Global ETD Search

1	Judaean political organisation (104-76 BCE) Ryan, Daniel Thomas January 2018 (has links) The thesis seeks to more accurately understand Judaean political organisation during the reign of King Alexander Jannaeus (104-76 BCE). I suggest that the balance of evidence does not support an understanding of Hasmonaean Judaea as a militaristic patrimony. That is, I dispute a view of Judaean social order as dominated by the centralised leadership of the Hasmonaean king and of Judaean political structures as overwhelmingly militaristic. To be sure, militarism and kingship are important to understanding the social arrangement of Judaea at the turn of the first century BCE. However, political research based on a literal reading of textual sources tends to overemphasise these factors. Instead, I here advocate using economic activity, of which bronze monetary exchange is reasonably well attested for Hasmonaean Judaea, to infer probable features of Judaean socio-political organisation. I note that the system of monetary exchange in Judaea is among the least complex of Hellenistic kingdoms at Jannaeus’s time. I propose that the most likely conclusion is that Jannaeus had a more limited political influence over societal organisation than is commonly ascribed. The relatively underdeveloped monetary system in Judaea indicates that monetary exchange likely existed in combination with local transactional frameworks, including local arbitration, payment in kind, and the manipulation of labour by regional strongmen than we might suggest for Pontus under Mithridates VI or Parthia under the early years of Mithridates II. In extrapolating to the wider issue of Judaean political organisation, this casts doubt on the ability of the Hasmonaean monarchy to forcefully Judaise, effect change in local power hierarchies, or play a defining role in Phoenician military struggles. Rather than a militaristic patrimony ordered by the diktats of a tyrannical Jannaeus, Judaean political organisation was more likely a cooperative network of local power brokers, regional administrative frameworks, and independent cultural and economic systems.
2	The Melkiṣedeq memoirs: the social memory of Melkiṣedeq through the Second Temple Period Staley, Cale Alexander 01 May 2015 (has links) The study of Melkisedeq has been highly fragmentary among modern scholars, proving to be difficult to discuss over the long Second Temple Period. This study will focus on the social memory of Melkisedeq to understand the evolution of the tradition surrounding his character among sectarian groups in the Second Temple Period. Through an analysis of the components from the Hebrew Bible that compromise the social memory of Melkisedeq a deeper understanding of how his memory is used by later groups can be made. The redaction and expansion of his character changes greatly over time. The study of social memory allows scholars to understand how different memories form within a collective group, thus exploring the societal and ideological elements of disparate groups that form the over-arching memory of Melkisedeq. In order to properly identify these memories, redactional, historical, and textual criticisms will be employed to analyze the texts of Melkisedeq, answering such questions as: Who is Melkisedeq? What is the relationship between Melkisedeq and the king of Sodom? What is a priest-king? Did Abram tithe to Melkisedeq? This study will address the Near Eastern context of Melkisedeq in Genesis 14, in order to examine which features of his social memory are accentuated or excluded in Second Temple literature. publicabstract Genesis 14 Melchizedek Second Temple Period Sedeq Social Memory Religion
3	Observation of celestial phenomena in the Gospel of Matthew Um, Hongsuk January 2016 (has links) A close reading of the gospel of Matthew highlights the striking reports of the observation of distinct celestial phenomena in the narrative (e.g. 2.1-12; 3.16-17; 17.5; 24.29-31). However, the motif of celestial phenomena in Matthew lacks a full or even comprehensive investigation. These have been addressed only in part both in journal articles and in individual chapters of various books. Looking at these celestial phenomena as interrelated parts of the evangelist’s wide theological perspective in the gospel, this study explores Matthew’s description of these occurrences in relation to the contemporary perspective on celestial phenomena and astrological application. It seeks to assess what meaning and significance the Matthean representation of celestial phenomena was designed to have in the process of the gospel narrative and for the readership. In so doing, this study discusses the conception of heaven and the attitude towards celestial phenomena in the Graeco-Roman world in the Second Temple period, the Sitz im Leben of the Matthean community, and the significance of the heaven motif in the gospel narrative, as preliminaries to the investigation of Matthew’s portrayal of celestial phenomena. This study will show that the motif of celestial phenomena in Matthew carefully crafted and thoughtfully arranged plays a significant role in authenticating the identity of Jesus. 226.2
4	Phinehas, the Sons of Zadok, and Melchizedek : an analysis of some understandings of priestly covenant in the late Second Temple period Chang, Dongshin January 2014 (has links) This thesis is an analysis of the use of combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in some late Second Temple period Jewish and Jewish-Christian texts. In this thesis I investigate 1 and 2 Maccabees, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Hebrews, to see the various ways in which these Second Temple compositions have articulated the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood on the basis of their treatment of various biblical and extra-biblical traditions. The elaborate articulations of the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in these texts partly reflect the concern of the Second Temple Jewish authors: how significant the priestly institutions and priesthood were, not only in terms of cultic matters, but also in terms of political and identity concerns. By means of this study, I hope to demonstrate that the combined concept of covenant and priesthood is necessary for a better understanding of some Second Temple texts. 231.7
5	Reward and Punishment in Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum Engler, Erich 10 1900 (has links) <p>I was not sure how to list my committee members on this form. Dr. Schuller is my advisor and Drs. Westerholm and Machiela are committee members. I do not have a "co-supervisor." Please correct this form if needed.</p> / <p>Almost every narrative in Pseudo-Philo’s <em>Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum </em>(<em>L.A.B.</em>), a late first or early second century C.E. rewriting of scriptural texts and traditions, deals in some way with issues of reward and punishment, a prominent theme in early Jewish literature. In 1917, M. R. James observed that two “truths” were “foremost” among the “great truths” in <em>L.A.B.</em>: (1) “the indestructibility of Israel” and (2) Israel’s “duty of faithfulness to the one God” (<em>Biblical Antiquities</em>, 34). Most studies of reward and punishment in <em>L.A.B.</em> emphasize one of these two “great truths” to the virtual (or complete) exclusion of the other. This has resulted in sharply contrasting conclusions concerning the concepts of reward and punishment within Pseudo-Philo’s ideology.</p> <p>A promising perspective from which to reconsider the concepts of reward and punishment in <em>L.A.B.</em> is the view of reward and punishment, which, according to E. P. Sanders’s theory of covenantal nomism, was pervasive within Judaism of the first centuries of the Common Era (<em>Paul and Palestinian Judaism</em>, 75, 421‒423, 426). Such an investigation will be the focus of this thesis. Scholars such as Heikki Räisänen (<em>Paul and the Law</em>, 180 n. 92), Frederick J. Murphy (<em>Pseudo-Philo: Rewriting the Bible</em>, 233 n. 18), and Sanders (<em>Judaism: Practice and Belief</em>, 263‒275) have contended that <em>L.A.B.</em> exemplifies covenantal nomism but this premise has never been examined thoroughly. In this study, through a side-by-side analysis of <em>L.A.B.</em> and scriptural texts and traditions, we will identify the changes that Pseudo-Philo made to the scriptural account and then extract Pseudo-Philo’s ideology through a careful analysis of these changes. The recognition that <em>L.A.B.</em> is a late Second Temple period rewriting of scriptural texts and traditions is central to this examination.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) covenantal nomism rewritten Bible Second Temple period Judaism covenant moral causality Jewish Scriptures Biblical Studies Biblical Studies
6	The role of the priests in Israelite identity formation in the exilic/post-exilic period with special reference to Leviticus 19:1-19a / Rol van die priesters in die Israelitiese identiteitsvorming tydens die ballingskaps-/ na-ballingskapstydperk met spesiale verwysing na Levitikus 19:1-19a Beer, Leilani 07 1900 (has links) Bibliography: leaves 289-298 / Source-criticism of the Pentateuch suggests that the priests (Source P) alone authored the Holiness Code – the premise being that Source P forms one religious, literate and elite group of several. Through the endeavor to redefine Israelite identity during the Neo-Babylonian Empire of 626–539 BCE and the Achaemenid Persian Empire of 550–330 BCE, various ideologies of Israelite identity were produced by various religious, literate and elite groups. Possibly, the Holiness Code functions as the compromise reached between two such groups, these being: the Shaphanites, and the Zadokites. Moreover, the Holiness Code functions as the basis for the agreed identity of Israel as seen by the Shaphanites and the Zadokites. Specifically, in Leviticus 19:1-19a – as being the Levitical decalogue of the Holiness Code, and which forms the emphasis of this thesis – both Shaphanite and Zadokite ideologies are expressed therein. The Shaphanite ideology is expressed through the Mosaic tradition: i.e., through the Law; and the Zadokite ideology is expressed through the Aaronide tradition: i.e., through the Cult. In the debate between the supremacy of the Law, or the Cult – i.e., Moses or Aaron – the ancient Near Eastern convention of the ‘rivalry between brothers’ is masterfully negotiated in Leviticus 19:1-19a. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Phil. (Old Testament) Biblical tradition Biblical history Priestly factions Levites Zadokites Aaronites Ezekiel tradition Source P Shaphanites Jeremiah tradition Pentateuch Prophets Deuteronomic history Law codes Covenant code Priestly code Deuteronomy code Holiness code Pentateuchal decalogues Decalogue Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-17 Diachronic Historical-critical method Literary-criticism Pentateuchal-criticism Documentary hypothesis Sources JEDP Textual analysis Synchronic Final-form Immanent reading Narrative-criticism Hebrew patterning Israelite identity-formation Babylonian exile of 586 BCE Neo-Babylonian Empire of 626–539 BCE Achaemenid Persian Empire 559–331 BCE Second-Temple period Persian Province of Yehud Judah Jerusalem Solomon’s Temple Land-promise Cult Aaron Law Moses Social justice Holiness Sinai tradition Mosaic Saga 296.495 Priests, Jewish -- Biblical teaching Priests, Jewish -- History Zadokites Levites

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