Biblica

In an article written forty years ago, Dominique Barthélemy bound together two
supposed scribal corrections introduced in the second Century BCE: the
correction of the number of the Israelites who went down to Egypt (Gen 46,27;
Exod 1,5), and the correction of the «Children of God» becoming «Children of
Israel» in Deut 32:8. This article proposes to separate the two supposed
corrections. Considering the historical evolution of the theological interpretations
the author argues that the correction of Deut 32,8 was introduced in the first
Century CE only, when the interpretation of the «Children of God» was limited
to the human sphere.

The women of the apostles in 1 Cor 9,5 have posed a riddle in the history of interpretation. With few exceptions commentators over the last one hundred years have identified them as wives and dismissed the text in a few lines. Recent research on the role of women in early Christian mission has brought a fresh assessment, concluding that the women were missionary assistants to the apostles. This essay develops an extended argument to solidify the thesis using the history of interpretation, the nature of missionary partnerships in the Pauline epistles, semantics, some important parallels from the Greco-Roman world, and the nature of ancient households.

A detailed case that the New Testament Epistle of Jude was written against the so-called Cainite sectaries, who were in possession of a Gospel of Judas as Irenaeus attests is presented here. Because the names Judas and Jude were the same, the good name of Iouda, especially as being that of a relative to Jesus, needed clearing, and subversive teachings — making Cain, Judas and other Biblical figures worthy opponents of the (Old Testament) god — had to be combatted. Since a Gospel of Judas has come to light, within the newly published Tchacos Codex, one is challenged to decide whether this was the gospel appealed to by the Cainites, and, if it was, to begin to grasp how they read a text which did not readily match their interests.

Is God, at the end of the book of Jonah, claiming that he will not destroy Nineveh? Or should the straight-forward reading of the Hebrew and Greek texts be taken at face value as claimed ten years ago by Alan Cooper? Although they do not challenge the common reading of the end of Jonah as a rhetorical question, the results of recent studies on Jonah support Cooper's contention. Reading "You had pity over the plant... but I will not pity Nineveh..." makes more sense and places Jonah on a par with Job.

Alter von 87 Jahren verstorbene Nahman Avigad, Professor für Archáologie an dem von ihm mitbegründeten Institute of Archaeology der Hebräischen Universität in Jerusalem, hatte sich seit Mitte der 40er Jahre in Dutzenden von Artikeln immer wieder mit Vorliebe der Publikation beschrifteter Siegel und Siegelabdrücke gewidmet. Nur der kleinere Teil dieser Objekte stammt bekanntlich aus legalen Grabungen, die Mehrzahl kommt aus dem Antikenhandel. Viele Siegel und Bullen werden nicht in großen öffentlichen Museen aufbewahrt, sondern liegen in teilweise schwer oder gar nicht zugänglichen Privatsammlungen. Immer wieder mit dem Problem der verstreuten Publikation von Einzelstücken konfrontier|, zu dem er selbst nicht unwesentlich beitrug, hegte Avigad deshalb seit den 50er Jahren den Wunsch, ein Corpus der westsemitisch beschrifteten Siegel zu erstellen. Daran hinderte ihn zuerst die Leitung der Ausgrabungen im Jüdischen Vie¡tel von Jerusalem (ab 1968), später die Beschäftigung mit der Aufarbeitung dieser Grabungen (deren wissenschaftliche Publikation bekanntlich noch kaum eingeleitet ist) und schließlich die Leitung der umlangreichen Restaurationsarbeiten im selben Gebiet. Die Schwierigkeit, eine immer umfangreicher werdende Siegeldokumentation zu überscharlen, nachlassende Arbeitskraft und die eigenwillige Absicht, " sein " Corpus im wissenschaftlichen Alleingang fertigzustellen O, trugen das Ihre dazu bei, daß Avigad das Projekt zu seinen Lebzeiten nicht vollenden konnte. Wer selbst einmal als wissenschaftlicher Nachlaßverwalter gewirkt hat oder an einem Corpus-Projekt beteiligt ist, kann den weiten und mühevollen 'Weg ermessen, der zwischen einer (im vorliegenden Fail geordneten, aber lückenhaften und in vielerlei Hinsicht veralteten) Kartei und einem fe¡tigen Buch liegt. Daß auf der Grundlage eines 796 Objekte umfassenden Avigad'schen Manuskripts aus den 70er Jahren, des bekannten Buches mit

Most translations of Job 13,4 have Job calling his companions something like "smearers of a lie" and "worthless physicians". Instead, in light of philological and comparative data, he seems to be comparing his friends to the Rephaim, and false gods. In this way, he complains that they have spoken falsely as sources of wisdom and would mislead their hearers — just as the spirits of the dead were so often said to have done. The verse might thus be translated in this way: "You, however, are blatherers of lies, and false oracles, all of you.

This paper examines the contribution that a cognitive linguistic model of meaning can make towards the semantic analysis and description of Biblical Hebrew. It commences with a brief description of some of the basic insights provided by cognitive semantics. The notion "semantic ...

This article is about the problematic identity of Malky-sedeq, in relation to his 'adherents' and YHWH. The method adopted analyzes the 11QMelch text, considered one of the most important Qumran MSS that mentions the figure of an 'anointed' person, the biblical passages cited in the same MS and a few other MSS from Qumran. In the eschatological jubilee Malky-sedeq, 'anointed' by a divine decree, performs the duties of a prophet-herald, a priest and a king for the benefit of his 'adherents', and proclaims freedom through the expiation of sins and the defeat of the 'adherents of Belial'.

While studies of the Old Greek (OG) of Daniel 7,13-14 are not uncommon, they are often undertaken as part of a broader examination of the "one like a son of man". Rarely, if ever, do these studies focus on the description of this figure in the OG version and what readers of this version might have understood of this character. This study is an examination of the interpretation of OG Daniel 7,13-14, and the argument is made that the OG portrays the "one like a son of man" as similar to the Ancient of Days and as a messianic figure.

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

The Vita Adam et Evae uses an unusual metaphor to describe Eve's state when she ceases her penitential immersion in the Tigris river: 'her flesh was as grass from the cold of the water' (caro eius erat sicut herba). While a number of points of comparison have been adduced to explain the metaphor, including movement and texture, it is more likely to be the colour of Eve's skin - she is as pale as grass from the cold of the water.

... is nursling. Difficulties perceived in this interpretation are contrived and of no substance. Theinterpretation defended here is proven decisively by the previously unnoticed existence of transitive association indicating a bonded conceptual pairing between ??? ... Proverbs (Book). ; ...

A detailed case that the New Testament Epistle of Jude was written against the so-called Cainite sectaries, who were in possession of a Gospel of Judas as Irenaeus attests is presented here. Because the names Judas and Jude were the same, the good name of Iouda, especially as being that of a relative to Jesus, needed clearing, and subversive teachings — making Cain, Judas and other Biblical figures worthy opponents of the (Old Testament) god — had to be combatted. Since a Gospel of Judas has come to light, within the newly published Tchacos Codex, one is challenged to decide whether this was the gospel appealed to by the Cainites, and, if it was, to begin to grasp how they read a text which did not readily match their interests.

In the Gospels, Jesus' last supper involves custom and legal issues: chronological discrepancies between the Synoptics and John, a mock trial before the Sanhedrin, two trials before Pilate (John), and so on. This study focuses on the calendar problem, a topic of utmost importance in ancient Judaism, and follows A. Jaubert's hypothesis, against J. Jeremias' now classical view: the Synoptics display a somewhat loose connection with the Jubilees sectarian calendar, while John's chronology seems to be historically more accurate.

Résumé/Abstract The present article investigates the basic constellation of life and death in Ancient Israel. Significant concepts are found in Prov 3, the blessing texts from Chirbet el-Qom and Ketef Hinnom, Ps 63 and Qoh 3, 16-22. The basic constellation of life and death ...

In 1 Cor 14,37 Paul mentions a "command of the Lord". The language Paul uses indicates that he is not referring to his own apostolic authority but to a saying of Jesus. The context in 1 Corinthians 12-14 makes clear that the principle he has in mind is mutual love. Therefore he must be referring to the summary of the law given by Jesus in the love commandment which Paul primarily interprets in the sense of mutual love among Christians. Like John 13,34 he calls this commandment a command of Jesus. Moreover, Paul knows a tradition similar to Matt 7,21-23.

The narrative in Isa 7 unfolds a particular scenario in which only the initial verse 7,1 refers to the historical situation of the so-called Syriac-Ephraimitic war. What follows exhibits a completely different situation involving a threat and very similar to Isa 36-37. Several elements in the narrative in Isa 7 (the way of the fuller's field, Shear-Yashub, the almah, Immanuel) only make sense within the context of Isa 36-37 and other parts of the book of Isaiah. Isa 7 is a highly intertextual entity that uses older texts to advocate its message of trustfulness in the God of Israel.

This study reads the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) from the perspective of the concept of "space" and argues that they form as a single, interrelated unit that tells a meaningful "story". By applying the principles of"critical spatiality" the spatial orientation of each poem is analysed. The conclusion is reached that the poems can be grouped together in five triads of three poems each. By mapping "space" and relating it to the content of the poems in the context of Book V of the Psalter, the "story" of these poems can be discerned. It is a meaningful story with a sad beginning but a happy end. The happy end resides especially in the expectation that YHWH "ascends" with his people towards the eschathological and Messianic future.