Biblical Studies

The work of the remarkable sisters Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson, this lectionary of what is now known as Christian Palestinian Aramaic, was re-edited in the light of two manuscripts from the Sinai, which they recovered, and from Paul de Lagarde’s Evangeliarium Hierosolymitanum. An important document for the textual criticism of the New Testament as well as for the early practice of the church, Lewis and Dunlap added to its value by composing this light “critical edition.” Presented in Syriac with English annotations to the Greek text of the Gospels, this useful study will be welcome by New Testament scholars and Syriac scholars alike.

The first volume of an ambitious project to document the history of the early church, this is one of John Mason Neale’s crowning achievements. Meticulously researched, Neale’s treatment of the early church in Egypt is among the required reading of any student of oriental Christianity still today. Beginning with the traditions of St. Mark’s foundation of the Egyptian church, the developments of Christianity are traced up through the controversies associated with Nestorius and the Council of Chalcedon. In Neale’s characteristically readable style, the early stages of Eastern Christianity and its noteworthy figures are presented here with historical accuracy and authority. The origins of monasticism, the troubles and triumphs of St. Athanasius, the Arian heresy, and the ecumenical councils are all treated in this important study of the church in Egypt.

Questioning the scholarly assumptions regarding the “heretical” Nag Hammadi Library and the “apocalyptic” Dead Sea Scrolls, Fairen argues that they were not diametrically opposed, but represent a scribal reconfiguration of an Enochic worldview as a critique of foreign rule.

The book represents a collection of articles devoted to the memory of Annie Jaubert, a French scholar known for her research on the calendrical teachings of the Hebrew Bible, the Second Temple pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch, the Book of Jubilees), and Qumran literature. The articles discuss various aspects of Jaubert’s work on early Christian and Jewish calendars, including her solution to an old problem of the conflicting chronologies for the Passion Week in the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John. The volume also contains the complete bibliography of Jaubert’s scholarly works and a biographical sketch of her life.

This work explores the points of contact, as well as the differences between the distinct notions of divine embodiment developed by Maximos the Confessor (580-662), one of the greatest Greek Fathers, and Tsong kha pa (1357-1419), arguably the most important thinker in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Both authors developed a spiritual theology where natural contemplation and the practice of the virtues are invested with a transformative value and are construed as a response to a cosmic intelligence, which sustains the universe, but also becomes manifest in history.

Aphrahat the Persian Sage, (fl. 337-345 C.E.), was a Syriac Christian author who wrote twenty-three treatises entitled The Demonstrations. This book examines “temple” as a key image for Aphrahat’s theological anthropology. The temple is central for both Jews and Christians; it is the place of sacrifice, meeting, and communication with the Divine. For Aphrahat, the devout Christian person may be a micro-temple which then allows one to encounter the divine both within oneself and through a vision ascent to the heavenly temple.

The Coups of Hazael and Jehu offers a narrative reconstruction of the events surrounding the rise of Hazael to the throne of Aram-Damascus and Jehu to the throne of Israel in the mid-eighth century. These near-simultaneous dynastic changes were parts of a major shift in the political, military, and economic structure of the Levant, which took place as the mighty armies of Assyria pushed into the region. The book argues that Jehu’s bloody overthrow of Joram and Hazael’s irregular seizure of power after the death of his predecessor were not independent events, but responses to the Assyrian threat.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Veil of Moses asks what the veil means. Jacob finds the hermeneutical key in Paul’s exegesis of Gen. 2:24 – that the man and the woman becoming one symbolizes Christ and the Church. The bride must wear a veil until such time as her bridegroom comes to remove it at their marriage ceremony. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

This book covers the history of the Syrian church of India from its founding by the apostle Thomas in 52 A.D., until the first half of the 20th century. During which, the author explains the various obstacles the Indian Church faced in therms of theology and colonialism. The several delegations of the Apostolic See of Antioch to India from the 17th to the 20th centuries form an indispensable account of the vicissitudes of a struggling native Indian Church trying to preserve its Antiochene identity.

Originally published in two small volumes of Semitic ephemera written in German, this collection of observations of Paul de Lagarde still contains his cogent insights into the world of Semitic linguistics. Critical remarks on the book of Isaiah introduce his characteristic detail on a number of verses in the prophetic book. The second selection concerns the clarification of Akkadian (Chaldean) words occurring in the Hebrew Bible. In the second major section of the work, de Lagarde presents the leaves of the Septuagint of Codex Sarravianus found in Paris. This annotated Greek material comes from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

This monograph examines the manuscript variants of the Peshitta (the standard Syriac translation) of Kings, with special attention to the manuscript 9a1. Manuscript 9a1 is of critical importance for the textual history of Kings, and Walter argues that there is overwhelming evidence that the non-9a1 Mss attest to an extensive revision. This monograph also discusses translation features of the Peshitta of Kings with special attention paid to harmonization and the leveling and dissimulation of vocabulary. Walter also treats the vorlage for the translation and treats its relation to the LXX and the Targumim.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on the Tower of Babel develops an extended word-play between “morduto” ‘rebellion’ and “marduto” ‘discipline.’ As is characteristic of Jacob, the characters, their personalities, and their motivations are developed far more than they are in the biblical narrative. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

Were issues like economic and political oppression, holy wars, resistance literature, hate-speech, xenophobia and other 21st-century realities already present among the civilizations of the ancient Near East? Prophetic literature and specifically the Book of Nahum in the Old Testament provide a unique perspective on these issues. Through Nahum’s moving poetry and disturbing imagery, oppression is verbalised, deep emotion is uncovered and we are given a glimpse of liberation and new hope in times of darkness. This book will sensitize the reader to a better understanding of the identity and dynamics of oppressed groups, both ancient and modern.

The exposition of the Liturgy of St. James, which is basically the Celebration of the Holy Eucahrist, is most significant for the understanding of the mystery of God in offering His only Son a vicarious sacrifice for the redemption of man. To make it understandable, Rev. Saka explains not only the meaning of terms connected with the liturgy but of all the components of the vessels, the vesting, the censoring, the candles and the propitiatory prayers associated with them. This exposition should benefit both church and liturgical scholars and lay people interested in the profound spiritual meaning of their faith.

In this set of articles originally published together in his booklet Orientalia, Lagarde addresses several issues concerning Hebrew studies. The first article, Explanation of Hebrew Words, addresses the use of twelve significant lexemes. Added to this essay is a contribution of Lagarde to the Hebrew reflected in Ephraim the Syrian’s work on Genesis, extant in Armenian. Select passages from Genesis 2 through 38 are given consideration in the light of philological investigation. Together these pieces represent a useful collection of insights into the Hebrew language both through classic philology and through the ecclesiastical interpretation of a scholar in the tradition of Syriac Christianity.

The third issue of Proceedings of the Midrash session at the SBL Annual meeting published in this series. This volume contains papers on religion in midrash (2006) and modes of biblical interpretation in rabbinic, Syriac and Islamic traditions (2007).

Approaching the question of Purim historically, Haupt notes that the book of Esther was composed during the reign of Judas Maccabeus, and he correlates the festival to the Babylonian New Year. He discusses the origin of the title “purim” from various languages, ultimately deciding on the Old Persian explanation. Moving forward, Haupt brings the festival into the more modern period, showing how the ancient tradition continues to exist. A useful resource for anyone interested in turn-of-the-century thought on the origins of an enigmatic biblical festival, this contribution is both readable to the layperson and scholarly as well.

This study focuses on the imagery of meals and feasting in the Baal Myth and Kirta and Aqhat epics. Utilizing contemporary approaches to ritual, these meal events reveal the manner in which ritual behavior described and defined the different social relationships with the Ugaritic pantheon and the interactions between the divine and mortal realms. This study demonstrates the role successful ritual behavior played in the organization and presentation of characters within the narratives, as well as the role of unsuccessful or failed rituals associated with the meal event, which resulted in social chaos and confusion.

This volume incorporates all the articles and reviews published in Volume 7 (2007) of the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on Jephthah’s daughter invisages this single, virginal female as a prefiguration of Christ. Jacob also discusses the history of blood sacrifice and on the qualities that render Jephthah’s action priestly. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

Common Heritage, Divided Communion examines the various religious and secular events related to the Council of Chalcedon (451) and the so-called “Monophysite” schism. It includes a detailed overview and analysis of contemporary Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox ecumenical efforts to re-establish ecclesial communion.

The Computer Working Group of the International Association of Egyptologists has been in existence since 1983. The group focuses on the efforts of Egyptologists to find creative and useful ways of using information technology to aid in the research and teaching of Ancient Egypt. This volume collects the 16 papers presented during the 2008 meeting on topics including databases, complex systems, 3D modelling, textual analysis systems, the uses of the internet for sharing photographs, and bibliography. This publication provides an essential snapsot of the present uses of IT in the study of Ancient Egypt.

Origen’s construal of the Bible as a textual incarnation of the Word encourages an assimilationist interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures as a proto-Christian gospel. Although in partial agreement with this thesis, this study suggests a non-assimilationist reading of Origen’s biblical exegesis.

The suffering woman, Blandina, emerges as an archetypal figure of the martyrs of Lyon. This slave-woman ultimately arises to engage in battle with the powers of the Roman Empire. Through the application of Bowen Family Systems Theory and the writings of Michel Foucault the book explains the function of anxiety, and the dynamics at work in the system that result in the failure of Roman authority to use power to quell the rise of Christianity. The reactions of those who might appear to be the most powerful are essential in gifting power to this lowly slave.

Aside from being the content of speeches by characters in narrative, how do passages of laws in the Pentateuch interact with the surrounding narratives? This book proposes that certain passages of law in Leviticus and Numbers offer direction for the interpretation of adjacent segments of narrative. This 'direction' may serve to emphasize select themes and concepts in narrative. Alternatively, it may misdirect readers, or suggest alternative options to more accessible interpretations for a stretch of narrative.