Biblical Studies

CHURCH NEWS: NEW UNITY MOVEMENT STEPS PROPOSED

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW (distrbute freely without charge)

Against the unity prayer of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 17, divisions within Christianity have been common... more Against the unity prayer of Jesus in the gospel of John chapter 17, divisions within Christianity have been common from the beginning. New steps for unity are outlined that provide grass-roots opportunities in local churches and communities.

Fundamental to the new unity movement are principles and a change in paradigm that give a fresh approach to the ancient problem of divisions among people who identify themselves as followers of Jesus.

• "The Distinction between Holy and Profane in Targum Onkelos" (Hebrew), Megadim 43 (2005), pp. 73–86.

by Nili Samet

Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Unsensational Archaeological and Historical Interpretation

by Alexander Fantalkin

Co-authored with Israel Finkelstein
Finkelstein, I. and Fantalkin, A. 2012. Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Unsensational Archaeological and Historical Interpretation. Tel Aviv 39: 38-63.

The article deals with the finds at the late Iron I settlement of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site overlooking the Valley of... more The article deals with the finds at the late Iron I settlement of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site overlooking the Valley of Elah in the Shephelah. It points out the methodological shortcomings in both field work and interpretation of the finds. It then turns to several issues related to the finds: the identity of the inhabitants, their territorial affiliation and the possibility of identifying Khirbet Qeiyafa with sites mentioned in the Bible and in the Shoshenq I list.

TELL AL- MASHHAD REPORT ON 2010 SEASON

by francesco benedettucci

Unpublished Report

Practice What You Preach by Corinna Guerrero

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

The underlying principle that links a feminist critique to every other critical lens since the rise of feminist... more The underlying principle that links a feminist critique to every other critical lens since the rise of feminist discourse is the “hermeneutic of suspicion.” Essentially,  a hermeneutic of suspicion identifies the disconnect between rhetoric and a lived reality. The lived lives of women are different than the pontifications espoused directly and indirectly by the traditionally patriarchal social, political, cultural, religious, and educational structures in which individuals participate.

I like to think that I live my life bucking these structures whenever possible because the roles a woman plays in her own life should: 1) be determined by her; and 2) if she negotiates more “traditional practices” (e.g. marriage, motherhood, etc.) then these practices do not limit her to traditionalist practices (e.g. staying at home, spousal servitude, etc.). Granted, I used the two most generic examples of traditional and traditionalist practices, but the point is still valid. When I go to holidays with my extended family there are very few questions or comments about my PhD program, but many comments about the fact that I do not make a plate of food  for my husband. 

My hermeneutic of suspicion was triggered at a Bible Study last week. I will refrain from listing the denominational affiliation of the Christian church, the ethno-racial configuration of the participants, and the economic background of the community. In this way, the Bible Study does not represent our denominational, ethno-racial, or classist prejudices (and we all have them). It represents a common scenario faced by women and men every day who are hopeful and eager for better religious education

"Un triptyque au coeur du livre de Michée (Mi 4-5)"

by Matthieu Richelle

Vetus Testamentum 62 (2012) 232-247

Many contradictory proposals have been made with regard to the literary structure of Micah 4-5. This study shows that... more Many contradictory proposals have been made with regard to the literary structure of Micah 4-5. This study shows that three coherent units (4:1-7; 4:8-14; 5:1-14) can be distinguished and that they form a triptych, each panel of which uses the same major themes.

Violence, Nonviolence and the Temple Incident in John 2:13-15

by Andy Alexis-Baker

Alexis-Baker, Andy. "Violence, Nonviolence and the Temple Incident in John 2:13–15." Biblical Interpretation 20 (2012): 73–96.

The temple incident has been a popular episode in Jesus’ ministry from which Christians since Augustine have drawn to... more The temple incident has been a popular episode in Jesus’ ministry from which Christians since Augustine have drawn to justify Christian violence ranging from punishing schismatics and heretics to justifying war and the death penalty. However, another tradition of reading this passage nonviolently began well before Augustine. Whether contextualizing the passage in a narrative reading so that it would have spiritual meaning or seeing the Greek grammar as disallowing that Jesus hit people with the whip, these nonviolent strategies effectively undercut any notion that Jesus’ action could provide a model for Christian violence. A close reading of the Greek text, I believe, supports these nonviolent strategies for reading the text, which simply denies based on Greek grammar that Jesus used his whip on any person.

Commentary and poetry in the medieval school of Rheims, c. 883-1100.

by Andrew Kraebel

Forthcoming in Encountering Scripture in Overlapping Cultures: Early Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Strategies of Reading and their Contemporary Implications, ed. by M. Cohen and A. Berlin.  40 pp. + 1 b/w illustration in MS.

The use of Richard Rolle's Latin Psalter in Richard Ullerston's Expositio canticorum Scripturae

by Andrew Kraebel

Medium Ævum, 81 (2012), 139-44.

A Defense of Literal Days in the Creation Week

by Robert McCabe

In this article I argue that the days of the creation week were intended to be normal days of 24 hours. In support of... more In this article I argue that the days of the creation week were intended to be normal days of 24 hours. In support of this view, I set forth five reasons for taking the days in Genesis 1:1–2:3 as  literal days. In addition, I respond to four arguments against the traditional understanding of the creation days.

The Ritual Baths Near the Temple Mount and Extra-Purification Before Entering the Temple Courts: A Reply to Eyal Regev

by Yonatan Adler

Published in: Israel Exploration Journal 56 (2006), pp. 209–215

Two Joint Fragments from the Proverbs of Solomon in Coptic and the Extinction of the White Monastery Library

by Alin Suciu

Reassessing Paul's Jewishness: Israel, the Nations, and the Radical New Perspective on Paul (Spanish)

by Carlos Segovia

"Pablo de Tarso, Israel y los gentiles: El nuevo enfoque radical sobre Pablo y el cariz judío de su mensaje." To be published in: Bandue. Revista de la Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones. Forthcoming.

Traditionally, Paul has been understood as the founder of a new religion, Christianity, different from and opposed to... more Traditionally, Paul has been understood as the founder of a new religion, Christianity, different from and opposed to Judaism. Yet in the mid-20th century William David Davies and Johannes Munck challenged this view. Drawing upon Munck's insights, Krister Stendahl was the first to set forth in the 1960s and the 1970s a radical new imterpretation of Paul's message and mission. According to Stendahl, Paul did not imtend to replace Judaism but to bring the Gentiles into YHWH's allegiance. Lloyd Gaston, John Gager, Neil Elliot, William Campbell, Mark Nanos, Pamela Eisenbaum, Caroline Johnson Hodge, and Paula Fredriksen have contributed to further develop this interpretative line—which contrasts both with the traditional understanding of Paul and with the claims made by James Dunn, Tom Wright, and Daniel Boyarin that Paul tried to reform Judaism from within—in the past thirty years. This brief study summarises the results of their groundbreaking research, analyses their at times contrasting proposals, and reflects upon their fascinating implications.

Tradicionalmente, Pablo ha sido interpretado como el fundador de una nueva religión, el cristianismo, diferente de y, en rigor, opuesta al judaísmo. William David Davies y Johannes Munck cuestionaron a mediados del siglo XX, sin embargo, semejante interpretación. Basándose en los trabajos de Munck, Krister Stendahl fue el primero que propuso en los años 60 y 70 del siglo pasado una nueva interpretación radical del mensaje paulino. Según Stendahl, Pablo no se propuso superar el judaísmo sino, únicamente, integrar a los gentiles en Israel por medio de Cristo. En los últimos treinta años, Lloyd Gaston, John Gager, Neil Elliot, William Campbell, Mark Nanos, Pamela Eisenbaum, Caroline Johnson Hodge y Paula Fredriksen han contribuido a desarrollar esta línea interpretativa, que contrasta tanto con la interpretación tradicional de Pablo como con la pretensión de que éste se habría propuesto reformar el judaísmo, defendida por James Dunn, Tom Wright y Daniel Boyarin. Este breve estudio resume los resultados de dicha investigación, analiza los matices que ella presenta de un autor a otro y reflexiona sobre sus, a decir verdad, novedosas y fascinantes implicaciones.

Isaiah 66:19, 21 and Paul's Gentile Mission: A Contribution to the Contemporary Rereading of Paul as a Jewish Author

by Carlos Segovia

To be published in: Paul and Scripture, ed. Stanley E. Porter and Gregory P. Fewster. Pauline Studies. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Forthcoming in 2015.

Isa 66:18-21 has often been pointed out as a possible subtext for Rom 15:16 (so e.g. Aus and Riesner). In order to... more Isa 66:18-21 has often been pointed out as a possible subtext for Rom 15:16 (so e.g. Aus and Riesner). In order to confirm this, however, ton ethnon in Rom 15:16 must be read as an objective, rather than subjective, genitive, as in fact most scholars (from Michel to Hultgren) do. In my view, those who interpret ton ethnon as a subjective genitive (Denis, Downs) fail to notice the connection between Rom 15:16 and 15:18, where Paul clearly states that Gentiles are the object of his offering, since he has been commissioned to bring them through Christ into God's allegiance. The contention that Isa 66:18-21 deals instead with Gentiles bringing Jews (Donaldson) proves equally misguiding if we take Isa 66:20 to be an interpolation (Westermann) intended to correct the claim (made in vv. 19 and 21) that a mission to the Gentiles will precede Israel's restoration and that priests and Levites will be recruited from converts to the Jewish faith (Blenkinsopp). I will suggest, furthermore, that reading Rom 15:16, 18 in light of Isa 66:19, 21 (a text which, albeit not addressing an unexpectable issue, goes well beyond any claims made in the Second Temple period regarding Gentile inclusion) may shed new light upon the contemporary reading of Paul as a Jewish author---a reading set forth, amidst other scholars, by Stendahl, Gaston, Gager, Stowers, Nanos, and, more recently, Eisenbaum, Johnson Hodge, and Fredriksen.

Beyond the Myth: Rereading Ezek 28:11-19 and Gen 2:15-3:24 Politically

by Carlos Segovia

Co-authored with Olga M. Pérez. Forthcoming.

Tell al-Mashhad report on 2011 season

by francesco benedettucci

Unpublished Report

Another Look at Biblical Hebrew bm `High Place'1

by Benjamin Thomas

Vetus Testamentum 62 (2012): 175-88.
Co-authored with Chip Hardy.

Abstract
This study presents a solution for morphological and lexical problems that remain outstanding concerning... more Abstract
This study presents a solution for morphological and lexical problems that remain outstanding concerning bm. Two distinct Semitic nouns are identified as the derivational basis for the attested forms and meanings in biblical Hebrew.

From Joseph to Moses: The Narratives of Exodus 1-2

by Joel Baden

Vetus Testamentum 62 (2012): 133-58.

The Biblical Bread- Cereal Groats Dish or Baked Dough?

by David Eitam

In: Avishur, I. and Doitch, R. (eds.) Jubilee Book to Prof. Michael Heltzer University of Haifa. 2000. (Hebrew With English abstract): *119-*125.

Some archaeology aspects of the Biblical beard Some archaeology aspects of the Biblical beard

The Elder and the Elect Lady – Joseph ‘Peter’ and Mary in Rome

by Adrie Vd Hoeven

On how the Blessed Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph finally were together at the head of the Church in Rome On how the Blessed Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph finally were together at the head of the Church in Rome