Redaction History Research Articles

Revisiting the Date of the Acts of Peter : Engaging with Potential New Evidence from the History of Simon Cephas

Abstract: Previous scholarly consensus held that the text preserved in the Latin Actus Vercellenses was a relatively faithful translation of a second-century Greek Acts of Peter . In partial support of this date was the posited intertextual relationship with the Acts of Paul , with particular attention given to the so-called " quo vadis " scenes related in both apocryphal acts. More recent scholarship has cast doubt on this, thus removing the terminus ad quem of a late second-century date that this posited relationship provided. Taking this as his starting point, Matthew Baldwin's work constitutes a formidable challenge to previous consensus of both the date and the faithfulness of the Latin translation. He argues that the Vercelli Acts should be understood as a fourth-century product in its own right and of no value for recovering an earlier Acts of Peter . While some brief counterarguments to this have been offered, to the best of my knowledge none have yet incorporated the fourth-century Syriac History of Simon Cephas, Chief of the Apostles , which has extensive parallels with the Vercelli Acts . Doing so lends additional evidence to the priority of the Acts of Peter , as well as potentially verifies scholarly argument regarding a redactional history of the Acts of Peter in the second century. As a fourth-century composition itself that includes material reflecting this date, it is also useful in comparison with details preserved in the Vercelli Acts that scholars have suggested attest to the preservation of earlier material. Taken together, these three avenues of discussion can potentially reinstate the consensus regarding the existence of a second-century Acts of Peter that is more or less faithfully preserved in the Vercelli Acts .

Between History and Theology—Zerubbabel and Nehemiah as Governors of Judah from the Perspective of Literary History

Hag/Zech 1–8 and Ezr/Neh have in common that they are often rated as primary sources when it comes to the development of Second Temple Judaism(s). Consequently, it is mostly assumed that the Persian governors of Judah (like the Persian kings) significantly contributed to the (re-)formation of the Jewish community in Jerusalem after the exile: Zerubbabel built the temple, Nehemiah the wall of Jerusalem. As a rule of thumb, literary analysis within these books, if applied at all, is less critical than elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. However, a literary critical approach gives rise to serious doubts about the historic reliability of these accounts. Based on a literary critical analysis of the relevant texts from Hag/Zech 1–8 and Neh, this article aims to show that it is only in the course of redaction history that the office of governor of Judah is ascribed to both individuals. Thus, the attribution of the office of governor to them reflects theological interests and concerns in the early Second Temple Period rather than the historical reality. As the texts not only attribute aspects of royal leadership to Zerubbabel and Nehemiah as governors of Judah, but also present the holders of a Persian office as custodians of Jewish interests (temple and Torah), it will be argued that the texts contribute to the political and religious reorganization of Judaism and, thus, to the formation of a collective Jewish identity.

Decimal Diaspora: Ten Exiles and a Medieval Construction of Jewish History

The present article reviews religious constructions of Jewish diaspora History in their long-term evolution and discusses a midrashic text that hints at a historical turning-point in the 12th century. In the Antiquity, gendered metaphors were most commonly used to characterize the troubled relations between God, the Land, and the people of Israel. Early medieval conceptions speculated about the cyclical repetition of deportation events and other calamities. That meant that that number rather than gender became the dominant organizing principle of the historical narrative in the later period. Since the medieval “Midrash of the Ten Exiles” expresses this new numerology most straightforwardly, the redactional history and literary context of this short text is the focus of this study.

The Allotment of Canaan in Joshua and Numbers

Abstract This study examines the literary and redactional history of the allotment motif in biblical tradition. The notion that the Israelite tribes apportioned the promised land through the casting of “lots” stems from a core narrative about a ceremony for the house of Joseph at Shiloh (Josh 17:17–18; 18:4, 8–10a). Through later redactional expansions, the allotment motif came to define the distribution of all Israelite territory in the central chapters of Joshua (chs. 13–21). Outside the book of Joshua, however, this idea gained little acceptance among scribal circles that preferred other explanations for how the Israelites came to occupy and possess the land. The only extensive engagement with the allotment motif outside of Joshua appears in the concluding chapters of Numbers (chs. 26–36). The post-Priestly redactors who organized these chapters harmonized the allotment motif with their own genealogies as a means to create narrative continuity between the desert wanderings and the conquest account in Joshua. By examining many “redactional reciprocations” between Numbers and Joshua, I demonstrate how biblical books and literary motifs developed in parallel narrative contexts, with punctuated revisions that alter the form and function of each through dialectical processes of harmonization. The allotment motif in Numbers is the literary legacy of scribes who did not consider Moses’s death in Deuteronomy to be a decisive break in the biblical narrative, instead promoting the view of Joshua as Moses’s spiritual successor and the conquest as the fulfillment of the exodus.

The Portrait of Isaac in Genesis 27: Between Synchronic and Diachronic Readings of Patriarch’s Character

Modern critical reception characterizes patriarch Isaac as a particular character type: the schle­miel. This article provides a tour through the cumulative evidence for this comedic read, focusing on Genesis 27, the blessing of Jacob. It provides a revised narratological and literary context, arguing that Isaac’s fivefold questioning demonstrates not confusion, but awareness: he knows exactly which son is in front of him. The paper presents an alternative narratological and literary context for Isaac, framing his questions in terms of the editing process: a synchronic reading of Isaac’s acumen is corroborated by evidence from diachronic reading. The redaction history of the Isaac material in chapter 26 yields a number of points suggesting the dependence of the Abraham material on the Isaac narrative. A num­ber of features indicate a stronger, less subordinate Isaac figure based on the earlier tradition revealed by a complex transmission history than the image arising from the mainstream synchronic reading of chapter 27 seems to depict.

Redactable Blockchain From Decentralized Chameleon Hash Functions

Blockchain is a technology with decentralization and immutability features and has been employed for auditing by many applications. However, immutability sometimes limits the application of blockchain technology. For example, vulnerable smart contracts on blockchain cannot be redacted due to immutability. The existing redactable blockchain solutions either have a low efficiency or violate the decentralization feature. Moreover, those solutions lack mechanisms for tracing redaction history and checking block consistency. In this paper, we present an efficient redactable blockchain with traceability in the decentralized setting. Specifically, we propose a decentralized chameleon hash function for redactable blockchain that every redaction must be approved by multiple blockchain nodes. We also design a redactable blockchain structure that maintains all redactions of a block and encodes the redacted blocks into an RSA accumulator. Then, we propose an efficient block consistency check protocol based on the RSA accumulator. Finally, we conduct experiments and compare our scheme with another decentralized redactable blockchain to demonstrate that our solution is efficient in practice.

Studien zum Dodekapropheton II: Gesammelte Aufsätze zu Joel, Obadja, Jona, Micha und Nahum

Studien zum Dodekapropheton II: Gesammelte Aufsätze zu Joel, Obadja, Jona, Micha und Nahum

The Text of II Samuel 7,13 and the Redaction of Nathan’s Oracle

Abstract The dtr. nature of II Sam 7,13a is a crucial piece in reconstructions of the redactional history of Nathan’s dynastic oracle. The present study argues that the parallel account in I Chr 17,12a preserves the earliest reading. A later copyist revised II Sam 7,13 to align the verse with corresponding clauses in I Chr 22,10.

Counting the Jeremiahs: Machine Learning and the Jeremiah Narratives

ABSTRACT Scholars have long debated the redactional history of the prose sections of Jeremiah (chapters 26-45) but no consensus has been reached on the number of redactional layers in the text, the verses that comprise these layers or their sources. This study used a machine learning method to organise the chapters into sections based upon authorial word choices. The method used pairs of synonyms in a hierarchical clustering algorithm in the statistical program R. The goal of the study was two-fold. First, the division of the text by computerised model was used to analyse the divisions made by three other more traditional critical methods. Second, the validity of the method used in this study and previous synonym-based studies was analysed and critiqued. The conclusion is that this type of analysis can validate findings from other methods but some of the inherent biases and linguistic ambiguities make it dubious as a primary method of investigation for the Hebrew Bible. Keywords: Computerised learning, Jeremiah, Synonyms, Source criticism, Redaction criticism

열왕기하 23:8-9의 편집사 연구와 번역 제안

2 Kings 23:8-9 reflects the peculiarity of King Josiah’s reform intensively around the themes of elimination of high places and cult centralization.BR In this study, the writer traces the redactional history of 2 Kings 23:8-9 through etymological, lexical, and exegetic analysis, and tries to suggest a new translation to solve the discrepancies between this text and the law code of Deuteronomy.BR Through this study, the writer reveals that the basic layer of this passage is 2 Kings 23:8aα (ויבא אח־כל־הכהנים מערי יהורה) which is related with cult centralization. This is the Deuteronomic redactional layer in King Josiah’s reign. To this basic layer, v. 8aβγ (ויטמא אח־הבמוח אשׁך קטךו־ שׁמה הכהנים) was added. This exilic Deuteronomic redaction emphasized the defilement of local high places where the priests had offered sacrifices and which were rebuilt in exilic period. The final redactional insertion in this passage is v. 8aδ, v. 8bαβ, v. 9ab, which are the post-exilic Deuteronomic redactional layer. The expression from Geba to Beer-sheba in v. 8aδ, the wSUPe/SUPqatal form of נחץ and השׁערים in 8bα, טזבח יהוה ,כהני הבמוח ,עלה אל־מזבח in 9a and אחיהם in 9b leads us to assume v. 9 as post-exilic Deuteronomic redaction.BR The writer suggests to translate השׁערים in v. 8bα into hirsute rainstorm god and כי אם in v. 9b into unless, which solves the discordance between this text and the Deuteronomic code.

Biblical Interpretation and Redaction History

Biblical Interpretation and Redaction History

Jer 25,1-14 im masoretischen und im alexandrinischen Text des Jeremiabuchs Ein Gespräch mit Shimon Gesundheit

Abstract The article casts doubt on Shimon Gesundheit’s theory, published in this journal (VT 62 [2012] 29-57), that in the case of Jer 25,1-14—contrary to mainstream scholarly opinion—the Masoretic text form commands priority over the edition represented by the LXX. Even though Gesundheit’s approach is basically sound, his results fail to convince. The conclusions drawn from a diachronic analysis of the passage hold wider implications for the redaction history of the book of Jeremiah, the working philosophies of the ancient tradents of the book, and exegetical method in general.

Ṣedaqa and Torah in Postexilic Discourse ed. by Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher and Maria Häusl

Reviewed by: Ṣedaqa and Torah in Postexilic Discourse ed. by Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher and Maria Häusl Stephen A. Long susanne gillmayr-bucher and maria häusl (eds.), Ṣedaqa and Torah in Postexilic Discourse (LHBOTS 640; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017). Pp. xiii + 178. $114. This collection of essays examines the use of and in "postexilic identity discourse" (p. 8), concentrating primarily on the Hebrew Bible (seven essays) with a glance toward NT and rabbinic literature as well (one essay each). An introduction provided by Maria Häusl sketches the concepts of and , outlines attempts to understand their possible interrelation, and summarizes both the essays and the results thought to have been obtained. The essays are divided into two sections. The first, entitled "Ṣedaqa and Torah in the Pentateuch, the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the Book of Isaiah," contains five essays. Kåre Berge ("Ṣedaqa and the Community of the Scribes in Postexilic Deuteronomy: A Didactical Perspective") notes that the Book of Deuteronomy sometimes explicitly links and (e.g., Deut 4:1-8 and 6:20-25). Berge interprets this as pointing to a utopian program of "Torah-didacticism"—a social vision of a postexilic Yehud constituted by "a society of scribes that ponders over the word of Torah and the teaching of their families about it" (p. 19). Jeremiah Cataldo ("How Torah, Ṣedaqa and Prejudice Mapped the Contours of Biblical Restoration") finds that postexilic was "constructive" rather than "descriptive" law. As such, " provides the framework for the production of collective identity, the expression of which may be designated as , or a type of moral behaviour centred upon a creative and judging God" (p. 54). Maria Häusl ("Searching for Forces of Group Cohesion in the Books of Nehemiah and Isaiah") probes four passages—Neh 5:1-13; Nehemiah 9–10; Isa 58:1-12; and Isa 65:16b-25—in order to discern the strategies deployed in each for the creation of a commonly shared ethos and an individual sense for the common good. In "The Role and Function of Ṣedaqa and Torah in the Introduction to the Book of Isaiah (1.1–2.5)," Alphonso Groenewald argues that the word in Isa 1:10 and 2:3 is a device intended by the postexilic redactor to link Isaiah's prophetic message with the Torah of Moses. Finally, in "'Keep Justice!' (Isaiah 56.1): Thoughts Regarding the Concept and Redaction History of a Universal Understanding of Ṣedaqa," Judith Gärtner advances the twin claims that the realization of justice and righteousness in Isa 56:1-8 is linked to Sabbath and covenant observance, and that they are "established by means of [a] theology of creation and thereby open to all humankind" (p. 87). The second section of the book, titled "Ṣedaqa and Torah Linked with Other Concepts: Holiness, Purity/Impurity and Faith," contains four essays. Marianne Grohmann ("Purity/Impurity: Identity Marker and Boundary Maintenance in Postexilic Discourse") surveys texts about purity/impurity from Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Lamentations and "considers their contribution to the shaping of identity in exilic and postexilic Judah" (p. 104). Dolores Kamrada ("Ideas of the Holy: Ṣedaqa and Torah within a Cultic/Religious System") seeks to relate and within a cultic system characterized by binary logic. According to Kamrada, the "instruction" () obtained by priestly divination likely yielded simple yes or no answers—and this binary structuring is still visible, claims Kamrada, in Psalm 1's association of with the (as opposed to association with the latter's binary opposite, the ). According to K., "one may conclude that the notion of seems to have evolved from a cultic system that reflects a binary logic and can be understood as the manifestation of the divine cosmic order" (p. 131). Christina Tuor-Kurth ("How Is Justice Referred to in [End Page 745] Faith? Some Reflections on the Hellenistic Jewish Tradition of the Reciprocal Relationship between Obedience to Torah and Righteousness and Their Reception in the New Testament with Special Focus on the Letter to the Romans") argues for a basic continuity between Paul and Hellenistic Judaism in that for both "righteousness in relation to humans, namely , means exemplary moral behaviour based on the Torah" (p. 146...

Lament of a Wounded Priest: The Spiritual Journey of Job

Acknowledging the complex redaction history which produced the Book of Job contained in the Jewish and Christian canonical scriptures, this article offers a spiritual interpretation of the text taking due account of its overall structure and major parts (prologue, main dialogical body and epilogue). With its focus on the formation of personal identity, spiritual theology grants access to a developmental understanding of the biblical narrative and characters. Undergirding this essay is the basic claim that in and with the book and figure of Job are found paradigmatic examples of how to become and remain human and faithful in and despite relentless undeserved suffering. The exploration of Job’s life in suffering leads to the discovery that the lament formulated by a faithful heart compellingly summons God to appear and speak, consecrating the human recipient as mediator of divine revelation and sacramental intercessor. Job’s wounded body and spirit reflect the spiritual journey he has completed and has been commissioned to invite others to undertake. Undeserved suffering can lead to transformative mystical encounters with God, if and when the human heart dares to believe to the end, giving voice to and challenging God from within relentless unjustifiable pain.

Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer: Structure, Coherence, Intertextuality by Katharina E. Keim

Reviewed by: Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer: Structure, Coherence, Intertextuality by Katharina E. Keim Rachel Adelman Katharina E. Keim. Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer: Structure, Coherence, Intertextuality. Leiden: Brill, 2017. xii + 249 pp. Katharina Keim’s monograph, Pirqei deRabbi Eliezer: Structure, Coherence, Intertextuality, is based on her 2014 dissertation completed under the supervision of Professors Philip Alexander and Renate Smithuis at the University of Manchester. While scholarship on Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer (PRE), a relatively late midrashic composition dating to the mid-eighth or early ninth century CE, has recently burgeoned, Keim provides a new perspective through her analysis of the overall structure and coherence of the composition. Applying the principles of “form criticism,” usually reserved for the study of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple literature, Keim reveals new insights into the genre and composition of PRE. Though considerably revised, the book still reads very much like a doctoral dissertation, with a review of the literature (chapter 1), an overview of the recension and redaction history of the text (chapter 2), a “text-linguistic” description of PRE (chapter 3), and an analysis of “intertextuality” (chapter 4), with a conclusion on the implications of this scholarship (chapter 5), and three appendices (on the overall structure of PRE, smalls forms, and comparison of Michael and Sammael in PRE). Chapters 3 and 4 are the heart of the book, where she deploys the terms “text-linguistic” and “intertextuality” rather idiosyncratically. Her characterization of the late rabbinic Hebrew of PRE is minimal; rather, the emphasis is on “small forms,” genre, and coherence of the text. Further, her concept of “intertextuality” differs from its classic use, namely how midrash reads one biblical passage through another (the Mekhilta’s use of Song of Songs in the reading of the Exodus narrative, for example) (Daniel Boyarin, Intertextuality and the Reading of Midrash [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994]). Keim minimally engages PRE as an interpretive composition of the Hebrew Bible (qua midrash), focusing rather on the relationship of PRE to other sources: classic rabbinic literature, Aramaic Targum, Pseudepigrapha, piyyut (liturgical poetry), and Christian and Islamic traditions. This is hardly [End Page 221] “intertextuality,” but allows for a more open discussion about tracing the threads, the question of influence, and/or polemical interaction between sources. On the dating and provenance of PRE, Keim aligns with recent scholarship, which situates the composition in Palestine after the rise of Islam. Though not definitive, she adopts Gerald Friedlander’s date of the early ninth century. The argument for provenance is based on the minhag and Halakhah unique to Palestine, teachings in the names of Palestinian tannaitic rabbis (albeit pseudepigraphic), and the sources PRE draws on (such as Bereshit Rabbah). Most interesting is the implied alliance between PRE and the “Mourners of Zion” sect in the analysis of messianic motifs (section 3.5.4.4, pp. 106–10). She argues that the characterization of Menachem ben Ammiel, the one messiah named, aligns with that of the Davidic line, based on Philip Alexander’s work on Pesikta Rabbati (2016), though this figure is identified by the text in PRE 19 with Ephraim and Joseph (perhaps a scribal gloss). This calls for more research and a comparison of the manuscript traditions. In the second chapter, she reviews the very complex process of textual transmission, attributing much scholarly acumen to the recent work of Eliezer Treitl (“Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer: Text, Redaction and a Sample Synopsis” [PhD diss., Hebrew University, 2012]). But she then cites only the second printed edition of Dagmar Börner-Klein’s work, recently beautifully presented in bilingual German-Hebrew edition (Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer: Nach der Edition Venedig 1544 unter Beruecksichtigung der Edition Warschau 1852 [Berlin: de Gruyter, 2004]). The main body of the work, chapter 3, entails a reexamination of the genre of PRE as midrash through a study of “small forms,” based on the “Manchester-Durham Typology of Anonymous and Pseudepigraphic Jewish Literature in Antiquity” project, which seeks to create an “inventory of structurally important literary features” in the microstructure of the composition. By analyzing “small forms” such as lemmata, question and answer units, lists, and parables, Keim attempts to characterize the genre of PRE. Based on the format of citations from the...

Freedom, Truth, and Human Dignity: The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom – A New Translation, Redaction History, and Interpretation of Dignitatis Humanae. By David L. Schindler and Nicholas J. Healy, Jr.

With respect to literary scholarship, Schindler and Healy’s work, Freedom, Truth and Human Dignity (hereafter Freedom), approximates a nearly exhaustive treatment of the topic in the English language. The book begins with the original text of Dignitatis Humanae in Latin with the corresponding English translation and incorporates extant footnotes to sources in a variety of languages. This structure reveals the authors’ intent of positioning Dignitatis Humanae as their authoritative source of discussion, and it is followed by an interpretation of Dignitatis Humanae in Section II, a history of the redaction process during Vatican II that resulted in the final approved draft (Section III), and the original five schemas (drafts) of each stage (in Latin and English) in Section IV. The authors conclude their work with a copy of the final text of Dignitatis Humanae with any deletions or corrections from schema 3 noted, which can be a useful aid to scholars.

Understanding the Shift in Gaudium et Spes: From Theology of History to Christian Anthropology

This contribution reconsiders the rejected but often overlooked “Malines text” (September 1963) as the missing link in the redaction history of Gaudium et Spes and as a key witness to the document’s Christian anthropology. Applying the three hermeneutical principles of content, style, and “pastorality” ( pastoralité) to this text and its redaction history, a basis is laid for a reading of Vatican II that respects its embrace of diversity.

The Gibeonite Deception: Reflections on the Interplay between Law and Narrative in Josh 9

ABSTRACTThe paper relates the redaction history of Josh 9 to the development of legal concepts in Deuteronomy and beyond. It shows that the earliest version of the text provided an impartial portrayal of a peace treaty between Gibeon and Israel, which prepared for the events recounted in Josh 10. After the emergence of the law of ḥērem (Deut 20,15-18), this original version of Josh 9 implied an open contradiction to Deuteronomy’s warfare legislation. As a result, a first Deuteronomistic editor (D 1) introduced the idea that the Gibeonites had tricked the Israelites into making a covenant and thus saved their lives with deceit. At this stage of the literary development, the prohibition of making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land (e.g. Deut 7,2) was not in view yet. Compared to the ḥērem, the respective prohibition represents a later stage in the development of the legal material (perhaps triggered by the D 1 version of Josh 9). It is only reflected in a second Deuteronomistic layer (D 2) of the chapter, which should afterwards receive one more major editorial reworking by a priestly hand.

David L. Schindler and Nicholas J. Healy, Freedom, Truth and Human Dignity. The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom. A New Translation, Redaction History, and Interpretation of Dignitatis Humanae

David L. Schindler and Nicholas J. Healy, <i>Freedom, Truth and Human Dignity. The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom. A New Translation, Redaction History, and Interpretation of</i> Dignitatis Humanae

Fifty Years and Learning: Developments in the Roman Catholic Church's Encounter with Religions

In this article the author argues that the Roman Catholic Church does not have a firm theological position on other religions, as its engagement with them as partners in dialogue has emerged only since the Second Vatican Council. The article provides an overview of the Roman Catholic Church's theology and teachings on non-Christian religions, beginning with the council's shortest, but by no means least-significant, document, Nostra aetate. The author claims that an examination of Nostra aetate's redaction history, the text itself, and the text in relation to other conciliar texts, reveals an optimistic view of salvation and other religions. The author then traces further doctrinal developments in the magisterium of John Paul ii. The length of his papacy, coupled with his personal commitment to dialogue, resulted in significant developments and milestones. The teachings of Benedict xvi and Francis are briefly surveyed. A last section explores ever-evolving theologies and practices that shape the church's approach to other religions today: comparative theology, theologies of dialogue, and theologies of religion.