Biblical Studies Commons^™

The Royal And Divine Garden: Cherubim And Vegetation Imagery In Solomon’S Temple And The Ancient Near East, Jack W. Sulewski

Global Tides

Solomon’s Temple is described in significant detail in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. It may surprise the reader to know that virtually all iconography included in the Temple’s design were standard forms of communicating religious concepts in the Ancient Near East. This can present some theological problems. Is Israel’s “use" of other pagan nations' religious symbolism an issue when communicating the holiness of God? To understand further the relationship between culture, politics, and Ancient Near Eastern religion, I spent one month doing archival research in England’s multiple museums analyzing ANE object collections. Through a report of my work, this essay …

The Different Esthers Of The Septuagint And Masoretic Text: How The Inclusion Of God Changes The Character Of Esther, Heidyn Von Bose

Studia Antiqua

The Book of Esther is a unique work that contains significant differences between the Hebrew and Greek versions of the text. One significant difference is the character of Esther herself. In the throne room scene of chapter five (or addition D in the LXX), the LXX Esther is more passive than the Esther of the Hebrew Bible because of the inclusion of God and more specifically the differences in the power structure between God, Esther, and the king. By analyzing the different characters’ movements and the language describing them in chapter 5 or Addition D, the differences of Esther’s character …

Review Of L. Ann Jervis' Paul And Time: Life In The Temporality Of Christ, Caleb Gordon

Liberty Theological Review

This review of Paul and Time offers a summary and critique of Dr. Jervis’ thought-provoking contribution to Pauline Studies concerning an alternative temporal approach to the undisputed Paul in place of the Jewish apocalyptic “two age” framework. This scholarly work is a necessary read for serious Pauline scholars and advanced students in New Testament scholarship.

The Trial Of Abraham And The Trembling Of The Audience: Rereading The Aqedah, Michael Zhaohan Tang

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

This thesis reexamines the Aqedah narrative from Genesis 22:1–19, focusing on the conveyance of emotions and the portrayal of characters in a story that lacks explicit descriptions of thoughts and feelings. Approaching the text through a literary and narratological lens, I propose that through phraseological techniques like diction and parataxis and compositional strategies such as allusion and juxtaposition, the text captures the psychological depth of biblical characters, thereby enhancing its emotional impact on the audience. I dissect the narrative into eight scenes and within each scene, I conduct close readings to identify and analyze subtle lexical choices and rhetorical devices. …

Mary Magdalene On Film In Twenty-First Century: A Feminist Theological Critique, Mary Ann Beavis

Journal of Religion & Film

Since the turn of the millennium, several films (and one popular TV series) featuring Mary Magdalene as a significant character, or even as the central character, have been produced. A few, specifically Son of God (2104), The Chosen (2017-), and Mary Magdalene (2019), gained a wide audience through some combination of theatrical release, television, and streaming services. Unlike earlier productions that unfailingly portrayed her conventionally as a penitent prostitute, these and other, less well-known films of recent decades have departed from this traditional Magdalene. This is no doubt due, among other things, to the influence of feminist theology and biblical …

"Bloody, Brutal, And Barbaric?:Wrestling With Troubling War Texts" [Review] / Webb, William J., And Gordon K. Oeste., Byungwoo Park

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This is a book review

The Pharisees: Their History, Character, And New Testament Portrait, Kent T. Maitland

Liberty Theological Review

Yinger, Kent L. The Pharisees: Their History, Character, and New Testament Portrait. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2022. ISBN 978-1666723786. $29.00.

La Práctica Incluyente De Jesús De Nazaret: Una Lectura Teológico-Pastoral De La Perícopa De Mateo 8.1-17, David De Jesús De Pascual

Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer

This article proposes a queer reading of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 8, which reveals a radically inclusive praxis of Jesus, transcendent for people who struggle for the right to spirituality outside the hegemonic normative social parameters. It discusses the story of a person suffering from Hansen’s disease, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, and the figure of the Roman centurion’s slave, who are presented as queer people in the sacred text. It concludes with a hopeful message that the Divine gives to all people equally through Jesus.

The Historical And Theological Backdrop Of Jesus's Names In John Chapter One: A Baseline For Christology, Joseph D. Carson

Liberty Theological Review

At the beginning of John’s gospel, a rich theology of Christ’s person unfolds through multiple professions of newly called disciples. In order to understand the person of Christ, the various titles associated with his name should be analyzed in their historical and theological contexts. Full of Jesus’ titles, John 1 is an intersection of history, title-giving, and theology, rich with the meanings of Jesus’ titles; furthermore, John 1 is written with historical accuracy and with impactful theology for the Church. It orients the trajectory for the following chapters and gives a foundation for Christology. Cumulatively, the names of Jesus in …

The Crucifixion, Gaye Strathearn

Faculty Publications

A number of years ago some members of the Church heard that I was working on a paper about Christ’s crucifixion.1 They asked me why I was bothering with that topic: Why would I want to spend time studying the Crucifixion? Their questions highlighted for me how little we discuss the cross in classes, except perhaps to note that it took place. This modern situation is a long way from Brigham Young’s direction to the missionaries that if they wanted to be successful on their missions they would need to have their minds “riveted—yes, I may say riveted—on the cross …

The New Perspective On Paul And The Correlation With The Book Of James, Zach M. Scott

Senior Honors Theses

The New Perspective on Paul is a new theory of how to interpret the Pauline epistles through the lens of first century Judaism. Three of the leading scholars that hold to the New Perspective are E.P. Sanders, James D.G. Dunn, and N.T. Wright. These men have done their best to defend the New Perspective of Paul, but have not adequately used, or explained the arguments set forth in the book of James, specifically found in James 2:14-26. The New Perspective fails to either give an analysis of James through the proposed lens of the New Perspective, or show how the …

The “Spirit” That Returns To God In Ecclesiastes 12:7, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

Influenced by the Restoration doctrine of premortality, some Latter-day Saints have employed the KJV translation “the spirit” in Ecclesiastes 12:7 to support the doctrine that spirit personages leave their mortal bodies at death. Furthermore, Latter-day Saints have sometimes asserted, again citing Ecclesiastes 12:7, that a premortal spirit being can only “return” to God because it previously came from him. This verse has thus become one of several in the Old Testament that some Latter-day Saints have employed as support for premortal existence, a doctrine that is so important in the broader plan of salvation.

The Virgin Mary On Screen: Mater Dei Or Just A Mother In Guido Chiesa’S Io Sono Con Te (I Am With You), Timothy J. Johnson, Barbara Ottaviani-Jones

Journal of Religion & Film

Guido Chiesa’s Io Sono con Te (I Am with You) offers a unique, albeit controversial take on Mary, the mother of Jesus. Filmed in Tunisia, and subject to criticism by Italian Catholic authorities and film critics alike, Io Sono con Te presents a rich anthropological-theological reflection on religion, culture, gender, and sacrifice. Not surprisingly, Chiesa draws on René Girard’s scapegoat theory throughout his film as he fashions Mary as the forceful protagonist in a familiar yet controversial story.

Woman At The Well, James F. Mcgrath

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Dr. James McGrath's contribution to Bible Odyssey, a Society of Biblical Literature initiative.

Twelfth Century Literal Bible Commentaries: Comparing Jewish And Christian, Devorah Schoenfeld

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the twelfth century, both Jewish and Christian Bible commentators began to emphasize literal, or historical, or contextual, approaches to interpreting scripture. These commentators wrote predominantly line‐by‐line commentaries that focused the reader's attention on linguistic questions in the biblical text. There was also a renewed interest in seeing the Bible in its own terms rather than exclusively through the lens of earlier midrashic or patristic commentaries, although those continued to play an important role. These developments happened at the same time for both Christian and Jewish scholars, who were often in conversation with each other about how to interpret the …

“I Will Bless The Lord At All Times”: Blessing God In The Old Testament, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

Because of his love for them, God is disposed to bless all his children to some extent (see Matthew 5:45). However, in addition to God’s graciously bestowed blessings on all people, many divine blessings are primarily relationship dependent; that is, existing in a particular relationship with God allows one to obtain certain blessings that are often greater than those bestowed upon someone outside such a relationship.1 The Bible indicates that by his power God blessed Adam and Eve (Gen 1:22, 28) and their faithful descendants, including Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and many others. For example, after Noah’s family left their ark, …

The Old Testament Trinitarian Thinking And The Qur'an: Dialoguing With Muslims, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Papers Of Howard Shipps Arc1992 -009 - Finding Aid, Howard Shipps

Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

Renaming Abraham's Children: Election, Ethnicity And The Interpretation Of Scripture In Romans 9, Robert Bruce Foster

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this study, I attempt to reconstruct Paul's pre-epistolary exegesis of Genesis that I hypothesize lies beneath Rom 9. This exegesis goes beyond the discussion of the patriarchs in Rom 9:6-13 and supports the reconfiguration of God's family in Rom 9:24-29. It enables Paul to view Israel as simultaneously chosen and rejected by God.

Adopting a method from Carol Stockhausen, I offer several criteria to establish this project's legitimacy. The Pauline exegesis that I propose is plausible to the extent that (1) it is rooted in his text; (2) it is historically credible; (3) it illuminates the argument in Rom …

A Fresh Look At Two Genesis Creation Accounts: Contradictions?, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interpretation Of BereʼŠît In The Context Of Genesis 1:1-3, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Gospel According To God’S Judgment: Judgment As Salvation, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Validity Of The Levitical Food Laws Of Clean And Unclean Animals: A Case Study Of Biblical Hermeneutics, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Toward Trinitarian Thinking In The Hebrew Scriptures, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sōma Sēma: The Influence Of “The Body Is A Tomb” In Early Christi An Debates And The New Testament, Gaye Strathearn

Faculty Publications

As we study the second half of the New Testament, it becomes evident very quickly that the early Church struggled with doctrinal drift. One of the central responsibilities of having a Church with apostles and prophets, we learn in Ephesians, is so “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). Therefore, most of Paul’s epistles were written to combat this doctrinal drift. But what happens when the people no longer listen to …

Old Testament Contributions To Ecclesiology: Engaging And Extending The Insights Of John Howard Yoder, John C. Nugent

CTS PhD Doctoral Dissertations

Conspicuously absent from ecclesiological literature is a volume dedicated exclusively to assessing the Old Testament‘s relevance to ecclesiology. With only a few exceptions, scant use is made of the Old Testament in ecclesiological primers and that use tends to be highly selective and often decontextualized. This dissertation argues that indepth engagement of the Old Testament furnishes a helpful context for ecclesiological reflection and that John Howard Yoder‘s canonical-directional approach to Scripture exemplifies such engagement. Though Yoder did not dedicate a treatise exclusively to the Old Testament‘s ecclesiological relevance, his numerous scattered essays on this topic evince a rich and coherent …

[Book Review Of] Tidings Out Of The Northeast: A General Historical Survey Of Daniel 11, By Marc Alden Swearingen, Denis Kaiser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Message Of God's People In The Old Testament, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Toward The Fulfillment Of The Gog And Magog Prophecy Of Ezekiel 38-39, Jiri Moskala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Faith Of Christ, Gaye Strathearn

Faculty Publications

AT THE 1988 MEETING OF THE Pauline Theology Group, a debate exploded that had been slowly percolating since the time of Martin Luther.¹ The debate focused on the translation and associated theological implications of eight passages (Romans 3:22, 26; Galatians 2:16, 20; 3:22, 26; Ephesians 3:12; Philippians 3:9).² Each of these passages consists of a phrase with the Greek word pistis (“faith”) in a genitive construction with a title for Jesus.³ Paul uses seven of them in his discussions of justification, showing how a believer is “made righteous.” The eighth passage, Ephesians 3:12, uses the genitive construction to describe how …