Biblical Exegesis

This research aims to shed light on the textual development of the Old Testament Peshitta in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In these books, I have submitted the most important variants to study, verse by verse, with the objective of identifying the original reading. This brings me closer to the final work of the translators, as I discard the secondary readings offered by the base text of the Peshitta Institute edition (which belongs to the second stage of Koster’s model). Additionally, my study seeks to identify the manuscript or manuscripts supporting the original reading and those supporting the secondary reading(s). Thus, the manuscripts are placed in a hierarchy. One of the new features of my study is generating a stemma codicum, or genealogical tree, of the Peshitta manuscripts in the three studied books. Another novelty of my research is characterizing the activity of different copyists through the secondary variants for which they are responsible.
While this monograph does not aim to produce a complete critical or eclectic text of the three aforementioned books, it lays the groundwork for doing so. In the conclusions of this study, I present a new model of Peshitta textual development that corrects and goes beyond Koster's three-stage model. Based on the results of my research, I also offer a novel hypothesis about the origins of the Syriac translation in the mid-second century CE. Finally, I conclude with a plea for a new critical (eclectic) edition of the Old Testament Peshitta.

سر التجسد في كتابات القديس جيروم ……………………………………………... 4
الاعتقاد الأرثوذكسي بالثالوث والتجسد حسب المجامع المقدسة ………….… 10
طبيعة المسيح و طبيعة المخلوقات ……………………………………………..… 17
الروح القدس في كتابات أنبا أنطونيوس وأنبا مقار ……………………………..… 22
التجديف على الروح القدس عند القديس أثناسيوس الرسولي …………….…… 27
عظة أوريجانوس الخامسة على سفر صموئيل الأول ……………..………….…. 30

What does it mean that humankind is created in the image of God and his likeness, as expressed in Genesis 1,26-27? Many have proposed various answers to this question, often based on exhaustive but inconclusive exegesis or overextended eisegesis. This article attempts to argue and answer the question with a relatively simple, overarching phrase: essentially, God created humankind as "intelligent beings" as he is when he said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness." God purposed to uniquely interact with humanity on the earth when he created both males and females as intelligent beings who can speak, think, reason, evaluate, create, judge, and more-all hallmarks of intelligence-from the beginning as he does.

Kesatuan gereja merupakan salah satu tema sentral dalam teologi Paulus. Di tengah keberagaman latar belakang etnis, sosial, budaya, dan karunia rohani dalam jemaat mula-mula, Paulus menekankan pentingnya hidup dalam kesatuan yang berakar pada karya Kristus dan dipelihara oleh Roh Kudus. Efesus 4:1–16 menjadi salah satu bagian terpenting dalam Perjanjian Baru yang membahas konsep kesatuan gereja secara sistematis dan mendalam. Perikop ini menunjukkan bahwa kesatuan gereja bukanlah hasil usaha manusia semata, melainkan anugerah Allah yang telah dikerjakan melalui karya penebusan Kristus. Namun demikian, kesatuan tersebut harus dipelihara melalui kehidupan yang rendah hati, lemah lembut, sabar, dan penuh kasih.
Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pemahaman Paulus mengenai kesatuan gereja berdasarkan Efesus 4:1–16 dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif melalui pendekatan eksegesis dan studi literatur. Kajian dilakukan terhadap konteks historis Surat Efesus, analisis gramatikal teks Yunani, serta pemahaman teologis yang terkandung dalam perikop tersebut. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kesatuan gereja menurut Paulus memiliki dasar trinitarian yang kuat, yaitu satu Roh, satu Tuhan, dan satu Allah dan Bapa dari semua. Kesatuan itu diwujudkan dalam tubuh Kristus yang terdiri dari berbagai anggota dengan karunia yang berbeda-beda.
Selain menegaskan kesatuan, Paulus juga menyoroti pentingnya keberagaman dalam tubuh Kristus. Karunia-karunia yang diberikan Kristus kepada gereja bukan dimaksudkan untuk menciptakan hierarki kekuasaan, melainkan untuk memperlengkapi orang-orang kudus bagi pekerjaan pelayanan dan pembangunan tubuh Kristus. Dengan demikian, kesatuan gereja tidak berarti keseragaman, melainkan harmoni dalam keberagaman. Tujuan akhirnya adalah mencapai kedewasaan rohani yang penuh di dalam Kristus.
Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa konsep kesatuan gereja dalam Efesus 4:1–16 memiliki relevansi yang sangat besar bagi gereja masa kini yang menghadapi berbagai tantangan berupa denominasionalisme, konflik internal, individualisme, dan polarisasi sosial. Gereja dipanggil untuk kembali kepada dasar kesatuan yang sejati dalam Kristus serta mengembangkan budaya pelayanan yang membangun dan mempersatukan tubuh Kristus. Kesatuan gereja yang alkitabiah menjadi kesaksian yang kuat bagi dunia tentang karya keselamatan Allah dalam Kristus.

THIS BOOK IS COMPOSED of a series of lectures given to young monks at the Institute of Monastic Studies at Sant'Anselmo in Rome during the winter of 1955-56. It is published at their request and dedicated to them. It is an introductory work and therefore not intended for specialists, for already wellinformed scholars. They would, with justice, find fault with it for generalizations which can hardly be avoided in a comprehensive work. Hence, it is desirable at the very beginning, that its scope be defined. Its purpose is not to offer a synthesis that would be premature, nor to provide a bibliography which can be found elsewhere, but to draw attention to subjects for further investigation and to suggest partial and provisional solutions. The sources used will be, primarily, written documents, particularly those of doctrinal or spiritual character; treatises on geography, medicine or law will not be under consideration. In fact, religious writings are the most numerous and most fully represented in the manuscripts. No complete listing will be given nor will all those which have been used be mentioned. Those which are, will be cited merely as examples. They will rarely be taken from authors later than the beginning of the thirteenth century. Within these limits and with such reservations, the work will still necessarily involve simplifications and broad generalizations VII PREFACE which would call for supporting arguments, shading and further definition. This has occasionally been done in special studies where evidence is supplied which is not provided in this exposition. We shall not here attempt to shed any new light on the subject but in the main to summarize works whose results have not been brought together in focus. Scholars such as C. H. Haskins, Fr. de Ghellinck, and in our own times, Paul Lehmann, Bernhard Bischoff and others have undertaken patient and fruitful research on medieval culture in general. In relation to their findings, perhaps the time has come to ask whether monastic culture has its own identifying characteristics and what they are. This is difficult to decide: there are certain aspects of monastic history to which non-monastic scholars may not have paid enough attention and to which a monk risks paying too much. A margin of error will therefore always exist in evaluations and even in the findings themselves and it is best to admit this at the outset. Accordingly, the point here is less to pass judgment than to understand. Judgment is God's province; the historian must be satisfied to learn why men and events were what the texts tell him they were. No doubt it is an illusion to think that men can be known-the throngs of men, of monks who have lived over the centuriesby means of written documents or pictures and yet, they are the only sources we have. These are the work of only a few of their number and cannot show them to us completely even if the testimony of ordinary and often unknown men is enlisted to round out the testimony of the great authors and exceptional geniuses. There were weaknesses in monasticism; there are lies and falsifications in its literature. But that is not all there was. And, after all, the monks' truest self, the self they wished to be, is what was best in them. Vill covered fairly recently, in the present century, during the years which preceded the first World War, by C. Baeumker, Fr. de Ghellinck, Msgr. Grabmann and others and has attracted more and more attention through the efforts of masters like E. Gilson, A. Landgraf, Dom Lottin and many more. It is now generally accepted that this period played a capital role in laying the foundations for the scholastic theology of the thirteenth century. The term pre-scholastic (in German "Vorscholastik" or "Friihscholastik") is given to all doctrinal writings of the period immediately preceding the great expansion of the thirteenth century, the "great scholasticism" (Hochscholastik) which in turn preceded i in a school, under a scholastic, by means of the quaestio, but individually, under the guidance of an abbot, a spiritual father, through the reading of the Bible and the Fathers, within the liturgical framework of the monastic life. Hence, there arose a type of Christian culture with marked characteristics: a disinterested culture which was "contemplative" in bent. Very different from this are the schools for clerics. Situated in cities, near cathedrals, they are attended by clerics who had already received a Liberal Arts formation in rural, parochial or monastic schools and are intended to prepare them for pastoral activity, for "the active life." It is in these schools for clerics that "scholastic theology" is born, the theology of the schools, that which is taught in the schools. When men of the twelfth century speak of "schools," the End. The important word is no longer quaeritur, but desideratur; no longer sciendum, but experiendum. Bernard never tires of emphasizing this in musical, rhythmical, consistently beautiful expressions whose depth cannot be rendered in translation: A canticle of this kind, fervor alone can teach; it can be learned only through experience. Those who have experienced it will recognize this. Those who have not experienced it, may they burn with desire not so much to know as to experience. At this high point of his exposition Bernard brings us to the frontiers of poetry. But he must bring his discourse to an end, and he does so with still another allusion to monastic observance. For in the writing of this ardent and undoubtedly sincere elevation, he makes use of a literary form and conforms to its laws. He is a theologian; but through the perfection of his style and careful composition, he shows he is, as well, a man of letters. The literary form he employs here is essentially Christian, traditional with the Fathers and in monasticism, the sermon. Now, every well-made sermon contains an exordium, a development and a conclusion: Bernard bows to its restrictions. And within the rules which he has set for himself, he gives proof of a flexibility and a freedom that is in strong contrast to the divisions and subdivisions which mark the structure of the Prologue of Peter Lombard. Like the style, the teaching is personal; it is not subjective, it is universal, it has value for all, insofar as each person is unique, engaged in a spiritual experience which is his very own. Finally to the extent that Bernard makes use of sources, or in any case, models, they are no longer Pelagius, Haymo, Gilbert de la Porrée; they are two great mystical doctors, Origen and Saint Gregory the Great. Although this simple comparison of two contemporary texts gives rise to certain problems, it also offers a hint for their solution. That there is a theology in Peter Lombard, no one will deny. But is one to be found in Saint Bernard, and what are its characteristics? His text itself suggests the answer: it consists in the reconciliation of two elements which seem opposed, but which are to be found in almost all monastic literature. They will be rec-FORMATION OF MONASTIC CULTURE to light concerning almost every problem of monastic culture, a fact which is not without some significance. To cast light on St. Benedict's culture, one could search for the sources of his Rule. But since he often quotes at second hand, using earlier rules, this criterion does not reveal very much. To sum up, the author of the Rule is distinguished less by the breadth of his knowledge than by the intelligence with which he uses it, by his understanding of the monastic life and by the characteristics he impressed upon it. It is scarcely any easier to offer a precise and certain answer for the second question: what culture does St. Benedict expect or demand of the monk? On this point again, that is to say, on St. Benedict's attitude toward learning and toward study, varying judgments have been expressed. Some see in the monastery a sort of academy. Others advance the opinion that St. Benedict makes little, if any, provision for intellectual work. It is true that he makes no legislation on it, no doubt because he takes it for granted, while he regulates manual work according to what is allowed or required by the established daily order of time. Here again there is disagreement even among the well-informed because reasons can be found in the Rule to justify different interpretations. In the Rule itself the "studies problem" exists; let us try to state it first according to the Rule itself, and then by comparison with the teaching of a contemporary of Benedict, Cassiodorus. In the Rule we can distinguish the two elements which we have seen in the life of St. Benedict: the knowledge of letters and the search for God. The fundamental fact that stands out in this domain is that one of the principal occupations of the monk is the lectio divina, which includes meditation: meditari aut legere. Consequently one must, in the monastery, possess books, know how 16 CONVERSION OF SAINT BENEDICT to write them and read them, and, therefore, if it be necessary, learn how to read. It is not certain that St. Benedict is speaking of a library since the word bibliotheca, which he uses in referring to books read in Lent, can mean, for him, the Bible.? But St. Benedict evidently takes for granted the existence of a library, and a fairly extensive one at that, since each monk is supposed to receive a codex in Lent. Toward the end of the Rule, it is suggested that all read the Scripture, Cassian and St. Basil; they should be able to read in the refectory, in choir, and before guests. Naturally, in order to possess books, it eventually becomes necessary to know how to write them. All the monks, as a matter of course and without exception, are supposed to know how to write. The abbot and the cellarer must keep accouuts of what is expended and what is received.® Written documents are kept in the archives.° One of the things exacted of the monks is that they ask permission to...

This study explores whether the Apostle Paul refers to a specific charism of leadership
in Romans 12:8 by analyzing the participle ὁ προϊστάμενος and its contextual usage.
While most Romanian Bible translations and several modern international
versions render προΐστημι as “to lead” or “to govern,” some exegetes suggest that the
term denotes charitable or supportive care rather than formal leadership. The article
concludes that the most plausible understanding of ὁ προϊστάμενος in Romans
12:8 is that of a believer who provides aid or care for others, rather than a formal
ecclesial leader. Nonetheless, since this charism was often exercised by community
leaders or influential individuals, the translation “the one who leads” remains acceptable,
provided it is properly qualified in teaching contexts. The study ultimately
highlights the indispensable role of the biblical teacher in clarifying exegetical ambiguities
that cannot be resolved solely through translation.

This paper continues an inquiry begun in Can Ritual Know More Than Its Participants?, which explored the possibility that ritual signs may preserve meanings and rationales that exceed the conscious awareness of those who first receive or perform them. The present study advances that question by asking whether ritual participants themselves may know more than they understand. If a ritual can embody intelligibility beyond explicit explanation, then participation in the ritual may constitute a form of knowledge not reducible to conceptual awareness.

The investigation focuses upon the rabbinic category of the chok, the divine decree whose rationale is traditionally regarded as hidden. Particular attention is given to the paradoxical claim that Moses understood the rationale of the red heifer, even though the rite is frequently presented as the paradigmatic example of an incomprehensible commandment. Rather than treating the rationale of a chok as a secret deferred to a future revelation, this paper explores the possibility that the rationale is already present within the sign itself and concealed not by time but by interpretation. The question therefore shifts from chronology to hermeneutics: not when the rationale will be revealed, but how it may be known.

To examine this possibility, the paper considers the relationship between legal interpretation and symbolic signification, arguing that a sign may preserve meanings that later explanations fail to exhaust. The discussion culminates in a reexamination of the “tokens of virginity” in Deuteronomy 22, proposing that the narrative may preserve a covenantal rationale obscured by later forensic readings. Whether or not the specific interpretation advanced is accepted, the broader argument suggests that ritual signs function as living structures of meaning whose rationales may be discovered through deeper participation and interpretation rather than through the arrival of a future disclosure. In this sense, ritual participants may indeed know more than they understand.

Το ευαγγελικό ανάγνωσμα της αφιερωμένης στη μνήμη πάντων των αγίων Κυριακής μοιάζει με σταχυολόγηση των πιο σκληρών χωρίων από το Κατὰ Ματθαῖον Ευαγγέλιον (10:32-33,37-38· 19:27-30), που έχουν ως θέμα τις απαιτήσεις του Χριστού από όσους θέλουν να λέγονται αληθινοί μαθητές του και την αμοιβή τους.
Όμως τα λόγια του Χριστού αποκτούν ιδιαίτερη σημασία σήμερα, καθώς σήμερα οι χριστιανοί καλούνται όπως τότε που ο Χριστός έστελνε τους μαθητές του σε έναν κόσμο εχθρικό και γερασμένο, να γίνουν, όπως και εκείνοι, “φως του κόσμου” και “άλας της γης” που θα ανανεώσει και πάλι τον κόσμο. Καλούνται να διακηρύξουν προς πάσα κατεύθυνση ότι η ευημερία, η δημοκρατία και η ελευθερία από μόνες τους δεν αρκούν, ούτε μπορούν να διατηρηθούν άφθαρτες, αν δεν συνδυάζονται με πνευματική πνοή και οράματα. Και βέβαια τα οράματα δεν μπορούν να έχουν ως περιεχόμενο μια ρομαντική επιστροφή σε ένα δήθεν ιδανικό παρελθόν ούτε να εμπνέονται από ξεπερασμένες αξίες, αλλά θα πρέπει να παρακινήσουν τους χριστιανούς να βγουν και πάλι μπροστά από την εποχή τους, να γίνουν μια φωνή ελπίδας που θα αντιπαραθέσει στα σημερινά αδιέξοδα το όραμα της Βασιλείας του Θεού.

Mazmur 50 adalah sebuah "Mazmur Asaf" yang unik. Ini bukan sekadar lagu pujian, melainkan sebuah nubuatan penghakiman (prophetic lawsuit). Allah diposisikan sebagai Hakim yang turun dari Sion untuk mendakwa umat-Nya. Namun, dakwaan-Nya bukan karena mereka kurang beribadah, melainkan karena mereka salah memahami siapa Allah dan apa yang Ia inginkan.

Il contributo non propone delle conclusioni risolutive in merito al tema trattato, ma intende offrire alla discussione alcuni interrogativi che, almeno a giudizio di chi scrive, sorgono da un’osservazione della produzione di arredi liturgici della Puglia centro-settentrionale, nei secoli del Medioevo centrale, a confronto con il contesto peninsulare e mediterraneo.

The present article counters the common assumption that ברא Qal with subject God means “to create” and the common rendering of humanity “created in God’s image” in Gen 1:26-27. A number of scholars in the past expressed doubts about the understanding of ברא Qal “to create,” and concluded that ברא Qal might better be understood in terms of separation or division. I further build on these arguments and extend it with an analysis of all verbal constructions of ברא Qal in the Hebrew Bible. Based on this analysis I propose a new reading of Gen 1:26-27. The conclusion is that this text tells that God sets the human being apart from all other living beings in its capacity to make God present on earth.

This article focuses on the pericope Deut 22:1–8, in light of Moshe Weinfeld’s proposal concerning Deuteronomy’s connection to wisdom literature. We examine the laws in this pericope, most of which deal with animals, and point out some thematic parallels to those laws in Mesopotamian wisdom literature. With regard to the law in Deut 22:8, which requires a person to build a parapet around the roof of his house, we point to Mesopotamian parallels suggesting that the aim of this law is prevention of suicide. The principle of a person’s responsibility for his fellow’s life, expressed in this law, is thematically connected to the notions of one’s responsibility for his fellow’s property and for the preservation of nature’s wild species, which underlie the other laws in the pericope under discussion.

Pocos años después de comenzar a difundirse el Evangelio según Marcos, surgieron varias versiones revisadas y ampliadas del mismo. Una de ellas es el Evangelio según Mateo, donde la viveza del relato marquiano adquiere un ritmo más pausado, además de añadirse abundantes enseñanzas y de incorporarse diferentes recuerdos sobre el comienzo y el final de la vida de Jesús.

La reescritura mateana de Marcos viene determinada por el nuevo contexto en el que surge, y se caracteriza por una matizada visión de Jesús y de los discípulos, por la propuesta de un código ético más completo y explícito, y por el diseño de un nuevo horizonte vital para los seguidores del Señor.

El particular proceso creativo hace de la lectura de este evangelio una experiencia singular. Ahora bien, esta singularidad solo se percibe cuando, en vez de ser leído como un conjunto de fragmentos desconectados con sus correspondientes títulos, se lee de manera ininterrumpida como una única secuencia narrativa.

Quien se anima a realizar esta experiencia sintoniza con los lectores antiguos, los cuales leían el evangelio en manuscritos sin divisiones que predeterminaran la comprensión del relato. Es en un segundo momento cuando cobra sentido acceder al comentario perícopa a perícopa, donde las notas, aclaraciones y claves ayudan a leer el texto de forma más reflexiva.

This original, wide-ranging, and readable book explores the place of the Psalter in Judaism from the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE through the rise of Islam in the seventh century. A. J. Berkovitz focuses on how Jews encountered the Psalter as a physical or aural object and how they utilized the Psalter, individual psalms, and verses from psalms. This book treats not only the meanings that Jews found in the Psalter but the manifold ways they engaged with its contents. Rather than a typical reception history tracing the ways ancient scholars interpreted biblical texts, this book describes how psalms functioned for Jewish communities and individuals, how they shaped Jewish culture, and how the Psalter as a material artifact and a memorized and performed text was shaped by Jewish cultures. Berkovitz focuses on four main topics. In chapter 1, he surveys the extant physical remains of psalms from Qumran through the High Middle Ages, showing how physical scrolls both influenced and reflected the way Jews read, sang, conceptualized, and utilized the book. In chapter 2 he examines varied evidence from late antiquity to uncover the ways Jews read the psalms. Here his work connects with scholarship on midrash, which Berkovitz fleshes out by discussing how the act of reading from a scroll (as opposed to a codex) influenced rabbinic exegesis. Furthermore, he points out that in spite of the rise of rabbinic Judaism in the era he covers, midrash was not the only type of reading that Jews engaged in. Both rabbis and ordinary Jews read for purposes other than exegesis, such as pietistic reading and readings that provided comfort, encouragement, and joy. Thus, he shifts the focus of scholarship on reception history

Typology, in the way in which it developed throughout late antiquity, can be identified as the particular Christian tradition of a teleological and messianic reading of “Old Testament” symbols as prefiguring their fulfilment in the coming of the Christian Messiah. By separating the first coming of Jesus from his return at the end of times, Christians had effectively placed themselves between the beginning and the end of the eschaton: after the coming of their Christ, yet before judgement day. They could accordingly look back at the end of times: for Christian typology, the promises of the Old Testament had already been largely fulfilled in the New Testament. In terms of cultural memory, we can thus define typology as the understanding of the “old old,” namely of the Christian Old Testament, in terms of the “new old,” namely the memory of the coming of Jesus, the event through which past, future, and most importantly the present are always explained. This article will revisit a few classical examples of Christian typology in order to probe aspects of the typological models of Christians across a range of Greek, Latin and Syriac sources. In its formulation of a descriptive approach to the function of typology, the study will reflect the increasing interest in Syriac Christian culture, which many of the classical Western studies on typology had neglected. In addition to reconsidering Christian typology, the chapter will argue that the rabbis, who, with noteworthy exceptions, generally ignored patristic teachings, occasionally responded to broader Christian trends within typological reasoning.

The article analyzes the interference between grammatical and rhetorical school practice in its influence on Ma- rius Victorius’ Alethia and Dracontius’ Laudes Dei. In particular, both authors paraphrase the passages from Gen., 3 concerning the fall and punishment of Adam and Eve and recast the biblical episode in the way of a controversia, both by focusing on problems regarding the entity of faults and by employing semantic neologisms. In some cases, they appropri- ate the epic vocabulary by attributing it a new juridical and/or Christian meaning; in other cases, they innovate the poetical lexis by introducing typical terms of the controver- sia. The suasoria of the deceitful snake to Eve is expressed by Victorius in terms of a gram- matical lesson, to which the poet, acting as a true grammaticus, responds with a Christian kind of teaching. He stands as a biblical exegete, who explains the theological implica- tions of a plural form and uses rhetorical devices to manifest the correspondence between Adam and the snake in their damnation. Likewise, Dracontius places rhetorical tools at the service of the idea of death as a Lord’s gift.

Squire, Mark R. “Falling Far from the Tree?: God’s Rejection of Cain Outside the Garden of Eden.” S.T.M. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 105 pp. This thesis offers a review of the history of interpretation of the account of Gen 4:1–16. Specifically, the focus of this thesis regards the question of why God favored Abel and his sacrifice and not Cain and his sacrifice. The paper provides an original translation of Gen 4:1–16, as well as translation notes. The historical interpretations of the answer to the question of why God favored Abel over Cain are grouped into three broad categories: Cain’s sacrifice, Cain himself, and Yahweh. The evidence offered in this thesis shows that, despite the fact that the text of Gen 4:1–16 itself does not give an answer to the question, nor does it seem interested in the question itself, scholars have debated the reason behind God’s favoring of Abel for over two millennia, arriving at any number of possible interpretations. Using the text of Gen 4:1...

It would be difficult to point to what anyone might call the 'beginning' of my love and enjoyment for Biblical theology. I was blessed to begin attending Saint John Lutheran School in Fraser, MI my second grade year, where I was taught the accounts of Scripture, most importantly the good news of Jesus Christ. There, I was mentored by faithful men and women who had dedicated their lives to Christian education. Pastors John Merrill and Eric Majeski, and later, Pastor Brad Smith, all fanned the flame of my love for the Bible and for theology. This only continued at Lutheran High School North in Macomb, MI. There, I learned how to put theology into practice from men like Steve Garrabrant and Brian Horvath. Without them, I may not have found myself entering the seminary four years later. In addition, it was John Brandt who sharpened my skills with pen and paper. I attribute my writing abilities to his tutelage (and I apologize for any stray use of the word "thing" in this thesis paper). Naturally, it was upon entering higher education that my love for Biblical theology blossomed. At Concordia University River Forest, I began studying the Biblical languages, learning Hebrew and Greek from Rev. Drs. Andrew Steinmann, Michael Eschelbach, and Charles Froehlich. Once I entered Concordia Seminary, my Biblical interests only grew deeper, as I was fortunate to study with many faithful pastors and doctors of theology, including Rev.

La Escritura revela una ontología histórico-relacional donde la realidad es comprendida mediante relaciones personales, historicidad, libertad, temporalidad y propósito divino, en lugar de categorías metafísicas abstractas derivadas de la tradición clásica.

1. Se identifican las categorías ontológicas presentes en el canon.
2. Se demuestra su coherencia interna.
3. Se integran dentro de una ontología bíblica.
4. Se muestra su relevancia para la teología sistemática.

Estructura analítica por categoría: texto base • campo semántico • desarrollo canónico tensión textual • construcción teológica implicación filosófica • validación

This article focuses on the pericope Deut 22:1–8, in light of Moshe Weinfeld’s proposal concerning Deuteronomy’s connection to wisdom literature. We examine the laws in this pericope, most of which deal with animals, and point out some thematic parallels to those laws in Mesopotamian wisdom literature. With regard to the law in Deut 22:8, which requires a person to build a parapet around the roof of his house, we point to Mesopotamian parallels suggesting that the aim of this law is prevention of suicide. The principle of a person’s responsibility for his fellow’s life, expressed in this law, is thematically connected to the notions of one’s responsibility for his fellow’s property and for the preservation of nature’s wild species, which underlie the other laws in the pericope under discussion.

La obra clásica sobre guerra espiritual Los dos tomos en uno Versión integral Jessie Penn-Lewis y Evan Roberts, el avivalista del País de Gales 1 Traducción al castellano por Plácido Ferrándiz de la versión integral en portugués editada por Editora dos Clássicos.

This paper examines the longstanding interpretive problem posed by 1 Nephi 1:2, in which Nephi claims to write according to “the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” Arguing that prior interpretations have lacked adequate historical context, the study situates Nephi’s statement within the scribal practices of late preexilic Judah by drawing on recent scholarship concerning the use of Egyptian hieratic among Judahite scribes. Through analysis of seventh-century BCE ostraca and paleographic studies, the paper argues that Judah preserved an independent hieratic scribal tradition characterized by the intermixture of Egyptian and Hebrew linguistic and scribal conventions. This evidence provides a plausible historical setting for understanding Nephi’s language as a Hebraized form of Egyptian transmitted through Judahite scribal learning. The study concludes that contextualizing Nephi’s statement within known scribal practices resolves much of its ambiguity and offers a historically grounded interpretation unavailable in Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century environment.

This theological treatise examines the doctrine of the Overcomer as a unified biblical pattern extending from Genesis to Revelation. Rather than treating the Overcomer as a limited theme confined to Revelation 2–3, the work argues that Scripture presents the Overcomer as the believer who walks with God in covenant faithfulness, obedience, perseverance, and abiding presence. Beginning with Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, the apostles, and the New Testament Ekklesia, the study traces a continuous line of faithful disciples who overcome the world, the flesh, false teaching, compromise, suffering, and spiritual warfare through communion with God. The treatise distinguishes salvation as a gift from inheritance as a reward, emphasizing that the promises reserved for the Overcomer are covenantal, relational, and eschatological. It further develops the role of the Ekklesia as Christ’s covenant assembly, the place where His presence, authority, discipline, and protection are manifested. Ultimately, the work concludes that the Overcomer’s destiny is resurrection, inheritance, reigning with Christ, and eternal communion with God. The doctrine of the Overcomer is therefore presented not as an isolated category, but as the central architecture of faithful discipleship and the consummated hope of those who walk with God until the end.

Among the Seven Churches of Revelation, Laodicea occupies a unique position. Unlike Smyrna, which suffered persecution, or Philadelphia, which endured hardship with faithfulness, Laodicea was known for its wealth, banking industry, commercial success, and self-sufficiency. Situated in the fertile Lycus Valley of Asia Minor, the city became one of the most prosperous financial centers in the Roman world. Yet the very prosperity that brought material success also created spiritual

This paper surveys three significant passages in the Pauline Corpus on the question of Israel's relationship to the church. We hope to shed further light on the theology of these texts by studying them synoptically and with emphasis on Paul's use of the OT. Our thesis is that Paul's rhetorical use of the OT in contexts dealing with Jew-Gentile relations confirms that he considered the church to be eschatological Israel. First, we turn to Eph. 2:11-13, with special reference to Paul's application of Is. 57:19 to Gentiles. Next, we will consider the OT background of Paul's olive tree metaphor in Rom. 11:16-18 and its ecclesiological implications. Lastly, we note the phrase "Israel of God" in Gal. 6:16 and point out why this is best taken as a reference to all Christians. We also argue, in light of OT allusions, that the genitive "of God" should be taken as a genitive of production meaning, "the Israel produced by/created by God." We also attempt to move the argument forward by pointing out fallacious objections to our thesis. Particularly, opponents of our thesis tend to make a word-concept fallacy and do not appreciate the various ways one could indicate Gentile inclusion in Israel. We conclude, therefore, that Paul did see the church as the gathering of eschatologically restored Israel.

This paper examines Gamaliel’s counsel to the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:34–40, arguing that his measured advice may reveal more than political prudence or legal caution. By situating the apostles’ trial within the religious conflict between Sadducean authority and apostolic testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus, the paper frames Gamaliel as a respected Pharisaic legal authority whose intervention temporarily restrains institutional violence. The analysis contrasts the Sanhedrin’s hostile response to truth with examples of religious resistance, marginalization, and suppression of biblical correction. The paper further suggests that Gamaliel may have suspected, or even known, that the apostolic movement was divinely authorized, especially in light of the miracles, the resurrection testimony, and parallels with Nicodemus’s admission in John 3:2. Ultimately, the paper presents Gamaliel’s counsel as a partial but insufficient response to divine truth: he advised caution, yet stopped short of full confession and evidence-based submission. The study concludes by contrasting the Sanhedrin’s resistance with the Bereans’ willingness to examine Scripture honestly, thereby emphasizing the necessity of truth-seeking over institutional preservation, personal prestige, or religious self-protection.

This appendix argues that, in the biblical record, every moment described as an act of God is marked by an extraordinary visible sign in the sky or in nature, with no exceptions: eclipses, darkened moons, fire, smoke, volcanic signals, earthquakes, or rare celestial configurations. In the ancient world, such signs were not decoration. They belonged to divination: the standard way people read divine will before planning, strategy, war, travel, judgment, and public action.

One of the appendix’s strongest claims is statistical. The study argues that 62 “anchored” events — moments tied to explicit ages or reign lengths — all align with expected natural signs inside narrow chronological windows. The other 56 non-anchored events bring the total to 118 biblical moments in which God acts as the grammatical subject of a finite verb. These events are included in the broader modeland presented as evidence against coincidence.

Αν για τους Ιουδαίους η γιορτή της Πεντηκοστής θεωρείτο ημέρα έκφρασης ευχαριστίας προς τον Θεό για τη συγκομιδή των δημητριακών, για την Εκκλησία η γιορτή αυτή έγινε ημέρα ευχαριστίας για τη συγκομιδή των πνευματικών καρπών του θανάτου και της ανάστασης του Χριστού. Παρ᾽ όλα αυτά, το ευαγγελικό ανάγνωσμα της ημέρας φαίνεται σε πρώτη ανάγνωση να μη σχετίζεται με τα γεγονότα της γιορτής, καθώς αποτελεί ένα απόσπασμα από μια ομιλία του Ιησού στα Ιεροσόλυμα που έγινε στο πλαίσιο μιας άλλης ιουδαϊκής γιορτής, της γιορτής της Σκηνοπηγίας. Το τελετουργικό της γιορτής αυτής προέβλεπε, μεταξύ άλλων, ραντισμό του θυσιαστηρίου με νερό από τη δεξαμενή του Σιλωάμ και την αφή τεσσάρων χρυσών κανδηλιών στην Αυλή των Γυναικών του ναού της Ιερουσαλήμ. Αυτά τα δύο στοιχεία του τελετουργικού δίνουν την αφορμή στον Χριστό να απευθυνθεί στο συγκεντρωμένο κατά την τελευταία μέρα της γιορτής πλήθος και, προεκτείνοντας τον συμβολισμό αυτών των απαραίτητων για τη ζωή στοιχείων, του νερού και το φωτός, να μιλήσει για την πνευματική δίψα και τον φωτισμό του πνεύματος.

This paper examines pronominal variation in the manuscript tradition of 1 Peter as a test case for assessing how the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) reshapes the relationship between textual criticism, exegesis, and translation. Focusing on alternations between first- and second-person plural pronouns (e.g., ἡμεῖς/ὑμεῖς), the study addresses a longstanding debate: whether such variants arose primarily from accidental phonological confusion or from intentional scribal engagement with the text’s theological and ecclesial claims.

Drawing on the extensive witness data preserved in the ECM, the paper advances a mixed explanatory model. While acknowledging that some pronominal variants are best explained as mechanical copying errors—especially where changes result in grammatical or contextual incoherence—the study demonstrates that a significant subset of variants exhibits clear patterns inconsistent with random error. Through quantitative analysis of over 150,000 manuscript attestations across multiple New Testament corpora, the paper identifies statistically significant directionality (a preference for shifts from “you” to “we”), genre sensitivity (higher rates in epistolary literature), and clustering at passages of theological or soteriological importance. These features point toward scribal intervention shaped by communal identification and theological inclusivity.

Applied specifically to 1 Peter, the analysis shows that pronominal variation is neither widespread nor chaotic, but concentrated in rhetorically charged contexts such as Christ’s suffering, communal identity, and participation in salvation. These variants illuminate how early scribes negotiated the boundary between the letter’s original addressees and the ongoing life of the church. The paper argues that the ECM should therefore be read not only as a repository of textual decisions but as an analytical instrument that makes visible the interpretive history embedded in transmission itself. Such findings have direct implications for exegesis, translation, and theological reflection, encouraging interpreters to read 1 Peter—and the New Testament more broadly—with the scribes as active participants in the text’s reception history.

stability, yet Christ delivered one of the strongest rebukes found in Scripture. The Laodicean believers considered themselves prosperous and self-sufficient, but in God's assessment they were spiritually impoverished, blind, and exposed. This article examines the historical background of Laodicea, the meaning of Christ's warning concerning spiritual lukewarmness, and the relevance of that warning for contemporary Christianity. It argues that many modern churches face temptations strikingly similar to those confronting ancient Laodicea: reliance upon material success, accommodation to cultural values, diminished dependence upon God, and the substitution of institutional strength for genuine spiritual vitality. The modern church operates in an age of unprecedented wealth, technological sophistication, and global connectivity. Christian ministries possess resources that would have been unimaginable to earlier generations. Churches broadcast sermons worldwide, maintain extensive facilities, employ professional staff, and engage audiences through digital platforms. Yet the question posed by Christ to Laodicea remains deeply relevant: does external success necessarily indicate spiritual health? The message to Laodicea challenges assumptions that numerical growth, financial prosperity, and organizational achievement are reliable indicators of God's approval. Instead, Christ directs attention toward spiritual realities that often remain hidden beneath outward appearances. Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor. Situated near important trade routes, it became a major commercial center known for banking, textile production, and medicine. The city produced a

The reputation and importance of Ari hinn fróði in the development of the Icelandic literary corpus is evident and widely recognized, but nevertheless, the importance of Íslendingabók in the development of the Íslendingasögur has not been investigated in detailed. Showing the importance of the narrative structure and fundamental argumentation of Ari Þorgilsson in the genesis of an Icelandic historical ethos that allowed Icelanders to recover, reshaped and made use of their pagan ancestry is important to understand the close relation that Icelanders kept with their past in the centuries following the conversion. I´ll explore the way that Ari outlines his history of Iceland, as a Christian narrative. In Ari's account, Iceland was first populated by Irish monks, the papar, but they left because they were unwilling to live among the heathen colonizers that come from Norway. The structure of Íslendingabók have similarities to Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, and follows Augustine of Hippo in the conception of Teleology, but also is very original in how historical argumentation is built. This historical argumentation was not built in isolation by Ari Þorgilsson, but was part of an intellectual movement in Iceland that elaborated histories, but nevertheless, all the evidence points to the fact that Ari was the first to ever write in vernacular Icelandic. Thus, it will be investigated how Íslendingabók represents an emerging ethos in Icelandic scholar tradition, that re-appropriates the past as praise-worthy but looks forward to a Christian future. In Íslendingabók, Ari chose an array of historical events, that became in the Íslendingasögur creating a Christian narrative that, like the one of many Íslendigasögur, evolves from one pole towards the final resolution. Ari's narrative gravitates around the Christian origins of the land, and its final rising of an independent Church in the land. By doing this, Ari created a new cultural ethos in Iceland, that wrote in vernacular rather than Latin, and influenced the narrative structure of the sagas while also rising the indigenous narratives to an scholar production. Chip Robinson once told me that when J. S. Bach finished a piece of music, he used to write Soli Deo Gloria in the partiture. I will do the same, after all the blessings set upon me and declare that this work is not the product of my hands or my intellect, but only of my effort. First and Foremost: I most say thanks to Mayita: till min mormor som gav mig berättelser och fjärilar Secondly: To my Parents and siblings; undesearved blessings always, I hope this understanding toll brings you joy and make you proud of me, after all my failures. What would be of me, without the guidance of Karl G. Johansson? Tack så mycket, for your patience and wisdom, and for your immense knowledge, but also for your support when I was lost in this path of writing. To Haraldur Bernharðsson, "Awiliudo þus" John 11:41 en Þakka þér kaerlega, for being a great Forn Íslensku teacher, and a great teacher in general. To sera Jakob in Reykjavík, that said the day I arrived to Reykjavík, that Iceland is the only country that was first Christian, he mentioned this in the Kirkjukaffi. To Josh, that corrected my messy English and my obscure passages. To my friends, that supported me and gave their company: To Victor, Chip, Sebas, Jaka, Embla,

This article analyses and contextualizes the revised text of Nah 1:5 found in a recently discovered fragment of the Greek Minor Prophets scroll (8ḤevXIIgr) uncovered during archaeological excavations carried out at the end of 2019 by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Cave of Horror (Naḥal Ḥever). After introducing the evidence preserved in the new fragment, the first two sections of the paper provide a philological examination of both the Hebrew and the versional witnesses. This lays the groundwork for a comprehensive analysis in the last section of the revised text contained in 8ḤevXIIgr. At first glance, the revised material may be considered as mere stylistic modifications intended to accurately convey the Hebrew base text. However, when examined more closely, the divergent text reveals inner-Greek resonances that trigger subtle interpretative connections with Pentateuchal traditions.

Leadership in the church is rooted in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit couples with proper understanding of human development psychology. Most time, church leadership have engaged in various discussions on the Spiritual gifts more than its practical exploration among believers. Hence, this paper is set to unravelled biblical truth about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and discusses challenges confronting its proper administration in church leadership. Using books and journals, the writer discovered that Spiritual gifts are unique abilities and endowments given by the Holy Spirit to members of the Christian community to help build and strengthen the Church. More so, some key reasons, supported by scripture and theological insights, as to why one should exercise their spiritual gifts include church edification, personal faith development, and God's glorification. The paper also discovered that challenges such as misunderstanding and misapplication of gifts, pride and spiritual elitism, lack of accountability and abuse of power, Integration into church life and leadership structure, neglect of charismatic gifts, division in the church, and differences in doctrinal beliefs regarding spiritual gifts can create factions within a church community. The paper concludes that embracing and using these gifts appropriately, and understanding the challenges of their usage will aid Christian leaders to cultivate an environment where individuals feel valued and equipped to contribute their unique talents. This will enhance church's overall mission and deepens its members' spiritual growth.

This article examines the relationship between Prov 31:10–31 (the ʾêšet ḥayil acrostic) and Song 6:4–10, arguing that the passage in the Song is a deliberate subversion of the acrostic. The argument hinges on the relationship between Prov 31:28, “Her sons rise up and extoll her; her husband praises her,” and Song 6:9b, “Daughters see her and extoll her; queens and concubines praise her.” Based on a linguistic analysis of these two lines in the broader context of the language of the acrostic and the Song of Songs, this study concludes that Song 6:9b is derivative of Prov 31:28. The article goes on to discuss the significance of the Song’s subversion of the acrostic, contrasting the feminine ideals presented in the two biblical texts and surveying the ways that women and sexual relationships are portrayed in biblical and ancient Egyptian wisdom literature and love poetry.

The gospel episode of Jesus' cruci��xion is well attested in Manichaean texts and has received much scholarly attention. Scholars usually dedicate their attention to evaluating whether Manichaeans defended a docetic view of Jesus' death (whether he truly died or he only appeared to do so), and to studying Manichaean exegetical methods more generally.1 Research has shown that Manichaeans had, indeed, a very sophisticated reading of the New Testament, and developed precise exegetical tools that allowed them to determine whether each single verse was authentic or not, and thus whether it was to be kept or rejected. The cruci��xion narrative was accepted as authentic gospel material, while other parts, such as the birth and infancy of Jesus, were deemed spurious and were therefore dismissed. The narration of the cruci��xion was accepted in the way it is transmitted by the Gospel of Luke, be it in the form of a separate gospel or in its inclusion in the Diatessaron (the harmonization of the four gospels also used by Manichaeans). The Manichaean narrative contains "the plot against Jesus, the arrest, the trial, the death and the resurrection stories."2 These episodes correspond to the segment going from Luke 22:1 to 24:53, according to Michel Tardieu's reconstruction based on Middle Persian and Coptic sources.3 * I wish thank the participants of the conference "Manichaeism in Egypt: The Medinet Madi Library after 90 Years," held at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, on 18-19 October 2019, and of the seminar "TETRA. The Text and Transmission Joint Research Seminar," on 7 October 2020, for their comments and suggestions. In particular, I am grateful to Jean-Daniel Dubois, Nils Arne Pedersen, David Taylor, and Emiliano Fiori. I also express my gratitude to Anne-Catherine Baudoin, Alberto Camplani, and Yonatan Moss for our numerous discussions on the topic of this paper and their invaluable remarks. Finally, I thank wholeheartedly Eduard Iricinschi for his help in improving the style and content of this written version.