General

Abstract

General William J. Urbrock, Christopher T. Begg, and Thomas Hieke 1. [Anonymous] "'The Nobles of the People Dug It': Remembering Three Archaeological Giants," BARev 44 (4, 2018) 47-51. The recent deaths of Lawrence (Larry) Stager (1943–2017), a "Giant of Iron Age Research," and Ephraim Stern (1934–2018), a "Giant of the Persian Period," prompted this article's eulogistic notices of their archaeological accomplishments and far-ranging influence by Daniel M. Master (for Stager) and Hillel Geva (for Stern). One also finds a tribute to NT archaeologist James F. Strange (1938–2018). Photo-illustrated.—W.J.U. 2. Günter Arnold and Martin Kessler, "Mose als Ägypter? Die letzten Seiten der Shaffhauser 'Älteste Urkunde,'" Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche 115 (2018) 137-55. Johann Gottfried Herder's Älteste Urkunde des Menschengeschlechts (1774–1776) alludes to comparative religious perspectives in its discussion of Genesis 1–11. The oldest manuscript of Herder's work was rediscovered in 1980, prior to the edition of the bulk of the work, which appeared in 1993, In this contribution, A. and K. provide a first-time transcription of an addition to the manuscript found in 1980 in which Herder seeks to clarify the relationship between Egyptian culture and the Mosaic history. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 3. John R. Bartlett, "Philip R. Davies, Chairman of PEF, 2015–2018," PEQ 150 (2018) 87-88. B. provides a brief obituary of the well-known British biblicist Philip R. Davies (1945–2018) that reviews his multiple scholarly interests, involvements in numerous academic projects, and substantial corpus of publications, while devoting particular attention to his service as Chairman of the Palestine Exploration Fund in the last three years of his life, during which the Fund moved its headquarters to its location in Greenwich.—C.T.B. 4. Charles E. Baukal, Jr., "Pillar of Fire Theories," SJOT 32 (2018) 217-35. The pillar of fire was a unique phenomenon that led the Israelites at night through the wilderness for forty years. Many theories have been offered to explain this phenomenon, e.g., that it was a mythical or metaphorical construct that never actually existed. Other suggested explanations of the phenomenon include burning jets of natural gas, a brazier raised on a pole, volcanic activity, brush fires, lightning, and a comet. The large and controlled shape of the biblical pillar of fire, its appearance only at night for forty years, and its carefully directed path have also been explained as miraculous in nature. B.'s article includes a scientific discussion of how the pillar might have been produced, reviews the many theories offered to explain the phenomenon, and offers several new theories. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 5. [OT in the Catholic Lectionary] Hans Debel, "Jesaja, de andere profeten en de overige boeken: Het Oude Testament in het zondagslectionarium [Isaiah, the other [End Page 1] prophets, and the remaining books of the Old Testament in the Sunday Lectionary]," Coll 48 (2018) 123-46. This article provides an analysis of the OT in the eucharistic liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, in particular in the Lectionary for Sundays and Solemnities. This analysis proceeds by way of a twofold perspective: it compares the number of readings chosen from the four main parts of the (Catholic) OT and their component books and correlates its findings on these points with the space allotted to the specific books in the course of the liturgical year. On the basis of his investigation, D. notes that the lectionary displays a clear preference for the Prophetic Books, the Book of Isaiah in particular, which occupies a place of prominence in the readings for Advent, Christmastide, and Holy Week. During Lent and the Solemnities of the Lord after Pentecost, a considerable number of readings are drawn from the Pentateuch, above all the narrative portions of Genesis and Exodus. The two other components of the OT, i.e., the Historical Books and the Poetic Books (Psalms excepted) are significantly less well represented in the Lectionary, with excerpts from these occurring mostly during Ordinary Time. Texts from the Historical Books used in the Lectionary mostly concern King...