Sapiential Perspectives


Book Description

These essays focus on diverse aspects of the relationships between the Qumran wisdom texts and other Second Temple writings, and explore some of the puzzles raised by terms and concepts unique to the texts themselves.




Theologies in Conflict in 4 Ezra


Book Description

Recent scholarship on 4 Ezra has taken two divergent approaches, the first reading the dialogues between Ezra and Uriel as a reflection of theological debates in the author's time, and the second focusing on the psychological development of the protagonist. Combining the two approaches, this book offers a new interpretation of the dialogues as a literary representation of a debate between covenantal and eschatological wisdom, two branches of Jewish wisdom that emerged in the late Second Temple period. The inconclusive quality of the dialogues indicates the author's dissatisfaction with Uriel's attempt at a rational theodicy. Ezra's subsequent transformation points to the symbolic visions as the locus of the author's apocalyptic solution to the intractable theological problems raised in the dialogues.




Turning Proverbs towards Torah: an Analysis of 4Q525


Book Description

In Turning Proverbs towards Torah, Elisa Uusimäki offers the first monograph on the early Jewish wisdom text 4Q525 from Qumran. Following the reconstruction of the fragmentary manuscript, Uusimäki analyses the text with a focus on the reception and renewal of the Proverbs tradition and the ways in which 4Q525 illustrates aspects of Jewish pedagogy in the late Second Temple period. She argues that the author was inspired by Proverbs 1-9 but sought to demonstrate that true wisdom is found in the concept of torah. He also weaved dualistic elements and eschatological ideas into the wisdom frame. The author's intention, Uusimäki argues, is to form the audience spiritually, encouraging it to trust in divine protection and blessings that are bestowed upon the pious.




A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature


Book Description

The Dead Sea Scrolls are found in many varied publications -- often ordered only by publication date, rather than a more easily navigable system -- making specific texts difficult to find. Joseph Fitzmyer's guide offers a practical remedy to this dilemma. A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature starts by explaining the conventional system of abbreviations for the Scrolls. Then it helpfully lists specifically where readers can find each of the Scrolls and fragmentary texts from the eleven caves of Qumran and all the related sites, using the officially assigned numbers of the text. Fitzmyer supplies information on study tools helpful for scholars -- concordances, dictionaries, translations, outlines of longer texts, and more -- and briefly indicates electronic resources for the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls.




Studies in Jewish Civilization 26


Book Description

"Twenty-Sixth Annual Klutznick-Harris Symposium, October 27 and October 28, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska."




Doctrine, Dynamic and Difference


Book Description

An analysis of the Lutheran/Roman-Catholic Joint Declaration on Justification with a special focus on the method of Differentiated Consensus.




The Worldly and Heavenly Wisdom of 4QInstruction


Book Description

This volume is devoted to 4QInstruction, the last lengthy text of the Dead Sea Scrolls to be officially published. It is also the largest wisdom text of this corpus. The central concern of this study is how this composition should be understood in relation to the sapiential and apocalyptic traditions. Features of 4QInstruction that are examined include its appeal to revelation, its presentation of poverty, and its eschatology. The document’s relationship to both 1 Enoch and the Dead Sea sect is also discussed. This study will prove useful to anyone interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the reception of the Jewish wisdom tradition in the Second Temple period, and apocalypticism.




Canonicity, Setting, Wisdom in the Deuterocanonicals


Book Description

The volume publishes papers read at the tenth International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, Budapest, 2013. The authors explore various aspects of this literature, with pre-eminent emphasis on their relation to diverse early Jewish texts and traditions; their reactions on Hellenism; and the way they treated as a canonical collection within their history of interpretation.




Judaism, Jewish Identities and the Gospel Tradition


Book Description

Contemporary Gospel studies have recently taken increasing interest in the Jewish context of Jesus and the gospels. Judaism, Jewish Identities and the Gospel Tradition offers an overview of the ways in which Judaism is used in the canonical gospels and how this relates to the idea of a 'Jewish Jesus'. The essays bring together a range of influential scholars to analyse the role of Judaism in gospel studies. The book explores constructions of gender, the impact of the historical Jesus, and the significant steps toward Christian distinctiveness made in the gospel of John. The essays cover a range of biblical texts: from the Lord's Prayer to Mark's Christology and the Gerasene Demoniac to themes of poverty in Luke




Spirits and the Proclamation of Christ


Book Description

Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Durham under the title: Christ's proclamation to the imprisoned spirits: 1 Peter 3:18-22 in its tradition historical and literary contexts.