BIBLISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT最新文献

The Joseph story is a magisterial work. Yet, many scholars have devoted considerable attention to diachronic issues like the story’s origin, development, and redactions rather than a synchronic reading of the story. If one engages in a reading at the level of the final redaction of the Genesis story, a hitherto little perceived development of the Joseph figure becomes apparent. Joseph – presented as an egomaniacal youth who insensitively and arrogantly stands up to his brothers – over time becomes a more patient, vigilant, and clever statesman, who in the end becomes the saviour of Egypt and of his own family. With the help of narratological character analysis, the hitherto strongly held perception of Joseph as a flat, idealised, stereotypical character must give way to a multifaceted, vivid image of the biblical Joseph by re-examining his story.

This study examines the differing views of money in the Gospels, a question that is not usually treated independently. By way of Jesus’ and the disciples’ possession of money in Mark and Matthew, the, sometimes significantly, divergent positions of the two evangelists are presented. This in turn shows why an explicit treatment of the subject of money in the Gospels is important. While Matthew and evidently also Mark both reject holding money privately, there were differences when it came to holding money collectively. For Mark, this amount may even be large (e.g., the 200 denarii in Mark 6:37). Matthew, in contrast, avoids any reference to holding money collectively. The reason for this is Matthew’s assumption that money presents a fundamental danger of anthropological misalignment, indicated in particular by the connection between the logion of the service of two masters (Mt 6:24) with the admonition against worrying (Mt 6:25–34).

In this article, we first argue that the David-Benjaminites episodes (2 Sam 16:1–14 and 19:16–31) can be read in the Persian conflict context based on “exclusive inclusivity.” Second, we examine the validity of reading the episodes together and demonstrate their textual combination through inclusio. Third, we analyze the literary and historical implications of the three different Benjaminites’ changing actions toward David and, conversely, David and Abishai’s dialog about them. Fourth, we propose that the various aspects of the three Saulide characters’ reactions to David reflect the Benjaminites’ changing actions in the postexilic period and that the reactions of David and Abishai give us insights to comprehensively understand the two symbolic types of the Golah community’s responses toward the Benjaminites. Consequently, the David-Benjaminites episodes signal the complex aspects of the Persian Yehud Judean’s internal struggles and their strategies to resolve the ideological issues.

In commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles, views differ widely on the interpretation of παραθήκη in 2 Tim 1:12. This article briefly presents the idiomatic use of παρα(κατα)θήκη in Greek texts and classifies therein its use in the Pastoral Epistles. On this basis, the most common interpretations of 2 Tim 1:12 are critically evaluated. An alternative interpretation of 2 Tim 2:12 is discussed. This has been proposed only twice before: the first time in a somewhat remote place, the second time quite succinctly in a commentary. As a result, it has been either ignored or very quickly discarded in further discussion. This article will show that this is the most plausible reading of 2 Tim 1:12.