scholarly journals Samuel Fisher’s Letter to the Jews: ‘To All the House of Jacob’

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-168
Author(s):  
Michael Birkel
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
Divine Wrath ◽  
Biblical Sources

In the 1650s, Samuel Fisher addressed an undated letter ‘To All the House of Jacob’, inviting Jews to attend to the light in their hearts. Composed in Hebrew, it consists almost entirely of allusions to the Jewish Scriptures or Christian Old Testament, much of it organised by clusters of images drawn from biblical sources. The letter is a call to repentance, drawing on the threats of divine wrath, particularly from the Psalms and the prophets. Since no English translation from Samuel Fisher’s time is known, one is offered here.

scholarly journals The Making of a Canon: Impact of the Old Testament Scriptures in the Christian Canon Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Kwaku Boamah
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Church Of Christ ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Christian Formation ◽  
The Third ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
The Church

The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned from the first up to about the fourth centuries. This paper has three main parts: the first draws a linear process of canon generation, beginning from text to scripture and possibly becoming canonical. The second focuses on the creation of the Christian canon by exploring the stages and the implications of naming the canon as `Testaments`. At the heart of the study is a consideration of the use and inclusion or exclusion of the Jewish scripture by Christians as discussed by a heretic (Marcion) and three Anti-heretics (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian) in the 2nd and/or 3rd centuries of the Roman Empire. The third part takes an example of a modern church (Church of Christ) whose reception to the Old Testament is one of skepticism. Furthermore, the level of usage of the Old Testament by the Church of Christ is key for the thesis of this paper. It is, therefore, important to assess a possible relationship between Marcion and the Church of Christ. Historical, theological and an interview are employed to explore these developments. The paper concludes that by the naming of the Christian canon and inclusion of the Jewish scriptures, the Christian identity can be described as Judeo-Christian. This description has impacted Christian formation and development a great deal from antiquity to the modern era. Marcion and his followers did not take this lightly in the first four centuries of the Christian history. On the other hand, in the nineteenth century the Church of Christ seemingly follows this example in antiquity on including the Old Testament as part of the Christian canon.

Tyger of Wrath

PMLA ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 81 (7) ◽  
pp. 540-551
Author(s):  
Morton D. Paley
Keyword(s):  
French Revolution ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Young Men ◽  
New Age ◽  
First Principle ◽  
Henry V ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Sublime ◽  
Divine Wrath ◽  
The French Revolution

In peace there's nothing so becomes a manAs modest stillness and humility,But when the blast of war blows in our ears,Then imitate the action of the tiger:Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,Disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage;Then lend the eye a terrible aspect:Let it cry through the portage of the headLike the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm itAs fearfully as doth a galled rockO'erhang and jutty his confounded base,Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean.Henry V in.i.3-14 How would an ideal contemporary reader of Blake—one of those “Young Men of the New Age” whom he addressed in Milton—have regarded “The Tyger”? To such a reader certain aspects of the poem which modern critics have ignored would be obvious. In the rhetoric and imagery of the poem he would recognize an example of the sublime, appropriately Hebrew and terrifying. He would recollect analogues to the wrath of the Tyger in the Old Testament Prophets and in Revelation, and being an ideal reader, he would not need to be reminded that Blake elsewhere views the French Revolution as an eschatological event. He would also know that Blake characteristically thought of divine wrath as an expression of what Jakob Boehme calls the First Principle. His understanding of the poem would thus be affected by his connecting it with the sublime, the Bible, and Boehme. We later readers may also discover something about the meaning of “The Tyger” by considering it in relation to these traditions. That such an approach has something new and valuable to offer will be seen if we begin with what has previously been said about the poem.

scholarly journals From Venice to Aleppo: Early Printing of Scripture in the Orthodox World

Chronos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
Hilary Kilpatrick
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old English ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Greek Translation ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Jewish Scriptures

The Bible, as the etymology of the word indicates, refers not to one book but to many. The Christian Bible is made up of the Old Testament, that is, the Jewish Scriptures, and the New Testament; moreover, for some Churches, among them the Orthodox, certain books commonly called the Apocrypha , which were added to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, also fonn part of the Bible. The Bible is thus a small library, and as is common in libraries, some books are more popular than others. Long before the introduction of printing, the varying degrees of importance accorded to different books of the Bible led to some of them being translated before others. For instance, in Anglo-Saxon England, interlinear glosses (i.e. crude word-by-word translations) were made of the Gospels and Psalms, and separate portions of the Bible, including the Gospels, were rendered into Old English (Anonymous 1997: 200). Likewise, the earliest known written translations of parts of the Bible into Arabic are of the Gospels and Psalms; they can be dated to the 8th century. Oral translations are older, going back to pre-Islamic times (Graf 1944: 114-115, 138; Griffith 2012: 123-126). By contrast, the first attempt to produce a complete Bible in Arabic occurred only in the l 61h century (Graf 1944: 89-90).

scholarly journals Selected Psalms (“David’s Prophesies”) of The Palaea Interpretata

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Tatyana Slavova
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Major Goal ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Books Of Samuel ◽  
Biblical Sources

During the Middle Ages on the Eastern Orthodox Church territories there existed an encyclopedia book, entitled the Palaea Interpretata that was extremely popular and highly respected. The current paper studies one of the Biblical sources of The Palaea Interpretata – namely, the collection of selected psalms, entitled “David’s Prophesies” (давидъ же прорицаше). The discussion is focused on the compiler’s placing of the collection in The Palaea, in the part dedicated to David (i.e. after the excerpts from the First and Second Books of Samuel and before the First Book of Kings). David’s Prophesies belonged to the original content of The Palaea Interpretata. They had one major goal – to represent the Old Testament as a prototype of the New Testament and to prove the superiority of the Christian doctrine over the non-Christian ones. The Compiler of The Palaea Interpretata chose various psalms or parts of psalms, dividing them into twenty five orations with respective titles. To trace the editing performed over the Psalter text the current article draws a parallel with the text of seven psalters from the 11th–16th centuries. It establishes the greatest resemblance with the Bychkov Psalter of the 11th century, which reflects the Preslav version of the Psalter translation. At the same time, it becomes obvious that “David’ Prophesies” of The Palaea Interpretata have also retained many of the peculiarities of the primary translation of the Psalter as reflected in Sinai Glagolitic Psalter. The Glagolitic traces are to be found in the very text of “David’s Prophesies” of The Palaea Interpretata, which obviously derive from the psalter, serving as their source and protograph. The source was of relatively old origin; it contained traces of Glagolitic letters, and reflected the Psalter’s primary translation into Old Bulgarian by Cyril and Methodius, which had been edited in Preslav.

Zagadnienie starości w literaturze międzytestamentalnej

Vox Patrum ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 241-247
Author(s):  
Mirosław S. Wróbel
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Biblical Sources ◽  
Intertestamental Literature

In the present article the author describes the problem of an old age in the Jewish apo­calyptic literature and in the Qumran texts. Old persons are presented in these texts like sages and teachers. The education given by them for children and grandchildren is based on moral and religious values. They call to observe God’s commandments and to avoid all acts which are against God and other persons. The respect and authority of the old persons described in the texts of intertestamental literature can take in consideration the biblical sources. In the Old Testament the elders of Israel are described as judges who decide about all important aspects of the life in Jewish community.

scholarly journals Fulfilment in Matthew

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 301-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
FP Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
As If ◽  
The Way

Matthew extensively explored the motif that Jesus was the fulfilment of the Old Testament hopes. In this article investigation is done on the way Matthew employs this motif. The expression of fulfilment of Scripture had an important function in early Christian circles. The Christian faith had to be legitimatized by reference to the Jewish Scriptures. What happened to Jesus and the rise of the Christian church were to be identified as the fulfilment of the promises of the Old Testament. For today’s reader it seems as if Matthew sometimes draws awkward links between Old Testament citations and their fulfilment in Jesus. However, when his hermeneutical method is being mirrored against contemporary interpretative methods, it becomes clear that Matthew used the fulfilment motif in a then acceptable way to strategically and persuasively place Jesus’  ministry within the unfolding plan of God.

scholarly journals Grundtvig som fortolker af Det Gamle Testamente

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-80
Author(s):  
Jesper Høgenhaven
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Precise Description ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Historical Criticism ◽  
Jewish Scriptures ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Biblical Texts ◽  
The Church ◽  
Canonical Status

Grundtvig som fortolker af Det Gamle Testamente[Grundtvig 's reception of the Old Testament]By Jesper HøgenhavenThis article analyses aspects of Grundtvig’s reception of the Old Testament. In his historical works from 1812, 1814, and 1833, Grundtvig makes a number of important remarks on the role and significance of the Old Testament. His position has sometimes been characterised as “fundamentalist”, but as is shown in a discussion with recent contributions (Ole Vind, Kim Ame Pedersen), this is hardly a precise description. While Grundtvig repeatedly defends the Old Testament texts as historically reliable - and as authentic prophecies related to the coming of Christ - and makes polemic remarks against historical criticism, he nevertheless demonstrates a critical position regarding the canonical status of Old Testament books, and in his later works, he explicitly renounces the doctrine of verbal inspiration and directs polemical remarks at both rationalists and orthodox adherents of verbal inspiration. The Jewish scriptures are not the foundation upon which the church is built, as the orthodox theologians would have it. This does not mean that the Old Testament loses its importance for Grundtvig. His work amply demonstrates the centrality of biblical texts and motifs. In his sermons he makes extensive use of Old Testament quotations, interpreting them according to the classic patterns as prophecies directly relevant for the church, or as typological models for Christians. What is interesting, however, is that whereas explicit quotations are found less frequently in Grundtvig’s later sermons, his sermons are permeated with biblical motifs and imagery from the Old Testament. In his hymns, he achieves the creation of a universe which is biblical in a comprehensive sense.

The Strained Relation Between Samaritans and Jews in the Works of Flavius Josephus

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Al. Purnomo
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Jerusalem Temple ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Biblical Sources

Abstract: The strained relation between Samaritans and Jews as a fruit of long-term process from the division of the United Kingdom of Israel (ca. 931 B.C.E) became a dominant issue since the post-exilic period and became more pronounced in the first century C.E. Beside the Old Testament, the story of their relation which was full of conflict can be traced to extra-biblical sources. One of them is Flavius Josephus’ works (ca. 70 to 100 C.E), i.e., Jewish War and Jewish Antiquities. The root of the conflict is related to the presence of the Second Jerusalem Temple. The peak of the conflict is the construction of the Mount Gerizim temple in which some Jews regarded the adherents of the Samaritan cult as schismatic. The founding of this rival temple of Jerusalem aggravated the bad relations between Samaritans and Jews. The destruction of the Mount Gerizim temple by John Hyrcanus was a crucial incident for their relations. The conflict between Samaritans and Jews still continued in the Roman period. By historical approach, this study would setforth the examination of some Josephus’ accounts regarding the historical process of the estrangement and rivalry between Samaritans and Jews which resulted in the final split in second century B.C.E. Keywords: Samaritans, Jews, Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Temple, Jerusalem, Mount Gerizim. Abstrak: Relasi tegang antara orang Samaria dan Yahudi merupakan buah dari proses yang panjang sejak pecahnya Kerajaan Israel Raya (sekitar 931 B.C.E). Relasi mereka ini menjadi masalah dominan sejak periode setelah pembuangan dan semakin jelas pada abad pertama masehi. Di samping Perjanjian Lama, kisah tentang relasi mereka yang penuh konflik dapat dilacak dalam sumber-sumber di luar Alkitab. Salah satunya adalah karya dari Flavius Josephus (sekitar 70 sampai 100 M), yaitu Perang Yahudi dan Sejarah Yahudi. Akar dari konflik itu adalah kehadiran Bait Allah Yerusalem Kedua. Puncak dari konflik itu adalah pembangunan Bait Allah di Gunung Gerizim di mana sejumlah orang Yahudi kemudian menganggap pengikut ibadah orang Samaria sebagai skismatis. Pendirian tandingan Bait Allah Yerusalem ini memperparah relasi buruk antara Samaria dan Yahudi. Penghancuran Bait Allah di Gunung Gerizim oleh Yohanes Hyrcanus menjadi insiden krusial bagi relasi mereka. Konflik antara orang Samaria dan Yahudi masih terus berlangsung pada periode Romawi. Dengan pendekatan historis, studi ini akan memaparkan penelitian kisah-kisah dari karya Josephus berkaitan dengan proses perpecahan dan persaingan antara orang Samaria dan Yahudi memuncak pada perpecahannya pada abad II SM. Kata-kata Kunci: Samaria, Yahudi, Flavius Josephus, Sejarah Yahudi, Bait Allah, Yerusalem, Gunung Gerizim.

Old Latin Intervention in the Old English Heptateuch

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 229-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Old English ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
English Translation ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
English Translations ◽  
Patristic Literature ◽  
History Of

The Old Testament translations in the compilation known as the Old English Hexateuch or Heptateuch are based on good Vulgate exemplars. That is to say, where variation can be demonstrated between the version associated with Jerome's late fourth-century revision and the pre-Hieronymian ‘Old Latin’ versions, the Old English translations can be shown to derive from exemplars carrying the former. The opening of Genesis–‘On angynne gesceop God heofonan 7 eorðan. seo eorðe soðlice was idel 7 æmti’–illustrates this general rule. Behind it is the Vulgate ‘in principio creauit Deus caelum et terram. terra autem erat inanis et uacua”, not a version with the characteristic ‘old’ readings, such as fecit for creauit and inuisibilis et inconpositas for inani et vacua. Indeed, much of the Old English translation, especially in Genesis, is sufficiently full and faithful for the identification of specific Vulgate variants in the exemplar text to be made with some confidence and for the influence on it of the important Carolingian revisions asssociated with Orléans and Tours to be demonstrated. There is, however, a small number of Old English readings throughout the Heptateuch for which Latin parallels in the thirty or so collated Vulgate manuscripts are unknown or hardly known. Instead, they appear to derive from models available in pre-Hieronymian texts. Uncertainty often surrounds their identification, owing to the complexities both of the translation process and the history of the Latin Bible. Understanding their origins involves consideration of the influence of patristic literature and the liturgy, as well as the availability of ‘contaminated’ exemplar texts.

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