Searching the Scriptures Andrews University Seminary Emerging Scholars Pay Tribute to Their Professors Richard M. Davidson Jiří Moskala Roy E. Gane Paul Z. Gregor Ranko Stefanović Thomas Shepherd Slaviša Janković, Editor Department of Old Testament Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1500 Copyright 2017 by Individual Authors Individual authors assume full responsibility for the accuracy of all facts and quotations as cited in this book. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the original authors and do not necessarily represent those of Andrews University nor the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner or translated into other language without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book was edited by Slaviša Janković Cover photos of text pages by Adelina Alexe Magnifying glass: @Andrey Eremin/SHUTTERSTOCK.com Cover design and book layout by Amy Rhodes Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved Library of Congress Control Number: 2017956851 ISBN: 9780970638045 i Contents Contributors ............................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments .................................................................................... vi Tributes to the Andrews University Seminary Professors ......................... vii PART 1: OLD TESTAMENT The Nature of the Covenant with Noah in Genesis 6:18 ..............................3 Ronald Rojas The Dawn of the Battle of the Sexes — Genesis 3:16 ............................... 19 Leanne M. Sigvartsen and Jan A. Sigvartsen Israelite Ritual Law Concerning the Menstruant in Context: Embodiment and Meaning in Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Israel ............................................... 39 Laura Morrow The Biblical Law of Niddah and Its Muslim Parallels ............................... 55 Jan A. Sigvartsen The Rationale Behind the Homicide Law in Numbers 35:30–34 ............... 81 Slaviša Janković Judgment for the Saints: The Justice of God in Psalms 3–14 ................. 105 Jerome Skinner ii PART 2: NEW TESTAMENT The Issue of Divorce and Remarriage in 1 Corinthians 7:15 in the Light of the Dominical Logion of 7:10 ............................................ 129 Davide Sciarabba Interpretation of the Metaphor “Spiritual House” in 1 Peter 2:4–10 And Their Implication for the Indwelling of Divine Presence .................. 149 Cory Wetterlin PART 3: PSEUDEPIGRAPHA Sacred Times: The Book of Jubilees at Qumran ...................................... 163 J. Amanda McGuire PART 4: BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY The Legacy of Inanna ............................................................................. 177 Michael Orellana Religious Syncretism in Transjordan during the Iron Age as seen in Tall Jalul and Khirbet Atarutz ................................................ 201 Abelardo Santini Rivas PART 5: SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY An Ecclesiological Understanding of the Remnant: The Concept of Visible/Invisible Church and the Remnant ..................... 213 Adriani Milli Rodrigues INDEX Modern Authors .................................................................................... 237 iii Contributors Janković, Slaviša is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Old Testament Exegesis specializ- ing in ritual and legal texts. He is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. McGuire, Amanda J. is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Old Testament Exegesis, spe- cializing in angelology and ancient calendar systems and languages. She is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. Morrow, Laura is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in the Old Testament Exegesis, special- izing in the book of Daniel. She is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary and the Department of Religion and Biblical Languages at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. Orellana, Michael is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Biblical Archeology, specializing in Iron Age Palestinian Archaeology. He is adjunct professor at Peruvian Union University, Lima, Peru. Rivas Santini, Abelardo is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Biblical Archeology, special- izing in ancient religions and Iron Age Transjordan. He is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, USA and Peruvian Union University, Lima, Peru. Rodrigues Milli, Adriani holds a PhD in Old Testament Exegesis and the title of his disserta- tion is Toward a Priestly Christology: A Hermeneutical Study of Christ’s Priesthood. His area of expertise is Christology. He is assistant professor of Systematic Theology in Unasp Univer- sity, São Paolo, Brazil. Rojas, Ronald holds a DMin and is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Old Testament Exegesis, specializing in the book of Daniel. He is associate professor of Religion at Atlantic Union College, Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA. Sciarabba, Davide is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Systematic Theology, specializing in Theological Ethics. He is assistant professor at the Department of Religion and Biblical Languages at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. Sigvartsen, Jan A. holds a PhD in Old Testament Exegesis and the title of his dissertation is The Afterlife Views and the Use of the Tanakh in Support of the Resurrection Concept in the Literature of Second Temple Period Judaism: The Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. His areas of expertise are Second Temple period Literature and Resurrection Beliefs. He is adjunct professor of Department of Religion and Biblical Languages at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA and an Old Testament Lecturer at Friedensau University, Germany. iv Sigvartsen, Leanne M. holds an MA in Counseling. Her interest is in the area of Gender stud- ies, women’s issues, and sexism studies. Skinner, Jerome holds a PhD in Old Testament Exegesis and the title of his dissertation is The Historical Superscriptions of Davidic Psalms: An Exegetical, Intertextual, and Methodologi- cal Analysis. His area of expertise are Wisdom Literature, Historical Books, Hebrew Language and Literature. He is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA and Spring Arbor University, Spring Arbor, Michigan, USA. Wetterlin, Cory is a PhD Candidate with an emphasis in Systematic Theology, specializing in the subject Divine Indwelling. He is adjunct professor at the Seventh-day Adventist Theologi- cal Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. v Acknowledgments A project such as this is rarely brought to fruition through the efforts of one person. The com- pletion of this volume, through its multiple stages of preparation and refinement, has been a collaborative effort. I have been blessed to have been a part of this collaboration. The purpose of this project is simple. In writing these essays each author wishes to offer a tangible expression of appreciation and gratitude to those professors who have invested their time in teaching them the value of studying Scripture. Each one of the professors represented has greatly influenced the authors’ understanding of the Biblical text, and for this they are forever indebted to them. This festschrift recognizes the scholarship of the following professors: Drs. Richard M. Davidson, Jiří Moskala, Roy Gane, Ranko Stefanović, Paul Gregor, and Thomas Shepherd. It is impossible to acknowledge all of those who have assisted me in this project. However, first and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Jiří Moskala for his constant support and encouragement, without which this project would never have been initiated. Next, I would like to thank all of the contributors who have invested their time and talent. I am grateful for their patience and persistence. I am also indebted to my colleague Laura Morrow for proofreading most of the essays and offering her insights as well. The expertise of Averil and Dr. Laren Kurtz in performing the final proofreading and copy-editing is inestimable. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the initial editing of Dr. Riemar Vetne and his substantial suggestions for some papers. Additionally, I would like to offer a special word of thanks to Amy Rhodes for formatting the book, Adelina Alexe for taking photos for the cover pages, Jan and Leanne Sigvartsen for print- ing suggestions, helpful pieces of advice and cover page, and Dorothy Show for her adminis- trative assistance. My warmest gratitude goes to my family, my wife Maria and children Jakov, Ruta Maria and Aron. Because of the demands of this project they were bereft of my full attention for the last two years. Maria took upon herself some of my duties and I am deeply grateful. In addi- tion, she has been my source of constant support, love, and encouragement. Maria is my true ʿēzer kĕnegdô and I am immensely grateful to God for her. Finally, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to God, our Creator and Redeemer, who is the source of all we need for a meaningful and abundant life. I firmly believe that He was the source for all the courage, encouragement, patience, diligence, guidance, enthusiasm, focus, originality