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 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-