S. Talmon
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This is the first of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament. It focuses on textual criticism of the ancient versions of the Old Testament, pointing out that no other ancient or modern text ...
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This is the first of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament. It focuses on textual criticism of the ancient versions of the Old Testament, pointing out that no other ancient or modern text seems to be witnessed by so many diverse sources in a variety of languages, and has a transmission history so difficult to elucidate as the text of the Hebrew Bible. The essay offers a necessarily restricted survey of the early transmission history of the biblical text in manuscript form up to the crystallization of an incipient unified Hebrew text and the appearance of translations of the Hebrew original into other Semitic and non‐Semitic languages between c.200 bce and 300 ce; invariably, later secondary translations are not considered. Attention focuses on the early stages of the written transmission of the consonantal text with emphasis on a concise review of the information on its history, which can be obtained from two quite dissimilar groups of manuscript remains in respect to chronology and socio‐religious provenance: (a) the assemblage of biblical scrolls and scroll fragments (the Dead Sea Scrolls) brought to light since 1947 that the dissident ‘Community of the Renewed Covenant’ had deposited in caves near a site known by the modern Arabic name of Qumran; and (b) fragments found since the 1950s at other sites in the Judaean Desert—Masada, Wadi Murabba’at, Naḥal Ṣe‚elim (Wadi Seiyāl) , and Naḥal Ḥever, which represent the textual tradition of normative Judaism.Less
This is the first of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament. It focuses on textual criticism of the ancient versions of the Old Testament, pointing out that no other ancient or modern text seems to be witnessed by so many diverse sources in a variety of languages, and has a transmission history so difficult to elucidate as the text of the Hebrew Bible. The essay offers a necessarily restricted survey of the early transmission history of the biblical text in manuscript form up to the crystallization of an incipient unified Hebrew text and the appearance of translations of the Hebrew original into other Semitic and non‐Semitic languages between c.200 bce and 300 ce; invariably, later secondary translations are not considered. Attention focuses on the early stages of the written transmission of the consonantal text with emphasis on a concise review of the information on its history, which can be obtained from two quite dissimilar groups of manuscript remains in respect to chronology and socio‐religious provenance: (a) the assemblage of biblical scrolls and scroll fragments (the Dead Sea Scrolls) brought to light since 1947 that the dissident ‘Community of the Renewed Covenant’ had deposited in caves near a site known by the modern Arabic name of Qumran; and (b) fragments found since the 1950s at other sites in the Judaean Desert—Masada, Wadi Murabba’at, Naḥal Ṣe‚elim (Wadi Seiyāl) , and Naḥal Ḥever, which represent the textual tradition of normative Judaism.
D. M. Gunn
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term ...
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This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term narrative (as a mode of discourse; as a vehicle of narrative communication; as definable text) and the difficulties of determining which particular definable biblical texts are narrative texts, and notes that the attempt by the critic–reader to define so simple a thing as the narrative text is fraught with issues that have as much to do with the reader as with the text. The author notes that the title of the chapter and its placement within the ‘text’ part of the division of the book into parts on readers, text, and authors, might suggest a singular objective entity (the text) produced by authors, read by readers, and conceptually separable from both, but that the reality is more complicated. The Old Testament is described as a fuzzy‐edged concept, not a fixed object, and its text not as one but as beyond number; furthermore, the concept is ideologically loaded (i.e. reader‐oriented) and much of the essay is quite specifically not about the (Christian) Old Testament (which is why the hybrid term Hebrew Bible has been used). It is the author's understanding that there is no such thing as the text of the Old Testament apart from its readers and it is in this context that he gives an account (which he labels as partial) of biblical narrative and literary criticism over the past three decades; this is presented as an account not of what is in the biblical narratives, but of what some readers have claimed to find in these texts, and how they have gone about finding it.Less
This is the fourth of five chapters on the text of the Old Testament, and focuses on the Hebrew prose narrative of the Old Testament. It starts by discussing the various definitions of the term narrative (as a mode of discourse; as a vehicle of narrative communication; as definable text) and the difficulties of determining which particular definable biblical texts are narrative texts, and notes that the attempt by the critic–reader to define so simple a thing as the narrative text is fraught with issues that have as much to do with the reader as with the text. The author notes that the title of the chapter and its placement within the ‘text’ part of the division of the book into parts on readers, text, and authors, might suggest a singular objective entity (the text) produced by authors, read by readers, and conceptually separable from both, but that the reality is more complicated. The Old Testament is described as a fuzzy‐edged concept, not a fixed object, and its text not as one but as beyond number; furthermore, the concept is ideologically loaded (i.e. reader‐oriented) and much of the essay is quite specifically not about the (Christian) Old Testament (which is why the hybrid term Hebrew Bible has been used). It is the author's understanding that there is no such thing as the text of the Old Testament apart from its readers and it is in this context that he gives an account (which he labels as partial) of biblical narrative and literary criticism over the past three decades; this is presented as an account not of what is in the biblical narratives, but of what some readers have claimed to find in these texts, and how they have gone about finding it.
MARC ZVI BRETTLER
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264010
- eISBN:
- 9780191734946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264010.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian century may be used to reconstruct select ‘real’ events of that century. Using several examples, it reflects ...
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This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian century may be used to reconstruct select ‘real’ events of that century. Using several examples, it reflects on method, namely, the problems that these texts present to the modern historian of ancient Israel. The modern historian of ancient history should approach the texts dealing with the ninth century in the same way he or she would approach earlier or later periods. This essay considers two types of texts: those that explicitly mark themselves as primarily didactic, and those that are marked as symbolic. The texts from the first group are from the Psalms, while Jonah, Job, and Ruth comprise the second group. There may be other sources beyond Kings that need to be considered for reconstructing the history of the ninth century, including Chronicles and the Pentateuch. Different Mesopotamian sources mention kings of Israel and Judah, usually in the context of the offering of tribute.Less
This essay discusses how biblical texts that may reflect events of the ninth pre-Christian century may be used to reconstruct select ‘real’ events of that century. Using several examples, it reflects on method, namely, the problems that these texts present to the modern historian of ancient Israel. The modern historian of ancient history should approach the texts dealing with the ninth century in the same way he or she would approach earlier or later periods. This essay considers two types of texts: those that explicitly mark themselves as primarily didactic, and those that are marked as symbolic. The texts from the first group are from the Psalms, while Jonah, Job, and Ruth comprise the second group. There may be other sources beyond Kings that need to be considered for reconstructing the history of the ninth century, including Chronicles and the Pentateuch. Different Mesopotamian sources mention kings of Israel and Judah, usually in the context of the offering of tribute.
J. Cheryl Exum
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This is the fourth of five chapters on the Old Testament and the reader, and reviews feminist study of the Old Testament. It describes feminist criticism as one of the most significant intellectual ...
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This is the fourth of five chapters on the Old Testament and the reader, and reviews feminist study of the Old Testament. It describes feminist criticism as one of the most significant intellectual developments of the twentieth century, and notes that biblical interpretation of this kind is not likely to be disinterested although feminist critics are more likely than most to admit their ideological presuppositions. These presuppositions, like those of other postmodern approaches, provide a compelling challenge to the dominant paradigms of ‘objective’ biblical scholarship through their recognition of the constructedness of history, gender, and self. Many and various examples of the vast and growing biblical feminist criticism are discussed through the chapter, looking, among other things, at the different methodological approaches taken, the strategies employed for getting at women's perspectives in androcentric texts, the search for traces of women's discourses in biblical texts, intertextual and cross‐cultural analysis, and gender studies.Less
This is the fourth of five chapters on the Old Testament and the reader, and reviews feminist study of the Old Testament. It describes feminist criticism as one of the most significant intellectual developments of the twentieth century, and notes that biblical interpretation of this kind is not likely to be disinterested although feminist critics are more likely than most to admit their ideological presuppositions. These presuppositions, like those of other postmodern approaches, provide a compelling challenge to the dominant paradigms of ‘objective’ biblical scholarship through their recognition of the constructedness of history, gender, and self. Many and various examples of the vast and growing biblical feminist criticism are discussed through the chapter, looking, among other things, at the different methodological approaches taken, the strategies employed for getting at women's perspectives in androcentric texts, the search for traces of women's discourses in biblical texts, intertextual and cross‐cultural analysis, and gender studies.
Hilary Marlow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199569052
- eISBN:
- 9780191723230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199569052.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This final chapter engages with the knotty problem of how, if at all, it is possible to derive contemporary ethics from biblical texts. It discusses the rise of interest in the ethics of the Old ...
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This final chapter engages with the knotty problem of how, if at all, it is possible to derive contemporary ethics from biblical texts. It discusses the rise of interest in the ethics of the Old Testament over recent years. It then provides a brief summary of contemporary ethical principles, including the development of environmental ethics. Finally, the chapter explores connections that can be drawn between the ancient texts and contemporary environmental ethics, and proposes a new model for a biblical environmental ethic, one that integrates the intrinsic worth of all creation with human need for community and response to God.Less
This final chapter engages with the knotty problem of how, if at all, it is possible to derive contemporary ethics from biblical texts. It discusses the rise of interest in the ethics of the Old Testament over recent years. It then provides a brief summary of contemporary ethical principles, including the development of environmental ethics. Finally, the chapter explores connections that can be drawn between the ancient texts and contemporary environmental ethics, and proposes a new model for a biblical environmental ethic, one that integrates the intrinsic worth of all creation with human need for community and response to God.
H. A. G. Houghton
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199545926
- eISBN:
- 9780191719974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545926.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
An analysis of Augustine's works written before 403 shows that his primary citations of John in all cases follow an Old Latin text-type. This is particularly notable in De diuersis quaestionibus 64 ...
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An analysis of Augustine's works written before 403 shows that his primary citations of John in all cases follow an Old Latin text-type. This is particularly notable in De diuersis quaestionibus 64 and De trinitate 1; the latter is based on a different biblical codex from the rest of the work. Readings unique to Augustine, several of which form part of his mental text, are already in evidence in this early period. In Contra Faustum and Contra Adimantum, Augustine reproduces distinctive features from the text of his opponents; this is also true of his work against Petilianus the Donatist.Less
An analysis of Augustine's works written before 403 shows that his primary citations of John in all cases follow an Old Latin text-type. This is particularly notable in De diuersis quaestionibus 64 and De trinitate 1; the latter is based on a different biblical codex from the rest of the work. Readings unique to Augustine, several of which form part of his mental text, are already in evidence in this early period. In Contra Faustum and Contra Adimantum, Augustine reproduces distinctive features from the text of his opponents; this is also true of his work against Petilianus the Donatist.
Timothy H. Lim
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198262060
- eISBN:
- 9780191682292
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262060.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
What was the ancient exegetes’ attitude to the biblical texts? Did they consider them ‘sacred’ in the sense that the words were the inviolable utterances of God? Alternatively, did they when ...
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What was the ancient exegetes’ attitude to the biblical texts? Did they consider them ‘sacred’ in the sense that the words were the inviolable utterances of God? Alternatively, did they when necessary modify and adapt holy writ for their own purposes? This book examines the question of exegetical modifications from the post-Qumran perspective of textual pluriformity of literalism that runs through ancient exegeses and translations. The Qumran Commentators and Paul complemented their fulfilment-exegeses by paying close attention to the verbal formations of the biblical texts. The hermeneutical principles underlying their exegeses involved a multiplex of competing forces that at the same time sought to make scripture relevant while guarding it from changes. In so far as the label ‘post-biblical exegesis’ describes a clear separation between the written, authoritative texts and its interpretation, the distinction is overdrawn, for the ancients were not merely commentators, but also in some sense authors of the biblical texts.Less
What was the ancient exegetes’ attitude to the biblical texts? Did they consider them ‘sacred’ in the sense that the words were the inviolable utterances of God? Alternatively, did they when necessary modify and adapt holy writ for their own purposes? This book examines the question of exegetical modifications from the post-Qumran perspective of textual pluriformity of literalism that runs through ancient exegeses and translations. The Qumran Commentators and Paul complemented their fulfilment-exegeses by paying close attention to the verbal formations of the biblical texts. The hermeneutical principles underlying their exegeses involved a multiplex of competing forces that at the same time sought to make scripture relevant while guarding it from changes. In so far as the label ‘post-biblical exegesis’ describes a clear separation between the written, authoritative texts and its interpretation, the distinction is overdrawn, for the ancients were not merely commentators, but also in some sense authors of the biblical texts.
Bernard M. Levinson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
This chapter investigates the so-called ‘canon formula’ found in Deut 13:1. The prohibitions against disloyalty in Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (VTE § 10) have previously been recognized as an ...
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This chapter investigates the so-called ‘canon formula’ found in Deut 13:1. The prohibitions against disloyalty in Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (VTE § 10) have previously been recognized as an influence upon the Deuteronomic apostasy series (Deut 13:2-12). A similar origin for the canon formula of Deut 13:1 is proposed as part of the larger project of creative literary reworking. The implication of this model is that the canon formula, in form-critical terms, represents part of the adjuration to loyalty found in the literary model of the adê.Less
This chapter investigates the so-called ‘canon formula’ found in Deut 13:1. The prohibitions against disloyalty in Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (VTE § 10) have previously been recognized as an influence upon the Deuteronomic apostasy series (Deut 13:2-12). A similar origin for the canon formula of Deut 13:1 is proposed as part of the larger project of creative literary reworking. The implication of this model is that the canon formula, in form-critical terms, represents part of the adjuration to loyalty found in the literary model of the adê.
Bruce Zuckerman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195058963
- eISBN:
- 9780199853342
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195058963.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book offers an original reading of the book of Job, one of the great classics of biblical literature, and in the process develops a new formula for understanding how biblical texts evolve in the ...
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This book offers an original reading of the book of Job, one of the great classics of biblical literature, and in the process develops a new formula for understanding how biblical texts evolve in the process of transmission. The book presents the thesis that the book of Job was intended as a parody the stereotypical righteous sufferer. In this extended analogy, the book compares the book of Job and its fate to that of a famous Yiddish short story, “Bontshe Shvayg,” another covert parody whose protagonist has come to be revered as a paradigm of innocent Jewish suffering. The history of this story is used to show how a literary text becomes separated from the intention of its author, and comes to have a quite different meaning for a specific community of readers.Less
This book offers an original reading of the book of Job, one of the great classics of biblical literature, and in the process develops a new formula for understanding how biblical texts evolve in the process of transmission. The book presents the thesis that the book of Job was intended as a parody the stereotypical righteous sufferer. In this extended analogy, the book compares the book of Job and its fate to that of a famous Yiddish short story, “Bontshe Shvayg,” another covert parody whose protagonist has come to be revered as a paradigm of innocent Jewish suffering. The history of this story is used to show how a literary text becomes separated from the intention of its author, and comes to have a quite different meaning for a specific community of readers.
Martin Lockshin
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195137279
- eISBN:
- 9780199849482
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195137279.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), who lived in northern France in the 12th century, was a consistent and perhaps radical exponent of peshat exegesis. He insisted on reading the biblical text in its ...
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Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), who lived in northern France in the 12th century, was a consistent and perhaps radical exponent of peshat exegesis. He insisted on reading the biblical text in its “plain” sense and in its context, and he eschewed midrashic readings that are not textually anchored. But is the pashtan, the exegete dedicated to the “plain” meaning, always the most careful reader of the biblical text? Logically one would think so. However, the history of medieval Jewish exegesis shows that that was not always the case. Many examples show that some peshat exegesis from this period purposely and self-consciously avoids “close reading” of the biblical text. Rashbam's Sephardic younger contemporary, Abraham Ibn Ezra, argued passionately against “close reading” of texts. In a long tirade in his introduction to the Decalogue and in other passages, Ibn Ezra argues that word choice in the Hebrew Bible is not always of significance, that authors will choose to express themselves differently on different occasions for no particular reason. Rashbam wrote a biblical commentary that does not attempt to “teach” Judaism.Less
Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), who lived in northern France in the 12th century, was a consistent and perhaps radical exponent of peshat exegesis. He insisted on reading the biblical text in its “plain” sense and in its context, and he eschewed midrashic readings that are not textually anchored. But is the pashtan, the exegete dedicated to the “plain” meaning, always the most careful reader of the biblical text? Logically one would think so. However, the history of medieval Jewish exegesis shows that that was not always the case. Many examples show that some peshat exegesis from this period purposely and self-consciously avoids “close reading” of the biblical text. Rashbam's Sephardic younger contemporary, Abraham Ibn Ezra, argued passionately against “close reading” of texts. In a long tirade in his introduction to the Decalogue and in other passages, Ibn Ezra argues that word choice in the Hebrew Bible is not always of significance, that authors will choose to express themselves differently on different occasions for no particular reason. Rashbam wrote a biblical commentary that does not attempt to “teach” Judaism.
ROBERT HAYWARD
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines the current state of investigation into targum. It explains that targum is the term used to describe the ancient Aramaic versions of books of the Hebrew Bible which incorporate, ...
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This chapter examines the current state of investigation into targum. It explains that targum is the term used to describe the ancient Aramaic versions of books of the Hebrew Bible which incorporate, in varying degrees, explanations of the biblical text. It describes the available manuscripts and printed editions of the targum. The findings reveal that recent scholarly work on the Aramaic Targumim has shown itself less willing than earlier research to identify historical information preserved in the extant texts, and to make use of that information either to comment on the date and provenance of the Targumim, or to supplement our historical knowledge.Less
This chapter examines the current state of investigation into targum. It explains that targum is the term used to describe the ancient Aramaic versions of books of the Hebrew Bible which incorporate, in varying degrees, explanations of the biblical text. It describes the available manuscripts and printed editions of the targum. The findings reveal that recent scholarly work on the Aramaic Targumim has shown itself less willing than earlier research to identify historical information preserved in the extant texts, and to make use of that information either to comment on the date and provenance of the Targumim, or to supplement our historical knowledge.
Matthew Levering
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199535293
- eISBN:
- 9780191715839
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535293.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This final chapter draws together the arguments presented in the book and makes some conclusions. Through exegesis of biblical texts and through philosophical and theological discussion, the chapters ...
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This final chapter draws together the arguments presented in the book and makes some conclusions. Through exegesis of biblical texts and through philosophical and theological discussion, the chapters of the book have defended a theocentric, teleological natural law whose lineaments are revealed in the Decalogue and which conforms to the graced life's pattern of ecstasis. All human beings know natural law experientially, clouded though this knowledge is by human fallenness, and so philosophers (paradigmatically Cicero) have been able to develop natural law doctrine without the aid of biblical revelation. The book has argued that biblical revelation enriches the intelligibility and persuasiveness of natural law doctrine, and especially that a rejection of biblical faith inclines one toward rejection of any fruitful sense of ‘natural law’.Less
This final chapter draws together the arguments presented in the book and makes some conclusions. Through exegesis of biblical texts and through philosophical and theological discussion, the chapters of the book have defended a theocentric, teleological natural law whose lineaments are revealed in the Decalogue and which conforms to the graced life's pattern of ecstasis. All human beings know natural law experientially, clouded though this knowledge is by human fallenness, and so philosophers (paradigmatically Cicero) have been able to develop natural law doctrine without the aid of biblical revelation. The book has argued that biblical revelation enriches the intelligibility and persuasiveness of natural law doctrine, and especially that a rejection of biblical faith inclines one toward rejection of any fruitful sense of ‘natural law’.
Timothy H. Lim
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198262060
- eISBN:
- 9780191682292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262060.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
Attention to the wording of the biblical text is a feature of ancient exegesis that does not admit facile summary. On one level, it is literalism and no more. However, stopping there would ignore the ...
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Attention to the wording of the biblical text is a feature of ancient exegesis that does not admit facile summary. On one level, it is literalism and no more. However, stopping there would ignore the complexities with which the ancient exegete worked and the dynamics that underlie the tension between preservation and renewal of biblical tradition. The self-perception of the ancient exegetes and translators determines the role which they play in making the past relevant for the present. Tendency to literalism, whether in exegesis or translation, downplays the intrusive role of the ancient interpreter and discloses a high regard for the sanctity of the words of the biblical texts. The scribal practices too, especially in the phenomena of preparing, copying, and then correcting their texts, can similarly be characterized by the principles that underlie exegetical and translational activity.Less
Attention to the wording of the biblical text is a feature of ancient exegesis that does not admit facile summary. On one level, it is literalism and no more. However, stopping there would ignore the complexities with which the ancient exegete worked and the dynamics that underlie the tension between preservation and renewal of biblical tradition. The self-perception of the ancient exegetes and translators determines the role which they play in making the past relevant for the present. Tendency to literalism, whether in exegesis or translation, downplays the intrusive role of the ancient interpreter and discloses a high regard for the sanctity of the words of the biblical texts. The scribal practices too, especially in the phenomena of preparing, copying, and then correcting their texts, can similarly be characterized by the principles that underlie exegetical and translational activity.
Timothy H. Lim
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198262060
- eISBN:
- 9780191682292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262060.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
Features of literalism do appear even within a thorough reworking of the biblical texts. This chapter draws attention to some of these. There are three well-known features of the pesharim that show ...
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Features of literalism do appear even within a thorough reworking of the biblical texts. This chapter draws attention to some of these. There are three well-known features of the pesharim that show how the biblical text was important to the Qumran commentator: the verse-by-verse explication of the biblical text; the isolation and identification of key scriptural words; and the lexical play between the biblical quotation and exposition. Turning to the Pauline letters, the clearest appeal to the word rather than the sense of the biblical text is to be found in Galatians 3 and the arguments for the one seed.Less
Features of literalism do appear even within a thorough reworking of the biblical texts. This chapter draws attention to some of these. There are three well-known features of the pesharim that show how the biblical text was important to the Qumran commentator: the verse-by-verse explication of the biblical text; the isolation and identification of key scriptural words; and the lexical play between the biblical quotation and exposition. Turning to the Pauline letters, the clearest appeal to the word rather than the sense of the biblical text is to be found in Galatians 3 and the arguments for the one seed.
Marguerite Shuster
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246120
- eISBN:
- 9780191600531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246122.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Marguerite Shuster explores the intuitively likely thesis that the doctrine of the Trinity has been given short shrift in the preaching of the church, by analysing the sermons in the thirteen‐volume ...
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Marguerite Shuster explores the intuitively likely thesis that the doctrine of the Trinity has been given short shrift in the preaching of the church, by analysing the sermons in the thirteen‐volume 20 Centuries of Great Preaching and in forty‐three volumes of the journal Pulpit Digest. Few sermons (only twenty) explicitly on the Trinity appear. Furthermore, these sermons show marked doctrinal imprecision and largely fail to deal carefully with the biblical texts on which they are formally based. Shuster suggests that especially in an era of widespread ignorance of Christian fundamentals, preachers need to attend much more than most do to doctrinal preaching. For such preaching to be responsible, seminaries and churches must demand more precise basic knowledge of Christian theology from clergy and ministerial candidates.Less
Marguerite Shuster explores the intuitively likely thesis that the doctrine of the Trinity has been given short shrift in the preaching of the church, by analysing the sermons in the thirteen‐volume 20 Centuries of Great Preaching and in forty‐three volumes of the journal Pulpit Digest. Few sermons (only twenty) explicitly on the Trinity appear. Furthermore, these sermons show marked doctrinal imprecision and largely fail to deal carefully with the biblical texts on which they are formally based. Shuster suggests that especially in an era of widespread ignorance of Christian fundamentals, preachers need to attend much more than most do to doctrinal preaching. For such preaching to be responsible, seminaries and churches must demand more precise basic knowledge of Christian theology from clergy and ministerial candidates.
Meredith Baldwin Weddle
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195131383
- eISBN:
- 9780199834839
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513138X.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Quakers renounced war, killing, and the use of weapons – a set of principles of nonviolence that they termed the peace testimony. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the English Quaker ...
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Quakers renounced war, killing, and the use of weapons – a set of principles of nonviolence that they termed the peace testimony. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the English Quaker leadership enunciated the peace testimony on behalf of the collective body of Quakers in two documents: the “Declaration and Information” and the “Declaration of 1660.” Early English Quakers grounded their peace principles in biblical texts, especially the admonition to love one's enemies. They relied upon this spirit of the gospel wherein the purity of one's motives was as essential as one's behavior. The early peace testimony rested on the foundation of maintaining the purity of one's soul in order to remain in the Kingdom of God; later, the emphasis would shift to a concern for the victims of violence and to an interest in worldly justice.Less
Quakers renounced war, killing, and the use of weapons – a set of principles of nonviolence that they termed the peace testimony. Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the English Quaker leadership enunciated the peace testimony on behalf of the collective body of Quakers in two documents: the “Declaration and Information” and the “Declaration of 1660.” Early English Quakers grounded their peace principles in biblical texts, especially the admonition to love one's enemies. They relied upon this spirit of the gospel wherein the purity of one's motives was as essential as one's behavior. The early peace testimony rested on the foundation of maintaining the purity of one's soul in order to remain in the Kingdom of God; later, the emphasis would shift to a concern for the victims of violence and to an interest in worldly justice.
Timothy H. Lim
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198262060
- eISBN:
- 9780191682292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262060.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Early Christian Studies
This chapter discusses broadly the hermeneutical principles underlying Qumran exegesis. In both ideological orientation and exegetical tradition, the pesherists did not consider the words of their ...
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This chapter discusses broadly the hermeneutical principles underlying Qumran exegesis. In both ideological orientation and exegetical tradition, the pesherists did not consider the words of their biblical texts to be fixed and immutable. As members of a community that lived by the precepts of the law, they saw themselves as participants in the unfolding revelation of God, even when the end-time had been delayed. They adapted biblical laws and supplemented them where there were perceived gaps, and found correspondences between contemporary events and figures of biblical prophecies. The pesherists behaved primarily as expositors of the biblical texts, but sometimes one cannot but feel that they were also acting as biblical authors. There is a formal distinction in their commentaries between what they quote as lemma and interpretation, and yet at certain points, they blur this dividing line by changing the very words of scripture.Less
This chapter discusses broadly the hermeneutical principles underlying Qumran exegesis. In both ideological orientation and exegetical tradition, the pesherists did not consider the words of their biblical texts to be fixed and immutable. As members of a community that lived by the precepts of the law, they saw themselves as participants in the unfolding revelation of God, even when the end-time had been delayed. They adapted biblical laws and supplemented them where there were perceived gaps, and found correspondences between contemporary events and figures of biblical prophecies. The pesherists behaved primarily as expositors of the biblical texts, but sometimes one cannot but feel that they were also acting as biblical authors. There is a formal distinction in their commentaries between what they quote as lemma and interpretation, and yet at certain points, they blur this dividing line by changing the very words of scripture.
Gawdat Gabra and Hany N. Takla
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789774161223
- eISBN:
- 9781617970450
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774161223.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
St. Shenoute is the major Coptic writer of the late 4th and 5th centuries. The idea of producing texts in Coptic was not his invention, but he brought the language to a peak of literary quality which ...
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St. Shenoute is the major Coptic writer of the late 4th and 5th centuries. The idea of producing texts in Coptic was not his invention, but he brought the language to a peak of literary quality which subsequent writers would struggle to attain. The centrality of Scripture for Shenoute's language, style, and argumentation cannot be overestimated, and in particular the creative appropriation of the biblical text shows the consummate rhetorical skill of this monastic writer. This chapter demonstrates this skill, examining two passages from one of Shenoute's collections of works on monastic life: Canon 6. It aims to show how Shenoute skillfully uses biblical quotations not only to support his own arguments, but also to deflect attacks by opponents; to present an instance where we can grasp a struggle within the monastic community about the correct interpretation of Scripture in the framework of a disagreement about a point of monastic discipline; and to show how the careful examination of rhetorical strategies can complement codicological and philological strategies aimed at the reconstruction of the original sequence of works in a codex and the restitution of the argument.Less
St. Shenoute is the major Coptic writer of the late 4th and 5th centuries. The idea of producing texts in Coptic was not his invention, but he brought the language to a peak of literary quality which subsequent writers would struggle to attain. The centrality of Scripture for Shenoute's language, style, and argumentation cannot be overestimated, and in particular the creative appropriation of the biblical text shows the consummate rhetorical skill of this monastic writer. This chapter demonstrates this skill, examining two passages from one of Shenoute's collections of works on monastic life: Canon 6. It aims to show how Shenoute skillfully uses biblical quotations not only to support his own arguments, but also to deflect attacks by opponents; to present an instance where we can grasp a struggle within the monastic community about the correct interpretation of Scripture in the framework of a disagreement about a point of monastic discipline; and to show how the careful examination of rhetorical strategies can complement codicological and philological strategies aimed at the reconstruction of the original sequence of works in a codex and the restitution of the argument.
Tal Goldfajn
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269533
- eISBN:
- 9780191683671
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269533.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic ...
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This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic choice and claims that verb order alterations have important effects on the temporal relations between the situations described in a narrative. This chapter suggests that the word order phenomena in BH should be considered as playing a major role in conveying temporal shifts and nuances within the biblical text.Less
This chapter examines the syntactic phenomenon of word order in biblical Hebrew (BH) narrative. It argues that variation of verb order is neither random nor explicable solely in terms of stylistic choice and claims that verb order alterations have important effects on the temporal relations between the situations described in a narrative. This chapter suggests that the word order phenomena in BH should be considered as playing a major role in conveying temporal shifts and nuances within the biblical text.
A. D. H. Mayes (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601187
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263910.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This book is a collection of essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study, and reviews new approaches and major developments in established approaches to Old Testament study over a wide ...
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This book is a collection of essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study, and reviews new approaches and major developments in established approaches to Old Testament study over a wide range of topics. The scholarly study of the Old Testament is now marked by a rich diversity of approaches and concerns. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, an interest in the text and the implications for its interpretation of the fact that it is no longer the preserve of a single scholarly community have become central, while the reconstruction of the history of the people from whom it derived has been transformed by new methods. The Society for Old Testament Study decided that this latest volume in its series of its publications should reflect these changes and have a particular concentration on literary and historical study. In doing so, it has not only clearly recognized the diversity now inherent in Old Testament study but has also welcomed the integration into its field of the wide range of approaches available in current literary and historical investigation. The title, arrangement, and content of the present volume reflect these developments. The study of the biblical text and how it is received and interpreted by its various readerships has a certain logical priority over the study of its historical background and authorship, yet an ongoing investigation of issues relating to the latter cannot await definitive conclusions on the former. So, in the book, essays on the text and its reception discuss primary issues that arise in Old Testament study, while those on background and authorship reflect the continued vitality of, and the fresh perspectives possible in, more traditional scholarly concerns. The book is arranged in three parts: I The Old Testament and the Reader (5 chapters); II The Text of the Old Testament (5 chapters); and III The Old Testament and its authors (6 chapters).Less
This book is a collection of essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study, and reviews new approaches and major developments in established approaches to Old Testament study over a wide range of topics. The scholarly study of the Old Testament is now marked by a rich diversity of approaches and concerns. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, an interest in the text and the implications for its interpretation of the fact that it is no longer the preserve of a single scholarly community have become central, while the reconstruction of the history of the people from whom it derived has been transformed by new methods. The Society for Old Testament Study decided that this latest volume in its series of its publications should reflect these changes and have a particular concentration on literary and historical study. In doing so, it has not only clearly recognized the diversity now inherent in Old Testament study but has also welcomed the integration into its field of the wide range of approaches available in current literary and historical investigation. The title, arrangement, and content of the present volume reflect these developments. The study of the biblical text and how it is received and interpreted by its various readerships has a certain logical priority over the study of its historical background and authorship, yet an ongoing investigation of issues relating to the latter cannot await definitive conclusions on the former. So, in the book, essays on the text and its reception discuss primary issues that arise in Old Testament study, while those on background and authorship reflect the continued vitality of, and the fresh perspectives possible in, more traditional scholarly concerns. The book is arranged in three parts: I The Old Testament and the Reader (5 chapters); II The Text of the Old Testament (5 chapters); and III The Old Testament and its authors (6 chapters).
