Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Monday morning
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part of the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age, or in absolute terms to the 17th through the 14th
century B.C. according to high-precision radiocarbon dates. Preliminary results will be presented.
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Norma Franklin, Samaria and Megiddo: Stratigraphy, Correlation and Chronology
At Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom, Building Period I was previously attributed to Omri when
his palace was identified, Building Period II was attributed to Ahab when a rock-cut installation was
identified as the Pool of Ahab (I Kings 22:37-38). This meant that both strata were attributed to the 9th
century Omride dynasty. Following a comprehensive reanalysis of the startigraphy at Samaria I can show
that only Building Period I can be attributed to the 9th century Omride dynasty and that Building Period II
must be downdated to the 8th century. At Megiddo my analysis of the stratigraphy has shown that Stratum
IVB (VA-IVB) does not exist and that the architectural elements must be re-allocated to Stratum V or
Stratum IV(IVA). The new stratigraphic picture that emerges at both sites reveals a number of similarities
that provide a clear correlation between them and establishes a link to the chronological anchor represented
by Omride Samaria. In brief, Stratum V at Megiddo and Building Period I at Samaria must both be
attributed to the 9th century Omride dynasty and Stratum IV(IVA) at Megiddo and Building Period II at
Samaria must be downdated to the 8th century BCE.
Yifat Thareani-Sussely, When Empire Meets a Desert: pax Assyriaca in the Iron Age Negev
The Neo-Assyrian Empire dominated the Levant for more than a century, utilizing a variety of imperial
strategies in different regional settings. Nevertheless, the Assyrian presence brought political stability and
economic prosperity to the region, known in the literature as the pax Assyriaca. The prosperous late Iron
Age settlement system of the Beersheba Valley (the Biblical Negev) on the empires southwestern frontier
is characterized by appearance of archaeological finds often associated with the Southern Arabian trade and
with Assyrian interests in the region. While the archaeological and historical implications of the Assyrian
presence in the Beersheba Valley have been broadly analyzed, the strategy by which the Assyrians
managed the long-distance southern Arabian trade has not been made explicit in the research. This lecture
suggests that the Beersheba Valley served as the frontier between three entities: the Assyrian Empire, Egypt
and tribal desert groups. Although Assyria did not rule the Negev directly the imprint of Assyrian influence
is revealed in the archaeological record. The Assyrians used local proxies (the Judean and local tribal elites)
as agents of their economic and political interests, a policy that is well attested in the material culture and
textual data from Assyria and other pre-industrial empires. Assyrian cultural influence on the Judean ruling
class is demonstrated by the material culture, suggesting that acculturation was an important byproduct of
indirect Assyrian rule. Contemporary Biblical contemporary prophecies and the Deuteronomistic
description of the days of Manasseh provide a striking eye-witness account of these processes and, at the
same time, express resistance against the globalization of the time.
Izaak J. de Hulster, Picturing prophecies: an iconographic method of Old Testament exegesis with a case
study from Third Isaiah.
The Hebrew Bible alludes to images, both concrete (realia) and abstract (imagery). For ages people have
been interested in the biblical language and its metaphors. Since the 19th century, the Old Testament has
been systematically connected with the material culture of Israel/Palestine. Othmar Keel, starting with his
Die Welt der altorientalischen Bildsymbolik (1972), gave a new impulse to this approach of the Bible.
Keels publications (especially since 1992) provide image collections which may (in my opinion)
contribute to the further development of an iconographical method of Old Testament exegesis. Because no
iconographic method of Old Testament exegesis was ever worked out, this paper aims to present the main
elements of such a method. To that end, it will deal with archaeology and hermeneutics and apply
iconology (Bildwissenschaft), art history and cultural anthropology. Further, this paper will place the
method in a historical context and in the framework of biblical hermeneutics. The strength of the method
will be tested in a case study, dealing with the light metaphor in Third Isaiah.
Eveline van der Steen and Klaas Smelik, King Mesha and the Tribe of Dibon
This paper addresses the identification of two place names related to King Mesha of Moab: Dibon, with its
identification with Dhiban, and biblical Kir Hareseth. We put forward the hypothesis that when Mesha
called himself a Diboni, he referred to a tribal affiliation. In other words, Meshas Dibon was a tribe,
rather than a town. The name Dibon only became attached to the town of Qarho after Mesha had made
Qarho his capital, not before. This is in accordance with the identification of Biblical Kir Hareseth with
Qarho and not Kerak, proposed by Smelik in 1991. The southern boundaries of Moab were further to the
North than is assumed by most scholars. This hypothesis also has consequences for the ideas about the
political organization of the Kingdom of Moab. Recent research into the phenomenon of Tribal State
formation will be used to address the question whether Meshas kingdom can be defined as a Tribal State.
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Early Christianity Between Judaism and Hellenism I
Ida Frhlich, Anthropology in Qumran
Sources revealing ideas and beliefs of the Qumran community are accounts of classical writers on the
Essenes, and works found in the Qumran library. It is generally known that the works contained by Qumran
library are heterogenous as to their date, origin, and background (non-sectarian and sectarian works, i.e.
works written outside and works written in the community). However, some non-sectarian works serve as
a basis for sectarian works of later provenance. Ideas and beliefs expressed in the pseudepigraphic
collection of 1Enoch known from Qumran in several Aramaic manuscripts survive and continue to develop
in further sectarian Qumran compositions. It can be stated that the works of the Qumran library reflect a
coherent worldview, even if some details are incongruous between them, and they can be used as a basis to
delineate a Qumran anthropology. In my paper I intend to go thoroughly into four domains:
1. The body as symbol, symbolic classifications of persons (dress and its meaning, symbols
designating community members, space and the hierarchy of the community). The body and ritual purity
(food and its significance). Dealing with anomalies: the handicapped and ritual purity.
2. Borders of the social world: the group and the outwards. Ritual and ethical purity as a basis for
social borders. Breaking away from the Temple of Jerusalem.
3. Gender in Essene thinking: the role of women in Essene writings, alleged misogyny.
4. Cosmology and myths in Qumran tradition: the myth of the origin of the evil as a powerful
patent for Qumran worldview. Demonology in Qumran writings. The idea of the land.
Carola Krieg, Anthropologische Aussagen in der rabbinischen Theologie - der Aspekt der Snde und die
Vorstellung von dem guten und bsen Trieb
Rabbinische Anthropologie ist Theologie, da das Reden ber den Menschen und seine Existenz nur in
Beziehung zu Gott reflektiert wird. Alles Sein wird im Spiegel der Geschpflichkeit betrachtet. Aussagen
ber Gott sind von daher auch Aussagen ber das Selbstbewusstsein des Menschen. Nach Rabbi Akiba ist
der Mensch ein Liebling Gottes, da er im Bild geschaffen wurde. Die Gottebenbildlichkeit gehrt im
rabbinischen Denken zum Grundsatz der Tora. Von den Engeln ist der Mensch lediglich durch die Snde
getrennt. Menschliche Existenz wird als moralischer Kampf zwischen dem Guten und dem Bsen
verstanden, wobei es in der Verantwortung des Menschen liegt, den bsen Trieb zu beherrschen. Der freie
Wille ist hier vorausgesetzt. Das Bse wird vor dem Hintergrund verstanden, dass alle Dinge gut sind, aber
in der Beziehung zum Menschen knnen diese Dinge zu Idolen werden. Es werden Techniken gelehrt, die
helfen sollen, den bsen Trieb zu besiegen. Der bse Trieb ist bei den Rabbinen kein Habitus, sondern
immer nur als individuelle Versuchung zur Snde verstanden worden. Etwa im 3. Jhr. sind bei manchen
Rabbinen gnostische Spuren in die Vorstellung von der Snde eingegangen. In der Diskussion ber diesen
Vortrag soll die nichthabituell vorgestellte Snde bei den Rabbinen der Konzeption von Snde bei Paulus
gegenbergestellt werden.
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Tom Holmn, To the Pure All Things are Pure: The New Testament Concept of Cleansing Purity and its
Roots in the Mission of Jesus
This study reviews New Testament passages that point to an understanding of purity as a cleansing force
and seeks to locate the origination of this understanding in the mission and message of Jesus. The study
focuses in particular on Jesus dealings with the unclean and the certain kind of inverse strategy he
appears to have pursued in these connections. When Jesus touched people that were generally regarded as
ritually unclean, purity was transferred from Jesus to the unclean. This was contrary to the common Jewish
conception according to which impurity is contagious while purity and holiness are not. The simple but
remarkable change in the transferability of (im)purity could significantly clarify the many intricate
questions that attach to early Christian views about purity.
Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman, Overcoming Animosity: Men and Women against Violence in the Books
of Samuel
Enmity and animosity play such a role in the Books of Samuel, that Ulfila refused to translate these Biblical
Books into Gothic in order not to stimulate the Gothic tribes in their favorite pastime: war. This means that
these books contain many stories on animosity, but also on the more interesting topic of overcoming
animosity. In examining all the attempts to bring peace or even reconciliation, it is striking that several
women play an important role, for example Hannah, Abigail, the woman of Tekoa and the woman of Abel.
This contrasts the relatively great absence of women in the Books of Samuel in general. How do these
women act against violence? Do they succeed and do they really overcome animosity? And how do men
act against animosity, for example Jonathan and Joab? Do they have other strategies?
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revealing. It actually demands rejoicing during Weeks and Tabernacles, but curiously enough, it fails to do
the same in case of Passover indicating that the prescribed mood during the spring festival was that of
sombreness. The paper discusses the dialectics and interaction of joy and sombreness within the cycle of
Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles, the structure of ritual mood during individual festivals, the alternation
between sequences of solemnity and joy and the significance of that rotation and patterned behaviour
within the cycle of annual festivals.
Robin Gallaher Branch, Rejoicing when your world collapses around you: A study of Habakkuks
triumph of faith, Hab. 3:17-19
The prophet Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah and perhaps an accomplished musician, wonders about
the evils he sees daily in Judah. Burdened with a bold sense of justice, he queries God (Hab. 1:1-4). Why
does violence rule the land? God answers this covenant believer with horrifying words: the Chaldeans are
coming, bringing with them both correction and devastation (1:5-11). Habakkuk then asks why the Holy
One tolerates the treachery of the wicked; how long will God look the other way (1:12-2:1)? God replies
with a vision detailing the woes coming upon those who are full of pride, trade in bloodshed, covet, and
press others toward drunkenness (2:2-15). Violence and shame will come upon them, for the Lords right
hand will be turned against them (2:16). The vision ceases when God commands silence upon the whole
earth (2:20). The Book of Habakkuk, a dialogue between the prophet and his God, shows the prophets
personal struggle of faith. In chapter 3 his song, he confesses fear yet praises God for his mighty deeds in
Israels past (3:1-15). Although trembling because of Judahs approaching calamities, Habakkuk chooses
joy (3:16, 18). Knowing he and his people face the sword, starvation, exile, and the loss of wealth,
Habakkuk demonstrably exults in God his strength (3:17-18). Although his world will dissolve into chaos
and bloodshed around him, Habakkuk literally leaps for joy because of his relationship with God (3:19).
This paper looks at Habakkuks questions, struggles with Gods declarations, and triumph of faith that
speaks of a profound inner gift of joy.
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Ronit H Nikolsky, The place of Tanchuma in the Rabbinic Narrative Continuum
We will discuss the manner in which the narratives of the Tanchuma corpus, being a bridge between the
Amoraic culture and the Medieval Jewish culture, are reworking earlier material and by this keeping the
biblical as a relevant cultural asset.
We will show how narratives change over time in Midrash, starting with the Biblical story, and ending in
the (relatively late) Midrash Tanchuma. The term narrative continuum is a general name to this
phenomenon, which is the basic of rabbinic culture, of including in the culture early texts as well as various
layers of meaning which were accumulating throughout the ages.
Monday afternoon
Georg Steins, Mose, dazu die Propheten und David. Tora und Toraauslegung in 1-2 Chronik
Neben Esra und Nehemia wird in keinem Buch der Bibel so hufig explizit auf die Tora des Mose als
Schriftdokument Bezug genommen wie in 1 / 2 Chronik; sie bieten also eine erstklassige innerkanonische
Perspektive auf die Tora. An den Chronikbchern lassen sich grundlegende Fragen der Konstitution und
Funktion von Tora studieren: Was bedeutet Tora? Welche Momente der Tora werden in der
Rezeptionherausgehoben? Wie geschieht Auslegung? Welche Rolle spielt die Tora im kanonischen
Prozess?
Beat Weber, Psalm 1 (-2) als (Doppel-) Portal zum Psalter und der Anschluss an die Tora
Psalm 1 fungiertin Verbindung mit Psalm 2 nicht nur als Einweisung in den Psalter, sondern hat
auch als Scharniertext in der Hebrischen Bibel (und darber hinaus) eine hohe bibelkanonische
Relevanz. Neuere Studien tendieren im Blick auf die Tora-Erwhnung in Ps 1,2 und anderen Momenten
(u.a. die Fnfteilung des Psalmenbuches) zur Ansicht, dass der Psalter selbst als davidische Tora
verstanden werden wolle. damit wird Ps 1,1-2 in prospektivischem Sinn gedeutet. In diesem Beitrag geht es
um die Frage, ob und inwieweit Ps 1,1-2 (auch) retrospektive Momente enthlt, insbesondere in Rckbezug
und Anbindung an die mosaische Tora (Pentateuch). Der Referent ist der berzeugung, dass dem so ist
und wird dies durch Textvergleiche zu zeigen versuchen, wobei ber Psalm 1 hinaus partiell auch Psalm 2
einzubeziehen sein wird. Dieser Aufweis ist insofern von Bedeutung, als die Einschtzung des
Verstndnisses des Psalters generell und speziell als davidische Tora davon mitbetroffen ist. Der Beitrag
will auf Grund dieser konkreten Textbezge ber dies eine Diskussion ber die Intertextualitts- Frage
anregen: Sind die Textbezge hinreichend fr die Annahme der Evozierung eines (deuteronomisch
geprgten) Tora-Horizontes? Welcher Formen, Dichte und rezeptionsgesteuerten Signale bedarf es, dass
die damaligen Hrer / Leser diese Bezge als relevant wahrgenommen haben? Als Grundlage fr dieses
Referat sei auf die vom Referenten dargebotene exegetische Erarbeitung des Psalms samt seiner
Einweisungsfunktion in einem krzlich erschienenen englischsprachigen Beitrag verwiesen (Beat Weber,
Psalm 1 and its Function as a Directive into the Psalter and towards a Biblical Theology, Old Testament
Essays 19/1, 2006).
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Animosity, the Bible and Us II
Jeremy Punt, The Prodigal Son and Blade Runner. Animosity, Fathers and Sons
The science-fiction film, Blade Runner, is accredited with the introduction of the theme of an alternative
future in this genre of feature films, investigating human life and interaction in a context vastly different
from our contemporary way and perception of life. In this movie various elements of biblical allusion, sub-
themes, and other intertextual elements can be recognized, amongst which the image or theme of
prodigality, akin to the parable of the prodigal son, is most prevalent. While a prominent theme in the
parable is the animosity in the relationships of a father and his two sons, Blade Runner presentsin an
analogous waythe animosity between a creator and his world and his artificial human beings. But the
links between the two narratives can be explored at a deeper level as well, enquiring about the reasons for
the animosity which always appear to involve perceptions of reality, clashing notions of the nature of life
itself, the complexity of human embodiment and the importance of self-actualization. Far from claiming
that the two stories are identical or even that the movie is in any way dependent upon the biblical parable,
the influence of the Bible on popular culture is evident both in its ability to inspire as well as to highlight
the dark side of human existence. The intertextual link between the parable and the movie is enhanced
when they emit a similar warning and challenge - in their portrayal of remaining animosity amidst
reconciled relationships and futures.
Peet Botha, Animosity: Romans 1:18-32: The Reception of the Pauline Text on Homosex by the First
Century Church
Pauls audience consisted mainly of Gentile Christians and his purpose in writing Romans was to alter their
beliefs and behavior. He might have been dealing with entrenched habits originating from the Graeco-
Roman culture where sexual morality had a certain looseness about it. Romans 1:26-27 is about as clear a
condemnation of homosexual and lesbian behavior as one could get in the New Testament. It would seem
that Paul draws repeatedly on both the Old Testament and the Wisdom of Solomon for his arguments in
Romans 1. The secular texts of the first century seem also to share Pauls disposition on homosexual
conduct. This paper reflects on the reality of animosity toward homosexuals before and after the Pauline
Epistle was read in the Roman congregation.
Heikki Lepp, Ananias and Sapphirakilled by the Holy Spirit and Peter? (Acts 5:1-11)
In the Book of Acts Ananias and Sapphira are a married couple, who sold their property and gave part of
the price to the early church. They lied that they had given all the money. Peter rebuked Ananias without
giving him a chance to repent. When he met Sapphira he, at least, predicted her death. The other option is
that she died because Peter cursed her. Peter had active role in this ultimate act of violence. Desjardins
shows that the story has another dimension of violence, namely psychological: Be careful, fellow
Christians; remember what happened when Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter? Luke is the only author in
the NT who tells stories about divine capital punishments. Not only Ananias and Sapphira were killed, but
also Judas Iscariot and Herod Agrippa. The death of Judas is connected with Ananias and Sapphira by two
motives: one is trading land and the other is having Satan in hearth. And it is Peterwho elsewho tells
about the fate of Judas. Luke used the same rare word when he tells about the death of Agrippa as with
Ananias and Sapphira. And guess who was in prison before Agrippa diedPeter. The picture of Luke is
not complete, if we do not mention one more story about Peter: Simon Magus trying to buy the Holy Spirit.
This time Peter predicted his eternal fate, but left the door open for repentance: May your silver perish
with your....Repent.... Luke might be the only NT author telling these stories, but he has biblical
forerunner. The story has also verbal connection to the story of Achan in LXX (Joshua 7:1-26). Achan had
kept part of the spoils consecrated to Yahweh and was stoned to death for his offence.
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and be glad. Apparently this double call appeals to the hearers or readers for a liturgical response, such as
hallelujah or similar exclamations. This double call raises some questions which are investigated in this
paper. What is the relation between the two imperatives are they more than mere duplication? What is the
relation between this double call and the Beatitude of vs. 11 and beyond to the other Beatitudes? Should vs.
11 and 12 be read as one Beatitude? How did Beatitudes (Macarisms) in general function as literary
genre? What is the Sitz im Leben of Matthews Beatitudes and what kind of response is required from the
hearers or readers? Does the double call refer to the same words of Jesus which Luke refers to in Luke 6:23
and what is the relation between these two versions of Jesus words? Does the response in Matthew reflect
actual liturgical practice or is it merely a literary device? How can this call be applied to our present day
situation?
Gert J.C. (Jorrie) Jordaan, The complete joy of Christ, now and for ever: joy in the fourth Gospel
References to joy (chairein, chaira) are found exclusively in the following four sections of the fourth
Gospel: the Baptists proclamation of the coming bridegroom (John 3:29); Jesus dialogue with the Jews
about Abraham (John 8:56); Jesus teaching to his disciples about his suffering, death and return (John
15:11; 16:20-24); and Jesus prayer for his disciples (John 17:13). It seems that these four sections mark
various relations of Christ: Christ and the forerunner, Christ and the Jews, Christ and his disciples; Christ
and his Sender. In all of these relations the reason for joy is to be found in the coming of Christ, but in each
case a new focus-point is introduced. This statement is explained in the paper by providing and discussing
the relevant exegetical material. Furthermore, by means of a thought-structure analysis of the fourth Gospel
as a whole, the revelational progress between these four sections is studied and related to the Christology of
the fourth Gospel. Finally, on the basis of these joy-passages, the theme of joy in the Gospel of John is
defined and related to the theme of joy found elsewhere in the writings of John.
Pieter G.R. deVilliers, Joy in the book of Revelation
The book of Revelation contains seven macarisms in seven seminal places. Because it is mainly a book of
judgment with a strong focus on warnings against idolatry and compromise, the sevenfold reference to a
macarism is unusual and striking. The nature and function of this reference will be studied particularly in
terms of its link with the motif of joy. This will then be related to the motif of joy that is found elsewhere in
the book (Rev.11:10; 12:12; 18:20). This will finally be linked to motifs to other perspectives in the
semantic field, like, for example, the passing of mourning, pain and tears that is expected in the future
(Rev. 21:4). In a concluding part of the paper attention will be given to the relationship of the perspective
on joy in Revelation with other Biblical books, apocalypses and in the surrounding Graeco-Roman world..
Israel and the Production and Reception of Authoritative Books in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods I
Ehud Ben Zvi, The Historical Background of the Prophetic Books and its Implications for their Study as
Social Products
There has been much debate recently on the historical background of these and other central biblical books,
and on both the ways in which this historical background influenced the world portrayed in the books and
the social roles of these books. Certainly, it makes a very considerable difference if the books were for the
most part written within a world similar to the one portrayed in them or substantially different. But even in
the latter case, it makes a difference if they were written, in their present form, within and for communities
in neo-Babylonian Judah, or early Persian period, or late Persian period or Hellenistic periods, in Judah or
in Babylonia. As others have done beforeincluding myself, I will associate the prophetic books with a
social process of production of books in early Persian Yehud, and would associate it with a Jerusalemite
elite, whose worldview was not only centered around a minor city, but of one which was outside the main
demographic and economic center of Yehud, which remained in Benjamin. The main thrust of my talk will
be to show that the acceptance of such an association has important methodological consequences for the
development of explanatory frameworks for the production and social roles of these books. It will be my
contention that the relevance of data abstracted from, and models that work well with larger cities (either
earlier or later) becomes very problematic as an heuristic device. In fact, I will claim that such data and
models have unduly influenced the present scholarly discussion. Instead, I will try to propose new models
in which the irreducible smallness of the society in which these books were produced stands at the center
and shapes the model, rather than being explained away or minimized.
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Philip Davies, The Booth of David and the Function of the Book of Amos
The book of Amos appears to have a fairly straightforward message, yet one that seems controverted in the
closing verses. Some commentators (e.g. Paul, Hayes, Sweeney) have suggested that the hopeful
prophecies about Israel (or Judah; here is another problem) are original to the 8th century prophet. But
solutions that require a consistent 8th-century prophetic message do not easily account for the books
concern with sanctuaries, and especially Bethel. Despite the near-consensus that the book is concerned
primarily with social justice, its animosity towards certain sanctuaries is a factor that requires explanation.
A reassessment of the function of the book of Amos, quite distinct from the message of any 8th-century
prophet, suggests that the booth of David expresses the core of that function, which has to do with the
revival of Jerusalem and its establishment as the centre of the religion of the new Israel.
Diana Edelman, From Prophets to Prophetic Books: The Fixing of the Divine Word
The prophetic books parallel Torah in their provision of a written, formal expression of the divine will,
revealed in the past, for the emergent Jewish communities. I will explore how a change in the religion, from
the cult of Yahweh Sebaot to the cult of Yahweh Elohim, led to the creation of the literary genre typified by
the major and minor prophetic books. During the monarchic era, cultic prophets appear to have represented
a specialist priestly division of oracle priests who consulted the face of Yahweh, i.e. his cultic statue. When
the deity was reconceptualized as Yahweh Elohim and his statue was eliminated in the Persian-era cult, this
former means of determining the divine will was no longer part of the new religion. Nevertheless, examples
of oracles given in the Iron Age, which may have been part of the scribal curriculum, were taken up and
expanded into literary compositions. These, in turn, were seen to be important indicators of Yahwehs plans
for the qahal yisrael and were used, for example, by the author of Ezra 1-6 to show how the deity
actualised his words in history.
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economic causally based approach to explaining the shift from observance of the Law to non-observance of
major parts of the Law (by some) in earliest Christianity with particular reference to food and purity laws.
1) It is clear that from the 40s onwards there were people associated with Christianity who were not
observing the food laws, that this is tied in with gentiles, and that people like Paul deal with this issue. 2) It
is also clear that the historical Jesus upheld the food laws and assumed his followers would do likewise.
Furthermore, it is likely that the historical Jesus observed biblical purity laws and again assumed their
validity. 3) This paper will show how socio-economic conditions in Palestine and more specifically
changes in socio-economic conditions in Galilee as Jesus was growing up contributed significantly to his
spin on the purity and food laws and how this is tied in with his association with the sinners. Insights from
macro-sociology and conversion studies will be employed to show how this can be linked to significant
numbers of gentiles in earliest Christianity and to the declining validity of the food (and, in a different way,
purity) laws among the first century Christians. Underlying assumptions of this paper are that we do not
have to resort to the historically unlikely scenario of Jesus as a Law-breaker and that history of
ideas/theology explain very little in terms of historical change.
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dramatically, he would not be able to construct a coherent view of their meaning, unless he classified the
contexts into more homogeneous groups and tried to form an image of the terms meaning in each of the
groups. In other words, he would have to accept that the words are polysemous. This lecture will present a
theoretical framework for a fully corpus based approach to lexical semantics using the descriptive methods
of cognitive linguistics. This method will enable us to give a survey of the different meanings of the terms
and pneuvma. In a second part some textual examples will show how this polysemy is dealt with in
recent Bible translations.
Tuesday morning
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Early Christianity Between Judaism and Hellenism II
Outi Lehtipuu, Body Language: The Spiritual and the Bodily Resurrection
The New Testament evangelists depict the body of the resurrected Jesus in concrete, tangible terms.
Particularly Luke and John emphasize that the risen Jesus is no ghost but eats with the disciples and appears
to have flesh and bones (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-29; 21:1-14). On the other hand, the apostle Paul
declares that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). For Paul, the resurrection
body is a spiritual body, not comparable to the perishable and mortal human flesh. In this paper, I examine
the different ways the New Testament writings comprehend and describe the resurrection body. A
comparison with contemporary philosophical writings and poetry shows that spiritual beings were often
depicted in bodily terms. Even though a distinction was made between body and soul, they did not
represent different realms but were both made of material. This observation also bears significance to the
way the resurrection life and the Kingdom of God are understood in the New Testament writings.
Margareta Gruber, Der Quelle zu trinken geben - Sesus und die samariterin (Joh 4,1-42), intratextuell
gelesen und zur johanneischen anthropologie befragt
Die Bitte Jesu am Jakobsbrunnen: gib mir zu trinken (4,7) fhrt im unmittelbaren Kontext der Erzhlung
Joh 4,1-42 zur metaphorischen Vertiefung in 4,14, in der sich der Drstende als Quelle offenbart, der im
Menschen selbst eine Quelle frei legt. Mein Beitrag mchte, ausgehend von dieser Bitte Jesu,
rezeptionsorientiert einen vom Text des Joh gesteuerten Lesevorgang beschreiben. Der Text des Joh
verfolgt eine Strategie der doppelten Lektre ein und desselben End-Textes, der von diesem Text selbst
gewollt und durch literarische Techniken der Intratextualitt (v.a. leitmotivische Verknpfung) gesteuert
ist: In einer ersten, auf Ostern zugehenden Lektre will die Erzhlung Joh 4 als Glauben weckende und
zum Glauben (4,21.41f) herausfordernde Begegnung mit Jesus, dem Spender des lebendigen Wassers
(4,14) und Retter der Welt (4,42), gelesen werden. Wenn man das Verweissystem der Sinnlinie Wasser
durch den Text des gesamten Joh verfolgt, stt man auf weitere Intertexte, die das Thema am
Jakobsbrunnen vorbereiten bzw. weiterfhren und den Kreislauf des Spendens und Trinkens schlieen.
Denn in einer zweiten, sterlichen Lektre von Ostern herkommend, gewissermaen von hinten nach
vorn gelesen, will der selbe Text Joh 4 zeigen, wie der Ursprung des Lebenswassers (Joh 4,14a; 7,37-39;
19,34) aus der Quelle, die er in den Glaubenden frei legt (4,14; 7,38 (?); 19,35) selber wieder seinen Durst
stillen mchte (4,7.10; 20,27). Das Durstmotiv in Joh 4 weist auf den Tod Jesu (19,28.30) und gleichzeitig
darber hinaus auf das neue, ewige Leben im Geist (4,14.36; 20,20.22.31), das dadurch beginnt. Zur joh
Anthropologie befragt heit das, dass die Reziprozittsaussagen (Joh 6,56; 14,10.20; 17,21), in denen die
joh Theologie der grundlegenden Beziehungshaftigkeit des Menschseins gipfelt, im Evangelium auch
narrativ in Szene gesetzt werden. Das Beziehungsgeschehen der erlsenden Fleischwerdung des Logos
wird in herausfordernder Anschaulichkeit als Gegenseitigkeit zwischen Gott und Mensch ausgelegt.
Das setzt christologisch voraus, dass der joh Jesus bereits in seinem irdischen Reden und Handeln sich
selbst in seiner Einheit des Gekreuzigten mit dem Auferstandenen, des Prexistenten mit dem
Menschgewordenen offenbart und auch gibt. In dieser Einheit offenbart sich im Joh die Doxa Gottes.
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contains virtually no poetic material, with the exception of a few brief citations from eulogies in Hebrew.
The survival of epic-style poems in Babylonian Aramaic magic texts in the Jewish script proves that such
material was part of the cultural world of Babylonian Jewry. The question then arises why no such material
was included in the Talmud itself, which does sometimes contain lengthy prose tales in Babylonian
Aramaic. An answer may lie in the nature of those tales, which are generally laconic in style. It appears that
the expansive style of the contemporary poetry was to the taste of the compilers of the Talmud. If they
sought poetic expression to encapsulate a moral message, they employed the pithier genre of the proverb
rather than the florid style of contemporary Aramaic poetry. If more florid expression was sought, it was
generally drawn from the Bible itself, which seems to have been regarded as the only poetic text worthy of
citation.
Avinoam Cohen, The Lord shall lift up His Countenance upon you (Numbers 6:26) A Theological
Polemic with Christianity?
In their midrashim on the verses of the Bible, the sages of the Mishna and Talmud the Tanaim and
Amoraimoften offered interpretations that were far removed from any simple logical, textual or
contextual reading of the text. Efforts to explore the reasons for these farfetched interpretations have
uncovered a diverse range of hidden aims on the part of the sages, which can be attributed to circumstances
of time and place. Among these midrashim with a hidden agenda, clear indications could be found that hint
at the fierce theological debate that the sages of Eretz Israel conducted with their Christian neighbors. The
verse The Lord shall lift up His countenance upon you from the priestly blessing is
presented about 40 times in the Talmudic literature as a whole as a seeming contradiction to the verse in
Deuteronomy 10: 17 The Lord who does not lift any countenance [lit.: is not partial] ,
. In my lecture, I will propose that both the pseudo-contradiction created by the sages and the
diverse range of explanations they themselves offered to resolve it are connected to the theological polemic
that Judaism conducted with early Christianity.
Gabi Barzilay, A Three Day Walk': Literally Reading Typological Numerical Expressions A Test Case
Many typological numbers appear in the Bible, a lot of them in fixed expressions, like 'forty years', 'seventy
sons', 'four hundred men' etc. these expressions were part of the spoken language in biblical times, and
became part of biblical literature. However, in later periods, readers and interpreters started to read these
expressions in a literal way, and to suppose that all the numbers written in the bible were exact numbers.
This approach to biblical writing led to many questions, problems and contradictions, which occupied
biblical exegetes in post-biblical periods. In this presentation I wish to discuss the interpretive development
of the Typological Numerical Expression 'A three day walk', which originally means: a normal distance
between two places. Buy studying this expression in the AKEDAH story, and the discussion of the 'three
day walk' in this story, in Second Temple writings and rabbinical literature, I will show how literally
reading of typological numbers clashes with an interpretive conception of geographic reality, and serve as a
polemic tool in a theological debate between Jews and Samaritans, concerning the true place of the holy
temple.
Valt Apinis, The Attitude of Rabbinic Tradition towards Pseudepigraphal Writings concerning Afterlife
The general task of the following paper is to clarify the traditional attitude of the Sages towards the so-called
Pseudepigraphal Writings as the polemics reflected in Rabbinic literature (several reasons will be listed for the
rabbinic prohibition of reading Pseudepigrapha). Author will demonstrate how the Rabbinic concept of the
world to come (OLAM HA-BAH) evolves in this context. The whole paper will deal shortly with two
eschatological systems in comparisonthat of traditional rabbinic and pseudepigraphous apocalyptic.
Barak S. Cohen Rav Nahman and Rav Sheshet: Conflicting Methods of Exegesis of Biblical and Tannaitic
Sources
Rav Nahman and Rav Sheshet, who lived in the early fourth century C.E., are two of the most prominent
Babylonian Amoraim. They are known for their numerous disagreements, having conflicting opinions on
halakhic issues in over thirty five instances in both Talmudim. The present study presents a systematic
analysis of the entire corpus of their disagreements revealing significant differences in their system of study
and exegesis, primarily with regard to the use and interpretation of Biblical and tannaitic sources. Their
diverse approaches originate from differing methods of study: Rav Sheshet had a conservative approach,
employing formalistic exegesis of Biblical and tannaitic sources, while Rav Nahman employed an
innovative technique, tending to expand Biblical and tannaitic sources through creative interpretation.
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Moreover, there is a clear relationship between the data derived from an analysis of their respective
methodologies and the rest of their literary legacy in Talmudic literature. Indeed, the examination of the
methodologies of Rav Nahman and Rav Sheshet demonstrates the importance of the careful examination of
the collective corpus of amoraic literature. Ultimately this is the key to building a coherent intellectual
history of the Amoraim.
Israel and the Production and Reception of Authoritative Books in the Persian and Hellenistic
Periods II
Rainer Albertz, Public Recitation of Prophetical Books? The Case of the First Edition of Deutero-Isaiah
(Isa 40:1-52:12*)
For a long time it was disputed whether the book of Deutero-Isaiah originated in the oral proclamation of a
prophet of that name (C. Westermann and others), or whether it was originally composed as a written text
(R.F. Melugin and others). Giving due weight to the remarkable elements of oral communication and the
clear signs of literary composition visible in the present text, it is best concluded that the rhetorical unit
comprising Isa 40:1-52:12* was written explicitly for oral recitation in public. The book was probably
performed by different voices of the prophetical group in Judah during the years 521 and 520 BCE.
Philippe Guillaume, Before the Canons: Pg vs DH
When enquiring how collections of biblical books were produced, the identification of pre-canonical
collections is an essential step. Two such building-blocks are the Priesterschrift and the Deuteronomistic
History, representing two major narratives, supposedly composed around the same period as responses to
the challenges of the exilic and post-exilic eras. Despite the lack of consensus over Pg and DH, these
hypotheses remain pervasive ideological matrices that govern much modern scholarship and are thus liable
to distort our study of the formation of biblical collections. Before being able to even attempt to recover the
social processes of identity formation and how the collections came into existence, it is essential to submit
those models to critical re-evaluation. In the first part of my paper, I will recall some key points on which
Pg and DH are built and point out their strengths and weaknesses in light of the present state of research.
Then I will focus on prophetic literature and on the particular problem it poses since two starting points are
possible: the Nebiim aharonim or the Historika. I will argue that the Historika should not necessarily be
considered a Christian by-product of the Nebiim. The primacy of the Historika should be kept as a viable
working hypothesis, thus bringing some kind of Alexandrian canon hypothesis back into the arena. This
calls for renewed interest in the role of Alexandria not only for the translation of the Torah, but also in the
fixing of its text and in the organization of prophetic books as the sequel of the Torah. Hence, if the
assembling of the Joshua-Kings corpus is much later than the exilic date postulated by Martin Noth, Pg
deserves renewed interest as it may turn out to be the earliest document spanning several biblical books.
Depending on the particular focus of the session, I will conclude with a plea for Pg. In spite of the various
attempts to shrink and distort it, it remains, I claim, the earliest coherent document covering the entire span
of the Torah, if not the Hexateuch. Its coherent presentation of the rise of Israelite monotheism and how
Israel relates to its Semitic cousins provides an anchoring point from which it becomes possible to observe
how Pg became Ps and then Torah, through the insertion of other materials that shaped the Jewish identity.
15
Else K. Holt, ad fontes aquarumGod as Water in the Psalms?
The metaphor God is Water is well known in a Christian (NT) context but rarely used in the Old
Testament where it is explicit only in the book of Jeremiah. My presentation will investigate the possible
use of the metaphor in Ps 42/43. Here the psalmist longs for the living God like a deer longs for the flowing
streams. But in the first strophe (Ps 42:1-6) there is no water for him to drink but his own tears, which have
been his food day and night. In the second strophe (Ps 42:7-12) the situation changes dramatically, and he
gets far too much and too dangerous and chaotic water. The poor man has nothing to do but to seek refuge
in another image: God is a rock. Thus, in the third strophe (Ps 43:1-5) the water imagery is absent and
substituted by other images of God. What is the coherence and dynamic in the water imagery throughout
the parts of the psalm? Is both metaphor and metonymy represented in the psalms water imagery? What
are the relations between the imagery in Ps 42/43 and other psalms where God is only portrayed as the ruler
of the water, whatever chaotic or fertile? And why is this fine image God is Water so rare in the Old
Testament and so popular in the New?
Beat Weber, Die Sprachbilder Fruchtbaum und Spreu im Verstehenszusammenhang von Psalm 1
Die Metaphern Fruchtbaum (Ps 1,3) und Spreu (Ps 1,4) haben Anteil an der weisheitlich-antithetischen
Gestaltung und Aussageabsicht des ersten Psalms. Eine nhere Betrachtung zeigt, dass die den Psalm
prgende Bipolaritt nicht einfach gleichgewichtig strukturiert, sondern mit Differenzierungen und
Nuancierungen verbunden ist. hnliches gilt im Blick auf die beiden Wortbilder. In diesem Beitrag geht es
primr darum, Gestalt, Funktion und Aussage dieser beiden Sprachbilder im Kontext von Psalm 1, der
(zusammen mit Psalm 2) das Eingangsportal zum Psalter bildet und damit bibelkanonisch von besonderer
Bedeutung ist, mglichst przis zu erfassen. Dazu bedarf es auch eines Seitenblicks auf hnliche
Bildaussagen im biblischen (und ausserbiblischen) Bereich. Im Vergleich mit anderen Beitrgen zur
Metaphorik der Psalmen an diesem Kongress wird zu diskutieren sein, ob und inwieweit die in Ps 1
ansichtig gewordene metaphorische Redeweise hinsichtlich des Psalmenbuchs eher als typisch oder aber als
aussergewhnlich einzuschtzen ist. Als Grundlage fr diesen Beitrag sei auf die vom Referenten
dargebotene exegetische Erarbeitung des Psalms samt seiner Einweisungsfunktion in einem krzlich
erschienen englischsprachigen Beitrag verwiesen (Beat Weber, Psalm 1 and Its Function as a Directive
into the Psalter and towards a Biblical Theology, Old Testament Essays 19/1, 2006).
Fika J van Rensburg, Animosity towards Christian Foreigners in Asia Minor during the First Century CE
The addressees of 1 Peter are identified as resident and visiting foreigners (paroikoi kai parepidmoi
[diasporas] 1:1,17; 2:11), but the letter does not give any explicit cause for this status of the addressees. It
is improbable that official persecution was the cause. The backdrop rather seems to be the socio-political
status of the Christian groups in the Diaspora, their daily relationships with Jews and other non-Christians,
and the difficulties that they, as "resident and visiting foreigners" had to face daily. This paper is an attempt
to construct the animosity that foreigners who became Christians, experienced in Asia Minor during the
first century CE.
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Outi Lepp, Useless Commandment: Animosity towards the Earlier Covenant in Hebrews
In the Book of Acts Ananias and Sapphira are a married couple, who sold their property and gave part of
the price to the early church. They lied that they had given all the money. Peter rebuked Ananias without
giving him a chance to repent. When he met Sapphira he, at least, predicted her death. The other option is
that she died because Peter cursed her. Peter had active role in this ultimate act of violence. Desjardins
shows that the story has another dimension of violence, namely psychological: Be careful, fellow
Christians; remember what happened when Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter? Luke is the only author in
the NT who tells stories about divine capital punishments. Not only Ananias and Sapphira were killed, but
also Judas Iscariot and Herod Agrippa. The death of Judas is connected with Ananias and Sapphira by two
motives: one is trading land and the other is having Satan in hearth. And it is Peterwho elsewho tells
about the fate of Judas. Luke used the same rare word when he tells about the death of Agrippa as with
Ananias and Sapphira. And guess who was in prison before Agrippa diedPeter. The picture of Luke is
not complete, if we do not mention one more story about Peter: Simon Magus trying to buy the Holy Spirit.
This time Peter predicted his eternal fate, but left the door open for repentance: May your silver perish
with your....Repent... Luke might be the only NT author telling these stories, but he has biblical
forerunner. The story has also verbal connection to the story of Achan in LXX (Joshua 7:1-26). Achan had
kept part of the spoils consecrated to Yahweh and was stoned to death for his offence.
Tuesday afternoon
The Bible and Sacred Space
Stuart Lasine, Holy Men in Space
Only one individual is explicitly called a holy man of God in the Tanakh, and that is the prophet Elisha.
However, Moses, Aaron and other priests can participate in holiness, and in Deuteronomy all Israelites are
said to be holy. This paper examines how the holiness of some biblical individuals expresses itself in their
movements in space, particularly in their relations with the divine and other humans, including the ways in
which others perceive their holy qualities. Elisha and Moses will receive most attention. In discussing
Elisha, I will focus on the prophets relations with the Shunammite and her son. The section on Moses will
highlight his appearance to the people in Exodus 34, and his actions during the Korah rebellion. I will
then discuss the report of Gods attack on Moses in Exod 4:24-26 and the ways in which it contrasts with
the account of the divine attack on Jacob at the Jabbok, at a time before the term holiness and arguably
the conceptappears in the Bible (with the exception of the sanctification of the Sabbath in Gen 2:3). The
paper concludes with some brief observations on the problem of defining holiness and the implications of
that problem for an understanding of sacred space in the Hebrew Bible.
Mark Brummitt, Jeremiah and the City: Jeremiah 1 and the Fortified Prophet of Jerusalem
The unexpected referent to the pronoun them in Jeremiah 1: 16 brings about a moment of disorientation
and signals the disruption (or overturning) of categories. The enemy without turns out to be a divinely
ordained judgement on an enemy within, and the besieged are reconfigured as besiegerswithin a city
surrounded by the tribes of the kingdoms of the north is a fortified prophet beset by its citizens (1:15, 18-
19). I shall examine the strange symbiosis of prophet and city and the consequent redefining of sacred
space set up by this commissioning. Commenting on the parallel circumstances of Jeremiah and Jerusalem,
I shall besiege the text with insights taken from theories of the production of social space, particularly,
given the hints of Holy War theology and the context of imperialism, in relation to postcolonial writings.
Pernille Carstens, Travelling through the Landscape
Parts of the Old Testament are related to a landscape. Not only in the concrete form of a certain territory, as
for example the desert which is crossed. In the National Epic there is a sort of permanent and underlying
reference to the presence of the ancestors in the shape of tomb markers and memorials. These monuments,
and references to them, express permanence, they turn these places into sacred places. They constitute a
man-made landscape. In turn this has bearing on the development of ethnicity; this man-made landscape
constitutes both a collective memory and the conception of the sacred homeland. On a literary level this
may be characterized as the creation of a mythical landscape (as Anthony Smith says: a poetic landscape).
The archaeologist Christopher Tilley has investigated different ethnic groups and their relationship towards
landscape; how their history can be read via traits in the landscape. He sees the landscape as the carrier of
ancestral maps, created in a remote past, in Dreamtime. I intend to apply Tilley's landscape theories to the
National Epic. Via his theories of ancestral mind mapping, I will suggest a new reading of the Old
Testament travels, the movement and the walks, including the notion on pilgrimage, liminal as it is.
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Animosity, the Bible and Us IV
Dirk van der Merwe, Animosity in the Johannine Epistles: a divisio communitas
A group of people within the Johannine community (2:18) contributed towards destroying the koinonia
(fellowship) experienced among members of this community. Because the texts of 1 and 2 John do not
provide direct evidence of the identities of the communitys heretically inclined members, it has been
pointed out how they are defined in different ways by different scholars. Given that the Gnostic hypothesis,
based on the alleged Gnostic terminology found in 1 John, is simply an extension of a historically
orientated approach, which creates more problems than it solves, it is best to seek direct evidence of these
heretics identities and the nature of animosity in the hypothetically socio-religious constructed
circumstances, sensible from the text. The text of 1 John, in both style and substance, serves to establish the
nature of the controversy; a controversy that is encoded in the polemical language of slogans, dialectic
discourse, confessions and denials, the apocalyptic language of the antichrists, and the competing spirits.
The animosity in 1 John not only proves to be a matter of different interpretations of a shared tradition, but
certainly also of diverse ethical conduct. An analysis of the pooemium (1:1-4) provides insight into the
nature of the fellowship that had been destroyed. This deliberately structured text, with its specific
emphasis on koinonia, sets the tone in which the animosity is to be interpreted. From this investigation,
family metaphorics proved to be the setting in which the terminology and thought-framework of 1 and 2
John are embedded and how it should be understood and interpreted. In order to help his readers to make
the right choices in re-establishing the koinonia, the methodology used in 1 and 2 John by the Elder, has (1)
an explanatory function and (2) a rhetorical function. The Elder uses the reciprocal negative (antithetical
parallelism) to describe and explain the commanding positive. He uses rhetoric (deliberative and epideictic)
to encourage and to exhort his adherents to continue living according to the characteristics of the familia
dei (family of God), and those who were led astray to return.
Henk Bakker, Animosity and Voluntary Martyrdom: the Power of the Powerless
Christians were considered enemies of the state and could be very hostile toward Roman pagan rituals (e.g.
Tertullian). Now and then they were locally persecuted and only some of them had to suffer a violent death.
Among the celebrated martyrs were Christians who offered themselves voluntarily to die (cf. the letters of
Ignatius of Antioch) and who were glad to be morituri (cf. the Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis; see also
Tertullian, Ad martyras). The scenes pictured by Christian authors and redactors were often horrific (cf.
Martyrium Lugdunensium, and the Martyrium Potamiaenae), however, especially bizarre is the idea of
victory which so often goes along with the pathetic struggle. The lives of voluntary Christian martyrs were
not taken by force, because in their perception they sacrificed themselves, giving Satan the deathblow,
crushing his head under their feet. I call this phenomenon a mysterious early Christian enigmait is the
paradox of the power of the powerless martyr, he was untouchable and his hostility was spiritualized and
changed into victory. When you feel so powerless, what are you gonna do? (Nelly Furtado). Some
Christians took initiative and delivered themselves to the authorities. We ought to rethink voluntary
martyrdom especially because of the possibilities it gives to terror, at home, in the church, but also in
culture and society.
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Kontrastsetzungen viele-einer, oben-unten, mchtig-hilflos bei der Vorfhrung einzelner
Erlebnisbereiche bildet sich in Sprache und Bild ein Angebot speziell fr soziale Angst, d.h. das u.U.
diffuse Erleben von Selbstwertbedrohung ab.
Stefan Wlchli, Zorn JHWHs im Psaltereine Metapher des Leidens?
In verschiedenen Psalmen wird das Zrnen JHWHs erwhnt, berwiegend im Zusammenhang mit
Leidenserfahrungen der Beter. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob und wie sich dieses Reden vom Zorn in die
brigen Leidensmetaphern einfgt. Der Beitrag zeigt am Beispiel einiger ausgewhlter Klagepsalmen die
Funktion und Bedeutung dieses Zornes als den Versuch, das Leiden zu deuten. Der Psalmbeter, der sein
Leiden als Aktion seines zornigen Gottes verstehen kann, kann auch weiterhin auf eine Heilswende hoffen.
So ist das Zrnen JHWHs im Psalter nicht primr eine Metapher fr die Leidenserfahrung als solche,
sondern Metapher fr ein Handeln Gottes, das der Beter als leidvoll und bedrohlich erfhrt.
Zacharias Kotz, Winking (Crq) as Conceptual Metaphor for the Evil Eye in Ps 35:19
Pinching the eye in the context of nonverbal communication in the ancient Near East, has been identified as
an insidiously malicious gesture that communicates hostility. However, to date, the conceptual content of
this expression has not been adequately detailed against the background of the ancient Israelite beliefs
regarding the magical powers of the eye. This paper seeks to investigate the scope of this metonym in order
to come to a verifiable interpretation of the locution. It is argued that the focus of the figurative expression
is the causation of harm to another person and that it should best be viewed as motivated by the ancient
Israelite belief in the Evil Eye.
Philippe Guillaume, I Will Leap a Bull (Ps 18:30)
Since Biblical rw#$ signifies 80 times a bull or a mature bovine, the common translation of the word in
Psalm 18:30, and its parallel in 2 Samuel 22:30 as I will leap a wall can be challenged. The Hebrew text
seems to refer to the practice of bull-leaping in honor of Yhwh. This ritual is well attested in the Bronze
Age throughout the Levant. Three seals from Iron Age Israelite sites suggest that bull leaping was also
known in Israel. The translators of the LXX were well aware of the practice but intentionally obscured the
meaning by rendering rw#$ as tei=xov wall, avoiding the association of King David with a bull. Such
association was too reminiscent of the immature golden bull set up by Aaron in the wilderness.The
metaphor lost of much of its substance. But was it at all metaphoric?
19
Allegoriae 3.47. In this passage Philo denies the possibility of finding God while remaining in the body,
implying that it is inconceivable that the revelation of God could be mediated by sensory experience.
Interestingly, in the only scholarly article devoted to fanerow that I know of, Marcus Bockmuehl draws
attention precisely to the sensory connotation of this verb in the NT. Since fanerow is often used in the
context of incarnation, it should not come as a surprise that it is related to bodily experiences.
Jan Lambrecht, The Paul Who Wants to Die: A Close Reading of 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10
To what extent does Paul look forward to his death? Reading 2 Cor 5:2-4 one has the impression that Paul
does not want to die. He hopes that he can put on his new body from heaven over the still living old one
from earth. He thus hopes to be still alive when the Lord returns. Then, at the parousia, the earthly body
will be transformed. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Cor 15:51). But reading further
in 2 Corinthians one observes in 5:8 that Paul expresses his desire to die: we would rather go away from
the body and get home to the Lord. In this paper we shall discuss the question whether the two desires can
be reconciled? Since in 4:16 a distinction appears between the outward self and the inward self, we shall
also have to investigate what kind of self Paul is referring to here.
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crucifixion exceed the information offered in the New Testament texts? It appears as if there is a gap
between common information and the common text. What knowledge about Jesus execution form could be
obtained from the New Testament texts?
Tobias Hgerland, Do not validate this sin of theirs! Stephens intercessory prayer in light of the Septuagint
Interpreters of Stephens last prayer in Acts 7.59-60 frequently assume that do not hold this sin against
them is simply another way of saying forgive this sin for them, allowing the heavenly Jesus to take on
the role that God plays in the Lukan crucifixion scene (Lk. 23.34) as the one asked to forgive the assassins.
In two steps, this paper questions that consensus and instead proposes that Jesus is invoked as a heavenly
advocate in Acts 7.60, while the proper agent of forgiveness is God. First of all, the consensus view is
shown to be unlikely in face of the immediate context of the Protomartyrs request, and it is demonstrated
that the philological evidence from 1 Maccabees brought in by Cadbury has been misread and cannot
support the consensus view. Second, it is argued that if a Septuagint background of Stephens prayer is to
be sought, the Greek version of Numbers 30 constitutes a better candidate than do the royal letters of 1
Maccabees. The paper concludes by reflecting on what implications this reassessment may carry for our
understanding of the christology in Lukes writings and in early Christianity at large.
Wednesday morning
21
In his 1996 book, The Structure of Metaphor, White provides a novel approach to metaphor and a helpful
heuristic device for unpacking the analogical comparison at the heart of any metaphor. This paper will
show how the application of this particular metaphor theory can enhance the interpretation of metaphors
found in the Psalms.
Hebrew Bible I
Kevin Wilson, From Horeb to Shechem: Deuteronomy and Joshua as a Combined Document
Since the mid-20th century, the study of the composition of Joshua has been pulled in two direction. One
direction, following the ideas of von Rad, sees Joshua as the end of the Hexateuch. Other scholars, picking
up on the work of Noth, see it as part of an extended Deuteronomistic History. This paper examines the
earliest stage of the composition of Joshua and concludes that neither theory is fully satisfactory. Instead, it
argues that Joshua 211 and parts of 2324 were composed at the same time and by the same hand as the
material in Deuteronomy 511 and 2728. Deuteronomy and Joshua were originally two volumes of the
same work and circulated as a combined document. Only later was this work incorporated into the larger
Hexateuch by the work of the Yahwist.
Elie Assis, Why did the Judeans think that the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lords house (Haggai
1:2)?
Why were the Judeans reluctant to build a Temple during the first decades of the Persian period? This is the
main issue to be addressed in this paper, through an analysis of the first oracle of Haggai (Hag 1:1-15). It is
said that the people did not build the Temple because they maintained that the time has not yet come to
rebuild the Lords house (1:2). This contention is generally considered to derive from the severe economic
distress, and the difficulty in earmarking resources for the construction, when the people were weighed
down with problems of daily survival. Several scholars give theological reasons for the postponement.
Others believe that the people were still awaiting the messianic period. I will demonstrate how the oracle
reveals a deeper theological basis for the people's belief that the time had not yet come to build the Temple:
they felt that God has not returned to His people after the destruction or after the return from exile, and that
the rift between Israel and God still continued.
Maciej M. Mnnich, What did the Biblical Goat-Demons Look Like?
The Biblical Goat-Demons (MryIoVc) appear in the Bible four or five times (Lev 17:7; Isa 13:21; 34:14; 2 Chr
11:15; probably 2 Kgs 23:8). Scholars still cannot describe what they looked like. Even the second edition
of DDD mentions: we do not posses clear iconographical witnesses to flesh out our conceptions of
demonic desert beings, as the MryIoVc must have been. However, after a careful examination of the West-
Semitic iconographical sources it seems we can paint the image of the Goat-Demons. In the Syro-Canaanite
and Hebrew iconography we can find two kinds of beings, which can be classified as MryIoVc. The first one is
a capride-sphinx; the second one is a human being with capride head.
Goran Eideval, Enemies Disguised as Animals in Some Prophetic Passages
Drawing on studies of enemy portraits in modern war propaganda, this paper analyzes some passages from
the prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible: Isa 5:26-29; 7:18-20; 34:5-7; Hos 5:12-14. In these passages,
enemies of various kinds are depicted as various kinds of animals. Theriomorphic representations can be
said to dehumanize the foe. Still, the purpose is not necessarily the same in all cases. The rhetorical aim
could be either to ridicule the hostile forces or to underline their dangerousness. Sometimes, in the context
of war propaganda, the purpose is to deprive the foes of their human dignity. It will be argued that each of
these purposes is exemplified by one or more of the biblical passages selected.
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The Bible in the Twenty-First Century
Jeremy Punt, The Biblicisation of Politics in post-Apartheid South Africa: Two Case Studies
There are few signs that the Bible registers less significance in post-Apartheid South Africa when
compared with the ways it was used during the previous socio-political regime. Its reception history
testifies to how the Bible is still considered an important authorising agent in society, and often still found
useful for socio-political posturing. Two case studies in South Africa, the recent attention to homosexuality
both in and beyond faith communities and the Christmas message of the (Muslim) Western Cape premier,
are used to highlight the influence and impact of the use of the Bible today. With the Bible incorporated to
establish and maintain certain political positions, the biblical documents are found to contribute in different
ways to the defence of existing as well as the formation of new worldviews and the construction of new
realities.
Ingeborg Loewisch, Gendered Genealogies in the Hebrew Bible and Recent Film: Acts of Memory and
Political Practice
This paper discusses gendered genealogies in the Hebrew Bible in the context of contemporary culture and
politics. Female gendered genealogies mention women, but more important, suggest and evaluate locations
of women within the collective identity and memory constituted by the genealogical texts, either implicitly
or explicitly. I analyse gendered genealogies in Genesis, Numbers, and Chronicles with a focus on
dynamics of gender, ethnicity, national identity, social status and land that are inherent in the passages.
Thereby, I use feminist memory studies and post-colonial notions of identity as an analytical framework.
Furthermore, I work with recent intertexts and confront the biblical genealogies with performances of
gendered genealogies in film (e.g. Mein Leben Teil 2, A. Levi, D 2003; Sottosopra, G. Schrer, CH 2001;
Antonias Line, M. Gorris, NL 1995). The paper shows the potential and the implications of the use of
gendered genealogies within feminist theory and politics in biblical studies and beyond.
Yvonne Sherwood, Early Modern De-Biblicization or When the Bible and Politics/Law Began to Come
Apart
The seventeenth century is a period for which the descriptor religious is an overstatement, an under-
statement and a meaningless tautology. Citizens of the seventeenth century speak Bible with a fluency that
could make Bible and Culture scholars giddy with the sense of ubiquity and relevance. Whereas some
contemporary biblical scholars write self-consciously of Bible and Culture, this is a period in which Bible
and Culture have not yet separated. This paper explores the process of self-conscious separation in which
Bible/Theology recedes (but by no means disappears) to make space for independent discourses such as
Law and political science. The fact that this happens in an early modern society in which it is not publicly
possible to be anything but Christian (atheism and blasphemy incur severe legal penalties), demonstrates
how Early Modernity perceived a need for de-theologised and de-biblicised Law and Politics long before
anyone could speak publicly about separating from Bible in matters of personal faith. In Jeffrey Stouts
useful terminology, the seventeenth century is busy creating space for secularisationthat is, public
discourse not framed by a theological perspective, which should not be confused with secularism, the
denial of theological assumptions or the expulsion of theological expression from the public sphere. As a
transitional period, the seventeenth century presents us with many curioschief among which must be the
pronouncement by a Judge in a Court of Law, as late as 1686, that there is no law whatsoever but may be
dispensed with by the supreme lawgiver [i.e. the monarch, King James II/VII]; as the laws of God may be
dispensed with by God himself; as it appears by Gods command to Abraham, to offer up his son Isaac
as if we could seriously deduce anything about the monarchs supreme right in law (or more accurately
above law) from Gods law-breaking command to sacrifice Isaac. Campaigns to bring the Bible, as origin
of law, back into the lawcourts in giant monuments to the ten commandments, together with the terms in
which such moves have been countered, show how far we are now beyond a world in which there is no de-
theologised and de-biblicised autonomy to Law. The paper explores the crucial moves of secularisation, but
also the problematic legacies of the rather fudged constitutional settlement between Western democracies
and Bible. The imperfectly worked out settlement between Bible and constitution means that England (like
other Western democracies) retains Bible as the putative foundation of democracy, but also means that the
Bible never needs to be publicly criticized since it is by default and constitutional arrangement associated
with democracy and justice and all the later modern goods. It can be a shock to see the God of Abraham
cited as a supporter of theocracy and absolute (we would say despotic) monarchy. Perhaps this all too
typical anomaly might make us think more critically about the (too easy) constitutional settlement which
is perfectly honoured in the fusion of democracy-Bible in the scriptural politics of George W. Bush.
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Emma England, Understanding Judith Through Vocabularies of Terrorism; Understanding Terrorism
Through Judith
There are numerous interpretations of Judith; one that has been touched upon but has yet to be elaborated is
Judith as a terrorist (Stocker, Judith: Sexual Warrior, 1998: 218-229; Craven, The Book of Judith, 2003:
187). By introducing contemporary vocabularies and definitions of terrorism, and incorporating examples
from recent political events, I will argue that Judith is a terrorist. I will analyse various aspects of her
ambiguous character and actions in terms of spectacle, direct as opposed to main targets, her faith, and
etic/emic. This will offer an alternative reading of Judith that not only uses twenty-first century language
but also gives me the opportunity of discussing a possible intersection between the bible and contemporary
politics. By understanding Judith as a terrorist I will have created an entry point for approaching and
questioning contemporary definitions of terrorism; specifically what constitutes a terrorist act.
Wednesday afternoon
Hebrew Bible II
Lukasz Niesiolowski-Spano, The New Type of Ekron Inscription Reviewed
In recently discovered jar-inscription from Ekron (publ. IEJ 1999) editors propose the reading of short text
as: lbl wlpdy. The paper aims to review all implication for such reading. The linguistic, archaeological and
historical argumentation will be used to reject the editors reading. The tentative reading proposed by the
speaker will have some implication on the difficult passage in Habakkuk 3:14.
Hugh Pyper, Des Jona Sendung: Jonahs Journey from 2 Kings 15 to Tallinn via Nineveh
Rudolf Tobias oratorio Des Jona Sendung was triumphantly performed in Tallinn in 1989 as part of
rebirth of the Estonian Republic. This was only the works second performance, some 80 years after its
dismal premiere in Leipzig. Tobias idiosyncratic setting of the story of Jonah is based on his own libretto
which is a patchwork of biblical texts. In this paper, Tobiass reworking of Jonah will be seen as itself
building on the close and creative reworking of 2 Kings 15 which underlies the book of Jonah. Tobiass
methods and aims shed light on the methods and aims of the writer of Jonah, and the rediscovery of Tobias
work in the new circumstances of the collapse of the Soviet Union suggests intriguing questions about the
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genesis and purpose of the book of Jonah which postcolonial theory might answer. The paper will be
illustrated by short extracts from Tobiass extraordinary score.
Helen Leneman, Jael and Sisera: An Italian Love Story
The only golden rose in my secret orchard, o beloved, o spouseJael rips away her veil and tosses it
behind her. Sisera trembles, silent, lost. These excerpts are from Ildebrando Pizzettis opera Debora e
Jaele, which premiered at La Scala in 1922. Pizzetti (18801965) was the most respected and influential of
the more conservative Italian musicians of his generation. In Judges chapter 4, Jaels only words to Sisera
are Dont fear. She offers him milk and covers him without his asking. The story is under-narrated, and
Jaels point of view is not given. This narrative gapor chasmhas inspired numerous interpretations of
Jaels motives and feelings. Debora e Jaele features a lengthy love duet between Jael and Sisera prior to the
battle. When they kiss, Jaels resolve weakens. When Sisera appears at her tent after the battle, Jael
embraces him passionately, proclaims he is her lord and master, and affectionately offers him milk. Outside
the tent, Jael pleads with Deborah for Siseras life. Finally Jael takes the peg and hammer, reluctantly, as
the army is closing in and Deborah threatens to have soldiers kill Sisera. Reading the story with what-if
and why not questions raises new and even startling possibilities, and offers readers new lenses with
which to read an old story.
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is an anti-Pauline passage reflecting the theology of Paul's opponents in the Letter to the Galatians. While this
theory has not found much favour, the counter-argument of Pauline authorship, integrity and theology within
its context has gained ground but not achieved full consensus either. We will briefly consider the exegetical
range of positions on the passage, but in particular focus on two recent positions (Hultgren, 2003 and Hogeterp,
2004) that allow us to revisit the two ends of the spectrum that articulated themselves in the 1970s. More
importantly, our contribution seeks to explore the theological implications of a letter lacking or retaining this
enigmatic passage and whether, at the end of the day, its retention or excision tells us more about exegetical
predispositions than Paul's own theology.
Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, The Unity of Paul's Narrative World in 2 Corinthians 1-7: Norman Petersen's
Narrative-Critical Approach and the Coherence of 2 Corinthians
In his book Rediscovering Paul: Philemon and the Sociology of Paul's Narrative World (1985), Norman R.
Petersen emphasizes that letters have stories. He develops a narrative-critical method that allows one to
discover the story in letters by means of reconstructing the referential sequence (the way the events develop
in historical perspective) and comparing it to the poetic sequence (the way the story is told in the letter).
Thus he is able to show the narrative strategy Paul is using in telling his story in and through the letter.
Assuming the internal unity of 2 Corinthians 1-7, in this paper we shall apply Petersen's method to these
seven chapters and attempt to reconstruct the referential sequence in comparison with the poetic sequence.
In addition, Petersen's narrative-critical approach also has implications for the theological understanding of
the texts to which it is applied. The theological understanding is situated in the narrative as it unfolds
between Paul and his social relations in their shared symbolic universe. Building on the results of the
narrative-critical approach concerning the unity of 2 Corinthians 1-7, we shall investigate the traces of
Paul's theologizing and inquire what this contributes to the discussion on the unity of these chapters.
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