Biblical Theology

Abstract

Biblical Theology Christopher T. Begg 1475. [Yhwh; Volcanos] Nissim Amzallag, "Some Implications of the Volcanic Theophany of YHWH on [sic! for] His Primeval Identity," AntOr 12 (2014) 11-38. Yhwh's theophany and mode of action are frequently portrayed in the Hebrew Bible as a volcanic event. In this article, A. argues that this representation, which is of central importance in the story of the Sinai Covenant, is probably not anchored in any specific experience of a volcanic eruption by the Israelites in the past. In antiquity, volcanic activity was specifically associated with the gods who were patrons of metallurgy, given the similarity between lava flowing from a volcano and slag released from a furnace during the smelting process. Evidence of such a linkage can also be identified in the Bible itself. Accordingly, rather than being simply a literary device intended to evoke the overwhelming power of Yhwh, biblical references to volcanic activity may reflect the metallurgical roots of Israelite theology. This proposal is supported by biblical material associating Yhwh with metal production, and more particularly by (1) his primeval dominion in mining areas; (2) his worship by metalworkers; and (3) the representation of Yhwh's celestial environment as a giant furnace. On the basis of this evidence, A. concludes that the volcanic representation of Yhwh's theophany and mode of action reveals a surprising number of metallurgic religious traditions that have been preserved in ancient Israelite theology. [Adapted from published abstract] 1476. [Relation of the Testaments; Divine Violence in OT] José Luis Barriocanal Goméz, "Por qué tenemos que seguir leyendo el AT? La 'desviolentización' de Dios como propuesta hermenéutica," Burg 59 (2018) 15-38. B. derives the question of his title about why Christians continue to read the OT from the French exegete J.-L. Ska; the question itself alludes to the problem posed for Christians' doing this both by the seeming "superfluity" of the OT vis-à-vis the NT and the recurring divine violence in the former. B. devotes his article to addressing these two problems. Regarding the first problem, he highlights the complex, multifaceted dialectic between the two Testaments in which each needs the other for its full comprehension and appreciation. As for the second problem, B. argues that the OT's image of the violent God needs to be purified and "demythologized" in light of Christ's disclosure of a non-violent, merciful God, a disclosure that is itself adumbrated in God's own self-presentation in the "grace formula" of Exod 34:6-7. 1477. Ehud Ben Zvi, "Were YHWH's Clothes Worth Remembering and Thinking about among the Literati of Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Judah/Yehud? Observations and Considerations," Dress and Clothing, 161-82 [see #1553]. B. Z.'s concluding essay in the above volume explores the curious discursive omission of mention of Yhwh's clothing and its concomitant implications for the power of divine dress in the writings of the Judaean literati of the late Persian/early Hellenistic periods. [End Page 503] In this connection, he notes the existence of an underlying, but strong, tendency for these figures to "dis-prefer" depictions and imaginative exercises involving Yhwh's clothes, even in the absence of an alternative. He argues that a constellation of factors rendered Yhwh's clothes something not much (or even not at all) worth remembering or thinking about on the part of the literati in the above period(s). [Adapted from published abstract] 1478. Jeremiah W. Cataldo, "Biblical Strategies for Reinterpreting Crises with 'Outsiders,'" Imagined Worlds, 127-43 [see #1548]. In his essay, C. interacts with Benedict Anderson's theory on imagined communities and how prejudices shape them. For C., Anderson's theory, and the way in which it inadvertently exposes prejudice, provides an important optic through which to interpret the capacity of the Bible as a religious-cultural symbol relevant for renegotiating the dominant Western and Judeo-Christian dichotomized discourse on the identities of minorities, such as immigrants, refugees, and foreigners. Clarifying the depth of the symbolic value and role of the Bible permits one to reimagine "community" as a body constructed through relational discourse, rather than one...