Pub Date : 2023-10-17DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/13489
Chris L De Wet
This article revisits and examines more closely John Chrysostom’s (ca. 349–407 CE) characterisation of Lot—specifically his relationship with Abram and their separation in LXX Gen 12–13—as an exemplar to think about early Christian social relations. This study forms part of a larger project investigating Chrysostom’s use of Old Testament exemplars in his preaching and moral instruction. It is shown that the formulation of early Christian social ideals was mediated by means of scriptural exemplars like Lot. Rickett’s (2019) descriptive analysis of Chrysostom’s reconstruction of Lot’s character in Gen 13 is a useful trajectory for this study. However, while Rickett explains in detail what Chrysostom thought about Lot’s separation from Abram (and how this differs or concurs with other interpreters), he does not discuss why Chrysostom reconstructs the character of Lot in the way he does. This is the purpose of this study—to ask more pertinent questions on why Chrysostom wants to safeguard Lot’s reputation and, more generally, why he was such a useful exemplar in early Christian biblical interpretation.
{"title":"Revisiting John Chrysostom’s Interpretation of the Relationship between Abram and Lot and Their Separation in LXX Genesis 12–13","authors":"Chris L De Wet","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/13489","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/13489","url":null,"abstract":"This article revisits and examines more closely John Chrysostom’s (ca. 349–407 CE) characterisation of Lot—specifically his relationship with Abram and their separation in LXX Gen 12–13—as an exemplar to think about early Christian social relations. This study forms part of a larger project investigating Chrysostom’s use of Old Testament exemplars in his preaching and moral instruction. It is shown that the formulation of early Christian social ideals was mediated by means of scriptural exemplars like Lot. Rickett’s (2019) descriptive analysis of Chrysostom’s reconstruction of Lot’s character in Gen 13 is a useful trajectory for this study. However, while Rickett explains in detail what Chrysostom thought about Lot’s separation from Abram (and how this differs or concurs with other interpreters), he does not discuss why Chrysostom reconstructs the character of Lot in the way he does. This is the purpose of this study—to ask more pertinent questions on why Chrysostom wants to safeguard Lot’s reputation and, more generally, why he was such a useful exemplar in early Christian biblical interpretation.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135993197","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 : 2023-09-12DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/13557
John Cook
The question of how systematic the Biblical Hebrew binyanim system is concerns both the pedagogy and the scholarly study of the language. Introductory grammars often, if inadvertently, present the binyanim to students as containing more complete and more predictable meaning relations than there actually are. Grammars and scholarly studies of the binyanim tend to operate with an assumption that the same root in a different binyan must have a different semantic-syntactic character, even if it requires some effort to tease it out with finely, if not always convincing, nuanced explanations. Following the model in Maya Arad’s examination of the binyanim in Modern Hebrew based in Distributed Morphology, I examine how complete and systematic the semantic-syntactic interrelationships among binyanim in Biblical Hebrew are and suggest implications from the study for pedagogy, studies of the binyanim, and valency analysis of Biblical Hebrew verbs.
{"title":"How Systematic is the Binyanim “System” in Biblical Hebrew?","authors":"John Cook","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/13557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/13557","url":null,"abstract":"The question of how systematic the Biblical Hebrew binyanim system is concerns both the pedagogy and the scholarly study of the language. Introductory grammars often, if inadvertently, present the binyanim to students as containing more complete and more predictable meaning relations than there actually are. Grammars and scholarly studies of the binyanim tend to operate with an assumption that the same root in a different binyan must have a different semantic-syntactic character, even if it requires some effort to tease it out with finely, if not always convincing, nuanced explanations. Following the model in Maya Arad’s examination of the binyanim in Modern Hebrew based in Distributed Morphology, I examine how complete and systematic the semantic-syntactic interrelationships among binyanim in Biblical Hebrew are and suggest implications from the study for pedagogy, studies of the binyanim, and valency analysis of Biblical Hebrew verbs.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135878253","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 : 2023-09-08DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/12356
Arend Hattingh
The date of the Pentateuch and its constituent parts is an ongoing debate in Old Testament studies. This article offers another way of dating a text. In Leviticus 27, which is widely regarded as an addendum to Leviticus, there is a reference to a specific currency. The study of coins, numismatology, is an expanding field, especially over the last 40 years. This article utilises numismatology to date Lev 27. The article touches on the debate of the mint in Jerusalem and the impact of the successful rebellion of Egypt on the Persian Empire. The coins found to date in Persian Yehud are discussed to identify the currency mentioned in the text of Lev 27. The article concludes that the date of Leviticus ascertained using redaction criticism is similar to the date determined for Lev 27 using numismatics.
{"title":"An Instance of Utilising Numismatology in Dating Biblical Texts: Leviticus 27:25 as a Test Case","authors":"Arend Hattingh","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/12356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12356","url":null,"abstract":"The date of the Pentateuch and its constituent parts is an ongoing debate in Old Testament studies. This article offers another way of dating a text. In Leviticus 27, which is widely regarded as an addendum to Leviticus, there is a reference to a specific currency. The study of coins, numismatology, is an expanding field, especially over the last 40 years. This article utilises numismatology to date Lev 27. The article touches on the debate of the mint in Jerusalem and the impact of the successful rebellion of Egypt on the Persian Empire. The coins found to date in Persian Yehud are discussed to identify the currency mentioned in the text of Lev 27. The article concludes that the date of Leviticus ascertained using redaction criticism is similar to the date determined for Lev 27 using numismatics.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136363609","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 : 2023-09-04DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/14338
Sampson Ndoga
Book IV of the Psalter ends on an anticipative note despite Israel’s chaotic history of serial failures. The psalmist foregrounds Yahweh’s acts of covenantal faithfulness as expressions of perennial divine faithfulness, favour, and forgiveness against Israel’s perpetual disloyalty. By reading Israel’s history through the mathematical conception of chaos as predictable patterns of behaviour managed under the outworking of divine purposes, what seemingly appear as random acts of rebellion become modelling of behaviour that Yahweh always has under control. Starting from Book III which closes on a similar note of despondency by citing the total collapse of the Davidic covenant, Yahweh is not out of sorts as the editors of the Psalter carefully arrange their material to demonstrate the triumph of the divine prerogatives. By duplicating the closures in books III and IV of a history of failures, the redactors show the two constants in the development of the psalm motifs: perennial divine faithfulness despite Israel’s unfaithfulness. Psalm 106 is based on an arrangement to manage the re-reading of this negative history in a way that enables Book IV to not only close on a positive note but also pave the way for Book V to advance the collection towards a climax.
{"title":"Psalm 106 and Chaos Theory: A Study of Israel’s Covenant Infidelity and Yahweh’s Sovereign Control","authors":"Sampson Ndoga","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/14338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/14338","url":null,"abstract":"Book IV of the Psalter ends on an anticipative note despite Israel’s chaotic history of serial failures. The psalmist foregrounds Yahweh’s acts of covenantal faithfulness as expressions of perennial divine faithfulness, favour, and forgiveness against Israel’s perpetual disloyalty. By reading Israel’s history through the mathematical conception of chaos as predictable patterns of behaviour managed under the outworking of divine purposes, what seemingly appear as random acts of rebellion become modelling of behaviour that Yahweh always has under control. Starting from Book III which closes on a similar note of despondency by citing the total collapse of the Davidic covenant, Yahweh is not out of sorts as the editors of the Psalter carefully arrange their material to demonstrate the triumph of the divine prerogatives. By duplicating the closures in books III and IV of a history of failures, the redactors show the two constants in the development of the psalm motifs: perennial divine faithfulness despite Israel’s unfaithfulness. Psalm 106 is based on an arrangement to manage the re-reading of this negative history in a way that enables Book IV to not only close on a positive note but also pave the way for Book V to advance the collection towards a climax.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135453005","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 : 2023-08-18DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/12565
Lodewyk Sutton
The Masoretic accents are, from different points of view, a neglected field of research. This is mainly because of the way that students of Biblical Hebrew are exposed to the accents in their formation years and to how the functional value of the accents was viewed. In recent years, a new scholarly interest in the accents has developed with a specific focus on the function and value of the accents. This article provides a short overview of some Biblical Hebrew grammars to indicate how these grammars have included and approached the study of Masoretic accents. This will be done by comparing the content of a number of introductory-level grammars as well as intermediate-level grammars. Attention will be given to grammars by South African scholars. After that, a number of conclusions are drawn, and several recent contributions on the topic are considered.
{"title":"An Overview of Biblical Hebrew Grammars and Current Trends in Research on Masoretic Accents","authors":"Lodewyk Sutton","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/12565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12565","url":null,"abstract":"The Masoretic accents are, from different points of view, a neglected field of research. This is mainly because of the way that students of Biblical Hebrew are exposed to the accents in their formation years and to how the functional value of the accents was viewed. In recent years, a new scholarly interest in the accents has developed with a specific focus on the function and value of the accents. This article provides a short overview of some Biblical Hebrew grammars to indicate how these grammars have included and approached the study of Masoretic accents. This will be done by comparing the content of a number of introductory-level grammars as well as intermediate-level grammars. Attention will be given to grammars by South African scholars. After that, a number of conclusions are drawn, and several recent contributions on the topic are considered.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136065054","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 : 2023-08-08DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/12826
Jacques Boulet
In the history of the interpretation of Malachi, the word ḥērem which closes the book has been analysed in four different ways by translators and commentators, namely as a second object, an adverbial of means, an adverbial intensive, and a resultative secondary predicate. This article examines the four options and proposes the resultative analysis, hitherto only unambiguously attested in the Peshitta OT, as the best interpretation. This leads to the conclusion that ḥērem is something which the land becomes as a result of God’s action against it. I support the resultative analysis with data from Biblical Hebrew and maintain that this analysis best fits the consensus on the meaning of the word ḥērem, proposing a minimal understanding of the word in Malachi 3:24 [4:6] as “something unusable because it is under divine sanction.” Under this interpretation, the threat made by God in Malachi 3:24 is both more specific and more serious than what is communicated by most translations. In its final verse, Malachi issues an ultimatum against the people which throws into question the ongoing role of the land in the divine plan. For the final portion of the verse, I propose the translation “lest I come and strike the land, leaving it profaned.”
{"title":"Worse Than a Curse: The Meaning and Syntax of ḥērem in Malachi 3:24 [4:6]","authors":"Jacques Boulet","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/12826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12826","url":null,"abstract":"In the history of the interpretation of Malachi, the word ḥērem which closes the book has been analysed in four different ways by translators and commentators, namely as a second object, an adverbial of means, an adverbial intensive, and a resultative secondary predicate. This article examines the four options and proposes the resultative analysis, hitherto only unambiguously attested in the Peshitta OT, as the best interpretation. This leads to the conclusion that ḥērem is something which the land becomes as a result of God’s action against it. I support the resultative analysis with data from Biblical Hebrew and maintain that this analysis best fits the consensus on the meaning of the word ḥērem, proposing a minimal understanding of the word in Malachi 3:24 [4:6] as “something unusable because it is under divine sanction.” Under this interpretation, the threat made by God in Malachi 3:24 is both more specific and more serious than what is communicated by most translations. In its final verse, Malachi issues an ultimatum against the people which throws into question the ongoing role of the land in the divine plan. For the final portion of the verse, I propose the translation “lest I come and strike the land, leaving it profaned.”","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46693158","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 : 2023-08-08DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/13438
Bryan Beeckman
The default Greek equivalents of yhwh and ’ĕlōhîm are respectively kurios and theos. However, throughout the LXX, yhwh is often rendered by theos and ’ĕlōhîm by kurios. In an article dealing with divine names in LXX Pentateuch published in 2007, Martin Rösel concluded that this variation can be explained on the basis of theological motivations. Nonetheless, my own study on the translation of yhwh/theos and ’ĕlōhîm/kurios in LXX Proverbs has indicated that this variation in Proverbs is not influenced by theological motivations but that both Greek divine names have been used interchangeably by the LXX translator. In order to see whether this is also the case in other LXX books, this paper will examine the rendering of ’ĕlōhîm by kurios in LXX Job. By doing so, this paper aims to obtain a better characterisation of the translation technique and theology of LXX Job.
{"title":"Variatio Theologica in Libro Iob? An Analysis of the Translation of ’Ĕlōhîm by Kurios in LXX Job","authors":"Bryan Beeckman","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/13438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/13438","url":null,"abstract":"The default Greek equivalents of yhwh and ’ĕlōhîm are respectively kurios and theos. However, throughout the LXX, yhwh is often rendered by theos and ’ĕlōhîm by kurios. In an article dealing with divine names in LXX Pentateuch published in 2007, Martin Rösel concluded that this variation can be explained on the basis of theological motivations. Nonetheless, my own study on the translation of yhwh/theos and ’ĕlōhîm/kurios in LXX Proverbs has indicated that this variation in Proverbs is not influenced by theological motivations but that both Greek divine names have been used interchangeably by the LXX translator. In order to see whether this is also the case in other LXX books, this paper will examine the rendering of ’ĕlōhîm by kurios in LXX Job. By doing so, this paper aims to obtain a better characterisation of the translation technique and theology of LXX Job.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42601128","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 : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/11774
F. Uroko
This article uses the interpretation of Proverbs 22:4–6 as a lens through which to view traditional Nigerian attitudes about children and early childhood education. Proverbs 22:4–6 insists that children grow by nature but nurturing the child is the job of the parents. The pericope further insists that parents should train up their children by their words and the type of life they live. The aphorisms in the biblical text’s structure are important in analysing the deteriorating state of children’s upbringing in Nigeria. Contextualising the pericope reveals that Nigerian parents are no longer providing moral and spiritual values to their children. Parents have also left most if not all of the responsibility of training up children in the hands of teachers. This study argues that the challenges that Nigerian society is experiencing could be solved if parents start the process of taking up the responsibility of nurturing their children rather than leaving it in the hands of the children’s teachers and peers.
{"title":"Children Grow by Nature But Are Raised by Nurture: Parental Instruction in Proverbs 22:4–6 for Raising Children in Nigeria","authors":"F. Uroko","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/11774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/11774","url":null,"abstract":"This article uses the interpretation of Proverbs 22:4–6 as a lens through which to view traditional Nigerian attitudes about children and early childhood education. Proverbs 22:4–6 insists that children grow by nature but nurturing the child is the job of the parents. The pericope further insists that parents should train up their children by their words and the type of life they live. The aphorisms in the biblical text’s structure are important in analysing the deteriorating state of children’s upbringing in Nigeria. Contextualising the pericope reveals that Nigerian parents are no longer providing moral and spiritual values to their children. Parents have also left most if not all of the responsibility of training up children in the hands of teachers. This study argues that the challenges that Nigerian society is experiencing could be solved if parents start the process of taking up the responsibility of nurturing their children rather than leaving it in the hands of the children’s teachers and peers.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47937897","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 : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/12284
N. DeClaissé-Walford
Taking cues from Gert Prinsloo’s work on “space” and “place” and employing a canonical reading of the book of Psalms, this article attempts to find the “space” and “place” of Ps 104. Psalm 104 is located in Book 4, which, according to the story-line of the Psalter, reflects the exilic period of Israel’s history. After introducing the psalm and examining its provenance, the article moves on to a detailed study of “place” and “space,” using Claudia Camp’s categories of “firstspace,” “secondspace,” and “thirdspace,” and employing “Chatman’s Box” to further define “secondspace” and “thirdspace.” The article concludes that the words of Ps 104, directed to exilic and postexilic hearers, were a reminder that God is sovereign over and provides for all creation, and as part of the created order, humanity should recognise God’s provision for it despite life
{"title":"Discovering “Place” and “Space” in Psalm 104","authors":"N. DeClaissé-Walford","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/12284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12284","url":null,"abstract":"Taking cues from Gert Prinsloo’s work on “space” and “place” and employing a canonical reading of the book of Psalms, this article attempts to find the “space” and “place” of Ps 104. Psalm 104 is located in Book 4, which, according to the story-line of the Psalter, reflects the exilic period of Israel’s history. After introducing the psalm and examining its provenance, the article moves on to a detailed study of “place” and “space,” using Claudia Camp’s categories of “firstspace,” “secondspace,” and “thirdspace,” and employing “Chatman’s Box” to further define “secondspace” and “thirdspace.” The article concludes that the words of Ps 104, directed to exilic and postexilic hearers, were a reminder that God is sovereign over and provides for all creation, and as part of the created order, humanity should recognise God’s provision for it despite life","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43058130","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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