Origen selected e0n Bhqabara|~ in John 1,28 as the superior reading in his Comm. Jo., an assessment challenged by modern critics. Although the text-critical data seem to indicate e0n Bhqani/a|~ as the preferable reading, this claim may be questioned on literary and redactional grounds. Those same observations provide evidence for intentional literary commemoration of John’s ministry at the Jordan. Origen’s gloss of Bhqabara|~ as “House of Preparation” (oi]koj kataskeuh~j) leads to an examination of Mk 1,2-3, and its lexical divergence from LXX Mal 3,1.22-23 [=MT vv. 23-24]; Isa 40,3. Mark anomalously uses the verb kataskeua/zw, the nominal counterpart of which (kataskeuh~) renders Heb. hdfbo(j “work, preparation” (LXXAB Exod 35,24), which is graphically similar to hrb( tyb. When combined with historical-geographical study of the area surrounding Jericho, these data allow us to trace the process of textual and traditional development whereby the toponym hbr( tyb (Josh 15,6.61; 18,22), preserved at the modern H}. ( E!n el-G.arabe, served as the toponymic antecedent of both Bhqabara|~ and Beth Barah (Judg 7,24). This process of development provides additional defense for the traditional localization of John’s ministry in the southern Jordan River Valley near the el-Mag.tas and H9ag]la fords.
Jesus’ paradox of losing and finding one’s life is well attested. According to its contexts, interpreters relate the logion predominantly to martyrdom and death. But a closer look reveals that this word is an assertion in favour of life which functions as a maxim of Jesus’ teaching and view of life. It is the context many of his sayings and behavorial patterns. The issue of a 'recompense' after death is merely a consequence of the original intention.
The women of the apostles in 1 Cor 9,5 have posed a riddle in the history of interpretation. With few exceptions commentators over the last one hundred years have identified them as wives and dismissed the text in a few lines. Recent research on the role of women in early Christian mission has brought a fresh assessment, concluding that the women were missionary assistants to the apostles. This essay develops an extended argument to solidify the thesis using the history of interpretation, the nature of missionary partnerships in the Pauline epistles, semantics, some important parallels from the Greco-Roman world, and the nature of ancient households.
An examination of the passages in Ezekiel related to the 'defilement' and 'desecration' of the Temple through the spectrum of the Priestly Sources clearly shows a distinction between the two concepts and reveals Ezekiel’s precise and deliberate usage of these terms. Although they both relate to idolatrous practices, defilement of the Temple in Ezekiel follows the categories of the Priestly Sources, and thus results primarily from corpse impurity and idol worship. With regard to the Temple’s desecration, Ezekiel introduces the aspect of the intense involvement of foreigners, which he viewed as the desecrating agents of his day.
This contribution reviews the various interpretations offered to understand the obscure pronouncement in Jer 31,22b: “A woman will encompass a man”. One of the most popular proposals, which is also the most plausible, is to regard the utterance as an example of gender role reversal. What the proponents of this viewpoint fail to demonstrate satisfactorily, however, is how this saying in Jer 31,22b relates to the multiple other ancient Near Eastern cultural contexts (literary, social-political and religious) where the same mundus inversus principle is likewise attested. It is argued that this broad backdrop is a sine qua non for the proper understanding of this enigmatic passage.
In an attempt to go beyond conventional sociological and anthropological analyses of the religious aspect of the Qumranite sectarian corpus, this article considers the reuse of the Priestly Blessing (PB) of Numbers 6 in the Community Rule (1QS). Comparison of how curses were applied elsewhere in Second Temple Judaism informs reflections on what this imaginative redeployment of the PB tells us of the ideology and self-identity of the Qumran group, highlighting their reconfiguration and exclusive appropriation of the covenants with Israel.
This note argues that the phrase “and Moses raised his hand” in Num 20,11 should be interpreted figuratively and it refers to Moses’ inner attitude and his will to demonstrate his power over God whom he is at enmity with.
Whilst the scholarly consensus now concurs that Hebrews 13 forms part of the original text, the way in which it interacts with, or relates to, the previous chapters, remains a matter for debate. This paper establishes the relationship in terms of the use of the OT, particularly the way in which Hebrews 13 appropriates narratives from OT figures already discussed in chapters 1–12, thereby (re-)using them for its ethical discourse. Where the bulk of the letter (i.e. Hebrews 1–12) casts the OT protagonists as looking forwards to perfection under Christ, Heb 13,1-8 exhorts its readers to look backwards and learn from the model (or otherwise) behaviour of these same OT figures.