Showing papers in "Currents in Biblical Research in 2012"
TL;DR: The authors examined the use of ethnic terminology in scholarship on Ioudaios over the last seventy-five years, with a focus on representative studies from the 1930s-1950s as a point of comparison with more recent developments.
Abstract: This article, part two in a three-part series on the meaning of Ioudaios (‘Jew’ or ‘Judaean’), examines the use of ethnic terminology in scholarship on Ioudaios over the last seventy-five years, with a focus on representative studies from the 1930s–1950s as a point of comparison with more recent developments. The article traces shifts in the meaning of ethnic terminology after World War II and explores why ‘ethnicity’ eventually came to more-or-less supplant other terms such as ‘race’ and ‘nation’. Part one, which appeared in 2010 in CBR 9.1, examined the relationship between Ioudaios and other group labels in ancient Judaism, such as ‘Israel’ and ‘Galilaean’. The final article will analyse the relationship between ethnicity and religion in scholarship on the meaning of Ioudaios, and evaluate the debate over the term’s English translation.
39 citations
TL;DR: In an introduction to the English translation of Gerhard von Rad's classic work Holy War in Ancient Israel, Ollenburger as mentioned in this paper reviewed the major contributions on the topic of warfare through to 19...
Abstract: In an introduction to the English translation of Gerhard von Rad’s classic work Holy War in Ancient Israel, Ollenburger (1991) reviewed the major contributions on the topic of warfare through to 19...
32 citations
TL;DR: Recent studies of the letters of the New Testament have uncovered intentional words, phrases, ideology and imagery that carry the weight of anti-imperial rhetoric as discussed by the authors, which is the basis for our work.
Abstract: Recent studies of the letters of the New Testament have uncovered intentional words, phrases, ideology and imagery that carry the weight of anti-imperial rhetoric. The second of three articles, thi...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of the literature on the Psalter in its entirety, focusing on the shaping of the book of Psalms, its potential as a book of theology, and its reception across the centuries.
Abstract: Updating the writer’s previous essay in Currents, ‘Engaging the Psalms: Gains and Trends in Recent Research’ (1994), this extensive essay targets the many diverse books and articles reflecting the multi-faceted research on the Psalms published during the past two decades. While necessarily selective, this survey opens with article and book-length studies focused on the Psalter in its entirety. These studies range from those primarily intended for novice readers, to intricate, in-depth scholarly commentaries. Subsequently, many publications invested in more specific topics are discussed. These address the Psalms in their ancient Near Eastern milieu, probe crucial form-critical and rhetorical-critical issues, and focus on the shaping of the Psalter, its potential as a book of theology, and its reception across the centuries.
20 citations
TL;DR: The second part of a two-part series as mentioned in this paper examines scholarly research on the Gospel of Thomas between 1989 and 2011, focusing on three concerns: (1) scholarly opinions of Thomas's genre, (2) the notoriously difficult problem of identifying Thomas's theological outlook, and (3) the relationship between the gospel of Thomas and the Fourth Gospel.
Abstract: This article, the second of a two-part series, examines scholarly research on the Gospel of Thomas between 1989 and 2011. The previous article (CBR 5.2 [2007]: 183-206) reviewed research on Thomas’s place in discussions of the historical Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels between 1991 and 2006. The current study focuses on three concerns: (1) scholarly opinions of Thomas’s genre, (2) the notoriously difficult problem of identifying Thomas’s theological outlook, and (3) the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Fourth Gospel.
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the literature pertaining to the recent debate over the question of authenticity of Clement's Letter to Theodore (including the so-called Secret Gospel of Mark) and argued that the academy has tied itself into a secure deadlock, due to various scholarly malpractices, which include the practice of nonengagement with other scholars, abusive language towards them and mischaracterization of their position.
Abstract: This article reviews the literature pertaining to the recent debate over the question of authenticity of Clement’s Letter to Theodore (including the so-called Secret Gospel of Mark) and argues that the academy has tied itself into a secure deadlock. The current ‘trench warfare’ situation is due to various scholarly malpractices, which include the practice of non-engagement with other scholars, abusive language towards them and mischaracterization of their position. In order to remedy the situation and move the discussion forwards a number of correcting acts are suggested.
11 citations
TL;DR: In the first part of the 20th century, the content of the early Church was investigated by a number of scholars under different headings such as kerygma, catechesis, etc.
Abstract: Inquiry into the content of the preaching and teaching of the early Church was commonplace in the first part of the twentieth century. Such research was carried out under a number of different headings – kerygma, catechesis, etc. – and pursued with the form-critical tools of the day. However, these reconstructions encountered serious criticism and since the 1970s such inquiries have been more reserved. Today the field is divided, if sparse, with some employing the methods and results of earlier scholarship and others all but ignoring the question entirely. The present article examines this history of scholarship from Alfred Seeberg into the twenty-first century.
11 citations
TL;DR: According to the modern consensus, the persecutions were localized and sporadic hostility consisting of verbal abuse and discrimination (i.e., ‘unofficial’ persecution), and as discussed by the authors survey exactly how this consensus was reached, focusing particular attention on a key oversight which took place very early in the discussion.
Abstract: Throughout the history of research, the topic of persecution has been one of the more heavily debated issues within the study of 1 Peter. At the moment, however, a general agreement has been reached concerning the nature of the readers’ problems. According to the modern consensus, the persecutions were localized and sporadic hostility consisting of verbal abuse and discrimination (i.e., ‘unofficial’ persecution). The present article will survey exactly how this consensus was reached, focusing particular attention on a key oversight which took place very early in the discussion. Our review will explore some of the significant effects which this omission has produced in the subsequent debate, while examining how a few of the most recent treatments have worked towards rectifying the situation.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the reception of the Fourth Gospel in the second century is discussed and some concluding considerations are offered on the future possible development of the topic of seeking for John in the earliest Christian texts.
Abstract: The last sixty years have witnessed quite different results on the topic of the reception of the Fourth Gospel in the second century. It is however at hand to notice that these significantly differing results are indebted to the dissimilar methodological approaches assumed by each scholar. The main aim of this paper is to reassess methodologically the bibliography on the reception of John in the second century. Given that we are far from having a consensus on the question of how to seek for John in the earliest Christian texts, some concluding considerations are offered on future possible development of the topic.
4 citations
TL;DR: The conventional interpretation of 1 Cor. 15.29, according to which the phrase hoi baptizomenoi hyper tōn nekrōn (generally translated as ‘those baptized on behalf of the dead’) refers to vicarious...
Abstract: The conventional interpretation of 1 Cor. 15.29, according to which the phrase hoi baptizomenoi hyper tōn nekrōn (generally translated as ‘those baptized on behalf of the dead’) refers to vicarious...
4 citations
TL;DR: The authors proposes that the field of targum studies is in the midst of a significant transition away from the traditional traditional philological disciplines and toward methodologies more informed by contemporary literary and linguistic theory, and traces the broad contours of this transition, surveying philological scholarship on the targums and outlining some of the ongoing issues with this scholarship.
Abstract: This article proposes that targum studies is in the midst of a significant transition away from the traditional philological disciplines and toward methodologies more informed by contemporary literary and linguistic theory. This article traces the broad contours of this transition, surveying philological scholarship on the targums and outlining some of the ongoing issues with this scholarship. The article then moves to examine some of the emerging modes of study, ending with a brief discussion of some of the finished projects in the field.
TL;DR: A survey of tools published in the field of Septuagint studies, such as editions, concordances, lexica, bibliographies, and translations, can be found in this article.
Abstract: In this article, a summary will be offered of tools published in the field of Septuagint studies, such as editions, concordances, lexica, bibliographies, and translations. Then we will cover the origins of the Old Greek translations, as well as the forms of Greek used in the Septuagint. This article will also treat the debate about whether variants go back to a different Hebrew Vorlage, or to the interpretation of a translator. Contributions to the field of the early Jewish Greek revisions will also be summarized. Finally, in this survey of Septuagint studies, special attention will be given to the contents of Introductions to the Septuagint, and scholarly Proceedings and Festschriften on the Septuagint.
TL;DR: This paper gave an overview of major studies on hapax legomena in the MT, LXX and NT and the focus of the contribution is on the definition of happe legomenon.
Abstract: The current essay offers an overview of major studies on hapax legomena in the MT, LXX and NT. The focus of the contribution is on the definition of hapax legomenon. Authors disagree as to whether ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized the major developments in the field of talmudic literature which took place in the first and second editions of Encyclopaedia Judaica (EJ).
Abstract: Through the lens of the contributions to the first and second editions of Encyclopaedia Judaica, this article summarizes the major developments in the field of talmudic literature which took place ...