Odes of Solomon

Much scholarship has recently been done on the Satanology (Satan-concept) of New Testament books or writers. This study attends to the Satanology of early "non-canonical" Christian writings, which have been comparatively under-researched. The literature examined includes the so-called Apostolic Fathers and other texts that can be reliably dated to c. 100-150 C.E., namely Ascension of Isaiah, Apocalypse of Peter, Odes of Solomon, Gospel of Truth, Ptolemy's Letter to Flora and Justin Martyr's writings. Over 160 certain or probable references to Satan, under various designations, are identified. Analysis of this data set proceeds in two directions. The first looks at the concept's explanatory power: for what kinds of evil did Satanology help to account? The discussion traverses various loci of perceived satanic activity, from the human heart to community boundaries to earthly political authorities to a dualistic cosmos to the abstract realm of ideas. The second analytical section explores ways that Christian writers and communities incorporated Satanology into their religious life through liturgical forms, hermeneutics for reading the Jewish Scriptures, and theological debates about the nature of God and evil. Satanology is found to have been a pervasive and distinctive feature of Christianity in the early subapostolic period.

This paper presents a Polish translation from Syriac of four Odes of Solomon (29, 36, 40, 41), which have never yet been published in Polish. The translation is introduced by a short introduction and accompanied by a basic linguistic and theological commentary.

Artykuł podaje przekład na język polski z języka syryjskiego czterech Ód Salomona (29, 36, 40, 41) do tej pory nigdy niepublikowanych po polsku. Przekład jest poprzedzony krótkim wstępem oraz zaopatrzony w podstawowy komentarz językowo-teologiczny.

This volume of updated and revised essays consolidates the work that I have done on religious experience in ancient Judaism and Christianity. Building on the text-centered work that characterizes much of Second Temple studies, these essays reintegrate ancient Jewish and Christian texts with various aspects of the flesh-and-blood experience of religion. In these essays, I aim to overcome the mind-body dualism that dominates the study of ancient texts by offering ways to imagine the phenomenological experience of these texts by ancient peoples. Available now at Peeters Press

Die vorliegende Sammlung zahlreicher Beiträge aus ganz unterschiedlichen Gebieten des Alten Testaments verdeutlicht die enorme Quelle der Inspiration, zu welcher Hendrik Koorevaar über viele Jahre für seine Schüler und Freunde geworden ist. Orientiert ist der Titel »Das heilige Herz der Tora« an einem Aufsatz, den Hendrik Koorevaar in einem Themenbuch zur Theologie des Alten Testaments im Jahr 2007 veröffentlicht hat. 

Content:

ERSTER TEIL – HISTORIE UND HERMENEUTIK

Herbert H. Klement
Narrative Historie und Identität des Gottesvolkes: Zur Bedeutung von Geschichte und Geschichten im Alten Testament 3

Carsten Vang
Deuteronomy and the Notion of Exile 23

Walter Gisin
Adam, Eva und die Jakobsfamilie in Hosea 6,7-11a 41

G. W. Lorein
Dealing with Scripture and Circumstances in Nehemiah 9-10 61

Kristofer D. Holroyd
Multiple Speech Act Layers, Jeremiah, and the Future of Studies in
Structural Theology 79

ZWEITER TEIL – KANON UND STRUKTUR

Benjamin Kilchör
Zur literarischen und theologischen Funktion der An- und Absageformeln in den Pentateuchgesetzen 97

Raymond R. Hausoul
Leviticus 25-27 in de metafysische grootheid Exodus-Leviticus-Numeri 121

Gunnar Begerau
Strukturelle und inhaltlich-theologische Verbindungen der Ketuvim in der Anordnung der BHS 135

Walter Hilbrands
Die Bedeutung der Struktur und Integrität des Predigerbuches für dessen Theologie 153

Julius Steinberg
Das Hohelied – ein integrativer Ansatz 167

Hans van Nes
Traces of A Three Part Canon underlying 1 Peter 183

DRITTER TEIL – THEOLOGIE UND ETHIK

Jan L. Verbruggen
The History of Interpretation of Exodus 21:22-25 201

Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman
Impurity 237

Pieter A. Siebesma
Het boek Jona in de uitleg van de Middeleeuwse Joodse exegeten 257

W. Creighton Marlowe
Righteous People in Proverbs 267

Mart-Jan Paul
The Translation of Hebel in Ecclesiastes 285

Gie Vleugels
The Destruction of the Second Temple  in the Odes of Solomon 303

Patrick Nullens
Value Personalism as a Lens to Read the Ten Commandments 311

Siegbert Riecker
Altes Testament und allgemeingültige Ethik: Plädoyer für ein
Second Quest nach den Noachidischen Geboten 325

Key words:

Altes Testament; Historie; Hermeneutik; Kanon; Theologie; Ethik; Deuteronomium; Speech Act Theory; Kohelet; Abtreibung; Pentateuch; Ketuvim; Hoheslied; Hosea 6; Nehemia 9-10; Oden Salomos; 1. Petrus; Jona; Impurity; Noachitische Gebote.

The Odes of Solomon are extraordinary songs of spiritual triumph from the messianic age that  continue to resonate with our souls today. Each Ode expresses a point of high spiritual experience and dramatic intensity, like songs in a modern American musical. Together they tell the epic story of the personal transformation of a burgeoning Child of God.

Living the Life of Light offers the first coherent modern translation and interpretation of these Odes, with commentary that leads the reader through the messianic drama and process of spiritual regeneration the poet has laid out in his poems but has gone unrecognized until the appearance of this breakthrough book.

The Odes of Solomon are a most ancient pearl of christian poetry, as their text stems from the beginning of the second century AD. The text of these hymns is preserved first of all in Syriac, with fragments also in Coptic, Greek and Latin. Until now only a small number of the forty-two odes have been translated into Polish from these original languages. More translations have been executed from other modern languages, but never for the entire text. This paper introduces basic questions concerning the Odes of Solomon, presenting an up-to-date bibliography on the topic and offers a translation of five odes, never before translated from Syriac into Polish, with a brief textual commentary. This work announces a publication (in preparation) of the whole collection of the Odes of Solomon in Polish.

基督徒的聖歌與聖歌本的編纂，是基督徒經歷社會變遷的歷史面貌，更是當代基督徒在禮儀中表達宗教認同的重要工具。本文針對公元一～二世紀成書之《撒羅滿讚歌（Odes of Solomon）》進行個案研究，指出：《撒羅滿讚歌》既是大傳統──以色列＼猶太信仰傳統──中先知＼先知文學、智慧文學、默西亞信仰與雅威信仰等大傳統的延續，但同時也是斷裂；它也反映了在希臘化風潮下，公元一、二世紀之交，猶太基督徒的宗教認同，以及他們在遭遇的社會變遷。《撒羅滿讚歌》延續了以色列「第二聖殿時期」及「中期猶太主義」傳統之默西亞信仰，這使他們的基督＼默西亞信仰既不被一世紀末期的猶太教接受，更也不被後來以環地中海地區為主之（西方）教會團體接受。他們具有濃厚幻象論與諾思底色彩的主張，更也不見容於敘利亞教會。他們延續的先知傳統與相信聖神透過先知繼續著帶領教會，直接衝撞此時萌興的主教制。但《撒羅滿的讚歌》所代表的基督徒傳統，可能來自於耶穌傳教時的巴勒斯坦猶太基督徒傳統，而這傳統甚至早於宗徒們建立的基督徒傳統，另一方面卻在後來以環地中海地區的教會傳統被邊緣化；它沒有消失，卻隱身在敘利亞東部及兩河流域教會，直到二十世紀初的被重新發現與出版，才重現西方學界。

Creation is recognized also by humanities scholars as an increasingly relevant topic because of the ecological and climate crisis. The fact that such a high percentage of outstanding scholars in the field accepted the invitation so quickly attests to this observation. The challenges for biblical exegesis on the topic are twofold: first, to analyze and understand best possible the ancient sources within their contexts, and second, to discuss the purview and validity of the formative texts of Judaism and Christianity for current debates. Early Christian concepts of creation can only be understood within the context of early Jewish reflection on the topic, as the Mainz research project Creation in the Gospel of John also demonstrates (funded by the DFG, see https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/428143557). To date, there are a number of texts from early Judaism and early Christianity in which the aspects of creation have been overlooked in scholarship. The conference will address some of these research desiderata. The conference is also linked to the Mainz research center Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity (e/αc, see www.ethikmainz.de), which addresses the implicit ethics of ancient texts and their possible value for current debates. The hermeneutical avenues, which are developed within the e/αc, will provide the frame for debating such issues of relevance. The conference aims to explore similarities and differences both between various ancient sources and between these ancient texts and contemporary discourses.

儀式文本與經書在宗教歷史中常是相互關連的。 本文聚焦古代基 督徒儀式文本 《十二宗徒訓誨錄》與 《撒羅滿讚歌》， 分析這它們在 儀式文本與經書的獨立性與相互關連性方面的重要性。 經書是指希伯 來經書與後來被承認為經書的新約作品。 這兩部作品不僅保留了親炙 耶穌之首代基督徒們的教導，更見證了公元 1、2 世紀教會領袖為了建 立基督徒團體的努力 : 將儀式施行方式與規則明確文字化，與將神啟的屬天詩歌文字化 ， 使聚集的基督信眾在儀式中有所遵循。 它們也具 有明確教育目的。 這兩部作品儘管有濃厚的猶太傳統並且極少使用新 約作品的文字 ， 但它們均是基督徒作品 ， 並且與基督徒經書有密切的 相互關連性 ， 它們也強化了新約作品的宗徒權威性。

Ritual texts and scriptures are often interrelated in the history of religion. This paper focuses on the Didache, an ancient Christian ritual text, and the Odes of Solomon to analyze their significance in terms of the independence and interrelation between ritual text and scripture. The latter category of texts refers to both the Hebrew Scriptures and early Christian literature later recognized as the New Testament. These two works not only preserve the teachings of the first generation of Christian disciples, those who were personally taught by Jesus, but even more, they provide evidence of the efforts of the first and second century church leaders at establishing Christian communities. By clearly textualizing methods of ritual practice and their rules (Didache) and recording the divinely-inspired heavenly songs and hymns (Odes of Solomon), church leaders provided Christian believers gathered together with a model to follow during rituals. The two texts also have explicit pedagogical aims. Although the Didache and the Odes of Solomon reflect strong Jewish traditions and quote little of the New Testament writings, they are both Christian works and display an intimate connection with Christian scriptures. These works also strengthen the apostolic authority of the New Testament writings.

《撒羅滿讚歌（the Odes of Solomon）》是現存最古老的基督徒聖歌本，它收錄的聖歌不僅是具有重要歷史與神學意義的古代儀式文本，它們更被若干教會視為與經書同等地位的神聖啟示。《撒羅滿讚歌》向我們展現聖歌本既是信仰的表達、又是信仰的教導與內容：它在公元一、二世紀成為猶太基督徒表達與強化自己作為耶穌門徒與以色列信仰傳統繼承人的宗教認同，它更也包含了重要的基督徒教導，例如聖神、聖三與基督論、甚至聖母學。本文透過與舊、新約、1 Enoch、宗徒教父作品的相互分析，指出《撒羅滿讚歌》是以色列信仰傳統在早期教會的連續與斷裂，它的神學與猶太神祕主義說明何以自二世紀初起，便不受當時蒙興之普世教會接受，尤其它作品中對聖神與先知的高度推崇。
The Odes of Solomon is the oldest extant Christian hymnal that can be dated back to the mid-1st and early 2nd centuries. The hymns collected in the Odes are not only ancient ritual texts with great historical and theological significances, they are also considered by some churches to be divine revelations with the same status as scripture. The work also reveals to us how a hymnal can be both fides qua creditor and fides quae creditor: in the first and second centuries CE, the Odes became a text that the ancient Jewish Christians used to express and strengthen their religious identity as both followers of Jesus and heris of the Israel faith tradition; it also contains important Christian teachings regarding the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology), the Trinity, and Christology, and even the Mariology.
This paper, by examining the Odes' lyrics and their textual relations with the [Christians'] Old and New Testaments, 1 Enoch, and the Apostolic Fathers, argues that the Odes represents early church's continuation of and break with the faith tradition of Israel; the theologies and [Merkabah] mysticism found in the Odes' lyrics illustrate why, from the early second century, they were not accepted by the emerging proto-orthodox catholic/universal church, especially given their high esteem for the Holy Spirit and the prophets.

Il volume intende proporre una visione d'insieme della problematica iniziatica nello gnosticismo. L'origine della ritualità battesimale si pone nel momento in cui il cristianesimo prende le mosse all'interno del giudaismo, per poi progressiva­mente staccarsi da esso. La dottrina battesimale è rielaborata e reinterpretata nello gnosticismo sia a livello rituale che a livello dottrinale, con una moltiplicazione dei livelli iniziatici (con diversi battesimi, unzioni e altri riti). In molte forme di gno­sticismo inoltre si interpretano le forme rituali superiori come essenziali alla riunificazione tra l'anima e il suo angelo o spirito primordiale. Il volume percorre tutte le forme di gnosticismo, da quella simoniana al mandeismo fino al catarismo, mostrando una serie di elementi comuni che è possibile stabilire sul piano storica-comparativo.

本研究的目的是藉由探究儀式文本（ritual texts）扮演神聖經典（holy scriptures）角色的歷史個案：Didache以及Odes of Solomon，論述經典研究與儀式文本研究二者之間的相互獨立性關連性。
在許多宗教中，宗教儀式的發展、型塑，以及在歷史過程中的改變，都與其經典有密切的關連性。儘管在許多宗教的後期歷史中，宗教儀式文本常依賴經典，作為儀式神聖性與法術力量的依據與權柄根源，但不可否認的是，許多宗教在新興發軔之際是先有儀式與儀式文本，後有文本化與正典化的經典。儀式文本因此在許多宗教歷史中，早於經典文本的成書與正典化，不僅在教主離世之後保存宗教信仰香火命脈的延續與傳承，更用以協助規範信眾與儀式專家之正確行為（orthopraxy）、使儀式具有合法性（legitimacy）。在歷史中，某些古代儀式文本成書年代不僅早於（正典化之）經書，更被信眾視為是具有神聖經典地位的權威作品或天啟作品；儀式文本也在歷史上影響某些宗教經典之撰寫或傳抄過程，並在正典化過程中被吸納成為經典的一部份。因此，在宗教歷史脈絡中，儀式文本從原本為了規範儀式正確行為的文字，轉變成為規範正確信念（orthodoxy）的經典內容。儀式文本因此在宗教歷史上常兼具雙重的身分：它既是儀式文本、同時也是宗教團體成員所使用的經書，它甚至影響經典內容的撰寫或是傳抄過程，成為正典化經典的一部份。另一方面，古代文獻之能夠具有權威性以及經典的地位，在歷史中常是因為被（刻意復古之）宗教儀式使用的緣故：古代文獻的內容被刻意採納進入儀式中，後來成為儀式文本的一部份，之後，其影響力逐漸從儀式領域外擴，進入信眾的日常生活，最終成為信眾普遍接受其權威性的經典。
因此，儀式文本與經典之間的相互獨立性與關連性，對宗教學的文獻研究方法而言，是一個重要的關注點。本研究之個案是公元一世紀之古代基督徒文獻之儀式文本Didache以及Odes of Solomon，並且藉此二個案釐析宗教研究方法中的文獻研究法，如何在儀式文本與經典之角色重疊歷史現象中獲得助益。