The story of Phinehas’ zealous slaying of an Israelite man and the Midianite woman with whom he dared consort in public (Numbers 25) is perhaps the most notorious of a number of famed pentateuchal narratives that are marked with vigilante violence. Significantly, these narratives feature members of the Israelite priesthood or their eponymous ancestors. When reading these texts together, we uncover a consistent literary undercurrent which associates the priesthood with acts of interpersonal violence –– a phenomenon which I refer to as the motif of priestly violence. This dissertation examines the origins and discursive functions of this motif, and, employing the violence of Phinehas as a test-case, explores its interpretive afterlife in biblical and Jewish literature. I argue that likely impelling the motif of priestly interpersonal violence is the cultural memory of the violence of the sacrificial cult –– be it the violence inherent in the slaughter of animals, or the possible Israelite prehistory of human sacrifice. Despite these seemingly negative associations, the discourse of priestly violence functions as a critical legitimating component of the priestly imagination in the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, numerous biblical texts insinuate that it is violence, not the right lineage, that generates priestly identity. Exploring the Nachleben of Phinehas’ famed violence, I demonstrate how ancient readers of the Hebrew Bible recognized and were sensitive to these facets of the motif. My findings reveal that the legitimating function of Phinehas’ priestly violence continues in the Jewish literary tradition. From the literature of the Second Temple period through the rabbinic canon and continuing through the medieval midrashim, Jewish authors employed Phinehas’ violence in the service of their own discourses of group (de)legitimation. Priestly groups with questions about their pedigree, such as the Hasmonaeans, appropriated the discourse of Phinehas’ violence as a bulwark against the contestation of their priestly identity. But we also find subversive uses of Phinehas’ violence, particularly in Palestinian rabbinic texts, which question the integrity of Phinehas’ priestly lineage as well as the propriety of his lethal zeal. This serves to delegitimize the priesthood and effectively quash any lingering priestly claims to ritual leadership. / Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

The subject of this dissertation is the conception of congruity in the narrative of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (Ps-J). A literary study of Ps-J reveals a two-part conundrum regarding congruity in the Targum. First, congruity seems to be disrupted with regard to the vertical dimension of the Targum, that is, between the Aramaic translation and its Hebrew Vorlage. This appearance of incongruity is considered below in the analysis of five cases of translation that seem to state in the Aramaic the exact opposite of what the corresponding passages state in the Hebrew. Second, congruity seems to be disrupted with regard to the horizontal dimension of the Targum, that is, within the literary boundaries of the Ps-J corpus itself. This appearance of incongruity is considered below in the analysis of twenty-two cases of contradiction that seem to emerge in the narrative as a result of the targumist’s interpretive translation and expansion of the text. On account of the apparent incongruities, two interrelated questions arise: As regards the vertical dimension, does Ps-J preserve continuity with its Hebrew Vorlage? As regards the horizontal dimension, does Ps-J itself render a coherent narrative? Addressing this query, the present dissertation offers a contribution to the study of Ps-J, and to the study of ancient Jewish literature in general, by analyzing a broad variety of passages that within the surface structure seem to disrupt narratival congruity, and, moreover, by demonstrating how these passages ultimately prove to be congruous once the targumist’s presuppositions about the narrative are taken into consideration. This dissertation hopes to show that the targumist approached the Hebrew text with a particular set of assumptions, as regards both his exegetical reading of each passage and his knowledge of interpretive tradition associated with the respective passage. These assumptions, while not always obvious, are, nevertheless, discernible in the targumic text; and it is these assumptions that carry the underlying congruity of the text that may otherwise seem fractured. Inasmuch as targumic additions are often terse, they are, in effect, often difficult to reconcile at first sight with the Hebrew Vorlage and with the broader context of the Ps-J narrative. Attention to the targumist’s assumptions, therefore, is necessary to discern the manner in which the apparently discrepant passages hang together. The presence of apparent contradictions in Ps-J also implies two characteristics about the targumist himself. First, while the targumist exegeted the Hebrew text and sought to bring clarity to ambiguity in the biblical narrative, he nevertheless had high tolerance of and exercised patience toward literary tension in the surface structure of the Aramaic text, but, to be sure, tension that is ultimately brought to resolution in the light of the targumist’s assumptions about the text. Second, the targumist maintained certain readerly expectations of his audience: he expected his audience to be able to follow his interpretive approach to the text in order to ascertain the sense of the translated and expanded text and to discern the overall coherence and logical consistency of the narrative. Reckoning with these aspects of Ps-J, this study shows how a coherent synchronic reading of a difficult narrative is possible and, indeed, necessary for a better understanding of the literary nature of an early Jewish text as well as for the understanding of the encounter a text such as Ps-J provided for its audience. / Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Approaching the poem from the perspective of reception history, the present dissertation seeks to show that the Bible’s role in The Faerie Queene is far more pervasive than has usually been recognized. Rather than see the biblical material as the domain of only certain sections—notably, Book I and perhaps Books II and V—I propose that it is to be seen as a meaningful presence throughout the poem. Indeed, I will argue that it provides a previously unnoticed, unifying structure to the whole. I begin by giving a brief sketch of the Bible in Spenser’s early life. From here, I draw upon the resources of modern biblical scholarship—specifically, Childs’ “canonical approach”—to describe the way Spenser read the Bible and, consequently, the ways in which he alluded to it. I go on to discuss the notions of “typology” and “allegory,” providing the foundation for a discussion of Spenser’s reading not only of the Bible, but of the ongoing narrative of history. Then follows an exploration of the ways Spenser seeks to relate the various legacies of the Classical and biblical past to his Christian, humanist present, which culminates in a description of the Christian canon’s structuring role within the poem. This leads to a reflection on this structure’s significance through consideration of the various instances of books and of reading that occur in Book I. I then take up this theme again in Book III, in the transformation of Malbecco and in the idolatrous Tabernacle-Temple of Busirane. Drawing upon the early modern discourse concerning images and idols, I conclude with a discussion of The Faerie Queene as a unified, poetic sign pointing to the Divine Presence—a function typified in the discarded ending of Book III.

This dissertation reads the Pastoral Epistles alongside imperial propaganda, monumental inscriptions, and philosophical writings of the Roman period to determine how claims to piety (Greek: εὐσέβεια, Latin: pietas) advanced socio-political aims and reinforced cultural values and ideological assumptions among its audiences. Coins celebrating the pietas of the imperial households of Trajan and Hadrian, the honorary inscription of Salutaris in Ephesus, and the writings of Philo and Plutarch evidence that appeals to piety functioned rhetorically to naturalize hierarchies of power and social orders, recognize the honorable status of citizens, signal expertise in knowledge about the divine, and delineate insiders from outsiders. Moreover, the prevalence of appeals to piety indicates the virtue’s broad cultural currency and prestige, which was traded upon for legitimating authority. This dissertation argues that the author of the Pastorals strategically deploys piety in his attempt to negotiate an imperial situation marked by prejudicial perceptions of Christians as a foreign and seditious superstitio, to reinforce (gendered) social values, to intervene in Christian debates over the status and authority of benefactors in the ekklēsia, to build confidence in and solidarity around the legitimacy of his vision of the ideal ekklēsia, and to denigrate the beliefs and practices of rival teachers.

This dissertation explores the function of ekklēsia rhetoric in the Book of Revelation, and demonstrates its role in addressing various issues within the seven ekklēsiai and their inscribed rhetorical situation, including: the participation of eidōlothyta, the blasphemy of the so-called synagogue of Satan, and the pursuit of wealth. Contemporary reconstructions of the rhetorical situation of Revelation cast the assemblies as consolidated Christian churches and view the aforementioned issues as indicative of tensions between heretics and orthodox Christians, between church and synagogue, and/or between church and Greco-Roman society. Yet, such interpretations often reinscribe normative frameworks, the so-called parting of the ways, and obfuscate the role of imperial power. In contrast, I reconstruct the inscribed assemblies Revelation as Jewish groups from the Diaspora in Asia Minor that used ekklēsia rhetoric as well as its topoi of civic reciprocity, civic participation, and the common good to negotiate the socio-economic and political situation of Asia Minor under Rome. In order to map the ways in which the assemblies could have interacted with imperial power, I use epigraphic materials from ancient voluntary associations. Drawing from postcolonial theory, I also read the rhetorical situation of Revelation as a colonial situation and the aforementioned issues as negotiations of power, ethnic identity, and wealth.

<p> Pioneers of Australia is a vibrant and dynamic mission organisation, entrusted with the privilege of sending mature disciples to share the good news of Jesus Christ among the nations. The purpose of this dissertation is to enable Pioneers of Australia applicants and appointees to proactively grow in the specific area of prayer, ensuring that prayer lies at the very core of their ongoing formation for global mission. </p><p> This research investigates two major sources of prayer. Firstly, prayer as seen in the life of Jesus and the early church in Acts &ndash; voices from Scripture. And secondly, prayer as found in the lives of Pioneers-Africa, another sending entity within Pioneers &ndash; voices from Africa. The findings are then applied to the context of Pioneers of Australia. </p><p> The research utilizes is a combination of literature survey of Scripture (voices from Scripture) and ethnographic methodology (voices from Africa). The latter includes the mutually enhancing methods of Narrative Interview and Participant Observation. After identifying the pofints of intersect between the material, I then establish Biblically-based principles of prayer for application to Pioneers of Australia. I have limited this to five initial principles, which are then creatively expanded through a booklet entitled <i>Shaped by Prayer,</i> found in Appendix E. All of this is to facilitate a greater understanding of and commitment to the role of prayer as a core aspect of the life and ministry of our cross-cultural global mission workers, leading to greater Kingdom impact.</p><p>

This study examines the titles that the author of Luke's gospel uses to describe Jesus' character in relation to scriptural citations and allusions/echoes. It also thoroughly explores Luke's use and understanding of the Greek expression, o ui&d12;s &d13;vtou ' anqrwpou (Son of Man), its relationship to Fulfillment passages and its earthly and cosmological connotations. This study briefly addresses the five most commonly used names of Jesus in Luke (Lord, Teacher, Messiah, Master and Son of Man) and examines their meanings in the Old Testament. Son of Man is the most important Christological title according to Luke because, in contrast to the other titles, it is associated most often with earthly and cosmological connotations. This combination is central to Luke's Christology. In using the Son of Man in this way Luke is following its meaning in both the Old Testament scripture and in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha.

This thesis is an historical analysis of Jesus's resurrection miracles in the synoptic tradition, namely, the stories of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:21--43 and par.) and the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7: 11--17), and the story of the exorcism of a possessed boy (Mark 9:14--29 and par.), which can be considered a raising-of-the-dead story only in the Gospel of Mark. The analysis done in this thesis differs from other analyses in that it takes seriously both the oral and written nature of the gospels and the traditions behind them. The analysis also differs in that it uses a different historical framework: it works from a position of a very high Christology, frequent communication between Christian centres, and a definite authority structure within the early Christian community from its beginning. These items all affect how one will view the control of the oral tradition, which in turn will affect how one will analyse the differences between the synoptic versions of the stories of Jairus's daughter and the possessed boy, and how one will judge the fact that the story of the widow of Nain's son is found only in Luke. In regards to the written nature of the gospels, it is argued that the primary structuring device used by the gospel authors is chiastic (concentric) in nature. To demonstrate this a new statistical method for judging chiasms has been developed. A large section of Mark (1: 12--6:46) is divided into both longer and shorter units, and then the parallels---both word and conceptual--- between each unit and all the other units are noted. This data is then not only used to judge the level of parallelism between units, but also to perform probability calculations on found chiastic structures. The demonstration of chiastic structures is useful in analysing possible redactional changes the gospel authors may have made to the Jesus tradition in order to create their chiasms. Also, because chiastic structures can impart meaning, elements that may have been added for theological reasons are also highlighted. The result of both the oral and chiastic analyses is a completely new methodology for judging the historicity of the Jesus tradition.

Chiastic structures are utilized throughout the entirety of the Bible but are prominently found in the book of Genesis. This paper aims to research the stories of four different patriarchal characters of the Bible to see how chiastic structures are used in these stories. By looking at the stories of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph in Genesis, I will demonstrate the effectiveness of chiastic structures covering the entirety of the stories, as well as how smaller chiasmi work within each. An appreciation of these chiastic structures deepens our appreciation of the formal structuring of Biblical narratives and the transformational character development arcs of the patriarchs and helps to give insight into the God of the Old Testament.

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