An overlooked but important document in the history of magisterial pronoun- cements on historical-critical biblical scholarship is the 1964 Instruction of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Sancta mater ecclesia. This article traces the history leading up to the Instruction and analyzes its importance during the Second Vatican Council and…[Read more]

A private seal impression with the Hebrew name “Ezer (son of) Haggai” discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah.

A private seal impression with the Hebrew name “Ezer (son of) Haggai” discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah.

Original Abstract:
The sources for the history of Christianity in the early fourth century in the Persian Empire are notoriously sparse. And the sources that are available, such as the Demonstrations of Aphrahat, are vague and difficult to correlate with other sources. Historians of early Christianity have often incorporated these scant sources…[Read more]

Original Abstract:
The sources for the history of Christianity in the early fourth century in the Persian Empire are notoriously sparse. And the sources that are available, such as the Demonstrations of Aphrahat, are vague and difficult to correlate with other sources. Historians of early Christianity have often incorporated these scant sources…[Read more]

The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

The brief notice of Absalom’s pillar in 2 Sam 18:18 provides an important yet un-usual case of how memory is constructed in ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Commemoration of the dead typically works from the perspective of the (living) descendent and is directed towards the (deceased) ancestor. Yet in this example Absalom commemorates h…[Read more]

This essay examines the current state of the field in pentateuchal studies and recommends taking up large-genre questions once again and looking at canonical texts from other religious traditions, in this case ancient Sanskrit texts, for clues on how this type of literature grows.