https://publicera.kb.se/sea/issue/feedSvensk Exegetisk Årsbok 2023-12-18T08:25:32+01:00David Davagedavid.davage@altutbildning.seOpen Journal Systems<p><em>Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok </em>[the Swedish Exegetical Annual] has disseminated high-class exegetical research to an increasingly international audience since 1936. The editorial board places great value in maintaining a high standard in the annual. The journal has been available Open Access since 2012.</p>https://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12538Tio år senare2023-02-28T11:44:15+01:00Göran Eidevall<p>This “farewell lecture”, held in November 2022, begins with an overview of the current situation for biblical studies at the university level in Sweden. One may speak of a crisis, since the number of academic positions within this field is diminishing. The remainder of the lecture, consisting in three parts, aims at formulating visions for the future. In the first part, “Relevance”, the example of the so-called Uppsala school serves to illustrate one potentially advantageous aspect of biblical studies, namely its inherent cross-disciplinary character. In the second part, “Reception”, the focus lies on biblical reception studies, on a local level represented by a “new Uppsala school”, as a growing and promising multidisciplinary field. Although reception studies offers great possibilities for biblical scholars to demonstrate the societal relevance of their research, this field has certain limitations. It does not foreground the value and usefulness of traditional exegetical expertise. Is there a future also for exegesis, based on philology and textual criticism? This is discussed in the third part, “Renaissance”. I suggest that the field of exegesis needs to be expanded to include the study of a wide range of classical texts that are relevant within religious studies, for instance the Quran. Finally, I discuss the potential of yet another field of interest for biblical scholars, namely translation studies. </p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Göran Eidevallhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12091Digital and Network-Based Methods for Narrative Criticism2023-02-23T12:00:16+01:00Jens Dörpinghaus<p>The exegesis of biblical texts is usually a manual task. However, in computational linguistics, automated and artificial-intelligence-based methods are an emerging trend. This paper discusses possible intersections between computer-based natural language processing, analysis of narrative and literary texts, and narrative exegesis of biblical texts and in particular network-based methods. The problem with applying narrative criticism is its variety. The approaches differ slightly, not only due to the different original languages between OT and NT, but also between different literary approaches and schools in different countries. However, narrative approaches are a bridge to digital and network-based methods used in the humanities and computer linguistics. Thus, this paper provides an overview of already established methods and discusses a critical evaluation of possible synergies towards linked data, social network analysis, and knowledge graph approaches. Despite limitations regarding data management and accessibility several methods could be suitable for interdisciplinary research: The detection of time and space, sentiment analysis and the integration of social network analysis into narrative exegesis. Besides, the discussion with computer linguistics may give new perspectives for narrative exegesis.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Jens Dörpinghaushttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/13057Inger Ljung In memoriam 2023-03-20T15:33:42+01:00Mikael Larsson<p class="p1">Inger Ljung var 1978 den första kvinnan som disputerade i Gamla testamentets exegetik i Sverige. Under närmare 4 decennier var hon verksam vid teologiska fakulteten i Uppsala. I hennes forskningsgärning märks två återkommande teman. Det ena gäller hermeneutiska grundfrågor. Vad gör vi när vi tolkar texter? Hur kan vi tydligare skilja mellan textens historiska betydelse och dess tillämpning i vår egen tid? Vilka kriterier ska vi använda för att bedöma tolkningar? Det andra rör kvinnors roll i historien och texterna, men också dess implikationer för kvinnor idag, i akademi, kyrka och samhälle. Inger Ljung bidrar till att introducera feministisk exegetik samt till utvecklingen av receptionsforskning i Sverige.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Mikael Larssonhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12238Why Did Jesus’ Disciples Fail to Cast Out the Deaf and Mute Spirit? (Mark 9:14–29)2023-03-12T21:31:01+01:00Torsten Löfstedt<p>On the basis of a close reading of the pericope of the healing of the boy with a mute spirit as it is recorded in Mark 9:14–29, I argue that Mark intended Jesus’ enigmatic answer “this kind can can come out only through prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29, NRSV) to be a lesson for his readers on how to prepare for exorcisms. Like the disciples who failed to cast out the mute demon while Jesus’ was being transfigured, so too Mark’s readers must prepare for exorcisms by prayer and fasting, for Jesus is not present with them the way he was for his disciples during most of his earthly ministry.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Torsten Löfstedthttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/11887Becoming Acceptable before the God of Israel2023-03-06T10:57:12+01:00Martin Sanfridson<p>This study seeks to read the Pauline epistles alongside <em>Joseph and Aseneth </em>to make the argument that Paul and the author of <em>Jos</em>. <em>Asen</em>. perceived similar erroneous behaviour in the gentile world and that they made gentiles acceptable before the god of Israel in a comparable way. I argue that both authors find gentiles’ worship of idols, gods other than Israel’s god, and gentiles’ participation in non-Jewish cults to be the main problem. To become acceptable before the god of Israel, gentile Christ followers and Aseneth must undergo a transformation and only worship the god of Israel and participate in legitimate cultic behaviours.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Martin Sanfridsonhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12052Gowns, Crowns, and the Marriage Metaphor2023-02-23T11:32:05+01:00Laura Quick<p>In this essay, I consider the specifics of the language and imagery of dressing and undressing in Ezekiel 16. Jerusalem is dressed in an embroidered garment, along with other items of dress and adornment. These items occur in a variety of contexts in biblical and ancient Jewish literature: as the dress appropriate for cultic functionaries as well as the Tabernacle, and to dress angels and deities. In fact, I argue that these two usages are connected, with priestly dress itself developing from the practice of clothing cult statues. Other elements in the investiture of Jerusalem also recall procedures appropriate for a cultic statue. As such, this text “dresses” Jerusalem as a deity. These clothing items therefore connect Jerusalem to the divine sphere, transforming her status. Dressing the woman in these items can be understood as an act of divinization, making her into and marking her out as appropriate for marriage to Yahweh. Stripping the woman then undoes this act of divinization. Understanding the function of dressing and undressing therefore has implications for understanding the marriage metaphor in Ezekiel 16 and the wider Hebrew Bible, with the implication that Yahweh’s bride herself had divine status.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Laura Quickhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/18508Tryggve Mettinger In Memoriam2023-11-14T08:25:17+01:00Göran EidevallBlaženka ScheuerOla Wikander<p>Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, professor emeritus i Gamla testamentets exegetik, har avlidit i en ålder av 83 år. Hans närmaste är hustrun Solvi samt bröderna Karl och Bengt med familjer. Tryggve var professor i Gamla testamentets exegetik i Lund mellan 1978 och 2003, och han blev tidigt en av Sveriges mest namnkunniga, framstående och internationellt hyllade bibelforskare.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Göran Eidevall, Blaženka Scheuer, Ola Wikanderhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12112Paideia of Understanding and Knowledge: The Bible and Ancient Education2023-02-23T17:45:22+01:00Tobias Hägerland<p>This article is a brief introduction to the topic of ancient education and its relationship to the Bible. The various terms for education in Latin, Greek and Hebrew are discussed and their semantic content outlined. An overview of the major findings of research on educational practices in ancient Israel, the Hellenistic world and early Judaism follows. Finally, some implications of the current knowledge of ancient education for the interpretation of the Bible are proposed. It is suggested that the biblical authors’ familiarity with a broader cultural canon must be presupposed, that patterns of educational exercises can frequently be detected in biblical texts, and that one purpose of putting together biblical books into larger collections was to establish the foundation for an alternative educational culture.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Tobias Hägerlandhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12088The Hebrew Bible in Ancient Jewish Education2023-02-23T12:03:50+01:00Catherine Hezser<p>After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the end of the sacrificial service in 70 CE rabbis made Torah study and observance the basis of Jewish identity. Since no organised Jewish school system existed in Roman Palestine, only a very small proportion of the mostly male Jewish population would have been able to read, and few people had access to Torah scrolls. Rabbinic Torah experts set themselves up as intermediaries and advisers who helped ordinary people solve their daily life problems. In late antiquity, when urban rabbis served as role models and synagogues required Torah readers, Torah-reading skills may have slightly increased. At that time, rabbis’ Scripture-based public sermons and the depiction of biblical scenes on synagogue mosaic floors familiarised ordinary Jews, including women, with biblical rules and narratives. Rabbinic study and discussion would have largely depended on memorization of the biblical text rather than access to written scrolls. This phenomenon led to a creative use of the Bible, which enabled innovation, change, and adaptation to new circumstances.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Catherine Hezserhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12058The Literate Education of Early Christians, and Some of Its Unintended Consequences for Christian Exegesis2023-02-23T11:39:27+01:00Teresa Morgan<p>The landscape of education under the early Roman principate was very diverse, but the teaching of literacy was dominated by scribal training or Graeco-Roman <em>enkyklios paideia</em>, “literate education”<em>. </em>This essay asks what kind of education the earliest Christian writers had, and offers some neglected evidence, which, it suggests, may also be evidence for Hellenistic Jewish education. It considers the role of imitation in Christian education, and how early Christian imitation is distinctive. Finally, it illustrates how the increasingly sophisticated education of some Christians influenced the way they read and interpreted their own earliest and most authoritative texts.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Teresa Morganhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12067Ancient Israelite Scribal Apprenticeships2023-02-23T11:43:46+01:00William M. Schniedewind<p>This article applies the anthropological model of apprenticeship learning as articulated by Jean Lave and Etienne Wegner to the study of ancient Israelite scribalism. Apprenticeship learning created scribal “communities of practice,” and this can be identified in the ancient Hebrew inscriptional record as well as biblical texts. The main Hebrew term for an “apprentice” is naʿar, and this term appears on Hebrew seals and seal impressions. Scribal skills were learned in a variety of professions such as administrators, soldiers, merchants, prophets, and priests, and each of these professions would have had their own “community of practice.” The close-knit relationships forged by apprenticeship learning is reflected in the use of familial language such as “son of” to express different professional scribal communities.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 William M. Schniedewindhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12895Ammann, Sonja, Katharina Pyschny och Julia Rhyder (red.), Authorship and the Hebrew Bible2023-03-15T08:56:02+01:00Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Lena-Sofia Tiemeyerhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12886Balentine, Samuel E., The Lure of Transcendence and the Audacity of Prayer2023-03-15T08:52:47+01:00Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Lena-Sofia Tiemeyerhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12868Fishbane, Michael, Biblical Text and Exegetical Culture: Collected Essays2023-03-15T08:32:27+01:00Stefan Green2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Stefan Greenhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12871Flynn, Shawn W., Children in the Bible and the Ancient World: Comparative and Historical Methods in Reading Ancient Children2023-03-15T08:35:11+01:00Mikael Larsson<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Mikael Larssonhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/13048Graybill, Rhiannon, Texts after Terror: Rape, Sexual Violence, and the Hebrew Bible2023-03-20T11:49:38+01:00Hanna Liljefors<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Hanna Liljeforshttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12865Herzer, Jens, Die Pastoralbriefe und das Vermächtnis des Paulus: Studien zu den Briefen an Timotheus und Titus2023-03-15T08:26:47+01:00John-Christian Eurell<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 John-Christian Eurellhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12574Jeon, Jaeyoung, From the Reed Sea to Kadesh: A Redactional and Socio-Historical Study of the Pentateuchal Wilderness Narrative2023-03-01T23:51:17+01:00Josef Forsling<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Josef Forslinghttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/13657Jung , UnChan, A Tale of Two Churches: Distinctive Social and Economic Dynamics at Thessalonica and Corinth2023-04-12T09:22:17+02:00Kalle Lundahl<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Kalle Lundahlhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12889Koch, Ido, Thomas Römer och Omer Sergi (red.), Writing, Rewriting, and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets: Essays in Honor of Cynthia Edenburg2023-03-15T08:54:02+01:00Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Lena-Sofia Tiemeyerhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12877Lantz, Natalie, The Hypertemple in Mind: Experiencing Temple Space in Ezekiel, The Temple Scroll and Mishnah Middot2023-03-15T08:43:50+01:00Jonas Nilsson<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Jonas Nilssonhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/13546Lorenzen, Søren, Spoken into Being: Self and Name(s) in the Hebrew Bible 2023-03-31T15:02:45+02:00Richard Pleijel<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Richard Pleijelhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12880Müller, Alexander, Historische Linguistik und Redaktionsgeschichte: Spätbiblisches Hebräisch im Richterbuch2023-03-15T08:47:10+01:00Jan Retsö<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Jan Retsöhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12883Sandnes, Karl Olav, Var Paulus kristen? Har kirken forstått hans teologi og tro?2023-03-15T08:50:03+01:00Mikael Tellbe<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Mikael Tellbehttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12892Schücking-Jungblut, Friederike, Macht und Weisheit: Untersuchungen zur politischen Anthropologie in den Erzählungen vom Absalomaufstand2023-03-15T08:55:10+01:00Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Lena-Sofia Tiemeyerhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/12577Seyoon, Kim, Paul’s Gospel for the Thessalonians and Others 2023-03-03T10:59:09+01:00Gustaf W. Henriksson<p>N/A</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Gustaf W. Henrikssonhttps://publicera.kb.se/sea/article/view/13954Bibelvetenskaplig forskarutbildning i Sverige2023-05-01T15:54:28+02:00Tobias Ålöw<p>Taking the second of SES’ 2022 Exegetical Days as its point of departure, this article discusses the topic of doctoral education in biblical studies in and around Sweden today. In addition to a brief report from the conference, the article first accounts for relevant parts of the governing documents that regulate Swedish postgraduate education. Thereafter, some notable differences that emerge through a comparison of the general syllabi for doctoral studies from the pertinent institutions of higher education (Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm, Gothenburg, Lund, Umeå, and Uppsala University) are highlighted, with a focus on matters related to <em>subject</em>, <em>degree</em>, <em>distribution of credits</em>, as well as <em>usefulness for/collaboration with society</em>. The article points out basic similarities, but also highlights differences and different types of opportunities and risks that might accompany the different programs. In doing so it provides a “snapshot” of doctoral education in biblical studies in Sweden today.</p>2023-12-18T00:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Tobias Ålöw