"Gabriel's Revelation" Tablet

While I was away from the blogging machine, a major story broke and the media and the biblioblogs have been full of it, Israel Knohl's interpretation of a newly discovered text on a tablet called "Gabriel's Revelation". Syneidon has a good summary of the issues, with links, and several bibliobloggers have been on hand to provide intelligent, critical commentary of the kind that establishes a major contribution to the discussion, with up-to-date, accurate and cautious assessments that contrast with some of those from various media outlets. Particularly worthy of note are the contributions by Tyler Williams on Codex Blogspot, Knohl, "Gabriel's Revelation" Tablet and the Resurrection; The Messiah Tablet (with tons of links) and Joe Zias on the ‘Vision of Gabriel’ ‘Messiah Tablet’ Or Whatever You Wish to Call It on Jim West's blog; New Messiah Stone by Michael Bird on Euangelion; Messianism before Christ: Gabriel's Revelation by Stephen Cook on Biblische Ausbildung; The Vision of Gabriel by Ed Cook on Ralph the Sacred River; New Inscription Found: "Messiah to be Raised After 3 Days"?! and Messiah Tablet Confirms Published Dissertation by Michael Barber on Singing in the Reign. Jim Davila is on top of the news over on Paleojudaica, Vision of Gabriel, Vision of Gabriel Inscription, Vision of Gabriel, Vision of Gabriel Watch, Vision of Gabriel Watch and An Anti-Messiah. Excellent work here from the bibliobloggers, as ever up to speed and ready to provide intelligent commentary on the breaking stories of the day.

Fort Lauderdale Study Program: Anne Killebrew and me

The following has just been announced by the Biblical Archaeology Society:

Insights into the Bible from Archaeology
and
Monarch or Messiah?
The King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament

with Ann E. Killebrew and Mark Goodacre

Learn from two great lecturers as they bring the ancient world to life!

Hampton Inn Downtown/City Center
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
March 7-8, 2008

In recent years the rapid pace of archaeological discoveries has vastly improved our appreciation of the Bible and the world in which both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament are set. Hear firsthand about many of these key discoveries from an archaeologist who has been closely involved in those discoveries. Supplement those lectures with talks by a leading New Testament scholar on a concept crucial to understanding both Judaism and Christianity—the meaning of “Messiah.”

Full details are available on the web, or you can download the brochure (PDF).

The Messiah: In Early Judaism and Christianity

Latest from Fortress:

Scholars Discuss The Messiah In Early Judaism and Christianity

Minneapolis (November 9, 2007)—In The Messiah, leading scholars offer succinct and illuminating essays on currents of messianic thought in the formative centuries of Judaism and Christianity, providing precision in thinking about “messianic” images and tradition. Special features designed with the student in mind include a map, a glossary of terms, and a timeline of significant events.

Contents

Introduction Magnus Zetterholm

Part One: Formation

Pre-Christian Jewish Messianism: An Overview
John J. Collins, Yale University
The Messiah as Son of God in the Synoptic Gospels
Adela Yarbro Collins, Yale University
Paul and the Missing Messiah
Magnus Zetterholm, Lund University


Part Two: Development

Elijah and the Messiah as Spokesman of Rabbinic Ideology
Karin Hedner-Zetterholm, Lund University
The Reception of Messianism and the Worship of Christ in the Post-Apostolic Church
Jan-Eric Steppa, Lund University

Editor:

Magnus Zetterholm is Adjunct Associate Professor in Religious Studies at Linköping University, Sweden. He is the author of The Formation of Christianity in Antioch: A Social-Scientific Approach to the Separation between Judaism and Christianity (2003) and coeditor of The Ancient Synagogue from Its Origins until 2000 C.E. (2001).

The Messiah: In Early Judaism and Christianity
Edited by Magnus Zetterholm

Item No: 978-0-8006-2108-7

Format: Paperback, 164 pages, 6 x 9 inches

Price: $18.00

To order The Messiah: In Early Judaism and Christianity please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the Web site at www.fortresspress.com.

To request review copies (for media), or to discuss speaking engagements or interviews, please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.

To request exam copies for classroom use (professors) go to www.fortresspress.com/examcopy.

Logos Lecture: Messiah and King

Over on the Logos Bible Software Blog, there is a nice note headed Mark Goodacre is Coming to Town concerning my Logos Lecture next Monday in Bellingham, WA. The title is "Did Jews in Jesus' day expect the Messiah?" Since I am busy preparing the lecture at the moment (with the Test Match on in the background, of course, with England faltering a little on 166 for 5, having been on a commanding 112 for 1 at lunch), here is a taster of the argument of the paper:

Did Jews in Jesus’ day expect the Messiah? Yes, many of them did, but the term “Messiah” is not as important in the literature as the term “King”, and the question which we really should be answering in the affirmative is: Did some Jews in Jesus’ day expect a new Davidic King? Old Testament texts commonly reinterpreted as pointing to a future Messiah are actually speaking about the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. Other Jewish texts, both those that predate the New Testament and those contemporary with the New Testament, are also speaking about the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. They are prophesying the arrival of a new King in David’s line. Where the term “Messiah” occurs, it is used as an eschatological synonym for “King”. The term “Messiah” only took on decisive importance in emergent Christianity, where it was used to express the notion that the story of salvation was not yet complete. God’s Anointed was born of David’s line, had died for people’s sins, was raised from the dead and exalted to heaven. In the future, at the end, Jesus would return as King.

Logos Lecture: Did Jews in Jesus' Day Expect the Messiah?

Thanks to Jim West for mentioning that I have been invited to speak in the Logos Bible Software Lecture Series. Here is my title, abstract and details from the previously mentioned page:

June 11, 2007
Did Jews in Jesus' Day Expect the Messiah?

It is popularly assumed that the Judaism of Jesus' day had a clear, well-defined expectation of a Messiah figure whom God would send to liberate them with military might. It is then assumed that early Christians, and perhaps Jesus himself, revised this expectation and proclaimed a different kind of Messiah, one who was to suffer. But how accurate is this picture? Does it explain the evidence found in the Hebrew Scriptures, early Jewish texts and the New Testament? Or should we instead think of a great variety of expectations, as many scholars argue? In this lecture, we will revisit the term "Messiah", exploring evidence that it was used as a synonym for a new Davidic "king" or "ruler". When the first Christians called Jesus "Messiah", they were speaking not only about past events and present beliefs, but also about his future return as king.

Dr. Goodacre is an Associate Professor in New Testament in the Department of Religion at Duke University. He earned his M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. at the University of Oxford and was Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham until 2005. His research interests include the Synoptic Gospels, the Historical Jesus and the Gospel of Thomas.

Each Logos Lecture Series event is free and open to the public. Dr. Goodacre's lecture will begin at 7:00 PM at Mount Baker Theatre in downtown Bellingham, WA.
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Jim asks about the possibility of a recording. From my side, I have no problem with that, though I leave it to the Logos folk to see whether they wish to do that. I hope to make the full text of my lecture available in due course.

On subject matter, I will have more to say here in due course too. The key to what I wish to say is largely contained in the last sentence of the abstract above.

Harrington Reviews Fitzmyer

In America: The National Catholic Weekly, Daniel Harrington has a review of Joseph Fitzmyer's new book:

The One Who Is to Come
By Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.
Eerdmans. 224p $18 (paperback)

The words “messiah” and “messianism” are often used loosely not only in popular culture but also in religious discourse, even in biblical scholarship. This magisterial study of these terms in the Bible and related ancient sources by a premier biblical scholar of our time brings order and clarity into the understanding and use of what are obviously important words for both Christians and Jews . . .