Patrick Adeso, Catholic University of Cameroon
“Exegesis of John 2:1-11, Jesus
and the Church as Family, an African Contribution”
The paper is divided into three sections: a synthetic analysis, which using narrative and structural approaches bring out the central importance of the family in Jesus' ministry. The second analysis is semantic which brings out the saving and transforming work of Jesus in the Family as the local Church. The third analysis is theological, which brings the conclusion of the research to bear on the Church today. The African Family comes very close to the family of Cana. The work attempts to bring an African contribution to the understanding of the Church as family, and how to respond to challenges and the needs of today.
José Enrique Aguilar, Fordham University
What Paul says in Rom
2:13: "the doers of the law will be justified,” appears in sharp contrast
with what he says elsewhere (e.g., Rom 3:20: "no human being will be
justified by works of the Law"). While some propose to see here a proof of
Paul's incoherence, a consideration of the development of the argumentation in
Romans 2 shows that there is no contradiction in Paul's teaching on
justification: in Rom 2:13 he only quotes the position of his interlocutor in
order to advance his own argument.
S. Scott Bartchy, Center for the Study of Religion at UCLA
“`When I'm Weak, I'm Strong' - a Pauline Paradox in Cultural Context”
Paul's abiding challenge was how to lead without dominating, without appealing to "old creation" expectations of honorable male behavior. How could he model the life of the "new creation in Christ" without risking rejection by competing "super apostles" who attracted the Corinthians' respect, at least in part, by dominating them in ways legitimized by deeply-felt cultural values? All Paul's converts had been socialized to respect such abusive leadership, which must have felt much more familiar to them than Paul's fascinating, loving, confusing, and apparently "weak" attempts to lead them. How could Paul become a "leader of men" in their eyes?
David
A. Bosworth, Barry University
“Do
Biblical Characters Develop?”
Commentators expect to see development in biblical characters for two reasons. First, real people change over time, so literary characters should show a capacity for growth. Second, the biblical insistence on right behavior and the possibility of repentance suggests that characters, like real people, should be capable of change. However, biblical characters do not develop in the ways familiar from modern novels. The paper will discuss the problem of character development with examples from modern literature and biblical Hebrew narrative, and consider the related issue of biblical anthropology and character ethics.
The puzzle about the literary models
underlying the gospels is clarified by basic features of certain narratives:
(1) The Elijah-Elisha narrative played a key role within the
Hebrew/Septuagintal Scriptures, and prepared the way for the transition from
historiography to prophetic biography; (2) There is solid evidence that the
Elijah-Elisha narrative provided a model for (an early short version) of
Luke-Acts, and that Luke’s historiography maintained the tendency to move from
historiography to biography; (3) There is further evidence that Mark, while
using the Elijah-Elisha narrative, carried the transition to biography/bios
to a further stage that provided a model for the four canonical gospels. This
proposal develops in detail a thesis put forward by Raymond E. Brown in 1971.
Is
it possible that the gospel stories in which Jesus heals the blind, deaf, lame
and others who are ill have had a negative impact on how Christians through the
centuries have regarded the disabled who are not healed? This paper
considers how the message “heard,” from these healing miracles has kept the
disabled outside, or on the fringes, of the Church. And, if this is the case,
what must be done about it?
“John
the Baptist: Victim of the Search for the Historical John”
Scriptural scholars of the last
half-century have viewed John the Baptist as primarily a figure of Second
Temple Judaism. They impugn the gospel accounts of John
as Christianized by the evangelists and, therefore, historically
unreliable.This destroys the significance and the unique status of John.
To refute this position, I wish first to examine the gospel accounts and their
authenticity, the account of Josephus, and then bring to the bar on John's
behalf the later witnesses of Islam, Mandaeanism, the Christian Fathers and
Doctors, Christian history, liturgy and art from both the Eastern and the
Western tradition.
My first study of the
Psalm of Nahum was based on the syllable-count method of Frank Cross
(1975). I introduced a new impulse in
the study of Hebrew prosody in 1982 substituting the counting of morae for
syllables. Two years later I modified this method to include syntactic
accentual-stress (SAS) units, as defined by Jerzy Kurylowicz. A further
revision in methodology to include word-count is presented in my Anchor Bible
commentary on Nahum (2006). This paper assesses the nature and significance of
this changing methodology by comparing three successive publications on the
Psalm of Nahum (1975, 1987, and 2006).
Genesis
49 is usually studied separately from the large narrative in which it occurs,
in part because of its notorious philological and textual problems. I will view
the Testament and its immediate context as the climax of chaps. 37-50. Jacob
recognizes the hand of God that has been at work in events and affirms the
leadership of Judah and Joseph, and rejects the leadership of his oldest sons,
Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Much of the paper will be devoted to the philological
and textual problems of the chapter.
Mary L. Coloe, P.V.B.M, St Paul’s Theological College/Australian Catholic University
At the beginning of the
Johannine narrative is a sequence of six days. I believe this sequence is best
understood against the background of the Festival of Weeks (Gk:
Pentecost). The celebration of First
Fruits provides a fitting liturgical context for the gathering of the first
disciples. The report will focus on 1:19-51, examining the language used in
this pericope and inter-textual references to other Jewish Literature: the OT,
the Targums, Jubilees, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is part of a larger
project on the Household of God.
The stories of the
banishment of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 21, and the near-sacrifice of Isaac
in chapter 22, two stories rarely examined in tandem, share literary
characteristics that highlight the similarities in their meaning. This presentation analyzes those
characteristics in order to elucidate the message of the two chapters, and how
their juxtaposition enhances that message.
Mary R. D'Angelo, University of
Notre Dame
“Roman Imperial Family Values and Moral Apologetic in Philo”
Philo is widely seen as heir and propagator of the “common ethic of Hellenistic
Judaism,” an ethic which rereads Torah to present it as source and epitome of
the highest ethic that can appeal to the educated, Greek-speaking ancient
world. This useful concept should be extended with a fuller recognition that
Philo is a Roman writer, whose ethical concerns engage post-Augustan imperial
politics, especially sexual politics. This engagement is manifest at
points at which he understands eusebia as pietas, expounds the
commandment against adultery and derives gender arrangements from the text of
Genesis.
Rudy Dornemann, ASOR, Director of Tell Qarqur Excavations, and Deirdre Dempsey, Marquette University
The Early Bronze Age temple, on the northern edge of the high tell at Tell Qarqur, has been a focus for the expedition from 1997 through 2006. On the south side of the tell, we are exposing a major building of the Iron II period and clearing the later remains covering portions of the Early Bronze Age IV buildings exposed in previous seasons. On the lower tell in we continue to expose the Iron I layers. A new component of the expedition is a comprehensive subsurface geophysical survey which will help us concentrate on the location of major buildings.
Henryk Drawnel S.D,B., John
Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
”Priestly Education in the Second
Temple Period according to the Aramaic Levi Document”
The Greek version of ALD preservers an unusual set of liturgical instructions
transmitted by Isaac to Levi. In ALD 31-47 Levi learns how much wood and other
sacrificial material should be used in the meal offering that accompanies the
burnt offering of a bull. A closer examination reveals that the recurring
pattern of numbers in this priestly instruction occurs in lexical lists used in
the education of the Babylonian scribes already in the third and second
millennium, B.C. The research report presents the consequences of this finding
for the understanding of priestly education in Israel and for the understanding
of some sections of the Ethiopic book of Enoch.
Christopher Frechette, S.J.,
Loyola Marymount University
“Adaptability in the Function of
Lyric: The Akkadian shuilla and the Psalter”
Concerning issues of genre relevant to Psalter, my research addresses the relationships among particular texts, text-types, classes of text, and social function. I draw implications from my recent investigation of the Akkadian shuilla-rituals and the lyrical texts associated with them, texts long compared to biblical laments of the individual. Based upon my demonstration of the striking fluidity of context within which these texts were employed, I argue that such lyrical texts in Mesopotamia, and by cultural continuity possibly in Israel, were not associated with singular and stable social functions but rather were assumed to have an adaptability of function.
“Great
(Megalē ) is Diana/Artemis of
the Ephesians" (Acts 19:23-37) - Lukan Responses to Worship of the Moon
Mother `Goddess’
(Thea)”
"All Asia and the world"
came to Artemis’ temple and altar fire. An image from heaven portrayed her as
fertility mother. In reply, Luke has the heavenly sign of mother / child
bringing peace to "all the people." Though not megalē thea,
Mary is mother of the kyrios. She is "great" for her son is megas
and God works megala through her (1:32,49). Artemis as moon mother
brought pregnancy and life. But Mary is mother of Jesus, "The Living
One," and "Author of Life," as well as believers’ mother. Luke
also describes special lunar signs. In Acts, visitors from Asia, even Rome
witness a new Spirit Temple built by Pentecostal fires. There, the Twelve, and
Mary mother of Jesus are featured.
In
recent years Paul and Matthew have been studied by scholars from a “new perspective”
that has emphasized their roots in Judaism and their place in first-century
Judaism. After discussing the historical context in which each one wrote, the
paper will compare Paul and Matthew on Christology, law and love, the moral
life, communal conflicts, and salvation and eschatology. Then it will ask
whether Matthew can be construed as a direct response to Paul by promoting a
more traditional Jewish Christianity.
“The Contemporary
Nature of St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on the Gospel of St. John”
Although
written some 750 years ago, Bonaventure’s Commentary on John has anticipated
many exegetical points we now take for granted, e.g., John’s representative
figures. His interpretations of the Samaritan Woman, Martha and Mary, and
Mary of Magdala would be fitting contributions for a third volume of Feminist
Readings on John’s Gospel. His interpretations of Nicodemus in John 3 and
of the man ill for 38 years in John 5 provide fitting challenges to
contemporary scholarship’s generally negative views of these two individuals.
Mark Kiley
While the Semitic linguistic dynamics of the
Gospels continue to be widely discussed, I want to point the interlocutors to
the Latin arena, using Varro as a guide and John as a test case. Taking a cue from the initial portrayal of
Jesus as Word, I will make some exploratory probes into the `etymology,’ `inflexion,’
and `syntax’ of Jesus the Word. The
discussion will conclude with an inquiry into the propriety of situating these
data in the context of Jesus' command to "chew" his flesh.
The obedience of Israel to YHWH is
a key constituent of the Israelite community as a central symbol in Ezekiel’s
cosmos (Ezek 36:20). Such obedience manifests the reality of YHWH before
the nations. Ezekiel values this symbolic role of Israel of revealing the
reality of YHWH more than Israel’s freedom (Ezek 20:33-34; 36:26-27).
This session will explore how the functioning of symbols in the exilic
community was fundamental to Ezekiel’s explanation of the dilemma of freedom
and determinism (Ezek 18:2) that weighed upon the exiles.
William
Loader, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
“Enoch,
Levi, and Jubilees on Sexuality”
The paper reports the findings of the first part of a research project on Attitudes towards Sexuality in Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic Greco-Roman Era, which the author is undertaking with a 5 year Professorial Research Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. Sexual wrongdoing is at the core of the myth of the watchers in 1 Enoch 1-36, 72-108, but, surprisingly, not at the core of its consequences, in contrast to Jubilees, where it becomes a major theme (to a lesser degree in the Aramaic Levi Document), but which also embodies a very positive attitude towards sexuality.
In the
early years of Qumran study, various scholars proposed connections between
that community and the NT Epistle to the Hebrews. Often the proposals
were extreme, and the idea was widely rejected. Though legitimate differences are present in these traditions,
one should consider whether the differences have been overemphasized
to the detriment of an appreciation of their similarities, especially since the
Qumran corpus includes the only extant texts unquestionably from the Second
Temple period with a priestly messiah and an angelic Melchizedek. Three issues of particular interest are the
expectation of a heavenly priest, the Day of Atonement, and the understanding
of Melchizedek as a heavenly figure.
“Compassionate Soteriology in Hebrews, 1 Peter, and the Gospel of Mark”
More
than any other document sometimes associated with a Roman provenance, the
Gospel of Mark eludes confident assessment of its relationship to writings such
as Hebrews and 1 Peter, texts more confidently linked to developments within
Roman Christianity. Recently, Richard Bauckham has argued against the
legitimacy of seeing the Gospels as directed to discrete communities, while
Joel Marcus places Mark persuasively within a Syrian provenance. This
paper argues that a soteriology expressive of Christ’s compassionate presence
constitutes a shared theological vision in Hebrews, 1 Peter, and Mark, and
yields a renewed theological consideration for placing Mark within the
provenance of 1st century Roman Christianity.
Kathleen S.
Nash, Le Moyne College
This presentation concerns the function of a type of religious language, often categorized as “apocalyptic language,” that appears in current political discourse. I analyze its use against a reading of the Book of Revelation and argue that such language does not represent a desire to uncover or reveal the truth of threatening situations, whether actual or constructed, but an attempt to contain them. My conclusion suggests that the use of apocalyptic language as a language of containment may only simulate power and security while subverting the claim that the U.S. wars on the side of good.
Barbara E. Reid, O.P., Catholic Theological Union
In several NT texts (e.g., Phil 2:6-11; Heb 5:8; Mark
12:1-12; 14:32-42) the death of Jesus is explained in terms of his obedience to
God. A problem is created because God
appears as cruel, deliberately sending the Son to his death. Moreover, the image of an obedient Jesus
provides powerful underpinnings for submissive behavior by women and other
dominated persons. A solution can by
found by reframing Jesus obedience in terms of life-long faithfulness, of the
kind exemplified by his foremothers: Shiphrah, Puah, Mary, Elizabeth, Tamar, Rahab,
Ruth, and the wife of Uriah.
Marie Noonan Sabin, Bristol,
ME
“In Persona Christi: the Role of the Feminine in John Paul II’s Theology and in the Gospel of Mark”
The study reopens the
question of women’s ordination in the light of new theological and ancient
scriptural understandings of the feminine as reflections of the divine being.
The research finds a remarkable convergence between John Paul II’s 1988
encyclical on women and the Gospel of Mark in their reverence for the feminine
as revelatory of the self-emptying of Christ and the self-giving nature of God.
While John Paul explicitly denies that women can act in persona Christi, his own mystical
perceptions in fact demonstrate the opposite. At the same time, this study
finds that Mark’s Gospel not only elevates the feminine but provides a concrete
scriptural basis for women’s vocation to act as “another Christ.”
Mark S. Smith, New York University
“Lost in Translation? Translatability of Divinity across Cultures in Israel and the
Ancient Near East”
Over the past decade,
the Egyptologist and historian of religion Jan Assman has identified a number
of instances of what he calls translatability of divinities across ancient Near
Eastern cultures. In a recent book (Remembering
Abraham, 2005), Ronald Hendel draws on Assman's idea and has argued that
translatability of divinity is a general religious feature absent from ancient
Israel. Hendel's thesis will be
examined, with the further purpose of contextualizing divinity in ancient
Israel and the emergence of expressions of monotheism.
This paper argues that much
light is shed on the unity and logic of Luke 12:13-34 when one reads it as an
elaboration of a saying, or chreia, of Jesus concerning
covetousness. Specifically, I submit that this passage contains all of
the elements that are outlined in a progymnastic exercise attributed to the
second century rhetorician Hermogenes of Tarsus – elements that, taken together,
make up what classical rhetoricians call a “complete argument.” One of
the fruits of this analysis is to make explicit Luke’s portrayal of God in this
passage.
I will report on the research for
my forthcoming book. In this book I
seek to examine how the gospel message was spread by the early Christian
missionaries, especially Paul. The focus
of my study is not the kerygma, but
instead the practical challenges faced in attempting to spread the Gospel, such
as: the dangers of travel (bandits and shipwrecks); primitive supplies for
writing (ink, papyrus, poor lighting); unstable political situations (local and
regional); cultural differences (language, Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts);
and limited means of communication (oral and written).
MichaelTrainor, Adelaide
College of Divinity
“Ancient Colossae: A Meeting Place for Biblical Research and Archaeology”
The site of ancient Colossae in south
western Turkey is the only archaeological site in the Lycus Valley connected to
the New Testament that has so far not been excavated. All commentators on the
Letter to the Colossians mention this and see the site's excavation as
key to interpreting some of the letter's remaining interpretative mysteries.
This report will summarise the research and negotiations that have been
conducted on Colossae over the past six years by South Australia's Flinders
University and Adelaide College of Divinity, the projected plans for the interdisciplinary
interpretation of the site, and the challenges and learnings which have so far
emerged for this biblical interpreter.
This paper re-examines
the premise that Luke and Acts were written-edited by a unitary author and
provides a fresh assessment. First, key
passages that are virtually certain to be authorial are culled from each book,
i.e., the seams and summaries identified by major modern scholars. Second, those seams and summaries are
analyzed by means of criteria derived from ancient criticism on prose
composition, i.e., euphony (e.g., hiatus), prose rhythm, and word arrangement.
Third, stylometrics are used to determine whether the differences found are
statistically significant. As a result,
the authorial unity of Luke and Acts must be called into question.
Joel Willitts, University of Cambridge
“Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King: In search of ‘The Lost Sheep of the
House of Israel’ (Matt 10:6; 15:24)”
Unique to the First Gospel are two sayings of Jesus that
have proved controversial. The controversy arises not least because of the
exclusivity of their contents. In two places in the Gospel (Matt 10:5b-6;
15:24) the messianic mission of Jesus and the mission of his disciples is
limited to a group that Jesus himself calls “the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.” This study investigates these logia in order to determine the identity
of the group. In light of Matthew’s intense interest in Jesus’ Davidic
Messiahship, it is argued that the way forward in ascertaining the meaning of
the logia is within the trajectory of the Jewish Shepherd-King traditions
surrounding King David.
The approach of the
Greeks in John 12 constitutes a Johannine reworking of a Jewish eschatological
motif of the ingathering of the Gentiles.
Diverse Second Temple texts evidence a theme of Gentiles coming to
worship at God’s eschatological temple and frequently in connection with the
manifestation of God’s kingship. John
presents Jesus as temple (2:21), and he locates the Greeks’ approach after
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, a scene containing many eschatological and royal
allusions. John reworks this motif of
eschatological ingathering around the Incarnation, which is the locus of God’s
eschatological dwelling among humans and whose death manifests divine kingship.