Linguistics and Biblical Languages

Moses, author of Genesis, created a one-off word, used only three times, written in biblical Hebrew as ‫ַת‬ ‫נ‬ ‫סְ‬ ‫.אָ‬ In modern English this word has generally been vocalized as Asenath. Almost all commentators believe that this Egyptian woman bore a name of 'she belongs to Neith'; Neith in Koinē Greek being ΝΗΪΘ, from the Egyptian nt. In three previous papers dealing with the meanings of Zaphenath Paaneah, Potiphar, and Potipherah, it has been demonstrated that Moses chose to refer to each individual not by name but by specific titles, because Moses refrained from using Egyptian proper names due to their pagan theophoric nature: each title, ascribed or attested, detailed status and position within the elite structure of the Egyptian court. Here the same method is used to explain the status, position and identity of the woman Asenath. The identification of Asenath with the goddess Neith will be demonstrated to have been based on a number of faulty premises.

Moses, author of Genesis, created a one-off word, used only three times, written in biblical Hebrew as ‫ַת‬ ‫נ‬ ‫סְ‬ ‫.אָ‬ In modern English this word has generally been vocalized as Asenath. Almost all commentators believe that this Egyptian woman bore a name of 'she belongs to Neith'; Neith in Koinē Greek being ΝΗΪΘ, from the Egyptian nt. In three previous papers dealing with the meanings of Zaphenath Paaneah, Potiphar, and Potipherah, it has been demonstrated that Moses chose to refer to each individual not by name but by specific titles, because Moses refrained from using Egyptian proper names due to their pagan theophoric nature: each title, ascribed or attested, detailed status and position within the elite structure of the Egyptian court. Here the same method is used to explain the status, position and identity of the woman Asenath. The identification of Asenath with the goddess Neith will be demonstrated to have been based on a number of faulty premises.

The Twelve Prophets comprise twelve works each bearing the name of a different prophet, but in some contexts they have been treated as one book alongside Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; in length, they are comparable to Ezekiel. Thus in manuscripts from Qumran and from Nahal Hever, they come on one scroll. In Josephus (Against Apion 1:8), they count as one book out of the twenty-two that comprise the Torah, Prophets, and Writings, and in the Talmud (Baba Batra 14b) as one of the twenty-four books. In the 1990s there developed a scholarly interest in understanding them as one book that might reflect a process of mutual redaction.2 In what way do they hold together in substance?

Psalm 6 is a textbook example of a lament psalm, or protest psalm, as I prefer to call them. While lament is a key element in these psalms, it's not the whole, and lament doesn't need an audience, whereas protest implies that someone is the recipient of the remonstration. These psalms are addressed to someone; people are not just letting it all hang out. Typically of such psalms, Psalm 6 thus begins by addressing God, and urging God to do something; it is a prayer. And it argues and reasons with God. Then, before the end, it suddenly expresses the conviction that God has listened to this plea and is going to answer it. It has a heading with information about being the "leader's" and "David's" and about how to sing it; the terms of the description are something of a mystery, but they do indicate that what reads like an individual's prayer found a place in the community's worship.

Este texto está profundamente arraigado en el monoteísmo judeocristiano, proclamando la unicidad de Dios. Sin embargo, el análisis textual muestra que esta declaración aparentemente sencilla contiene múltiples variantes, reflejando las complejidades de la transmisión textual y las tensiones teológicas en las comunidades cristianas primitivas. La unidad de Dios era una afirmación crucial frente a las influencias del politeísmo grecorromano, el judaísmo tradicional y las corrientes heréticas dentro del cristianismo, como el arrianismo y el gnosticismo. Las variantes textuales, por lo tanto, no son meros errores de copistas; también reflejan debates doctrinales, enfoques estilísticos y la adaptación cultural del mensaje cristiano. A. Las variantes que presenta Santiago 2:19 son las siguientes: ( σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός) "tú crees que uno es Dios" 1. B ei= j ἐστιν ὁ θεό ς (uno es Dios) 1

There has been an awakening in the American church to the racial evils of the past, yet it seems evangelical Christians are farther apart than ever when it comes to discussing racial matters. This paper offers a framework with six primary talking points to develop conversations across racial and ethnic lines.

The concern of this paper is to argue that “the righteousness of God” in the Apostle Paul’s The Letter to the Romans (1:17) addresses not only sin as guilt but also sin as enslaving and corrupting power. In other words, the righteousness of God as the righteousness Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection is the basis of the believer’s justification and the basis of the believer’s definitive sanctification. Both justification and definitive sanctification are experienced in union with the exalted Christ by faith, and thus both are directly related to Christ’s death and resurrection. Justification is not the cause of definitive sanctification, nor is definitive sanctification an addendum to justification. Although justification is not the cause of definitive sanctification, it does play an important role in the believer’s progressive sanctification, that is, the believer’s ongoing spiritual renewal.
      “The righteousness of God” that constitutes the gospel as the power of God for salvation is a justifying power; a justifying power in that it is a judicial power that effects a change in the believer’s legal status before God, making no change in the believer’s spiritual condition. Justification by faith in Christ results in the believer no longer standing before God as a guilty sinner subject to the wrath of God but standing before God forgiven and accepted as righteous. Justification is discussed in 3:21-5:19, pages 9-14. At the same time, “the righteousness of God” that constitutes the gospel as the power of God for salvation is a sanctifying power; a sanctifying power in that it is a judicial power that effects a change in the believer’s spiritual condition, making no contribution to the believer’s justification. Sanctification by faith in Christ results in the believer no longer walking before God, enslaved to the corrupting power of sin, but walking with God in a new Spirit-empowered life. Sanctification is discussed in 5:20-8:11, pages 15-31. Justification and definitive sanctification are equal partners in the salvation of sinners. Justification and definitive sanctification are distinct but inseparable and experienced simultaneously.

This brief article provides a preview of a new book which is soon to be published. The aim of this book is to show how the Book of Revelation is important for, and relevant to, everybody, whether academically inclined, or not so.
It contains a full outline of its most elegant and systematic structure, with particular reference to its Hebrew discourse characteristics.

This paper continues analysing the Moses methodology used in transcribing a set of Egyptian loan words into Hebrew in Genesis 39-41, namely ‫ע‬ ‫רַ‬ ‫פֶ‬ ‫י‬ ‫ּפֹוטִ‬ pôṭî pēraʿ and the reasons why he chose to write them the way he did. The forensic study presented here reveals that Moses transcribed titles and epithets to identify an important Egyptian, rather than write a name or titles bearing theophoric elements. From this original set of Egyptian words transcribed into Old Hebrew, they have subsequently been transcribed into Modern English, 1 as Potipherah. The question also raised here is whether or not Potiphar and Potipherah are different spellings relating to the same man or two quite separate individuals in the Joseph Story. In this paper the spelling of Potipherah is preferred, except when citing or quoting from other source materials or authors. Potipherah will be shown to be a three-part ascribed status title in the same way Pharaoh pr ꜢꜤ was an ascribed two-part status title. Also any reference to the Consensus Egyptian Chronology in this paper is denoted by the acronym CEC.

This paper continues analysing the Moses methodology used in transcribing a set of Egyptian loan words into Hebrew in Genesis 39-41, namely ‫ע‬ ‫רַ‬ ‫פֶ‬ ‫י‬ ‫ּפֹוטִ‬ pôṭî pēraʿ and the reasons why he chose to write them the way he did. The forensic study presented here reveals that Moses transcribed titles and epithets to identify an important Egyptian, rather than write a name or titles bearing theophoric elements. From this original set of Egyptian words transcribed into Old Hebrew, they have subsequently been transcribed into Modern English, 1 as Potipherah. The question also raised here is whether or not Potiphar and Potipherah are different spellings relating to the same man or two quite separate individuals in the Joseph Story. In this paper the spelling of Potipherah is preferred, except when citing or quoting from other source materials or authors. Potipherah will be shown to be a three-part ascribed status title in the same way Pharaoh pr ꜢꜤ was an ascribed two-part status title. Also any reference to the Consensus Egyptian Chronology in this paper is denoted by the acronym CEC.

פרשת היעלמותם של ילדי עולים מיוצאי תימן ועֵדות אחרות קרתה בשנות המדינה הראשונות. חקירה בעניינה החלה בעקבות תלונותיהם של בני משפחות על ילדיהם שאבדו, והיא נחקרה פעמים מספר. בשתי הזדמנויות שונות, בהפרש של כמעט שלושים שנה, מסרו מאות משפחות עדויות לגורמי חקירה רשמיים.
עדויות מאוחרות הן מקור היסטורי שנוי במחלוקת. היסטוריונים חלוקים על טיבן ואמינותן של עדויות אלו ועל טיב המידע שאפשר לבסס עליהן. מחקרים על טיבו של הזיכרון מעידים שהזיכרון איננו תיעוד מדויק של אירועי העבר אלא הוא תיעוד דינמי. אירועי ההווה, דברים שנשמעו מאחרים וגם גורמים אחרים משפיעים על זיכרון העבר.
פרשת ילדי תימן היא הזדמנות ייחודית לבדוק את הנושא. אני משווה במאמר בין עשרות עדויות שנתנו בני משפחה לוועדת החקירה בשנות השישים ובין העדויות שנתנו אותן משפחות (ולעִתים אותם עדים ממש) לוועדת החקירה בשנות התשעים.
ההשוואה מלמדת על הבדלים בפרטים רבים. למשל על שוני בדיווח על מצב בריאותו של הילד, בדיווח על הבשורה על פטירת הילד ובתגובת ההורים לפטירה זו וכן על היעדרם של פרטים חשובים רבים אשר מרמזים על אפשרות חטיפה מהעדויות המוקדמות. מהשוואה זו עולה שעדויות מאוחרות הן מקור בעייתי ואי אפשר לבסס עליו טענות היסטוריות כבדות משקל.

This book should be read by anyone who wants to learn how to read the Hebrew Bible seriously, not just Bible translators, whom the United Bibles Societies organization envisions as the primary audience. This is a substantial treatment of Hebrew poetry that does not require the reader to know the Biblical Hebrew language, though biblical texts in the original language are occasionally used, as are some transliterated African poetic snippets. The conclusion of each chapter consists of "Questions for Discussion," which would be provocative for individual or group study. Most of the texts in Biblical Hebrew are found in these sections.

WZunächst wird auf das Konsonanten- dann auf das Vokalsystem eingegangen,
wodurch ein Gesamtüberblick möglich ist. Der Leser kann zunächst, wenn ihm
die Theorie zu mühsam ist, die letzten Kapitel vorwegzunehmen, in denen das
eigentliche Lesen einfach eintrainiert wird. Es empfiehlt sich jedoch, nicht nur
die Erläuterungen dieser Arbeit zur Kenntnis zu nehmen, sondern eine gute
Audio-Aufnahme zu hören und parallel dazu den hebräischen Text zusammen zu
lesen, wodurch sich viele Probleme von selbst lösen.
Darauf folgen die Besprechung der Stämme, der Wortarten wie Nomina,
Adjektive, Partikel, Artikel, Pronomen, Kasus und der Unterschiede in der
Flexion und der Negation. Eine syntaktische Einbettungstiefe höher werden Satzglieder und dann die Textlinguistik behandelt.

The article explores the function of the lengthened imperative form in Biblical Hebrew, proposing that its primary role is to mark politeness rather than being redundant or purely stylistic. While earlier scholarship often dismissed it as tautological, this study integrates insights from linguistic politeness theory, including positive and negative politeness strategies. Examples from biblical texts, particularly the Psalms, demonstrate how the lengthened imperative is employed to mitigate face-threatening acts, express deference, or create a sense of urgency. The form is also linked to relational and rhetorical strategies, highlighting the dynamics of speaker-addressee interactions. The study acknowledges the overlap with other interpretations, such as directionality or euphony, and suggests that politeness offers a unifying explanation for the form’s diverse usage contexts.

This study evaluated the grammar competency level of intermediate learners at Sohoton Elementary School, Malimono, Surigao del Norte, through the use of a song-based approach to grammar instruction. It specifically assessed learners' proficiency in eight grammar components-nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections-using pre-test and post-test measures. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving an experimental group taught with researcher-developed song-based lessons and a control group taught using conventional methods. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and t-tests. Findings revealed that both groups initially exhibited developing competence in basic grammar categories, with the lowest performance in adverbs and conjunctions. The experimental group showed marked improvement after the intervention, achieving proficient competence in interjections and developing competence in conjunctions and adjectives. In contrast, the control group showed only minimal gains and even declined in some areas. The post-test results indicated a statistically significant improvement in the experimental group, confirming the effectiveness of the song-based approach. Hence, the study concluded that integrating a song-based approach into grammar instruction is both engaging and effective in enhancing grammar teaching and learning. A compendium of these lessons was developed and is recommended as a practical resource for wider adoption by educators.

This essay examines the artistic representations and inscriptions associated with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It discusses the discovery of a wooden relic with three inscriptions in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, resembling the trilingual title of Jesus on the Cross. The artifact, found during restoration work of the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, in Rome, inspired artists and influenced the iconography of Jesus in crucifixion scenes. The study analyzes the artistic renditions of the inscriptions and their variations in different works of art. It also compares the Gospel accounts of the inscription, emphasizing the variations in wording and language. Through philological and art historical research, the author contributes to the understanding of the visual representation and cultural significance of the titulus crucis in art from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.

Many modern Christians advocate what may be called the Physics First hermeneutic of Genesis 1, according to which the intention of at least the first verse is to outright teach that God created space and matter as such, not the General cosmos and the special Earth. I that argue this hermeneutic is misguided. In this article, I argue this by way of picturing a human readership of Genesis 1 that has never known of a way of life like that on the Earth.

Purpose of The Project Key Terms of the Old Testament is a tool for Bible translators and consultants. Its purpose is to make current research on some of the most important key terms of the Old Testament available to the translation community, using a minimum of technical language. KTOT is not just a dictionary; it provides extended discussions of the cultural background of these terms, some description of grammar, comparisons of similar and contrastive terms, descriptions of the history of the translation of the term, and translation suggestions. It is intended to be a practical resource to help Bible translators and consultants do their work well. This developing project was first released in February 2020 with 22 articles. Now, this ninth release contains 98 articles, and includes an English reverse finders list. Most of the articles describe just one Hebrew word, or one cluster of Hebrew words. But twelve of the articles have English titles; some of these are about cultural topics, while others give an overview of several Hebrew terms in the same semantic domain. How to Access KTOT Key Terms of the Old Testament is available for translators in both Paratext and Translator's Workplace Logos. It is presently part of the installation package for Paratext 9.

The CLT method is suggested as an alternative method of teaching biblical languages because of its relevance and effectiveness in teaching foreign languages to second language acquisition learners. The sample consisted of sixty CRS students and eight lecturers of biblical languages in Nigerian universities. The instrument for the study was a self-structured questionnaire for both students and lecturers meant to find out the connection between the biblical language lecturers' method of teaching and students' lack of interest and academic performance. Data collected was

"Fragmentation" is a well-worn watchword in contemporary biblical studies. But is endless fragmentation across the traditional domains of epistemology, methodology and hermeneutics the inevitable future for the postmodern exercise of biblical scholarship? In our view, multiple factors mitigate against such a future, but two command our attention here. First, digital humanities itself, through its principled use of corpora, databases and computer-based methods, seems to be remarkably capable of producing findings with high levels of face validity (interpretive agreement) across multiple hermeneutical perspectives and communities. Second, and perhaps more subversively, there is a substantial body of practitioners that, per Kearney, actively question postmodernity's

Multilingual Jesus The Gospels are written in Greek, Koine Greek, the dialect that evolved from the conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC). Thus the words of Jesus are preserved in Greek. Writing in 1970, James Barr rejected the possibility that Jesus taught in Greek, saying that he is "following the opinion which has been held by the vast majority of competent scholars in the field" (p.9). The question in Barr's mind was the extent to which Jesus may have used Mishnaic (early Rabbinic) Hebrew alongside Aramaic. Writing 37 years after Barr, John Poirier thoroughly sifts the evidence and concludes:

This edited volume is the result of a conference held at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in April 2019. The aim of the conference, and the book, is to acquaint students with current critical issues in New Testament Greek studies. The book succeeds in introducing the major issues surrounding Greek in New Testament studies today. In the preface, David Alan Black, co-editor and conference co-organizer with Benjamin Merkle, provides the current scenario of biblical Greek studies, identifying several problematic areas, including apprehension of new models and continued disagreements in subjects like verbal aspect and Greek pronunciation. In spite of these problems, Black sees much positivity and more agreements than the often-highlighted disagreements, such as the increasing acceptance of modern linguistics and models of understanding the Greek language. The first chapter is by Stanley Porter on linguistic schools which have had some sort of impact, advertently or inadvertently, on Greek language studies. It is an apt first chapter in establishing key schools and methodologies that underlie the variety of approaches in Greek. He observes that identifying one's linguistic framework when approaching Greek studies is far more important than the student may realize, especially since every approach to Greek betrays some sort of an underlying framework. Constantine Campbell, in the second chapter, addresses one of the most commonly discussed and hotly debated topics in Greek studies, verbal aspect and tense. After tracing a brief history of aspect in Koine Greek, including a discussion on Aktionsart, Campbell identifies some of the major commonalities and differences among Koine Greek scholars regarding aspect. For instance, most agree that aspect is the dominant category of the Greek verb; the debate is whether or not tense is also an applicable category. The third chapter is on the perfect tense-form by Michael Aubrey. He begins the chapter by problematizing the complexities of learning Greek grammar, especially for first-and secondyear Greek students, and offers an approach to "equip students with the tools to evaluate alternative approaches on their own" (p. 56). Two important concepts for Aubrey in his approach are event structure and transitivity, although it is unclear how some of the categories are to be determined, such as high vs. low transitivity. There also seems to be a conflation between lexical stativity and aspectual stativity in the explanation of stativity. Chapter 4 is on the middle voice by Jonathan Pennington, who explains the challenge against deponency as a category. His autobiographical survey in the beginning of the chapter is helpful to see the journey by which he came to see the illegitimacy of deponency, arguing that the function of the middle voice grammaticalizes subject-affectedness or involvement. Chapter 5 is by Steven Levinsohn on discourse analysis. While acknowledging various approaches to linguistics (and thus discourse analysis), Levinsohn admits to using a Prague School approach. The chapter focuses on discourse structure, including analysis of constituent order, conjunctions, and the perfect tense-form, stating that the meaning of these elements should be distinguished from their "overtones," although it is unclear exactly how the reader is to identify these overtones. Furthermore, while admitting to a Prague School approach, Levinsohn's approach also reflects a typological approach, as he states that "New Testament Greek discourse

Abstract: In the matter of the Synoptic Problem, proponents of Markan priority have frequently enlisted the divergence between Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:5 as evidence for their theory. This article examines the pericopae of both in order to ascertain whether the commonly drawn conclusion is in fact valid. The verdict reached shows that a broader and deeper analysis of the language used in these texts results in nothing of any substance that justifies the Mark-first hypothesis. Rather, a number of indicators may reasonably be taken as pointing to the reverse, namely that Mark knew and redacted Matthew.
Key words: Synoptic Problem, Christology, redaction, dependence, miracles, historic present

Over fifty years ago Mitchell Dahood first noticed “a new metrical pattern in biblical poetry.” An outgrowth of his work on the Psalms, Dahood coined the term “double-duty modifier” to describe a pattern where one Hebrew term simultaneously modifies two (or more) others (see, e.g., Psalm 6:11 MT). In subsequent years, several other scholars not only confirmed the phenomenon for Hebrew and Northwest Semitic poetry more generally, but also added substantially to its description and codification. In more recent years, however, interest in double-duty modifiers seems to have diminished. The burden of this paper is threefold. First, I wish simply to bring greater attention to double-duty modifiers, which are both ubiquitous and interesting. Second, working with the Psalms as a corpus, I wish to contribute to the methodological basis for describing or acknowledging double-duty modifiers by appealing to Relevance Theory and Bayes’ Theorem. Third, I will add some new examples of double-duty modifiers from the Psalms, including a new type that has not (so far as I am aware) been observed before. Throughout, I will suggest both that the phenomenon is more common than has been thought, and also that it can enhance—sometimes significantly—our exegetical and aesthetic understanding of texts.

L'originalité linguistique et lexicographique de Qohélet n'est plus à démontrer. Le livre totalise, à lui tout seul, plus de hapax legomena dans le contexte de la Bible hébraïque. Pour Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, l'auteur se serait servi de concepts étrangers à l'hébreu pour forger son vocabulaire propre. Peu de temps après, donc en , Palm identifia ces supposées sources étrangères avec les vestiges littéraires grecs, donnant ainsi naissance à une riche activité exégétique d'ordre comparatiste, dont l'objectif premier était de « traquer » les indices phénoménologiques susceptibles de révéler les traces d'influence hellénistique sur Qohélet. Ces études à tendance majoritairement généalogique allaient pourtant connaître une révolution paradigmatique lorsqu'en , Jean-François Champollion déchiffre l'écriture et la langue égyptiennes, rendant ainsi audible la Pierre de Rosette découverte bien avant, aux environs de juillet par Pierre-François-Xavier Bouchard, un lieutenant de Bonaparte. L'accès aux s e bayit (« enseignements ») du Pharaon Amenemope suscite alors la curiosité pour les traditions littéraires du Proche-Orient ancien. Les recherches se tournent vers les racines égyptiennes et mésopotamiennes de la tradition sapientielle et littéraire biblique. Toutefois, si nul ne peut nier à Qohélet sa perméabilité avec les cultures du Raymond E. BROWN (dir.), Comentario Bíblico « San Jerónimo », t.

Is the pre-woman, man-and-God block of text in Genesis 2 intending to be demotive of the woman? I demonstrate it's to very much to the contrary. Even Proverbs 25:2 intends to encourage the godly to study Scripture. And, Scripture is not a 'Complete Idiot's Guide to Scripture.

Abstract: BEHOLDING THE GLORY OF THE LORD: A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY FROM GLORY TO GLORY An Exegetical Essay on 2 Corinthians 3:18

This exegetical essay examines 2 Corinthians 3:18, highlighting the transformative journey believers experience as they behold the δόξα (doxa) of the Lord. A key concept in Paul’s theology, this verse underscores the ongoing process of sanctification and spiritual transformation, empowered by the Πνεῦμα (Pneuma), the Holy Spirit. The essay explores the Greek term κατοπτρίζομαι (katoptrizomai), which refers to reflecting or beholding as in a mirror. This word is significant in illustrating how believers, through contemplation of God's glory, begin to reflect His image. Unlike passive observation, this word suggests an active, transformative process where the believer’s life mirrors the glory of the Lord, much like how a mirror reflects the image of those who look into it.

By considering the historical, literary, and theological context, the essay contrasts the παλαιὰ διαθήκη (palaia diathēkē) and the νέα διαθήκη (nea diathēkē), the old and new covenants, and their implications for Christian life. Through the Greek term ἀτενίζω (atenizō), meaning "to gaze at" or "to look intently," the passage reveals that believers are not only passively seeing but actively reflecting God’s glory as they grow in likeness to Christ. The journey of being transformed ἐκ δόξης εἰς δόξαν (ek doxēs eis doxan), from glory to glory, is a continuous process, powered by the Spirit, as believers progressively become more like Christ. Through this analysis, the essay emphasizes that sanctification is a divine, ongoing work, inviting believers to engage deeply with God's glory and anticipate the transformative power of His Spirit in their lives.

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted Evangelism offering both opportunities and challenges for Christian ministry. AI-driven tools enhance outreach, personalize messages, and facilitate discipleship. However, they also raise ethical concerns, especially when viewed through a pastoral lens. This article examines the ethical implications of using AI for Evangelism focusing on issues such as the authenticity of human interaction, data privacy, manipulation, and the erosion of relational ministry. Drawing on insights from African and Western scholars, this work explores how Christian leaders can responsibly integrate AI while maintaining Evangelism's integrity and relational essence. The article argues that the responsible use of AI requires a balance between leveraging technology and safeguarding the core values of the Gospel, ensuring that AI tools enhance rather than diminish the relational dynamics central to the Christian faith.

This volume is the result of the 2021 session of the Linguistics and the Biblical Text research group of the Institute for Biblical Research, which addresses the history, relevance, and prospects of broad theoretical linguistic frameworks in the field of biblical studies. Cognitive Linguistics, Functional Grammar, generative linguistics, historical linguistics, complexity theory, and computational analysis are each allotted a chapter, outlining the key theoretical commitments of each approach, their major concepts and/or methods, and their important contributions to contemporary study of the biblical text.

As academic disciplines and academic publishing proliferate and become more complex in a digital and global context, synthesising volumes such as this one have taken on new importance for both specialists and generalists alike. That is particularly the case in interdisciplinary areas of research. This volume therefore sets out to make linguistic theory clearer and more accessible to biblical scholars in particular, not only by careful explanation but also by specific illustration, drawing upon ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages within the Christian biblical corpus. The volume assists the reader in distinguishing the separate assumptions and scope of study for the separate theories, recognising methods of approach that can be applied to any of the theories, and the role of an umbrella theory to enable all the others to fruitfully interact.

The bibliographies provided are structured for the non-specialist, noting handbooks, companions, and glossaries, general introductions, and foundational texts.

In so doing, this volume presents not only a fully up-to-date cross-section of linguistic research in biblical scholarship but also an explicit path into the field, while highlighting important avenues for continued investigation and collaboration.

Searching for Jonah offers a fresh, eclectic, and indisputably imaginative approach to interpreting one of the most famous stories in all of literature. The author (Don E. Jones), a lifelong Bible scholar, applies evidence from Hebrew and Assyrian history and etymology, along with scientific and archeological discoveries. The author concludes that Jonah was a state-sponsored evangelist and diplomat, acting on behalf of an official cult in Bethel. He was sent to Nineveh in Assyria to make alliance with a rebel faction that was friendly to Israel. In this he succeeded, and changed history. (Editing of formal citations and Afterword by Gerald Everett Jones)

For the Old Covenant people of God, Psalm 89 must have been a source of great hope while also conveying a message of deep perplexity! This was undoubtedly especially true for believers during Judah’s exile and Babylonian captivity. Beginning with the anointing of King David and God’s establishment of a covenant with him, the hope and conviction of God’s covenant people was that there would always be a time when a king would be on his throne.

Alter has noted the emphasis of direct speech for narratives and B. M. Rocine has offered a discourse analysis model which prioritizes embedded speech within narratives for micro analysis. How can embedded and direct speech be incorporated into macro-analysis? Conversational analysis may provide an intriguing solution. By integrating certain elements of linguistics conversational analysis may offer a way to discern larger structures in monologue and dialogue laden genres. The prophecy of Habakkuk is a continuous dialogue between the prophet and God and is of manageable size making it an ideal initial case study. This paper will seek to analyze the book of Habakkuk through the four interactional organization strategies described by Paul Ten Have. After the analysis has been completed quantitative and qualitative findings will be detailed as well as an assessment of its usefulness in later studies.

At first glance, a sword does not seem to guarantee peace; but, obviously the symbolism can be other than violent! I would say that the contradictory meaning of Chorev ‫חרב‬ which means ruin, dry up, noble, examination (test), but also sword… But, knowing the letter Heth and its reputation as a letter that tests us, I am not surprised that it is so! This letter requires us to make an effort to grow!

“But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple” (Ps. 5:7). We pray that the Lord blesses this day and allows it to be successful, ultimately for the glory of His holy Name, but also for the edification of our souls, bodies, spirits, minds, and hearts. We pray this service is beneficial for those who participate eagerly and with an open heart, to embody the spirit of our mother the Coptic Orthodox Church and her Fathers in all that pertain to Christian life, the life of the Church, and proper Orthodox worship and conduct.

Psalms are performance literature and were prepared for communities to engage with orally. The sound patterns, rhythm, and use of many performance features strengthen the communication of the meaning and facilitate the audience to participate in the worship within the psalms.

This paper explores an approach to translating psalms in which community poets and musicians begin by focusing on listening to the text and exploring orally the big themes and poetic patterns. Next they engage in various creative activities relevant to the text and to their contexts. Then they analyze the text carefully, using the traditional exegetical approach. This helps firm up the oral text, bringing it closer to the Hebrew, but retains the initial creativity that emerged in the earlier exercises. Finally, the exegetically-accurate written text is adjusted, as needed, for community performance. The methodology has been used with two communities in Africa and initial results are encouraging.

The evidence is as yet inconclusive as to what language Jesus would have normally spoken to the Jewish crowds or to his disciples. However, for nearly the last century, "it has become practically a generally accepted tradition that the mother tongue of Jesus, the language he knew best and therefore usually spoke, was Aramaic." 1 This is mainly due to the conclusions of Dalman, 2 "who stated that, though Jesus may have known Hebrew, and probably spoke Greek, he certainly taught in Aramaic." 3 Some New Testament scholars have even gone as far as to say that "Jesus only spoke in Aramaic." 4 Based on more recent historical research and linguistic data, the purpose of this paper is to show that Jesus spoke Greek, had the linguistic ability to teach in Greek, and at times may indeed have taught in Greek. There may, in fact, exist instances recorded in the Gospels where Jesus conversed and possibly taught in Greek. After this fact is established, this paper will call for a more serious consideration of the implications of this possibility by New Testament scholars and highlight the need for more research in this area. This paper will focus on the Biblical text from both an historical and literary perspective. First of all, it will give a brief overview of what is known historically of the languages spoken in first-century Palestine. This will serve to establish the scope of Jesus' linguistic possibilities and then to determine what languages Jesus probably spoke. It will next give an analysis of the words of Jesus that are recorded in the Gospels, particularly the occurrences of Aramaic words in the Gospel of Mark, in order to further determine what languages Jesus spoke. Lastly, it will examine a particular case study from a Gospel pericope in which it seems most probable that we can ascertain the very Greek words that Jesus spoke.

Andy Warren-Rothlin l. Introduction Anecdotal eddence abounds on the importance of locallanguage B.ible translations to evangelism in Africa. The stories are usually along tne-11113,s of 'God speaks-yiuoguuge!', and they pepper the pages, of UBS and SIL magazines , pr?Lyer tuttetins and cofiee-iaUte books.2 Though such publication .-" o"""ssarily geared to their readership of mostly western dooo.., who are increasingly interested in quick and quantifiable results, a survey of them would dou6tiess give one legitimate take on the role of Bible fianslation in evangelism in Africa. Serious histories have also been w Way reioicing: The History and Rt Mojola's God sPeaks in our own I

Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird Ijob 28 in der Perspektive einer ästhetischen Theologie des Alten Testaments, wie sie vornehmlich Helmuth Utzschneider vertritt, untersucht. Entsprechend der Grundbedeutung der Begriffe Ästhetik und Theologie stehen die Wahrnehmung im Allgemeinen und die Wahrnehmung Gottes im Besonderen im Zentrum der Betrachtung. Hierfür werden im Großen die ästhetische Gestalt und der theologische Gehalt (die Literarizität und die Theologie, die literarische Ästhetik und die ästhetische Theologie) von Ijob 28 beleuchtet, wobei der Fokus auf dem theologischen Gehalt liegt. Die Untersuchung folgt der These, dass die Analyse von Ijob 28 in ästhetisch-theologischer Blickrichtung einen neuen Verstehenshorizont des Kapitels eröffnet. Dabei birgt das Ergebnis das Potential, Strukturen des Lebens zu heben und bewusst zu machen, um desgleichen deren Erneuerung im Horizont der Gottesfurcht herauszufordern.