Lamb Of God Research Articles

The ‘other’ as projection screen: Authenticating heroic masculinity in war-themed heavy metal music videos

Abstract This article tries to come to terms with Islamophobia as an undercurrent of US culture, heavy metal’s notions of masculinity and authenticity, and the ways in which these two seemingly separate issues intersect in war-themed music videos. By analyzing the official music videos of Metallica’s ‘The Day That Never Comes’ and Lamb of God’s ‘11th Hour’, I will illustrate how the Arab or Muslim ‘other’ is used as a trope to affirm genre-specific notions of masculinity and authenticity. In support of my reading, and to help understand the ways in which music videos are used to communicate with a broader audience, the formal features of the medium will be investigated. Focusing on the structure of my chosen examples and on the way in which meaning-making processes are shaped and perceived by a knowledgeable, pre-informed audience, offers a new perspective to scrutinize the cultural impact of Islamophobic sentiments and shows that they found their way from the mainstream into heavy metal counter-cultures.

Rediscovering John: Essays on the Fourth Gospel in Honour of Frédéric Manns.Edited by L. Daniel Chrupcala.

O ver some 40 years at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem Fr Frédéric Manns OFM has taught New Testament and published widely on its exegesis and its relation to early Judaism, with a particular focus on the Fourth Gospel. This Festschrift on his 70th birthday contains 21 substantial essays by Andreas Köstenberger, Rosario Pierri, Domingo Muñoz León, Michèle Morgen, Francis J. Moloney, Dirk van der Merwe, Cornelis Bennema, Michael Labahn, Alviero Niccacci, Hans-Ulrich Weidemann, Urban C. von Wahlde, Maurizio Marcheselli, Rainer Riesner, Mary L. Coloe, Giancarlo Biguzzi, Romano Penna, Luis Díez Merino, Miroslaw S. Wróbel, Giorgio Giurisato, Yves Simoens, and Craig S. Keener. Eleven are in English (none by English scholars, but South Africa, Australia, and North America are well represented), four in Italian, and two each in German, French, and Spanish. A list (‘selected’) of 373 publications by Fr Manns prefaces the collection, and an English synopsis of all 21 is appended. As the list of contributors indicates, not all are Roman Catholic, but many will be unfamiliar to those inhabiting different academic contexts—a healthy jolt to our parochialisms. The footnotes and bibliographies provided for each article confirm the impression of parallel universes in New Testament scholarship, linked up mainly by the major commentaries. Professional competence is evident at every point, but there is little to change many readers’ minds. Literary analysis, theology, and spirituality predominate and a generally conservative tone is dominant. This reviewer found Mary Coloe’s emphasis on the daily Tamid service as background to ‘the lamb of God’ most suggestive, but cherry-picking from such a wide-ranging collection would be invidious.

Ancient art, rhetoric and the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 1:36

Biblical scholars have given diverse explanations for the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 1:36. Most scholars are of the opinion that ‘amnos’ refers to the Passover lamb. This explanation is not obvious from the context of the Fourth Gospel. To understand the metaphor ‘lamb’ or ‘amnos’ of God, one should understand the transferable meaning of the figure or image. In this comparison, only the vehicle, namely the lamb, is given. What and who the lamb is stays open. It can be anything within the limits of the other story elements that have the same qualities as a lamb. To uncover the communicative dynamics of the metaphor, the exegete must have insight into the meaning and function of the original metaphor. Rhetoric provides a clue for the interpretation of the metaphor, namely that it is a Lamb of God. Within the pericope other rhetorical clues like antithesis and varietas are also provided. These clues are important but do not explain the image of the lamb. In this study, these problems will be considered via another medium, namely Hellenistic art and imagesand their penetration into Judaism and Christianity during the 1st century CE. Hellenistic and biblical images will be used to give an alternative interpretation of the metaphor of the Lamb of God.

Bescherm het slachtoffer, begin bij de verdachte

This article argues that the notion of ‘victim’ primarily refers to the position of the person who, in the course of a (sacred, religious, legal, etc.) procedure, is ritually sacrificed to avert the wrath of the gods or to preserve peace in the community. In early modernity the Latin victim (sacrificial animal) was also used as a reference to Jesus Christ. Christ was seen as the Lamb of God, the innocent sacrificial lamb which, after an unfair trial, was crucified and died for the sins of the world. In the eighteenth century, under influence of the Enlightenment, the victim concept has been secularized and come to refer to every casualty of bad luck, crime, or disaster. Art history, however, offers interesting examples of pictures of mythical figures such as Sisyphus and Prometheus, representing early images of secularized victimhood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the present day, the concept of victimhood is often used to define the position of the injured party in criminal proceedings. In this frame, the injured victim, looking for legal recognition, is juxtaposed against the position of the accused who is characterized as the possible culprit. However, reflection on the history of the victim concept reveals that it primarily refers to the position of the wrongly or falsely accused or condemned in the course of legal (or pseudolegal) proceedings. A state governed by the rule of law (‘rechtsstaat’) can be defined as a legal form of society which does its utmost to avoid the justice system producing its own victims. In thisapproach, a victim-oriented criminal justice system is fully aware of the need to protect precisely those who are threatened by the power of the state and public opinion because they are in the dock.

A Poet Was Here

photo : antonietta kies January–February 2014 • 43 Sylva Fischerová (b. 1963) has published eight volumes of poetry in Czech, and her poems have been translated into numerous languages. A distinguished classicist who teaches at Charles University in Prague, two books of her stories, Miracle and Passage, have appeared recently as well as a “fictitious travelogue,” Europe Is Like a Thonet Chair, America Is a Right Angle. Stomach of the Soul, a new collection of her poems in translation, is forthcoming from Calypso Editions. In addition to Stomach of the Soul: Selected Poems of Sylva Fischerová (co-translated with the author and A. J. Hauner), Stuart Friebert will publish in 2014 two collections of translations from the German of Kuno Raeber and Karl Krolow as well as Floating Heart, his thirteenth book of poems. This crematory is cockeyed, they’ve built it askew. And those flames in front of it, prodding to contemplation! Mourning guests, standing askew, listening to the words of a song in English – why a daughter doesn’t step forth, that girl with a pigtail, or a family friend, to say: Here, there was a poet, a lamb of God. What he wrote down, is done. What he didn’t, remains for you. So toast the moment, just around the corner there’s a grilled lamb, and beer that covers up nerves, and provokes memories, they sail on it like paper ships on a creek: As we were sitting in that garden pub As he was divorcing and almost died of it What he wrote down, is done. What he didn’t, remains hidden. It’s up to us to find out how to go about it, how poets die. The essence of speech – the unspeakable. The essence of the apparent – the inapparent. And this all cast into the cement of grammar, the five-year plan of sentence, and twaddle – a poet pulls them down in the name of self-love and you-love and you-hush: three dots on which he steps beyond . . . Translation from the Czech By the author with Stuart Friebert A Poet Was Here Sylva Fischerová special section ...

Maria e o seu serviço “sacerdotal” uma visão da eclesialidade mariana na tradição da igreja

A colaboração da Virgem Maria na obra da salvação sempre foi uma temática controversa na história da Igreja de, amplo debate e causando até incompreensões. Para os santos Padres e diversos Autores do passado cristão isto nunca foi um problema, pois eles fizeram suas teologias de joelhos com oração, fé, espiritualidade, doutrina e coerência de vida. Tinham sempre diante dos olhos a Palavra da verdade, a experiência da Igreja. Maria de Nazaré tão intimamente unida ao Filho é sua colaboradora por excelência com um serviço sacerdotal inerente a todo cristão. Seu sacerdócio não se equipara ao sacerdócio ministerial conferido aos bispos, sacerdotes e diáconos. Com os aspectos simbólicos os diversos Autores do passado associam Nossa Senhora com os animais que foram sacrificados no Templo segundo a tradição bíblica, assim como o fora Cristo, o Cordeiro de Deus que tira o pecado do mundo. A Mãe do Senhor, a primeira discípula, se une ao sacrifício único do Redentor e não o ofusca, mas o concretiza na sua vida de Virgem-Mãe oferente, de escuta e de serviço.

Paschal Imagery in the Gospel of John: A Narrative and Symbolic Reading

Passover imagery is central to the narrative structure and theological content of the Fourth Gospel. The imagery begins in the testimony of John the Baptist, declaring Jesus to be the “Lamb of God”. The narrator expands the paschal overtones of this title to incorporate other Old Testament insights associated particularly with temple and cult. The feast of Passover develops into its own metaphorical field, pushing the narrative towards the cross as the climatic moment of revelation. On the way, paschal imagery incorporates not only the lamb but also the shepherd who lays down and takes up his life on behalf of the sheep. Passover becomes a major symbol in the Fourth Gospel, capturing vital, christological aspects of John's understanding of the cross.

The Lamb of God by Sergius Bulgakov

BOOK REVIEWS 677 This is an important volume that expands our understanding of Western philosophers and their relationship to the Aristotelian and Christian traditions. Of particular historical interest are those essays that take a creative approach to familiar figures (Plato, Augustine, Plotinus, and Descartes), those that offer new critical insights into key thinkers (Aristotle, Henry of Ghent, Montaigne) and those whose discussion enhances the topic under consideration (Dante, Aquinas, Kant, and Nietzsche). The two final essays, both offering contemporary perspectives, are certainly welcome contributions; they move the volume beyond the trajectory of a purely historical study. The volume would have been even more interesting had there been essays representing Eastern, Jewish, or Islamic philosophical approaches to this aspect of human experience. And, while the volume itself may not exhaust the subject in the sense that it offers any type of solution to the phenomenon of the weak will (as Macintyre argues, there may not be one), it does expand and enhance our understanding of and appreciation for individual philosophers and for the rich legacy of reflection on a topic of enduring interest. Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California MARY BETH INGHAM, C.S.J. The Lamb of God. By SERGIUS BULGAKOV. Translated by BORIS ]AKIM. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008. Pp. 472. $34.00 (paper). ISBN 978-08028 -2779-1. This translation of Agnets Bozhyi, first published in 1933, is the first volume of the "great trilogy," On the Divine Humanity (the second volume deals with the Holy Spirit and the third with the Church and the Last Things). It contains Bulgakov's Christology, and so is essential to understanding the controversy over his sophiological reconstruction of Christian doctrine. After the long triumph of the neo-patristic movement spearheaded by Georges Florovsky, moreover, it is essential for understanding today's renewed current of sophiological theology in Orthodox circles and beyond. In the life of the spirit, after all, resurrection always follows death. The book is introduced by a long (ninety pages) historical essay on patristic and conciliar Christology, from Apollinarius of Laodicea to Constantinople III. There follow five chapters, the first on the divine Sophia, the second on creaturely sophia, the third on the constitution of Christ, the fourth on the kenosis of Christ, and the last on the work of Christ. (I will return to the introduction.) The first chapter is perforce Trinitarian, and declares the relation of the uncreated Sophia to the divine persons. The divine Sophia is God as 678 BOOK REVIEWS manifested to himself; it is the content of the life of God, and contains the intelligibility of the All, united in a One-it is the All-Unity. What Bulgakov is reacting to and trying to correct is an abstract view of the essence of God, a view in which there are only "attributes" of God, a view in virtue of which the persons will be thought to act capriciously according to some Enlightenment notion of freedom. It is in this chapter that we find some of the formulations that caused V. Lossky to accuse Bulgakov of confusing the persons and the nature. God, for Bulgakov, is "one tri-hypostatic Person." This sounds bad, until we realize that "person" here means subjectivity, and that Bulgakov is saying there is one tri-hypostatic consciousness or subjectivity in God. It is also in this chapter that the relations of the person are conceived very much in the terms of the economy. Thus, the procession of the Son is the self-emptying or kenosis of the Father. There is an inner-Trinitarian sacrifice already before the foundation of the world. Those who have read Balthasar will have already made up their minds about the virtues and vices of proceeding in this way, but it is helpful to see it developed in another theology of comparable ambition and scope. It is not until the second chapter that Bulgakov begins to realize the systematic potential of his sophiology. Creaturely sophia is the expression of the divine Sophia; the world is the expression of the interior content of the life of God, in which the All-Unity becomes multiplied into the many creatures and their manifold relations to one another. Among...

Evangelical Radicalism in the Writings of Francis and Clare of Assisi

103 Franciscan Studies 64 (2006) EVANGELICAL RADICALISM IN THE WRITINGS OF FRANCIS AND CLARE OF ASSISI One does not need a long investigation to discover that the only purpose Francis of Assisi had in life was “to live according to the form of the holy Gospel” as he declares clearly in his testament.1 Nor that his companion, Clare of Assisi, shared the same purpose: “The form of life of the Order of Poor Sisters, that blessed Francis has established, is this: to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” as is stated at the beginning of her Form of Life, the document commonly referred to as the Rule of Saint Clare.2 But what did the Gospel really mean to them? How did they understand the Gospel? What use of the Gospel did they make in their own writings? How did the Gospel inform their life? Some thirty years ago in a small but fervent book on Francis of Assisi ’s Gospel life, Thaddée Matura wrote a chapter on how Francis read and interpreted the Scripture.3 In that essay, he examined the 1 Francis of Assisi, Testamentum 14, in Fontes Franciscani, edited by Enrico Menestò and Stefano Brufani (Santa Maria degli Angeli: Edizioni Porziuncola, 1995), 228: Et postquam Dominus dedit mihi de fratribus, nemo ostendebat mihi quid deberem facere, sed ipse Altissimus revelavit mihi quod deberem vivere secundum formam sancti Evangelii. For an English translation of the writings of Francis, see Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann and William J. Short, eds. (New York: New City Press, 1999), 35-167. 2 Clare of Assisi, Regula 1:1-2, in Fontes Francescani, 2292: Forma vitæ ordinis sororum pauperum, quam beatus Franciscus instituit, hæc est: Domini nostri Iesu Christi sanctum Evangelium observare. For an English translation of the writings of Clare, see Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, edited by Regis J. Armstrong (New York: New City Press, 2006), 43-67 and 108-26. 3 Thaddée Matura, Le Projet Évangélique de François d’Assise Aujourd’hui (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1977), Chapitre III: “Comment François lit et interprète l’Écriture,” 43- 104 JEAN FRANÇOIS GODET CALOGERAS passages of the Scripture used by Francis in four of his writings: the Regula non bullata or Earlier Rule of the Lesser Brothers, the Regula bullata or Later Rule, the Testamentum or Testament, and the Regula pro eremitoriis data or Rule for Hermitages,4 documents chosen because they offer us the whole spectrum of Francis’ understanding of Gospel life. What first drew Matura’s attention was the high number of biblical references in the selected texts. Then it was the disparity between the citations from the Old and from the New Testament: over 90% of the citations were from the New Testament, of which over 60% were from the synoptic gospels, mostly from Matthew and Luke, a few from Mark. Those citations were mainly coming either from the Sermon on the Mount, or from the missionary discourse, or from the discourse on community.5 Of particular importance was the observation made by Matura regarding the texts commonly known today as the radical sayings of Jesus : The synoptic gospels are comprised of [sic] a certain number of Jesus’ words which present the believer with extreme and to55 . English translation: The Gospel Life of Francis of Assisi Today (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1980), Chapter III: “How Francis Reads and Interprets Scripture,” 31-44. 4 See Fontes Franciscani, 185-212, 171-81, 227-32 and 215-16. In FAED 1, 63-86, 10006 , 124-27 and 61-62. 5 Since the radical sayings of Jesus are in the synoptic gospels, only those will be the focus of this essay. It does not mean, however, that Francis and Clare do not use the gospel of John, on the contrary. The writings of Clare contain 7 references to John, of which 4 are in her letters to Agnes of Prague, 1 in her testament and 1 in her blessing to her sisters. Those references concern the Word of God, the Lamb of God, and the believer’s relation to Christ. The...

Translating “Messiah,” “Christ,” and “Lamb of God”

The terms translated “Messiah,” “Christ,” and “Lamb of God” in English versions of the Bible would have created significant contextual effects in the minds of the original hearers when applied to Jesus. This paper investigates the use of these terms in their original context through a semantic analysis based on logical and encyclopedic entries and then considers some implications for translation. The approach to translation is based on Relevance Theory and in particular the notion of Direct Translation.

Politics and religion in Napoleonic Italy: the war against God, 1801-1814

Preface: The Eagle of Empire and the Lamb of God 1. The last Barbarian Invasion? 2. Centre and Periphery: The power and limits of a concept 3. The Religion of the Rulers 4. The Religion of the Ruled 5. The Concordat and the Italian Clergy 6. The Roman Clergy and the Crisis of the Oath 7. The War against God.

The consummation of the kingdom of God. Reflections on the final victory of Christ as portrayed in Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians

Reflections on 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 raise the question whether eschatology should be focused on Christ, or should rather be viewed theocentrically. A study of the mediatory reign of Christ clearly favours the notion of an intermediate kingdom, during which He will subjugate and destroy the “powers” and the enemies of the kingdom. Having achieved the final victory over death itself, the need for an intermediate rule of Christ no longer exists. However, the office of Mediator is unquestionably linked to Christ’s humanity. This again brings to the fore the question whether Christ will retain his human nature after the consummation of his kingdom. Although it remains an open question in Reformed theology whether Christ will relinquish his human nature at the end of this dispensation, it is argued that in the next dispensation He will no longer serve in the office of Mediator, but that He will reign as the Lamb of God in the stature of the eternal Son of God.

"There Is Not Much Thrill about a Physiological Sin"

"There Is Not Much Thrill about a Physiological Sin"

Holy Communion: Altar Sacrament for Making a Sacrificial Sin Offering, or Table Sacrament for Nourishing a Life of Service?

Holy Communion: Altar Sacrament for Making a Sacrificial Sin Offering, or Table Sacrament for Nourishing a Life of Service? Paul J. Nuechterlein Emmaus Lutheran Church, Racine, WI The title spells out the alternative I would like the reader to consider: Is Holy Communion more appropriately considered the "table sacrament" or, as is more commonly accepted, the "altar sacrament "? I will make my preference clear. In Holy Communion, I believe Jesus Christ to be offering nourishment for a different way to live —namely, the way offreely chosen service to others, as opposed to violent domination over others. "Table sacrament" more appropriately conveys the sense of nourishment toward a new life. I will support this positive reasoning in favor of "table sacrament" through an appeal to Christian scripture. I will also suggest a negative reasoning against "altar sacrament," by questioning whether the very reference to "altar" betrays a link to violence, with its base in the blood ofsacrifice. For this negative argument, the support will come primarily from the brilliant and far-reaching theories ofRené Girard regarding the relation between religion and violence. I would like us to consider whether the most obvious point of the relation between religion and violence—namely, rituals ofsacrifice—has been precariously intermingled with the church's practices and experiences of the "altar sacrament." Girard's theories force us to ask: Is not the altar ofsacrifice essentially the site for a ritualized form of collective violence? 202Paul J. Nuechterlein Girard contends that there are overwhelming cultural and anthropological forces that make it difficult for religions to free themselves from such violent underpinnings. He considers that all religions, in fact, are cultural manifestations ofa generative mimetic scapegoating mechanism, a natural human/social mechanism which contains an all-against-all, communitywide violence by means ofan all-against-one act of violence, i.e., a scapegoating . Religion is, according to this theory, the primary cultural institution that forms in the aftermath ofwhat Robert Hamerton-Kelly summarily calls the "Generative Mimetic Scapegoating Mechanism, or "GMSM" event (1994). Institutionalized religion fortifies the relative peace that the event has accomplished through a three-fold structure: (1) laws and prohibitions , established to prevent further outbreaks ofmimetic violence; (2) mythical stories of the GMSM event, told from the perspective of the perpetrators as a means to justify their violence and disguise it behind the veil of the sacred; and (3) ritual reenactments ofthe GMSM event, most commonly in the form of blood sacrifice, that channel any continuing violent impulses into structured, contained releases. We must be bold to ask of each religion, then, the ways in which it manifests and perpetuates the GMSM. This includes Christianity. To the extent that Christians practice religion, we can expect to find effects ofthe GMSM in essential aspects of the church, such as its practice ofthe "altar sacrament." Girardian support for my argument, however, does not end with this negative thesis regarding the "altar sacrament." Nor does Girardian criticism leave us with a wholly negative assessment of the Christian tradition. In fact, Girard himself experienced a conversion of sorts (see Golsan 129-30), as he began to see his basic premises and theories already revealed in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, especially the gospel narratives of Jesus Christ. He came to view the Christian faith—in spite of its susceptibility to the violent forces of religion—as unique in its core message ofrevealing the one true God. Contrary to the gods ofmythology, the Christian message, through Jesus Christ, reveals the true God to be on the side ofthe GMSM's victims. As such, the Gospel ofJesus Christ stands in opposition to the three-fold structure of religion: (1) it frees people from the oppressive systems oflaws and prohibitions;1 (2) it demythologizes the mythical stories told from the perspective of the perpetrators;2 and (3) it 1 A theme of St. Paul and his criticism of the Law? (see Hamerton-Kelly 1992). 2 A theme of St. John's emphasis on Jesus, the Lamb of God, as bearing witness to the Truth? Holy Communion203 makes obsolete the need for rituals of sacrificial violence.3 The Gospel opens up the way for new life, and for rituals that nourish the new...

Turtlewax: Or “there ain't no flies on the lamb of god”

Turtlewax: Or “there ain't no flies on the lamb of god”

"Daar is die Lam van God... " . Plaasvervangende offertradisies in die Johannesevangelie

"Behold, the Lamb of God... " Substitutionary sacrifice traditions in the Gospel of Joh. The issue of substitutionary sacrifice in John's Gospel is hotly debated. In this article it is argued that there are clear traces of this tradition in the Gospel, although it receives little emphasis. The hypothesis is argued that the author concentrates on the positive aspects of salvation. He does not deal with the question of Jesus' treatment of sin and gUilt as such. However, with the scattered remarks through the Gospel about substitution and sacrifice, a clear indication is given that Jesus also deals with sin (I :29). Due to the positive theological focus in the Gospel this theme is not further developed, but simply stated briefly. When the question about the treatment of sin comes into focus (i e 1 John), no hesitation is displayed in using "typical" sacrificial and substitutionary terminology.

This is the Lamb of God

‘This is the Lamb of God’. These are the words used at the Eucharist to describe Jesus Christ present in the consecrated bread. Jesus, sacramentally present, is identified with the passover lamb, the sacrifice without blemish, and the dumb sheep of Isaiah 53, representing passivity and acceptance of suffering as in some way redemptive. However, for a fuller picture of what it means for Jesus to be ‘Lamb’, it is necessary to turn as well to the Book of Revelation. Here we find that, apart from brief references in Chapter 1 to other Christological ideas involving a figure which seems to combine the Ancient of Days, Jesus Christ and an Angel figure, Christ is always referred to as ‘Lamb’. The Lamb for the author of Revelation is the symbol of power.The Lamb of Revelation is seen in heaven. The action that takes place in heaven is the judgement that takes place upon the world. This is an effective judgement which produces the dramatic events that will take the world through the End time to the End, the last Day of Judgement and the Renewal of the Cosmos, that is through the culminating events of world history in the broadest sense. The action is effected through Christ, represented by the image of the Lamb of God, a slain yet living Lamb.This image holds together the heavenly court scenes and world history at two consecutive levels. The Lamb represents one who, now enthroned in heaven, has acted decisively in world history, one who has conquered (5.5).

Johannes die Doper in Betanië oorkant die Jordaan

John the Baptist in Bethany across the Jordan There a re two places in the Fourth Gospel called ‘Bethany’. One is the well-known site near Jerusalem. The other is the lesser-known locality where John the Baptist started his career as the ‘Baptist’. This paper traces John’s use of ‘Bethany across the Jordan’. It is contended th a t the site has more than geographical significance. In analysis the theological purpose of the site is demonstrated. It is the spot where the two Johannine worlds meet: The world above and the world below. This Johannine dualism is resolved a t one spesific time and place, viz at this Bethany. The locality therefore has the theological significance as point of departure for the narration of the coming of Gods only begotten son, who is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

The Lamb of God and Atonement Theories

The Lamb of God and Atonement Theories

The Lamb of God in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

The term "The Lamb of God" in the Testaments appears in a passage that has been corrupted by scribes who were not Christians and in a passage that deals with the Messiah ben Joseph. It was, therefore, a Jewish term before it became Christian. The pervasive corruption of the text of the Testaments by scribes who were not Christian helps to prove that the Testaments were originally a Jewish entity.