I have just returned from the a stimulating symposium in St Andrews on the Atonement in biblical texts and traditions. I heard expertly done main papers by Deborah Rooke, David Moffitt, David Wright, Martha Himmelfarb, Carol Newsom and Catrin Williams and many short papers with the latest research on everything from the precise meaning of… Read more »
Category: Ben Sira 50
“On Angels, Men and Priests (Ben Sira, the Qumran Sabbath Songs and the Yom Kippur Avodah)” (A newly published article)
I have just received my copy of the papers from a conference in Zürich in 2015 dedicated to worship and angels in ancient Judaism and early Christianity (). I was invited to speak to the conference on the back of my 2002 book , in which I investigated the role of angels and human transformation… Read more »
On the Similitudes of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71), its Political Theology and Divine Messiah
I have just received my copy of the proceedings of a conference on Enoch literature and contemporary theology at the University of Gloucestershire, for which I provided an essay on the Similitudes of Enoch (). The Similitudes of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) is one of the most difficult and contentious of the texts that scholars… Read more »
A little noticed reference to speculation on Adam and the Merkabah in Ben Sira
I am finishing up a detour in my research schedule. Work on a small book on John 5 (forthcoming later this year) has forced me to revisit Ben Sira 50, my favourite Jewish text outside Hebrew Bible. Reading through Otto Mulder’s rich and detailed treatment of the chapter () I noticed for the first time the importance of… Read more »
The high priestly office and Jewish messianic hope
In late October last year I gave a paper at a conference at the University of Gloucestershire dedicated to 1 Enoch and Contemporary Theology. My topic was the political theology of the Similitudes of Enoch (1 En. 37–71) in its ancient context. The paper will likely appear in a published volume from the conference before… Read more »