Jesus’s first disciples lived in an era that many righteous people before Christ had longed to witness (Matt 13:16–17; Luke 10:23–24). This raises the question of how later generations who have not seen the earthly Jesus should regard themselves. This issue is primarily addressed in John 20:29 and 1 Pet 1:8. Although these verses appear in different parts of the NT, they are closely related. This paper identifies eight notable parallels between the texts. It argues that a new era began with Jesus and continues beyond his ascension. Although later believers have not seen Christ, they are still blessed, for eternal life and salvation are available to them as well. Moreover, there is evidence of mutual respect between the earliest disciples and later believers. Later Christians held those who had seen the Lord in high regard. Likewise, the first disciples respected those who believed without seeing him (1 Pet 1:8; cf. John 20:29).
This paper presents an analysis of the literary structure of 1 En. 72:8–32, particularly its formulaic clauses used to express the monthly movement of the sun in its gates. One can distinguish two types of such schematic clauses, each describing a different phenomenon related to the movement of the sun within a 364-day year. The first type relates to the rising and setting of the sun in its gates and its nightly return to the east. The other concerns the changing duration of day and night based on the early form of Babylonian schematic astronomy. The focus is on the first type of the schematic clauses. Additionally, an interpretation of 1 En. 72:33–34, in which the ancient redactor comments on the relationship between the motion of the sun and the duration of day and night as two topics with recourse to two sets of formulaic clauses (vv. 8–32), has been included. Finally, this paper reflects on how these two sets were combined into one unit.
There is no consensus among exegetes on the reasons for God’s rejection of King Saul, even though he had previously been His chosen one. This motif remains one of the significant exegetical aporias, comparable to Moses’ rejection or original sin. Based on a literary analysis of 1 Sam 1 – 2 Sam 5 and a comparative study of texts using the analogous motif of the rejection of the chosen one, this article aims to show that certain narrative parts of the Old Testament present a recurring ideological pattern. Its key feature is a significant broadening of the narrative context beyond the episode of a given character’s rejection. The application of a diachronic perspective of the historical–critical method also permits us to conclude that later redactors and commentators on the history of Israel most likely introduced the motif of the rejected chosen one. They sought to merge various biblical traditions into a unified historiographical and theological narrative, presenting the history of Israel as a dialogue between God and His people, who – both as a community and through their chosen representatives – did not always respond adequately to God’s call. According to the authors of the Enneateuch, the consequences of this unfaithfulness were the primary source of the chosen people’s failures.
No serious scholar denies that the Letter to the Romans is a massive theological composition abounding in references to God. Typically passages other than the epistolary prescript (1:1–7) are chosen for theological examination. Yet this text, when scrutinised more closely, yields an unusually rich theological outlook. This article undertakes an analysis of the theology of Rom 1:1–7 and argues that its individual, more-or-less explicit theological statements announce some major themes present at later points in Romans. Without downplaying the importance of the propositio (1:16–17) as the announcement of the principal emphasis of Romans, this endeavour demonstrates that in the prescript Paul anticipates some key theological interests.
Book review: Joseph R. Dodson, Paul the Rabbi Philosopher: Stoic and Jewish Philosophy in the Apostle’s Thought (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 2026). Pp. 232. 29,99 USD. ISBN: 979-8-4005-0052-7.
