Biblical Literature Research Articles

The Beginning of the Biblical Canon and Ben Sira, by Alma Brodersen

The Beginning of the Biblical Canon and Ben Sira, by Alma Brodersen

Ways of reflecting on trauma and adversity: reading Psalm 90 through the lenses of feeling and thinking

ABSTRACT In the wake of biblical trauma scholarship that identifies how traumatic experience has shaped biblical literatures and the Psalms in particular, interest has emerged in the potential therapeutic role of Psalm 90 in Christian-framed trauma therapies. Drawing on the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, the present study tests the extent to which feeling types and thinking types read Psalm 90 differently. These two readings present different challenges working with this Psalm in trauma therapy.

Topos and Originality in the Book of Esther

This study navigates the intricate nuances woven into the fabric of the Book of Esther, unravelling the interplay between „topos” and „originality”. By scrutinizing the recurrent themes (“topoi”) and their dynamic engagement with elements of literary innovation, the article discerns the delicate balance between established motifs and the emergence of distinctive narrative expressions. The analysis contributes to the broader discourse on biblical literature, shedding light on the complex relationship between conventional literary norms and the evolution of unique storytelling within the context of Esther

Canon Lists of Church Fathers in Early Christianity

Abstract This article examines how the names of “church fathers” were compiled into lists from the end of the fourth century to the middle of the sixth century. Although not as common as biblical canon lists, these lists of church fathers attempt to vest ecclesiastical authority in the figures listed. Surveying Greek and Latin Christian literature, it finds that there are two overarching strategies for listing church fathers: (1) linking individual fathers’ authority to their involvement in authoritative church councils; (2) compiling lists of names that are meant to be representative of the church’s antiquity and catholicity.

Ancient Translations and Reviews of the Holy Scriptures in The Greek Language. Contribution to the History of Biblical Translations

The article offers a scholarly overview of the historical translations and reviews of the Bible from Greek sources. It lists the historical ancient manuscript translations that have become widely accepted canonical models, known as the “Biblical canon” in the translations of the Holy Scriptures. The tradition of these translations is with extremely wide boundaries in chronological and linguistic terms is of interest for understanding the origin and semantics of the modern Synodal translation of the Bible.

Dari Autentisitas ke Otoritas: Metode dan Pendekatan Sejarah Intelektual dalam Kajian Kanonisasi Hadis Jonathan A.C. Brown

This paper explores the methods and approaches of intellectual history in the works of Jonathan A.C. Brown on the canonization of prophetic sources. Although his studies have sparked scholarly discussion in the following decades, the existing discussions have yet to involve his entire study of the topic and reconstructing his methods and approaches. This article examines Brown’s works on the canonization of ḥadīth texts to outline the methods and approaches to intellectual history that he applies. The close reading method is implemented in this article against Brown’s publications on the role of al-Dāraquṭnī, the canonization of al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, and al-Sunan by Ibn Mājah. Through the determination of the time and period of canonization and the explanation of the reasons behind the canonical status obtained by al-Ṣaḥīḥayn and al-Sunan li Ibn Mājah, Brown’s study on the canonization of prophetic sources in the Sunni community is a response to two problems left by Ignaz Goldziher. The use of methods and approaches in the field of intellectual history allows Brown to examine sources that are common in traditional hadith science in a new way of reading to determine spatial space, periodization, and the role of several agents from the intellectual community in the historical dynamics of hadith canon formation. Apart from criticism of the use of categories from Biblical canon studies to the phenomenon of hadith literature, Brown’s study shows the possibility of expanding the study beyond issues of source authenticity.

Christian anthropology-based contributions to the ethics of socially assistive robots in care for older adults.

Our society, in general, and health care, in particular, faces notable challenges due to the emergence of innovative digital technologies. The use of socially assistive robots in aged care is a particular digital application that provokes ethical reflection. The answers we give to the ethical questions associated with socially assistive robots are framed by ontological and anthropological considerations of what constitutes human beings and how the meaning of being human relates to how these robots are conceived. Religious beliefs and secular worldviews, each of which may participate fully in pluralist societies, have an important responsibility in this foundational debate, as anthropological theories can be inspired by religious and secular viewpoints. This article identifies seven anthropological considerations grounded in the synthesis of biblical scriptures, Roman Catholic documents, and recent research literature. We highlight the inspirational quality of these anthropological considerations when dealing with ethical issues regarding the development and use of socially assistive robots in aged care. With this contribution, we aim to foster a global and inclusive dialogue on digitalization in aged care that deeply challenges our basic understanding of what constitutes a human being and how this notion relates to machine artefacts.

A Brief Study of Chandas in Sanskrit

Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies. It is the study of poetic metres and verse in Sanskrit. This field of study was central to the composition of the Vedas, the scriptural canons of Hinduism, so central that some later Hindu and Buddhist texts refer to the Vedas as Chandas. The Chandas, as developed by the Vedic schools, were organized around seven major metres, and each had its own rhythm, movements and aesthetics. Sanskrit metres include those based on a fixed number of syllables per verse, and those based on fixed number of morae per verse. Extant ancient manuals on Chandas include Pingala'sChandah Sutra, while an example of a medieval Sanskrit prosody manual is KedaraBhatta'sVrittaratnakara. The most exhaustive compilations of Sanskrit prosody describe over 600 metres. This is a substantially larger repertoire than in any other metrical tradition.

Translation, transmission and indigenization of Christianity in nineteenth-century China: south-to-north travel of the disguised San Zi Jing by Medhurst

The Chinese traditional educational primer San Zi Jing (三字经) was immensely appreciated by Western missionaries, who frequently leveraged it to spur Chinese-language learning or to decipher Chinese thought. Walter Henry Medhurst (1796–1857), affiliated with the London Missionary Society (LMS), translated and reconstructed biblical scriptures into the format and style of the Chinese-language San Zi Jing, henceforth referred to as the “disguised San Zi Jing” in this article. The disguised San Zi Jing was initially published in Batavia in 1823 and reprinted in several locations, occasionally with minor modifications to its content. First, this study examines the complex qualities of the original San Zi Jing, which made it an ideal translation target, and the unique natures of the disguised San Zi Jing, which served as the ultimate translation product. Second, referencing Edward Said’s traveling theory, a diachronic investigation finds that the disguised San Zi Jing traveled in four stages, from Nanyang to Lingnan to Jiangnan and finally across Pan-China (more regions of China). Last, the article examines the indigenization process of the disguised San Zi Jing in space and content over time and analyzes the power dynamics underlying indigenization. The study contributes to translation history studies as well as studies of Christianity in China.

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.

Cross in the Crosshairs: Black Visual Biblical Allegory in Mark Doox's Our Lady, Mother of Ferguson and All Those Killed by Gun Violence (2016)

ABSTRACT Mary and Jesus typically appear in visual art in one of two scenes: the “Madonna with Christ Child” (“Platytéra”), or “Pietà” (Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion). Mark Doox’s icon Our Lady, Mother of Ferguson and All Those Killed by Gun Violence (2016) fuses these contrasting narratives by depicting a modern-day crucifixion of the Ferguson Christ Child in front of (or within) his mother’s womb. Doox’s adaptation of ancient iconography and allegory for Mary and Jesus make a poignant statement about today’s threat of gun violence, particularly in black communities. This paper exegetes the icon’s biblical visual allegory by highlighting parallels between the icon, biblical scriptures, visual theologies of the “Platytéra,” “Black Madonna,” and “Pietà,” and the socio-cultural context of this icon following inter-racial violence in Ferguson, Missouri. This paper explores the value that the icon provides for discourse on the intersection of race, theology, and art.

The Book of Samuel and the Three-Actor Rule in Classical Greek Tragedy

ABSTRACT Following a two-part 2022 publication which argues that portions of biblical literature may be written in the style of Classical Greek theatre plays, this paper seeks to demonstrate that 1 and 2 Samuel consistently adhere to the distinctive three-actor rule of Greek tragedy. The number of countable speaking actors present in any given scene from 1 or 2 Samuel never appears to exceed three actors at a time, provided that (1) only speaking actors are included in the tally, (2) group speech is treated as that of a single actor, and (3) scenes are parsed into episodes following regular criteria.

Judahite Hebrew Epigraphy and Cult

This article presents a tentative review of the information about First Temple-period Judahite cult, which historians of religion can glean from the various inscriptions discovered so far. It surveys the various deities, sanctuaries, cultic rites, and feast days mentioned. When an inscription’s reading, dating, or interpretation is controversial, I take a stand as an epigrapher but also consider the archaeological context and biblical literature. This status quaestionis seems to capture an important historical evolution of Juhadite cult.

A Study on the Characteristics of Daesoon Thought as Seen through the Articles in The Canonical Scripture: Focusing on Historical Figures

A Study on the Characteristics of Daesoon Thought as Seen through the Articles in The Canonical Scripture: Focusing on Historical Figures

Ecclesio-Mariological Interpretation of Rev 12:1–6 in Early Christian Writings

Early Christian literature contains numerous commentaries on the books of the Holy Scripture, including the Revelation of St. John. Among the many symbols it contains, we can find an intriguing theme related to the sign of a Woman clothed with the sun (cf. Rev 12:1–6). Nowadays, the above-mentioned passage is most often interpreted in the Mariological spirit. An ecclesiological explanation is provided frequently too. It turns out that in the writings of the early Church authors, the reference to the Church was decidedly the dominant one, while the interpretation favoring Mary was almost marginal. A mixed interpretation was formulated too, for example, by Quodvultdeus. It features three images: ecclesial, Christological, and Mariological. This paper will present the statements made by early Christian authors, representing both the Eastern and the Western Church, on the meaning of the sign of the Woman in the Revelation, and on the ways they interpreted it in commentaries on this book of the Bible.

Interpretation of Revelation 13 in the writings of Ellen White

The origin and development of the Adventist Church was based on eschatological interpretations of the apocalyptic books of the Bible. Ellen White, one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, played a prominent role in the interpretation of prophetic texts. In this article, I highlight her interpretation of one of the most controversial passages in the book of Revelation – the thirteenth chapter – in which John writes about the Antichrist. I show that Ellen White took a historical approach to the interpretation of apocalyptic prophecies. White interpreted the beast from the sea as a symbol of the papacy, and the beast from the earth as a symbol of Protestant America. White argued that the image of the beast would be a separate authority, a union of church and state in the United States, a kind of counterpart to the papacy. The restoration of the power of the papacy and its alliance with Protestantism will lead to the loss of religious freedom and persecution. The article highlights that the mark of the beast, according to Ellen White, symbolizes the celebration of Sunday – a false and idolatrous Sabbath. This spiritual sign will be activated in a future eschatological spiritual battle that will take place in the matter of worship and faithfulness to God’s commandments. White wrote about Sunday laws in the historical context of the United States, where they were hotly debated and even passed in some states. I argue that White was not limited by historical context, but was making a statement about future Sunday observance legislation on a worldwide scale, with other countries following the US’s example. The article shows that Ellen White also interpreted the Antichrist individualistically, by indicating the personal appearance of the devil in the form of Jesus Christ at the end of time.

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ БІБЛІЙНОЇ МЕТОДОЛОГІЇ У ВИХОВАННІ ТА ФОРМУВАННІ СВІТОГЛЯДУ СТУДЕНТІВ НА ВЧЕННЯ ПРО НООСФЕРУ

Advice, laws, commandments of the Bible determine the existence of human life. They are the methodological basis of the educational process. The books of the Bible contain information about the creation of light, the atmosphere, land and oceans, the biosphere and man, about the connections and relationships between man, society and nature. It is suggested to study the books of the Bible from scientific research and educational positions. Has no scientific law or dogma that cannot be found directly or indirectly in the scriptures of the Bible. On the basis of many years of experience in teaching physical geography, four successive stages of formation of students’ outlook on the problems of interaction of society, man and nature and the concept of the noosphere in the process of studying geographical disciplines from the 1st to the 5th courses have been established: education, geographic, theoretical and philosophical. According to the results of the analysis of the teachings of V. I. Vernadskyi and modern science about the biosphere and noosphere, about the solar-terrestrial connections of inert and living matter and the origin and evolution of living matter and the biosphere, it was established that the noosphere is essentially the spiritual sphere of the mental activity of every person and humanity as a whole in the space-time continuum. The noosphere is the spiritual part of the biosphere, it is born and exists together with the birth and existence of man and humanity, and after biological death it ceases to exist in the material system of the biosphere and passes to the spiritual level of existence, beyond the dimensions of our material worldview. All natural and social phenomena and processes are controlled by the spiritual sphere, which includes the sphere of the human mind – the noosphere. Earth’s shells and biosphere were created for human life and activities with all the necessary spaceplanetary ecological conditions.

Model Pembinaan Warga Gereja Dalam Kitab Markus

The model for cultivating congregation members in the Book of Mark is a single wickedness that is an important part of expanding the Christian family. This article intends to review examples of church community formation that are provided in the Book of Mark. The approach in this point uses a qualitative approach plus discussion of Biblical literature and knowledge of the context. The results of the analysis show that the Book of Mark provides various lessons and examples regarding the formation of congregation members. This article provides practical guidance for every church leader and Christian religious educator in carrying out the development of congregation members.

Plene Spelling and Defective Spelling in the Hebrew Bible


 
 
 It is commonly accepted that the spelling of the pre-exilic books of the Bible was generally defective like that of contemporary epigraphy, and that the matres lectionis were inserted into the original texts by scribes during the first half of the Second Temple period. This article argues that the orthography of the ancient books of the Bible was from its beginning similar to that of the MT . The difference between the current biblical spelling and the defective spelling of the inscriptions should instead be understood as a matter of different registers .
 
 

ProPent and its Implied Conversation Partners’

This contribution is a slightly edited invited presentation at the Society for Biblical Literature annual international conference at the University of Pretoria, 3-7 July 2023, at a panel discussion titled “The role of context in Biblical Studies / exegesis”. A broad overview-interpretation of the past half a century Pentateuch studies in South Africa is offered, indicating implied, though seldom stated, dynamics of Hebrew Bible scholarship, doing so by means of an Aesopian interpretation. These concrete webs of meaning in substantial ways steer also the guild of Pentateuch scholars in South Africa in our time, in how historical exegesis has had to be arranged.