The aim of this paper is to introduce the reader to Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Derech Hashem and Luzzatto's thought process. It begins with an analysis of the introduction to the work and then examines three major themes: Fundamentals, Prophecy, and the importance of the Shema prayer. Where applicable, comparisons will be made to other Jewish thinkers. Themes will be explained within the Kabbalistic framework that influenced Luzzatto's work. By the end of the paper the reader should be able to grasp the key elements and reasons that inspired Luzzatto to write this book. / Le but de ce document est de présenter le lecteur processus de Moshe Chaim Luzzatto de Derech Hashem et de Luzzatto à pensée. Il commence par une analyse de l'introduction au travail et puis examine trois thèmes importants : Principes fondamentaux, prophétie, et l'importance de la prière de Shema. Là où applicables, des comparaisons seront faites à d'autres penseurs juifs. Des thèmes seront expliqués dans le cadre de Kabbalistic que le travail de Luzzatto influencé. Vers la fin du papier le lecteur devrait pouvoir saisir les éléments clé et les raisons qui a inspiré Luzzatto écrire ce livre.

The Mishnah depends on the Bible for its authority, vocabulary, and much of its contents. Nearly six hundred Bible citations are distributed in fifty-three of the Mishnah's tractates and are quoted from all but six biblical books. Most citations are from the Torah and are used for proof-texting. The Mishnah uses thousands of words derived from or related to the Bible (e.g., Shabbat, Peah, Kohen). Its content is unquestionably tied to that of the Bible (e.g., Seder Moed is based on the discussions of the various holy days in Exodus). Finally, the Mishnah contains multiple discussions of Biblical characters and events, of Bible reading, interpretation, and teaching. / The works of Georg Aicher, Samuel Rosenblatt, Peter Acker Pettit, and Jacob Neusner help examine the Bible-Mishnah relationship. The first three discuss the use of Bible citation in the Mishnah. Neusner uses form-analysis to examine its historical development and describes the Mishnah by viewing it as a whole. Our approach, an examination of the Mishnah's details, is more in line with those of Aicher, Rosenblatt, and Pettit. The dependence of the Mishnah on the Bible is demonstrated by examining the distribution and use of Bible citations, comparing the content of the Mishnah to that of the Bible, and analyzing various Mishnaic passages.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the interplay of exegesis and ideology in the variety of Jewish medieval interpretation to Exodus 33:12-23. This thesis examines the intersection of ideology at three stages of the exegetical process. In the first stage, the commentator singles out "difficulties" in the biblical text. In the second stage, the commentator proposes formal solutions to these textual problems which provide a conceptual framework in which to introduce exegetical content. Finally, there are the actual comments themselves which provide the reservoir of exegetical content from which to glean the ideological tendencies of a particular commentator. The term "interplay" indicates the dynamic aspect of the relationship between exegesis and ideology and refers to the manner in which a commentator's ideological views influence his exegetical considerations and vice-versa. Contrasting various schools of exegesis to the biblical unit will sharpen the distinctive ideological positions of each author.

No description available.

This thesis examines the literary figure of King David in the narrative of Samuel-Kings. John Van Seters, in his book The Biblical Saga of King David, has identified two major blocks of tradition in the Samuel-Kings version of the narrative of David. Van Seters contends that the earlier Deu teronomistic narrative (DtrH) portrays David as the ideal king of a unified Israel, and that this narrative was overlaid by a later Persian period narrative (the David Saga,) which was written as a reaction to the Deuteronomistic narrative, and which sought to undercut its monarchical ideology. The aim of this thesis is to exact the socio-historical circumstances under which both of these narratives were composed. I will argue that DtrH reflects the hopes of the exiled elite of the Babylonian golah for the reestablishment of the Davidic line, and that the David Saga reflects the dissolution of these hopes under Persian imperial control. / Cette thèse examine la figure littéraire du Roi David dans le récit de Samuel-Rois. John Van Seters, dans son livre « The Biblical Saga of King David », a identifié deux blocs principaux de tradition dans la version biblique de Samuel-Rois du récit de David. Van Seters affirme que le récit antérieur deutéronomiste (DtrH) dépeint David en tant que roi idéal de l'Israël unifiée, et que ce récit a été superposé par un récit postérieur de l'époque Perse (la saga de David,) qui a été écrit en réaction au récit deutéronomiste, et qui vise à nuire à son idéologie monarchique. Le but de cette thèse est d'établir les circonstances socio-historiques sous lesquelles ces deux récits on été composés. Je soutiendrai que DtrH reflète les espoirs d'élite exilée du Babylonien « golah » pour le rétablissement de la ligne de David, et que la saga de David reflète la dissolution de ces espoirs sous la commande impérial persane.

No description available.

This project argues that John 6:51c–58 makes christological rather than eucharistic claims. While scholars have often viewed the "Bread of Life Discourse" as a later addition of eucharistic theology to John's supposedly anti-sacramental gospel, I propose that the narrative of consumption in this pericope functions to make Jesus "equal to God." The moment when Jesus exhorts those around him to eat his flesh and drink his blood is when Jesus identifies himself with the God who put him on earth to die a sacrificial death. The series of statements in John 6:51c–58 brings about the identification of Jesus with God because of shared cultural expectations in the ancient Mediterranean world about the nature of heroic sacrifice: sacrifice, and the accompanying sacrificial meal, establish the identification of a hero with a deity when the hero and deity have an antagonistic relationship in narrative. John's Jesus emphasizes his submission to the will of God, who from the start of the gospel is described as having put Jesus on earth to die. Indeed, Jesus' death is alluded to throughout John. While the pattern of antagonism in narrative and association in cult has previously been demonstrated in Homeric literature and historical cult practice in the work of Gregory Nagy, I trace the development of this trope through the Greek romances, where antagonism, death, and meal collide in narrative. The romantic heroines are associated with divinities, are sacrificed, and are consumed. In other words, where antagonism and association as tropes occur in distinct realms in Homer's time, by the Common Era, association and antagonism both occur at the level of narrative, juxtaposing divinely beautiful heroines with their horrific human sacrifices. The novels are therefore a lens through which to view John 6:51c–58. In light of Chaereas and Callirhoe, An Ephesian Tale, Leucippe and Clitophon, and An Ethiopian Story, it becomes apparent that John, not through direct literary dependence but through participation in the literary milieu of the ancient Mediterranean, manipulates this trope of association and antagonism, and in doing so, establishes Jesus as God in John 6:51c–58, where sacrifice, consumption, and divinity likewise intersect. / Ce projet soutient que Jean 6:51c–58 contient les affirmations christologiques plutôt que eucharistiques. Bien que les chercheurs aient souvent vu le « Discours du Pain de Vie » comme un ajout tardif de la théologie eucharistique à l'évangile soi-disant anti-sacramentel de Jean, je propose que le récit de la consommation dans cette péricope fasse de Jésus «l'égal de Dieu». Alors que Jésus exhorte ceux qui l'entourent à consommer sa chair et boire son sang, il s'identifie au dieu qui l'a mis sur terre pour mourir en sacrifice. La série d'énoncés dans Jean 6:51c–58 entraîne l'identification de Jésus avec Dieu en raison des attentes culturelles communes du monde méditerranéen antique entourant le sacrifice héroïque. Dans le contexte d'une relation narrative antagoniste, le sacrifice et le repas sacrificiel servent à identifier un héros avec un dieu. Le Jésus de Jean met en relief sa soumission à la volonté de Dieu, qui, depuis le début de l'Evangile est décrit comme ayant mis Jésus sur la terre pour mourir. En fait, la mort de Jésus est évoquée tout au long de Jean. Bien que Gregory Nagy ait déjà démontré le modèle d'antagonisme dans la littérature homérique et dans les pratiques de culte de l'époque, je suis l'évolution de ce trope à travers les romans grecs, où l'antagonisme, la mort et les repas se rejoignent dans le récit. Les héroïnes romantiques sont associées aux divinités, sont sacrifiées, et sont consommées. Si l'antagonisme et l'association sont des tropes très distincts à l'époque d'Homer, rendu à l'Ère Commune, ils se trouvent au niveau de la narrative où des héroïnes d'une beauté divine sont juxtaposées avec l'horreur de leurs sacrifices humaines. Les romans sont donc une lentille à travers laquelle on peut voir Jean 6:51c–58. À la lumière de Chéréas et Callirhoé, les Éphésiaques, Leucippé et Clitophon, et les Éthiopiques, on constate que Jean, et non par la dépendance littéraire directe, mais plutôt en faisant dans le milieu littéraire de la Méditerranée antique, manipule ce trope d'association et d'antagonisme, et de cette manière établit Jésus comme Dieu dans Jean 6:51c–58, où le sacrifice, la consommation, et la divinité se croisent de même.

<p> Recent writers on the priesthood of all believers have challenged the doctrine&rsquo;s biblical warrant, historical pedigree, and value for contemporary ecclesiology. This dissertation responds to these challenges in three ways. It first identifies the priesthood of all believers as a canonical doctrine based upon the royal priesthood of Christ and closely related to the believer&rsquo;s eschatological temple-service and offering of spiritual sacrifices (Chs. 1&ndash;3). It secondly describes its catholic development by examining three paradigmatic shifts, shifts especially associated with Christendom (Chs. 4&ndash;6) and a suppression of the doctrine&rsquo;s missional component. Finally, the dissertation argues that a Christian doctrine of the priesthood of all believers should be developed with a Christocentric-Trinitarian understanding of the <i> missio Dei</i>. This suggests there are especially appropriate ways for the royal priesthood to relate to the Father (<i>latreia</i>), to the Son (<i>diakonia</i>), and to the Holy Spirit (<i>martyria </i>). A canonically and catholically informed priesthood of all believers leads contextually to particular ecclesial practices. These seven practices are 1) Baptism as public ordination to the royal priesthood; 2) Prayer; 3) <i> Lectio Divina</i>; 4) Ministry; 5) Church Discipline; 6) Proclamation; and 7) the Lord&rsquo;s Supper as the renewal of the royal priesthood.</p>

This study examines the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts through a new perspective: 'dynamic biblical narrative criticism'. Chapter I briefly surveys the past and present issues in the study of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts by focusing on three representative scholars: J. D. G. Dunn; R-P. Menzies; M. M. B. - Turner, while noting that their research (including that of other influential scholars) was almost always undertaken by 'historical critical methods', especially 'redaction criticism’. Then I set out my methodology and procedure for the present work. Chapter 2 provides the literary repertoire of the Lukan Holy Spirit by examining the use of ruach or pneuma in the Jewish Bible and concludes that the divine Spirit in the extra text is always characterized as God's own Spirit, revealing his will/purpose by representing his power, activity and presence through his human agents. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 explore the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts as dynamic biblical narrative. Chapter 3 discusses the relationship between the narrator’s point of view and the Spirit and notes especially that this point of View focuses not only on God and Jesus, but also on the Holy Spirit. References to the Holy Spirit are used to suggest narrative reliability: both the Lukan narrator and reliable characters are positively associated with the 'divine frame of reference', particularly with the Holy Spirit. Chapters 4 and 5 elucidate the Holy Spirit as a literary character through narrative theories of 'character' and 'characterization'. So Chapter 4 analyses the Spirit ill terms of 'character-presentation' and concludes that the Holy Spirit is characterized as God's promised Holy Spirit giving God's power and insight for his ongoing plan to God's human agents and his people in general as anticipated in the literary repertoire. At the same time, however, the Spirit is also characterized in close relation to (the risen) Jesus the Messiah and Lord, and after Jesus’ ascension the Spirit is almost always presented in contexts in which Jesus' witnesses are said to bear witness to the risen Jesus, not only to Jews, but also to Gentiles. Chapter 5 further explores the characterization of the Holy Spirit ill terms of the narrative function of the Spirit in relation to the causal aspect of the plot. It is argued that the major narrative function of the Holy Spirit is to empower and guide individual characters as God's human agents and Jesus' witnesses to seek and save God's people in accordance with the plan of God, while the Spirit also functions as verifying group characters as incorporated into God's people and is employed in relation to the life- situations of believers in settled communities by granting them charismatic gifts or comforting and encouraging them or initiating forms of patriarchal leadership. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of the earlier chapters and briefly draws out implications of the results. of this study: (1) the theological significance of the Lukan presentation of the Holy Spirit and (2) the relationship of the Holy Spirit to (a) the narrator or implied author, (b) the text and (c) the implied reader of Luke-Acts, with final remarks about the legitimacy of Lukan ideology, the power of modem readers and my reading.

The universalistic promise expressed by a formula with the theme "Blessing for the Nations" in the Old Testament is primarily found in the patriarchal narratives (Gen. l2-35). This aspect of the patriarchal narratives however has not been adequately studied. Previous discussions of the theme, based primarily on 12:1-3, and conducted within the framework of the Yahwist's work, are shown to be inadequate in our survey in shedding light on the positioning and significance of the theme in the overall patriarchal narratives. The survey indicates a literary analysis of these narratives could probably yield more positive results. 2. A. formulaic analysis shows that the niphal form is used at the beginning of a patriarchs career to express a probationary, and the hithpael form to express a reaffirmatory, relationship of the patriarch to the promised universal destiny. Strikingly, the 'seed' plays a prominent role in the destiny. The formula also serves to link the patriarchs' calling to the primeval history and the history of the early formative period of the Israelite people. 3. The Abraham story (Gen.12-.22) is encased by the theme. A double-chiastic arrangement of the narratives (in two groups) shows a movement of horizon from the particularistic to the universalistic. The universal horizon of Abraham's initial call (12:1-3), displaced in the first half of the structure, is reaffirmed in the latter half. Gen. l6 stands out as the nadir and turning-point of the overall story. The notices of Isaac's birth are instructively "positioned' in the universalistic sector of the double-chiasmus. Moreover, the formula is pronounced in narratives which portray Abraham as reversing the negative results of the key events in the primeval history. 4. The Isaac narrative (Gen. 26) is shown to be "demonstration-material" of the initial actualisation of the theme. The narrative is coherently structured around an emphatic divine command, a unique twin-promise, and Isaac's response in a series of movements, climaxing in Abimelech's sudden visit to and significant confession of Isaac's status. Gen.26 is also shown to be a "quintessence" of the Abraham story and forms a critique of and model for Jacob's understanding and actualisation of his destiny. 5. The theme is shown to underline the Jacob story (Gen.25-35), especially in the Jacob-.Esau cycles. Jacob's character transformation and reconciliation with Esau are necessary pre-requisites before the reaffirmation' of the universal destiny to him at Bethel. Significantly, the creation mandate is re-issued to Jacob-Israel the seed of Abraham and Isaac, when a. formula pronouncement is expected. Finally, Jacob-Israel is shown to form a parallel with Abraham whose call also expresses Yahwehs re-affirmation of his creational intentions for mankind.