions in the fearful Christians of his community. Through allusion, scene-setting and other story-telling techniques, Mark shaped his story to summon memories that would ignite their emotions and, he hoped, strengthen or re-order their stance and stir their resolve. Awareness of this aspect of Gospel rhetoric can help explain puzzling features and language of Mark’s Gospel. It can also be used to better appreciate the rhetoric of other Gospel texts, especially John’s Gospel.

This paper seeks to elucidate the possible values and contributions of New Institutional Economics (NIE) in understanding the Ancient Economy. In the paper, I will demonstrate how New Institutional Economics can help us in analyzing the relationship between the formal and informal rules of the Roman society with the contractual arrangement in the economy. Beginning from the early Roman Republic, the development of markets and business in Roman Economy depended heavily on different types of contractual arrangements to facilitate its growth. For example, the Publican Soeities was a typical example for such contractual arrangement in a very large scale. Therefore, the understanding of how different forms of contractual arrangements were facilitated by the Roman law can surely help us to understand the momentum and structure for the growth of the Roman Economy. There are two main focus of this paper. First, it tries to elucidate how the recent research in NIE can help us to better understand the Roman Economy. The methodological issue will be dealt with in the first section. Major concepts and models will be examined with a focus of how they can be applied in analyzing the Roman economy. Second, I will use the slavery system as an example to demonstrate how, in actual practice, the theory can be applied. The slavery system is chosen since although it has been discussed enormously in the history, there are still many dilemmas not being solved. By using the NIE in explaining two main dilemmas in the slavery system, namely peculium and manumission, I hope I can demonstrate the explanatory power of the NIE in Ancient Economy given the limited numerical data available.

More than 65,000 people live in the four-square-mile "high-density suburb" of Sakubva in the hills of Mutare, Zimbabwe. On one recent Palm Sunday, the sermon was about Jesus coming across the Eastern Highland Mountains from Mozambique on a donkey, proclaiming economic and political freedom for Zimbabweans (Luke 19:28-40). Shortly thereafter, the pastor preached against Operation Murambatsvina or "Operation get rid of trash" which targeted the urban poor as their homes were razed to the ground by the government. The pastor was arrested. This joint presentation will focus on the power of Jesus' teachings in Zimbabwe. Jesus said that the poor are to be congratulated--not that poverty is blessed. Our research on the violence of poverty is interdisciplinary and includes traditional textual exegesis with ensuing hermeneutical questions of prescriptiveness and descriptiveness. It also delves into the experiential by observing, describing, interpreting, and debating. If one were to look at a picture of villagers in Zimbabwe, for example, what would you observe? How would you interpret what you see? What is the evidence for your interpretation? What additional observation, description, interpretations, and evidence do you need to understand it better--or at all? Could you tell from the picture that many of the people are plagued with and/or dying of schistosomiasis, malaria, and HIV-related illnesses? If you looked at a photo of a teenaged boy under a Baobab tree, would you know that he is dying from untreated seizures or that the tree was his home (literally)? Would you know from a family picture that the woman with a basket on her head, a baby on her back, and a toddler in tow is a widow? The goal of this presentation is to further clarify the role of the poor and the margins in Jesus' teachings and actions and to provide insight into poverty in our own worlds.

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Not all metaphors are created equal, and not all metaphors are actually metaphorical in the strictest sense of the word as it is commonly understood. Echoing Aristotle, Philip Wheelwright has identified two kinds of semantic movement in metaphor: epiphor and diaphor. Epiphor is the transference of a name to some other object. This is probably the most familiar and certainly the most common usage of metaphor. Psa 18:2 employs a series of theological epiphors in which God is “named” rock, fortress, shield, horn, and stronghold. Diaphor works differently, creating meaning by juxtaposing the particulars of an old experience with new experiences. In Psalm 79 Israel’s history, a select set of the particulars of its collective past experiences, are juxtaposed with its present experiences in order to transform despair to hope, lament to praise, complaint to trust. My paper explores the semantic depth of the two ways in which metaphor functions by exploring several historical references in the psalms with an eye to understanding when history is history, when history is plainly metaphorical, and when history is best understood as diaphor.

A professorial wit once remarked, “If you like the prophet Amos, you don’t understand him.” The professor’s point, of course, is that those of us who think we like Amos probably miss the fact we, too, are targets of his prophetic condemnations. But what if a reader just starts by liking how Amos says what he says? The prophet employed a wide range of humorous techniques in his prophetic speeches—sarcasm, parody, irony, satire, scorn. As Peter Berger has written, humor when used as Amos uses it sees “through the facades of ideational and social order, and discloses other realities lurking behind the superficial ones.” This paper will explore the comic dimensions of the Amos’ messages as integral (rather than ancillary) to his prophetic witness.

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In 345, a year before his death, the great monastic innovator Pachomius was hauled into an ecclesiastical court by local bishops to answer charges of clairvoyance. Since the Greek Life does not clarify the exact nature of the conflict, scholars have suggested that the charge was largely motivated by politics, including disputes between Pachomius and local clergy over the control of parish finances, pastoral care, and Pachomius’s resisting ordination. In this paper, I will suggest that Pachomius’s justification for the expansion of his federation into new territories also prompted the charge of clairvoyance: for according to the Coptic (Bohairic) Life, Pachomius established each new monastery in response to a divine revelation. Local clergy who felt threatened by the presence of a Pachomian monastery in their district could hardly have let such a justification go unchallenged. In addition, I will discuss how the Greek Life, though including the story of the trial, downplays the role such charismatic visions played in the federation’s growth by systematically omitting them from its narrative.

Arguments concerning newly suggested formation models for the Pentateuch are intense. Nevertheless, source- and redaction-critics do not take full advantage of linguistic considerations that might aid them in their work. This paper aims to demonstrate that a detailed linguistic study of Biblical Hebrew usage can be decisive in resolving a key problem in source/redaction-critical analysis. The test-case will be the used of ???? ??? followed by ???? in Exod. 3:9-10. A different understanding of the usage of the ???? ??? clause has led some scholars to claim a literary unity for Exodus 3 (E. Blum, E. Otto, K. Schmid), while others argue that vv. 9ff. are an independent source (M. Greenberg, P. Weimar, W. H. Schmitt, W. H. C. Propp) or redaction (J. C. Gertz, W. Berner). However, a close analysis of and comparison between ???? ??? (combined with ????) in Exodus 3 and five other instances throughout the Hebrew Bible reveals that these clauses have a very specific rhetorical function, especially in Dtr-colored direct discourse, whereas in Exodus 3 the clauses are awkwardly attached, betraying their normal function. This fact strongly implies the existence of multiple redactional activities around the verses, especially in the linguistic style of Dtr. Since Exodus 3 is one of the pivotal texts for the various theories and models for the formation of the Pentateuch, this paper is meant to remind scholars of both the significance and effectiveness of a linguistic approach for higher-critical analysis.

An inherent tension has long been noted in the biblical phenomenon of poetic ?prophecy—between the prophet’s role as a mouthpiece of God and his function as a ?poet, “a craftsman of words.” Imagery is an effective means of persuasion but ?stands in tension with his prophetic vocation of communicating God’s own words. ?The more metaphors the prophet employs, the further he moves from his ?prophetic calling and becomes an independent poet. His extensive use of metaphor ?thus fundamentally undermines the status of the prophet as a prophet. The ?present paper revisits this problem, using the book of Jeremiah as a test case. ?Applying recent studies in cognitive science, it will explore how we can view the ?use of poetic language as the very essence of biblical prophecy—as an indispensable ?mode to communicate prophetic insight. ?

In Mark's Gospel (4:12), Jesus flatly states that the "secret of the kingdom of God" will be given to his disciples through a conflated citation of Isaiah 6:9-10 (LXX). And, the epistemological trajectory in the ensuing narratives track the disciples' ability to know through the explicitly Deuteronomic phrase: "ears to hear". However, for everyone else, they will be epistemically blinded and deafened, presumably by the teaching and actions of Jesus. Although both eyes and ears are cited by Jesus as integral to their epistemology, Mark 4–9 places priority on "listening" for the disciples, so that they can see, and therefore know. The citation of Isaiah 6:9-10 here confounds the reader in the emerging narrative where the disciples themselves appear to be deaf and blind to Jesus' teaching and actions. The disciples' incomprehensibility is itself incomprehensible. This paper will propose that a partial solution to this crux will be found by exploring the links between not just Isaiah 6 and Mark 4-9, but also Deuteronomy 29. In brief, instead of viewing the characters of the narrative on equal epistemological footing, two distinct epistemological trajectories are being drawn upon through the parallel language and concepts of "hearing" and "seeing", a relationship that is uniquely shared between Deuteronomy 29 and Isaiah 6 in the Tanakh. However, Deuteronomy's particular arrangement of heart, eyes, and ears (the so-called "epistemological organs") is one of hope (4:22); that the things which are currently "hidden" will soon be "revealed"—oppositional terms that are uniquely employed in Deuteronomy 29:28 (LXX). Although this Deuteronomic epistemology has been implied by Joel Marcus, Birger Gerhardsson, Ched Myers, and others, an exploration of Deuteronomy's lexical and conceptual role in a Marcan dual epistemological trajectory has yet to be done. This paper intends to contribute more substance and framing to these prior suggestions.

This paper seeks to compare how historians use manuscripts, inscriptions, and papyri from eastern Christian languages, mainly Greek, Aramaic/Syriac, and Coptic. In the context of a workshop on manuscripts it offers an overview of the historian's task of combining these disparate types of evidence in very different linguistic and cultural settings. Each linguistic setting has different survival rates in each category. In practice this means that the writing of eastern Christian history is fraught with varying emphases. In recent years Roman historian Fergus Millar has repeatedly highlighted the use of Greek in formal inscriptions from the region of greater Roman Syria where Aramaic/Syriac was a spoken and literary lingua franca among Christians. By contrast, historians of late Roman Egypt in the same period and later have pointed to the profusion of multilingualism (Greek-Coptic-Syriac-Arabic) as evidenced by the papyri, arguing that a single language did not achieve public dominance but that code switching, ad hoc translation, and literary interference were dominant elements of the everyday life of Christians. This paper will attempt to bridge the gap of these competing interpretations by arguing that continuity between the literary history of Syriac in the 2nd–3rd centuries and the manuscript history of Syriac in the 5th–6th centuries offers an important opportunity to correct the misapprehension of Syriac as less of a public language than Greek in the period, and consequently that Roman Syria was more in line with the multilingual experience of Egyptian Christians. This paper will therefore focus on bilingual manuscript culture and how it fits into the cognitive landscape of other literary material culture. It will attempt to provide a larger context for understanding how a problematic inscription like the Nisibis Greek baptistery (359/60) can be profitably read alongside the early Syriac manuscripts and papyri, both east and west of the Euphrates.

In contrast to Metzger who was led to conclude from “the very great variety in order, both of the several parts of the New Testament as well as of books within each part” that “such matters were of no great significance to the ancient...Church” (The Canon of the New Testament, p.300), this paper puts forward the view that there is evidence to suggest the opposite. The quest for a “correct” or “true” ordering of “approved” texts, probably driven, in part at least, by the growing popularity of the codex as opposed to the scroll, can be discerned among Jews as well as among followers of the Jesus Movement in the early centuries of the common era. In both cases there appears to have been a determination not only to to “re-write” the received sacred texts but also and especially to arrange them (i.e. both the received and the “re-written” texts) in a “correct” or (theologically) “proper” order. The paper suggests that, for Jewish groups, the move to “re-write” and especially to (re?)-order the sacred texts would itself have been driven by the crisis in understanding of their identity and divinely appointed destiny occasioned by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. As for the rival Jesus Movement, the later “Christian” groups, it was crucial that the new Christian texts - i.e. the Jewish sacred texts “re-written” to demonstrate “fulfilment” of those sacred texts in Jesus - be arranged or ordered in such a way as to illustrate “fulfilment” of the divinely appointed destiny of the chosen people. Hence, the very great variety in order of books in ancient manuscripts of what later became the New Testament (Metzger) possibly bears witness to diverse attempts to arrange the Christian texts in a manner that would on the one hand parallel the arrangement of the sacred texts inherited from the Jews, but would also demonstrate what was believed to be “fulfilment” of those sacred texts.

When the ritual life of the Qumran movement is being discussed, the annual covenant renewal ceremony features in many roles and is seen to have left markers in many textual witnesses. Most prominently, evidence for the basic liturgical structure of the ritual is normally found in the Community Rule (1QS 2–3 or further; 5Q13). Also the Damascus Document has been suggested to function in such a ritual setting. An annual covenant renewal is explicitly ordered and connected to the Shavuot in Jub. 6:17, and this tradition seems to have been followed in the Qumran movement (4Q266 11 17). The Berakhot (4Q286–290) as well as other manuscripts (1QSb; 4Q275; 4Q280; 4Q285; 4Q511; 5Q14; 11Q11) provide evidence for blessings and/or curses. The manuscript 4Q477 is a rebuke and might remind of those refusing to turn to the covenant. Another manuscript 4Q470 has been proposed to refer to an eschatological covenant renewal. This paper discusses some of this evidence with the purpose of mapping the scholarly suggestions on this ritual and seeking for a methodologically sound basis for studying the ritual: seeking to relate the different manuscript evidence with each other and appreciate the particular nature and characteristics of each individual work.

The interpretation of the exodus as a liberatory narrative should not be taken for granted. Liberation theologians, such as George Pixley, have looked to the exodus as a biblical example of liberation. However, as Jon Levenson argues, for a text constructed by social revolutionaries as concerned about the oppression of the Israelites, it is remarkable that Exodus does not propose an end to the institution of slavery. This paper will reexamine the question of liberation in Exodus through an analysis of the role of divine memory in response to the groans of the people in Ex 6:1-8. In Ex 6:1-8, at the height of the exodus narrative, God hears the groans of the people, recalls the covenant, and promises to bring the people into the land once promised. The divine memory (6:5) functions as a literary mechanism that cleverly avoids the problem of slavery and instead mediates the movement between a fixed place (Egypt) and an imagined place (the promised land of Canaan). In order to understand the cunning role of the divine memory in the text I propose a reading of Ex 6:1-8 through Michel de Certeau’s ideas about the ways stories can function as metis, or literary sleight of hand, and the role of memory therein. I conclude that the strategically placed divine memory of the “promised land” at the most dire moment in the narrative is spatially disruptive and gives power to the few who remember the ancestor stories and the “promised land.” A collective memory is the property of a community, but the memory of Ex 6:1-8 is the property of an elite few, the deity and those close to the deity (Moses). The divine memory is spatially destabilizing and a subtle signal that the power to make the spatial transition from Egypt to “promised land” will reside with an elite few, making “liberation” relative, not experienced equally by all.

The location of Moab, Israel’s neighbor to the east, is less clear than the makers of Bible atlases would lead us to believe. It is unclear whether Moab “proper” lay north or south of the Wadi Mujib (biblical Arnon), or whether the country encompassed both plateaus. The common view is that Moab controlled the area both north and south of the Mujib until sometime after the state of Israel took shape in the tenth century BCE, at which time the center of Moabite power shifted to the southern plateau. This paper will examine the underpinnings of this view and offer an argument for locating the center of Moabite power north of the Mujib, both before and after the formation of Israel. At the outset, the paper will discuss the evidence from Moabite city lists in the Bible and the Mesha Inscription. It will then examine the argument for identifying Kir Hareseth, Mesha’s putative royal city (2 Kings 3), with Kerak, a site lying far south of the Mujib, and give reasons why this identification is mistaken. Third, the paper will argue against locating Luhith and Horonaim, cities mentioned in relation to Moab, south of the Mujib. The primary evidence for locating these cities in the south has been their association with the flight of Moabite refugees toward Zoar, a site usually located south of the Dead Sea. But the preponderance of biblical and extra-biblical evidence favors locating Zoar north of the Dead Sea rather than south, and this effectively moves Luhith and Horonaim to the north as well. The cumulative affect of these three arguments is to question the association of Moab with the plateau south of the Mujib and locate its center of power on the northern plateau. As a result of this conclusion, the implicit claim of the entry narratives that Moab lay south of the Mujib should be viewed as tendentious, a justification from a later time for geopolitical control of the northern plateau.

Critical attention to spatiality has gained substantial ground in biblical studies in the past decade, particularly through engagement with spatial theorists like David Harvey, Henri Lefebvre, and Edward Soja. Place, however, is often undertheorized, particularly in relation to memory and identity. To rectify this, I turn to the work of British geographer Doreen Massey. Massey understands place not in opposition to space but as a subset of space. Space is constituted by the full network of social relations across a full range of scales, from the local to the global. Various forms of power (political, economic, cultural, human) flow through space by means of these social relations. Place is a particular intersection of such social relations. A place derives its uniqueness not from its location in absolute space or by virtue of its being a stable, bounded space, but rather by the unique confluence of social relations (and their attendant power flows) that it represents. Thus Massey challenges conventional propositions that place is characterized (in opposition to space) by boundedness, stasis, and continuity. Boundedness is not necessary to place, and the geographical bordering and cultural ordering which most places exhibit is neither static nor power-neutral. Rather, the appearance of stasis results from communities attempting to anchor their own identities in place by regulating which social relations are permissible across boundaries and by constructing and nurturing memories that emphasize diachronic continuity within a particular place. In this paper, I apply Massey’s ideas to Ezra 1-6. I examine the ways that the text regulates power flows at the boundaries of Jerusalem, permitting some while proscribing others. I argue that Ezra 1-6 welcomes Persian wealth, Persian political legitimation, and Persian jurisprudence into Jerusalem and its environs, but it rigorously excludes humans who are not genealogically linked to the Golah. Thus Ezra 1-6 constructs a memory of Jerusalem’s restoration in which it is a center of international flows of power, yet remains unambiguously Jewish and Golah-oriented. It attempts to embrace the nascent reality of Jerusalem’s reemergence as an internationally-relevant urban center (in the mid-Hellenistic period) while clinging to its religio-ethnic exclusivity.

Economic terminology pervades the Book of Ecclesiastes. This focus has prompted some scholars to reconstruct the mercantile environment out of which this terminology arose and which gave it currency. I argue, however, that the book itself provides a context in which Qohelet’s calculations of value may be understood. In fact, there are two contexts: (1) life under the sun and (2) a time of judgment which seems to lie beyond the sun. Most of Qohelet’s value-terminology has its meaning within the context of time governed by the sun, which he sets up in the initial cosmological poem about the sun’s weariness as time-keeper. This matrix of life-under-the-sun is well developed in the book and is its dominant note. For Qohelet death is the zero-sum toward which every human’s life inexorably moves. In this context, one may speak of debits and credits, but the credits are only relative. For once one’s time is up, one’s credits are zeroed-out. Qohelet’s evaluative word hebel relates to this idea. Though one must translate hebel differently throughout the book, it represents something which happens again and again, but which does not add up to anything which lasts beyond one’s life. As H. L. Ginsberg said, it is “zero.” There is another matrix in the book, however, which is inchoate but nonetheless important. Qohelet seems to be able to imagine a “proof” whose sum is something other than zero. In this context, being a God-fearer pays off, and being wicked is a disadvantage. Qohelet calls this context the “time of judgment” and perhaps also ‘olam. This time beyond life under the sun is the focus of Qohelet’s final cosmological poem. Here Qohelet paints a picture of the onset of “evil days” and a dying world in which the sun no longer shines. Beyond this end, however, may lie an answer which is not zero, but something else.

A connection is often made between Lamentations and Chronicles in terms of the ancient Rabbinic tradition of Jeremianic authorship of Lamentations. Second Chronicles 35:25 is normally quoted as the instigation of this tradition, since this verse at the end of the Chronicler’s Josiah account connects Jeremiah to the singing of laments (qînôt). Recent scholarship (e.g. Lee 2000 and 2008, as well as Kalman 2009) does not attempt to settle the authorship issue in Lamentations, but rather shows how the later reception of Lamentations engages the Jeremianic theology in order to explain some difficult passages in this book. My contribution will be a comparative study in which the different modes of interacting with the Jeremianic tradition by Chronicles and the Lamentations reception will be investigated. The presence of Jeremiah as the most prominent of the classical prophets in Chronicles (in 2 Chr. 35 and 36) will be studied in comparison with the more recent theories on the engagement of Jeremianic theology in the reception of Lamentations in Persian and later periods.

“Higher criticism” of the Pentateuch and diachronic study of Biblical Hebrew developed in mutual cross-fertilization and went hand in hand for a long time. Over the last thirty years, however, growing specialization has led to estrangement. Both fields have evolved, almost beyond recognition; but there has been little dialogue between them. In this paper, the present state of the historical approach to Biblical Hebrew, and the contribution it can make to historical critical study of the Pentateuch, will be discussed. Historical linguistics can assist in the question of dating when a text is sufficiently long and unified. It can also help identify secondary passages in some instances. And it can be of help in text-critical decisions trying to determine the earlier text form.

Early Christian exegesis generated a wide spectrum of interpretations of the parable of the lost sheep. This diversity begins with the Matthean and Lucan accounts, in which Jesus uses the parable as a partial answer to two widely different questions. Most early exegesis isolates the parable from these contexts and conflates it with the discourse in John 10 and a host of passages from the Hebrew bible in order to read Jesus into the parable as the good shepherd. Thus divorced from its paraenetic context in Matthew, rarely was the parable used to exhort laypersons to ethical action in the early church. While the purely soteriological interpretation offered by Irenaeus was unusual, when it was combined with a paraenetic interpretation, the result was usually an ethical exhortation to clergy – to identify with the shepherd and thus, in seeking out the lost, imitate Christ. This interpretation is found in Cyprian, Origen, the Didascalia Apostolorum, and Tertullian, who argues both for and against this position in his earlier and later writings, respectively. Rarely, as in Chrysostom, was the layperson encouraged to identify with the shepherd; however, most often, the laity were depicted as the lapsed or lost. The Gospel of Truth, while participating in the widespread exegetical tradition that in some way associates the Son with the shepherd, also encourages the reader to imagine oneself as part of the remaining flock, the 99, which nevertheless must become co-workers with the Son to seek out and restore the lost, without whom they are not complete. This paper builds upon the work of Michel Desjardins and Philip Tite, who show how the Gospel of Truth is concerned with sin and ethics within the Valentinian community inscribed in the text. Gos.Truth has been shown to rely entirely on the Matthean version of the parable, and, like Matthew, Gos.Truth situates the parable within a paraenetic discourse to insiders in a spiritual community, instructing them on ethical behavior towards other, offending insiders. I therefore argue that Gos.Truth represents an exegesis that is, from a historical critical point of view, most faithful to the meaning of the parable in its Matthean context.

The representation of the patriarch Joseph as a diviner with his cup (Gen 44: 5, 15) was understood throughout the history of interpretation according to a conventional metaphor for the concept of diviner of a particular time and space. Scholars, religious leaders, and ordinary people, regardless of their cultural context, equally assumed the universality of the accepted meaning of the diviner within their own semiosphere. However, the metaphorical meaning of lecanomancy (cup-divination) and divination is very different in modern academic and confessional contexts from what it was in the time of early Judaism and Christianity. While lecanomancy in the modern world is related to magic, or regarded as unlawful or false religious expression, in Mediterranean antiquity it was a legitimate scientific mode of communication with the divine. This understanding of divination comes from conventional metaphors inherited from the ancient Mediterranean cultures, religions and scholarship. For example, divination was the most testified form of scientific activity in Ancient Near Eastern texts, while Herodotus seems to include lecanomancy among fundamental exercises of a civilized nation (Hist. 4:5). I argue that the failure to identify the difference between the semiotic modeling of the lecanomancer of the ancient and of that of the modern world is the reason why the image of the Joseph of Genesis as a scholar and spiritual expert is ignored by modern biblical scholarship. Yet, Josephus, Philo, Joseph and Aseneth, and many rabbinic midrashim build their representation of Joseph on the popular contemporary assumption that the cup used for divining the unknown has the metaphorical meaning of scientific activity of a respected professional.

Echoes of Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of the Lord: Intertextuality and Tradition in 2 Peter 3:7-13

In this paper, I will continue my discussion of the significance of transcendent religious experience for the Nag Hammadi collection by discussing the role that it plays in the Gospel of Truth.

This study examines Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions about a murder in the Temple of Jerusalem and the fate of the victim’s blood after death. The accounts examined here range chronologically and geographically from the first century CE in Syria until the thirteenth century in what is modern-day Iraq. We will argue that the story’s meaning changed over time, and that the “original” story was a non-rabbinic, in all likelihood Christian Hebrew tale that reflected the view that God had rejected the Israelites and had compassion for a prophet they had murdered, and that the rabbis incorporated this story into their literature, adding an Aramaic phrase that transformed it into a story about God’s enduring compassion for the Israelites and a meditation on the problems involved in the effectuation of that compassion in a world without prophets. In addition, we will attempt to contribute to the ongoing scholarly analysis of the relationship between rabbinic literature on the one hand, and Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic literature on the other. In the process, we will reevaluate the relationship between ancient and early medieval Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. We will find surprising parallels between (1) late antique rabbinic literature, and (2) Ethiopian Christian commentaries on the New Testament, which are evidence of unexpected commonalities between rabbinic literature, particularly the Bavli, and seventh-thirteenth century CE Syriac and Arabic literature composed in Persia, Mesopotamia, and Syria, which served as a crucial link between Ethiopian Christian literature and the literature of the ancient world.

In this paper, I will present two brief examples of the value of the historical-critical approach as a launching pad for ethics discussions. One example will engage a troubling text from the Book of Ezekiel and the other example will explore a seemingly irrelevant or obscure text from the Book of Leviticus. These examples come directly from my classroom teaching rabbinical students.

The death of Moses has inspired many exegetes to propose creative explanations for why a prophet as esteemed as Moses would die outside the Promised Land with the stiff-necked Israelites whom he led. The theological problem stems from the fact that while YHWH is ready to destroy and dispossess all of Israel and to make a great nation of Moses alone in Numbers 14:12, Moses convinces YHWH to relent of his plan, and YHWH then announces that the entire generation, which seems at this point to include Moses despite the earlier promise to make him into a great nation, will die in the wilderness, with the exception of two righteous individuals, Caleb and Joshua. Moses’ death, then, is a theological problem because it coincides with the punishment endured by the community that rebelled against him. Because two righteous individuals are spared punishment and since Moses did not participate in the rebellion, interpreters reason, the great leader must have committed some sin apart from the murmuring episode that resulted in the people’s exclusion from the land. Later biblical episodes (i.e. Numb. 20:10-13; 27:12-14; Deut. 32:48-52), as well as many non-biblical interpretations, take this assumption, namely that the punishment of exclusion from the land is an individual one, as their starting point. However, another strand of biblical interpretation attributes Moses’ death to the people’s wrongdoings (Deut. 1:37-38; 3:23-28, 4:21-22) and thus seems to explain Moses’ punishment as a case of collective, rather than individual, punishment. This paper will focus on the second strand of interpretation in order to argue that Moses’ death outside the land is best explained as an inversion of the prophet’s intercessory threat in Exodus 32:32-34. In Exodus 32:32, Moses demands that YHWH erase all memory of the innocent Moses if YHWH refuses to forgive the Israelites for the Golden Calf incident, but YHWH responds in vv. 33-34 that he will exercise individual punishment. In Numbers 14, YHWH exercises collective punishment; namely, he subjects Moses to the same fate as the stiff-necked people for whom he has just interceded in Numbers 14:14-19, an episode that has numerous parallels with Exodus 32-34. In order to demonstrate this thesis, I will compare the two prophetic intercessions (Exod. 32-34 and Numb. 14) with special attention paid to the notion of peoplehood and Moses’ relationship to the Israelites. This paper will then explore the tension between collective and individual accountability found in Exodus 32-34, Number 14, and the book of Deuteronomy (especially Deut. 1:37-38, 3:23-28, 4:21-22, 5:9-10, 7:9-10, and 24:16).

At the conclusion of an extended discussion in m. Yadayim 3:5 about which scriptural texts do and do not “render the hands impure,” a phrase generally understood as a termus technicus for canonical status in the Mishnah, R. Akiva purportedly describes the Song of Songs as qodesh qodashim in contrast to all the other scriptural writings, which are marked as simply qodesh (holy). There is scholarly agreement regarding the hyperbolic character of R. Akiva’s superlative comparison of the Song of Songs (Shir haShirim) with qodesh qodashim. There is, however, a divide about whether or not qodesh qodashim is a simple superlative, “holiest,” or should be understood as a more theologically significant reference to the inner sanctum of the Temple, “the Holy of Holies.” It is my contention that the former reading is preferable, as I will demonstrate, on philological and contextual grounds. While it may be the more preferable interpretation of this mishnah, the juxtaposition of Shir haShirim and qodesh qodashim has an interesting afterlife in the history of interpretation. In the second half of this paper, I explore the ways in which this juxtaposition is understood in pre-modern interpretation. Both Origen and Song of Songs Rabbah (the latter interpreting R. Akiva’s statement) understand the juxtaposition of these two phrases as simply pointing to the superlative character of the Song of Songs. In contrast, Gregory of Nyssa and the Zohar (2:145a–b; also interpreting R. Akiva’s statement) exploit the juxtaposition of Shir haShirim and qodesh qodashim as pointing to the inner sanctum of the Temple. This characterization enables them both to read the Song of Songs as a repository of coded mysteries.

The inscriptions found on Mount Gerizim during the excavations there throw some light on the religious life on that mountain. They tell us about the deity worshiped, provide names of the worshippers and give insights into the type of worship practised. The Book of Chronicles has been seen as relating to the emerging religious community in the north that later became known as the Samaritans. Both Martin Noth and Hugh Williamson saw such connections, although with differing interpretations of the material. Do the inscriptions found on Mount Gerizim and elsewhere contribute to our understanding of the concept of Israel in the Book of Chronicles?

In a globalized world, more and more people find that, through a number of circumstances such as immigration, multiracial parentage or upbringing, travel, relationships, or etc., they have come to belong simultaneously to multiple cultural “worlds.” The term “hybrid” broadly understood can thus be applied to them. Hybrids who strive for balance in the midst of the diverse worlds that coexist in themselves—a state the theologian Rita Nakashima Brock has called “interstitial integrity”—have little patience for positions which claim the superiority of a particular world over another because experience and reflection have taught them that a claim of superiority is often merely an expression of imbalanced power relations. The context that will be employed in this study is the hybridity described above. However, hybridity can never remain an abstract notion; it always takes a particular form borne out of a particular mixture. The particular hybrid context to be utilized here is that of an interpreter who has experienced multiple diasporas (from Asia through Europe to North America) and who has acquired a hybrid identity due to presence in multiple worlds, particularly, Asia and North America. The problematik this study will face is the fourth gospel’s unequivocal claims of superiority about Jesus, the Christ, and all those who accept him as the way. Regarding that, one can ask: How could people, who intentionally belong to multiple worlds (hybrid identities) and seek to attain interstitial integrity in that state, make sense of an authoritative text such as the gospel according to John if it clearly has an unambiguous declaration of Jesus being “the Way,” apart from which there is no other way to come to the Father (Jn. 14:6), and that those who honor the Son are the only ones who properly honor the Father who sent him (Jn. 5:23), implying therefore that the Christian faith is superior to all others? John’s exclusive and exclusionary character will be analyzed and critiqued through Asian-North American interpretive lenses, particularly in the following areas: (1) the claim that Christ is the unique and exclusive revelation of God as represented for example in John 14:1-7 among others; (2) the claim of the believing community’s exclusive access to God because of faith in Christ - John’s ecclesiology as represented for example in the sections on belief and unbelief in 5:23 among others; and (3) the claim of the harsh fate awaiting unbelievers (often referred to simply as “the Jews”) because they do not accept the Johannine community’s faith claims (represented for example in passages such as 8:44 or 15:6 among others). This study will look at these issues from the lens of hybridity and ask: Are there values that can be retrieved from John, a text considered authoritative for Christian faith, despite its exclusivist claims of superiority? What elements are beyond retrieving and have to be resisted?

Due to his extensive quotations, Lucifer of Cagliari is among the most important Latin witnesses for the early text of the Books of Kings. His importance, however, is not limited to textual criticism but extends to the field of literary criticism as well. In this paper, selected passages in Kings of literary-critical importance are examined in the light of Lucifer’s quotations. Special emphasis is placed on Lucifer’s relationship to the Lucianic text and other Latin witnesses in both the kaige and non-kaige sections.

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This paper explores rituals related to the return of warriors from battle and their reintegration into society. The paper will attempt a typology of the limited biblical texts that describe such rituals, as well as a comparison with ancient Near Eastern materials and perspectives from contemporary warfare studies and psychology.

Haggai 2:5a raises a variety of inter-related issues. Why are these words absent in the LXX? What was their origin? What do they mean? What is their relationship to the words that immediately precede and follow them? What do they reveal about the significance of the Sinai covenant for the community in Yehud? These matters have been of perennial interest to scholars, yet no consensus has emerged. This paper will examine these inter-related questions and present conclusions relating to the origin of the disputed words, their relationship to the redaction of Haggai, and to the ongoing Persian period reflection concerning the Sinai covenant.

The aim of the paper is to represent the history of the Georgian translation tradition of the Bible in the framework within which development of the Georgian manuscript culture and activities of Georgian scholars and literary schools will be viewed. I. Oldest translations of the Books of Bible (canonical texts as well as apocrypha) are preserved in the palimpsest manuscripts and belong to the 5th -7th cc. They are written in majuscule script on a treated parchment. II. The 8th- 10th cc. Biblical manuscripts are copied in Tao-Klarjeti (South-West of Georgia), also in Jerusalem and Mt. Sinai. Most of them are richly illuminated luxury copies. III. Creation of the new recensions of the Four-Gospels and Psalms and translation of patristic commentaries on the Biblical books are connected with the names of great Georgian Athonites – Euthymius and George (the 10th-11th cc.). The manuscripts of Mt. Athos including the Biblical commentaries are mostly copied by scholar-scribers; among them the authograph manuscripts of George the Athonite stands out especially. IV. The hellenophile scholar Ephrem Mtsire (the end of the 11th c., Antioch) rendered into Georgian catenae of the Acts and Psalms. The manuscripts including his translations are equipped with vast introductions, postscripts, marginal notes, etc. As he stated in one of his colophons, these manuscripts are composed according to ”Greek rules”. V. A new, so-called hellenophile stage of translating, coping and adjusting the Bible is presented in two manuscripts of the Gelati literary school (the 12th c., West of Georgia). They include the catenae of the Old Testament. One of the manuscripts is copied by scholarly hand, and the other by well-trained calligrapher. VI. Some of the significant Georgian manuscripts of Bible are copied in the monastic centers of Constantinople in the 12th-13th cc. Richly illuminated copies preserved colophons which include valuable materials on the history of these centers, also, on the Georgian diasporas working in the capital.

Most scholars refer to the theology of the Book of Tobit as “Deuteronomistic.” While there are many ways in which such a designation may be questioned, there is on aspect of the theology of Deuteronomy and its legacy that has been largely overlooked in Tobit: the connection between meals, especially those associated with the festival of Weeks. The manuscript traditions of the Book of Tobit reveal shifting degrees of comfort and discomfort with the connection between the meal and justice, to the point that, by the time of the Vulgate, the connection has been scrubbed from Tobit ch. 2 altogether. The earliest manuscripts, however, testify to a close association, based on Deut. 16:9-12, which becomes programmatic for the statements about justice and almsgiving in the testamentary sections later in the story.

Colonial experiences cause various reactions and tendencies among the colonized against the colonizers. One can regard resistance and accommodation as two major reactions of the colonized. Yet, many intellectuals are in-between resistance and accommodation, and their literature implies psychological and interpretive ambiguities. With regard to the colonial ambiguities, this paper aims to understand skepticism in the book of Ecclesiastes and will focus on the realities of intellectuals, who are under colonized situations, negotiating the empires through survival, accommodation, protest, dissent, and imitation. I view Qoheleth as an intellectual under the colonized situation, which is caused by Greek empires and the book of Ecclesiastes as an intra-empire literature by the colonized. I explore, at the same time, poems of Dong Ju Yun, which were written in the period of Japanese colonization of Korea, as a good source for an intertextual study since it illuminates similar characteristics to the book of Ecclesiastes. Under the colonial situations, Qoheleth and Yun did not resist against the empires actively nor accommodate themselves to the colonial environments explicitly. Rather, they show ambivalent states of mind such as agony, shame, and the sense of futility in their literature. I argue that these states of mind produced their skeptical perspective on the unjust and disordered world. Their states of in-between intensify their skeptical discourse. Under the mask of skepticism, they did not totally resist the imperial aspiration nor totally support their own tradition, authenticity, and cultural identity. Skepticism in the book of Ecclesiastes and Yun’s poems implies ambivalent reactions toward the empires. This is communicated through the strategies of intellectuals in the colonized world such as survival, accommodation, protest, dissent, and imitation in negotiating the imperial world.

Pecola, the protagonist in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, has been seen often as a victim of racial prejudice and self-hatred that characterize those victimized by racial hatred. Thus, Pecola is often seen as a double victim, rejected by the white world and by her own African-American community. Although this is one way to view Pecola, it might be more helpful to view Pecola from an another vantage point. In my paper, I will discuss how Pecola represents a Model of One Steadfast in Faith. Despite the racial hatred and despite the scorn and rejection by members of her own community, who themselves are victims of racial hatred, Pecola is steadfast in her faith in the Bluest Eye. She believes, and it is her faith that sustains her even when she is rejected by her own family and abandoned by her closest friends. In Matthew 10:22, Jesus Christ emphasizes: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Jesus Christ even describes the possibility of being hated by parents for one’s faith: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” (Matthew 10:35). Pecola is raped by her father and beaten by her mother when Pecola tells her mom, Pauline, about the rape. Despite the rejection by her parents, Pecola in unwavering her faith in the Bluest Eye. The Bluest Eye, therefore, is a metaphor, or even a symbol for precious salvation. In the context of the novel, this metaphor enjoys the religious dimension. Pecola visits an African-American spiritualist, named Soaphead Church, a religious leader in the community who is seen by some as a sham like Jesus Christ by religious leaders of his day. Obviously, the name Soapead Church is strategic and meaningful; it implies the idea of being washed clean of one’s transgressions. And Pecola, one who is raped and impregnated by her own father and scorned by the world, puts her faith in Soaphead Church, the way that the Canaanite woman, rejected and despised as “dogs”, puts faith in Jesus of Nazareth and receives a miracle (Matthew 15:21-28). In the end, even as her remaining friends, Claudia and Frieda, abandon her, Pecola has faith and believes that she has received the Bluest Eye, a metaphor for redemption. In a sense, therefore, the end of the novel is a triumph for Pecola, who has found what she has been seeking all her life. Thus, Pecola represents an African-American Model of One Steadfast in Faith, despite persecution, tribulation, and rejection in the context of African-American suffering and experience.

According to Julie Galambush, unlike the old Jerusalem, which Scripture refers to as a former wife of YHWH, the new City in Ezekiel 40-48 will have no gender. Consequently, the new City in Ezekiel 40-48 cannot commit adultery/idolatry but can retain its holy status. Reading Ezekiel 40-48 as a territorial rhetoric, Kalinda Rose Stevenson also emphasizes the holiness of the City by pointing out its resemblance to the Temple in the shape of a square. Meanwhile, Nancy R. Bowen, in her psycho-analytic commentary, insists on the common or profane function of the City, from its juxtaposed but distinct portions occupied by the priests and the Levites. For these scholars, the City, as well as other spaces, is pre-designated either as holy or as profane. It is hard to deny that the book of Ezekiel has seriously concerned itself with the City’s holiness and its defilement in the past and its possible profanity in the future. Nonetheless, when we attempt to understand the identity and function of the City, we come to realize that the illustration of the City in Ezekiel 40-48 is very much focused on showing its liminal or dual characteristics in relation to its own holy dedicated area (terumah) as well as with other tribal cities. In other words, Ezekiel 40-48 has three distinctive categories in space recognition, not only the two categories of holy and profane. The City fits in this third category as a transitional space and functions even as a gateway to the holy presence of YHWH. Throughout this paper, I will pursue this unique characteristic of the City by examining three significant facets of the City described in Ezekiel 40-48: the identity of the City in terms of its holy dedicated area (terumah), the structure and shape of the City, and the theological meaning of the name of the City.

Significant work has been done recently which reconsiders early Christian martyrdom in such areas as Christianity in the Roman Empire and Christian theology, but the positions of those designated “heretics” have largely been not been considered. This essay will survey select examples from the Coptic literature of Nag Hammadi and the Tchacos Codex to inquire whether and in what ways positions on persecution and martyrdom in these works resemble or diverge from the views, practices, or discourses of other Christians.

This paper takes the image of an Antwerp mannerist (1515/20) in the Art Institute of Chicago showing king David receiving the cistern water of Bethlehem as a starting point and compares it with an image of the same topic from Claude Lorraine (1658) in the National Gallery London. It aims to show how the biblical story in 2 Sam 23:13-17 has been represented in visual art at the transition from a typological and allegorical reading of the biblical text to an interpretation focusing on the "sensus literae". Finally the paper endeavours to answer the question about how this hermeneutical shift influenced visual art and vice versa how the new representations of the biblical story in visual art influenced the textual interpretation.

On the grounds of some narratives from the Deuteronomistic History: Samuel’s choice of Saul, David’s ascension to the throne, Solomon’s position as the tenth son, the paper explores the characteristic features and the symbolic functions of the youngest son figure, pervading the stories about kings and patriarchs in the Hebrew Bible. Two main conceptual and methodological tools are implemented to the research. The first one is Vladimir Propp’s idea about the “repetitiveness of functions” as a standard mechanism of folk tales telling (“Morphology of the Folktale”). The second one is Philippe Aries’ social history of childhood (“Centuries of Childhood”). Aries’ brief notice that ancient art refused to accept “child morphology” is further developed to the idea that Hebrew epic tradition declined realistic representation of childhood in favour of other (symbolic) aims. The paper sets a sequence of tasks and seeks answers to some important questions. First, it searches through “the youngest son” cases in order to detect and define the “repetitive functions” of the motif in all its variations, and regardless of the circumstances in the different stories. Then it answers the question whether there are features in the character of the youngest son that are psychologically, historically and socially realistic. Should we look at all for a realism of modern type? Finally, the paper defines the symbolic functions, which the youngest son figure performs and draws feasible perspectives for a further reading of children and childhood in the epic narratives of the Hebrew Bible

An important aspect of the legacy of Evagrius Ponticus is that many of his writings survive only in Syriac, consequently influencing the thought of several generations of ascetical and mystical Syriac authors. Philoxenos, the anti-Chalcedonian bishop of Mabbug, has been recognized as an early witness to the spiritual theology of Evagrius in his ascetical and controversial texts. Recent scholarship has focused on the particular interpretations and citations of Evagrius in Philoxenos’ Letter to Patricius. The most copied and read work of Philoxenos is his longest, the 13 Discourses on the monastic and ascetical life, addressed primarily to novice monks in the monasteries under his authority. The Discourses have usually been understood to be unfettered by the complexities and vehemence of the Christological controversies in which Philoxenos was quite adept. Recent study has demonstrated that the bishop did not abandon or ignore his familiar doctrinal themes and issues in The Discourses, but did not present them as the primary focus. Evagrius is omnipresent as well, though rarely cited. The intent here is to begin the rereading of Philoxenos’ ascetical homilies as a witness to idiosyncratic reception and interpretation of Evagrius’ ascetical system. This is a large project, but it can be outlined first in the structure of Philoxenos’ Discourses. Unlike the other two major works of early Syriac ascetical and spiritual theology – Aphrahat’s Demonstrations and The Book of Steps – whose literary units are largely occasional and not systematic, Philoxenos works his way through an agenda of monastic spirituality essentially Evagrian in scope and organization. A second instance will be the exegesis of a brief section of one of The Discourses to illustrate how Philoxenos consistently employs his understanding of Evagrius’ concepts.

TBA

The recent excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa have contributed considerably to the debate on the historicity of the ancient kingdom of Judah and its representation in the Old Testament. During the 2010 and 2011 excavation seasons, a group of nine seals, the majority scarabs, were found in Areas B, C and D. This paper discusses the hitherto unpublished artifacts according to their archaeological and object data, focusing largely on their iconographic and pictographic repertoire with the purpose of integrating the various motifs chronologically into the development of iconographic themes throughout the material culture of the ANE. An outlook on the possible relationships of the seals and scarabs with the cultural and religious history of Khirbet Qeiyafa will conclude the paper.

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In the ancient Near East, when a king ascended the throne in an irregular fashion, he often encountered charges of illegitimacy from his opponents. Kings combated such charges by commissioning apologies in which they defended themselves from these charges and upheld their legitimate right to rule. Several such apologies survive from the ancient Near East, and in the latter half of the 20th century scholars began to compare various apologies to examine the ideological underpinnings of each. Early studies tended to focus on the two most famous examples of ancient Near Eastern apologetic, the Hittite autobiography of Hattushili III and the History of David’s Rise from the Hebrew Bible. In recent decades, further studies have emerged, highlighting the apologetic nature of texts discussing the accessions of such rulers as Solomon of Israel, Esarhaddon of Assyria, Nabonidus of Babylon, Darius of Persia, and others. This paper has two primary purposes. The first is to establish a functional definition of apologetic within the field of ancient Near Eastern studies. Despite the burgeoning scholarship on this phenomenon, no theoretical treatment of what exactly constitutes the literary category of apologetic has been put forth. Scholars assume an understood definition of apologetic, but it is clear from the secondary literature that differing conceptions of its nature inform the various discussions. By interacting with rhetorical scholarship I will address this need for common ground. The second purpose is to attempt to correct a prevalent misunderstanding in the field. Apologetic is consistently treated as a literary genre with a particular form. But this assumption is inaccurate. Literary genres are historical categories which can be used inductively to draw conclusions about any example of the genre. Apologetic, on the other hand, is a transhistorical phenomenon. This misconception has led scholars to homogenize the disparate ancient Near Eastern apologies, instead of acknowledging the distinct situations that gave birth to each text.

Despite the publication of a new edition in 1995, The Ascension of Isaiah remains substantially neglected by researchers. The purpose of this paper is to take up what has been achieved in the field of early Christian identity formation and to consider in that context the evidence of this apocalypse: work that has not been attempted from this perspective before. I shall look at the question of Christian relations with Jews and Romans and at the social function of the different forms of eschatology that are found in the apoocalypse. I shall also offer some remarks from a postcolonial perspective and consider matters of ethnicity and social status inasfasr as the text allows us to comment on such phenomena.

The story of Ham’s encounter with Noah’s nakedness, and the curse that followed, offers a particularly notorious example of what today we might call a “sex scandal.” Though the specifics of Ham’s infraction are far from clear, the shame that was then affixed to whomever was designated as one of his descendants is not. Adapting the insights of affect theory and addressing larger biblical notions of sexual morality and kinship, this paper will consider the way that the Canaanites became disgusting objects, and the effect this interpretation has had on interpretations of sex, race, and gender.

The Reformation was a heady time for biblical interpretation: the Protestant principle of Sola Scriptura emphasized the authority of the written word, and preaching the word became prominent in the worship and theology of the reformed churches. In his sermons on 2 Samuel, John Calvin described the story of David and Bathsheba as one which should make the hair of the listeners stand straight up on end! In fact, this story—and more specifically, the character of Bathsheba—becomes a helpful lens through which to view general exegetical and hermeneutical trends of the time period. Because Bathsheba is such a minor character, the amount of commentary on her is limited; however, because she plays such a significant role in the life of David, and as an ancestor of Christ, the Reformers use her character to further their homiletical projects. This paper will demonstrate that though the Reformers drew on exegetical traditions from the Patristic and Medieval period, they diminished the practices of allegory and typology in favor of a literal and historical sense of the text. Bathsheba therefore was no longer viewed as a “type” of the church, but as a historical woman. In this light, she was seen largely critically. Luther saw her as a woman of no faith, in contrast to David who had a close relationship with God. Calvin explained that Bathsheba should have exercised discretion when she was bathing, for a chaste and honest woman would not have shown herself in such a way as to allure men. Calvin also explained that later, David exhorted Bathsheba to repent for her sins. Indeed, in these interpretations Bathsheba was a reprobate, a woman who needed to “be reformed.”

Walter Bauer's 'Rechtglaubigkeit und Ketzerei im altesten Christentum,' published in 1934, offered a bold new conception of the development of primitive Christianity. As the inaugural presentation of this new SBL Consultation, this paper will focus on the critical insights in Bauer's book, which forever changed our general conception of Christian origins, as well as our understanding of the emergence and development of Christianity in specific locations.

Within the last number of years, there have been discussions about the value of teaching Biblical Languages to Bible translators and having them consult the original languages as they translate. Being surprised at the intensity of the debate, I endeavored to explore the historical background of the ideals and actual practice of the use of Biblical languages in Bible translation starting from St. Jerome and continuing on to the principles promoted by Eugene Nida, with a special focus on translation practice in Africa. It is clear that at the outset, the ideal was to translate from the Biblical languages, but at the same time, Nida himself recognized obstacles for reaching such an ideal. He states as early as 1947: “Before undertaking to translate from the original Greek or Hebrew, it is of utmost importance that the translator be qualified for the work. A little learning is sometimes a dangerous thing even in the hands of a translator.” (Bible Translating, New York, ABS, p.51). While Nida and others continued on with the development of resources for those who could consult the Greek and Hebrew in their translation work, at the same time resources were being developed to facilitate translation from an intermediary source language. In more recent years, more and more translators in Africa have been learning the Biblical languages. The challenges and the benefits of such a development will be discussed in this paper. In my concluding thoughts, I encourage reflection on how we can be practical and yet still reach for the ideal, in particular through the development of resources that empower the translators to adequately use the Biblical languages as they translate the Bible into their own languages.

The Greek novels are exceptional among classical literary genres in representing symmetrical erotic relations, that is, relations in which free citizen youths fall mutually in love and preserve faith with one another despite long separations and severe hardship. But other kinds of relationship are also exhibited, including traditional arranged marriages, pederastic love, and intense friendships. There is considerable argument, moreover, about whether the reciprocal passions between the hero and heroine of the novels is a childish feature, to be converted as they mature into the traditional dimorphic pattern of dominant husband and retiring wife, or a new model of civic marriage; and at the margins, there also seem to exist cross-influences with new Christian ideals of fidelity. Given that the novels are highly readable, they can serve as excellent introductions to the entire issue of ancient Greek erotics.

Contemporary social scientific studies of religion have been profoundly influenced by the Modes of Religiosity (MoR) model developed by Harvey Whitehouse and colleagues. MoR has become one of the dominant theoretical paradigms driving interdisciplinary research into the origins, dynamics, and transmissions of religious rituals and beliefs. Whitehouse posits two distinct "attractor positions" around which religious behaviors and ideas variously tend to cluster: the imagistic mode and the doctrinal mode. Both modes correlate with respective groupings of sociopolitical features, which MoR contends are derived from cognitive psychological processes that are governed by laws of evolutionary biology. Imagistic religious modalities feature rituals entailing low transmissive frequency and high cognitive arousal, getting seared into episodic memory, from where they spur individually generated notions about their meanings amid small, intensively cohesive, egalitarian groups. Doctrinal religious modalities feature rituals with high transmissive frequency and low cognitive arousal, getting stored in semantic memory, where they are subject to interpretation and management by authority figures on behalf of large, diffuse, hierarchically ordered masses. To date, biblical scholars have devoted scant attention to MoR, whereas MoR's considerations of scriptural media have been perfunctory. My paper addresses these dual oversights by investigating imagistic and doctrinal modes of religiosity within the Hebrew Bible. Using the book of Exodus as a test case, I explore where and how both attractor positions are operative and interactive, within individual episodes as well as across the overarching narrative. I demonstrate that the text's fusing of source materials (variously aligned with imagistic or doctrinal modes) is motivated by MoR's principles of selective advantage for replication. I conclude that the scriptural narrative of Exodus functions as a recursive mechanism of survival for key imagistic and doctrinal components of ancient Israelite (Yahwistic) religion. This scriptural mechanism is mutually reinforcing: on the one hand, the imagistic mode's individually concentrated intensity within episodic memory gets transmitted and preserved via the doctrinal mode's communally diffuse routinization within semantic memory; on the other hand, doctrinal routinization becomes rejuvenated via its linkage to imagistic stimulation.

"The empirical is palliative," Brian Massumi writes at the conclusion of a chapter on "Chaos and the 'Total Field' of Vision" (Parables for the Virtual), which connects pain with the work of perceptual organization and comprehensive, objectifying vision. This paper applies Massumi's work socially to think about a thematic relationship between violence/pain and some creation accounts from the late first century (Revelation, Secret Revelation to John, Hebrews) -- not from an ideological or explanatory angle, but from a phenomenological and experiential one. Pain is, in many ways, a totalizing experience, and as such it casts the whole world in its own color. Perhaps this totalizing element of pain is part of the reason it finds itself engaged, at least in these texts, in the all-encompassing language of cosmic creation. The impossibly panoptic view assumed in creation stories merges all too easily with the sense that when in large-scale or abiding pain, one has seen far too much. At the very least, one seems to be able to say that a certain creativity can attend pain: new forms of expression often crop up around pain’s sharp and darkened vision. Maybe it is not because pain is especially productive, or that pain teaches any particular truths, but because formless void can be quite unbearable. It is for these reasons, among others, that both possibility and danger attend the creative work that arrives out of pain.

Sabbath prohibitions may be traced, in greater and greater detail, from their biblical origins through Jewish documents of the Greek and Roman ages. But the rabbinic Mishnah systematizes the prohibited labors in a way that is unprecedented, both with respect to some of the labors detailed and, in particular, with respect to the precise formulation of the labors and their relationship. The Mishnah’s system of prohibited labors offers the rabbis’ own unique interpretation of the Sabbath and its meaning, one that will guide the development of the rabbinic Sabbath in following generations. This paper will examine the rabbis’ particular interpretation, showing that the rabbis seek to construct the Sabbath as an occasion when all essential needs are provided, reminiscent of both the Garden of Eden and the post-Exodus sojourn in the desert, and foreshadowing the World to Come.

It is one thing to comment on variants in the transmission of the biblical text in one language tradition, but it is a completely different thing to comment on the variants that arise between different language traditions. Between two familiar languages like the Indo-European Greek and Latin, a comparison seems manageable, but what about a Semito-Hamitic language like Coptic? How can the Greek and Coptic Versions be compared on an equal footing without one of these languages predominating the other? Coptic and Greek have at least one thing in common: they are both centred about a verbal structure, which allows us to describe both languages in the terms of the so-called dependency (or valency) grammar. In this paper I assume that dependency grammar opens the possibility of making Greek and Coptic versions comparable and gives us also a comprehensible method to identify variants. What is more, applying dependency grammar to the Coptic language also allows us to evaluate the identified variants and to comment on their value of variation. While some are “true” variants, possibly giving evidence of a different textual tradition, others are simply the result of necessary changes during the translation process from Greek to Coptic. (The paper will be presented in such a way that a prior knowledge of Coptic is not necessary).

This paper presents a new perspective on Jerome's statement that will help identify with further precision the Old Greek, kaige, and the trifaria varietas.

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This paper is a close reading and an examination of 2 Samuel 6:15-23, the biblical text which entails Michal’s rebuke to “unkingly” David over matters of royal protocol, and David’s lengthy response which is defensive of his kingship vis-à-vis the kingship and family of Saul, Michal’s father. The study asks the following questions: What was the force of Michal’s admonition of David? Why does King David respond to Michal in a way that gives so many answers to unasked question(s)? Is Michal of any political significance in the Bible? In which ways should African readers of the Bible read Michal’s case into their own political situations? I have argued that Michal’s admonition was the “Point Of Order” to the “unkingly” David—the “Point of Order” that generated political anxiety and nervousness. Michal traversed the Deuteronomist’s gender boundaries of subjectivity and passivity to a politician. Her knowledge of ancient politics empowered her to tell the King “you are naked!” Michal’s rebuke challenged the credibility of David as King and called for actions that incarcerated her in political quietism and mortality. Michal, daughter of King Saul and David’s wife, (and more so the woman who used her birth right to birth David to freedom from death—1 Samuel 19) is systematically depoliticised and polemicized as the woman who loved David, but whose love could not alienate the King from Yahweh. She is an object of political manipulation in the contest between Saul and David. To Saul, Michal was convenient in his stratagem to eliminate David by the Philistines. To David, becoming the “king’s son in-law” was probably a means to secure his political fortunes. However, the biblical texts are silent about Michal’s own political ambitions and her relationship with the two men. Contextually, the paper relates Michal’s case to the situation of female politicians in Kenya and Uganda, using the case of two female politicians: Philemena Chelangat Mutai (1974-1983 Kenya) and Miria Matembe (1987-2006 Uganda).

Commentators commonly acknowledge two likely allusions to Numbers in Ecclesiastes. In the first, Qoheleth commands, “Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes” (Eccl 11:9a), reversing the prohibition against doing just that in Num 15:39. In the second, he declares, “Do not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake [shegaga]” (Eccl 5:5a), denying the allowance for unintentional sin (shegaga) in Num 15:22–31. That these two passages appear to allude to the same chapter of Numbers stretches the limits of coincidence. Further, Fox (1989) has identified seven passages that clearly affirm retribution in Ecclesiastes: 3:17; 5:5b; 7:17; 8:5–7; 8:11–13; 11:9b; and 12:14. Both passages with likely references to Numbers are followed by statements endorsing retribution included in this list. This paper will investigate how Qoheleth’s interpretive approach to Numbers 15 sheds light on this connection. These intersections of parody and priestly piety, of license and legalism, will offer insight into the nature of Ecclesiastes and its uneasy relationship, not only with the rest of the canon, but with itself. Eccl 11:9, in particular, acts as a microcosm of the tensions facing interpreters in the book as a whole, as the apparent parody of Num 15:39 in the first part of the verse featured in early arguments against the canonicity of Ecclesiastes, and the retributive declaration at the end of the verse has been considered a pious interpolation, thereby paralleling the orthodox epilogue appended in 12:12–14.

The Exodus narrative has been remembered and retold in Jewish communities since antiquity. The themes of suffering, retribution, and liberation especially resonated while Jews living under foreign domination in the Hellenistic period. During this time, several Jewish interpreters composed their own versions of the narrative, adding embellishments and providing explanations to the more obscure parts of the story. These interpretations not only give insights into the ways Jews understood their past, but also how they lived and interacted with other cultures in their present. In this paper, I will explore the development of one particular part of the story, the first plague, through various interpretations from the Hellenistic period. This pericope begins on the banks of the Nile river, with a meeting between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh. After refusing to release the Israelites, Aaron strikes the Nile with Moses’ rod, instantly turning the Nile water into blood. Hellenistic Jewish interpretations of this story focus on three particular elements: (1) the punishment and subsequent death of the Egyptians, (2) the sensory experiences of the Nile (smell, appearance, taste), and (3) the role of Moses. Through a textual analysis of the available sources, I will argue that these Jewish authors were deeply influenced by Egyptian, Greek, and Roman conceptions of the Nile river in their retellings. Theoretical discussions about levels of assimilation (Barclay 1996) and Diasporic identity (Gruen 2002) will be used to make sense of how retellings of history bring together both a Jewish collective identity, but also a recognition and acceptance of Jewish cultural differences. Rather than view the Jews as a distinct group, these interpretations of the first plague demonstrate how the Jews lived in a thoroughly Hellenistic world, whether in Palestine or the Diaspora.

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This paper will examine the place of metaphor in the major Ugaritic mythological texts--Baal, Aqhat, and Kirta--in light of theoretical insights drawn from recent studies on metaphor. Particularly important in this regard are the understanding of the "literal" and the "metaphorical" as distinct modes of language construal, as well as the awareness of the different conceptual levels at which metaphor operates. In contrast to the earlier study of Korpel (1990), which focused on metaphorical depictions of the divine, the present paper will look at the place of metaphor more generally as a linguistic and literary phenomenon. So, for instance, while a text like Baal invites an overarching metaphorical construal by virtue of the ostensible symbolic referents of key divine figures in the story (e.g., Yamm as "sea," Mot as "death"), the Kirta text shows a higher concentration of sentence-level metaphors in service of a tale centered around a human king. Such an approach can serve not only to highlight some of the important stylistic differences between the three texts but also to provide a basis for comparison with literary works from elsewhere in the ancient Near East.

"Repentance", as a term, has been readily employed in the study of religious texts, particularly, but not exclusively, those of Judaism and Christianity. It is taken as axiomatic that the sort of inner transformation it denotes would be considered an unambiguous good, if not a main goal, in any sort of religious practice. Thus, for instance, it is has been applied extensively in the analysis of Hebrew Bible texts, particularly those relating to mourning, petition, and prophecy. That "repentance" would form a major category of analysis for modern scholars is not surprising, for the interiority, autonomy, focus on moral status, and didacticism with which it is bound up seem to accord with modern sensibilities. This paper will consider the origins of "repentance" as a concept. Against, the assumption that repentance is universal or originated in the Hebrew Bible, I would locate the idea as very much a product of formative Christianity and Judaism. Getting its start in Hellenistic schools of philosophy and, therefore, well represented in the works of Philo and Plutarch, it is picked up as a mode of communal control in the context of the emerging establishment of long-term, stable communities among early Christians and rabbinic Jews. Its development can be traced to, specifically, religious groups lacking in apocalyptic expectations and looking for more stable notions of religious transformation. I will explore this theme through examining a wide variety of texts from Philo and Plutarch to Ben Sira, while focusing especially on its developments within the New Testament, the Shepherd of Hermas, and rabbinic literature.

In Philippians 3:18-19, Paul sets up a foil in contrast to those who are good examples for the Philippian community. Paul describes the opponents as heading for destruction, their god as being their koilia, their glory as being aischune, and their minds set on epigeia. While most of these terms make sense in context, koilia has confounded interpreters. Often, translators opt for “belly” as a translation for koilia in this context. Through the lens of ritual studies and the ritual lives of women in Philippi, I will argue that koilia is best translated as “womb” rather than “belly”. Furthermore, I will demonstrate that this translation is not only necessary in light of the presence of women in the early Jesus community in Philippi, but also that it points toward a group of opponents that are putting outside pressure on the community from the perspective of women’s reproductive roles.

For lack of sources, early Christian historiography often generalizes on shaky bases. Can an increased focus on regional or local phenomena from which generalized conclusions might be inferred improve this situation? Based on his studies on Rome and on Phrygia, combining archaeological, epigraphic and literary sources, Peter Lampe looks at chances and drawbacks of an inductive approach.

Hélène Cixous, in Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing, writes that “dreams teach us.” They teach us, she says, in four lessons, but does not tell us, except indirectly, what they are: they are related to the capacity to enter another world, without transition; to speed; to what she calls “the taste of the secret”; and to fear. The book of Isaiah, like every poetic and prophetic book, may be seen as a dream book, which teaches us of the hopes, fantasies, and the intertwining of life and death in the minds of its authors. In this paper I would like to focus on the oracles against the nations, the preeminent scene of alterity in the Isaianic imagination. The other nations are both mirror images of Israel, condemned in the first twelve chapters, and its antagonists, whose fall presages Israel’s apotheosis, and who will ultimately pay homage to YHWH in Zion (e.g.18.7; 23.15-18). I will be concerned, however, with the prophet’s identification with the nations, his projection of himself into their destinies, and their specific oneiric characters. Egypt, for instance, is a dying fluvial economy; Tyre represents the sterility of the sea; and Babylon is the crumbling idolatrous tower, as in 21.9, and the matrix of imperial self-deification. Through participating in these dreams, ironically, quizzically, and with affection, the prophet presents himself as both the prophet of the nations and their nemesis. As with all poetry, and especially the overtly obfuscatory poetry of Isaiah, the dream presents us with a riddle, which is ultimately that of the transformation of death into life. On the one hand, it is marked by fear, pity, and the omnipresence of death, as in the carnivalesque raucousness of 22.14. On the other hand, it is the possibility of silent listening (18.4, 21.7, 11), to that which is always imminent and unexpected.

This paper explores the exegetical machinery which is at work in Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, first by examining the machine’s lexical parts and then by considering what the entire system means for Justin’s redefinition of biblical prophecy. I begin by taking inventory of the hermeneutical vocabulary used in the Dialogue. I demonstrate that the word µ?st????? is both Justin’s preferred hermeneutical term and also the term that supplies all the general categories in which the other words participate. Most significant, however, is the way in which Justin hermeneutically coordinates the mystery of Christ and the mystery of scripture. It is only those who have been converted by the mystery of Christ who have the hermeneutical competency to discern scripture’s otherwise hidden christological mysteries, types, signs, symbols, and parables. After surveying Justin’s use of µ?st?????, I next briefly consider the other major words that Justin uses to substantiate his claim that Trypho’s scriptures no longer mean what, to Trypho and his fellow Jews, they have always seemed to mean. In the final major section I consider the more general question of what Justin’s distinctly Christian approach to Jewish scripture means for his conception of prophetic foretelling. Stated more specifically, the principal questions are: 1) what does it mean to the definition of prophecy to say that a predictive prophetic utterance now—or after the advent of Christ—newly reveals mysteries that it concealed beforehand? And 2) what are the rhetorical and theological implications in contending that scriptural prophecy has only recently become discernibly prophetic. For a conclusion I offer some brief remarks on how the fundamental structures and principles of Justin’s mystery exegesis are reproduced by later Christian exegetes. I propose that the best description for the interpretive approaches of early theologians such as Melito, Clement, Tertullian, and Origen is, simply titled, mystery exegesis.

This paper addresses the methodological issues of combining textual criticism and textual history, using Joshua 10 as a test case.

Scholars often try to force a literary structure on Qohelet, but its abundance of literary units only leaves disagreement as to form. Qohelet does not fit into the framework of traditional OT wisdom literature or, for that matter, have significant structural parallels to other ancient Near East texts. In fact, Qohelet has more in common with the organic nature of Hellenistic epistemological rhetoric—Qohelet’s affirmation of individual experience, in particular the experience of pleasure, bears a significant similarity to contemporaneous Hellenistic popular philosophy, which emphasized the pursuit of individual happiness by the use of human reason alone. However, if the purpose of Hellenistic philosophical writing was for the author to find happiness through the personal exercise of reason, we find little of that happiness in Qohelet. Rather we find an author who seems to see life as lacking purpose – all (implicitly including the work of Qohelet itself) is vanity (hebel). This inability to locate Qohelet within standard literary taxonomies and the ensuing disagreements among scholars as to the purpose of its multiple literary forms leads many to question whether Qohelet’s literary structure is, in fact, purposeful. The book as a whole seems to lack design and hierarchy of topics. Some view this as a literary/philosophical flaw, others as evidence of the book’s composite authorship, and still others as mere curiosity—this is simply the way Qohelet wrote it. And it is precisely this taxonomical confusion that we will explore in this paper. It is our contention that one manner in which this tension may be resolved is by finding unity in Qohelet’s structural schizophrenia through the lens of Jacques Derrida’s concept of the gift—namely, as one person’s experience of the ultimate gift of death, outside the economic circle of exchange. We argue that Qohelet’s appreciation for the gift of life is based upon and can only be realized through an understanding of the gift of death, which Derrida calls an “awakening to responsibility”: the observation of the irreplaceable singularity of both self and other. The gift of death is thus the encounter of death as that “which nobody else can undergo or confront in my place.” Of the irreplaceability conferred, delivered, or “given,” by death. Ultimately, this gift of death brings coherence to Qohelet as a sacrificial act where, in proclaiming his death with ours, Qohelet gives us equity in death—awakening us to death as a moment in which we are always already responsible for the other. And through this gift of death, through its awareness that everything is hebel, ephemeral, Qohelet becomes an eschatological gift of completed being: our awakening to ipseity and the gift of knowing humanity beyond hierarchy, beyond judgment, and, most importantly, beyond the possibility of profit.

4QPsx/4QPs89 presents us with a version of Psalm 89 that is intriguing both because of its textual variations and also because of its verse order. Although Flint, et al., in DJD XVI, see this text as preserving “one of the sources of Psalms 89” or “possibly a very early form of this Psalm,” I will argue that the text is an example of reworked scripture, an interpretation of the biblical Psalm 89, that has been reordered and reworded to fit the author's eschatological vision. The manner in which this psalm has been reworked in this scroll follows common Qumran exegetical practice and is similar to what has been done elsewhere in the Qumran library with other scriptural passages, including Psalm 18 in 4Q381 and 2 Samuel 7 in 4QFlor -- the biblical passage has been reshaped, with words altered or removed and lines selected and transposed in order to better suit the author's needs. In 4QPs89, the wording and order of verses (when compared to that of the MT and LXX versions) seem to emphasize the Davidic/royal figure, the power that he will have, and his role in establishing the elect people in the End Times.

Winding their way through Rome, processions fashioned an urban image of the city which wove together people and institutions, monuments and spaces—creating a cognitive map, an idealized cityscape that was neither a real social map nor an exact physical plan. That is, ritual shapes space as much as space shapes ritual—any particular triumph, for example, was influenced by a prestigious tradition of triumphs embodied in the triumphal monuments that lay along the itinerary. And so, linked by what one may call collective memory, a history of Rome housed in its rituals, spaces, and monuments, the processional participants and itinerary form a symbolic, ritual topography—or an image of the city in the words of the influential urban theorist Kevin Lynch. Best known from the extended description of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 7.71, itself a seemingly extended quotation of an earlier historian Fabius Pictor, the pompa circensis usually overlooked. Though vast quantities of ink have been spilled on both the triumph (pompa triumphalis) and the public funeral procession (pompa funebris), the circus procession (pompa circensis) languishes in relative scholarly neglect, even though it was the most often repeated and so, arguably, the most important of the three. However, it provides the best opportunity to investigate the relationship between the procession and its environment in term of individual and social memory. On the one hand, if one wants to understand how the ancient Romans drew the contours of their own society, then one need only look to which groups participated in their processions, often considered as a kind of civic cross section. This cross-section embodied a particular conceptualization of Rome that could draw upon collective social memory of the city as a whole. On the other hand, individual participants could forge their own personal linkages, recalling sites of important life cycle rituals or passing by statues of one’s ancestors. At the same time, processions strung together certain buildings, places, and institutions in coherent itineraries. In broad terms, a procession narrates a particular version of civic history by drawing together the strands of collective and individual memory situated in people, places, institutions and even other ritual complexes. Roman processions constructed Roman space by linking monuments and animating memory as they wound their way through the city. Thus, the pompa circensis or circus procession produced an image of the city which mapped both Rome’s social and topographical contours with each new performance. In short, the pompa circensis shaped how the Romans understood themselves, their society, and their city in the imagination and on the ground. For the ancient Roman, processions embodied a version of Roman history, provided a map of Roman-ness.

The term “Zion/Jerusalem” in Isaiah 40–66 has been treated by many scholars in various ways. Some scholars, such as C. Westermann, J. Blenkinsopp, J. Muilenburg, B. Childs and J. L. Koole, have argued that Zion/Jerusalem in the so-called “Cyrus passages” has a double meaning, referring to 1) the people in the Babylonian exile, and 2) the physical city in Judah. According to this view, while the term “Zion/Jerusalem” in Isaiah 41:27 and the term “Jerusalem” in 44:26, 28 refer to a physical city in Judah, the term “Zion” in 46:13 refers to the exiles in Babylonia. Recently, C. Seitz and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer have argued against the idea that “Zion/Jerusalem” carries such a double meaning in the so-called “Cyrus passages.” This paper utilizes a synchronic rhetorical method that supports and extends the insights of Seitz and Tiemeyer, arguing that these Cyrus passages should be read in the context of the final form of Isaiah 40–66. Utilizing this method, the paper argues that “Zion/Jerusalem” does not have two references; instead, every occurrence of the term in these passages refers to the physical city in Judah. The message in the Cyrus passages focuses on the proclamation of the restoration and rebuilding of the city in Judah by Yahweh’s raising Cyrus, rather than the release of the exiles from Babylonia, as argued by Westermann, Blenkinsopp, Koole, and others. Therefore, the dominant view that Yahweh’s raising of Cyrus is for the purpose of overthrowing Babylon must be rejected. The Cyrus passages in Isaiah do not mention any attack against Babylon; neither do they pay attention to the release of the Babylonian exiles, which is of secondary importance. In Second Isaiah, Yahweh arouses Cyrus explicitly for the purpose of the rebuilding of the city (Isaiah 41:25–29; 44:26, 28; 45:13; 46:8–13). Third Isaiah alludes to these texts, but makes a significant replacement: instead of naming Cyrus as the one who will rebuild the city, Third Isaiah indicates that “foreigners” and “mourners” will fill that role, and develops the image of the city with its rebuilt walls and sanctuary (Isaiah 60:10–14; 61:3–7; 65:17–19). The allusions to and expansion of Second Isaiah’s themes by Third Isaiah create a new synchronic rhetorical unit in which the term “Zion/Jerusalem” consistently refers to the physical city in Judah; the supposed references to the Babylonian exiles imputed to the term “Zion/Jerusalem” by many scholars must be rejected.

This paper will explain an effective teaching practice used in the Old and New Testament Survey classes at New Hope Christian College-Hawaii. This introductory class faces many demographical challenges: students as young as sixteen who have graduated from home school to as old as sixty-six who are returning to school for personal edification; the multi-cultural diversity found within the Pacific Rim: Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Malaysian, Hawaiian, Samoan, as well as Italian, Egyptian, and Caucasian; and English as a secondary language. The class faces an academic challenge: to cover the thirty-nine and twenty-seven books of the Bible over two fourteen-week semesters sufficiently enough so that students are adequately prepared to take other Biblical courses. Finally, the class faces an educational challenge: students who are lacking in reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills. Thus the goal was to find a way to overcome these demographical, academic and educational challenges. Using a drawing methodology that creatively uses shapes, lines, and words, students are able to grasp the big picture of each book of the Bible as well as the big picture of God’s redemptive story. The results are younger and older students, as well as multi-cultural students and educationally challenged students, but more importantly foreign students are able to understand the Bible in a way never thought possible. Students who are parents are teaching their children the Bible. Youth leaders have found a viable vehicle to teaching their youth. Missionaries have taken this method overseas with success. The practice is also applicable to teaching theology and history. This presentation will explain not only the drawing methodology but also explore why it works.

Prior to 2009, “Easrhaddon’s Succession Treaty” was primarily known from eight tablets found in the 1955 in the Nabu temple at the Assyrian city of Nimrud, ancient Kalhu. These tablets record an oath (adê) taken by eight “Median” vassals of the Assyrian empire in the late spring of 672 BC in which the vassals swore to uphold the succession of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon’s son Ashurbanipal to the throne. In July 2009, archaeologists working at the Neo-Assyrian provincial capital Tell Tayinat, ancient Kunulua (located in Turkey’s Hatay province about 30 km outside of Antakya, ancient Antioch), discovered a cache of cuneiform tablets in a temple, one of which proved to be a new exemplar of this Succession Treaty. In this paper, I reconstruct the original position of the Tayinat tablet in the temple, demonstrating that it was prominently displayed in the temple’s inner sanctum directly across from the altar. I use this reconstruction as a starting point to sketch out the life story of this treaty tablet (tuppi adê): Its birth as one of many siblings; the great migration of its youth; the stately splendor of its mature years; and finally, a fiery death. I conclude by considering the degree to which this narrative can be extended to the Tayinat tablet’s siblings, other uppi adê inscribed with Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty that will likely never be recovered.

While commenting on Gen. 2, 19, Philo makes the most of an obscurity of the Greek text to move from the literal meaning to the moral one. According to the first, Adam is « beginning of conversation », because, contrary to what former philosophers have written, language must come from a single man: hence, the same name symbolizes the same thing (Op. 148-149 throws more light on this issue). In order to turn to the second meaning, Philo refers to the « ti » (what) of the Greek text, which he understands as « dia ti » (why): God wants to see not really what name is given to one animal or another, but the frame of mind in which Adam gives a name, calls or greets (Philo plays on the range of meanings of kaleô) the assistants which God has made for him, i.e.: the sensible forms of passions. I wonder if it would be possible to find here a kind of pattern of the allegorical method, since we move from an evident meaning to another one, determined by the object and its use. Passions can be morally wrong, but necessary and useful (for instance, pleasure, which is not a Stoic indifferent). Thus, revising and changing significantly the Stoic distinction between good and indifferents, Philo invents a class of double meaning, where the same word doesn't always mean the same thing but qualifies both the object and the one who uses it. After having determined this pattern, I'll turn to the double meaning of the nakedness and of the snake, with an assumption: that we can draw an underlying theory of the subject from this use of double meaning.

This essay traces the development of the Criterion of Coherence from Johannes Weiss’ portrait of Jesus and Paul Schmiedel’s bifurcation of the Gospel tradition. I argue that Coherence was applied in Jesus studies before the prominent years of Form Criticism, but became a sub-criterion of Double Dissimilarity within the programs of Bultmann, Käsemann, and Perrin. I then argue that Perrin’s application of Coherence as a sub-criterion to Dissimilarity is beyond repair and that both criteria should be abandoned. However, I suggest that recent adaptations of Social Memory theory might provide new life for the more general principle of Coherence as employed from Weiss to John P. Meier. The chief problem with its present use is that New Testament studies works from a premise of binary (or ternary) opposites as they conceive of the divide between Jesus’ context and Christianity’s context. As long as Jesus historians think along the lines of binary opposites, the Criterion of Coherence will continue to be misleading. Thus Perrin’s use of the criterion is beyond repair and Meier’s use must be rebuilt from the ground up.

Since Werner Kelber’s work on the oral and the written gospel (originally published 1983), there has been an increasing interest in orality in early Christianity. In this research field, Kelber is often seen as having overstated the significance of the written medium. The oral medium, the argument goes, continued to dominate long after the gospels were beginning to circulate as written texts. Without questioning the dominance of the oral medium, this paper nevertheless argues that the circulation of Mark’s Gospel as a written text was a crucial event that communicated a message of great importance for the self-understanding of the first century Jesus followers. But what did the written medium communicate? Here the issue of what kind of written medium is actualized. The paper explores the suggestion by Graham Stanton that Mark’s Gospel, when it had been written, began to circulate in the form of codices. Considering the dubious status of the codex as a literary medium at this time, it is argued that such a book form went against the grain of first century imperial culture. Since it did not comply with the literary standards, the book medium would have given further weight to the subversive nature of its content.

The fascinating biblical story known as the 'Ark narrative' (1 Samuel 5-6) has received much scholarly attention. Opinions about its authenticity cover a wide spectrum of ideas and interpretations. Anyhow, the Ark narrative succeeds in transferring a real sense of a clear, recognized and accepted border: all ranks of Philistine leadership seem to know that the political and cultural boundary between the two ethnical entities passes at the outskirts of the fields of Beth-Shemesh and refrain from crossing it. When was this border created and how? And who were the 'people of Beth-Shemesh' when these crucial events took place? Archaeological excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh over the past two decades provides intriguing answers for these questions and open the door for innovative interpretation of cultural processes in the Shephelah following the arrival of the Philistines in Iron Age I (12th-11th centuries BCE). The excavations revealed at Beth-Shemesh a remarkable endurance of Canaanite settlement and cultural traditions. Moreover, the inhabitants at the site had strongly denied Philistine identity markers, expressed vividly in certain aspects of material culture and dietary habits. Since this process of resistance seems to have encompassed more sites at the periphery of Philistine territory, a border was born. The creation of this border - the arena for cultural contact and conflict - led further to identity consolidation on both of its sides, and eventually to the formation of the ancient state of Judah.

The theme of witness/testimony has been well-demonstrated as a major motif throughout the narrative of John’s Gospel. What is not so clear, however, is that the witness-theme provides also the literary frame for the Gospel as a whole. This lack of clarity is due, in large part, to scepticism about the place of John 21 within the Fourth Gospel’s narrative and theological structure. John 21 has been largely dismissed as a later addition, or at least postscript, to the Gospel, whether sympathetic or antithetical to its originating message. The possibility of more than edition of the Gospel is not the issue here. Regardless of its pre-history, the Gospel of John in its final form demonstrates a remarkably close parallelism between the role of John the Baptist in the first chapters of the Gospel (John 1-3) and that of the Beloved Disciple in the final chapters (John 13-21). These parallels are conspicuous particularly in the opening and closing sequences (Jn 1:1-34; Jn 21), where the function of both characters is to point to, and reveal, the identity and destiny of Jesus, as presented in the Gospel of John. What this narrative equivalence amounts to is an identification between the two figures, whose testimony encases the Gospel, ensuring its literary endurance beyond their demise. This paper argues that the correspondence between John the Baptist and the Beloved Disciple is an exegetical and hermeneutical tool to ensure the legitimacy and protraction of the fourth evangelist’s witness to the Johannine Jesus beyond the oral antecedents.

The book of Daniel evidences the ambivalent relationship of the Danielic community with Chronicles. The community contests Chronicles’ interpretation of Jeremiah, although not explicitly. The book of Daniel does not mention the edict of Cyrus or the return of exiles. Daniel himself continues to remain in exile even after the rise of Cyrus. This depiction of exile should be understood as the community’s quiet rebuttal or respectful disagreement with parts of its inherited tradition. However, the Danielic community was still drawn to Chronicles for its message of hope and renewal. While Chronicles presents Israel’s exile as the result of her failure to give heed to the prophets’ warning out of stubbornness, it also highlights Israel’s ability to repent from her sin, which results in God’s gracious response of restoring her. The paramount example in this regard is Chronicles’ portrayal of King Manasseh. In this paper, I submit that the Danielic community appropriated the judgment passed on some of the Judean kings from the pre-exilic period for its assessment of gentile rulers of the exilic and post-exilic periods. The community attributed the ongoing dominance of the nations to the fact that even gentile rulers could repent and thus regain the favor of the God of Israel.

In this paper I propose one new lens to strengthen the traditional tri-/tetra-partite structure of the book of Ezekiel (i.e. Ezekiel 1-24; 25-32; 33-48). The prevalent scholarship tends to assume a tri-/tetra-partite structure for the book of Ezekiel (e.g. Cooke, Zimmerli, Fuhs, Hals, Allen, Blenkinsopp, etc.) based predominantly on thematic concerns (i.e. driven by an eschatological schema of judgment and restoration). One result of such neat division is that Ezekiel 25-32 (Oracles against Nations/OAN) is placed in a more detached position from the rest of the book of Ezekiel. On the other hand, scholars like Sweeney and Mayfield raise question about the tangibility of themes as sole justification for such division. They push for more concrete literary features such as the chronological formula as primary division markers for the book of Ezekiel. This paper suggests that, by searching another concrete literary feature, the insights from Sweeney and Mayfield can contribute and improve the more traditional and prevalent tri-/tetra- partite structure of the book of Ezekiel based predominantly on thematic compartmentalization. One way to provide such concrete justification is to note the occurrences and usage of the term 'goyim'in the book of Ezekiel. This is to be examined through four categorizations of such occurrences and usage: a. goy/goyim =Israel/Judah b. goyim’s interaction with Israel/Judah c. goyim’s interaction with particular foreign nations d. the absence of goy/goyim in Ezekiel 40-48. Ultimately through a survey of the interactions of goyim with Israel and specific foreign nations respectively, I argue that the OAN and the rest of the book of Ezekiel are two distinct sections yet could be read together as conveying a complementary message central around the unique identity of Israel in relation to Yahweh’s universal sovereignty.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has a long tradition of biblical scholarship, part of which is embodied in the tradition known as andemta, referring to the Amharic word which was used to introduce ‘and one more’ interpretation of a passage of Scripture. The contemporary printed editions of the andemta, which record the Biblical text in Ge’ez and then give Amharic translations and interpretations, date from the early eighteenth century CE, when the tradition that had developed over many centuries was formally written down, although many of the interpretations must be significantly older than this, as witnessed by the older Ge’ez interpretative tradition. The seminal work of Cowley identified the tradition as primarily ‘Antiochene’, due to the large and surprising contribution made by writers from the Church of the East, most notably the 11th century CE writer Abu‘l-Faraj ‘Abdallah ibn at ayyib al-‘Iraqi, also with significant material attributed to Theodore of Mopsuestia. Whilst the andemta do contain significant ‘Antiochene’ material there is much more besides, for instance the interpretations are punctuated by explanations that could only come from Ethiopian sources, that use rural Ethiopian examples to explain objects or events in the Bible. Another significant area is the discussion of what are termed abenat, or ‘textual variations’. The textual variations are of various kinds, and some of them appear to demonstrate an awareness of the different readings represented by the LXX and the Mesoretic text. The source for these textual variations is not given in the ’andemta, but their presence indicates, among other things, that traditional Ethiopian scholarship was aware of difference between the LXX and Mesoretic text before the eighteenth century CE. This paper presents initial soundings on the ab?nat found in the Octateuch and seeks to categorise the different types of textual variation found.

Werner H. Kelber’s groundbreaking study The Oral and Written Gospel (1983) has provided a new paradigm of thinking about the Jesus tradition with respect to its orality, performance, and social memory, which had not been explored by previous New Testament studies due to their form-critical and text-critical orientation. It is well known that Kelber applies various insights concerning oral media from cognate fields (such as classics, folkloristics, and anthropology) to Gospel studies. In this paper, following Kelber’s steps, I will compare the Jesus tradition behind the Gospels and Korean folksongs called pansori with respect to their performance and oral transmission. Pansori is a genre of Korean folk story, normally performed by a vocalist and a drummer in a combination of songs and narration. The earliest written record of pansori goes back to 1754 but it is generally agreed that it already existed by 1600s in the southern regions of Korean peninsula during the Chosun dynasty (1392–1897). Many scholars consider that pansori was created by chang-u groups (professional entertainers) related to hereditary shamans. Pansori grew from its diffuse sources among commoners in marketplaces to more established forms under the patronage of kings and nobles in the first half of the 19th century. During this golden age, pansori developed into three branches or schools (je) according to their geographical locations and lineage of transmission. The 1st century A.D. Gospels and the 17th century A.D. Korean folksongs obviously are not related to each other historically. Nonetheless, their performance and oral transmission process could have shared some common features with each other. I will focus on the particular role of performer in the oral transmission process of the two traditions: eyewitnesses and the other teachers of the Early Church for the Jesus tradition and the so-called “master-singers” (myoungchang) for pansori.

Early Jewish texts contain a wide variety of ways to depict salvation and resurrection, ranging from expectations of tangible bodily resurrection (e.g., 2 Maccabees) to visions of heavenly bliss (e.g., Epistle of Enoch) and combinations of the two (e.g., 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch). A common characteristic in many of these texts is the conviction that resurrection is needed to compensate the injustice that the righteous had to face prior to their death. Several early Christians shared this conviction. Especially those who understood resurrection as the resurrection of the body (or, more precisely, as the resurrection of the flesh) argued that the same body that was tormented and martyred on the one hand, or wallowed in pleasures on the other hand, must be rewarded or punished. Otherwise, justice would not prevail. However, in other writings, the link between resurrection and compensation disappears - for example, bodily resurrection does not play a prominent role in early Christian martyrologies that frequently depict the reward of the martyr as an immediate ascent to heaven at the moment of the martyr’s death. In the early Christian scene, resurrection becomes to function on a different level: it is used as a boundary marker that separates true Christians from those who only pretend to be. In this paper, I will first discuss the different ways resurrection is understood in some pseudepigraphical texts and how it functions as a recompense for injustice. I will then show how this conviction is both continued and discontinued in early Christianity. Last, I will give examples of how differently formulated beliefs in resurrection are used to set a boundary between insiders and outsiders among the early Christian movement.

This paper will discuss the connection between the violent realities of ancient Israel and the nature of the god Yahweh. I will argue here that the anger of the god of Israel is a direct result of Israelite experiences of trauma. In many ways, violence was endemic to ancient Israelite society, and so it is unsurprising that Israelite writers projected this violence, and their strategies for coping with it, onto their god. In many different biblical books, we find what I would call “theologies of emotional distance.” In these, violence is presented as a punishment exacted by Yahweh against a wayward and deserving people. Prophetic and other texts do not elicit sympathy; they negate sympathy—and create emotional distance—through their violent imagery and their theologies of “blaming the victim.” One can make the case, however, that the very anger of Yahweh is a coping strategy on the part of biblical authors for dealing with trauma. Anger allows one distance from pain; as many psychological and anthropological studies have shown, rage is a strategy of survival in the face of trauma. The elaborate revenge fantasies of the Hebrew Bible’s eschatological passages sometimes shift the anger from victim to perpetrator. Yet, they, too, create emotional distance from violence through their allegorization of people and events, their extremely dualistic worldview, and their depiction of divine retribution on a cosmic scale. Thus, the anger of Yahweh, in various genres of biblical literature, is the result of Israelite responses to trauma. This paper will contribute to the growing body of scholarship relating research on trauma to biblical texts, while pushing this area of inquiry further by presenting a new understanding of various biblical texts.

David’s dirge over the mighty who have fallen is one of the most well-known poems in the Hebrew Bible. Musical settings enhance this text through various technical devices. Texts about grief and mourning are somehow completed and fulfilled with music. Words can only describe emotion, while music can evoke it. Readers are unlikely to cry reading David’s dirge, but music can certainly elicit tears. Humanizing David has been a goal of artists and composers in every era. In operas and oratorios based on his story, David sings his most emotional music when his heart is broken, such as in this lament. These are also his most emotional outbursts in the biblical narrative, and some of the most famous verses. By making David’s grief palpable and real, the musical settings also make the man David more human. I will discuss musical settings of David’s dirge from three 20th-century works: Arthur Honegger (Le Roi David, oratorio,1921), Darius Milhaud (David, opera, 1954), and Christopher Brown (David: A Cantata (1970). The music strongly suggests deeper feelings than the text alone does. There are standard musical markers of grief, such as descending musical lines and funeral march rhythm. These are found in all three of these otherwise very different works. Such common markers trigger an emotional response in the listener because they are universally associated with death and loss. Musical examples will be offered and explained. Music creates an inner world of the heart and mind. Music depicting grief, the focus here, has the power to pull the listener into an orbit of lament which is more immediately effective than any text alone can be.

The House of David has commonly been considered synonymous with Judah and the Davidic monarchy, both in terms of biblical historiography and in the ninth-century Tel Dan Inscription. Yet the term may originally have identified a small group that followed the leadership of a figure named David, and was only later used synonymously with the royal dynasty and Judah. Evidence outside ancient Israel attests to such a construction, specifically the phrase “House of X” for Iron Age Aramean polities, where X often represents a local ruler or ancestor. The clearest evidence of this is found in the ninth/eighth-century Assyrian annals and in the eighth-century Aramaic Sefire Inscriptions. The goal of this paper is to lay the foundations for understanding the House of David in the ninth and eighth centuries within the broader phenomenon of terminology outside the Bible. The designations of “house” and “X” vary depending on the polity and the context, yet the terminology may be tied up in a political organization that is tribal, though equally expressed in city centers and kingdoms. Any solution will have to take into consideration the integration of tribal structures and city-centered kingdoms in the larger fabric of ancient society. In addition, the terminology does not appear to be distinctly Assyrian, and its application in the Assyrian Inscriptions may depend on the need to create a political characterization of groups that are not fully understood. The Tel Dan Inscription also points to a way of naming “the other”, even while the House of X terminology may be indigenous to Aramean polities. This paper will carefully examine the “House of X” in ancient Near Eastern historiography to show how the primary political identification of the House of David may have been with a population, not a royal family, before its clear identification with Judah.

The apocalypses of Daniel allude to the book of Isaiah several times, often in related ways. They do not simply refer covertly to or exegete Isaiah, but rather allude to Isaiah after the manner of a figurative trope akin to metaphor. Primarily, the function of this recurring allusive trope is to contribute to Daniel's vivid narrative characterization of "the nations" and the span of their rule over the people Israel. This presentation argues that a theoretically grounded examination of such allusions not only generates insights into the intent of the text, but generates contributions to scholarly discourse on literary allusion, biblical or non-biblical. When biblical studies is at its theoretical best, it not only partakes of its ancillary disciplines—such as archaeology, literary criticism, social and cultural studies, or linguistics—but gives back to them as well, developing and contributing to academic discourse in those ancillary disciplines. Unfortunately, the study of inner-biblical allusion, while sometimes drawing on non-biblical literary criticism of allusion, has struggled even to accomplish mutually intelligibility among its practitioners, still less to develop its own contributions to allusion criticism. The extensive literature on allusion as a figurative trope, and on its relation to different kinds of metaphor or to semioticians' conceptions of signs and signifieds, is reasonably often cited while only rarely engaged in sustained detail. While the many independent assessments of inner-biblical allusion in the scholarship have given rise to generative and insightful readings of allusive texts, the development of inner-biblical allusion as a coherent field of study in relationship with "secular" literary criticism has been slow and fragmentary. Assessing select allusions to Isaiah in apocalytpic Daniel, in rigorous and consistent conversation with non-biblical allusion criticism regarding allusion, metaphor, signification, metalepsis, and the roles of text and reader in the generation of meaning, this presentation demonstrates some of the yet-unrealized possibilities for a theoretically grounded biblical scholarship of literary allusion as a figurative trope.

Many scholars have viewed the oldest strata of the Exodus narrative as a “charter myth” originating in support of the founding of the northern monarchy in the late 10th century BCE. Consequently, the prominence of the Exodus motif in later traditions associated with Levites has led some to conclude that the Levites were originally an integral part of this process and held official positions in the northern state cult. Evidence preserved in the Pentateuch, however, suggests that the situation was more complex and fractious than this, and that the founding of the northern cult and promulgation of the Exodus narrative as a charter myth occasioned a strong and sustained tradition of protest by many Levites in the north. This paper will suggest that an antecedent, pre-monarchic Exodus tradition firmly rooted in the old mythology of the Divine Warrior was sustained by these Levites and led to the formation of polemical works such as the Golden Calf tale (Exodus 32) and the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32). These inter-related works contributed to an effort to portray the northern monarchy itself as an embodiment of the mythic midbar and the locus of YHWH’s cosmic enemies – the very opposite of the Exodus myth espoused by the agents of the northern state.

(This is a key subject of my sabbatical book project—Word Becoming Flesh: Wisdom and Appropriation). Working inter-disciplinarily through the juxtaposition of three areas of inquiry: a) the interconnectedness of contemporary theories of globalization-contextualization-appropriation of the biblical texts (whether a few “common denominators” can be identified? [E.g. “context selection”]); b) the empirics of reading (i.e. Osborne’s “hermeneutical spiral”; the transitive affect of the text upon readers [Heschel]—further elaborated in Schuyler Brown’s Text and Psyche: Experiencing Scripture today; the dialogical and transformational model of Biblical Interpretation [M. Bakhtin, Daniel Sanchez, J. Vanier & F. Young]); and c) Narratival Interpretive Model (i.e. the interpretive “thrust” that calls for readers’ self-involvement in engaging text, allowing the biblical text to shape our own “life-person [Blumenthal]/life-world [Thiselton]/text-of-life [Leung Lai]”), I seek to hammer out an original version toward a methodology of “Context Biblical Interpretation.” Prominent in this outcome is the idea of “re-living” and “re-expressing” out of one’s gender-culture-context-situatedness. In the past, the “hows” of moving from textual meaning to contextual significance were primarily discussed on the conceptual level. Somehow, we need a methodology to strategically position “contextualization” at the core of the advances in the biblical field—this is my ultimate goal.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem some time after 538 BCE, the returnees let by Zerubbabel were approached by a group of people whom Ezra 4:1 refers to as "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin", who requested, "Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of King Esarhaddon of Assyria who brought us here." Most commentators identify these "adversaries" as the people later known as the Samaritans, although other proposals do exist. An apparently similar group are mentioned in verse 10 as "the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River". This paper examines the question of their claim to foreign origin: why would they make this claim, rather than claim to be indigenous, YHWH-worshipping, Israelites? Is this claim simply Judean propaganda? Or would the leaders of the "adversaries" have considered it advantageous to be descended from foreign deportees? This question will be examined in light of Assyrian deportation policies and the archaeological record, and we will propose a solution that might shed light on the "ethnogenesis" of the Samaritans during the Persian Period.

Until recently, the post-70 era in Jewish history had been regarded as one of general decline (rabbinic society excepted). Following the crises caused by the three failed revolts of 70, 116, and 132 CE, the triumph of Christianity in the fourth century was assumed to have marked the end of a long era of overall toleration and acceptance under pagan rule. A far more discriminatory ambience, with all its attendant negativity, was now crystallizing and had been regarded as the dawn of the Middle Ages. This perception was founded on three factors: (1) hostile Byzantine imperial legislation; (2) the continuous harangue against Jews and Judaism by church fathers, who regarded both as posing a real danger of corrupting Christians in their beliefs and practices; and (3) the surfacing violence against the Jews that took the form of attacks on Jewish property, the demolition of synagogues and in some cases converting them into churches, and, finally, several attempts at coercive conversion to Christianity. This rather grim picture has been seriously challenged in recent decades. Along with the reevaluation of existing sources, the material found in archaeological excavations and in the Cairo Genizah have suggested a very different picture of Jewish life in Late Antiquity. This is particularly the case with regard to Jewish art in this era, which attests to the flourishing of strikingly creative expressions of new motifs and patterns. These dimensions, as well as their implications and ramifications, will be discussed with regard to Jewish society at this time.

Dichotomies Be Damned: Investigation and Inspiration in the New Testament

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In the course of his preaching, John Chrysostom repeatedly urges his congregations to make their houses into churches and suggests a variety of concrete practices whereby they can achieve this goal. Some of these practices—such as inscriptions on doors and windows and the careful positioning of ritualized objects—have a pronounced apotropaic aspect and have interesting parallels in the wider literary and archaeological record. Other prescribed activities—such as scriptural readings and prayers—have left no material trace, and we cannot be certain that they were ever practiced. But what we can know is that these recommendations formed a whole in the mind of John Chrysostom. In this paper, I propose to consider all of these practices together for what they can tell us about the household as both a ritualized space, and a conceptual system. This focus on the house as a unified field of devotional activity would thus build on the work already done by Silke Trzcionka, whose generic treatment of magical practices in 4th century Syria precluded any systematic consideration of locales. In addition to shedding interesting light on extra-ecclesial devotions in late antiquity, this paper promises to illuminate John Chrysostom’s understanding of the constituent elements of a church and the role of domestic practices in reinforcing Christian identity.

In recent decades, the methodological perspective of so-called New Philology has been developed in studies of medieval French and Norse literature as an alternative and complementary perspective to other philological approaches. New Philology basically suggests that copies of texts do not produce variants: they are variance. Hence, each copy is regarded a literary product per se. From the perspective of New Philology, literary works do not exist independently of their material embodiment. Rather, the physical form of the text is an integral part of its meaning – also when the text in focus is a copy of an earlier text witness. A main principle of New Philology is that physical objects like manuscripts come into being at particular times and places and for particular purposes, and that we cannot interpret the texts without taking into consideration how these contexts are part of their meaning. Discussions of the historical transmission and various functions of the Pseudepigrapha have been raised by, among others, Marinus de Jonge, Robert A. Kraft and Jim Davila. Kraft has pointed out that most writings categorized as “Pseudepigrapha” do not survive in their “original” versions – the manuscripts that contain them have more often been produced, preserved, used, and transmitted in various forms in medieval or late antique Christian milieus: regardless of their original provenance these texts are in this regard Christian materials and integral to a medieval/late antique Christian media culture. This paper aims to further the insights of Kraft and others by discussing how a new-philological perspective could provide new entry points to the study of pseudepigraphical texts that (a) survive in one or few manuscripts – while the text was probably once living literature (e.g. 2 Baruch), (b) appear in different versions in different cultural contexts – stressing that copies are variance rather than variants of an assumed original text (e.g. Enoch material), (c) are part of a manuscript context – noting that the text in question is one among other texts and part of a physical artefact: a material contexts that in all due probability affected the interpretation of the text (e.g. 4 Ezra) (d) were part of a larger media culture where (ritual) performance, orality-aurality, and memorization played key roles.

The importance of the history of conjectural emendation has long been overlooked in New Testament textual criticism. Nevertheless, many conjectures have been proposed over the centuries, and a number of these are still mentioned in the critical apparatus of Nestle-Aland 27. In Amsterdam, an attempt is being made to map the history of New Testament conjectural emendation. This paper will present the research project as a whole. It pictures the importance of studying conjectural emendation by focusing on the “historical turn” in textual criticism. It presents the choices made for the various parts of the project, and gives a number of examples of conjectures that are considered relevant for new editions as well. Furthermore, it will introduce the database of conjectures on the New Testament that is being created in Amsterdam at the moment.

To shed light on the patterns of rhetoric in the New Testament, students of early Christian literature have long looked to normative rhetorical patterns of the Greco-Roman world as a context for, and source of influence on, early Christian authors. However, interest has arisen in looking to Ancient Judaisms and their literature, including that of the early Rabbinic movement, as another, complementary source for understanding the range of formal modes of argumentation in use in the New Testament. This paper follows last year's in continuing to proffer an indicative sampling of the dominant rhetorical patterns in evidence in early rabbinic legal literature from the late 2nd to late 5th centuries CE. Last year, a primer of rhetorical patterns in Mishnah and Tosefta was provided. The current paper continues in the same vein with the presentation of core rhetorical patterns characterizing the Halakhic Midrashim and the Talmud Yerushalmi. While scholars have identified in early Rabbinic texts patterns comparable to the formal canons of Greco-Roman rhetoric, the purpose of this paper is, again, to present early Rabbinic literature’s rhetorical patterns in their own right. While we do not have evidence that would permit us confidently to date the formal literary traits that characterize the earliest document’s of the rabbinic corpus to the period of the New Testament authors, early Rabbinic literature’s dominant rhetorical traits provide another comparator for understanding the rhetorical patterns of the New Testament in context.

Most studies of the 6th century mosaics at St. Katherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sinai depicting Moses and the Burning Bush, Moses receiving the Tablets, and the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ focus on how the works of art engender a transformation in the believing viewers, enabling them to “see,” or rather “glimpse,” the divine. The valuable studies of both Elsner and Andreopoulos explore this type of “mystic viewing” of the beholder. In contrast to their vantage point, this paper centers on two aspects of the visual impact of the mosaics, implicit in their composition and arrangement, and facilitated in the commentaries. The first aspect is the exploration of what the believers possibly see of the divine beyond the narrative stories, from evidence in the mosaics, grounded in the Biblical texts, and guided by the several expositions on Moses and the Transfiguration scattered throughout the writings of the Cappadocian Fathers. The second aspect is the investigation of how the divine presence is evoked apophatically in spaces, obstructions, abstractions, pauses, suggestions, and silence. Methodologically the paper first establishes just how much – or how little -- the texts, the commentaries, and the mosaics allow for divine presence and divine absence. Tracing the movement of antitheses in both the mosaics and the texts, the paper explores the literary and visual cues for divine presence and withdrawal. Careful analysis of the motion in the mosaics and the texts exposes the series of contrasts, such as the natural world/eternity, mortal/immortal, blindness/seeing, sleep/waking, thick cloud/divine darkness, all so crucial to evoking, and accessing, the divine presence. As such the contrasts set the stage of the dynamism of divine presence, since it is ever elusive and potentially annihilating to humanity. Next the role of all the senses except taste in the perception of divinity is dealt with. How the senses both invite the divine presence in communication yet are themselves circumscribed by divinity is explored. Finally, within the context of the Transfiguration mosaic and the two depicting Moses, the paper questions the premise that divinity is always visible in the person of Jesus, the incarnate Logos. The vocabulary of the three mosaics and the literary texts is much more ambiguous than the teachings on the two natures of Christ, pronounced at the Council of Chalcedon, would have it. In conclusion the paper sums up the apophatic vision as divine presence or absence, and what this might say about the nature of humanity and divinity.

Basil Wolverton (1909-1978), the influential “Michelangelo of Mad Magazine,” has of late enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. A posthumous retrospective of his work was held during the summer of 2009 at Barbara Gladstone Gallery, one of New York's premier “blue chip” galleries, which represents some of the most established figures in the contemporary art world (e.g., Anish Kapoor, Mathew Barney, etc.). The exhibition at Gladstone led to an article in The New York Times, followed by the publication of a number of books showcasing a hodgepodge of Basil Wolverton’s drawings. However, despite this recent interest, there has been little scholarly investigation into the art and life of Basil Wolverton. While Wolverton is best known for his brilliantly grotesque illustrations that appeared in Mad Magazine, he also devoted a substantial amount of time to creating religious illustrations for Herbert W. Armstrong's idiosyncratic millenarian “Radio Church of God,” headquartered in Pasadena, California. Most prominent among his religious works was a children’s bible written and illustrated by Wolverton, which was first issued in installments in Armstrong’s The Plain Truth magazine. The Bible Story, a liberally adapted version of the Hebrew Bible, was later printed in six parts totaling over 1300 pages. Additionally, Wolverton created a number of drawings illustrating the Book of Revelation, published both in The Plain Truth magazine and in two apocalyptic pamphlets printed in 1956: 1975 in Prophesy and The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last. Despite the heterodoxy of his teachings, Armstrong’s radio program, “The World Tomorrow,” reached its popular apex in the 1950s with almost five million listeners. It was during this time that Armstrong and Wolverton collaborated on the two aforementioned pamphlets which guaranteed an immanent apocalypse. These pamphlets are thought to contain Wolverton's finest religious work. In this paper, I will focus on Wolverton’s pamphlets in order to re-contextualize his work, which is almost invariably viewed independently of the context for which it was originally created. Unlike typical biblical illustrations of the period, which attempt to emphasize the Bible’s historic venerability, Wolverton’s striking illustrations, I will argue, stress the extreme urgency of the present situation. Through this exploration I hope to elucidate the creative symbiosis of America’s most bizarre radio prophet, Herbert W. Armstrong, and the insurmountably strange art of Basil Wolverton.

One common dismissal of the biblical material by those active in the so-called New Atheist Movement is the description of the Old Testament as bronze age goat herders' fairy-tales. With this as a starting point, this paper addresses how the religions of ancient Israel and the biblical texts are often misrepresented in this popular literature and online resources. Of course, such characterizations are academically indefensible but for their proponents they serve to relegate the biblical materials to the past and to highlight that the Bible should be inadmissible in discussions of scientific topics or modern political and ethical questions. Some secular biblical scholars may well share the overall goal of de-privileging the Bible in modern discourse and so the question of the relationship between scholarship and activism with its sometimes less than academic rhetoric becomes an important issue. Without seeking to defend the Bible's relevance to the modern world (while admitting that relevance is a subjective evaluation) this paper argues that secular biblical scholars should be as concerned about these kinds of anti-religious mischaracterizations of ancient Israel and the Bible as they are of the literalist and conservative religious misrepresentations of biblical origins. This is especially the case when mischaracterizations are found in contexts which do influence how people address social issues, such as the works of influential writers such as Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins. Mischaracterization impacts the perception of the worth of the humanities as a broad discipline and can have more serious political implications. This paper, then, seeks to open a dialogue on the social roles and responsibilities of the secular study of ancient Israel and the Bible.

Ramat Rahel is the site of the only palace known archaeologically from Judah. It was traditionally dated to the 8th-7th centuries BCE and related to the kings of the kingdom Judah. From the first excavations at the site it was clear that there is a riddle concerning the Persian period: On the one hand, the palatial compound that was excavated at the site was dated to the Iron Age. On the other hand the presence of hundreds of yhwd stamped handles and many other finds from the Persian Period remained with no apparent architectural context accept for some poorly built walls and installations that were attributed by the excavator to both the Persian and late Hellenistic periods (Stratum IVB). The renewed excavations at the site had exposed many fascinating finds that are to be dated to the Persian period. Especially important in the royal garden that was revealed during the new excavations. Standard archaeological procedures could not reveal the garden's flora, as no secure archaeo-botanical remains could be retrieved. A unique method of extracting fossil pollen from ancient plaster enabled us for the first time to reconstruct the exact vegetation components of the royal garden. It became clear that some of the more prominent flora, like the Citron (Citrus medica) and the Persian walnut, is not native to the Judean hills and should be traced to its origins in Persia and even India. These and other revelations concerning the garden shed light on the cultural world of the residence's inhabitants. In this paper we will present for the first time the garden, the architecture and all other associated finds from the Persian period (5th-3th century BCE), as excavated at Ramat Ra?el. Our explorations will demonstrate how Ramat Ra?el reached its zenith during the Persian period, serving as an imperial administrative center. We will also demonstrate that the site declined towards the end of the Persian period only to regain some importance toward the later part of the Hellenistic period.

Lively and varied recent scholarship on the Acts of Paul (and Thecla) suggests certain disciplinary habits of mind in the study of ancient novelistic texts. In the classroom, rather than simply presenting the results of scholarship, one may invite students to participate in at least some of the questions, conflicts, and negotiations that mark research and analysis. Recent work with the Acts of Paul (and Thecla) suggests ways to engage students in learning literary reading practices, contesting views of the canonical Paul, tracing the transmission of ancient texts, and analyzing later reception of the figures of Paul and Thecla.

The Aramaic language has two words for fire in its lexicon: nur and išša. Utilizing the targumim as a corpus and qualia roles as a means of classification, this paper presents a clearer understanding of the lexical meaning for the two words. In dialects where the words are clearly distinguished, išša is a natural element governed by a sacred agent. Nur, however, is an artifactual element with a profane agent and an explicit purpose. Due to the fact that the two words share the same Constitutive Role (same physical substance), there is a degree of overlap which led at first to their interchangeability and later to the predominance of nur.

“The impact of childlessness on psychological well being among elderly Chinese is more robust than that found in older Americans” (Kee-Lee CHOU & Iris CHI 2004:457). Indeed, childlessness is a social-psychological issue not just bothering Chinese older adults, but also other age groups. In this paper, childlessness in Luke-Acts, a neglected theme in the Forschungsgeschichte, is rediscovered through Chinese contextual reading. Entry points are two remarkable Lukan dictions, that is, “womb” (koinia) and “barren” (steira), which are clearly connected with the childlessness motif. To be more specific, in Chinese context, childlessness is clustered with other social issues, for instance one-child policy, advanced maternal age, childfree, bias for boys, trafficking of children, surrogacy, national tragedies (e.g. 2008 Sichuan earthquake), and so forth. The discussion is fourfold in this paper. Right at the beginning of Luke, a childless couple is introduced, namely Zacharius and Elizabeth, who are emphasized as having “no child” and “advanced in age” (Luke 1:7). Much more, Elizabeth is highlighted as being “called barren” (Luke 1:36; cf. 1:7). Their righteousness and childlessness recalls us the case of Abraham’s family (Acts 7:5). Another case study is the aged widow prophetess Anna. Although the text does not mention whether she has any child, she is described to live as if childless, for instance, “She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:37). Several one-child families facing childlessness are investigated (Luke 7:1-10, 11-17; 8:40-56; 9:37-43). The most eye-catching case is the resurrection-debate in Luke 20:27-40 (cf. Mark 12:18-27 and Matt 22:23-33). Only in the context of Luke-Acts does the recurring Lukan childlessness motif bring new insights to this synoptic pericope. The pericope, not only laments childlessness of a woman, but redefines her identity and dignity by getting rid of marriage and childbearing.

The religious figure Paul the Apostle has returned to continental philosophy as an inspiration for various thinkers. This paper focuses on one of these thinkers, the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek and interprets his turn to Paul as an expression of what has been called ‘the return of religion’. The paper suggests that religion returns in Žižek through an attempt of secularizing Paul and what Zizek calls his “orthodox” Christianity. Does this version of religious orthodoxy lead to an old male-centered religion? Paul has been used to legitimize the subordination throughout the history of Christianity. The article analyzes Žižek’s return to Paul in relation to sexual differences, using Žižek’s reading of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians 3, 28 as a symptom of this. Žižek is not recognizing the struggle for gender equality and sexual rights as a truly universal struggle. The class struggle is the place for the true Universalism in the Pauline sense of the word, according to Žižek.

Steven Runge’s Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament (2010) and tagged Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament (2008) or LDGNT represent an ambitious attempt to provide a function based and cross-linguistic approach to discourse that is flexible and “robust enough to handle the mess” of actual language use (p.4). Drawing heavily upon Stephen Levinsohn throughout, Runge emphasizes Levinsohn’s warning against two pitfalls in analyzing texts: neglecting conventional syntactic or semantic explanations for more complex and convoluted text-linguistic ones and not correlating text-linguistic rules to conventional ones. Foundational premises for Runge are that “Choice implies meaning” (§1.1), “Semantic or inherent meaning should be differentiated from pragmatic effect” (§1.2), and “Default patterns of usage should be distinguished from marked ones” (§1.3). Although Runge achieves much with his efforts in these two works, especially by utilizing insights from cognitive science and information structure, hardly any macro discourse features are accounted for, since much of Runge’s attention is given to marked features at the sentence and paragraph levels. Exceptions include his discussion of conjunctions (§2), which is incomplete and treats only a handful of particles; and framing devices, which however often function at these micro levels. Admittedly, one should begin descriptions with the sentence level and build up. However, in this paper I will not try to improve on Runge here to any great degree, but will continue to fill in what remains lacking. For even at the sentence level, much more work needs to be done identifying non-routine or marked features of Greek grammar and syntax that involve choice and thus meaning. For example, forward placed genitives, non-routine verb tenses, periphrastic participles, rhetorical questions expecting yes or no answers, to name a few. Having utilized for nearly twenty years the theory and explanations of discourse theory and semantics from Robert Traina, David Bauer, Robert Longacre, Eugene Nida, Johannes Louw, George Guthrie, Stanley Porter, Runge, and others, I have identified and described more than fourteen places of “emphasis” in discrete constructions denoting prominence discernable at the sentence and discourse levels, which I have called formal, framing, focal, final, intensive, additive, correlative, interrogative, verbal, subjectival, genitival, adjectival, pronominal, and lexical. Although Runge reserves the word “emphasis” only for new, focal information placed forward in P2 position based upon the work of Simon Dik (pp. 191-94, 200, 224, 237; §13), there is great benefit to delineate “emphasis” more broadly. Moreover, one often observes more than one type of emphasis occurring simultaneously, thus creating increased prominence within the discourse. This leads to another difficulty with Runge’s Discourse Grammar at present, and its implementation in the LDGNT—inconsistency of identification of categories and the difficulty of assigning overlapping or concurrent constructions simultaneously to sentence elements. For example, throughout 2 Corinthians, one can find numerous instances of missed identification and in lesser frequency wrong or disputable identification. Thus, this paper will investigate some of these places, while more substantially describing these fourteen types of emphasis to achieve prominence within the discourse.

In recent years an increasing interest in the social and historical role of the priests after the destruction of the temple occurred in the field of Early Judaism. One main aspect in research is to trace the historical and social survival of the priests after they lost their main function in the temple. For some scholars the Pentateuchal Targums, especially Targum Pseudo Jonathan, imply distinct priestly interests. A different kind of evidence about the destiny of priests after 70 which has been vividly discussed, are the inscriptions of the names of the twenty four priestly Courses Mishmarot found in synagogues of the 4th and 5th century. Besides the historical attitudes to the question what happened to the priests I am interested in the image of priests and priesthood in Jewish literature after the destruction of the second temple and how this image was shaped. The writings of Josephus belong to the sources from which we know that priests and priesthood are considered as valuable institutions. Reasons why priests and priesthood are treated in a positive way by Josephus range from biographical experiences and views of the priest Josephus, his awareness of the high reputation of priests in the eyes of roman authorities to his personal belief that priests combine in an ideal way important functions of spiritual and political leadership. While these biographical reasons will be considered, I shall, however, place the main focus on the issue how he defines and describes the functions of priests. I will concentrate on his description of the inauguration of Aaron through God via Moses in A 3:188-192 his admiration of John Hyrcan and his thoughts about a so called Jewish Constitution in Contra Apionem (2:185-198). I shall state that Josephus positive image of priests and priesthood does not only represent the memory of an ideal priesthood of the past but also favors priestly leadership after 70 C.E.

James 2:18 is "one of the most difficult New Testament passages in general" (Dibelius), because its most straightforward reading has an antagonist laying a strange challenge at James' door: "You have faith and I have works." James is the one affirming the importance of works and accusing others of "mere" faith. Thus the interlocutor's talk seems back-to-front. Many solutions have been proposed to clarify this enigma, but (as yet) none seems to have won the day. In this paper I wish to explore the fresh alternative that the interlocutor is "Money," i.e. someone akin to the fictitious wealthy person of 1:2-4, who claims that it is only right that some (like him/herself) are "workers" (i.e. benefactors), while others (like James and his audience) are "trusters" -having no immediate obligations to provide for the poor. James' denial that his audience can think this way becomes indicative of a larger clash between the Jewish hesed tradition and Greco-Roman ideals of benefaction/patronage -a hostile intersection several authors in recent years have proposed for Mediterranean Judaism (cf. MacGillivray, Schwartz, and Sorek). In line with rhetorical readings of the past, I will suggest that Jas 2 should be seen as a self-contained argument, but that vv. 14-26 should (more specifically) be read as "diatribal" deliberation, following James' deliberative argument of vv. 1-13. Herein v. 14 would start with a pithy and pertinent question ("What then is the advantage?"), whereby some are asking what possible benefit is to be gained from shunning a potential benefactor. Besides tying 1-13 and 14-26 closer together, this rhetorical alternative for vv. 14 f. clarifies how Jas 2:18 could be a three-way discussion between the interlocutor, audience and James. This is question time, wherein James anticipates open and potentially heated debate over an eternally inflammatory subject: money.

Most of us are now familiar with the discursive tradition of representing American exceptionalism through the imagery of Scripture -- in the "city on a hill," for instance, or in metaphors of virtuous newness such as the "new world" and "promised land" -- and the way in which this tradition peaked in the language of recent presidential administrations. Somewhat less recognized is the manner in which this imagery characterizes (or leaves strangely uncharacterized) other nations, the very context that defines such nationalistic exceptionalism. Perhaps even more surprising is the near-absence of Pauline images from this discourse: should we not expect the self-described apostle to the ethne to contribute significantly to the dynamics of national and imperial exegesis today? This proposal analyzes portrayals of the nations (and the U.S. vis-a-vis the nations) within this exceptionalist tradition, especially during the George W. Bush administration; the limited role that Paul’s letters play therein; and, no less surprising, their equally limited role in critically responsive interpretations of Scripture. Contributions from biblical studies to this critical side of the discussion, such as the "Paul in Critical Contexts" series and Walsh and Keesmaat's "Colossians Remixed," will be considered, but a premium will also be placed on popular and scholarly theological texts -- whether for, against, or ambivalent about exceptionalism -- that redeploy Pauline images normatively and/or confessionally to the construction of contemporary, meaning-making discourses. These redeployments will then be critically categorized according to respective emphases, such as various personal/spiritual responses to the "War on Terror" and its aftermath; citizenship in the world, its nations, and God's kingdom; and redefinitions of what it means to be human in a post-9/11 and post-Bush (and post-Obama?) age. These categories will inform a concluding series of constructive suggestions for reading Paul in this often factious sociopolitical climate.

This paper explores portrayals of the violence of “barbarian” raids on Scetis by Egyptian ascetics and their late ancient contemporaries, considering how sources interpreted this moment as catastrophic for the project of desert asceticism and as a justified divine punishment for ascetics’ failure to maintain their virtuous life in the desert. Both Augustine and Philostorgius describe these besieged ascetics, couching the attack within descriptions of the many calamities ravaging the larger late ancient world (earthquakes, fires, etc.). More specifically, the paper juxtaposes the raid with two contemporary travesties, the sack of Rome and the struggles surrounding the First Origenist Controversy. The sources themselves invite such comparison, for some of them rhetorically construct the Scetian raid in parallel to the sack of Rome, an event that was itself read within a larger narrative of natural and human-induced disasters. In this way, the Scetian attack was viewed as a devastation on par with the penetration of Rome. Similarly, relating the Scetian raid to the violence performed at the neighboring ascetic site of Nitria highlights the varying rhetorical purposes of descriptions of violence against Egyptian ascetics. While the violence at Scetis was perpetrated against all its ascetic inhabitants as divine retribution for misbehavior (misfocus, lack of virtue, the presence of young males), violence at Nitria was enacted by Bishop Theophilus against a portion of ascetics perceived as Origenists, thus producing and delineating “orthodox” and “heterodox” ascetics. All of these negotiated relationships indicate how violence to desert asceticism at Scetis was appropriated and deployed as an important node of broader late ancient self-understanding. The “loss” of Scetis for ascetics through “barbarian” violence sharply marked the end of the “Golden Age” of asceticism, God’s demarcating of ascetic (and more generally late ancient people’s) access to the divine intimacy once offered by life in the desert.

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This paper explores the implications of Scott’s theory in Domination and the Arts of Resistance with regard to the use and potential of language as well as to speech-ethical instruction in the Gospel of Matthew. Scott uses the term ‚hidden transcript‘ for the critique of the ruling powers that goes on offstage. In public the oppressed accept their domination, but offstage they create counter-ideologies of implicit resistance. This theory becomes specifically relevant in the communication of NT ethical discourses on the use of language in inter-personal speech with a view to the potential of language in constructing reality. The paper explores to what extent NT language and instructions on the use of language convey the ideologies and worldview of a resistance group.

Priestly literature gives expression to Yhwh’s sole divinity in ways utterly unlike the “classic” expressions of monotheism in Deuteronomy, Deutero-Isaiah, or Jeremiah. Rather than denying explicitly the existence of other gods, or asserting Yhwh’s sole existence, priestly writers portray a world in which none but Yhwh could exist. While some biblical scholars have recognized this “implicit” mode of monotheizing in priestly literature, the implications of this mode for a broader understanding of biblical monotheism and its history have gone unappreciated. In this paper I seek to situate priestly modes of monotheizing within a broad taxonomy of various “explicit” and “implicit” modes of monotheizing in the Hebrew Bible. I suggest that there is considerable inner-biblical diversity on question of what constitutes a threat to Yhwh’s sole divinity, how writers express Yhwh’s oneness, and of what distinguishes Yhwh categorically. This paper also challenges models of biblical monotheism that eschew such diversity by (1) assuming a stable set of criteria for determining when a text espouses monotheism, and then by (2) applying those criteria to the Hebrew Bible to reconstruct monotheism’s development.

Despite the difficulty of unpacking all the figures of speech, there can be little doubt that the final poem of Qohelet (12:1-7) depicts aging and death. Whether taken as allegorical, literal, figurative, or some combination thereof, the poem displays an eschatological dimension which is sometimes taken lightly by interpreters as purely rhetorical. This is an unfortunate mischaracterization as, for Qohelet at least, the end of one’s life is indeed the end of the entire world. In this poem the cosmological disaster is stripped of its eschatological significance it has in the prophetic literature and is reapplied to individual death. In a sense, therefore, the cosmic eschatology has been deconstructed and reconstructed into personal eschatology. Moreover, the eschatology found in the text is very theocentric. It is significant that Qohelet turns the reader’s attention to the Creator (v.1) more than to the eschatological realities as such. This Creator is the same God to whom the living soul (life-breath) will return (v.7). After all, God who created the universe can and will, Qohelet briskly reminds his readers, destroy it. The poem is meant to be read as a visualization of what awaits everyone, the young and vivacious included. It is therefore a reminder (thus memento mori) for the value of what life offers to each person. Life, as it turns out, is achingly short and transient (hebel) but nevertheless valuable and precious so as to be embraced and savored (thus carpe diem). In an irony true to its author, it is precisely this sober and intimate poem about the inevitability of death that presents to us the strongest affirmation of life.

It should be no surprise that ancient Near Eastern "literary" texts, or what the late A.L. Oppenheim called texts of the "stream of tradition," exhibit references to one another or to statements or turns of phrase taken from otherwise non-surviving sources, whether written or oral. No surprise, because, on the one hand, many of these texts are what may be called "traditional": texts composed and recomposed sometimes over centuries, thus in a process of continual intra-textual, if not inter-textual reference. And the composer/transmitters, where we can observe them, were largely, if not exclusively, scribal elites, for whom the ability to undertake, indeed, to perform, textual reference was a primary means of manifesting their self-identity and self-esteem. To refer or not to refer, however, remains for the modern interpreter the question here. And it may be divided into three sub-queries. (1) What kinds of references do we meet in these ancient Near Eastern texts? If the assumption is that they are intentional, still is that intention explicitly marked or implicit? Are the references to other texts and sources to be classified as citations, allusions, reformulations, or something else? (2) How can we recognize these references: be sure that they are really references and not just commonplace comments, or accidental, non-intentional echoes of phrases and ideas found elsewhere? (3) Under what circumstances in the texts do such references occur? What purposes do they serve? To answer the above queries systematically and comprehensively is, of course, well beyond the purview of a short paper. Rather, I shall consider them by way of selected examples that are intra-biblical, intra-Mesopotamian, and inter-biblical-Mesopotamian.

Journeys to heaven are typically viewed as an out of body experience and yet in some texts, it is the body that becomes the location of religious experience. In the Ascension of Isaiah, numerous references are made to the physical experience of Isaiah’s ascent as he taken up by an angel while speaking with the Holy Spirit. And yet the text is explicit in stating that Isaiah’s mind and not body is taken away since his body remains in the presence of his fellow prophets on earth. Despite this differentiation between mind and body, continued references to the physical nature of his heavenly journey are found throughout the narrative. In particular, a prominent focus is placed on the appearance of the visionary as he ascends from earth to heaven. This transformation culminates in the donning of garments that make Isaiah the equal of the angels. In this paper, I argue that that despite the visionary state of Isaiah’s ascension, the emphasis on the body and its experiences (especially its transformation) continues to inform the way in which such heavenly journeys are described. The use of such embodied language raises the question as to what degree ancient authors felt that heavenly ascents entailed a separation between the mind, soul and body.

The Philistine culture has attracted much scholarly attention for more than a century. In the last two decades or so, several alternative interpretations of the appearance, formation, transformation and disappearance of this culture have been suggested (such as acculturation, creolization, hybridity, etc.), and have been intensively discussed. In light of recent finds from both Philistia and beyond, and in light of other perspectives on the character of culture interaction, I believe that a more nuanced and multivalent perspective on the Philistine culture is required. In this lecture I will argue that a "transcultural" and "entanglement" perspective can provide a more robust interpretive framework for explaining and understand the Philistine culture.

This paper discusses meat preparation and consumption in the ancient Near East (including Bronze Age and Iron Age Palestine), the pre-classical and classical Aegean, and the early Islamic world by examining ceramic table wares and cooking pots. Rulers and local elites indulged in a variety of meat-based luxury cuisines, which they showcased through display dining. Differentiated cuisines and conspicuous consumption were an expression of social hierarchy and served to reinforce class distinctions. The paper concludes by considering Late Iron Age Judah, where changes in cooking pot types suggest an apparent absence of meat from the local diet. The absence of meat contrasts with evidence from adjacent regions, and may reflect market patterns under Assyrian rule and the observance of a biblical ban on the consumption of non-sacrificial meat.

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This paper explores the feminist erasure of Ya'el's violence and asks whether this violence might be appreciated as a vehicle of feminist empowerment. I want to argue that we are doing biblical women a disservice by not taking their violence seriously as a signifier of their identity as women. How might violent biblical women model a kind of radical agency that feminists have typically shied away from? Dismissing these female characters as patriarchal patsies robs them of what might be their last recourse to self-expression. Rather than a sign of their victimization, their violence might better be heralded as a fundamental qualifier of their femininity. In short, biblical scholars need to pay more attention to violent women as feminist subjects, and violence as a means of enabling women, rather than the disabling that has occurred through a politically and conceptually strategic commitment to their victimization. As Judith/Jack Halberstam notes, “Films like Thelma and Louise suggest…not that we all pick up guns, but that we allow ourselves to imagine the possibilities of fighting violence with violence.”

The fourth-century Church Father Epiphanius of Salamis is often disparaged for his lack of philosophical acumen and narrow-minded theological perspective. Although a cursory reading of his works might support such criticisms,Epiphanius also provides thoughtful and distinctive exegesis of Scripture throughout his treatments of false and proper belief. This paper explores two related elements of Epiphanius’ exegetical methodology that are often overlooked, but which reflect his unique geographical position as bishop of Salamis, Cyprus. First, consideration is given to Epiphanius’ exegetical view of heresy. The Panarion is based on his exegesis of Song of Songs 6:8-9, in which he sees the eighty concubines of Solomon as representative of the same number of heresies that follow. Yet, his list of known heresies fell short, so he employed creative exegetical methods to achieve his desired number. For example, his record of ‘pre-Christian heresies’ is categorized into four parts based on the division he finds in Paul’s notice that “…in Christ there is no Barbarian, Scythian, Hellene or Jew” (Col. 3:11). Secondly, in his work On Weights and Measures Epiphanius’ exegesis takes on a stronger numerological focus. For him, “Measures are worthy of spiritual contemplation by those who understand.” Thus, his work provides not only quantitative analysis, but also extracts the various truths that are found in these units of measure, such as the Trinity or Mary’s possession of the Word of God in four Gospels. At points his work is pragmatic and theologically significant; at other points it is simply bizarre. This paper concludes by contextualizing Epiphanius’ exegetical contribution to the history of Christian interpretations in light of the works of his predecessors. Geographically, he was right in between Antioch and Alexandria, but his exegetical models were far from representing the middle ground.

Is it possible to (re)think masculinity without men? If so, are the drag practices reflected in Paul’s arguments about the women in Corinth a subversive imitation and thus reconfiguration of otherwise hegemonic gender (and sexual) norms (then and/or now)? To answer such questions this paper maintains that we should revisit Judith Butler’s concept of performativity and incorporate (pun intended) Judith (Jack) Halberstam’s work on female masculinity. While drag has often proved to be a favorite illustration in the reception of performativity, the specifically imitative element of Butler’s conceptualization has yet to be adequately appreciated and redeployed, included in biblical studies. (Not so incidentally, but definitely anecdotally, while some queer and feminist biblical scholars seem to be “over” Butler, I question whether we were ever exactly “under” Butler.) In rethinking Paul’s arguments in 1 Corinthians, this is particularly unfortunate, given the letter’s repetition of imitation arguments and its links to his contorted and sometimes (gender) confusing claims about authority, clothing, and nature in 1 Cor 11:1-16. Calls to imitate can always be heeded in unexpected ways, ways that fail to conform to a norm, but still rework the norm. The Corinthian women might be one such example of this, but so might be the butch lesbians, transgender dykes, and drag kings that enliven the pages of Halberstam’s work. These sorts of female masculinity indicate how alternative gender practices can proliferate by using and embodying dominant scripts differently. In such instances, female masculinity operates in ways unlike an ancient androgyny that is already and ultimately still properly “male.” In this light, the Corinthian women aren’t simply repeating the hegemonic imperial masculinity of virtus or andreia either, those qualities that imperial males would still gladly, if but occasionally grant to certain females they extol. This, indeed, is the potential threat of masculine women in the ancient (and contemporary) context(s), exposing as they do the dissonances and (un)natural linkages between genders and embodied practices. Further, once one recognizes that drag as a practice is not about “passing,” but about revealing differences from and dissonances within gender and sexual norms (among others), one can also begin to grapple with the specifically temporal aspects of drag (as queer studies outside of biblical scholarship have done of late). Thus, this paper can answer any protests against the (supposedly) anachronistic juxtaposition of drag king and Corinthian women prophesying by citing how temporal claims themselves rest embedded and embodied within the gendered arguments between Paul and these female masculine Corinthians (see the multiple allusions to the proximate past, primordial creation past(s), and their compatriots’ present, inter alia, in the passage). Through such subversive imitations the parodic performativity of being “in Christ” is worn by these women and, in turn, lags and drags into the (twenty-)first century concepts and practices of the body.

In the past, there have been many studies on the importance of the Masorah in the area of biblical Hebrew grammar, as well as a few articles showing how the Masorah can be helpful in the interpretation of some biblical passages, but these articles have usually focused on isolated examples. This paper will attempt to show that the Masorah can be used as a supplementary tool for elucidating a unified Hebrew text as in the well-known story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife that occurs in chapter 39 of the Book of Genesis. I will endeavor to show that the Masorah can assist the elucidation of this text by determining its parameters, by paying attention to its accents, by pointing out its connectiveness to other texts, and by implicitly pointing out the literary structure of the text.

Two Coptic parchment fragments of a Christian apocryphal text have turned up in a Finnish collection of Coptic manuscripts (Ilves Collection). On the basis of a tentative analysis of the fragments, one can conclude that they seem to have close thematic connections with Paul’s vision of the paradise in the Apocalypse of Paul (or a very similar text). The fragments refer to the encounters of Paul with Lot, Noah, and possibly Hiob. Unlike the majority of the known versions of the Apocalypse of Paul, the Coptic fragments of the Ilves collection do not report the vision of Paul in the first but in the third person. On paleographical grounds, the fragments may be dated to the fifth or sixth century. If the two Coptic fragments can be identified as part of a Coptic version of the Apocalypse of Paul and their dating proves to be right, the two fragments of the Ilves collection may be among the earliest extant manuscripts of the Apocalypse of Paul.

Surprisingly, Harnack regarded 1 Clement as the most fitting text with which to introduce young students to the study of Ancient Christianity. In 1929, Harnack concluded his seminar on church history with the publication of a little book that may be described as his intellectual testament: "Einführung in die alte Kirchengeschichte. Das Schreiben der römischen Kirche an die korinthische aus der Zeit Domitians (I. Clemensbrief)." This paper will contextualize this textbook within Harnack’s own model of the evolution of Ancient Christianity, and especially of Christian institutions, but also in contemporary research, in order to reconstruct the specific profile of Harnack's approach. In the last part of the paper, we will ask whether some of Harnack's insights and results are still of interest for contemporary research, even if Harnack's own model of church history has lost plausibility in respect to many details, and even in general.

This paper argues against a tendency to use theurgy to describe ritual practices outside of the strict bounds of the Neoplatonic schools of Iamblichus and his followers. The argument is presented in three main stages. In the first, the paper briefly reviews the use of theurgy as a general term, especially in the field of Jewish Studies. In the second, I argue from the basis of textual excerpts from Iamblichus's De Mysteriis that clear notions of a group boundary are present, especially insofar as Iamblichus claims his group, the theurgists, possess secret knowledge. In the third and final part, I address a possible counterargument and bolster my claim by arguing that we are in a better position to claim an identity to the theurgists than we are to the Gnostics or Sethians.

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Abstract: Identifying euphemistic – and dysphemistic – allusions to female anatomy in biblical texts both reveals gendered discourses where none were apparent and can overturn conventional interpretations of well-known texts. Euphemisms for the phallus, such as “yad” (arm), “raglaym” (feet) are commonly understood. Many circumlocutions for the vagina remain under-explored, contributing to our misreading of important biblical texts employing sexualized rhetoric. This paper discusses Ezekiel’s use of “ohel” (tent) in the names Oholah and Oholibah as overt vulgarity depicting the cities so named as “cunts” owned by G*d, and explores the semantic range of “ohel” across biblical texts.

Aristotle provides an explanation for the abundance of metaphors in 1 Peter. He states, “Metaphors must not be far-fetched, but we must give names to things that have none by deriving the metaphor from what is akin and of the same kind, so that as soon as it is uttered, it is clearly seen to be akin” (Rhet. 1405a III 2.12 [Freese, LCL]). First Peter addresses those “who formerly were no people but now are the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10). These recipients are non-Jews who have left their former life and now believe in the Jewish God (2:9). They are neither Greek nor Jew but a new race of humans (?a???? ?????; Diogn. 1). Consistent with Aristotle’s explanation, metaphors are therefore necessary to “give names” to them and to describe their new unique status. Indeed, one metaphor, Christian (4:16), which this text uses perhaps for the first time, will become the common designation not only for these recipients but also for all who belong to this new human race (4:16). Considering the importance of metaphors in 1 Peter, this paper will first survey the diverse definitions of metaphor and describe some of the recent theories about metaphor that interpreters have applied to 1 Peter. It will then discuss the debate about a controlling metaphor in 1 Peter before turning to investigate some specific metaphors such as new-born babies, soldiers, and strangers that illustrate the metaphorical reality of the recipients’ new life in Christ.

Various ancient Near Eastern Chaoskampf myths (e.g., Enuma Elish, the Baal Cycle, Re-Apophis) speak of the concept of chaos as an embodied monster. These literary works use the body of the monster semiotically as a literary device upon which a message is inscribed. The same literary device figures prominently in the prophet Ezekiel’s oracles of judgment against Egypt (Ezek 29, 32). Although the Chaoskampf theme is well known, the precise contours of the semiotics of the dismembered monster have not been adequately mapped in the scholarly literature. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s work in Discipline and Punish, this paper delineates the semiotics of the monster's dismembered body. The tortured and dismembered body signifies three motifs: 1. The Otherness of the outlaw/the monster; 2. The establishment of the authority of the sovereign 3. The restoration of law and order after the repudiation of the threat of the outlaw/the monster.

The late first and early second centuries CE witnessed a new flourishing of display rhetoric and perhaps a new confidence in Greek polis-culture and literature, commonly associated with Philostratus' 'Second Sophistic' and a Greek renaissance. Although these vaguely defined movements can hardly assist us in dating Acts, it is a worthwhile thought experiment to set Acts alongside Josephus' histories and consider the two as quasi-outsider responses (in Greek) to such mainstream-Greek developments. The comparison is prompted by the two authors' common biblical roots and parallel episodes from first-century Judaea, which might already suggest a date for Acts around 100 or later. This paper explores the authors' different approaches to rhetoric against the background of contemporary trends and asks what those differences might suggest about the texts' moral-rhetorical postures in relation to Graeco-Roman culture of the late first or early second centuries.

John 13:1 is generally recognized as one of the most important verses in the overall structure of the fourth gospel. However, its syntax is very difficult and disputed among interpreters. The complex nature of this verse resulted in different translations of this verse (for instance, RSV and NRSV). The main problem of this verse is which verb is qualified by the prepositional phrase pro de tes heortes tou pascha. While, for instance, Rudolf Bultmann understands the prepositional phrase pro de tes heortes tou pascha to qualify the verb eidos, Willem K. Grossouw is a representative of those who argues that pro de tes heortes tou pascha qualifies egapesen. However, in the exegetical literature there is very little discussion of this syntactic problem and its implications for the meaning of the verse. Therefore, in this paper we will investigate the complex syntax of John 13:1, defending the reading of pro de tes heortes tou pascha as qualifying egapesen and understanding the participial constructions eidos and agapesas as circumstantial participles. In this syntactic interpretation, love is the central focus in 13:1 and the evangelist expresses the circumstances with the participles eidos and agapesas. Moreover, an investigation into the precise temporal reference of pro de tes heortes tou pascha and the temporal or the modal reference of eis telos before the main verb will try to illustrate their function. Besides, we will study, from a narrative point of view, the dramatic suspense created through the explanatory clauses, by the position of the eis telos before the main verb, the temporal indication of the imminence of Passover, and the relation between the Passover and the hour of Jesus (John 11:55, 12:1 and 12:12). We opine that these elements of suspension given in v. 1 inform the reader about a new direction of the story and the extraordinariness of what is going to happen while pointing to the revelation of Jesus’ love towards his own in a concrete manner.

The “successes” and “failures” of an entirely online Hebrew exegesis course will be the basis of this presentation. More specifically, the presenter will describe the medium, delivery, and content of a Hebrew exegesis course that he has taught in an online format. He will also share his reflections in regards to the philosophical basis of the course, experiences in teaching this course, as well as student reactions, achievements, and usage in terms of student learning outcomes.