Pre-Critical Readings

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hofreiter
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Justin Martyr ◽  
Primary Focus

This chapter briefly considers the reception of the major herem texts in a number of corpora that lie outside the primary focus of the present work: in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament itself (including the Apocrypha), in Second Temple and Jewish Hellenistic literature, in the New Testament, and in Christian authors before Marcion. These readings are ‘pre-critical’ in that they predate Marcion’s seminal criticism and do not address herem in terms of a moral challenge. The reception of herem texts within this corpus is shown to have been largely uncritical; there is some evidence of toning down in the works of Philo, who strategically omits certain herem passages and interprets others allegorically. However, neither the allegoresis by Philo nor that by Barnabas or Justin Martyr appear to have resulted from moral concerns about the texts. There is also no suggestion that these events did not in fact occur.

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.

scholarly journals Developing an integrated approach to interpret New Testament use of the Old Testament

2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Y. Phillips ◽  
Fika Janse van Rensburg ◽  
Herrie F. Van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Second Temple Literature ◽  
Natural Sense

The aim of this article is to develop a specific approach to interpreting New Testament use of the Old Testament. The approach has integrated the most useful insights of studies in both Second Temple Judaism and present day literary theory in order to reach most consistently and effectively a valid explanation of the biblical data. In the process, severalimportant hermeneutical issues have been addressed. The focus of New Testament use of the Old Testament in the person and redemptive work of Jesus should always be the goal of Christian interpretation. Whilst old and new texts mutually interpret one another, it has been argued that there has been no ultimate ambiguity about the author’s intended, singular meaning or distortion of the original meaning of the old text. It is important to be aware that all readers come to a text with preconceived worldviews that are inevitably a mixture of biblical and unbiblical perspectives. However, this does not prevent a reader from attaining a valid understanding that adequately overlaps with the most probable meaning of the text as intended by the author. This most probable meaning is determined by the explanation that logically makes the most coherent and natural sense of most biblical data. The methodological procedure proposed has taken thegrammatical-historical method as the normative starting point of exegesis. It has then proceeded to imitate the New Testament in consideration of the broader canonical context, before considering explanations derived from the Second Temple literature or present day literary theory.Die ontwerp van ‘n geïntegreerde benadering om Nuwe-Testamentiese gebruik van die Ou Testament te verstaan. Die bedoeling met hierdie artikel is om ’n benadering te ontwerp om die Nuwe-Testamentiese gebruik van die Ou Testament te verstaan. Dié benadering moet die mees bruikbare insigte van die navorsing oor die Tweede Tempelperiode en die hedendaagse literêre teorie integreer, met die oog daarop om op die mees konstante en effektiewe wyse ’n geldige verklaring van die Bybelse data te gee. In hierdie proses word etlike hermeneutiese vraagstukke onder die loep geneem. Aangesien die fokus van die Nuwe-Testamentiese gebruik van die Ou Testament die persoon en verlossingswerk van Jesus is, is dit nodig dat hierdie fokus by die Christen se verstaan ook teenwoordig is. Dit is so dat ouer en nuwer tekste mekaar interpreteer; dit hou egter nie in dat daar dubbelsinnigheid is oor die outeur se bedoelde enkele betekenis, of ’n skeeftrekking van die oorspronklike betekenis van die ouer teks nie. ’n Leser kom noodwendig na die teks met ’n spesifieke wêreldbeskouing, wat ’n mengsel is van Bybelse en onbybelse perspektiewe. Dit verhoed die leser egter nie om by ’n geldige verstaan van die teks uit te kom wat voldoende oorvleuel met die mees waarskynlike betekenis van die teks soos wat die outeur dit bedoel het en wat logieserwys die meeste van die bybelse data goed en organies verreken nie. Die voorgestelde benadering neem die grammaties-historiese metode as die normatiewe beginpunt vir eksegese, en volg dan die Nuwe Testament self na deur die breër kanoniese konteks te verreken. Eers dan word die literatuur van die Tweede Tempelperiode asook die literêre teorie van die huidige tyd verreken.

scholarly journals Messianic expectations in the Old Testament

2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Rose
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Hebrew Word ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
God's People ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Definition Of

The New Testament is connected to the Old Testament in a number of different ways. It is not unusual to find the word “messianic” used to categorise all the different ways in which the writers of the New Testament find Christ (and, similarly, Jewish sources of the Second Temple Period later find the future Messiah) in the Old Testament, or to identify the specific passages in the Old Testament which are now seen to point to Christ/the Messiah. In this article I argue that, if one wants to be able to appreciate the diversity, one should abandon this indiscriminate use of the word “messianic”. After a brief discussion of the meaning and use of the Hebrew word xyvm in the Old Testament, I propose a definition of the phrase “messianic expectations” (expectations focusing on a future royal figure sent by God – someone who will bring salvation to God’s people and the world and establish a kingdom characterised by features such as peace and justice). Subsequently, the origin of these expectations is located as in the proclamation of the eighth-century prophets (Amos, Isaiah and Micah). Finally, one special category of messianic expectations, that is, messianic expectations in the Books of the Psalms, is dealt with.

scholarly journals MUST THEISTS BELIEVE IN A PERSONAL GOD?

Think ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (23) ◽  
pp. 77-86
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Burns
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Genesis 3

The claim that God is a person or personal is, perhaps, one of the most fundamental claims which religious believers make about God. In Hinduism, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are represented in person-like form. In the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament God walks in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8), experiences emotions (e.g. Isaiah 61:8), and converses with human beings (e.g. Job 38–41). In the New Testament, God communicates with his people, usually by means of angels or visions (e.g. Matthew 1:20–21), and retains the ability to speak audibly, as he does to Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4–6). And, in the Qur'an, Allah is said to have a face and two hands (e.g. Qur'an 38:75), to see, and to sit on a throne (e.g. Qur'an 57:4). Many believers today would still claim that, among other things which God can do, he loves those who believe in him (e.g. Ephesians 5:29; I Peter 5:7; Qur'an 1:3) and responds to their prayers (e.g. Matthew 7:7–8; Mark 11:24; Qur'an 11:61).

Sophia

2019 ◽  
pp. 468-484
Author(s):  
Jonathan Cahana-Blum
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Feminist Critique ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
The Social ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Social Level

This chapter discusses how convictions about gender and sexuality (both at the divine and at the social level) have been instrumental to the ways early Christians addressed the divine Sophia myth. Strongly gendered and idealized already in the Hebrew Bible, the personified feminine Sophia undergoes a process of masculinization and further idealization in Jewish writings of the Second Temple Period. Somewhat paradoxically, this appears to culminate in her (almost) complete effacement from the New Testament or her replacement with the masculine Logos. Yet in Christian gnostic writings of the second century, Sophia returns with a vengeance: more feminine than ever, by now she is both more powerful than the God of the Hebrew Bible and no longer idealized as an unequivocally positive figure. It is argued that with a careful application of feminist critique, a more thorough understanding of the Sophia myth and its possible theological implications can be reached.

The Old Testament Witness

2019 ◽  
pp. 91-113
Author(s):  
Matthew Levering
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Dead ◽  
John's Gospel

In contemporary biblical scholarship that investigates the question of whether Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead, scholars generally pay some attention to the Old Testament. The first part of this chapter therefore examines the findings of the New Testament scholars Dale Allison and N. T. Wright and the Hebrew Bible scholar Jon Levenson. The chapter next examines St. Thomas Aquinas’s use of the Old Testament in commenting on John 20–1, the chapters of John’s Gospel that treat Jesus’ Resurrection appearances. In his commentary, of course, Aquinas is not attempting to investigate the historicity of Jesus’ Resurrection. Commenting on John 20–1, Aquinas includes 139 quotations from the Old Testament. The chapter argues that the verses selected by Aquinas play a valuable cumulative role in supporting the truth of the claim that Jesus rose from the dead.

Messianism in Linear and Cyclical Contexts

Exchange ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-133
Author(s):  
Jan Jongeneel
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Present Article ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Times ◽  
Linear Setting ◽  
At Home

AbstractThe Messiah figure originates from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. In a linear setting it interprets his person and work politically, spiritually, and apocalyptically. The New Testament applies this Hebrew concept spiritually and apocalyptically to Jesus of Nazareth: he is unrepeatably and irreversibly the Messiah/Christ of both Jews and gentiles. In the Qu'ran Jesus is known as al-Masih, but there this term merely functions as a name. However, the Islam points to the coming of the Mahdi figure at the end of the times, comparable with the Second Coming in Christianity. Therefore, the Messiah/Christ/Mahdi figure, as a unique figure, is at home in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These monotheistic religions place him, each in their own way, in a linear frame. In modern times cultural anthropologists and other scholars in the humanities have extended the use of the terms 'Messiah' and 'Messianism' to figures and phenomena in cyclical contexts. They do not hesitate to speak about 'the Hindu Messiah' and 'Buddhist Messianism'. The present article explores the nature of both the cyclical and linear views of time and history, investigates the birth and growth of Messianism in these specific settings, with special reference to modern developments, and compares the linear concepts of the Messiah and Messianism with the cyclical ones. At the end the article questions whether the cyclical and linear views of the Messiah and Messianism can be harmonized by the use of the spiral as bridge.

But in the Original . . .

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
Kristin Swenson
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Final Word ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One

This chapter tackles the issue of why there is no such thing as an “original” Bible. When it comes to the Bible, “going back to the original” usually means referring to the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts, since those are, respectively, the languages of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible and of the New Testament, from which our translations come. However, there is simply no single Bible that old or that otherwise stands as “The One” that gave rise to them all. Our earliest versions come from hundreds of years after the Bible's (both Jewish and Christian versions) contents were finalized. There is no authoritative ur-text that can be consulted for the final word. But while there is no such thing as an original Bible, the facts of the Bible's development, the admission that we have fragments of copies sometimes with competing claims or inscrutable passages, invites us to reconsider the most basic ways to read it.

scholarly journals Inklusivisme en eksklusivisme: ‘n Studie van twee tendense

2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter M. Venter
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
The Other ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

Inclusivism and exclusivism: A study of two trendsThe identity of the church can be either inclusivist or exclusivist. Van Ruler’s theocratic theology views the church as being an inclusive community in service of God’s kingdom. It is the vehicle God uses to introduce his kingdom into the world. According to Van Ruler, however, the church also shows a unique character based on its relationship with Jesus Christ. Although the church can take many forms, Van Ruler’s opinion is that the Christian Church could be advised by Old Testament Israel in this regard. This study shows that both inclusivist and exclusivist trends are present in the Old as well as the New Testament. The New Testament inherited the debate between these two opposing stances from the time of the Second Temple. Returning from exile, Sadocitic priests propagated an exclusivist identity for the Judaeans. Their viewpoint was based on the programme of Ezekiel 40–48, as is illustrated in the literature of Ezra–Nehemiah, the Priestly Writing, Chronicles and Jubilees. On the other hand, indeed there was an inclusivist approach as well, as is depicted in the books of Jonah, Ruth, Trito-Isaiah and even Numbers and Joshua. The conclusion drawn from the study is that both exclusivist and inclusivist trends are present in the Bible. Although the church does not have any other option in the present postmodern world but to be primarily an inclusive community, it should also show some form of exclusivism.

The Writings in the Christian Bible

2018 ◽  
pp. 447-462
Author(s):  
Mark W. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Sacred History

The place for an account of the Writings that is Christian in light of the New Testament is considered along with what one might make of them in their canonical place within the Hebrew Bible. A Christian reading is only in part the reception of the Old Testament by the New Testament. The theology of as disparate a collection as the Writings can only really be a theology of each of them. Nevertheless, a steer is given by the large and most significant Psalter with its account of God’s special providence, followed by Wisdom books and the attached Megilloth, with Daniel and the historical books with their sacred history coming later as much in terms of logic as of chronology. The interests are wider and more universal than simply the salvation and preservation of Israel, even if that does not cease from being a deeply felt theme.

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