From Chronology to Theology

In the late 1580s, a controversy erupted that would devastate Broughton’s career and haunt him for the rest of his days. The source of this agitation was a short chronological pamphlet, A Concent of Scripture, which was published by Broughton in 1589 and attacked in the lectures of the Oxford theologian John Rainolds. This chapter explores how this seemingly unassuming work could provoke such intense conflict, locating the roots of the dispute in the overlap between the dynamic but difficult world of biblical chronology and the combative arena of academic theology. Influenced by the damning verdicts passed by Broughton’s antagonists, modern historians have dismissed Broughton’s Concent as motivated solely by zealous biblicism, a reaction against the daringly innovative work of the chronologer Joseph Scaliger, whose methods were upheld by Rainolds. In contrast, this chapter details the rich tradition of reformed Hebraism in which Broughton’s chronological work was situated, and outlines the manifold disciplines, from the study of rabbinic literature to biblical translation, to which it contributed. It argues that at the heart of this controversy lay not technical questions about chronological method, but larger questions about biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. It also begins to illustrate some of the dangers that faced the early modern scholar who attempted to traverse the perilous terrain of biblical history, by showing how Rainolds’ lectures and the controversy they propagated made dangerous associations between Broughton’s work and crypto-Catholicism.

From Chronology to Translation

Against the backdrop of the still-smouldering controversy over his chronological work, Broughton began to break down his contentious vision of biblical history into the raw elements needed for a new English Bible. The first signs of this were his translations of the book of Daniel into English (1596) and Latin (1599), two remarkable publications that illustrate not only the complexity and creativity that could characterize godly attitudes towards biblical translation, but also how Broughton’s longstanding interest in anti-Catholic polemics was beginning to morph into a more fraught concern with anti-Jewish controversy. Using these translations as well as Broughton’s contemporaneous debate with Cambridge professor Edward Lively over the interpretation of Daniel, this chapter argues that Broughton’s interests were drawn towards translation partly as a natural outgrowth of his interest in chronology, but partly also out of a growing desire to disseminate the findings of cutting-edge polyglot biblical scholarship to as wide an audience as possible. Drawing on previously unexamined manuscript evidence, this chapter concludes by reconstructing Broughton’s earnest but ill-fated campaign for a new translation throughout the 1590s, covering the personal, political, and confessional factors that led to Broughton’s calls remaining unanswered

Caleb, Son of Jephunneh - As an Example of Fidelity to God. An Exegetical Study of Sir 46:7-10

Caleb is a secondary character in several episodes of the Exodus as well as the conquest of the Promised Land (Numbers 13–14; Josh 14:6-14). Praise of the Ancestors (Syr 44–49) contains a presentation of the biblical history of ancient Israel as the history of the covenant and a place of God's intervention. Sirach presents, according to his own criteria, the most relevant and positive characters of this history. Caleb in Sirach’s description (46:7-10) is a faithful scout, who, together with Joshua, in the face of the rebellion of the Israelites, bears witness to an exemplary trust in God and encourages the Israelites to follow his lead. His courage and faithfulness are rewarded by receiving an inheritance of the piece of land in the Promised Land, which then becomes the property of his offspring. In the brief account of Sirach, Caleb has become a timeless example of the wise man – a sage who lives according to the word of God and encourages others to take up this challenge.

God as Righteous Agitator: Grounding Biblical Theology

Biblical theology should be grounded in a broad perspective, an Überblick, on the character of God as the main actor in biblical history. Without such a perspective, we will lose sight of what kind of agent motivates the main story-line of the Bible. If our perspective is inadequate, we will fail to recognize how God works in history, including biblical history. Biblical interpreters typically have neglected a key feature of the biblical God: God as righteous agitator for redemptive good in human lives, individually and socially. In doing so, they have failed to give an adequate portrayal of what God is doing or trying to do in history. This article corrects that neglect by acknowledging the biblical God as agitating in history for righteousness among humans as a reflection of God’s unique moral character. It explains how such agitating distinguishes God from the gods of deism and determinism, while enabling the redemptive work of this God to be seen not only in biblical history but also in everyday human life. The article relates divine agitation to the crisis of Jesus in Gethsemane in relation to the kingdom of God and to the apostle Paul on dying-and-rising with Christ.

Biblical History in the Thought of R. Ḥaim David Halevy

R. Ḥaim David Halevy was an exceptional voice in the Religious-Zionist camp in Israel. While espousing faithfulness to the halakhah, he recognized the importance of changing circumstances with respect both to halakhic rulings and philosophical issues arising in Hebrew law. He viewed the study of history as a practical imperative, necessary to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Frequently adducing biblical texts, he argued that Israel must learn from the patriarchs and maintain a strong military force. In particular, the events leading to the destruction of the Temple and exile prompted him to posit that the State should remain neutral and not take an active part in international affairs. On the basis of the historiographical and prophetic literature, he maintained that fidelity to the divine covenant – i.e., ethical conduct – would safeguard Israel’s existence.

Revelation as Biblical History

The term revelation means an unveiling to a recipient who otherwise would not be able to see something hidden. It has a gift quality, and needs to be received if a revelation happens. Revelation in Christianity needs an informational dimension in order for understanding of the revealer, who is God with distinctive characteristics, notably empathetic love, mercy, and grace, and this God invites faith, trust, and responsive self-giving. Ultimately revelation is consummated in Jesus Christ. History has several vital dimensions and is a dynamic reality of the past receiving meaning from future events. The narrative structure of biblical history functioned to mediate Christ to the early Church, and critical-historical analysis produced a certain eclipse of biblical narrative and a turn to the human phenomenology of subjective feeling, away from the gift quality of revelation. The First World War revived eschatological concerns and brought a new sense of inbreaking divine revelation. A Hegelian concern for the revelatory capacity of universal history followed, with radical and postmodern proposals for engaging with and being engaged by the texts and gift of revelation.

Sirach

This survey article on the Book of Sirach (Latin: Ecclesiasticus) first considers its composition by a Jerusalem scribe named Ben Sira, who lived in the early second century bce. The article then examines major themes in the book’s theology (wisdom, creation, theodicy, and death), as well as its much-criticized portrayal of women. The chapter also explores its ethics of honor, generosity, and friendship, as well as the review of biblical history in the Praise of the Ancestors (Sirach 44–50). Thereafter, the chapter notes the book’s parallels to the New Testament, as well as its mixed reception history within Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faith communities. Finally, to illustrate aspects of the reception history, the article offers four case studies showing how various later interpreters have used the sage’s teaching on testing (2:1–18), friendship (6:5–17), social justice (34:21–31), and remembering godly ancestors (44:1–15).

“THE SUN OF THE DEAD” BY I.S. SHMELEV: SPATIAL SYMBOLS OF THE PICTURE OF BEING

The article analyzes the key spatial images of the story by I.S. Shmelev "The Sun of the Dead." Their role in describing a specific landscape and expression of the author's worldview is indicated. Shmelev gives volume and ambiguity to the landscape, which appears in the story not only as a topos, a plot element, but also an image of cultural, psychological, religious intentions. The conclusion is drawn about the realism and mythologization of nature paintings, their symbolic meanings are decoded, structuring the vertical and horizontal space of the text and expressing the sensory, behavioral modalities of the characters. A connection is established between the artistic, spiritual space of man and the physical-geographical one. It is traced how through the ontologization of the images of nature Shmelev expresses his view on the Crimean realities of the early 1920s. The Old Testament and New Testament allusions in the image of the landscape are described, their role in translating the narrative of modern events into the plane of biblical history is determined. It has been suggested that the text deliberately introduces allusions to famous stories about Lot, persecutions of Christians, Egyptian executions, apocalyptic prophecies, symbols of the Lord, motives of His anger, apostolic judgments and others. Through images of space Shmelev combines existential motifs of the story and eschatological, mortal and life-affirming. The main compositional principle of the image of space is opposition. The works of I. Babel, I. Knorring, N. Turoverova, M. Tsvetaeva, A. Shiryaevets are attracted.

Communicative Strategies in the 13th-Century Tolstovskiy Sbornik

The article discusses communicative strategies in the Old Russian Tolstovskiy Sbornik dating back to the 13 th century (National Library of Russia, F.p.I.39), a general type of Panegyric, which includes the texts of the triode and menaean cycles. The author considers how individual works and the collection as a whole interact with the addressee and finds out that the collection implements the strategies of explicit and implicit influence. The first is inherent in the homiletic and catechetical genre and implies a direct appeal to the reader or listener. The addressee can also be imaginary (this communicative situation is realized only in the Parable of Wisdom). The speech means characteristic of this strategy are imperative verb forms and personal pronouns. The second strategy involves the addressee indirectly, representing the dialogical interaction between the characters. It unites texts of different genres: the panegyric words of Cyril Turovsky, the hagiographic "memory" of Basil the Great, the apocryphal Tale of Aphroditian. Dialogues between the characters either provide a framework for the biblical story, or function as "engines" of the plot. The interaction of dialogical structures with each other and with the narrative can be quite complex: one dialogue can be inside another, the participants of dialogues can be storytellers, and the communication of characters can be both verbal and non-verbal. Both communicative strategies, in their unity, serve the tasks of informing and educating Christians (acquaintance with the biblical history and the formation of an ethical ideal).