Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies

Following their first conference and volume on peach and war, the Josephus Institute in Komárom organized second international conference on Josephus in 2024, this time on the topic of Josephus' account of the Maccabees. The selection of speakers include not only well-known scholars but also Central European scholars who have worked on the subject in depth. This has resulted in a truly colorful volume of studies that can be read not only by specialists but also by a wider readership interested in the subject.

In most cases, the literature on the books of the Maccabees considers Josephus as a supplementary source. In this volume, we take Josephus as our primary source and explore how and what he wrote about the Maccabees. With 11 essays in English and German and an introduction by Steve Mason on the history of research, this volume aims to bring the reader closer to Josephus' view of the Maccabees and his interpretation of these works.

This volume is written in the context of trauma hermeneutics of ancient Jewish communities and their tenacity in the face of adversity (i.e. as recorded in the MT, LXX, Pseudepigrapha, the Deuterocanonical books and even Cognate literature. In this regard, its thirteen chapters, are concerned with the most recent outputs of trauma studies. They are written by a selection of leading scholars, associated to some degree with the Hungaro-South African Study Group. Here, trauma is employed as a useful hermeneutical lens, not only for interpreting biblical texts and the contexts in which they were originally produced and functioned but also for providing a useful frame of reference. As a consequence, these various research outputs, each in their own way, confirm that an historical and theological appreciation of these early accounts and interpretations of collective trauma and its implications, (perceived or otherwise), is critical for understanding the essential substance of Jewish cultural identity. As such, these essays are ideal for scholars in the fields of Biblical Studies—particularly those interested in the Pseudepigrapha, the Deuterocanonical books and Cognate literature.

Um bei einer Lösung der postmodernen Krise des Betens zu helfen, will diese Studie die Theologie des Buches Jesus Sirach (Ben Sira) aufarbeiten, das beinahe 30 auf das Gebet bezogene Stel-len aufführt.
Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der programmatischen Lehreinheit in Sir 2,1–4,10 und den prominenten Betergestalten: dem Schriftgelehrten in Sir 38,34–39,11 (erstes Vorbild des Betens), Josua in Sir 46,1–6 (erster Fürbitter) sowie Hiskija und Jesaja in Sir 48,17–25 (erstes kollektives Gebet). Neben den klassischen exegetischen Schritten werden auch zwei weitere Aspekte der modernen Sirachforschung, die Hermeneutik der einzelnen antiken Sprachversionen und die Intertextuali-tät der ausgewählten Texte, berücksichtigt. Denn zum einen erzwingt die bruchstückhafte Überlieferung des hebräischen Textes auf die griechische und syrische Fassung zurückzugreifen. Zum anderen war die Schriftrelecture bereits eines der zentralen Anliegen seines Autors.
Die Ergebnisse der Analyse bestätigen das Werk Sirachs als eine wohl durchdachte Synthese des Alten Testaments und erweisen das Bittgebet als wirksames "Appellationsmittel" der Bedrängten. Denn Gott kann sie erhören und aus ihren Nöten erretten, was das Herzstück der biblischen Spiritualität bildet.

This volume remembers Géza Xeravits, a well known scholar of deuterocanonical and Qumran literature.

The volume is divided into four sections according to his scholarly work and interest. Contributions in the first part deal with Old Testament and related issues (Thomas Hiecke, Stefan Beyerle, and Matthew Goff). The second section is about the Dead Sea Scrolls (John J, Collins, John Kampen, Peter Porzig, Eibert Tigchelaar, Balázs Tamási and Réka Esztári). The largest part is the forth on deuterocanonica (Beate Ego, Lucas Brum Teixeira, Fancis Macatangay, Tobias Nicklas, Maria Brutti, Calduch-Benages Nuria, Pancratius Beentjes, Benjamin Wright, Otto Mulder, Angelo Passaro, Friedrich Reiterer, Severino Bussino, Jeremy Corley and JiSeong Kwong). The third section deals with cognate literature (József Zsengellér and Karin Schöpflin). The last section about the Ancient Synagogue has the paper of Anders Kloostergaard Petersen.

Some hot topics are discussed, for example the Two spirits in Qumran, the cathegorization of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the authorship and antropology of Ben Sira, and the angelology of Vitae Prophetarum.

This volume of essays on Ben Sira is a Festschrift on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Prof. Nuria Calduch-Benages.

The volume gathers the latest studies on Ben Sira's relationship with other Jewish traditions. With a variety of methods and approaches, the volume explores Ben Sira's interpretation of received traditions, his views on the prevailing issues of his time, and the subsequent reception of his work.

The study deals with the theological message and composition of the Book of Isaiah and promotes a thesis that an early Jewish reception history helps us to find perspectives to understand them. This study treats the following themes among others:
1 Hezekiah as Immanuel was an important theme in the reception as can be seen in Chronicles and Ben Sira as well as in rabbinical writings. The central event which makes Hezekiah such an important figure, was the annihilation of the Assyrian army as recounted in Isaiah 36-37.
2 The Book of Isaiah was interpreted in apocalyptic milieu as the Animal Apocalypse and Daniel show. Even though the Qumran writings do not provide any coherent way to interpret Isaianic passages its textual evidence shows how the community has found from the Book of Isaiah different concepts to characterize the division of the Jewish community to the righteous and sinful ones (cf. Isa 65-66).
3 Ezra and Nehemiah received inspiration from the theological themes of Isaianic texts of Levitical singers which were later edited in the Book of Isaiah by scribes. The formation of the Book of Isaiah then went in its own way and its theology became different from that in the Book of Ezra–Nehemiah.

The Jewish sage Ben Sira links the partnership of the sage with personified Wisdom to his overall teaching on marriage and family. This study provides a detailed analysis of this connection, first, by describing the overlapping characteristics of fathers in families and sages among their students as seen through an examination of Ben Sira's use of metaphorical family language, whereby the sage takes the role of father in the pedagogical setting. This study then describes the spousal relationship between the sage and personified Wisdom, particularly as it appears alongside the marital instructions in Sir 23:16-26:18.

This study further considers Ben Sira's privileged social position to influence the religious conviction of next generation Judaism and to strengthen Jewish youth against rising Hellenistic pressures that may tempt them away from Torah adherence. Ben Sira's solution then is found in his proposed vision of families, modeled after his pedagogical setting.

Finally, Ben Sira's teaching is compared to other Second Temple texts, showing the importance of his context for his conception of family and the needs of his time. Thus, this study shows the relevance of Ben Sira's teaching for families as well as his distinctiveness among other Jewish texts.

The contributors and editors dedicate this volume of research to Professor Stefan C. Reif on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Together these twenty papers reflect our appreciation for his exemplary scholarship and lifelong commitment to acquaint our world with the theological and cultural riches of Jewish Studies.
This collection reflects the breadth of Prof. Reif’s interests insofar as it is a combination of Second Temple studies and Jewish studies on the roots of Jewish prayer and liturgy which is his main field of expertise. Contributions on biblical and second temple studies cover Amos, Ben Sira, Esther, 2 Maccabees, Judith, Wisdom, Qumran Psalms, and James. Contributions on Jewish studies cover nuptial and benedictions after meals, Adon Olam, Passover Seder, Amidah, the Medieval Palestinian Tefillat ha-Shir, and other aspects of rabbinic liturgy.
Moreover, the regional diversity of scholars from Israel, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland and North America mirrors Stefan’s travels as a lecturer and the reach of his publications. The volume includes a foreword of appreciation and a bibliographic list of Professor Reif's works.

This volume collects papers written during the past two decades that explore various aspects of late Second Temple period Jewish literature and the figurative art of the Late Antique synagogues. Most of the papers have a special emphasis on the reinterpretation of biblical figures in early Judaism or demonstrate how various biblical traditions converged into early Jewish theologies. The structure of the volume reflects the main directions of the author’s scholarly interest, examining the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and Late Antique synagogues. The book is edited for the interest of scholars of Second Temple Judaism, biblical interpretation, synagogue studies and the effective history of Scripture.

Despite the attention that has already been paid to the theme of creation in the book of Sirach, scholarship has yet to provide a comprehensive analysis of Ben Sira's instruction regarding the cosmic order and its role in the divine bestowal of wisdom upon human beings.
This book, which consists of two parts, fills a lacuna in scholarship by offering such an analysis. The first part of this study examines Ben Sira's three main treatments of the created world, thus providing a comprehensive description and synthesis of Ben Sira's doctrine concerning the created order of the cosmos. The second part of this work analyzes the place of human beings in general, and the Jewish people in particular, within the cosmic order. This second part includes an analysis of the role of the created order in Ben Sira's wisdom instruction in 1:1-10 and 24:1-34 as well as an elucidation of the way in which his treatments of various kinds of people—civic leaders, wives, doctors, manual laborers, scribes, and cultic personnel—are integral to Ben Sira's doctrine of creation. This study demonstrates that the created order is a fundamental category that Ben Sira relies upon in articulating his instructions about wisdom and wise behavior.

Tobiah’s travel with the angel in Tobit chapter six constitutes a singular moment in the book. It marks a before and after for Tobiah as a character. Considered attentively, Tobit six reveals a remarkable richness in content and form, and functions as a crucial turning point in the plot’s development. This book is the first thorough study of Tobit six, examining the poetics and narrative function of this key chapter and revisiting arguments about its meaning. A better understanding of this central chapter deepens our comprehension of the book as a whole.

The papers of the volume investigate how authoritative figures in the Second Temple Period and beyond contributed to forming the Scriptures of Judaism, as well as how these Scriptures shaped ideal figures as authoritative in Early Judaism. The topic of the volume thus reflects Ben Wright’s research, who—especially with his work on Ben Sira, on the Letter of Aristeas, and on various problems of authority in Early Jewish texts—creatively contributed to the study of the formation of Scriptures, and to the understanding of the figures behind these texts.

This volume contains the papers presented at the 2017 meeting of the SBL Program Unit on Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature in Boston, MA. The theme of the sessions was the interpretation of Torah in deuterocanonical literature. The contributions cover a variety of concepts and themes related to Torah and trace these through the Hebrew Bible, into the Septuagintal deuterocanonical books and other relevant and cognate literature.

This collection presents innovative research by scholars from across the globe in celebration of Gabriele Boccaccini’s sixtieth birthday and to honor his contribution to the study of early Judaism and Christianity. In harmony with Boccaccini’s determination to promote the study of Second Temple Judaism in its own right, this volume includes studies on various issues raised in early Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., 1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra), the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other early Jewish texts, from Tobit to Ben Sira to Philo and beyond. The volume also provides several investigations on early Christianity in intimate conversation with its Jewish sources, consistent with Boccaccini’s efforts to transcend confessional and disciplinary divisions by situating the origins of Christianity firmly within Second Temple Judaism. Finally, the volume includes essays that look at Jewish-Christian relations in the centuries following the Second Temple period, a harvest of Boccaccini’s labor to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in light of their shared yet contested heritage.

This volume brings together a lively set of papers from the first session of the Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature program unit of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in 2016. Together with a few later contributions, these essays explore a number of thematic and textual issues as they trace the reception history of the Book of Isaiah in Deuterocanonical and cognate literature.

Ziel dieser Studie ist es, das Eigenprofil der Vulgata-Fassung des Buches Judit zu erheben: Denn durch Kürzungen und Erweiterungen stimmt die um 400 n. Chr. vom Kirchenvater Hieronymus angefertigte Vulgata-Fassung des Buches Judit etwa nur zur Hälfte mit der um 100 v. Chr. entstandenen griechischen Originalfassung, der Septuaginta-Fassung, überein. Die Vulgata-Fassung wird daher mit der Septuaginta-Fassung und mehreren Vetus Latina Handschriften verglichen. Im Zentrum der Analysen aber steht die Juditfigur, weil sie die signifikantesten Unterschiede zu den anderen Textfassungen zeigt, und damit die Kap. 8-16 des Buches Judit. Methodisch wird die Juditfigur mit Hilfe einer exegetisch-kognitionswissenschaftlichen Figurenanalyse untersucht, die Ergebnisse vor ihrem zeitgeschichtlichen Kontext ausgewertet. Dazu wird auf historische, sozialgeschichtliche und politische Umstände der Zeit um 400 n. Chr. einerseits und auf das Leben sowie Werke und Briefe des Hieronymus andererseits Bezug genommen. Durch diese Vorgehensweise kann gezeigt werden, dass die Vulgata-Fassung des Hieronymus viel mehr als bloß eine Übersetzung ist und wie und unter welchen Perspektiven der Kirchenvater mit dem Text gearbeitet und diesen weiterentwickelt hat.

»Die Urteilskraft herrscht über die Leidenschaften.« So lautet die Leitthese des 4. Makkabäerbuches, welche in den 18 Kapiteln dieser Schrift in verschiedensten Variationen über hundertmal wiederholt wird. Diese spürbare thematische Fokussierung auf den Aspekt der menschlichen Handlungsverantwortung ruft in einer ausdrücklich als Gotteslob angelegten Schrift die Frage nach der Rolle Gottes auf den Plan. Wie wird von ihm gesprochen? Wo und wie ist er in den Text eingebunden? Wie werden göttliches und menschliches Handeln einander zugeordnet? Die vorliegende Untersuchung geht diesen Fragen nach und erweist die grundlegende Verwurzelung der Anthropologie des 4Makk-Verfassers in seiner Gottesvorstellung. Dazu wird die textinterne Entfaltung des Gottesbildes nachgezeichnet, in dessen Zentrum Gott als allweiser Schöpfer und durchsetzungsstarker Gesetzgeber erscheint.

These fourteen selected essays were originally read at the LXXSA international conference: Construction, Coherence and Connotation in Septuagint, Apocryphal and Cognate Literature (28-30 August 2015), hosted by the North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Here, the intention was to apply new critical theory and approaches to the fields of Old Testament Scripture as well as associated Apocryphal and Cognate literature, with a specific focus on the interrelated recurring theme of the Wisdom of the deity and its decryption and reception at various times in history.

In this regard, it was felt that this theme and associated source texts had been largely overlooked in recent scholarship. Here the aim was to attract recent research by both leading national as well as international scholars which not only shed new light on Old Testament Apocrypha and so-called Pseudepigraphical literature but which also critically reviewed certain biblical wisdom texts which are foundational for both the Christian as well as Jewish communities.

As a consequence, many of the essays deal with the apocryphal Wisdom of Sirach. However, important contributions may also be found apropos Micah, Daniel, Baruch, 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Susanna, Judith, and the works of Josephus Flavius.

The extreme complexity of Sirach’s text at times makes it almost impossible to come to one clear conclusion as regards certain issues. There are numerous differences between various translations of this deuterocanonical text. In addition, the Armenian translation, being a textual witness to not one but multiple parent texts, has its own complications.
This research provides a sustained theological reading of the Armenian text of Sirach on the basis of Yakob Nalean’s commentary written in the 18th century. At the same time it places a great emphasis on the textual evaluation of the various versions of Sirach in Armenian. In this respect an attempt has been made to display the unique features of the Armenian Sirach within the wider scope of the scholarship of this biblical text. Through a comprehensive linguistic and theological analysis of some major parts of Sirach in Armenian, this study assesses the extent to which this book was in use amongst Armenians throughout the centuries. In particular, the numerous references to Sirach in both Armenian and non-Armenian patristic literature are examined, with the aim of dating the first translations into Armenian and tracing the development of the text in the Armenian medieval schools.

Die Erzählung vom Auszug aus Ägypten gehört zu den zentralen und für die kollektive Identität Israels grundlegenden Überlieferungen, die sich im Buch Exodus verdichten, aber auch die gesamte alttestamentliche Literatur durchziehen. Bis heute sind die Überlieferungen in Judentum und Christentum sowohl in der Theologie als auch in der Liturgie von entscheidender Bedeutung. In hellenistisch-römischer Zeit erlebt die Exodusüberlieferung eine ›Renaissance‹ und prägt als Denkfigur die zeitgenössische Literatur in intensiver Weise. Ihre Rezeption erfolgt dabei in verschiedenen Gattungen, in ganz unterschiedlicher Form und zu höchst unterschiedlichen Zwecken.
Während bisher in Studien einzelne Aspekte dieser Rezeption betrachtet wurden, ist die Rezeption noch nicht in ihrer Gesamtheit im Hinblick auf ihre Konzeption und ihren Überlieferungsprozess untersucht worden. Dieses Forschungsdesiderat nimmt der Band auf, indem er eine Zusammenstellung der vielfältigen Exodusrezeption in frühjüdischer Literatur bietet. Dabei umfasst der von Barbara Schmitz und Judith Gärtner herausgegebene Sammelband Beiträge zur Exodusmotivik in der alttestamentlichen und neutestamentlichen Schriften, in der deuterokanonischen und apokalyptischen Literatur sowie bei Philo, Josephus und in Qumran.

This volume explores the fundamentals of intertextual methodology and summarizes recent scholarship on studies of intertextuality in the deuterocanonical books. The essays engage in comparison and analysis of text groups and motifs between canonical, deuterocanonical and non-biblical texts. Moreover, the book pays close attention to non-literary relationships between different traditions, a new feature of research in intertextuality.

Der Band versammelt 17 Beiträge des bereits verstorbenen Judaisten Günter Mayer (1936-2004) und des Tübinger Neutestamentlers Michael Tilly, seines langjährigen Mitarbeiters. Das breite Spektrum an Themen aus dem Bereich des hellenistischen und rabbinischen Judentums umfasst u.a. Arbeiten zur Geschichte der Bibel, zur Sozialisation und Erziehung des Kindes, zum antiken Funeralwesen und zur Rezeptionsgeschichte biblischer Prophetentexte.

This book collects twenty two previously published essays and one new one by Erich S. Gruen who has written extensively on the literature and history of early Judaism and the experience of the Jews in the Greco-Roman world. His many articles on this subject have, however, appeared mostly in conference volumes and Festschriften, and have therefore not had wide circulation. By putting them together in a single work, this will bring the essays to the attention of a much broader scholarly readership and make them more readily available to students in the fields of ancient history and early Judaism. The pieces are quite varied, but develop a number of connected and related themes: Jewish identity in the pagan world, the literary representations by Jews and pagans of one another, the interconnections of Hellenism and Judaism, and the Jewish experience under Hellenistic monarchies and the Roman empire.

The volume publishes papers read at the ninth International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, Budapest, 2012. The title of the conference and the issuing volume covers an, on the one hand, extremely important and, on the other hand, regrettably neglected aspect particularly of the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions. Traditional manifestations of both Judaism and Christianity are predominantly masculine theological constructions. Despite their harsh masculine orientation, however, neither Judaism nor Christianity lacks elaboration on the female principle. When an ancient author chooses female imagery in order to make his message more emphatic, the female body as such forms an integral part of their metaphors. The contributions in this volume explore this phenomenon within the literature of early Judaism, and within its broad environments.

The authority of canonical texts, especially of the Bible, is often described in static definitions. However, the authority of these texts was acquired as well as exercised in a dynamic process of transmission and reception.

This book analyzes selected aspects of this historical process. Attention is paid to biblical master-texts and to other texts related to the “biblical worlds” in various historical periods and contexts. The studies examine particular texts, textual variants, translations, paraphrases and other elements in the process of textual transmission. The range covered spans from the Iron Age, through the Old Testament texts, their manuscripts and other texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, down to the New Testament, Apocrypha, Coptic texts, Patristics, and even modern translations of the Bible.

The book is particularly intended for those interested in the history of reception and transmission of biblical texts and in the textual criticism.

Given the recent interest in the emotions presupposed in early religious literature, it has been thought useful to examine in this volume how the Jews and early Christians expressed their feelings within the prayers recorded in some of their literature. Specialists in their fields from academic institutions around the world have analysed important texts relating to this overall theme and to what is revealed with regard to such diverse topics as relations with God, exegesis, education, prophecy, linguistic expression, feminism, happiness, grief, cult, suicide, non-Jews, Hellenism, Qumran and Jerusalem. The texts discussed are in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and are important for a scientific understanding of how Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity developed their approaches to worship, to the construction of their theology and to the feelings that lay behind their religious ideas and practices. The articles contribute significantly to an historical understanding of how Jews maintained their earlier traditions but also came to terms with the ideology of the dominant Hellenistic culture that surrounded them.

the volume researches Baruch chapters 4–5 in the following successive steps. The first step is a structural analysis of the three different units of the chapters, 4:5–29; 4:30–5:6; 5:7–9, during which the structure of the greater units (strophes, cantos) will be investigated, together with the structural relationship of these units with each other. After this, the biblical background of the passages is explored. The Scriptural passages that prove to be authoritative or influential for the author(s) of the Baruch passages give clues as to the particular interest and intention of the author(s). This step is supplemented by an inquiry into the tradition historical background of the prophetic psalms. Finally, I close this short monograph with some basic comments on several formative issues of Baruch 4:5–5:9.
The book is written for the interest of scholars of Second Temple Judaism, biblical interpretation, and the effective history of Scripture.

The story of Joseph and Aseneth is a fascinating expansion of the narrative in Genesis of Joseph in Egypt, and in particular, of his marriage to the daughter of an Egyptian priest. This study examines the portrayal of Aseneth’s transformation in the text, focusing on three perspectives. How did Aseneth’s encounter with Joseph and her subsequent transformation affect various aspects of her identity in the narrative? In what ways do the portrayals of Aseneth, her transformation, and her abode relate to select metaphors and other symbolic features depicted in the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible, and the Pseudepigrapha? And, how do the ritualized components through which Aseneth’s transformation occurred function in the narrative, and why are they perceived as effective? In order to shed light on these facets of Joseph and Aseneth, the author draws on the contemporary approaches of intersectionality, conceptual blending, intertextual blending, and the cognitive theory of rituals, using these theoretical frameworks to explore and illuminate the complexity of Aseneth’s transformation.

The volume publishes papers read at the tenth International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, Budapest, 2013. The authors explore various aspects of this literature, with pre-eminent emphasis on their relation to diverse early Jewish texts and traditions; their reactions on Hellenism; and the way they treated as a canonical collection within their history of interpretation.

Der Band enthält zwei Studien zu Eheschließungen im frühen Judentum.
„Die Rezeption der Leviratstora Dtn 25,5-10 im frühen Judentum“ geht dem Thema bis zur Zeit des Abschlusses der Mischna nach. Sie beschäftigt sich mit den einschlägigen Texten des Alten Testaments, des Frühjudentums und der Mischna, besonders im Mischnatraktat Jebamot. Sie zeigt den Abbau der Leviratsehe als Institution bei gleichzeitiger Favorisierung der Chalitza als gesetzeskonformer Auflösung der Leviratsbindung.
„Der Beitrag des Tobitbuchs zum Bild der Eheschließung im Frühjudentum und in der rabbinischen Zeit“ versucht, die entsprechenden Texte der griechischen Versionen des Tobitbuchs in die Vielfalt der Formen und Traditionen der Eheschließung vom Alten Testament bis in die rabbinische Zeit einzuordnen. Die Übereinstimmung vieler Details der im Tobitbuch sich spiegelnden Riten der Eheschließung mit entsprechenden Angaben in Mischna und Talmud machen wahrscheinlich, dass manches erst bei den Rabbinen bezeugte Brauchtums viel älter ist als bisher angenommen.
Beide Studien bieten dem Theologen, Religionspädagogen und Judaisten Details über die Formen jüdischer Eheschließungen und führen damit zum Verständnis der entsprechenden biblischen und außerbiblischen Texte.

Die Beiträge des Sammelbandes behandeln spätbiblische Schriften (Tobit, Judit, griechische Esther, 1. Makkabäer, 2. Makkabäer, Buch der Weisheit, Ben Sira, Baruch, griechischer Daniel, Qumran,) aus hellenistischer Zeit unter dem Aspekt von Religion, Literatur und Gesellschaft. Den Schwerpunkt bilden Bedrohungsszenarien und die Abgrenzung gegenüber der hellenistisch geprägten Umwelt und die Identitätsfrage der Gläubigen in den vorchristlichen Jahrhunderten.
Geboten werden aktuelle Untersuchungen zu einem bislang wenig beachteten Thema. Dieses ist aber zum Verständnis der Notsituation und der Lösungsmechanismen in den letzten Jahrhunderten vor der Zeitenwende und der Entwicklungen des Juden- und Christentums unverzichtbar.

This volume addresses two pivotal questions surrounding the composition of 1Maccabees. It sets out to discern the place and function of the torah within the community described by the book. However, before addressing the main problem, the author must first determine the composition history of the text. Given that the former orthodoxy of a unitary authorship seems to be breaking down, and no consensus has taken its place, a literary critical investigation occupies a necessary and lengthy portion of the work. Once a recommendation for the book’s composition history is reached, attitudes toward the inherited Judean tradition are described in each of the strata discovered. The resulting study reveals a wide variety of opinions on the Judean traditions and their function in society. This contributes to the current trend in scholarship of the Hellenistic period questioning the dichotomy between Judaism and Hellenism by demonstrating the different attitudes within even one text.

Die anthropologischen Konzeptionen im Judentum der hellenistisch-römischen Zeit bilden ein wichtiges Bindeglied zwischen den entsprechenden Traditionen der älteren Texte der Hebräischen Bibel und denjenigen des Neuen Testaments sowie der rabbinischen Überlieferungen. Sie als einen konstitutiven Faktor religiöser Identität wahrzunehmen, ist für die religionsgeschichtliche Erforschung des antiken Judentums wie auch für eine an Traditionslinien orientierte Biblische Theologie unabdingbar. Trotz zahlreicher Forschungen zur Antropologie der biblischen Überlieferungen im Alten und Neuen Testament bzw. zu den anthropologischen Konzepten ihrer Nachbarkulturen stellt eine Aufarbeitung dieser Thematik aber ein Forschungsdesiderat dar. Vor diesem Hintergrund versammelt dieser Band 20 einschlägige Aufsätze international bekannter Wissenschaftler zum Thema „Sünde und Tod“ . Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt liegt dabei auf der Einbeziehung des Materials aus den benachbarten Kulturen, wobei auch ägyptische Quellen zu Wort kommen. Der Band bietet so exemplarisch wichtige Grundlagen für die weitere Erforschung der antik-jüdischen Anthropologie in ihren kulturellen Bezügen.

Although in Second Temple literature we find a variety of songs concerned with the future of Jerusalem, little attempt has been made to analyse these comparatively as a generic group. In this study, three songs have been selected on the basis of their similarity in style, ideas and their apparent original composition in Hebrew. The texts have been subjected to a literary analysis both individually and then comparatively.

The impact of earlier works to the literature of early Judaism is an intensively researched topic in contemporary scholarship. This volume is based on an international conference held at the Sapientia College of Theology in Budapest, May 18­­–21, 2010. The contributors explore scriptural authority in early Jewish literature and the writings of nascent Christianity. They study the impact of earlier literature in the formulation of theological concepts and books of the Second Temple Period.

Als Festgabe für den Salzburger Alttestamentler Friedrich V. Reiterer zur Vollendung des 65. Lebensjahres, dessen Forschung biblischer Weisheitsliteratur vor allem dem Buch Ben Sira gewidmet ist, überreichen Kollegen und Schüler einen Strauß von Untersuchungen, die die Interessengebiete des Jubilars beleuchten: Neben Ben Sira wird die Rolle der Weisheit in weiteren spätbiblischen Schriften, in zwischen- und neutestamentlichen Texten untersucht. Die einzelnen exegetisch-theologisch-philogischen Beiträge des Bandes stehen unter dem Motto „Kommt zu mir … sättigt euch an meinen Früchten” (Sir 24,19).

The present volume contains papers delivered at the International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books, held at the Sapientia College of Theology, Budapest, Hungary, 14–16 May, 2009. The contributions explore various aspects of the Book of Judith: its textual versions, historical background, theological ideas and literary afterlife.
The conference, on which this volume is based, was the most comprehensive scholarly meeting devoted recently to the Book of Judith. The contributors reopened several basic questions concerning the writing, such as the identification of concrete historical personalities reflected in the book, or some aspects of the halakhic system of the author.The scope of the contributions extends also to the late mediaeval use of the book by European playwrights.

Ben Sira lived in an era when Hellenistic influences continued to spread in Palestine. The supreme political power was in the hands of foreign rulers. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that Ben Sira discusses the position of foreign nations in several passages. The tone varies due to the given context. This study demonstrates that Ben Sira’s relationship to foreign nations is best defined as “balanced”, as his attitude is neither thoroughly hostile nor that of uncritically embracing Gentiles. On the basis of certain passages, one can get the impression that even the foreigners could be recipients of the Torah. On the other hand, some nations were regarded by earlier biblical authors as archenemies of Israel, and these anti-elect people caused also Ben Sira’s anger to be provoked. Ben Sira was deeply rooted in Judaism but this did not prevent him from being open toward foreign influences as far as they were compatible with his religious and cultural heritage.

Despite the resurgence of scholarly interest in the Book of Tobit in recent years, an important aspect of this deuterocanonical book has been largely overlooked. Within it, there is an instruction manual for an effective way of being and living in exile, namely the wisdom instructions in Tobit 4. With glances at Tobit 12 and Tobit 14 where the wisdom instructions are repeated in shorter form, this monograph discusses the function of the wisdom discourse in the literary design of the narrative. Moreover, it examines how the wisdom instructions of Tobit demonstrate the vital role of the sapiential tradition in forming and maintaining Jewish identity in the Diaspora. Contextualizing the wisdom instructions not only within the narrative but also within the realities of Second Temple Judaism, it is argued that the author of Tobit saw the validity and employed the resources of the Jewish wisdom tradition in reinterpreting some of the traditional claims of covenant faith.
Using the Sinaiticus as the textual basis of study, it shows that the lengthy wisdom lecture of Tobit displays an inner logic that structures the collection of seemingly unrelated sayings. The instructions reinterpret a major deuteronomic concern to remember the Lord always. For Tobit, the practice of righteousness, the practice of wise behavior, and the practice of prayer realize and concretize such remembrance. Addressed to those in the Dispersion, Tobit’s wisdom instructions are meant to foster and shape a distinct ethos of truth, righteousness and mercy.

Nowadays many scholars are intensively studying the Book of Ben Sira in its different versions. One of the most intriguing aspects relates to the great quantity of passages on the afterlife in the various stages of the text of the Book of Ben Sira. Although Conleth Kearns already in 1951 wrote an important doctoral thesis on this subject, this study has never been published and circulates only in photocopied form. Since Ben Sira scholars more and more are convinced that this investigation is of great importance, even after sixty years a proper publication is welcomed.
In his study Kearns distinguishes, on the one hand, the witnesses to the second Greek and to the Latin version and, on the other hand, those to the Hebrew text, and those to the Syriac version as well. He concludes that there is unity of doctrine between the changes and additions of all the textual witnesses. Therefore he can refer to ‛the expanded text’.
The teachings on afterlife as found in the various stages of the text of Ben Sira are compared with the teachings found in Jewish literature from about 200 B.C. until 100 A.D., both canonical – especially Daniel and the Wisdom of Solomon –, and apocryphal or pseudepigraphical, such as 1–2 Enoch, 4 Ezra, Jubilees, Psalms of Solomon, and Testaments of the XII Patriarchs.

Apart from Genesis, Tobit contains more information about marriage than any other biblical book. It reflects third-century beliefs and customs yet also serves a didactic function, teaching Diaspora Jews what they should value in their own marriages. This monograph elucidates these elements by asking four questions: 1) Whom should one marry? 2) How does one get married? 3) What role does God play in marriage? 4) What do actual marriages look like? By contextualizing Tobit in light of the Old Testament and relevant Ancient Near Eastern texts, one can appreciate the book's unique claims. Endogamy is defined more narrowly than in other Old Testament texts as Israelites are now enjoined to marry close relatives. Monetary matters such as the payment of the bride-price are downplayed, while adherence to the Mosaic Law is emphasized in the marriage contract and the wedding ceremony. Furthermore, intertextual links with Genesis 24 cast Tobiah and Sarah as founders of a "new Israel", showing that God becomes involved in their marriage so that the nation of Israel will not die out. Finally, the author's portrayal of three married couples in the book reveals much about gender roles and also creates a realistic portrait of the marital relationship in terms of communication, cooperation, and conflict.

The Wisdom of Solomon 10 is a unique passage among Jewish sapiential texts since it both presents Lady Wisdom as God's acting agent in early Israelite history and explicitly categorizes key biblical figures as either righteous or unrighteous. Structurally, Wisdom 10 is a pivotal text that binds the two halves of the book together through its vocabulary and themes. Although chapter 10 is such a unique passage that is central to the work, no full-scale study of this chapter has been attempted. Recent scholarship on the Wisdom of Solomon has focused on the identification of genres in the book’s subsections and the author’s reinterpretation of Scripture.
Through the use of historical and literary criticism, this study especially focuses on the genre and hermeneutical method of Wisdom 10 in comparison to other passages in the book and similar types of literature inside and outside the Bible. Chapter One establishes the purpose and methodology of the study, Chapter Two sets the literary and historical contexts for the Wisdom of Solomon, and Chapters Three to Six analyze the text poetically, form-critically, exegetically, and hermeneutically.
This study concludes that Pseudo-Solomon, the book’s author, composed and used Wisdom 10 in order to bind the two halves of the book together. Its genre is that of a Beispielreihe, or example list, and its form is an alternation of positive and negative examples that are linked by the repetition of a keyword. The passage also reflects elements of aretalogy, synkrisis, and midrash. Because of the first two of these elements, chapter 10 may be seen as supplementing the encomiastic genre in chapters 6–9. Furthermore, the aretalogical flavor of the text depicts Lady Wisdom in ways similar to the popular Hellenistic Egyptian goddess Isis in order to show Wisdom’s superiority to the pagan deity. Lastly, chapter 10 exhibits six primary hermeneutical principles used by the author throughout the book, albeit with differing degrees of focus.
Since the Wisdom of Solomon is a late composition, this study illuminates one facet of the Jewish Hellenistic reinterpretation of Scripture and will elucidate similar modes of exegesis in the early rabbinical and early Christian eras.

The book investigates Ben Sira’s attitudes toward all matters pertaining to sexuality in the context of family relations and gender issues. The author’s seemingly negative attitude to women, the anxiety expressed in the discussions of marital and extramarital relations, and the disciplining of children can lead to the assumption that the work has a negative attitude toward sexuality.
Ben Sira’s book is a combination of carefully composed wisdom poems and of teachings on everyday issues, including marriage, family life, self-control, desires, and sexual promiscuity. The sage dedicates a greater number of passages than other wisdom books to the discussion of social relations especially in regard to family. In so doing his regular point of departure seems to be what benefits or damages these relations mean, and whether they bring disgrace to a person, especially through sexuality. In addition, we have to make a distinction between the attitudes of the writer of the original Hebrew text of the book and that of the Greek translator. The two texts, produced in different social settings, times and places, differ at times in regard to sexuality.
This book examines the wisdom poems, some characterized by openness about issues of eroticism, and all sayings that concern matters pertaining to sexuality found in discussions of passions, family relations and gender issues, and warnings against sexual wrongdoing. All this is done with a special regard to the differences between the Hebrew original text and the Greek translation.

The Books of Chronicles and Ben Sira 44-50 both rewrite previous biblical history in different ways. While the postexilic Books of Chronicles rewrite earlier narratives from Samuel and Kings, Ben Sira’s Praise of the Ancestors offers a new presentation of biblical history from the Genesis patriarchs to Nehemiah, prior to the praise of the high priest Simon. Whereas older scholarship regarded the historiography of Chronicles and Ben Sira as secondary and derivative, today there is renewed interest in these works as significant theological and cultural documents. Both Chronicles and Ben Sira present a theological message that involves the creation of a national identity centered on temple piety. The essays in this volume investigate how both works rewrite their source materials on particular biblical characters and themes. Some chapters consider the portrayal of kings like David, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah, and Zedekiah. Other chapters deal with prophets like Samuel and Elijah, while further essays offer perspectives on Ben Sira’s Praise of the Ancestors as a whole. This Festschrift honors Professor Pancratius C. Beentjes, who has made a significant contribution to scholarly research into the Books of Chronicles and Ben Sira.

In einer Situation, in der die Bedrohung der Welt immer deutlicher wird, ja sich die Auswirkungen der Umweltzerstörung am Menschen selbst zu rächen beginnen, erlangt die Besinnung auf Grunddaten jüdischer wie christlicher Schöpfungstheologien neue Aktualität. Die insgesamt 19 Beiträge des hier vorliegenden Bandes erarbeiten eine große Bandbreite frühjüdischer und antik-christlicher Texte, die sich mit Welt und Mensch als Schöpfung Gottes auseinandersetzen. Dabei zeigt sich die enge Verknüpfung der Rede von der Schöpfung mit der Frage nach dem „Woher“ von Welt und Mensch und ihre Verbindung mit dem Bild eines Menschen, der sich Gott verdankt und in eine von Gott als „gut“ konzipierten Kosmos gesetzt ist. Vom Anfang her wiederum bestimmt sich auch die Vorstellung des Endes: der Ursprung ist vom Sinn und dem Ziel des Daseins nicht zu trennen. Vor allem aber zeigt sich, dass die Rede von Welt und Mensch als Schöpfung nie von rein theoretischer Relevanz ist, sondern bereits in der Antike ein hohes ideologiekritisches Potenzial entfalten konnte.

The volume publishes papers presented at the International Conference on the Deuterocanonical Books (Pápa, Hungary). This conference dealt with the deuterocanonical additions of the Old Testament books. As such, this was one of the most extended discussions of these writings that has ever taken place at a scholarly meeting. The volume contains articles on the traditions and theology of the additions, and demonstrates their relationship with the contemporary literature of early Judaism.
Several writings of the Hebrew Bible – such as Esther, Daniel and Jeremiah – have different textual forms in the Greek Bible, and these forms display amplified material compared to the Hebrew versions. These additions testify to the creative reflection of early Jewish circles on the basic traditions of these Books and the textual fluidity of the writings in question.
The essays of this volume explore these additions, their relationship to the Hebrew parent texts, and their impact on the effective history of the interpretation of later centuries.

This volume presents selected papers read at the first meeting of the Society for Jewish and Biblical Studies in Central Europe, in Piliscsaba, Hungary, February 2009, but does not publish the proceedings of this meeting (for a clarification see here). The papers investigate various aspects of the concept “Stranger” in Jewish tradition, from the Hebrew Bible to Mediaeval Jewish thought. The bulk of the material focuses on Early Jewish literature, which mirrors an intensive interaction with the Hellenistic system of thought, and the development of concurring Jewish interpretations of traditional values.
The papers of the volume provide insightful case studies about the formation of Jewish identity in diverse periods of Israelite and Jewish history, as well as the different attitudes to strangers, being either outsiders, or belonging to opposing sects of Judaism itself. The reader finds essays of historical, literary, and hermeneutical attention; of interest also to scholars of various forms of ancient and mediaeval Judaism.

In dieser Dissertationsschrift wird das Textproblem des deuterokanonischen Buches Tobit neu aufgerollt. Vollständig liegt die Tobiterzählung nur in der griechischen Überlieferung der Septuaginta und in von dieser abhängigen Übersetzungen wie der Vetus Latina vor, allerdings in teilweise erheblich divergierenden Textformen. Daneben wurden in Qumran die Textfragmente von fünf aramäischen und hebräischen Tobit-Schriftrollen gefunden. Ausgehend von diesen Textfragmenten als den ältesten Textzeugen des Buches Tobit wird über einen Vergleich der Textformen versucht, die Frage nach dem Text des Buches Tobit zu lösen.

Aus der Darstellung der handschriftlichen Überlieferung wird deutlich, dass sich die Annäherung an diesen „Urtext” bei Tobit sehr schwierig, wenn nicht sogar unmöglich gestaltet, so dass sich die Frage stellt, welcher Text künftig für die Auslegung dieses biblischen Buches herangezogen werden sollte.

This work explores the theological and social dimensions of generosity in the book of Sirach and contextualizes them within the culture and thought of Second Temple Judaism. Ben Sira’s understanding of generosity is predicated on the tension between affirming the classic wisdom principle of retributive justice and recognizing its breakdown in the socio-economic circumstances of Seleucid Judea. He forges a new Wisdom-Torah ethic of mercy in which giving generously is an integral part of living “the good life”.
While loans and surety are essential practices, almsgiving is the preeminent act of generosity. The fundamental theological logic at work consists in viewing the poor as proxies for God and is based on the economic structure of Proverbs 19:17. Giving to the poor is, in reality, a deposit in a heavenly treasury and will pay future dividends. By situating Ben Sira’s view of almsgiving within the wider framework of retributive justice and its breakdown, new light is shed on the practical tensions regarding the extent of almsgiving and its relationship to the support of the Jerusalem priesthood.
The various dynamics of Ben Sira’s thought on generosity are situated within the broader Hellenistic world and in their foundational role for later Jewish and Christian thought.

The Book of Sirach raises many questions: philological, exegetical, literary, historical, theological. There were even confessional questions which divided the traditions of synagogues and churches. It is, therefore, a fascinating book, located on the edges of the canon. Does the book attempt to repair the harm done by the erosive criticism of Job and Qoheleth, or is it the work of a thoughtful interpreter who, in a time of change, seeks to bear the tradition towards the new situation emerging from the Hellenistic Diaspora? Is it a book which aims at the restoration of the true faith against the autonomous questing of human wisdom, or is it merely a sincere, if shrewd, experiment at dialogue between the legitimate reasoning of the world and the wisdom given in the Law? According to a well-tried methodology of juxtaposing the specialists of different schools, this volume presents an up to date consideration of historical, exegetical and theological research.

Transience and death are central concerns for many people. Indeed, the fear of death and the attempts to counter it have underscored the worldview of human cultures and civilisations since time immemorial. However, in order to fear death, we must be human. Only humans seem to focus on their transient state because they are constantly aware of their impending deaths.As Robert Burton once suggested, perhaps the “fear of death is worse than death.”

 Religion has had a highly influential impact on the human understanding of death. In this context, inter alia, biblical texts have expounded the notion that death is not to be feared because of a divine promise of a transcendent, paradisical and timeless existence beyond the grave. Anthropologists such as Bronisław Malinowski have gone as far as to suggest that religion only originated as a direct consequence of belief systems that were designed specifically to reduce and/or overcome this universal fear of death.

 Accordingly, Transience, Transcendence and Timelessness: Insights into Early Jewish Literature proposes to explore the mortality of humans and their hope for future life from an ancient Jewish perspective

 

The patriarch Jacob functions as the main character in Jubilees, one of the most important early Jewish texts outside the Bible. This study investigates two important connections made by the author of Jubilees, Jacob and the Torah, and Jacob and the Abrahamic Promise (Gen 12:1–3 and parallels), both of which play an important role in Jubilees.

Jacob functions as the perfect Israelite who follows the Deuteronomic commandments (addressed to Israel in the second person singular) to the utmost, and thus exemplifies the "holy seed" or "rest" of Israel, who will also inherit the Abrahamic Promise when they fulfil the Torah as Jacob did. Esau functions as an archetype of the apostate Israelite who will be left outside of the Promise.

The study illuminates the early reception history of the Abrahamic Promise and its close connection with Deuteronomy. It gives background for scholars of early Judaism and Christianity dealing with the reception of the Law and the Promise as well as of the parting of Judaism and Christianity, where different readings of the patriarchal stories were influential (e.g., Sifre Deuteronomy).

The experience of violence and verbal harassment was and still is an oppressive reality for Jews. This volume focusses on Jew-hatred and how it was encountered in the Second Temple period. It includes contributions on very different literature from the Hellenistic and Roman times from various proveniences: from Jewish literature in Greek language (e.g. Septuagint and Philo) to the works of Greek and Roman authors. Thus, prejudices, resentments and violence against Jews will be addressed and analyzed as well as how the Jewish community opposed it both pragmatically and intellectually. The historically oriented contributions are complemented by an essay in which past and present experiences are related to each other.

Eine wichtige Frage der Gegenwart ist, wie man heute heilige Texte im säkularen und theologischen Kontext für beiden Positionen verantwortbar lesen kann, und so dialogfähig bleibt.

In diesem Buch wird die These vertreten, dass die derzeit randständige Form kontextueller Exegese in den Literatur- wie Bibelwissenschaften den Schlüssel zu einer pluralitätsfähigen und zugleich dem eigenen Anspruch konformen Hermeneutik bilden kann. Diese Hermeneutik wird systematisch im Dialog mit post-strukturalistischen Ansätzen entfaltet, ebenso die Intertextualität als ein wichtiges Konzept in ein eigenes Modell gegossen.

Den zweiten Hauptteil bildet die Erprobung des kontextuellen Modells an einem konkreten Beispiel. Gewählt wurde die Rezeption des Exodus-Stoffs in den deuterokanonischen / apokryphen Schriften des Alten Testaments inklusive einer „Kontrollgruppe" mit dem Ziel den Übergang von innerbiblischer Rezeption zu einem klaren Kommentarwesen besser nachvollziehen zu können.

Das Modell kontextueller Exegese erweist sich als äußerst wirksam. Das erarbeitete Beispiel wird am Ende in seinen Chancen und Grenzen beurteilt und macht einmal mehr deutlich, wie entscheidend die eigene Fragestellung für die Wahl der angemessenen Methoden ist

Josephus Flavius’s life was defined by the Jewish war against Rome, about which he wrote his first book as a friend of the imperial family, enjoying the benefits of an end to the conflict. But this dichotomy between war and peace defined not only the life of our author but also the history of all peoples in Late Antiquity, so it is not surprising that war and peace also play a central role in his second book.

A broader theme could hardly have been chosen for this volume, which naturally brought with it the diversity of the studies it contains. At a conference in May 2022 at Selye János University in Komárom – "Peace and War in Josephus" – a distinguished, international group of scholars took up this theme, including Tal Ilan (Israel), Steve Mason (Canada), Jiří Hoblík (Czech Republic), and five Hungarian colleagues: Tibor Grüll, Ádám Vér, József Zsengellér, István Karasszon, and Viktor Kókai-Nagy. Their papers in English or German are complemented by three additional papers from Carson Bay (Switzerland), Marin Meiser (Germany), and David R. Edwards (USA). Together, their work ranges from the historical and literary context to the political and philosophical thought of the author.

Previous scholars have largely approached Wisdom and Torah in the Second Temple Period through a type of reception history, whereby the two concepts have been understood as signifiers of independent, earlier “biblical” streams of tradition that later came together in the Hellenistic and Roman eras, largely under the process of a so-called “torahization” of wisdom. Recent studies critiquing the nature of wisdom and wisdom literature as operative categories for understanding scribal cultures in early Judaism, as well as newer approaches to conceptualizing Torah and authorizing-compositional practices related to the Pentateuchal texts, however, have challenged the foundations on which the previous models of Wisdom and Torah rested. This volume, therefore, brings together several essays that aim to reexamine and rethink the ways we can describe the developments of texts categorized as “Wisdom” that proliferated during the Second Temple Period and whose contents point to an engagement with a “Torah” discourse. By asking anew the question of whether “Wisdom” was transformed by/into “Torah” during this period, this volume offers reformulations on the discursive space between Wisdom and Torah through analyzing new identifications, confluences, and transformations.