Showing papers on "Exegesis published in 2004"

Gender and Jewish Difference from Paul to Shakespeare

Abstract: Chapter 1. Introduction: Made, Not Born Chapter 2. The Hermeneutics of Difference Chapter 3. Reprioritizing the Prioress's Tale Chapter 4. Creating the Christian in Late Medieval East Anglian Drama Chapter 5. "O what a goodly outside falsehood hath!" Exegesis and Identity in The Merchant of Venice Conclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

Scripture as Logos: Rabbi Ishmael and the Origins of Midrash

Abstract: Scripture as Logos: Rabbi Ishmael and the Origins of Midrash, by Azzan Yadin. Divinations. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. Pp. xiii + 231. $55.00 (hardcover). ISBN: 0812237919. The central thesis of Scripture as Logos is that the Tannai m (second-third centuries C.E. rabbis) who composed the Ishmaelian midrashic collections (basically the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishtnael and Sifre Numbers) instituted a relatively restrained approach to the interpretation of Scripture. The notion of a fully polysemous Torah was not shared bv these rabbis. Their motto might be summarized as "Be silent until the text speaks," a motto that contrasts with that which they ascribe to their opponents, who say to the text, "Be silent until I expound." The reader of Scripture is to engage in moderately passive hermeneutics; the meaning of Scripture is not entirely open, as some literary theorists might propose, but rather semi-closed. The reader must accept interpretive cues from Scripture itself and not impart them from without. Scripture speaks to its interpreter and acts as its interpreter's teacher in a system where ultimately authority and control belong to the text itself. The classification of the midrashic schools into those of R. Ishmael and those of R. Aqiva upon which Yadin's work rests is worthy of note. Over one hundred years ago, David Zvi Huffman demonstrated that the halakic/tannaitic midrashim can be separated into these two schools. This classification was reinforced by the research of Jacob Nahum Epstein and Menahem Kahana, among others. Recently the classification was challenged by Gary Porton and Jay Harris. Yadin's book is a welcome response to their challenge. While we can no longer be certain that these midrashic collections reflect the opinions of their eponymous fathers, we can be certain of the basic differences between them. Overwhelming textual evidence for such a classification has been documented, and neither Porton nor Harris directly addresses this evidence. Yadin refutes Harris's implication that nineteenth-century' polemical scholars/rabbis constructed the idea of the Ishmaelian school and its "simpler," less fanciful approach to biblical interpretation. Yadin convincingly demonstrates that such an approach did exist and is not a scholarly fantasy. Yadin begins by analyzing the different uses of two terms which frequently appear in Ishmaelian midrashim: Torah and ha-katuv ("the verse"). As a term, Torah stands for the voice of revelation and is usually used to introduce Scripture itself. It is a voice of authority, but it speaks in the past and is not active. In contrast, ha-katuv is the midrashic voice, a teacher of Scripture, and it steins from Scripture itself. The personification of ha-katuv as Scripture teaching the hermeneutics of Scripture serves as a basis for the remainder of the book. In ch. 2, Yadin examines the restraint demanded of the Scriptural reader in Ishmaelian midrashim. He elucidates a fascinating exchange between R. Eliezer and R. Ishmael, in which the latter rebukes the former for replacing the proper submission to the verse with aggressive hyper-interpretation. While R. Ishmael listens to the verse and then interprets, R. Eliezer tells the verse to "be silent" until he is done interpreting. As part of their hermeneutical strategy, Ishmaelian midrashim claim that certain words in Scripture are "marked" and therefore "available" for interpretation. The reader is to search for and locate such marks (superfluity, anomalous spellings, and other such phenomena) and then and only then interpret them. Even this search for "markers" is restrained. Not all verses are "marked" and some "markers" merely lead toward understanding the simple, noninterpreted meaning of the verse. Without evidence of "marking," the Scriptural interpreter has no right to engage in creative exegesis. In contrast, the Sifra, the pinnacle of Aqivan midrashic creation, perceives all words as potentially "marked" and hence makes the category of "marked" meaningless since it has no contrast. …

Biblical Interpretation at Qumran

Abstract: The Dead Sea Scrolls are an invaluable source of information about Jewish biblical interpretation in antiquity. This volume by preeminent scholars in the field examines central aspects of scriptural interpretation as it was practiced at Qumran and discusses their implications for understanding the biblical tradition. While many of the forms of biblical interpretation found in the Scrolls have parallels elsewhere in Jewish literature, other kinds are original to the Scrolls and were unknown prior to the discovery of the caves. These chapters explore examples of biblical interpretation unique to Qumran, including legal exegesis and the Pesher. Readers will also find discussion of such fascinating subjects as the "rewritten Bible," views on the creation of humanity, the "Pseudo-Ezekiel" texts, the pesharim, and the prophet David. Contributors: Moshe J. Bernstein Shani Berrin Monica Brady George J. Brooke John J. Collins Peter W. Flint Matthias Henze Shlomo A. Koyfman Michael Segal James C. VanderKam

The People of God in the Apocalypse: Discourse, Structure and Exegesis

Abstract: 1. A question of relevance 2. Relevance theory in biblical interpretation 3. A cognitive environment for the Apocalypse 4. Souls under the altar - a martyr ecclesiology 5. Companions of the Lamb - a messianic ecclesiology 6. The new Jerusalem, bride of the Lamb 7. Summary and conclusions.

Dialogical Reading in the Rabbinic Exegetical Narrative

Abstract: This article investigates the reading dynamics of the rewritten Bible or the exegetical narrative in rabbinic literature of late antiquity. The exegetical narrative is composed of a story which simultaneously represents and interprets its biblical counterpart. Its singularity resides precisely in this synergy of narrative and exege- sis. As exegesis, it creates new meanings from the biblical verses, and as narrative, it dramatizes those meanings by means of the biblical story world. The concurrent presence of two distinct voices, biblical and rabbinic, as well as two distinct types of discourse, narrative and exegetical, that navigate between these voices, creates a unique type of reading dynamic that I call dialogical reading. It is this dynamic that enables the midrashic text to create new meanings from old and highlights the chal- lenge this genre presents to the theory of reading.

Search Scripture Well: Karaite Exegetes and the Origins of the Jewish Bible Commentary in the Islamic East

Abstract: The Jewish Bible commentary was created in the Islamic East during the tenth century by scholars seeking a rational, systematic approach to Scripture. Among its earliest champions were the Karaites, scripturalists who denied rabbinic authority. Seeking to restore Judaism to its biblical roots, they wrote numerous commentaries in Judeo-Arabic. Through the investigation of key topics, this book traces the contours of early Karaite biblical exegesis. Subjects covered include: halakhic indeterminacy; dream interpretation; the Song of Songs as salvation history; Psalms exegesis as liturgical commentary; and inter-religious polemics. The exegetes discussed include Ya'qub al-Qirqisani, Salmon b. Yeruhim, Sahl b. Masliah, and above all, Japheth b. Eli. Extensive selections from unpublished manuscripts are presented in English translation and the original Judeo-Arabic.

Interpreting the Bible and the Constitution

Abstract: Both the Bible and the Constitution have the status of "Great Code," but each of these important texts is controversial as well as enigmatic. They are asked to speak to situations that their authors could not have anticipated on their own. In this book, one of our greatest religious historians brings his vast knowledge of the history of biblical interpretation to bear on the question of constitutional interpretation. Jaroslav Pelikan compares the methods by which the official interpreters of the Bible and the Constitution-the Christian Church and the Supreme Court, respectively-have approached the necessity of interpreting, and reinterpreting, their important texts. In spite of obvious differences, both texts require close, word-by-word exegesis, an awareness of opinions that have gone before, and a willingness to ask new questions of old codes, Pelikan observes. He probes for answers to the question of what makes something authentically "constitutional" or "biblical," and he demonstrates how an understanding of either biblical interpretation or constitutional interpretation can illuminate the other in important ways.

A feminist companion to Mark

Abstract: A Feminist Companion to Mark, edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marianne Blickenstaff. Feminist Companion to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001. Pp. 261. $29.95. In my office I have divided my books into various categories. One of these categories is labeled "biblical studies" and includes commentaries, monographs, and journals related to that field. Another one of these categories is labeled "theory" and includes books on literary criticism, feminism, and postcolonial theory. This book will definitely find its place in the former category stacked alongside other commentaries and monographs on the Gospel of Mark. That a "feminist" title belongs more properly among my biblical studies monographs than among my theoretical texts is a testimony both to the centrality of the feminist perspective in current exegesis and to the nature of this collection of essays itself, which seeks to illumine the text just as much, if not more, than it seeks to address modern feminist concerns. Even though A Feminist Companion to Mark is modeled on Athalya Brenner's Feminist Companion to the Bible, this collection should be essential reading for all serious students of Mark, including those few scholars who are still wont to dismiss feminist readings as "a fad" or "political." In fact, what strikes me most about this collection is the willingness of the authors to move toward a less unified feminist reading of the text, developing instead a more nuanced, even ambiguous approach to a text that admittedly was formed in a patriarchal world. Joanna Dewey, who should be considered one of the pioneers in the feminist study of the Bible, takes on a text that is not normally associated with the feminist reading of Mark: the injunction "to deny oneself (8:34). She notes that many traditional readings of this text seem to make suffering redemptive, a perspective that has tended to encourage Christian women to tolerate injustice as part of their "self-denial." But Dewey reads this saying in an ancient context with a very different understanding of the "self." In that context the self would be understood in terms of traditional ties within the kinship group so that "to deny self, then, is to deny one's kin." With this reading, denying oneself is not so much encouraging self-sacrifice as it is encouraging one to follow Jesus-a move that will invite persecution. Dewey argues that this reading better fits Mark's overall message on suffering, namely, that suffering is evil and will be brought to an end by the coming of the new age. Deborah Krause offers a reading of the healing of Peter's mother-in-law that goes against the grain of some earlier feminist readings of this text (e.g., Tolbert and Selvidge). These other readings note that "serving" in Mark's Gospel is something the angels do for Jesus and something that Jesus encourages of his disciples-the very thing the mother-in-law does upon her healing. However, Krause argues that the woman's life was not transformed by her encounter with Jesus (i.e., she was not liberated from her traditional position) but had to return to her culturally prescribed role. Still, Krause sees a "utopian" moment in the woman's healing. Wendy Cotter considers the stories of the "Woman with the Hemorrhage" and the "Raising of Jairus' Daughter." She notes that these stories seem to have been linked in the pre-Markan tradition, and she asks what this might mean. She analyzes the hemorrhaging woman in terms of Mark's apology for her behavior by comparing it to standards of female behavior found in Valerius Maximus, Pliny, and Tertullian. seen in this light, Jesus' response to the woman indicates that he is free from "the need for public honors, and also from the need to dominate women" (p. 60). Cotter analyzes the Jairus story by comparing it to other ancient resurrections performed by Asclepius, Hercules, Elijah, Elisha, Apollonius of Tyana, Empedocles, and Asclepiades. …

The Bible in Athanasius of Alexandria

Abstract: This study examines rhetorical and exegetical appropriations of Scripture especially in the Greek corpus of the writings of Athanasius of Alexandria, the fourth-century bishop famous for his role in the establishment of Nicene orthodoxy. An introductory chapter surveys earlier scholarship on Athanasian exegesis and on intertextual usage in related literatures. Subsequent chapters examine Athanasius's practice in his apologetic, dogmatic-polemical, dogmatic-historical, and pastoral writings. His writings interpret the Bible as a unified account that explains salvation in terms of the incarnation of the uncreated Word of God and models it through the positive and negative examples of various biblical characters.

The Johannine Exegesis of God: An Exploration into the Johannine Understanding of God

Abstract: Johannine Exegesis of God is a stimulating study of the explicit and implicit theological language of the Johannine community. It exegetically explores crucial questions concerning the Fourth Evangelist's language used to characterize God. It makes a sojourn into the relationship between Johannine Christology and Theology. It examines the dialogue dynamics of a theological conversation between those who do not share the same theological affirmations, and enumerates how the Johannine community derives benefit, becomes enriched and learns inclusiveness through its dialogue/conflict with its pluralistic environment. In approaching and interpreting the Gospel narrative, the implications of 'Theo-logy' in the Johannine community's struggle for legitimacy, identity and existence become clear. The Theology of the Johannine community shows a creative dialect with its sociological context, and its experiential theologising makes its theological language authentic, clear and precise.

New Testament exegesis in theory and practice

Abstract: Exegesis should incorporate the basic insights of modern linguistics and literary studies, without ignoring the older grammarians and rhetoricians. Divergent interpretations of a text is possible, but authentic understanding remains within certain parameters. Responsible exegesis needs a multi-dimensional approach. The contribution from various sciences towards the theory of responsible exegesis is discussed. The two most decisive elements in specifying meaning are text and context. Contrary to the voices calling for the death of the author, he remains an important factor. The role of the reader has become increasingly important. The ideal would be a controlled and controllable exegetical procedure. An exegetical programme is proposed to serve as a very basic and flexible vademecum. 1. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS • Exegesis is more than a mere technique or method; it is an art of attentively listening to the Bible and of creatively transforming what has been said into what should be said today. But an art must also be developed, and, in order to do that, even the best artist needs a substantial amount of technical know-how. For that reason it is crucially important to reflect on the theory and practise of exegesis. • During the twentieth century the scientific study of human language has made tremendous progress. If it is true that the nineteenth century saw the birth of scientific linguistics, it is even more true that modern linguistics, of which Ferdinand de Saussure should rightly be regarded as the founder, has given this study a sound scientific basis. * A fuller version of this and the following article is due to appear in a volume under the title Close reading the New Testament. Hermeneutics, exegesis and methods, Protea Book House. 1 Prof. Andrie B. du Toit, New Testament Research Unit, University of Pretoria. 2 See the overview in Lyons (1968:22-52). Turner (1995) offers a concise and clear introduction into the basic principles of modern linguistics, together with important suggestions for further reading. In his introduction to the English translation of Egger’s 1987 work, Hendrikus Boers (see Boers 1996) also gives a valuable overview of some of the most important recent developments.

The Word in This World: Essays in New Testament Exegesis and Theology

Abstract: This volume brings together numerous publications that range across the New Testament canon and encompass a variety of forms, from thematic essay to commentary, from close exegesis to homily. All these studies highlight Paul Meyer's characteristic attention to detail, skilled argument, and engaging prose. The New Testament Library offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, as well as classic volumes of scholarship. The commentaries in this series provide fresh translations based on the best available ancient manuscripts, offer critical portrayals of the historical world in which the books were created, pay careful attention to their literary design, and present a theologically perceptive exposition of the text.

John's Gospel as Witness: The Development of the Early Christian Language of Faith

Abstract: This book defends the claims of historical-critical research into the New Testament as necessary for theological interpretation. Presenting an interdisciplinary study about the nature of theological language, this book considers the modern debate in theological hermeneutics beginning with the Barth-Bultmann debate and moving towards a theory of language which brings together historical-critical and theological interpretation. These insights are then applied to the exegesis of theologically significant texts of the Gospel of John in the light of the hermeneutical discussion. Drawing together the German and Anglo-American hermeneutical traditions, and discussing issues related to postmodern hermeneutical theories, this book develops a view of the New Testament as the reflection of a struggle for language in which the early Church worked to bring about a language through which the new faith could be understood.

Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an-A Viable Project?

Abstract: A number of modern Muslim writers see the Qur'an as containing information or knowledge of a scientific nature. They have, accordingly, argued for the viability of what is called tafsir 'ilmi, or scientific exegesis of the Qur'an. This paper presents and analyzes the case for and the case against tafsir 'ilmi. The principal conclusion reached is that, while the case for such tafsir is, at present, rather weak, a credible tafsir 'ilmi may come into existence if it is authentically anchored in the larger Islamic tradition. Keywords: Scientific exegesis of the Qur'an; tafsir; history of scientific tafasir; al-Ghazali, al-Suyuti, al-Razi; science and religion; revelation. Introduction Historically, several approaches in the field of tafsir can be said to be well established. Tafsir riwa'i takes transmitted report (riwayah) as its staple; tafsir kalami focuses on theological issues; tafsir fiqhi deals with legal matters; tafsir nahwi discusses issues of grammar; and tafsir adabi treats matters of language and style. But while certain trends in the classical Islamic tradition can be termed scientific or 'ilmi, and while certain prominent Muslim scholars--like Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111), Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209), and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1505)--may be cited as supporting the idea of scientific exegesis of the Qur'an, tafsir 'ilmi is obviously not a historically well established area; only in modern times has a relatively sustained attempt been made to establish it as an independent discipline, on a par with other types of tafsir. A spate of works in several languages has appeared, and continues to appear, attempting to prove that the Qur'an contains information or knowledge of a scientific nature--"scientific" in the sense in which the word is used primarily in the domain of natural sciences. These works range from general statements of the nature and scope of tafsir 'ilmi to treatments of individual scientific subjects in light of the Qur'an. (1) The Case for Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an The historical absence of a well-defined field of tafsir 'ilmi would seem to cast suspicion on the project that such tafsir represents, for such tafsir, one is tempted to think, lacks the sanction of tradition. A fourfold response may address such suspicion. 1. As noted above, tafsir 'ilmi is not completely unattested in the classical period of Islam. 2. Knowledge develops in response to real and concrete needs. Tafsir kalami, for example, arose to meet the need to come to grips with serious theological issues. Today, the dominance of science and the scientific worldview would seem to encourage, even necessitate, the cultivation of tafsir 'ilmi. 3. The Qur'an calls itself a book of guidance (huda), and it is safe to assert that the phrase "Qur'an-as-huda" aptly describes the essential character of the Islamic scripture. To limit the range of Qur'anic huda to certain types of guidance would be arbitrary, a more reasonable view being that the Qur'an contains huda of all types, not excluding scientific huda. Arguably, taking the Qur'an as a source of, for example, legal knowledge represents only one of the several possible understandings of the Qur'an, and scientific exegesis could represent another possible and equally valid understanding. (2) 4. In a number of verses, the Qur'an draws attention to a variety of natural phenomena. It refers to the order, balance, and system that characterize the universe, to the harmonious relationship among the various sectors of nature, and to the general predictability of the world's physical phenomena (al-Furqan: 2; al-Rahman: 5-7; al-Mulk: 3). At times, it offers specific detail, as when it refers to the various stages through which the fetus passes (al-Hajj: 5; al-Mu'minun: 12-14; al-Ghafir: 67). Similarly, the Qur'anic concept of zawjan (Ya Sin: 36 and elsewhere) refers to the principle of the complementarity of opposites that appears to characterize much of existence. …

Demonstrative Proof in Defence of God: A Study of Titus of Bostra's Contra Manichaeos -- The Work's Sources, Aims and Relation to Its Contemporary Theology

Abstract: Preface I. Introduction II. Summary of Contents III. Receptions, editions and scholarship history of 'Contra Manichaeos' IV. The historical and literary context for Titus of Bostra's 'Contra Manichaeos' V. The audience for 'Contra Manichaeos' and the portrayal of Manichaeism that Titus wished to present to them VI. The Manichaean texts used by Titus of Bostra VII. Titus of Bostra's philosophical position VIII. Titus of Bostra's interpretation of the Paradise narrative IX. Comparison between the exegesis of Genesis in Titus of Bostra and in a number of writers in "the Antiochene School" X. Summary of the study's most important conclusions XI. Critical examinations of the text Bibliography Indices

Interpretazioni stoiche ed epicuree in servio e la tradizione dell’esegesi filosofica del mito e dei poeti a Roma (Cornuto, Seneca, Filodemo), I

Abstract: [Part I] Though the philosophical interpretations contained in the Corpus Servianum mostly reflect the Neoplatonic doctrines prevailing at the time, several instances of Stoic and Epicurean exegesis can also be detected. It remains to be seen to what extent they can be traced to the previous exegetical tradition.

Do You Not Remember? Scripture, Story and Exegesis in the Rewritten Bible of Pseudo-Philo

Abstract: Do You Not Remember? Scripture, Story and Exegesis in the Rewritten Bible of PseudoPhilo, by Bruce Norman Fisk. JSPSup 37. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001. Pp. 375. $105 (cloth). Bruce Fisk claims that Pseudo-Philo's "time has finally come" (p. 13); the ancient author has now begun to attract sustained attention from scholars. In this work, a revision of his dissertation completed under Richard Hays at Duke University in 1997, Fisk examines one aspect of Pseudo-Philo's Liber antiquitatum biblicarum (L.A.B.): its use of biblical material to supplement and explicate seemingly unrelated biblical episodes. Fisk, with a clear and clever writing style, demonstrates Pseudo-Philo's inteipretive subtlety. Those interested in early Jewish biblical interpretation are sure to profit by careful examination of this book. Fisk's central concern is what he calls "secondary Scripture." These texts vary from the obvious (quotes delimited by citation formulas) to the subtle (barely discernible allusions); they may function as rhetorical window-dressing or as an essential part of Pseudo-Philo's message. Fisk then demonstrates that the complexity of Pseudo-Philo's work requires "an interpretive model" (p. 32) using both synchronie and diaehronic approaches. After addressing dating and provenance issues (which are almost impossible to resolve), Fisk turns to three exemplary works for assistance in deriving his own model: Michael Fishbane's Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel, Richard Ilays's Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, and Daniel Boyarin's Intertextuality and the Reading of Midrash. In eh. 3, Fisk presents his model based on six guiding hypotheses drawn from his exemplars: (1) postbiblical judaism's herineneutics is grounded in the intmlextual hermeneutics of the Hebrew Bible; (2) exegesis responds to gaps or excesses in the text; (3) exegesis is marked by a combination of repetition and transformation; (4) exegetical appropriations vary from subtle to blatant; (5) the original context of a secondary citation may determine its use in the primary story; and (6) secondary citations may illuminate or transform the primary passage but may be transformed as well. These hypotheses reappear (both as citations and as subtle allusions) in the rest of the work. Next, in dialogue with Fishbane, Fisk pursues the relationship oftraditio and traditum, developing a grid not unlike the Cartesian coordinate system from first-year algebra (p. 119) upon which to plot "static" to "dynamic" reuses (the y-axis) and the relative prominence of traditum or traditio (the x-axis). This grid enables Fisk to categorize various secondary citations, bringing some order to Pseudo-Philo's varied hermeneutical palette. Fisk (again using Fishbane) then moves to anchor interpretation in early Judaism's "mental matrix" (p. 126). For Fishbane and Fisk, interpretation is linked to social crises: moral lapses of the people, declining relevance of Scripture, and/or historical dislocation (e.g., the exile, post-70 events). Fisk structures his analysis of L.A.B. 12-24 on these three categories of social crises. As Fisk reads Pseudo-Philo reading, he focuses on compositional technique and hermeneutical strategy. "Compositional technique" refers to the identification and analyzing of secondary citations, while "hermeneutical strategy" points to the examination of the function of these citations in Pseudo-Philo's "primary narrative" and "larger argument" (p. 321). In short, Fisk moves from locating the citational "animal" in the guidebook to understanding the way that "animal" functions ecologically. This may sound like a wooden procedure, but it is a tribute to Fisk's writing ability and interpretive insight that his readings come across as anything but a preprogrammed exercise. Any condensation of Fisk's readings will tend to diminish them. Nevertheless, the reader may find a summary of Fisk's "results" helpful. …

Cocceius and the Jewish Commentators

Abstract: The case of Johannes Cocceius defies the commonplace that Leiden University (and perhaps post-Reformation, confessionalized Europe in general) turned away from humanist scholarship in the first quarter of the seventeenth century. In 1650 Cocceius (1603-69), a Bremen-born Oriental philology professor at Franeker, joined the Leiden theological faculty and wrote a treatise, Protheoria de ratione interpretandi sive introductio in philologiam sacram (De ratione). He praised such rabbinic exegetes as Rashi (1040-1105) and David Kimchi (ca. 1160-ca. 1235) in humanist terms for their erudition. At the same time the "new" Cartesian philosophy was taking hold in the arts faculty, and mathematics instruction was encroaching on scholastic formal logic.1 Leiden would become famous for Cartesianism, mathematics, and "Calvinist Copernicanism" in the second half of the seventeenth century, but Cocceius still worked in the tradition of advanced humanist scholarship that had made the institution famous in the sixteenth century.2Leiden's earlier reputation was due in large part to the biblical humanist work of such Renaissance polymaths as Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609) and Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), but by Cocceius's time Leiden theologians were subject to greater Church and State control. As Jonathan Israel and Edwin Rabbie have shown, in response to the controversy that surrounded Jacobus Arminius and his stand on predestination, the Synod of Dordrecht (Dort) drafted an anti-Arminian statement in 1619; any professor who did not sign was subject to exile from the republic in addition to dismissal from his post.3 Innovative theology, exegesis, and philology suffered as professors, fearing State and Church reprisals, turned to "dogmatic humanism." As Henk Jan de Jonge has explained, this meant that "almost all the theologians of seventeenth-century Leiden who concerned themselves with the explanation of the New Testament placed exegesis at the service of dogmatic objectives."4 Unlike his fellow Leiden theologians, Cocceius pursued biblical humanism and Christian Hebraism through the study of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic-and he did so in a unique way. He was not the first to use Jewish commentaries and even Jewish post-biblical literature for the purpose of reconstructing the original Hebrew Bible, but he was innovative in praising rabbinic scholars as fellow humanists and in incorporating their scholarship into his Christological exegesis and philosophy. He did so, furthermore, not as an independent scholar or pastor or even as a professor of Hebrew; but as the holder of a university chair in theology at a confessionalized university in a century hostile to his brand of late humanism.Although he came to Leiden as a theologian, Cocceius had impressive training as an Orientalist. He had studied with the famous scholar Sixtinus Amama (1593-1629) and polished his Hebrew and Aramaic by working with a Jewish tutor from Hamburg.5 While still a student at Franeker, Cocceius wrote a translation and commentary of the Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin. A few years later he began composing commentaries on the Pentateuch, and, by the time he arrived at Leiden, he had completed one lecture, series of lectures, or piece of writing on every book of the Old Testament. These commentaries were based not only on Cocceius's extensive knowledge of Oriental languages but also on his readings of medieval Jewish commentators. These were the same commentators that Cocceius would later praise in chapter eight of the De ratione.These humanist achievements were much at variance with Cocceius's public persona as perhaps the most prominent Dutch Calvinist theologian of the seventeenth century. For approximately 100 years after his death in 1669 a faction of Leiden theologians calling themselves "Cocceians" battled the "Voetians," followers of Gisbertus Voetius, for the soul of the Dutch Church.6 At Leiden he lectured on the Pauline Epistles, a typical subject for a seventeenth-century Calvinist theologian, and he worked on his famous theological tract, the salvation-historical Summa doctrinae de foedere et testamento Dei (1648). …

The Exegetical Texts

Abstract: Preface Abbreviations Editions, Translations, and Bibliographies 1. Introduction 1. The Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran 2. The Qumran-Essene Hypothesis 3. Recent Developments in Qumran Studies 4. 'The Pesher Phenomenon' 5. The Exegetical Texts from Qumran 6. Further Reading 2. Scripture and Interpretation 1. Scripture in Second Temple Judaism 2. Scriptural Manuscripts from Qumran 3. Textual Fluidity in Scriptural Writings 4. Scripture Interpreting Scripture 5. Exegesis in Non-scriptural Works 6. Exegetical Techniques 7. Scriptural Interpretation in the Exegetical Texts 8. Further Reading 3. 4QFlorilegium (4Q174) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 4QFlorilegium 3. The Genre of 4QFlorilegium 4. The Content of 4QFlorilegium 5. Exegesis in 4QFlorilegium 6. 4QFlorilegium and the Reconstruction of Damaged Scrolls 7. Further Reading 4. 4QCatenae A-B (4Q177, 182) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 4QCatena A 3. The Genre of 4QCatena A 4. The Content of 4QCatena A 5. Exegesis in 4QCatena A 6. The Fragmentary Nature of 4QCatena B 7. The Existence of 4QMidrash on Eschatologya-b 8. Further Reading 5. 11QMelchizedek (11Q13) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 11QMelchizedek 3. The Genre of 11QMelchizedek 4. The Content of 11QMelchizedek 5. Exegesis in 11QMelchizedek 6. 11QMelchizedek and the Schematization of History 7. Further Reading 6. 4QAges of Creation A-B (4Q180-181) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 4QAges of Creation A-B 3. The Genre of 4QAges of Creation A-B 4. The Content of 4QAges of Creation A-B 5. Exegesis in 4QAges of Creation A-B 6. 4QAges of Creation A-B and Other Sectarian Writings 7. Further Reading 7. 4QTanhumim (4Q176) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 4QTanhumim 3. The Genre of 4QTanhumim 4. The Content of 4QTanhumim 5. Exegesis in 4QTanhumim 6. 4QTanhumim and 4QApocryphal Lamentations A-B (4Q179, 501) 7. Further Reading 8. 4QTestimonia (4Q175) 1. Introduction 2. The Text of 4QTestimonia 3. The Genre of 4QTestimonia 4. The Content of 4QTestimonia 5. Exegesis in 4QTestimonia 6. The Historical Background of 4QTestimonia 7. Further Reading 9. Scripture and Interpretation in the Exegetical Texts 1. The Evidence of the Exegetical Texts 2. Scripture in the Exegetical Texts 3. Interpretation in the Exegetical Texts 4. The Exegetical Texts and 'the Pesher Phenomenon' 5. The Exegetical Texts and the Qumran Community 6. The Exegetical Texts and other Late Second Temple Literature 7. Further Reading Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors

Exegesis in the Septuagint

Abstract: This contribution argues that exegesis took place in the Septuagint on different levels. The translation technique followed by translators indeed determined to what extent exegesis was included in the LXX. In Genesis some examples are discussed of exegetical renderings that are aimed at removing apparent anomalies in the Vorlage. In Proverbs three trends are discussed that are related to religionising. 1) by adding exegetical renderings stressing the positive (righteousness); 2) the contrary - stressing the negative (evil) and finally by deliberate creation of contrasts that have no basis in the parent text.