Festschrift in Honor of Professor Paul Nadim Tarazi: Volume 3- Studies in Intertestamental, Extra-Canonical, and Early Christian Literature

222 Pages·2014·1.526 MB·English

by  Tom Dykstra (editor), Vahan S. Hovhanessian (editor)

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Dykstra_cpi_cb_NORMAN~1.qxp 11/14/2014 9:20 PM Page 1
5 B@IBLE IN THE CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX TRADITION
D
Y
K
S
This is the third of three volumes dedicated to Professor Paul Nadim T
Festschrift in Honor
R
Tarazi. Volume 3 of Festschrift in Honor of Professor Paul Nadim Tarazi
A
is a collection of articles discussing the latest findings in a variety of the- ,
e
ological subjects related to the Bible as received and interpreted in the d
. of Professor Paul
Orthodox Church tradition. Scholars from around the world have con-
tributed their recent findings in the field of their research and teaching
in this volume.
Nadim Tarazi
F
e
@ s
t
s
c
h
r V 3
if OLUME
t
i
n

H
o
n Studies @in Intertestamental,
o
r
V o Extra-Canonical, and Early
f
O
Tom Dykstrais an independent scholar who has edited many of Paul LP
Uro Christian Literature
Nadim Tarazi’s books since 1988. He has an M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Mf
e
Orthodox Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Es
s
3o
Washington. Dr. Dykstra is the author of Mark Canonizer of Paul: A New r
P
Look at Intertextuality in Mark’s Gospel and numerous articles in bib- a
u
lical studies. He has also published books and articles about Russian his- l
N
tory,including Hallowed Be Thy Name: The Name-Glorifying Dispute
a
d
in the Russian Orthodox Church and on Mt. Athos, 1912–1914and
i
m
Russian Monastic Culture: “Josephism” and the Iosifo-Volokolamsk
T
Monastery 1479–1607. a
r
a
z
i

P
E
T
E
R Edited by
L
A
N Tom Dykstra
G
WWW.PETERLANG.COM
Festschrift in Honor of
Professor Paul Nadim Tarazi
@

BIBLE IN THE CHRISTIAN
ORTHODOX TRADITION

Vahan S. Hovhanessian
General Editor

Vol. 5

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Festschrift in Honor of
Professor Paul Nadim Tarazi

V 3
OLUME
Studies in Intertestamental,
Extra-Canonical, and Early Christian Literature

Edited by
Tom Dykstra

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data provided for Volume 1
Festschrift in honor of Professor Paul Nadim Tarazi, Volume 1:
Studies in the Old Testament / edited by Nicolae Roddy.
p. cm. — (Bible in the Christian Orthodox tradition; v. 3)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible—Theology.
I. Tarazi, Paul Nadim. II. Roddy, Nicolae.
BS511.3.F47 221.6—dc23 2012035352
Vol. 1: ISBN 978-1-4331-1458-8 (hardcover) | ISBN 978-1-4539-0837-2 (e-book)
Vol. 2: ISBN 978-1-4331-1460-1 (hardcover) | ISBN 978-1-4539-0838-9 (e-book)
Vol. 3: ISBN 978-1-4331-1461-8 (hardcover) | ISBN 978-1-4539-0790-0 (e-book)
ISSN 1947-5977
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
© 2015 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................ vii
Preface ................................................................................................................. xi
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. xiii
V. Rev. Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi: Brief Biography and Bibliography ................... xv
Abbreviations .....................................................................................................x xi

Orthodox Biblical Studies in Greece in the Second Half of the 20th Century,
John Karavidopoulos ........................................................................................... 1
The Contribution of Professor Paul N. Tarazi to the Development of
Romanian Biblical Studies, Stelian Tofan(cid:259) .................................................... 13
“Bow your head low to the great; rescue the oppressed from the oppressor.”
Ben Sira and the Struggle with Elitism, Michael G. Azar .............................. 23
Can These Bones Live? Ezekiel, Jesus and the Challenge of the “Other,” John
A. Jillions ................................................................................................................. 37
Peaceful or Violent Eschatology: A Palestinian Christian Reading of the
Psalter, Yohanna Katanacho .................................................................................. 51
You are the Man, 2 Samuel 11-12 as a Rhetorical Paradigm for Contemporary
Preaching, Rev. Fr. Sergius Halvorsen .................................................................... 65
A Linguistic and Metaphoric Approach to Scripture, Rev. Fr. Christopher
Salamy ..................................................................................................................... 79
Does the Biblical Qadosh Lead to a Hypostatic Personhood? Bishop Maxim
Vasiljevic .................................................................................................................. 93
Early Syriac Evidence on the Chosen People and the Promised Land, Merja
Merras ....................................................................................................................1 03
Perspectives on Women in Early Christian Apocryphal Texts, Cornelia B. Horn
and Robert R. Phenix, Jr. .......................................................................................1 15
Teach Us John Chrysostom: Biblical Education and Rhetorical Art, Ann
Bezzerides ...............................................................................................................1 33

Notes ................................................................................................................. 161

Index ................................................................................................................. 195

Foreword
T
he first two volumes in this Festschrift series focus mainly on Old Tes-
tament and New Testament exegesis. This last volume in the series in-
cludes articles that relate to the field of scriptural studies in different
ways. Some examine biblical texts, but with more of an emphasis on practical
or theological implications. Others study how early Christians understood and
applied what they learned from Scripture. Still others are about modern schol-
ars who study Scripture.
The volume begins with two surveys of modern scriptural scholarship.
John Karavidopoulos chronicles the development of scriptural studies in
Greece in the latter half of the twentieth century. He looks at the causes of in-
creased interest in Scripture, identifies the biblical texts that scholars studied
most frequently, and recounts the development of disciplines such as textual
criticism and historical criticism. He concludes with recommendations for fu-
ture directions that Greek scholars should take.
Stelian Tofan(cid:259) also surveys the history of biblical scholarship in his own
country—Romania in this case—but focuses on an aspect of that history espe-
cially relevant to this Festschrift publication: the influence of Fr. Paul Nadim
Tarazi. He shows how Tarazi challenged Romanian biblical scholars to look at
Scripture in new ways. Tofan(cid:259) asserts that Tarazi’s work helped to define “an
anastasic Christology of the New Testament,” that is, one that keeps the ap-
propriate balance and unity between Christ’s death on the cross and his resur-
rection.
The common theme in the next group of articles is one especially dear to
Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi’s heart: scriptural exegesis leading to practical conclu-
sions for our lives and behavior. In the first installment of this group, Michael
G. Azar shows how the author of Sirach offers an example and advice that dif-
fers from the confrontational style that we see in some of the prophets. Ac-
cording to Ben Sira, we can do God’s work without making ourselves odious
to those in authority over us. Azar summarizes Ben Sira’s advice as “‘Endear
yourself to the congregation; bow your head low to the great. Give a hearing to
the poor . . . Rescue the oppressed from the oppressor’ (4:7-9), but do so tact-
fully.”
viii •PAUL NADIM TARAZI•

John A. Jillions finds in the New Testament a different sort of corrective
to an Old Testament prophetic message. He suggests that Orthodox Chris-
tians have too uncritically assimilated Ezekiel’s warning against outsiders or
foreigners. In Ezekiel’s culture, foreigners were dangerous because they could
seduce Israel away from its God. But Jesus proclaimed a new message for a dif-
ferent cultural reality, one that welcomes “the other” into the messianic com-
munity. Can Orthodox Christians follow Jesus’ call and “embrace a more
inclusive way of thinking about the other, especially other Christians?” By ex-
plaining the unique context behind Ezekiel’s apparent rejection of such inclu-
siveness, Jillions hopes to help create an environment in which the answer to
that question is positive.
Yohanna Katanacho’s article describes another instance of tension be-
tween conflicting attitudes in different biblical texts. Certain psalms could be
read as ethnocentric (for example the royal ones, such as 1-2 and 72), but Kat-
anacho interprets them within the context of the failure of the Davidic cove-
nant (Book III of the Psalms, Pss 73–89, especially Psalm 89) and the suffering
of the righteous (e.g., Psalm 73). He applies his interpretation to the national
and personal disorientation that Palestinians and Israelis currently experience.
The crisis presents a choice between a militant, ethnocentric approach à la
Psalm 72 on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a theocentric reading that
arises out of humility and advocates life instead of death (à la Psalm 86). Ap-
plying Book III in this way is consonant with the gospel in that it thwarts per-
ceiving the nations as enemies, expands God’s covenantal mercy to include all
the nations, and restores God as king of kings. If the Palestinians, Israelis, and
others would take this scriptural message to heart, they could all enjoy a world
in which “the enemy is transformed into a brother who has equal inheritance
in holy space.”
But how does one go about convincing others to follow the dictates of
Scripture? Sergius Halvorsen finds advice for effectively preaching the word of
God in the example of the prophet Nathan. Nathan had to make especially
skillful use of rhetorical technique in order to get a powerful king to admit his
sin, and as Halvorsen points out, “the relationship between Nathan and David
is very much like the relationship between the preacher and the hearer in the
twenty-first century North American parish.” The preacher has no power over
his parishioner, and in some ways the reverse is true, yet the preacher must call
upon the parishioner to repent. Whereas Michael Azar’s article points out that
this relationship calls for tact, Halvorsen’s article examines one particularly ef-
fective strategy for employing tact to this end.
The next two articles are also about biblical texts, but they look at Scrip-
ture more broadly in order to draw more general conclusions. Like the preced-
ing articles, “A Linguistic and Metaphoric Approach to Scripture” by
Christopher Salamy emphasizes the practical implications of our understand-