This thesis focuses on two separate, but related areas: the analysis of translation technique and the Greek texts of Daniel. Foremost in the research of Translation Technique (TT) in the Septuagint is the need for a model that is appropriate for the analysis of different ancient languages. In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the features of literalism in a translation, but it is argued in this thesis that the focus on literalism is inadequate as a methodology for the analysis of TT. The contention of this thesis is that the analysis of TT should incorporate insights from modem linguistic research. Therefore, the main purpose of this thesis is to develop and apply such a model to the Old Greek (CG) and Theodotion (Th) versions of Daniel. The existence of two complete Greek versions of the book of Daniel that are closely related to the same Vorlage (at least in chapters 1-3 and 7-12), furnish ideal examples for the application of the methodology. Unfortunately, it is no straightforward matter to employ the OG of Daniel, because the available critical edition can no longer be regarded as reliable. The most important witness to the OG version of Daniel is Papyrus 967, and large portions of this manuscript have been published since the appearance of the critical edition of the OG of Daniel in 1954. Therefore, in order to analyze and compare the two Greek texts of Daniel, it is necessary to evaluate all of the variants of Papyrus 967 in order to establish a preliminary critical text of OG. Once a critical text is established the proposed methodology for translation technique is applied to selected passages in the OG and Th versions of Daniel. An analysis and comparison of TT in OG and Th makes it possible to: 1) characterize the TT employed by OG and Th in detail; 2) determine Th's relationship to OG, i.e. is it a revision or independent translation; 3) demonstrate how the Greek texts can be employed effectively for textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. On the basis of the analysis of Th's text it is also possible to determine Th's relationship to the body of works, which exhibit a close formal correspondence to the Masoretic text, known as Kaige-Theodotion.

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The portrayal of the divine character in a literary context shows the God in the narrative as he is perceived by the narrator. The chapters which follow focus on the pericopes within the narrative which are concerned with the portrayal of God as a character in the story. The present study reveals a unique image of the God of Israel as portrayed in the narrative. I have devoted chapters 1,2, and 6 to the three pericopes, labelled within the text as "visions of God" (chs. 1: 4-3: 15; 8: 1- 11: 24; 40-48) because they create the ground work for the divine character's activity revealing the narrator's portrayal of the God in the narrative. These three "visions" are strategically arranged at the opening, middle and closing of the narrative. The first "vision" shows God's encounter with Ezekiel while he is in exile. The second "vision" shows the reason for God's activity in the opening "vision" and the basis for all the activity within the narrative. The third "vision" shows that God's actions have not been in vain but will culminate in a reordering of God's place within the cultus. Ezekiel 37 contributes to the narrator's portrayal of the divine character and for this reason I have included it within my analysis in chapter 5. Likewise, in chapter 3, I have included the "divine oracle" of Ezekiel 16 which reveals the depth of the bond of the covenant and its effect on the God of the narrative. Furthermore, in chapter 4,1 have focused on the "divine oracles" in Ezekiel 20 and 36 because of the narrator's emphasis on the profanation and vindication of the name of God. That the narrator has carefully crafted his portrayal of the divine character is evident, and attested to in the construction of the pericopes. My reading and analysis of the text are a critical attempt to show, at least in portions of the text, that the narrator's portrayal of the divine character is an anomaly.

This dissertation is an investigation into how the Hebrew Bible is used in (Rabbinic) Jewish and Christian liturgical settings, and how this impacts biblical scholars. I argue against the neglect of liturgy and ritual in reception studies and make the case that liturgy is one of the major influential forms of biblical reception. I do this by taking Isa. 6:3 as my example. My liturgical material is the qedushah liturgies in Ashkenazi Judaism and the Sanctus in three church traditions; (pre-1969) Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism (the Church of England) and Lutheranism (Martin Luther, and the Church of Sweden). As my focus is lived liturgy I investigate not just worship manuals and prayerbooks but also architecture, music and choreography. With an eye to modern-day uses, I trace the historical developments of liturgical traditions. To do this, I have used methodological frameworks from performance and theatre studies, as well as Clifford Geertz’s concept of “thick description”, from the realm of anthropology. I then analyse the impact this can have on biblical researchers, who often come from religious backgrounds. First I raise the issue of the identity of the seraphim in Isaiah 6, and their transformation in both the qedushot and the Sanctus into angels. I show how some of the tendencies in Jewish and Christian liturgy, and Christian iconography, recur in scholarship, for example the association with cherubim. The idea of an ongoing angelic liturgy, stressed especially in Jewish worship, also finds its way into scholarship. A second theme is the presumed liturgical nature of Isa. 6:3 itself. This common idea may, however, owe more to Jewish and Christian liturgical uses of it than to the text itself. In this context I discuss Christian liturgical uses which stress Trinitarian and Christological understandings of the text. I also bring up a nineteenth-century Swedish liturgical use which deviates from the Sanctus tradition. I use this to probe some of the modern ideas of holiness, and how Protestant liturgy has played a part in shaping the sentiments among scholars. Lastly I discuss the theme of Divine presence. Both the qedushot and the Sanctus are concerned with the presence of God. Jewish liturgy has shown a strong tendency to complicate the notion while in Christian liturgy it is instead concretised, either affirmatively or negatively. Some of these issues translate into scholarly debates, where scholarship often bears clear marks of especially Reformed theology. One shared tendency in both Jewish and Christian worship is to “spiritualise” Isaiah 6, and transpose it to a heavenly court. I argue that these ideas still make themselves felt in research on Isaiah 6.

The theme of holiness is prominent in the book of Ezekiel. This fact should not be surprising, given that Ezekiel is said to be a priest. However, a number of passages in the book express ideas about holiness chat relate specifically to Ezekiel's exilic setting. The present thesis examines how the concept of holiness is used in these oracles to provide an explanation ~of Israel's disaster and to prophesy the nation's restoration. Chapter 1 discusses the methodology of the thesis with reference to previous scholarly study of che book of Ezekiel. As in other areas of OT study, recent research has seen a polarization into diachronic and synchronic approaches. The present work generally adopts a synchronic approach, and particular emphasis is placed on rhetorical criticism as a means of discerning coherent blocks of text. This has the added benefit of highlighting those literary features that are particularly important for the interpretation of the passages being studied. The next four chapters present the main argument of the thesis. Chapter 2 examines Ezek. 20:5-26 for its literary structure and thence deduces the main themes of the passage. The point is that Yahweh's election of the people involves a promise of land, but that this promise could not yet be fulfilled because of the people's being defiled. However, Yahweh refrains from destroying his people completely in order to preserve the holiness of his own name. Chapter 3 turns to the theme of the "mythic mountain", whereby mountain imagery is employed to signify the land. Three concepts underlie Ezekiel's use of this metaphor: this mythic mountain represents the land of Israel; this land is seen as Yahweh's sanctuary; and the land is the place of Israel's inheritance. The mountain thus symbolizes the hope of the ideal future in which Yahweh, the people and the land are brought together. Chapter 4 examines the allegorical portrayal of the city of Jerusalem as a prostitute in Ezek. 16 and 23 . These chapters 'are similar in many ways, but differ in one important respect: while Ezek. 23 focuses on the sins of the people of the city, Ezek. 16 adopts the perspective of Jerusalem as placeYahweh's sanctuary. The sins of prostitution and adultery in these chapters represent idolatry and the illicit political alliances which Jerusalem forges with the peoples of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. These chapters thus show how such "prostitution" opposes Yahweh's plans for holiness just as literal prostitution jeopardizes a marriage. At the same time, the dual focus on people and land as being married to Yahweh demonsrrates again the ti:iparrire nature of the relationship in the prophet's thinking. The contrasting themes of scattering and gathering, which are presented in a number of passages in Ezekiel, are then discussed in Chapter 5. These themes occur in a set pattern which demonstrates a significant degree of authorial (or redactional) skill. Thus it is reasonable co regard the ideas found in these several passages as a single point of view. It emerges that scattering and gathering depict the exile and restoration as affecting all parties in the tripartite relationship. Moreover, these themes constitute two parts of Yahweh's plan to achieve the state of holiness. The final result of these developments represents not only a return of the people to the land, but also a fulfilment of the original intention behind Yahweh's election of the people: the sanctification of the people, the land and Yahweh's name. Chapter 6 draws some conclusions from the preceding discussion. To Ezekiel, holiness is used in a broad sense. All forms of sin lead to the loss of the people's holiness, just as holiness brings about blessing on every aspect of life. Holiness is not merely seen as a cultic concern, but is an outworking of the motives and desires of the people. It is Yahweh's pursuit of holiness which causes the people to be "scattered" into exile. In the same way, however, the holiness of Yahweh's name provides the assurance of a transformation of the people and their future 'gathering" to their land. The theme of holiness is prominent in the book of Ezekiel. This fact should not be surprising, given that Ezekiel is said to be a priest. However, a number of passages in the book express ideas about holiness chat relate specifically to Ezekiel's exilic setting. The present thesis examines how the concept of holiness is used in these oracles to provide an explanation J of Israel's disaster and to prophesy the nation's restoranon. Chapter 1 discusses the methodology of the thesis with reference to previous scholarly study of the book of Ezekiel. As in other areas of OT study, recent research has seen a polarization into diachronic and synchronic approaches. The present work generally adopts a synchronic approach, and particular emphasis is placed on rhetorical criticism as a means of discerning coherent blocks of text. This has the added benefit of highlighting those literary features that are particularly important for the interpretation of the passages being studied. The next four chapters present the main argument of the thesis. Chapter 2 examines Ezek. 20 :5-26 for its literary structure and thence deduces the main themes of the passage. The point is that Yahweh's election of the people involves a promise of land, but that this promise could not yet be fulfilled because of the people's being defiled. However, Yahweh refrains from destroying his people completely in order to preserve the holiness of his own name. Chapter 3 turns to the theme of the "mythic mountain", whereby mountain imagery is employed to signify the land. Three concepts underlie Ezekiel 's use of this metaphor: this mythic mountain represents the land of Israel; this land is seen as Yahweh's sanctuary; and the land is the place of Israel's inheritance. The mountain thus symbolizes the hope of the ideal future in which Yahweh, the people and the land are brought together. Chapter 4 examit:!.es the allegorical portrayal of the city of Jerusalem as a prostitute in Ezek. 16 and 23 . These chapters are similar in many ways, but differ in one important respect: while Ezek. 23 focuses on the sins of the people of the city, Ezek. 16 adopts the perspective of J erusalern as placeYahweh's sanctuary. The sins of prostitution and adultery in these chapters represent idolatry and the illicit politic::tl alliances which Jerusalem forges with the peoples of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. These chapters thus show how such "prostitution" opposes Yahweh's plans for holiness just as literal prostitution jeopardizes a marriage. At the same time, the dual focus on people and land as being married to Y dhweh demonstrates ag::iin the tripartite nature of the relationship in the prophet's thinking. The contrasting themes of scattering and gathering, which are presented in a number of passages in Ezeki el, are then discussed in Chapter 5. These themes occur in a set pattern which demonstrates a significant degree of authorial (or redactional) skill. Thus it is reasonable to regard the ideas found in these several passages as a single point of view. It emerges that scattering and gathering depict the exile and restoration as affecting all parties in the tripartite relationship. Moreover, these themes constitute two parts of Yahweh's plan to achieve the state of holiness. The final result of these developments represents not only a return of the people to the land, but also a fulfilment of the original intention behind Yahweh's election of the people: the sanctification of the people, the land and Yahweh's name. Chapter 6 draws some conclusions from the preceding discussion. To Ezekiel, holiness is used in a broad sense. All forms of sin lead to the loss of the people 's holiness, just as holiness brings about blessing on every aspect of life. Holiness is not merely seen as a culcic concern, but is an outworking of the motives and desires of the people. It is Yahweh's pursuit of holiness which causes the people to be "scattered" into exile. In the same way, however, the holiness of Yahweh's name provides the assurance of a transformation of the people and their future ''gathering" to their land.

No description available.

A SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICAL HERMENEUTICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Jason Alan Motte, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Chair: Dr. T. J. Betts There is great diversity among evangelicals about how to understand messiah in the Old Testament. Many of the differences are largely related to hermeneutical choices. This study examines evangelical hermeneutical approaches to this issue from the time of Sigmund Mowinckel (1956) to the present. It identifies various positions represented by evangelicals, and lists major, relative works within each category. Then it analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Based on such analysis, in the final chapter, a brief hermeneutical model for understanding messiah in the Old Testament is presented. This study concludes that the best hermeneutical model for understanding messiah in the Old Testament is one that is grounded in historical grammatical exegesis of Old Testament passages, and that allows for the inspired, progressive development of the concept of messiah from the Old Testament to its ultimate fulfillment in the New Testament.

Studies of the language of father in the Old Testament have sought to show either the centrality of this locus or its peripheral status. Both tend to work on the basis of a Religionsgeschichte approach, striving to situate texts that use father language in a wider Ancient Near Eastern setting. While there is doubtless a relationship between Israel's use of such language and that of antiquity, appeal to the latter serves largely to bring divergent views into bold relief. Language of father is relatively rare in the Old Testament. We indicate where it does appear, and why. The diachronic method is insufficient and word studies are inadequate for the questions, providing only a metaphorical universe of Near Eastern gods and God, which generate such divergent views. Presented here is an accounting of the canon's locus of "God as Father," sensitive to history-of-religion, yet allowing canonical presentation to have its own integrity within the theological universe of the Old Testament. In order to place matters in context, the first section examines the history-of-religion approach and its logical outgrowth in modern feminism. This section also surveys recent Trinitarian defences of father-language for God, viewed essentially as constructive reaction to feminism, but manifesting in itself failure to accord with Old Testament language and to account for Christological issues. The second section examines Hebrew texts that use father-language. The argument follows closely Scripture's order and character. If a history-of-religions approach focuses on evolutionary and non-canonical treatments, what is the alternative? Only when the issue is handled essentially from within can the relative scarcity of the locus, "God as Father," be acknowledged and light be shed on the reasons for the appearance of such language at all and just what it means. The final section offers a prudential statement of how father-language functions in the Old Testament and is meant to function in theological speech. Divine paternity is seen in terms of Israel's election by and covenant relationship with her God rather than primarily in general creation. Due to the existence and centrality of the Hebrew nomen sacrum direct reference to God in father-language was likely held in symbiotic reserve, until in post- exilic time in father became increasingly a metonym for God. It is in this context that Jesus' understanding and use of father-language is explicable.

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When biblical studies adopted the language of intertextuality, it began using it in conjunction with other vocabulary--inner-biblical exegesis and interpretation, echoes, allusion--all of which it uses to signify when a biblical text refers to another text that appears elsewhere in Bible. This study examines the way such academic language is shaped by and shapes the assumptions of biblical scholarship. It examines the nature of linguistic signs and applies the insights of this examination to evaluating the language of reference in the study of the Hebrew Bible. The study concludes that the language and theory of literary allusion is best suited for enriching academic discourse on the relationship of referential texts in the Hebrew Bible. It discusses methodological criteria for detecting allusion informed by a theoretically developed understanding of literary allusion.