The Message of book of Haggai Abstract of Diploma thesis This Diploma thesis deals with message of book of Haggai, uses two original Sources: hebrew text (Tanak) and Greek text (Septuagint). Each of the original text is translated into czech in the context of exegesis research. Both exegeses are constructed verse by verse. This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter one focuses on the message of book of Haggai in Tanach, chapter two in Septuagint. Chapter three compares results of both exegeses. The last chapter of this thesis tracks the history of interpretations, i. e. results of selected interpreters: Jan Calvin and others from 19th, 20th and 21st century in the Europe and the USA. Commentaries of book of Haggai do not reflect everything, Author of this thesis reacts on it in last chapter (on the basis of both exegeses). This is the benefit of this thesis. God's message to his people is the most important message of book of Haggai. Most theologians of the Old Testament claim, that God's intention was new Temple in Jerusalem (i.e. Second Temple). The results of this Diploma thesis coincide with the results of Czech theologian Jiří Beneš (2006): God's word about the Temple is the metaphor, the Temple is God's people. God's intention is repented of the heart. The message of book of Haggai coincide...

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.

The Book of Ben Sira, written at some point between 198 and 175 BCE, is a Second Temple Jewish wisdom text which regularly echoes or quotes the Hebrew Bible. A recent area of study in biblical scholarship has been that of scribal culture, written sources and physical remains left behind by societies with manuscripts and a scribal profession. While scholarship on Ben Sira has centred on his use of texts and on his sociocultural background, these issues might be better understood by examining Ben Sira through the lens of scribal culture as understood in biblical scholarship. This thesis proposes first to study the primary data of Ben Sira closely in order to discern characteristics of Ben Sira's individual scribalism or personal compositional style. This can then be compared to other evidence of ancient scribal culture. The central argument of the thesis is that the lens of scribal culture tells us more about the complexity of this ancient composition. Chapter One introduces the thesis and covers scholarship on Ben Sira and on scribal culture. Chapter Two examines the portrayals of Noah (Sir 44:17-18) and Phineas (Sir 45:23-26), exploring how Ben Sira uses one major biblical source in each. Looking at the portrayals of Hezekiah-Isaiah (Sir 48:17-25) and Josiah (Sir 49:1-3), Chapter Three highlights the harmonization of multiple sources. Chapter Four examines Ben Sira's lines on weather (Sir 43:11-19) in order to evaluate the relationship between quotation and literary model. Chapter Five approaches the sociocultural and textual spheres on the subjects of death and the body (Sir 41:1-15). Chapter Six investigates Ben Sira's perspectives on physicians (Sir 38:1-15) in the light of ancient medicine. Each of the selected passages shed a slightly different light on the scribalism of Ben Sira.

Previous researchers of Jewish history in the Roman Empire have imperfectly employed Greco-Roman sources to describe Roman perceptions of Jews and Judaism by relying on a handful of Greek and Latin written and visual components without attempting to quantify or comprehensively explore this abundant material. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this dissertation analyzes the vast array of Greco-Roman written and visual sources about Jews and Judaism from the first century BCE to the end of the third century CE. While qualitative reviews of Greek and Latin texts help eliminate potential inconsistencies in the data, computational tools like text-mining analysis quantify the information into calculable results. The addition of visual source material into the framework helps further refine the quantified textual material. Reviews of this data reveal the general traits imperial leaders within the Roman Empire knew about the geography and history of Judaea, Jewish religious beliefs and cultural practices, and Jewish communities in general. Further reviews of the data note regional and, more importantly, temporal variations connecting them to changes both in imperial rule and Judaism. This process presents a more detailed and coherent conception of Roman knowledge of Jews and Judaism than scholars have previously recognized. In addition to highlighting imperial knowledge, this dissertation also demonstrates how Roman authorities drew on this information while ruling over Jewish communities. From this analysis, it is clear Roman imperial authorities formed a complex knowledge of ethnic and religious communities like Jews and applied this information to their rule over these populations.

My dissertation analyzes the portrayal of women in Jewish novels of the Greco-Roman period (300 BCE-100CE): Greek Esther, Judith, Susanna, and Aseneth. During the Greco-Roman period, the female heroine frequently became the focus in Jewish novels. This innovation coincides with a concern over maintaining Jewishness. Several areas surrounding the maintenance of social identity appear in the Jewish novels, including dietary restrictions and the preservation of the family. Although a great deal of literature exists regarding the above texts, there are currently no systematic examinations of the portrayal of women’s Jewishness in regards to the Jewish novels. My dissertation examines the portrayal of women in the Jewish novels through a literary critical approach and questions how their representation can inform scholarship on how authors depicted Jewishness during this period. This dissertation treats the Jewish novels collectively and contributes to the scholarly discussion with a systematic examination of depictions of Jewish women in these texts. Following a brief introduction in Chapter 1, where I provide an overview and assessment of earlier treatments on the Jewish novels and the topics of women and Jewishness, Chapters 2 through 5 examine the portrayal of women in the Jewish novels. These chapters are organized around four distinct aspects of Jewishness which center on the representation of the female protagonists and their relationships in the narratives: 1) the representation of women’s sexuality, 2) the preservation of foodways, 3) kinship ties, and 4) the role of the protagonist in their Jewish community. In Chapter 6, I use a comparative approach to examine the depiction of women’s Jewishness in the novels, which demonstrates women’s active roles in maintaining and defining Jewishness. Chapter 7 concludes the dissertation with a summary and recommendations for future work. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation analyzes the portrayal of women in Jewish novels of the Greco-Roman period (300 BCE-100CE): Greek Esther, Judith, Susanna, and Aseneth. I question how women’s representation in the Jewish novels can inform scholarship on how authors depicted Jewishness during this period. The analysis of women is organized around four categories of Jewishness centered on the representation of the female protagonists and their relationships in the narratives: 1) the representation of women’s sexuality, 2) the preservation of foodways, 3) kinship ties, and 4) the role of the protagonist in their broader Jewish community. This dissertation contributes to the scholarly discussion by providing a systematic examination of depictions of Jewish women found in these texts and demonstrates that the authors of the Jewish novels depict women playing active roles in maintaining and defining Jewishness.

Les textes qumraniens nous fournissent des témoins de première main pour l’étude du développement du messianisme dans le judaïsme durant la période du Second Temple. L’une des découvertes les plus frappantes dans la bibliothèque de Qumrân est la pluralité des attentes messianiques et l’existence de locutions diverses avec un sens messianique. À l’aide d’une analyse littéraire, ainsi que d’une approche socio-critique, surtout à partir d’une distinction typologique entre un messianisme restaurateur ou utopique, nous nous proposons d’examiner les rapports des textes sectaires messianiques de Qumrân 1) aux données bibliques et extra-bibliques contemporaines, 2) aux façons de conceptualiser les différentes figures messianiques et 3) au contexte socio-politique de l’époque. La recherche présente quatre principaux paradigmes à travers desquels les diverses idées messianiques ont été formulées dans la communauté qumrano-essénienne, tandis que l’interprétation resserre la problématique autour de la typologie restauratrice et utopique. Les analyses dévoilent un aspect des attentes du judaïsme ancien, marqué par la croyance en une pluralité d’agents de salut aux traits messianiques: il s’agit d’un schéma oscillant entre l’aspiration à la restauration des structures religieuses et politiques de l’Israël d’autrefois et l’espérance utopique d’un monde dramatiquement transformé. Malgré qu’il soit difficile d’envisager un développement linéaire, unanime et cohérent sur la base du contenu et de la chronologie des textes messianiques, cette recherche démontre une tendance générale qui jalonne l’évolution historique des idées messianiques de Qumrân. C’est la combinaison de plusieurs dynamiques, soit la critique des prêtres-rois asmonéens, la préoccupation de la pureté rituelle et de l’observance de la Loi, et une perspective apocalyptique entrevoyant une transformation catastrophique conduisant à un renouvellement du monde, qui a généré la ferveur messianique propre à la communauté qumrano-essénienne. / The Qumran scrolls provide us the first-hand sources for the study of development of messianism in Judaism during the Second Temple period. One of the most striking characteristics of Qumran library is the plurality of messianic expectations, as well as the variety of expressions with messianic meaning applied to different figures. Using a literary analysis and a socio-critical approach, especially a typological distinction between restorative and utopian messianism, this dissertation investigates the relationship between Qumranian sectarian messianic texts and 1) biblical and extra-biblical data, 2) the forms through which the various messianic figures are conceptualized, 3) the socio-political context of the period during which these texts were in use. The dissertation presents four major patterns through which the various messianic ideas were formulated in the Qumran-Essene community, whereas the interpretation of the texts focuses on the issues around the restorative/utopian typology. The analyses reveal an aspect of messianic expectations in Ancient Judaism, marked by the belief in a plurality of agents of salvation endowed with messianic attributes, oscillating between the desire for the restoration of religious and political structures of an ideal past Israel, and the utopian hope aspiring to a dramatically transformed world. Although it is difficult to establish an unanimous, consistent and linear development based on the content and the chronology of the messianic texts, this research demonstrates the general tendency of the historical evolution of Qumranian messianic ideas. It is the combination of several dynamics, namely a critical attitude against the Hasmonean priest-kings, a concern for ritual purity and observance of the Law, and an apocalyptic perspective envisioning a catastrophic transformation leading to a renewal world, which generated the messianic fervor of Qumran-Essene community.

Amid the recent turn to Paul’s reading of Scripture, the role Deuteronomy plays in his letters has generally been examined in individual citations without regard to the larger role Deuteronomy plays in Paul’s letters, or with an exclusive focus on either the theological or the ethical importance of Deuteronomy for Paul. In contrast, this study argues that Paul read Deuteronomy with three interlocking construals (as ethical authority, as theological authority, as an interpretation of Israel’s history), each equally basic. These construals can be combined to achieve a sense of the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy as a whole. In order to ascertain and specify these construals, Paul’s engagement with Deuteronomy is examined as an instance of Jewish engagement with the book. Part I, therefore, supplies the historical conditions of Paul’s and other Jewish authors’ encounter with the scroll of Deuteronomy (Chap 2). On this basis, Part II proceeds to survey the major Jewish interpreters of Deuteronomy from the 3rd c. BCE to the 3rd c. CE (Chaps. 3-8). Because Paul is himself a Jewish author, this study foregoes the traditional bi-partite thesis division into “background” and Paul, opting instead to see Paul as one in a chain of Jews who turned to Deuteronomy to make sense of the present. These chapters thus also provide a sustained analysis of Deuteronomy’s broader effective history in Second Temple Jewish writings – and, in a few cases, beyond. In light of the range of interpretations to which Deuteronomy was susceptible, the concluding chapter examines what is distinctive about the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy and what contribution this may make to debates on Pauline theology and to the study of Second Temple Jewish biblical interpretation.

La Vie grecque d’Adam et Eve (VGAE) a été classée parmi les apocryphes de l’Ancien Testament et serait un texte composé entre le Ier siècle avant notre ère et le Ier siècle de notre ère, à partir des traditions judéo-hellénistiques. Attesté par vingt-sept manuscrits grecs, cet ouvrage présente l’histoire d’Adam et Eve avant et après leur expulsion du Paradis. Ces manuscrits font partie d’un ensemble plus vaste, la Vie d’Adam et Eve (VAE), connu par huit versions différentes (en grec, latin, géorgien, arménien, slave, roumain, copte, arabe).La problématique de notre thèse consiste à analyser la représentation de la femme et l‘invention de la notion du "péché de la chair " ; d’une part, conformément à l’étude des manuscrits de la VGAE et, d’autre part, à partir d’une comparaison de la VGAE avec les restantes versions de la VAE et avec d‘autres sources témoignant d’une perspective similaire.Premièrement, nous nous consacrons à la polémique autour du milieu d’origine et de la datation de la VGAE, avec une exposition de l’état de la question (selon trois thèses : l’origine juive, l’origine chrétienne et la « position prudente »). A l’intérieur de cette discussion, nous incorporons une deuxième polémique, concernant la priorité de la version grecque dans l’ensemble de la VAE.Deuxièmement, nous abordons la représentation de la femme, à partir de la considération conjointe de l’innocence et la culpabilité d’Eve dans la VGAE. En incluant ces représentations dans le contexte des sources du Second Temple, nous assignons une compréhension plus complexe et hétérogène de la VGAE.Troisièmement, nous considérons l‘invention de la notion du "péché de la chair ". Cette notion propre à la VGAE, introduit un type de transgression sexuelle rattachée à Eve. Nous recherchons les sources de ce type de transgression pour élucider ensuite son rapport avec d’autres péchés liés également à Eve dans la VGAE. / The Greek Life of Adam and Eve (VGAE) has been classified among the Apocrypha of the Old Testament and would be a text composed between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, from some traditions belonging to the Hellenistic Judaism. Attested by twenty-seven Greek manuscripts, this book presents the story of Adam and Eve before and after their expulsion from Paradise. These manuscripts are a part of a larger whole, the Life of Adam and Eve (LAE), acknowledged by eight different versions (Greek, Latin, Georgian, Armenian, Slavonic, Romanian, Coptic and Arabic).Our dissertation analyzes the representation of the woman and the invention of the notion of "sin of flesh"; on one hand, according to the study of the manuscripts of the GLAE and, on the other hand, from a comparison of the GLAE with the remaining versions of the LAE and with other sources showing a similar perspective.First, we dedicate to the polemic regarding the origin’s milieu and dating of the GLAE, with an exposition of the actual research (according to three theses: Jewish origin, Christian origin, and the "prudent position"). Within this discussion, we incorporate a second controversy, concerning the priority of the Greek version inside the LAE.Second, we concentrate on the representation of the woman, from the cohesive consideration of the innocence and the guilt of Eve in the GLAE. By including these representations in the context of the sources of the Second Temple, we assign a more complex and heterogeneous understanding to the GLAE.Third, we consider the invention of the notion of "sin of flesh". This concept specific to the GLAE, introduced a type of sexual transgression attached to Eve. We look for the sources of this type of transgression to elucidate then its relation with other sins also associated with Eve in the GLAE.

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.

[pt] O texto de Ml 1,6-14 é uma crítica profética ao culto do segundo Templo. O profeta apresenta sua crítica aos sacerdotes que oferecem animais impróprios para YHWH e também a justificativa da mesma crítica, apresentada nos vv. 11 e 14d-f. A presente dissertação visa verificar detalhadamente o sentido da crítica profética e, particularmente, deter-se sobre o sentido de Ml 1,11, uma vez que a interpretação deste versículo é causa de grande dissenso entre os estudiosos. É objetivo, ainda, da presente dissertação, deter-se sob o aspecto teológico da justificativa da crítica profética ao culto encontrada em Ml 1,11 e 14d-f. Para atingir tal objetivo a pesquisa começa com a tradução do texto, sua delimitação e colocação no conjunto do livro de Malaquias. Depois aborda-se a organização do texto, sua unidade, datação e gênero literário. Num terceiro momento é feito o comentário aos vv. 6-10.12-14a-c. Os vv. 11 e 14d-f são comentados num capítulo à parte, onde se dedica uma maior atenção ao v. 11, estabelendo-se, em primeiro lugar, o status quaestionis da sua interpretação, desde o judaísmo tardio até o momento atual. No último capítulo se aborda o pano de fundo teológico subjacente à crítica profética e a relação de Ml 1,6-14 com Nm 6,23-27. Este estudo chega à conclusão de que a crítica profética de Ml 1,6-14 revela pontos de contato com Nm 6,23-27, sendo uma espécie de anti-bênção com a qual os sacerdotes e o povo (cf. M 1,14) são condenados por não prestarem a YHWH o culto na sua forma devida e com a adequada disposição interior. Mostra também que, para entender o sentido real do v. 11 é necessário lê-lo em conjunto com o v. 14d-f, levando em conta a teologia do nome de YHWH e a imagem de YHWH como rei que estão subjacentes à perícope como um todo. / [en] The text of Ml 1,6-14 is a prophetic critique of the second Temple. The prophet presents his critique of the priests who offer animals unfit for YHWH and also the justification of the same critique, presented in vv. 11 and 14d-f. This dissertation aims to verify in detail the meaning of prophetic criticism and particularly establish the meaning of Ml 1,11, since the interpretation of this verse is cause of great disagreement among scholars. It is objective, yet, this dissertation study the theological aspect of the justification of prophetic critique of the cult found in Ml 1,11 and 14d-f. To achieve this goal the search begins with the translation of the text, its delimitation and placement throughout the book of Malachi. After addresses the organization of the text, its unity, dating and literary genre, in the third chapter is made the comment about the vv. 6-10.12-14a-c. The vv. 11 and 14d-f are discussed in a separate chapter, which is devoted greater attention to v. 11, establishing, first, the status quaestionis of his interpretation, since the late Judaism until the present time. The last chapter discusses the theological background of the prophetic critique and the relationship between Ml 1,6-14 and Nm 6,23-27. This study concludes that the prophetic critique of Ml 1,6-14 reveals contact points with Nm 6,23-27, being a kind of anti-blessing with which priests and people (Ml 1,14) are convicted of not doing the worship YHWH in its proper form and with proper interior disposition. It also shows that to understand the real meaning of v. 11 it is necessary to read it along with the v. 14d-f, taking into account the theology of the name of YHWH and YHWH s image as king that underlie the text as a whole.