DOCSLIB.ORG

Envisioning Restoration: Innovations in Ezekiel 40–48 Michael A. Lyons

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Envisioning Restoration: Innovations in Ezekiel 40–48 Michael A. Lyons Envisioning Restoration: Innovations in Ezekiel 40–48 Michael A. Lyons Simpson University 1.0 Introduction What is unique about Ezek 40–48 as a vision report? The study of prophetic vision reports as such began in the last century, and scholars created various typologies of these texts based on their form, content, and purpose.1 Curiously, Ezek 40–48 received only cursory treatment in these studies. Long classified Ezek 40–48 as a “Dramatic Word Vision” along with Amos 7:1–6 and Zech 1:8–17. But Horst regarded Ezek 40–48 as a “pure literary vision” distinct from other vision reports, and Niditch did not treat it at all.2 The works of these scholars remain valuable. However, because of the constraints inevitably created by their typologies, certain distinctive content features in Ezek 40–48 did not receive attention. In this essay, I want to examine the use of four content-related features that set Ezek 40–48 apart from other vision reports: the interpreter/guide figure, cosmic-mythic imagery, description of sacred space, and legal material. By so doing, I hope to more effectively situate Ezek 40–48 in the development of ancient Israelite and Second Temple-period Jewish visionary literature. 2.0 Content and Composition3 1 M. Sister, “Die Typen der prophetischen Visionen in der Bibel,” MGWJ 78 (1934): 399–430; Friedrich Horst, “Die Visionsschilderungen der alttestamentlichen Propheten,” EvTh 20 (1960): 193–205; Otto Eissfeldt, The Old Testament: An Introduction (trans. P. R. Ackroyd; New York: Harper and Row, 1965), 53–55; Burke O. Long, “Reports of Visions among the Prophets,” JBL 95.3 (1976): 353–65; S. Amsler, “La parole visionnaire des prophètes,” VT 31.3 (1981): 359–62; Susan Niditch, The Symbolic Vision in Biblical Tradition (HSM 30; Chico, Ca.: Scholars Press, 1983. 2 Long, “Reports of Visions,” 359–63; his other categories are “Oracle Vision” (357–59; here he includes e.g. Amos 7:7–8; Jer 1:11–14; 24:1–10) and “Revelatory-Mysteries Vision” (363–64; here he includes e.g. Ezek 37; Zech 2:3–4). Horst’s three categories of classification were “Anwesenheitsvision,” “Wortsymbolvision,” and “Geschehnisvision,” but of Ezek 40–48 he said “Gewiß gibt es auch . reine literarische Visionen, wie der als Vision stilisierte Komplex Hes 40–48 (eigentlicher Visionsstil liegt freilich hier nur für einen schmalen Textbereich vor)”; (“Visionsschilderungen,” 202, 205). Niditch (who uses Sister’s schema) did not treat any of Ezekiel's visions because in her analysis they lack a symbolic element and do not display the “seeing-question-answer” format present in other visions; see Niditch, Symbolic Visions, 2, 9–12. 3 For an excellent short introduction to the contents of and critical issues associated with Ezek 40–48, see Paul Joyce, “Temple and Worship in Ezekiel 40–48,” in Temple and Worship in The contents of the vision report in Ezek 40–48 can be summarized as follows: Ezekiel the prophet is depicted as having a visionary experience in which he is taken to “a very high mountain” in the land of Israel. A “man whose appearance was like bronze” tells him to report what he sees, then leads him around a temple complex and shows him its features (Ezek 40–42). The prophet next sees the Glory of Yhwh entering the sanctuary and hears Yhwh’s claim that he will reside there “among the people of Israel forever” (Ezek 43:1–9). He is told to “declare the temple to the house of Israel” (43:10). He then receives the “law of the temple” (40:12), including instructions for the altar and its dedication (43:13ff), for the cult personnel and access to the sanctuary (44:1ff), for the division of land around the sanctuary (45:1–8), and for sacred festivals and offerings (45:9–46:24). He sees a river flowing out of the temple, bringing supernatural fertility and health (47:1–12), then is given further instructions for tribal land allotments (47:13–48:29) and for the layout of the city gates (48:30ff). The arrangement and diversity of content indicate that Ezek 40–48 is a composite text.4 It contains tensions that most feel are best accounted for by a model of sequential editorial activity (e.g., Ezek 40:45–46 with its “some priests for temple, other priests for altar” scheme stands in tension with Ezek 44:13, where the Levites, whose job it is to minister in the temple, are explicitly prohibited from “functioning as priests”).5 The most recent studies of the compositional history of Ezek 40–48 argue for a core of Ezekielian material with later redactional layers.6 If this is correct, what is the rationale for including Ezek 40–48 in entirety in one’s analysis of a vision report? Of course, opinions concerning what is secondary in these chapters differ considerably.7 Moreover, it is certainly possible that those in the scribal circles who copied and added to earlier Biblical Israel. Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar (LHBOTS 422; ed. John Day; London: T&T Clark, 2006), 145–63. 4 See S. Talmon and M. Fishbane, “The Structuring of Biblical Books: Studies in the Book of Ezekiel,” ASTI 10 (1976), 127, 138–40; Moshe Greenberg, “The Design and Themes of Ezekiel’s Program of Restoration,” Int 38 (1984), 184–89. 5 Cf. H. Gese, Der Verfassungsentwurf des Ezechiel (Kap. 40–48) traditionsgeschichtlich untersucht (BHT 25; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1957), 66; Jon Levenson, Theology of the Program of Restoration of Ezekiel 40–48 (HSM 10; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1976), 129–32, 153 n. 13; Steven Tuell, The Law of the Temple in Ezekiel 40–48 (HSM 49; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992), 3, 31–33; Joyce, “Temple and Worship,” 146. However, others believe Ezek 40–48 in entirety should be understood as the product of the prophet; cf. Menahem Haran, “The Law Code of Ezekiel XL–XLVIII and its Relation to the Priestly School,” HUCA 50 (1979), 46–47; Greenberg, “Design,” 181. 6 Thilo Rudnig, Heilig und Profan: Redaktionskritische Studien zu Ez 40–48 (BZAW 287; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2000); Michael Konkel, Architektonik des Heiligen. Studien zur zweiten tempelvision Ezechiels (Ez 40–48) (BBB 129; Berlin: Philo, 2001). 7 For example, while Gese (Verfassungsentwurf, 36, 109, 114) understands Ezek 43:1ff as a redactional layer subsequent to the original Ezekielian vision, Konkel and Zimmerli place 43:1– 10 with the original temple vision; see Konkel, Architektonik, 239–40; Walther Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2 (trans. James D. Martin; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 412. vision reports would be motivated by the same kind of experiences as the initial visionary. More to the point is the fact that even if some material in Ezek 40–48 is redactional, it is redactionally presented as an integral part of the vision report: the “man” of Ezek 40:1–4 continues to guide the prophet and provide explanation throughout these chapters. With respect to issues of dating, the command to “declare the temple” in Ezek 43:10 suggests to me that the material in Ezek 40– 42 is best understood in a context when there was no temple (pre-515 BCE), and the concerns of Ezek 40–48 suggest to me that the bulk of the material is exilic. While Persian-period additions are not unlikely, the lack of historical references in the material makes attempts at more specific dating uncertain.8 3.0 Ezekiel 40–48 as a Vision Report Ezekiel 40–48 displays the formal features shared by other texts that allow us to classify the הָאְרַמ ) ”vision report as a literary genre.9 These chapters are explicitly introduced as a “vision Ezek 40:2; cf. 43:3),10 and contain references linking the experience to earlier visions , הֶאְרַמ / (Ezek 43:3a > ch. 9; 43:3b > ch. 1). They use terminology such as “I saw” (Ezek 41:8; 43:3; 44:3), “show/be shown” (Ezek 40:4), and “see with your eyes” (Ezek 40:4; 44:5).11 After the introduction, the text continues with a first person report of what the prophet saw and heard. Visionary literature in the Jewish and Christian traditions presents us with a problem: on the one hand, it purports to describe humans who, in an altered state of consciousness, experience things that are not normally experienced—sights of the deity and the heavenly realm, scenes of past or future events, encounters with heavenly beings, and travel to other (even cosmic) locations. On the other hand, these texts are marked by creative and deliberately planned literary features (e.g., literary artistry, structure and patterning, quotation or allusion, exegesis, reflective commentary) that cannot be accounted for as products of altered consciousness.12 Current research attempts to account for both the experiential and the literary aspects of these texts.13 While it is true that 8 Cf. Joyce, “Temple and Worship,” 146–47. 9 For a definition of the genre and its features, see Michael H. Floyd, Minor Prophets Part 2 (FOTL 22; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 644–45. 10 Cf. Ezek 1:1; 8:3, 4; 11:24; cf. Dan 8:16, 27. In later visionary literature we find the use of the .(Dan 8:1, 2, 15, 17, 26) זח ו ן Dan 7:1, 2, 7, 13, 15, 20) and) זח או terms 11 Note Amsler’s distinction (“La parole visionnaire,” 362) between the literary genre “vision report” and other prophetic utterances which contain references to “seeing” (e.g. Isa 21:2, 7; Jer 4:21, 23ff). For the use of “sight” terminology in other prophetic vision reports, see Isa 6:1; Jer 1:11–13; 24:1, 3; 38:21; Ezek 1:4, 28; 8:2, 4, 6; 11:24; etc.; Amos 7:1, 4, 7, 8; 8:1, 2; 9:1; Zech 1:8; 2:1, 3, 5; 3:1; 4:2; 5:1, 2, 5, 9; 6:1.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Why Sacrifices in the Millennium
    Scholars Crossing Article Archives Pre-Trib Research Center May 2009 Why Sacrifices in The Millennium Thomas D. Ice Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch Recommended Citation Ice, Thomas D., "Why Sacrifices in The Millennium" (2009). Article Archives. 60. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch/60 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Pre-Trib Research Center at Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in Article Archives by an authorized administrator of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHY LITERAL SACRIFICES IN THE MILLENNIUM Tom's Perspectives by Thomas Ice A common objection to the consistent literal interpretation of Bible prophecy is found in Ezekiel’s Temple vision (Ezek. 40—48). Opponents argue that if this is a literal, future Temple, then it will require a return to the sacrificial system that Christ made obsolete since the prophet speaks of “atonement” (kiper) in Ezekiel 43:13, 27; 45:15, 17, 20. This is true! Critics believe this to be a blasphemous contradiction to the finished work of Christ as presented in Hebrews 10. Hank Hanegraaff says that I have “exacerbated the problem by stating that without animal sacrifices in the Millennium, Yahweh’s holiness would be defiled. That, for obvious reasons, is blasphemous.” He further says that such a view constitutes a return “to Old Covenant sacrifices.”1 “Is it heretical to believe that a Temple and sacrifices will once again exist,” ask John Schmitt and Carl Laney? “Ezekiel himself believed it was a reality and the future home of Messiah.
    [Show full text]
  • AMRAM According to the Bible Amram Is a Son Of
    AMRAM According to the Bible Amram is a son of Qahat (Kohath) and father of Aaron, Moses and Miriam (Exod 6:18, 20, Num 26:58-59). His wife was Jochabed, his father's sister. His name appears frequently in genealogical lists. Amram is prominent in a number of Second Temple writings. In Pseudo-Philo’s Biblical Antiquities he is the hero of a significant incident before the birth of Moses (9:1-10). Josephus, Antiquities 1.210-216 knows of visions vouchsafed to Amram before the birth of Moses. This is particularly notable in view of 4QVisions of Amram. Amram, together with Qahat and Levi, figures in the chain of transmission of Sefer Harazim from Noah to Moses. Interestingly, he plays no major part in Jubilees, which is generally linked to Aramaic Levi and 4QTQahat ar. Five copies of the work entitled "Visions of Amram" were found in Cave 4 at Qumran. Although, this number of copies suffices to show that it must have had some importance for the Qumran covenanters, no references to it occur in sectarian literature. In 1972, J.T. Milik published a substantial fragment of 4QVisions of Amramb ar and claimed that Origen alluded to it. Milik recognized five copies, 4Q543-4Q548. Puech thinks that the same scribe copied 4QTQahat ar and 4QVisions of Amrama ar. Moreover, he notes that 4QTQahat ar starts on a piece of leather with a join on the Stone, AMRAM, page 2 right and he even speculates that these two works might have formed part of the same manuscript. Details of the other manuscripts of 4QVisions of Amram are not yet known.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Introduction Mette Bundvad and Kasper Siegismund This volume grew out of an international symposium hosted by the University of Copenhagen in August 2017, and held at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. While planning the symposium, one of our main goals was to create a space for an open and creative conversation about the Aramaic texts found in the caves at and near Qumran. We put together this open access volume for exactly the same reason. Scholars are increasingly turning their attention to the Aramaic texts from Qumran. Not only are these texts inter- esting because of their particular literary content and theological concerns, which differ markedly from the Hebrew texts found at Qumran. They also throw new light on the history of the Aramaic language and the linguistic situation in Palestine in the late Second Temple period. Their highly creative authors reworked biblical traditions, reshaping them to address contempo- rary concerns. When engaging the Aramaic Qumran texts, one encounters multiple genres and voices, as well as a distinct set of perspectives on the reli- gious authorities of the past. We entitled both the symposium and this volume “Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran” to indicate this wide range. The articles in this volume fall into three distinct groups, each of which illu- minates important literary, contextual, and religious features of the Aramaic texts from Qumran. The articles in the first group all explore memory and expectation; religious past and eschatological future—as well as the links between these wider horizons of religiously organized time and the present of the texts’ authors and their communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditions About Miriam in the Qumran Scrolls
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications, Classics and Religious Studies Department Classics and Religious Studies 2003 Traditions about Miriam in the Qumran Scrolls Sidnie White Crawford University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/classicsfacpub Part of the Classics Commons Crawford, Sidnie White, "Traditions about Miriam in the Qumran Scrolls" (2003). Faculty Publications, Classics and Religious Studies Department. 97. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/classicsfacpub/97 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classics and Religious Studies at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications, Classics and Religious Studies Department by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Published in STUDIES IN JEWISH CIVILIZATION, VOLUME 14: WOMEN AND JUDAISM, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon, Ronald A. Simkins, & Jean Axelrad Cahan (Omaha: Creighton University Press, 2003), pp. 33-44. Traditions about Miriam in the Qumran Scrolls Sidnie White Crawford The literature of Second Temple Judaism (late sixth century BCE to 70 CE) contains many compositions that focus on characters and events known from the biblical texts. The characters or events in these new compositions are developed in various ways: filling in gaps in the biblical account, offering explanations for difficult passages, or simply adding details to the lives of biblical personages to make them fuller and more interesting characters. For example, the work known as Joseph andAseneth focuses on the biblical character Aseneth, the Egyptian wife of Joseph, mentioned only briefly in Gen 41:45, 50.' This work attempts to explain, among other things, how Joseph, the righteous son of Jacob, contracted an exogamous marriage with the daughter of an Egyptian priest.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls
    Andrew B. Perrin, The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls © 2015, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525550946 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647550947 Andrew B. Perrin, The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplements Edited by Armin Lange, Bernard M. Levinson and Vered Noam Advisory Board Katell Berthelot (University of Aix-Marseille), George Brooke (University of Manchester), Jonathan Ben Dov (University of Haifa), Beate Ego (University of Osnabrück), Ester Eshel (Bar-Ilan University), Heinz-Josef Fabry (Univer- sity of Bonn), Steven Fraade (Yale University), Maxine L. Grossman (Univer- sity of Maryland), Christine Hayes (Yale University), Catherine Hezser (University of London), Alex Jassen (University of Minnesota), James L. Kugel (Bar-Ilan University), Jodi Magness (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Carol Meyers, (Duke University), Eric Meyers (Duke Univer- sity), Hillel Newman (University of Haifa), Christophe Nihan (University of Lausanne), Lawrence H. Schiffman (New York University), Konrad Schmid (University of Zurich), Adiel Schremer (Bar-Ilan University), Michael Segal (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Aharon Shemesh (Bar-Ilan University), Günter Stemberger (University of Vienna), Kristin De Troyer (University of St. Andrews), Azzan Yadin (Rutgers University) Volume 19 Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht © 2015, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525550946 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647550947 Andrew B. Perrin, The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls Andrew B. Perrin The Dynamics of Dream-Vision Revelation in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls Untertitel Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht © 2015, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783525550946 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647550947 Andrew B.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Aaron and Moses in 4Qvisions of Amram
    Between Aaron and Moses in 4QVisions of Amram Liora Goldman 1 Introduction The composition known as the Visions of Amram1 contains two main themes of the rewritten Bible genre from Qumran: narratives on the patriarchs and their testaments and narratives on the exodus and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Devorah Dimant proposed a linguistic-thematic classification that distinguishes between rewritten Bible texts composed in Aramaic and Hebrew. This scheme proposes that written traditions associated with figures from the pre-flood period and contemporary with this era, together with those relating to the patriarchs, were primarily composed in Aramaic, while those concerning the period from the exodus through the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai to the exile were composed in Hebrew.2 The Visions of Amram is unique in that it combines aspects of both cat- egories. While written in Aramaic and dealing with patriarchal figures, it also contains themes concerning Moses and the exodus. In its content and style, the composition belongs to the testament genre.3 While these texts relate 1 In the official publication of the Visions of Amram Émile Puech identified this composition as consisting of seven scrolls: 4Q543–549. For the full editio princeps, see Émile Puech, Qumrân grotte 4.XXII: Textes araméens, première partie: 4Q529–549, DJD 31 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001), 283–405. Duke, in his edition, regards only five copies (4Q543–547) as belonging to this composition; see Robert R. Duke, The Social Location of the Visions of Amram (4Q543–547), StBibLit 135 (New York: Peter Lang, 2010), 35–42.
    [Show full text]
  • The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls
    Eruditio Ardescens The Journal of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Volume 2 Issue 2 Article 1 February 2016 The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls J. Randall Price Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/jlbts Part of the Jewish Studies Commons Recommended Citation Price, J. Randall (2016) "The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls," Eruditio Ardescens: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/jlbts/vol2/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Crossing. It has been accepted for inclusion in Eruditio Ardescens by an authorized editor of Scholars Crossing. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls J. Randall Price, Ph.D. Center for Judaic Studies Liberty University [email protected] Recent unrest in the Middle East regularly stimulates discussion on the eschatological interpretation of events within the biblical context. In light of this interest it is relevant to consider the oldest eschatological interpretation of biblical texts that had their origin in the Middle East – the Dead Sea Scrolls. This collection of some 1,000 and more documents that were recovered from caves along the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in Israel, has become for scholars of both the Old and New Testaments a window into Jewish interpretation in the Late Second Temple period, a time known for intense messianic expectation. The sectarian documents (non-biblical texts authored by the Qumran Sect or collected by the Jewish Community) among these documents are eschatological in nature and afford the earliest and most complete perspective into the thinking of at least one Jewish group at the time of Jesus’ birth and the formation of the early church.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Sea Scrolls—Criticism, Interpretation, Etc.—Congresses
    Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Edited by George J. Brooke Associate Editors Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar Jonathan Ben-Dov Alison Schofield volume 131 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/stdj Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran Essays from the Copenhagen Symposium, 14–15 August, 2017 Edited by Mette Bundvad Kasper Siegismund With the collaboration of Melissa Sayyad Bach Søren Holst Jesper Høgenhaven LEIDEN | BOSTON This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC 4.0 License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: International Symposium on Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran (2017 : Copenhagen, Denmark) | Bundvad, Mette, 1982– editor. | Siegismund, Kasper, editor. | Bach, Melissa Sayyad, contributor. | Holst, Søren, contributor. | Høgenhaven, Jesper, contributor. Title: Vision, narrative, and wisdom in the Aramaic texts from Qumran : essays from the Copenhagen Symposium, 14–15 August, 2017 / edited by Mette Bundvad, Kasper Siegismund ; with the collaboration of Melissa Sayyad Bach, Søren Holst, Jesper Høgenhaven. Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2020] | Series: Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah, 0169-9962 ; volume 131 | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019029284 | ISBN 9789004413702 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004413733 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Dead Sea scrolls—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—Congresses. | Dead Sea scrolls—Relation to the Old Testament—Congresses. | Manuscripts, Aramaic—West Bank—Qumran Site—Congresses. Classification: LCC BM487 .I58 2017 | DDC 296.1/55—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029284 Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossing Imaginary Boundaries Presently One of the Largest in the World, by Presenting the Work of the Finnish Scholars Currently Active in This fi Eld of Study
    Crossing Imaginary Boundaries Crossing EDITED BY MIKA S. PAJUNEN AND HANNA TERVANOTKO EDITED BY MIKA S. PAJUNEN AND HANNA TERVANOTKO PUBLICATIONS OF THE FINNISH EXEGETICAL SOCIETY 108 Finnish scholars have been involved in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls in ever growing numbers since the 1950s. This volume pays tribute to this Helsinki school of Qumran studies, which is Crossing Imaginary Boundaries presently one of the largest in the world, by presenting the work of the Finnish scholars currently active in this fi eld of study. The contributions of Crossing Imaginary Boundaries explore the Dead Sea Scrolls within the broader context of Second Temple The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Judaism. The volume challenges the reader to rethink critically the categories and interdisciplinary borders currently used in Second Temple Judaism the study of ancient Jewish texts. In particular, Qumran research has frequently been seen as a limited esoteric area closed off from other areas of Biblical studies. This collection is an attempt to question and bridge some of these imaginary boundaries between scholarly disciplines and to demonstrate the impor- tance of crossing them in order to get a fuller understanding of all these ancient texts and their underlying social phenomena. EDITED BY MIKA S. PAJUNEN AND HANNA TERVANOTKO ISSN 0356-2786 ISBN 978-951-9217-63-5 Crossing Imaginary Boundaries The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Second Temple Judaism 2nd printing Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society Series Editor: Jutta Jokiranta Layout and typography: Susanna Asikainen Cover: Kirsi Valkama Cover photo: Kirsi Valkama ISSN: 0356-2786 ISBN (pdf): 978-951-51-5005-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31885/9789515150059 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY PUBLICATIONS OF THE FINNISH EXEGETICAL SOCIETY 108 Crossing Imaginary Boundaries The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Second Temple Judaism E D I T E D B Y MIKA S.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading the New Testament As Second Temple Jewish Literature Titles and Abstracts
    Reading the New Testament as Second Temple Jewish Literature Titles and Abstracts 12–13 September 2017 Trinity College Dublin This two day conference is devoted to the exploration of how literature found in the New Testament, as cultural artefacts, inform our understanding of ancient Jewish culture, traditions, intellectual trends, and languages. International experts shall gather to present and discuss on this theme. *** If you would like to support the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies and future meetings like this please contact either: Benjamin Wold ([email protected]) or David Shepherd ([email protected]) *** 12 September 9:30-10:15 Menahem Kister (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) Rabbinic Literature and the New Testament: Jesus’ Parables and Beyond This lecture will deal with affinities of some parables attributed to Jesus in the synoptic Gospels with passages in Rabbinic Literature. I seek to demonstrate that, notwithstanding the chronological gap between the two corpora, they illuminate each other. In conclusion, I plan to touch upon a passage in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and its relationship to a passage of Rabbinic Literature. 10:40-11:25 David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) “Leading the Blind”: 2 Kings 6 and the subduing of Saul in Acts 9 In seeking to understand the transformation of Saul, Christ’s enemy, into Paul, Christ’s evangelist, New Testament scholarship has explored a wide array of literary parallels to Acts 9:1-19, including (amongst others) texts from 2 and 4 Maccabees, the Acts of Peter and even the Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran. While narratives from the Hebrew Bible have thus far been conspicuously absent from lists of proposed parallels, it is noteworthy that New Testament scholars are increasingly recognizing the ways in Luke-Acts bears witness to the influence and reception of the Elijah and Elisha traditions in Second Temple Judaism.
    [Show full text]
  • EZEKIEL 40:L AS a CORRECTIVE for SEVEN WRONG IDEAS I N
    Andrews Uniwrsio Seminary Stndic~,Vol. 44, No. 2,265-283. Copyright 8 2006 Andrews University Press. EZEKIEL 40:l AS A CORRECTIVE FOR SEVEN WRONG IDEAS IN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION RODGER C. YOUNG St. Louis, Missouri Ezekiel 40:l is often viewed by commentators as a mere chronological note that can be passed over quickly before tahng up the formidable task of interpreting the last nine chapters of Ezekiel's book. Yet a careful analysis of this verse, when combined with some knowledge of the various events and institutions to whch the verse makes explicit or implicit reference, shows that it is rich in information that sheds light on the events and institutions to whch it refers. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the five pieces of chronological data given in the verse provide useful correctives to several ideas that have gained widespread currency in biblical and hstorical interpretation, while at the same time allowing us to replace those ideas with counterparts that are more in keeping not only with the information in this verse, but also with the teachng of other Scriptures that deal with these matters. It dlbe shown that this one verse, used in conjunction with a small amount of external hstorical data, contradicts the following seven wrong ideas: The idea that Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.c. The idea that Ezekiel reckoned the calendar year to start in Nisan. The idea that Judah used Nisan years for the reign length of kings. The idea that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was always on the First of Tishn.
    [Show full text]
  • Ezekiel “God Strengthens”
    Ezekiel “God Strengthens” By Timothy Sparks TimothySparks.com Historical Background ● Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jerusalem (Jehoiakim) in 605 BC—taking Daniel and other hostages to Babylon ● In 597 BC, because of Judah’s rebellion (Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin) Nebechadnezzar took 10,000 more hostages, including Jehoiachin and Ezekiel to Babylon Historical Background ● Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple in the summer of 586 BC ● Ezekiel experienced a series of visions during the 22 years from 593 to 571 BC, a period which spans the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 Key Words & Phrases ● Glory (~21 times) – “the glory of the Lord” ● 1:28; 3:12, 23; 10:4, 18; 11:23; 43:4-5; 44:4 – “the glory of the God of Israel” ● 8:4; 9:3; 10:19; 11:22; 43:2 ● Son of man (93 times) – 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4, 10, 17, 25 Key Phrases ● “shall/will know” (73 times) – “you shall/will know” (32 times) ● 6:7, 13; 7:4, 9; 37:14 – “they shall/will know” (32-33 times) ● 5:13; 6:10, 14; 7:27; 39:28 ● “. that a prophet has been among them” – 2:5; 33:33 ● “the word of the Lord” (60 times) – 1:3; 3:16; 6:1, 3 Verses to Remember ● 11:19-20 ● 18:4, 19-24, 30-32 ● 20:12 ● 33:7-9, 11 ● 36:22-28 ● 37:11, 23, 27 Overview Outline Chs. 1-24: Judgment on Israel Chs. 25-32: Judgment on the nations Chs. 33-48: Future blessings for Israel Ezekiel 40:5 ● Ezekiel experienced a series of seven visions during the 22 years from 593 to 571 BC, a period which spans the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 Ezekiel 40:6 Ezekiel 40:7 Ezekiel 40:8-9 Ezekiel 40:10a Ezekiel 40:10b
    [Show full text]