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Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 16, January-June 1997, year 26, p. 94.

   The January-June 1997 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains five (5) articles.

   A. Tsortou presents the content of her paper about the sotiriology of the Coptic manuscript of Nag Hammadi ΤρίμορφηΠρωτέννοια and its possible relation with the Prologue of the D gospel. The writer analyses the Gnostic sense of Πρωτέννοια (First-meaning) and its three forms (Tρίμορφη) and the meaning of the latter for the Gnostic significance of salvation. Next, she explains the five stages of the salvation of the Gnostic and, finally, she investigates the meaning of the Christological passage of TρίμορφηΠρωτέννοια and its relation with the sotiriology of John.

   J. Charlesworth tries to pinpoint the ways by which it is possible to discern whether Jesus knew and was likely influenced by some ideas of the Essenes that are included in the Manuscripts of the Dead Sea. In this context, he refers to the similarities and differences between Jesus and the Essenes and to Jesus’ Judaism under the light of the Manuscripts. Finally, he examines the incomprehensible saying of Jesus in the parallel passage Luke 12, 7 and Matthew 10, 30, referring also to the Damascinian Manuscript, in order to investigate Jesus’ possible relation with the Essenes.

   S. Agouridis presents the volume that Gr. Stanton supervised, titled The Interpretation of Matthew, 2^nd edition, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh 1995. The volume is a new edition of representative studies of his time as to the interpretation of Matthew’s gospel. The writer of the article, motivated by the introductory text of Stanton where he makes observations or expresses reservations about the opinions expressed in the studies of the volume, moves on to a brief, yet concise presentation of the most basic points and views presented in the nine studies of important biblical scientists, contained in the volume.

   G. Korting analyses the dynamic structure of John’s Letter A and indicates the changes that exist between the relations of different persons with each other. So, in the first part of the letter (1, 1-2, 17) Jesus occupies the central position, in the second (2, 18-3, 24) the people and in the third and last (ch. 4-5) the Holy Spirit.

   G. Korting investigates the likelihood of elaborating on the D gospel as a drama, in terms of its literature structure, and the relations and influences of the gospel by ancient-greek dramas and tragedies. The writer of the article maintains that the drama in the specific gospel evolves in three successive dramas, each one of which consists of five acts and he analyses its structure in this perspective.

   Following are reviews of H. Karakolis on the book Johannesstudien by O. Hofius and H. - C. Kammler, Tubingen 1960 and of S. Agouridis on the books The Sermon on the Mount, An Exegetical Commentary by G. Strecker, Matthew: Structure, Christology, Kingdom by J. D. Kingsbury, London 1975, Solomon, the King of Women by C. Rappe, trnsl. Athens 1996, The Man who became God by G. Messadie, trnsl. Athens 1995, and, finally, The Family as a working unit of the people of the Old Testament, (Sociological research, Work with Family Type Solidarity Relations), Athens 1997 by P. Sinopoulos.  

Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 15, January-June 1996, year 25, p. 92.

   The January-June 1996 issue of the Bulletin of Bilblical Studies contains seven (7) articles.

   Father K. Papadopoulos refers with great brevity to the syntactic similarities between the recent greek language and the language of the N. T..

    L. Stuckenbruck examines the kind and the form of Christ's angelic characteristics, the way these are mentioned in John's Revelation and analyzes the presentation of the “son of man” as “elder of the days”, after he explains first these terms that are expounded in ch. 7 of Daniel and have affected the theological thought of John.

   The article of G. Rigopoulos continues from the previous issue of the BBS. In this third part of the article, he testifies, on the one hand, the historical data, the testimony of the O. T., the interpretation of the fathers and the contemporary hermeneutic views on Nabuchodonosor and Kyrus. On the other hand, he attempts to investigate God's ultimate purpose when He used the Pharaoh, Nabuchodonosor and Kyrus so that they should play an important role in the history of Israel.

  A. Destro and M. Pesce attempt through an anthropological-sociological consideration the understanding of the “situation” of transition that characterizes the ecclesiastical communities of ap. Paul, the way he envisaged them himself. In this frame, they examine the “limitation” and the “fulfillment” of the Church, that is the two contemporary and intersecting processes of keeping a distance from the world and opening up to it.

    S. Ademiluka goes on to a comparative work of the narrations of African myths for the creation and those of ch. 3 of the book of Genesis in a perspective of re-examination of the dogma of man's fall under the light of African mythology.

   C. Caragounis examines the mistakes of Erasmus' work and of the non-greek accent of the erasmic accent. In this frame, he presents Erasmus' mistakes, the historical background on which the erasmic accent was relied and established and, finally, he mentions the historical accent of greek, focusing on the criteria that determine their correct accent. In this first part of his article, he talks about vowels and diphthongs. The second part is found in the next issue of the BBS.

   G. Velisiotis presents certain new books from the international publishing market that are mentioned in the field of the science of the O. T..

  At the end of the issue the 8^th  Synaxis of the Orthodox Biblical Theologians that took place in Nesebar, Bulgaria from the 10^th until the 15^th of September 1995 is presented. The Synaxis was devoted to the memory of Professor Vasilis Tsakonas and had as its topic the Letter to the Gauls.

Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 15, July-December 1996, year 25, p. 112.

     The July-December 1996 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains seven (7) articles.

     D. Kaimakis presents the sense of faith in the O. T., as this is not identified with its corresponding image in the N. T.. For the fuller understanding of the sense of faith in the O. T. the writer presents some old-testament unities that refer to it and to its content.

    R. O'Toole attempts to pinpoint the sense of “authenticity” in the context of Luke's theology, to totally regard his way of dealing with it and to clarify the role of the Holy Spirit. In order to achieve his goal the writer initially examines Luke's view on the Church and then the total of the ways this sense was dealt with in the different forms of “authenticity” (for missionary action, the performing of miracles, the appointment of successors, the taking of the necessary for the community decisions,  baptism and the eating of the holy bread) and its significance as well as who performs it and in which way.

    I. Stefoulis, in the frame of a comparative approach, examines the similarities and differences between the ancient Greek “hereditary” Law and the one of the O. T.. Thus, focusing on the issue of hereditary succession, but also on the hereditary ranks, he presents the influences from the common customary mediterranean Law these two Laws have received, which integrated or rejected elements according to the special regional needs and dominant social structures.

      A. Okorie presents the Judean understanding of marriage, divorce and second marriage in the time of the N. T.. His apprroach takes place in the context of the investigation of the customs the first Christian community of Jerusalem adopted from its Judean environment, from which it came, for that matter, even though each of these customs were valid only after their reinterpretation by Jesus' teaching.

      The article of C. Caragounis on Erasmus' mistakes and the non-Greek accent of the erasmic Greek is continued from the previous issue of the BBS. In this second part, the writer deals with the pronunciation of consonants, prosody, the regional accent, breaths and finishes with the conclusions of his study.

      R. Scognamiglio presents the views of the Pope of Rome st. Gregory the Great on the sense of authentticity inside the Church in the years of the N. T., mainly as these are expressed in the work of Liber Regulae Pastoralis.

     S. Agouridis refers in a short exegetical approach to the theme of authenticity, the way it is presented in the D gospel. In this context, he describes first the important meaning the twelve apostles have in the specific gospel and, secondly, the more likely meaning of the relationship between Peter and John for the understanding of authenticity in John's ecclesiastical community.

Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 14, July-December 1995, year 24, p. 116.

      The July-December 1995 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains four (4) articles.

   H. Krallis presents the creative influence of the existential ontology of M. Heidegger in the theological thought of R. Bultmann. In this frame, the writer initially refers to the theological and philosophical course of the two men and then he presents the basic direction of Existential Theology that was a derivative and product of the acquiescence and conversation between the two men.

      A. Okorie makes some grammatical notes on ch. 2 and 3 of John's Revelation.

     The text of G. Rigopoulos is continued from his article in the previous issue of the BBS. In this he attempts a hermeneutic approach to one of the manifestations of the Divine Economy, the on God's behalf “economic” election of idolater kings and people as His organs for the realization of His sotiriological plan, based mainly on the hermeneutic tradition of the Fathers and ecclesiastical writers and making also a short reference to the most important contemporary hermeneutic views. Here he presents the sense of “election” in the O. T. and the significance of the Pharaoh of Egypt as God's “vessel of election” as well as the interpretation of the fathers. Next, follows the presentation of contemporary hermeneutic views by Greek Orthodox , Roman-Catholic and protestant theologians. An appendix follows, where the correspondence of the Pharaoh and ap. Paul is examined. The article is completed in the next issue.

    A. Pitta examines the relationship between the ethical admonitions of ap. Paul, known also as “entreaties”, and his “preaching”, turning his attention mainly to the ethical parts that usually conclude his Letters. In his analysis, he shows the complex relationship between the preaching and entreating parts of the pauline correspondence and concludes that any preaching and entreating variations of the Letters are defined by the different christological, spiritual and ecclesiastical accentuations of each Letter.

    The Chronicles of the issue come next. S. Agouridis presents the programme of the “International and  Inter-Scientific Symposium for the one hundred years since the writing of the book of the Revelation by Evangelist John” that took place in Athens from the 18^th until the 22^nd of September, the proceedings of the Convention of Orthodox and Roman-Catholic Biblical Theologians that took place in Athens from the 25^th until the 29^th of October and, finally, the proceedings of the Colloquium Ecumenicum Paulinum that took place in Rome from the 25^th until the 30^th of October 1995.