LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

character.

      The Hellenistic-Jewish exegete Aristeas⁴⁸—not to be confused with the supposed author of the Letter of Aristeas composed a work »On the Jews.« Only a small fragment remains,⁴⁹ preserved in the Christian tradition, containing an exposition of the book of Job. The Greek name forms show that its author quoted from the Greek text. The fragment witnesses traditional deuteronomistic theology; placing emphasis on the pious perseverance of Job—his steadfast endurance of suffering and his faithfulness to God even in the worst times of distress. It is possible that the addendum in the Septuagint version of Job (42.17 LXX) is dependent on the work of Aristeas; or both texts may go back to a common tradition.

      6 Poetic Writings

      Psalm 151⁵⁰ is a composition based on 1 Sam (= LXX 1 Kgs) 16:1–13; 17:14; 2 Sam (= LXX 2 Kgs) 7:8; 2 Chr 29:6; Ps 78 (LXX 77), 70 and 89 (LXX 88), 20, which supplements the Psalter – which was already fixed in the second century BCE. The psalm is contained only in the Greek and Syriac psalter; a Hebrew version is found in 11QPsa, col. 28.1–5. These two independent text versions, originating in second-century BCE Judea, reflect this older (Hebrew) tradition.

      Eighteen compositions are handed down as Psalms of Solomon,⁵¹ originally written in Hebrew and translated into Greek by Jews of an anti-Hasmonean persuasion who, affected by the end of the Hasmonean dynasty, the taking of Jerusalem by Pompey, and the desecration of the temple precincts in 63 BCE, combined a pessimistic interpretation of history with incipient messianic hopes.

      The collection is pseudepigraphically ascribed to King Solomon and exists only in medieval Greek and Syriac manuscripts. It is not found in Jewish collections nor in Christian Bible codices.⁵² The allusions to local historical events (cf. 2:1–14:19ff.; 4:1) point to Jerusalem as the place of composition and to their origin in the second third of the first century BCE. Throughout the Psalms there is parallelismus membrorum, typical of Hebrew poetry. Their vocabulary and phraseology also go back to the language of the psalms and prophets of the Old Testament, with lament (4; 5; 7; 8; 9; 12; 17), thanksgiving (2; 13; 15; 16), and hymns (3; 6; 10; 11; 14; 18). Thematically, the compositions focus on the opposite fates of the righteous (1:5, 12) and the ungodly (2:26–31) according to their deeds; as well as the rule of the God of Israel.

      Because of their polemic against the wickedness and impurity of (Roman) non-Jews, Sadducees, the priestly aristocracy, and the Hasmonean rulers (4:1; 7:2), the Psalms of Solomon are generally ascribed to »Pharisaic« circles. In Psalms 17 and 18 we find the oldest traces of a messianic tradition which combines the promise of the eternal covenant of the Davidic dynasty with the notion of the king’s anointing as divine election. The events of 63 BCE are retrospectively evaluated as a just punishment of Israel by its God. The poems in general are concerned with a current situation that was felt to be unfair and oppressive, by means of the instruction, edification, and exhortation of its pious Jewish addressees. It is not likely, however, that the Psalms of Solomon were used liturgically.

      The didactic wisdom poem of Pseudo-Phocylides⁵³ contains doctrines for life, in the form of short single sentences with rules of ethical behavior. The pseudepigraphal composition of proverbs may be viewed as an example of a »cross-cultural tradition of didactic poetry«⁵⁴ from the area of tradition of Hellenistic-Jewish antiquity. In 219 hexameters, in a total of 230 single-line verses in the Ionic dialect, we find numerous admonitions and rules for an exemplary good life.

      Literary authorization of the text is provided by pseudepigraphal connection with the didactic poet Phocylides of Miletus (mid-6^th cent. BCE). The place of composition is generally thought to be Egypt or Alexandria (cf. § 102); the first century CE would appear to be the most probable period for its appearance. The proverbs combine traditions from the realm of Hellenistic/Greek popular ethics with biblical/Jewish content and motifs, while specifically Jewish identity features are not mentioned. Such a fusion testifies to the intensive cultural contact and interaction between Jews and Greeks, especially in the western Diaspora.

      Pseudo-Phocylides does not want to reveal his Judaism explicitly. Nonetheless, the Jewish scriptures in Greek are recognizable as his literary sources. In addition, numerous unmarked echoes and agreements in content with literary works by contemporary Greek ethicists may be discerned. This didactic poem propagated a moral teaching that transcended Jewish ethics and was compatible with the Hellenistic majority culture. This coupled with an anthropology derived from the biblical-Jewish creation tradition.

      Ezekiel the Tragedian⁵⁵ is the author of a Greek Moses drama in iambic trimeters, preserved in fragments, under the title Exagogé.⁵⁶ This work was composed in Alexandria between 250 and 100 BCE, on the basis of the Septuagint, converting parts of Exodus (1–24) and Numbers (10–33) into Greek drama. It is regarded as the oldest known dramatization of biblical material.

      7 Apocalyptic Literature

      Apocalyptic thought endeavored to reconcile the oppressive and chaotic present, with the certainty of the omnipotence and justice of God, and the expectation of salvation. The standpoint of the apocalypticist was shortly before, or in, the end phase of history.⁵⁷ Apocalypticism followed from biblical prophecy by adopting important forms and content from it. But it placed these in a new context and gave them a new function. The essential difference between apocalyptic and prophecy is that prophecy was persuaded by the notion of history as the location of the saving intervention of God in world affairs, while apocalyptic assumed that salvation can come upon history only from the outside, when God puts a radical end to history. Apocalyptic also accepted ideas from biblical wisdom, and in dealing with the theodicy, addressed a wisdom problem. Wisdom was, however, interested in the edification of the world, while apocalyptic was interested in the future of the world.

      Apocalyptic writings, which appeared across the whole of the Hellenistic-Roman period, contain messages revealing a transcendent divine plan of salvation, and/or interpretations of the course of the world and revelations of its anticipated end using various modes of revelation. The most important are oracles, epiphanies, dreams, and ecstatic visions experienced while awake. Despair, fantasies of revenge, longings, and hopes of its authors are manifest in apocalyptic literature. In their function as »crisis literature« the apocalyptic texts generally reflect the ongoing conflict between a foreign power and one’s own powerlessness.

      The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (ca. 2^nd cent. BCE = 3Bar)⁵⁸ tells of a heavenly journey by Baruch, scribe to the prophet Jeremiah, in which he witnesses the last judgment. A description of the heavenly temple is also given. The Jewish origin of this text, preserved only in a shortened Christian tradition, is disputed. Baruch is led by an angel through five heavenly spheres, where he sees the punishment of sinners and the reward of the righteous. The text is an example of the gradual fading of tense anticipation of the imminent end of the world; the new focus being on a transcendent heavenly world and judgment of the dead.

      Apocalyptic theology is found in the Ascension of Moses, written at the beginning of the first century BCE.⁵⁹ The work is testamentary literature, and is preserved in a Latin translation (of a Greek translation of the Hebrew or Aramaic original) in a single, incomplete manu­script. Moses the seer acts as the guarantor for the age and authenticity of the message. His farewell discourses to Joshua contain revelations concerning the fortunes of Israel in a historical overview up to the return from exile, as well as prophecies about the course of history until the end of the world and the dawn of the reign of God. Typical motifs of literary apocalypses are found throughout, such as the irrelevance of human deeds for the fortunes of life, transcendental eschatology, and the hope of God’s final judgment. The perspective of the fictional narrator overlaps with that of the actual author. The intervention of God adds to the reward of the people of Israel and the punishment of its enemies. The author put into words his hope of justice in the face of the oppression being experienced by him and his readers.

      The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch⁶⁰ attempts to reconcile the catastrophe of the destruction of the temple in 70 CE with

Скачать книгу