The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity

by Eugen J. Pentiuc (Editor)

Overview

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity investigates the various ways in which Orthodox Christian, i.e., Eastern and Oriental, communities, have received, shaped, and interpreted the Christian Bible. The handbook is divided into five parts: Text, Canon, Scripture within Tradition, Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutics, and Looking to the Future.

The first part focuses on how the Orthodox Church has never codified the Septuagint or any other textual witnesses as its authoritative text. Textual fluidity and pluriformity, a characteristic of Orthodoxy, is demonstrated by the various ancient and modern Bible translations into Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian among other languages. The second part discusses how, unlike in the Protestant and Roman-Catholic faiths where the canon of the Bible is "closed" and limited to 39 and 46 books, respectively, the Orthodox canon is "open-ended," consisting of 39 canonical books and 10 or more anaginoskomena or "readable" books as additions to Septuagint. The third part shows how, unlike the classical Protestant view of sola scriptura and the Roman Catholic way of placing Scripture and Tradition on par as sources or means of divine revelation, the Orthodox view accords a central role to Scripture within Tradition, with the latter conceived not as a deposit of faith but rather as the Church's life through history. The final two parts survey "traditional" Orthodox hermeneutics consisting mainly of patristic commentaries and liturgical interpretations found in hymnography and iconography, and the ways by which Orthodox biblical scholars balance these traditional hermeneutics with modern historical-critical approaches to the Bible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190948658
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Series:	OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES
Pages:	704
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.99(h) x 1.90(d)

About the Author

Eugen J. Pentiuc is Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins and Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA, current adjunct Scripture Professor at St. Joseph's Catholic Seminary in Yonkers, NY, adjunct Old Testament Professor at Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril Coptic Orthodox Theological School (ACTS) in Anaheim, CA. He is the author, among other works, of The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (OUP, 2014) and Hearing the Scriptures: Liturgical Exegesis of the Old Testament in Byzantine Orthodox Hymnography (OUP, 2021).

Table of Contents

Foreword
Elpidophoros, Archbishop of America

Acknowledgments
List of Contributors

Introduction: The Bible in Orthodox Christianity: Balancing Tradition with Modernity
Eugen J. Pentiuc

Part I: Text

1. The Place of the Hebrew Old Testament Text in the Eastern Church
Miltiadis Konstantinou

2. The Old Greek, Hebrew and Other Text Witnesses in Eastern Orthodoxy
Alexandru Mihaila

3. From Suspicion to Appreciation: The Change of Perception Regarding Theodotion's Version of Daniel in Patristic Literature
Daniel Olariu

4. Syriac Versions of the Bible
George A. Kiraz

5. The Coptic Bible
Hany N. Takla

6. Translation of the Bible into Armenian
Garegin Hambardzumyan

7. Byzantine Lectionary Manuscripts and Their Significance for Biblical Textual Criticism
Gregory Paulson

8. Past and Current Trends in New Testament Textual Criticism and their Significance for Orthodox Biblical Scholarship
Simon Crisp

Part II: Canon

9. The Emergence of Biblical Canon in Orthodox Christianity
Lee Martin McDonald

10. Biblical Inspiration: A Critical-Historical Survey
Edith M. Humphrey

11. The Special Status of Anaginoskomena in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy
Ioan Chirila

12. Liturgical Use and Biblical Canonicity
Petros Vassiliadis

13. The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church (EOTC)
Daniel Assefa

Part III: Scripture within Tradition

14. Tradition: Generated by or Generating Scripture?
Silviu N. Bunta

15. The Use of the Bible in Byzantine Liturgical Texts and Services
Stefanos Alexopoulos

16. Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers
Alexis Torrance

17. Theology, Philosophy, and Confessionalization: Eastern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation after the Fall of Constantinople up to the Late 17th Century
Athanasios Despotis

18. The New Testament in the Orthodox Church: Liturgical and Pedagogical Aspects
Konstantin Nikolakopoulos

Part IV: Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutics

19. Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutic
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos

20. Orthodox Christianity, Patristic Exegesis, and Historical Criticism of the Bible
John Fotopoulos

21. The Modern Search for the Literal Sense: Forerunners of the Challenge at Antioch
Christopher R. Seitz

22. Antiochene Theoria and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture
Bradley Nassif

23. Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy: A Brief Survey
Anthony G. Roeber

24. Biblical Exegesis in the Syriac Churches
Sebastian P. Brock

25. Biblical Interpretation in Ethiopian Patristic Literature
Mersha Alehegne

26. The Bible and the Armenian Church
Vahan Hovhanessian

27. Scriptural Interpretation in the Late Antique Coptic Tradition
Mary K. Farag

28. Pastoral Use of the Bible in the Orthodox Church
Harry Pappas

29. Eastern Orthodox Views on Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation
Bruce N. Beck

30. Anti-Jewish Sentiments in Liturgical and Patristic Biblical Interpretations
Bogdan G. Bucur

31. Bible and Archeology: An Orthodox Perspective
Nicolae Roddy

Part V: Looking to the Future

32. Reading from thee End, Looking Forward
John Behr

33. Who's Afraid of the Old Testament? Tough Texts for Rough Times
Brent A. Strawn

34. The Bible in Orthodox Christian-Jewish Dialogue
Michael G. Azar

35. Bible, Theology and Science: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future
David Wilkinson

36. Theology-Science Dialogue: An Orthodox Perspective
Nikolaos Chatzinikolaou

37. How Orthodox Women Read and Teach the Bible
Ashley M. Purpura

38. B.E.S.T.: Bridging Synchronic and Diachronic Modes of Interpretation Olivier-Thomas Venard

39. The Reception History: A Paradigmatic Turn in Contemporary Biblical Scholarship
Justin A. Mihoc

40. Modern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation
James Buchanan Wallace

41. Towards an Integrative Reading of the Bible
R. W. L. (Walter) Moberly

Editorial Reviews

"This exceptional handbook, edited by Eugen J. Pentiuc, will appeal broadly to Biblical scholars as well as non academics, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, looking to understand Orthodox Christian (Eastern and Oriental) approaches to reading the Bible...Those interested in encountering Orthodox views on Text, Canon, Scripture within Tradition, and Hermeneutics in a forward looking way will find this handbook a source of considerable guidance and a most worthwhile read." — Sophia Theodoratos, St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College, Phronema

"Whether or not readers are familiar with Orthodox Bible interpretation, this volume is bound to become a go-to treasure chest of jewels on the subject." — Hywel Clifford, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"Whether or not readers are familiar with Orthodox Bible interpretation, this volume is bound to become a go-to treasure chest of jewels on the subject." — Hywel Clifford, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"This volume reflects a variety of views...this book does not attempt to impose one approach." — Hans Boersma, Church History

"Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find much of interest in this volume, especially those concerned with the creative tension between modern historical-critical methods and reading practices of the past and convinced of the need for a "recontextualization of Tradition." — Religious Studies Review

"The volume strikes an admirable balance between the rigor of specialized studies and the accessibility of a general introduction." — Michael Legaspi, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

From the Publisher