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Abstract: The following article evaluates two common arguments for preterist interpretations of Mark 13:24‐27, collectively dubbed the 'time‐text' argument. These two arguments support symbolic and/or historicised interpretations. Our thesis is that the first argument is unsound and the second commits the informal fallacy of false dilemma. Owing to these problems, the arguments and preterist interpretations should be rejected in favour of more plausible futurist interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate both internally and externally, that the Holy Bible is indeed the Word of God so that believers become firmer in believing it and love it more as their holy text. Christians consider the Bible to be sacred because it contains messages from God. This is very important because there are many erroneous and misleading teachings about the Bible, which teach that the Bible contains the Word of God, the Bible being the Word of God and the Bible not being the Word of God. Irrespective, believers need to follow the rules it contains for living life and can turn to the teachings of Jesus Christ for moral and the deepest spiritual guidance. The research method used by the author was a qualitative one with a systematic theology study approach, because the domain of this research is in the field of theology, specifically Systematic Theology. In proving internally that the Bible is the Word of God, the primary and only source is the Bible itself with its self-authenticating Scriptures. The Bible is in essence true because it says it is true, and it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness to its profound truths. In proving externally that the Bible is the Word of God, the sources are books. Internal proof that the Bible is the Word of God is the teaching of Jesus, the teaching of Paul, Peter and others, the teaching of important terms, and the teaching of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. External evidence that the Bible is the Word of God is evident through the uniqueness of the Bible and evidence through archaeological evidence (inter alia, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Nuzi Inscriptions, Ebla Inscriptions, Discovery in Mari). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In superscriptions to the biblical prophetic books, dates are usually expressed in terms of the reigns of kings. In the headings to Amos and Jeremiah, however, the standard regnal chronology is augmented by a "nonregnal date" that does not directly refer to a monarch. Amos's prophecies are set "two years before the earthquake" (Amos 1:1), while Jeremiah's career ends with "the exiling of Jerusalem in the fifth month" (Jer 1:3). In this article, I examine both of these nonregnal dates and conclude that they serve similar rhetorical purposes in their respective books. Each reference anticipates central themes of divine judgment that are developed across the rest of the book, while also corroborating an important prediction that reinforces the authority of the titular prophet. The nonregnal dates thus help to show how the social processes of "prophetic validation" continued to operate in the literary production of prophetic books. The uniqueness of these dates among the Latter Prophets may be related to the unusually detailed accounts of prophetic conflict found in Amos and, especially, Jeremiah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a new approach, I interpret biblical prophecy in light of its ancient Near Eastern divinatory context and offer a new perspective on the (non)fulfillment of prophecy. I begin with a description of how divine communication was understood according to Mesopotamian and biblical texts, laying a foundation for comparative analysis. I then apply this approach to the prophecies of restoration in Jeremiah 30-33. I argue that the prophecies in these chapters, originally intended to be fulfilled in the postexilic era, were canceled (except 31:35-37, 33:19-26) and that a new decision or decisions were given to take their place. Nevertheless, these canceled prophecies continue to have great divinatory significance that reveals patterns of how the deity intends to bless and dwell among the people. Ultimately, a close reading of the text in the light of its ancient Near Eastern contexts provides a strong corrective to the ways that these chapters are commonly interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows how new trends in Protestant biblical hermeneutics in nineteenth-century America helped to raise the cultural status of modern-day Jews, while inspiring bold new directions in American Jewish literary culture. The interpretive framework under discussion emerged in the work of Bishop Robert Lowth and Johann Gottfried Herder, whose studies of biblical poetry became highly influential in the United States when they were both published at the height of the Second Great Awakening. By reconceptualizing biblical poetry (especially in the works of the biblical prophets) as sublime art, their approach created the possibility for valorizing the biblical tradition for its aesthetic power alongside its religious teachings. Since Jews were commonly seen as continuous with biblical Israel, this approach meant that Jews could be seen as heirs to a glorious literary tradition, a point that American Jewish poets, such as Emma Lazarus, emphasized when they launched their own poetic experiments modeled on the biblical prophets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is to point out some doctrines of Branham, the morning star of the Latter Rain Movement that left some impact on the current Neo-Charismatic Movement. Through the solid literature review which was undertaken, an investigation in the historical development of this movement, and its impact on the current Neo-Charismatic churches is interrogated to obtain the facts. The NeoCharismatic Movement is a general term for independent charismatic formations that evolved after Pentecostalism that is these days dubbed Classical Pentecostalism. Since William Branham is noted for different teachings and practices pertaining to Pentecostalism, he is closely associated with the Latter Rain Movement of the forties and the fifties. There is no intention to lay out or elaborate on all Branham’s dogmatic dictums and practices, but only six are selected to complete the research question of this paper. These doctrines are the restorationist theology, deliverance, fivefold ministry, anti-cultural establishment, extra-biblical prophecies, and personality cult. It is discovered through this research that all these doctrines or practices are familiar within the Neo-Charismatic churches, especially those known as New Prophetic Churches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biblical punsters occasionally moved beyond the confines of Standard Biblical Hebrew, producing dialectal wordplay. In a number of cases, the nonstandard form is a phonological variant from another dialect. The best-known examples of this type involve dialectal differences in diphthong contraction (monophthongization). Less attention has been paid to cases involving a phonological process called nasal spreading , known from Old Canaanite, Hebrew, Aramaic, etc. One product of this process is the toponym דימון in מֵי דִימוֹן מָלְאוּ דָם , "the waters of Dimon are full of blood" (Isa 15:9), referring to the Moabite town of Dibon. The form דימון was a phonological variant of דיבון , a dialectal form used in a prophecy against Moab to emphasize the appropriateness of the punishment. Another example is found in חֶסְרוֹן לֹא יוּכַל לְהִמָּנוֹת (Qoh 1:15), which means both "an incalculable loss" and "an irreplaceable loss." In the second meaning, להמנות is a dialectal form of להמל (א) ות , "be made good," a phonological variant produced by nasal spreading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the peculiar case of Luis Méndez Chávez, a Portuguese Jew who was prosecuted by the Cartagena Inquisition in 1648 for attempting to smuggle into colonial Venezuela a chest of Jewish books and liturgical items, together with a boat full of African slaves. This voyage was one of the earliest attempts by leading Jews in Amsterdam to expand directly into new economic and spiritual markets in the circum-Caribbean. The quest for new markets was an urgent one in the mid-1640s for two reasons. First, with the Portuguese planters' revolt in Dutch Brazil in 1645 many substantial economic investments were on the verge of being permanently lost. Second, the impending destruction of the only public synagogues in the New World threatened to reverse certain biblical prophecies that men like the great Menasseh ben Israel believed had been earlier fulfilled in the Americas. In response, he gave Méndez Chávez more than a dozen apologetic and liturgical works for the purpose of bringing conversos in Spanish America more in line with halakhic norms. At the same time, multiple wealthy Jewish merchants in Amsterdam invested sizeable sums so that Méndez Chávez could acquire slaves in Guinea and sell them for substantial profit in the New World. Driven by these intertwined religious and economic objectives, Méndez Chávez's voyage, despite its ultimate failure at the hands of the Inquisition, can be seen as an audacious precursor to the more successful Sephardic colonization efforts that occurred after the fall of Dutch Brazil in 1654. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The narrative of the people's redemption from Egyptian oppression plays a central role in the Hebrew bible in numerous books, genres and literary sources. Among these biblical references some occurrences lack a central element of the familiar story--the peoples' slavery. This article discusses the narrative of the Israelites' experience in Egypt as presented in the idiosyncratic review of Israel's chronicle in Ezekiel 20 and as implied by other references in the biblical laws, narratives and prophecies. It argues for a gradual evolution of the narrative of the Egyptian slavery and oppression, and thus of the redemption of Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Anna Trapnel's final publication: a 990-page volume of prophetic verse printed in around 1659, which now survives in a single copy held by the Bodleian Library. Advocating the value of attending to the materiality of early modern women's texts, this article examines the semantic significance of the typography in this large volume of prophecies. First, I argue that the work's distinctive letter forms and ornamental headers may affiliate it with the printing house of James Cottrell. Second, these specific visual motifs are explored as indicators of Trapnel's broader religious and textual community in mid-seventeenth century England. Finally, the article suggests ways in which we might read the volume's typographic features as both supportive, and subtly undermining, of Trapnel's highly charged religious discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R. Ḥaim David Halevy was an exceptional voice in the Religious-Zionist camp in Israel. While espousing faithfulness to the halakhah, he recognized the importance of changing circumstances with respect both to halakhic rulings and philosophical issues arising in Hebrew law. He viewed the study of history as a practical imperative, necessary to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Frequently adducing biblical texts, he argued that Israel must learn from the patriarchs and maintain a strong military force. In particular, the events leading to the destruction of the Temple and exile prompted him to posit that the State should remain neutral and not take an active part in international affairs. On the basis of the historiographical and prophetic literature, he maintained that fidelity to the divine covenant – i.e., ethical conduct – would safeguard Israel's existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the intractable problems of Africa is socioeconomic development. It is a "wicked problem" that has defied decades of tinkering and tweaking of economic policies and government interventions. Like many African governments that succeeded oppressive colonial governments, many religious organizations frequently promise their members the help of divine power to deliver development. African Pentecostalism, especially the prosperity variant, has been at the forefront of promising to make its members healthy and wealthy through divine means. How the theology of plenty and healing has practically improved the economic and therapeutic systems of Africa is a question of debate. Some scholars, in line with pentecostal self-representation, claim that Pentecostalism inspires development from below. This essay critiques this self-image of African Pentecostalism in the context of African economic indices and the raging and ravaging coronavirus disease pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an important challenge but also an opportunity to test the doctrines and claims of pentecostal leaders. In the attempt to cater to leaders' economic self-interest, pentecostal responses to the pandemic have, however, been uncoordinated and have failed adequately to mobilize resources that serve its members and the larger society in their moment of needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article serves as an introduction to the historical phenomenon of prophecy in the Ancient Levant and Old Babylonian Mari. Of particular focus is the terminology for prophetic personnel, prophecy as a system of communication, the link between prophecy and monarchy at Mari, and the question of biblical prophetic books and their relationship to prophetic practice. The ancient evidence is surveyed in an effort to elucidate a comparative investigation across the Ancient Near East. This includes narratives and books in the Hebrew Bible, and extra‐biblical sources from the sites of Lachish and Deir 'Alla in the larger Levant. Additionally, the Old Babylonian archives of the 18th century BCE kingdom of Mari (Tell Hariri, Syria) illuminate how prophecy is part of a larger system of royal correspondence in antiquity. The article offers the most up‐to‐date literature on prophecy at Mari and also introduces new work on third‐party intermediaries, those individuals who relay prophets' messages to their recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the relationship between the biblical prophets and prophetic poetry in terms of the "shamanic complex." First, a short characterization is given of the phenomenon of shamanism in archaic societies, shamanic techniques and alternate states of consciousness, as well as the social, cultural, and political role of shamanic figures. Second, the similarity between shamanism and biblical prophecy is considered. Third, the figure of First Isaiah as presented in the eponymous book in the Hebrew Bible is analyzed in terms of the shamanic complex and shamanic poetics as to aspects of his initiation as prophet and represented features of his actions as prophet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Studia Gdańskie is the property of Gdanskie Seminarium Duchowne, Kuria Metropolitalna Gdanska and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scripture, according to the Christian tradition, has two authors: God as the principal author and the Holy Fathers as instrumental authors. Thomas's biblical inspiration is accomplished through instrumental causality—the theory of causal motion where the power of a principal agent works hiddenly through a lower cause to achieve an end beyond the lower cause's natural powers. However, Thomas formulates a new account of instrumental causality by integrating Islamic causal accounts within Greek and Christian ones. After confirming that Thomas accounts for biblical inspiration with instrumental causality, I will show how Thomas's Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard explains his theory of instrumental causality pertaining to the sacraments and how it neatly fits biblical inspiration. Finally, I will demonstrate that Thomas's formulation of instrumental causality is novel incorporating Islamic influences through Arabic sources including: the Arabic Liber de Causis, Averroes's two sources of motion, and Avicenna's modes of efficient causation. The paper will thereby conclude that Thomas's explanation on how Scripture comes to be is beholden to philosophical thinkers of the Arabic tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has recently been an interest in the creation science community to promote what is today called the Septuagint (LXX), a controversial Greek translation of the Old Testament that also contains the noncanonical Apocrypha. The recent reason for doing so, it appears, is that the LXX can be used as a justification for an expanded biblical history, both before and after the Flood. Ironically, the LXX reports erroneous chronology data that, if true, would require Methuselah to have survived the Flood (in addition to the 8 historical survivors) by about 14 years--and no LXX advocate has offered a forensically reliable remedy to this error. Meanwhile, as complicated chronological/genealogical arguments have waged back and forth between proponents and opponents, the "elephant in the room" is the pervasive textual corruption that clearly exists in what is today called the LXX, which renders it a forensically unreliable text-source. Contrary to claims that that the LXX closely follows the Masoretic Hebrew outside of a few chronological differences, the LXX (in its variant forms) often differs significantly from the providentially preserved Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Our analysis of key Messianic prophecies in the LXX, compared to the Hebrew, reveals a disturbing trend of textual corruption. This preliminary study will show that five pivotal Old Testament Messianic prophecies have been severely altered in the LXX, so as to remove their otherwise clear prophetic connection to the New Testament mission and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We propose that these LXX corruptions were introduced during the late 1st Century AD (at the earliest), with further corruptions being added in later centuries, most likely by Messiah-rejecting Jews and/or by Scripture-altering pseudo-Christian Alexandrian scribes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prophecy in the Gospels continues the Old Testament prophecy and draws from it some formal presuppositions, while striving towards its fulfilment. After offering a few methodological notes, in the first part this article presents the phenomenon of prophecy in the New Testament in general and concise manner. It points out, numerically, how representative and important it is. Presented data suggest the approach taken in studying this topic, which is also in accordance with the issues spelled out in the first section dedicated to methodological notes. Namely, the need to study contents of individual New Testament prophetic appearances will be pointed out as crucial. However, since these are often not explicitly discussed in the New Testament, one is left with a possibility of analysing those texts in which activity of prophetic characters in their historical context can be observed. This article will, therefore, present fundamental characteristics of the New Testament prophecy as manifested by most eminent prophetic characters: John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. John the Baptist will be presented concisely via typical moments from all three synoptic gospels (because in the Fourth Gospel he does not have the status of prophet), while most space will be given to the Gospel of Luke, since it writes most extensively on this prophet. The relatively short section on John the Baptist is followed by a discussion on Jesus's prophetic activity. The article presents Jesus's prophetic character in general via the most characteristic moments from all four canonical gospels, as is usually the case in biblical-theological handbooks. The originality of this article follows after this overview and consists of an attempt to situate the Lord's prophetic activity in the historical context of the 1st century in order to better understand his words and deeds. For that purpose, some characteristic texts were chosen and these should cast a new light on his prophetic activity from an angle that is often neglected. In that sense, the article aims at making a step forward in relation to usual taxonomy of Jesus's prophetic activity and at seeing some examples in a larger perspective. Through their concreteness, those examples break through formalisation, characteristic for attempts of systematic accounts of biblical-theological topics, especially when it comes to prophecy. Only by observing prophetic words and deeds in their historical context, can one reach the dynamism that allows the prophecy already in the Old Testament, but especially on its peak in Jesus Christ, to cast a new light on a historical moment, offer needed critique, guidelines, and transformative vision of reality through the word of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One gets an impression, although this is not confirmed in practice, that the prophetic dimension is seen in the Church like dr. Seuss's fictional»thing-a-ma-jigger«, according to which everything unreal can turn into real and everything little and insignificant can become big and significant. Prophecy is, however, very low on the hierarchical scale of social structures in biblical times and, as such, it is limited in its power and possibilities. The New Testament confirms this view, while structuring it additionally in its late phase. The key role in the social context of the biblical world belonged to the administrative and sanctifying power of the people. The present and the future of the national being depended on these two levers. Only in moments of crisis, i.e., when one of these two levers failed, there was a need for prophetic office, although its status was not sufficiently high to allow it to serve as a measure of harmony of ruling consciousness, while its authority and intensity were not nearly enough to change the national mood. Prophecy was, as a religious biblical movement, very adaptable, while having a tendency to dislocate the bearer of the five-member privilege (propositional, prerogative, deterministic, functional, and result-oriented), characteristic for the Pentateuch, Acts of Apostles, and Epistles. It was dislocated by prophecy in favour of its central topic - the human being on the margins of society, who is trying to correct it by standing in opposition - brought about through the image of the ideal righteous person who suffers (Historical book and the Gospels). Prophecy is, therefore, in the global biblical perspective, a reaction to inefficiency of the main hierarchical structures of God's people. It is true that as a»crisis headquarters«it offered solutions that call to radical conversion to God, not by force or as an imperative, but rather in the form of incentive, guidance and without being pushy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to provide a thematological analysis of folk tale types 461 and 930 ("protected by fate") and to identify their thematic and motivic intersections of intercultural validity in terms of existential semiotics within the comparative frame of European and Asian literary traditions. The invariant semanteme of all mentioned myths, fairy tales or legends resides in the unsuccessful endeavour of a high-ranking, powerful man to kill a person predestined to become his successor. In many cases, the storyline of this thousand year-old motif also includes well-known biblical motifs, such as, massacre of the innocents, a heavenly sign and fulfilment of the prophecy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My remembrance of Dr. Bill Arp: I am thankful for Dr. Arp and his influence on my life. I am particularly thankful that he arranged for my wife to be mentored by his wife during our visits to Baptist Bible Seminary. That was especially helpful as we were newly married and trying to navigate PhD studies and marriage. I really appreciate what he taught me about illumination having less to do with identifying the meaning of the text but instead welcoming how to apply the text. His emphasis on the importance of singularity of meaning and authorial intent impacted my studies of the Scripture and is addressed in my evaluation of Plowshares and Pruninghooks by D. Brent Sandy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a bold new interpretation Zechariah 2:15 is the only one among all the prophecies about the pilgrimage of the nations to Mount Zion that calls the non-Jewish nations "people of God." The present article studies this verse in its context of Zech 2:14-17, analyzes its intertextual relations and discusses its supposed literary connection to Revelation 21:3. After a short look at traditional Jewish and Christian interpretations, it presents the specific contribution of Zech 2:15 to the Theology of the People of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article strives to understand the urban prophecies in the Book of Amos with a view to spatial and literary concepts. Amos 3:9-15 is a collection of short prophecies, with v. 12 serving as its linchpin. The imagery of vv. 9-11 is part of an urban tradition in biblical literature, which underscores the importance of justice and peace for the maintenance of the city. Verses 12 and 15 constitute one prophecy about Samaria, which intensifies the tension between the city and its surroundings by contrasting items from the urban scenery with a gruesome picture of the lion in prey. Vv. 13-14 constitute a Bethel prophecy, introduced in between the Samaria prophecies. The city is poetically defined by the unification of its surroundings (the wall) with the edifices at its heart. Several cruxes in the interpretation of Amos 3:9-15 are elucidated throughout the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore the changes in globalization over the past 50+ years as it relates to the Christian Bible. Given the Christian view that many Old Testament prophecies have been fulfilled, these prophecies will be described in detail. It will examine financial events and how they appear to correlate with Biblical prophecy. In particular, there will be an emphasis on the move to one world currency and a one-world government. The potential for a unified economy and government to solve the world's economic woes will be examined. The financial and political events that substantiate these prophecies will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The christological title ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ (“the Holy One of God”) appears a total of three times in the New Testament (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, John 6:69) and is unattested in other Jewish and Christian literature. While scholars offer a wide range of proposals concerning the background and significance of this title, no one has demonstrated the possibility of a link with messianic traditions. In this article I examine four texts (Ps 88:19 LXX, LAB 59:2, Pss 152, 153) that explicitly refer to the anointed David as God’s “holy one” and two additional sources that indicate awareness of the archaic tradition that the oil used to anoint Israel’s kings was holy (Ps 89:21 [88:21]; 11QPsa XXVIII, 11; Josephus, Ant. 6.157). Next I explore how the underlying logical connection between “messiah” and “holy one” in these texts illuminates certain features of Mark’s Gospel: (1) Jesus’s baptism as a messianic anointing and his ensuing wilderness temptation (Mark 1:9–13), (2) the logical connection between the baptism–temptation sequence (1:9–13) and Jesus’s first act of public ministry (1:21–28), and (3) the exorcistic connotations surrounding the title “son of David.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There was a need in the field of Spirit hermeneutics for a solid, biblically grounded, and centered contribution, and Craig Keener has filled this gap more than sufficiently. This review highlights the following elements within Spirit Hermeneutics as being particularly significant: first, the identification of the connection between the original shape of the biblical text and its contemporary implications; second, the argument that a Spirit-directed epistemology must underpin a Spirit hermeneutic; and third, the inclusion of confessional elements. This review questions whether the role of prophecy (especially in connection with the original context and contemporary implication) could have featured more prominently in the book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In five Sethian texts, the supracelestial powers Micheus and Michar are involved in the baptism of those wishing to be initiated into the salvation that would enable them to ascend to a higher spiritual level. The provenance of these two names is unknown. This paper proposes two hypotheses: first, that Micheus and Michar are corruptions of the name of the biblical prophet Micah the Morasthite (Μιχαίας in the Septuagint and מיכה in Hebrew), and second, that Micheus and Michar may be considered Micah's supracelestial archetype. In favour of the first hypothesis, other examples of such corruptions in Sethian documents are given: Iesseus Mazareus Iessedekeus for Jesus Ναζωραῖος and δίκαιος, and Setheus for Seth. For the second hypothesis this paper refers to Melchizedek, Jacob, Jezebel, Joel, Malachi, and John the Baptist as other contemporaneous examples of heavenly or supracelestial archetypes of biblical persons. That Micah's archetype was involved in baptism may have been inspired by the final verses of the book of Micah on casting sins into the depths of the sea, which was interpreted as a reference to baptism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the following article I will deal with one of Isaiah's prophecies, Isaiah 11:11-16, whose date is debated. In this article, I will concur that the prophecy is not original to Isaiah, nor was there an early Isaianic core that was expanded in later periods. Other scholars suggested different dates for the prophecy, ranging from the reign of Josiah at the end of the Assyrian rule in the Levant until the Hasmonean Period. I will forward a different historical setting to the oracle than the hitherto given options. According to this understanding, the oracle was composed in the mid-7th century BCE and reflects the political situation during the reigns of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, and Manasseh, King of Judah, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widely different readings of the prophecy of the 70 sevens in Dan 9 may exist, but the theme of Jubilee that is inherent in the prophecy's structure has received insufficient emphasis. In particular, previous scholarship has neglected (1) the relationship between the six objectives of Dan 9:24 and the details of Dan 9:25-27 and (2) the relationship between the Antiochene crisis and Jubilee theology. By reviewing previous scholarship on the 70 sevens, this article demonstrates that more work still needs to be done on this controversial passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biblical historiography arose at the eve of the monarchial period and ceased with the demise of the Jewish statehood. Two major trends are extant: a quasi-secular one and a kerygmatic. Various attempts at periodization appear in the historical books. Periodization also features in the prophetic writings. This historical consciousness is not present in etiologies, but at times this lack was rectified. Anachronism is present, but historical sense tried to curb it, introducing distinctions between past and present. An opposed category of historical thought is catachronism i.e., an attempt at describing the past as different from the present. This is done mainly by borrowing features from an alien milieu, e.g. the נשיא . Sometimes catachronism resorts to sheer inventions, such as the שוטר . When sources were available, biblical authors indiscriminately accepted them: legends along historical accounts. At times authors recast sources in order to express with them their own ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The setting of Obadiah persists as the book's chief interpretive crux. When do the circumstances of Obadiah's vision regarding Edom unfold? Three leading proposals emerge. The events of Obadiah play out (1) in the ninth century, during the reign of Jehoram; (2) in the sixth century, near the sack of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians; or (3) in a distant eschatological era, when Edom, Israel, and the nations meet their fate. Pertinent parallel passages concerning Edom include Jeremiah 49, Joel 3, Amos 9, and Ezekiel 35. This article weighs the interpretive options and argues for the best solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revelatory traditions found in chs. 2,7-12 of the book of Daniel are exceptional in connecting the historical circumstances pertaining to the perse-cution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes with the eschatological hopes of the He-brew Bible. We will argue that the nature of this connection is twofold. On the one hand, for the redactor who gave the book of Daniel its canonical form, the distress associated with Antiochus was the distress associated with the last days. On the other hand, for the original composers of the book of Daniel, the distress associated with Antiochus was only a precursor to the distress associated with the last days. Finally, we will apply the insights gained from making this argument to the question of the book of Daniel’s composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the eye-level versus the superior-being approach used in criticizing the heroes of the Bible. Information about the contemporary terminology in judging a biblical character and behavior by considering their eye level, is provided. An overview on the evolution of various approaches depicted in the Talmudic and midrashic literature, is also emphasized.

The author discusses the general principles conveyed by the prophecies, including the truth about God's justice which is both absolute and holy, and the confirmation that the Holy Bible is inspired by God.

The article discusses research concerning the publication of the Papal encyclical Laudato si' by Pope Francis. Information about the biblical point of view from its significant angle with citations from the Bible of Genesis to Revelation, is provided. Also emphasized is the Pope's quotation concerning the symbolic and narrative language in the Bible.

The article offers the author's insights on the prophecy of biblical prophet Elijah on the death of Ahab, the king of Israel. He argues on the fulfillment of the prophecy despite the despecifies the place where the licking up of the Ahab's blood was occur. He also mentioned on the differences between the Hebrew and the Greek context in the book of 1 Kings in Bible on the fulfillment and prediction about the death and prophecy.

In an attempt to encourage the retelling of Bible stories and holistically engaging Scripture, I developed an approach I call Storymakers. It is an approach to reading and engaging Scripture that is both simple and profound, that pays attention to the text and also one's personal story. Because of its simplicity, participants have little difficulty in learning and practicing it. In this article, I explain the foundational elements that underpin Storymakers and give a description of its actual practice through its five movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a sermon given by David Lincicum of Mansfield College at Hertford College in Oxford, England on January 26, 2014. It deals with the debates about the role and future of the Jewish people, how the Messianic prophecy might be understood in the modern times, and practices involved in the application of Messianic prophecies.

The author discusses Christian gnosticism, where the concept of Jesus Christ took several forms including some Gnostics taught that Jesus was born a man but obtained a superior spiritual status while others taught that God created Jesus as a sort of angelic being. It notes that gnosticism pertains to secret knowledge that led gnostics to salvation. Other topics discussed include the Bible code, numerology, and Bible prophecy and the return of the Lord.

The article offers information on the hypothetical reconstruction of judgeship of Tola, the seventh judge of Israel, focusing on the juxtaposition of the names associated with Tola alongside the biblical prophecies and references that refers to Issachar, Tola's tribal patriarch. It discusses the essence and character of Tola along with his reign and genealogy.