The Acts of the Apostles describes – sometimes in rather colorful details – signs and wonders wrought by the apostle Paul. Can this portrait of the apostle be corroborated based on his own letters? Or do we have to conclude that contemporaries of the apostle paint a more or less hagiographic picture of Paul’s miraculous activities? What is the place of miracles surrounding Paul and wrought by him within the whole of his life and mission? A survey of Paul’s letters allows us to get a view of how the apostle sees the function of signs, wonders, and mighty works within the dynamics of the proclamation of the gospel. Viewed in this way, the possible difference between information based upon Paul’s own communication and that of his contemporaries about him appears to decrease. A clearer picture of the part miracles play within the whole of Paul’s mission may also help to rethink modern and post-modern worldviews from a biblical perspective.
{"title":"The Things That Mark an Apostle","authors":"Jaap Doedens","doi":"10.31743/biban.9740","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.9740","url":null,"abstract":"The Acts of the Apostles describes – sometimes in rather colorful details – signs and wonders wrought by the apostle Paul. Can this portrait of the apostle be corroborated based on his own letters? Or do we have to conclude that contemporaries of the apostle paint a more or less hagiographic picture of Paul’s miraculous activities? What is the place of miracles surrounding Paul and wrought by him within the whole of his life and mission? A survey of Paul’s letters allows us to get a view of how the apostle sees the function of signs, wonders, and mighty works within the dynamics of the proclamation of the gospel. Viewed in this way, the possible difference between information based upon Paul’s own communication and that of his contemporaries about him appears to decrease. A clearer picture of the part miracles play within the whole of Paul’s mission may also help to rethink modern and post-modern worldviews from a biblical perspective.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41698909","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}
{"title":"Działalność Sekcji Nauk Biblijnych w roku akademickim 2019/2020","authors":"T. Bąk","doi":"10.31743/BIBAN.11897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/BIBAN.11897","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"11 1","pages":"153-181"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41783250","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 his reflection on doctors’ work and the process of treatment (Sir 38:1-15), Ben Sira draws attention to the usage of medications (Sir 38:4-8). Many contemporary Jews were probably recalcitrant to use them as ancient medicine resorted to magic. Magic was also employed in the production of medications. The first part of the article synthetically presents the usage of medicines in ancient Israel on the basis of the Old Testament. Then a literary analysis and exegesis of Sir 38:4-8 is attempted. The present article takes into consideration the Greek version of this pericope, for it constitutes the canonical text of the Book of Sirach (the article nevertheless compares the Greek text to its Hebrew original). The pericope evinces a concentric structure (A – 38:4-5; B – 38:6; A’ – 38:7-8). The verses that frame the pericope refer to medicines (vv. 4–5 are devoted to the justification of their use while vv. 7–8 mention the reasons they are used for). The central part (38:6), in turn, focuses on the origin of medical knowledge. Ben Sira strives to persuade his fellow Jews to use medications as they are not related to magic and pose no threat to believers. It is God who created them, and they come from him. The sage refers in his argumentation to what happened in Marah (cf. Exod 15:25) to justify the use of medicines and their natural origin. Medicaments help cure diseases and afflictions and they restore harmony of creation, disrupted by disease and suffering (38:8). Their divine provenance is also corroborated by the fact that knowledge of medicine and medications was given to people by God (38:6). Hence, people should worship God for this great gift.In Sir 38:4-8 Ben Sira performs a perfect synthesis of contemporary medicine developed by neighboring (pagan) peoples with Israel’s faith (only God can cure a person but he does so through medications; medicine is thus a tool in his hands). The sage noticed the positive value and usefulness of medications but through referring to God and showing the divine provenance of medicine he dispelled any doubts the believers might have had concerning the use of medications to cure a disease.
Ben Sira在反思医生的工作和治疗过程时(Sir 38:1-15),提请注意药物的使用(Sir 38-4-8)。许多当代犹太人可能不愿意使用它们,因为古代医学诉诸魔法。魔术也被用于生产药物。文章的第一部分在《旧约》的基础上,综合介绍了古代以色列的药物使用情况。然后尝试对Sir 38:4-8进行文学分析和注释。本文考虑了这篇文章的希腊版本,因为它构成了《西拉赫书》的规范文本(尽管如此,本文还是将希腊文本与希伯来文原文进行了比较)。表位呈同心结构(a–38:4-5;B–38:6;a’–38:7-8)。构成表壳的诗句指的是药物(第4-5节专门阐述了药物使用的正当性,而第7-8节则提到了药物的使用原因)。中心部分(38:6),反过来,侧重于医学知识的起源。本·西拉努力说服他的犹太同胞使用药物,因为这些药物与魔法无关,对信徒也没有威胁。是上帝创造了他们,他们来自上帝。圣人在他的论证中提到了马拉赫发生的事情(参见Exod 15:25),以证明药物的使用及其自然起源是合理的。药物有助于治愈疾病和痛苦,并恢复被疾病和痛苦扰乱的造物的和谐(38:8)。它们的神圣起源也得到了上帝赋予人们的医学和药物知识的证实(38:6)。因此,人们应该为这份伟大的礼物而崇拜上帝。在Sir 38:4-8中,Ben Sira完美地综合了邻近(异教徒)民族与以色列信仰开发的当代医学(只有上帝才能治愈一个人,但他是通过药物来治愈的;因此,医学是他手中的工具)。这位圣人注意到药物的积极价值和有用性,但通过提及上帝并展示药物的神圣来源,他消除了信徒对使用药物治疗疾病的任何怀疑。
{"title":"The Origin and Significance of Medicaments According to Ben Sira (Sir 38:4-8)","authors":"Andrzej Piwowar","doi":"10.31743/BIBAN.3743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/BIBAN.3743","url":null,"abstract":"In his reflection on doctors’ work and the process of treatment (Sir 38:1-15), Ben Sira draws attention to the usage of medications (Sir 38:4-8). Many contemporary Jews were probably recalcitrant to use them as ancient medicine resorted to magic. Magic was also employed in the production of medications. The first part of the article synthetically presents the usage of medicines in ancient Israel on the basis of the Old Testament. Then a literary analysis and exegesis of Sir 38:4-8 is attempted. The present article takes into consideration the Greek version of this pericope, for it constitutes the canonical text of the Book of Sirach (the article nevertheless compares the Greek text to its Hebrew original). The pericope evinces a concentric structure (A – 38:4-5; B – 38:6; A’ – 38:7-8). The verses that frame the pericope refer to medicines (vv. 4–5 are devoted to the justification of their use while vv. 7–8 mention the reasons they are used for). The central part (38:6), in turn, focuses on the origin of medical knowledge. Ben Sira strives to persuade his fellow Jews to use medications as they are not related to magic and pose no threat to believers. It is God who created them, and they come from him. The sage refers in his argumentation to what happened in Marah (cf. Exod 15:25) to justify the use of medicines and their natural origin. Medicaments help cure diseases and afflictions and they restore harmony of creation, disrupted by disease and suffering (38:8). Their divine provenance is also corroborated by the fact that knowledge of medicine and medications was given to people by God (38:6). Hence, people should worship God for this great gift.In Sir 38:4-8 Ben Sira performs a perfect synthesis of contemporary medicine developed by neighboring (pagan) peoples with Israel’s faith (only God can cure a person but he does so through medications; medicine is thus a tool in his hands). The sage noticed the positive value and usefulness of medications but through referring to God and showing the divine provenance of medicine he dispelled any doubts the believers might have had concerning the use of medications to cure a disease.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49365807","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}
Each biblical book reveals its theological message in a very diverse literary way. The analyzed verse of 1 Macc 14:5, similarly to the other verses of the book, was written in the form of a cento, a well-known literary genre used in antiquity. This cento combines expressions in the verses of the earlier Old Testament books and builds its own theological message. Thus an intertextual allusion is built upon the complete textual conformity of the verses from 1 Macc and the cited expressions. The literary context is crucial for the choice of the allusion. This context influences the carrying theological capacity of the verses and what they bring in the construction of a new message. The allusions reveal the actual meaning of the described events in a theological context. The revelation of the hagiographer’s intention enables the reader to accurately evaluate the conduct of particular characters, in this case Simon Maccabaeus, the high priest of Jews in the times of the Maccabean revolt.
{"title":"Aluzje literackie w teologicznej ocenie działań arcykapłana Szymona w 1 Mch 14,5","authors":"J. Nawrot","doi":"10.31743/BIBAN.9926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/BIBAN.9926","url":null,"abstract":"Each biblical book reveals its theological message in a very diverse literary way. The analyzed verse of 1 Macc 14:5, similarly to the other verses of the book, was written in the form of a cento, a well-known literary genre used in antiquity. This cento combines expressions in the verses of the earlier Old Testament books and builds its own theological message. Thus an intertextual allusion is built upon the complete textual conformity of the verses from 1 Macc and the cited expressions. The literary context is crucial for the choice of the allusion. This context influences the carrying theological capacity of the verses and what they bring in the construction of a new message. The allusions reveal the actual meaning of the described events in a theological context. The revelation of the hagiographer’s intention enables the reader to accurately evaluate the conduct of particular characters, in this case Simon Maccabaeus, the high priest of Jews in the times of the Maccabean revolt.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"11 1","pages":"5-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43672926","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 studies on the literary genre “gospel” are often compared with the so-called Greco-Roman bíoi and popular literature. The points of contact are numerous and undeniable. As well as the differences and peculiarities of the gospels, whose link with the Hebrew Bible is a unicum to be taken into account. In particular, the typology, with its network of references, makes the canonical gospels a text proceeding through continuous phenomena of association and repetition with the ancient Scriptures. As result, the narrative takes on particular tones insofar as it indulges little in the chronicle, concentrating rather on the richness of meaning hidden in entire story of Christ. Consequently, the gospels are evidence of a mixed genre, having some characteristics of the Greco-Roman bíoi and contemporary popular Lives, together with constant re-elaboration of OT elements re-read and applied in a typological key. And it could not be otherwise because the events and the protagonist of the gospels perfectly intersect the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a story merging with the eternal.
{"title":"The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language","authors":"Pasquale Basta","doi":"10.31743/biban.12683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.12683","url":null,"abstract":"The studies on the literary genre “gospel” are often compared with the so-called Greco-Roman bíoi and popular literature. The points of contact are numerous and undeniable. As well as the differences and peculiarities of the gospels, whose link with the Hebrew Bible is a unicum to be taken into account. In particular, the typology, with its network of references, makes the canonical gospels a text proceeding through continuous phenomena of association and repetition with the ancient Scriptures. As result, the narrative takes on particular tones insofar as it indulges little in the chronicle, concentrating rather on the richness of meaning hidden in entire story of Christ. Consequently, the gospels are evidence of a mixed genre, having some characteristics of the Greco-Roman bíoi and contemporary popular Lives, together with constant re-elaboration of OT elements re-read and applied in a typological key. And it could not be otherwise because the events and the protagonist of the gospels perfectly intersect the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a story merging with the eternal.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69856324","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}
Manuskrypt 11Q13 należy do peszerowej twórczości wspólnoty z Qumran i służy następującym celom: Po pierwsze, ukazuje szeroką perspektywę teologiczną niektórych ważnych koncepcji, rozpowszechnionych wśród członków yaḥad - grupy powstałej pod kierunkiem Nauczyciela Sprawiedliwości. Te koncepcje to: czasy eschatologiczne, dualizm i determinizm. Po drugie, odsłania specyficzną metodę interpretacji autorytatywnych pism świętych, która doprowadziła do powstania wyżej wymienionych koncepcji. Melchizedek jawi się jako ten, który wymierza sprawiedliwość na rzecz qumrańskiej wspólnoty - „synów światłości”, która była pośród przewrotnego pokolenia „synów ciemności”. Tożsamość Melchizedeka pozostaje jednak enigmatyczna. Opierając się na częściowo zrekonstruowanej II kolumnie rękopisu 11Q13, artykuł jest próbą rozwiązania trudności, która dotyczy pochodzenia i statusu tej głównej postaci.
{"title":"Interpretation of Scriptural Texts in 11QMelchizedek and Its Theological Implications","authors":"Andrzej Paweł Cekiera","doi":"10.31743/biban.12449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.12449","url":null,"abstract":"Manuskrypt 11Q13 należy do peszerowej twórczości wspólnoty z Qumran i służy następującym celom: Po pierwsze, ukazuje szeroką perspektywę teologiczną niektórych ważnych koncepcji, rozpowszechnionych wśród członków yaḥad - grupy powstałej pod kierunkiem Nauczyciela Sprawiedliwości. Te koncepcje to: czasy eschatologiczne, dualizm i determinizm. Po drugie, odsłania specyficzną metodę interpretacji autorytatywnych pism świętych, która doprowadziła do powstania wyżej wymienionych koncepcji. Melchizedek jawi się jako ten, który wymierza sprawiedliwość na rzecz qumrańskiej wspólnoty - „synów światłości”, która była pośród przewrotnego pokolenia „synów ciemności”. Tożsamość Melchizedeka pozostaje jednak enigmatyczna. Opierając się na częściowo zrekonstruowanej II kolumnie rękopisu 11Q13, artykuł jest próbą rozwiązania trudności, która dotyczy pochodzenia i statusu tej głównej postaci.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69855922","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: Luca Pedroli (ed.), L'analogia nuziale nella Scrittura. Saggi in onore di Luis Alonso Schökel (The Nuptial Analogy in the Holy Scriptures. Essays in Honor of Luis Alonso Schökel), (Pontificia Università Gregoriana – Pontificio Istituto Biblico: Roma 2019)
书评:卢卡·佩德罗利(编),《圣经》中的婚姻比喻。Saggi in onore di Luis Alonso Schökel
{"title":"Luca Pedroli (ed.), L'analogia nuziale nella Scrittura. Saggi in onore di Luis Alonso Schökel (The Nuptial Analogy in the Holy Scriptures. Essays in Honor of Luis Alonso Schökel), (Pontificia Università Gregoriana – Pontificio Istituto Biblico: Roma 2019)","authors":"Krzysztof Bardski","doi":"10.31743/biban.11108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.11108","url":null,"abstract":"Book Review: Luca Pedroli (ed.), L'analogia nuziale nella Scrittura. Saggi in onore di Luis Alonso Schökel (The Nuptial Analogy in the Holy Scriptures. Essays in Honor of Luis Alonso Schökel), (Pontificia Università Gregoriana – Pontificio Istituto Biblico: Roma 2019)","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43868319","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 article proposes a detailed syntactic and semantic analysis of Mt 24:28 and Lk 17:37c for the purpose of hypothetical reconstructing of the original Semitic (Hebrew and Aramaic) form of the logion Q 17:37. Then it is offered the comparison between the three different hermeneutic opportunities in its understanding within the canonical context, as either biblical quotation/paraphrase (Job 39,30) or proverb or sign. This comparison helps to understand that Q 17:37 fits very well to its literary and theological context from these three points of view. It shows therefore a very great semantic flexibility and makes it difficult to establish its original meaning in the Document Q. However, the author of the article argues that the Semitic phrase Q 17,37 with a very high probability functioned both in the Document Q and in the canonical context as a quotation/paraphrase of Job 39:30 or as a sign (in the same way as the fig sign in Mt 24.32-33; Lc 21.29-31) rather than as a proverb. The article therefore undermines the classical view that would be consolidated in the modern exegesis on Mt 24:28; Lk 17,37c.
{"title":"Padlina i sępy. Czy logion Q 17,37 jest biblijnym cytatem (illud dictum), przysłowiem (proverbium) czy znakiem (signum)? Analiza egzegetyczno-teologiczna","authors":"A. Zawadzki","doi":"10.31743/biban.11075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.11075","url":null,"abstract":"The article proposes a detailed syntactic and semantic analysis of Mt 24:28 and Lk 17:37c for the purpose of hypothetical reconstructing of the original Semitic (Hebrew and Aramaic) form of the logion Q 17:37. Then it is offered the comparison between the three different hermeneutic opportunities in its understanding within the canonical context, as either biblical quotation/paraphrase (Job 39,30) or proverb or sign. This comparison helps to understand that Q 17:37 fits very well to its literary and theological context from these three points of view. It shows therefore a very great semantic flexibility and makes it difficult to establish its original meaning in the Document Q. However, the author of the article argues that the Semitic phrase Q 17,37 with a very high probability functioned both in the Document Q and in the canonical context as a quotation/paraphrase of Job 39:30 or as a sign (in the same way as the fig sign in Mt 24.32-33; Lc 21.29-31) rather than as a proverb. The article therefore undermines the classical view that would be consolidated in the modern exegesis on Mt 24:28; Lk 17,37c.","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"10 1","pages":"563-598"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43086105","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: Francisco Lozada Jr, John: An Introduction and Study Guide: History, Community, and Ideology (T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the New Testament; London Clark – Bloomsbury 2020). Pp. 128. $ 68.00. ISBN 978-0-5676-9284-9 (hardback).
{"title":"Francisco Lozada Jr, John: An Introduction and Study Guide. History, Community, and Ideology (T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the New Testament; London Clark – Bloomsbury 2020)","authors":"Łukasz Łaszkiewicz","doi":"10.31743/biban.9959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.9959","url":null,"abstract":"Book review: Francisco Lozada Jr, John: An Introduction and Study Guide: History, Community, and Ideology (T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the New Testament; London Clark – Bloomsbury 2020). Pp. 128. $ 68.00. ISBN 978-0-5676-9284-9 (hardback).","PeriodicalId":52162,"journal":{"name":"Biblical Annals","volume":"10 1","pages":"485-489"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44947432","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}