Language system, translation technique, and textual tradition in the Peshitta of Kings /
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Using the VU University syntactically analyzed, hiearchically structured database of ancient languages, the authors compared the Masoretic text of Kings to the Syriac Peshitta translation. The core question in this comparison is: which deviations between the two texts are related to the requirements of the distinct language systems, which are related to other aspects of the translation process, and which are related to the transmission history of the translated text? Though linguistic and text-historical approaches differ in method and focus, research into ancient biblical translations must take both into account. On the basis of a synoptic matching at clause level, corresponding phrases within the clauses are matched, and corresponding words within phrases. A choice out of a wealth of detailed differences thus brought to light are discussed at the syntactic level at which the phenomenon best fits: word, phrase, clause and above the clause.
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1 online resource (xviii, 529 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 489-495) and index. :
9789004256583 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Samuel Scroll from Qumran : 4QSam(a) restored and compared to the Septuagint and 4QSam(c) /
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4QSamᵃ is the Qumran scroll of 1 and 2 Samuel written in c. 200 BC in Hebrew Herodian script. The surviving fragments allow a faithful glimpse of about 60% of the Hebrew Samuel at the dawn of the birth of Christianity. The book is divided into three sections: 1) Plates showing the handwork of the author in replicating the fragments and restoring the gaps between them. 2) An apparatus giving the variants of the restored text from the traditional Hebrew Bible and the justification for the restoration. 3) A table comparing text breaks in the scroll with those of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. The book is a source work for the upcoming revised critical edition of the Hebrew Bible, viz. Biblia Hebraica Quinta. New translations of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel will use it as source or include notes to its variant readings at page bottom or in the margins. Furthermore, it may serve as textbook for students of Hebrew and Greek in their coursework on Samuel and/or Dead Sea Scroll compositions.
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Critical edition. :
1 online resource (viii, 327 pages) : illustrations, 45 plates. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 328) and index. :
9789004350410 :
0169-9962 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Primeval histor y Babylonian, biblical, and Enochic : an intertextual reading /
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Most cultures have myths of origin. The Babylonians were the first to combine blocks of traditions about primeval time into primeval histories where humans had a central role. In the first millennium there were different versions that influenced the concepts of primeval history within Jewish religion, both in the Bible and in the parallel Enochic tradition. Atrahasis and the traditions of primeval dynasties had crucial impact on Genesis; the traditions of the primeval apkallus as cosmic guardians were lying behind the Enochic Watcher Story. The book offers a comprehensive analytic comparison between the images of primeval time in these three traditions. It presents new interpretations of each of these traditions and how they relate to each other.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004196124 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Wisdoms of humanity : Buddhism, paganism, and Christianity /
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Wisdoms have often been considered either as meek servants to religions, or as timorous and mediocre ways of living. Resting on a new and long awaited comparative study (of buddhism, yoga, christian spirituality and ancient philosophies), this book restores these wisdoms into their fascinating and vigorous personality. Because they reject the marvelous, display resolute ethics and highly efficient mental techniques, they deserve to be considered one of the major conquests of humanity. Thanks to them, and to the lucid look they incited men to cast upon themselves, the latter discovered the means to strenghten their personality and stand up to the ordeals of this life. It may lie within this brave acceptance of their condition the highest proof of humanity one might imagine.
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"First published as: Les sagesses de l'homme : bouddhisme, paganisme, spiritualite chretienne. Lille, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 2004"--T.p. verso. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004216297 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Religion and Time.
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The essays in this volume, all freshly written for this purpose, focus on the concept of time in the major religious traditions. Two essays prepare the methodological grounds - by elaborating the phenomenological and existential conceptions of time and their religious significance. The theme of time, so central to the religious point of view, offers a focal point for fruitful interreligious dialogue. The essays also demonstrate that the complexities of the understanding of time in any religious tradition no longer permit the use of familiar but outdated clichés.
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1 online resource. :
9789004378773
Challenges to conventional opinions on Qumran and Enoch issues /
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Some literary expressions in the Dead Sea Scrolls led scholars to allege that their authors professed a dualistic and deterministic worldview of Zoroastrian origin and that the omission of Moses and Sinai from the Enoch writings evinces that a segment in Jewish society marginalized the Torah, adopting Enoch's prophecies as its ethical guideline. This study challenges these allegations as utterly conflicting with essential biblical doctrines and the unequivocal beliefs and expectations of Qumran's Torah-centered society, arguing that scholars' allegations are erroneously based on interpreting ancient texts with a modern mindset and influenced by the interpreter's personal cultural background. The study interprets the relevant texts in a manner compatible with the presumed doctrines of ancient Jewish authors and readers.
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1 online resource (xii, 415 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004218826 :
0169-9962 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Brot, Licht und Weinstock : intertextuelle Analysen johanneischer Ich-bin-Worte /
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This study considers the "I am" sayings in the Gospel of John, interpreted in the context of their reception in late antiquity. It takes an intertextual approach, considering both inner-biblical parallels and extra-biblical texts, which have been much neglected in recent Johannine scholarship. A comparative analysis of the "I am" formula is complemented by the consideration of the metaphors of the predicative "I am" words, focussing particularly on the use of "bread", "light" and "vine" and the context of these metaphors in the Gospel of John and elsewhere. This discussion demonstrates that Johannine Christology is profoundly incarnational. *** Gegenstand der vorliegenden Untersuchung sind die Ich-bin-Worte des Johannesevangeliums. Diese werden in ihrem spätantiken Lese- und Rezeptionskontext interpretiert, wobei die Intertextualitätstheorie als methodische Basis dient und auch außerbiblische Schriften zum Vergleich herangezogen werden, die in der Forschung der vergangenen Jahrzehnte kaum berücksichtigt worden sind. Ergänzend zur vergleichenden Untersuchung der Formel "Ich bin..." werden die prädikativen Ich-bin-Worte als Metaphoren näher bestimmt und exemplarisch drei ausgewählte Prädikationen, nämlich "Brot", "Licht" und "Weinstock" in ihrem jeweiligen Kontext analysiert. Dabei wird deutlich, dass die johanneische Christologie primär als Inkarnationchristologie zu verstehen ist.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [341]-381) and index. :
9789047433248 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Qumran prayer and religious poetry /
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Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry represents the first attempt to undertake a systematic, comprehensive study of the liturgical and poetic texts which were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran. The collections of prayers, blessings and hymns indicate that fixed prayers were already customary within Judaism during the period of the Second Temple within sectarian circles. In the light of the prayer texts from Qumran the author conducts a systematic study of Jewish prayer beginning with its biblical traditions, through its development during the Second Temple period, and down to rabbinic prayer. By means of comparative literary analysis, the author is able to elucidate the relationship of the Qumran texts to forms and motifs found in parallel text types from various periods and circles within Judaism. This volume provides the reader with tools for a renewed study of the history of prayer in Judaism in the light of new textual evidence from the Second Temple period.
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1 online resource (xxi, 415 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 371-380) and index. :
9789004350137 :
0169-9962 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Divine Verdict, A Study of the Divine Judgement in the Ancient Religions.
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The theme of divine judgement has often been treated, but usually with a concentration on one it its two main aspects: either that which is seen in the present life and in history or that which is believed to occur only after death. This new study seeks to combine the two aspects. It also tries to cover the whole spectrum of the ancient religions. Special attention is given to Israel, Greece, and Egypt. Israel's neighbours are also considered, and there are discussions of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. In several areas, notably in Egypt and Israel, it is shown that punishment in this life is sometimes presented as a fate that man brings upon himself rather than as one imposed by God, though always against a moral background derived from religion. The origins of judgement after death in the Judaeo-Christian tradition are examined in some detail and elements are traced to Egyptian, Zoroastrian, and Judaic sources.
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1 online resource. :
9789004378759
Isaiah among the ancient Near Eastern prophets : a comparative study of the earliest stages of the Isaiah tradition and the Neo-Assyrian prophecies /
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Focusing on the phenomenon of prophecy in the ancient Near East, this study offers a comparison between parts of First Isaiah and the Assyrian prophecies. In the first part, the material from First Isaiah and from seventh-century Assyria is investigated in its own right. The second part is a comparison of the Isaiah tradition in its earliest shape with the prophetic material from seventh-century Assyria. The topics dealt with in the comparison are the interrelation of prophetic oracles and historical events, the functions of the prophets, and the literary development of prophecy. The study shows that ancient Israelite prophecy, of which the historical Isaiah was an exponent, was much in conformity with ancient Near Eastern prophecy in general.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [467]-496) and indexes. :
9789047422617 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Unity of Mystical Traditions, The Transformation of Consciousness in Tibetan and German Mysticism.
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This book argues that mystical doctrines and practices initiate parallel transformative processes in the consciousness of mystics. This thesis is supported through a comparative analysis of Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen) and the medieval German mysticism of Eckhart, Suso, and Tauler. These traditions are interpreted using a system/cybernetic model of consciousness. This model provides a theoretical framework for assessing the cognitive effects of mystical doctrines and practices and showing how different doctrines and practices may nevertheless initiate common transformative processes. This systems approach contributes to current philosophical discourse on mysticism by (1) making possible a precise analysis of the cognitive effects of mystical doctrines and practices, and (2) reconciling mystical heterogeneity with the essential unity of mystical traditions.
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1 online resource. :
9789047407218
A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17-19 : "No One Has Seen What I Have Seen" /
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A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17-19 examines the travels of the patriarch Enoch who is given a guided tour of extraordinary and at times terrifying places located throughout the cosmos. Coblentz Bautch clarifies the text of 1 Enoch 17-19 by explaining how the sites described relate to one another geographically and by reconstructing the mental map of the geography that lies behind the textual descriptions. Especially provocative is the consideration of sources from the ancient Near East, Hebrew Bible and the world of Hellenistic Judaism that may have informed the world view of 1 Enoch 17-19 and parallel traditions. Through this study an important facet of apocalypses is illumined: their portrayal of geography and sacred space.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047402251
9789004131033
The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses : Perspectives from Judaism, the Pagan Graeco-Roman World, and Early Christianity /
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The revelation of YHWH's name to Moses is a momentous event according to the Old Testament. The name 'Yahweh' is of central importance in Judaism, and 'Yahwism' became tantamount to Jewish monotheism. As such, this designation of God also attracted the attention of pagan writers in the Graeco-Roman period. And early Christians had to deal with this divine name as well. These three perspectives on YHWH constitute the framework for this volume. It appears that the Name of God and its revelation to Moses constitute a major theme which runs from the book of Exodus through the Old Testament, early Judaism, and early Christianity. It also attracted pagan philosophical interest, both positive and negative. The Name of God was not only perceived from an insider's perspective, but also provoked a reaction from outsiders. The combined perspectives show the fundamental importance of the divine Name for the formation of Jewish and Christian identities.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047411031
9789004153981
The Resurgence of Religion : A Comparative Study of Selected Themes in Christian and Islamic Fundamentalist Discourses /
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This book is a comparative study of basic themes in Christian and Islamic fundamentalist discourses, analyzing and comparing texts from a wide variety of fundamentalist leaders and movements, looking for \'family resemblances\' and significant differences in order to better understand the contemporary phenomenon of religious resurgence. After placing fundamentalisms in a theoretical framework, the study looks at selected themes important to fundamentalists, noting resemblances and differences. These themes include their anti-secularist stance, their theocentric worldviews, their reliance on inerrant sacred scriptures, and their attitudes to politics, government, state and democracy. The study also looks at the fundamentalist view of the world as a perennial battlefield between the forces of good and those of evil, in the realm of ideologies as well as politics and the legitimation of violence.
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Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D). :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-371) and index. :
9789047401827 :
0169-8834 ;
Israel's restoration : a textual-comparative exploration of Ezekiel 36-39 /
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Commentators traditionally use a textual-critical methodology in examining Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to establish an 'original' reading, frequently attributing other variants to scribal error. This book proposes a complementary-textual comparative methodology that treats each Hebrew and/or Greek manuscript with equal value, listening to each voice as a possible interpretive trajectory. This methodology is applied to the restoration of Israel in Ezekiel 36-39, initially on a micro level examining each verse for intra-linguistic and trans-linguistic variants, frequently finding exegetical reasons for variants. The macro application compares Papyrus 967 with extant manuscripts, finding the different chapter order and pericope minus (36:23c-38) due to theological reasons. This comparative methodology can be used with any study dealing with different manuscripts and versions.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [271]-289) and indexes. :
9789047442714 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The earliest history of the Christian gathering : origin, development and content of the Christian gathering in the first to third centuries /
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Recent research has made a strong case for the view that Early Christian communities, sociologically considered, functioned as voluntary religious associations. This is similar to the practice of many other cultic associations in the Greco-Roman world of the first century CE. Building upon this new approach, along with a critical interpretation of all available sources, this book discusses the social and religio-historical background of the weekly gatherings of Christians and presents a fresh reconstruction of how the weekly gathering originated and developed in both form and content. The topics studied here include the origins of the observance of Sunday as the weekly Christian feast-day, the shape and meaning of the weekly gatherings of the Christian communities, and the rise of customs such as preaching, praying, singing, and the reading of texts in these meetings.
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Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Leiden University, 2009. :
1 online resource (xvii, 342 pages) : illustrations, plans. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-321) and indexes. :
9789004190702 :
0920-623X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Johannine sectarianism in perspective : a sociological, historical, and comparative analysis of temple and social relationships in the Gospel of John, Philo, and Qumran /
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The central aim of the investigation is to evaluate the claim that the Gospel of John was a product of a 'sectarian' milieu. Fuglseth is using methods primarily derived from sociology and the study of new religious movements today. He discusses in particular the 'cult'-model as an alternative to 'sect,' and compares the Johannine texts with texts from two contemporary milieus: Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The thesis is embedded in a comprehensive survey of research and discussions of methods and of the existence of a Johannine community. There are still serious debates going on about the existence and nature of the Johannine group, its 'Jewish' roots and settings, the attitude to the 'Jews' and the 'synagogue', and the two levels of meanings in the Johannine text according to Martyn and Brown. In this situation Fuglseth's investigation is of great current interest and gives new answers to central questions in the Johannine research.
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1 online resource (xiv, 448 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [379]-409) and indexes. :
9789047415626 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Scribal culture in Ben Sira /
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In Scribal Culture in Ben Sira Lindsey A. Askin examines scribal culture as a framework for analysing features of textual referencing throughout the Book of Ben Sira (c.198-175 BCE), revealing new insights into how Ben Sira wrote his book of wisdom. Although the title of "scribe" is regularly applied to Ben Sira, this designation presents certain interpretive challenges. Through comparative analysis, Askin contextualizes the sage's compositional style across historical, literary, and socio-cultural spheres of operation. New light is shed on Ben Sira's text and early Jewish textual reuse. Drawing upon physical and material evidence of reading and writing, Askin reveals the dexterity and complexity of Ben Sira's sustained textual reuse. Ben Sira's achievement thus demonstrates exemplary, "excellent" writing to a receptive audience.
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1 online resource (x, 311 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004372863 :
1384-2161 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Talking about God and Talking about Creation : Avicenna's and Thomas Aquinas' positions /
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Comparing Avicenna's and Thomas Aquinas' positions regarding human knowledge, this volumes talks about God and the nature of the creative action and the beginning of the universe. The overall argument of the book is that their conception of theological language plays an important role in shaping their positions concerning the creation of the universe. In the first part, their conception of the theological language and divine formal features are explored and how their positions regarding theological language differ from each other is discussed. The second part includes a comparison of their conceptions of the nature of the divine creative action-which provides a good example showing how their conceptions of theological language affect the way they talk about creation-and their arguments concerning the beginning of the universe.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047415923
9789004144774