Showing papers in "Currents in Biblical Research in 2016"
TL;DR: A survey of variou... as discussed by the authors offers a survey of the Bible's violent passages in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament that portray God behaving violently and commanding others to do likewise.
Abstract: Many readers of the Bible are troubled by passages in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament that portray God behaving violently and commanding others to do likewise. This article offers a survey of variou...
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors surveys developing research on the nature of space and place, and summarizes the arguments proposed by geographers and philosophers outside biblical studies, and then illustrates how biographies can be used outside of biblical studies.
Abstract: This article surveys developing research on the nature of space and place. It summarizes the arguments proposed by geographers and philosophers outside biblical studies, and then illustrates how bi...
17 citations
TL;DR: Masculinity studies of the Hebrew Bible have emerged in the past two decades as a complement to feminist criticism, focusing on the ways men and masculinity in the biblical texts are social construc...
Abstract: Masculinity studies of the Hebrew Bible has emerged in the past two decades as a complement to feminist criticism, focusing on the ways men and masculinity in the biblical texts are social construc...
16 citations
TL;DR: The Parable of the Tenants (Mk 12.1-12; Mt. 21.33-45; Lk. 20.9-19; GThom 65-66) is one of the most debated of all the parables ascribed to Jesus as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Parable of the Tenants (Mk 12.1-12; Mt. 21.33-45; Lk. 20.9-19; GThom 65–66) is one of the most debated of all the parables ascribed to Jesus. Situated at the intersection of a host of important...
14 citations
TL;DR: The meaning of the word "vanity" in the book of Ecclesiastes has been extensively studied in the literature as mentioned in this paper and there has been a rich history of interpretation as scholars develop various suggestions for how the word should be interpreted in the Bible.
Abstract: The meaning of הבל is a crux interpretum for the book of Ecclesiastes Notwithstanding some variation, Jerome’s vanitas reading of הבל in Ecclesiastes dominated scholarship for several centuries Since the rise of modern biblical scholarship, הבל as ‘vanity’ has been largely rejected; however, little consensus has been reached regarding the word’s meaning The result has been a rich history of interpretation as scholars develop various suggestions for how הבל should be understood in Ecclesiastes This essay briefly sketches the history of interpretation of הבל, then surveys proposals for the meaning of הבל in Ecclesiastes during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
13 citations
TL;DR: A survey of the major issues addressed in the study of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah can be found in this article, where a growing pluralism of methods, aims, and results characterizes the work of the seven-century prophets in the early twenty-first century.
Abstract: This article surveys major issues addressed in scholarship on Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah since 2000. Researchers have continued attempts to locate these books more precisely within the historical context of the late seventh century bce. Efforts to trace the literary growth of the books have increased following a decrease in diachronic approaches in the 1990s. Redactional analyses have sought new methodological strategies to supplement the limited historical evidence available for tracking literary growth. Several redactional studies overlap with efforts to describe the editorial history of the Book of the Twelve, although resistance to reading the prophets in this context has also emerged in recent studies. Studies employing literary theory and ideological criticism have sought to balance historically oriented interpretation with attention to more existential concerns. A growing pluralism of methods, aims, and results characterizes the study of the seventh-century prophets in the early twenty-first ce...
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors traces the contours of the past century of discourse surrounding the underlying textual form of allusions embedded in the book of Revelation, and highlights the changing methods and approaches by which scholars analyse the text of the allusions.
Abstract: This article traces the contours of the past century of discourse surrounding the underlying textual form of allusions embedded in the book of Revelation. Special attention is paid to the rapid developments on this issue in the past thirty years, a period in which New Testament scholarship has grappled with the textual complexity of the Hebrew Bible presented by the scrolls from the Judaean Desert. The question of textual form is of foundational importance for analysing the reuse or interpretation of Scripture in the book of Revelation. Despite this reality, it is common to find assumptions or misconceptions in recent studies that obfuscate the textual reality of the Hebrew Bible and its early Greek versions the first century ce. The appraisal of scholarship on this issue allows scholars to better contextualize their own approaches to the text of allusions in the light of previous research. This analysis also highlights the changing methods and approaches by which scholars analyse the text of allusions an...
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors used the New Exodus as a metaphor for the saving act of God with the Israelite exodus from Egypt and applied it to a wide array of biblical and extra-biblical texts.
Abstract: Nineteenth-century Isaiah scholarship appears to be responsible for popularizing the term ‘new exodus’, a phrase that underscores how Isaiah’s prophecies of a return from exile link this new saving act of God with the Israelite exodus from Egypt. In the twentieth century, New Testament scholars adopted the term, and in recent years, ‘new exodus’ has been applied to a wide array of biblical and extra-biblical texts. The burgeoning popularity of the phrase ‘new exodus’ has not been matched with equal interest in reflecting on its diverse applications to a variety of ancient texts. This free-wheeling usage has diluted the value of the phrase, and a descriptive term runs the risk of becoming a simple buzzword.
10 citations
TL;DR: The history of sound patterns in the Hebrew Bible can be traced in this paper, which traces the history of research on Hebrew sound patterns and their applications in Hebrew phonology and linguistics.
Abstract: This article traces the history of scholarship on sound patterns in the Hebrew Bible. Beginning in the nineteenth century, studies devoted to biblical Hebrew phonological patterns or devices entert...
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlighted various possible directions that Jewish feminist Bible scholarship can take, and highlighted the voices for equality that can be found in the Bible, focusing on biblical women and recounting her-story rather than the traditional his-tory that has been dominant for generations.
Abstract: The article highlights various possible directions that Jewish feminist Bible scholarship can take. Even though this field has naturally been influenced by feminist scholarship in general, I believe that it does have a number of unique traits, with regard both to content (such as pointing out the Christian source of certain misogynistic interpretations) and form (commentaries oriented to the weekly Torah portion). The first part of the article deals with these unique features of Jewish feminist Bible scholarship. In the second part I look at four goals shared by feminist Bible scholarship in general and the Jewish subgenre, while focusing on the latter: (1) Emphasizing that the Bible is a patriarchal and androcentric—some would say misogynistic—text; (2) highlighting the voices for equality that can be found in the Bible; (3) focusing on biblical women and recounting her-story rather than the traditional his-tory that has been dominant for generations; (4) discovering the female authors of biblical texts,...
6 citations
TL;DR: The authors provide a survey of the current state of the art in the Porsis Christou debate, including a review of the main debates and the secondary literature, as well as a discussion of the debates themselves.
Abstract: The pistis Christou debate involves numerous debate partners and a shockingly voluminous amount of secondary literature. At this point, I thought it necessary to provide a survey of the current sta...
TL;DR: There is currently no consensus on the arrangement or central theme of Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians as mentioned in this paper, but numerous suggestions have been put forward in the last three decades, includ...
Abstract: There is currently no consensus on the arrangement or central theme of Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. However, numerous suggestions have been put forward in the last three decades, includ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the main arguments that have been used to argue either that non-Jews are included or excluded from God's Israel are presented and discussed, and the arguments in favour of the view that nonJews...
Abstract: The article presents and discusses the main arguments that have been used to argue either that non-Jews are included or excluded from God’s Israel. The arguments in favour of the view that non-Jews...
TL;DR: This article studied the coherence of the Megilloth as a coherent canonical grouping and found that the later (re)uses of a biblical text are constitutive of its interpretation, thus the lateness of the collection does not preclude interpretation but shapes it.
Abstract: Until recently, study of the Megilloth as a coherent canonical grouping has been minimal. On the whole, the lateness and fluidity of the collection within the Jewish canon has negated its value for biblical scholars, who have long preferred texts and categories thought to be ‘early’ or ‘original’. The state of the field has begun to shift, however, as scholars are giving more attention to connections between individual books of the Megilloth and the coherence of the collection as a whole. This new interest coincides with the growing recognition among scholars that the later (re)uses of a biblical text are constitutive of its interpretation; thus the lateness of the Megilloth (if the collection really is late) does not preclude interpretation but shapes it. Recent studies in the Megilloth as a coherent collection include canon-historical approaches, which trace the formation of the Megilloth within the Jewish canon; intertextual approaches, which focus on allusions to earlier biblical traditions and on lit...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered four issues of hermeneutical and theological significance in the debate between Wright and Campbell, and discussed the relationship between history and theology and their relationship between them.
Abstract: Having studied with both N.T. Wright and Douglas Campbell, and not least because both are now ‘caught up’ in an apocalyptic standoff, it seemed desirable to lay bare the basic philosophical presuppositions and hermeneutical commitments which undergird and animate their continued disagreements over various issues in Pauline theology. In the following article, both serious and somewhat playful, I have considered four issues of hermeneutical and theological significance—indeed, foundational significance—in the debate between Wright and Campbell. These issues do not fundamentally concern the construal of entire Pauline letters or even Paul’s historical context. Rather, they involve the philosophical presuppositions of history and theology and the relationship between them.