DOCSLIB.ORG

Jewish Legends in a Hellenistic Context

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jewish Legends in a Hellenistic Context 3. Fact and Fiction: Jewish Legends in aHellenistic Context The terms Ioudaismos and Hellenismos first appear in the text of II Maccabees.* That work provides the locus classicus for confrontation between the two cul- tures,abuttress for the idea thataclash or competition characterized the en- counter.The comingofHellenismtothe land of the Jews, so it has been inferred, brought athreat to tradition and faith. Increasing Hellenization entailed erosion of ancestral Jewishpractice or belief. And the Jews faced achoice of either as- similationorresistancetoHellenism.¹ Various statements in II Maccabees ostensiblylend weighttothe conclusion. New institutions introducedbythe High Priest Jason in the 170’sB.C.E., namely the gymnasium and the ephebate,were, accordingtothattext,the “height of Hellenism.”² He had the Jews conform to the “Greek style of life.”³ And in three separate passages, the author of II Maccabees refers to thosewho fought for Judas Maccabaeus and resisted the persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes as ad- * This paper adherescloselytothe lecturedeliveredinJanuary at the Cambridge Ancient History Seminar honoringFrank Walbank—mentor, guide, and inspiration to all who have labored in the fields of Hellenistic studies for the past two generations.Footnotes have been added to supplyessential citations, selective references to modern work, and some evaluation of the scholarship. The paper’sprincipal purpose is to layout ideas and research plans for Heritage and Hellenism: TheReinvention of JewishTradition Hellenistic Culture and Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, ). The influential work of M. Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (London, )makes astrong case for the Hellenization of Judaea which, however,inhis view,encounteredvigorous Jewish resist- anceafter the early nd century b.c.e. See the summary of his interpretation in Judaism and Hel- lenism, I, –.The broad-rangingstudyofL.H.Feldman, Jewand Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions fromAlexander to Justinian (Princeton,N.J.: Princeton Univer- sity Press, ), takessharp issue with Hengel’sfindings on the spread of Hellenism among the Jews and attributes Jewish success to an internal strengthand vitality that overcame the chal- lengeofGreek culture; see, especially, –, –.Both scholars,however,operate from the premise that Jews whodid not resist the blandishments of paganism ranthe risk of succumbingtoassimilation. Asimilar struggle is outlined by V. Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civiliza- tion and the Jews, st ed. (Philadelphia,: Jewish Publication Society of America, ), –, –;cf. C. Habicht, JhrbHeidAkad () –;A.Momigliano, RivStorItal () – = EssaysonAncient and Modern Judaism (Chicago, ) –.For S. J. D. Cohen, the Maccabaean crisis stimulated the Jews to develop asense of identity that would highlight their own distinctiveness and allow them to resist the forcesofassimilation, in P. Bilde et al., Religion and Religious Practice in the Seleucid Kingdom (Aarhus, ) –. Macc. .: ἀχμή τις Ἑλληνισμοῦ. Macc. .: πρὸςτὸνἙλληνιχὸνχαραχτῆρα;cf. ., .. 80 3. Fact and Fiction: Jewish Legends in aHellenistic Context herents of Ioudaismos.⁴ Hence it is not surprising that Hellenism and Judaism have regularlybeen reckoned as competing systems. Yetapeculiar paradoxlies here. The very work that employs thoseterms,its author astaunch advocate of the Maccabaean cause and fiercelyhostiletothe Seleucid invader,was composed in Greek and addressed to areadership conver- sant with the language. Outside thattext,one would be hard pressed to find tes- timonytoany conflict between Hellenism and Judaism in contemporary or near contemporarytexts. No evidence for culturalstrife appears in IMaccabees. It is absent also from the work of BenSira, written in the earlysecond century.Ben Siradenouncesthose who fall away from righteousness, tyrannize the poor,and abandon fear of the Lordorthe teachings of the law. But he nowherecontrasts Jews and Greeks or suggests astruggle for the conscienceofhis fellow-Jews being waged by Hellenizers and traditionalists.⁵ Nor can one discern such astruggle in the Book of Daniel, composed at the very time of the Maccabaean revolt.The apocalyptic visions allude to contests among the Hellenistic powers and forecast delivery of the Jews from the foreign oppressor—but no culturalcontest for the soul of Judaism.⁶ In fact,not even II Maccabees juxtaposes the terms Ioudaismos and Hellenismos or expresses them as competingopposites.Itisamistake to imagine azero-sum game, in which every gain for Hellenism was alossfor Ju- daism or vice-versa. That sort of analysis,asanincreasingnumber of scholars now acknowledge,issimplistic and misleading.⁷ Adaptation to Hellenic culture did not requirecompromise of Jewish precepts or conscience.When aGreek gym- nasium was introducedinto Jerusalem,itwas installed by aJewishHighPriest. And other priests soon engaged in wrestlingmatches in the palaestra.⁸ They plainlydid not reckon such activities as undermining their priestlyduties.The idea of an irremediable culturalconflict needs to be abandoned. Adifferent and more interesting line of inquiry warrants attention. How did Jewishintellectuals accommodate themselvestothe largercultural world of the Mediterranean—while at the same time reaffirming the character of theirown traditions within it?The subject,ofcourse, is massive and daunting.Onlyase- lect portion of it can be touched on here. Thisisnot the place to pronounceona Macc. ., ., .. See the cogent remarks of J. Goldstein in E.P.Sanders, Jewishand Christian Self-Definition (Philadelphia, ) –. Contra: Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism, I, –;A.Momigliano, Alien Wisdom (Cambridge, ) . Dan. .–..See Momigliano, Alien Wisdom –. Cf. E. Will and Cl. Orrieux, Ioudaismos-Hellenismos (Nancy, ) –;G.Delling, ANRW II.. () –;L.Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian (Minneapolis, )I,–. Macc. ., .. 3. Fact and Fiction: Jewish Legends in aHellenistic Context 81 number of matters thathavebeenmuch discussed and defy treatment within a limited compass—such as how far Greek culturehad penetrated Palestineinthe Hellenistic period and how profound or superficial that penetration was, or to what degree Palestinian Judaism represented an entity distinct from “Hellenis- tic” Judaism of the Diaspora. Nor can one outline in brief the influenceof Greek language, literature,philosophy, historiography, political theory,and art upon Judaism. Analyses along these lines, however learned and insightful, too often tend to presuppose passive receptivity on the part of Jewish thinkers to Hel- lenic culture, aone-waystreet.What this paper seeks to stress is amoredynamic relationship, an active engagement by Jews with the traditions of Hellas which they recast and refashioned for their own purposes. One form of such activity comes underinvestigation here, an especiallyintriguingone: the elaboration of legends, fictions, and inventions, by which the Jews both connected them- selveswith aHellenic culturallegacyand simultaneouslydefined adistinctive culturalidentity of their own. The first and most revealing category of such stories involves putative kin- ship associations. The tracing of relationships between cities, states,orpeoples through supposed genealogical links and imagined common ancestors regularly appears in Greek literary speculation—afamiliar feature in Hellenic folklore and legend. It makes amore striking impression, however,tofind tales of this sort attestingconnections between Greeks and Jews. Anotable fiction stands in the forefront.Tradition had it that Jews and Spar- tans both descended from the line of Abraham. The weboftales requires only brief summary here. The subject has been treated more extensively elsewhere.⁹ Adiplomatic correspondence, consistingofthree letters,recorded in IMaccabees and reproduced in avariant form by Josephus, constitutes the central testimony. The exchangebegan with amissive from KingAreus to the Judaean High Priest Onias, ostensiblyinthe earlythird centuryB.C.E. Areus declaredablood tie be- tween the two people, deriving from their common ancestor Abraham.Hedrew that information,soheclaimed, from awritten document in Sparta.¹⁰ Morethan acenturylater,the Maccabaean leader Jonathan, successor of Judas, resumed re- lationswith an embassy to Sparta, addressing the Lacedaemonians as ἀδελφοί and renewingthe relations of friendship and alliance between the peoples.¹¹ The Spartans responded in kind.Some time later, when Simon had taken the reins See E. S. Gruen, “The Purported Jewish-Spartan Affiliation,” in R.W. Wallaceand Ε. Μ.Harris, eds., Transitions to Empire: EssaysinGreco-Roman History, – b.c.,inHonor of E. Badian (Norman,Oklahoma, ) –,also available in this volume. Macc. .–;Jos. A. J. .–. Macc. .–;Jos. A. J. .–, .–. 82 3. Fact and Fiction: Jewish Legends in aHellenistic Context from the fallenJonathan, envoys from their state reached Jerusalem, greeted the Jews as brothers,proclaimed their intent to renew friendship and alliance, and announced that the association would be preserved in written form in the Spar- tan archives.¹² The authenticity of that correspondence has long engendered debate and controversy—with an increasinginclination towardbelief. Some have proposed that King Areus’ scribesmanaged to learn Aramaic and composed aletter in that language, or that the Spartans had read the Scriptures even before appearance of the Septuagint,orindeed thatthey had learned of the patriarch Abraham from readingHecataeus of Abdera—of course, in some portion of his work that we no longer possess.¹³ These exercises
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Honigmanonigman - 9780520275584.Indd9780520275584.Indd 1 228/06/148/06/14 2:382:38 PMPM 2 General Introduction
    General Introduction SUMMARY Th e fi rst and second books of Maccabees narrate events that occurred in Judea from the 170s through the 150s and eventually led to the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty: the toppling of the last high priest of the Oniad dynasty, the transforma- tion of Jerusalem into a Greek polis, Antiochos IV’s storming of Jerusalem, his desecration of the temple and his so-called persecution of the Jews, the liberation of the city and rededication of the temple altar by Judas Maccabee, the foundation of the commemorative festival of Hanukkah, and the subsequent wars against Seleukid troops. 1 Maccabees covers the deeds of Mattathias, the ancestor of the Maccabean/Hasmonean family, and his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, taking its story down to the establishment of the dynastic transmission of power within the Hasmonean family when John, Simon’s son, succeeded his father; whereas 2 Maccabees, which starts from Heliodoros’s visit to Jerusalem under the high priest Onias III, focuses on Judas and the temple rededication, further dis- playing a pointed interest in the role of martyrs alongside that of Judas. Because of this diff erence in chronological scope and emphasis, it is usually considered that 1 Maccabees is a dynastic chronicle written by a court historian, whereas 2 Macca- bees is the work of a pious author whose attitude toward the Hasmoneans has been diversely appreciated—from mild support, through indiff erence, to hostility. Moreover, the place of redaction of 2 Maccabees, either Jerusalem or Alexandria, is debated. Both because of its comparatively fl amboyant style and the author’s alleged primarily religious concerns, 2 Maccabees is held as an unreliable source of evidence about the causes of the Judean revolt.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Identity in the Letter of Aristeas Noah Hacham (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Lilach Sagiv (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)*
    Social Identity in the Letter of Aristeas Noah Hacham (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Lilach Sagiv (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)* The Letter of Aristeas has long been considered the work most emblematic, elucidatory and de- clarative of Jewish identity in Hellenistic Egypt. The work embraces emphatically Jewish content alongside a profound identification with Hellenistic concepts, ideas and frameworks. This com- plexity has intrigued scholars and it continues to do so as they attempt to qualify the essential identity that the author of the Letter of Aristeas seeks to promote and to transmit. The question of identity is two-faceted: First, it explores the nature of the affinity between the Jewish and Hellenistic components in the doctrine advocated by the Letter of Aristeas. Second, it strives to identify the threat and the danger that the author confronts and deplores. In our discussion we aim to provide answers to these questions. Furthermore, we introduce a new conceptualiza- tion of the way the Letter of Aristeas combines and “manages” the various identities and their constituent details. For that aim, we draw on models from the realm of social psychology, which we have found to be eminently useful in understanding the complex and dynamic nature of the identities of Antique Jewry. We reason that considering models of social identity could provide us with a fresh perspective of the text, which allows for a new understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of the identities as they appear in the Letter of Aristeas. Introduction The Letter of Aristeas has long been considered the work most emblematic, elucidatory, and declarative of Jewish identity in Hellenistic Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Jesus and Second Temple Judaism
    SCJR 14, no. 1 (2019): 1-3 Ben C. Blackwell, John K. Goodrich, and Jason Maston, Eds. Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 286 pp. NICHOLAS A. ELDER [email protected] Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI 53233 Reading Mark in Context is a collection of thirty essays that sequentially in- terprets passages in Mark with specific reference to relevant Second Temple Jewish texts. The volume includes a foreword by N. T. Wright that notes its dual purpose, which is to (1) introduce the reader to Jewish texts from the Second Temple period and (2) provide a “running commentary” on Mark in light of those texts (pp. 14– 15). Preceding the collection’s thirty essays is an introduction from the editors that serves several functions. First, they briefly review historical Jesus scholarship in order to highlight the importance of non-canonical Second Temple Jewish texts for understanding Jesus as he is presented in the gospels. Second, they identify the kind of readers that the volume is primarily intended for, namely beginning to interme- diate students who are evangelical. Third, it offers an introduction to the Second Temple period with reference to major events and writings. As a whole, the collection of essays is well-balanced. Each contribution is ap- proximately seven pages long and is evenly divided between an introduction to a Second Temple Jewish text and an interpretation of Mark in light of that text. A broad swath of Second Temple literature is represented, including the Letter of Aristeas, the Psalms of Solomon, 4 Ezra, the Book of Jubilees, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and various texts from Qumran, Philo, Josephus, Rabbinic literature, and the Enochic corpus.
    [Show full text]
  • The Circulation of Ptolemaic Silver in Seleucid Coele Syria and Phoenicia from Antiochus Iii to the Maccabean Revolt: Monetary Policies and Political Consequences
    ELECTRUM * Vol. 26 (2019): 9–23 doi: 10.4467/20800909EL.19.001.11204 www.ejournals.eu/electrum THE CIRCULatION OF PtoLEMAIC SILVER IN SELEUCID COELE SYRIA AND PHOENICIA FROM ANTIOCHUS III to THE MACCABEAN REVOLT: MonetaRY POLICIES AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES Catharine Lorber Abstract: This paper examines the circulation of Ptolemaic silver in the closed monetary zone of Seleucid Coele Syria and Phoenicia. No new silver coinage entered the zone under Antiochus III and Seleucus IV, though hoards were deposited in the Transjordan and eastern Judah in the early years of Antiochus IV. Trade between Phoenicia and Egypt is excluded as an explanatory factor, but the patterns are consistent with Josephus’ account of the dowry of Cleopatra I and Tobiad tax farming. In the 160s BCE fresh Ptolemaic silver began to enter the closed monetary zone, with the earliest finds in Judah, Samaria, and “southern Palestine.” This new influx, like the didrachms “of an uncertain era,” may represent a subsidy from Ptolemy VI to the Maccabees and other dissidents from Seleucid rule. Keywords: closed monetary zone, Ptolemaic silver coinage, dowry, Tobiad, tax farming, Judah, Antiochus III, Antiochus IV, Ptolemy V, Ptolemy VI. When Antiochus III seized Phoenicia and Palestine from Ptolemy V, the region com- prised a closed monetary zone in which Ptolemaic coinage was the sole legal tender. Somewhat surprisingly, Antiochus III maintained the closed monetary zone for precious metal coinage, which in practice meant silver coinage. This curious situation was de- fined by Georges Le Rider in 1995 through the study of coin hoards.1 The hoards reveal that for nearly half a century the only silver coinage circulating in Seleucid Coele Syria and Phoenicia was Ptolemaic.
    [Show full text]
  • Judea/Israel Under the Greek Empires." Israel and Empire: a Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism
    "Judea/Israel under the Greek Empires." Israel and Empire: A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism. Perdue, Leo G., and Warren Carter.Baker, Coleman A., eds. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. 129–216. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 30 Sep. 2021. <http:// dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780567669797.ch-005>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 30 September 2021, 15:32 UTC. Copyright © Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker 2015. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 5 Judea/Israel under the Greek Empires* In 33130 BCE, by military victory, the Macedonian Alexander ended the Persian Empire. He defeated the Persian king Darius at Gaugamela, advanced to a welcoming Babylon, and progressed to Persepolis where he burned Xerxes palace supposedly in retaliation for Persias invasions of Greece some 150 years previously (Diodorus 17.72.1-6). Thus one empire gave way to another by a different name. So began the Greek empires that dominated Judea/Israel for the next two hundred or so years, the focus of this chapter. Is a postcolonial discussion of these empires possible and what might it highlight? Considerable dif�culties stand in the way. One is the weight of conventional analyses and disciplinary practices which have framed the discourse with emphases on the various roles of the great men, the ruling state, military battles, and Greek settlers, and have paid relatively little regard to the dynamics of imperial power from the perspectives of native inhabitants, the impact on peasants and land, and poverty among non-elites, let alone any reciprocal impact between colonizers and colon- ized.
    [Show full text]
  • Table O F Contents
    Table of Contents Preface V Abbreviations and Formal Guidelines XIII Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1. The Problem and the Task 1 1.1 The Marginalisation of Jewish Letter Writing in New Testament Scholarship 1 1.2 The Study of Ancient Jewish Letters and the Need for a New Investigation 5 1.3 The Scope and Structure of the Present Study 15 2. Some Theoretical Assumptions Regarding Letters 18 2.1 Letters as 'Form of Communication' or 'Basic Text Type' 18 2.2 Letters versus Epistles, Or: What Is a Letter? 20 2.3 A Theoretical Model for Epistolary Communication 25 Chapter 2: Ancient Jewish Documentary Letters 28 1. Aramaic Documentary Letters from Elephantine 28 1.1 Introduction 28 1.2 Formal and Formulaic Features of the Elephantine Letters 29 1.3 Letter Topics and Pragmatic Functions of Elephantine Letters 34 1.4 Conclusion 43 2. Aramaic Ostracon Letters of the 4th and 3rd Century BCE 44 3. Documentary Letters from Qumran and Jerusalem? 47 4. Aramaic Documentary Letters from Masada 54 5. Documentary Letters from the Bar Kokhba War 58 5.1 Introduction 58 5.2 Themes, Personae, and Register ofthe 'Bar Kokhba Letters' 61 5.3 Formal and Formulaic Features of the 'Bar Kokhba Letters' 72 5.4 Conclusion 78 6. Greek Documentary Letters Authored by Jews 80 6.1 Greek Documentary Letters Found at Masada 82 6.2 Greek Documentary Letters Found in Egypt 83 http://d-nb.info/1026540348 VIII Table ofContents 6.2.1 Letters Collected in CP J. 85 6.2.2 Letters from the Jewish Politeuma at Herakleopolis 92 6.3 Conclusion 95 Chapter 3: Letters in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Scriptures 96 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Temple Ideology in the Writings of Jewish Alexandria
    TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III (Under the Direction of David S. Williams) ABSTRACT This paper attempts to demonstrate the ways in which Philo and the writers of 3 Maccabees, the Letter of Aristeas and the Wisdom of Solomon used the tools of Greek philosophy and Jewish culture. After a summary of the social and literary relationship of the Alexandrian community to Jerusalem and the Temple there, a close reading of the four authors' works reveals the ways which the idea of Temple ties the Jews to their brethren in Palestine and to the Greek world which surrounded them. INDEX WORDS: Alexandria, Judaism, Temple, Jerusalem, 3 Maccabees, Philo, Aristeas, Wisdom of Solomon, Platonism, Stoicism TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III B.A., Berry College, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Philip Scriber III All Rights Reserved TEMPLE IDEOLOGY IN THE WRITINGS OF JEWISH ALEXANDRIA by PHILIP HAROLD EDWARD SCRIBER III Major Professor: David Williams Committee: Carolyn Jones-Medine Sandy Martin Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2009 iv DEDICATION To J. May this be worthy of your faith in me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • The Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism. Nancy Perkins East Tennessee State University
    East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2011 The Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism. Nancy Perkins East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the History of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Perkins, Nancy, "The Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1397. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1397 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism _____________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of History East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Arts in History _____________________ by Nancy Perkins December 2011 _____________________ William D. Burgess Jr., PhD, Chair Keith Green, PhD Henry Antkiewicz, PhD Keywords: Book of Enoch, Judaism, Second Temple ABSTRACT The Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism by Nancy Perkins This thesis examines the ancient Jewish text the Book of Enoch, the scholarly work done on the text since its discovery in 1773, and its seminal importance to the study of ancient Jewish history. Primary sources for the thesis project are limited to Flavius Josephus and the works of the Old Testament. Modern scholars provide an abundance of secondary information.
    [Show full text]
  • Pseudepigrapha Bibliographies
    0 Pseudepigrapha Bibliographies Bibliography largely taken from Dr. James R. Davila's annotated bibliographies: http://www.st- andrews.ac.uk/~www_sd/otpseud.html. I have changed formatting, added the section on 'Online works,' have added a sizable amount to the secondary literature references in most of the categories, and added the Table of Contents. - Lee Table of Contents Online Works……………………………………………………………………………………………...02 General Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………...…03 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………………....03 Translations of the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha in Collections…………………………………….…03 Guide Series…………………………………………………………………………………………….....04 On the Literature of the 2nd Temple Period…………………………………………………………..........04 Literary Approaches and Ancient Exegesis…………………………………………………………..…...05 On Greek Translations of Semitic Originals……………………………………………………………....05 On Judaism and Hellenism in the Second Temple Period…………………………………………..…….06 The Book of 1 Enoch and Related Material…………………………………………………………….....07 The Book of Giants…………………………………………………………………………………..……09 The Book of the Watchers…………………………………………………………………………......….11 The Animal Apocalypse…………………………………………………………………………...………13 The Epistle of Enoch (Including the Apocalypse of Weeks)………………………………………..…….14 2 Enoch…………………………………………………………………………………………..………..15 5-6 Ezra (= 2 Esdras 1-2, 15-16, respectively)……………………………………………………..……..17 The Treatise of Shem………………………………………………………………………………..…….18 The Similitudes of Enoch (1 Enoch 37-71)…………………………………………………………..…...18 The
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Wright CV
    Curriculum Vitae: Benjamin G. Wright III Benjamin G. Wright III Tel. 610-758-3344 (O); 610-758-3391 (F) Department of Religion Studies Email: [email protected] 31 Williams Hall Website: religion.cas2.lehigh.edu/content/bgw1 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 18015 EDUCATION 1988 Ph.D. Christian Origins, University of Pennsylvania (dissertation: “New Perspectives on Biblical Vocabulary and Translation Technique: Sirach’s Relation to Its Presumed Hebrew Vorlage”; Supervisor, Robert A. Kraft) 1978 M.Div. (summa cum laude) Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary 1975 B.A. (cum laude) Philosophy/Religion, Ursinus College ACADEMIC HONORS, GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS 2011- University Distinguished Professor, Lehigh University 2010 The Jeremie Lecture in Septuagint and Hellenistic Judaism, University of Cambridge (Oct 11, 2010) 2010 Invited Main Paper, 20th Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT), Helsinki, Finland, 2010. 2009 Eleanor and Joseph F. Libsch Research Award, Lehigh University 2009 Humanities Center Summer Grant, Lehigh University 2005 Andrea and Charles Bronfman Distinguished Visiting Professor in Judaic Studies. The College of William & Mary (September 19–23, 2005) 1998-00 Class of 1961 Professor, Lehigh University 1992-93 Yad Hannadiv/Barecha Foundation Fellowship for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem 1992 Phi Beta Delta Honor Society of International Scholars, Lehigh University 1991 Franz Fellowship, Lehigh University 1987-88 Penn-Mellon Dissertation Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania 1983-84 Penn-Israel Travel Fellowship for Study in Israel, University of Pennsylvania 1977 Lillian D. Poling Prize, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary 1976 Women’s Auxiliary Scholarship Award, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary 1975 The Peters Prize, Ursinus College 1975 Departmental Honors, Ursinus College TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2001- Professor, Dept.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF of Volume 4
    BULLETIN NO.4, OCTOBER, 1971 oftbe International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. OFFICERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President: The President, Secretary, and Editor, H. M. Orlinsky ex officio Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion phe D. Barthelemy, a.p. (Fribourg). New York, N.Y. 10023, U.S.A. M. Black (St. Andrews). Suzanne Daniel (Jerusalem). Honorary President: R. Hanhart (Giittingen). H. S. Gehman R. A. Kraft (Philadelphia, Pa.). Princeton J. Reumann (Philadelphia, Pa.). 1. Soisa1on~Soininen (Helsinki), Secretary: J. W. Wevers (Toronto). C. T. Fritsch J. Ziegler (Wiirzburg). 80 Mercer St. Princeton, N.J. 08540, U.S.A. Editor: S. Jellicoe Bishop's University Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada complete and up-to-date as possible. All information received will be acknowl­ edged and duly recorded. For this issue of the Bulletin we are most gratefully indebted to Mr. Pierce S. EDITORIAL Ellis, Editor, College Books, and Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, who have so generously undertaken publication as a service to scholarship. It would be of OUI Organization, launched at Berkeley, California, in December, 1968, is great help and encouragement if readers who have not already done so would now in its third year and may claim to have established a firm and recognized request their librarian to place a standing order for the Bulletin. place in the learned societies of the world. Annual meetings have been held at Toronto in 1969 and in New York in 1970 in conjunction with the meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature, and preparations are well in hand for the fourth meeting at Atlanta, Georgia, in October, 1971.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critique of Prohomosexual Interpretations of Old Testament Apocypha and Pseudepigrapha
    BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 147 (588) (1990): 437-54 Copyright © 1990 Dallas Theological Seminary. Cited with permission. A Critique of Prohomosexual Interpretations of the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha James B. De Young Professor of New Testament Language and Literature Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon The contemporary debate surrounding homosexuality has many facets, including sexual behavior, public morality, law, civil rights, public health, and the interpretation of Scripture. The last facet is particularly important, for the way people perceive the relevance of the Bible on the issue will determine in large measure how the issue will be addressed from the other perspectives. In recent years interpretations of the Scriptures have arisen that challenge traditional teaching regarding homosexuality. The "prohomosexual" interpretations are "revisionist" in that they ei- ther (1) fail to find homosexuality where it has been found before (Gen. 19; Judg. 19; Ezek. 16; 1 Cor. 6; 1 Tim. 1; etc.), or (2) claim that passages referring to homosexuality are irrelevant to the Christian church either because they concern Israel's special relationship to God (e.g., Lev. 18; 20), or because they concern a form of homosexual- ity (rape or pederasty) unlike the modern phenomenon of mutual adult relationships and hence have nothing to contribute. Somewhat surprisingly, this "prohomosexual" position is founded on the witness of the Old Testament Apocrypha and Pseude- pigrapha. The claim is that the Scriptures, excluding 2 Peter and Jude, do not link homosexuality to Sodom, nor does the Old Testa- ment Apocrypha. The Old Testament Psetidepigrapha makes this connection for the first time in reactions to the homosexuality ram- pant in Greco-Roman society.
    [Show full text]