Die Publikation macht es moglich, insbesondere fur die hellenistisch-fruhromische Zeit die ersten ca. 25 Jahre der am Nordende des Sees Gennesaret seit 1987 durchgefuhrten Ausgrabung von et-Tell nachzuvollziehen, und sie lasst fur diesen Zeitraum den letzten Stand der auch fur die neutestamentliche Forschung wichtigen Grabung erkennen. Die Grabung wird von dem israelischen Archaologen Prof. Dr. Rami Arav geleitet; der Verfasser ist Professor fur Neues Testament und Kodirektor des Bethsaida Excavations Project.Die Grabung hat gezeigt, dass et-Tell gleichzusetzen ist mit Betsaida/Julias, das z. B. im Neuen Testament (siebenmal), bei dem judischen Historiker Josephus und in der rabbinischen Literatur erwahnt wird. Der Band, der weit uber 100 Abbildungen, zu einem groen Teil in Farbe, enthalt, verfolgt also ein doppeltes Ziel: Zum einen kann aufgrund der 15 gesammelten Aufsatze in Deutsch und Englisch und der fortlaufenden Munchner Ausgrabungsplane der entdeckten Schichten von Eisenzeit IIA und hellenistisch-romischer Zeit der Verlauf der Grabung von Anfang an verfolgt werden (die gefalzten Plane in doppeltem Seitenformat), zum anderen geben die Nachtrage zu den veroffentlichten Aufsatzen sowie der letzte unveroffentlichte Aufsatz den jungsten Stand der Grabung wieder. Der Verfasser richtet den Blick ofter speziell auf die erste Halfte des 1. Jh. n.Chr. und das historisch-kritisch nachweisbare Wirken Jesu in Betsaida (gema Mt 11,2123 parallel Lk 10,1315).

Dieser Band setzt das groe internationale Standardwerk zur Rezeption der Hebraischen Bibel/des Alten Testaments, das christliche und judische Fachleute aus der ganzen Welt vereint, fort. Es stellt die alttestamentliche Exegese von den Anfangen innerbiblischer Schriftdeutung bis zur gegenwartigen Forschung umfassend dar. Dieser Band widmet sich der Zeitspanne zwischen Renaissance und Aufklarung (13001800).

Volume 1 includes the original Acta Authentica of the synod, here published for the first time. Following the Acta Authentica, the corresponding acts, as first published in the Acta Synodi Nationalis Dordrechti Habitae (Leiden, 1620), are reprinted; these published Acta were a significantly revised version, for stylistic and political purposes, of the original Acta Authentica. Also included are the Acta Contracta, a topical summary of the Acta Authentica, and the minutes of the meetings of the state delegates, who represented the Dutch government at the synod; neither of these has been previously published. This volume begins with a general introduction to the Synod of Dordt and its context, an introduction to the Acta Authentica, the published Acta and Acta Contracta, and an introduction to the role of the state delegates and the minutes of their meetings.

Dieser erste Teilband des dritten und letzten Bandes des HBOT-Projekts setzt die kritische Darstellung der ganzen Rezeptions-, Auslegungs- und Forschungsgeschichte der Hebraischen Bibel / des Alten Testaments fort und berucksichtigt die neuen Aspekte dieser Geschichte im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, und zwar auf judischer wie auf christlicher Seite, unter katholischen wie unter protestantischen Theologen und Forschern. Dabei macht sich vor allem eine neue Faszination des Phanomens einer vielfaltigen und bunten Geschichte bemerkbar; die Geschichte ruckt in den Brennpunkt, und mit dem immer breiter ausgreifenden und vielfaltigen historischen Kontext tritt ein entschieden starkeres Interesse an historischen Fragestellungen bei der Auslegung und Erforschung der Bibel in den Vordergrund. Diese Kursanderung kommt namentlich an den Tag, wenn das Alte Testament in seinen vorderorientalischen Kontext naher eingeordnet wird, wahrend die Bezuge zur Kirche und Synagoge mehr oder weniger geschwacht werden. Sobald eine historisch-kritische Annaherungsweise und Methode in der Bibelforschung allmahlich an Dominanz gewinnt, gerat das Verhaltnis zwischen der neuen wissenschaftlichen Exegese und der herkommlichen kirchlichen Auslegung des Alten Testaments mehrfach in eine Krise, und zudem werden Streitigkeiten zwischen Fronten hervorgerufen; doch enthalt diese weithin krisenhafte Lage noch Moglichkeiten fruchtbarer Neuorientierungen in der Bibelwissenschaft wie in Leben und Lehre der Kirchen. Dabei greift das auslaufende 19. Jahrhundert auf das 20. Jahrhundert aus.

Die direkten Zitate im Hebraerbrief gehen vermutlich auf eine Vorlage aus der Septuaginta zuruck, sind aber bislang kaum erforscht. Von einer traditionsgeschichtlichen und einer textkritischen Perspektive aus geht Gert J. Steyn dieser Sachlage auf den Grund. Er folgt damit der im Hebraerbrief angelegten Struktur, die zwei verschiedene Arten von Zitaten kennt, die paarweise aufgefuhrt werden: primar Liedtexte und Zitate aus der Torah, die sich mit Psalm- und Prophetenworten vermischen. Gert J. Steyn untersucht jedes Zitat auf dem Hintergrund der moglichen alternativen Vorlage(n). Im Verlauf der Studie wird deutlich, dass der Briefautor selbst eine ganze Reihe an Zitaten aus der fruhen judischen und der fruhen christlichen Tradition kombiniert hat.

The long and complex history of reception and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament through the ages, described in the HBOT Project, focuses in this concluding volume III, Part 2 on the multifarious research and the different methods used in the last century. Even this volume is written by Christian and Jewish scholars and takes its wider cultural and philosophical context into consideration. The perspective is worldwide and ecumenical. Its references to modern biblical scholarship, on which it is based, are extensive and updated.The indexes (names, topics, references to biblical sources and a broad body of literature beyond) are the key to the wealth of information provided.Contributors are J. Barton, H.L. Bosman, A.F. Campbell, SJ, D.M. Carr, D.J.A. Clines, W. Dietrich, St.E. Fassberg, D. Fllesdal, A.C. Hagedorn, K.M. Heim, J. Hgenhaven, B. Janowski, D.A. Knight, C. Korting, A. Laato, P. Machinist, M.A.OBrien, M. Oeming, D. Olson, E. Otto, M. Sb, J. Schaper, S. Sekine, J.L. Ska, SJ, M.A. Sweeney, and J. de Waard.

Harvard has often been referred to as "godless Harvard." This is far from the truth. Fact is that Harvard is and always has been concerned about religion. This volume addresses the reasons for this. The story of religion at Harvard in many ways is the story of religion in the United States. This edition will clarify this relationship. Furthermore, the question of religion is central not only to the religious history of Harvard but to its very corporate structure and institutional evolution. The volume is divided into three parts and deals withthe Formation of Harvard College in 1636 and Evolution of a Republic of Letters in Cambridge ("First Light", Chapters 15); Religion in the University, the Foundations of a Learned Ministry and the Development of the Divinity School (The "Augustan Age", Chapters 69); and the Contours of Religion and Commitment in an Age of Upheaval and Globalization ("Calm Rising Through Change and Through Storm", Chapters 1012).The story of the central role played by religion in the development of Harvard is a neglected factor in Harvards history only touched upon in a most cursory fashion by previous publications. For the first time George H. Williamstells that story as embedded in American culture and subject to intense and continuing academic study throughout the history of the University to this day.Replete with extensive footnotes, this edition will be a treasure to future historians, persons interested in religious history and in the development of theology, at first clearly Reformed and Protestant, later ecumenical and interfaith.

The aim of the volume is to engage in an interdisciplinary discussion about the establishment and debates on anthropological concepts and their changes in the age of Reformation: How do anthropological concepts touch theological questions such as the freedom of will or the human likeness to God? In which ways is there a reflection on emotions? How is scientific knowledge received by theologians? How is contemporary thought on the conditio humana presented in literature and poetry? The volume combines selected papers of relevant experts with the research work of young graduate or postgraduate scholars. It tries to encourage a transdisciplinary, international discussion focused on exemplary case studies as well as systematic points of view. Thanks to the outstanding commitment of all participants of the conference we are able to present the results of this discussion, a rich and comprehensive spectrum of research work, which will encourage further research.

The content of the book reconsiders the relation between visibility and transcendence. The focus is especially on the contribution to this issue from the theological tradition in protestant Europe between the 16th and the 21st Centuries. In the book a thematically broad field is covered embracing more than five centuries and a plurality of methods drawn from theology, philosophy, and the history and theory of art.The book is divided into five sub-themes: In the first and more fundamental part, The phenomenology of in-visibility, questions underlying the other four themes are sought defined or narrowed down. Here the modes of appearing/revealing or hiding of phenomena are reflected. In the second section of the book dealing with Language as a mode of revealing and hiding the specific role of verbal expressions understood in a very broad sense is at the core: What is the fundamental understanding and use of language, when speaking of the ineffable? The third section about Human existence between visibility and invisibility focuses on theological anthropology: its features and norms. The ambiguity of anthropological categories such as faith, rationality, imagination, memory and emotion play a prominent role in this context.Thefourth section concerning The manifestation of a beyond in the arts investigates transcendence in the arts. What are the theological discourses behind the religious uses of the different artistic media (i.e. images, music, liturgical inventory, architecture)? Finally in the fifth section concerning Visible community and invisible transcendence one finds contributions working with the idea of vicarious representation.

Stuart Miller examines the hermeneutical challenges posed by the material and literary evidence pertaining to ritual purity practices in Graeco-Roman Palestine and, especially, the Galilee. He contends that "stepped pools," which we now know were in use well beyond the Destruction of the Temple, and, as indicated by the large collection on the western acropolis of Sepphoris and elsewhere, into the Middle and Late Roman/Byzantine eras,must be understood in light of biblical and popular perspectives on ritual purity. The interpretation of the finds is too frequently forced to conform to rabbinic prescriptions, which oftentimes were the result of the sages unique and creative, nominalist approach to ritual purity. Special attention is given to the role ritual purity continued to play in the lives of ordinary Jews despite (or because of) the loss of the Temple. Miller argues against the prevailing tendency to type material findsand Jewish societyaccording to known groups (pre-70 C.E.: Pharisaic, Sadducaic, Essenic; post 70 C.E.: rabbinic, priestly, etc.). He further counters the perception that ritual purity practices were largely the interest of priests and argues against the recent suggestion that the kohanim resurfaced as an influential group in Late Antiquity. Building upon his earlier work on "sages and commoners," Miller claims that the rabbis emerged out of a context in which a biblically derived "complex common Judaism" thrived. Stepped pools, stone vessels, and other material finds are realia belonging to this "complex common Judaism." A careful reading of the rabbis indicates that they were acutely aware of the extent to which ritual purity rites pertaining to home and family life had "spread," which undoubtedly contributed to their intense interest in regulating them.

The ancient site of Colossae in south-west Turkey has been sorely neglected by archaeologists and biblical commentators. It has never been excavated. Modern scholarship in general has been content to repeat nineteenth century assessments, especially those of J.B. Lightfoot and W.M. Ramsay. This is the first modern contribution to gather the archaeological, historical, classical and biblical materials related to the site and its region, some of which is published in English for the first time. It marks a major step forward in scholarship on Colossae, and is designed to restore Colossae to time and space, to its material and comparative significance. Colossae emerges as a site of uninterrupted human activity in dynamic interaction with its neighbours from before the Achaemenid period to beyond the end of Byzantine control. Evidence of a chalcolithic origin of Colossae is presented along with an assessment of the relationship of the site to the modern city of Honaz. An array of international scholars have brought their specialisations in various periods and disciplines to yield a radically new assessment of the history and importance of the site. All future scholarship will be able to use this volume as the necessary foundation for research. The volume includes the first chronology of the ancient site and the first English translation of the key Byzantine text centred on the ancient city, as well as major new insights into the text of the Epistle to the Colossians.

Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen (19172002) was a Finnish Septuagint scholar and the father of the translation-technical method in studying the nature of translations. The present volume upholds his work with studies related to the syntax of the Septuagint. It is impossible to describe the syntax of the Septuagint without researching the translation technique employed by the translators of the different biblical books; the characteristics of both the Hebrew and Greek languages need to be taken into consideration.The topics in this volume include translation-technical methodology; case studies concerning the use of the definite article, preverbs, segmentation, the middle voice, and the translations of Hebrew stems in the Pentateuch; selected syntactical features in Isaiah and Jeremiah; the connection between the study of syntax and textual criticism, especially in Judges; and lexical distinction between near-synonymous words.The volume concludes with six articles by Soisalon-Soininen, originally written in German and translated into English. These studies pertain to the use of the genitive absolute, renderings of the Hebrew construct state and the personal pronoun, interchangeability of prepositions, segmentation, and Hebraisms. These articles have lasting value as analyses of significant translation-syntactic phenomena and, together with Soisalon-Soininens monographs, they crystallize his translation-technical method.The volume paves way to a description of the syntax of the Septuagint that does justice to its nature as a translation.

W.P. Stephens last work before his untimely death was a volume on the theology of Heinrich Bullinger. This work was virtually fully completed save the chapter on the Lords Supper and has been edited by Joe Mock and Jim West at the wishes of the author and presents the theology of Bullinger following the same pattern of presentation as Stpehens utilized in his work on the Theology of Huldrych Zwingli. Each major theological topic is treated and fully described.

At the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, an international conference on the spirituality of the Heidelberg Catechism was held at the Theological University Apeldoorn, 21-22 June 2013. This publication offers the plenary papers presented, and a selection of the short papers. While the papers center on the Catechisms spirituality, a wide range of topics is covered, from both historical and theological perspectives. These topics include: the roles of Ursinus and Olevianus, controverse theologians, anabaptist spirituality, comparisons with Calvins Genevan Catechism and the later Synopsis of Purer Theology. Also, the distinct spirituality of faith, regeneration, the trinity, the law and prayer in the Heidelberg Catechism are scrutinized, besides the idea of mystical union and the art of dying and living. Three contributions reflect on the controversy on the Eucharist which has stamped the Heidelberg Catechism. From a practical-theological perspective, the preaching and teaching of the Catechism are discussed, as well as the mode of gospel presentation and the permanent character of catechetical instruction. So, this volume offers a broad range of scholarly perspectives on the Catechism. Its spirituality is famous for the first question and answer, on the only comfort in life and death: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.""

Wim Decockcollects contributions by internationally renowned experts in law, history and religion on the impact of the Reformations on law, jurisprudence and moral theology. The overall impression conveyed by the essays is that on the level of substantive doctrine (the legal teachings) there seems to be more continuity between Protestant and Catholic, or, for that matter, between medieval and early modern jurisprudence and theology than usually expected. As it is illustrated with regards to topics ranging from just war doctrine over business ethics to marriage law, at the very least there appears to have been an on-going conversation between jurists and theologians across the confessional divide. This does not prevent some contributions from highlighting that on the institutional level, for instance in university politics, radical tensions between Reformers and Counter-Reformers played a paramount role. This book also offers approaches to the relationship between Church(es) and State(s) in the early modern period and to the practical as well as doctrinal use of natural law in both Protestant and Catholic lands.

While the so-called "New perspective in Paul" has been in the focus of New Testament exegesis for more than 25 years now, ancient interpretations of Pauline texts and ideas have been neglected widely. The present volume aims to fill this gap. Its articles concentrate on three different foci of modern exegesis: interpretations of Pauls conversion, his ideas about the relation of "grace" and "works" and the fate of Israel. Several additional articles contrast these ancient perspectives with answers of modern exegesis.

Auch uber die 500-Jahr-Feier des Jahres 2009 hinaus haben Calvin und die mit seinem Namen verbundenen Folgen der Reformation nichts von ihrer Faszination verloren. Aktuelle Fragestellungen und Forschungsprojekte drehen sich um Leben, Werk und Gedanken des fruhneuzeitlichen Theologen. Das Werk enthalt die Vortrage des zehnten Internationalen Kongresses fur Calvin-Forschung (Bloemfontein 2010) und reprasentiert den neuesten Stand der Calvinforschung. Der erste Teil besteht aus allen Vortragen fuhrender Wissenschaftler aus Reformationsgeschichte und Theologie, u.a. Luca Baschera, Tony Lane und Wim Janse. Sie befassen sich mit dem Schwerpunktthema des Kongresses, der Versohnung. Der thematisch vielfaltige zweite Teil enthalt Kurzvortrage, wie etwa uber Calvins Konzept der Theologie oder das calvinsche Verstandnis von Freiheit. Mimako Saito schreibt uber Calvins Vermachtnis in Japan. Ebenso wie die Veroffentlichungen fruher erschienener Vortrage des Calvin-Kongresses soll auch diese Ausgabe als Quelle und Leitlinie fur zukunftige Studien dienen. Die Auswahl des Titels, Calvinus clarissimus theologus, fuhrt die Tradition weiter, jeweils aus einem Briefwechsel an Calvin zu zitieren. Der Titel nimmt die Worte Johannes Sturms auf, der Calvin als scharfsinnigen und gelehrten Theologen lobt. Herman J. Selderhuis bringt in Anlehnung an diese Worte das ehrende Gedenken an den Calvin-Experten und langjahrigen Sekretar sowie Mitglied des Prasidiums Wilhelm Heinrich Neuser zum Ausdruck, der wenige Wochen vor Beginn des Kongresses starb.

The christocentric character of Herman Bavincks thought has long been acknowledged, but an analysis of Bavincks christocentrism has not been forthcoming. The Heart of Dogmatics redresses this situation, offering a comprehensive study of Bavincks concept of a christocentric theological system. Building on the more recent secondary literature, Pass draws attention to many unexplored avenues in Bavincks writings. In particular, Pass sheds light on the intimate connection between Bavincks christocentrism and his organicism. Delving deeply into Bavincks appropriation of Reformed Orthodoxy and German Idealism, Pass presents a compelling account of this thinkers attempt to establish Neo-Calvinism as a modern orthodoxy. By way of conclusion, pertinent ways in which Bavincks christocentrism may prove a useful resource for contemporary projects of theological retrieval are explored in a comparison of Bavinck and John Webster.

Among the most prominent hallmarks of the late Prof. Hanan Eshel (19582010) were his generosity, passion, and integrative approach. The eighteen essays in this volume were selected by Prof. Eshel shortly before his untimely death, to be printed as a collection aimed at contextualizing the textual finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls within their archaeological settings and within the contours of contemporary scholarship.The Qumran texts that stand at the center of these articles are correlated with archaeological and geographic information and with a variety of textual sources including epigraphic evidence and, especially, the Hebrew Bible, Josephus, and rabbinic texts. The essays are organized according to the provenance of the discovered material, with sections devoted to the Damascus Documentand the scrolls from Caves 1, 3, 4, and 11, as well as a final more general chapter.Half of the essays have been previously published in English, while the other half have been translated from Hebrew here for the first time. The book includes essays that have been co-authored with Esther Eshel, Shlomit Kendi-Harel, Zeev Safrai, and John Strugnell.

Timothy P. Mackie focuses on the quantitative differences between the Greek and Hebrew text witnesses of the book of Ezekiel and explores the interrelationships between the production, transmission, and interpretation of scriptural scrolls by Jewish scribes during the late Second Temple period. A comparison of the Hebrew Masoretic text and Greek Septuagint versions of Ezekiel provides a large body of evidence for the phenomenon of "scribal expansion," instances where scribes added words and phrases into the body of the text.Mackie starts off by laying out a methodology for identifying scribal additionsamong the many textual differences between the Hebrew and Greek text-forms of Ezekiel. Having compiled an index of such quantitative differences, he proposes a descriptive typology for categorizing and analyzing the different types of additions in order to understand their purpose and significance. The body of the book is a commentary on all the various types of scribal expansion.The scribal additions in Ezekiel show how scribes expressed reverence for the texts divine authority, by not only by preserving the sacred text, but supplementing it in order to increase its coherence and clarity for future readers. They also demonstrate an awareness of an emerging collection of scriptural scrolls in the post-exilic Judean community and represent attempts to coordinate Ezekiel with other parts of that collection.Ultimately, the scribal expansions in Ezekiel provide a glimpse into the intersection of scriptural interpretation, scribal production, and the transmission of these texts. Mackies Conclusions are relevant not only for text-critical scholarship on the Hebrew Bible, but also for research on the early history of Jewish scriptural exegesis and scribal culture.