Journal-of-Biblical-Literature

The most recent issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature carries Matthew Goldstone’s essay “Rebuke, Lending, and Love: An Early Exegetical Tradition on Leviticus 19:17–18” (307–21). According to the abstract, In this article I posit the presence of an early Jewish exegesis of Lev 19:17–18 preserved in the Tannaitic midrash known as Sifra, which is inverted and amplified in Did. 1:3–5, Q 6:27–35, Luke 6:27–35, and Matt 5:38–44. Identifying shared terminology and a sequence of themes in these passages, I argue that these commonalities testify to the existence of a shared exegetical tradition. By analyzing the later rabbinic material I delineate the contours of this Second Temple period interpretation and augment our understanding of the construction of these early Christian pericopae. In commenting on Lev 19:17, Sifra articulates three permissible modes of rebuke: cursing, hitting, and slapping. In its gloss on the subsequent verse, Sifra exemplifies the biblical injunction against vengeance and bearing a grudge through the case of lending and borrowing from one’s neighbor. The Didache, Matthew, and Luke invert the first interpretation by presenting Jesus as recommending a passive response to being cursed or slapped, and they amplify the second interpretation by commanding one to give and lend freely to all who ask. The similar juxtaposition of these two ideas and the shared terminology between Sifra and these New Testament period texts suggest a common source. By reading these early Christian sources in light of this later rabbinic work I advance our understanding of the formation of these well-known passages and illustrate the advantages of cautiously employing rabbinic material for reading earlier Christian works. ...

The newest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature contains Beverly Gaventa’s essay, “Reading Romans 13 with Simone Weil: Toward a More Generous Hermeneutic.” According to the abstract, Simone Weil’s interpretation of the Iliad as a “poem of force” has resonances with Rom 1–8, reinforcing the question of how Rom 13:1–7 belongs in the larger argument of Romans. Seeking a generous reading of 13:1–7 along the lines of the generosity Weil extends to the Iliad, I first take Pharaoh as an example of Paul’s understanding of the relationship between God and human rulers and then propose that Paul’s treatment of human rulers coheres with his refusal in this letter to reify lines between “insider” and “outsider.” I conclude with a reflection on the need for generosity in scholarly research and pedagogy. ...

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Athalya Brenner-Idan, “Introduction to the Presidential Address” Fernando F. Segovia, “Presidential Address: Criticism in Critical Times: Reflections on Vision and Task” Duane E. Smith, “The Divining Snake: Reading Genesis 3 in the Context of Mesopotamian Ophiomancy” David E. S. Stein, “A Rejoinder concerning Genesis 3:6 and the NJPS Translation” Murray H. Lichtenstein, “The Fearsome Sword of Genesis 3:24” Kerry D. Lee, “Two Translations of HSS V 67 and Their Significance for Genesis 16, 21, and 30” Ken Brown, “Vengeance and Vindication in Numbers 31” Orly Keren and Hagit Taragan, “Merab, Saul’s Mute and Muffled Daughter” Joshua Bermanz, “The Legal Blend in Biblical Narrative (Joshua 20:1–9, Judges 6:25–31, 1 Samuel 15:2, 28:3–25, 2 Kings 4:1–7, Jeremiah 34:12–17, Nehemiah 5:1–12)” John B. Whitley, “עיפה in Amos 4:13: New Evidence for the Yahwistic Incorporation of Ancient Near Eastern Solar Imagery” Warren Carter, “Cross-Gendered Romans and Mark’s Jesus: Legion Enters the Pigs (Mark 5:1–20)” David Lertis Matson, “Pacifist Jesus? The (Mis)Translation of ἐᾶτε ἓως τούτου in Luke 22:51” Daniel Lynwood Smith, “Interrupted Speech in Luke-Acts” Ryan S. Schellenberg, “The First Pauline Chronologist? Paul’s Itinerary in the Letters and in Acts” Jennifer A. Glancy, “The Sexual Use of Slaves: A Response to Kyle Harper on Jewish and Christian Porneia”

The Journal of Biblical Literature 133, no. 2 includes: Joram Mayshar, “Who Was the Toshav?” Amitai Baruchi-Unna, “Two Clearings of Goats (1 Kings 20:27): An Interpretation Supported by an Akkadian Parallel” Ryan E. Stokes, “Satan, Yhwh’s Executioner” Saul M. Olyan, “Jehoiakim’s Dehumanizing Interment as a Ritual Act of Reclassification” John L. McLaughlin, “Is Amos (Still) among the Wise?” Christine Mitchell, “A Note on the Creation Formula in Zechariah 12:1–8; Isaiah 42:5–6; and Old Persian Inscriptions” Kristian Larsson, “Intertextual Density, Quantifying Imitation” J. R. Daniel Kirk and Stephen L. Young, “‘I Will Set His Hand to the Sea’: Psalm 88:26 LXX and Christology in Mark” Jennifer Knust and Tommy Wasserman, “The Biblical Odes and the Text of the Christian Bible: A Reconsideration of the Impact of Liturgical Singing on the Transmission of the Gospel of Luke” Brittany E. Wilson, “The Blinding of Paul and the Power of God:Masculinity, Sight, and Self-Control in Acts 9” Brice C. Jones, “Three New Coptic Papyrus Fragments of 2 Timothy and Titus (P.Mich. inv. 3535b)” Nicola Denzey Lewis and Justine Ariel Blount, “Rethinking the Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices” This issue also introduces the “JBL Forum,” which is intended to provide “an occasional series that will highlight approaches, points of view, and even definitions of ‘biblical scholarship’ that may be outside the usual purview of many of our readers. The format may vary from time to time but will always include an exchange of ideas on the matter at hand” (pg. 421). This issue’s forum includes: ...

The upcoming issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature is set to include the following: Mark F. Whitters, “Baruch as Ezra in 2 Baruch” Brian R. Doak, “Ezekiel’s Topography of the (Un-)Heroic Dead in Ezekiel 32:17–32” Ruth Sheridan, “Issues in the Translation of оἱ ̓Iоυαῖоι in the Fourth Gospel” Andrew T. Lincoln, “Luke and Jesus’ Conception: A Case of Double Paternity?” Daniel Frayer-Griggs, “Spittle, Clay, and Creation in John 9:6 and Some Dead Sea Scrolls” Timothy M. Willis, “The Curious Case of κυριε μоυ κυριε in 2 Kingdoms 7:18–29” Greg Goswell, “The Eschatology of Malachi after Zechariah 14” Bennie H. Reynolds, “The Expression המד דין in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Legacy of the Holiness School in Essene Legal Texts” T. C. Ham, “The Gentle Voice of God in Job 38” Andrew R. Davis, “The Literary Effect of Gender Discord in the Book of Ruth” Robert D. Holmstedt, “The Nexus between Textual Criticism and Linguistics: A Case Study from Leviticus” Naphtali S. Meshel, “Toward a Grammar of Sacrifice: Hierarchic Patterns in the Israelite Sacrificial System” David G. Horrell, Bradley Arnold, and Travis B. Williams, “Visuality, Vivid Description, and the Message of 1 Peter: The Significance of the Roaring Lion (1 Peter 5:8)”

Google Books as a combined full-text PDF of K. W. Krüger’s Griechische sprachlehre für Schulen (1861). The two tomes make for a combined PDF of just over 1100 pages.

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: John Dominic Crossan, “A Vision of Divine Justice: The Resurrection of Jesus in Eastern Christian Iconography” Jill Hicks-Keeton, “Already/Not Yet: Eschatological Tension in the Book of Tobit” Shane Berg, “Ben Sira, the Genesis Creation Accounts, and the Knowledge of God’s Will” Seth Bledsoe, “Can Ahiqar Tell Us Anything about Personified Wisdom?” Richard Steiner, “Four Inner-Biblical Interpretations of Genesis 49:10: On the Lexical and Syntactic Ambiguities of עַד as Reflected in the Prophecies of Nathan, Ahijah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah” Richard Hicks, “Markan Discipleship according to Malachi: The Significance of μὴ ἀποστερήσῃς in the Story of the Rich Man (Mark 10:17-22)” David Moffitt and Jacob Butera, “P. Duk. inv. 727r: New Evidence for the Meaning and Provenance of the Word Προσήλυτος” Ronald Troxel, “The Problem of Time in Joel” Jonathan Stökl, “The מתנבאות in Ezekiel 13 Reconsidered”

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Jonathan Kaplan, “1 Samuel 8:11-18 as ‘A Mirror for Princes’” Nizzim Amzallag and Mikhal Avriel, “The Cryptic Meaning of the Isaiah 14 Māšāl” Mark Hamilton, “Isaiah 32 as Literature and Political Meditation” Mark Awabdy, “Yhwh Exegetes Torah: How Ezekiel 44:7–9 Bars Foreigners from the Sanctuary” Christian Stadel, “A Septuagint Translation Tradition and the Samaritan Targum to Genesis 41:43” John Meier, “The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24–30): Is Thomas’s Version (Logion 57) Independent?” Andrew Simmonds, “Mark’s and Matthew’s Sub Rosa Message in the Scene of Pilate and the Crowd” Matthew Rindge, “Reconfiguring the Akedah and Recasting God: Lament and Divine Abandonment in Mark” Benjamin Lappenga, “Misdirected Emulation and Paradoxical Zeal: Paul’s Redefinition of ‘The Good’ as Object of ζῆλος in Galatians 4:12–20” Callie Callon, “Secondary Characters Furthering Characterization: The Depiction of Slaves in the Acts of Peter”

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Serge Frolov, “Judah Comes to Shiloh: Genesis 49:10bα, One More Time” Philip Y. Yoo, “The Four Moses Death Accounts” Brian P. Irwin, “Not Just Any King: Abimelech, the Northern Monarchy, and the Final Form of Judges” Benjamin J. M. Johnson, “The Heart of YHWH’s Chosen One in 1 Samuel” Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor, “Secrets and Lies: Secrecy Notices (Esther 2:10, 20) and Diasporic Identity in the Book of Esther” Ryan M. Armstrong, “Psalms Dwelling Together in Unity: The Placement of Psalms 133 and 134 in Two Different Psalms Collections” Ryan P. Bonfiglio, “Archer Imagery in Zechariah 9:11-17 in Light of Achaemenid Iconography” Robert K. McIver, “Eyewitnesses as Guarantors of the Accuracy of the Gospel Traditions in the Light of Psychological Research” Joshua W. Jipp, “Paul’s Areopagus Speech of Acts 17:16-34 as Both Critique and Propaganda” John K. Goodrich, “Voluntary Debt Remission and the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13)” Curtis Hutt, “‘Be Ye Approved Money Changers!’: Reexamining the Social Contexts of the Saying and Its Interpretation”

The Journal of Biblical Literature 131, no. 2 includes several noteworthy articles.

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Carol Newsom, “Models of the Moral Self: Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism” Jonathann Vroom, “Recasting Mišpātîm: Legal Innovation in Leviticus 24:10-23” Suzanne Boorer, “The Place of Numbers 13–14 and Numbers 20:2–12 in the Priestly Narrative (Pg)” Israel Finkelstein, “The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles” Francis Landy, “I and Eye in Isaiah, or Gazing at the Invisible” Jacob Wright and Michael Chan, “King and Eunuch: Isaiah 56:1-8 in Light of Honorific Royal Burial Practices” Alec Lucas, “Reorienting the Structural Paradigm and Social Significance of Romans 1:18–32” David Downs, “Faith(fulness) in Christ Jesus in 2 Timothy 3:15” Jason Whitlark, " ‘Here We Do Not Have a City That Remains’: A Figured Critique of Roman Imperial Propaganda in Hebrews 13:14" Matthias Henze, “4 Ezra and 2 Baruch: Literary Composition and Oral Performance in First-Century Apocalyptic Literature”

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Esther J. Hamori, “Echoes of Gilgamesh in the Jacob Story” Joel S. Baden and Candida R. Moss, “The Origin and Interpretation of ṣāra’at in Leviticus 13–14” Scott C. Jones, “Lions, Serpents, and Lion-Serpents in Job 28:8 and Beyond” Noam Mizrahi, “The History and Linguistic Background of Two Hebrew Titles for the High Priest” Jeramy Townsley, “Paul, the Goddess Religions, and Queer Sects: Romans 1:23–28” Jeffrey R. Asher, “An Unworthy Foe: Heroic “Eθη, Trickery, and an Insult in Ephesians 6:11” Joseph A. Marchal, “The Usefulness of an Onesimus: The Sexual Use of Slaves and Paul’s Letter to Philemon” Eyal Regev, “Were the Early Christians Sectarians?” Stephen J. Patterson, “Apocalypticism or Prophecy and the Problem of Polyvalence: Lessons from the Gospel of Thomas”

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“80” caption=“Image via Wikipedia”] [/caption] The fall issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: James Watts, “Aaron and the Golden Calf in the Rhetoric of the Pentateuch” Mark Leuchter, “The Ambiguous Details in the Blasphemer Narrative: Sources and Redaction in Leviticus 24:10–23” Serge Frolov and Allen Wright, “Homeric and Ancient Near Eastern Intertextuality in 1 Samuel 17” C. L. Crouch, “Ezekiel’s Oracles against the Nations in Light of a Royal Ideology of Warfare” Ted Erho, “Historical-Allusional Dating and the Similitudes of Enoch” David Sick, “The Architriklinos at Cana” Roy Ciampa, “‘Examined the Scriptures’? The Meaning of α̉ναϰρíνoντες τὰς γραϕάς in Acts 17:11” Tzvi Novick, “Peddling Scents: Merchandise and Meaning in 2 Corinthians 2:14–17” Jennifer Glancy and Stephen Moore, “How Typical a Roman Prostitute Is Revelation’s ‘Great Whore’?” Stephen Barton, “Eschatology and the Emotions in Early Christianity” Theodore Bergren, “Gentile Christians, Exile, and Return in 5 Ezra 1:35–40” ...

The fall issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature includes: Jewish Scriptures and Cognate Fields Jonathan Burnside, “Flight of the Fugitives: Rethinking the Relationship between Biblical Law (Exodus 21:12–14) and the Davidic Succession Narrative (1 Kings 1-2),” 418–31 Michael Carasik, “Why Did Hannah Ask for ‘Seed of Men’?,” 433–36 Steven L. McKenzie, “Elaborated Evidence for the Priority of 1 Samuel 26,” 437–44 Richard Whitekettle, “When More Leads to Less: Overstatement, Incrementum, and the Question in Job 4:17a,” 445–48 Brian J. Alderman and Brent A. Strawn, “A Note on Peshitta Job 28:23,” 449–56 Shalom E. Holtz, “A Comparative Note on the Demand for Witnesses in Isaiah 43:9,” 457–61 Benjamin Edidin Scolnic, “Mattathias and the Jewish Man of Modein,” 463–83 Randall D. Chesnutt, " Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2069 and the Compositional History of 1 Enoch," 485–505 New Testament and Cognate Fields ...