Biblical Interpretation Society of Biblical Literature
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biblical interpretation Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series Christopher R. Matthews, Editor Number 26 BIBLICAL interpretation History, Context, and Reality edited by Christine Helmer with the assistance of Taylor G. Petrey biblical interpretation History, Context, and Reality edited by Christine Helmer with the assistance of Taylor G. Petrey Society of Biblical Literature Atlanta biblical interpretation History, Context, and Reality Copyright © 2005 by the Society of Biblical Literature All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30333-0399, USA. Cover photo of Pesher Habakkuk, Qumran, courtesy of the D. Samuel and Jeane H. Gottes- man Center for Biblical Manuscripts, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Biblical interpretation : history, context, and reality / edited by Christine Helmer with Taylor G. Petrey. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical Literature symposium series ; no. 26) Includes index. ISBN 1-58983-089-X (paper binding : alk. paper) 1. Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—History—Congresses. 2. Bible—Philos- ophy—History—Congresses. I. Helmer, Christine. II. Petrey, Taylor G. III. Series: Symposium series (Society of Biblical Literature) ; no. 26. BS500.B5495 2005 220.6'09—dc22 2004030351 1211100908070605 54321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, recycled paper conforming to ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) and ISO 9706:1994 standards for paper permanence. Table of Contents Acknowledgments . .vii Contributors . .ix Source Abbreviations . .xi Introduction Biblical Theology: Reality and Interpretation across Disciplines Christine Helmer . .1 Part 1: Historical and Theological Interpretation Biblische Theologie heute: Formale und materiale Aspekte Bernd Janowski . .17 New Garments for Biblical Joseph Maren R. Niehoff . .33 Heracleon and John: Reassessment of an Early Christian Hermeneutical Debate Harold W. Attridge . .57 The Enscripturation of Philosophy: The Incorporeality of God in Origen’s Exegesis Karen Jo Torjesen . .73 Part 2: Philosophical Interpretation The Democratization of Messianism in Modern Jewish Thought Marvin A. Sweeney . .87 v vi table of contents Verkündigung in Übereinstimmung mit der Vernunft: Fichtes Auslegung des Johannesevangeliums Stephan Grätzel . .103 The Consummation of Reality: Soteriological Metaphysics in Schleiermacher’s Interpretation of Colossians 1:15–20 Christine Helmer . .113 Die Dialektik von Freiheit und Sünde: Hegels Interpretation von Genesis 3 Joachim Ringleben . .133 Anerkannte Kontingenz: Schellings existentiale Interpretation des Johannesprologs in der Philosophie der Offenbarung Wilhelm Gräb . .141 Feuerbach and the Hermeneutics of Imagination Garrett Green . .155 Select Bibliography . .165 Index of Biblical Passages . .169 Index of Names . .173 Index of Subjects . .177 Acknowledgments Biblical theology was conceived at its origins by Johann Philipp Gabler as a bridge discipline between historical-critical and conceptual-theological approaches to scripture. This collection of essays furthers Gabler’s intention by staging a dia- logue between scholars of scripture, theology, and philosophy. I thank the authors for their contributions to this volume, their creativity in molding their own work to address the biblical-theological questions motivating this study, and their stunning willingness to engage history in the pursuit of answers to those philosophical ques- tions driving the human heart. The production of this book was wonderfully facilitated by the kind participa- tion of colleagues as well as by the support of several institutions. I thank Taylor G. Petrey for his editorial assistance. Taylor’s thoughtful attention to detail, his never- failing enthusiasm for work on the texts, and the wisdom he provided from his own field of New Testament and Early Christianity sustained the editorial process from its early efforts to its final submission. I am most appreciative to Armin Lange, dear friend and colleague, for translating the pertinent English abstracts into German. Harvard Divinity School provided support of Taylor as my research assistant during the fall of 2003. The final preparation of this manuscript for publication was made possible by a research leave granted during the spring 2004 by the Claremont School of Theology and by generous funding from the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung for my stay as a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübin- gen. I thank these three institutions for their financial assistance of this project. The biblical-theological dialogue documented in this volume initially took place as a seminar of the Biblical Theology Group during the Society of Biblical Litera- ture’s International Meeting in Berlin (July 20, 2002). I thank Christof Landmesser for his contribution to the concept and his participation in the discussion leading up to the Berlin session. I also thank the SBL’s organization, particularly Kristin De Troyer and Matthew Collins, for making room for the group on the Berlin program. The editor of the SBL Press’s Symposium Series, Christopher Matthews, kindly consented to publish this volume in the series, and the editorial directors of SBL Press, Rex Matthews, Frank Ritchel Ames, and Bob Buller, lent the generous type of moral support that eased me of any burdens associated with the book’s production. I thank them for their enthusiastic commitment to the interdisciplinary content and vii viii acknowledgments the bilingual form of this book as well as for their concrete encouragement of future directions in biblical theology. A note must be made concerning this volume’s bilingual structure. The collec- tion includes essays in either English or German. For each essay, an abstract in the “other” language is provided. My own understanding of the mutual cooperation, harmony, and complemen- tarity between historical and conceptual descriptions of reality was inspired by Robert A. Orsi, who moved me to think and live in ways attentive to those aspects of reality that convey the deepest truths of life. Contributors Harold W. Attridge is Dean of Yale Divinity School and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, Yale Divinity School (New Haven, Conn., USA). Wilhelm Gräb is Professor of Practical Theology in the Theology Faculty at Hum- boldt-Universität zu Berlin (Berlin, Germany). Stephan Grätzel is Professor of Philosophy in the Philosophy Department at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (Mainz, Germany). Garrett Green is Class of 1943 Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Connecticut College (New London, Conn., USA). Christine Helmer is Associate Professor of Theology at Claremont School of The- ology and Associate Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University (Claremont, Calif., USA). Bernd Janowski is Professor of Old Testament in the Protestant Theology Faculty at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (Tübingen, Germany) and a member of the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Maren R. Niehoff is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jewish Thought at Hebrew University (Jerusalem). Taylor G. Petrey is a Th.D. candidate in New Testament and Early Christian Stud- ies at Harvard Divinity School (Cambridge, Mass., USA). Joachim Ringleben is Professor of Systematic Theology in the Theology Faculty at Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen (Göttingen, Germany). Marvin A. Sweeney is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Claremont School of Theology and Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University (Claremont, Calif., USA). ix x contributors Karen Jo Torjesen is Dean of the School of Religion and the Margo L. Goldsmith Professor of Women’s Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate University (Clare- mont, Calif., USA). Source Abbreviations AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium BEvTh Beiträge zur evangelischen Theologie BG Irenaeus’ Apocryphon of John ms: Berlin Gnostic Papyrus 8502,2 BibInt Biblical Interpretation BJS Brown Judaic Studies BThZ Berliner Theologische Zeitschrift BZ Biblische Zeitschrift BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft BZNW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series CCARJ Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal CJ Classical Journal CurBS Currents in Research: Biblical Studies EdF Erträge der Forschung EKL Evangelisches Kirchenlexikon, 3rd ed., 4 vols. EncJud Encyclopaedia Judaica, 16 vols. EvTh Evangelische Theologie ExpTim Expository Times FOTL Forms of the Old Testament Literature GAT Grundrisse zum Alten Testament HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology HTR Harvard Theological Review JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JRS Journal of Roman Studies xi xii source abbreviations JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic,