The 2019 PBC document views relationships between parents and children, masters and servants, “shepherds” and “the flock,” civil authority and citizens as asymmetric. The structure of the document suggests that these relationship systems are based on shared human experience and a common theological foundation: they appear to repeat the pattern of the parent-child relationship and originate in the obligation to obey God. Using the document as a starting point, I would like to outline what the concept of asymmetric relationships can mean today. In search of common perspectives, I will compare New Testament texts with the interpretation of asymmetry in today’s social ethics discourse. The inequality and asymmetry of different persons and groups seem to be an undeniable fact, causing tension that can be resolved fruitfully by parties who take responsibility for each other in the presence of a “third.”
{"title":"Mutual Vulnerability? Asymmetric Relationships in Biblical Anthropology","authors":"L. B. Martos","doi":"10.31743/biban.13534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13534","url":null,"abstract":"The 2019 PBC document views relationships between parents and children, masters and servants, “shepherds” and “the flock,” civil authority and citizens as asymmetric. The structure of the document suggests that these relationship systems are based on shared human experience and a common theological foundation: they appear to repeat the pattern of the parent-child relationship and originate in the obligation to obey God. Using the document as a starting point, I would like to outline what the concept of asymmetric relationships can mean today. In search of common perspectives, I will compare New Testament texts with the interpretation of asymmetry in today’s social ethics discourse. The inequality and asymmetry of different persons and groups seem to be an undeniable fact, causing tension that can be resolved fruitfully by parties who take responsibility for each other in the presence of a “third.”","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45822593","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}
This article investigates the ascension accounts (Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:9-11) in a narrative way. The main analysis point will be the question: why is one event recounted twice: at the end of the first Lukan volume and the beginning of the second? The second question concerns the meaning of the discrepancies between the two pericopes. We argue that all differences can be explained by Luke’s literary and narrative strategy. Luke 24:50-53 recounts the recognition of Jesus. Acts 1:9-11 marks the end of the period (between resurrection and ascension) needed for the disciples to become the legitimate and authoritative successors of Jesus.
{"title":"Two Accounts – One Ascension: Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:9-11","authors":"Wojciech Wasiak","doi":"10.31743/biban.13864","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13864","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates the ascension accounts (Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:9-11) in a narrative way. The main analysis point will be the question: why is one event recounted twice: at the end of the first Lukan volume and the beginning of the second? The second question concerns the meaning of the discrepancies between the two pericopes. We argue that all differences can be explained by Luke’s literary and narrative strategy. Luke 24:50-53 recounts the recognition of Jesus. Acts 1:9-11 marks the end of the period (between resurrection and ascension) needed for the disciples to become the legitimate and authoritative successors of Jesus.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44594856","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}
Considerable public attention has been given to the treatment of homosexuality in the recent document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, What Is Man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology. Some reports have claimed that the document represents a shift in Catholic teaching toward the acceptance of homosexual acts. This article assesses that claim by carefully examining the relevant sections of the document in the perspective of its wider reflections on biblical anthropology and on the biblical vision of the institution of marriage. While the document situates the biblical texts concerning homosexuality within their literary and cultural contexts and emphasises the pastoral sensitivity with which this topic must be approached, it does not promote a revision or reversal of the Church’s teaching on sexual morality.
{"title":"Homosexuality in the Pontifical Biblical Commission Document \"What Is Man\"?","authors":"Mary Healy","doi":"10.31743/biban.13542","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13542","url":null,"abstract":"Considerable public attention has been given to the treatment of homosexuality in the recent document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, What Is Man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology. Some reports have claimed that the document represents a shift in Catholic teaching toward the acceptance of homosexual acts. This article assesses that claim by carefully examining the relevant sections of the document in the perspective of its wider reflections on biblical anthropology and on the biblical vision of the institution of marriage. While the document situates the biblical texts concerning homosexuality within their literary and cultural contexts and emphasises the pastoral sensitivity with which this topic must be approached, it does not promote a revision or reversal of the Church’s teaching on sexual morality.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46215316","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}
To demonstrate his claim in 1 Cor 11:2–16 about how a Christian man and woman should wear their hair during liturgical worship, Paul uses several types of arguments, including Scripture (vv. 7–12). In v. 7, he states that “A man should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but a woman is the glory of man” (NAB). Most readers today, question the soundness of such an argument and may accuse Paul of misogyny. Does he not, contrary to what Gen 1:26–27 asserts, contend that the woman was not created in the image of God? The present study argues that Paul’s position can be better understood only if one, on the one hand, highlights the points of his argumentation and, on the other hand, considers the techniques of the Jewish theory of interpretation of the Scriptures in practice at the time of the Apostle. Paul is doing a Midrashic reading of Gen 1–3 narratives about the creation of human beings to assert the importance of both man and woman to behavior during Christian liturgical worship in such manner that they respect their specific dignities. At the end, Paul seems to be more “philogynist” than people use to appreciate.
{"title":"Was Not the Woman Created in the Likeness of God? Pauline Midrashic Reading of Gen 1–3 in 1 Cor 11:7–12","authors":"Jean-Bosco Matand Bulembat","doi":"10.31743/biban.13563","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13563","url":null,"abstract":"To demonstrate his claim in 1 Cor 11:2–16 about how a Christian man and woman should wear their hair during liturgical worship, Paul uses several types of arguments, including Scripture (vv. 7–12). In v. 7, he states that “A man should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but a woman is the glory of man” (NAB). Most readers today, question the soundness of such an argument and may accuse Paul of misogyny. Does he not, contrary to what Gen 1:26–27 asserts, contend that the woman was not created in the image of God? The present study argues that Paul’s position can be better understood only if one, on the one hand, highlights the points of his argumentation and, on the other hand, considers the techniques of the Jewish theory of interpretation of the Scriptures in practice at the time of the Apostle. Paul is doing a Midrashic reading of Gen 1–3 narratives about the creation of human beings to assert the importance of both man and woman to behavior during Christian liturgical worship in such manner that they respect their specific dignities. At the end, Paul seems to be more “philogynist” than people use to appreciate.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43651397","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}
Emotions are one of the most fascinating and difficult aspects of human experience, and have received significant attention in biblical studies. This paper explores how one Hebrew lexeme, rûaḥ, provides a point of entry into the complex world of how emotions are expressed in ancient texts. Drawing from some insights of Cognitive Linguistics, it examines the use of rûaḥ to express the experience of impatience and patience, and arrogance and humility. This paper then challenges a long-held but simplistic equation of rûaḥ with anger, and argues that a more nuanced and complex relationship exists between lexeme and emotion than most citations in scholarship suggest.
{"title":"Ruling the rûaḥ: Emotional Experience and Expression in Ancient Hebrew","authors":"J. Atwood","doi":"10.31743/biban.13554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13554","url":null,"abstract":"Emotions are one of the most fascinating and difficult aspects of human experience, and have received significant attention in biblical studies. This paper explores how one Hebrew lexeme, rûaḥ, provides a point of entry into the complex world of how emotions are expressed in ancient texts. Drawing from some insights of Cognitive Linguistics, it examines the use of rûaḥ to express the experience of impatience and patience, and arrogance and humility. This paper then challenges a long-held but simplistic equation of rûaḥ with anger, and argues that a more nuanced and complex relationship exists between lexeme and emotion than most citations in scholarship suggest.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49404026","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}
The document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, called What is man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology points out in Chapter 1 (“The Human being created by God”), par. 33 that “[t]he failure to recognise the ‘created’ nature of the human being is made explicit in history as an arrogant presumption…” (46) and in par. 34 that “[a]n extraordinary endowment of intelligence, wealth and power gives the human being the illusion of being equal to God. To expose this deception of conscience the Lord predicts the inglorious end of the arrogant” (47). Many of the critiques and prophecies of Hosea are proclaimed in a period of Israelite history which reflects false and arrogant presumptions of the people of God. During the reign of Jeroboam II (ca. 784–753 BC) Israel experienced economic growth, territorial expansion and peace with the Arameans and the Judeans. However, especially following the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732 BC) it became clear that Israel’s political and military manoeuvres and his trust in his own strength can only lead to disaster. This is one of the recurring messages of Hosea who points out that the only way to stand is to believe and trust in God alone. Many of his images and concepts describe Israel’s false beliefs and presumptions which are based on the erroneous knowledge of God. Hos 7:8-16 can be read as an essence of this message. Its literary devices and notions emphasize that while Israel appears to be potent, he is in fact impotent, the undiscerning nation’s “strength” is withering away. Israel seems wise and knowledgeable when he is in fact unwise and does not know the way of life. In the context of the entire book this passage affirms that the basis of the relation of God and Israel is always the right knowledge of him which entails the right knowledge of the self and of its place in the universe. One of God’s greatest mercies for creation and Israel is that he is available, he can be sought, found and known through his words and deeds. Hosea as the mediator of God conveys to Israel that they can call upon God, seek him and know him. While his message is for a special historical period and circumstances, it is relevant for all ages when humans ignore their created nature and aspire to be powerful, self-sufficient, intelligent in economic, scientific, political and military matters.
{"title":"“Ephraim is a Cake Not turned”: the Fruits of the False Knowledge of God According to Hos 7:8-16","authors":"Ibolya Balla","doi":"10.31743/biban.13564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13564","url":null,"abstract":"The document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, called What is man? A Journey through Biblical Anthropology points out in Chapter 1 (“The Human being created by God”), par. 33 that “[t]he failure to recognise the ‘created’ nature of the human being is made explicit in history as an arrogant presumption…” (46) and in par. 34 that “[a]n extraordinary endowment of intelligence, wealth and power gives the human being the illusion of being equal to God. To expose this deception of conscience the Lord predicts the inglorious end of the arrogant” (47). Many of the critiques and prophecies of Hosea are proclaimed in a period of Israelite history which reflects false and arrogant presumptions of the people of God. During the reign of Jeroboam II (ca. 784–753 BC) Israel experienced economic growth, territorial expansion and peace with the Arameans and the Judeans. However, especially following the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732 BC) it became clear that Israel’s political and military manoeuvres and his trust in his own strength can only lead to disaster. This is one of the recurring messages of Hosea who points out that the only way to stand is to believe and trust in God alone. Many of his images and concepts describe Israel’s false beliefs and presumptions which are based on the erroneous knowledge of God. Hos 7:8-16 can be read as an essence of this message. Its literary devices and notions emphasize that while Israel appears to be potent, he is in fact impotent, the undiscerning nation’s “strength” is withering away. Israel seems wise and knowledgeable when he is in fact unwise and does not know the way of life. In the context of the entire book this passage affirms that the basis of the relation of God and Israel is always the right knowledge of\u0000him which entails the right knowledge of the self and of its place in the universe. One of God’s greatest mercies for creation and Israel is that he is available, he can be sought, found and known through his words and deeds. Hosea as the mediator of God conveys to Israel that they can call upon God, seek him and know him. While his message is for a special historical period and circumstances, it is relevant for all ages when humans ignore their created nature and aspire to be powerful, self-sufficient, intelligent in economic, scientific, political and military matters.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46993586","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}
Book Review: Jacques van Ruiten – Koert van Bekkum (eds.), Violence in the Hebrew Bible. Between Text and Reception (Oudtestamentische Studiën 79; Leiden – Boston, MA: Brill 2020). Pp. 438. ISBN 9789004434677
书评:Jacques van Ruiten - Koert van Bekkum(合编)，《希伯来圣经》中的暴力。在文本和接受之间(旧约研究79;莱顿-波士顿，马:布里尔2020)。第438页。ISBN 9789004434677
{"title":"Jacques van Ruiten – Koert van Bekkum (eds.), Violence in the Hebrew Bible . Between Text and Reception (Oudtestamentische Studiën 79; Leiden – Boston, MA: Brill 2020)","authors":"M. Pawlik","doi":"10.31743/biban.13902","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13902","url":null,"abstract":"Book Review: Jacques van Ruiten – Koert van Bekkum (eds.), Violence in the Hebrew Bible. Between Text and Reception (Oudtestamentische Studiën 79; Leiden – Boston, MA: Brill 2020). Pp. 438. ISBN 9789004434677","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45192663","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}
There is an allegory of the human body in 2 Cor 5:1–4 that is discussed by many scholars and has many different interpretations. The author of this article joins this discussion and tries to answer the question of what the theological message of this pericope is. The metaphors that make it up can be divided into two groups: 1) home metaphors; 2) metaphors of putting on and taking off of clothes. In his text, Paul arranges them in an antithetical way and refers to two stages of human life: the earthly life of believers, which a person leads in a destructible body and which ends in death, and the future condition of believers, which begins with the reception of the resurrection body. The analysis carried out in the article leads to the conclusion that, in his reflection, Paul does not write anything about the intermediate state which is referred to by the followers of Platonic and Gnostic thought in the Hellenistic environment. He eagerly wishes to stand before the Lord during the Parousia without losing his mortal body in order to pass to eternal life without the experience of death by putting on the glorious body.
{"title":"Dwelling and Clothing as Metaphors for the Human Body in 2 Cor 5:1–4","authors":"Franciszek Mickiewicz","doi":"10.31743/biban.13643","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13643","url":null,"abstract":"There is an allegory of the human body in 2 Cor 5:1–4 that is discussed by many scholars and has many different interpretations. The author of this article joins this discussion and tries to answer the question of what the theological message of this pericope is. The metaphors that make it up can be divided into two groups: 1) home metaphors; 2) metaphors of putting on and taking off of clothes. In his text, Paul arranges them in an antithetical way and refers to two stages of human life: the earthly life of believers, which a person leads in a destructible body and which ends in death, and the future condition of believers, which begins with the reception of the resurrection body. The analysis carried out in the article leads to the conclusion that, in his reflection, Paul does not write anything about the intermediate state which is referred to by the followers of Platonic and Gnostic thought in the Hellenistic environment. He eagerly wishes to stand before the Lord during the Parousia without losing his mortal body in order to pass to eternal life without the experience of death by putting on the glorious body.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42034035","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}
In the biblical perspective, stories about the creation of the world in Gen 1–2 remain to be the basis to a discussion about human creativity. The premise of the text – creation of man “in the image of God” – makes us assume that, according to the Bible, creativity of man is to be the image of God’s creativity. Verification of this thesis goes from presenting history of interpretation of the biblical idea, namely creation of man “in the image of God,” then points to the need of analyzing the narrative of this phrase. Since the image of God presented in Gen 1 is not descriptive, the second part of the paper examines the way God reveals himself in this text through his creative action. The key to God’s creativity is his word of creation which he uses to differentiate created beings and establish relationships among them in order to build harmony in the newly founded world. The final part of the paper focuses on the analysis of verbs which in Gen 1–2 refer to human creativity; those verbs also point to their possible association with words as instruments for creating, organizing and arranging reality shaped by man. Following that comes the conclusion that God’s creativity is extended into creativity of man who was made “in the image of God.”
{"title":"Human Creativity in the Context of Creativity of God in Gen 1–2","authors":"Wojciech Pikor","doi":"10.31743/biban.13497","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.13497","url":null,"abstract":"In the biblical perspective, stories about the creation of the world in Gen 1–2 remain to be the basis to a discussion about human creativity. The premise of the text – creation of man “in the image of God” – makes us assume that, according to the Bible, creativity of man is to be the image of God’s creativity. Verification of this thesis goes from presenting history of interpretation of the biblical idea, namely creation of man “in the image of God,” then points to the need of analyzing the narrative of this phrase. Since the image of God presented in Gen 1 is not descriptive, the second part of the paper examines the way God reveals himself in this text through his creative action. The key to God’s creativity is his word of creation which he uses to differentiate created beings and establish relationships among them in order to build harmony in the newly founded world. The final part of the paper focuses on the analysis of verbs which in Gen 1–2 refer to human creativity; those verbs also point to their possible association with words as instruments for creating, organizing and arranging reality shaped by man. Following that comes the conclusion that God’s creativity is extended into creativity of man who was made “in the image of God.”","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45888113","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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