Puns on Names as a Poetic Device in the Book of Judges

2019

This book originated in a research seminar that took place at Beit Morasha in Jerusalem in 2009-2010, attended by both Torah scholars and university-based biblical scholars. In lively group discussions that were held, questions were clarified and potential solutions were examined. The participants took turns presenting their personal outlooks and ideas, which were then critically, congenially, and constructively analyzed by the group. Professor Baruch Schwartz of the Hebrew University took an active part in directing the seminar and editing this book in its initial stages, and we would like to express our thanks for his important contributions. We also remember with admiration and affection, as well as with sadness at his untimely passing, our dear colleague, the late Professor Hanan Eshel. Hanan continued to participate in the discussion sessions until his final days, despite the pain and complications that he suffered from his illness. We learned a great deal from his wisdom and sensitivity during the seminar, but sadly did not merit his written contribution or his blessing upon the completion of the project. We would like to dedicate the fruits of our study to the memory of Hanan Eshel, a man of faith and truth. During the seminar, we realized that a compilation of source documents from traditional Jewish literature, including commentaries and works of Jewish thought, was a necessity. These sources, scattered throughout rabbinic literature in a variety of contexts, are frequently cited in essays and polemics, but have never before been presented in an organized manner to an astute readership eager to delve more deeply into the subject matter. Dr. Yoshi Fargeon agreed to our request to compile and edit a selection of primary sources that form the basis for the discussions in the specific articles in this volume, as well as throughout the scholarly literature on the subject. He also carefully reviewed the English translation to ensure that it reflected the original source and was understandable to the reader. This anthology includes sources that span from the classical rabbinic period through the current era. These pertain to textual problems in biblical studies, historical questions, theological issues, innertextual contradictions, and questions about dating and editing. This compilation, the first of its kind, is a significant contribution to research, as well as an important tool for scholars and students, present and future, who are engaged in the study, teaching, and facilitation of public discussion on this subject. The anthology comprises the first section of the book. The second section consists of a collection of articles that present a spectrum of opinions, approaches, and observations by religious thinkers, scholars, rabbis, and teachers engaged in the study and teaching of the Bible.

The Bible is a collection of Books which are recognized and used by Christian churches as the inspired record of God's revelation of himself and his will to mankind. Etymologically the word "Bible" is from Greek "biblia" or" biblion"diminutive of biblios (book),from byblos (papyrus).It is called paprus because in ancient times papyrus was used to in making the paper from which books were manufactured ( Douglas & Tennecy eds (1987).The Bible is said to have first been written in Heaven.This fact is proved in Psalm 119:89;1Peter 1:23,25;2 Peter 1:21 also in the Old Testament there are phrases such as "The word of Lord came" and " the Lord spoke" and "thus sayeth the Lord" etc.

applying those rules. (Page 16) 2. Virkler defined General Hermeneutics as the study of those rules that govern interpretation of the entire biblical text. It includes the topics of historicalcultural, contextual, lexical -syntactical and theological analyses. (Page 16) 3. Virkler defined Special Hermeneutics as the study of those rules that apply to specific genres, such as parables, allegories, types, and prophecy. (Page 16) 2. How does Virkler define: textual criticism, historical criticism, exegesis, biblical theology, systematic theology? 1. Virkler defined Textual Criticism: As sometimes referred to as lower criticism. Textual criticism is the attempt to ascertain the original wording of a text. Textual criticism is needed because we have no original manuscripts, only many copies of the originals and these copies have variations among them. (Page 17)

Kairos, 2021

The Bible was not originally written for the modern reader, but the testimony of the Church is that it continues to speak God’s word to readers/hearers today. However, many modern Bible readers come across texts that need further explanation because the biblical authors did not offer clarification of their writings. They assumed the readers of their time were familiar with the background and could understand the reported events without further explanation. To achieve a “legit” interpretation of Old Testament texts, we first need to understand Scripture correctly, meaning that the biblical text must be read in its narrower and broader context. Only within a context does it become clear what the author meant to say. The main argument of this article is to exhibit that the Bible can only be fully understood against the backdrop of the Ancient Near East (ANE). The broader context consists of the knowledge of surrounding nations during Bible times (i.e., Hebrew Bible). By examining ANE t...