Biblical Literature Research Articles

Society of Biblical Literature Annual National Conference, San Antonio, Texas, United States, November 17–21, 2023

Society of Biblical Literature Annual National Conference, San Antonio, Texas, United States, November 17–21, 2023

The Divine Name Yahweh Sabaoth (“Lord of Hosts”) in the Biblical Literature – Problematizations and Divergences

This study analyses the interpretations and debates in the literature on the divine name Yahweh Sabaoth (“Lord of Hosts”) in the Hebrew Bible. The author presents three main methodological approaches scholars use to understand the meaning and origin of this name: semantic analysis, syntactic analysis, and historical/contextual analysis. The semantic analysis focuses on the possible meanings of the term sabaoth, leading to various interpretations such as “Lord of the armies of Israel,” “Lord of the angelic armies,” or “Lord of all creation.” The syntactic analysis examines the grammatical relationship between Yahweh and Sabaoth, proposing understandings such as “Yahweh the (all)mighty” or “He who creates the hosts.” The historical/contextual approach considers the historical and cultural circumstances of using the name, suggesting connections to the Canaanite tradition or the Temple in Jerusalem. The study highlights the complexity and diversity of interpretations, emphasizing two main perspectives: the Yahweh Sabaoth as the warrior God of Israel and as the Almighty God, the “heavenly King” who rules history. These investigations reflect efforts to understand divine revelation in the context of the Old Testament and its reception by the Israelite people.

Locusts

The episodes of the ten signs and/or the prodigies in the Exodus narrative (Exod 7:14–11:10) put forward a set of literary images confronting the reader with environmental disasters. This investigation focuses on the account of the locust proliferation (Exod 10:1–20). Three items will receive specific attention: (a) How does the biblical text describe what happens in nature? (b) Are there human causes of this disaster? For example, do political decisions have an impact on the environment? (c) What does the account of the locust sign reveal about God? With this discussion, I hope to show that biblical literature can enrich the construction of biblical ecotheology and current efforts to safeguard the environment.

GOD’S NATURE, POWERS, LAWS, SCIENCE PERFORMED: THEOLOGICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

The Theological schools philosophy is that God manifest through the universe. The natural world designed by Universal Laws. These laws outperform religion, philosophy, school of thoughts. Biblical scriptures revealed the mystery of God. Humans difficult and beyond human knowledge to find out God by research and science tools. This paper search God’s existence, origin from biblical evidences of theologians, world religions, philosophers, and science. The research framework is theological, philosophical, Scientific and meta analysis. The results found that God attributes are: omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and perfect goodness. Theists believe that God is somehow involved in world design. As per many religions, Humans can comprehend God through his creation, prayers, reading divine scripts inspite of his invisibility. Nature of God is God Is Sovereign, God Is Working, God Is Holy, God Is Love, God Is Omnipotent.

Once Saved, Always Saved?

This theological paper explores the soteriology of ‘Once Save, Always Saved’ (OSAS) as it applies to the institutional and doctrinal teaching of Bible scripture. Scripture and its meaning are reliant on how readers, scholars, and teachers interpret words, phrases, and their intended meaning in the Bible. Moral conclusions of what scriptures are thought to mean must be carefully approached with contextual analysis of wording, taken from a comprehensive biblical analysis of all scripture, and not just one topical mention of a theological issue. This critical thinking analysis assiduously explores the requisite biblical scriptures which show that salvation is conditional, and that salvation comes with requirements. This paper offers an exegetical 10-point scriptural analysis with argument of how eternal salvation can be lost when the conditional requirements are not met or intentionally disregarded, and a person’s name is then blotted out of the Book of Life when all humankind is judged.

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.