The Targums in the Light of Traditions of the Second Temple Period


Book Description

Although the Jewish Targums were written down only from the second century CE onward, and need to be studied against their Late Antique background, the issue of their connection to earlier sources and traditions is an important one. Do the existing Targums link up with an oral translation of Scripture and, if so, how far does it go back? Do the Targums transmit traditional exegetical material in a distinct form? What is the relation between the Targums and "parabiblical" literature of the Second Temple period (including the New Testament)? In the present volume, these and other questions are studied and debated by an international group of scholars including some of the best specialists of Targumic literature in all its diversity, as well as specialists of various Second Temple writings.




The Targums


Book Description

The value and significance of the targums—translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, the language of Palestinian Jews for centuries following the Babylonian Exile—lie in their approach to translation: within a typically literal rendering of a text, they incorporate extensive exegetical material, additions, and paraphrases that reveal important information about Second Temple Judaism, its interpretation of its bible, and its beliefs. This remarkable survey introduces critical knowledge and insights that have emerged over the past forty years, including targum manuscripts discovered this century and targums known in Aramaic but only recently translated into English. Prolific scholars Flesher and Chilton guide readers in understanding the development of the targums; their relationship to the Hebrew Bible; their dates, language, and place in the history of Christianity and Judaism; and their theologies and methods of interpretation. “With clear presentation of current research and the issues involved, including the Targums and the New Testament, and a rich bibliography, this is the most complete—and up-to-date—introduction to the Targums. An outstanding, highly recommended achievement.” Martin McNamara, Emeritus Professor of Scripture, Milltown Institute, Dublin, Ireland




From Author to Copyist


Book Description

Zipi Talshir’s work on the evolution, formation, and transmission of the Hebrew Bible throughout her academic career, her remarkable ability to integrate the Septuagint into this research, and her profound understanding of the late books of the Hebrew Bible and the process of canonization are well known and appreciated. In this volume, 21 of Talshir’s colleagues and students contribute essays in her honor on these topics that are so close to her heart. A bibliography of her publications and a short biography open and complete this compelling volume presented by renowned authors in the field from all over Europe, Israel, and the U.S.




Biblical Lexicology: Hebrew and Greek


Book Description

Lexicography, together with grammatical studies and textual criticism, forms the basis of biblical exegesis. Recent decades have seen much progress in this field, yet increasing specialization also tends to have the paradoxical effect of turning exegesis into an independent discipline, while leaving lexicography to the experts. The present volume seeks to renew and intensify the exchange between the study of words and the study of texts. This is done in reference to both the Hebrew source text and the earliest Greek translation, the Septuagint. Questions addressed in the contributions to this volume are how linguistic meaning is effected, how it relates to words, and how words may be translated into another language, in Antiquity and today. Etymology, semantic fields, syntagmatic relations, word history, neologisms and other subthemes are discussed. The main current and prospective projects of biblical lexicology or lexicography are presented, thus giving an idea of the state of the art. Some of the papers also open up wider perspectives of interpretation.




Septuagint, Targum and Beyond


Book Description

In Septuagint, Targum and Beyond leading experts in the fields of biblical textual criticism and reception history explore the relationship between the two major Jewish translation traditions of the Hebrew Bible. In comparing these Greek and Aramaic versions from Jewish antiquity the essays collected here not only tackle the questions of mutual influence and common exegetical traditions, but also move beyond questions of direct dependence, applying insights from modern translation studies and comparing corpora beyond the Old Greek and Targum, including, for instance, Greek and Aramaic translations found at Qumran, the Samareitikon, and later Greek versions.




The Book of Revelation and Early Jewish Textual Culture


Book Description

Garrick Allen brings the Book of Revelation into the broader context of early Jewish literature. He touches on several areas of scholarly inquiry in biblical studies, including modes of literary production, the use of allusions, practices of exegesis and early engagements with the Book of Revelation.




Faithful Ministry


Book Description

This collection of biblical, theological, historical, and pastoral essays celebrates the remarkable forty-year ministry of the Rev. Dr. Robert S. (“Rob”) Rayburn. A man of scholarly gifts and a shepherd’s heart, Rob not only faithfully served a single congregation for his entire ministerial career, but also contributed to the wider church through his perceptive theological writings. Just as Rob embodied pastoral warmth, intellectual rigor, and an appreciation for the catholicity of the Christian tradition, so too the essays of this “ecclesial Festschrift” seek to bring scholarly expertise into the service of Christ’s church. Contributors: William Barker Joel Belz Ron Bergey John Birkett Bryan Chapell Jack Collins Ian Hamilton Eric Irwin David Jones Joshua Moon Robert G. Rayburn II George Robertson Kevin Skogen Jacob Skogen John Wykoff




T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy


Book Description

In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, Catholic liturgy became an area of considerable interest and debate, if not controversy, in the West. Mid-late 20th century liturgical scholarship, upon which the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council were predicated and implemented, no longer stands unquestioned. The liturgical and ecclesial springtime the reforms of Paul VI were expected to facilitate has failed to emerge, leaving many questions as to their wisdom and value. Quo vadis Catholic liturgy? This Companion brings together a variety of scholars who consider this question at the beginning of the 21st century in the light of advances in liturgical scholarship, decades of post-Vatican II experience and the critical re-examination in the West of the question of the liturgy promoted by Benedict XVI. The contributors, each eminent in their field, have distinct takes on how to answer this question, but each makes a significant contribution to contemporary debate, making this Companion an essential reference for the study of Western Catholic liturgy in history and in the light of contemporary scholarship and debate.




Gelübde im antiken Judentum und frühesten Christentum


Book Description

In Gelübde im antiken Judentum und frühesten Christentum stellt Daniel Schumann auf breiter Quellenbasis die Diskurse zum „Gelübdewesen“ dar, wie sie sich in antik-jüdischen und frühchristlichen Quellen aus der Zeit des Zweiten Tempels schriftlich niedergeschlagen haben. Er zeigt dabei auf, wie Judentum und Christentum seit der Spätantike durch die Rezeption dieser Diskurse in ihrer Religionspraxis an antiken Formen des Gelübdewesen partizipierten und dieses auch weiterentwickelten. Ferner legt er offen, wie sich in jüdischer wie auch christlicher Wahrnehmung Stimmen der Wertschätzung aber auch der Reserviertheit durch die Jahrhunderte hindurch aneinanderreihen; handelt es sich doch beim Gelübdewesen um eine kultpraktische Übung, bei der Heil und Unheil so nah beieinander zu liegen scheinen wie wohl sonst bei kaum einer anderen frömmigkeitlichen Handlung. In Gelübde im antiken Judentum und frühesten Christentum Daniel Schumann aims to trace the earliest discourses on vows, as they are recorded in ancient Jewish and early Christian sources from the time of the Second Temple. He also shows how Judaism and Christianity have participated in ancient forms of vow-making since late antiquity and how they also have developed these discourses further. By presenting these discourses on the basis of a broad range of sources, he reveals how in Jewish as well as in Christian perception, voices of esteem but also of reservation have been raised throughout the centuries. After all, vows are a cult-practical exercise in which well-being and disaster are in closer proximity than in most other acts of devotion.




A Guide to Early Jewish Texts and Traditions in Christian Transmission


Book Description

The Jewish culture of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods established a basis for all monotheistic religions, but its main sources have been preserved to a great degree through Christian transmission. This Guide is devoted to problems of preservation, reception, and transformation of Jewish texts and traditions of the Second Temple period in the many Christian milieus from the ancient world to the late medieval era. It approaches this corpus not as an artificial collection of reconstructed texts--a body of hypothetical originals--but rather from the perspective of the preserved materials, examined in their religious, social, and political contexts. It also considers the other, non-Christian, channels of the survival of early Jewish materials, including Rabbinic, Gnostic, Manichaean, and Islamic. This unique project brings together scholars from many different fields in order to map the trajectories of early Jewish texts and traditions among diverse later cultures. It also provides a comprehensive and comparative introduction to this new field of study while bridging the gap between scholars of early Judaism and of medieval Christianity.