Pub Date : 2019-09-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820719860655
T. A. Bergren
5 Ezra (2 Esdras 1–2) is an apocryphal Christian supersessionist tractate dating from the 3rd century. It is structured in three main sections, each of which comprises two contrasting parts. 5 Ezra 2:10–14 is a seemingly anomalous pericope, falling exactly between the two parts of the second main section, but belonging to neither. This article argues that 2:10–14 is actually central to the book’s message. Placed precisely at the middle point of the book’s narrative, it narrates in literary terms the process of transition from Judaism to Christianity that is central to the book’s supersessionist theology. After identifying structural parallels to 2:10–14 in the Gospel of Mark and 4 Ezra, the article continues with a detailed exegesis of 2:10–14. The article concludes by considering the place of 5 Ezra within the larger scheme of Christian supersessionist theology.
{"title":"5 Ezra 2:10–14: Its place in the book’s structure and in Christian supersessionism","authors":"T. A. Bergren","doi":"10.1177/0951820719860655","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719860655","url":null,"abstract":"5 Ezra (2 Esdras 1–2) is an apocryphal Christian supersessionist tractate dating from the 3rd century. It is structured in three main sections, each of which comprises two contrasting parts. 5 Ezra 2:10–14 is a seemingly anomalous pericope, falling exactly between the two parts of the second main section, but belonging to neither. This article argues that 2:10–14 is actually central to the book’s message. Placed precisely at the middle point of the book’s narrative, it narrates in literary terms the process of transition from Judaism to Christianity that is central to the book’s supersessionist theology. After identifying structural parallels to 2:10–14 in the Gospel of Mark and 4 Ezra, the article continues with a detailed exegesis of 2:10–14. The article concludes by considering the place of 5 Ezra within the larger scheme of Christian supersessionist theology.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719860655","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43249894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-21DOI: 10.1177/0951820719860649
A. R. Wells
Jubilees 3:27–31 explains the command to cover one’s nakedness, and the connections with animal speech help to elucidate the reasons for this law. Jubilees implies a sort of equality/solidarity between humans and animals due to their sin/impurity. Even though God does not directly address the serpent with speech, Jubilees portrays animals as more rational than in Genesis, as they originally talked and conversed with each other and apparently also with humans. This shared rationality and identity between all animals results in all losing their speech. Animals are portrayed in Jubilees with more rationality, culpability, and even solidarity with humans than in Genesis. The one exception is that animals are not allowed to cover their nakedness, and yet they still end up in a more positive light than the nations, who are willfully uncovered and in shame.
{"title":"“One language and one tongue”: Animal speech in Jubilees 3:27–31","authors":"A. R. Wells","doi":"10.1177/0951820719860649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719860649","url":null,"abstract":"Jubilees 3:27–31 explains the command to cover one’s nakedness, and the connections with animal speech help to elucidate the reasons for this law. Jubilees implies a sort of equality/solidarity between humans and animals due to their sin/impurity. Even though God does not directly address the serpent with speech, Jubilees portrays animals as more rational than in Genesis, as they originally talked and conversed with each other and apparently also with humans. This shared rationality and identity between all animals results in all losing their speech. Animals are portrayed in Jubilees with more rationality, culpability, and even solidarity with humans than in Genesis. The one exception is that animals are not allowed to cover their nakedness, and yet they still end up in a more positive light than the nations, who are willfully uncovered and in shame.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719860649","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48771279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-21DOI: 10.1177/0951820719860628
Simon Bellmann, Anathea E. Portier-Young
In recent decades, a lively debate on the Hebrew and Greek versions of Esther story has developed, focusing on their text-historical and theological relationship. The discussion is enriched further by taking into account the Old Latin Esther, fully edited some 10 years ago by Jean-Claude Haelewyck as part of the Beuron Vetus Latina series. The extant Latin text likely dates back to 330–50 CE and represents an older, now-lost Greek Vorlage. Its numerous peculiarities substantially widen our understanding of ancient Esther traditions. The English translation presented here aims to elicit a broader interest in the Old Latin Esther and to facilitate a fresh discussion of its significance.
{"title":"The Old Latin book of Esther: An English translation","authors":"Simon Bellmann, Anathea E. Portier-Young","doi":"10.1177/0951820719860628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719860628","url":null,"abstract":"In recent decades, a lively debate on the Hebrew and Greek versions of Esther story has developed, focusing on their text-historical and theological relationship. The discussion is enriched further by taking into account the Old Latin Esther, fully edited some 10 years ago by Jean-Claude Haelewyck as part of the Beuron Vetus Latina series. The extant Latin text likely dates back to 330–50 CE and represents an older, now-lost Greek Vorlage. Its numerous peculiarities substantially widen our understanding of ancient Esther traditions. The English translation presented here aims to elicit a broader interest in the Old Latin Esther and to facilitate a fresh discussion of its significance.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719860628","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43073775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-21DOI: 10.1177/0951820719861900
A. Kulik
This article proposes an integrative analysis of the ouranology of 3 Baruch. This apocalyptic work, properly read, manifests complex ouranological conceptions well integrated not only into early Jewish literature and Hellenistic thought, but also into later mystical traditions. The unique worldview of the book has heretofore given rise to a complex set of interpretive problems; the detailed comparative approach of the present article not only provides a reasonable solution, but also sheds light on the cosmological conceptions of other early Jewish documents and the traditions lying behind them.
{"title":"The enigma of the five heavens and early Jewish cosmology1","authors":"A. Kulik","doi":"10.1177/0951820719861900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719861900","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes an integrative analysis of the ouranology of 3 Baruch. This apocalyptic work, properly read, manifests complex ouranological conceptions well integrated not only into early Jewish literature and Hellenistic thought, but also into later mystical traditions. The unique worldview of the book has heretofore given rise to a complex set of interpretive problems; the detailed comparative approach of the present article not only provides a reasonable solution, but also sheds light on the cosmological conceptions of other early Jewish documents and the traditions lying behind them.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719861900","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45385317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-21DOI: 10.1177/0951820719860627
Adam Winn
While many interpreters of the Enochic Parables have recognized a connection between the Enochic Son of Man and personified wisdom, this article argues that the Enochic Son of Man should be primarily identified as God’s wisdom as well as God’s word. To this end, the article argues that (a) the Son of Man is best understood as a divine being rather than an idealized human being, (b) a prominent word and wisdom theology existed in the late Second Temple period, and (c) both similarities between the Enochic Son of Man and word/wisdom as well as the narrative of the Parables support the conclusion that the Enochic Son of Man is an apocalyptic embodiment of God’s word and wisdom.
{"title":"Identifying the Enochic Son of Man as God’s word and wisdom","authors":"Adam Winn","doi":"10.1177/0951820719860627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719860627","url":null,"abstract":"While many interpreters of the Enochic Parables have recognized a connection between the Enochic Son of Man and personified wisdom, this article argues that the Enochic Son of Man should be primarily identified as God’s wisdom as well as God’s word. To this end, the article argues that (a) the Son of Man is best understood as a divine being rather than an idealized human being, (b) a prominent word and wisdom theology existed in the late Second Temple period, and (c) both similarities between the Enochic Son of Man and word/wisdom as well as the narrative of the Parables support the conclusion that the Enochic Son of Man is an apocalyptic embodiment of God’s word and wisdom.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719860627","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48923699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-18DOI: 10.1177/0951820719832428
Christfried Böttrich
For a long time the apocryphal Ladder of Jacob was accessible only in arbitrarily selected translations. Without a critical edition and a comprehensive study of the whole textual segment, scholars were unable to evaluate its significance for Early Jewish and Christian literature. Since 2015/17, with the publication of a new critical edition and German translation (accompanied by a detailed introduction, footnote commentaries and appendices with related texts), a new approach to this important but hitherto widely unknown text has been made possible. This approach verifies the different layers or strata in the text, which are: a supposed Jewish apocalypse (mid-second century), a Christian expansion of the angels speech in light of the praeparatio evangelica tradition (fourth–seventh centuries), a Jewish mystical prayer (eleventh century) and the incorporation of this narrative block into the Tolkovaja Paleja together with a series of exegetical commentaries (end of the thirteenth century). In the light of the new approach, it can be said that the Ladder of Jacob is most of all an outstanding example of mutual relations between Jewish and Christian theology.
{"title":"A New Approach to the Apocryphal Ladder of Jacob*","authors":"Christfried Böttrich","doi":"10.1177/0951820719832428","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719832428","url":null,"abstract":"For a long time the apocryphal Ladder of Jacob was accessible only in arbitrarily selected translations. Without a critical edition and a comprehensive study of the whole textual segment, scholars were unable to evaluate its significance for Early Jewish and Christian literature. Since 2015/17, with the publication of a new critical edition and German translation (accompanied by a detailed introduction, footnote commentaries and appendices with related texts), a new approach to this important but hitherto widely unknown text has been made possible. This approach verifies the different layers or strata in the text, which are: a supposed Jewish apocalypse (mid-second century), a Christian expansion of the angels speech in light of the praeparatio evangelica tradition (fourth–seventh centuries), a Jewish mystical prayer (eleventh century) and the incorporation of this narrative block into the Tolkovaja Paleja together with a series of exegetical commentaries (end of the thirteenth century). In the light of the new approach, it can be said that the Ladder of Jacob is most of all an outstanding example of mutual relations between Jewish and Christian theology.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719832428","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47150279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-18DOI: 10.1177/0951820719832431
Cana Werman
The underlying assumption of this article is that fragments 1–4 and 14 of 4Q158 represent an independent composition, not related to fragments 5–12 of 4Q158, where Exodus 19–22 in its proto-Samaritan version is copied. Identification of a common denominator for fragments 1–4 and 14 (labelled here as 4Q158b) is the main task of this article. This study shows that 4Q158b expresses a particular exegetical understanding of the biblical covenants and that its author's intentions and exegetical processes are best clarified in light of the book of Jubilees. According to Jubilees, two covenants were made by God at the creation of the world: one with humanity and another with the people of Israel. 4Q158b collects biblical passages (Gen. 31–32; Exod. 3–4; Exod. 24) in which it discerns hints of various expressions of commitment to these two covenants between the period of Abraham and the events at Sinai. The author of the text rewrites these passages with the intent of revealing to the reader these covenantal references only hinted at in the Bible.
{"title":"The Two Covenants: An Interpretation of the 4Q158 Fragments","authors":"Cana Werman","doi":"10.1177/0951820719832431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719832431","url":null,"abstract":"The underlying assumption of this article is that fragments 1–4 and 14 of 4Q158 represent an independent composition, not related to fragments 5–12 of 4Q158, where Exodus 19–22 in its proto-Samaritan version is copied. Identification of a common denominator for fragments 1–4 and 14 (labelled here as 4Q158b) is the main task of this article. This study shows that 4Q158b expresses a particular exegetical understanding of the biblical covenants and that its author's intentions and exegetical processes are best clarified in light of the book of Jubilees. According to Jubilees, two covenants were made by God at the creation of the world: one with humanity and another with the people of Israel. 4Q158b collects biblical passages (Gen. 31–32; Exod. 3–4; Exod. 24) in which it discerns hints of various expressions of commitment to these two covenants between the period of Abraham and the events at Sinai. The author of the text rewrites these passages with the intent of revealing to the reader these covenantal references only hinted at in the Bible.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719832431","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48072501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-18DOI: 10.1177/0951820719832449
L. Quick
The use of cosmetics and body adornment in order to decorate and beautify oneself is an almost universal part of the human experience. This was also true of the ancient Palestinian culture that gave rise to the Hebrew Bible and early Jewish literature. Despite this, cosmetics and their function in the narratives in which they feature is an understudied subject within the academic scholarship of biblical literature. This article discusses the use of cosmetics in biblical and Jewish-Hellenistic texts, demonstrating that cosmetics were associated with immoral behavior and illicit sexual practices. Nevertheless, in the stories of Judith and Susanna, these characters apparently receive no such censure for applying cosmetic oil. By considering the use of cosmetics akin to a speech act, able to communicate something specific about one's social or sexual status, this article provides a new access to understanding these narratives and the characterisations of their female heroines.
{"title":"‘She Made Herself up Provocatively for the Charming of the Eyes of Men’ (Jdt. 10.4): Cosmetics and Body Adornment in the Stories of Judith and Susanna","authors":"L. Quick","doi":"10.1177/0951820719832449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820719832449","url":null,"abstract":"The use of cosmetics and body adornment in order to decorate and beautify oneself is an almost universal part of the human experience. This was also true of the ancient Palestinian culture that gave rise to the Hebrew Bible and early Jewish literature. Despite this, cosmetics and their function in the narratives in which they feature is an understudied subject within the academic scholarship of biblical literature. This article discusses the use of cosmetics in biblical and Jewish-Hellenistic texts, demonstrating that cosmetics were associated with immoral behavior and illicit sexual practices. Nevertheless, in the stories of Judith and Susanna, these characters apparently receive no such censure for applying cosmetic oil. By considering the use of cosmetics akin to a speech act, able to communicate something specific about one's social or sexual status, this article provides a new access to understanding these narratives and the characterisations of their female heroines.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2019-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820719832449","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44134343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820718823394
J. Trotter
How diasporans tell the story of their origin in the homeland and how they came to their new home abroad is just as important as the historical context(s) in which the diaspora community was created. This study draws attention to one common strategy employed by Egyptian Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (in the Letter of Aristeas, the writings of Philo of Alexandria, and 3 Maccabees) when remembering and (re)creating accounts of their origins in the diaspora in ways that legitimized life abroad: the use of diaspora-homeland connections and comparisons.
{"title":"The Homeland and the Legitimation of the Diaspora: Egyptian Jewish Origin Stories in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods","authors":"J. Trotter","doi":"10.1177/0951820718823394","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820718823394","url":null,"abstract":"How diasporans tell the story of their origin in the homeland and how they came to their new home abroad is just as important as the historical context(s) in which the diaspora community was created. This study draws attention to one common strategy employed by Egyptian Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (in the Letter of Aristeas, the writings of Philo of Alexandria, and 3 Maccabees) when remembering and (re)creating accounts of their origins in the diaspora in ways that legitimized life abroad: the use of diaspora-homeland connections and comparisons.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820718823394","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44571817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-12-01DOI: 10.1177/0951820718823392
P. Muñoa
Interpreters wrestle with Dan. 7.13–14 and its account of the ‘one like a human being’, traditionally known as ‘the Son of Man’. This figure is subject to two competing interpretations: symbol (suffering Jews) and individual (Michael). These positions draw upon Daniel 7's interpretation and Daniel's later chapters, but interpreters need to consider the Hebrew Bible's angel of the Lord tradition and more fully engage Dan. 7.13–14, the angelic interests of Daniel 2–6, the later Additions to Daniel, and Second Temple interpretations of Daniel 7. These materials are consistent with this angel's portrayal in the Hebrew Bible and indicate a growing interest in this angel's saving intervention on behalf of Israel. When Dan. 7.13–14 is read in light of this angelic tradition, a long-overlooked reading that argues for an angel of the Lord merits serious consideration.
{"title":"The Son of Man and the Angel of the Lord: Daniel 7.13–14 and Israel's Angel Traditions","authors":"P. Muñoa","doi":"10.1177/0951820718823392","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0951820718823392","url":null,"abstract":"Interpreters wrestle with Dan. 7.13–14 and its account of the ‘one like a human being’, traditionally known as ‘the Son of Man’. This figure is subject to two competing interpretations: symbol (suffering Jews) and individual (Michael). These positions draw upon Daniel 7's interpretation and Daniel's later chapters, but interpreters need to consider the Hebrew Bible's angel of the Lord tradition and more fully engage Dan. 7.13–14, the angelic interests of Daniel 2–6, the later Additions to Daniel, and Second Temple interpretations of Daniel 7. These materials are consistent with this angel's portrayal in the Hebrew Bible and indicate a growing interest in this angel's saving intervention on behalf of Israel. When Dan. 7.13–14 is read in light of this angelic tradition, a long-overlooked reading that argues for an angel of the Lord merits serious consideration.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2018-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/0951820718823392","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44264779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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