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"Through the example of David's census in 2 Samuel 24, key issues related to divine violence in the book of Samuel are introduced: the occurrence of inexplicable divine violence; the interplay of divine and human sovereignty; God's emotion; and the relationship between forgiveness and punishment. The parameters for the use of the term "divine violence" in this study are defined, taking into account the distinction between subjective and objective violence and Walter Benjamin's technical use of the term. The methodology of this study is outlined. Debate regarding a proposed "dark side" of God will be addressed through contemporary thinkers who challenge the dominance of retributive frameworks in ethical evaluation. An account of the characterisation of God will be given that acknowledges a diversity of traditions in the text, and focuses minimally on narrative gaps. Political contexts for the divine violence will be proposed, both monarchic and exilic"--
This book offers a new way for biblical scholars and archaeologists to envision how the Bible's story relates to history. It presents a fresh case for the urgency and interest of biblical study in historical context, embracing the complications of a text collection with the messy history of transmission and uncertain knowledge of the past. Focusing on structures of politics and society, the analysis is situated in the broad study of antiquity, so that ancient Israel may contribute to understanding problems in the classical world and other domains outside the Near East.
If terms are associated with particular historical periods, then ’polemic’ is firmly rooted within early modern print culture, the apparently inevitable result of religious controversy and the rise of print media. Taking a broad European approach, this collection brings together specialists on medieval as well as early modern culture in order to challenge stubborn assumptions that medieval culture was homogenous and characterized by consensus; and that literary discourse is by nature ’eirenic’. Instead, the volume shows more clearly the continuities and discontinuities, especially how medieval discourse on the sins of the tongue continued into early modern discussion; how popular and influential medieval genres such as sermons and hagiography dealt with potentially heterodox positions; and the role of literary, especially fictional, debate in developing modes of articulating discord, as well as demonstrating polemic in action in political and ecclesiastical debate. Within this historical context, the position of early modern debates as part of a more general culture of articulating discord becomes more clearly visible. The structure of the volume moves from an internal textual focus, where the nature of polemic can be debated, through a middle section where these concerns are also played out in social practice, to a more historical group investigating applied polemic. In this way a more nuanced view is provided of the meaning, role, and effect of ’polemic’ both broadly across time and space, and more narrowly within specific circumstances.
The first twenty-four chapters of the book of Ezekiel are characterised by vehement declarations of judgement. This observation leaves the impression that Ezekiel 1–7 is devoid of references to hope and restoration. However, there is a redactional stratum in this section that supplemented the texts with material that conveys restoration and hope for the future. In Ezekiel 1–7, many of these additions focus on priestly topics. The motif of restoration in the redactional material of Ezekiel 3–5 is expressed by the reinstatement of Ezekiel in his priestly role. This editorial emphasis on Ezekiel as priest in the redactional material suggests that the redaction was influenced by Zechariah 3, a text that depicts the reinstitution of the exiled Zadokite priesthood. Moreover, the redactional material of Ezekiel 6-7 drew inspiration from the Law of the Temple in Ezekiel 43-46, as the redactors sought to enhance Ezekiel’s priestly role. The study provides new insights into how redactors, who may have been associated with the Zadokite priesthood, inserted the message of hope and restoration into the literary unit Ezekiel 1-7 during the post-exilic period.
Kivatsi Jonathan Kavusa addresses a gap in the field of ecological readings of the Old Testament, exploring the theme of water in the Wisdom books, including the often-ignored deuterocanonical works. Kavusa focuses on both the negative and positive potential of water, drawing in particular on four of the Earth Bible principles: intrinsic worth, interconnectedness, voice, and purpose. Kavusa begins with a summary of the extant studies and literature reviews on water and water-related motifs in the Old Testament. He then analyses the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Deutero-canonical wisdom, examining the various references to water as life-giving or life-threatening entities, and expanding upon the themes of water management and sustainability, the intrinsic worth of nature and the unpredicatable, chaotic state of water. This volume concludes with several insights for ecological responsibility and valuable wisdom for an eco-theological perspective, both in Kavusa's African context and with a more universal application.
Jehoiachin reigned a mere three months before Nebuchadnezzar took him into exile. He was one more Judean king who did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and his one recorded action as king was to surrender to the Babylonians. How significant can a king be whose reign ended when it had scarcely begun? Remarkably, unlike his uncles, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, Jehoiachin did not disappear after his removal. Instead, he became the focus of ongoing prophetic discussion about the monarchy, his rehabilitation by Evil-Merodach was a turning point in the exile, and his offspring was eventually identified as the future of David’s line. The attention paid to Jehoiachin in the canon is the seed of Patton’s study. Why is there such interest in a king who was so insignificant politically and who—literarily speaking—is a rather flat character? What significance do particular biblical books attribute to him, and why? If we expand our purview to the Bible as a whole, another reason for investigating Jehoiachin emerges. The exile was one of the most significant events in the history of Israel. In its midst, Jehoiachin occupies an important position as both one of the last kings of Judah and one of the first exiles. Are there ways in which biblical writers capitalize on Jehoiachin’s unique position for their broader theological purposes? Going one step further, in Hope for a Tender Sprig, Patton pursues not only the diversity of the Bible but also its unity, suggesting that “salvation history” is useful for conceiving the unity of the Bible, especially when we are concerned with a historical figure such as Jehoiachin. If the various books of the Bible bear witness to one grand storyline, what is the significance of Jehoiachin within that story? In the light of the canon as a whole, can we synthesize the various perspectives on Jehoiachin and articulate his distinctive role in this grand narrative? These questions beg many others. What do we mean by “canon”? What grounds do we have for considering the canon as a unity, and why should we consider “salvation history” a valid paradigm for understanding it as a whole? What is the relationship of salvation history to “real” history, and is this even a valid question? What role will extrabiblical evidence (some of which concerns Jehoiachin directly) play in our investigation? Patton addresses these issues and arrives at a comprehensive biblical-theological reflection on Jehoiachin’s significance.
In this book, Bob Becking provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the origins, lives, and eventual fate of the Yehudites, or Judeans, at Elephantine, framed within the greater history of the rise and fall of the Persian Empire. The Yehudites were among those mercenaries recruited by the Persians to defend the southwestern border of the empire in the fifth century BCE. Becking argues that this group, whom some label as the first “Jews,” lived on the island of Elephantine in relative peace with other ethnic groups under the aegis of the pax persica. Drawing on Aramaic and Demotic texts discovered during excavations on the island and at Syene on the adjacent shore of the Nile, Becking finds evidence of intermarriage, trade cooperation, and even a limited acceptance of one another’s gods between the various ethnic groups at Elephantine. His analysis of the Elephantine Yehudites’ unorthodox form of Yahwism provides valuable insight into the group’s religious beliefs and practices. An important contribution to the study of Yehudite life in the diaspora, this accessibly written and sweeping history enhances our understanding of the varieties of early Jewish life and how these contributed to the construction of Judaism.
This collection of previously unpublished essays by outstanding international scholars in honour of Robert P. Gordon, Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University, covers a wide range of topics, from accuracy, anachronism, and incongruity in the books of Samuel, through the theology of Psalms, ancient Near eastern historiography, and the ideology of the Septuagint, to philology and grammar in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Targum, Josephus, and medieval sources. It should interest readers concerned with inner-biblical exegesis and the Hebrew Bible in relation to its parallels, translations, and versions, as well as with big questions about the classification of the Bible and its antecedents as books, the social context of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Christian attitudes towards ‘original Hebrew'.