The Evil Eye and the Sermon On the Mount

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Sermon On The Mount ◽  
Evil Eye ◽  
Salient Features ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Injurious Effects

AbstractBelief in the malignant force of the Evil Eye and strategies to ward off its destructive power pervaded the cultures of the ancient Near East and Circum-Mediterranean basin. This belief was shared by the biblical communities who in their writings refer frequently to the Evil Eye, its associated dispositions, and means of protection from its injurious effects. This paper situates one such biblical Evil Eye text within its cultural context. Following a summary of salient features of Evil Eye belief and practices and a review of biblical Evil Eye texts, the focus is on one reference to this belief in the teaching of Jesus: Matt: 6:22-23 in the Sermon on the Mount. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how reference to the Evil Eye was culturally and conceptually appropriate in this segment of teaching, how the Evil Eye here and generally was associated with the vice of envy, and how this Evil Eye allusion functions in both its literary and cultural contexts. A related aim is to use this topic to demonstrate the utility and procedure of social scientific criticism as a necessary supplementation of conventional historical-critical exegesis.

Laying Out the Fleece

2019 ◽  
pp. 67-89
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Near East ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Different Cultures

Chapter 3 approaches Gideon’s story in three different ways: the role of divine signs in the ancient Near East; the portrait of Gideon as a hesitant solider in need of divine assurance in the biblical stories of Judg 6:36–40, 7:1–8, and 7:9–15; and the ways that early Christian exegetes interpreted Gideon’s requests for divine assurance. The chapter continues to trace how masculinity is constructed in different cultures, including the Greco-Roman world of early Christianity, where men were encouraged to fight spiritual battles rather than physical battles. These interpretations serve as a powerful reminder that masculinity is always “in crisis,” tending toward transformation and change, depending on cultural context.

Introduction to Temple Renovation in the Ancient Near East and Beyond

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Royal Inscriptions ◽  
Royal Ideology ◽  
Biblical Texts

This chapter introduces the idea of temple renovation as a distinct literary topos and shows its close association with royal ideology. Both points are made with evidence drawn from a variety of historical and cultural contexts, ranging from ancient to modern. Next, the chapter surveys previous studies of temple renovation in ancient Near Eastern contexts and previews the contents of the chapters that follow. Finally, it discusses some methodological issues related to the present study, especially issues around the production and promulgation of royal inscriptions and biblical texts.

scholarly journals Bilangan 5:11–31: Ritual Sotah sebagai Terobosan Budaya di Timur Tengah Kuno

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Steven Yong
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
The Common

Bilangan 5:11­–31 dapat menimbulkan kecurigaan tentang adanya praktik seksisme, penindasan atau pelecehan terhadap wanita. Hal ini bisa dimengerti jika Mishnah menjadi rujukan yang kemudian dijadikan tolok ukur untuk menafsir bagian Alkitab terkait. Dari penggambaran Mishnah Sotah, wanita yang tertuduh melakukan zina dipermalukan dan diperlakukan hampir sama seperti seorang pelacur. Artikel ini berusaha untuk menunjukkan perspektif yang lain dalam mengerti ritual Sotah dalam Bilangan 5:11–31. Dengan menggunakan metode kajian sosiologis, artikel ini akan mengidentifikasi masalah sosiologis yang dituduhkan terhadap teks Bilangan tersebut berdasarkan penjelasan traktat Sotah dalam Mishnah. Kemudian, posisi wanita dalam dunia Timur Dekat Kuno akan dijelaskan berdasarkan konteks budayanya. Akhirnya, dengan menim­bang inferioritas wanita dalam dunia Timur Dekat Kuno dan perbandingan antara ritual Sotah dalam Alkitab dengan ritual sejenis dan setempat, maka artikel ini berargumen bahwa teks Bilangan 5:11–31 dapat dilihat sebagai terobosan budaya dalam membela wanita yang secara budaya pada masa itu dianggap sebagai kaum yang inferior. Numbers 5:11–31 could be interpreted as a kind of sexism and repression to women. In the Mishnaic tradition, the passages indeed are being understood and developed in such manner. From tractate Sotah in Mishnah, the suspected adulterous wife indeed is ashamed and treated as a prostitute. This article seeks to present another perspective on the passage. This article uses the sociological study method to identify the sociological problems alleged against the passage based on the explanation of the Sotah tractate in the Mishnah. Afterward, the inferior position of women in the ancient Near East will be explained as a cultural context to understand the passage better. Finally, considering this cultural context and comparing the Sotah ritual with the common rituals in the ancient Near East, this article argues that Numbers 5:11–31 could be seen as a cultural breakthrough to protect women, which are considered marginalized.

Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature

2021 ◽  
pp. 120-140
Author(s):  
Yoram Cohen ◽  
Nathan Wasserman
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
And Diffusion

This chapter provides an overview of Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature. The introduction discusses the origins and distribution of Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature. It moves on to demonstrate how Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature can be approached. The chapter treats four subcategories of Wisdom Literature: proverbs and instructions, Vanity Theme works, existential works, and satire and parody. The conclusion offers an assessment of the nature of Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature and refers to its transmission and diffusion to other literatures of the East Mediterranean basin, the ancient Near East, the biblical Wisdom books, and beyond.

Prologue to Genesis (1, 1-11, 26): Prophetic Revelation, History, Myth or Metahistory?

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-46
Author(s):  
Михаил Анатольевич Скобелев
Keyword(s):  
Mystical Experience ◽  
Near East ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The World ◽  
Genesis 1 ◽  
Book Of Genesis

В статье рассматриваются богословие, композиция и литературная форма сюжетов, входящих в состав Пролога книги Бытия (1, 1-11, 26). Во второй половине XIX - начале XX вв. в результате появления Документальной гипотезы и сопоставления Священного Писания с литературными памятниками Древнего Ближнего Востока большая часть сюжетов, составляющих Пролог, была объявлена мифами и древнееврейским фольклором (Ю. Велльгаузен, Г. Гунекель, Дж. Фрезер). Кроме выявленных ближневосточных параллелей, новому отношению к повествованиям Пролога книги Бытия способствовали: отсутствие в нём ясно выраженной исторической задачи и символичность изложения. Защищая традиционный взгляд на Пролог как на священную историю и пророческое откровение, епископ Кассиан (Безобразов) предложил рассматривать все библейские сюжеты, содержащие теофанию, как метаисторию. Протоиерей Сергий Булгаков, А. Ф. Лосев, Б. П. Вышеславцев, занимавшиеся феноменом мифотворчества, назвали библейское повествование о начале мироздания мифом, но в ином смысле, чем это делали Г. Гункель и Дж. Фрезер. Они обосновали новый положительный взгляд, согласно которому миф не есть выдумка или фантазия, а реальность, основанная на мистическом опыте. В статье анализируется каждый из перечисленных терминов: «история», «миф», «метаистория» применительно к Прологу, а также рассматривается возможность их согласования с традиционным церковным взглядом на эту часть книги Бытия. The article deals with the theology, composition and literary form of the narrations which constitute the prologue part of the book of Genesis (1, 1-11, 26). During the second half of the 19th and at the turn of the 20th cent., following the emergence of the Documentary hypothesis as well as the comparison of the Holy Scripture with the newly-discovered literary monuments of Ancient Near East, the greater part of the narrations that constitute the Prologue were labeled myths and ancient Hebrew folklore (J. Wellhausen, H. Gunkel, J. Frazer). In addition to the then detected Near Eastern parallels, this new attitude towards the narrations of the Prologue was fostered by its lack of a clearly expressed historical dedication and the symbolic form of their exposition. Defending the traditional view of the Prologue as sacred history and prophetic revelation, bishop Kassian (Bezobrazov) proposed to consider all the biblical narrations that contain theophanies as metahistorical. Archpriest Sergey Bulgakov, A. F. Losev and B. P. Vysheslavtsev, who analyzed the phenomenon of myth-making, called the Biblical narration of the origins of the world a myth, but in a sense different from that proposed by Gunkel and Frazer. They have founded a new and positive conception according to which a myth is not fiction but rather a kind of reality based upon mystical experience. The author of the article analyzes each of the terms enumerated - «history», «myth», «metahistory» - in their use relating them to the Prologue; he also examines the possibility of their harmonizing with the traditional ecclesiastical view of this part of the book of Genesis.

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