Volume 11, Issue 2, 2019
Articles published in the latest issue of Studia Biblica Slovaca
Job, Victim of Ironies: A Linguistic Reevaluation of Job 1:10 in its Context
Tobias HÄNER
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 87-102
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDRDG6999
Abstract
Contrary to the usual translation as a rhetorical question, Job 1:10a is better understood as an ironic assertion. It may remain questionable whether אלה should be considered in some cases as a non-interrogative and non-negative particle in Classical Hebrew rather than as a combination of ה + אל. However, it is beyond doubt that not rarely אלה does not open up an interrogative clause but has an asseverative or presentative function. Among the criteria that have been suggested in recent research as indication of a non-interrogative use of אלה, two are of particular relevance: the fronting of the subject before the verb in verbal clauses and the sequence rhetorical question(s) – אלה-clause. Both criteria apply to the clause in Job 1:10a, which for that reason is best translated as a statement. Satan, through repetitions, contrasting comparisons and exaggeration, subtly transforms the statement about God’s blessing of Job into an ironic critique of divine care and Job’s piety.
Timothy and the Charism in 1 Tim 4:14: Ratification or Transfer through the Laying on of Hands by the Elders?
Ľubomír MAJTÁN
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 103-119
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDSZO7070
Abstract
In the Pastoral Epistles we find two instances, where the laying on of hand on Timothy is mentioned (cf. 1Tim 4:14 and 2Tim 1:6). In 1Tim, the laying on of the hands of elders (or better, the assembly of the elders) is a sign by which the Christian community, represented by these elders, should recognize the charisma, that is given to Timothy. The gift, the prophecy, the prayer, and the following laying on of hands are elements which we find also in the others places of the New Testament (cf. Acts 6:6; 13:2-3). In Timothy’s presence in Ephesus, in his laying on of hands and in the fact that in his person the community recognized its leader now continues the mission of Paul himself, who previously spent some time in this city. Timothy’s office consists of the ability to be a good leader and protector of the community. The charisma, given to him and visible through the prophecy and the laying on of hands, make him capable for this role.
Continuity and Innovation in Biblical Tradition: Elijah from 1 Kgs 17–18 to Jas 5:17-18
Claudio Giovanni BOTTINI
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 120-129
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDTJA9206
Abstract
James 5:17-18 offers a very interesting example of “Intrabiblical Interpretation of the Former Prophets”. 1 Kings 17-18 and James 5:17-18 both agree in mentioning the prophet Elijah in connection with drought and subsequent rainfall. In 1 Kings, Elijah simply pronounces an oracle: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word” (17:1). In James, the prophet, by his prayer, is granted three years and six months of drought and the subsequent rain. What is the relationship between these two texts? The answer lies in the long tradition that links them. The episode is in fact quoted or evoked in: Ecclesiasticus 48:2-3; Luke 4:25-26; Revelation 11:6, to which must be added the texts of Hellenistic Judaism (Septuagint of 1 Kings 17-18; Josephus AJ 8.319.324), of the Pseudepigrapha (Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 48.1; 4 Esdras 7:106-111), of the Targumim (Targum to the Prophets on 1 Kings 17-18; Targum of Ruth 1:1) and of Rabbinic literature (Sifra on Lev 26:4; Genesis Rabba 77.1; Deuteronomy Rabba 1:2-3). The comparison of these texts, which are part of a very long and permanent tradition on the figure of the prophet Elijah, shows that it is in Early Jewish literature that the figure of Elijah is established as a righteous man on whose supplication the heavens are shut and opened again. The sources are not unanimous on the duration of the drought; the period of three-anda-half years is found only in Luke and James. To the readers/listeners of James, Elijah is presented as a simple man and yet a model of intercessory prayer. James’ “methodology” – freely taking biblical examples characterized by interpretative traits from the re-readings attested in ancient Judaic literature – leads to the discussion on the “formation of the canon or on the awareness of a canon”. It is an acknowledged fact that in the first century, there was no canon defining the Scriptures. Therefore the discussion on how James quoted the Scriptures and evoked the biblical characters remains open, and depends on oral or written traditions.
The Greek Genitive εὐδοκίας in Luke 2:14
Jaroslav RINDOŠ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 130-135
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDUTP9652
Abstract
I interpret the Greek genitive εὐδοκίας in Luke 2:14 in line with other genitives in Luke and in the NT as God’s ‘favor/goodwill’ which describes people in some way: they are its allies or its reflection. I propose the translation: ‘people of favor/of goodwill’.
The Psalter of Blasius Aponi (1624) and the Inculturation of Faith
Svorad ZAVARSKÝ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 136-148
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDUVB2804
Abstract
The present note highlights Blasius Aponi’s Latin paraphrase of the 150 psalms, a forgotten masterpiece of Slovak Neo-Latin literature, published in 1624. On account of its metrical richness, the work can be said to represent a Central European parallel to George Buchanan’s rendering of the psalms into various Latin metres. The author of the note points to the concept of the inculturation of faith, which has the potential to become a meaningful interpretive key for Neo-Latin biblical paraphrases.
Feník, Juraj: Given to the Church. An Exegetical Analysis of Christology and Anthropology in Eph 1:20-23 and 2:5-6, Brno: Tribun EU, 2014. 370 pp. ISBN 978-80-263-0587-3.
Monika GOLIANOVÁ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 149-153
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDVRN5694
Varšo, Miroslav: Hosea, Joel, Amos (KSZ 4), Kežmarok: Vivit, ²2018. 542 pp. ISBN 978-80-8175-047-2.
Fides Iveta STRENKOVÁ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 153-158
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDXJG5054
Mackerle, Adam: Ethical Aspects of the Pre-Exilic Minor Prophets, Praha: Krystal OP, 2019. 368 pp. ISBN 978-80-7575-044-0.
Július PAVELČÍK
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 159-163
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDYDN9494
International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in Rome
Jaroslav MUDROŇ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 164-165
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDYEP1500
Annual Meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association
Libor MAREK
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 166-167
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDYOI4758
Report on the 23rd Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT), 4–9 August 2019 in Aberdeen
Jozef JANČOVIČ
volume 11, issue 2, 2019, pages 168-170
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDYOQ5358