Biblical Scholarship Research Articles

Interpreting paired phenomena in the Hebrew Psalter and in African indigenous sacred texts

The Hebrew Psalter is a repertoire of paired phenomena. From parallelisms to twin Psalms, biblical scholars have paid attention to these structural and poetical features as keys to unlocking and interpreting the meaning and theology of these psalms. Unfortunately, the otherwise admirable results of these exegetical works remain abstract and largely removed from the interests of the African reader. An alternative way of engaging these texts is to realise that paired phenomena are not exclusive to the Hebrew Psalter. African indigenous sacred texts such as the Adinkra of the Akan people equally contain similar phenomena though relatively little attention has been paid to them. This article, using a dialogical approach of African Biblical Hermeneutics, studies the twin Psalms 111 and 112 as an example of a paired phenomenon in the Psalter. It brings this text into dialogue with the Adinkra denkyemfunefu to illustrate how focussing on similar structural phenomena in either text uncovers the same theme of the common good in either text and facilitates the reception of the biblical discourse in contemporary African contexts.Contribution: It is argued that common literary features in biblical and African indigenous sacred texts could be harnessed as vehicles for facilitating the reception of biblical discourse in contemporary Africa.

Psychedelics, the Bible, and the Divine

The current psychedelic renaissance intersects with Christian practices in two key ways. First, as psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) becomes more common, Christians undergoing therapeutic medical treatment may seek outside support for integrating into their religious lives mystical experiences that occur during psychedelic sessions. Second, with increasing legal access to psychedelics, more Christians may explore their spiritual potential outside of a medical context, either individually with spiritual guides or collectively in organized retreats. Many will have mystical encounters related to the Divine. Whether the experience involves the overwhelming presence or absence of the Divine, these Christians, too, will seek integration support. This essay argues that the Bible can serve as a rich source for such integration, because it contains significant material about mystical experiences marked by altered states of consciousness. First, I summarize the importance of the psychedelic renaissance, especially the scientific studies being conducted, as it relates to Christian practices of spiritual formation. Second, I explore new work being conducted by biblical scholars regarding embodied religious experiences with the Divine (and others), including mystical experiences. Third, I consider the Apostle Paul’s embodied mystical experience, with special attention to 2 Corinthians 12:1–10, as one example of biblical material that might intersect with or inform psychedelic mystical encounters that contemporary Christians might experience (whether in a medical therapeutic or non-medical spiritual formation setting). Finally, I indicate directions for further research and discussion.

“Si vuol cambiar tutto, si critica tutto” The Holy Office and Catholic Bible Exegesis after Divino afflante Spiritu (1943)

Based on two cases of ecclesiastical book censorship from the 1950s, the article deals with the Holy Office's handling of Catholic biblical exegesis during the late phase of the pontificate of Pius XII (1939-58). On the one hand, the inner-Vatican conflicts between the Suprema Congregazione and the Pontifical Biblical Commission in the years 1956-58 are examined. Secondly, the case of the German New Testament scholar Karl Hermann Schelkle shows the specific situation of Catholic biblical scholarship between the centre and the periphery a good decade after the biblical encyclical "Divino afflante Spiritu" (1943).

Ancient Travellers, Intercultural Contact, and the Fear of Gods

Although the fear of Yhwh has been presented as an intrinsic feature of the ancient Israelite religion, the fear of God(s) is not limited to the people of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, and similar ideas of fearing deities occur in various texts produced by neighbouring cultures in the ancient eastern Mediterranean. This article investigates the prosocial role of this virtue in situations of human mobility and intercultural contact in the light of the Hebrew Bible and the Odyssey. First, I analyse those Hebrew Bible texts in which the fear of God(s) characterizes or is presented as being intelligible to non-Israelite people in situations involving movement and cultural encounter (Gen 20:11; 42:18; Exod 1:17, 21; Deut 25:18; Jon 1:9). Second, I explore the fear motif in other texts from the ancient eastern Mediterranean region and argue that biblical scholars have overlooked illuminating intertexts found in ancient Greek literature. I especially highlight the interpretative importance of the Odyssey, which frequently stresses the prosocial role of the virtue of fearing deities in the context of travel and contact with outsiders. In so doing, the Odyssey helps us see how the Hebrew Bible texts portraying the fear of God(s) as a universalistic virtue are rooted in and belong to a broader ancient Mediterranean milieu.

Isaiah 23.1-14 and the Failure of the Sea God

In Isa 23, the ships of Tarshish, on their voyage home, howl to see the destruction of their home ports of Tyre and Sidon: “The sea says: ‘I am like one who has never borne children.’” Bible scholars struggle over the interpretation of this verse, wondering why a masculine voice speaks about writhing in labor and bearing children. To the mythic mind, however, this verse makes perfect sense, for the sea god, known in the Greek world as Poseidon, sired as many as 140 children, including two sons that are connected to places mentioned in this passage, Belus, an early king of Egypt, and Agenor, king of Tyre (with his son Phoenix = Phoenicia). Now that some of those places are destroyed, it is as if the Sea never fathered them. In contrast to the biblical God, the prophet states, the sea god has limited power and can only mourn the fate of his progeny. The use of the term מָעוֹז‎ “stronghold” in Isa 23 may refer to the protecting gods/avatars who lament over the destruction of the Phoenician nation-states, as the text gloats over their destruction.

Cotton Mather’s Biblical Enlightenment: Critical Interrogations of the Canon and Revisions of the Common Translation in the Biblia Americana (1693–1728)

Abstract While there exists a robust scholarship on the cultural influences and public uses of the Bible in early American history, the historical development of biblical scholarship in America remains relatively understudied. The prevalent view suggests that biblical scholarship in America had its critical awakening with the importation of German Higher Criticism to northeastern divinity schools in the nineteenth century. This essay makes a corrective intervention by looking at Cotton Mather’s unpublished Biblia Americana (1693–1728), the first comprehensive Bible commentary to be authored in British North America. More specifically, the essay examines Mather’s response to critical interrogation of the canon and the Biblia’s numerous revisions of King James translation in light of recent philological scholarship. What connects these two issues is that they both concern the “givenness” of the Bible, which, in Mather’s day, was being fundamentally challenged. Behind the discussions about the canonicity of diverse books and over how to render the Hebrew and Greek texts into modern languages always lurked fundamental questions regarding the divine authority, integrity, and perspicuity of the Bible. Examining a broad range of examples from across the Biblia, the essay demonstrates how Mather’s work defies clear-cut categorization as either precritical or critical. In response to the intellectual currents of the early Enlightenment, Mather pioneered a new type of deeply learned, historically conscious but apologetically-oriented biblical criticism in America. The Biblia clearly reflects the challenges brought on by the deepening historicization of Scripture and the destabilization of texts and meanings through a new type of criticism. More widely read in current European scholarship and in many ways more curious and daring than any other early American exegete, Mather joined the infinitely complex and open-ended quest for better translations. Moreover, he was the first in New England to seriously address hard questions about the canon of the Bible and its historical development. But he always did so with the aim of providing constructive answers to these debates that would ultimately shore up the authority of Scripture, stabilize the scriptural foundation for what Mather regarded as the core of Reformed orthodox theological beliefs, and offer improved interpretations of the biblical texts, which would lend themselves even better to devotion and illuminate for Christians, with the help of the most up-to-date scholarship, the full riches of God’s Word.

The Dispensationalist’s End-Time Remnant People of God in Revelation: An Exegetical Evaluation

Biblical scholars from different schools of thought have already written so much about the “Remnant” theme in the Scripture both from OT and NT. It appears to me that one area that needs to be explored is the appraisal of one of these ideas in the light of sound biblical exegesis and biblical principles of interpretation. This paper attempts to exegetically evaluate the Dispensationalist’s interpretation of the “Remnant” of Revelation. The Dispensationalist, with Futuristic approach to the book, asserts that the “Remnant” of Revelation represents the literal Israel that would believe the Messiah at the Parousia and would reign with Him on earth during the Millennium while the Church would be in heaven. However, after the exegetical evaluation of such view, it was found out that the evidences and arguments presented by the Dispensationalist biblical scholars and theologians are not exegetically founded.

“Ikwekwe yinja1 (a Boy is a Dog)”

In contemporary society, the status of children as fully human is often contested and/or not accepted. The idea that children are not fully human has resulted in a plethora of abuses, including the denial of children’s rights, voices, and agency both in biblical texts and in contemporary society. Notwithstanding, scholars like Marcia Bunge acknowledge that in the Judeo-Christian bible “infants and children are also whole and complete human beings made in the image of God” (2012:65). Many times, the ways in which children are treated in biblical texts (in so far as adults make decisions without their (children) approval, e.g., Abraham’s decision to sacrifice Isaac, Jephthah’s decision to kill her daughter in honour of his agreement with Yahweh, the killing of the boy children during the time of Pharoah and King Herod exhibit the idea that children are not fully human. Since Christians rely on the Bible for inspiration and conduct in both private and public life, it is necessary to study the ways in which children were treated in biblical times. Until recently, biblical scholars did not have much of a deliberate focus on studying children and how they are treated in the Bible.

«Библейские женщины» Рэньярд и их программа спасения бедняков

The article is devoted to the activities of E. Renyard and her organization «London Bible and Domestic Female Mission». The reasons for the appearance of the mission, the features and directions of activity, the importance in solving the problems of pauperism are analyzed. It is emphasized that the movement was not so much ecclesiastical as socio-economic in nature. The author notes the special role of E. Renyard. She formulated the goals, objectives, principles of the organization. Renyard shared the idea that saving the inhabitants of the slums from poverty and degradation is possible without revolutionary reorganization of society, but through the personal efforts of the poor. The conditions for improvement were familiarization with Christianity, teaching a rational vision of the economy, and moral education. To create a favorable environment for the transformation of the inhabitants of the slums, «Bible women» distributed the texts of the Holy Scriptures among them, improved their lives by teaching women how to cook, clean, needlework, economical housekeeping, selling household items on installments. The article points out that women were the main object of activity of biblical scholars because of their social vulnerability and the decisive role in maintaining family foundations and raising children. Renyard hired for the purposes of the mission believing representatives of the working classes, who knew from their own experience the needs of residents of disadvantaged areas. Work in the mission provided them with a salary, education, and contributed to an increase in social status. Particular attention is paid to the first «Bible woman» – Marian, who carried out a number of important programs to improve the lives of the poor. The organization of biblical women received the support of society, the practice spread throughout the country and the world. The author comes to the conclusion that thanks to the efforts of Renyard and her mission, thousands of paupers were able to improve their lives, get rid of vices, become respectable citizens of the country, and evangelization on other continents contributed to the spread of Christian values around the world.

Hardened hearts and cries for freedom: interpreting biblical narratives in a pandemic

ABSTRACT The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia has exposed social fault-lines and inequities not often recognised in such an affluent country. This study explores the relevance of Bible stories about plagues and disasters for the work of preachers, teachers, and pastoral practitioners who were independent voluntary contributors to this study. Each of them was serving with the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) in settings where worship and learning take place. From within the activities of a particular Christian tradition, this article offers examples of practice and interpretive processes used in approaching the questions raised as an unfolding narrative. How did the use of Christian and Jewish Scriptures by these practitioners during the pandemic inform their worship, teaching, learning and social interactions? Examples were brought into dialogue with the work of biblical commentators on texts such as Exodus, Psalms, Prophets, and Gospels. The narrative hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur and the biblical scholarship of Walter Brueggemann provided helpful conceptual anchorage for the task and assisted in broadening the perception of how local perspectives may or may not connect with global concerns.

Ἡ κοιλία of the temple? Jn 7:38 revisited in the light of 1Kgs

For many years biblical scholars have been trying to answer the question of what “Scripture” is fulfilled in the Jesus’ words in Jn 7:38. Two dominant interpretative trends – christological and anthropological – are often juxtaposed as complementary. The aim of this article, based on the intertextual approach, is to show another point of reference – the description of the first temple in Jerusalem in 1Kgs 6–7, which contains an unknown architectural element rendered by the Hebrew word בֶ טֶןּּ , simi-lar in meaning to κοιλία from Jn 7:38 – as well as to analyze both the christological and anthropological aspects of showing the temple as a human body and the human body as a temple, with the particular emphasis on the symbolism of flowing water in the context of the (new) birth.

Structuralism and Deconstruction in Biblical Scholarship: Annotated Bibliographies

Academic referencing, though very significant in scholarship, has not been an easy task for both students and researchers, especially when one is restricted to following a particular referencing style either as instructed by one’s educational institution or by a publishing house through which one seeks a publication. In biblical scholarship, the philosophies of structuralism and deconstruction are very significant, especially as much as textual translation and interpretation are concerned. Several proponents have shared their scholarly views on how they individually appreciate these philosophical concepts. In an attempt to unravel some of such works without neglecting the authors and their central discussions, this paper employed a methodology through the construction of annotated bibliographies of such works. Findings indicated that while structuralism mainly studies the meaning of a text independently of its history and culture, deconstruction considers the world of the audience in line with the author’s intention and how that intention could be relevant to the new audience, taking into account the history of the text and the culture of the audience. Also, some of the key proponents of structuralism and its philosophical development include de Saussure, Levi-Strauss, Sasková and Titchener. Key proponents of deconstruction include Derrida, Norris, Ekem, Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Mugambi, and Nida. Significantly, with a maximum word count of 150 words and not less than 50 words, readers would understand key information contained in the sampled works of the authors through the annotations. Keywords: Referencing, Annotated Bibliography, Structuralism, Deconstruction

New Narrative Definition of the Miracle Story Genre in the Context of the Third Gospel

Although the term “Miracle Story” is frequently used in biblical studies, it does not have a single universally accepted definition. Earlier attempts to define this term, especially by Bultmann, the coryphae of the Formgeschichte, are not sufficient. In this article, a new narrative definition will be presented, which takes into account the latest tools that narratology has equipped biblical scholars with. Firstly, the new definition makes it possible to clearly distinguish a Miracle Story from a story in which a miracle occurs. Secondly, the new definition is a tool for analyzing the meaning of the miracle stories. This article is meant to be part of a series analyzing the issue of miracles in the Gospel of Luke.

Reincarnation Christology in African Christian Theology

The subject of reincarnation has been considered a reserve of primal (esoteric) religions or cultures. Therefore, it has not been thoroughly studied to decipher the philosophical and theological issues thereof. Notwithstanding, what seems to be the total neglect and lack of interest, the significance of christological parallelism that exists between reincarnation and resurrection as Christological parallels in both African Traditional Religion and African Christianity cannot be disregarded. Reincarnation Christology provides a paradigmatic christological framework that conceptualises Africa’s notion of life as a cycle of death, birth, and rebirth (reincarnation) similar to incarnation, death, and resurrection Christologies of the missionary (Western) Christianity and provides a competitive context that defines the identity, and significance of Jesus in African Christianity and Theology. Even though reincarnation provides a good context for the Christology of Jesus in African traditional religion, Christianity, and Biblical Theology, theologians and biblical scholars such as Mbiti, Bediako, Nyamiti, Wiredu, and Gyekye failed to give it any attention. Nevertheless, the article argued that, like incarnation, death, and resurrection Christologies, reincarnation Christology provides very powerful and strong philosophical constructs for the inculturation of the Christology of Jesus in African Traditional Religion, African Christianity and African Christian Biblical scholarship. The article further argued that, there also exists a strong parallelism between resurrection and reincarnation Christologies which can provide complementing philosophical paradigmatic framework for the christological nomenclatures in Christianity and African traditional religions. Keywords: Christianity, Theology, Reincarnation, Christology, Resurrection, Inculturation, Ancestor, Decolonisation.

Applicability of the Hebrew Bible to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Post-traumatic Growth.

Since the new millennium, biblical scholars have begun to reread certain writings in the Hebrew Bible through the concepts of post-traumatic stress disorder and post-traumatic growth. Some scholars believe such a reading is legitimate, whereas others think it problematic, and still, others hold amidwayperspective. This article argues for the midway, the position that accepts the applicability of the Hebrew Bible to today's psychological concepts but calls for caution. Because ancient Israelites reacted to traumatic events and distinguished the human mind from the body like modern people, it is reasonable to approach their thoughts and emotions in the Hebrew Bible through today's psychological concepts. However, the cultural differences between today's society and ancient Israelites in understanding and reacting to traumatic events should be considered.

The Historical Approach to New Testament Rhetorical Criticism: A Rhetorical Analysis of 1 Corinthians 15

The historical approach to New Testament rhetorical criticism uses ancient Greco-Roman rhetorical theory and practice to better understand the rhetoric and rhetorical context of the New Testament. Since most Bible scholars and students are unfamiliar with ancient Greco-Roman rhetoric, this article summarizes and explains Greco-Roman rhetoric in an accessible way so that non-experts can understand and apply the historical method of New Testament rhetorical criticism. It provides a rigorous step-by-step process for doing rhetorical analysis followed by a rhetorical analysis of 1 Corinthians 15 as an example of the method. This analysis displays Paul’s rhetorical prowess in 1 Corinthians 15 and demonstrates that Paul had more than a passing familiarity with Greco-Roman rhetoric. Overall, this article shows that rhetorical criticism is an indispensable and essential tool needed in the arsenal of biblical exegetes for understanding the New Testament in its original contexts.

Outside the City Walls: Remarks on 2 Kgs 23,4-20

ABSTRACT The account of Josiah’s reform has raised the interest of biblical scholars over the years. This paper focuses on the pericope of 2 Kgs 23,4-20 and, based on spatial categories, provides a further argument to date the section in the Persian period. After outlining why 2 Kgs 23,4-20 can be considered separately from the rest of the narrative, this paper will focus on the pericope’s passages that, through Josiah’s actions, highlight a tension between the city’s inner and outer. Such a logic of space, absent in the Chronicler’s report and emphasised in the Antiochian revision of the Greek text, functions as a narrative means to promote a theological idea based on the sharp distinction between pure and impure, sacred and polluted, and charges the king with priestly traits. As a result, 2 Kgs 23,4-20 will be argued to be part of a text revision dated to the Persian period, when the ruling priestly class could be interested in loading the character of Josiah with religious prerogatives.

An Egyptian View of the Monotheism of Second Isaiah

Abstract: This article reexamines the contested issue of the nature of the monotheism of Second Isaiah. I approach this subject with an interdisciplinary method that compares the declarations of monotheism in Second Isaiah with those in ancient Egyptian religious texts (primarily hymns). I argue that the Egyptian material may illuminate the monotheistic declarations of Second Isaiah by setting those declarations in a cross-cultural ancient Near Eastern rhetorical context. This comparative approach reinforces the reading of the text that sees Second Isaiah's monotheism as a monotheism of perspective that exalts Yhwh above the gods of the nations, rather than as a strict ontological monotheism that altogether denies the existence of deities other than Yhwh. This article, accordingly, makes the additional case for the utility of Egyptian evidence in topics related to critical biblical scholarship.

A Historical Survey of the Book of Ezekiel

The book of Ezekiel is replete with a lot of messages that make its story very interesting. In spite of the uniqueness of the book, past biblical scholarship only selected and studied certain themes. Much have therefore not been written on the historical analysis of the whole book. The thrust of this study is to make an historical survey of the whole book; historical method is also used in its analysis. The findings of the work reveal that the book was written for a specific people living in a particular tragic time in their history. The study concludes that there are still different aspects of the book that are yet to be explored.

Catholic Preaching on Jews and Judaism: The Challenge from Surveyed Good Friday Homilies

Abstract: To assess the reception in the American Catholic Church of the significant shift in Catholic doctrine on Jews and Judaism since the promulgation of Nostra Aetate at Vatican II, a study was conducted of a dataset of thirty-two Catholic Good Friday homilies from a sermons database that the Pew Research Center collected from the Internet in 2019. Relying on conciliar and post-conciliar Catholic teaching documents and using deductive qualitative content analysis, the survey analyzed the texts based on their treatment of six issues: (1) the Jewish identity of Jesus and his disciples, (2) respect for the Jewish people and their religious heritage, (3) the role Jews had in Jesus’ passion and death, (4) the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament, (5) the Pharisees, and (6) the gospel reading. The survey found that none of the homilies directly addressed the ahistorical, negative treatment of “the Jews” in John’s Gospel. None of the homilies commented on the Jewish identity of Jesus and his disciples. Only two homilies mentioned the Pharisees, one in a positive way and another in a negative way. As to respect for the Jewish people and their religious heritage, most homilists were silent on this matter, although some still trafficked in Jewish stereotypes, claiming, for example, that Jewish pride was evident at the crucifixion. As to Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death, most homilists said that the sins of humanity brought Jesus to the cross, but some homilists still claimed that Jews were responsible for the crucifixion in direct contradiction to modern Church teaching. Of the homilists who referred to the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament, most read them in a typological way, not showing any concern for the texts in their historical context. As to the treatment of the Gospel of John, most homilists who commented on it showed little awareness of contemporary biblical scholarship, reading the text in a literalist way.