Digital Commons Network^™

Elisha The Steward: A Literary Examination Of Elisha’S Prophetic Ministry, Lee Hagewood

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This article examines the characterization of Elisha in Kings by considering the narrative’s presentation of how he attends to the people and tasks entrusted to him; an aspect of his characterization that I refer to as “stewardship.” This literary examination proceeds by examining Elisha’s call, his ministry within the Israelite community, and his ministry as it relates to the geopolitical conditions depicted in the narrative. Evaluating Elisha’s stewardship within the Israelite community involves an investigation of his interactions with both the Shunammite woman and the “sons of the prophets.” A similar evaluation of his geopolitical ministry investigates his response to …

Reconsidering Nebuchadnezzar’S Seven-Year Madness: The Lycanthropy Theory And Its Historical Potential In Daniel 4, Fabián Ubilla

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

The account in Daniel 4, in which it is said that King Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind and lived as a beast for seven years, lacks corroboration in cuneiform documents. There are consequently several theories that attempt to explain the meaning of this story. One of them is the theory of lycanthropy, which suggests that the mental ailment of the king was due to a strange disease. This theory has largely been abandoned because other theories are better supported by ancient documents. However, the present study proposes a reconsideration of the lycanthropy theory for two main reasons. The first is that, …

The Desecration Of Sacred Spaces In The Dead Sea Scrolls And Pre-Nicene Latin Christianity: A History Of Interpretation Of The Eschatological Motif Of The Defiling Enemy In Apocalypticism, Rodrigo De Galiza Barbosa

Dissertations

Problem

The motif of the polluting enemy in the sanctuary is an important point of departure in the articulation of community boundaries in Hebraic-Christian culture. This particular motif has the potential to explain, at least in part, how Jewish and Christian communities would have understood the apocalyptic evil other and, from this understanding, set boundaries for their holy communities. Texts such as Dan 8 and 2 Thess 2 have been the locus classicus of the so-called antichrist, and ever since their interpretation has shaped how Christians and Jews have understood the enemy to their respective communities. In the history of …

Literary Structures In Selected Works Of Ellen White: Exploring Their Aesthetics And Significance, Ron Du Preez

Ellen White Issues Symposium

No abstract provided.

Exodus Allusions In The Midsection Of The Gospel Of Matthew, Cedric E. W. Vine

Faculty Publications

Matthean scholarship is divided as to whether the first recipients of the Gospel considered themselves to be part of early formative Judaism. Within the context of this debate, this study calls for the recognition of multiple exodus allusions in the midsection of the Gospel. These allusions reveal an Evangelist who either anticipated the possible need for withdrawal from hostile host communities or, equally plausibly, affirmed an ongoing separation process.

“Nebuchadnezzar, My Servant”: A Reexamination Of The Honorific Title “Servant Of The Lord"”, Ian S. Reyes

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Moses, David, and Joshua are all designated the honorific title “servant of YHWH” in the HB. Even a cursory reading of the HB texts involving these figures would leave little surprise as to why they are bestowed this exclusive moniker. There are only ten individuals who are given this title in the MT, and of these ten, the majority of them do not raise questions, except one—the sixth-century Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Some have argued that his inclusion in this list is a result of a scribal error, or that it is limited in scope, as only a description of function. …

Divine Speeches In The Book Of Psalms: Their Role, Placement, And Implication For The Message And Structure Of Selected Psalms, Dragoslava Santrac

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

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The Faith Of Jethro: Polytheist Or Monotheist?, Daniel Royo

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

The character of Jethro, as he appears in the book of Exodus, is an enigmatic figure in the biblical narrative.1 As a descendent of Midian, his ancestry goes back to Abraham (Gen 25:1–2; Exod 2:16; 3:1). Among Abraham’s children outside the covenant line, there would have been an opportunity to know about his relationship to God and his faith in divine providence. Yet polytheism was practiced among the Midianites (Num 25:16–18). This history forms a backdrop from which to examine the person of Jethro. In the book of Exodus, Jethro appears in three distinct roles: a priest of Midian (Exod …

A Re-Examination Of Pentateuchal Hamartiology And Atonement As A Hermeneutical Framework For Interpreting The Laying On Of Hands, Slavisa Milodar Jankovic

Dissertations

The ritual gesture of laying on of hands in Scripture has generated significant interest among theologians from rabbinic times until now. Still today, scholars assign various meanings to the ritual. In the second half of the 20th century, the fresh interest that put forward new meanings for this gesture came primarily through the introduction of the new sub-discipline of Ritualistics within Old Testament studies. This relatively new discipline is not founded upon premises found in biblical texts, but rather, upon those found in various secular social, philosophical sciences, and other disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, anthropology, literary criticism, and the …

Repatriating The Canaanite Woman In The Gospel Of Matthew, Cedric Vine

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This study argues that Matthew’s replacement of Mark’s “Gentile of Syrophoenician origin” with a “Canaanite woman” (Mark 7:26; Matt 15:22) is part of a wider narrative strategy to portray the land of Israel and its cities as a new Sodom, a new Canaan, a new Egypt, and a new Babylon. The study employs Dale Allison’s six intertextual devices (explicit statement, inexplicit citation or borrowing, similar circumstances, key words or phrases, similar narrative structure, and word order, syllabic sequence, and poetic resonance) to demonstrate a consistent authorial intention while identifying contemporary or near contemporary sources that would affirm the likelihood that …

Motivation For The Sharing Of Material Possessions In Acts, Philo's De Vita Contemplativa And The Didache: A Comparative Study, Lena V. Toews

Dissertations

Luke, in the book of Acts, depicts the sharing of possessions as a practice in the Jerusalem community of the first century. Several pericopes, occurring primarily in the first part of the book of Acts, embody the idea of shared property and seem to have important parallels to other sources of the time, including the Jewish author Philo’s work De vita contemplativa, where he describes a group he calls, “Therapeutae,” and in the Jewish Christian document Didache. This study seeks to identify beliefs correlated with the material sharing practices in the community of Acts and compare them with De vita …

God’S Library: The Archaeology Of The Earliest Christian Manuscripts [Review] / Nongbri, Brent., Christopher R. Chadwick

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Book Review

Zondervan Handbook Of Biblical Archaeology: A Book By Book Guide To Archaeological Discoveries Related To The Bible [Review] / Price, J. Randall And H. Wayne House., Elizabeth Emswiler

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Book Review

Searching For The Center Of Adventist Theology: What Can Sanctuary, Ritual, And Theology Add To This Search?, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sin And Its Place In The Experience Of Suffering: Presenting The Basis For A Sound Theodicy, Roman Wiens

Master's Theses

Topic

One of the most significant issues in theism is the obvious existence of evil and suffering. Thus many philosophers (especially Atheists) propose this fact alone negates the existence of an all-loving, omnipotent, and caring God. This attacks both the integrity of God and the coherence of the scriptural accounts. In response, theologians around the world proposed theodicies to show that the existence of a God, as portrayed in the Bible, is coherent with suffering in this world.

Purpose

The different approaches to this problem are categorized in four categories, outlined, and evaluated in one chapter about the most noteworthy …

Judgment For The Saints: The Justice Of God In Psalms 3–14, Jerome Skinner

Papers

No abstract provided.

Matthew 23:34 And The Discipleship Ideal, Cedric Vine

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

No abstract provided.

The Shema Through The Ages: A Pre-Modern History Of Its Interpretation, Esteban J. Hidalgo

Andrews University Seminary Student Journal

This article traces the history of the interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:4 from its original context, through the dawning of early Christianity in the Second Temple period up to the twilight of the late medieval period. The reader will appreciate the persistent centrality of an unchanging doctrine and simultaneously discern fluidity in its meaning and application in both Jewish and Christian perspectives. Proportionally, the focus is placed on how early Christian writers hermeneutically accommodated the doctrine of the Trinity in the oneness of God as stated in the Shema.

When Not To "Tie The Knot”: A Study Of Exogamous Marriage In Ezra-Nehemiah Against The Backdrop Of Biblical Legal Tradition, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Function Of 'Hope' As A Lexical And Theological Keyword In The Psalter: A Structural-Theological Study Of Five Psalms (Pss 42-43, 52, 62, 69, 71) Within Their Final Shape Context (Pss 42-72), Christine Maria Vetne

Dissertations

The shape and message of the Psalter has been of central interest for many Old Testament scholars during the last thirty years. At the core of shape scholarship stands the issue of hope. Often this is related to what is commonly considered a major hope-shift in the Psalter, which moves its focus from hoping in the Davidic covenant (Books I-III) to hoping in God (Books IV-V). However, when considering the shape and message of Book II, there is evidence that these two hopes coexist, side by side, as also seen in the introduction to the Psalter (Ps 2).

This dissertation …

Cleansing The Common: A Narrative-Intertextual Study Of Mark 7:1-23, Eike Arend Mueller

Dissertations

The conflict story of Mark 7:1–23 between Jesus and the religious leaders over the issue of defilement is the meeting point of a variety of disciplines: Purity studies, Jewish studies, exegetical studies, Historical Jesus studies, and studies on Jesus and the law. The crux of the passage, the meaning of the parable in v. 15 and the ensuing “cleansing” in v. 19, has been interpreted very differently. Scholars doing exegetical studies and studies on the relationship between Jesus and the law have maintained that the Gospel writer correctly reflects in 7:19 the meaning of Jesus’ parable (7:15), abrogating the clean/unclean …

Images Of Power And A Kingdom Of Priests, Jean Sheldon

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

The Eschatological Role Of The Jerusalem Temple: An Examination Of Jewish Writings Dating From 586 Bce To 70 Ce, Eric W. Baker

Dissertations

Topic. This research investigates the relationship between eschatology and the Jerusalem temple within the second temple period. -- Purpose. This research investigates the role of the Jerusalem temple within the second temple Jewish writings to establish whether the Jerusalem temple has any role to play in relation to the end of the exile and the beginning of the eschaton. Previous analyses of second temple Judaism have not focused on the role of the Temple in eschatology. -- Sources. The primary documents investigated in this research were the proto-canonical, deutero-canonical, Qumran writings, and the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. -- Conclusion. The Jerusalem …

In The Wilderness: Of Tassels, Wanderings, And The Promised Land, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Book And The Student: Theological Education As Mission, Wagner Kuhn

Books

No abstract provided.

The Origin Of The Eschatological Feast As A Wedding Banquet In The Synoptic Gospels: An Intertextual Study, Phillip J. Long

Dissertations

The Problem. The problem this dissertation seeks to address is the origins of the wedding banquet imagery in the teaching of Jesus. Frequently, scholars will state that the image of a wedding banquet was a common messianic image in the first century. However, other than Isa 25:6-8, sources for the image of a banquet for the messianic age in the Hebrew Bible are sparse. Yet the image of a banquet clearly appears in the Synoptic Gospels in both the actions of Jesus as well as his teaching. Because the metaphor of a wedding banquet is not found in the literature …

El Santuario, El Ritual Y La Teología: En Busca Del Centro De La Teología Adventista, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Katapausis And Sabbatismos In Hebrews 4, Erhard Gallos

Dissertations

Problem. Enthusiasm for the subject has not resulted in a general consensus regarding the meaning of “rest” in Heb 4. The dissertation studies the meaning of katapausis and sabbatismos in Heb 4 together with its relation to the neglected gatherings in Heb 10.

Method. The study consists of an analysis of those passages in which the rest motif is found explicitly (Heb 3-4) as well as the unit (Heb 10) which exhibits cohesion to the rest motif in Heb 4, giving special attention to the use of the term katapausis in the Septuagint, sabbatismos in Christian and non-Christian literature, and …

Horvat ‘Uza And Horvat Radum: Two Fortresses In The Biblical Negev [Review] / Itzhaq Beit-Arieh, Jeffery P. Hudon

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.