Authority Of Bible Research Articles

The Biblical Criticism of Ibn Hazm the Andalusian: A Medieval Control for Modern Diachronic Method

This study tests a widely held assumption in the diachronic study of the Hebrew Bible: that the narrative poetics used by the biblical authors are fully accessible to modern scholars, so they are rightfully empowered to determine a text’s unity, or lack thereof. To test whether the canons of narrative prose are relatively unchanged over time we need to find the work of a biblical exegete who lived in premodern times and yet was as committed to identifying fissures in the received text as are modern critical scholars. This study brings to light and examines just such an analysis: the biblical criticism of the eleventh-century Muslim theologian Ibn Hazm the Andalusian, whose critique of Hebrew Scriptures is more comprehensive than anything penned prior to the eighteenth century in Europe. The study concludes that, while Ibn Hazm identifies many of the types of inconsistencies that have been the basis for modern diachronic readings of the Hebrew Bible, he makes no mention of repetition or of narrative doubling as a sign of fissure in the text. Ibn Hazm worked in a climate in which repetition in literature was widely accepted. By contrast, nearly all modern scholars are heirs to the Aristotelian tradition of narrative unity laid out in his Poetics. Perforce, scholars cannot assume that ancient authors would necessarily have shared all of their notions of literary unity, which are demonstrably Aristotelian in nature.

Islands, Islanders, and the Bible: RumInations ed. by Jione Havea, Margaret Aymer, and Steed Vernyl Davidson

Reviewed by: Islands, Islanders, and the Bible: RumInations ed. by Jione Havea, Margaret Aymer, and Steed Vernyl Davidson Gilberto A. Ruiz jione havea, margaret aymer, and steed vernyl davidson (eds.), Islands, Islanders, and the Bible: RumInations (SBLSS 77; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015). Pp. ix + 239. Paper $34.95. This collection of essays emerges from the Islands, Islanders, and Scriptures group of the Society of Biblical Literature. The group and the collection bring island hermeneutics and island studies to biblical criticism and raise questions of whether and how being shaped by island space can serve as a point of departure for interpretation. Following an opening chapter ("RumInations") by the editors, the essays are divided into three parts, labeled as "Waves." The "First Waves" consist of nine methodologically diverse essays written by actual "islanders": Margaret Aymer, "Islandedness, Paul, and John of Patmos"; Steed Vernyl Davidson, "Building on Sand: Shifting Readings of Genesis 38 and Daniel 8"; Nāsili Vaka'uta, "Island-Marking Texts: Engaging the Bible in Oceania"; Mosese Ma'ilo, "Celebrating Hybridity in Island Bibles: Jesus, the Tamaalepō (Child of the Dark) in Mataio 1:18-26"; Althea Spencer Miller, "Creolizing Hermeneutics: A Caribbean Invitation"; Grant Macaskill, "Gaelic Psalmody and a Theology of Place in the Western Isles of Scotland"; J. Richard Middleton, "Islands in the Sun: Overtures to a Caribbean Creation Theology"; Hisako Kinukawa, "The Island of Tyre: The Exploitation of Peasants in the Regions of Tyre and Galilee"; Jione Havea, "Sea-ing Ruth with Joseph's Mistress." The second and third "waves" each contain three essays, not necessarily written by islanders, responding to those in the first section: Roland Boer, "Sand, Surf, and Scriptures" (responds to Davidson, Vaka'uta, and Middleton); Aliou C. Niang, "Islandedness, Translation, and Creolization" [End Page 162] (responds to Aymer, Ma'ilo, and Miller); Andrew Mein, "The Wrong Kind of Island? Notes from a 'Scept'red Isle'" (responds to Macaskill, Kinukawa, and Havea); Elaine M. Wainwright, "Third Wave Reading" (responds to Aymer, Ma'ilo, Kinukawa); Daniel Smith-Christopher, "Thinking on Islands" (responds to Miller, Macaskill, and Middleton); Randall C. Bailey, "Writing from Another 'Room-in-ating' Place" (responds to Davidson, Vaka'uta, and Havea). To varying degrees, the respondents also engage the introductory chapter, in which general editors Davidson, Aymer, and Havea consider how island space is construed by both islanders and non-islanders, articulate questions and possibilities concerning reading and interpretation from an island perspective, and discuss the relationship between island identity and national identity. One challenge this first essay identifies is for "island thinking" to break away from either simply reproducing or exclusively reacting to the dominant discourses of Continental, imperialist cultures that have a long history of colonizing islands. To escape this creative block, Davidson, Aymer, and Havea propose a renewed focus on the unique geographies of island space (of which the sea is a key feature) and an intentional embrace of one's marginal status as an islander. Their essay makes a compelling theoretical case for a distinct island hermeneutics, though helpfully at this point in the enterprise it is suggestive rather than prescriptive about what it might mean to read from an island or "insular" perspective. Ultimately, the value of this essay, and of the collection as a whole, lies not in charting a specific course for islander hermeneutics but in raising many questions about how "place," specifically "island space," affects thinking about and reading the Bible. Certain essays focus primarily on mapping contours of islander hermeneutics (again, offering different possibilities, rather than a single hermeneutical program), analyzing biblical texts either briefly (Aymer, Davidson) or not at all (Vaka'uta, Miller). For Aymer, the negotiation of diaspora space modeled by different island discourses provides new ways to discuss how biblical authors respond to their own diaspora spaces. Whereas Davidson's essay turns to island geography by using the characteristics of sand as a springboard for outlining his hermeneutical approach, focuses on Caribbean island identity, and uses Genesis 38 and Daniel 8 to illustrate his approach, Vaka'uta uses Tongan concepts and values to develop his own hermeneutical framework, one designed to be "meaningful and relevant for readers in Oceania" (p. 57), and does not apply his hermeneutics to any sample...

Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future by Micah D. Kiel

Reviewed by: Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future by Micah D. Kiel Dianne Bergant micah d. kiel, Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future ( Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017). Pp. xxvii + 160. Paper $24.95. The devastation of elements of the natural world as found in the Book of Revelation has been a source of great concern for contemporary ecologically sensitive readers. Some might ask: Why should innocent plants and animals suffer because of human transgression? Looking to the end-time, others wonder: Why should we care for the earth when, in the end, God is simply going to destroy it anyway? Such dire attitudes toward the condition and fate of the natural world as found in Revelation are countered by Kiel as he offers us ways to understand the message(s) of that book from the perspective of theocentric ecology. Kiel uses five elements of the literary form of biography as an operative metaphor for describing his interpretative approach: personality, ancestors, upbringing, career, and legacy. In the first chapter ("Revelation's Personality: The Earth and the Future in an Apocalyptic Ecology"), his treatment of the book's "personality" or character is quite straight-forward. Here he explains Revelation's literary structure and form, identifies its important content and the message it puts forward, and provides sociohistorical information needed for appreciating its basic meaning. In chap. 2 ("Revelation's Ancestors: An Ecological Alternative in the Context of Hellenistic War"), he notes the earlier motifs, emphases, catalysts, and pieces of literature that influenced this book's composition. He relies heavily on the apocryphal 1 Enoch as a corresponding apocalyptic book that presents an ecological alternative for valuing creation. His focus on the role played by elements of the natural world in this earlier book lays the foundation for his understanding of the character and fate of creation as found in Revelation. This understanding is reinforced in chap. 3 ("Revelation's Upbringing: Critique of Empire and Its Ecological Components") as he sketches the historical context within which Revelation was composed. He does this by showing the correspondence between 1 Enoch as resistance literature in the face of Hellenistic supremacy and Revelation as resistance literature at the time of Roman domination. In chap. 4 ("Revelation's Career: Environmental Entanglement in Illuminated Manuscripts"), K. moves away from biblical analysis toward a kind of history of interpretation. He shows how nature scenes from Revelation became themes for several illuminated manuscripts from medieval representations to the contemporary Saint John's Bible. It is clear from the illustrations chosen that often the art demonstrates the perspective of the artist as much as, if not more than, that of the biblical author—not unlike a reader-response reading of the Bible. Despite the eisegetical reading of the biblical passage, these artistic depictions are clearly evidence of how dramatic scenes from Revelation have continued to influence generations down through the ages. [End Page 734] Kiel's investigation leads the reader to see that the violence and destruction depicted in Revelation are really a metaphor for the violence and destruction wrought by Roman domination. It is not until the final chapter ("Revelation's Legacy: Endings and Beginnings") that he treats ecological issues as such. He identifies these issues as environment entanglement, integral ecology, ecological alternative, and ecological debt, to name a few. While he does raise the issues, he does not suggest how Revelation, not simply eco-sensitivity, might help us address them. Instead, he offers three points of conviction and action spurred by the book: belief in the centrality of God and the interconnectedness of all natural creation; the courage to stand in resistance to ecological exploitation; and a different way of viewing the future. In other words, he suggests not a program of action but a transformation of mind and heart. Kiel's multifaceted approach might appear to be rather complex. However, he leads the reader through his analysis carefully and clearly, thus enabling even the nonspecialist reader to follow his thought. Dianne Bergant CSA, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, IL 60615 Copyright © 2018 The Catholic Biblical Association of America

JHWHs grundstürzende Liebe zur abtrünnigen „Frau Israel“. Anmerkungen zu Hos 3,1-5 im Horizont des Hoseabuches

The pericope Hos 3:1-5 passes on narrative materials that poses a various number of riddles. Hosea receives the mission to repurchase and love a woman but still abstain from her. This narrative of their relationship, which is mainly realised in abstinence, is told in the form of a first person’s perspective report and becomes the parable for describing JHWH’s relationship with his people. Who is this woman? Is it Gomer, the mother of the three children who are mentioned in Hos 1:2-9? Is it another woman besides Gomer, whom the prophet needs to ransom? Is it a biographical note about the prophet’s life or a fictional scene composed for a fundamental theological proposition? The persuasions regarding this question are various. The following contribution demonstrates that the biblical author reveals the radicality and depth of the divine love to his people within the framework of the prophet’s failed marriage. The numerous transverse relations of Hos 3:1-5 to the previous chapters (Hos 1-2) and to the subsequent chapters (Hos 4-14) identify Hos 3 as a connecting chapter, wherein the whole theology of the book of Hosea concentrates.

The Host of Heaven and the Divine Army: A Reassessment

That YHWH was perceived to command a divine army in the heavens brooks no argument. Traditionally, the phrase “host of heaven” (צבא השמים) has been associated with this divine army. In this article I reassess the relevant evidence and argue that the host of heaven are not portrayed in this role. The biblical texts contain numerous references to YHWH’s divine army, but these forces are never called a host (צבא). Rather, the diversity of terminology employed in reference to YHWH’s army suggests that it possessed no fixed terminology. It may be that the biblical authors deliberately did not use the term host in order to avoid associating YHWH’s divine army too closely with the weaknesses of human armies.

Motyw „gniewu Bożego” w historiografii Ksiąg Królewskich

The motive of God’s wrath is crucial to understanding the historiography of the Books of Kings, especially the tragic end of Israel and Judah. In narrating the story about the post-Davidic monarchy, the biblical author shows how the wrath of YHWH brings about, first, the division of Solomon’s Kingdom (1Kings 11:9-13), and then the fall of the Northern Kingdom (2Kings 17:5-23), and of Jerusalem and Judah (2Kings 24–25). The theological interpretation of history in 1–2Kings relies on the interconnected paradigms of “crime and punishment” and “prophecy and fulfillment”. The strict link between the wrath of YHWH and the people's unfaithfulness to His covenant according to the principle of retribution completes the historiographical picture of 1–2Kings. In this manner the author of 1–2Kings interprets the tragic end of the monarchies of Israel and Judah as the result of a just God’s wrath, in response to the people’s sin of idolatry and abandonment of YHWH. By this logic, the motive of God’s wrath is used in 1–2Kings to rationalize the national tragedies and to defend God against any charges of injustice. This theological view of history, depicted in such a way, serves as a lesson and a warning to the post-exilic addressees of these scriptures.

American Unitarianism and the Protestant dilemma. The conundrum of biblical authority. By Lydia Willsky-Ciollo. Pp. xxiv + 281. Lanham, Md–London: Lexington Books, 2015. £70. 978 0 7391 8892 7

American Unitarianism and the Protestant dilemma. The conundrum of biblical authority. By Lydia Willsky-Ciollo. Pp. xxiv + 281. Lanham, Md–London: Lexington Books, 2015. £70. 978 0 7391 8892 7 - Volume 69 Issue 4

Discourse on the Bible Compilation Framework Timeline: A Relation with the Development of Islamic Sources

There were several attempts by some Jews and Christians to explain how the biblical authors insisted that God dictated the text to Moses. However, later the intellectual journey looks at Bible with commentaries which began at 2nd century in Palestine when the interpretation done in classical commentaries in Aramaic then in Hebrew. However, in 20th century the impact of Orientalist` commentaries pointed out the first chapter of Genesis did not describe a literary sequence. In fact, the commentaries of different centuries from different countries having testimony to the common ground of understanding between them and this process is still not ending until now. According to Avigdor Bonchek the pseudo interpretation is a result of lacking in depth of understanding on the rules of interpretation. The interpretation must work from the original Hebrew; therefore, he believes that the interpretation does not delve further into the understanding of the original source. However, this is typical ‘escapism’ of the literary sources. The major problem is not the translation of the Bible itself but the interpretation of sources referred. Thus, the paper focuses on some deviations of information in the scriptures either Old Testament or New Testament of the Bible with a reflection on the Islamic sources such as the compilation of Quran and Hadith. Then, an analytical and critical study are made to present a methodological approach in the writing of this paper to provide a manifestation of the reflection that some ideas of the verses in the Bible might have been transferred from Islamic sources such as the Quran.

Before Authorship: Solomon and Prov. 1:1

How should we understand the naming of legendary figures like Solomon in biblical titles? The ancient practice of attribution is often obscured by scholars committed to the modern construction of authorship. Texts such as 11QPsa XXVII (“David’s Compositions”) demonstrate an altogether different understanding of this ancient practice. Using Prov. 1:1 as a test case, this essay examines how biblical authors and editors assigned texts to legendary figures, and how this kind of attribution evokes a set of imagined associations in the broader literary tradition. The essay presents a description and categorization of biblical titles and textual frames, and compares these titles and frames to textual frames of ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean collections of instruction and poetry. The essay argues that Prov. 1:1, like other textual frames, uses attribution to imaginatively stage the text in the broader literary tradition.

Maps, Improvisation, and Games: Retaining Biblical Authority in Local Theology

One of the primary tasks of local theology is to address questions and challenges that are context-specific but not explicitly addressed in the Bible. How can biblical authority be retained while attempting to answer questions, whereby the theologian is compelled to go beyond explicit biblical teaching? Ways of resolving the seeming tension between local theologizing and the normative authority of Scripture are addressed by examining three somewhat novel approaches to conceptualizing the theological process. The first is Paul G. Hiebert’s idea of critical realism and the analogy of maps. The second is Kevin J. Vanhoozer’s idea of theodrama and improvisation. The third is my own concept of game logic and strategy. Each of these three conceptualizations will be briefly described with particular attention to the task of local theologizing and biblical authority.

Science and theology in human sexuality

ABSTRACTChristian debates about human sexuality are often presented as being concerned primarily with differences regarding authority of scripture. It is proposed here that they might more constructively be understood as debates about science and theology. Just as cosmology, evolution and demonology have variously been perceived as presenting conflict between scientific theories and biblical texts, so human sexuality presents similar points of tension. The issue at stake is not really about biblical authority, but rather about how the “book of nature” and the book of scripture are understood to mutually interpret each other. Lessons learned from debates between science and theology in other domains, may usefully facilitate a more constructive debate on sexuality.

The Religious Roots of the Progressive Income Tax in America

I examine the debate over the first peacetime income tax in the United States in 1894 to investigate the role of religion in enacting the tax and providing moral legitimacy. I find that congressional proponents repeatedly and explicitly argued that a progressive income tax was a biblical tax that best conformed to Judeo-Christian teachings on economics and fundraising. I discuss the history of American religious fundraising practices, including the trend leading up to 1894 that advocated for proportionate giving of income as the best method of giving, as well as the related tithing movement. I document that congressional income tax supporters drew on the language and ideas of these religious fundraising movements, in addition to direct recourse to biblical authority. Income tax supporters also used religiously-rooted ideas to argue for progression in tax rates, especially the idea that income earned through labor and used to supply basic needs has special moral value, while higher levels of “unearned” income were devalued and viewed with suspicion. For their part, income tax opponents used biblical injunctions against covetousness and theft, as well as biblical ideas about thrift and industry, to argue against progressive income taxes. The 1894 income tax offers a valuable case study on the important and unappreciated role that religion can exercise in the public square, especially with respect to taxation and economic policy. Religion can play a moderating and motivating role that cuts across the political spectrum and builds consensus.

The portrayal of Africa and Africans in the book of Jeremiah

Since the 1980s, many Jeremianic scholars have spent much time on the study of the various contentious issues in order to resolve them. However, there has been no unanimous agreement yet. One of these contentious issues is the relationship of the prophet Jeremiah to ancient Africa and Africans which is the main focus of this article. The author of the book Jeremiah made references to Ancient Africa and Africans about 53 times in the Septuagint, and 67 times in the Masoretic Text. This indicates that the prophet Jeremiah is very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans. Using a historical–biographical and theological method of reading Jeremiah, this article examines the portrayal of ancient Africa and Africans in the book of Jeremiah. It is also part of an investigation of the African presence in the Old Testament which, to Africans, is an important moral and self–lifting scholarly exercise. It is also gratifying information in itself to know that Africa and Africans have participated in the drama of redemption which has not been recognised as such by either Eurocentric scholars or by the majority of Africentric scholars themselves. While in the Pentateuch references to Africa and Africans appear more than 577 times, in the Major Prophets there are about 180 references. What this means is that not only the author of the book of Jeremiah, but biblical authors in general are very familiar with ancient Africa and Africans, and deliberately took time to identify them. The continued recognition by scholars and non–scholars of Africa and African presence in the Bible has great implications for Christianity in Africa.

“Human Speech is Naught”? The Authoritative Word in Robert Browning's Poetry

ABSTRACTIt has often been argued that Browning's poems, culminating in the form of the dramatic monologue, evince a rejection of the authoritative authorial voice and insist on the elusiveness of objective truth. Indeed, Browning repeatedly presents human speech as inherently flawed, distinct from the religious idea of the efficacious Word and intrinsically inferior to it. However, the Word, in its various senses, is of major importance to Browning's thought and work: he questions it, emulates it and appropriates it, and always in relation to the authority and truth value of poetic language. References to the Word in “An Epistle … of Karshish”, “A Death in the Desert”, The Ring and the Book and “Fust and his Friends” reveal Browning's appropriation of the authoritative Word within poetic language, with the effect of granting his poetry religious authority, juxtaposed with the nineteenth century crisis of biblical authority taking place in the background.

Specification of "dialectic-theological" reception of the proteastant orthodoxia ideas

The article examines the world view and religiously-philosophical grounds of the interest of dialectical theology representatives to the ideas of Reformation, first of all, about absolute meaningfulness of faith, leading role of Christ and priority of Holy Bible, about the necessity of unity of "internal man" with God, replacement of the authority of church by the authority of Bible. At the same time it is underlined, that within the framework of dialectical theology, unlike the protestant orthodoxy, there is a differentiation of Bible and Divine Word. Bible is not here static, and becomes the Divine Word during an event, and a meeting with God takes place in Jesus Christ as a Word Divine.

Samson and Heracles Revisited

ABSTRACTIn the past scholars have suspected that Greek legends about Heracles and other Greek narratives may have influenced the emergence of the Samson narratives in Judges 13-16. Usually Philistine mediation of these Heracles legends to the Israelites in the pre-monarchic era was suggested. However, the author suggests that the Heracles legends arose in the sixth century BCE and later, so the biblical author could have encountered Greek stories only in the Persian or Hellenistic eras. The Samson narratives then would be a late redaction into the Deuteronomistic History. The author believes that the large number of similarities indicates not simply familiarity with general folkloristic motifs, but rather that the author of the Samson narratives was familiar with the Heracles legends.

Who Gave You Authority to Baptize?

"This paper will explore the age-old, yet still relevant question, “And who gave you authority to baptize?”(Mark 11:27-33; John 1:25). First, biblical authority will be examined regarding who is allowed to baptize. Second, the writings of Ellen G. White, as they relate to biblical authority for baptizing, will be considered. Third, a counter-argument will be discussed. And finally, two baptismal tracks within the current conventional Adventist church system will be compared. This paper will conclude with a missional way forward that is faithful to Scripture, sustainable, scalable, and missionally effective in light of current cultural trends."

Toward a Best Practice in Representing The Authors’ Explanatory Notes in Old Testament Translation

This article will help translation teams to develop a best practice for dealing with explanatory notes that are made by the Biblical authors themselves. To my knowledge there is no standard resource for Bible translators that addresses in some detail the issue of explanatory (or: parenthetical) notes. However, every Bible translator will face numerous such notes and has to decide what to do with them. Some standard versions appear unsystematic in this and are of limited help. This article discusses what options a translator has in dealing with such notes. Special attention is given to explanatory notes that need explanation themselves for the modern reader. In order to explore translation problems and solutions regarding explanatory notes, I collected examples – partly when I encountered them incidentally, partly by reading through several Biblical books and looking for them. I discuss the options for translation on the basis of three types of examples. An annotated translation of Deuteronomy 3:8–17 shows how explanatory notes can be represented. I argue that each translation project should make two conscious choices: (1) whether or not to mark explanatory notes, and (2) if yes, in what way; this is largely a question of how punctuation and footnotes are used. The principles should be applied consistently. This is to achieve three goals: (1) doing justice to the Biblical text with its own history and different levels, (2) being systematic and transparent in the method of translation, and (3) having efficient ways of working within the translation team. A model guideline and a list of explanatory notes complete the article.

Mapping Judah's Fate in Ezekiel's Oracles against the Nations by Lydia Lee

Reviewed by: Mapping Judah's Fate in Ezekiel's Oracles against the Nations by Lydia Lee Corrine Carvalho lydia lee, Mapping Judah's Fate in Ezekiel's Oracles against the Nations (Ancient Near East Monographs 15; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016). Pp. xvii + 297. Paper $49.95. This study of the rhetorical function of the Oracles against the Nations in the Book of Ezekiel is a revised version of the author's doctoral thesis (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 2014). As such, many of its best features reflect this genre, including a comprehensive bibliography and a good review of literature on this material. The monograph is well written and easy to read. It presents a coherent argument, with each chapter building to an overall picture of this often-neglected part of the Book of Ezekiel. After a discussion of previous research and a statement of the book's methodology in the first chapter, each subsequent chapter treats a different part of the biblical book. In chap. 2, L. looks at the portrayal of Judah's proximate neighbors in Ezekiel 25. In chap. 3, she deals with the oracles against Tyre and does the same in chap. 4 with the Egyptian oracles. In chap. 5 and the epilogue, L. examines what she calls the "afterlife" of these oracles, first in later additions to the book and then in the postbiblical tradition. The book contains two indexes (ancient sources and modern authors). [End Page 125] Lee argues that the overall rhetoric of the depiction of foreign nations in chaps. 25–32 functions to enhance the condemnation of Judah, a conclusion that contrasts with the more common scholarly consensus that the Oracles against the Nations pave the way for Judah's restoration. She looks at specific lexical cues that tie these oracles to earlier condemnations of Judah. While not all of the parallels bear equal weight, the cumulative effect of the textual resonances reinforces the book's main thrust that Judah is worse than the surrounding countries. This argument is especially convincing in the discussion of Tyre in chap. 3. By exalting the splendor of Tyre using lexemes found in Israelite texts describing the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood, the biblical author implies that, if Tyre cannot escape Yhwh's wrath, neither can Judah. This foreboding is reinforced by the descriptions of Tyre's beauty, which echo the descriptions of Jerusalem's punished beauty in Ezekiel 23. Lee takes a similar approach to the oracles against Egypt. In these texts, the biblical author exploits the alliance between Egypt and Judah, so that the fall of Egypt necessitates the parallel fall of Judah. L. again highlights lexical ties, such as the nets in chaps. 12 and 32, the imminence of the day of Yhwh in chaps. 7 and 30, and the use of an explicit dirge form in chaps. 19 and 32. These echoes tie Judah's fate to that of Egypt. Although I was not convinced by all of the parallels, especially the discussion of the "chthonic cedar" (pp. 139-44), most of L.'s examples are precise and convincing. Lee then turns to other chapters of Ezekiel in the second half of the book to show how later additions change the portrayal of foreign nations in the final form of the book. First, she looks at the framing of the Oracles against the Nations by the explicit references to Jerusalem's fall in chaps. 24 and 33. This frame links the destruction of the nations more closely to the fate of Jerusalem, making more explicit what the Oracles against the Nations imply: Jerusalem becomes the first and the last among the fallen. It was not clear to me why this frame needed to be seen as a later addition to the collection, however, given that it reinforces the thrust of the intervening chapters. In the second part of chap. 5, L. argues that both the oracle against Mount Seir in chap. 35 and the depiction of Gog of Magog in chaps. 38–39 present a view of foreign nations that is very different from that found in chaps. 25–32. These later chapters do in fact link Judah's restoration to the...

Uncircumcision in Early Christian Art

Apart from Adam and Eve, all the figures depicted nude in early Christian art are Jewish men, notably Daniel in the lions’ den, Jonah at rest under the gourd plant, and Jesus in the scene of his baptism. Notwithstanding biblical authority to the contrary, they are consistently depicted as uncircumcised. This “error” may be attributed to ignorance, inadvertence, or an unreflective mimicry of readily available models, but this paper argues that such visual uncircumcision had, instead, a principled basis. In particular, it conformed to negative theological, social, and aesthetic attitudes towards the Jewish ritual and, more generally, towards Jews.