Studium Biblicum Research Articles

Les ostraca et les inscriptions de Machéronte

During various seasons of excavations on the fortress of Machaerus, a rather large number of ostraca were discovered, with some other Greek and Latin inscriptions. Their late and partial publication leaves open some questions concerning the reading and their interpretation. In 1994 the last Franciscan Father who dug there, Michele Piccirillo, entrusted me with the study of all the ostraca of the Studium biblicum Franciscanum excavations. I was therefore able to join a small number of them, reducing their number to 22 from an original total of 26. However, due to a lack of time, I was unable to complete the written report. Thus, now I am able to compare my first readings with the latest publication and give quite different conclusions; and in this note I am also publishing some ostraca which are unedited. I am also providing a revised reading of the ostraca discovered by the Hungarian mission, as well as of some of the American “Baptist Mission.” It is also the opportunity to collect the other Greek and Latin inscriptions for a general overview of this entire corpus, and to expose what is possible to gain from the history of the fortress in the first century aD. The Aramaic ostraca all date from the period of the reign of Herod Antipas, but not from the time of the Zealots’ presence at Machaerus. These ostraca are unique and important as they document for the first time the supplies to the royal palace at the time of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist. The memento of this event is still present on the small inscribed stone of the monk Markos from the Byzantine period.

Genizat Germania: Ein Blatt einer Talmudhandschrift (Traktat Sukka) aus der Bibliothek des Studium Biblicum Franciscanums, Jerusalem

The article publishes a leaf of a Sephardic Talmud manuscript, dated approximately to the 13th century, held by the library of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem. The provenience of the l...

Problem przekładu imion biblijnych na język chiński w „Biblii Bożonarodzeniowej”

Chińskie osobowe nazwy własne mają specyficzną strukturę. Ponadto język chiński jest językiem sugestywnym, który granice semantyczne poszerza poprzez pisane obrazy w swoich znakach. Stąd też tłumacze tekstów na język chiński, w tym tłumacze Biblii, stoją przed trudnym wyzwaniem. Jest ono szczególnie interesujące w tłumaczeniach imion, które polega na takim doborze znaków, by nie dopuścić do niepożądanych skojarzeń znaczeniowych poprzez np. skupianie się jedynie na podobieństwie fonetycznym, ale tak dobrać znaki, by zawrzeć w nich jak najbardziej harmonijne treści z kontekstem historycznym, społecznym czy osobistym posiadacza danego imienia. Pierwszym katolickim tłumaczem całej Biblii był bł. Gabriele Allegra, tworzący wraz zespołem tzw. „Biblię Betlejemską” lub „Bożonarodzeniową”, a jego zmagania z tłumaczeniem imion zostały zaprezentowane w niniejszym artykule na przykładach kilku imion: Jabes, Benoni, Beniamin, Dariusz, Jezus Chrystus. Wymagało to od całego zespołu tłumaczy niezwykle wnikliwej znajomości kultury i języka chińskiego oraz całej Biblii

Győző Vörös, Machaerus II. The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American-Baptist and Italian-Franciscan Excavations and Surveys. Final Reports 1968-2015 (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio maior 55)

Győző Vörös, Machaerus II. The Hungarian Archaeological Mission in the Light of the American-Baptist and Italian-Franciscan Excavations and Surveys. Final Reports 1968-2015 (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio maior 55)

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.

한ㆍ중ㆍ일 성경의 성서 히브리어 ‘베라크’ 이해

The purpose of this article is to suggest that the Korean expression of ‘축복(祝福)하다’(to bless) used in Bible translations has both meanings of (1) ‘to confer happiness, as God’ and (2) ‘to pronounce a wish of happiness to someone’. There are two reasons to support this suggestion. First of all, most Korean Christians usually ask for blessings in prayer with the expression, ‘축복하소서’ which would mean “O God, bless us!” or the like. Second, modern Chinese and Japanese Bibles use the expression of ‘축복’(祝福) for both meanings mentioned above.<BR> Korean versions of the Bible such as the Old Version (1911), the Revised Version (1938), and the Common Translation (1977) have traditionally differentiated ‘축복하다’, which literally means ‘to pray a blessing for someone’, from ‘복을 베풀다’, ‘to be given a blessing by God’. In contrast, modern Japanese and Chinese Translations of the Bible have not differentiated one from the other. By modern Japanese Bibles, I am referring to the Colloquial Translation (1955), the New Interconfessional Translation (1987), and the Iwanami Shoten Translation (2004). Modern Chinese Translations of the Bible include the Lu Chen-Chung Version (1970) and the Catholic Studium Biblicum Version (1968). Somewhat different from these Bibles, the Old Chinese Delegates’ Version (1854) and the Japanese Meiji Translation (1888) take the Hebrew verb b?rak(* ??? ) literally as both ‘(God) to grant a blessing to someone’ and ‘(human) to pray to give a blessing to someone’. Interestingly enough, the English-Chinese Dictionary (1866-1869) by W. Lobscheid lists both meanings of ‘祝福’ to the entry of ‘to bless’.<BR> Korean language belongs to Chinese character culture so we Koreans can follow both usage of ‘祝福’ in the Chinese and Japanese Bible translations. Nowadays Koreans use the expression of ‘축복’(祝福) to imply both meanings. Indeed, the language itself has been changing over the time.

Machaerus Anastyloses: The Re-Erection of Two Complete Herodian Columns in the Fortified Royal Palace at the Dead Sea

The archaeological site of Machaerus at the Dead Sea is the historical place where St John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. This important scene of the Gospels were excavated by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in two excavation periods under the direction of its late Professors Virgilio Corbo (1978- 1981) and Michele Piccirillo (1992-1993). The Research Team of the Hungarian Academy of Arts has been conducting archaeological excavations and surveys on this pilgrim site since 2009, under the direction of the present author. The article describes the theoretical architectural reconstructions of the Herodian Doric peristyle courtyard and the Ionic royal bathhouse, together with the 2014 anastylosis re-erection of one of their original columns, respectively. Most of the architectural elements of these two genuine Herodian columns of the fortified royal palace were excavated by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.

Note su Augustus Spijkerman numismatico (1920-1973)

The review / research of the papers kept in the archive of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum provided decisive elements to better understand the figure of Augustus Spijkerman, a numismatist reknown in this field of studies. He was an expert on Roman Provincial coins of Palestine and the Decapolis, shrewd in identifying unpublished specimens and able to establish the conservation of the numismatic holdings of both the Museum and its coin collection in such a way that decades after his direction, they still retain its validity. The file archive is now divided into 10 sections with some unpublished manuscripts preserved as notes, numismatic writings, lecture notes, letters exchanged with some of the leading scholars of the currency of the Syro-Palestine. We are thus able to explain the rise of his interesting for this subject; the research on the provincial coinage of the Roman Decapolis and Provincia Arabia, the attention not only for the rare coins (from the antiquities market) but also for the discoveries...

Papyrusfragmente, evtl. aus dem Wadi Murabbaʿat

Abstract The article is a publication of a lot of tiny papyrus fragments from the collection of the Museum of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. The fragments are archaeologically unprovenanced, they might come from Wadi Murabbaʿat. Six of them have legible remains of letters. Two of them may be identified as fragments of Mur174 (from the same museum’s collection), one might be part of Mur115, one of Mur133. The appendix gives a few improved reconstructions of Mur115, by the late H. J. Polotsky.

Nuovi acquisti di lucerne bizantine

The seven oil lamps come from the antiquity dealers of Jerusalem and belong to the Museum of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum or to some professors of the same Institute. Their Greek inscriptions are either very rare or completely new. The bibliography will help the reader to follow the increasing variety of types and subtypes discovered since the publication of LS1987.

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus LVIII

With its usual regularity, the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem presents the Liber Annuus for the year 2008 appeared in the course of 2009. This volume is published under the direction of the R.P. Massimo Pazzini, and has as co-editors PR. Frédéric Manns and L. Daniel Chrupcala. The edited volume brings together the same characteristics of the previous ones, already presented in due time in the Bible Review: the printing of the texts is clear and carefully, and numerous photographs and designs are interspersed on the pages dedicated to archaeology.

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus LVII

STUDIUM BIBLICUM FRANCISCANUM, Liber Annuus LVII, 2007, Edizioni Terra Santa - Milano - 2008, 767 pp. of text + 8 pp. of photographs and designs outside text. Like previous volumes, this one is also published under the direction of R.P. Eugenio Alliata. The volume presents a clear and careful impression of the texts, and numerous photographs and designs are interspersed on the pages dedicated to archaeology.

Fr. Michele Piccirillo, 1944–2008

For many of us it will be hard to imagine Mount Nebo without the presence of Fr. Michele Piccirillo, whose connection with the site commenced in 1968 and continued for more than 40 years. Fr. Piccirillo was a Franciscan priest, an archaeologist and epigrapher, but most of all a man of vision, who gained the trust of local people and the respect of the scientific community through his academic work, his humanitarian and educational efforts, and his strong opinions. Born in Casanova di Carilona near Naples in 1944, Michele Piccirillo joined the Franciscan order in 1960 and was ordained in 1969. He was posted to the Custody of the Holy Land (Custodia di Terra Santa), and studied at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) in the Monastery of the Flagellation in Jerusalem, becoming curator of the SBF Archaeological Museum in 1974. His defence of a thesis on Iron Age ceramics from Israel and the Palestinian territories at the Institute of Near Eastern Studies at La Sapienza University (Rome) in 1975, gave no indication that his future life would be devoted to Christian archaeology and to the study of mosaics in particular. In 1973 Fr. Piccirillo started work in the village of Nebo, with the conservation of the Diakonikon of the 7th-century AD memorial Church of Moses on Mount Nebo. Work here led to the discovery of a mosaic floor of 6th-century date, that was unique not only in its artistic content, but also through important inscriptional evidence that provided a glimpse of Byzantine society in the region. Although his initial fieldwork was undertaken at Mount Nebo and Khirbet al-Mukhayyat, Fr. Piccirillo worked continuously in the city of Madaba, discovering the Hippolytus Hall, the Burnt Palace (containing mosaics of 6th-century date), and the Church of the Virgin Mary (7th century), which collectively gave rise to the reputation of Madaba as ‘The City of Mosaics’. This work culminated in a conference commemorating the centenary of the Madaba Mosaic Map which was held in co-operation with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, and which underlined the importance of Christianity in the region during Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Subsequent work undertaken at Umm al Rasas revealed the presence of several important churches, among which was discovered the superb mosaic floor of the 8th-century AD Church of St Stephen, which depicts the walled cities of Jordan, Palestine and Egypt, and which confirmed the town as one of Jordan’s key world heritage sites. Fr. Piccirillo played an important role in education, teaching at both the Studium Biblicum Francescanum in Jerusalem, and at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. His willingness to share his knowledge was reflected in his supervision of several theses in archaeology, in general, and mosaic studies, in particular, and in his contribution to the training and development of local specialists. He fully understood the value of the mosaics that he discovered, as objects of historical, cultural and religious value, not only for Jordan but for the whole region. This led him to organize individuals and institutions to create the first centre for mosaic conservation and restoration, which was intended to develop young specialists with a keen interest in, and awareness of, their heritage. As a result of these efforts, the Madaba Mosaic School was opened in 1992, becoming the Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art Restoration in 2007. Combining the skills of the School’s students, the staff of the Department of Antiquities and Italian restoration specialists, Fr. Piccirillo succeeded in undertaking several major conservation and restoration projects. In the year 2000 he opened the Jericho Workshop, a twin of the Madaba Mosaic School, intended to train young Palestinians to restore, protect and maintain their mosaic floors within the Palestinian territories. To enhance the experience of a new generation of researchers, and foster an atmosphere of friendship and shared responsibility Catreena Hamarneh; email: cataron49@yahoo.com

L. D. Chrupcala, The Kingdom of God. A Bibliography of 20th Century Research.

LESLAW DANIEL CHRUPCALA, The Kingdom of God A Bibliography of 20th Century Research. Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Analecta, Jerusalem - Franciscan Printing Press - 2007, xliv + 873 pp. In this voluminous work he presents the bibliography concerning the research of the theme of the Kingdom or Reign of God throughout the twentieth century, but also includes some significant publication titles of the last years of the previous century, and others of the first years of the current century. The edition of the work is very careful, the distribution of the material has been made clear to facilitate the finding of the topics and the useless repetitions have been avoided. For those who wish to consult it by other means, the book is available on the Internet for consultation by other means: www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/edit/Kingdom/KingdomUpdate.pdf. This work will be essential for all scholars who want to know what has been produced in the 20th century in research exegetical and theological on the subject of the Kingdom of God.

Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus LVI, 2006

STUDIUM BIBLICUM FRANCISCANUM, Liber Annuus LVI, 2006, Franciscan Printing Press - Jerusalem - 2007, 719 pages of text + 70 pages of photographs. The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) of Jerusalem, which has been publishing the Liber Annuus without interruption since 1951, has edited the one for 2006, which, like the last ones, has been the responsibility of Eugene Alliata. In this issue we offer twenty-three articles whose authors are personalities from the SBF itself and from other important centers of study. As in previous years, the Liber Annuus testifies to the ever increasing vitality of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem and its constant openness to inter-disciplinary dialogue with other institutions.

Michele Piccirillo (1944-2008) francescano di Terra Santa e archeologo

Father Michele Piccirillo, a Franciscan friar of the Custody of the Holy Land (1944-2008) was a Professor and Archaeologist of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum from 1974 until his death. This essay gives a short account of his life, the most part of which he spent in Jerusalem. It recalls his activity as a lecturer, his studies and research of an historical and archaeological character, carried out during a period of over thirty years in various fields: Crusader history and art, archaeological research especially in Jordan and Syria, the archaeological museum of the Flagellation, the history of the Custody of the Holy Land and Franciscan Palestinology. There is also a delicate indication as to the spiritual attitude with which this Franciscan priest faced his illness and death. From the vast bibliography a chronological list of books, contributions (that have appeared in scientific magazines and cultural periodicals), is given.

Glass Core Pendants from the Museum of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum - Jerusalem

A group of polychrome glass pendants from the Museum of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum is published here for the first time. It represents an updating of M. Seefriedʼs work, “Les pendantifs en verre sur noyau des pays de la Méditerranée antique”. Seven polychrome glass pendants, four of which are polychrome glass animal figurines and four small glass heads, are studied here. They can be classified in the following manner: A – demon heads -, B3 – male heads with twisted hair style -, B4 – double-faced heads -, C2 – the male heads with curly hair -, D2 – female heads. The animal figurines are classified by Seefried as type E, which includes the animal representations. Finally, the group of the four small heads, different from the type identified by Seefried, represent the head of the hat-pins or of the small stick for the make-up known both in the East and in the West, especially in the burial equipments dating back to imperial Rome.

Ricordo di Marco Adinolfi (1919-2005) servitore della Parola di Dio

Father Marco Adinolfi, an Italian Friar Minor (1919-2005) has been a Professor of Sacred Scripture for many years in the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem and in the Theological Faculty of the Pontificia Universitas Antonianum of Rome. The author remembers though briefly the life, the curriculum of studies, and the special rapport Fr. Adinolfi had with the SBF and with the Custody of the Holy Land. All his publications are shown in chronological order. The vast bibliography of Fr. Adinolfi centers around some arguments which he particularly developed in depth in his teaching and research: History and Historiography, Mary of Nazaret, the Holy Places, the Twelve Apostles and St. Paul, the Common Priesthood of the Faithful, Feminism of the Bible, and the relationship between Hellenistic Culture and the Bible. Lastly, Fr. Adinolfi has shown himself to be an untiring servant of the Word of God in his biblical apostolate in the Church.

La Caverna dei TesoriBattistaA.BagattiB. La Caverna dei Tesori Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Minor n.26Franciscan Printing PressJerusalem, 1979, 134, 85 with 8 plates, $10.00

La Caverna dei TesoriBattistaA.BagattiB. <i>La Caverna dei Tesori</i> Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Minor n.26Franciscan Printing PressJerusalem, 1979, 134, 85 with 8 plates, $10.00

China a Model for Europe by Lewis A. Maverick (review)

BOOK REVIEWS251 China a Model for Europe. By Lewis A. Maverick. San Antonio, Texas : Paul Anderson Company, 1946. Two volumes in one. Foreword by Ch'en Shou-Yi. Pp. xii+334. $4.50. China a Model for Europe does not inted to show, as the title might suggest, how modern China torn by civil strife can be a model for present-day Europe, but deals with the rêve chinois of the eighteenth century, the period of unprecedented admiration for things Chinese in France and all of Europe. Professor Maverick has studied this phase particularly from the economical and social viewpoint. The first part of the book shows how during the seventeenth century, largely through the sympathetic accounts of Catholic missionaries, Imperial China came to be regarded as a model for European countries, and how the enthusiasm for China reached its climax in the eighteenth century. The second part presents the first English translation of François Quesnay's Le Despotisme de la Chine, which, with much exaggeration, glorifies the "enlightened despotism of China" as the best form of government. The translation is preceded by an introduction discussing the life of the author, one of the leaders of the Physiocratic school of economics, his sources of information on China and the chief ideas of this treatise on Chinese political and economic institutions. Two appendices are added to the first part of the book, a biographical sketch of the ancient Confucian philosopher Mencius with selections in English from his book and an essay on the celebrated Catholic Chinese statesman Paul Hsü Kuang-ch'i (1562-1633) with translations (by William Ung) from his monumental work Nung Cheng Ch'üan Shu (Complete Treatise on Agriculture). The book will prove interesting and helpful not only to the historian of economics, but also to others, especially the student of Sino-Western relations. However, since the author is not a sinologist nor a mission historian, his book is not free from little flaws on these two counts. Thus, e.g., the two Chinese Jesuits Louis Ko and Etienne Yang are said to have "necessarily turned from the Jesuit to the Lazarist order" (p. 45). But actually these priests never left the Society of Jesus, nor did they join the Lazarists. When in 1775 the Society of Jesus was suppressed in China, these priests like their confreres continued their work as diocesan priests under the Bishop of Peking or their respective Vicar Apostolic. Speaking of Hsü Kuang-ch'i, the author has overlooked the important biographical sketch contributed by J. C. Yang to the first volume of Arthur Hummel's Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (Washington, 1943). As regards the literary authorship of the Confucian classics, the author still adheres to the traditional view that some of them were written by Confucius himself. But modern critical scholars, Chinese and Westerners alike, are very doubtful whether Confucius wrote anything at all. The main contribution of the work, it seems to me, is the fluent and elegant translation of the Despotisme de la Chine, certainly a welcome 252BOOK REVIEWS addition to the English literature on Sino-Western contacts and the Physiocratic school of the eighteenth century. Mount St. Sepulchre, Washington, D.C. Bernward H. Willeke, O.F.M. DISCOVERIES AT ST. JOHN'S, 'EIN KARIM, 1941-1942. By Fr. Sylvester J. Sailer, O.F.M. Printed by the Franciscan Press, Jerusalem, 1946. Pp. xvi+200. This is the third of the biblical studies published by the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. As the author suggests, the title of this work indicates its purpose ; it is a study and a record of the discoveries made at 'Ein Karim in 1941 and 1942. Although these discoveries are important from a historical point of view, nevertheless, they are not conclusive enough to substantiate every detail concerned with the history of the town or its beautiful monument in memory of Saint John the Baptist. St. Luke, the Evangelist, tells us that the Baptist was born in the city of Juda. Unfortunately, the Evangelist does not tell us the name of that city but Tradition definitely points to the present city of 'Ein Karim. This town, a typical oriental hamlet, is situated in...