scholarly journals Psalm 118 (117 lxx) in Luke-Acts: Application of a 'New Exodus Motif'

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyuk J. Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
New Exodus ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
Exodus Motif ◽  
Psalm 118

This contribution explores the presence of Psalm 118 (117 LXX) in Luke-Acts. The Wirkungsgeschichte of Psalm 118 will be traced by means of a twofold approach: from a traditional-historical and a hermeneutical angle with regard to the reception history of Psalm 118. Firstly, in terms of a traditional-historical, otherwise known as a diachronic, approach, the background of Psalm 118 and evidence of the use and application of Psalm 118 in the tradition (namely in the ancient Jewish materials, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Targums, and Rabbinics, and the New Testament books of Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, John, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 Peter, Hebrews, Revelation, as well as in terms of Church Fathers 1 Clement and Barnabas and the Apocryphon Thomas) will be discussed. Secondly, on the hermeneutical level, otherwise known as the synchronic approach, the function and interpretation of the quotations of Psalm 118 in its new context of Luke-Acts will be examined. In terms of the latter approach, attention will be paid to investigating a possible underlying �New Exodus Motif�.

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 Die uitbouing van die Bybelse kanon in antieke Judaïsme en die vroeë Christendom

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Frey
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
Canonical Process ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead

The development of the biblical canon in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. A brief account of the process of the development of both the Jewish and the bipartite Christian canon is given. It is argued that due to insights gained from recent textual discoveries, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran texts), earlier theories about the history of canonisation had to be reviewed. With the New Testament canon the authors focus on the influence of Marcion as well as the various other factors that played a role in the process of canonisation. It is shown that canonisation was the result of a complicated and variegated canonical process. But in spite of the problems of the criteria used and other factors involved, the biblical canon is theologically valuable and ‘well-chosen’.

A Canonical History of the Old Testament Apocrypha

2021 ◽  
pp. 23-51
Author(s):  
Lee Martin McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
Religious Texts ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Sacred Scripture ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Use ◽  
And Function ◽  
Meaning And Function

From ancient times, those Jewish religious writings now regularly identified as “Apocrypha” have had a varied history of meaning and function in the churches and in their scope and presence in Bibles. The term itself has ranges in meaning from hidden and sacred to spurious and rejected. McDonald focuses on history of the recognition of the emergence and change of the meaning of the Apocrypha as well as how these religious texts functioned in the communities that welcomed them as Scripture, or as valued and readable texts for church (“ecclesiastical”) use, but not as sacred Scripture. Their history of use and rejection is best reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, Josephus, the Early Church Fathers, ancient canon lists, major manuscripts, translations, and church council decisions.

Revelation

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R. Koester
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Cultural Impact ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
History Of Interpretation ◽  
Religious Text ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of

In this landmark commentary, Craig R. Koester offers a comprehensive look at a powerful and controversial early Christian text, the book of Revelation. Originally written for Christian communities in Asia Minor, Revelation depicts scenes of cosmic conflict in which God, the creator of the world, overcomes the forces of destruction and makes all things new. This often misunderstood portion of the New Testament repeatedly surprises readers by warning that judgment is imminent, only to interrupt the visions of terror with messages of hope and redemption. Koester provides richly textured descriptions of the book’s setting and language, making extensive use of Greek and Latin inscriptions, classical texts, and ancient Jewish writings, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. While Revelation has often been viewed as world-negating, this commentary focuses on its deep engagement with social, religious, and economic issues. It also addresses the book’s volatile history of interpretation and its cultural impact over the centuries. The result is a groundbreaking study that provides powerful insights and sets new directions for the continued appreciation of this visionary religious text.

The Book of Isaiah

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Blake Couey
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Divine Sovereignty ◽  
Hebrew Poetry ◽  
Book Of Isaiah ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
History Of Composition ◽  
The Impact

The book of Isaiah is a compilation of prophetic poetry and narratives, named for an 8th-century bce Judahite prophet. As depicted in chapters 1–39, Isaiah declared that Yhwh intended to punish Judah for social and cultic infractions; at the same time, he expressed support for the Davidic monarchy and proclaimed that Jerusalem would not be conquered by the Assyrians. Chapters 40–55 are addressed to a later audience following the conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon in 587 bce. These texts offer reassurance that Jerusalem will be restored and its exiled citizens will return. The final chapters, 56–66, reflect growing disillusionment and conflict in Judah under Persian rule, and the book ends by describing Yhwh’s eschatological destruction of the wicked and vindication of a righteous remnant. The book grew and developed over a period of four to five centuries. Despite its sometimes conflicting perspectives, it is broadly unified by its focus on the fate of Jerusalem, and later editors worked to impose some coherence upon its varied content, as seen by the repeated thematic echoes in Isaiah 1 and 65–66. Isaiah is a sophisticated work of biblical Hebrew poetry, characterized by intricate combinations of imagery and wordplay. It features a high view of divine sovereignty, emphasizing Yhwh’s control over world nations and superiority over all human and divine powers; these ideas contributed to the emergence of monotheism in ancient Judah. The book also articulates diverse responses to imperial domination, even as it chronicles the ebb and flow of Judah’s own imperial aspirations. Striking portrayals of women and gender appear throughout Isaiah, including the extensive personification of Jerusalem as a woman and the comparison of Yhwh to a mother. Isaiah is also notable for its discourse about disability, which serves a variety of rhetorical functions in the book. The impact of Isaiah was felt immediately, as evidenced by the number of copies of the book among the Dead Sea scrolls and citations of it in the New Testament. It greatly impacted the development of important religious ideas, including apocalypticism and belief in resurrection. In Christianity, Isaiah played an important role in reflection upon the nature of Jesus and the inclusion of Gentiles, even as it informed Christian anti-Judaism. The book has had a more complicated reception in Judaism, where it significantly influenced the growth of Zionism. Scholarly study of Isaiah continues to clarify the shape of its final form and history of composition. Current research on the book is increasingly interdisciplinary, engaging metaphor theory, disability studies, and postcolonial thought. The history of the book’s interpretation and reception is another area of growing interest.

NTERPRETATION OF THE METAPHOR "VESSEL" IN THE LIGHT OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS: NEW OBSERVATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-27
Author(s):  
Stanislav Stepanchenko
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Male Genitalia ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Church Fathers ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Shed Light

The texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are great importance for the reconstruction of the theological and ideological factors of the authors of the New Testament and can shed light on the understanding of some difficult passages of the New Testament. It is well known that the text of 1 Thessalonians 4:4 became Crux Interpretum for its researchers. Since the period of the Church Fathers, the text has had three conflicting interpretations. Modern research has continued this trend. The discovery in the 40s of the XX century Dead Sea Scrolls, gave a new look at some problematic texts of the New Testament. Thus, the two texts 4QSamb and 4Q416 2 ii 21 shed light on the discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4:4. But a closer examination revealed that their interpretation was also ambiguous, which in turn gave rise to a new wave of discussion. So, three options for understanding the texts were proposed. Consensus has not yet been reached. The text of 4QSamb was studied by F. Cross, D. Freedman, P. Andersen. Text 4Q416 2 ii 21 has been the subject of many publications, among the most important are the following: J. Stragnell, D. Harrington, T. Elgwin, J. Smith, M. Kister, B. Wald, F. Martinez. The purpose of the study is to critically analyze the interpretations of two texts from the corpus of Dead Sea Scrolls, 4QSamb and 4Q416 2 ii 21. The article examines two important texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4QSamb and 4Q416 2 ii 21, which shed light on a possible interpretation of a passage from Paul's corpus, 1 Thessalonians 4: 4. The 4QSamb study by scientists led to two interpretations of this passage. The article shows that understanding 4QSamb has a sexual context, and can locally indicate the male genitalia. The study of the text 4Q416 2 ii 21 led to the emergence of three radically different interpretations. Although each approach is well-argued and has its advantages, the paper has shown that the interpretation proposed by Elgwin Thorleif is more true in view of paleographic research, lexical analysis, and the immediate context of the passage. The article showed that the word כלי in the texts is used as a euphemism in the meaning of the male genitalia. This conclusion provides an important context for understanding 1 Thessalonians 4:4, that the interpretation of the word σκεῦός in this text must take into account the possibility of its interpretation in the sense of male "genitals".

Jewish Law in the Gospels in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls

2021 ◽  
pp. 014610792110343
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Schiffman
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
The Self ◽  
First Century ◽  
Jewish Law ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Right

This study examines a number of specific examples of halakhic (Jewish legal) matters discussed in the New Testament that are also dealt with in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This paper compares and contrasts the rulings of these two traditions, as well as the Pharisaic views, showing that the Jewish legal views of the Gospels are for the most part lenient views to the left of those of the Pharisees, whereas those of the Dead Sea Scrolls represent a stricter view, to the right of the Pharisaic views. Ultimately, in the halakhic debate of the first century ce, the self-understanding of the earliest Christians was very different from that of the sect of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Damascus Document

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Fraade
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Hebrew Text ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Ancient Text ◽  
Cairo Geniza ◽  
Damascus Document ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead

The Damascus Document is an ancient Hebrew text that is one of the longest, oldest, and most important of the ancient scrolls found near Khirbet (ruins of) Qumran, usually referred to collectively as the Dead Sea Scrolls for the proximity of the Qumran settlement and eleven nearby caves to the Dead Sea. Its oldest parts originate in the mid- to late second century BCE. While the earliest discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls occurred in 1947, the Qumran Damascus Document fragments were discovered in 1952 (but not published in full until 1996), mainly in what is designated as Qumran Cave Four (some ten manuscripts altogether). However, it is unique in that two manuscripts (MS A and MS B) containing parts and variations of the same text were discovered much earlier, in 1896 (and published in 1910), among the discarded texts of the Cairo Geniza, the latter being written in the tenth-eleventh centuries CE. Together, the manuscripts of the Damascus Document, both ancient and medieval, are an invaluable source for understanding many aspects of ancient Jewish (and before that Israelite) history, theology, sectarian ideology, eschatology, liturgy, law, communal leadership, canon formation, and practice. Central to the structure of the overall text, is the intersection of law, both what we would call “biblical” (or biblically derived) and “communal,” and narrative/historical admonitions, perhaps modeled after a similar division the biblical book of Deuteronomy. A suitable characterization of the Damascus Document, to which we will repeatedly return, could be “bringing the Messiah through law.” Because of the longevity of its discovery, translation, publication, and debated interpretation, there is a long history of modern scholarship devoted to this ancient text.

scholarly journals Inspiration and the Texts of the Bible

1997 ◽  
Vol 53 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Buchner
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Book Of Hebrews ◽  
Textual Research

This article seeks to explore what the inspired text of the Old Testament was as it existed for the New Testament authors, particularly for the author of the book of Hebrews. A quick look at the facts makes. it clear that there was, at the time, more than one 'inspired' text, among these were the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text 'to name but two'. The latter eventually gained ascendancy which is why it forms the basis of our translated Old Testament today. Yet we have to ask: what do we make of that other text that was the inspired Bible to the early Church, especially to the writer of the book of Hebrews, who ignored the Masoretic text? This article will take a brief look at some suggestions for a doctrine of inspiration that keeps up with the facts of Scripture. Allied to this, the article is something of a bibliographical study of recent developments in textual research following the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls.

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