Why Did Mordecai Refuse to Bow?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Silverstein
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Near East ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Historical Event ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Long Chain

In this chapter, it is argued that a pivotal episode in Esther, Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman, is to be read literarily, as a topos, rather than literally, as a historical event. Drawing on materials from the ancient Near East, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, Late Antiquity, the Qur’an, and the Islamic era, it is shown that Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman is but one link in a very long chain of comparable episodes in Near and Middle Eastern literature. Furthermore, in tracing this topos through history, we are able to cast new light on the Qur’anic passages in which Satan (“Iblis”) refuses to bow to the newly created Adam.

scholarly journals Jubilee in the Bible

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-6
Author(s):  
James A. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Near East ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead

The concept of the Jubilee, or the collective forgiveness of all debts and debtor/slaves, had its origins in the Ancient Near East where it was a secular practice of kings. It came into the Bible originally also as a secular practice of kings but then became the province of priests and a calendar observance to be celebrated every 50 years. It was finally understood in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament to rest in the hands of God alone, an eschatological concept of the forgiveness of all debts/sins and the redemption of all human sins, or debts to God, that became the very basis of the theological history of Luke/Acts.

scholarly journals ‘De God van de vrede’ in het Nieuwe Testament

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Van Houwelingen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Roman Culture

‘The God of peace’ in the New Testament. Why does the New Testament use the expression ‘the God of peace’ and what is the meaning of this phrase? In the Old Testament, the God of Israel is often connected with peace, but he is never called ‘the God of peace’. Not until the Hellenistic period is this expression sporadically found in Judaism (once in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and once in Philo). As for the biblical Umwelt, the gods of the ancient Near East were not very peace-loving, and in the perception of Greco-Roman culture the god of war, Arès/Mars, as one of the twelve Olympians was much more prominent than Eirènè/Pax. However, the expression ‘the God of peace’ is found several times in the Corpus Paulinum and once in the letter to the Hebrews. This article investigates all New Testament texts that have this formula, suggesting that the apostle Paul could be responsible for the wording. In conclusion, Paul states that the God of Israel desires to establish a definitive peace in his creation through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and by finally defeating all powers of evil. This apostolic message further indicates that Christians are supposed to be bearers of peace, promoting a peaceful atmosphere in their environment and in the world.

Imagination: A Hermeneutical Tool for the Study of the Hebrew Bible

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-136
Author(s):  
Izaak de Hulster
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Moral Imagination ◽  
Related Literature ◽  
Systematic Application ◽  
Ancient People ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Old Testament Studies

AbstractBiblical scholars use the word 'imagination' more and more often, but in different cases 'imagination' covers different concepts. In order to reach a more systematic application of 'imagination' in hermeneutics and Old Testament Studies in general, there is a need to explore the possible uses of 'imagination'. This article comprises: 1) a theoretical introduction extending what Barth and Steck wrote in their classical primer on exegetical methods; 2) a section on imagination and history; 3) a heuristic classifying survey of Brueggemann's use of the word 'imagination'; 4) a reflection on how imagination is restricted by parameters of time and place. The article distinguishes between imagination of ancient people and of people nowadays, but deals with the interplay of both as well. It further reflects on the informed, controlled use of imagination in hermeneutics. After a brief comment on "moral imagination," a survey and mapping of the uses of imagination in hermeneutics rounds off the article. This will make clear how the different notions referred to with the word 'imagination' are related and why it is important to consider them as interdependent concepts. Although the majority of the examples will be taken from the Hebrew Bible, the thoughts expressed here are applicable to the study of the New Testament as well and some more specific New Testament issues and related literature will be referred to.

Where Has Yahweh Gone? Reclaiming Unsavory Images of God in New Testament Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-76
Author(s):  
James Metzger
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Images Of God ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
New Testament Studies ◽  
The Rich

AbstractIt is argued that recent publications in New Testament Studies, including those deploying its most progressive reading strategies, betray a strong predilection for an omnibenevolent, just, compassionate deity who does not offend our sensibilities. Given the rich, variegated profusion of alternative representations of the deity in the Hebrew Bible, a primary intertext for scholars constructing God in the New Testament writings, it is surprising that so few of these portraits are ever invoked or seriously engaged, which suggests a proclivity to religionism in the discipline. After delineating several benefits of the Bible's unsavory portrayals of God and disadvantages to today's fashionable deity of love, mercy, and justice, it is proposed that a broadening of our intertextual repertoire to include unflattering representations of the divine might open up new avenues in our hermeneutical explorations.

scholarly journals Praise by animals in the Hebrew Bible

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 500-513
Author(s):  
Peter Joshua Atkins
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Biblical Texts

Among ancient Near Eastern societies was a widespread and particularly intriguing belief that animals were able to worship and praise deities. This study shows the Hebrew Bible evidences the idea that animals were capable of praising God too and proceeds to observe and document the presence of numerous examples of this in specific biblical texts. Through understanding the place of animals in the Hebrew Bible, and their perceived activity in the ancient Near East, this study suggests animals are distinct agents of praise in their own right in the biblical texts.

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