Festschriften & Collected Essays
- Festschriften & Collected Essays
The 21 essays in this collection were written in honor of Willem A. VanGemeren. The question they address: How should Christians read the OT today? On the one hand, many people try to narrow the gap between the OT and contemporary life without thinking critically about the distance between them. They take the OT to be a source of devotional allegories that point directly to Jesus. On the other hand, there are scholars who prioritize the original context of a passage to such an extent that they do not allow the OT materials to bear witness to Christ or to address the church of today. So, two issues that emerge in the theological interpretation of Scripture are: (1) Christology: If the OT bears witness to Christ, how do we move from an OT text, theme, or book to Christ? (2) Ecclesiology: If the OT is meant to nourish the church, how do the scriptures originally given to Israel address the church today? [Adapted from editor's introduction] For abstracts of the essays, see ##1526, 1527, 1528, 1531, 1532, 1533, 1537, 1542, 1546, 1547, 1548, 1550, 1552, 1556, 1560, 1571, 1579, 1584, 1585, 1588, 1592.—F.W.G.
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A., Cohen Professor Emeritus of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Religion at Brandeis University, is known especially for his many publications on Mesopotamian religion and literature and its interface with the literature and religion of ancient Israel. The above volume consists of a total of 25 essays, all previously published (or to be published) in the period between 1981 and the present. The essays are divided up among four parts (the first of which is further sub-divided) as follows: Part 1 Magic and Religion contains: "Mesopotamian Religion" (forthcoming); "Magic in Mesopotamia" (forthcoming); "Sacrifice in Mesopotamia" (originally published 2002); "Ghost and God: Some Observations on a Babylonian Understanding of Human Nature" (1998); "Etemmu " (1999); "Ištar" (1999); "Marduk" (1999); "Prayers and Incantations" (2002); "The Promise to Praise the God in šuilla Prayers" (2005); "The Form and Meaning of a Babylonian Prayer to Marduk" (1983 and 1984); "The Form and History of a Babylonian Prayer to Nabȗ" (2018); "A Paean and Petition to a God of Death: Some Comments on a šuilla to Nergal" (2017); "The Reconciliation of Angry Personal Gods: A Revision of the šuillas" (2018); and "Two Versions of a šuilla to Gula" (2019). Next, Part 2 Literary Studies features: "Fortune and Misfortune of the Individual: Some Observations on the Sufferer's Plaint in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi (2017); "Kingship in Ancient Mesopotamia: The Case of Enūma eliš (2016); "Some Observations on the Babylon Section of Enūma eliš" (2019); "Biblical Accounts of Prehistory: Their Meaning and Formation" (2007); "Two Passages in the Biblical Account of Prehistory" (2007); and "Jonah and God: Plants, Beasts, and Humans in the Book of Jonah" (2013). Thereafter, Part 3 Comparative Studies comprises: "alaktu and halakhah: Oracular Decision, Divine Revelation" (1987); "Blood in [End Page 610] Israel and Mesopotamia" (2003); and "Cultures in Contact: Ancient Near Eastern and Jewish Magic" (forthcoming). Finally, Part 4 Ancient Near Eastern Legal Practices and Thought is made up of: "A Shepherd's Bulla and an Owner's Receipt: A Pair of Matching Texts in the Harvard Semitic Museum" (1981); and "'He Should Continue to Bear the Penalty of That Case': Some Observations on Codex Hammurabi (¶¶3-4 and ¶13)" (1989). The essays are preceded by A.'s brief preface and followed by a general bibliography and index of passages...
