Biblical Citations Research Articles

Reflexões sobre a trindade como expressão do amor em Nicolau de Cusa

Procuramos, neste artigo, apresentar a reflexão de Nicolau de Cusa sobre a Trindade, em dois dos seus textos: De coniecturis e De visione dei. Nesses dois livros, a Trindade recebe uma série de outras designações diferentes daquelas que aparecem nas citações bíblicas ou, como ele próprio afirma, diferentes das usadas pelos nossos doutores. Nesse sentido, objetivamos mostrar, também, que as expressões da Trindade podem ser lidas como expressões do amor no pensamento do filósofo alemão.

Una leggenda in cerca d'autore: la Vita di santa Chiara d'Assisi. Studio delle fonti e sinossi intertestuale (review)

Reviewed by: Una leggenda in cerca d'autore: la Vita di santa Chiara d'Assisi. Studio delle fonti e sinossi intertestuale Lezlie Knox Una leggenda in cerca d'autore: la Vita di santa Chiara d'Assisi. Studio delle fonti e sinossi intertestuale. By Marco Guida. [Subsidia hagiographica, 90.] (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes. 2010. Pp. x, 255. €65,00 paperback. ISBN 978-2-873-65024-7.) About the same time that Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare of Assisi in 1255, he commissioned a hagiographical legend to support her cult. The resulting Life of Saint Clare never identifies its author, although surely it was known to some contemporaries. Modern scholars have debated its authorship since early in the twentieth century as part of the "Franciscan Question"—shorthand for the debates surrounding early sources for the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his followers. Following some medieval manuscripts, St. Bonaventure was identified as Clare's biographer, whereas others claimed it was Thomas of Celano, who had written three biographical works on Francis. Giovanni Boccali suggested an anonymous cleric within the papal curia as author, based on its use of biblical citation and relatively little detail concerning Francis. Marco Guido now presents a compelling argument in favor of Thomas. In addition to resolving this issue, his important study sheds additional light on the relationship between the early Franciscan brotherhood and the female community at San Damiano, as well as the transmission of Clare's writings and biographical records. The centerpiece of Guida's study is a synoptic comparison of the three thirteenth-century biographical sources for Clare's life: the process of canonization, the bull declaring her sainthood, and the legend itself. A complex table uses varying colors and typefaces to show the interrelationships between these texts, as well as borrowings from other contemporary documents including Francis's biographies and Clare's writings. His methodology follows that of the Federazione Santa Chiara di Assisi delle Clarisse di Umbria-Sardegna, a research team of Franciscan sisters, whose similar treatment of the Rule of Saint Clare in Chiara d'Assisi e le sue fonti legislative. Sinossi cromatica (Padua, 2003) provided new insights into the circumstances of its composition. This chart demonstrates how the Legend of Saint Clare frequently uses literal phrases from the canonization process. This is more significant than it may seem. Clare's process exists only in a vernacular version, prepared by the Clarissan nun Battista Alfani in the late-fifteenth century. The correspondences between process and legend indicate that her translation is a faithful version of an earlier Latin text. It is thus not simply the best text we have, but an authoritative one. Guida also identifies fifteen direct borrowings from Thomas's writings on Francis. These passages—along with the use of similar liturgical phrases, analogous descriptions of events, and stylistic commonalities—contribute to his identification of Thomas's authorship. Furthermore, he establishes that the author had to be someone with an intimate knowledge of Franciscan concerns [End Page 773] and emphases, a description that fits the friar who effectively was the order's "official" hagiographer prior to Bonaventure. Guida develops this connection by examining how oral testimony and evidence from Clare's writings were incorporated into the legend. He convincingly argues that details about her conversion and the early days of the female movement could only have come from new testimony from sisters at San Damiano and from those friars who were close to the women. These included Ruffino, Angelo, and Leo, Francis's so-called socii ("companions"), who, the Legend uniquely records, attended Clare's deathbed. These witnesses provided information about Francis's role in Clare's formation and her confrontations with successive popes over the sisters' ability to live without possessions. Leo even may have collaborated with Thomas, Guida suggests, and provided access to Clare's writings (he has been identified as the scribe of the earliest manuscript containing her works). Here Guida is following other scholars in identifying a "magic circle" of figures (including Clare) who testify to the early Franciscan movement, a resource that Thomas was best suited to access. In sum, anyone interested in early Franciscan history will benefit from reading this convincing argument...

Biblical Citations as a Stylistic Standard in Johnson’s and Webster’s Dictionaries

Noah Webster’s primary source for the first edition of the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (ADEL) was Samuel Johnson’s 1799 eighth edition of the Dictionary of the English Language (DEL). Scholars have made much of the debt that Webster owes to Johnson for entries in the 1828 ADEL. Stylistic analyses have typically focused on the definitions included in the two dictionaries. Far less attention has been paid to the illustrative quotations employed by both authors to exemplify usage. This article focuses on Biblical citations in the letter S used by both Johnson and Webster as examples of usage. All citations (both secular and Biblical) under the letter S were examined to determine the relative importance of the Bible to the style and content of the dictionaries. Results indicate that though Johnson included more Biblical citations than Webster did, Biblical citations made up a larger proportion of Webster’s total citations than they did for Johnson.In addition to ascertaining frequency of Biblical citations, all Biblical citations shared by both dictionaries were also identified. Results of this analysis confirmed Webster’s debt to Johnson, as a great number of Webster’s Biblical citations may be found in Johnson’s dictionary. A study of the religious convictions of Johnson and Webster is integral to understanding both authors’ motivations in constructing their dictionaries. Though both were pious men, Johnson’s focus on the Bible was as a great literary work, whereas Webster’s focus on the Bible was as a tool for the religious and moral betterment of his readers.

The Netherlandish Image after Iconoclasm, 1566–1672: Material Religion in the Dutch Golden Age (review)

Reviewed by: The Netherlandish Image after Iconoclasm, 1566–1672: Material Religion in the Dutch Golden Age Walter S. Melion The Netherlandish Image after Iconoclasm, 1566–1672: Material Religion in the Dutch Golden Age. By Mia M. Mochizuki. (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing. 2008. Pp. xxiv, 399. $124.95. ISBN: 978-0-754-66104-7.) This important book provides an extended analysis—pictorial, functional, contextual, and theological—of the six scriptural tekstborden (text panels) installed in the Great Church of Haarlem between 1580 and 1585, where they served as confessional statements avowing the conversion of this formerly Roman Catholic cathedral into a purified Temple of the Word. Painted onto columns, hung from piers, elevated above the choir screen, and inserted into the stone armature that once supported the high altarpiece, these panels, also known as tekstschilderijen (text paintings), consist of biblical citations and paraphrases that substitute divinely sanctioned litterae for the Catholic figural images recently despoiled by iconoclasts and then systematically (and carefully) removed by civic authorities. The subjects—the Last Supper, Ten Commandments, Passages from Matthew and from John, supplemented by the biblical compendia assembled in the Greengrocers’ and Linen Weavers’ Paintings, as well as by the commemorative Siege of Haarlem on the reverse of the Last Supper—constitute a programmatic statement of Reformed religious identity, as Mochizuki amply demonstrates. The author invokes the reform theology of Erasmus, as set forth by scholars such as Carlos Eire, to explain how these text panels materialize a new kind of image-theory, at once verbal and visual, that substitutes textual simulacra for pictorial eikones, the written for the enfleshed Word, as representational indices of the transcendent and therefore incommensurable presence of God within the communal fabric of the Church. Mochizuki construes the tekstborden as specimens of what she calls Reformed aesthetics: The posticonoclastic image, she argues, swaps verisimilar imitation for indexical portrayal as the key principle of sacred image-making. The text panels respond to John Calvin’s prohibition against the corporeal representation of God, an interdict enshrined in Question 97 of the Heidelberg Catechism, by emphasizing that he has been portrayed in an emphatically mediated and referential fashion. Instead of a lifelike effigy, the worshiper is given an image [End Page 568] composed of words, either gilt or painted in oil on stone or panel, that renders doctrinal truths beyond the scope of any conventional picture. Mochizuki insists on the artifice of these indices of the Word: Composed of depicted words, they enshrine the knowledge of God to be found in Scripture, which is transmitted visually and yet verbally; at the same time, these painted texts implicitly allude to the Catholic imagery they supplant, that falsely purveyed the illusion of unmediated access to embodied divinity. Having displaced mimesis as the principle of sacred image-making, they call attention to their novel status as examples of a “symbolic or metonymic system of representation [that] changed the very idea of what decoration in churches should be” (p. 140). The question arises: Why was it so imperative to retain the vestiges of the image? Mochizuki would seem to provide several answers. First, Calvin and his Dutch adherents, well aware of the human need for outward signs of devotion, provided tangible indicators through which churchgoers could convey, or better, represent their relation to God. These expressions of congregational piety were devised to underscore the differences between Catholic and Reformed modes of worship. Second, the text image provided a “visual locus of meeting” (p. 261), differing in this respect from book texts; through engagement with the tekstborden, the community represents to itself the hermeneutic work of scriptural reading and the institutional project of fashioning the new Church of Christ. Third, text images like the Last Supper refer specifically to the Reformed understanding of the Eucharist as a sacramental commemoration (ghedachtenisse) of the memorial meal instituted by Christ to recall his redemptive sacrifice. Whereas figural altarpieces body forth the doctrine of transubstantiation, whereby the species of bread and wine are sacramentally transformed into the body and blood of Christ, the indexical tekstborden emphatically signify that the sacrament is referential and metaphorical. The calligraphic pointing of doctrinally resonant words such as bread, body, and testament, drives home this point...

Jan van der Heyden's urban prose*

Jan van der Heyden's urban prose*

Gregory of Antioch: Homilia in S. Theophania (CPG 7385)--Gleanings of Text and Theme

A preliminary study of Gregory of Antioch's Homilia in S. Theophania in its Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions points to the complexity and value of the ancient homily tradition. With respect to biblical citations, themes, and exegetical elements—such as the 'fire on the Jordan' at Jesus' baptism, the study reveals that the various forms of the homily share a common heritage yet participate in distinctive traditions. Preserving archaic details, especially in its original and Syriac forms, the homily exemplifies the value of later patristic works for our knowledge of earlier traditions and interpretations.

God Diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder

This article endorses the contention that God suffers from a mental disorder, but challenges J. Henry Jurgens’ diagnosis of bipolar disorder as reported in The Onion (“God diagnosed with bipolar disorder”, 2001) and proposes narcissistic personality disorder instead. It uses the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder from The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 1994) and various biblical citations in support of this diagnosis. It rejects the idea that a major personality change is reflected in the New Testament and claims that God did not experience a major transformation of his narcissistic personality structure as described by Heinz Kohut (Forms and transformations of narcissism, in A. P. Morrison, Ed., Essential papers on narcissism, pp. 61–87, New York University Press, New York, 1966/1986). However, it concludes that God’s creativity accounts for the stability of his narcissistic personality structure and helps to explain his lack of empathy toward human beings.

Venantius Fortunatus, Gelegentlich Gedichte: Das lyrische Werk, Die Vita des hl. Martin (review)

Reviewed by: Venantius Fortunatus, Gelegentlich Gedichte: Das lyrische Werk, Die Vita des hl. Martin Michael Roberts Venantius Fortunatus, Gelegentlich Gedichte: Das lyrische Werk, Die Vita des hl. Martin. Translated, with Introduction and Commentary, by Wolfgang Fels. [Bibliothek der Mittellateinischen Literatur, Band 2.] (Stuttgart: Hiersemann. 2006. Pp. xlvi, 500. €124,00.) The poetry of Venantius Fortunatus remains something of an underutilized resource for the social and cultural history of the early Merovingian period. Wolfgang Fels's translation, therefore,which makes available in a single volume a reliable modern translation of the entire Fortunatan poetic corpus is a welcome event. His version includes not just the Carmina and the Life of St. Martin but also the Spuria, which Friedrich Leo printed along with the authentic poems in his monumental edition of 1881.Fels, in fact, argues for the authenticity of the last of these poems (Spuria 11), but I am inclined to agree with Leo that the poem is alien to Fortunatus's manner. The translation is clear and readable and will allow scholars to appreciate the variety of Fortunatus' subject matter and some of his distinctive literary qualities. Fels has chosen to imitate the dactylic meters of his original, mostly elegiac couplets, but hexameters for the four-book Life of St. Martin. Occasionally this requires a certain freedom in his handling of Fortunatus's language, but nothing that does violence to or inaccurately represents the original. In his Introduction Fels speaks of Fortunatus's love of word play and effects of sound, a distinctive aspect of Fortunatan poetics, which he aims to reproduce when possible. In this respect, perhaps understandably given that he is also writing a metrical version, Fels's success is mixed. To take one example, Fortunatus's alliterative comment on St. Martin's healing of a leper, which comes close to the end of book 1 of the Life, "faithful in its fealty faith faithfully made fair the foul" (1.506), finds no equivalent in Fels's translation. At times, too, I felt Fortunatus's characteristic metaphorical invention was watered down in the translation. But overall, Fels's judgment is sound, and it is to his credit that he aspires to reproduce, to the extent that he can, some of the literary qualities of Fortunatus'work as well as to reproduce its content. In his commentary Fels aspires to provide the most basic information necessary for understanding the poem. He identifies individuals and locations mentioned in the text; he gives an ample conspectus of biblical citations and references. By comparison, he provides little or no information on the influence [End Page 325] of earlier poets on Fortunatus's work nor does he speak about such literary influences in his introduction. In this, he is probably assessing correctly the interests of his likely readers. But even for the circumstances of composition and for contextual detail, users of the translation would be wise to consult the fuller annotation in the Budé edition of Marc Reydellet and Solange Quesnel. Fels's notes are very abbreviated and can give an oversimplified impression of the state of a question. The introduction,too,would benefit from fuller engagement with the scholarship. In two cases, Fels's interpretation is implausible and contradicts that of Reydellet (on poems 11.5 and 9.15—in the latter case, he notes the discrepancy in a note). Most of the scholarship listed in the bibliography is in German, again understandably. One surprising omission, even allowing for this emphasis, is Sylvie Labarre's Le manteau partagé, published in 1998, which discusses in detail Fortunatus's Martin poem and its predecessor on the same subject by Paulinus of Périgueux. It would be wrong, though, to end on a negative note. Most of my criticisms relate to ancillary aspects of Fels's work. The comprehensive translation of Fortunatus's entire poetic corpus is a substantial achievement and will be welcome to many students of the Merovingian period who are seeking access to Fortunatus's somewhat daunting, and occasionally difficult, body of work. [End Page 326] Michael Roberts Wesleyan University Copyright © 2008 The Catholic University of America Press

The Authorial Spirit? Biblical Citations in Jacob of Edessa's Hexaemeron

Abstract The Syrian Orthodox bishop and polymath Jacob of Edessa (c. 630–708 CE) produced his own Syriac version of the Old Testament which combined the Peshitta and Greek traditions. Similarly composite citations of Scripture appear in his other works, raising the question of their relationship to his own biblical version. This article analyses some examples of citations of the book of Job that appear in Jacob's first treatise in his Hexaemeron, on the nature of angels.

Romanos the Melodist: ‘On Adam and Eve and the Nativity’: Introduction with Annotated Translation

Since the complete English translation of the works of Romanos (poetic homilies usually called ‘kontakia’) by M. Carpenter,2 which is not only out of print but is also marred by frequent errors, two English translations3 have been published, but both contain only a small selection of his works. The present kontakion is not included in either of these two recent translations, and the purpose of this article is therefore to provide such a translation, including a short introduction in which the main characteristics of the homily and the outline of its argument are provided. The translation is accompanied by notes covering various aspects including references to Biblical citations or allusions. This early homily deals with Adam and Eve and their request to Mary to defend their cause after they have heard in Hades of the birth of Christ. Apart from this reference to the birth of Christ, the plot of the homily has no relation to any Biblical episode, and is therefore an invention of the preacher-poet himself. Adam and Eve are therefore presented as symbols of fallen mankind rather than biblical figures as the new Adam and Eve they represent the new creation in Christ. The homily focuses mainly on the Virgin in her role as universal intercessor.

The Life of Antony, and: The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and: Encomium on Saint Antony, and: A Letter to the Disciples of Antony (review)

Reviewed by: The Life of Antony, and: The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and: Encomium on Saint Antony, and: A Letter to the Disciples of Antony James E. Goehring The Life of Antony by Athanasius of Alexandria; The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and Encomium on Saint Antony by John of Shmün, and A Letter to the Disciples of Antony by Serapion of Thmuis. Translated by Tim Vivian and Apostolos N. Athanassakis with Rowan A. Greer. [Cistercian Studies Series: No. 202.] (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. 2003. Pp. lxvi, 290. $27.95 paperback.) The influential Egyptian ascetic Antony, made famous by Athanasius in his Life of Antony, served also as the subject of two additional early Egyptian narrative texts: a letter of consolation sent by Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, to Antony's disciples shortly after his death in 356 A.D., and a florid encomium filled with metaphors praising the saint attributed to John, Bishop of Shmun, dated ca. 600 A.D. The present volume offers English translations of all three texts, including both the Greek and Coptic versions of the Life of Antony, an extensive introduction, and a good selective bibliography. Serapion's letter and John's encomium appear here for the first time in English. The volume is constructed around the translations of the Life. As such, the extensive introduction to the volume is, in fact, an introduction to the Life, illustrating once again its role in shaping most portraits of the saint. The introduction is separated from the translations of the Life by the translations of John's encomium and Serapion's letter, each with its own separate brief introduction. As such, the two shorter texts seem to intervene in the flow of the volume, though not seriously. The Greek and Coptic translations of the Life are set on facing pages, allowing the reader to compare the two and see to some degree how the Coptic translator worked. Vivian offers some exploration of the differences in the introduction, most notably perhaps the alteration of the famous line in the Greek Life, "the desert was made a city by the monks," to "the desert filled with monks" (so too the Syriac version). While numerous English translations of the Greek Life exist, this is the first based on Bartelink's new and much improved 1994 critical edition (Sources chrétiennes, 400) and as such important. The translation of the Sahidic Coptic version of the Life, based on Garitte's 1949 edition, improves on Vivian's earlier 1995 translation (San Francisco: International Scholars Publications). The authors present these texts not only for those interested in the late antique world of early Christian Egypt, but also as spiritual guides still relevant today. The introductions and notes are useful for both purposes, referencing in particular biblical citations and allusions. The more critical, language-oriented notes in Vivian's earlier translation of the Coptic Life are, however, reduced in the current edition. Scholars will naturally want to consult the critical editions. Nonetheless, the present volume offers easy initial access to the texts in translation. While the authors set the individual texts in their appropriate historical setting, they understand and interpret Antony's quest in terms of the human [End Page 893] predicament. The texts become thereby forever relevant. They make this point explicit at the end of their introduction, noting that "since we are probably not going out into the desert, we need to bring the desert home to us. . . . we need to see enough of Antony's landscape in our own (and ours in his) to make his journey recognizable." As such, this volume continues Vivian's impressive effort, here aided by Athanassakis, not only to make the Coptic accounts of the desert fathers available in English, but to encourage their broader reading both for historical study and individual growth. James E. Goehring University of Mary Washington Copyright © 2007 The Catholic University of America Press

Commentary on Zechariah (review)

Reviewed by: Commentary on Zechariah Peter Steiger Didymus the Blind Commentary on Zechariah. Translated by Robert HillThe Fathers of the Church, 111Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2006 Pp. xi + 372. $39.95. In his translation of Didymus's On Zechariah Robert Hill has added to his list of contributions on patristic exegesis. It is his first publication of an Alexandrian exegete following prodigious work on those more commonly associated with Antioch. It promises not to be his last since a translation of Cyril's comments on the Twelve Prophets is forthcoming in the same series (FOTC 115). The introduction stipulates that this translation is part of a project contrasting the exegesis of Zechariah in Antioch and Alexandria and how ancient interpreters [End Page 426] compare with modern approaches. Given Hill's familiarity with the Antiochene exegetes, we can expect this contribution to be significant. On Zechariah is part of the cache of papyri recovered from a cave in Tura, Egypt in 1941. Made up mostly of biblical commentaries by Didymus, these papyri were critically edited in German and French. Hill's is the first complete English translation of any of Didymus's exegetical works and is dependent on the Sources chrétiennes editions (83–85); it will certainly set the tone for further research. Like other selections in the FOTC, this translation contains a bibliography, introduction, and indices that will facilitate study. Hill's brief bibliography is not focused exclusively on Didymus, including as it does entries on the LXX, patristic exegesis, and modern biblical studies. A short introduction addresses the background of the work, i.e., the circumstances of composition, hermeneutical method, and theological significance. The translation is structured according to the fourteen chapters found in modern bibles, not according to Didymus's division into five books. The lemma being commented on is helpfully set off with italics while other biblical citations are marked by quotes and identified in footnotes. Hill's translation is readable and reliable. There are copious footnotes throughout, comparing Didymus to his Antiochene contemporaries and showing divergences between Didymus's LXX text and the Hebrew original that impact interpretation. While the appearance of Didymus's commentary in English is welcome and long overdue, there are several drawbacks to the work. Most significant is the failure to properly situate Didymus's work theologically. As the introduction and bibliography reveal, Hill has neglected recent scholarship pertaining to Didymus, specifically the monograph by Richard A. Layton (Didymus the Blind and His Circle). The result is that Didymus's theology and spirituality are not adequately explicated. Didymus's exegetical productions were intended for ascetic audiences seeking to make Scripture a "living word" by putting into practice the texts they read, thus transforming the letter and shadow into spirit and truth and thereby becoming "children of Abraham" who acted on the word. The notion of developing virtue in response to the Word of God is largely overlooked. This spiritual theology explains why Didymus neglects comment on the historical setting of the text, preferring to satisfy those who were seeking to appropriate Zechariah in a Christian way. Additionally, Hill's treatment of Didymus's hermeneutics is confusing. We are told in the introduction that Didymus was attached to Alexandrian hermeneutical principles (5). Then we learn that "one could gain the impression from Didymus's hermeneutic of a lack of a consistent set of principles" (17) although "la méthodologie est une invention moderne" (17). Indeed, Didymus has multiple tools he utilizes to draw out the significance of the text, including numerology, etymology, and philosophy, and his approach consistently moves from consideration of the literal to the spiritual in that he always quotes the text in question, paraphrases its historical or physical meaning (if it has one), and then moves to its allegorical or anagogical import. This method is more apparent in Didymus's other commentaries, which Hill does not seem to examine. Several [End Page 427] criteria also guide Didymus's interpretation: it must be worthy of God, obscure passages can be illuminated through consultation of other inspired authors, and such passages require the mediation of a holy teacher to properly apply them to specific circumstances. Finally, a considerable...

Observations on Some Biblical Citations in Ephrem's Commentary on Genesis

The biblical citations recorded by Ephrem in section VI of his Commentary on Genesis (Gen. 5.32-9.16) support the Peshitta textual stream represented by MS 5bl = 8/5bl as over against that represented by MS 7al. Ephrem's approach of weaving the biblical text into the fabric of his retelling ofthe story of Genesis affects the evaluation of potential variant readings. Stylistic improvement, compression, abbreviation, and lexical substitution for the purpose of drawing together large stretches of text characterize his biblical citations.

Reading the Old Testament in Antioch. By Robert C. Hill. Pp. xiii + 220. (The Bible in Ancient Christianity, 5.) Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005. isbn 90 04 14538 9. €89/$127.

The author of this slim but substantive volume has become widely known in recent years as a prolific translator of Antiochene commentaries on Old Testament books. A list of his translations added to the bibliography counts no less than twenty items. The present book could be seen as a companion volume to this impressive oeuvre. Some of the material has been published elsewhere in articles and in the introductions and notes to the translations. Here it is presented in a comprehensive manner, well written, with a select bibliography and indexes of subjects, ancient authors, biblical citations, and modern authors. The scope of the study is limited largely to the authors and works which Hill translated, or is still planning to translate, the Old Testament commentaries of Diodore of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Theodoret of Cyrus, and Old Testament homilies of John Chrysostom. The time frame is late fourth to mid-fifth century. There is little on earlier and later periods, and the Syriac ‘east of Antioch’ (Drijvers), potentially important as a wider cultural ‘hinterland’, especially for the reception and transmission of Antiochene literature, appears very remote. Edessa is mentioned once as ‘a minor see’ in an extreme corner of the vast diocese of Antioch. Syriac (or the form of Aramaic prevalent around Antioch) is called a language spoken only by peasants (which is true in the sense that it was mainly spoken in the rural area around Antioch), even though it is conceded that it was Theodoret's mother tongue. Of Theodore Hill merely says that he despised it, but remains inconclusive about how well he may have known it. The two are not the same. But these are minor quibbles. Hill is right in assuming that Aramaic and Syriac (and, for that matter, Hebrew) were not of vital importance for Antiochene Old Testament exegesis during that period. Instead his focus is on the Antiochene contribution to early Christian Old Testament exegesis in Greek.

Iacobus de Paradiso: 'Passio Christi'. Translated by HEINRICH HALLER. Edited by ERIKA BAUER.

This work consists of a critical edition of the German version of the Passio Christi, a commentary on the Gospel accounts of Christ's passion by Jacobus de Paradiso (1381–1465). Jacobus, known by several appellations, was a noted theologian and canonist who came from humble origins near Jüterbog, in Brandenburg, Germany. In 1401 he entered the Cistercian monastery of Paradies in Poland, and excelled at the University of Kraków, attaining doctorates in theology and philosophy and becoming a professor and preacher at the university. From 1442/43 until 1465 he was a Carthusian at Erfurt and, despite the enclosed nature of the Carthusian vocation, he lectured on theology and canon law at the University of Erfurt, becoming rector in 1456. The introduction to this edition of the Passio Christi provides a brief account of the author and his works, a good, detailed discussion of the manuscript sources, a list of biblical citations, and a useful bibliography. This volume is recommended for those with a particular interest in German spirituality and theological writing of the late Middle Ages. Erika Bauer, a highly competent editor of Middle High German, is to be commended for her fine edition.

Fashioning Jewish Identity in Medieval Western Christendom by Robert s> Chazan (review)

REVIEWS 531 context, however, the absence of focused attention on the prevalence of atrocity in the historyof the region is marked. King mentions the massacres, forced migration and human miserybrought on by war and political fiat, but the seeminglypeculiarand sharedcharacteristicsof the broaderregion in this respectmighthave deservedspecificattentionasa phenomenon. It is certainly a factorwhich, particularlyin its more recent manifestations,will need to be addressedin the context of the BlackSea countries'developing relationswith the EU and NATO. They will also have to be addressed somehow, independently of this, where the weak states of the region (which King notes as a phenomenon augmented by the compromising presence of what Dov Lynch has called defacto statehood) find ways to overcome the legacy of conflict marked by atrocity and forced migration. All this, once again, underscoresthe importance of Charles King's history. It is to be hoped that therewillbe otherswho will engage with it, but it is testimonyto the qualityof thisbook that it will surelystandup to allformsof scrutiny. King'sCollege London JAMES Gow Chazan, Robert. Fashioning Jewish Identityin MedievalWestern Christendom. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, 2004. xv + 379 pp. Notes. Bibliography.Indexes. ?5o.oo: $8o.oo. ROBERT CHAZAN in his new book analyses the worksof five late twelfth-and thirteenth-centuryJewish polemicists: Joseph Kimhi, Jacob ben Reuben, David Kimhi, Rabbi Meir bar Simon and Rabbi Moses ben Nahman. They were the firstJewish polemicistsin WesternChristendom.Through the study of theirresponsesto Christianclaims concerning the truthof Christianityand the error of Judaism, he unravels the construction of Jewish identity in the face of intense Christianpressureto convert. Chazan, an expert in medieval Christian-Jewishinteraction,and in particularpolemics, providesan authoritative account of a minority response to an aggressive majority. Jewish apologetic emerged at a specific time, in the mid-twelfth century, and in a particular geographical region, what is today northern Spain and southern France. Chazan describes the context of these works:the migration of Jews into Christendom from Islamic lands meant that the centre of the world Jewish population shifted to Christian Europe; and it was the new-found vitality of Christian culture, often characterized as the twelfth-century Renaissance, which led to a new type of Christianchallenge againstJudaism. This necessitatedaJewish responsefrom intellectualleaders:theiraim was to reassuretheircoreligionistsand strengthenthem in theirfaith. For those readers unfamiliar with the earlier history of Christian-Jewish disagreementover the truthof their respectivereligions, Chazan summarizes the key stages in the development of Christian thinking about the Jews. He describes the Gospel accounts of intracommunal Jewish conflicts between Jesus and his discipleson the one hand, andJewish leaderson the otherhand; the innovation of bringing the new religion to gentiles, and thus assertinga displacement of the Jews as the chosen people; and finally St Augustine's influentialvision of theJews as witnessesto the truth of Christianity.He also 532 SEER, 83, 3, 2005 presents the scant anti-Christian arguments of pre-twelfth century Jewish writing: there was no real guidance there on how to deal with Christian religiouschallenge. Chazan maintains that Southern European Christiansled the way in the new missionizingthrustagainsttheJews, thusnecessitatingaJewish response. After introducing the fiveJewish authors and their works, he focuses on the key themes found in their writings.Jewish writers understood that biblical citations used by Christian authors were the foundation of the Christian claims, and therefore they constructed careful counter-claims, based on the Hebrew version of the Bible. The main topic they addressedwas the claim that Jesus was the Messiah. They rebutted the Christian interpretationand provided an alternativeJewish interpretationfor biblical texts that were used by Christians to buttress the Christian claim concerning Jesus. Chazan provides detailed analyses of the biblical texts and theJewish interpretations in question. The Jewish authorsalso rejectedthe Christianclaim thatJewish sufferingwas a resultof sin, that is, of not accepting and killingthe Messiah; instead, they argued that Jews were the servants of God who suffered on behalf of others. They not only refuted the Christian claim that the Church replacedtheJews as the new Israel,but also constructeda positivecase for 'an unbreakable covenant between God and the Jews' (p. I97) and for God's commitment to redeem His people. To counter the argument that Christian success and Jewish failure demonstrated the truth of Christianity, the Jewish polemicists focused on Christiansetbacksand tensionswithin the Christiancommunity, aswell as on...

Methodology in Identifying Patristic Citations in NT Textual Criticism

AbstractAfter advancing a preliminary list of criteria for identifying patristic biblical citations, Fee called for adequate guidelines for assessing their text critical usability. Drawing illustrations primarily from fresh assessments of references in Hippolytus, Methodius, Origen, and Epiphanius for Novum Testamentum Graecum, Osburn advances the discussion regarding citations, adaptations, allusions, reminiscences, and locutions. Simple verbal precision is inadequate to establish a reference as reflective of an exemplar. A quotation must be read in its patristic context in order to determine how the text is actually used and in what way it probably reflects a text known to the Father.

Musical instruments of the Bible

For everyone who's read the Bible and wondered what David's harp, or Nebuchadnezzar's sackbut and cornett really were, Jeremy Montagu, retired curator of Oxford's Bate Collection of Historical Instruments, has composed an astoundingly thorough investigation and explanation of the musical instruments that pepper the pages of Western Civilization's most holy book. This is a detailed study of all the musical instruments mentioned in the Bible, using the resources of linguistics, organology, and ethnomusicology to identify and describe them. Every reference to an instrument is noted and all the misconceptions of translation are corrected. The Bible, as we know it in English, is a translation, and the history of biblical translations into Aramaic, Greek, Latin and other languages is one of guesswork. The substitution of the musical instruments from the translator's era for those of the original author is as common as it is overlooked. Jubal did not have an organ, nor David a harp. This book uses all the resources available to establish what each instrument really was, what it looked like, and how it was played and is arranged in the same order as the King James Bible, with explanation where this differs from other versions in English. As well as a full bibliography, there are three indexes. The first is of Biblical Citations so that readers may check every mention in the Bible from its chapter and verse. The second is a quadrilingual parallel citation in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and English, so that each reference can be crosschecked. The third is a general index. The four biblical languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, are used to the full, and the original texts are cited frequently. There are 18 illustrations, some of which are archeological remains, some ethnographic parallels, and one is of the sole biblical instrument still in regular use: the ram's horn which brought down the walls of Jericho. Musical Instruments of the Bible is perfect for university theology and comparative religion depa

:St. John the Divine: The Deified Evangelist in Medieval Art and Theology

Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION John as Model Mystic and Mystagogue ONE In principio: John as Theologian of the Logos TWO Theologus noster: Deification of John THREE Joint Heirs with Two St. Johns FOUR The Seal of Resemblance: Ezechiel and John FIVE Mirror of Wisdom: Cult of St. John SIX Body and Blood of Christ: Mary's Adopted Son SEVEN In His Image and Likeness: John in the Legatus divinae pietatis EIGHT Images and the Imago dei: Vision and the Theology of Deification CONCLUSION The Level Path of Likeness APPENDIX 1 Verbum dei deo natum from the Gradual of St. Katharinenthal, fols. 158av 161r APPENDIX 2 A Sermon for the Feast Day of John the Evangelist: Offentliche Bibliothek der Universitat Basel, Ms. A VI 38, fols. 47r 60r Notes Selected Bibliography Index of Biblical Citations General Index

A Note on the Critical Use of Instrumenta for the Retrieval of Patristic Biblical Exegesis

A Note on the Critical Use of Instrumenta for the Retrieval of Patristic Biblical Exegesis1 Steven R. Harmon (bio) The retrieval of patristic biblical exegesis has become something of a growth industry in early Christian studies. The current level of interest is attributable to at least six major developments since the middle of the twentieth century. First, in the 1943 encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu, Pope Pius XII strongly encouraged the study of patristic exegesis along with modern historical-critical methods.2 Second, the ressourcement emphasis of the nouvelle théologie movement in mid-twentieth-century Catholic theology sought a renewal of the Church through retrieval of the classical sources of the Christian faith.3 The work of Henri de Lubac in particular within that movement highlighted the continuing relevance of patristic perspectives on the interpretation of scripture.4 Third, the 1969 [End Page 95] Strasbourg colloquy on "The Bible in the Fathers" focused international attention on the importance of the topic and the need for ongoing research.5 Fourth, postwar interaction between Christian and Jewish scholarship has produced a burgeoning literature comparing late antique Jewish and Christian readings of their common sacred text, the Hebrew Bible.6 Fifth, there has emerged a postmodern consciousness of the limits of historical-critical methodologies for biblical interpretation. While some interpreters have attempted to move beyond these limits through various synchronic methodologies, others have sought aid from pre-modern readings of scripture. Representative of the latter quest are two major anthology projects currently underway: The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, edited by Thomas Oden and published by InterVarsity Press, and The Church's Bible, edited by Robert Wilken and slated for publication by William B. Eerdmans.7 [End Page 96] A sixth factor, and the subject of the present note, is the production of a growing number of tools that facilitate the retrieval of patristic exegesis. It is now much easier than ever to locate biblical citations, allusions, and commentary in ancient Christian writers. I will address the merits and limitations of these print and electronic resources, using as a test case the "parable of the householder" in Matt 13.52. Its brevity, the lack of synoptic parallels, the presence of distinctive keywords, and its relative infrequency of citation make it an ideal text for a concise comparison of the results obtained through the use of these tools.8 I. Print Resources for the Retrieval of Patristic Biblical Exegesis For the researcher working any time prior to 1975 to locate references to Matt 13.52 in early Christian literature through the eighth century, the best set of tools would have been the index volumes of the Migne Patrologiae Cursus Completus.9 An index of the 161 volumes of the Patrologia Graeca (PG) was prepared in 1912 by Ferdinand Cavallera.10 A section on Scriptura Sacra lists nineteen Greek patristic commentaries on Matthew.11 If one consults each of these for commentary on 13.52, one discovers that only the commentaries by Origen, John Chrysostom, and Cyril of Alexandria treat that passage. The 217 volumes of the Patrologia Latina (PL) are indexed in volumes 218 through 221. A general commentary index lists twenty-nine Latin commentaries on Matthew, and an index of specific chapters of each biblical book lists eight treatments of chapter 13.12 Specific verses within chapters are not indexed. Perusal of these commentaries for interaction with 13.52 discovers five references for that text: one in Hilary of Poitiers, two in Jerome, one in Augustine, and one in Bede. [End Page 97] Four supplemental volumes for PL that appeared between 1958 and 1967 as Patrologia Latina Supplementum (PLS) are indexed in a fifth volume, published in 1974, which does contain an index of biblical citations referenced by chapter and verse. This index lists seven citations of Matt 13.52: two in Gregory of Elvira, one in a treatise ascribed to an unknown Pontius Maximus, one in Avitus of Vienne, two in Pelagius, and one in Defensor. It is therefore possible to locate patristic references to Matt 13.52 using the various index volumes of the Migne patrology, but such work would be hindered by three major limitations. First, with the exception...