Testament Passages Research Articles

The New Testament and Rabbinic Literature (review)

Reviewed by: The New Testament and Rabbinic Literature Alan J. Avery-Peck The New Testament and Rabbinic Literature, edited by Reimund Bierenger, Florentino Garcia Martinez, Didier Pollefeyt, and Peter Tomson. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism. Leiden: Brill, 2009. 544 pp. $241.00. This volume collects papers presented at a symposium on the study of Rabbinic literature and the New Testament held in 2006 at the Catholic University of Leuven. The focus is the use of Jewish writings in the interpretation of early Christian history and thought. As William Horbury points out in the introductory essay, this is not a new approach; as far back as the Church Fathers, Christian theologians and scholars recognized the value of Rabbinic writings in interpreting New Testament passages. What has changed is the spirit in which this work is done. Generations of Christian scholars, continuing into the past century, denigrated Jewish ideas as fictions that were unmasked by the perfected religious ideology preached by Jesus. But while this polemical aspect of the comparative work has faded, methodological issues increasingly have been recognized. The texts of Rabbinic Judaism derive from the third century and beyond. How on their basis are we to determine what Jews believed and practiced in the first century? And what of the diversity in early Christian thought, not to mention the temporal gap between the historical Jesus and even the earliest Christian writings? While examining Jesus and [End Page 210] the church's Jewish backdrop should be central to understanding Christianity, the approach clearly requires careful methodological consideration. In light of these issues, this collection initially focuses upon methodologies used to determine the history of Judaism in the first centuries. With this methodological foundation in place, the main sections of the book illustrate the light Rabbinic literature—both law (Halakhah) and lore (Aggadah)—sheds on New Testament writings. Horbury's introductory overview, "The New Testament and Rabbinic Study—An Historical Sketch," is followed by these topical sections and articles: Methodology in Rabbinic Studies: Isaiah Gafni, "The Modern Study of Rabbinics and Historical Questions: The Tale of the Text"; Giuseppe Veltri, "From the Best Text to the Pragmatic Edition: On Editing Rabbinic Texts"; Günter Stemberger, "Dating Rabbinic Traditions"; Catherine Hezser, "Form Criticism of Rabbinic Literature"; and Roland Deines, "The Social Profile of the Pharisees." Halakhah: Peter J. Tomson, "Halakhah in the New Testament: A Research Overview"; Lutz Doering, "Sabbath Laws in the New Testament Gospels"; Friedrich Avemarie, "Jesus and Purity"; Thomas Kazen, "Jesus, Scripture and Paradosis: Response to Friedrich Avemarie"; and Peter J. Tomson, "Divorce Halakhah in Paul and the Jesus Tradition." Midrash: Jan Joosten and Menahem Kister, "The New Testament and Rabbinic Hebrew"; Menahem Kister, "'First Adam' and 'Second Adam' in 1 Cor 15:45-49 in the Light of Midrashic Exegesis and Hebrew Usage"; and Miguel Pérez Fernandez, "Midrash and the New Testament: A Methodology for the Study of Gospel Midrash." Other Materials: Martin McNamara, " Targum and the New Testament: A Revisit"; and Crispin Fletcher-Louis, "Jewish Mysticism, the New Testament and Rabbinic-Period Mysticism." The section on methodology sets out how Rabbinic writings can be used for historical study. What sort of history is revealed by the Rabbinic literature (Gafni)? No one today takes at face value the much later Rabbinic texts' claims for events that happened hundreds of years earlier. Still, Gafni notes the general chronological and geographical consistency apparent throughout the Rabbinic literature as well as the many hard-to-account-for parallels between later Rabbinic texts and the much earlier writing of Josephus and the New Testament. This means, for Gafni, that, beyond reflecting on the history and ideology of this literature's own authors and redactors, Rabbinic documents also may at points be useful as evidence for historical events that occurred long before their redaction. While the question of how much we can know remains [End Page 211] hotly debated, important in this section is the setting out of specific approaches to writing the history that must be teased out of the Rabbinic texts. The extent to which Jesus observed, and the New Testament represents, Halakhah as it was set out by the rabbis takes up the next section. Of...

Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. By EVERETT FERGUSON.

This study is best described as an omnibus edition of what but for a most generous publisher should have been at least two, if not three separate volumes. Everett Ferguson has undertaken an exhaustive study of as many documents as at present are known which mention or describe or treat baptism, from the classical and Jewish antecedents through to the fifth century. This is certainly a marathon undertaking. The author begins with a survey of earlier works on baptism relating to this period, in English, German, and French, from 1702 until the reviewer’s own work of 2006, as well as topical studies and collections of relevant texts. With the introduction excepted, the first 198 pages deal with detailed discussion of the New Testament material, akin to the study by Beasley-Murray, though with the benefit of more recent scholarship. Some chapters seem to be an excursus, discussing, for example, the baptism of Jesus in later writers and in art before returning to further New Testament passages. The exhaustive treatment of the Jewish antecedents yields the conclusion that a fundamental difference was that, for all its lustrations, foundational for Judaism was circumcision, whereas, for the New Testament church, it was baptism. Furthermore, in Judaism lustrations and baths were self-administered, whereas in Christianity baptism was administered to a person. The same exhaustive treatment is given to the apocryphal literature. The patristic literature receives the same in-depth analysis, though sometimes—for example in the case of Hippolytus—documents are listed which actually yield practically nothing, and one wonders whether discussing every document of an author separately is the best way of approaching the literature. Subsequent chapters discuss authors in their linguistic or geographical areas, and commentaries and homilies are trawled for teaching on baptism.

Theosebia: A Presbyter of the Catholic Church

Theosebia was Gregory of Nyssa's sister and a presbyter. She probably substituted for her brother during his exile and supported him against Arianism, as Ramelli's scrutiny of the sources and comparison with contemporary women's ministries in Cappadocia demonstrate. Ramelli's conclusion constitutes an advancement in research with remarkable theoretical implications, both because women presbyters are scarcely attested in the orthodox church and in the light of Gregory of Nyssa's and Origen's theology of ministry and the existence of women presbyters in their epochs. Gregory's evaluation of women's ministry—and exegesis of New Testament passages on women—was inspired by Origen, who deemed it grounded in apostolica auctoritas , admitted women's ministeria including presbyterate, and overcame difficult New Testament passages through allegory. While Gregory Nazianzen valued Theosebia's ordination, Gregory of Nyssa ascribed priesthood to Macrina, for a conception of ministry inherited from Origen. A parallel emerges between Gregory of Nyssa's opposition to slavery and his ideas on women, and his praxis in both respects. Origen's orientation to the telos influenced him: the telos , without discrimination of women or slaves, is normative for this life. Theological perspectives informed social realities.

Anti-Judaism and Christian Orthodoxy: Ephrem's Hymns in Fourth-Century Syria. By CHRISTINE SHEPARDSON.

In the first edition of his Symbols of Church and Kingdom (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975), Robert Murray wrote that Ephrem ‘hated the Jews’ (p. 68). He was not the first scholar to notice Ephrem’s anti-Jewish rhetoric that some have likened to modern day anti-Semitism (see K. H. Kuhlmann, ‘The Harp out of Tune: The anti-Judaism/anti-Semitism of St. Ephrem’, The Harp 17 [2004], pp. 177–83). For several decades now, scholars have studied Ephrem’s works in order to discern the historical context that drove his anti-Jewish polemic. Murray thought Ephrem feared ‘the Rabbis’ influence with his flock’ (p. 67). H. J. W. Drijvers (‘Jews and Christians at Edessa’, JJS 36 [1985], p. 87) concluded that Ephrem was addressing Christians who were drawn to Jewish customs. I have argued that the anti-Jewish remarks in the Commentary on the Diatessaron stem from his awareness of competing Jewish interpretations of particular Old Testament passages (C. E. Morrison, ‘The Jews in Ephrem’s Commentary on The Diatessaron’, JCSS 8 [2008], pp. 23–43). Now Shepardson, who has been part of this conversation for several years, examines Ephrem’s hymns and the Homily on Our Lord, in this revision of her Duke University dissertation (2003) that was written under the direction of Elizabeth A. Clark and Lucas Van Rompay. She argues that Ephrem’s ‘anti-Jewish writings emerged in the context of the complex Trinitarian controversy that consumed Roman Christianity during the fourth century’ (p. 6). Ephrem used ‘the familiar figure of “the Jew” more broadly as an anti-type of an orthodox Christian’ (p. 6). His underlying objective was ‘to establish clear Nicene boundaries around his community’ (p. 68).

Kein Gewinn = Gewinn Die kynisch geprägte Struktur der Argumentation in 1 Tim 6:3-12

AbstractIn the last chapter of 1 Timothy there is one passage arguing passionately and polemically against differently minded teachers. It calls on its readers to beware of the different teaching (1 Tim 6:3-12). This New Testament text brings forward a train of thought that shows far reaching parallels to the Cynic Philosophy of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. The criticism which 1 Timothy passes on its opponents corresponds to the criticism of the contemporary Cynics against their adversaries. It mainly concerns the hypocritical motivations that lead the differently minded teachers to preach their message: according to the view of their critics they only aim to make money out of their teachings. In this reasoning polemical and paraenetical components unite. The careful consideration of this New Testament passage's similarity to the cynic world of thought also faciliates the description of the specific character in the intention of 1 Timothy against the cynic background, i.e. the christological accentuation of the favoured good teaching and lifestyle.

The Land, the Bible, and History: Toward the Land That I Will Show You (review)

Reviewed by: The Land, the Bible, and History: Toward the Land That I Will Show You Gerard S. Sloyan The Land, the Bible, and History: Toward the Land That I Will Show You. By Alain Marchadour, A.A., and David Neuhaus, S.J. [The Abrahamic Dialogues Series.] (New York: Fordham University Press. 2007. Pp. xvi, 239. $40.00.) This work of two priest residents of Jerusalem, one of them an Israeli, complements the treatments of the Land in English by Protestant scholars Philip R. Davies and Gary M. Burge, Catholic scholar Robert L. Wilken, and Eastern Orthodox scholar Edward W. Said, the last named a Palestinian who was a professor of English literature at Columbia University. The two authors write as scholars of the Bible unconcerned to frame arguments over modern Israel and Palestine but hoping that their factual presentation may contribute to the near silent dialogue on peace in that Land. Called Holy in traditional Christian speech, the Land has known little peace except for the quiescent period between the last crusade and the British mandate. In those centuries the small population of Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived peacefully side by side. The opening section is a retelling of the books of the Old Testament (the rabbinic canon, not the Septuagintal) in paraphrase and occasional quotations that feature the Land (aretz). The same is done with the fewer New Testament passages. No distinction is made in the former between saga and chronic1e, narrative and law, poetry and prose, nor is the way the New Testament draws on the Old a special feature. That waits for a later warning against reading either Testament of Scripture fundamentally and an exposition of the important difference critical scholarship has made in the understanding of this sacred literature. Along the way the authors, in discussing the recurrent rereadings within the Bible (the French relectures), make clear the [End Page 526] times the Land is spoken of as a specific area of earth and otherwise spiritualized as an ideal (thus, Jerusalem, Zion).The latter concept is what the books of Hebrews and Revelation make of the Land, which is notably different from the concern of the gospels and Acts to record the sites of Jesus' activity and that of the earliest Church. The authors make the important point that the Land is an integral component of the religion of Israel that became Judaism and of Islam (with the Prophet's Night Journey to and heavenly ascent from Jerusalem), as it is not of Christianity. The writing is good on the discontinuities in both the Scriptures and the history of the Land represented by God's deed in Christ. The brief account of anti-Judaism of the Church Fathers that became, over time, the secular anti Semitism of the nineteenth century will not be new information for many readers. Early Zionism, which was a movement of secular Jews centered on peoplehood without a religious component, is handled as if it were the fruition of the rabbinic dream of a return to the Land. The early opposition of observant Jews to the Zionist movement because it was of man, not of God, is faithfully recorded. In similar fashion, the Nazis' attempt to exterminate European Jewry is assumed without discussion to be the logical outcome of centuries of Christian Judenhass. The later chapters, like the earlier retelling of the Bible, make the point quickly but consistently that there were other peoples in the Land when the Hebrews first arrived and again later as the Israelites returned from Egypt; that they never went away; and that the land was far from empty as Zionism grew and flourished. The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 is treated largely by silence as the peaceful culmination of decades of Zionism. Avoidance of any discussion of twentieth-century political realities is the price the authors pay to make the major point of their recital of the adventures of a Land and its peoples. This is that the Christians who now remain in the Land after massive emigration to escape violence, plus their diaspora since Palestinian Christians, more of them Orthodox than Catholic, are now everywhere on the globe, may serve...

Empire and Order: The Gospel and Same-Gender Relationships

The handful of New Testament passages addressing homoeroticism need to be read within the wider contexts of conquest, dominance and submission that characterized the world of the Roman empire. In particular, the sexual indignities visited upon slaves provide an illuminating window into the ethical concerns of the early Christian community. That despite these indignities being a slave could became the chief way of defining life in Christ shows just how radical the Christian vision of redemption is. Embodying such a redemption requires Christian communities to draw upon every source they can—biblical, legal, and otherwise—to craft a welcoming and affirming stance toward gay and lesbian people, both as individuals and as committed couples.

John’s use of Scripture in Revelation 1:7

Four questions are asked in this paper: (1) Which are the Old Testament passages from which John quotes in Revelation 1:7? (2) To what extent do the separate quotations and their combination belong to the early Christian tradition used by John? (3) How and where did this combination of quotations come into being? (4) What does John aim at with this com- bination of quotations in this context? John makes use of the combination of God’s eschatological agent as depicted in Daniel 7 and the “pierced one” from Zechariah 12 into one figure, to present the traditional early Christian eschatology, phrased in Old Testament terms, as the basis and the starting point of his book.

It's All about Variants: A Variant-Conscious Approach to New Testament Textual Criticism

The goal of New Testament textual criticism would appear to be simple enough: to restore the original text written by each author of the New Testament books. Upon examination, however, the notion of simplicity vanishes immediately and each of the key terms here—“restore,” “original,” “text,” and “author”—has its problematic aspects, but more importantly the simply stated goal itself turns out to be inadequate. Grist for the text-critical mill consists of textual readings or variants, which for the relatively small collection of writings called the New Testament are not merely in the hundreds or thousands, or even the tens of thousands, but run to perhaps a third of a million. They stem from the nearly 5,500 Greek manuscripts, some 10,000 versional manuscripts, and innumerable patristic citations of New Testament passages.

Gezerah Shawah as Analogy in the Epistle to the Hebrews

This article argues that the Jewish exegetical technique of gezerah shawah should have its definition reconsidered as it is used in the epistle to the Hebrews. The general consensus views the technique as a mere verbal analogy. This study seeks to re-frame it as a multi-dimensional analogy with verbal, theological, and social aspects. A brief survey examines five occurrences in the epistle to the Hebrews. As an analogy it is argued that gezerah shawah relies on verbal relationships. When two verses with an identical word or words are connected, the rest of the quotation is relevant to the New Testament writer's interpretation. As a social analogy the study points to the differences between pre-70 CE and post-70 CE rabbinical techniques. Lastly, the theological aspect of the analogy demonstrates that Old Testament passages are not cited ad hoc.

The invisibility of God:

The Old and New Testaments appear to offer contradictory evidence as to whether God can be seen. The usual resolution is to defend the New Testament statements that God is invisible, and to somehow accommodate the Old Testament passages. This article brings together sometimes-overlooked data to suggest that such an approach is unhelpful. We do better to allow the Old Testament statements that God can be seen, and to reconsider what the New Testament passages are trying to claim.

Διακρíνεσθαι in Mt. 21:21, Mk. 11:23, Acts 10:20, Rom. 4:20, 14:23, Jas. 1:6, and Jude 22—the “Semantic Shift” That Went Unnoticed by Patristic Authors

This article investigates how patristic and medieval writers interpret New Testament passages with the middle/passive δiακρiνω. Contemporary NT scholars posit a difference between NT and classical/Hellenistic Greek meanings and usually justify their choice by means of a semantic shift. In the texts analyzed for this article, there is little evidence that Greek patristic and medieval authors acknowledge a meaning of δiακρiνμαi that deviates from the Koine meaning. If, indeed, a semantic shift took place, they show no awareness of that movement. The transformation of meaning first occurs in translations from Greek to Latin.

Die Anfänge des Geburtsfestes Jesu in Ägypten Neuedition von P. Vindob. G. 19.934

Abstract It is very common to assume that there is a more or less direct link between the feast of the Basilideans (according to Clemens of Alexandria str. I,XXI, 146,1f., some celebrating the baptism of Christ on 6th and others on 10th of January) and the Christian feast of Epiphany. A very interesting text on a papyrus in the collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna raises the question of whether this is actually the case. The papyrus text was classifi ed as a “song for Christmas”. However, some allusions to Old Testament passages seem to point in a different direction. The article discusses whether the text on the papyrus was a song for Epiphany. This would, however, mean that in Egypt the Christian feast of Epiphany originally celebrated only the birth of Christ. This would in turn call into question the supposed link between the feast of the Basilideans and the Christian feast. If the birth of Christ was the original topic of Epiphany, it is even more improbable that a feast of a Gnostic group of the second century could have influenced in any way a feast of the Church celebrated from the fourth century onwards.

Without shame or desire: the pronouncements of Jesus on children and the kingdom, and early Syriac attitudes to childhood

This paper demonstrates the techniques used by five Syriac writers of the mid-fourth to early sixth centuries in interpreting the dominical injunction in Matt 18:3 to become like children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Unlike modern critical approaches, early Syriac exegesis of this saying is shaped less by the surrounding context than by association with other scriptural texts, in a manner more reminiscent of Jewish midrashic technique. The writers are Aphrahat, Ephrem, the author of the Book of Steps, Narsai and Jacob of Serugh. This study notes the interaction in some of the sources with their interpretation of Gen 2–3 and demonstrates the influence of the writers' pre-existing protology and eschatology on their exegesis of the New Testament passage. Recurring themes include whether Adam and Eve were believed to be children before the fall; whether the goal of the believer should be a return to a state of prelapsarian innocence; the existence of sexuality before the fall; and how to imitate angels as well as children. Key terms used in the sources are ̆sabrutā ‘infancy’ or ‘naivety’, and gmirutā ‘perfection’ or ‘maturity’, and the rather different concepts they represent in the five writers.

Non-past referring Imperfects in the New Testament: A test case for an antianti- anti-Porter position

Since the publication more than a decade ago of two comprehensive studies on verbal aspect in New Testament Greek (Porter 1989; Fanning 1990), scholarly discussion has tended to focus more on the differences than on the agreements between these theorists. Ironically, the main point of dispute has become not their different views of the notion of ‘aspect’, but the question whether or not the tense forms of the indicative mood systematically convey temporal meaning. In this study an attempt is made to clear up some of the resulting confusion. The scope of the study is limited to New Testament passages containing imperfect tense forms which, according to Porter, do not refer to past time. Porter’s interpretation of these passages is discussed and compared with the opposing views of a number of scholars.

A Catalog of Biblical Passages in the Dead Sea Scrolls (review)

Hebrew Studies 46 (2005) 442 Reviews Part 2. Calendar, Cultic Festivals, and Other Concepts of Thought. Matthias Albani, “Zur Rekonstruktion eines verdrängten Konzepts: Der 364Tage -Kalendar in der gegenwärtigen Forschung,” Uwe Glessmer, “Explizite Aussagen über kalendarische Konflikte im Jubiläenbuch: Jub 6,22–32.33–38,” Werner Eiss, “Das Wochenfest im Jubiläenbuch und in antiken Judentum,” Lutz Doering, “The Concept of the Sabbath in the Book of Jubilees,” Beate Ego, “Heilige Zeit—heiliger Raum—heiliger Mensch. Beobachtungen zur Struktur des Gesetzebegründung in der Schöpfungs- und Paradiesgeschchte des Jubiläenbuchs,” Christfried Böttrich, “Gottesprädikatione im Jubiläenbuch,” Flortentino García Martínez, “The Heavenly Tablets in the Book of Jubilees,” Jörg Frey, “Zum Weltbild im Jubiläenbuch.” Part 3. Reception. James M. Scott, “The Division of the Earth in Jubilees 8:11–9:15 and Early Christian Chronography.” The volume also contains numerous useful indices. David B. Kudan Harvard University Cambridge, MA rabbidavidkudan@kudan.net A CATALOG OF BIBLICAL PASSAGES IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS. By David L. Washburn. SBL Text-Critical Studies. Pp. ix + 161. Atlanta, Ga.: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002. Paper, $29.95. This volume catalogs biblical passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Nahal Hever, Wadi Murabbafiat, Khirbet Qumran, and other sites in the Judean Desert. The catalog’s coverage claims to be “comprehensive ,” embracing all texts published at press time (2002), with the exception of apocryphal and deuterocanonical compositions. The author also excludes purported references to New Testament passages owing to their nonacceptance by most scroll scholars. The catalog includes texts published in the Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (DJD) series 1–35, as well as texts published elsewhere (see below). Unfortunately, the 4QSama,b,c volume (DJD 17) was not available to Washburn when his catalog went to press, a fact noted by the author (p. 1). The opening statement of the book summarizes the author’s aims: “The material contained in this volume is intended to be a comprehensive listing of biblical passages contained in all the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been published to date. This list is accompanied by an identification of the scroll containing the passage, publication information on the scroll in question (with references to plates where possible), and a brief description and/or textual Hebrew Studies 46 (2005) 443 Reviews analysis” (p. 1). Washburn’s intended audience includes scholars, teachers, commentators, and students (p. 4). Washburn presents the following front matter: a preface (p. ix), an introduction (pp. 1–4), a directory of terms used in the catalog (pp. 5–6), and a list of abbreviations (pp. 7–9). The actual catalog of biblical passages makes up the majority of the volume (pp. 11–156) with a selected bibliography terminating it (pp. 157–161). The catalog itself comprises four columns, designated Reference, Scroll, Location, and Comments. The Reference column presents the biblical book’s name, chapter, and verse, for example, Gen 1:1–11; Gen 1:1–25; Gen 1:8–10; Gen 1:9; Gen 1:13–22; Gen 1:14–16 and so on through to references in Malachi. This column also indicates passages that are incomplete and contain only a few characters. For example, the reference to Exod 32:2–9 reads “Exod 32:2–9 (3 letters v 5),” indicating that only three Hebrew characters belonging to verse five remain on the scroll fragment. The scriptural books and references are ordered after the Protestant canon rather than the Hebrew Bible. The second column (Scroll) features the names of the scrolls together with the Qumran cave and manuscript number, for example, 4QGeng (4Q7), 4QGenb (4Q2), 4QGenhl (4Q8), 4QGenk (4Q10) and so on through to the final entry in the catalog, which is 4QCommentary on Malachi (4Q253a). On occasion the author omits naming the composition and presents only the Qumran cave and manuscript number. See, for example, the first entry in column 2 on page 12 (4Q483) and four entries in the same column on page 13 (8Q1 [twice], 2Q1, 4Q365). In this column Washburn cites both biblical (i.e., 2QExodb , 4QExodb , 4QExodc , 4QpaleoExodm , MurExod) and nonbiblical (i.e., 1QApGen, 2Q19, 4Q216, 4Q252, 4Q254) compositions that present biblical passages...

“The Messianic Dimensions of Kingship in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 as fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew”

This article examines a brief statement made by Patrick D Miller in his commentary on Deuteronomy, namely that scholars quite likely have missed the most important Old Testament passage relating to the kind of kingship Jesus manifested in his earthly ministry.Deuteronomy 17:14-20 gives a job description for an upcoming, earthly king; it carries messianic dimensions. Christian scholars, however, primarily have pointed to Isaiah and the messianic passages of the royal psalms to provide indication from the Old Testament that Jesus indeed fulfilled the promises therein of the promised king and the Messiah. Reading like a modern “Position Available” advertisement, the qualifications for kingship in Deuteronomy begin by saying the coming king must be God’s choice, an Israelite and not a foreigner; frugal, not prone to displays of wealth and military might; and careful to keep his heart faithful to the Lord. Furthermore, a king’s first duty is to write for himself a copy of the law and to read it throughout his life. The kind of kingship Jesus displayed during his ministry indeed exemplified his personal knowledge and careful following of the law, his total obedience to the law, his reverence for the law, and his humility before his disciples—all qualifications for earthly kingship “advertised” in the pericope. The Gospel of Matthew resonates with passages showing that Jesus answered the advertisement, met the job description, and fulfilled the qualifications for kingship outlined prophetically by Moses in Deuteronomy.

Overcoming Greed: An Eastern Christian Perspective

Overcoming Greed:An Eastern Christian Perspective1 Valerie A. Karras As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, I have chosen to approach the topic of "overcoming greed" from an Eastern Christian perspective, relying particularly on the writings of some of the early theologians of the Greek East. It is not coincidental either that laissez-faire capitalism arose in the Western Christian world, or that the first strongholds of communism developed in Eastern European, traditionally Orthodox, countries. Both phenomena speak to an intrinsic difference in the way in which human beings are conceived as relating to the world and to each other, both personally and communally.The traditional Eastern Christian model of the human person as not simply caretaker of creation, but fundamentally as a mediator uniting all aspects of creation in humanity's own nature,2 has led historically to a general lack of interest in exploiting creation (in fact, the worst environmental problems in the Orthodox world occurred in countries after they came under totalitarian communist domination). Similarly, the Eastern Orthodox emphasis on the relational, and even communal, nature of salvation created an environment hostile to the individualist, exploitative model upon which modern Western economics has been founded (this has been rapidly changing in post-communist Eastern European countries and Russia, however). The Eastern Church identifies this phenomenon of exploitative and abusive relationships toward nature and other persons as a consequence of the fallen condition of humanity, that is, humanity as it currently exists, in a state where our natural communion with God has been ruptured. In this context, Christianity in general and Eastern Christianity in particular recognize greed as one of the passions (equivalent to what Buddhism describes as "cravings") that are part of our fallen human nature, a consequence of our separation from God. Some of the passions are primarily physical in nature, others emotional or psychic, but in fact virtually all passions are a combination of the two. Greed, a passion of both soul and body that is endemic to our current existence, is typical of this understanding. There are two aspects to the vice of greed: (1) the emotional or spiritual dimension, that is, the acquisitive lust that usually betokens either a deep-seated insecurity or, worse, a desire for power and control; and (2) the [End Page 47] external, physical manifestations of greed in the actual acquisition of things, often to the detriment or exploitation of others. Eastern Christian writings attempt to work on both dimensions of the passion of greed, especially the spiritual, while often distinguishing between greed (a moral vice) and wealth (an amoral condition). This article will focus on two early church theologians, Clement of Alexandria and John Chrysostom. In particular, it will focus on their biblical exegeses of two pertinent New Testament passages: Jesus' conversation with a young righteous scholar of the Mosaic Law and the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, respectively. Finally, I will suggest that, for Orthodox Christians, an important key to overcoming greed is disciplined asceticism, to be practiced by all persons and not simply by monks and nuns. Asceticism—the exercise of control over the passions through fasting, prayer, chastity (understood differently for married and unmarried persons), and almsgiving—is the vehicle by which to cultivate an attitude of apatheia or passionlessness, the Christian equivalent of the Buddhist ideal of detachment. Clement was a philosopher-theologian who headed the great Christian catechetical school in Alexandria in the late second century C.E. In his treatise Who IstheRich ManWhoWill Be Saved? 3 Clement mused on the spiritual and soteriological dimensions of greed by reflecting on Jesus' encounter with the wealthy young "lawyer," that is, scholar of the Mosaic Law, who questioned Jesus on how to acquire eternal life. In his response, the young man showed himself righteous in his adherence to the demands of the law, but ultimately unwilling to commit all of himself by giving away his property, even though Jesus said that it was the price to inherit eternal life. Clement pondered whether it were therefore possible for anyone wealthy to be saved, given Jesus' declaration that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man...

Paulus se gebruik van Psalm 68 in Efesiërs 4

Paul’s use of Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4 The use of the Old Testament in the New Testament is one of the key issues in the field of intertextuality. Intertextual studies can be fascinating, but sometimes pose difficulties. Solutions are often less obvious. One difficult crux interpretum is found in Ephesians 4:8. Here the New Testament author makes a significant Christological application of Psalm 68:19. In its own context this Old Testament passage relates to the acceptance of (congratulatory) gifts by a victorious Israelite king. Ephesians 4:8, however, relates this passage to the provision of gifts by the victorious and ascended Christ. A comparison between these two verses immediately reveals certain differences. The question underlying this article therefore is: why does the New Testament citation differ on important issues from Psalms 68:19 in its Old Testament context, and what is the significance of these differences?

Women in the church: moving toward equality

The status of women in the church is one of the most hotly debated issues of our time. Some Protestant churches have either abandoned or radically modified their interpretations of Biblical passages to allow women to take leadership roles and to accommodate social change; for others, the Old and New Testament passages forbid women to take leadership roles, even though equality between the sexes was taught by Jesus Christ and demonstrated in the early Christian community. This work examines the nature of the current fervor concerning women in the church and traces the status of women through 2,000 years of church history. Chapters are devoted to women in the life and ministry of Jesus, women in the earliest Christian community, solutions to transitional problems, the church's reversion to patriarchal models, Alexander Campbell and the American Restoration Movement in the 19th century, the antislavery movement and modern feminism, and the differing stances taken by churches concerning women in leadership roles.