Vol 82 (2001)

By examining only one page of the famous papyrus codex P. Beatty I (P⁴⁵), namely the recto side of the Vienna Fragment P. Vindob. G 31974, we show that manuscripts possess a relevance that goes beyond the mere reconstruction of the most probable original text of the New Testament when they are considered as unique fingerprints of their age and of the people who produced them. Through precise observations on the fragment itself, in particular of its writing and of the way the page is arranged, we attempt to draw cautious conclusions of a socio-cultural nature to bring into view the people behind P. Vindob. G 31974 by reflecting on its function and purpose, in this way also demonstrating that it is indispensable to consult an original manuscript.

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A number of persons in the Gospels address Jesus by a title, e.g., ‘teacher’, ‘sir’, ‘master’, when they speak to him. In parallel episodes in the synoptic Gospels these titles undergo variations. This article present a complete comparative study of the titles addressed to Jesus in Mathew, Mark and Luke and finishes with a description of the titles proper to each Gospel.

The internal criticism of John’s Gospel and Epistles, and likewise of the Book of Revelation, certainly has much to reveal about the attitude adopted by the Johannine community regarding this capital fact of the opening of Christianity to the nations. The Greek text of these documents does not mask their Jewish origin, which gives us reason to believe that this community, established in Asia Minor, did not lose the influence of its Jewish heritage (Nazorean). The acceptance of the universal vocation of the Christian faith was progressive. First exercised in the familiar context of Palestine (Judea and Samaria), it was in Asia that the Johannine mission finally welcomed pagans into the Church, under pressure from existing communities influenced by Pauline thought. The crisis revealed in the Epistles focuses on this coexistence and on the particular theological concepts of the Jewish and Greek members of the community.

H.-P. Müller, in his article "Ergativelemente im akkadischen und althebräischen Verbalsystem", Bib 66 (1985) 401-410, takes the two nifal sentences from Num 14,21b and Ps 72,19b as reflexive. On the other hand, he identifies the nominal component parts of the sentences in his syntactic analysis as if they were passive nifal sentences (ibid., 401, 410). In the present article it can be shown that the predicates in Num 14,21b and Ps 72,19b are not reflexive, but that they have been formulated either as intransitive or as passive nifals. A final decision could not, however, be reached. H.-P. Müller made a slip in the way he formulated his translation.

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Although the series of comparisons that make up Sirach 40,18-27 are often characterized as ‘better-than’ proverbs or t@o=b-Sprüche, they do not convey a generic idea of degree, but rather express the superiority of items in the specific context of verbs’ semantic fields. This construction emphasizes the tangible benefit of the ‘superior’ elements, a nuance that the more typical t@o=b-Sprüche would not express. In addition, Ben Sira describes each superior item as unambiguously virtuous, implying a connection between righteous behavior and a joyous, satisfying and successful life.

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The context and the homogeneity of the passage at Am 9,1-6, whose theological assumption is that Heaven and Earth belong together and that the earthly sanctuary is a reflection of the heavenly reality, allow one to assume that hdg) is the connection between heaven and earth founded and established by God. That it refers to a connection between the heavenly sphere and the world and to meditation and communication, embodied by the altar, is also shown by the Jacob tradition and by the standing of the sanctuary at Bethel (Gen 28, but also 35) which occupy an important position in the book of Amos.