Biblical Texts Research Articles

Deconstructing gendered glorification of charitable work: A case of women in Nomiya Church

Human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), COVID-19 and Ebola have exposed the magnitude of care-related tasks on women. Most often, because of the gendered nature of domestic and reproductive roles, women are expected to assume unpaid care-related, nurturing and domestic work. Despite the valuable duties, women are economically poor and othered. These unpaid care duties are exacerbated by pandemics and ratified even further by religion. For instance, in Nomiya Church (NC), the first African independent church in Kenya, women’s experience narratives and biblical texts such as the story of the Proverbs 31 virtuous woman are used to glorify unpaid charitable work for women. Women’s virtuous personality, hard work and character are upheld in Christian spaces, thus obstructing sound work theologies. This article employed African Women’s theological lens in view of pointing out repressing and transformative tenets in charitable theologies of work for social and gender justice. While applying womanhood hermeneutics in the passage, the article points to valued behavioural postures of hard work in responding to God’s stewardship mandate. An affirmation of fair reward and accumulation of property is embraced as a familial complementary role, especially in pandemic contexts. The article amplifies the accumulation of property as a human right and the mandate of stewardship for all earth communities. Hence, charity work is a stewardship framework that all earth communities must engage in for replenishment and sustenance for all.Contribution: The article challenges literal biblical interpretations that glorify charity work. It advances a stewardship framework in understanding unpaid and charity work that all earth communities must engage in to replenish and sustain all creation. The framework affirms the dignity of all human persons through a transformational understanding of the theology of work as enabled by the African theological hermeneutics.

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.

O versiune românească necunoscută a Imnului Acatist din a doua jumătate a secolului al XVII-lea

The present paper aims to describe, date and localize the Akathistos Hymn found in an unknown Romanian manuscript preserved at Muzeul Olteniei (Craiova): Rom MS I 529. The codex contains the Psalter (accompanied by the Odes), the Akathistos Hymn, the Paraklesis to Theotokos and the Holy Apostle. These texts were copied by father Theofil, the scribe of the manuscript. These works are important due to two outstanding reasons: they contain Slavic passages and multiple translation variants inserted inside the text using numbers or other graphic devices. Both of these features can be found in the manuscripts produced in Bisericani Monastery (Moldova) in the first part of the 17 th century. As a consequence, the codex transcribed by Teofil was analysed in the context of the production of the scriptorium from Bisericani. Teofil must have been part of the Moldavian monastic community and his manuscript must have been copied there. Textual, contextual, linguistic, philological and palaeographical evidence are given in this sense. The study of the watermarks (Torch with letters HSE, unicorn encircled by letters, Allmodpappier, horn and the ligature 4AD), their types and subtypes, brought to light the fact that the Romanian manuscript was copied between 1680-1690. The philological comparison between the Biblical and Marian texts from these manuscripts and the oldest ones from Bisericani (Rom MS BAR 540 and 170) stressed the link between the former and the latter. On top of that, the comparison offered new insight into how the multiple translation variants were more or less preserved, hinting to an early contamination between different manuscripts. 3 The Slavic passages (mostly headings and initial lines) preserved in the Romanian texts were studied as a mnemonic device used by the monks from Bisericani Monastery who, according to the liturgic program of the community, were used to chanting the Akathistos Hymn in Slavonic.

Leah’s ‘soft’ eyes: Unveiling envy and the evil eye in Genesis 29:17

The seemingly innocuous description of Leah as having ‘soft’ eyes in Genesis 29:17 has captivated scholars and readers for centuries. This article advances an ironic interpretation, suggesting that Leah’s ‘soft’ eyes were not a sign of weakness but, rather, an indication of envy and malevolence, potentially contributing to fertility issues faced by her sister Rachel in terms of the ancient Near Eastern evil eye belief complex. In this context, the article delves into ancient belief systems that entwined beauty, fertility, and the malevolent gaze.Contribution: Drawing from biblical texts, historical sources, and contemporary scholarship, this article reveals the intricate layers of meaning within this minor detail.

Biblical interpretation at the Ottawa convoy occupation

In this contribution, Christine Mitchell analyses some of the biblical texts and imagery that appeared in photographs, social media and other formats during and after the ‘Freedom Convoy’ of January–February 2022. She discusses white Christian nationalism, Canadian contexts and interpretations of biblical texts, and demonstrates that a kind of ‘plain reading’ of Christian scripture blended with Canadian symbolism gave a religious framework to the convoy.

The Agencies of God’s Word and Spirit: Modern Science as a “Sacred Reminder”

In this essay, I argue that modern science can function as a source of “sacred reminders” for aspects of Christian theology, like the doctrine of the Trinity, that are not normally engaged with in the empirical world. This approach is an alternative to the usual ways of relating scientific and theological endeavors in terms of conflict, separation, or consonance. I demonstrate this by beginning with the thoughts of two representative physicists (John Archibald Wheeler and Steven Hawking), particularly focusing on a fundamental distinction they make about the underlying ideal of the physical sciences. Noting a striking similarity of this distinction with some of the biblical imagery of God’s Word and Spirit, I review biblical texts along these lines to show partial continuity with the groundbreaking ideas of our physicists, and to show how they can be generalized to include (a) levels of organization beyond those of physics; (b) intensive, localized agencies of Word and Spirit as well as the more extensive agencies suggested their ideas; and (c) the commissioning agency of God the Father. A review of the theology of Irenaeus shows that these distinctions in biblical imagery were developed in the early Church and played an important role in early Trinitarian theology.

Earth-Bound Preaching: Engaging Scripture, Context, and Indigenous Wisdom

In developing an Earth-bound homiletics, three homiletical movements are suggested: engaging Scripture, engaging global and local situatedness, and engaging the Indigenous worldview of “all my relations” by tapping into Indigenous knowledge. These three movements need not take place in any chronological order, nor should they be seen as a hierarchy. Rather, they are complementary and interconnected. The author, before articulating these movements, offers reasons for why the topic of the climate crisis is not preached on and then addresses the challenge of selecting biblical texts, delineating the strengths and weaknesses of using the lectionary readings versus a preacher’s individual choices. The article further addresses the danger of biblical literalists who deny global warming. Each homiletical movement will be elaborated using actual sermons as concrete examples of Earth-bound homiletics.

Identification of the network structure of the Hebrew Bible texts based upon the notion of the otherworld and the afterlife

In this paper, we apply the methods of graph theory to reveal hidden relations within the corpus of the Hebrew Bible texts. The structure of relations between different texts was studied based upon their interpretation of the otherworld and the afterlife. We have identified 43 most relevant texts that contained concepts related to the notion of the otherworld and constructed a graph representing the relations between the considered texts. The obtained graph was decomposed into 3 densely connected subgraphs using the Louvain method. An initial interpretation has been given to the results of the decomposition. Furthermore, we used different ranking methods to determine the most important texts forming the network structure of the intertextual connections. It turned out that there is an invariant set of texts that can be interpreted as having the larger influence or importance on the development of the idea of the otherworld. These texts are Proto-Isaiah, Qoheleth, Job, Psalms, and Proverbs as well as 1 Samuel, Ezekiel, and Book of Genesis. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the notions, associated with these texts, reveals that there are several concepts that are likely to be associated with the most influential texts.

“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.

The Disposition of Christians to Political Governance in Nigeria in Relation to Romans 12:14 - 13:10

There have been controversies about Christians’ disposition towards political leadership or civil authorities. The Apostle Paul (Romans 12:14-13:1-10) instructs Christians to submit to political authorities; given that certain Christians had shunned all restraint because of their heavenly calling and lost respect for earthly authorities. The burden of this study is the appropriate attitude required from adherents of Christianity towards unfair, ungodly, and despotic leaders. Christians are facing high-level of opposition and marginalization in Nigeria especially in recent times. For instance, most scholars usually treat Romans 13:1-10 thus neglecting Romans 12:14-21. Whereas Romans 12:14-21 is the preceding part of Romans 13:1-10. Therefore, the study employed a historical-critical reading of Romans 12:14-13:10 as a composite unit and its applicability to Christians’ socio-political responsibilities in Nigeria. Primary data is elicited from the Bible with the aid of exegetical tools, while secondary data were sourced from works referencing the selected biblical text and on political governance in Nigeria. Data was content-analysed within the ambit of a phenomenological approach whereby attention is placed on Christians’ disposition towards political leaders and civil authorities. Political obligation theory has been found appropriate and deployed for this study. Hence, the paper recommends that Christians should avoid contemptuous or indifferent disposition to civil authorities and political leaders. Christians occupying political offices should enliven their Christian virtues amidst persecution and repression.

Enslaved Women, Women Enslavers: Kyriarchy and Intersectionality in the New Testament

Abstract: Using a feminist hermeneutic, this essay analyzes three examples of kyriarchal relationships in the New Testament found in stories of women who were enslavers who enslaved women. The first example is from Galatians where Paul rereads the story of Sarah and Hagar and uses the enslaver/enslaved relationship as an allegory. The second example is found in Acts 12, which is the clearest case of a woman enslaver who enslaved a woman: Mary and Rhoda. Finally, I analyze the character of Lydia found in Acts 16 and argue that she is also an enslaver who enslaved women. Each of these biblical characters was entangled in the kyriarchal pyramid of antiquity through their own oppression due to gender, yet they participated in kyriarchy due to status and class. Adding evidence from material culture, I analyze an example of a woman who enslaved another woman as depicted on an ancient funerary monument. This essay also considers the ethical ramifications of biblical texts that endorse slavery and have been used to support white supremacy and systemic oppression.

Down by the Riverside: A Collusion of Mothers for Moses

Abstract: The story of Moses's birth and salvation entails a collusion between three female figures: his biological mother (a Hebrew slave), his sister, and his Egyptian adoptive mother, Pharaoh's daughter. Through a close reading of the biblical text, the author shows how mother and daughter deliberately place the reed basket (or "ark") where it might be found by Pharaoh's daughter; the princess then defies her father's decree not only by saving the infant but in adopting him and raising him within the palace precincts. While rabbinic midrash sees the Egyptian princess as exceptional, portraying her anachronistically as a model convert and renaming her Bityah (that is, Batyah, daughter of Yah, God), the author conjectures that this collusion between Hebrew slavewomen and Egyptian aristocracy to save the infant Hebrew boy may very well have been a prevalent phenomenon. The essay closes with an original midrashic retelling of the narrative that highlights the alliance between Moses's Egyptian/Hebrew mothers.

Anthropological Terms in Chinese Biblical Translations: The Interplay between Catholic and Protestant Versions in Response to Chinese Traditional Cultures

Notwithstanding the considerable attention that Chinese Bible translations have attracted, some important theological issues have been ignored for a long time, one of which is anthropology. The present article focuses on the Chinese rendering of terms in this category. From the attempts in the first three Catholic versions, the Western theory of soul introduced by Matteo Ricci began to influence the connotation of ling 靈 in Chinese biblical texts, though anima and spiritus had not been distinguished or the translations were still obscure in these renditions. Robert Morrison’s version, though heavily dependent on Jean Basset’s translation, was also indebted to Emmanuel Diaz and Louis A. de Poirot in its dichotomous anthropology, developing a ling–rou 靈–肉 (lit. spirit–flesh) dichotomous discourse with his conceptualization of ling 靈. Initiated by the “second generation” of Protestant Bible translators, the renderings of pneuma/ruach and sarx/basar took the indigenized approach that culminated in the Delegates’ Version of the Bible. With the assistance of some Chinese scholars in completing this version, Medhurst launched a dialogue between Christian anthropology and Chinese traditional outlooks of human beings by emphasizing the concepts of shen 身 and xin 心, which had long-lasting popularity in later versions of the Chinese Bible.

Justice Dilemmas in Law: on the Sense of Analysing Biblical Texts in Modern Jurisprudence

This article deals with research problems related to justice and law. This is a perennial topic that has been widely discussed in literature but is somewhat forgotten today. Justice in law has been put aside along with values that are self-evident as a kind of dogma, which is utterly wrong. When we ask what such justice in law means, however, and what it affects, we do not get simple and satisfactory answers. Therefore I try to prove that a broad, multi-faceted approach can prove valuable. To this end, in my view, it is reasonable and valuable to use all available research and sources. Some biblical texts, such as the parable of the owner of a vineyard, which I have chosen for analysis, may prove particularly interesting. The parable reveals a great many interesting issues. They are still relevant today and deal with the problems faced by modern legal systems. I believe the texts can be beneficial for the development of jurisprudence. They also enable the integration of the science of state and law, either internally (e.g., with legal dogmatics, which permits the creation of just law) or externally (with sciences other than law). The claim here is that biblical texts, despite the fact that they do not belong directly with legal science, have qualities that enable their use in modern jurisprudence. The researched excerpt and the only biblical text discussed here will be that of Apostle Matthew.

A Contemporary Pentecostal Theodicy of a Just God on a Killing Spree

The portrayal of God in the Old Testament differs from that in the New Testament, suggesting an evolving perception and understanding over time. This has led to confusion and a dualistic view of God among individuals throughout history. Particularly perplexing is the divine sanction for the complete annihilation of the Canaanite population, seemingly contradicting God’s just nature. This study investigates the command to exterminate men, women, children, and infants belonging to the Canaanite nations and seeks to reconcile the notion of a just God sanctioning such perceived cruelty and bias. Analyzing the moral, religious, and theological complexities surrounding this issue, the study aims to shed light on the hypothetical inconsistency in God’s attitude. Ultimately, the study asserts that God’s sanctioned killings were justifiable actions driven by His foreknowledge and intended for the salvation of humanity as a whole. However, the study emphasizes that this divine approach does not justify or endorse any contemporary acts of religious extremism, as such violence serves no salvific purpose in God’s current plan for humanity. Grounded in the principles of action, consequence, and responsibility, the Pentecostal theodicy explored in this qualitative investigation, based on literature review and textual analysis, provides insights into the academic question of why a just God would command the total obliteration of the Canaanites. Through this analysis, this study contributes to the advancement of knowledge on the topic. Keywords: Pentecostal Theodicy, Justice, Canaanites, Violence, Extremism, and Biblical text.

Body, scar, memory and identity: theological reflections from the other side

This text is set out from the autobiographical narratives of the author that from the view of the cultural studies and the meeting with the Bible, invites us to read our body from the unconventional categories, challenging us to make theology from the other side. The interpretation of the Bible from women and blackness, on the other hand, is related to the way the author understands her life story, that is why methodologically she start with a biblical text that has to do with the proposed categories, immediately she goes from the story to life and then to an analytical reflection of the chosen category to finally present a theological illumination of that situation. It is not an exegesis in the strict sense of the word, the text is just a pretext to allow us to read life from the other side, that is, from the margins of officially.

Religious-Zionist Right-Wing Israelis: Their Expectations of Archeological Research in Judea and Samaria and Their Ways of Contending with the Resulting Complicated Findings

Abstract The encounter between West Bank settlers and the archeologists who came to survey and excavate in their midst at the beginning of the 1980s was a formative moment that led to the settlers’ embrace of the field of archeology. The findings of the surveys and excavations that were conducted in the region, however, raised new insights regarding the early years of the Jewish People and the historical reliability of some of the biblical texts, forcing the settlers to face a complicated reality. Except for their selective adoption of researchers and of conclusions they viewed as supporting the biblical narrative, the settlers accused researchers who presented new conclusions of nontopical deviation and presented an alternative paradigm of their own that did not stand up to criticism. In contrast, researchers from the second generation of West Bank settlers have employed a more professional approach to archeology and do not see themselves as using it to prove identity or ownership. It appears that, in addition to academic influences and their sense of “indigenousness,” this reality is the product of a fundamental crisis that has befallen the religious-ideological public, the thrust of which has been a deconstruction of the harmony of the messianic vision, one expression of which has been the changing intergenerational approach to the role of archeology.

Two Skilful Iconographic Interpretations of the Biblical Text by Nerio

Nerio’s initial D(e ventre matris mee...) from Gradual D of the Zadar Franciscans has been misinterpreted in scholarly literature, earning the miniaturist a bad reputation as an iconographer. L. Mirković did not recognize that the initial depicts simultaneously two connected events from Luke’s Gospel: Annunciation to Zechariah (Lk 1:5-25) and the Birth of John the Baptist (Lk 1:57-66). This article aims to prove the opposite, namely that Nerio was unusually skilled in translating the liturgical text into visual language. This opinion is supported by the analysis of Nerio’s cutting preserved at the British Library, depicting Christ, an apostle, and an executioner taking a sheep to be slaughtered. So far, no correct interpretation of this scene has been offered. The author considers it to be a visual interpretation of the First Response of the nocturnal Mass for Holy Saturday. The citation is taken from Isaiah (53/7) and reads: Sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est et, dum male tractaretur non aperuit os suum (“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth”). Nerio wanted to depict Christ’s silence and succeeded in doing so by introducing an apostle into the scene to enter into a dialogue with the executioner, indirectly emphasizing Christ’s silence. Christ seems to distance himself from the event, turning his back to it. Nevertheless, he turns his head back towards the executioner, recognizing his own fate in the sheep and accepting it without a word.

Uncovering Theological and Ethical Biases in LLMs

This paper explores theological and ethical biases in LLMs through a novel approach involving creative text generation tasks based on biblical texts, specifically the Ten Commandments and the Book of Jonah. Utilizing models such as GPT-4 Turbo, Claude v2, PaLM 2 Chat, Llama 2 70B, and Zephyr 7B, the study employs a combination of qualitative hermeneutical analysis and quantitative textual analysis. Findings reveal a prevalent progressive bias in these models, evident in their interpretations of foundational ethical guidelines and narrative texts. This bias aligns with contemporary socio-political and environmental concerns, especially in themes of environmental ethics, social justice, and inclusivity. In the narrative task involving the Book of Jonah, a dominant interpretive trend is observed, reflecting the models' tendency to mirror historical and prevailing interpretations. This study highlights the need for multidisciplinary research into LLMs' biases, particularly their impact on religious and ethical narrative interpretation and broader societal implications.

The Social Network of Philip in Acts: A Dynamic Pioneering Missionary

This study seeks to explore, how Luke presents the narrative portrayal of Philip in Acts utilizing Social Network Analysis (SNA) and presents an interdisciplinary study combining methods from Theology, Social Sciences, and Computer Science. First, we provide a detailed methodological discussion that highlights the overlap between narrative criticism and SNA. Combining both, we present results in a mathematical computational social networks using exegetical methods. SNA presents different perspectives on one of those minor actors, which Luke presents in more detail, and his relation to the nascent Christian movement in Acts. This study shows that it is in the relational aspects and the crossing of social, cultural, and religious distances that are key to understanding Luke’s story of Philip’s ministry. In particular, he presents Philip as a dynamic pioneering missionary. These results also raise new questions for further research, and show new perspective on biblical texts